Friday 2010-09-17 Dev. update and Discussions
 

First of all I would like to show beta interface... better to say just small part - quick mission builder. However it isn't final, there are some misses in selections (like advantage disadvantage, etc). Fonts are also not final, some of them will be way smaller... name of the screen also not final (working)... there is shown at the moment selected mission type.

You may seat in any aircraft of selection, change them... not just in one group that was in Il-2.... Amount of aircfat groups - this will deepending of the mission type that you select on the left side. Currently unlimited... but we wiill need to limit for the release that to do not receive the "bug report" why my PC can't handle for example 2,000 tanks on the ground in one place... On the right side the picture will be absent (or instead... on the left, that to do not repeat) - on the left is a briefing of the mission you select.
Simply in this menu we try to put all the best that was in Il-2 and to give way more features of customisation.... also you may add new one mission(type also) or more, created in Full Mission Builder youself. Thats all that I would like tell for today about interface.

Second part.
 

Still would like to remind - that all is around WIP.

nice !!

the ground vehicles look very good, great level of detail !!

Spasiba!

Viking

Thanks for the update Oleg! I love the Spitfire shot

Dam it, planeselection doesnt work, i keep clicking and clicking on the Tiger Moth but nothing happens, wtf??....oh wait.


Best pic of the spit so far. :)

Gentlemen, start your moaning.

not much to moan about this week as far as i can see...great update...things looking much better :)

Amazing!!! :shock: I have no words to describe that. It's just so different and much better than Il2.
A few questions:

1.Will droptanks explode violently if they are hit?

2.Will there be jamming stations in SoW, so the radiocantact can falter?

3.If planes are very much used in a campagne and the engine is almost broken and almost al the paint is gone, can the engine be changed and can the plane get a new coat of paint? Or will you get a new plane?

The ground textures begin to look really good now. THUMBS UP!

i love it :-)

Oh MY. I think I just had a trouser accident over that Spitfire shot. Amazing work Oleg (and Team).

Ooh, I like that interface a lot!

Only 9 pics!
 

And what is that last car in the line? Armoured buss?

Viking

Some great pictures there Oleg, thanks.:grin:

Everything coming together very nicely indeed.

Good to see interface, helps me picture game as more than Il-2 5.0

with the loss of 95% of its heavy equipment in France the British army converted a lot of civilian vehicles into armoured cars... 1 lorry even had a concrete bunker built on it.

On picture 3 there is 'banding' that we see in IL2 is that a driver issue?

Looking very good. Terrain seems to be very nearly there. Love the grass/vegetation detail in the convoy shot.

Is that another type of 'smoke' in the bombed factory pic? Looks like dust and dirt thrown up by the explosion rather than the 'burning' smoke we've seen before.

Also like the way it is drifting.

Fingers crossed for Christmas. :)

brilliant!
 

Did I read there "beta"?
hooorayyyyyyy!!!!!!! :grin:

Thank you very much this is getting brilliant!!!!!
Congrats to everybody in your team Oleg, looking forward to this truly outstanding piece of work!

cheers,
Schallmoser

S!

Thanks for the update :)

Interesting to see the building's damage model. I'm loving the Stuka. ("Yeah, though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no Stuka." Who am I kidding? Get me outta hear!!!!!!) Nice shot of the Ju87's shadow over the armoured vehicles. The Spit? SWEEET! Flames look nice to me. The ground detail as the trucks drive by is amazing.

I like the mission editor's interface. Maybe I'm used to my video editing application, but I find the darker interface colours of the interface to be pleasing.

My only kvetch? In the first series of pics, I'm not liking the ground detail as the Me109 approaches the coastline. We can see trees, but no city/landmarks? WIP I know. (Looking at how great other features have been implemented and improved upon, I'm not worried.)

Thanks again for the updates, Sir. Much appreciated.

Wow, even wiper tracks are visible! Will the wipers move when it's raining?

impressive...
 

Congratulations Oleg...

It seems to me that you ought to be proud of your work at this stage of WIP...

These screenshots are at a new level now...These are "artistic" and presented like if you took those pictures yourself...From real life...Like an artist would do...
The " shadow" one is exceptionnal in its 'poetic" quality...:rolleyes:

Bravo!
:-)

Color Banding - it's due to monitor limitations and image compression.


A tft-monitor is only able to display 16 Million colors and has no blurring, a conventional TV or monitor displays 32 Million colors + blurring.

