FAQ-QUESTIONS,release date,system specs, for CoD

[TheGrunch]

Originally Posted by SEE

Configuring Axis for look around isn't quite the same has having an open API as opposed to NP's encrypted API for 'Headtracking'. I am fortunate in that I have both NP's TrackIR and Freetrack but prefer the latter. There is a large number of IL2 devotees using and limited to 'freetrack' but will they be able to use it in SOW is what I am trying to establish?

That IS an open API. How is it possible to make a simpler and more open API than to consider head position as being emulated by an absolute position on an analogue axis? DirectInput is an API, after all.

[SEE]

Originally Posted by TheGrunch

That IS an open API. DirectInput is an API, after all.

.........so I can use TrackIR or Freetrack? Bloody hope so and thanks for correcting my understanding (limited......) of an 'Open API'.

[TheGrunch]

Originally Posted by SEE

.........so I can use TrackIR or Freetrack? Bloody hope so and thanks for correcting my understanding (limited......) of an 'Open API'.

Should be able to! I expect that TrackIR will be supported from the get-go by NaturalPoint's API, and Freetrack/whatever other solution (eg. FaceAPI which is also very good) will be able to do so as long as it has a joystick emulation option. It depends on whether Maddox Games have programmed it to control the speed of head movement, or the actual head position of the player character, if you see what I mean. If it's an axis which registers absolute head position along each degree of freedom, it should work. If it controls the speed of head movement, it should still work but probably not as well. Like controlling an FPS character with a gamepad instead of a mouse, it's the same sort of difference in the action involved. A mouse has an absolute position on a surface that moves the cursor in the game with the movement of the mouse, whereas a gamepad analog stick only alters the position of the cursor at a particular speed depending on how far you move it. I wouldn't think they'd have done it the 'gamepad' way.

[Heliocon]

Originally Posted by JAMF

SoW will not have tessellation. No mention of physics being run on a GPU. No mention of DX11 specific shaders being used. Not even a mention of anything DX11 specific being used. The only enigmatic words regarding DX11 were "supported". DX8 functions are supported by DX11.

Show me quotes that DX11 is needed or desired, besides oracle-like utterings?

Well to start you may be correct I havent seen anywhere where the devs specifically stated: SOW is DX11 and uses DX11 features and uses tessalation. This may be due to the fact that the devs are Russian and we dont get as much info as we would normally get.
BUT
He has made it clear the game engine has alot of growth ahead of it, alot of potential and future enhancement which has to mean DX11. DX9/10 is not going anywhere due to structural code reasons (the way it handles data, in effect its maxed out). DX11 has many many features DX9 doesnt especially shaders, tessalation and multi layer mapping as well as multi thread operation handling.
DX8 features are supported by Dx11, but so are dx2 = whats your point? It doesnt mean it will or can run on dx8...
If there is no tessalation then honestly the game will end up either: slow and jittery as hell, basically badly coded. Or runs fine but the graphics are 2-3 generations behind modern game graphics and coding.
Tessalation is the only way they will be able to pull off large scale air battles, and realistic sight distances without making the game a slide show, or having textures from 2005. In addition I never said GPU based physics, but if the damage and flying models are accurate/realistic they will need advanced physics (which is a necessity not an option). How they will handle delegation I do not know but DX11 cards are the only ones that will be able to handle the data stream from the CPU cals (assuming its cpu based) which could detract from AI etc.
The fact that they are doing a Nvidia build I think gurantees DX11. If not the game will not have any legs in the long term.

Sorry I desire DX11 as do many other gamers, just because you dont want to update your computer does not mean computer technology should cease to advance in the mean time (dx9 is what 5 years old now?).

[SEE]

Originally Posted by TheGrunch

Should be able to! I expect that TrackIR will be supported from the get-go by NaturalPoint's API, and Freetrack/whatever other solution (eg. FaceAPI which is also very good) will be able to do so as long as it has a joystick emulation option.

But which of NP's API is to be supported- the encrypted API or the 'non encrypted API'?
If its the non encrypted API then FT users will be able to use their headtracking software/clips without need for Joystick emulation.

[TheGrunch]

Originally Posted by SEE

But which of NP's API is to be supported- the encrypted API or the 'non encrypted API'?
If its the non encrypted API then FT users will be able to use their headtracking software/clips without need for Joystick emulation.

