Developer Diary, Part 78

[=38=Tatarenko]

Hmm, I think armoured windscreen was only ever an option for the F4?

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 Downloaded and hmm..a small list of squashed bugs or something would have been nice. "Yes we did something, but not gonna tell you" feeling Thanks anyway and good luck with the stress test!

[LukeFF]

 

 

You can no longer choose armoured wind screen, and the two options are glass head rest and remove head rest.

 

The armored windscreen has never been an option on the G-2. It's standard equipment.

[hiro]

Thanks for the update, I know the devs are busy trying to get the game ready and running the beta testing. It's expected (that they are busy), and I'd rather have them put time into the game itself  then to make tracks of the beta and show some cool things. 

 

 

And they did give the time frame of the game release (well based off the beta test & debugging. I think that's reasonable, as a concrete date or deadline may force cutting before measuring, release speed before quality, and everyone should know that taking time and measuring twice and cutting once . . . is best. 

 

 

 

I know some might be "What? Who's on the beta team . . . ' 

 

 

From other games, I know some game devs keep the team partly secret to prevent people asking for the beta or getting bugged on news on the beta. Or they choose people that can fill out the forms with all the information / test bugs and be software savvy to realize its a bug / feature than what the game really supposed to do. Not everyone can do this. Some even hire professionals to do it, alongside community members (or not). It's a lot of reasons why or why not for particular team formation.

 

And truth be told, a game company doesn't have the responsibility or right to give blow by blow or intimate details on the beta. They do have a responsibility to run the beta so the game is ready for release and bug free as possible within the situation / constraints

 

 

The best thing is to ask to be on the beta test . . . 

[FortuneFlies]

Howdy folks.

I apologize for my ignorance, but I haven't read much in the way of multiplayer cooperative servers like my friends and I enjoy in 1946.

Is this a planned feature?

Thanks!

- Fortune

[Frequent_Flyer]

Been flying around the Novosokolnki map at Emelianovo. Set weather to " cloudy " at 800 hours, the most convincing winter atmosphere/ landscape I have flown over- Beautiful. Keep up the outstanding work.

[dburne]

So the one thing I have noticed with this update, my radio /text messages are back now.

[SCG_Neun]

Are the AI commands still working for you guys....?

[Phantom-103]

Fantastic to hear The Campaign is being Beta tested by The Community and The Developers,This openness is one of the reasons I've enjoyed this Sim so much.

Cheers and keep up the wonderful work,The more I Fly,The more I enjoy

[dburne]

Are the AI commands still working for you guys....?

 

I personally do not know, as I have never used them yet - been flying in the QMB and my AI pilots seem to engage ok on their own.

[DD_Arthur]

Are the AI commands still working for you guys....?

AI commands working again here.

[Rjel]

Been flying around the Novosokolnki map at Emelianovo. Set weather to " cloudy " at 800 hours, the most convincing winter atmosphere/ landscape I have flown over- Beautiful. Keep up the outstanding work.

I agree. Where some see a bland winter landscape, I'm marveling at the variety I see. From snow covered plowed fields to what looks like hillside erosions and now many varied types and sizes of trees and bushes, I think all three maps have a lot more to offer than just a "winter" map.

[SCG_Neun]

Thanks guys...I wasn't getting the response I did prior to the latest update.  I'll check it out again...

[Nankeen]

Are the AI commands still working for you guys....?

All good here also

[II/JG17KaC_Wolfe]

Latest fix seems really effective.  Pilots have appeared and the bug on replays fixed.  I really like the bullet paths now, very realistic.  Well done to you !

[slm]

One small comment about this latest version:

I tested simple dog fighting with different fighters against novice AI IL2 pilots.

IMO they flew too well

 

When I was circling around and above those rookie pilots they were very good in making good defensive moves when I tried to find better attack position.

I really don't think novice pilots could fly their own plane and observe enemy pilot's flying so that they can react properly almost immediately when needed.

More experienced ones certainly, but IMO novice pilots should react slower to changes in tactical situation (not always knowing where the enemy plane is, like human pilots)

and make more mistakes.

 

Programming a badly flying AI may be a tough goal, but it would make this novice level more convincing and like human pilots.

[SCG_Neun]

I like the start-up sounds on the G2..looking....and sounding....really good.  

[fjacobsen]

One thing that bothers me is that the HE-111 AI seems to have got fighterpilot brains.

They will start to turn in order to engage You.

 

They really should keep flying straight and only evade if fired upon.

 

The same can be said about the JU-87, IL-2 and PE-2, though they should maneuvre a bit more agressive.

