Logarithmic vs linear scanner type

Logarithmic means it scales up according to a logarithmic pattern. Example, if a planet is 10 ls away, it might be 1 unit away in your sensor, if another one is 100 ls away, it might be 2 units away in your sensor. In a scalar scale, things are represented in a simple linear scale, essentially a ruler scale.
 
Logarithmic means it scales up according to a logarithmic pattern. Example, if a planet is 10 ls away, it might be 1 unit away in your sensor, if another one is 100 ls away, it might be 2 units away in your sensor. In a scalar scale, things are represented in a simple linear scale, essentially a ruler scale.

Have you ever seen it actually do that?
 
Me not understand. What do you mean by "scanner adjustment"?

You can zoom the scanner in and out - but if that's it then it's broken too.

edit: actually, just playing around with it, there is something of a difference between linear and logarithmic, it's just fairly subtle. Most noticeable when zoomed out, linear appears to zoom out "more".
 
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The settings definitely work.

In logarithmic, a contact passing you in a straight line will curve around on the scanner. In linear it will travel an actual straight line on the scanner.
 
The settings definitely work.

In logarithmic, a contact passing you in a straight line will curve around on the scanner. In linear it will travel an actual straight line on the scanner.
Nope, the behaviour is pretty much identical, because the so called 'linear' mode still has nonlinear scale on the scanner.
Original Elite (also FE2 & FFE) had true linear scanner. E: D does not.
 
Nope, the behaviour is pretty much identical, because the so called 'linear' mode still has nonlinear scale on the scanner.
Original Elite (also FE2 & FFE) had true linear scanner. E: D does not.

Flying straight past a selected port, linear:
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Flying straight past a selected port, logarithmic:
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Now, please repeat the experiment so that the port is above or below your XZ plane.

It's the same. You can see the effect on the second animation with the target coming from the right. That was flying straight as well (more or less, an attempted scan ram).
 
It's the same. You can see the effect on the second animation with the target coming from the right. That was flying straight as well (more or less, an attempted scan ram).
Not sure if the scanner works in the exact same way in supercruise and normal space, but at least in supercruise the stalks indicating object height relative to player expand and contract in both modes.
Plus the fact that the scanner's concentric circles (showing XZ distance to the player) are not evenly spaced while hte 'real space' distance between one ring and the next is equal.
=> linear mode is not really linear
 
Whoa i've just messed with this yesterday and had linear on! Switched to logarithmic just now so i can notice any changes! Nice topic rep+
 
I think super cruise is always logarithmic, linear just doesn't make any sense at that scale.

The lines on the scanner have no real meaning (since you can zoom over them anyway), they are just a rough reference to compare individual targets with.

Linear in normal space is absolutely really linear. It doesn't get any more linear than that.
 
Linear in normal space is absolutely really linear. It doesn't get any more linear than that.
Yes it does. For example original Elite scanner is more linear.

Different zoom levels seem to change things a bit too, but as I'm now sufficiently far away from the bubble I can't do any field tests because there are no signal sources here...
 
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