Friday 2009-10-30 Screenshots Update discussion thread

[Skoshi Tiger]

Hi and many thanks for the new images.

In the screen shot of the tanks some show the tanks with closed hatches and others with open hatches



Are these the same model that can be configured to have closed or open hatches or are the seperate models?

If they are the same model is there an animation showing the hatch open or close? (would be useful in making movies!)

Thankyou

[BadAim]

Stunning, simply stunning. Your vehicles are easily of FPS quality. I too would love to be able to be able to find my way back to base after ditching, P-35 in hand (what? I won it off an ss officer in a bet). Be sure to make the clock removable if this scenario is possible.

I know, I know Oleg, we're all crazy......but would you have it an other way?

P.S. I was just staring at the Matilda in the shot above and I noticed something in the background.......the bicycle seats have springs!!!!! You guy's are crazy too!

[mazex]

Originally Posted by BadAim

Stunning, simply stunning. Your vehicles are easily of FPS quality. I too would love to be able to be able to find my way back to base after ditching, P-35 in hand (what? I won it off an ss officer in a bet). Be sure to make the clock removable if this scenario is possible.

I know, I know Oleg, we're all crazy......but would you have it an other way?

P.S. I was just staring at the Matilda in the shot above and I noticed something in the background.......the bicycle seats have springs!!!!! You guy's are crazy too!

Yes, now with all these high poly vehicles etc is the time to finally include that "walk back to base if you like so". Everyone has been talking about it since the first combat simulator was born... How hard could it really be? No need for realistic skeletal animations etc, just let us walk if we want to!

We would probably use it one time and then never more - but it's the added realism of knowing you CAN do it is what making me seriously propose it. As it is now after ditching a plane in a dogfight and watching that pilot jump out, run 50 meters and dive to the ground is frustrating. I would like to run myself and then be able to stand there watching the fight a bit from the ground before hitting refly. Maybe hide behind the wreck if someone tries strafing me afterwards Why not add another possibility (yes I know I will get bashed for hollywood stuff like this - but still) - add a feature to do pickup rescues like the one from "Dark Blue World" (the Czech movie). If a pilot is down (ditch or parachute), you can land and pick him up to avoid loosing a pilot on a dogfight map... Maybe not with a spit like in the movie - but a Lysander, or a Do 18 in the water. But heck why not in a Spit like that movie. I remember reading about mechanics going with the pilots in their fighters at emergency evacuations in Russia so it's theoretically possible...

Then we naturally would like to have the ability to walk from the jeep to the plane at the hone base. No need for a fancy animation getting into the plane, it's better with a Battlefield 1942 "pop and your in there" than nothing. Imagine listening to the briefing, then get into a jeep and drive to the plane where the ground crew reports the status and walk up to the plane and press "E" to enter the plane...

A lot of work doing it, but so rewarding for immersion. We have all dreamed of it since playing sims on the C64 - put some cheap hot junior developer that has done FPS programming on it. As I understand that your budget does not allow for non essential features like this, I will happily pay his wages for one day, then I guess we can find about 100 here that does the same to let him work on it for 2-3 months to get it done. Come on - send me an account number!

[ElAurens]

Actually rescue of downed pilots, especially at sea with floatplanes, would make for some interesting mission possibilities.

Setting your Walrus down on the swells of the Channel to pick up a downed pilot, hoping some 110s don't come by to spoil the day. Pretty gripping stuff actually. Then getting him back safely. It would be an interesting mission in an online team play environment where the number of available pilots bears directly on mission success.

Will this be possible Oleg?

[Foo'bar]

AFAIK Oleg mentioned already that rescuing will be possibble in single mission.

Getting home with a abandoned car or by train after beeing shot down is one of my top ten SoW dreams

[hiro]

Ahhhhhh yeah . . . .

That's the good stuff.

Thanks for the update, Oleg.

The sky shots are coming in great. Looks photo quality. And looks the blue text from IL-2 is in (but looks like there's more since there's more detail).

LOL @ the Bicycle Queen Song reference.


And the ME / BF - 109!!!

As soon as I saw the yellow nose and the familiar shape. Yep.

I got a question, they've had tons of debates of ME-109 E (I think the resident 109 expert Kurfürst mentioned there was a possibility of the 109 E-2having nose cannon, but the E-2 information is elusive so its philisophical / academic debate at best) having a nose cannon.

Will there be an E-2 available? If so, will nose cannon / machine gun be an option for the E-2?

