Friday 2010-10-15 Dev. update and Discussion

[LukeFF]

Originally Posted by Oleg Maddox

Hi, I was thinking that nickname is very known for me
You may write me on the old address and I will load the base from there and check it. Then you will know the new one.

And how about the new He 162 for the new sim?

I still have most of my resources from the project, including a copy of the original pilot's manual. Who knows, I may just have to make a new version for SoW.

Will e-mail you.

[matsher]

Here's a question to anyone who may know...

Do you guys think that there might be some sort of voice activation programmed?


With all the new complex & specific commands we can issue, do you guys reckon there might be some off-line voice activattion. Hmm?

This weeks shots are simply brilliant, this sim is going to be epic...
Go team Oleg...

[philip.ed]

Oleg, great update, probably for me the best for many weeks and that's saying something! It's great to see how the game's developing.
I do agree with Furbs though, the landscape here has a saturated look to it IMO which is not a bad thing, but for Summer it looks quite green and lush.
Having said that, I can't wait to see what your ground-modeller will show us next week.

Oleg, the clouds look nicer too. Can I ask if they are final? They look awesome, but IMO would look a lot better if they had flat bottoms. Sorry if I sound like an old-record.

Oleg, with the arrows, I think it's a great idea but I prefer the system in the game BoB2 which shows icons instead of arrows (in the case of BoB2, a roundel for British planes and a cross for Luftwaffe ones) I can see, though, that if Italians planes are modelled, they'd need an icon too.
I find this system much more aesthetic, but perhaps you disagree? Just a thought

great update, I can't praise this game enough.

[LukeFF]

Originally Posted by Oleg Maddox

But I'm serious. This guy (hope I can say it ) did real nice job in the past that we didn need to rework like with most others...
There were just several top modellers of aircraft from third party of that level...

I owe a debt of gratitude to Ilya for being so patient with me.

[Hatch]

Originally Posted by furbs

Oleg..first thanks for the update...i can see the landscape is getting better week by week, but can i ask about the colour of the fields in this weeks update.


By furbs9999 at 2010-10-15

I live in England and some of the colour of the fields ive never seen before, and the mix of fields next to each other is also something ive never seen, if this is just testing, then thats fine, but to me it doesnt remind me of southen England.


By furbs9999 at 2010-10-15
This is goodwood airfield at 2000ft in july, the landscape looks much darker with dark borders around the fields and much more green than the SOW landscape.
Are the colours of SOW going to finish looking more like this?

Thanks.

Not too sure about the photograph.

On my monitor(admittedly not calibrated for some time) the colours are slightly off.

It's allways a bit difficult to quantify perception, most people don't even know what they're seeing.
But often timesthey do know if something doesn't look right.
Or not if you judge by how awful the colours are on most TV sets LOL

Might be the time of day?

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by furbs

Oleg..first thanks for the update...i can see
I live in England and some of the colour of the fields ive never seen before, and the mix of fields next to each other is also something ive never seen, if this is just testing, then thats fine, but to me it doesnt remind me of southen England.

This is goodwood airfield at 2000ft in july, the landscape looks much darker with dark borders around the fields and much more green than the SOW landscape.
Are the colours of SOW going to finish looking more like this?

Thanks.

Look for the sample bellow. It was done from your sample using professiona photo tool Lightroom 3.2 which I trust very much.

By simple clicking of special White balance tool on the grey surface of this photo where it must be grey by definition of light laws we get more real picture that was when the camera did the shot.
I also can to restore contrast, but already this one action is enough to imagine...

The camera never get the right color. We may get it right only after we already did the shot by using some rules.
In the other hand the human eye never remember the right color...just close approxination... and when again we see the picture of the same place human thinking that it is right colors.... It is a nature of human eye to brain work.
I can't spend the time to teach for the laws in light and its representation from matrix of the modern camera (even professional). I would say only that thing: the shots that are done non in RAW format with using some rules that to restore later the right colors are always wrong. Be sure. JPEG opf cameras can't show right color in complex light conditions that are in the air on altitude comparing to the thing for which they are designed... (also even there are not right)

And answering your question I already told above - not final.

However looking for my sample how it was really (close to that sample) you should think about.... or take some tiome to search for the white balace and color/colorcontrast distortions in digital cameras (or film - some other sort but also with great distortions)

Only these developers that don't know these laws make the "right colors" of the world in their products ... Hope you understand what I said.

[Splitter]

Originally Posted by Oleg Maddox

I think you don't take in account much more details that are in calculation to get just "a bit better" overal picture.

Lets begin from polygon count.

