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Il2 DD Update Dev Blog 277
By 76.IAP-Blackbird,
Dear Pilots,
Good news on all fronts this week as we continue our march towards completion of Battle of Normandy and ramp up work on Flying Circus II. We hope to have some pics of the first FCII plane, the Nieuport 28 soon for you, but today we’ll stick to WWII.
As you already know, We have several aircraft in development and the closest, actually very close, to completion is the Spitfire Mk.XIV which is currently in beta testing. Below are a few pics. This plane is a beast with its Griffon engine and shooting down Doodlebugs with it is going to be a blast. Speaking of Buzz Bombs, our V-1 is going to be treated just like an aircraft. It will have a detailed damage model, so you can damage parts of it like the wings, the pulse-jet engine, the warhead (boom!) or if you’re talented enough tip it over with your wing! More on the V-1 as we develop it this summer.
Next, we have some early pics of the very cool Me-410 ‘Hornisse’ and the Ar-234 jet bomber. The images speak for themselves. The Hornisse strikes me as the German response to the Mosquito no? Who do you think would win in a dogfight between a 410 and a Mosquito? Did they ever duel during the war I wonder?
.In addition to new planes, we have made some tweaks to some of our oldest, namely our 109 series. When we overhauled the damage system several months ago, we had to make a temporary change to the 109’s tail assembly to avoid a bug that caused certain parts to stay attached to the plane after other damaged tail parts had been blown off. All 109s other than the E-7 was affected. The temporary change we made was to fuse the vertical stabilizer and the horizontal stabs making them one part which basically tripled their strength and the likelihood of them ever coming off was three times less likely, so basically never. To remedy this, we needed the model team re-build these tails and make a new failure point in the vertical stabilizer (like on the E-7) and break up this fused tail into their proper damageable and detachable sections. Remember that before we did any of this, the 109’s tail assembly was the ultimate ‘kill button’, push it and the entire tail would come off, not just part of a stabilizer like other planes. Of course, you can also just blow off the elevators and rudder if you hit them right.
In the images below you can see this new reality in action during combat. I shot off the vert stab and rudder in one image and the horizontal stab and elevator in another. This should solve the so called “109 concrete tail” phenomenon. 109 tails now behave like all other tail sections in the sim.
An. Petrovich Lead Engineer's Note: Initially, 3D models of all 109s except the E7 had the point of broken tail in such a place that the loss of the vertical stabilizer simultaneously led to the loss of the entire horizontal stabilizer. One successful shot in the vertical stabilizer could immediately deprive the plane of all its tail surfaces. Of course, it looked catastrophic (you called it "crystal tails"). And only in the E7 (as in all other aircraft in the game), the 3D model made it possible to separate the vertical stabilizer and the central part of the horizontal stabilizer separately. When we completely redesigned the damage system a few months ago, this limitation of the 109's 3D models did not allow us to fully correct the situation with the strength of their empennage, and we had to temporarily block the loss of vertical stabilizer for these aircraft. Although the aircraft could still lose the ends of the left and right horizontal stabilizer consoles, elevators or rudder. However, the fact that it became impossible for all Messerschmitts (except for E7) to shoot the vertical stabilizer and the central part of the horizontal stabilizer caused criticism from the players, and now the tails of the 109s were called "concrete". It was only possible to do it "right" by completely reworking the 3D models of these tails and adding a new break point on the vertical stabilizer (as in E-7). Which is what we did in the end.
Work on the Tactical Codes feature continues and although we don’t have them working on all aircraft and vehicles yet, the technology works great and the images below gives and idea of how it will work and look. It’s not totally final yet so final result may vary a little. Work on the Dynamic Visual Damage system also continues and is currently being applied to our tanks. When it’s perfected on the tanks, we will then work to apply it to aircraft.
