I have enough of this BS

[Wrench 9,421]

we got them already...

 

http://combatace.com/files/file/12344-new-undead-horde-squad/

[+HomeFries 29]

[+SkateZilla 49]

 

:yes:

[JediMaster 451]

TK needs to get creative on the business side. It seems like every suggestion for anything other than a minor change is met with "nope, nope, can't afford the time/money to do it" even when it really wouldn't take that much. StratFirst was 10 years ago now, it's time to move on.

 

Start a new company separate from TW. Get a bunch of loans to set it up, using his existing SF series code as the basis and with his expanded plans of where to take it, but still at a fraction of the development cost of games like Ace Combat. License his engine to it, hire a few programmers out of college or similar that are willing to work cheap. Let them work on the easy stuff that consumes a lot of his time (unavoidably) and he can concentrate on the high-level stuff...become the John Carmack of the 21st century flight sim genre (as people like Damon Slye and Wild Bill were in the 90s). Put in MP, spruce up the graphics like the water and sky (which should take time but not be technically difficult), maybe get some new voice acting recorded, sell the thing for $50 with multiple flyables. It can make the mobile games, too, with people dedicated to that who are more familiar with that realm using existing assets licensed from TW. Meanwhile TW itself soldiers on with the same thing as before except the engine will get the benefit of the coding done by the other company to make incremental improvements for those who like SF2 and have no interest in the "bigger commercial" sim, along with the money from the licensing allowing perhaps another hire to make each release a little more than we've been generally seeing.

 

If it fails, the new company fails. Big tax write-offs all around. The programmers and other content creators go on to other projects. TW itself is unaffected other than it loses the licensing from the new company.

 

It just seems like with PC games it's feast or famine. You're either an indie making enough to pay the bills and keep open, or you're a AAA studio spending $10m+ a title and needing several million sales just to break even. Where are the devs with $1m game budgets? Or even $500k? TK makes it sound like $500k would fund him for SEVERAL years. Everyone agrees SF2x is looking dated now (at least it was contemporary enough when SF2 itself came out, but there have been only minor changes since), but the underlying code for the rest works well enough. Hiring outside people just to make things look nice is easy, modelers and painters abound and they just need to be good at that, not coding.

 

I mean, you have places like 38 Studios imploding with tens of millions of dollars lost for ZERO output, but TK is shy of asking for a $500k loan? Maybe that's the problem, maybe he SHOULD ask for a $10m loan. Seems like those are somehow easier to get???

[+SkateZilla 49]

USAF Air Dominance has some things added to it by Critical mass that SF2 Cant compete with even with the 7 year old code,

and it was a limited to Kiosks only (though a few copies have snuck out to users :p).

[+Julhelm 266]

Like what? C'mon SZ, now you gotta spill the beans.

[+JonathanRL 973]

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2005/January/Pages/air_forces5899.aspx

 

Well, it seems not even USAF: Air Dominance could avoid having a F-4 in it. However, from the description, it seems like the SF engine was a good choice for them.

I am also curious about some of the features SZ describes.

[Teras 67]

only 3 things i wish TK implement them in SF2 series

 

1- ground target lock on ( slewing and/or lasing any target of player choice instead of the damn current targeting method for A2G tasks )

2- air refueling

3- city buildings with lights + destructible city buildings

Edited July 11, 2012 by Teras

[+SkateZilla 49]

Replays for One.

 

The Camera Angles and Field of View for the cameras were different (better). especially in replay.

 

The Sounds and Voice overs in the 2nd Airshow Season were completely different than the red-neck voices we have had for 10 years.

 

The Avionics was more detailed in the A2A Department.

 

Weapons systems were more detailed.

 

2nd season they had it, it was the same 3 missions, plus 4 on 4 player vs player.

 

Terrain was more detailed (less random spiked jagged edges, smoother hills, etc).

 

Problem was funding was cut before they could deploy it online with DLC.

 

I wonder if CMI is interested in licensing out the new Engine.

[+Stary 2,426]

interesting SZ... I guess it's not possible to buy that title anywhere..? I've seen some 3 screenshots of it somewhere at best

[+Julhelm 266]

Oh look, Rhuzio (sp?) is back and trolling my thread on TW boards. Or some other troll whiteknighting for TK.

