Friday 2010-02-25 Development update:Interview by Grégory Lemasson/Discussion Thread

[Freycinet]

Great update, thx!

Oleg, with MSFS dropping out of the game, I think you have an opening for making civilian flight sims based on the SoW engine. I really wouldn't want to see that personally, because I like to shoot things up, but I think you could do it, and that is where the really big money is.

The whole issue will be decided by how you approach the third-party developer issue. How to make tools for them. How to allow them or not allow them access to core features. Third party involvement is essential, because one single developer can never satisfy the thirst for content by modern-day users.

If you step back from all the extremely detailed issues these forums are full of, I think you should try considering yourself more like someone setting the ground rules for a whole industry, rather than just a developer of a single product. It would be the next step.

[philip.ed]

Originally Posted by fireflyerz

Yes young padawaaaaaa....its all in the avataaaaar

[Caveman]

Originally Posted by Freycinet

Great update, thx!

Oleg, with MSFS dropping out of the game, I think you have an opening for making civilian flight sims based on the SoW engine. I really wouldn't want to see that personally, because I like to shoot things up, but I think you could do it, and that is where the really big money is.

The whole issue will be decided by how you approach the third-party developer issue. How to make tools for them. How to allow them or not allow them access to core features. Third party involvement is essential, because one single developer can never satisfy the thirst for content by modern-day users.

If you step back from all the extremely detailed issues these forums are full of, I think you should try considering yourself more like someone setting the ground rules for a whole industry, rather than just a developer of a single product. It would be the next step.

OLEG... LISTEN... THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE! I've been watching the industry since the early 80s and I can tell you that the timing is now to capture the entire flight sim industry that MS has left behind... I'm sure you know that, but I can tell you from a grass roots level of looking around those types of forums, etc that the shell has been cracked and folks are looking for a new base to build a general aviation simulator on...

Do you have anyone aggressively pursuing the opportunity? I've noticed that even BOP has been able to make users in that community giddy... And... X-Plane of course... 20 years from now, let's hope you're living off the royalties of a 3rd party A-380

[Caveman]

Oleg,

BUTTKICKER question:

I can't speak for all the planes, but I've always thought the IL-2 Sound Engine was incredible on IL-2 for the 109 which I fly about 98% of the time. The turbine whine, the 3D capability to capture correct dopplar affect at all speeds of the plan and at all throttle settings was incredible.

Then I bought a BUTTKICKER GAMER and took the experience to a new level. For me, the positive change was analogous to going from no trackIR to using a trackIR... a great thing.

http://www.buttkickergear.com/ButtKi...er_p/bk-gr.htm

Is the sound code being worked in such a way to specifically take advantage of the BUTTKICKER device? The device works reasonably well in IL-2, although the settings were somewhat sensitive, making adjustment to a sweet spot somehat difficult when different planes were flown...

Can you comment on any specific considerations done for this device?

[WhiteSnake]

Originally Posted by Flanker35M

S!

Good news since sounds have been a bit problematic in IL-2 during the years. Currently I am using a Realtek AC1200 sound chip installed on my motherboard. It seems to work just fine, even better than my Creative X-Fi I have there. That card caused popping sounds etc.

ASUS Mobo???
Realtek ALC1200 is a Realtek ALC6xx wich ASUS bought in huge numbers wen Realtek dumped them, ASUS added a few new features trough the Mainboard and Relabled it as ALC1200, its a pretty poor Soundchip, maybe they where hoping to sell more Sonar cards that way?

Only way i see that being better than an X-Fi is if you where using a ExtremeAudio wich has no X-Fi procesor and is simply a Rebranded Audigy with an X-Fi user-interface, or if you where using the wrong settings for it.

Realtek HDA ALC8xx are the ones you want an they beat a X-Fi ExtremeGamer easly for this game but only because IL2 uses DirectX DirectSound (not DirectSound3D, wich is difrent but gives the same isue) so it cant make use of anything the X-Fi has to offer and your better of (higher FPS but it can also solve crashes) if you Disable all the Soundcards features both in Windows and in the Game.

Here is a quick explanation of the difrences between DirectSound(3D) and OpenAL Sound under Vista (Windows 7): http://connect.creativelabs.com/open...%E2%84%A2.aspx

[Flanker35M]

S!

Yes, ASUS M4A79T Deluxe (AMD 790FX chipset) mobo. The Realtek seems to work just fine, all games I play I have had zero problems. Could be an ExtremeAudio card I got, need to check. I would rather buy a really good sound card if I knew SoW will support it I have had no problems with this AMD rig I use for now, works at least and even slightly better than my Intel rig I had before, heh!

Originally Posted by Insuber

Hi Oleg,

Just wanted to say "you're doing a great job, Sir!". Investing so much time and money in such a venture denotes a real passion for combat flight simulations, and passion + competence yields always good results.

I bought all the Il2 series as soon as they were published, I'll buy the BoB series too ... look forward to SoW, hopefully very soon! By the way, when?