Finally, in the next update we will include 4K skins for the Mc.202 and Ju 88 A-4 made by our talented partner Martin “ICDP” Catney. To celebrate this, I have made these interesting posters showing these new skins side by side. They make quite a colorful display. We hope to do this kind of graphic for all our aircraft eventually. Speaking of new skins, Martin is now working on 4K skins for the Spitfire Mk.Vb. This means both marks of Spitfires in Great Battles will now have 4K skins soon. The beautiful image below of the Macchi skins reminds me to say that I intend to make an Italian pilot for the 202 later this year. Similar to how we made the female Soviet pilot. The images below are 4K so you can re-size them and use as wallpaper is you are so inclined.
Mc.202 Poster Full
JU-88 Poster Full
See you in the skies and on the battlefield!
Jason and the Sturmovik Team
Good news on all fronts this week as we continue our march towards completion of Battle of Normandy and ramp up work on Flying Circus II. We hope to have some pics of the first FCII plane, the Nieuport 28 soon for you, but today we’ll stick to WWII.
As you already know, We have several aircraft in development and the closest, actually very close, to completion is the Spitfire Mk.XIV which is currently in beta testing. Below are a few pics. This plane is a beast with its Griffon engine and shooting down Doodlebugs with it is going to be a blast. Speaking of Buzz Bombs, our V-1 is going to be treated just like an aircraft. It will have a detailed damage model, so you can damage parts of it like the wings, the pulse-jet engine, the warhead (boom!) or if you’re talented enough tip it over with your wing! More on the V-1 as we develop it this summer.
Next, we have some early pics of the very cool Me-410 ‘Hornisse’ and the Ar-234 jet bomber. The images speak for themselves. The Hornisse strikes me as the German response to the Mosquito no? Who do you think would win in a dogfight between a 410 and a Mosquito? Did they ever duel during the war I wonder?
.In addition to new planes, we have made some tweaks to some of our oldest, namely our 109 series. When we overhauled the damage system several months ago, we had to make a temporary change to the 109’s tail assembly to avoid a bug that caused certain parts to stay attached to the plane after other damaged tail parts had been blown off. All 109s other than the E-7 was affected. The temporary change we made was to fuse the vertical stabilizer and the horizontal stabs making them one part which basically tripled their strength and the likelihood of them ever coming off was three times less likely, so basically never. To remedy this, we needed the model team re-build these tails and make a new failure point in the vertical stabilizer (like on the E-7) and break up this fused tail into their proper damageable and detachable sections. Remember that before we did any of this, the 109’s tail assembly was the ultimate ‘kill button’, push it and the entire tail would come off, not just part of a stabilizer like other planes. Of course, you can also just blow off the elevators and rudder if you hit them right.
In the images below you can see this new reality in action during combat. I shot off the vert stab and rudder in one image and the horizontal stab and elevator in another. This should solve the so called “109 concrete tail” phenomenon. 109 tails now behave like all other tail sections in the sim.
An. Petrovich Lead Engineer's Note: Initially, 3D models of all 109s except the E7 had the point of broken tail in such a place that the loss of the vertical stabilizer simultaneously led to the loss of the entire horizontal stabilizer. One successful shot in the vertical stabilizer could immediately deprive the plane of all its tail surfaces. Of course, it looked catastrophic (you called it "crystal tails"). And only in the E7 (as in all other aircraft in the game), the 3D model made it possible to separate the vertical stabilizer and the central part of the horizontal stabilizer separately. When we completely redesigned the damage system a few months ago, this limitation of the 109's 3D models did not allow us to fully correct the situation with the strength of their empennage, and we had to temporarily block the loss of vertical stabilizer for these aircraft. Although the aircraft could still lose the ends of the left and right horizontal stabilizer consoles, elevators or rudder. However, the fact that it became impossible for all Messerschmitts (except for E7) to shoot the vertical stabilizer and the central part of the horizontal stabilizer caused criticism from the players, and now the tails of the 109s were called "concrete". It was only possible to do it "right" by completely reworking the 3D models of these tails and adding a new break point on the vertical stabilizer (as in E-7). Which is what we did in the end.
Work on the Tactical Codes feature continues and although we don’t have them working on all aircraft and vehicles yet, the technology works great and the images below gives and idea of how it will work and look. It’s not totally final yet so final result may vary a little. Work on the Dynamic Visual Damage system also continues and is currently being applied to our tanks. When it’s perfected on the tanks, we will then work to apply it to aircraft.
