Bombing run

[+Dante-JT 6]

Watch video here:

 

Why the focus so much in the Sea Harrier? Because it's by far the most complex aircraft featured, the avionics and systems handbook is really thick, hopefully we will have most important stuff (attack symbology, main radar modes) in the simulation this year. The Super Etendard seems a second place in complexity. The other planes are simpler jobs.

 

Some combat-related pics of recent trials:

 

[Guest IndioBlack]

The aircraft looks beautiful.

What are those white things on the ground - are they tents or rocks ?

[+Dante-JT 6]

The aircraft looks beautiful.

What are those white things on the ground - are they tents or rocks ?

 

 

heheh! They're too low-poly rocks looking really like tents :) I've been too conservative with polycounts compared to other well-known flight sims, but these rocks are counted in the hundreds of thousands spread over the Tundra-bald surface of the isles.

[Guest IndioBlack]

heheh! They're too low-poly rocks looking really like tents :) I've been too conservative with polycounts compared to other well-known flight sims, but these rocks are counted in the hundreds of thousands spread over the Tundra-bald surface of the isles.

 

Okay, sorry to ask that. At least they're not sheep !

 

Will you have a Vulcan in this Sim so we can re-create VULCAN 607 ?

 

I'm really looking forward to this Sim.

[+Dante-JT 6]

Will you have a Vulcan in this Sim so we can re-create VULCAN 607 ?

I'm really looking forward to this Sim.

 

 

Yes! Strong possibility, and I've received hundreds of emails asking this. If not for the first release but for the following add-on disc! Will balance the plane types for british and argentineas - british have so far only 2 planes (Harrier types) and the argentines have SuE, Pucara, Mirage, Skyhawk...

[rhugouvi 0]

I must say the explosion FX is truely convincing! Great success

But I'm afraid you still have to practice to successfully destroy this higly strategical rock.

And above all, a nice recce asset for BDA

Very promising indeed.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Nice large rocks!!! Very nice indeed in the video. Good idea -- low polyrocks everywhere. Do you have lower poly rocks for greater render distance? Or just one poly for all distance? That could help performance.

 

Please Don't Do This -- The video shows external view with clear and bright outside environment, and switches to cockpit view with dark tinted smoked canopy "glass" that darkens the entire outside world. The industry standard Flight Sim dark tinted canopy "glass" kills night and low light level operations.

 

If the dark canopy tinting is required for modelling canopy "reflections," something is wrong. IL2/FB has from the start offered clear canopies that shine blindingly and dynamically with relative sun direction (Fw-190, I-16, are some examples) and do so with absolutely no dark stained tinting. Granted, IL2/FB also offered on many aircraft (La-7, F6F, etc..) the inferior, and static, method of modelling "canopy reflections" with the dark stained tinting and garish colours fixed on the canopy, with the result that the customers pleaded with the developer to offer Windex glass cleaner.

 

Please resist the Artistic temptation to step between the customers and their purchased sim in the most brutal way possible -- crippling the customers' visual interaction with their sim. If we must model canopy glass, we can do it without unrealistic (unlike glass) dark tinting. If we can't avoid static dark tinted stained glass, then either hardware or software are not yet ready for modelling canopy glass in flight sims, and its best not to try modelling glass at all. Leave it clear.

 

Thanks~

[+Dante-JT 6]

Nice large rocks!!! Very nice indeed in the video. Good idea -- low polyrocks everywhere. Do you have lower poly rocks for greater render distance? Or just one poly for all distance? That could help performance.

 

 

These are the lowest poly possible, just a trapezoid rock :) we must sort the LOD too, we had it in the past but somehow it is not used anymore.

 

-- The video shows external view with clear and bright outside environment, and switches to cockpit view with dark tinted smoked canopy "glass" that darkens the entire outside world. The industry standard Flight Sim dark tinted canopy "glass" kills night and low light level operations.

 

I think what IL2 does with the FW190 canopy and others, is to have a white tinted canopy. Due to the nature of the alpha-channelling, some tinting must be used or else the reflection details and scratches would be completely invisible. But the tinting could be white, not only dark. Will try it later. But don't worry, I'll leave open the canopy.tga in the cockpits folder and it will be just a matter of opening it in some art package and increase or decrease the opacity in the alpha-channel to suit's personal preferences, instructions included. ;)

[Guest IndioBlack]

But don't worry, I'll leave open the canopy.tga in the cockpits folder and it will be just a matter of opening it in some art package and increase or decrease the opacity in the alpha-channel to suit's personal preferences, instructions included. ;)

 

That's the mark of a good Sim - the ability for the users to alter things for their own style of flying.

 

You know, I often ask if Sims will include separate throttle control for multi-engine craft, and the sort of response you get is: "We're not modelling this because it's a 'lite-sim' "; or "it's not really necessary when flying these aircraft", or "most people wouldn't use it".

Well, I believe CH products sold an awful lot of their Quad Throttles, so I think there's quite a few people would like to see it. But the important thing is that if Sim developers build this sort of thing into the Sim, then at least the user has the choice. A good long list of "Preferences" is an absolute delight, and stands a good chance of catering for everybody.

I personally wouldn't bother fooling around with canopy opacities, but at least it'll be there for those who do want to do it, and that's an excellent way for you to go.

[Platinum Rogue 48]

Nice, did you frag yourself there, Dante? The Harrier pulls off-target trailing engine smoke I think.

[+Dante-JT 6]

Nice, did you frag yourself there, Dante? The Harrier pulls off-target trailing engine smoke I think.

 

 

Yup. :) And with a couple of shrapnel holes as well. Although holes in the wing tanks must leak fuel that may turn to flames and so on (not implemented yet, but will be soon! Very important in a combat sim.)

[+Crusader 2,101]

not bad Dante ;)

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

not bad Dante ;)

Mee Too! Thanks Dante!!

 

For SF cockpits, I usually just replace the dark tga with a clear 1 pixel file for those pits that allow that. Maybe you could find a way to make a general "reflection" on/off option for the common user in the grafix options menu. SF has this option, but it only works for the stock aircraft in the sim, and not the 3rd Party aircraft -- in effect, closing the sim to this one option offered by the developer. One has to change or replace the tga file. I guess the options are hardcoded with the stock aircraft's tga file names, or something like that.

 

For rocks at greater distance, possibly depending on rock size, can you switch to sprites or something less than a 3D model? Or would calculating those rock distances cause the cpu to wipe any performance advantage of doing this? Thanks!!

[Raoul Volfoni 0]

Burning kero leaks?

 

wow, that's gonna be funky to fly and dogfights will be way more interesting ;)

 

Great video Dante, everything is taking shape and place...

[Aeroworld 0]

Great vid! I'm impressed by the intense sense of speed that this sim grants. The damage implementation, with igniting fuel leaks, is awesome. The more you show about Jet Thunder, the more I wish to have it.