OFF2 DEVELOPMENT Screenshots

[Andy73 3]

The Combat Flight Simulator 3 has a Graphic-Engine from 2003. So don't panic, every Computer from above 2005 should handle it with very high Settings. I've changed my GPU from a 460 GTX to a 660 GTX. Some Changes must be done in the Graphics-Driver, but it's worth it .And I'm having no doubt that WOFF will run perfectly (turn the Shadows off, who needs Shadows? That will give you a boost of 30 % )

I hope WOFF will be released one Day. I'm waiting.

[Shiloh 12]

I've decided to chime in on this discussion as it's an important one. I can see both sides of the fence as there are many valid points. Here is my take.

 

I've been flying OFF for just over 2 years so maybe I can offer the perspective of a 'newer flyer'. I've taken a few breaks as everyone needs to on any game. Yet overall I feel this sim is amazing! The graphics, the campaign engine, the incredible landscape, weather features, variety of craft and the overall feel of this sim are second-to-none in the WWI genre. I've flown the 'other' sim as many have and to me it just doesn't stack up.

 

Despite hundreds of hours in the air flying almost every craft that OFF has to offer, I still find new things about it every time I hit the skies. In the past month I've discovered the Nieuport 11, Brisfit, the DFW C.V and just completed my first successful bombing run. It was awesome. I continue to fly the D.VII, SE5a, Dr.1 and many others. Someone could fly this sim for years and not get bored with it, or at least I could. There is so much to it.

 

I appreciate everything about it and owe all my thanks to the few developers who have poured their hearts and souls into this project. It is a labor of love and this type of project can't be rushed. If you're losing flyers to impatience, then maybe they're just impatient people. I'm not faulting anybody. I'm simply pointing out that everyone is different.

 

Never before in the history of gaming have there been more options. It makes my head spin to see how many great games there really are. I like to jump around a bit and play a bit of this, and a bit of that and this keeps me satisfied until the release of WOFF. I greatly look forward to the release as much as anybody I suppose. My rig is not new by any means but it's adequate and I don't have any worries about it being able to handle WOFF's requirements. It's the same game engine as OFF with some improvements. If it does happen to require more juice than I'll upgrade the components I need to. Simple right?

 

I'm confident the developers are doing a great job behind the scenes. What reason would I have not to be confident? OFF continues to exceed my expectations of what a WWI flight sim should be. It is not fair to compare these developers and this sim with any others. We are a niche group - a fine group of passionate fliers - and I for one prefer that to a sim where everyone has to have a copy. I would rather support the small guy than the corporation.

 

Patience is key here. I do agree with some of the posts regarding future releases. Sure, if the major changes are all completed yet there is concern that all the models don't look perfect, this is fine. I agree a release could be made and there could be a few future updates. But again, I trust the judgment of the developers. To this point they have done everything right in my opinion, so I have no reason not to.

[CaptSopwith 18]

(turn the Shadows off, who needs Shadows? That will give you a boost of 30 % )

 

It does?? Darnit Andy! I'm supposed to be grading exams this morning and now you're going to send me off to playtest OFF again!

 

I think Shiloh is on to some important ideas here. It's a difficult tightrope to walk, and I too, can see both sides of this discussion.

 

On the one hand there is a growing frustration with the seemingly endless wait for the next release of OFF. We've been teased beyond reason and, as with other kinds of teasing, there is only so much one can take before it becomes more irritating than enticing.

 

If I recall correctly, the original Red Baron was released in 1990; it's successor in 1997. That's a pretty long wait between releases. I'll also add that our collective memory of RBII is probably one that was heavily patched and improved by the community - as the dev's released the RB3D Superpatch, a few server fixes and Sierra decided Dynamix could call it a day. The rest of the improvements - the ones we remember so fondly, are derived from the hard work of many of the guys who went on to work on OFF.

 

As for hardware requirements, mine skates by on OFF (it's an early 2008 machine), and I'm sure if I dumb down the settings, WOFF will likewise squeak by until I can get a new machine (oh graduate school, when will you end?). But others who posted here are correct: WOFF, even at its peak, will probably not require the graphics processing power that a game like Bioshock Infinite will consume. It will require processing speed - as the CFS3 engine pulled much of its energy from the CPU and not the GPU. But again, most of us should be in good shape.

 

And yes, there are thousands of encounters yet to be had in OFF! The campaign engine mirrors that of RB3D and the reason I played RB for so many years was because my missions were different each time. Yes, "other" sims might be plugging in feature here in there - and that's great! We should have a healthy and vibrant community of WWI simmers - but OFF, IMHO, is still THE game to get if you want to play offline - which I do most of the time. The AI, when set to aggressive, is still more than a handful for me and there are so many planes to tackle and learn, that I don't think I will be an expert on every kite anytime soon.

 

The downside, of course, is the threat that it might never be released. But I doubt this would ever come to pass. If there was some terminal issue with WOFF and it's development, the devs would have told us. Pol, Winder, Shred, Sandbagger, and OvS are all straight forward guys. They wouldn't be leaving us hanging unless they were on to something.