 

FinnJ

Edited September 7, 2014 by fjacobsen

[skouras]

One thing that bothers me is that the HE-111 AI seems to have got fighterpilot brains.

They will start to turn in order to engage You.

 

They really should keep flying straight and only evade if fired upon.

 

The same can be said about the JU-87, IL-2 and PE-2, though they should maneuvre a bit more agressive.

 

FinnJ

totally agree!!!!    +1 to that..

[Imur6]

If below AMD video card issue is not fixed until release date, I will request get a refund for this game ($94.99) . Actually, I wish it won't happen

 

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/2092-video-and-sound-settings/?p=156985

[JG4_Nemesis]

The Bf109s ammo counter for nose cannon still works the wrong way...still counting down two times from 100-0 instead of once from 200-0.

[fjacobsen]

The Bf109s ammo counter for nose cannon still works the wrong way...still counting down two times from 100-0 instead of once from 200-0.

Nope

 

It works as in real life.

 

The German ammo counters comes in 3 different versions:

SZ100 indicating 100-0 rounds

SZ500 indicating 500-0 rounds

SZ1000 indicating 1000-0 rounds

 

In the BF109-F4 and G2 You have  2 x 500 x 7.92mm and 1 x 200 x 20mm

The two outer ammo counters are SZ500, thus counting down from 500 to 0 for the 7.92mm

The inner ammo counter is a SZ100, thus it will count down from 100 to 0 and then start over again from 100 to 0 for the 20mm.

 

The F4 can be equipped with 2 x MG151/15 15mm or 2 x MG151/20 20mm gunpods.

The G2 can be equipped with 2 x MG151/20 20mm gunpods.

None of these gunpods has ammo counters.

 

In the FW-190A3 You have 2 x 900 x 7.92mm MG17 and 2 x 500 x 20 mm MG151

The two outer ammo counters are SZ500  and will count down from 500 to 0 for the 20mm

The two inner ammo counters are SZ1000 and will count down from 900 to 0 for the 7.92mm

 

The FW-190A3 can also be equiped with additional 2 MG FF/M with either 120 or 180 rounds each, but there are no ammo counters for these

 

FinnJ

[Gort]

Kewl, thanks for the explanation.

[Pupo]

Nope

 

It works as in real life.

 

The German ammo counters comes in 3 different versions:

SZ100 indicating 100-0 rounds

SZ500 indicating 500-0 rounds

SZ1000 indicating 1000-0 rounds

 

In the BF109-F4 and G2 You have  2 x 500 x 7.92mm and 1 x 200 x 20mm

The two outer ammo counters are SZ500, thus counting down from 500 to 0 for the 7.92mm

The inner ammo counter is a SZ100, thus it will count down from 100 to 0 and then start over again from 100 to 0 for the 20mm.

 

The F4 can be equipped with 2 x MG151/15 15mm or 2 x MG151/20 20mm gunpods.

The G2 can be equipped with 2 x MG151/20 20mm gunpods.

None of these gunpods has ammo counters.

 

In the FW-190A3 You have 2 x 900 x 7.92mm MG17 and 2 x 500 x 20 mm MG151

The two outer ammo counters are SZ500  and will count down from 500 to 0 for the 20mm

The two inner ammo counters are SZ1000 and will count down from 900 to 0 for the 7.92mm

 

The FW-190A3 can also be equiped with additional 2 MG FF/M with either 120 or 180 rounds each, but there are no ammo counters for these

 

FinnJ

 

 

this is an awesome explanation

 

a question, how did the "jump to 100" system worked?

[6S.Insuber]

Dear developers ... good job and great project management skills! Project management is ideed what lacked in the BoB venture.

 

I have a humble request ... when will you solve the GUI bug causing the ESC and other keys (Enter, etc)  not working randomly?

 

Thanks and keep up the good work!

[Frequent_Flyer]

I agree. Where some see a bland winter landscape, I'm marveling at the variety I see. From snow covered plowed fields to what looks like hillside erosions and now many varied types and sizes of trees and bushes, I think all three maps have a lot more to offer than just a "winter" map.

Agreed, I cannot keep my eyes off the devastated city of Stalingrad when flying over/thru, it definitely conveys the feeling that I am glad to be fighting above the city rather than in it.

[fjacobsen]

this is an awesome explanation

 

a question, how did the "jump to 100" system worked?

 

Read the real world manual for the SZ100, 500 and 1000: http://www.deutscheluftwaffe.de/archiv/Dokumente/ABC/s/SZKK/LuftT6505Schusszeahler.pdf

 

FinnJ

[CUJO_1970]

One thing that bothers me is that the HE-111 AI seems to have got fighterpilot brains.

