Why am i so blind in War Thunder?

[Nisse]

So recently i have been having some problems in War Thunder. And the problem is that i cant almost find anyone before they find me. Alright lets say that we are in a RB in War thunder late tier 3. ok and im driving my T-34 85 D5T and someone else is in a Nashorn standing behind a hill and peeking over it slightly just so the gun and top of the open top gun cabbin thing sticks out and i drive past. How do i kill him/her first or how would i have spoted him/her before he/she spoted me first? i know this is a very basic example but who cares you get the point just how do you spot that person before it spots you. Any tips or tricks? and if so thank you! (just before you stop reading this and start to give me advice just dont say binoculars alright i alaready know they exist and there not really helping me) Thank you!

[RustyNail]

Lots of factors in spotting. This is really "general", and off the cuff. You'll have to roll up your sleeves and do the "work" fill in the gaps.

First part is a skill. There's no shortcut or easy way - you develop spotting skills with hard work.
You learn to observe: what's normal vs what's "out of place". Tanks are not part of nature. Knowing the maps - common routes players like to travel, and spots where they like to camp, ect, helps you know where to focus most of your attention. Don't get tunnel vision... use the mouse look the most; binos when you need magnification to check something more carefully. While your sniper view may give you good magnification - it is a narrow FoV; and can hurt your situational awareness.

Look for motion, smoke/dust, falling trees/bushes.

Listen for guns firing, crumbling walls/buildings - compare what you hear with what you see on the minimap and what you know of the tactical situation. Maybe that noise is an enemy?

Do not look for "whole" tanks... many times I've spotted antennas, top mount MGs, cannon barrels - were all that was visible. Easier (relatively - cause it's still hard): other parts of tanks -- shapes that don't fit nature: round wheels, square tracks, straight edges. Much easier, larger parts of tanks - a turret, a big chunk of hull.

Hardware: Depending on your own eyesight: your monitor can matter - more or less. I have a brother who plays on a smallish laptop and I play on a 27' 2k monitor. Tanks I can spot easily on my rig - he can't see. He's as capable a player as I am; yet my K/D is at least 5x better than his because his tiny screen is a major hindrance in his case. And I'll add to this: depending on your eyesight - some tweaks to your graphics settings may help - or not.

Custom battles (you can set one up for yourself)... Turn all the player markers off - and you can practice spotting skills without cost; and play with your graphics and postfx settings to see what you like best.

Last, every so often you'll have enemy tanks pop into, or out of, existence; ghost shells, and other crap happen to you. Let them go! Don't distract yourself with fuming over those flaws with the game or some guy you should have noticed will give you a return ticket to your garage.

[Nisse]

ok