Ordnance Updates

[SaQSoN]

Originally Posted by Zorin

nothing will need to be made accurate in the thickness regard. Should save me some time calculating measurements

Low-polygon modeling for games always requires to simplify RL objects for two reasons: save polygons on large objects and make smaller and simpler objects (where one could care less about polygon number) at equal detail level, so they would fit into general visual representation of the virtual world one is building.

Because, if you have too detailed object in relatively low detailed world, it would make look the whole world unrealistic, the same as if you have low detailed object in the high detailed world, it would make this object unrealistic and out of place.

Originally Posted by Zorin

Alpha channels always feel like a short cut to me and that is why I have avoided them so far, perhaps you guys can teach me how small resolution textures acan produce accurate alpha results.

IL-2 game models use alpha channels everywhere, on every plane and cockpit model there are plenty of it. Many ground objects, all ships, etc. use a lots of alpha-channel textures. Many polygon-saving techniques, used in the game models, are based on alpha-channel usage. So far, that doesn't seem a problem.

Originally Posted by Zorin

See, how are we outsiders supposed to know that? Basic logic would dictate that a visually different model would only require a simple copy and paste effort in the coding department as nothing has to be changed except for the name and path info and that is hardly a limiting factor.

In case of multiple variants of the same thing, a programer would have to program appearance of respective model according to correct service time, which would require him to check all those dates, check what model should appear when, etc. Not a big deal, when he has only this stuff to do, but another fraction of an ass-pain, if he has a lot more stuff to do as well, which should have been done yesterday and so on. So, whenever you can ease his job - why not?

Originally Posted by Zorin

This leads us straight to an important question:

Is there a point to making new types of bombs (HE and AP) for the Japanese (and othernations) or will the bombs stay as simple as they are now and therefor it will make no difference what kind they are?

I didn't say, there is no need to replace bad, or innacurate models, but I don't see much use in making a multiple variants of the same thing, which differ only visually, with no functional difference. So, in general, it is enough to have like maximum 3 visual variants of the same ordnance, as it does not affect the gameplay much. The smaller and the more "secondary" an object is - the fewer variants and less visual accuracy can it have. It's just a matter of saving labor resources.