4.13 development update discussion and feedback

[Spudkopf]

Originally Posted by Sita

not quite right like in that video from spud ... but we don't forget about steam)

That's cool thanks, but it does beg the question, that if you can have the steam from the valves then, why not have white or grey smoke coming from the stack?

[KG26_Alpha]

Yes smoke is too dark maybe ......... perhaps coal grade was poor back then

[dimlee]

Black is good... Easier to spot those trains on dark background.
We need them not for travelling but for hunting.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by KG26_Alpha

Yes smoke is too dark maybe ......... perhaps coal grade was poor back then

I know you were being silly, but even low grade lignite coal burns with a grayish yellow color. It just produces less energy as it burns. A good example is any color picture of a Chinese or Soviet-era Eastern European coal-fired factory.

Anything that's powered using decent coal should have a gray smoke cloud.

We need more and different smoke colors. Black for oil/fuel fires, and burning vehicles, dark gray brown for dirty coal-fired smokestacks and building fires, light gray for steam, clean-burning coal smokestacks, and wood fires, plus colored smoke for air support and supply drop missions.

As for trains, since you can have steam jets emerging from the pistons, why can't you have BIG jets of steam shooting out of the smokestack and boiler when the train is destroyed?

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by dimlee

Black is good... Easier to spot those trains on dark background.
We need them not for travelling but for hunting.

+1. Dark smoke makes locomotive busting even harder at night.

During WW2, steam locomotives could sometimes also be detected at night due to sparks rising up the chimney from the firebox, and the glow from the firebox when the stoker opened the door to shovel in more coal.

[KG26_Alpha]

Hehe

well just google train smoke, you can choose between white, grey or black, or perhaps all three shades together.

Perhaps some extra coding to randomize the smoke effects, I'm sure TD would appreciate that suggestion

[Pursuivant]

Here's my complete USAAF Order of Battle for IL2, as RegInfo.properties, and RegShort.properties files.

Assuming it's possible to add more squadrons to IL2 without blowing it up, its my little bit to make the game better.

This file includes every flight squadron from every US Army Air Force which served in a combat zone, and corrects a few problems with existing USAAF units.

Nomenclature and organization follows period USAAF practice, although information about wing, division, etc. is omitted. I've tried to use consistent spelling and abbreviations in order to make it easier to find units.

Some of the unit names are quite long, since they include information about squadron, group and Air Force, as well as supplemental info like bomber group type. They could be abbreviated a bit without losing data.

What's New:

US Bombardment groups included bomber class in their name - Dive, Light, Medium, Heavy, or Very Heavy - and I've added all that information to the RegInfo file. Given the hundreds of possible bomber units, this makes it easier for mission builders to choose appropriate squadrons when making bombing missions.

I've added headquarters squadrons to all Groups where it is appropriate. These squadrons mostly weren't flight squadrons, but were responsible for the squadron commander's and flying staff officers' personal aircraft, as well as aircraft which had yet to be assigned to a squadron, and the inevitable "hack" aircraft which were used for liaison and training.

I've added all the combat support aircraft squadrons which were directly attached to a particular Air Force, including liaison, rescue, transport, and weather squadrons. These will be handy now that we're getting a flyable C-47/DC-3. I've also added Pan American Airways and CATC (China-America Air Transport Corporation) which were civilian outfits which contracted with the 10th USAAF to transport personnel over "The Hump" to and from China.

I've added several early war precursor units to the "numbered" air forces, like the Middle East Air Force and the China Air Task Force. These will be handy for mission builders building 1942/early 1943 scenarios.

I've duplicated squadrons which were moved between different air forces as needed, in order to give a full order of battle for each air force's entire existence. For example, one unit started with the US Far East Air Force in 1941, was moved to the Middle East Air Force in 1942, then went to the 12th USAAF in 1943, and finally the 15th USAAF in 1944!

Finally, I've included a short list of units which I believe should be removed from the game. These are units which either never existed or never served in the formation to which they were assigned in the game.

[ddr]

Reworked trains is really nice! thank you DT for your efforts! I hope to see it soon on my pc

[Sita]

littel up ...

[Music]

Trains and Tanks look great.

I was a big WW2 buff growing up, (focused mainly on the air, and pacific, but I would think I would have seen photo's of these trains in some book). Did the Germans have a lot of them? And were they effective, I know Europe have a extensive rail net work, but they are still limited to that network, and I would assume fairly easy to find from the air, and destroy.

Great Work TD!

Music from Canada