Friday 2010-06-11 Dev. update and Discussion Thread

[Mango]

Originally Posted by Friendly_flyer

The markings on the Spitfire is a bit off though. Squadron codes on RAF planes was usually sky (the same light green-blue-gray colour they used on the underside), or sometimes medium sea gray (a somewhat darker, less saturated hue). The serial numbers were always in black, and in 1940 always a single letter followed by four numbers, with no spacing or hyphen.

There's an interesting discussion in last month's Fly Past magazine (Battle of Britain Special Edition) on the colors and paint schemes for different time periods and squadrons. I hope someone on Oleg's team has seen this (for what it's worth).

[major_setback]

For comparison (with summer grass too!):

[SlipBall]

Thank's for the up-date...the weathering looks pretty good, would like to see some wing wear from foot traffic, and exhaust stains would also look good.

[kendo65]

Originally Posted by Ernst

What i expect from SoW is new and more powerfull engine. Whats the advantage of nice graphics but porked fms and engine like FSX.

If you complain so much Oleg ll give you nice graphics but bad engine, fms. If there is lack of time to develop nice graphics and the engine, fms i would prefer engine and fms.

Oleg can you bring updates about other features in SoW, like management of aircrafts, fms etc?

And what evidence do you have that the flight models or engine will be 'porked'?

We get the nice pictures at this stage because they are easy to show - we can see directly these aspects of the game. How is Oleg supposed to SHOW US features such as flight models or in-depth details of the engine? No way this can be done until advanced features are in place and video of them can be released. (even then we won't know anything much about the flight models until we get to try them out ourselves)

The only alternative is wordy descriptions of up-coming features; something that Oleg has given us in interviews and on these forum pages.

Originally Posted by Ernst

Whats the advantage of nice graphics but porked fms and engine like FSX.

They aren't mutually exclusive! Just happens that one is easy to show with simple screenshots. We know nothing about the state of FMs / engine, but most of us don't jump to negative conclusions on basis of NO evidence.

[major_setback]

Originally Posted by F19_lacrits

....There seems to be a hole in the stabilizer of the spits? Is this just a rendering issue or skins issue.. easily fixed I'm sure.. it is visible also on the far spit..

I think you maybe mean the elevator rather than 'stabilizer'? It is the trim tab actuating mechanism I think.

[No457_Squog]

Looking good for the most part, but one critical element still looks to be missing:

Pilot Goggles!!!

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

Originally Posted by major_setback

I think you maybe mean the elevator rather than 'stabilizer'? It is the trim tab actuating mechanism I think.

Yup that's it! It looks like a hole or a render bug because the elevator is gray while the trim tab actuator is the same brown as the fuselage skin. It's an optical illusion.

[DoolittleRaider]

Originally Posted by Friendly_flyer

...
The markings on the Spitfire is a bit off though... The serial numbers were always in black, and in 1940 always a single letter followed by four numbers, with no spacing or hyphen.

First, the Spit looks fantastic!!! Superb detail and weathering.
As for serial numbering, I agree with Friendly-flyer: Serial numbers should be of the letter plus four digits until August ’41 when Spitfires began to come off the production line with serial numbers with two letter and three digits. (having run through the Z-xxxx series)
A Spitfire with the serial number 7854 was in the "P" production series, i.e. P7854. P7854 was assigned to 74 Sqdn in March ‘41, and would have carried Sqdn code letters of ZP (ZP-B or, ZP-C, or ZP-X, etc) So the skin (in SOW:BofB) could hypothetically show for example, a ZP-D P7854. Or, of course, Sailor Malan’s actual Spit, ZP-A K9953.
Also, I’ve not yet been able to find a Sqdn identified with the code letters GB. If there is a photo basis could it be posted? I’d be very interested to know the historical basis for the GB-R 2-7854 shown in the screencaptured Spit.
I'm hoping for insanely accurate historical detail in SOW:BofB.

Keep up the good work, Oleg and team!

[David603]

Originally Posted by DoolittleRaider

First, the Spit looks fantastic!!! Superb detail and weathering.
As for serial numbering, I agree with Friendly-flyer: Serial numbers should be of the letter plus four digits until August ’41 when Spitfires began to come off the production line with serial numbers with two letter and three digits. (having run through the Z-xxxx series)
A Spitfire with the serial number 7854 was in the "P" production series, i.e. P7854. P7854 was assigned to 74 Sqdn in March ‘41, and would have carried Sqdn code letters of ZP (ZP-B or, ZP-C, or ZP-X, etc) So the skin (in SOW:BofB) could hypothetically show for example, a ZP-D P7854. Or, of course, Sailor Malan’s actual Spit, ZP-A K9953.
Also, I’ve not yet been able to find a Sqdn identified with the code letters GB. If there is a photo basis could it be posted? I’d be very interested to know the historical basis for the GB-R 2-7854 shown in the screencaptured Spit.
I'm hoping for insanely accurate historical detail in SOW:BofB.

Keep up the good work, Oleg and team!

My interpretation is that the markings system is only just being implemented into the sim now, and that the current squadron codes and serial numbers are probably just placeholders while the devs work the bugs out of the system.

It would certainly explain why GB is being used as a code on British aircraft, and the serial number 3-456 on the Spitfire in the background. Also the absence of marking on most aircraft.

[gibxxi]

Also, the aircraft serial number was of a much smaller size, and placed further back on the fuselage than is depicted in these screenshots.

But as Oleg himself stressed, these are OLDER shots and may not be representative of current work. Nonetheless awesome work, as always, thanks for sharing Oleg & team. Can't wait to fly these babies.