Bye,
Insuber

Insuber, I'll second this even though Oleg's already answered your post. IL2 came into my experience somewhere around 2002 when a friend gave me a demo he found inside a magazine. The "passion + competence" that went into this simulator was immediately apparent and it just kept me coming back for more. Attention to detail and desire to improve are marks of a true artist. Oleg and his growing team are true artists IMHO Look forward to SoW also and if my computer won't handle it the DVD package will look great on the shelf until a new computer comes online.

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by Freycinet

Great update, thx!

Oleg, with MSFS dropping out of the game, I think you have an opening for making civilian flight sims based on the SoW engine. I really wouldn't want to see that personally, because I like to shoot things up, but I think you could do it, and that is where the really big money is.

The whole issue will be decided by how you approach the third-party developer issue. How to make tools for them. How to allow them or not allow them access to core features. Third party involvement is essential, because one single developer can never satisfy the thirst for content by modern-day users.

If you step back from all the extremely detailed issues these forums are full of, I think you should try considering yourself more like someone setting the ground rules for a whole industry, rather than just a developer of a single product. It would be the next step.

It is really very hard task but my target.
At the moment we can't begin with civilian big aircraft. There is not some special features that are neccessary for modeling such aircraft and envirouments (modern radar system, speeches, etc)
But....
Right at the time when we will release first tools will be possible to make:

1. Sport piston engine aircraft
2. Almost any or any piston engine or multi engines aircraft of WWII time
3. envirouments, including new ground objects that will corresponds to that time (cars, ships, U-boats, tanks, rail road cars and many other things...)
4. to make own campagin engines, including for online. As a separate modules, that are using our API.
6. To program new devices for aircaft and other technics (this will happens a bit later that all above).
7. To add new calsses of controlable units in the game (cars, tanks, ships, u-boats, maybe even human as a first person... ). But this tool will be relased as the last from our side and for this we will need a time. The most complex.

Then... at the same time we should make own next sim. The next will be separate sim, but it will be possible to install as a merged version with previous one... Experience show me that this is the only one right way.
With new sim we will add new features (like in the past). Half or the models already done for the new sim so probably you may calculate what the sim it should be. Can't name you... because everything may happens... And in reality we was planning two sims right after BoB.... Maybe this also happens. All will depends of success or no success on the market with BoB. Hope success... everything will be fine then. I even can image how fine and how great will be life of this project Then I can to retire on a pension after some 10 years of SoW success

[MikkOwl]

Oleg, you're going to be like that Hideo Kojima guy who does the Metal Gear Solid game series for Konami. He keeps stopping it but then comes back to do another, then another, then another. I don't know how much of your simulators are thanks to you (because this is a major team effort, and you must have incredibly talented intelligent guys working for you to have such few people responsible for so many areas, and still making them so good) - and so I don't know how the IL-2 game series will go if you retire. Maybe someone to take over.

But hey, SoW isn't even out yet, and 10 years is a long time. Imagine what leaps can be made in technology and how your urge to develop more cool things can be revitalized even more.

EDIT: As for the next sim, if half the aircraft already made.. Battle of France including Dunkirk maybe. Possibly Barbarossa as it uses all the German planes. MTO also a strong possibility.

EDIT2: After my question on the rear gunners of aircraft like Bf 110, I went and looked around the forum searching, and I found one answer you gave stating that there are plans to make the gunners communicate positions of enemy aircraft to the pilot.

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

Oleg, you're going to be like that Hideo Kojima guy who does the Metal Gear Solid game series for Konami. He keeps stopping it but then comes back to do another, then another, then another. I don't know how much of your simulators are thanks to you (because this is a major team effort, and you must have incredibly talented intelligent guys working for you to have such few people responsible for so many areas, and still making them so good) - and so I don't know how the IL-2 game series will go if you retire. Maybe someone to take over.

But hey, SoW isn't even out yet, and 10 years is a long time. Imagine what leaps can be made in technology and how your urge to develop more cool things can be revitalized even more.

EDIT: As for the next sim, if half the aircraft already made.. Battle of France including Dunkirk maybe. Possibly Barbarossa as it uses all the German planes. MTO also a strong possibility.

EDIT2: After my question on the rear gunners of aircraft like Bf 110, I went and looked around the forum searching, and I found one answer you gave stating that there are plans to make the gunners communicate positions of enemy aircraft to the pilot.

I can develop with team any type of the games. However I'm with love to aviation during all my life. And I understand that it is small niche in the games market, where are going not so great money like in other some genres. The principle of meged separate sims in one in time - the only one system that can help stay on the board and make hi-end class avia sims.


Rear gunner: Speeches of them is work of Ilya. Programmer can make some limited AI interaction. The main thing - to make some most important and useful things.
Already now we have much more commands to AI comparing to Il-2 (I'm speaking about control by command across the Tab button in Il-2)