Finally, in the next update we will include 4K skins for the Mc.202 and Ju 88 A-4 made by our talented partner Martin “ICDP” Catney. To celebrate this, I have made these interesting posters showing these new skins side by side. They make quite a colorful display. We hope to do this kind of graphic for all our aircraft eventually. Speaking of new skins, Martin is now working on 4K skins for the Spitfire Mk.Vb. This means both marks of Spitfires in Great Battles will now have 4K skins soon. The beautiful image below of the Macchi skins reminds me to say that I intend to make an Italian pilot for the 202 later this year. Similar to how we made the female Soviet pilot. The images below are 4K so you can re-size them and use as wallpaper is you are so inclined.
Mc.202 Poster Full
JU-88 Poster Full
See you in the skies and on the battlefield!
Jason and the Sturmovik Team
Microsoft Set To Purcahse CombatACE
By Skyviper,
Microsoft Set To Purchase CombatACE
It's no secret Microsoft is looking to expand its services and enhance overall user experience by purchasing companies such as Discord. While such moves may seem obvious to most, one move Microsoft is making has many in the tech industry wondering about the things Microsoft is planning next. To the members here at CombatACE are familiar with developers such as ThirdWire and Eagle Dynamics. Earlier this month Microsoft attempted to purchase Eagle Dynamics and take over the DCS World many have to come to love. However Eagle Dynamics told Microsoft to step off and tinker with their little flight simulator. Microsoft angrily shook their fist at Eagle Dynamics and then pointed to a lone developer somewhere in Texas and announced they would purchase his humble company called ThirdWire.
When it comes to big companies like Microsoft purchasing companies like ThirdWire a lot of footwork is done. While doing their research Microsoft learned about other sites they can buy to enhance their user experience. CombatACE is the top of their list and Microsoft is pleased to see a humble community filled with amazing people, programmers, and mod developers. "It's like all these things we wanted rolled into one little package" said William J Tinsdale Vlll "CombatACE will make a fine addition to our collection." But what will this mean for the users at CombatACE? To answer that question we reached out to the man himself. @Erik "Well at first I was against it" Erik stated "We built a thriving community for ourselves and not some corporate giant just to come in and take over and do whatever they want with it." So, okay, so why is Microsoft buying CombatACE if that's the case? "When someone offers you a free slightly used $200 million private jet with a full crew, free fuel, and millions of dollars for the pocket. You just gotta ask where to sign you know. Besides do you know how hard it is to run a website as large as CombatACE on a daily basis? It's rewarding work but it's hard work and if Microsoft want's to take over I'm cool with that. This jet is awesome and I have a surprise for all of the long time members here. They can get 1 free trip." Looking nice there man! An inside look the dining area "Regardless of the direction Microsoft chooses to take" Erik explains "they've assured me they'll continue to maintain the aspects that make CombatACE a great website. It is my hopes the community will continue to thrive and that people will get a kick out of this obvious April Fool's article entirely made up by Skyviper"
Seriously @Erik, @MK2 , Mod Developers, CombatACE Staff and Members, thank you for making this site the awesome place it is.
When it comes to big companies like Microsoft purchasing companies like ThirdWire a lot of footwork is done. While doing their research Microsoft learned about other sites they can buy to enhance their user experience. CombatACE is the top of their list and Microsoft is pleased to see a humble community filled with amazing people, programmers, and mod developers. "It's like all these things we wanted rolled into one little package" said William J Tinsdale Vlll "CombatACE will make a fine addition to our collection." But what will this mean for the users at CombatACE? To answer that question we reached out to the man himself. @Erik "Well at first I was against it" Erik stated "We built a thriving community for ourselves and not some corporate giant just to come in and take over and do whatever they want with it." So, okay, so why is Microsoft buying CombatACE if that's the case? "When someone offers you a free slightly used $200 million private jet with a full crew, free fuel, and millions of dollars for the pocket. You just gotta ask where to sign you know. Besides do you know how hard it is to run a website as large as CombatACE on a daily basis? It's rewarding work but it's hard work and if Microsoft want's to take over I'm cool with that. This jet is awesome and I have a surprise for all of the long time members here. They can get 1 free trip." Looking nice there man! An inside look the dining area "Regardless of the direction Microsoft chooses to take" Erik explains "they've assured me they'll continue to maintain the aspects that make CombatACE a great website. It is my hopes the community will continue to thrive and that people will get a kick out of this obvious April Fool's article entirely made up by Skyviper"
Seriously @Erik, @MK2 , Mod Developers, CombatACE Staff and Members, thank you for making this site the awesome place it is.