[+whiteknight06604 931]

hey leave me out of this ;)

[Wrench 9,421]

Julhelm: don't forget there's a "report" button (the triangle with the exclaimation point) the the 3W boards.

[eraser_tr 29]

TK needs to get creative on the business side. It seems like every suggestion for anything other than a minor change is met with "nope, nope, can't afford the time/money to do it" even when it really wouldn't take that much. StratFirst was 10 years ago now, it's time to move on.

 

Start a new company separate from TW. Get a bunch of loans to set it up, using his existing SF series code as the basis and with his expanded plans of where to take it, but still at a fraction of the development cost of games like Ace Combat. License his engine to it, hire a few programmers out of college or similar that are willing to work cheap. Let them work on the easy stuff that consumes a lot of his time (unavoidably) and he can concentrate on the high-level stuff...become the John Carmack of the 21st century flight sim genre (as people like Damon Slye and Wild Bill were in the 90s). Put in MP, spruce up the graphics like the water and sky (which should take time but not be technically difficult), maybe get some new voice acting recorded, sell the thing for $50 with multiple flyables. It can make the mobile games, too, with people dedicated to that who are more familiar with that realm using existing assets licensed from TW. Meanwhile TW itself soldiers on with the same thing as before except the engine will get the benefit of the coding done by the other company to make incremental improvements for those who like SF2 and have no interest in the "bigger commercial" sim, along with the money from the licensing allowing perhaps another hire to make each release a little more than we've been generally seeing.

 

If it fails, the new company fails. Big tax write-offs all around. The programmers and other content creators go on to other projects. TW itself is unaffected other than it loses the licensing from the new company.

 

It just seems like with PC games it's feast or famine. You're either an indie making enough to pay the bills and keep open, or you're a AAA studio spending $10m+ a title and needing several million sales just to break even. Where are the devs with $1m game budgets? Or even $500k? TK makes it sound like $500k would fund him for SEVERAL years. Everyone agrees SF2x is looking dated now (at least it was contemporary enough when SF2 itself came out, but there have been only minor changes since), but the underlying code for the rest works well enough. Hiring outside people just to make things look nice is easy, modelers and painters abound and they just need to be good at that, not coding.

 

I mean, you have places like 38 Studios imploding with tens of millions of dollars lost for ZERO output, but TK is shy of asking for a $500k loan? Maybe that's the problem, maybe he SHOULD ask for a $10m loan. Seems like those are somehow easier to get???

 

 

Problem is software companies have a hard time getting any loans. Very little can be used as collateral. I already looked into it for my business (indie game dev like TK) But otherwise you're right. He reflexively rejects anything outside his comfort zone, and you'll never get anywhere if you don't leave that zone. Running your own company takes risks, which he's unwilling to do.

 

It's not all that hard or expensive to vastly improve things. Unless of course, he's coding everything from scratch himself, which I get the feeling he's doing. There is tons of code out there available to use. There's a huge variety of terrain tools he could integrate to vastly improve the terrain.

 

Well, 38 studios did have some output, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is out on steam. Looking up the implosion, it looks like they way overcapitalized and hired too many people right out of the gate, then couldn't get the revenue to sustain it.

 

TK could go the kickstarter route. Double Fine productions got 3.3 million to do a point and click adventure game, which is very 1990's retro and more dead than flight sims.

[+JonathanRL 973]

http://bbs.thirdwire.com/phpBB3w/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9254

 

Regarding TK and Kickstarter, I just suggested it. I do however he might just be too old fashioned to accept the idea. Also, I feel there might just not be enough players of his games around to actually make it work.

[+Stary 2,426]

Jonathan, problem is TK does zip to broaden his fan base. No press releases, flat refusal to even suggestions of doing interviews AFAIK for flightsim sites, no tiny WIPs others cream all over the forums etc. I wish all those 15k+ fans from FB were real buyers of at least one title but dunno. I wish. SF NA was best occasion to do so, didnt happened

[+malibu43 142]

http://bbs.thirdwire....php?f=5&t=9254 Regarding TK and Kickstarter, I just suggested it. I do however he might just be too old fashioned to accept the idea. Also, I feel there might just not be enough players of his games around to actually make it work.

Well, now you guys have really done it. TK is talking about adding zombies to SF2! (see jonathanRL's thread linked above).

