Friday 2010-10-01 Dev. update and Discussion

[AWL_Spinner]

Enough about REX clouds already. They look awesome as a backdrop to a static screenshot, undoubtedly, but look bloody awful if you try flying around them and through them (that's not a criticism of REX, which is a wonderful product, but an acknowledgement of the limitations of the FSX engine which simply cannot deliver a decent volumetric cloud experience). REX is essentially a 2D photo library of beautiful clouds and NOT what I would wish to see in something like SoW.

Very impressed with the first cloud shot of the SoW Wellington, the first time we've seen something approaching an overcast (although I see in a later image that was a limited patch of cloud).

Looking forward to seeing more where that came from. Overcast, drizzle and fog please!

Cheers, Spinner

[philip.ed]

Originally Posted by AWL_Spinner

Enough about REX clouds already. They look awesome as a backdrop to a static screenshot, undoubtedly, but look bloody awful if you try flying around them and through them (that's not a criticism of REX, which is a wonderful product, but an acknowledgement of the limitations of the FSX engine which simply cannot deliver a decent volumetric cloud experience). REX is essentially a 2D photo library of beautiful clouds and NOT what I would wish to see in something like SoW.

Very impressed with the first cloud shot of the SoW Wellington, the first time we've seen something approaching an overcast (although I see in a later image that was a limited patch of cloud).

Looking forward to seeing more where that came from. Overcast, drizzle and fog please!

Cheers, Spinner

No I agree. But ReX just looks realistic, doesn't it? I think it could be achieved for 3D clouds, but we'll see.

[Jumo211]

Thank you Oleg for new update , everything is coming alone very nicely

Please , I would like to ask four questions as some other guys probably would
also like to know , if some similar IL-2 stuff graphics was carried over to the
BoB:SoW so we can know what to expect :

1. is the aircraft fuel leak effects in 2D with also some of the aircraft damage smokes in 2D ?

2. are clouds going to pop out suddenly from distance ?

3. is there color flickering with clouds ( dark/bright ) when looking at them from various angles ?

4. is there clouds jerking movement when flying around them as it is happening in IL-2 ?

Thank you so much , very appreciate that

[Jumo211]

Originally Posted by Jumo211

Thank you Oleg for new update , everything is coming alone very nicely

Please , I would like to ask four questions as some other guys probably would
also like to know , if some similar IL-2 stuff graphics was carried over to the
BoB:SoW so we can know what to expect :

1. is the aircraft fuel leak effects in 2D with also some of the aircraft damage smokes in 2D ?

2. are clouds going to pop out suddenly from distance ?

3. is there color flickering with clouds ( dark/bright ) when looking at them from various angles ?

4. is there clouds jerking movement when flying around them as it is happening in IL-2 ?

Thank you so much , very appreciate that

A shameless bump , it looks like from pictures that there will be
possibly fuel leak and some other aircraft smoke damage in 2D
in 2010/2011 release
Not even one member picked up on this concern including clouds
flicker and any jerking movements when flying around them
since video clearly show clouds flicker behind the He-111 .
Please , tell me I am jerk for asking such questions

I am waiting for this release us much as anyone else but these things are
my concern at this point in time and would love to know what to expect
as the development is in much further stage progress .

[philip.ed]

HG, I think when Oleg said there were fps issues with the video, he meant that not all the frames were translated, which causes the clouds to flicker. I'm hearing you though mate, I thought that too when I saw it

[AWL_Spinner]

Originally Posted by philip.ed

No I agree. But ReX just looks realistic, doesn't it? I think it could be achieved for 3D clouds, but we'll see.

Well yes, it looks realistic because it's photographs of real clouds

Although the library is large, you do see the same clouds (in 2D plates!) again and again and...

I would be delighted if 3D volumetric clouds looked that good, but I'd settle for any sort of 3D volumetric cloud that formed part of a dynamic, moving, shifting weather engine (and what we've seen in terms of lighting at least so far looks great, I just want to see more types of weather).

Weather is one of the great pillars of immersion, for me. Some of the most evocative bits of all those great WWII books are weather related, whether it's pilots like Clostermann or Wellum dancing around the clouds in their Spitfires, or Gibson easing in and out of the channel murk and mist in a Beaufighter or Lancaster.

Summers days and fluffy cumulus are all very well, but I want to chase Ju88s through the mist and clag of a blustery autumn dawn with 500ft ceilings

[phlewp]

Originally Posted by AWL_Spinner

Well yes, it looks realistic because it's photographs of real clouds

Although the library is large, you do see the same clouds (in 2D plates!) again and again and...

I would be delighted if 3D volumetric clouds looked that good, but I'd settle for any sort of 3D volumetric cloud that formed part of a dynamic, moving, shifting weather engine (and what we've seen in terms of lighting at least so far looks great, I just want to see more types of weather).

Weather is one of the great pillars of immersion, for me. Some of the most evocative bits of all those great WWII books are weather related, whether it's pilots like Clostermann or Wellum dancing around the clouds in their Spitfires, or Gibson easing in and out of the channel murk and mist in a Beaufighter or Lancaster.

Summers days and fluffy cumulus are all very well, but I want to chase Ju88s through the mist and clag of a blustery autumn dawn with 500ft ceilings

I agree that weather can be a great factor when it comes to immersion. Some of my favorite experiences in IL2 have been flying above the clouds, then diving down into them to engage the enemy, and then suddenly having a panic moment as I realize I'm right in the midst of a formation of bombers. Or flying through the clouds, only to see another plane heading straight for me at the last second.


I too would prefer 3D volumetric clouds that formed part of a dynamic system, to anything 2D. I would rather have 3D volumetric "cotton balls" or amorphous blobs than the finest 2D textures/pictures of clouds.

The rest of us... the silent majority enjoy the Friday updates and the really nice screen shots. Good enough to use as desktop wall paper. Whatever pictures you'd like to show us... show. Most of us appreciate the efforts and the work involved.

Count me amongst the silent (until now that is, what with this being my first comment) majority. While I've been waiting a long time for SoW:BoB, I'd rather have it released when Oleg thinks it's ready, rather than having a bug ridden, poor experience the first time around. I find poorly written, buggy software to be more frustrating than waiting for a proper release.

It seems that Oleg just can't win though. People bitch for news on a release date, and if they don't meet that release date, people bitch. He holds out on giving a release date until he feels confident he can make that release date, and people still bitch. I've seen the same thing in the forums for Luxology's modo software, and other places. I don't think people appreciate just how non-linear creating something like SoW is. It's not a simple progression of A to B to C to D and all the way to Z. Fix or change something in step C, and you might have to go back and tweak stuff in step A.

[philip.ed]

If he released it in two years I wouldn't care. So long as it wasn;t bug ridden, as you said
He has me hooked by the shots he posts each week. I don't think I give this impression though, but I really do feel that way