Future of simulations 2010 discussion

[Skoshi Tiger]

A bit of a discussion on flight simulators with comments from Oleg.

http://www.simhq.com/_commentary/all_106a.html

I personally like Olegs answer to this question.

"20mm: What do you think today's simulation fans want (besides everything). Is it mostly gameplay, eye-candy, a dynamic campaign, a solid multiplayer, better-and-better AI, or some new element?

Oleg: I would say everything anyway! And when we give more and more, making 3D more and more close to a realistic image they never stop their complaints. Comments like, “This screw is not on the right place or this curl of the cloud doesn’t look good”. At the same time a few users would like too much realistic control of aircraft using all the devices like in real life. These are in minority. So there always should be the right calculated balance between realism and usability for a casual player, or we will be not able to sell the new product well and cover our expenses.

"

Cheers!

[Heliocon]

Originally Posted by Skoshi Tiger

A bit of a discussion on flight simulators with comments from Oleg.

http://www.simhq.com/_commentary/all_106a.html

I personally like Olegs answer to this question.

"20mm: What do you think today's simulation fans want (besides everything). Is it mostly gameplay, eye-candy, a dynamic campaign, a solid multiplayer, better-and-better AI, or some new element?

Oleg: I would say everything anyway! And when we give more and more, making 3D more and more close to a realistic image they never stop their complaints. Comments like, “This screw is not on the right place or this curl of the cloud doesn’t look good”. At the same time a few users would like too much realistic control of aircraft using all the devices like in real life. These are in minority. So there always should be the right calculated balance between realism and usability for a casual player, or we will be not able to sell the new product well and cover our expenses.

"

Cheers!

Oleg - you got it wrong, the hex screw goes there.
These dashboard screws need a flathead screwdriver, but every odd numberd screw multiplied by the golden ratio is a philips.

Oleg - this is a sheep farming area, not cows.
Oleg - please change the shape of the control stick, it looks very odd where it is...
Ol....

[addman]

Originally Posted by Skoshi Tiger

A bit of a discussion on flight simulators with comments from Oleg.

http://www.simhq.com/_commentary/all_106a.html

I personally like Olegs answer to this question.

"20mm: What do you think today's simulation fans want (besides everything). Is it mostly gameplay, eye-candy, a dynamic campaign, a solid multiplayer, better-and-better AI, or some new element?

Oleg: I would say everything anyway! And when we give more and more, making 3D more and more close to a realistic image they never stop their complaints. Comments like, “This screw is not on the right place or this curl of the cloud doesn’t look good”. At the same time a few users would like too much realistic control of aircraft using all the devices like in real life. These are in minority. So there always should be the right calculated balance between realism and usability for a casual player, or we will be not able to sell the new product well and cover our expenses.

"

Cheers!

LOL! was gonna quote the same text! Thank God the fanatics are in minority or this game would probably never see the light of day

[addman]

it's a little frustrating as we grew up with the idea that combat simulations were fun and entertaining, they had gameplay. The last in-depth simulations with some level of measurable gameplay was falcon 4.0 and enemy engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum. After that they became technical exercises rather than games, project staff didn't seem to include "game designers", just "editors". That's where it all went wrong. Mathematicians would call it a "feedback" loop. The press and community focus was on the nuts and bolts, pressing for more realism which shapes product. So the cycle continued while costs spiraled with complexity introduced by evolving hardware.

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000000000

[Foo'bar]

20mm: Broadband connections have significantly changed the methods of distribution. Whereas previously, it was a case of going to a retail store or buying from an online vendor, today it seems more and more developers are going the digital distribution route. Is the retail store becoming a thing of the past for simulation purchasers?

Oleg: Yes.

[Skoshi Tiger]

Originally Posted by Foo'bar

20mm: Broadband connections have significantly changed the methods of distribution. Whereas previously, it was a case of going to a retail store or buying from an online vendor, today it seems more and more developers are going the digital distribution route. Is the retail store becoming a thing of the past for simulation purchasers?

Oleg: Yes.

The last two Sims I've bought have been Rise of flight which I bought off ebay and the DCS:A10 Open Beta which was bought online.

For me ROF and the buying of aircraft has been smooth and seamless. I would buy off them again. My experience with the DCS product has been very similar.

One of the problems I have where I live that it takes a two or so for items to get into shops compared with the otherside of the country. If I was given the oportunity top buy BoB staight from the distributors on the day it was released, I probably would. It is extremely fustrating reading forums like this with people saying how wonderful a sim is and not being able to get it!

Cheers

[tagTaken2]

1946 was the last sim I purchased in-store.

Download from distributor- or better they give you a torrent link, heaps faster- and burn exe to disk for backup. Save money, save waiting. It's not like you're missing out on a fancy manual these days.

Having said that, I still remember walking out of the store with the big boxes of Il-2 and Forgotten Battles, packaged together for some reason, and how carefully I opened them up.

And it's a bit sad going into a games store now and noting that the PC section is two shelves wide, everything else is console.

Once PC games started to require online activation, you may as well download the whole thing.

[JG53Harti]

20mm: How do you view open source availability to your product coding?

Oleg: This is usually killing the multiplayer. Once IL-2 was hacked then multiplayer became unfair. So if we are speaking about simulations, then the part of multiplayer and changes of settings should not be with open source code. Other part in some way may be open. But there is a lot of contradictions that again may damage the gameplay with a lot of versions.

thats true +1

[Wolf_Rider]

perfectionism, I guess, can go overboard and be just as detrimental as something half-assed if it is allowed to go to extremes.

Originally Posted by JG53Harti

thats true +1

+2

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

Is that your oppinion about IL-2 too?