Friday 2010-04-02 Video and Discussion Thread
 

Hi,

Early in-game video. DX9 render and basic untuned effects. Do not forget – WIP!
Tracers are also WIP :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2x27ahVz9o

Super! Bravo! Lighting effects, sea, clouds ... everything comes together really nicely !

Happy Easter,
Insuber

Wasn't expecting an update. Happy easter! :)

I haven't seen that combination of Dornier nose and engines before. A sort of 17 and a bit. Can anyone ID it?

Edit: Do215?

Stunning!:grin:

Thanks! It is nice to see some action in the air :)

Salute!

P.S. Woos aircraft glass mirroring a big issue in war? It looks like easy way to spot aircraft on long distance...

Love it great graphics !

Oh my god....it lives...and how !

That....is incredible sir, well done. As a very long term fan I must admit to having lost a lot of faith in SOW over the last year or two...but that is simply amazing and goes a LONG way towards restoring my trust that this is actually going to happen.

Please though.....HD video next time would be even better !

Thanks for the update, lighting is good, but doesn't look a million miles away from Il2 IMHO although it is still WIP.

One image may not look far from IL2 (even though it does, by a fair bit) but the whole package is not millions of miles but lightyears ahead.


As it should be.


Even now, beeing WiP and all, i bet we can fill 1-2 pages with stuff SoW has that IL2 havent, and never will have ;)



Really nice work Oleg and team, thx.

Ahhh... a sweet little video. It looked rather smooth too. That's DX9, so DX10 must be killer, and DX11 insane! :D (well, that's my take).
Oleg, a few more teasers like this please?
Flyby (over and) out

I have to agree with Tree , we know you cant give too much away , the one thing I did find interesting was the prop animation , looks good from the side and the front but when its trasitioning from one to the other it looks a tad rough.

Looks very nice :grin:.
Thanks oleg and whole team ;-).

Awesome ! :D thanks :)

Looks pretty damn good to me for a DX9 video. I thought the prop animation looked fine, as well. :mrgreen:

@Tree,

I disagree on that: for a WIP with "basic effects" and DX9, seen on YouTube @480 pixels ... I see already a great improvement on Il2. Lights & Shadows, bullet impacts, reflections, sea rendering, the details of the Spit windshield, the realism of the Dornier cockpit/crew and glasshouse ... Gorgeous!
Let's wait for a full HD video with full FX and latest DX :D, but I'm sure that it will be a blast!

Insuber

In the battle of Britain they change the radials for a coup of V12.

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/a...m-of-war-2.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/2ag9mw8.jpg

I don't like so much the bullets. since far away, it see, all the bullets in the air are identical no matter the distance. Don't like that. I think the 7,7 is more a little stele of smoke and nothing more. Not a big laser like a cannon. Or i am wrong? correct me if i am

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/a...orm-of-war.jpg

All other, are so amazing. Perfect to me.
like always, Nice Work Oleg, Team, and Olga !
;)

Most excellent graphics/effects, I like the tracers very much.

Movements of the airplane looked slightly stiff but understandable when you are probably using .trk or something.

Amazing lighting, smoke/flame at the end of the video looked great, I couldn't see any bullet holes but it looked like it was probably making some when the bomber got hit...

Framerate which is ooked flawlessly smooth! that is a biggie! good job Oleg/1c team!

Can't wait for this game...

nice update and i know its WIP but arnt the gun flashes a bit large for 303 rounds?...they seem to reach the prop.

Without wishing to criticise WIP and bring up such a minor point too are the camera's going to stay static as shown in the video and as they are in IL2 or are we going to get some buffeting in them at all?

Looks great :D

Guys aside from the fact this is already stated as WIP, don't forget that much of what SoW brings to the table is stuff you "can't" see. Granted a short video isn't designed to highlight those things you can't see, but consider the exponentially higher detail in the physics model and added detail to the damage model.

I'd like to see the tracers un-synchronized too (remember all that hubbub all those years ago about dispersion and synchronization?).

Otherwise, I really, really like what I see here. Thanks for the update. :)

p.s. PLEASE don't add buffeting to the camera views. I hate it in the DogFight series and can't see liking it any better in this sim. My .02c

I think that's because the Spitfire we see the most of is an AI aircraft, maybe?