As a result, you can see color banding on most non-professional TFT-monitors. False colors are a big issue in monitor calibration, btw. You need a good monitor to find one, that is able to compensate.

In my personal experience nVidia-graphic cards tend to increase the effect. ATI/AMD has slightly better image quality, especially in displaying colors, lighting and contrast.


@ Topic:
Fantastic shots. The vehicles with the StuKa-Shadow is just great! :)

Very modern interface - I like it!

Sorry about the releasedate question, i understand know.

will SOW have a DOF post-effect?
this could improve the look of far away stuff alot and can hide spare detail very well.

Stunning Oleg! I really like the selection screen, looking forward to play with this!

One thing:

The British squadron codes on BoB era fighters was grey rather than white. The font looks spot on though, and the planes and ground objects are gorgeous!

[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a37...mparison-2.jpg[/IMG]

+1 ...and Spitfire was not so glossy, but great work although;)

Thanks Oleg!
Looking very very good. :)

It took me several months to build all that factory buildings... and you destroy them with one single Stuka bomb ;)

"One small step for Oleg Maddox, one giant leap for the flightsim world."

Fan-bloody-tastic!!!

Do I see a multi-crew icon on the Blenheim IV selection? That's nice, I thought the Tiger Moth was the only kite you could 'share'...


Request: How about some shots of the Defiant please? :)

It's not "approaching" the coastline.

You're looking at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=dover+...-0.846,56.91,0

Based on our research, and with bigger plans in mind, we support white and medium sea grey and sky grey and sky and other colors for markings. We should probably change the default from white though.

Very good update, thx.

But ;) i don't like the trees in the second part. Maybe it's the colour, idk.

lol good one:)

Exxxxxxcellennnnnnt......

/Mr Burns OFF

Smashing news! I have a list of Spitfire and Hurricane squadron code colours for the BoB fighter squadrons. If it is of interest, let me know and I will forward it to you.

Yes, it looks like we are only seeing the coastline as it appears NE of Dover to Ramsgate. Where the chalk cliffs end near the center of the pic should be the town of Deal.

Excellent details, thank you. I can not imagine Tuckie, Jafa and MP's videos with those greatest graphics and details.

Thanks for the update!

I really like this weeks up-date...thanks!!!

I'm getting excited again...lol

Well, it looks like the Stuka still has its large bomb, so that implies your factory was knocked out by 4 x 50kg bombs. Which is also good news that we can select which ones to drop :)

Superb pics though

Very nice update!

I'm really digging the QMB interface... it looks like the in-house mission builders have already begun populating it with many pre-built missions (I note that the four missions that are displayed are located 4/5ths of the way down from the position of the scroll thingy).

The smoke from the plane going down (in the Spit picture) is very nice: white coolant from near one engine close to the plane and also two different smokes. Notice that the 2 smokes are from different sources and consequently are depicted as separating in the turn... all that set against extremely realistic water flecked with white caps ---> SWEET!

Annnd (I just noticed) it would appear that the pilot is pulling some postive G in his turn as he is being push back in his seat! AMAZING!

Sorry folks, but I can't help myself from lapsing into fanboyism! That one single shot has so many "little details"... I'll have to look at the others with as much care in order to fully appreciate them...

Thank you Oleg! Beautiful work!

Just Brilliant -thanks Oleg and team :grin:

Everything comes out just amazing. I love the progress we see from week to week.:grin:

Take your time guys, don't rush it. Do it right and make sure you implement some copy protection that guaraties you get paid for every copy.

Are you casting the line or are you really that naïve?

They will be paid for every copy. But not for all copycopys and that is also impossible, so please don't plague us with stupid DRM sh*t

I've just noticed the different types and densities of smoke in the Spit shot. I'm a happy guy.:grin:

PLEASE LORD, do NOT let this devolve into a DRM thread!
I beseech you! Ee're only on page 6, it's too early to burden us with such a topic!

you faithful and humble servant,
C_G

Sutts! Gorgeous smoke ain't it?

agreed

Superb...
 

Great update! I really like the shots of the vehicles passing through the village and can't wait to cross the Channel on my first 'rhubarb'. The second shot of the Spitfire is my favourite, hats off the the modeller for getting the shape pretty damn spot on.

What about unlimited ammo?

Or a wingman?

Of course, the most wanted solution always comes first ;)

Some real 'meat' coming on these updates now, well done gents

Are craters going to be 3D or just a texture?

