Phase 4

[+Polovski 460]

Yeah one way Rabu, but then someone will be upset that a/c are treated differently. If it was possible to keep him flying in a subtle way maybe, but as long as you don't fire 1000 rounds with him pumping plumes of black smoke, wings missing, then he comes back 10 mins later and smokes you ;).

As it is now you shoot him down, just he survives to fight another day. We can look into how much work options would be, but can't promise on anything - if it's a lot of work doesn't make sense to stop doing other things we need, rather change the whole ethos of the sim.

[rabu 9]

Yeah one way Rabu, but then someone will be upset that a/c are treated differently. If it was possible to keep him flying in a subtle way maybe, but as long as you don't fire 1000 rounds with him pumping plumes of black smoke, wings missing, then he comes back 10 mins later and smokes you ;).

As it is now you shoot him down, just he survives to fight another day. We can look into how much work options would be, but can't promise on anything - if it's a lot of work doesn't make sense to stop doing other things we need, rather change the whole ethos of the sim.

 

I agree, and most of what's coming up are just wish lists. I think all of us know that some things probably can't be changed, some can but the way to do it hasn't been discovered yet, and some are good ideas, but probably low priority.

 

I think the main thing would be to put as much effort as possible into the real problem things, like the in cloud death demon and a few other things that come up a lot and tend to ruin a career and a players fun with the sim?

[sitting_duck 3]

Has anyone mentioned multiplayer yet?

 

Would like to think the increase in response over the last few weeks alone, would help indicate that multiplayer should be at least, a minimal consideration when thinking about off4

 

Its not historical, its not Did, and its pretty much got nothing in common with the reasons off1 thru off3 where developed. But its fun, and its what alot of pilots want to do.

[rabu 9]

The ingame map res can be increased very easily Rabu but it will eat your vid memory faster than you would like!

 

Currently the map is 3.3Mb - you can do the math on improving it by say 4x res and ideally it needs 8x res....

 

WM

 

I'm aware of that, my hope was that maybe there is some way to load hi res, but smaller maps for areas you are in. They could cover a maybe, 100x100 mile area, big enough to probably handle any mission you are on, instead of relying on the whole western front map loaded each time. Do you think something like that is possible? ..could it be tied into the data base of your campaign missions and area you are flying from?

[+Winder 32]

I'm aware of that, my hope was that maybe there is some way to load hi res, but smaller maps for areas you are in. They could cover a maybe, 100x100 mile area, big enough to probably handle any mission you are on, instead of relying on the whole western front map loaded each time. Do you think something like that is possible? ..could it be tied into the data base of your campaign missions and area you are flying from?

 

I have considered this since P1 but the code change on the CFS3 hardcode side of things is not trivial - the code that shows where you are on the map.

In terms of my side of things its dead easy but alas the craft will be shown in the wrong place.

 

Of course the hardcode can be 'modded' - but its all about time and priority.

 

HTH

 

WM

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I have to come in again at this point... I think MP is being swept aside slightly too..Is there anything that can be done about it Devs??

[radio 0]

What is about german text and speech and other languages like IL-2?

[+Winder 32]

I have to come in again at this point... I think MP is being swept aside slightly too..Is there anything that can be done about it Devs??

 

 

We are 'limited' by CFS3 hardcode - and by 'limited' I mean its a lot of work to unravel hardcode - we have a hardcode 'priority fix' list and many of the hardcode fixes you have seen in P3 were high priority.

In P4 there are other hardcode issues that again are higher priority than maps and alas MP.

 

But MP in P3 works as well as in CFS3 thats all I can really say on that.

 

We all know that our focus is on dynamic immersive campaign play, and there is still a viable future for OFF so lets see how it pans out.

 

HTH

 

WM

[stumpjumper 3]

We are 'limited' by CFS3 hardcode - and by 'limited' I mean its a lot of work to unravel hardcode - we have a hardcode 'priority fix' list and many of the hardcode fixes you have seen in P3 were high priority.

In P4 there are other hardcode issues that again are higher priority than maps and alas MP.

 

But MP in P3 works as well as in CFS3 thats all I can really say on that.

