Increase the default SyncDistance for Warfare 3

With Warfare 3 approaching, I'd like to suggest increasing the default non-experimental SyncDistance.

The current problem

At the moment, the default non-experimental SyncDistance is 3 km, while target lock-on starts at 2.5 km.

That leaves only 500 metres between a grid streaming in and it already being within normal target-lock range.

For combat, that's a very small window.

A hostile grid can effectively appear already close enough to be an immediate threat, with very little opportunity to:

• Observe another grid before deciding whether to engage
• Work out what kind of ship or threat it actually is
• Stalk or shadow another player without immediately entering combat range
• Manoeuvre into a better position before being detected
• React to an approaching ship before it suddenly streams in nearby

At normal ship speeds, 500 metres can disappear in only a few seconds, especially if two ships are travelling towards each other.

Why this matters for Warfare 3

Warfare 3 is putting even more emphasis on combat, detection, pursuit and longer-range weapons.

Because of that, I think the difference between how far away you can actually see another grid and how far away you can already lock onto it is becoming increasingly noticeable.

Increasing SyncDistance also doesn't mean target-lock distance needs to be increased with it.

For example:

5 km SyncDistance + 2.5 km target locking

would give players 2.5 km where they can actually see and react to another grid before normal locking becomes possible.

That gives a lot more room for reconnaissance, manoeuvring, pursuit, ambushes, stalking another target or simply deciding whether you actually want the encounter to become a fight.

The Experimental Official Servers have already shown the benefit

One of the most noticeable differences on the Experimental Official Servers is the increased 6 km SyncDistance.

From what I've seen, it's also one of the things players appreciate most about those servers. Players will actively choose the Experimental servers because the increased SyncDistance makes Global Encounters and PvP feel considerably better.

Ships can actually exist around each other for a while without immediately being on top of one another or already inside normal locking range.

I think the Experimental servers have effectively given us a live example of how much difference an increased SyncDistance can make.

I'm not necessarily asking for 6 km

I understand that SyncDistance has performance and networking implications, which I assume is at least part of the reason increasing it currently puts a world into Experimental Mode.

But even increasing the normal limit from:

3 km → 4 km

or preferably:

3 km → 5 km

would make a pretty substantial difference.

At 5 km, you'd go from having only 500 m between a grid streaming in and target-lock range to having 2.5 km:

Current: 500 m

5 km SyncDistance: 2,500 m

Even just 4 km would already triple the amount of space players have before another grid enters normal locking range.

Request

Could the default/non-experimental SyncDistance please be reconsidered for Warfare 3?

Personally, I'd like to see it increased to 5 km, although even 4 km would be a significant improvement over the current 3 km.

With Warfare 3 expanding combat further, I think this is a good opportunity to reconsider the current 3 km limit.

It's a relatively small settings change, but from what we've already seen on the Experimental Officials, it can make a pretty big difference to how PvP and encounters actually feel.

Note: This only applies to Steam version of the game, as consoles/MS Store have hardware limitations.