Ordnance Updates

[Juri_JS]

Would it be possible to add German and Japanese air-to-air bombs to the game, that were used against Allied bomber formations or is this beyond the scope of the project?
I guess doing the models and textures shouldn't be a problem, but it would also require new effects and changes to the AI.

[Zorin]

Originally Posted by Juri_JS

Would it be possible to add German and Japanese air-to-air bombs to the game, that were used against Allied bomber formations or is this beyond the scope of the project?
I guess doing the models and textures shouldn't be a problem, but it would also require new effects and changes to the AI.

That is entirely up to TD and not my responsibility to decide.

[Lagarto]

Zorin, your torps look beautiful and the regular updating is most welcome. I wish the map makers working with DT did the same (I mean a separate thread with updates, pics and info).

[1984]

again, really good news here...

especially, possibility of smoke bombs (it's can be new type of gameplay) and new flares...


and question (sorry, if) - only bombs? what about some rockets, and, maybe, new racks for rockets and bombs?

[Zorin]

Originally Posted by 1984

again, really good news here...

especially, possibility of smoke bombs (it's can be new type of gameplay) and new flares...


and question (sorry, if) - only bombs? what about some rockets, and, maybe, new racks for rockets and bombs?

Rockets will be included. Racks are again up to TD. It depends on whether they want improved meshes for them or not.

EDIT: First page updated with second 60kg bomb.

[Zorin]

Just so you know, I have to get acknowledgement of receipt and/or approval for the torpedos yet.

[_1SMV_Gitano]

Here is some feedback for you from one of DT modellers

I made a quick rework of Zorin's torpedo (only one variant). You may send it back to Zorin for study, if you think, it would be useful.

Errors and problems, found in his model:

1. Model orientation in Max was wrong. The model should be placed in max so it's nose points downwards on the Max Top view. The CG of the object should be placed at 0,0,0 coordinate.
2. Texture size was too large (1024x1024) while the texture itself was not quite detailed. No point in using large texture, if one doesn't plan to paint anything on it.
3. Texture mapping wasn't quite good and savvy. Too many stitches in UW makes painting details on texture difficult.
4. Thin parts, like fins, should be made, using 2-sided material, their shape can be easily "cut" from a simple rectangle, using alpha channel.
5. No LODs found in the file.
6. No collision object found in the file. Ordnance doesn't need mesh collision, it is enough to use collision sphere which is just default Max primitive, 32 sides sphere, whose diameter is slightly larger, then ordnance diameter without fins. The CSphere object should be placed at the 0,0,0 coordinate.
7. TGA file should be used as texture.

I did a brief remodel of one of the torpedo variants, fixing all the above listed problems. The texture was reduced to 512x512 pixels, but still has a huge portion of unused space. I take it, that Zorin planned to use it for other Japanese ordnance models. I added some small details on the image, to make it look more realistic. There is also space reserved for another torp (fin, actually) variants, should Zorin would want to remodel his torpedoes according to the included sample. I also think, there is no need in such large number of different variants. 2, maximum 3 would suffice.

Here's a comparison image:



As you can see, the tri-count of the model was reduced by half and the texture made smaller 4 times without any loss to visual quality.

We will send you the reworked model asap...

[RPS69]

Originally Posted by Juri_JS

Would it be possible to add German and Japanese air-to-air bombs to the game, that were used against Allied bomber formations or is this beyond the scope of the project?
I guess doing the models and textures shouldn't be a problem, but it would also require new effects and changes to the AI.

Air to air bombs used by the germans were actually standard AB250 used by some enthusiast pilots. It was not an especific weapon.

[Juri_JS]

Originally Posted by RPS69

Air to air bombs used by the germans were actually standard AB250 used by some enthusiast pilots. It was not an especific weapon.

That's correct. The Japanese had special air to air bombs, but the Germans used standard bombs with a timed fuze, that were dropped from around 1000 m above a bomber formation. So no new 3D model would be necessary for the German bombs, only a change to the AI by Team Daidalos and maybe some new explosion effects.

[Luno13]

Adding a 37mm explosion effect instead would be reasonable, I think. That way, no new effects would have be created.