4.13 development update discussion and feedback

[Treetop64]

All this talk about traffic on curved roads in this game is nice and all, but...

When the game was first in development - or any game simulating a physical environment, for that matter - the environment, or world, was created as a platform with certain rules that all objects within it has to follow. How everything moves in the environment is dictated by rules formulated by the mathematical framework of that environment. IL-2s linear road traffic is one of the manifestations of that.

If one wants to go in and reinvent how road traffic moves in the game, he must go in and rewrite how that part of the environmental framework is built and how it functions, including all mathematical functions associated with the change (the "rules"). In other words, it isn't simply a matter of just telling traffic to follow curves or a color, instead of straight lines, as has been mentioned, but actually rebuilding the environment that allows for road traffic to follow curves.

As can be imagined, it would be a disproportionately large and complex task for such relatively minor effect, and one that carries prohibitive risk since making such a fundamental "core" change introduces the chance of unintentionally altering other parts of object interaction with the environment. Also, it also involves yet another instance of having to go in and change someone else's code, potentially without notes or guidance, and this is something that most coders try to avoid if they can...

Considering it's age, the current road system, while it's not aesthetically perfect, works well. If efforts are made to change how it works then it would obviously be more efficient to just increase way-point and road data resolution to something finer than the - IIRC - 200 meter minimum that the current environment enforces. If doing that risks breaking the world, though, it is probably better to leave it alone and work with what you have.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Treetop64

If one wants to go in and reinvent how road traffic moves in the game, he must go in and rewrite how that part of the environmental framework is built and how it functions, including all mathematical functions associated with the change (the "rules"). In other words, it isn't simply a matter of just telling traffic to follow curves or a color, instead of straight lines, as has been mentioned, but actually rebuilding the environment that allows for road traffic to follow curves.

That's the problem with a lot of suggestions, not just on this thread but also one the "wish list" thread and many request threads I've seen on modding sites. Without understanding how the game is coded, fans have no way of knowing what's an easy change for the developers to made, what's "hard but doable" and what's impossible.

I take it as a given that TD's folks evaluate all those requests in light of their superior knowledge of how the game actually works. Some things, like realistic interactions between heavy bomber crews, NG-copyright content, or massive changes to how graphics work in the game, fall into the "never going to happen" category. Most fall into the "nice idea, but too much work/not something I want to do." category. A very few, ideas, however, fall into the "That's a great idea and it would be easy to implement." category, or even better, "We've been looking for a solution to that problem and you've just found it."

[shelby]

very good update. Will this plane have as an option four bomb racks under the wings as the N1K1-Jc did?

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

Originally Posted by shelby

very good update. Will this plane have as an option four bomb racks under the wings as the N1K1-Jc did?

Only two.

[nic727]

Nice AA gun!

[Gel-ler]

Very Nice Job!
Beautifull Airplane!
Thank´s TD!!!

[stugumby]

Looks fantastic and that towed quad 50 will really shred a low flying jabo.

On the N1K planes how did the cowling guns transpire, if im tracking this right the 1st version had them the 2nd didnt and the 3rd removed the holes in cowling? Reason for my confusion is the fighters that did have mg had the backplates/buffer assembly in the cockpit, example ki-43 series.

[julien673]

Wooooowww tks

[Spinnetti]

Looks great!

[Spinnetti]

Originally Posted by Feathered_IV

The image above is from the Rabaul map I'm working on. I haven't seen anything from the PNG group for some years.

The above map was originally an abandoned early alpha from a Japanese group. It's accuracy was very poor and I've been working to get it right,
down to the individual named streets in the township. Using period maps, strike photos and topographical information I've also been able to reproduce
the damage to airfields and installations, to represent how the area looked in 1944 when it was under seige.
It's strictly a mods-on prject though, and utilises techniques and resources outside the default game.

Some more pics from various stages in the map's development if you're interested.

....

Looks great!