 

We all know that our focus is on dynamic immersive campaign play, and there is still a viable future for OFF so lets see how it pans out.

 

HTH

 

WM

 

WM WE ALL DEFINTLY APPRECAITE THE HARD WORK AND GOD KNOWS PASSION YOU HAVE SPENT OVER THE YEARS, DO WHAT YOU THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE YOUR WAY, ILLWOKR ON THE MP STUFF WITH THE DOVES AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP EXPAND ON YOUR WORK MY FREIND

[rabu 9]

WM WE ALL DEFINTLY APPRECAITE THE HARD WORK AND GOD KNOWS PASSION YOU HAVE SPENT OVER THE YEARS, DO WHAT YOU THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE YOUR WAY, ILLWOKR ON THE MP STUFF WITH THE DOVES AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP EXPAND ON YOUR WORK MY FREIND

 

Thanks Stump, but quit shouting!

 

Actually, you guys have all done a LOT for the multilayer side and I do hope you can do more. When we started working on OFF we didn't even consider MP as an option, I guess because all of us working on it were pretty much SP and historical oriented, so we were surprised way back in P1 when some guys said they were playing MP and it was actually going pretty good, even with out the Microsoft server set up, (or what ever it is that is missing in CFS3 now).

Anyway, all I'm saying is that we really appreciate all you and others have done creating campaigns, organizing groupsk, etc.. OVS was saying the other day what a good time he had playing on line and he had not done it before, I would love to try too, just can't seem to work it into any sort of schedule as I'm on call all the time and my schedule is to scattered. What is it that is the current problem in MP that needs fixing?

[rabu 9]

I have considered this since P1 but the code change on the CFS3 hardcode side of things is not trivial - the code that shows where you are on the map.

In terms of my side of things its dead easy but alas the craft will be shown in the wrong place.

 

Of course the hardcode can be 'modded' - but its all about time and priority.

 

HTH

 

WM

 

Understood, I'm just optimistic that there is a LOT we can do.. look how far we have come already. The CFS3 game gets a lot of flak by its distractors, but it's actually pretty amazing, it is the Flight Simulator 2000 engine, so it's understandable that it is so powerful

 

S!

[+Polovski 460]

New engine - we have been looking into, may happen still but there would be a lot more work involved of course.

[sitting_duck 3]

Its always been my experience, that when a problem exists, its a big mistake to forge ahead anyways, and perpetuate the problem.

 

Seems logical to me that if a p4 is somewhere in the future, then there is no reason not to assume a p5 might be what we are talking about next....

 

With that in mind, and taking into account I dont see anyone in a big rush for p4, we are all pretty happy with p3, putting off the solutions to fixing what needs to be fixed in p4 ( which ok,,,might mean starting from scratch) would imho, seem somewhat of a waste.

 

granted, its easy for me to say, as i dont have to do the work.

[Dej 17]

I have considered this since P1 but the code change on the CFS3 hardcode side of things is not trivial - the code that shows where you are on the map.

In terms of my side of things its dead easy but alas the craft will be shown in the wrong place.

 

Of course the hardcode can be 'modded' - but its all about time and priority.

 

HTH

 

WM

 

Is it possible to incorporate any other scaleable format and its associated plug-in into CFS3, without changing the hardcode? I'm thinking of the .SID format maybe. I assume you've considered the 'usual' lossy and lossless formats.

 

[EDIT] Nevermind, got my answer from Pol's response in the World War 1 era maps for flying thread [/EDIT]

Edited June 14, 2009 by Dej

[Mr. Lucky 0]

Well, if the team is checking this thread...... a pet peave of mine for a while. Can you reposition the Main Menu hot spot in the UI to NOT line up with the leave hot spot on the 1st screen. Many times, I accidentally click the main menu button and if there's a lag, it carries the mouse click over to the main menu screen and selects 'leave' when I didn't want to. This is especially irksome when I use Alacrity or Autostart and everything has to be started up then shutdown again.

 

BTW....I've noticed this before....I've been away from OFF for about a month, and coming back, it is just awesome the look and feel. So if you think you're getting used to how gorgeous the scenery and the environment is, just take a break and come back. Absolutely awesome.

