This document extends the previously discussed techniques for spotting targets. The following examples will go over some techniques that can be used for spotting targets at night. I’ll go over the use of night-vision to spot targets then spotting without night-vision. Finally, I’ll discuss how to communicate an enemy’s position to your team.
From my experience so far, I have not found night-vision goggles to be of much use. I have recently discovered that they might come in handy. I have circled in the picture below an anomaly. This anomaly is actually the laser sight from the M4. The M4 is the only weapon to have this ability and its appearance in-game is erratic. I managed to reproduce its effect reliably on my primary PC but my secondary PC would never show the laser sight. However, this is something to look for during night combat. It doesn’t hurt to turn on night-vision when scanning for targets. Sometimes targets will hide on top of hills and during daylight the target is a green lump. During nighttime, the green lump will blend in with the dark sky but night-vision will expose the target’s silhouette.
I’ll turn off the night-vision so we can take a look at the target in a different way. The enemy seems to have hidden himself well in the grass but hillside is not always the best place. The angle exposes pieces of his uniform. There isn’t much difference spotting targets during the day and during the night. Pieces of uniform will still stand out through the grass and a keen eye will spot this.
This second example is like the first except that the enemy has found a bit of a better hiding spot. It’s on flat ground with a hill in the background. The flat ground will show a smaller profile and less bits of uniform will be shown. However, there’s that M4 laser sight problem. It looks like there’s a light saber out there.
Of course, the enemy might not have an M4 or your computer doesn’t show them. You’ll have to spot him the hard way. Using the same techniques discussed in the first Spotting Targets document, you have a few options. You can wait for him to expose himself. This will take a while so in the meantime keep on scanning for odd colour changes. Look for bits of uniform or silhouettes of solid green. In this case, you’ll have to spot the solid green silhouette. If you notice in the picture below, there is an odd solid green blob in a dark patch of grass. Now, that the target is spotted it is time to call for help to take out the target.
It is very important to tell your teammates where the enemy is in any game. Joint Operations has a built-in targeting feature similar to the laser designator. By using the quick-voice chat message, “Enemy spotted!” will notify your team, on the map, where you have spotted a target. Do this by pressing F10 then 7. In the picture below, I have just notified the team of a spotted enemy. All I did was point my weapon as if I were going to shoot him and send the voice-chat message. This will not work accurately with the binoculars. NovaLogic has offset the binocular crosshairs with weapon iron sights to prevent the use of the binoculars as aiming devices.
Take a look at the picture below. There’s the target marked on the map. This indicator will also be displayed on your compass spin map. You can only mark one target at a time. Marking a second target will erase the first indicator. The indicator lasts on the map for about a minute. Using this technique will cut down on the need for verbal communication. This will often be faster to tell teammates where a target is located.
Still, it is good to know how to describe where a target is located verbally. When verbally describing a target to a teammate, give relative directions and as much visual information as possible. The more descriptive you are the easier it will be for your teammate to spot what you see. It is best to give relative direction from your teammate’s position instead of from your position. “The enemy sniper is located west of your location in the rice paddies”.
Remember, look for movement, pieces of uniform and check night-vision when trying to spot targets at night. When you spot a target, communicate the target’s location to your team by using the voice-chat feature or with a verbal description. As for the laser sight, it may not show up for all players. I have not determined the graphics settings to get it to show. It may be related to the video card you have. The computer that it worked on is using an ATI card and the one it didn’t work on is using an nVidia card.