Compare details of tank in Il-2 and in BoB. This was cost several times increment of using power for each unit.
Now compare cars.
Now compare bridges.
Now compare roads
Now compare ships
Now compare planes. The last one is the most important in the fligth sim and here again like it was in Il-2 we have not compromisses for the ratio how it looks.. modelled functions and its damage model and modelled internals with all the listed above things alltogether...
Instead of some using our old models from Il-2 for their own sims with the little bit increment of polygons and size of textures (and repeating the same things that we did oursevlves with no info for details, some time even known for us wrong details(!) we are going with another goal - we try now to recreate planes outside and inside so close looking to real, that never was done before in any sim (even in add-ons for MS FS). And the masterpice is that its already used as a reference in some sources.... yes some time we are making non principal mistakes, but most are eliminated... or some tiome especiall make "mistakes" due to limits of technology
And we don't use some overdone effects that to represent them as used technology and show full illiteracy in some real laws....
And lets say that from the beginning we will offer more than others... its not just 2 or six planes flyable...
Did you count the amount of already shown ground units with its quality? Ah... maybe you don't like our wheels cars? Ok.... then just imagine Kursk Battle and its common polygon and textures count...
We think already now (or really much earlier) about future battles in a series. We think about common development in future of online gameplay together with thrid party....

Continue counting:

new more complex calcualtion for FM not just for several aircraft in air simultaneously
new way more complex AI not just for several aircraft in air simultaneously
new way more complex AI for the ground units.... for the hundres visible at once. The war continues on the ground... massive war if to compare to any other sim... (however I still can say it about Il-2 as well)
New features of the ground units...
Special AI for the AA defence on the ground...

Ok, I'm tired... there is something more to count.... that maybe isn't going in final release but will be as addition in future.

All these things recall increment by exponent of power that we need to use.... Just think about it.

Il-2 inspired at least 3 other sims... with continues... more or less directly based on our Il-2 source code or learning our source code.... Il-2 created some amount of new teams and even new companies...

Should I say that we are thinking about future, about our experience with Il-2 (superb, good and sometime bad....)

Who remember how was developed Il-2 and its series I think understand what I would say now. Hint: we are not making one season game...






You like Il-2. Thats good. You like the amount of things that is done there by us and third party? Thats also good But please take in acount that all these things were developed after the first original Il-2....

Now will be the first new original sim that will be more open for increment....

This message isn't just for you... Its for all who doesn't see the difference now...

Man, some real gold nuggets in there I think, both from what was said and what "could" be extrapolated.

Oleg, I shall take a shot of vodka now in your honor (real Russian stuff too!). This posting of yours is every bit as much appreciated as the screen shots.

Ok....three vodka shots, just to be sociable of course.

Splitter

[Hatch]

Will we be able to adjust colour & whitebalance to adjust it our own particular distorted view of the world?

[furbs]

Thanks very much for the reply Oleg, i know the SOW screens are WIP and will be tuned until release, thats why im not too worried

Im just also thinking about the colours i see each day and when im out mountain biking through the countryside of southen England, to me it is much more green with dark colours.

Ive just never seen that mix of so many light and pastel colours of fields next to each other, the fields i see each day blend into each other more.

Anyway thanks again for the reply and looking forward very much to be flying over my home town.

[matsher]

Originally Posted by Oleg Maddox

Just one note. In this case the speech is neccessary to rewrite completely or use the same actors with the additions of new planes in game.... or use the place holders...
Say in Il-2 it was more universal thing and traslated withut problems in a lot of languages.
Here it will be more complex and expencive task....

Originally Posted by C_G

Oleg,

about the voices for comms, have you considered asking the community (us) for contributions? I wouldn't be surprised if members from the UK (and Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa) and Germany and Austria wouldn't be happy to contribute to providing their voices to SoW:BoB.

I realize that this might be difficult to organize (and do quality control), but I would imagine that there would be a lot of volunteers... Just a thought.


I *LOVE* the city shots! They are looking really great and I can't wait to see them populated with the models of buses and cars you've already shown...

Thanks again,
C_G

Hi Oleg

I totally agree with C_G and it would absolutely be a pleasure to do it. I have access to many professional recording studios and talented voice artists... If you send sample scripts or proposed reads, I can certainly make them happen...
We can also do multiple varients on theme or even some specialist reads.
(How about some Arnold Schwarzenegger chatter or maybe some Sean Connery... Or even Nelson Mandela)

I'm in South Africa - So any english dialect is simple to get done well (SA, Aus, English, irish, scots, American etc) are no problem at all... If you want I can even get you some radio chatter in Zulu or Xhosa... Its also no problem to get english reads in different ethnics accents (English in a German accent or English in a Japanese accent etc) Just say the word.

I could probably convince a couple of Professional voice artists to sign over usage rights... The offer is there.