VonBeerhofen

Right, there'll be plenty of differences in the roofs and shapes of buildings when finished RiBob. 6 entirely different city block models go a long way in terms of diversity, :) Just look at the above pictures. VBH

Hi RiBob, Plants are no problem in general but when on buildings it usually just on the drawing and not fully 3D to save framerates and memory. Often they come with the photographs I use but sometimes the drawing scale doesn't leave much detail. For those still interested here's an altitude shot of Rome as it stands now: VBH

Pictrures shown only relate to the object itself, not it's placement in the picture or the used sky sets or terrain tiles or other visible obkects. There's just too much stuff in my game at once which may be still experimental which has caused quite some controversy in the past elsewhere. You may understand that I'm not going to remove these things and portray the most ideal situation, it's simply too much extra work, so don't pay attention on it. It only shows how hard I'm working on getting things done and make it all come together nicely. How's this for you RiBob, just to show one of the possibillities of this new Italian city block, which is still using the stock textures but will soon be transformed to my own drawings. It's about the 3D model, not the drawings, or the people running around, :) VonBeerhofen

Hi RiBob, Rather then testing the objects where it belongs I used a tree slot for it and that's not where it's supposed to be. It's a city object and is supposed to sit on a city tile but it saves time when a tree is replaced. You don't have to search to find the object as cities are sometimes hundreds of miles away. Hope that explains it. VBH

What would an addon be without the right atmospheric buildings to get you properly in the mood of things, only 1/2 as good right? So as in all my addons new cities are build trying to capture that atmosphere. In this light a new colorfull MedTer building set is under devellopment and this is a first try of the first city model out of 5 or 6 or so. A new model with appropiate R/S and just a start to use every polygon and node 3D models will allow. These objects are a real pita to build when done right, but this isn't my first try. Ofcourse the texture is what makes or breaks the model, and a lot of time is spend on gathering the right (copyright free) pictures and mold them for use in the game, or if necessary construct it from my parts and buildings database, which is growing fast. I'm sorry for the low quality picture and distortions to prevent unauthorised use of my drawings, I hope there's sufficient left for an impression of what's to come This is the first finished MedTer city block out of 6 to come. These proofed to be a little more problematic then I thought but it got there in the end. In total I spend 100 hours on this creation, including gathering textures, and it's still not finished yet. The toughest part, getting the rendering sequence to work is done but now the detailing starts. VonBeerhofen

Another new object for the Italian mountains. I have no idea how to place them yet but at least I flew through a viaduct, :) VonBeerhofen

What can be achieved (graphics heavy content!) when your heart is in it. One of EAW's challenges to me has always been to make objects look as solid, strong and realistic as they are and it's not easy to do within the limitations of the game. Harbours for instance aren't just a few lines on a terrain tile but solid structures with a lot of objects and defenses. Plane shelters aren't waver thin polygons but solid concrete, often up to 1/2 a meter thick. Canons on ships don't sit on the side of a turret but are protruding from the front, pointing at the enemy. Without control over the dreaded rendering sequence it never looks right, stuff disappears behind the 3D model or displays in front of it when it shouldn't or switches on/off like a nervous object which doesn't know what to do. It limits any creation in that smaller details have to be left out because it makes these problems worse to a point that it really gets annoying. So I came up with EAW's equivalent of CFS2's 100% 3D models, objects which use every available bit of space in the 3D models and sometimes surpass it's limitations. In the past 10 years I've build a lot of these 100% models which, when properly combined, create pretty realistic environments. The city models were expanded, resulting in more buildings per object and photographic skins to make em look even better. New models were build trying to capture the atmosphere of remote towns and villages in other countries, essential to make an addon campaign like Italy work. These models are way more complicated then a plane's fuselage or a two engined wing or a tailpeace, even though they also have their own challenges. The time invested in these objects is simply staggering, as at the time my knowledge about solving R/S problems was not very great but vastly improved over time. The problem wasn't really in building the models or creating the skins but in solving every rendering issue as the model progressed and learning why it was such a problem. Creation times went from over 6 months for a single 100% model to less then a week full time today. Every new object has got these issues when not being a simple cube but something with curves and various angles. One wrong placement of a node or polygon and things no longer work as they should and it's time to call in the 3DZ detective. The problem is different every time and not something you can spot at a glance unless you've come across this problem before. If you haven't it becomes a wild guess, and it gets worse when the model has 5 or 6 such issues. Even today some problems, even though solved, remain obscure as to why they're happening but as opposed to wings and fuselages there is more freedom to move polygons around, I mean if a sunscreen doesn't work over the restaurant then you can always move it elsewhere and with a bit of luck get a proper result. Still, the issue needs to be examined and solved if you want to stick to your original idea as moving the polygon isn't a solution but a bodged fix which doesn't teach you anything. So here are a few of these solved problems in my collection, which I think add just that touch of realism which has always been missing because Pentium 3's were simply not fast enough to display these models at reasonable framerates. Amogst these objects are also tanks, trucks, ships, weapons and defense structures like Belgian Gates and Czech hedgehogs, pilboxes, barbed wire, trees, bushes and crops, etc. etc. Von Beerhofen BTW rather then destroying one of my own bridges a replica of the Antheor Viaduct is close to being completed, the proper way as a 100% 3D model with a fully working R/S, as it's an object which will suit the italy addon and give it the right atmosphere!