If I drop a large bomb in the path of a ground vehicle, will it have to drive around the crater, or will it just go over top of it, like it wasn't even there?

On the third ground shot, the windows of the second house look a little blurred.
Is that heat haze from the vehicle engine?
I know this is a flight sim but this shot really had me drooling.
It looks like the lane where me ma lives!:grin:

Brilliant, would love to see videos soon , pretty please ? :)

That's simply the absence of more advanced texture filtering (like trilinear or anisotropic). You can see the border to the next lower LOD on the first building already. Enabling this will also provide a major improvement to medium-distance building textures like with last week's London shot.

Agreed though that it's looking great :)

Thanks for the update Oleg!

I see your point. The windows of the houses further down on the right have quite distinct framing though, do you know why this would be?
I'm not very good with the techy side!:)

What Oleg said before is craters will be 2D, but with an effect to make them look 3D, and vehicles and aircraft will interact with craters correctly.

Great update love the second set of pics. How long before we get a video update?:grin:

taking an educated guess i think they will use a displacement or bump map which effectively models them.

What a fantastic update! Everything looks soooo awesome. The grass and everything like that looks great, and to think this is WIP?! The ground vehicles lok smashing, and I never thought I'd find myself saying that a shadow looks out-of-this-world! :)

The only think that doesn't look up to current standards is the terrain from high altitude, but of course this is WIP, as Oleg stated. I can imagine that there is every possibility that even if it doesn't look as good as, say, WoP on release, this could soon change so it isn't something to worry about IMO.
I can't praise how this looks enough.

Oleg, will the smoke look smoother as it spreads? I only ask as there is a dinstinct difference between the thicker smoke and the same smoke after it has dissipated (if this is the right word to use). But it's only a minor thing on a really impressive update.

Photorealistic? We're almost there :D

Thanks so much for this update. Without doubt, the best set of screens ever - and I said that last week! Everything is looking stunning. Can't wait.

The pilot in the Spit (first set of images, 2nd thumbnail) looks like he's pinned into his seat by G forces - awesome.

PPanPan

+1 here

Engadin

All I can say s that I've got screen shot 2 as my desktop picture.

Thanks for the update.

Great Spitfire picture and update overall.

Thanks!

I wonder why nobody notes the 3 different smokes/leaks in the background of the Spitfire-Shot. Considering how many times this has been asked before...


Any hint about the pilot-figures in the QMB?

1. there were several posts acknowledging that
2. Flyable and NonFlyable, perhaps?

I did notice it; hence me saying that the smoke looked awesome. But I didn't go into so much detail so I can see why you posted this ;)
The smoke really is looking a lot better. Does anyone have any pictures of fuel leaks? it's clear to see in the shot Oleg posted, but I wasn't aware the leaks had such a fine trail.

Regarding pilots, it must be a complicated process. The pilot models are quite complex, and to give a good representation a lot of kit would need to be modelled for both sides. Having said that, it would be extremely cool to be able to choose different outfits for the pilot. Oleg has a wealth of knowledge on the RAF side of this, so I can imagine that it is perfectly possible; whether in the release or post-release.

Quite a mischievous grin on that stuka. :)

I'm pretty sure the QMB two pilot symbol is for aircraft with dual controls, remember how the tigermoth was planned to be used as a trainer, with two players able to switch off the controls during flight? I think in fact the icon may be a pilot and an instructor.

:drools:

superb. all looking fantastic, but i particularly like the "armoured bus" in the last shot.

i've seen an ad hoc tank at bovington that was made after dunkirk, basically a flatbed truck, reinforced with concrete and a bunker type thing on the back.

8 pages so far - much whining yet?
*goes to check*

Hadn't noticed the "smoke/dust drift" effect from the factory, I truly hope (and expect) that that is caused by the ground level wind direction and speed. Cooooooooool!

I am a bit surprised at how extensively the whole factory (and surrounding buildings) are damaged by 4X 50 kg bombs, but perhaps this stuka is part of a larger flight which dropped before it did.

Nice to see that the dev team has begun damage models for the building types...
I'm clearly going to have to start saving for a new rig!

it may bump the "force-landed in cornfield spit" from mine.
sell a family member for spare parts, kidneys go for a good rate i hear.

I am enjoying all of the new updates for my future sim collection. Could someone post some screen shots of what it will be like to fight at night? Thank you again for another fine update.

