Friday 2009-10-23 Screenshots Update discussion thread

[luthier]

Originally Posted by philip.ed

Also, you mentioned that colours etc are not permanent in regards to the terrain. Are the textures we are seeing here actually going to be used on the map of britain?

I'll answer that while Oleg's out.

The textures are WIP. Some are placeholders, other are not. Once the colors are fixed, the non-placeholder textures will be used in the main gameplay map.

I want to explain the thought process behind the map you're seeing right now a little better. It wasn't a "let's make a little slice of Britain" kind of thing. It wasn't a "let's make the most gorgeous map we can" kind of thing. It was a "let's make a map where we can stretch out various textures, test various options of 3D cliffs, and have a large variety of terrain types dumped together for quicker debugging."

That's how a lot of things are done in development. You need intermediary steps on the long arduous climb to perfection. This map is one of those steps.

[Feuerfalke]

Originally Posted by 150GCT_Veltro

75% is an example......

Yes, so: can we scored an idustrial (generic) area? When you say static objects, are you talking about the static objects we already have on the map as default static objects?

Well, as posted it's just my bet. But I'm pretty sure somehow it will be implemented. Now, if it will be triggers or special win-markers that need to be destroyed, I don't know. But I still bet it will be possible in some way.

[philip.ed]

Originally Posted by luthier

I'll answer that while Oleg's out.

The textures are WIP. Some are placeholders, other are not. Once the colors are fixed, the non-placeholder textures will be used in the main gameplay map.

I want to explain the thought process behind the map you're seeing right now a little better. It wasn't a "let's make a little slice of Britain" kind of thing. It wasn't a "let's make the most gorgeous map we can" kind of thing. It was a "let's make a map where we can stretch out various textures, test various options of 3D cliffs, and have a large variety of terrain types dumped together for quicker debugging."

That's how a lot of things are done in development. You need intermediary steps on the long arduous climb to perfection. This map is one of those steps.

Thanks luthier, that makes perfect sense. Can I ask, when designing your textures for britain/france, are you using historical photos when possible? For example, will you be attempting to perfectly replicate the actual fields and roads that exist? So for example, if I was flying around kent I could use the roads to find my way back to, say, west-malling...?

Thanks for being so helpful though. I know I have a lot of questions

[furbs]

i hope they use the photos i was asked to take back in 2004(or 5 cant remember now)...i took about 60 pics of pre-war houses, pubs, farms and other stuff. cant wait to see if some of them made it into SOW

[drafting]

Beautiful work, Oleg and Luthier! The 110 screenshot is especially amazing... Very true to life. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, too!

Since it's now possible to open canopies, etc (I may be wrong?), I wonder if it'd be possible too to have more complex 'bail out' sequences?

Bailing out is a pretty desperate and sometimes violent ordeal, and it'd be incredible if your view point could kind of 'leap' out of the cockpit and 'spin' away from the plane instead of just popping into a 3rd-person perspective of the pilot in his chute.

Also, up till now, you know that you're getting out if your plane's high enough and you hit the 'bail out' key, but in real life it might be impossible due to high speed, g's, or violent spinning... Maybe add a little fear into hitting 'ctrl-e'?

I remember a patch added to European Air War long ago that added 'realistic' bail outs, and it was a pretty scary ordeal. You definitely weren't assured of making it out alive if you weren't straight and level, and it made you wonder about bailing out long before you were missing a wing, tail, and engine and were fluttering to the ground.

[philip.ed]

Originally Posted by drafting

Beautiful work, Oleg and Luthier! The 110 screenshot is especially amazing... Very true to life. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, too!

Since it's now possible to open canopies, etc (I may be wrong?), I wonder if it'd be possible too to have more complex 'bail out' sequences?

Bailing out is a pretty desperate and sometimes violent ordeal, and it'd be incredible if your view point could kind of 'leap' out of the cockpit and 'spin' away from the plane instead of just popping into a 3rd-person perspective of the pilot in his chute.