A minor tweak on an older model from 2010 and wehey an Italian bridge and checkpoint. Texture will probably still change as it looks too much like the old version, and perhaps I'll add some tank obstacles too: It does belong in this same category of solid looking objects. VonBeerhofen

a completely new tree design which can be used for other coniferes as well. Criteria for the build was first of all to get something different for Italy but also something which is as light rendering as the stock tree models in EAW, like my other tree designs. It will allow to put the model into rows of trees but also a large number into a clump of trees ( twice as many as the stock design and 4 times as many with additional shadow replacements). Since the model is so sleek I've put two different textures into a single drawing for some extra variation (only one shown). VonBeerhofen

Not sure if above pictures will autimatically update when they're changed in my FTP site, so here's the final? object from most angles after adding some extra details and meticuously mapping the texture: VonBeerhoffen

Somwhere at an idyllic location near Cote d'Azur, :) Hires model 256 pixel texture in 8 bit for the Final Cut addon: VonBeerhofen

Yep, they were the first Code Group and Paolo had some good knowledge about programming. It's too bad I didn't get to meet him in person as he left soon after I was invited by Capt. Kurt to join them. He also was an assembly language programmer and could have helped me to get going in 2000. Couldn't make much sense of hes source code for Studio, too much Spanish remarks. It also remained vague to me which Macro Assembler he was using, without that program you can't do a thing with the code. I might be able to do more today but the later version in Visual Basic is already more advanced and probably much easier to reprogram too. Not saying I will have a go at it though, too busy with EAWPRO right now and it would take a lot of work to figure that code out too. VBH

Wehey, you're probably right there Mark. That stuff is slowly fading I'm sorry to say, but it's cool to see those old masters still getting recognition eh? VBH

Great, I have a few ideas for Studio. That DOS version is probably Paolo Morais's version written in assembly. It had some text in Spanish if I recall correctly. As for loosing any of those programs, I have multiple backups here should there be a problem at some time. I would however print out a full directory, or copy it's text into notepad so you can still retrace what was were but perhaps you already have done so. VBH

The card isn't as bad as you think lol. It's capable of displaying EAW at 1920 x1080 but it's not very fast by design that's for sure. The screenshots were taken with it but it doesn't display as good on that card as it does with the computer I'm using now. VonBeerhofen

Gerwin, It's a personal choice, it's not set as it would slow down my old gForce2MMX when we're battling it out online. My view is that a tileset shouldn't have 3D objects drawn on them at all, that's what the 3D models are for. Still, with these models being switched of at not too far distances it does help immersion a little. It's not close to a realistic world and merely a game. Being a modder from the C64 era, I agree with Jelly's view that graphics don't really always improve gameplay. I've played many C64 games which were later graphically enhanced but those games were still the same as the old C64 version, they only looked a little nicer but didn't bring anything else to the table. EAW is about flying over continents and essentially it's possible to shrink the EAW world into just a small theatre which is crammed with all the objects and tiles this game can handle, thus improving it's graphics. But such a small theatre would be like a kind of IL2 and take away what EAW is all about. There isn't anything wrong with that approach and several attempts have been made already, to me they're boring and I quickly run out of interest when I polay them because you can only revisit such addons again and again but you don't have sufficient choice to keep you interested. EAW kept my interest for nearly 20 years now and a small theatre rarely kept my interest for more then 2 missions. I never revisited them either. It doesn't change anything in the fights themselves, but it's OK when people have fun with them for two days or even more, but it just doesn't have my interest unless there's a real difference with the 308 taget locations the stock game is capable of and where each one has it's own strategic challenges. Besides that, all full addon worlds have another 308 of such targets and I'm still interested in playing those after 20 years, if only for the various flightmodels they use and the impact of them on both AI and human skills, but they have way more then just that. VonBeerhofen