Beautiful video Oleg! :D

But one thing: I know this is WIP, and so I hope the tracer is too. Because unlike how it is modelled in Il-2, the tracer for the .303's had intermittent smoke patterns (or it looked intermittent) but nonetheless the tracer the British used had smoke trails to it. :D

Awesome update.

I think it adds immersion myself, an option for either would be nice.

More rubbish talk from the usual rubbish dump...........






Oleg ,
Thanks for video update. Really enjoyed the nose-on views of the Dornier....

For a work in progress this is spectacular. It's brilliant to start to see things come together. No doubt that is the case for the entire team to be able to get things up and running and experience things like that.

The tracers and the large muzzle flash effects definitely look like a work in progress but that is perfectly ok for this stage. Just seeing things in motion is great. Keep it coming!

Next, add some dirt to the plastic polished surfaces.

As an example of lighting, clouds and sea, very nice....could we see, in the next video, footage showing how much it is possible to change the aircraft skins with the new 4096x4096 templates?

Thanks for the update.

Cheers, MP

These weekly waits for very brief updates are torture :sad:

As great as it is to see an in game video, 25 seconds is waaaaay too short, youtube will do 10 minutes you know, and it is Easter ;)

Thanks gentlemen. Nice work, as usual, and it's great to see your efforts coming together. I loved the lighting details in the video. I can't wait to see DX 10 or 11 clips.

Thanks again.

Wow. Excellent work again, mr. Oleg!

...and whats WIP is WIP, right? ;)

I very much hope we get the same or maybe an improved fmb camera set up as we have now in il2 , being able to place the cameras where you want them is a must for people wanting to make movies out of these sims please dont forget to include this valuable extra in Sow Oleg , as for the buffeting it would be a nice option , but only as an option.

I believe Oleg stated that the skins will be 2048x2048.

Aviar

S!

Very nice video indeed!:grin:

Just brilliant seeing it all come together ;)

I looked at the video for several times now, and was particularly interested in the scene where the Spit is firing it's guns. They look great for a WIP! :D But by the time the release is out, I hope we get to see the smoke from the firing guns roll back over the wings. But hey, we'll all be flying in a locked 'pit so it might not matter that much. ;)
Flyby out

Very impressive for a WIP. I love the new prop too.

lol, what a lovely person you are!! :grin: Happy easter buddy !! :grin::grin:

It is so great to see all of the hard work coming together like this.
Thanks again for another update.

Finally an air battle video... Thanks Oleg, you rock.

Thanks for the update. Very pretty and very, very promising.

Cheers!

This is a very good WIP and like Tree says its not a million miles from IL-2. Both are based on WW2 aircraft theaters, but that's about where the similarity ends. There is little doubt in my mind that the SOW series will be the next benchmark in Combat Flight Simulators.

Yes. That is enough for the next couple of years if to speak about online gameplay and amount of aircraft in air.

One note for all: I have changed a bit the dev update text. Please pay attention.

I'm sorry, till mid of the next week I'm unable to spend my time for the answers.
Here in Russia we are preparing all-Russia national Il-2 cup... I'm totally busy.... I'm sorry that it isn't world cup.... But sure/hope in future we will see SoW world cup :)
Till next week.

Looking great! thanks for the vid:grin:

Very tantalizing glimpse!
________
NEVADA DISPENSARIES

u must be kidding? it's a HUGE difference.. I dont know what kind of IL2 u fly, but the one I am flying is far from this quality... lighting, smoothness, shadows.. the lot

Wow, that looks really great...

I like the detail at distance and the smooth transition in as you get closer...much smoother then we are used to. Also the shadows look really good...reflections off the glass look real.

Just ONE QUESTION (if you get to it)... The AI pilots dont seem to be moving and looking around at the attacking aircraft. Will they be animated in the final release?

Thank You, and have a good Easter!!!

Stunning video, thanks a million for this easter egg!

And in the middle of all this WIP mayhem in every sentence I think the only part which needs work are the tracers and lack of bullet holes, for the rest I'd be quite happy with this quality for the final release.

And anyone who says this isn't a quantum leap from IL2 needs to have his medication checked.

