By
MigBuster
When Thunder Rolled and Winds of Change - September 2021
It is with great excitement today we announce some updates and increasing momentum of the When Thunder Rolled Project.
Perhaps the most significant news is a Leadership change. All founding members have approved the nomination and acceptance of a new Project Leader that has demonstrated the proficiency, commitment and quality demanded in this critical role. Leveraging his solid understanding of the Thirdwire sims, and recent leadership roles with other initiative including Operation Desert Storm, will set us up for greater success. With this change, we are expecting a surge in activity and progress which has us energized and excited.
On a tactical level, our top focus/priority now continues to be on finalizing terrain work - creating incredibly accurate depictions of the Vietnam topography, cities/towns, airbases, enhanced terrain tiles (e.g., honoring requests for more rice paddies), etc. This terrain of course will serve as the foundation for everything else.
We continue to excel in enhancing immersion and realism – leveraging outsourced professionals to help with creating dense jungle environments, realistic sky environments and more. These efforts are a cycle of ongoing experiments balancing how much we can push this old game engine and still maintain acceptable frame rates.
We have also been making progress in many other areas such as creating realistically detailed target areas. For example, when you strike an enemy military storage area in WTR, we promise it won’t be a generic “Warehouse1” – see proof below! Next up on the target area list is creating a cluttered rail yard supporting Ed’s June 20, 1966 attack on the Railyard NorthEast of Kep Airfield. New models will include a marshalling yard with new train cars, rail yard support buildings, service equipment and more.
Also noteworthy perhaps: while not formally adopted on the development roadmap but under consideration – we have received requests over the past few years regarding Yankee Air Pirate (YAP) compatibility. A majority of former YAP team members have already been involved with the WTR Project so this continues to be assessed and a greater possibility.
Please enjoy the screenshots below; note these are lower res/compressed versions and representative of unedited actual gameplay.
As always, we welcome and encourage community support. If you are interested in contributing, please send me a Private Message (PM).
Finally, very special thanks to Erik for all his support and hosting our exclusive forum. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments in this forum, thank you.
An F-105 drops its payload over North Vietnam amidst heavy cloudy skies.
Our brand new scratch F-100F; its dazzling bare metal skin catching the morning sun on an enemy air defense suppression (Wild Weasel) mission.
Vivid Morning Skies over a small Vietnam Village lose their tranquility as enemy AAA chase after the contrails of an F-105 strike package (top right).
Another brand new scratch model, this time showcasing the Mig-17 featuring an insane level of detail and perfect for you rivet counters.
Rough inner coastal waters demonstrated by new water effects roll in to disrupt a peaceful beach.
An NVA solider driving the SA-2 missile transporter takes a quick break along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Yet another new scratch model, the AH-1 Skyraider! Employing a low bomb pass this skillful pilot scores a direct hit on an enemy truck convoy just clearing a ridge along the Ho Chi Minh trail.
The sheer beauty of Vietnam, rolling hills, lush jungles and colorful fields serve as a momentary distraction from the war.
May 3, 1966. Ed Rasimus’ first recorded combat mission successfully strikes a Dong Hoi military storage area in Route Pack 1.
Bonus Screenie: re-creation of YAP “JumpMyers” downed pilot rescue mission integrated with the WTR Project leveraging brand new Jolly Green helo model, rescue pilot, special effects, etc
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