what am I doing now?

[scary_pigeon 0]

1) 1 unit is a meter

2) I cant remember how far away we have the skydome rendered. I know that we render it in the first pass. It should be as far away to avoid things like head shake created some sort of odd parralex against point stars for night time flying. And also maybe with 3d glasses a close skydown would stand out against distant aircraft?

 

3) skydome resolution is 1024x768 at the moment.

[+Dante-JT 6]

Some preview pictures of what I'm working at the moment: very important (but very tricky to get right) ground clutter.

 

This is Mount Tumbledown, one of the first important battlefields to be seem from Stanley while moving West, it has a rocky outcrop creating what looks like a 'dorsal spine' that runs from East to West over the mountain's peak:

 

Rocky peaks around Mount Willians and Sapper Hill region, the islands landscape must have more rocks than a Flintstones cartoon:

 

A closeup of some wind swept bushes (I'm hovering very low and slow here, ignore the alt reading in the HUD, it's distance from sea level, not radar-altimeter):

 

Mount Williams as seem from the start of the 'walk' uphill, I'm still hovering very low and slow, the bushes and stones now really bring a dimension to the hills:

 

...and now hovering at the top looking downhill:

 

...more to come, expect to see ground troops running for cover behind rocks in the near future.

Edited November 22, 2005 by Dante-JT

[SkorpioN 0]

expect to see ground troops running for cover behind rocks in the near future.

 

Nice, very nice... can't wait to see that flying a IA-58 Pucara!

 

Saludos!

[+kreelin 2]

Very promising screenshots guys... Can't wait the demo ;)

[+Crusader 2,101]

great landscape :)

[EAGLE 18 FLT 0]

This looks great guys I like the landscapes look amazing I look forward to some videos of the active landscape :)

[+Dante-JT 6]

This looks great guys I like the landscapes look amazing I look forward to some videos of the active landscape :)

 

I did a little one:

http://www.thunder-works.com/clutter1.zip

 

download and unzip, should work in Windows Media Player as I used Windows Media codec...

 

I will do a proper one when Steve put back the low altitude turbulence effects (they improve the sense of low level flight) and hopefully fix all the cameras (fly-by cam etc) - I should populate more the terrain with clutter, as performance is still very very high.

[Bungle_uk 0]

Wow that looks stunning, the feeling for speed looks very good too. Is it that fast within game or is it due to the video format?

[+Dante-JT 6]

Wow that looks stunning, the feeling for speed looks very good too. Is it that fast within game or is it due to the video format?

 

 

It is that fast. A while ago I've insisted that we should have one extra detail texture layer for close detail terrain - this extra detail texture has less repeats than the 'main' close detail texture but does an excellent job as intermediary between main terrain texture and close detail texture - with tweakings in the repeat values in terrains.cfg, I've reached that level of apparent terrain density in the video - more terrain density, the faster it will look when flying low.

[Pilotasso 0]

Hi guys, been paying attention to this project for a couple of years now. Im new but some of you might know me form the LOckon Forums.

 

 

I did a little one:

http://www.thunder-works.com/clutter1.zip

 

download and unzip, should work in Windows Media Player as I used Windows Media codec...

 

I will do a proper one when Steve put back the low altitude turbulence effects (they improve the sense of low level flight) and hopefully fix all the cameras (fly-by cam etc) - I should populate more the terrain with clutter, as performance is still very very high.

 

Just seen the Video, and I liked it alot...

Flight model looked excelent for me. Certainly much better than almost anything out there. I do think that you guys have yet to sort controll surface speed because the trajectory changes apear so abrupt that it seems the control surfaces are instantly actuated. Once that corrected it will look and feel real nice indeed.

 

Another question. Have you implemented trimming yet? It also apears the player need to keep the nose tight under control on that Video.

 

Congrats for the progress so far. The graphics look real sharp, and the planes sense of flight and speed is great. And Im not talking cheap either, Im picky to what concerns these aspects of a flight sim. keep it up!

[SkorpioN 0]

I will do a proper one when Steve put back the low altitude turbulence effects (they improve the sense of low level flight)

 

 

 

With no doubts, this simulator will be fantastic.

 

By the way, I would like to ask something about the planes numerals. I would like to know if every plane will have its own numeral or it will be repeated in all the planes of the same type.

 

Example: some Pucaras Malvinas numbers : A-523, 529, 552 Y 556.

 

Nice IA-58 Pucara site:

http://www.choiquehobbies.com.ar/revista/n...cara/Pucara.htm

http://www.choiquehobbies.com.ar/revista/n...ra2/Pucara2.htm

http://www.choiquehobbies.com.ar/revista/n...cara3/puca3.htm

http://www.archivo-pucara.com.ar/

 

Saludos!

