[hiro]

Wow, interesting thread! Lots of great ideas.

CS thanks for explaining the mentality behind IL-2 and Oleg.

I would want BOB SOW to give us a new level of DM, FM, bullet / round physics (and other weapons like bombs, napalm, rocket, flak, AAA physics too)

And keep its strengths (that IL-2 is known for). Add some great sounds (like DB engine sounds like one, the merlins sound like the ones at the airshows etc) along with the new hotness graphics . . .

I'd rather have a solid WW 2 sim along the lines that IL-2 was known for than have a BOB SOW having a watered down FM (or a rehash of IL-2's) or planeset because time was spent developing RPG elements.

I wouldn't want BOB SOW to lose out many of the core strengths that IL-2 had, in place of "fluff" stuff like RPG officer and a gentleman, or mechanical / inventory management / squadron planeset lobbying / air field design simulation / personnel allocation. Leave that to RPG's, RTS, or games like Civilization or Empire series . . .

If a game tries to have too many elements it becomes a jack of all trades and a master of none, and its mediocre. Like Transformers 2 movie, tried too many plot elements and it just became a big fat mess instead of the blockbuster it was anticipated to be.

For roleplaying game stuff or FPS stuff, there are dedicated games to that will do those elments better than a flight sim could ever dream of.

We're pilots here. Not Generals. If you want to do that, I hear Star Craft 2 is coming along nicely.

I do agree with Feathered in that it would be nice to fly a variety of missions like recon and if you fly recon and something slips in or you didn't get the right area, this will have an effect in future missions or what not if you've got a dynamic campaign. Or maybe a test pilot, testing a "new" prototype.

Provided that this variety it is within the combat flight simulation realm. Sure, trying to fit as many planes inside your escort carrier via tetris style rearragement can be fun, and it is plane related but puzzles aren't really a flight sim element.

Also it would be nice to have the interactive air / ground / sea previously mentioned.

Like say if you and your dive bomber squadron got lazy flew over a Japanese airbase enroute to bomb some troop transports, several minutes into the mission, the Japanese would launch fighters to catch you.

But if you coordinated with your buddies from the army and a that base was bombed and cratered, you might just get flak as a greeting.

Or if a carrier group gets jumped by torpedo bombers, they start to zig zag etc . . .


Yes to the AI being improved and better. But AI will always be AI, and until humanity advances to where we have autonomous robots like Star Trek's Data or Ghost In the Shell SAC, you'll have AI that doesn't use tactics or does repetitive and predictive actions.

I also agree in providing the best method and in game tools for players to design their own campaigns and have control over AI and many other features so they can get the campaign clockwork perfect.

I'd say that option for briefing, but that's is paperwork and boring (like in role playing games to improve axe skill you have to chop 20000 logs). No one wants to play a game to grind endlessly. Or having to click the ground crew and get planes ready and you have to get things in order like playing a session of Myst or some other adventure game.

It is interesting to some, but BOB SOW is about flying.