Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggs
I really like the idea of having groups of AI controlled planes that have objectives of their own... I always used to get tired of pure fighter servers.. only the one or two people would decide to take a bomber up to try and bomb the oppositions airbase...
this way we can have something more of a realistic scenario in our fighter servers beside just being 109s vs spits.
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the only thing was a bit odd (and i noticed it the first time this vid was shown) was the Rev dial in the spitfire cockpit... why was it oscillating so violently? that cant be right.
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My guess is that the moment you jump into a previously AI aircraft to take control or even just to view the action from the AI's cockpit, it switches from modeling the mechanic stuff under the hood to modeling the entire thing including instruments. When the player is not in the cockpit of that particular aircraft there is no reason to simulate the cockpit instruments, only the engine working, FM and DM. However, the moment we jump in the cockpit of the AI aircraft the instruments are, let's say, "plugged in" to the rest of the already working airframe.
Assuming that the instruments and needles are 3d, exhibit weight and inertia properties and they are mechanically linked to their sensors in a similar way to how they worked in reality, this is like holding an RPM indicator on my hand and suddenly linking it to the appropriate outlet of an already working Merlin engine: the needle will jolt and jump up missing the actual read out due to the violence of the original movement and inertia, then oscillate back and forth for a while until it stabilizes.
That's the best explanation i can think off. I've seen similar things happen with some FSX add-ons that model instruments in a similar manner on a friend's PC. He's got the A2A P-47 and the instruments and needles jolt all over the place when you start the engine, because they have simulated how each one is connected and they go from an off state to a working state within a few seconds. Plus, if the engine is running rough then the engine driven vacuum pumps are also, it takes time for the vacuum to form and all your gyro instruments and artificial horizon take time to stabilize while the vacuum pressure builds up.
What we see in this CoD video is very similar to that, but with an engine already running almost flat out due to the aircraft being already flown by the AI at the moment we decide to jump in the cockpit and the game "connects" the instruments to the already operating subsystems of the airframe.
As for the remaining, smaller oscillation, we know that prop RPM is a direct function of prop angle of attack, which is not exactly steady during maneuvers and airspeed changes. The prop governor does keep the RPM where the pilot wants it (if he's using a constant speed prop like in the Spit) but it's not an instantaneous effect so i guess there's a bit of "lag" in how fast the prop angle can be manipulated, with the RPM changing slightly as a result.
As for the actual contents of the video, the interviewer is either poking fun or totally disconnected with flight simming, kill streaks and bonus items?
On the other hand, the fact that they included options to cater to the new guy (that the rest of us can thankfully turn off
) means more people will try it out. I don't harbor an illusion that the majority of such players will try to learn how to fly with realistic difficulty settings, or even stick around for that matter, but every little bit helps and the "take control of already flying AI aircraft to stay in the action" feature will attract action oriented players too, especially if the server is using relaxed difficulty settings.
That same feature can be useful for non-arcade servers too. We currently have a theater where the majority of missions were short hops across the channel, but 3-4 years in the future our hardware might be able to run a 1:1 scale map of most of western Europe. Can you say "western front strategic bombing campaign without having to fly for 7 hours straight?"
If this could be coupled in the future with a custom-made lobby to insert our own AI flights into the mix, the possibilities would be endless.
Talk with your buddies on teamspeak, arrange a time that suits everyone and decide to meet up for some online fun the next day. Calculate time,airspeed and distances (or simpler: place a sample flight in the FMB with your chosen waypoints and read the arrival times for each waypoint for your selected airspeed/altitude), then set up a raid of your own on the server (maybe add a password or nickname association too, so that other players don't hijack your bomber
)
You'll be at work and your B-17 will be taxiing to take-off. As you exit the office and start driving home the formation is circling the field to assemble. By the time you're back home, put the kids to bed, talked to the wife and grabbed something to eat, your bomber is approaching occupied Europe. You fire up the game, join the server, jump in your previously-AI bomber and take control, meet your buddies and fly the interesting part of the mission.
Sure i'm getting ahead of myself here, but i've been speculating about such a feature for ages and it's exactly what they implemented. This is going to be awesome, especially a few months down the line when the community will be up to speed and able to tinker with things thanks to the SDK release.