Friday 2010-09-10 Dev. update and Discussions

Peffi · #1 09-11-2010, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbag

Navigation without an airspeed indicator? Might get difficult very quickly!

If you were a pilot you would know how to navigate without an airspeed indicator. Wonder if you have the same problem if the speedometer brakes in your car, but you probably don't have a drivers license.

Sutts · #2 09-11-2010, 04:12 PM

Wow, looks great Oleg. Things are really coming along nicely.

That 109 cockpit is simply stunning. Ice looks great, fire looks great with the flames licking back, sea is amazing. Also the trees look so much better now.

I have a couple of questions.

Will the Thames be given 3D river banks at some point? I think I remember the team mentioning a mesh system that could support such a feature.

London is a vast city. Today it is covers an area over 600 square miles. Not sure how much it has grown since 1940 but even if it was a quarter of that then it's still a huge area to cover in buildings. How will the areas outside the center be portrayed please? I can fully understand that covering that kind of area in 3D objects will simply not work with today's computing resources.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers

jocko417 · #3 09-12-2010, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peffi

If you were a pilot you would know how to navigate without an airspeed indicator. Wonder if you have the same problem if the speedometer brakes in your car, but you probably don't have a drivers license.

A wristwatch might be nice to go with that compass...

Peffi · #4 09-12-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocko417

A wristwatch might be nice to go with that compass...

True, but you wouldn't get lost without it.

jocko417 · #5 09-12-2010, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peffi

True, but you wouldn't get lost without it.

Actually, my post was more of a hint that one really needs more than a compass to navigate effectively. As you say, one can figure out what compass heading to fly based on tracking between two landmarks along your route. Once you've found a heading that corrects for any wind drift you can hold that heading and follow along with your map, spotting landmarks as they appear ahead. This is called Pilotage.

But what about the Lysander crossing the Channel example above? With no landmarks enroute you can just fly a heading and hope for the best, or you can do yourself a favour by calculating in advance the length of time to fly the crossing at a set speed, and then use your airspeed indicator and wristwatch to monitor your progress based on an ETA. Your heading would also be worked out in advance based on forecast wind along your route. This is called Dead Reckoning.

If you do get lost, a watch and knowledge of your speed are tools to help you deduce your position.

And if I'm planning to fly over the Channel on a moonless night I'll take that altimeter as well. Remember you can try to beat the high altitude flying record, but you can only tie the low altitude flying record...

DuxCorvan · #6 09-12-2010, 08:22 PM

Nothing to say about the impressive sea, planes, buildings, etc., but the terrain textures still look poor to me, and quite behind those of Wings of Prey and other modern simulations. They're poor and I've not seen significant advance, but for terrain objects, and clear intention of avoiding terrain screenshots from high above. They are far beyond the rest of what's been shown, and I wonder if they're gonna be enhanced, or they'll leave it in this IMHO WIP state.

Everything else looks nice or simply fantastic.

tourmaline · #7 09-12-2010, 08:29 PM

Wonderful screenshots, oleg and team!

Pierre@ · #8 09-12-2010, 08:32 PM

Nice Friday Update! Thanks.

And now, a friendly message to the nitpickers: did you notice Oleg's team has corrected the rear aerodynamical cone on the Emil antenna wire which was fitted in the wrong direction on previous screenshots?

major_setback · #9 09-13-2010, 12:49 AM

There seem to be trees alongside roads now. I don't think we saw that before, at least I don't think so.
Is this the purpose of that screenshot, to show that addition? This sort of thing is honestly hard to spot, if you are not specifically looking for them....it would be better to let us know what we're being shown. Please dev' team - state what the specific point of a screenshot is. Otherwise we will comment on everything that is periferal in the screenshot and miss the main point.

Splitter · #10 09-13-2010, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by major_setback

There seem to be trees alongside roads now. I don't think we saw that before, at least I don't think so.
Is this the purpose of that screenshot, to show that addition? This sort of thing is honestly hard to spot, if you are not specifically looking for them....it would be better to let us know what we're being shown. Please dev' team - state what the specific point of a screenshot is. Otherwise we will comment on everything that is periferal in the screenshot and miss the main point.

I have this picture in my mind of Oleg sitting back in an easy chair, ice cold vodka in hand, sprinkling a little pepper in the glass and chortling to himself over comments about the screen shots.

Methinks the development team is having some fun at our expense.

Splitter