Friday 2010-12-03 Dev. update and Discussion

[Splitter]

Originally Posted by Redwan

I see that I have been waiting for 1 week just to see .... boring maps ...
After the last week's update session with BoB menus, I would have expected something more graphic/exiting.


I know, "I dont have the time, I'm tired", or what ever excuse we already heard here ... but is it so difficult to start the beta version and push on PRINT SCREEN on some ongoing air action ? I cant' believe that Oleg cannot delegate such an easy task to one of his guy's if he doesn't have the time himself.

Wow. You should understand that some of us (many?) are just as interested in the nuts and bolts of the game as we are about the graphics. We've seen a lot of graphics, even in game video. Those look good, but what will make this a great sim is the "guts" of the software. Oleg is showing us some of the inner workings and alluding to the expandability of the sim.

Your post is rude, sorry. Very ungrateful. And I don't care if saying so gets me a ban for being "off topic", it needs ot be said.

As for me, it looks like even I could build decent missions in SoW lol. I love all the options and it looks pretty straight forward (I am sure it won't be the first time through though, never is).

Thank you for the peek inside, Oleg.

Splitter

[[URU]AkeR]

Originally Posted by Redwan

I see that I have been waiting for 1 week just to see .... boring maps ...
After the last week's update session with BoB menus, I would have expected something more graphic/exiting.


I know, "I dont have the time, I'm tired", or what ever excuse we already heard here ... but is it so difficult to start the beta version and push on PRINT SCREEN on some ongoing air action ? I cant' believe that Oleg cannot delegate such an easy task to one of his guy's if he doesn't have the time himself.

Ahh Redwan, Redwan.
See, those exciting missions you fly on different servers, and those engaging, inmmersive coops you might fly online, are made by people that spends hours in front of this "boring maps" actually in a version that is much more basic than what Oleg just showed. Now imagine what they would do with this many options.
I think its exciting.

Oleg, now that we have those crystal clear waypoint markers, maybe it is possible to have different tones of red (or blue) depending on height?
Will ground movement waypoint markers be different from air ones?
I see some spawn options, so we will be seeing ai on dogfight missions?
Te # of passes option is sweet, also the inbetween options.. ah and the group Properties depicting weight in the current waypoint!

[*Buzzsaw*]

Originally Posted by Redwan

I see that I have been waiting for 1 week just to see .... boring maps ...
After the last week's update session with BoB menus, I would have expected something more graphic/exiting.


I know, "I dont have the time, I'm tired", or what ever excuse we already heard here ... but is it so difficult to start the beta version and push on PRINT SCREEN on some ongoing air action ? I cant' believe that Oleg cannot delegate such an easy task to one of his guy's if he doesn't have the time himself.

Either you are 11 years old, or you have the brain of an 11 year old.

The Mission builder is one of the crucial elements of this game, key to its longevity.

As someone else has mentioned, a lot of players will be spending a lot of time building missions which replicate particular historical moments of the campaign which are not included in the basic game. After all there were nearly 4 months of almost continuous action.

Others will be building complete campaigns based on particular Squadrons or Staffels.

Thanks to Oleg's careful design of his mission builder, those dedicated players will have the tools to accomplish their intentions.

Next time you post a silly comment like that, you might take the time to actually think through what you are saying.

[BadAim]

Originally Posted by Redwan

I see that I have been waiting for 1 week just to see .... boring maps ...
After the last week's update session with BoB menus, I would have expected something more graphic/exiting.


I know, "I dont have the time, I'm tired", or what ever excuse we already heard here ... but is it so difficult to start the beta version and push on PRINT SCREEN on some ongoing air action ? I cant' believe that Oleg cannot delegate such an easy task to one of his guy's if he doesn't have the time himself.

Another one for my ignore list, don't worry Red, your in good company.

[Avimimus]

Originally Posted by Redwan

I see that I have been waiting for 1 week just to see .... boring maps ...
After the last week's update session with BoB menus, I would have expected something more graphic/exiting.


I know, "I dont have the time, I'm tired", or what ever excuse we already heard here ... but is it so difficult to start the beta version and push on PRINT SCREEN on some ongoing air action ? I cant' believe that Oleg cannot delegate such an easy task to one of his guy's if he doesn't have the time himself.

*sigh*

Use imagination.

I've been flying BoB since 2005.

P.S. The answer is that it probably is more difficult than you think. Oleg's team is busy building the sim (while Oleg is handling PR - which he is very good at - and collecting information). Basically, avoid expecting too much - Oleg didn't have to post any updates.

[Oleg Maddox]

Originally Posted by Redwan

I see that I have been waiting for 1 week just to see .... boring maps ...
After the last week's update session with BoB menus, I would have expected something more graphic/exiting.


I know, "I dont have the time, I'm tired", or what ever excuse we already heard here ... but is it so difficult to start the beta version and push on PRINT SCREEN on some ongoing air action ? I cant' believe that Oleg cannot delegate such an easy task to one of his guy's if he doesn't have the time himself.

I put only these things that I think is important and these that I want. I can't do only things that you personally ask.