 

Patience is a virtue - not one I possess. But with my newfound OFF-time this summer (I am finally ABD and get a break for the first time in four years!) I know there is much left for me to explore in my current copy of OFF before I put the old gal out to pasture.

 

Hang in there guys - keep flying - and keep the screenshots of your current exploits coming!

 

Cheers!

Edited May 5, 2013 by _CaptSopwith

[von Baur 54]

I agree with Shiloh completely. I have no doubt I've experienced less than half of what OFF-3 has to offer. And the decision to build a computer for flying had at least as much to do with other factors as it did the pending(?) release of WOFF. As for patience, I'll put mine up against anyone else's in the world. So what has set me off? "Two weeks."

 

"Two weeks." That's what we've been hearing for, what, more than three years? I know it's been over two because my wife was still alive when screenshots and videos of Phase 4 were being released and she's been dead more than two. I understand that "two weeks" is kind of an inside joke. But how long can one hear the same joke over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...I think you get my point. To me, "two weeks" isn't a joke any more, it's almost an insult. It's like we don't deserve a serious answer.

 

You want to let us know that you're working on improvements, I get it. But do you have to show us bits and pieces of what we can't have every couple of months? Car manufacturers are probably designing the 2016 or 2017 models already. Hell, they're probably working on the retooling of assembly lines for them already. BUT THEY'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THEM ALREADY!!! And they won't until it's nearly time to let the driving public get our grubby little mitts on them. I, like Soppy, trust you. You're going to keep trying to inprove our experience until such time that's no longer feasible. And if and when that time comes I expect you'll have the decency to make the formal announcement, unlike the way it was mishandled at M9. I trust you, I do. But showing so much without giving any of it is like a politician describing the gourmet meals a homeless, unemployed person will enjoy once he gets a job but not providing a realistic solution to his getting one.

 

How about this? When someone asks about the progress, instead of just throwing out "two weeks" you give us one of three time-frames:

Not Soon=probably at least six months and up to infinity, don't hold your breath

Soon=anywhere from a month or so to six months or more, prepare to salivate

Very Soon=put it in your budget, it's been sent to the publisher

 

Those are just preliminary ideas. You could add a time-frame, if you like, or rename/reassign values as you see fit. At the very least, it would prevent having to explain to the casual passers-by who always ask, after the "two weeks" comments, "Really? How much? How do I order it? Will it be in stores?"

 

 

(almost) p.s.

Another thought: how about a colored button to indicate progress? It can change from, say, red to yellow to green (again, specific colors/timeframes would be designated by the devs) as the time shifts closer. Make it the top sticky-topic. That way we wouldn't even have to ask.

 

 

That's it. I'm done. I don't think I can make it any clearer than that.

 

**editted for spelling**

Edited May 5, 2013 by von Baur

[+Polovski 414]

We'll actually we have NOT talked about a large amount of what is in WOFF, deliberately, so actually we are not "teasing" like that. Several times people have asked for another movie or screenshots so we obliged.

We cannot show all things yet and don't want to until it's almost ready anyway. No one who delves into OFF deeply can deny the value for money - maybe there is too much in there.

 

Yes its taken a far longer than we planned, not just because we are adding things that are needed but also we have to test and fix etc. We are a very small team, any time/date we gave would have long passed and we'd have a lot more criticism or worked 24 hours a day to meet a deadline we invented (no publisher is demanding a rushed release date -several titles including sims have failed in the past due to this).

 

Large software development / publishing companies can usually just add a lot more resources to meet a deadline, we cannot.

 

We know people are waiting patiently but believe us its killing us much more - probably quite literally.

 

Developing flight sims takes a lot of detailed patient work for little return unfortunately - hence why hardly anyone makes them anymore.

[Olham 164]

We know people are waiting patiently but believe us its killing us much more - probably quite literally.

 

I hope you guys keep an eye on your health every now and then. I guess a monster like such a

Flight sim can eat one up - nerves, or complete health.

I want to wish you all the best positive health resources you can possibly get.

[+Polovski 414]

Thanks Olham we have all been through some tough times recently but still going just about..

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Pol, I hope you know that each of us truly appreciates all the time and energy you and the rest of the devs put into this outstanding sim. We may get in the odd digs from time-to-time and do a fair amount of moaning about how long it's taking but that's only because we love OFF and want to experience it at the next level.

 

All the best Sir, and a free round for all the devs!

 

.

[Mr_Dirt 1]

A FREE ROUND FROM ME ALSO. I get flamed enough still in phase 3. I still cannot stop myself from just wading in no matter the odds. I spend as much time thinking up new names and creating new pilots as flying. This sim has been very well done since the first phase and I think the devs are exacting task masters. I feel they may drive themselve to drink someday. Speaking of devs where is OVS I have not seen him around for sometime?

[shredward 12]

Oh, he's around. He's working o ( Redacted under authority of Official Secrets Act ) when he's not washing the ladder truck or rescuing kitty cats out of trees

Cheers

shredward

[Olham 164]

Not to forget his huge car he was renovating.

And then he is of Italian origin - I guess he spends a lot of time with eating great Italian food?

[nbryant 8]

Apparently we have all forgotten that it is only two weeks away!