Edited November 29, 2005 by SkorpioN

[scary_pigeon 0]

hopefully just that right now not done that sort of thing. relying on complete texture.

[DamienB 0]

Only found out about this sim tonight - looking forward to seeing the end results.

 

On the topic of the 3d model skins, and on the off chance you don't already know this, I see a number of inaccuracies - RN ships wearing their pennant numbers (they were all removed - many instead carried a vertical black recognition stripe approximately midships, with a union flag roughly daubed on top of the bridge), SHARs wearing squadron markings and stencils, etc.

 

Hope that's not too nit-picky...!

[+Dante-JT 6]

Only found out about this sim tonight - looking forward to seeing the end results.

On the topic of the 3d model skins, and on the off chance you don't already know this, I see a number of inaccuracies - RN ships wearing their pennant numbers (they were all removed - many instead carried a vertical black recognition stripe approximately midships, with a union flag roughly daubed on top of the bridge), SHARs wearing squadron markings and stencils, etc.

Hope that's not too nit-picky...!

 

 

Thanks for the heads up! The situation with the markings and numbers is all going to change, but some important programming should be done for that - we must have ways to change just a number or squadron marking in the sim without changing entire texture (as, embarassingly, is the way to do now).

 

No problem with the nit-pickin', thats normal with us :) yesterday I was watching the Iluminados por el Fuego DVD and noticed many innacuracies too - the attacking Sea Harrier in one of the scenes wearing a 'white belly', amongst other things :)

 

Btw, do you have any photos displaying the with a union flag daubed on top of the bridge and the vertical black recognition stripe? Would be really helpful ! Soon I will be re-setting up all those warships, at the moment the code for them isn't taking into account their compartments for separated damage/hitpoints and other important things we have in the airplane's compound method.

[DamienB 0]

No problem with the nit-pickin', thats normal with us :) yesterday I was watching the Iluminados por el Fuego DVD and noticed many innacuracies too - the attacking Sea Harrier in one of the scenes wearing a 'white belly', amongst other things :)

 

Saw the trailer for 1982 We Were There last night - now that's hilarious... Exocet on the way to hit HMS Invincible!

 

Btw, do you have any photos displaying the with a union flag daubed on top of the bridge and the vertical black recognition stripe?

 

Union flag:

http://www.btinternet.com/~broadsword82/ga...ventry/cov8.jpg

 

Recognition stripe:

http://www.btinternet.com/~broadsword82/ga...ventry/cov5.jpg

 

These were applied to the Type 42s to forestall any possible confusion with the Argentine T42 which, in the end, took no part in the war.

 

I don't think the stripes were applied to other ships, but pennant numbers were usually removed with a few exceptions e.g. HMS Yarmouth. Not sure how many got the union flag applied on top of the bridge.

[EAGLE 18 FLT 0]

Saw the trailer for 1982 We Were There last night - now that's hilarious... Exocet on the way to hit HMS Invincible!

Union flag:

http://www.btinternet.com/~broadsword82/ga...ventry/cov8.jpg

 

Recognition stripe:

http://www.btinternet.com/~broadsword82/ga...ventry/cov5.jpg

 

These were applied to the Type 42s to forestall any possible confusion with the Argentine T42 which, in the end, took no part in the war.

 

I don't think the stripes were applied to other ships, but pennant numbers were usually removed with a few exceptions e.g. HMS Yarmouth. Not sure how many got the union flag applied on top of the bridge.

 

Thats not the Union Flag/Jack, thats the St. George's Cross, sorry to nit-pick :)

[DamienB 0]

Thats not the Union Flag/Jack, thats the St. George's Cross, sorry to nit-pick :)

 

It's the union flag - the blue is just very faint on that photo - no stocks of the correct blue paint were onboard ship.

[Berkut RnR 0]

Saw the trailer for 1982 We Were There last night - now that's hilarious... Exocet on the way to hit HMS Invincible!

 

Hilarious?

READ THIS

[A4-AR 0]

Hilarious?

READ THIS

 

 

I don´t think that´s funny... funny were the pictures of the coventry sinking. ok? This is forum is not to discuss war facts, it´s about the sim. The british should be a little more honest and reveal all those pitty secrets they have about the war, i.e. what really happened with the invinvible. Those pilots saw it and no pilot would misstake the sunken atlantic conveyor with an operational aircraft carrier.

[scary_pigeon 0]

invincible is believed to have been sunk? but it sailed home.