They will start to turn in order to engage You.

 

They really should keep flying straight and only evade if fired upon.

 

The same can be said about the JU-87, IL-2 and PE-2, though they should maneuvre a bit more agressive.

 

FinnJ

 

I hope the AI is tuned to behave in a much more historic and believable manor. I'm sure it will be in time.

 

The thing is - there is very little to do offline right now. No FMB, no fighter missions, no campaigns, a very basic QMB. The sim needs all of these things to thrive. My copy says 70% complete but I don't think we have access to the full 70% do we? IMO there is an awful lot to shoehorn into that final 30% if we are.

 

With all that said, I'm really enjoying the sim in it's current state and looking forward to further development.

[kendo]

They did mention that they would be tweaking AI right up to final release.

 

I suspect the AI development may be integrated pretty tightly with the single-player campaign system.

 

I would also suspect the comms system to be refined a lot further - maybe having some kind of on-screen display similar to ROF or old il-2.

 

Looking forward to seeing the final cut.

[Imur6]

nothing special on #78. Let's excpect # 79

[Pupo]

Read the real world manual for the SZ100, 500 and 1000: http://www.deutscheluftwaffe.de/archiv/Dokumente/ABC/s/SZKK/LuftT6505Schusszeahler.pdf

 

FinnJ

 

thanks,

 

i need to practice my german as well. cheers!

[Dakpilot]

nothing special on #78. Let's excpect # 79

 

More than 300mb of bug fixes.....may not be glamorous but more important than fluff....thanks for the update

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[DD_Arthur]

More than 300mb of bug fixes.....may not be glamorous but more important than fluff....thanks for the update

 

 

 

Thats a lot of bug fixes.  Is it possible we've had a chunk of the campaign system downloaded too?

[AndyJWest]

Thats a lot of bug fixes.  Is it possible we've had a chunk of the campaign system downloaded too?

 

Well, there's a careerProcessor.dll in the bin/game folder - but assuming that BoS is going to be similar to RoF, campaign mission generation will be done on the BoS server rather than locally, and downloaded as needed, so there won't be a need for a great deal of campaign-specific software in the install.

[=CFC=Conky]

...

In the FW-190A3 You have 2 x 900 x 7.92mm MG17 and 2 x 500 x 20 mm MG151

The two outer ammo counters are SZ500  and will count down from 500 to 0 for the 20mm

The two inner ammo counters are SZ1000 and will count down from 900 to 0 for the 7.92mm

 

The FW-190A3 can also be equiped with additional 2 MG FF/M with either 120 or 180 rounds each, but there are no ammo counters for these

 

FinnJ

 

Ummm, did the 190 carry 500 rounds of 20mm per gun? I though it was 250, I could be wrong.

[FuriousMeow]

Ummm, did the 190 carry 500 rounds of 20mm per gun? I though it was 250, I could be wrong.

 

It is 250, you are correct. Still, fjacobsen's info is otherwise correct and good information.

[fjacobsen]

It is 250, you are correct. Still, fjacobsen's info is otherwise correct and good information.

 

Then the outer ammo counters are wrong.

 

Using the SZ500 ammo counters with only 250 rounds, they should start from 50% and go to 0.

 

 

FinnJ

[Reflected]

A quick question:

 

I see that the startup/ shutdown procedures include switching the gunsight on and off. Is there a special button to do this during flight?

 

Thanks!

[SeriousFox]

A quick question:

 

I see that the startup/ shutdown procedures include switching the gunsight on and off. Is there a special button to do this during flight?

 

Thanks!

 

Nope 

Edited September 9, 2014 by SeriousFox

[novicebutdeadly]

One small comment about this latest version:

I tested simple dog fighting with different fighters against novice AI IL2 pilots.

IMO they flew too well

 

When I was circling around and above those rookie pilots they were very good in making good defensive moves when I tried to find better attack position.

I really don't think novice pilots could fly their own plane and observe enemy pilot's flying so that they can react properly almost immediately when needed.

More experienced ones certainly, but IMO novice pilots should react slower to changes in tactical situation (not always knowing where the enemy plane is, like human pilots)

and make more mistakes.

 

Programming a badly flying AI may be a tough goal, but it would make this novice level more convincing and like human pilots.

 

Yes us Novice pilots can be deadly at times   

 

As an aside, I have the AI set to random, and a few times I have seen them dive into the ground, not sure if it's a glitch or them "making a mistake"