Did anyone notice that the Scammell Pioneer Recovery tractors had different ID plates? Neat detail.

I like the pic of the Stuka flying low over the trucks.

1. Well the complains are always louder than the praises.
2. That was my idea as well. AI vs Playable. That would also explain the uniform as a sign for the side the aircraft is normally playable with. Well, that's my interpretation ;)

this baby is growing up very well... good work oleg & c.

That Spit pilot is either pulling some serious Gs or he's been badly wounded. Am I the only one seeing a couple of hits on canopy side?

Slug

Wonderful update :)

Please , are there implemented again some of the aircraft damage smokes
in 2D instead of 3D which was also used in IL-2 ?
In that screenshot behind the Spit it looks like 3D smoke is blending in to
much longer 2D smoke .
Fuel white leak noodle stream looks definitely like 2D , I hope I am wrong .

Thank you so much for new update :grin:

You're right and the holes may be due to a gunner of the plane in flames in that screenshot, that BTW seems to be the engineless Do-17 that's in another one.

spit haad little windows in sides of canopy iirc

Oleg, I grew up in south-east Kent, and the last image looks so good - and what is more - familiar! Very good stuff!

Qmb
 

Well, as always the screenshots look better and better every week and i'm convences about BoB graphic long time ago, so i will talk and give some suggestions about the QMB only, and of course considering that is WIP.

Like:

1- Images of aircrafts, with what i beleive flyable aircraft have the human figures to the right bottom of the small image of the aircraft.

2- Fonts of time, weather and cloud altitude settings, even if they are not final.

3- You can save the quick mission for use later on. I assume the mission saved can also be played on multiplayer.

4- Preview images of the mission type on the left.

Dont like:

1- The overall interface, it looks too techie for a ww2 sim, loosing immersion. Probably if the background look more like a sheet of an old flight manual, or something like that, IMHO would look more immersive.
I'm not a graphic designer, just giving an opinion of something that i know is still WIP.

2- The fonts of the "revers" (i beleive that is the word, got it from a translator) at the bottom. Too modern for a ww2 sim. Again, i know its all WIP. :)

Great update, thanks! :)

spasiba,it is looking amazing!!!i cant wait....i will send my family oversea and play and play and play....:-)

Nice to see the summer colours coming through into the grass.
However, the base layer-texture-colour for the field textures is still too green, and I don't think it's of a high-enough resolution in comparison to, say, the plane textures. Even if the resolution is the same, I feel that the field-textures look too pixelated.

A delightful update, much more promising than the last and as somebody already said, it has some real 'meat' to it.

Bf109 #11 approaching Kent from the South East is not going home :D

Guaranteed genuine article buyer here.

Very nice update, I'm loving that QMB interface, the plane pictures in the selection screen are a fantastic Idea and will be a great help for the new guys (and us older noobs.....what the heck do they call the Avenger? atm?.....no, apb?.....er, oh hell)

The vehicles are definitely pushing FPS quality, and the landscape is getting there. I'm really hoping to be able to hop into an open car and drive around, if nothing else but for the novelty. (that little MG would be fun to bomb around the English towns in)

My first impression of the Stuka's shadow was that it is nearly as detailed as the IL2 Stuka!

The hell with the grass! its good enough:grin:. I want to see what the beach looks like, since most of the time we will be approaching it from the sea. If it's green, there's gonna be trouble.:-P

Oh, and thanks for the up-date

"Some day my Prince will come....sigh...but when???"

Doh, unlimited ammo never occurred to me, guess it's been a while since I used that particular option...

Thumbs up Oleg! Looking good!

OMG! quit teasing Oleg! I just cant wait for this game anymore! :'( :D

Hmm, I think the palate that I was talking about is representative of the field textures. They don't match the current grass colour at the current state. I'm sure this'll be updated though at somepoint (with higher-resolution textures) ;)

nice quick mission builder !:-P hope that will be dynamic aleatory mission, like are in ArmA2. Is calling "Spec op" and is amazing.
and too , for the full mission builder, easy script, or autocomplete scripts : (that is missing in ArmA 2)

i still want my map on cockpit:(
http://oregonkayaking.net/rivers/dean/pilot_map.jpg

the spitfire is perfect:cool:

Everything is perfect Oleg & Co, thanks so much! :grin:

I'm gonna party tonight!

2 weeks? :-P