 

 

well project wise, in the end i did pull myself away from quake4 and do some programming last night. We've been changing the way we handle buildings.

 

there are some odd things about our terrain system, things i've forgotten and I actually spent some time going over things finding out how stuff works again. But now, just like the terrain, dante places static objects with lightwave and so is able to use his favourate 3d tool as an object editor with the script conversion tool i wrote. Now buildings are added.

 

I'm hoping to shortly solve all collision bugs with terrain - the problem of flying over complex terrain somehow causing some weird freeze when ground collision detection is active. seems to be a problem of too many terrain triangles being shortlisted for tests when there should be no more than 4 or 5 at a time, not several thousand. So something is quite right that needs fixing.

Edited December 2, 2005 by scary_pigeon

[BUFF 8]

Folks, this thread has been drawn to my attention.

Please concentrate on discussing the game & don't let it slide down the slippery slope to flame wars.

 

The black helicopters are warming up & the post lock being drawn from armoury just in case ...

[Skater 0]

I don´t think that´s funny... funny were the pictures of the coventry sinking. ok? This is forum is not to discuss war facts, it´s about the sim. The british should be a little more honest and reveal all those pitty secrets they have about the war, i.e. what really happened with the invinvible. Those pilots saw it and no pilot would misstake the sunken atlantic conveyor with an operational aircraft carrier.

 

I have had just about enough of these crackpot conspiracy theories. I have heard this one before, and it especially irks me.

 

My family is British in origin. I am a first generation American and first generation US military. My brother is also first generation US military. My father served first in the Royal Marines, then as an Officer in the US Army (5th Special Forces Group). My Uncle, Sir Michael (Mickey) Lynch, served as an Officer in the Royal Navy until he retired in 1988. He served aboard HMS Invincible in 1982 during the Falkland Islands War. I can assure you, at no time was HMS Invincible hit or sunk. My uncle died in 1996 from lung cancer, but he had many stories from the Falklands War, and none of them were of being rescued after having his ship sunk from under him. As the Chief Engineering Officer aboard her, I think he would have been involved in some way. He loved the Navy, as did my Grandfather (Sir Maurice Lynch, Captain of the HMS Duke of York during the early part of WWII) and I think that is one of the main reasons I joined the Navy (USN).

 

I hope this puts this stupid cross-thread to rest, because it is utterly rediculous.

 

 

Any more bantering on this cross-threaded topic will lock down this thread. Back on topic please.

 

BE WARNED.

 

-Skater

[A4-AR 0]

I guess my nerves where not at ease at the time I wrote the post, I have to apologize for what I wrote, casualties are human beings not matter on what side they were fighting for, not a topic to laugh about. I hope this thread doesn´t lose it´s original purpose, the great Sim.

Thank you... and again I´m sorry.

[Skater 0]

Thank you for being so level-headed A4-AR. These types of topics, conspiracy theories, secret desert bases, George Bush building forward bases on the dark side of the moon, etc. are inflammatory topics at best, and out and out flamee wars and mud slinging contests at their worst.

 

They can do nothing except incite to (verbally) riot, and more often than not, hurt people that are involved or know or are related to people who were. We can all get along without bringing that stuff about.

 

In war, both sides of every conflict make claims on aircraft downed, ships sunk, and targets destroyed that, after the smoke clears and the war is over, becomes painfully evident that it was not so.

 

It's war. It happens.

 

I do not think that anyone can deny what the Argentines did in the war. They were underequipped, with aging aircraft, and only a handful of state-of-the-art Exocet missiles, and they very nearly brought the Amphibious Assaut by the more well-equipped British forces to a screeching halt.

 

The Argentine pilots were skilled and courageous, and quite possibly suicidal if you ask me, I do not think I would have flown those mission profiles so naked if I was asked to.

 

Still, in the face of insurmountable odds, the Argentine pilots flew their missions, and almost pulled off the upset of the century.

 

The same can also be said of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines and Paras. What they did, despite horrific conditions and murderous losses is a testement to their training, courage, and sheer will of arms.

 

It is for these reasons that the actions on both sides of this short but decisive conflict continue to be studied at war colleges across the globe, and will be for some time to come.

 

-Skater

[Mothman 0]

Skater: imho you should identify who's throwing the first flames (who came up with th issue in this thread) and go after him via PM. Otherwise it'll happen again. I'll bet on it. It's just a suggestion from a old fart.

 

I like to discuss history, even conspiracy theories, alternate scenarios, etc... in a polite way. It is possible, depending on the quality of the participants. But this thread was a nice sort of developer diary and we all should keep it this way.