Simply amazing update, thank god Oleg, BUT where is the sound? :D:D

The muzzle flash one the Spits were huge, but this is WIP, I know :-P

The propeller dynamics were great, and pretty smooth. It's also nice to see little puffs of dust, paint, and metal flakes coming off the Dornier's skin when hit by the .303s. :grin:

And let's talk about the opening shot! Wow!! The detail of humans is top notch, and from a good eye level perspective, giving a nice sense of scale. Evening lighting looks great as well.

This especially caught my eye:

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1270235651

From here it looks like we are no longer seeing the old 2-D fire balls. And just look at how far the smoke stays suspended in the air! Also take note of the offset camera angle: In Il-2 the Bf-109 would take the center of the frame.

Great update! To me it looks like it's nearly ready.

Aww, give little Tree a break...he probably doesn't see any difference. This is just the reason why so many game makers "over saturate" the look of their new releases with the latest "gee wiz" DX enhancements. The game makers try and hit us over the head with an over the top panorama of dazzling effects...this tactic tends to impress the average game player.

Jeez, calm down girls, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I did say in my post that i recognise how good the lighting is, but the overaul feel for me is still Il2-ish, but like i said its still a WIP. No doubt when we see it in all its glory in directX 11 it will look stunning. Now put your hand bags down. :-P

I'm dying to know what res the sim was played in. Something less than 1600 x 1200?

Well, i agree with the opinion of the tracers, but Oleg specifically clarified that they are WiP. Besides that, i partially agree with Tree that it seems a little like IL-2, but only on the movement of the planes and i don't thinks its a bad thing, all the contrary.
Graphically, its hugely better that IL-2, and it does look very close to photorealistic to me. The scene of the Spitifre rolling upside down to jump over the Dorniers, and also the close up of the Dornier with the canopy reflection and the spitfire shooting behind are the part that impressed me the most. For me its like watching a movie, looks stunning.

Great work Oleg and team!

The more I watch the more I like it ... Oleg was naughty and cut it to the bone ... split seconds of happiness ... the smoke and flames from the falling bomber look very realistic ... and the impacts of the bullets are in their exact landing spot, not like Il2 ...

Ins

Translation into english:
Wow!
This looks amazing!

If IL-2 looked anything close to this I'd still be playing IL-2

It's starting to look like a game, like the title screen artwork too, hopefully that look will carry on to the UI

The only thing I don't like about this movie is that 109 has to be dirtied up. It looks like it's just out of a Dinky Toy box. Other than that everything looks great. I'm sure the skinners will take care of the 109 :)

Well it was a rather bold statement you did, no offense but there is a huge difference in lightning, models, terrain, effects etc.. if you can't see that then well sad enough.

Dx 9 , Dx10 , Dx11 won't make any wonders the game will look gorgeous in DX9 as well. What DX10 , DX11 does technically ain't something that will make an "ugly" game in dx9 , "beautiful/stunning" in Dx10,11.

I wish I knew what cards they were using? i7 975 and Radeon 5970s?

I think it is not just lack of dirt that gives that impression.

The shine on the plane is very even. In real life the paint varies in shininess slightly, and there are small irregularities in the smoothness of the wing metal. Not that there is anything wrong with shine, it is seen a lot on old photos from the period, but it doesn't usually look that even, and it wouldn't show on panel lines etc. that are indented.

We have yet to see a WiP aircraft with part-shiny skin where panel lines and hatch edges don't shine, or where these edges deflect the light in some way. It would be nice if this was possible..but not essential of course.

I am hoping that the shine will be either linked to a separate bump map, or that it can be varied in some way.
I think there will be an editable shine bump map layer for the skins (just guessing though), though it might be disabled in the initial release if they use too many resources.


Oleg? Please comment!


As long as the shine is kept to a minimum it will look good anyway, and especially so if the skins are 'dirty'.

And as far as skins go: I'm certain there will be many user made ones available within the first couple of months of release, and I'm also sure that people will do a nice job of making used and dirty looking skins:-).

Uneven shine:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._IIA_P7666.jpg

And here:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/...x341_popup.jpg



_

major, that is controlled via a specular map and I really do hope they will be available as part of the skinning abilities in SoW.

I know I don't post here much but I am an avid viewer of anything Storm of War. I hope this really isn't the final logo for the game and box.