WOTR Update Planned
By Winder,
A few days back I indicated that I would announce some plans for WOTR.
It is intended that there will be a DLC in the works to bring the 'engine' up to the same spec as our flagship BH&H II product which is releasing soon.
The DLC will comprise of the 'engine update' - this is feasible as a DLC as opposed to a new standalone product, as WOTR is already ahead of WOFFUE/PE in terms of 'engine version'.
In addition there will be new AC, as well as updated existing flyable AC to bring them in line as well.
More details on the WOTR DLC will be made available once we have gotten through the release of BH&HII.
DCS: Mi-24 Hind Pre Order
By MigBuster,
26 March 2021
Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends,
We are delighted to announce that arguably the most iconic helicopter gunship in the world is now available for pre-order with a 30% discount. DCS: Mi-24 Hind takes helicopter gameplay to a new level and sets a new standard for DCS in cockpit look and feel. We hope you will enjoy it. Check out our Hind pre-order video here.
Derived from the Mi-8, the Hind airframe is fitted with a streamlined retractable undercarriage and stub-wings that provide lift at high speeds as well as a structure for attaching guided and unguided munitions. This massive machine combines firepower and troop-carrying capabilities, making it a force to be reckoned with.
Our new Volumetric Cloud System requires a significant rewrite of our radar, sensor and weapon system code. To integrate the clouds smoothly, the process will be split into stages. The Clouds will initially be released as a purely visual feature, with the possibility to select a wide variety of weather presets from the Mission Editor. After the initial release, we will finalise the work on radar and weapon systems as well as how AI behaves in the new weather conditions. This is particularly relevant for close air combat line-of-sight behaviour.
Please note, DCS: F/A-18C Hornet and DCS: The Channel will be released within a short time frame of Open Beta 2.7.0. which we have pushed out to the 7th of April 2021 due to the heavy testing and 3rd party integration requirements.
Thank you for your passion and support.
Yours sincerely,
Eagle Dynamics Team
Mi-24 HIND
Pre-order now
Known for its great exploits by the airborne units of the Soviet Army during the 1980 Soviet–Afghan War, the Hind is tough, durable and packs a heavy punch.
DCS: Mi-24P Hind is a simulation of the legendary Mi-24 attack helicopter developed in the USSR and first introduced operationally in 1972. It has seen extensive action over the past 40 years as an effective combat air support helicopter. Fast, reliable and loved by pilots, this incredible machine still serves in more than 50 countries!
DCS: Mi-24P is an opportunity to touch history and try yourself as a pilot of the legendary helicopter!
Work is progressing steadily and we are excited to announce the list of features planned for Early Access release. Check out the In Development Screenshots.
Key Features of DCS: Mi-24P Hind
On pre-order/early access:
Professional flight dynamics and engine modelling with high precision characteristics of the real aircraft in all ranges of altitude, temperature and speeds for different weights and flight configurations.
Two 6DOF highly detailed cockpits (RU and EN versions available).
Fully clickable cockpits with interactive control of all onboard systems with mouse.
Multi-crew. Second crew member can be another player or “Petrovich” AI (basic AI level during early access phase).
Detailed modeling of the entire electrical, fuel, hydraulic, anti-icing, fire protection, SAS, autopilot and radio systems.