There are tilesets which are 4 times higher in resolution Stratos and use 512 x 512 or UHR textures. Add to that the capabillity of true color and those problems should no longer be much of an issue. There is a downside though, first of all loss of FPS, depending on the power of the system in use and how an OS deals with the program, since true color tiles in 512 take up app. 16 times the space of most 8 bit sets. Another issue is distance shimmering, which depends on the GPU's power and the way it reads the tileset. Lores tiles in the distance aren't always used by all videocards but they can cure that problem partially and improve FPS when in use. So it's a bit of a trade off really. A huge tileset may well be a good solution but then again who's going to create a world using 1000 tiles or more and make the drawings for it. Maybe in a few years from now such a set could be finished and a TM created for it. I'm not going to create it for sure, even though by now I have around 1000 tiles ready for various purposes. I guess I'm used to these issues and it has never bothered me much, my weight lies on dogfighting and groundpounding in EAW, plenty of choices to fly other sims which make use of more modern technology but I never found one which gave me as much fun as EAW does, also ofcourse because I do not have the source code for them, which is 75% of my fun. VonBeerhofen

Thx for the hard work and your relentless effort to help the EAW community Mark, nice one! VonBeerhofen

EAW is still the best for me! Here's what followed next: VonBeerhofen

While anihilating an Me410 my Mosquito got caught in the resulting blastwave causing damage to my hydraulics and left engine! VonBeerhofen

Another use is this animated impeller effect on jets which is illuminated at night! VonBeerhofen

Alt_N/autopilot to homebase bugfix On screen HUD info was spaced out more for better readabillity on high resolution monitors View Objects horizon fix with closer zoom Runway line up spacing based on planesizes Parameter selection fix for all operating systems New NoCD drive version (original Microprose code) More agile and agressive AI Further integration of previously None Flyable Aircraft Further expansion on ACE skill level New Invader, Attack-Bomber, Figher-Bomber capabillity JU87 (Stuka) new FIXED GEAR entry in PLANES.DAT New cockpit gunflash A few other changes and fixes and more optimised code for improved FPS Current count: 42.833 bytes changed in comparison with v1.2 of wich 9.511 were removed from the gameloop! Work in progress: Raised bridges not fully working yet! JU87 brakes fix Gunflash positions Engine sounds The upgrade is available here: http://rabartel.home.xs4all.nl/HOTLINK.zip Requirements: A standalone and original EAWPRO version, available from Mark EAW's Helpsite, extracted into any official Microprose version. https://eaw.neocities.org To install: extract the .ZIP into your EAWPRO gamefolder (where the EAW.EXE resides) and allow overwrites. I hope you guys like, :) ! VonBeerhofen

Good info RiBob, knowing how things work will always be of use, :) Is there any knowledge you have about propellors flying off aircraft? VonBeerhofen

Next to the added control surface animations and added animations on groundobjects, I've managed to add two new animations, bulletholes and oil leak, and created the possibillity for 4 more to be used for other plane damage or whatever comes along. These are not really animations in the true sense of the word but more a state change of a textured polygon. Some of these animations can use multiple states making them a true animation, but most only use one or two states. The new ones only use a single state, so on or off, but their placement on the 3D models can be anywhere and for instance turn the front canopy into a partially blackened window with bulletholes, which will make it harder to see properly. It can also be used to blacken the engine area or cowlings, remove plating and show underlying struts or add tearing or cracks in the windshield, etc. These animations work both inside as outside the plane but there are a few snags. First of all the cockpit can be switched on or off with a key pressure, unless this feature is disabled in the EAW.INI, but when switched off the animation is also switched off and you'll have a clear view inspite of the animation being active. A huge advantage is that the realtime event triggers for these animations have always been there already, so there's no additional cost to framerates. Ofcourse new plane and cockpit models have to be created which will use these animations, 30 planes is probably doable but it will take a long time to get them all working. Besides that none of the default cockpits have glass panels in them and adding them is another tough job which requires proper knowledge about the Rendering Sequence and the use of 3DZ parts. However I have a few new cockpits which do have glass panels already, so these are most likely to get these new animation codes first. I can't see any issues for the stock planes but I can't say how far it can be taken, they need sufficient room in their textures to add new drawings, plus new polygon overlays and possibly a recalculated R/S, which is always a pain. So further devellopment is on a plane to plane basis as there is no easy bulk solution yet, but there are a few old tricks I may be able to use. VonBeerhofen

Here's trick Nr. 1 a very quick and easy way to implement a cockpit oilleak. Two simple oil drawings placed over the front windshield. In these pictures only one drawing is active, the other one on the right had the bullet holes animation in it but it remained unactivated since the right criteria for it weren't met. one step zoomed out There are various possibillities but I think this one probably gives the best result as it's using a standalone 3DZ and can easily be added to a number of planes. Each plane can have it's own drawing, or cheaper, all can use the same drawing with variations in te 3DZ's texture mapping. Sorry for the dark screenies, it wasn't easy to get myself shot in the right spot to activate the animation, by the time I got there it was dusk and the sun was sinking behind the horizon VonBeerhofen