As a graphic designer, I like the simple approach but it could use a little more artistic touch to truely be awesome. The "of" appears a little to scrunched and condensed, and I don't like the white stroke around the red text.

I'd like to see something a little more designed like art from the 1930s and 40s. Something thats dirty, gritty, yet clean and professional.

Oleg I'd be more than happy to do some FREE mockups for you for any of the art for the game. Whether it be the UI, splash screens, or box art. I'm sure your publisher will take care of this but I figured I'd offer my services.

m_berndt79@yahoo.com

Nice.. I am so looking forward to this sim... visually to me at least WoP is a taste of the kind of stuff that future sims will have.. and SoW looks like it will have all that and then some..

Yup. That was one of the problems with the German faceted "greenhouse" cockpits. Sometimes enough light would get into the cockpit that a panel would reflect the light back towards the crew. Often FW-189 crews had trouble seeing what they were supposed to be spying on.

Edit: This earlier WiP looks a lot better, panels/hatches seem to change the way light reflects. I would like to know exactly what we are seeing here, if it some sort of map or not that is changing the reflections/shine. Oleg?

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...grab0168-1.jpg



Re: Thanks for the information!:-)

Excellent, some aspects look photorealistic, glad to see a video!

In one shot you can see in shadow the canopy framing on the engine cowling of the Do-17. Now that's got to be cool.

the art actually struck me as very reminiscent of the airbrush work of that era, such as the propaganda posters and pinup girls.

I wouldn't read to much into the text (pun intended), it was probably just added in for the purpose of this video as it says "bomber attack", but I hope the interface is simple, clean, and intuitive as IL-2's wasn't very much.

Viewing it again and browsing the comments here, i think it will be a lot better than what it looks like in the video.

First of all, the smoothness factor is top notch and fluidity can make hi-res graphics appear very impressive, even if they are not technically so. Since this is WIP and we're expecting improvements, i guess it will be even better. Not to mention that high-res fluid motion on a 22" or bigger will look so much better, even if the settings used are the exact same as those used in this video.

The reason it might seem a bit underwhelming to some is that this is low-res youtube (no 720p/1080p option in the video), reflective layers and various effects might probably not be finalised, plus we don't know what was the original resolution used during gameplay, AA/AF settings, if a low-spec PC was used that forced lower detail settings and so on.

Long story short, if this was taken from a dual core or old quad with nVidia 8800 or comparable Ati generation cards i will be very impressed, as it would indicate an ability to scale perfectly and it's not shabby at all. Roll on the next updates with high-res youtube videos running on high end PCs, then we will be able to really decide ;)

ya we have no real idea what this video is supposed to depict, or if it was just a quick sketch/scribble just keep our mouths watering (so to speak)... you don't know if anything here will even be in the final version, the best you can do is say probables or.. in this case its quite obvious (even says so in the description) that the gfx are very low quality so all one can really say about this movie is "tks for the first video with some combat type stuff and for showing some more lighting effects"

remember all the juicy bits you won't see till right before the game is released, cause their super top secret... don't want someone else stealing ideas and making them "been there, done that" type stuff, when ur trying to release the most innovative game ever :P

Thats all I'm saying... ;)

you mean like this:
http://download.softclub.ru/pub/il2pict/grab0168.jpg

The Dornier looks fantastic. I'm happy with everything I see in this video (apart from [not final] tracers of course). The planes look far better than WOP and without those crappy filters. The thing I do like about WOP is the canopy scratch marks etc and of course the terrain. I know this Sim will feel much better than WOP too and have a flyby camera option in the initial release.

The screenshot above,shows bump,spec and bloom,add that to the video shown and you've got another masterpiece,nuff said.

Oh I'm really dying to see final version.
Great job guys!

hehe if u are referring to quick replies, on the edge reactions.... girls and old ladies with bags is maybe not the best analogy.... I think the word you are looking for are football fans ;)

A thing we really need for movie-making is Z-axis rotation for the camera.

In all the flight sims out so far, you can never get the horizon to be anything but straight and level. No good for movies that!

We need Z-axis rotation for dynamic shots, tilted horizons, dramatic screenies and movies. Please look into it, it should not be difficult at all to program.

