Daidalos Team's Room -QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS ONLY - For 4.11

[Phil_K]

Just a quick request - please could you set the Burma map to a PTO map so we no longer get D-Day stripes on the static C-47's.

Thanks.

[Ace1staller]

I think this request can go to 4.12, But I though of adding Neutral countries Sweeden,Spain, and Switzerland to the game. also a new feature that would pick the oppenent would face from which side (either Allied or Axis). Also For the Neutral country feature that I would like to see from the feature that you have the enemy's planes which you could pick the enemy and players country.

[Pursuivant]

More FMB ideas:

1) Standardized convoys of ships.

2) Ability to "program" ground vehicle or ship to take evasive action without having to assign waypoints. For example, you could have a vehicle or convoy stop and start, swerve, make random turns or perform similar evasive action while still traveling along a more or less straight line.

3) Ship and vehicle convoys which follow simple "follow the leader" and station-keeping "flocking" behavior when they change direction, allowing them to automatically keep formation when they turn.

[Romanator21]

Along with #2 that you mentioned, maybe subs that can dive. The standard response to sighting a plane was to crash dive - only when the sub was stuck on the surface for various reasons including reloading externally mounted torpedoes, or fueling next to a "milk-cow" was AAA used. There were specially built flak-boats which conning towers with multiple quad AA installations, to project other u-boats, but these were very unsuccessful.

But yeah, +1 on the pre-built ship convoys and simple ship AI that takes evasive action (to an extent - sometimes ships had to stay in line no matter what). This would make situations like the battle of the Bismark Sea possible in which Beaufighters struck convoys with rockets, destroying flak and bridges. Anticipating a torpedo attack, all the ships turned 90 degrees to face the Beaufighters to reduce the area that could be hit. But by doing so, they exposed themselves to attacks from B-25s which were carrying bombs.

This is impossible to replicate in Il-2 because the ships have no AI (you would need to time the way points perfectly) and because it's impossible to inflict damage specifically to guns, bridges, etc.

[JtD]

Actually it is possible to damage specific guns and bridges on most ships.

Manoeuvring ships in particular if used with the MDS and with ntrk playback would be 5.0, requires so many changes that downwards compatibility is hardly possible, if at all.

Still, it would indeed add a lot to naval battles.

[harryRIEDL]

Originally Posted by Romanator21

Along with #2 that you mentioned, maybe subs that can dive. The standard response to sighting a plane was to crash dive - only when the sub was stuck on the surface for various reasons including reloading externally mounted torpedoes, or fueling next to a "milk-cow" was AAA used. There were specially built flak-boats which conning towers with multiple quad AA installations, to project other u-boats, but these were very unsuccessful.

But yeah, +1 on the pre-built ship convoys and simple ship AI that takes evasive action (to an extent - sometimes ships had to stay in line no matter what). This would make situations like the battle of the Bismark Sea possible in which Beaufighters struck convoys with rockets, destroying flak and bridges. Anticipating a torpedo attack, all the ships turned 90 degrees to face the Beaufighters to reduce the area that could be hit. But by doing so, they exposed themselves to attacks from B-25s which were carrying bombs.

This is impossible to replicate in Il-2 because the ships have no AI (you would need to time the way points perfectly) and because it's impossible to inflict damage specifically to guns, bridges, etc.

like lots the idea of ship A.I also the option for ships to be a target on QMB would be great (Crimea map and other with ships).
Another nautical item which would be good would be LSO on RN and USN ships (ranwers has something in WIP in SAS forum which would fit the bill whicyh also add crew to the deck of carriers an option would be great to ground crew visible). More planes would be welcome especially British and French.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by harryRIEDL

Another nautical item which would be good would be LSO on RN and USN ships

Or even a little 2-d graphic showing an LSO with moving arms, like the one in Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 2.

Originally Posted by harryRIEDL

also add crew to the deck of carriers an option would be great to ground crew visible).

Mods exist which add static ground crew, deck crew, etc. to the game. They look good in screenshots, but seem a bit eerie in the actual game, since they don't move. In some cases, non-moving aircrew can also be an obstacle. While it would be very cool to have moving people who behave in a realistic fashion, I think that it's beyond what's possible for IL2.

Originally Posted by harryRIEDL

More planes would be welcome especially British and French.

There are a few French planes in the works, at least as mods. I know that there's a D520 and perhaps an Arsenal VG33 which have gotten to the advanced 3d design stage. Perhaps the authors are collaborating with TD?

For British planes, it would be really quick and easy to put tailhooks on the Gladiator and the Hurricane to make the Sea Gladiator and the Sea Hurricane, although you'd need to tweak existing cockpits as well. Other than that, the RN is doing reasonably well for its mainline carrier-based aircraft, unless you want to model relative failures like the Skua, Roc and Albacore.

For RAF aircraft, there are still a lot of types which could be modeled, although I think that there's a certain amount of nervousness about not competing with CloD add-ons. Within the existing plane set, it would be easy enough to add the later marks of Hurricane and very welcome to have a flyable Blenheim, although that would require a lot of work. Key types not yet modeled in the game, or in progress as outside projects, include the Typhoon, Sunderland and Halifax.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by JtD

Manoeuvring ships in particular if used with the MDS and with ntrk playback would be 5.0, requires so many changes that downwards compatibility is hardly possible, if at all.

Rather than having actual AI, would it be possible to have pre-programmed movement paths in the FMB which fake AI? For example, have an option in the FMB which allows you to automatically give a ground unit or ship a zig-zag path or move forward in a series of loops instead of having to input dozens of waypoints?

One "pseudo AI" pattern which ships could use is already in the game - the "race track" or "loop" pattern adopted by fighters when escorting heavy bombers.

[ocococ]

Some ideas/suggestions for Team Daidalos:

- An option to automatically record all gameplay (offline/online) in .ntrk tracks (instead of .trk, which seem to be broken many times) without the requirement to press the record button.

Also this auto-record should work when you use the TimeSkip button (I guess with a new ntrk file each time you timeskip). I don't think there is a disk space problem nowadays. The user will be able to delete everything later. Maybe also add a separate folder for auto-records, and maybe include date in the filename.

I have lost too many great moments due to standard .trk bugginess.


- Some engine sounds have gaps in their loop. The spitfire/p51/tempest sound for example, "cracks" periodically (every ~2secs, more easily heard when on high rpm).


- A slight cockpit revamp for the very very very old planes would be welcome (109, ju87, yaks, migs). They somewhat look out of place compared to the rest.


- Bug: AM Radio Music can be heard from external view.


- In addition to toggle radiator button, is it possible to add separate open/close buttons (not axis)?


- Option to make PanView camera movement smooth (how much it turns depends on how much time you press the direction) instead of using steps.

Thanks.

This has been said before and it needs to be said again. This game needs native 6DOF.

When 4.10 came out the people I play with and I decided to try playing without mods. Those of us with head tracking can't stand to be without it. We don't care if some of the cockpits aren't optomized for it, we just want the ability to move our damned heads from side to side and zoom so we can see past the cockpit braces. We want to see compasses behind the bloody flight stick and boost gagues behind cockpit re-enforcements.

So we install mod activators and fix the russian language problems it brings and deal with compatibility issues because 6DOF really is that neccesary.

So suck it up and give 6DOF to those of us who want it. We'll cope with the incomplete cockpits, it hasn't stopped us from wanting 6DOF before we found ways to mod it in.

As for the whole 'unfair advantage' argument, go ahead and tell me that TrackIR with 2DOF isn't already an unfair advantage over people who have to use a hat switch or mouse to look around. By that reasoning TrackIR support shouldn't be there in the first place.