Friday 2010-08-13 Dev. update and Discussions

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by krz9000

i hope this game gets steamworks integration as drm. it would give the game phaenomenal international distribution and a solidpirate protection... pls oleg consider it at least

I hope this game doesn't get any DRM at all. People who don't want to pay can't be forced to pay anyway (if pirates can't get a game for free they don't buy it, they just don't play it at all) so why should the rest of us, the paying customers, have to suffer the drawbacks of DRM?

A cd-check, a serial, maybe even a one-time online activation (one that you can activate and deactivate at will, so that you can reinstall your game after a system upgrade or format) will be enough to dissuade casual piracy. This is the kind of piracy worth battling, because it's the preventable kind. Hardcore piracy can't be controlled and if they can't get it for free they'll simply bypass it altogether. So, why not focus on making money by keeping the real customers happy, spenting the time and funds on things they will want to buy, instead of on setting up DRM infrastructure or paying royalties to 3rd party publishing platforms?




On the topic of instruments now...

Originally Posted by Splitter

Thank you, I know that one though . It's different in X-Plane. You just pan down and the instruments are there and legible. In a 3D cockpit, the zoom in scalable (plus you can flip all the switches with the mouse lol).

It's just more functional, but the instruments are a bit more important in those flight sims I guess.

Splitter

I think the main reason for better instrument visibility in civilian sims is the increased resolution. I don't know about X-plane but i fly FSX on a friend's PC every now and then and it's the same deal. You can easily make out the instruments even from a wide angle view. I fly with the 3d-cockpit and TrackIR 99% of the time and the only 2-d overlay panels i use are individual instruments that i want to keep track off continuously (eg, a VOR gauge that lies to the right of the cockpit, i might pop up the 2d-panel for that so that i don't have to strain my neck looking at it with TrackIR all the time).

If you couple this with 6-DOF capability to zoom in/out (even without a trackIR) and the possibility of saving snap-views individually for each plane, you can keep track of everything just fine. The only question that remains is whether we will be able to save our own snap-views for each aircraft, a la RoF. Just like some FSX add-ons have separate cameras of the 3-d cockpit from different viewing angles (for example, a camera looking below the control yoke so you can see the electrical switches), in RoF you can move the camera where you want it and "memorize" its position by assigning it to a certain key. This is done individually for each aircraft.

If this is implemented in SoW it will be a big help for people who lack head tracking software. For example, you could memorize a set of keypad commands and say that "ok, i want keypad 0 to always give me a view of the engine instruments, regardless of aircrat". Of course, the position of these instrments relative to the player's "head" camera center position are different for each plane. However, if SoW could "memorize" different snap-views for each aircraft it would be no problem. You would just have to look at the instruments once and assign a keypad key to that camera angle, to be pressed whenever you wanted a quick glance at your engine parameters.

Judging from the in-cockpit shots we've seen of SoW, i think the resolution is high enough. Heck, there are 3rd party high resolution cockpits in IL2 that are perfectly legible from the wide angle view, so i have no doubt that official SoW cockpits will be even better. We also know it will have 6-DOF head panninng, so i guess we'll be able to manage just fine.

Just look at that Blenheim cockpit shot posted in one of the previous updates, the instruments look so crisp and detailed that i got "cockpit and switch mania" and got a sudden urge to go fly something with clickable cockpits

[HundertneunGustav]

blenheim and leaves shot....

wooooow
need a new mobo and GC

[engarde]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

Just look at that Blenheim cockpit shot posted in one of the previous updates, the instruments look so crisp and detailed that i got "cockpit and switch mania" and got a sudden urge to go fly something with clickable cockpits

Lets hope trackIR will someday allow us via head movement of a hi-vis dot, activated by a quick double blink, to activate live cockpit functions.

[Blackdog_kt]

You mean like a cursor that can be moved via TrackIR instead of mouse? That would be very nice.

Another thing i had in mind...having a cursor that is bound to the cockpit's 3d coordinates instead of the screen's coordinates. For example, that would enable us to place the cursor on the gunsight controls and it would stay there regardless of where we looked. The cursor might be out of view but unless the mouse (or mouse emulating hotas hat) moved, it would stay there. It would be like having a virtual hand instead of having to always look at what we want to manipulate, quite useful for setting up things in advance.