I believe U mean a Z-axis rotation, other than that, yes, u're completely right in ur request...
;):grin:


DK-nme

Very nice video!
It's really much better than IL-2, no doubt about this.

I very much liked the visibility and then the clouds and the colours (especially the sea).
I'd prefer better looking skins, but actually that's something that we should see after the game release - too early to worry about this, especially when knowing that we already get twice the quality of IL-2 ;-)
Tracers, ok not good, but it's WIP as very wise Oleg came to explain so we don't have any misjudgement.

All in all, and knowing that we're still seeing WIP and DX9, I'm sure that we're about to see a hell of a game :D

PS. Oleg, is it yet too early to talk about system specs?

What happen with this shots (like in Star wars), I see laser shots from Spitfires. Please to improve this in the final game :)

Oleg explained:

Nice movie! As an advice, to improve realism, I'd desaturate the overall colors more, to make it look more like daylight. Right now, so brilliant and nitid, it feels a little like artificial light and makes the whole look a bit more "plastic".

Awesome video, and awesome propeller animations too btw. Can't wait to see the final thing. :cool:

For being early stages, that looked very good! I wonder what the destruction effects will be like.

nice video! I can't wait SOW BOB... :-D I hope wil be released soon.

2010 is a must <3 , have faith :)

Its looking good from where I am standing!!! :)

Thanks for the update Oleg and Co, very impressive indeed. Keep up the Good work chaps!! :)

Very nice video with a lot of nice details.

Yes, it's still WIP, but looking at the screenshots from just 3-4 months ago, it's a real jawdropped what you accomplished in the short time. And let's not forget: This is just the eyecandy! Can't wait to see what's under the hood of SOW. :cool:

i can't wait to click my pit :)

good update team sow!

I'd personally like a "saturation" slider in the options menu. - Yes, I know that England is a wet,verdant and green place. However, as a Canadian who lives inland I can't feel immersed with realistic colours - Everything needs to be dull and dreary.

I made a slomo version of that "Battle of Britain - Bomber Attack" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQlqovcovU0 ;)
And anotherone with development screenshots (slideshow) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ILpnzQnZnY

Shows great promise, but still a long way to go to give an revolutionary impression, for it looks similar to BoP and may have just reached 60 per cent of my own expectations(perhaps, a little bit high...) if simply viewed from the DEMO(WIP) itself.
Some more words to dear BOSS about DX11,
Although sea(ie North Atlantic Ocean) is not a keynote to such a flight simulation, I hope the coming BoB can support the new DX11 Tessellation technology which gives me a great impression of the really beautiful water rendering by the late Nvidia DEMO(GF100)

Regards.

Well at least the second vid didn't have that damn Lux Aeterna song

It ia really astounding to see that many negative feedback to a WIP.
It is even compared to outdated technology.
Instead of seeing the improvements already reached.
Some people just have to reduce everything in order to elevate themselves.
Wake up, you only show that you need elevation.

Just some negative Pre-release feedback, I believe it is useful and necessary for BOSS to do his judgement, and a DEMO of WIP need negative more than positive(that's why every-friday thread exists). Let us leave the positive feedback to the released BoB/SoW.

I believe it works just the other way!!!
Now we can enjoy everything new and better.
At the release we can enjoy everything that has been kept secret.
Then, when we are enjoying the final Game, we can search for, maybe, needed improvements.

Alright mate, but we have to say also what we like ... and a negative critique - or a positive one - must specify WHAT is missing or improvable ... otherwise it's too easy to say generically "you are far away" ... "60%" ... "my expectations are higher" ... but 60% OF WHAT ??? :)

I´ll say what noone else bothered to say. thanks for the vid johhny, very nice to see it in slowmo!

Also, I think it is really funny that so many people think that what we see in the updates are what they were "just working on this last week". Sorry guys, but what we are shown in the updates is often really old work on the sim... you can conclude NOTHING about the progress of the sim or the pace of progress from these updates...

+1
At last a person with a brain and not a brown nose.

I think that to wait for a finished product before looking for faults is mature.
You, as proved by this really "useful" comment, aren't.

S!

Negative critics are needed to get progress. But it has to be well thought out, not just "OMG this suxxors" etc.