And I don't really "must do" it every week.

Lets you'll try to ask the same from other companies. For example Microsoft. I will be very interested what the aswer you will get. May be you would try?

And finally, you may see, that for most here this update was really interesting... If you don't use FMB for making the sim even more intersting that it is in basis, then you simply don't understand the importance of the FMB. This tool makes the game even more interesting and allow many users to get new scenarios, campaigns, single missions, to invite then to play online your friends in the new scenario you did, etc ... Just try to think about it.

Experience of Il-2 show that this tool was one of the most important features of the sim. And here I just show the new tool, that in comparison to Il-2 FMB has a lot more new features. that was implemented by the great accumulation of users suggestions from around the world in years.

This feature is one of the main features that lacks many other games of one season life.

Just try to think about it a bit wider....

This update is one of the most important comparing to such as the first video even shown....

PS. Without such a tool there probably wasn't possible a lot of the mods in Il-2...

[dflion]

Thanks Oleg for this ‘part release’ on the new FMB,
I have just done a comparison with the old IL-2 FMB and very thankfully you have made only minimal changes – why change an excellent tool that helped give the IL-2 flight sim its very long life. I know some members have criticised the old interface and look of the FMB, I don’t think this matters. As long as the mission builders can quickly pick up the new FMB and make some great missions quickly, using some of the new options.

1. The Mission Description screen is basically the same with the addition of some new folders – I am very happy with this.
2. The map is excellent, including Normandy with more inland French airfields.
3. Placing waypoints are basically the same as IL-2, though I am interested in the ‘In-betweening’ tick boxes and what they mean? ‘Interpolate’ means to ‘insert’ – altitude, speed etc?
4. On the ‘View a list of Objects in the mission’ can you delete airfields that are not being used in the mission build to reduce the map megabyte count and help the ‘frame rate’?
5. The above question leads to another question – are all the airfields already created with buildings, hangars, AA guns, static aircraft and vehicles etc?
6. How does the screen ‘edit’, ‘view’, ‘name’ work and how does ‘Spline RoadRunway Concrete 20m’ work in the FMB?
7. The object ‘aircraft’ screen is very exciting to see – you obviously are holding back some more aircraft for the release, or later release.
8. In the Object ‘Group Properties’ screen you have added four flights to a squadron which is excellent. New boxes are ‘Formation’, Call-Sign’, aircraft weights, Ammo belts (type), Detonators (length of time), Weathering and ‘Spawn parked’. Could you explain ‘Spawn parked’ in more detail?
9. The ‘Player, skill, skin’ screen has some very good new options, Weathering, Briefing, Left nose art, Right nose art, Tactical number, Serial number and A, B and C band colours. Also a ‘Crew’ button to switch from player to crew.
10. What is missing from your pics is the ‘Mission Description’ screen – ‘Mission name’, Short’, Full description. I hope you can create a mission description, say on a lap-top computer and transfer it easily into the mission description area, without opening up the full fight-sim?

I hope this feedback is helpful. The Hurricane mission on the map is a ‘bit of a worry’ – taking-off from Fairfield (I think) and landing at Montdidier (I think) in occupied France, though there are no ‘front line markers’ down the Channel!

DFLion

[HFC_Dolphin]

Thanks for the update Oleg.

A simple question, about a very useful possible feature:
Can you create randomly filled maps?
In case you don't understand what I mean, let me explain.
What about going into an FMB's special section and choosing:
- Coordinates of the map to be used
- Borders
- Types and numbers of ground units per side
- Press "create" and an Autofiller create a ready to use template
- Then, if possible, just move with mouse some units if you want and enjoy the mission

It may sound difficult, but it shouldn't and it will be very useful IMHO.

The advantages are obvious and above all it is the simplicity and the time saving, which is of tremendous importance for many people.

Main "problem" is that engine of random placement of units should have a way to bypass the problem of placing units in areas where they can't be, i.e. a tank in the sea (lol), but this can have many solutions and you know it well.
Additional orders, such as placement of artillery behind and tanks in front (for the shake of logical placement of forces), could be added as well, and still all technical problems can be solved.

So, Oleg, what do you think of this?

[Dano]

Originally Posted by flyingblind

Very frustrating - I just keep going to click on tabs and pull down menus to see what's there forgetting it's just a .jpg!

Thanks for update.

Heheheh, not just me then

Very nice to see some free flight missions in there, as well as London Sightseeing.

Here's my questions and observations:

What are the Dimas and Slides folders?

Are the nice big doughnut shaped waypoints indicitive of not having to fly over an exact location for waypoints to update?

Map layers - intriguing, is this just a feature for ease of use?

Weather fronts, nice to see some confirmation these are still in effect

Aircraft serial #, does this mean that individual aircraft will be tracked and damage and over stressings can be carried over into further missions? I seem to recall some discussion on this point ages ago.

#Passes - awesome, I take it this means no more watching the AI endlessly attacking a target until one or the other is decimated?

[nearmiss]

This is a significant update for mission builders... Thank you.