[Duce Lewis 3]

BTW....I've noticed this before....I've been away from OFF for about a month, and coming back, it is just awesome the look and feel. So if you think you're getting used to how gorgeous the scenery and the environment is, just take a break and come back. Absolutely awesome.

I'll 2nd that thought for sure

I've taken some time away recently

Man, it's like opening your birthday presents all over again!

[Pike Bishop 0]

Dear All,

The main thing I would like to see would be pilot and gunner coop online. I realize that there are hard code limitations but it would be nice if the developers could crack it.

I think it would add to the feeling of comradeship and pilot/gunner coordination. But care should be taken so that the human gunners are not TOO effective.

Best regards,

Pike.

[Creaghorn 10]

just an idea,

 

when hitting "Z" one can see how tired a pilot is. don't know what effect it might have on somebody. probably a cfs thing without any use. default is 1. and the only situation i saw it ever reach 2 is when king kong on empire state building is grabbing me and throws me around (incloud effect).

 

would it be possible to use this feature and recode it as something like "combat-thrill"? it should work for AI and yourself and when it rises because of g-effects or lot manouvering (dogfighting) to a certain figure than the "fightmode" should be switched into "go home".

as an example, it starts by default at "1". when your squadron fights against some enemies, your flight and the enemy flight will do of course a lot of manouvering, and experience g-effects and stuff like this. it can last till the figure 10 is reached (it should rise of course quicker than the "tired" mode right now).

it should only be relevant for the flight leader. if the flight leader dies, then from the next flight leader of the group. as soon as the figure 10 of the AI flightleader or your AI is reached then they should break off.

aces combat-thrill might rise to 10 before breaking off the fight,

good AI at 8,

normal at 5 and

rookie pilots at 3.

it might decrease within the time, maybe, after 10 minutes one notch, simulating calming down.

 

so if aces run into aces, both will fight to death or till one of them reaches 10. those are the epic dogfights (MvR-Hawker e.g.)

if squads with aces AI leader runs into a formation with a normal pilot as leader, if the normal AI leader survives long enough, he will reach 5 after a time and then run, while the squad with ace AI leader has still about 5 points left and will chase the fleeing squadron.

it will happen often that dogfights with about equal AI leaders (good vs. good, or normal vs. normal) will reach the max at about the same time, and both squads head for home, see you another day.

 

of course there should be no possibility to see the combat thrill number in "z" or somewhere. it should be hidden.

just a idea how to get more fights without wiping one side out all the time. just a thought how it might be done.

[Hasse Wind 46]

It has been mentioned before, but I think the Spad XIII flight model could use some improvements in the future. The plane's stall speed is too high, I can't remember it exactly now but something like 80 knots (almost 150 km/h). It shouldn't be that high. I've seen videos on Youtube where the Spad is clearly flying much slower than that and yet stays nicely in the air. Too bad I'm unable to find a source that accurately describes the Spad's all characteristics in numbers.

 

 

Creaghorn, I too would like to see something like that in OFF. Great idea.

[+Polovski 460]

Yep been noted already Hasse

[rabu 9]

just an idea,

 

when hitting "Z" one can see how tired a pilot is. don't know what effect it might have on somebody. probably a cfs thing without any use. default is 1. ..snip...

 

 

Interesting idea!

[Test Pilot 0]

Something I found out tonight is that some of the error messages need revision. I had recently re-enabled the UAC in Vista and when I went to play tonight I kept getting error messages about OFF wanting to reinstall to solve the problem. I guess I assumed I had run OFF without a problem since re-enabling UAC and thought I had a newly corrupt file in OFF that left me needing to reinstall. As it turns out, the message saying it needed OFF reinstalled was simply because the system's UAC wasnt giving OFF the access it wanted to the files. Turn UAC off, and these doom and gloom messages go away. Maybe just reminding people to try running as admin and compatibility mode if running uac in those messages.

[Guest British_eh]

Thanks to Pol and Winder for keeping on the pulse with this blog.

 

Of course my say is no more and no less than others, but needless to say, I lwish to go where no one has before.

 

P3 has so many excellentattributes, that there are only a few in sim issues, the rest bieng a wish list.