Also, up till now, you know that you're getting out if your plane's high enough and you hit the 'bail out' key, but in real life it might be impossible due to high speed, g's, or violent spinning... Maybe add a little fear into hitting 'ctrl-e'?

I remember a patch added to European Air War long ago that added 'realistic' bail outs, and it was a pretty scary ordeal. You definitely weren't assured of making it out alive if you weren't straight and level, and it made you wonder about bailing out long before you were missing a wing, tail, and engine and were fluttering to the ground.

That would be cool. However, from the screens it is clear that we won't be able to see the pilots arms, legs, torso etc. It would be a bit odd to have the process in 1st person without seeing these features. I'm not sure though, it could work....

[AdMan]

Originally Posted by luthier

I'll answer that while Oleg's out.

The textures are WIP. Some are placeholders, other are not. Once the colors are fixed, the non-placeholder textures will be used in the main gameplay map.

I want to explain the thought process behind the map you're seeing right now a little better. It wasn't a "let's make a little slice of Britain" kind of thing. It wasn't a "let's make the most gorgeous map we can" kind of thing. It was a "let's make a map where we can stretch out various textures, test various options of 3D cliffs, and have a large variety of terrain types dumped together for quicker debugging."

That's how a lot of things are done in development. You need intermediary steps on the long arduous climb to perfection. This map is one of those steps.

Thanks for the insight. As an artist I've learned not to show WIP that doesn't look complete (even if it's not) because the natural response from people is to get worried if they don't understand the process. Knowing the purpose of this particular map I can now better see what is being tested.

[AdMan]

grab0130
these clouds look amazing!

[zapatista]

hi Oleg,

thanks for your previous answer

Q: about dynamic campaign and aircraft available at airfields

1) will destroying enemy aircraft parked on the ground affect the aircraft the enemy pilots can "select" at that airfield ?
2) will fresh aircraft re-supply to front line airfields be modeled in the campaign timeline, eg
- every X time the factory production can produce X number aircraft type A,B,C and those become available at regular interval to be flown to airfields for us. if more enemy aircraft are destroyed then they can produce, this affects aircraft available at that specific airfield (forcing pilots of that team to use more rear located airfields, and hence need more flying time to the frontline which further weakens their team)
- if all 109's at an airfield are destroyed on the ground, the german pilots should not be able to select 109's at that airfield, and after X time some fresh factory 109's could be flown in to that airfield and become available
3) will new aircraft resupply to airfields be modeled by AI flying in these aircraft (which means the enemy would see those resupply flights to, and could intercept them)
4) if aircraft are damaged at an airfield, either because a pilot landed a damaged aircraft or some aircraft were damaged by an enemy attack, will those aircraft be "repaired" on the ground in XYZ time and gradually become available again ? (major damage to aircraft would mean dead aircraft, less damage could be gradually repaired)

thx for all your hard work on BoB, it is very exiting to see the continued development coming together at this stage

those type of factors really affect immersion in a sim, because the actions from each team have a direct effect on the opposing teams fighting ability

5) if some of those campaign features are not immediately available, is this part of your game engine that will be "open" for your fanbase to work on themselves so they can put time and effort into those aspects of the game to ?

[BadAim]

Originally Posted by AdMan

Thanks for the insight. As an artist I've learned not to show WIP that doesn't look complete (even if it's not) because the natural response from people is to get worried if they don't understand the process. Knowing the purpose of this particular map I can now better see what is being tested.

I remember a similar problem when installing concealed vertical rod exit devices in brand new double doors. (my buddy the glass guy had recieved the doors four weeks late on the day that the customers were supposed to move in and they weren't prepped for the hardware, hardware that was never designed to be field installed by the way)

It was the hardest thing to explain to everyone that the job was 89% prep work and that once the doors started to sprout lock parts the job was nearly done. Sure enough an hour after I screwed in the first mounting stud I was hanging the doors.

To be fair they were moving several million dollars worth of medical equipment in the back while I was trying to get the doors finished in front. So a suppose a little panic was in order from people who don't understand the process.