Full modeling of armament and weapons systems with ability to use 30mm cannon, unguided rockets (S-8, S-13, S-24B) and bombs from both cockpits in addition to the guided ATGM 9M114 operated by forward seated pilot-operator.
Standard Russian new and weathered liveries in addition to Iraqi and Syrian schemes.
Early Access manual Russian and English versions.
Training missions.
On release:
Cargohold gunner with KORD machine gun.
Advanced “Petrovich” AI features for pilot or pilot-operator seats.
Addition of ATGM 9M120 (HEAT and HE versions) and R-60M air to air missiles.
Sling cargo operations.
Advanced damage modeling.
Additional liveries and livery template.
Manual in Russian and English (full list of languages is TBD).
Campaign by Eagle Dynamics.
Pre-order DCS: Mi-24 Hind now and save 30%. Click here.
The Mi-24P Early Access is planned for release in the 2nd quarter of 2021.
We are currently working on new reflections using extended pre-calculated light technology.
The Mi-24P cockpit is roomy, pressurized and chemically and biologically filtered, making it a comfortable place to fight and operate in.
The multi crew mode will be available from Early Access and will unveil our initial “Petrovich” AI.
We look forward to sharing more information closer to the Early Access release in late Q2 2021. One of our top priorities will be the interaction and infrastructure for Commander and Operator AI.
DCS: Mi-24 Hind
Available for a limited time at only $48.95
Thank you for all your trust, support and enthusiasm.
Yours Sincerely,
Eagle Dynamics Team
Il2 DD Update Dev Blog 276 "GAZ-MM, Terrain updates"
By 76.IAP-Blackbird,
Hello everybody,
Another week has passed and our work has moved another step forward. The Collector AAA vehicle, 25-mm automatic gun installed on the chassis of the GAZ-MM truck will be finished soon - the physical model of the truck is ready, as are the automatic gun animations and functioning, all animations of the chassis and the crew as well as gun ballistics and damage model are also done. The correction system for the gunsight that turned out to be incredibly complex kinematically is in. The unique audio and more detailed tech of the tires visualization and deformation are icing on the cake. All these elements have something new and are believed to be interesting for the end-user to familiarize with and learn something new. At the moment we're improving the visual look of the new vehicle, the texturing of the gun, and apply the new DVD tech we talked about in our previous Dev Blog to make the result the best.
Meanwhile, a part of our mapping department works on improving the railyards on the Rheinland map (Bodenplatte project). They aren't the most striking or shiny detail of the numerous cities on this map, but they do improve the overall visual look of the scene and make the landscape more realistic. This time we can show you the screenshots of the railroad structures in the cities of Cologne, Brussels, Bonn, Duisburg, Liege, Mainz, Frankfurt am Mein.
Il2 DD Update Dev Blog 275 "Damage"
By 76.IAP-Blackbird,
Dear Friends,
As some of you who frequent our forums already know, Jason has recently announced that we're developing a new tech called DVD and invited you to guess what that actually means. There were different guesses and some of them were near misses. The answer is, DVD means Dynamic Visual Damage. In a nutshell, it places an impact mark where a projectile hit.
Among the many neat possibilities this tech brings, the size of the mark corresponds to the caliber of the projectile and/or explosive power of the shell if it was of the HE variety. They also look different depending on the material the projectile hit - whether it was armor, thin metal, or not a metal at all. There are also separate marks for ricochets of high caliber armor-piercing rounds. The look of these marks is thoroughly prepared by our partners at Digital Forms and is based on real-world photos of combat damage on different objects. The marks placed by this tech are not simple 2D textures - thanks to modern graphical techniques they have visual depth. Even the penetrations can look different such as near penetrations when the armor (barely) stopped a projectile. We concentrated on making these marks as realistic looking as possible.
All in all, we think this new tech would make the visual part of the damage system much more interesting and appealing both for aircraft and tanks. Tanks will be adapted first and then aircraft. It is a long-term project that will take several months.
Please be aware though that this tech is visual, it doesn't affect the physical interaction between the projectiles and aircraft and tank parts or systems. We're working on the improvements in the physical damage system as well, but we'll tell you more about that later.