 

Items then that seem to be relevant to the SIM:

 

1. AI in Wind and Cloud - is there a fix?

 

2. Killer Clouds - too much death

 

Items that would be great to see:

 

3. Ballon Observers in the area confirm " victories"

 

4. Maintenance/ Engine issues prior to/ during flight?

 

5. Medal presentations

 

6. My own request to add great immersion, and I would offer to assit in the development; One Town per side, perhaps near the popular Squads, such as RFC 56 and Jasta 2. Each town would have roads in and out, Train Station, Trrains on a schedule, livestock nearby, perhaps even soldiers, ( yes I know it has been done, and even a vehilce or civilian or too, and town lamps?

 

 

7. However I see the greatest issue is the parameters of the SIM itself. It is the goal of every pilot, (Player) to have fun, do their best, and survive 17 hours. This was the "average" lenght of time ( 2 weeks) for a recruit at the Front during the worst period of the War. This then should be acheivable by the average pilot during any time frame in the Sim. Who is average? Well lets just say 50 % of all pilots were average. Are there War records to indicate the actual numbers?. What are the settings that they should fly at to be "normal"? It has to be 100% realism! Why 100% realsim? Well, I would have to say that it likely represents

 

Thanks to Pol and WINDER for keeping on the pulse with this blog.

 

Of course my say is no more and no less than others, but needless to say, I wish to go where no one has before.

 

P3 has so many excellent attributes, that there are only a few in Sim issues, the rest being a wish list.

 

Items then that seem to be relevant to the SIM:

 

1. AI in Wind and Cloud - is there a fix?

 

2. Killer Clouds - too much death

 

Items that would be great to see:

 

3. Balloon Observers in the area to confirm " victories"?

 

4. Maintenance/ Engine issues prior to/ during flight?

 

5. Medal presentations?

 

6. My own request to add great immersion, and I would offer to assist in the development, is one Town per side, perhaps near the popular Squads, such as RFC 56 and Jasta 2. Each town would have roads in and out, Train Station, Trrains on a schedule, livestock nearby, perhaps even soldiers, ( yes I know it has been done,) and even a vehicle or civilian or too, and town lamps?

 

 

7. An Item that is pertinent to all players of P3 are the parameters of the SIM itself. It is the goal of every pilot, (Player) to have fun, do their best, and survive 17 hours. This was the "average" length of time ( 2 weeks) for a recruit at the Front during the worst period of the War. This then should be achievable by the average pilot during any time frame in the Sim. Who is average? Well let’s just say 50 % of all pilots were average. Are there War records to indicate the actual numbers? What are the settings that they should fly at to be "normal"? It has to be 100% realism! Why 100% realism? Well, I would have to say that it likely represents what all pilots would like to see as their minimum bar, correlates nicely to DiD, and should mirror the ability to achieve the 17 hours, for the average Player. While I know there are too many variables, this should be a goal that is achievable by 3-5 of any 10 pilots, bad luck not withstanding :}

 

 

Regards,

 

 

British_eh

[markl 1]

The first thing I would like is a better campaign map, then an over haul with more options for quick battles.

 

I must admit quick battles are what I like most, but I do dream of the campaign but I do not live long enough for it to be worth while.

 

With regard to the possible new engine. I have no idea about licensing etc, but now with the Ubisoft CFS3 edition we do not need the CD in to play. Please always keep it this way no matter what.

 

With regard to the flak question below. I like it the way it is now, any harder and us novices may never get off the ground.;

---------------------------------------------

2) I REALLY hope the ambience can be returned for the AA artillery/archie/ack-ack. While it certainly was too accurate before, resulting in poor game balance, it is basically emasculated now to the point where the bursts are going off literally miles away from their target.

----------------------------------------------

 

One thing I would pay for as well as new aircraft packs is code optimisation so the never ending PC upgrades can be minimised. Often improvments behind the scenes that we can not see are just as important as new bits.

 

Cheers MarkL.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

New engine - we have been looking into, may happen still but there would be a lot more work involved of course.

 

Maybe P5?...blimey!..trying to think of a title for that now!..hahaha