For example, i might be looking over my shoulder but still adjusting my gunsight brightness or range by moving that mouse wheel. Or, i could be expecting one of my fuel tanks to run dry, so i could place the cursor on the fuel tank switch 5 minutes ahead of time...just as the engine begins to cough and sputter, a click of the mouse or roll of the mouse wheel and the next fuel tank is selected.

I guess this would be more useful for twin engined aircraft or bombers, ie flyables with increased amount of controls. Clickable pits or not, i doubt anyone would want to click the gun triggers or other important controls like flaps, throttles, etc, but it works quite nicely for less important controls that are used less than often in the duration of the entire mission, as it minimizes the amount of needed keyboard shortcuts to map and memorize.

I'll stop here, before we derail this from a "WiP discussion and screenshots" to "ideas about the interface of SoW"

[airmalik]

Originally Posted by engarde

Lets hope trackIR will someday allow us via head movement of a hi-vis dot, activated by a quick double blink, to activate live cockpit functions.

Don't know if I'd want to blink to activate switches. I'd prefer voice activated switches or something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLkfx6QxLfg

He's using a Wii remote to activate switches by touching them on the screen.

[tourmaline]

Originally Posted by airmalik

Don't know if I'd want to blink to activate switches. I'd prefer voice activated switches or something like this:

He's using a Wii remote to activate switches by touching them on the screen.

Voice activation will have some problems, first of all, wich language will you use and if your language is not the native one used for the game, if you don't pronounce it well, then it won't recognize the commands. This is also the case with some dictate software; if you have a cold, it's going mad allready...

Not the best solution for international games.

A cursor that moves via a hat keyswitch on your hotas would be a much better option!

[airmalik]

Originally Posted by tourmaline

Voice activation will have some problems, first of all, wich language will you use and if your language is not the native one used for the game, if you don't pronounce it well, then it won't recognize the commands.

I was thinking of the free software shoot . This allows you to record commands in your OWN voice and will issue the desired keystroke to the game. Because it's your own voice, there's no issue with recognition. When I used to play IL2, I had common voice commands like 'gear', 'flaps up', 'nav lights', 'fire extinguisher', 'smoke' set up and it was pretty cool to have the plane react to them. Felt like I had a copilot flying with me, performing what I asked him to do.

Before 'shoot' I spent a lot of time configuring my Saitek stick and throttle with modifiers keys etc. but couldn't always remember what button combo to press for a command. Shoot made it so much easier especially for the less commonly used commands.

[tourmaline]

Originally Posted by airmalik

I was thinking of the free software shoot . This allows you to record commands in your OWN voice and will issue the desired keystroke to the game. Because it's your own voice, there's no issue with recognition. When I used to play IL2, I had common voice commands like 'gear', 'flaps up', 'nav lights', 'fire extinguisher', 'smoke' set up and it was pretty cool to have the plane react to them. Felt like I had a copilot flying with me, performing what I asked him to do.

Before 'shoot' I spent a lot of time configuring my Saitek stick and throttle with modifiers keys etc. but couldn't always remember what button combo to press for a command. Shoot made it so much easier especially for the less commonly used commands.

Oh yes, if you have a severe cold, shoot might have a problem recognizing your commands since your voice sounds quite different. This has always been the case with voice activated software.

I prefer a hotas system anytime over shoot. You can record loads of keystrokes under a button. In real world situations it also doesn't work with voice command. Maybe some ultra modern airplanes might have it, but not the ones used in wow: BOB.

[airmalik]

Originally Posted by tourmaline

In real world situations it also doesn't work with voice command. Maybe some ultra modern airplanes might have it, but not the ones used in wow: BOB.

It's up to you what you want to use the voice commands for. For instance, in the absence of hand signals, issuing commands to your wingman may be more realistic when voice activated rather than via keyboard/hotas button.

Being entirely optional, you don't have to use it if it doesn't work for you.

[swiss]

Originally Posted by tourmaline

Oh yes, if you have a severe cold, shoot might have a problem recognizing your commands since your voice sounds quite different. This has always been the case with voice activated software.

I prefer a hotas system anytime over shoot. You can record loads of keystrokes under a button. In real world situations it also doesn't work with voice command. Maybe some ultra modern airplanes might have it, but not the ones used in wow: BOB.

Bingo - if you want total immersion: build a cockpit.
It's fairly easy to build, only problem could be space - and the fact that everybody who knows about it thinks your're nuts.