Oleg Maddox's Room #1

[NSU]

Hello Oleg,

I have some questions regarding the multiplayer:

Will it be possible to change the inflight briefing during the game and will it be possible to paint the flightroute and mark objects on the map?
If so it would be helpfull to add an option to send that customized map to all other squad members during the game.
I also wonder if there is a chance to display own jpg's on the briefing screen (like air recon, notes or tactical maps).
Will the player be able to conquer airports and does that influence the support or reinforcements?

I do have some more questions regarding the mission editor:

Is there any chance of changing the ingame maps, to add markings or notes visible to other players?
I'd like to add a video to the briefing to present the map in the old fashioned "wochenschau" style will that be possible?
And last but not least, is there some sort of trigger so that a sound file (like a radio message) will be played when the player activates the trigger?

Thanks in advance

Best regards

NSU

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by NSU

Hello Oleg,

I have some questions regarding the multiplayer:

Will it be possible to change the inflight briefing during the game and will it be possible to paint the flightroute and mark objects on the map?
If so it would be helpfull to add an option to send that customized map to all other squad members during the game.
I also wonder if there is a chance to display own jpg's on the briefing screen (like air recon, notes or tactical maps).
Will the player be able to conquer airports and does that influence the support or reinforcements?

I do have some more questions regarding the mission editor:

Is there any chance of changing the ingame maps, to add markings or notes visible to other players?
I'd like to add a video to the briefing to present the map in the old fashioned "wochenschau" style will that be possible?
And last but not least, is there some sort of trigger so that a sound file (like a radio message) will be played when the player activates the trigger?

Thanks in advance

Best regards

NSU

This old biker always ask many questions

I can't say yes to all your questions. Recon maps we would like to make and it is in plan. However I don't know if it will be in release. The format of brief is HTML... so theoretically there is possible to use recon map and send to others across the map. But it will depending of many factors, so I can't tell you 100% yes.

As for the capture airfield.... we plan several online modes in additional to what we had in Il-2... Also can't say you final features


As for changes of map... don't know yet all features that will go in final. You know I never promise when I'm not sure, if you are NSU that I know...

Video in gif or flash player format probably will be possible in a brif. I don't know which type of HTML we will use in final. You know there is going the new version of HTML in future... Proabbly we will stay with the current for a long time. So if to make everything manually for single missions - then you probably may use all features of current HTML version . If automatic - then just limited amount of features... However the engine of campaign (doesn''t matter single or online) will be open for modifications. Or even someone may developm completely own. We will give access to that item of code for modifications that will not damage the fair online gameplay.

You will be able to put on the map trigger with sound message with the defined radius of action.

Hope everything answered clear enough.

[NSU]

Thank you for your answer, sounds very good.

und meine NSU fährt sich immer noch gut

Best regards NSU

[Monterey]

Oleg,
Thanks for the updates.

One question....Will the AI still be able to make those impossible maneuvers like they do now? I mean the instant flips, turns, etc... It gets very annoying. I hope they will behave more realistically, and be subject to stalls, blackouts, redouts, etc...

Thanks again.
Monty


Old biker here too.

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by Monterey

Oleg,
Thanks for the updates.

One question....Will the AI still be able to make those impossible maneuvers like they do now? I mean the instant flips, turns, etc... It gets very annoying. I hope they will behave more realistically, and be subject to stalls, blackouts, redouts, etc...

Thanks again.
Monty


Old biker here too.

I can't say... Its relative thing of the player-pilot experience. My guys and me can shoot any AI fighter enemy...
Stall, black outs, redouts was a limit for AI even in Il-2. Simply they are robots and calculate it way faster than you.

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by Oleg Maddox

I can't say... Its relative thing of the player-pilot experience. My guys and me can shoot any AI fighter enemy...
Stall, black outs, redouts was a limit for AI even in Il-2. Simply they are robots and calculate it way faster than you.

Probably the right name for AI would be predictable calculation with 100% precise.

In BoB we will have more complex AI behaviour that will be more "humanized".

However before Il-2 there was no one sim with "humanized" aircraft AI like in Il-2...

[Monterey]

I can shoot them down too. What I mean is, the AI can execute maneuvers that would send my plane crashing down. The 180 degree instant turns...and I mean instant, is one example.

