Friday 2011-02-04 Dev. update and Discussion

[Defender]

Originally Posted by Redwan

Flight sims are making a small come back ? Did you know that Microsoft is ending the FSX serie ? It means that the rentability sucks .... You should reed the news ...

And in such a context, it won't be easy for BoB to take it's place on the market as the graphics will be very poor for a modern simulator (no wheather effects, cartoony clouds, problems with the aspect of trees when seen from far, unrealistic textures ...)

I read the news FSX closing it's doors that's ancient. I'm also aware that MS has a new series coming out "MS Flight" (Not that I care much about it personally). Microsoft stopped supporting FSX a long time ago, the only reason it's going today is because of third party developers who are still going VERY strong. I'm not sure it's very accurate to compare a civilian flight sim with questionable flight dynamics and zero plane/enemy/ground AI to a WWII combat flight simulation.

Lets name drop a few other developers releasing sims today; the DCS series is going strong, Rise of Flight is in the mix and Jet Thunder with A2A on board as a developer makes for a pretty strong case, oh and X-PLANE 10, Seven G and Fighter Ops (if it eventually comes to fruition.) Cliffs of Dover is a fort night away; that in all sense of the word..a comeback.

You're opinion based on the screenshots of Cliffs of Dover is short sighted, you obviously want a visual simulation more than a high fidelity combat sim otherwise you wouldn't be ragging on the cover art of a complex entity. (And you would know that in all the years of high fidelity combat sims, nothing has ever come out with state of the art photo real graphics). I've been simming for a LONG time and graphically this is what I expect from a new modern sim. Ooh and the weather system is there, just use at your own risk and has been mentioned it is being worked on. Obviously you haven't a clue at the complexity involved behind the scenes whilst developing a game.

Your entitled to your opinion of course, but asking me if i read the news when you quote information that's 7 months doesn't disprove my point. Besides, the best sims these days are being put forth by small studio type developers, (Oleg Games, ED, 777 studios, A2A, Bohemia).

My point stands, I've not had so many flight sims on my computer at one time since the late 90's...that my friend is signs of a comeback (not saying how FAR it will come back, but it's breathing new life into a previously desolate world).

[flyingblind]

I find the discussions on the effect of screen resolutions on the ability to spot planes in game are all very interesting. Personally I would far rather have the highest resolution possible (native res) simply because of the enjoyment of having better, more realistice scenery and planes especially when it comes to making positive ID before firing.
Once LODs kick in I have always found it quite possible to spot a plane against a ground background because at higher resolutions and with a correctly adjusted screen there is noticable contrast between plane and background, even forests.
The problem seems to be a natural desire for people to have every edge they can get or at least not to be disadvantaged and so they want to be able to spot the enemy at the absolute earliest. Rather than worrying about how different monitors/setups compare with each other I am far more interested in how what I am seeing on screen compares with what I would see in real life.
I don't care if someone on lower resolution can see a dot at 8Km or more if in real life a pilot might not see the plane at 5 or 6km and then depending on light conditions. I would far rather see a beautifully rendered, sharp and antialiased plane at 500m and to make a positive ID when it counts.
The discussions are all about what is seen on one screen compared with another but much more rarely about what was actually seen in real life. Lets face it, a common tactic especially of bombers was to fly low to avoid detection from fighters so perhaps not being able to spot planes against the forest is more realistic especially if flying on a full switch server without icons.I have also read accounts of flights spotting lower planes and having to descend to identify them.
Mistaken identity and friendly fire incidents were a real risk. Wasn't there a documentary that suggested Douglas Bader was most likely downed by friendly fire and he invented the story of a 109 collision to protect his fellow RAF pilot?
There are still a few weeks before we will know how much better the landscape and rendering and visibility of objects are in CoD compared to IL-2 (I don't think any of the promised videos will really do justice at all) but two things in particular I hope will be an improvement. The flare and glint of sun on planes should be much more lifelike and help spot distant aircraft and the dynamically moving shadows in the cockpits will maybe make positioning yourself between the sun and your target much easier. It really will be a case of 'beware the hun in the sun'.