Having a 3x20mm and 2x7.92 mm 's would be nice.


Another question is how will aircraft reliability be modelled? I remember reading how Morane-Saulnier fighters used by the Finns had a cannon that "sometimes" worked and at worst, the shell would detonate in the barrel (But the plane was still flyable).

Or I remember someone mentioning LA-7s were made of wood but IL-2 doesn't model the degration after many flying hours that had on the wooden versions.


Will aircraft materials play a role in the game? Such as wooden mosquitos being harder to detect via radar or by shape like the go-229?

Thanks for the update!


Another question, alots of requests for walking / infrantry / person / FPS related movement.

You mentioned before, "No battles with infantry, we are doing flight sim", so just how much first person / 3rd person / pilot walking is planned for the game?

Or is that just an exercise of the game engine that is going to be licensed for use outside of BOB SOW?

Also I notice there are alot of bikes (heck even a trailer to haul bicycles) around, and vehicular action is included so will that go down to bikes?


and final,

Are you guys going to keep the Storm of War as series title?

[AdMan]

surviving behind enemy lines would be something else! But that would basically mean the game would have to turn into a FPS or TPS, probably asking too much.

[kendo65]

hi Oleg,

Thanks for the updates. Really enjoying them and becoming more and more impatient to get my hands on the game as a result.

I'd be interested to know if RAF and Luftwaffe will use authentic historical formations as standard in BOB? That is will the RAF be flying in tight VICs with the Germans using 'finger four'. All accounts I've read of the battle emphasise the effect of these tactical formations - it took the Brits quite a while to catch up.

Very frustrating to try to get RAF in VICs in il-2!!

Also, I'm hoping that AI wingmen DON'T abandon formation and charge headlong at the enemy on first sighting (except maybe rookies? or the Polish(!))
Be nice if they could report "aircraft 3 O'clock", etc while maintaining discipline and formation.

[Golden_Eagle_FM]

I think the Oleg I knew from the very first days of Il2 is really back.
You kept your word, and posted new pictures on friday like you said. I must say I was somewhat skeptical. And you answered interactively to the posts again like before.
After so many years that's great to have you back Oleg.

Very nice pictures, and thank you to answer my question about modelling humans.
The level of detail you have is really enough at this point. If you model the soldiers, paratroopers etc. at the same level of detail then nothing more to say.

If you could just give us some elements about the FMB I would be happy. I used the FMB and invested more time probably to build scenarios (NOT multiplayer), than I played missions, so the FMB is a very important feature for me. Here some FMB related questions if it is not too early to ask :

1) Will we have full grasp to position objects, that is to translate and rotate objects on the three spatial axis.
2) Will we have the possibility to group objects into a superobject and clone the superobject.
3) If yes to 2 then will we have full 3D control to position the superobject.
4) Will airplanes be able to taxi, takeoff, land indipendently of the runway. That is near the runway as an example.
5) Will it be possible to ditch a plane. AI controlled plane in FMB.
6) Once a plane appears (at a given clock time) will it be possible to make it disappear also at a certain time.
7) Will it be possible to set multiple airplanes to takeoff at the same time as a group.
Will it be possible to add motion to soldiers (or group of soldiers) like it was possible with cars. They walk or run along a trajectory with control points like for cars.
9) Will it be possible to add a script to an object so as to have it animated.
10) Will all the objects when positioned on the ground then be flat on it whatever the slope. And not have objects staying horizontal even if the ground is with a slope.
11) One problem I had with a linear campaign, that was made say with 20 missions linked with a chronological sequence, was that if I decided to scrap (or add) some objects out of the first mission, and for campaign coherence had to have the same operation done in the 19 other missions coming after, I had to painstakingly remove or add them from each mission file. This is a terrible time consuming operation. Will there be the possibility that changes made in a mission file affect other mission files linked to it.
12) Will the ships (are there ships?) have their flag floating in the wind. I hope damage model on ships should be more detailed than in IL2 were it was very basic.
13) Will the objects database of BoB be as rich as the IL2 one has become.

Sorry to bother you with so many questions but the FMB was an important element in the success and longevity of IL2.

Thank's again for your posts Oleg, I will be every friday in front of my screen to watch and read your posts.

Gold

[CRO_Adriatic]

THX for update!
I think for this part of history they will tell: "virtual world started to looks better than real world, so, people stopped completely to watch trough windows..."