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by Monterey

I can shoot them down too. What I mean is, the AI can execute maneuvers that would send my plane crashing down. The 180 degree instant turns...and I mean instant, is one example.

Never saw myself AI instant turns that I can't repeat myself going by their trajectory.

However it is explained as well above about their precise.

Some time AI with level of Novice also crashes in a stall in dogfight...

[mazex]

Originally Posted by Oleg Maddox

Video in gif or flash player format probably will be possible in a brif. I don't know which type of HTML we will use in final. You know there is going the new version of HTML in future... Proabbly we will stay with the current for a long time. So if to make everything manually for single missions - then you probably may use all features of current HTML version . If automatic - then just limited amount of features...

Hi Oleg!

Wouldn't it be better to have the missions, including briefings etc in xml? If you want to show the briefings as HTML you can just add an xslt file for parsing the briefing part. That way all mission briefings will follow a specified format - but let mission builders add their own xslt:s if they do not want the standard format.

Example xml (start of it - indentation lost pasting it here - full code in a zip at the bottom of post):

<sow-mission>
<briefing>
<meta-info>
<name>JG51-7</name>
<mission-date>1940-09-07 18:35</mission-date>
<version>1.0</version>
<creator>Mazex</creator>
</meta-info>

<images>
<region-images>
<region-image id="1" filename="region1.jpg">The London docks area</region-image>
</region-images>
<mission-overview-images>
<ov-image id="1" filename="overview1.jpg">The intended route</ov-image>
</mission-overview-images>
<recon-images>
<r-image id="1" filename="recon1.jpg" target-id="1">Target 1 - Recon image showing the football factory at XXX</r-image>
<r-image id="2" filename="recon2.jpg" target-id="2">Target 2 - Recon image showing the football yard of the team that beat Maj Molders sons soccer team in 1936 at XXX</r-image>
<r-image id="3" filename="recon3.jpg" target-id="3">Target 3 - Old image showing the ship that we added to this briefing for fun</r-image>
</recon-images>
</images>
...

Using a very simple xslt to parse it giving this look (just an example without the right WWII look etc. - not using all the xml data available like strategic map images etc, I did not have the time...)


Full "code" download here (xml+xslt+css+images)

Please observe that the xml structure is just an example. There should be a lot of other attributes in it!

This is just a suggestion, but I really think that XML should be more "future proof" than HTML. If you later decide that you do not want to use HTML rendering of briefings, just show the info from the xml in the "thick GUI". Want to search all missions on disk that have a certain author? No problem... Someone wants to do a custom mission/briefing editor? Just follow the xml spec and you can make a WYSIG editor for it... There are many advantages in my opinon vs HTML.

What do you think?

EDIT: For interested people not familiar with xml/xsl - just unzip the file above to a local directory and double click the file "briefing_mis123_camp4.xml" to do a local inline xml/xslt transform in you browser (you will hopefully see the page above). The tag <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="jg51_campaign.xsl"?> really shouldn't be there but it's simple for easy local testing. The data is in the .xml file and the html formatting is done in the .xsl file... If you open the file "briefing_mis123_camp4.xml" in a text editor (right click -> open with notepad) you will see that it actually contains xml data and not HTML. It's the row <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="jg51_campaign.xsl"?> at the top that does the magic. It tells your browser to create HTML output bu using the specified .xsl file as a template for interpreting the xml data (for output). Maybe not the best explanation in the world

/Mazex

[proton45]

Hi Oleg, it's nice to see you kicking around the clubhouse again (sorry your not feeling well)...

At the moment I have just one little question about "off-line" mission building. Will we be able to add "AI" objects that suffer from "battle damage"? Let me give you an example...I have always wanted to add an "in-flight" B-17 (that had 2 engines leaking oil and burning) to an "off-line" mission...right now that is not possible. Right now, if you want to make an off-line mission with wounded straggling bombers limping home as you and "AI" team mates B&Z them to death, you have to set their flight path through a FLAK barrage or something (their is no practical way of doing it) and hope that a few of them get hit. Also it might be nice to be able to set damage on AI aircraft carriers or battleships...
Thanks Oleg, and hope your feeling better soon.