I highly doubt that NP provides/allows developers to use the non-encrypted version any more, nor indeed does the older version work with TrackIR 4 and 5, if I remember correctly.

[SEE]

Looks like I will have to keep my TrackIR Ultra... .I was going to sell it as I prefer Freetrack by a long mile and nothing to do with the fact it was cheaper...it's just better! Ah well....I can and will continue to use it on Il2......

After thought.......Freetrack has its own interface and I see that some recent games are supporting it, SOW should at least do the same IMO given the growing number of FT users.

[Skoshi Tiger]

[QUOTE=Heliocon;207168]
Tessalation is the only way they will be able to pull off large scale air battles, and realistic sight distances without making the game a slide show, or having textures from 2005. In addition I never said GPU based physics, but if the damage and flying models are accurate/realistic they will need advanced physics (which is a necessity not an option). How they will handle delegation I do not know but DX11 cards are the only ones that will be able to handle the data stream from the CPU cals (assuming its cpu based) which could detract from AI etc.
QUOTE]

From my understanding tessalation is only useful for close up items, Anything further away will be scaled back in detail anyway.

It would be useful for texturing craters up close or texturing the leather crash pads in the cockpit but I don't think it would be a make or break addition to the sim.

Hardware Physics would be nice but once again Oleg has repeatedly stated that they developed an have a in house physics engine. Also I don't think the 'Physics API's' Supported by ATI or Nvidia are useful for flight sims. There more useful for modeling fluids, fluttering cloth and particles of exploding bombs. Great for FPS's where your up close and personal but not so good for light sims!

Cheers!

[Heliocon]

[QUOTE=Skoshi Tiger;207191]

Originally Posted by Heliocon

Tessalation is the only way they will be able to pull off large scale air battles, and realistic sight distances without making the game a slide show, or having textures from 2005. In addition I never said GPU based physics, but if the damage and flying models are accurate/realistic they will need advanced physics (which is a necessity not an option). How they will handle delegation I do not know but DX11 cards are the only ones that will be able to handle the data stream from the CPU cals (assuming its cpu based) which could detract from AI etc.
QUOTE]

From my understanding tessalation is only useful for close up items, Anything further away will be scaled back in detail anyway.

It would be useful for texturing craters up close or texturing the leather crash pads in the cockpit but I don't think it would be a make or break addition to the sim.

Hardware Physics would be nice but once again Oleg has repeatedly stated that they developed an have a in house physics engine. Also I don't think the 'Physics API's' Supported by ATI or Nvidia are useful for flight sims. There more useful for modeling fluids, fluttering cloth and particles of exploding bombs. Great for FPS's where your up close and personal but not so good for light sims!

Cheers!

Yep you are right. Sorry if I was unclear - PhysX is nvidias physics program, which the GPU does but you can still calculate physics on the gpu or cpu not using the specific program (for example Havok), its an issue because the physics will have to be calculated constantly while flying (I believe they said there would be rising and falling air/turbulance but I may be wrong) and it takes cycles away from the cpu or gpu.

As for tessalation, it depends. If you run the Unigine heaven demo 2 (beutiful engine btw) they use it for the housing and the roads (cobblestones are actual geometry not bump map). But it can be equally useful for distance, for example while flying in the far distance you could render thousands of bombers with no fps hit because the bombers are only a few hundred polygons each. As you get closer (and you can see fewer planes since your vision is limited to an arch (of course) they can jack up the model quality massivly due to tessalation. You could be up strafing a flawless b52 bomber with all its glorious details and a 200m away there is another 100 b52's but they are scaled down models due to tessalation but since they are at a distance you cant see the lack of detail (when you get closer they tesselate).
Same with towns and houses, far distance they can be little boxes and as you get closer the little squares turn into fully detailed towns and streets.

So you would get a huge performance boost, without it they would all have to be lower quality or have the fully detailed model present and kill fps because its rendering much much more detail then you can actually see!

(for those who are interested here is a little youtube video displaying the benchmark. Also note the dynamic lighting and refraction which is DX11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F6zSgtRnkE

Edit 2: Sorry for the wall of text, just wanted to show this water scene, this is compute-shader which is more Nvidia specific but is DX11. Since the BOB was often near the sea/channel I hope they have water life this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAsoX...eature=related

[Baron]

Tesselation doesnt mean u get more eyecandy from the same power, it just doesnt.


Use tesselation in say SoW i quarentee u the not a single pc on the market will run it, not one.