Speaking of this new DVD tech, we must note that due to ever complex issues of graphics performance and network traffic and stability, there are some limitations to what can be done. This may be apparent in some rare cases, but we have to mention them. In certain 'critical' cases the mark may not appear or a wrong mark type may appear (like a visual penetration when there was a near penetration in fact). There is also a limit to the total amount of marks that can be placed on the object. In multiplayer, you'll see the marks on your aircraft or tank, but you'll only see the marks on other player aircraft or tanks that appeared when they were in your view. To alleviate this limitation, we added a special transmission of the most recent marks to other players even if they were looking the other way.
Because of these compromises, the DVD tech doesn't replace the current visual damage system completely. The current system of visual 'damage levels' guarantees that every player in a multiplayer environment will get the visual cues on how badly a certain object is damaged. DVD is designed to enhance the existing visual damage system and we made every effort to make them work harmoniously during its development. Nevertheless, in multiplayer you'll see the marks on your aircraft and the marks on your opponents’ aircraft - which is the most important and critical application of this tech. If you saw the hits of someone else projectiles on another player, you'll also see these marks.
The limitations listed above, however, won't undermine the improved visual look of the damage system the new DVD tech will bring. We hope we have found the sweet spot between visual quality with the least impact on graphics performance and multiplayer. To illustrate the new system, we would like to show you these WIP in-game screenshots.
As some of you who frequent our forums already know, Jason has recently announced that we're developing a new tech called DVD and invited you to guess what that actually means. There were different guesses and some of them were near misses. The answer is, DVD means Dynamic Visual Damage. In a nutshell, it places an impact mark where a projectile hit.
Among the many neat possibilities this tech brings, the size of the mark corresponds to the caliber of the projectile and/or explosive power of the shell if it was of the HE variety. They also look different depending on the material the projectile hit - whether it was armor, thin metal, or not a metal at all. There are also separate marks for ricochets of high caliber armor-piercing rounds. The look of these marks is thoroughly prepared by our partners at Digital Forms and is based on real-world photos of combat damage on different objects. The marks placed by this tech are not simple 2D textures - thanks to modern graphical techniques they have visual depth. Even the penetrations can look different such as near penetrations when the armor (barely) stopped a projectile. We concentrated on making these marks as realistic looking as possible.
All in all, we think this new tech would make the visual part of the damage system much more interesting and appealing both for aircraft and tanks. Tanks will be adapted first and then aircraft. It is a long-term project that will take several months.
Please be aware though that this tech is visual, it doesn't affect the physical interaction between the projectiles and aircraft and tank parts or systems. We're working on the improvements in the physical damage system as well, but we'll tell you more about that later.
Speaking of this new DVD tech, we must note that due to ever complex issues of graphics performance and network traffic and stability, there are some limitations to what can be done. This may be apparent in some rare cases, but we have to mention them. In certain 'critical' cases the mark may not appear or a wrong mark type may appear (like a visual penetration when there was a near penetration in fact). There is also a limit to the total amount of marks that can be placed on the object. In multiplayer, you'll see the marks on your aircraft or tank, but you'll only see the marks on other player aircraft or tanks that appeared when they were in your view. To alleviate this limitation, we added a special transmission of the most recent marks to other players even if they were looking the other way.
Because of these compromises, the DVD tech doesn't replace the current visual damage system completely. The current system of visual 'damage levels' guarantees that every player in a multiplayer environment will get the visual cues on how badly a certain object is damaged. DVD is designed to enhance the existing visual damage system and we made every effort to make them work harmoniously during its development. Nevertheless, in multiplayer you'll see the marks on your aircraft and the marks on your opponents’ aircraft - which is the most important and critical application of this tech. If you saw the hits of someone else projectiles on another player, you'll also see these marks.
The limitations listed above, however, won't undermine the improved visual look of the damage system the new DVD tech will bring. We hope we have found the sweet spot between visual quality with the least impact on graphics performance and multiplayer. To illustrate the new system, we would like to show you these WIP in-game screenshots.
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