 

Sign me up for the first copy of Angry Fighters: Zombie Apocolypse.

Edited July 12, 2012 by malibu43

[+SkateZilla 49]

this time next year, or about 18 months from now, I'll most likely be testing a dozen or so DCS Beta modules for DCS world... so...

[+Stary 2,426]

hmm, the developers of those modules can easily kill the joy by going over the top realism way, I aint holding my breath yet

[+SkateZilla 49]

over the top realism or Arcade mode...

[+Stary 2,426]

surely IRIS for example makes great FS planes (haven't bought them personally for FSX, speaking about pics and vids) but DCS modules will face these issues IMO

 

1) coding the avionics/fm/dm stuff right 2) not making them insanely difficult to operate 3) releasing in forsible future

 

also some relatively sense timeframe in general would be nice, that would require some comunications between groups about

 

back on topic... TW could quite easily* re-release some of their stuff for DCS... just sayin'... ED already stated they don't expect the modules to be all of A-10/Ka-52 fidelity

*quite easily=not having to build and map the models and pits from scratch

 

edit:

clarification: relatively sense timeframe = not having group A releasing Bearcat, group B F/A-18F and Group C Harrier Gr.1... not to mention lack of new theaters so far

Edited July 12, 2012 by Stary

[+SkateZilla 49]

surely IRIS for example makes great FS planes (haven't bought them personally for FSX, speaking about pics and vids) but DCS modules will face these issues IMO

 

1) coding the avionics/fm/dm stuff right 2) not making them insanely difficult to operate 3) releasing in forsible future

 

also some relatively sense timeframe in general would be nice, that would require some comunications between groups about

 

back on topic... TW could quite easily* re-release some of their stuff for DCS... just sayin'... ED already stated they don't expect the modules to be all of A-10/Ka-52 fidelity

*quite easily=not having to build and map the models and pits from scratch

 

edit:

clarification: relatively sense timeframe = not having group A releasing Bearcat, group B F/A-18F and Group C Harrier Gr.1... not to mention lack of new theaters so far

 

instruments are setup differently,

As in scripted so if a user wishes they can export MFD displays or radar scopes easily to external screen.

 

Collision boxes are setup in max,

Textures are different.

 

Cockpit and external meshes are actually ONE complete scene,

Exporting to edm exporter is stricter than TWexporter.

 

Materials and Textures are setup differently in Max for DCS.

 

Data Files are similar to TWs inis, but the strings are different, and use different syntax.

 

 

So the models are done, but he'd prolly most likely have to re-configure every material after Merging the Pit and external model.

then go through the plugin data files and write them all (filenames and links to model files etc etc),

then re-write his flight models to DCS's format.

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/forumdisplay.php?f=202

 

However, ED has a viewer Application that lets us see the model in the game engine without having to load up the game .. ahhahahaha

Edited July 12, 2012 by SkateZilla

[+SkateZilla 49]

IRIS already stated the F-15E will be to the Fidelity of the A-10C.

F-22 not so much as data is classified,

F-14D will prolly be as much as they can do in One Seat, however, unlike TW, 3rd Parties have the ability to write their own Avionics for their Modules.

 

and CoreTex also stated the same regarding the SuperBug.

Edited July 12, 2012 by SkateZilla

[+Stary 2,426]

Cockpit and external meshes are actually ONE complete scene,

don't think so, but haven't looked into it... but that would explain why ED's cockpits sucks in general -FC2/LOMAC ones for example are quite flat bitmap ones really compared to say TW Series2 ones

[snapper 21 762]

http://bbs.thirdwire....php?f=5&t=9254

 

Regarding TK and Kickstarter, I just suggested it. I do however he might just be too old fashioned to accept the idea. Also, I feel there might just not be enough players of his games around to actually make it work.

 

 

Kickstarter could have been a good idea had multiplayer no been brought up. Maybe an A-6 cockpit with a sort of DIANE system could have been put forward, but a soon as the M word was used that slightly open door was closed.

 

Just out of interest how would multiplayer work and last. Surely everybody needs to have the exact same install, and in a modable sim like SF2, that will be hard to achieve. And would it not become a bit old quickly if those that had modded there missile to 100% of everything kept handing you your ass on a plate?

 

Cheers

 

Snapper 21