Quote:
Originally Posted by luthier
Hi everyone,
We've been hard at work on a whole bunch of stuff here. Quicker fixes are now a thing of the past; we're working on larger more complex stuff and so patches, updates and improvements will be coming at a slower pace.
Our next BETA patch is tentatively scheduled for two weeks from now for Friday the 17th, and the release version of it is scheduled for the Friday after that, June 24th.
The next patch will contain:
* Improved streamlined multiplayer GUI
* Other multiplayer improvements - more stability, all plane settings like convergence and paintscheme working at all times, less rare bugs, etc.
* Various graphical improvements. The distant clouds are finally back - i.e. the flat representations of clouds you saw on beta screenshots with pretty sunlit borders. Finally fixed the landscape stripes bug, etc.
* Improvements to FM and DM and various cockpit systems, as usual - long list there.
* AI improvements, including at least the majority, if not all, of the order system working.
* A new warship!
Other things that are in the pipeline:
* Sound. This is probably the biggest issue we're facing. We're taking a very drastic approach to the issue and pretty much redoing our sound from scratch. This means you won't see the new sound for a few more months.
* FPS. The final remaining performance issues, which fortunately are comparatively minor, lie very deep in the engine, and require us to do a significant amount of work. Probably at least 2 months of it.
* Online stability, more anti-cheating controls, and server and aircraft SDK - also a few months out. Dedicated Server SDK and documentation is probably going to be done the quickest.
NOTE: this isn't an exhaustive list, but rather the main bullet points.
So stay tuned for more patch info next week. I'll try to do more regular weekly Friday updates from now on.
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Very good list of fixes and improvements. My favorite short to medium term upgrades are the bold parts in the above quote. I also like the long-term upgrades like the sound engine and the SDK.
As far as improvements to cockpit systems and controllability goes, my list of personal favorites goes like this:
- Ju88 gyrocompass, maybe the automatic gear switch for the supercharger too (heard it mentioned by someone else)
- DB601 prop pitch issues (un-reversing it and having it change at the correct degrees per second)
- streamlined, consistent control logic for all aircraft so the newcomers to the sim don't get confused:
- currently in some aircraft controls are reversed because they were that way in reality
- in other aircraft that real controls were also reversed the in-game controls are not, it's only the animation that changes (eg, the Italian aircraft)
- Blenheim's props are correctly modeled as two-pitch props but the slider doesn't "snap" to the top and bottom positions like it does in other aircraft with similar props (eg, the DH hurri and the Mk.I Spit)...we can move the slider through its entire range of motion but only the bottom position corresponds to coarse pitch and everything above that corresponds to fine pitch (ie, it has a lot of unnecessary range of motion)
- The DH-prop hurricane and the Tiger Moth exhibit strange behaviour with the interlocking throttle and mixture controls, while it works correctly in the Rotol Hurricane
- Reversed turret controls in the Br.20 (that was a few patches ago, don't know it has been fixed in the meantime)
- Solving the conflict that prevents moving the turret/gun while firing if both actions are mapped to a single controller (eg, mouse)
- Improved response in moving the turrets/gun mounts. It's not that they rotate slowly, they just take long to start moving when you press the relevant key. This is not such a big deal in most aircraft, but it's prohibitive in the Blenheim because the mouse is tied to moving the gun (which has a very limited range of horizontal motion in relation to the turret) and the gun mount controls are used for the turret. It's not precise enough currently and it makes it very hard to use the turret.
- Some sort of "bombardier guidance mode" for the bombers that don't have an autopilot to fly the aircraft during the bomb run (namely, the Br.20 and Blenheim)
Sorry if i'm sounding like a demanding smartass, it's not my intention at all. I just want to give a friendly reminder of reproducible issues and share what i've managed to collect through testing.
You have a very good list of upcoming fixes there and it shows that community feedback is definitely not ignored even if it's not answered on a daily basis: your list is what seems to be the most important issues to the majority of the community here, so it's a clear sign you guys are listening and prioritising things correctly.
Keep up the good work, we're definitely getting there
