"Task Force Admiral" - WW II carriers RTS.

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Well, erm, yeah of course - sorry if it wasn't made clear earlier, but I am the producer & co-designer in the original dev team

 

Cheers

Edited January 15, 2021 by Amiral_Crapaud

[Hoots]

2 hours ago, Amiral_Crapaud said:

Well, erm, yeah of course - sorry if it wasn't made clear earlier, but I am the producer & co-designer in the original dev team

 

Cheers

 

It was made clear

[danielprates]

On 1/15/2021 at 3:16 AM, Amiral_Crapaud said:

Well, erm, yeah of course - sorry if it wasn't made clear earlier, but I am the producer & co-designer in the original dev team

 

Cheers

 

Oh sorry if you mentioned earlier, it is a long thread and I haven't read it all. I asked so that I could congratulate your team's work, it seems very solid. It is a joy to see true progress like that on a game that will fill a niche so many of us want so badly.

[II./JG77_Manu*]

Very much looking forward. This will be my to-go game for the hot non-VR summer time ?

Edited January 28, 2021 by II./JG77_Manu*

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Thanks to both of you, as always, much appreciated

 

Cheers!

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Hi there chaps!

A little news update for those who wouldn't be tired of hearing about the PTO all week already

 

We posted a small update over there at our Steam page. Please feel free to come over there pay us a visit - and leave us a like if you fancy what you read, it helps a lot for discoverability!

Just click on the pic below, and enjoy the ride!

 

Cheers and have a great weekend, everyone!

[Trooper117]

Looking good!

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Some extra guilty plane-related delights today for you fighter pilots (it is a bit tougher for anybody who would be into bombers though )

 

Great thanks to Chris from Military Aviation History & Justin Pyke for this charming (and challenging) collab opportunity! Loads of original never seen as of yet Task Force Admiral footage featured today in this video which will tell you about the death ride of 4.Kokutai against USS Lexington in February 1942. We prominently feature in the first half, but any fan of the PTO is obviously highly encouraged to watch this one video. Planes aren't flyable, but it doesn't mean they gotta be boring, am I right! ?

 

Cheers pilots!

 

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Amiral_Crapaud

[Birdman]

This slaps to put it mildly, awesome work!

[Trooper117]

Good stuff, and a very informative video!

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Thanks guys, appreciated!

In the meantime here's a little update - first about our clouds

 

 

 

 

 

We worked hard on optimizing them following our little video collab. Now they're faster & prettier, and that's all we need from them!
(that and hide your task force from AI snoopers too of course)

Besides, we just made a small vid regarding our design process for our in-game sounds. Beware, before you click on this button, make sure your wife/children/dog/neighbors aren't sleeping while you're using the big stero

 

Cheers & take care all!

[Feathered_IV]

Impressive but omg, I was having flashbacks to the 1990’s. Those Japanese 25mm sound like Riverdance... 

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Hello there Ladies & Gents!

 

Some bits of other stuff, including some animated gameplay options for a change

 

We're prototyping our menu & our soundtrack, care to tell us if you feel like the mood is adequate considering the topic? The footage is kinda old so no worries this will be changed and made more relevant, but it was picked based on the sort of feeling we wanted to convey more than anything. Hope it does the trick

 

 

 

As of late we've been posting a lot of 3D stuff, but it doesn't mean we've been inactive under the hood - quite the opposite actually. Although from the standpoint of aesthetics most remains to be done (it's somewhat there, just not cute enough to be showed according to our artists...), we have been very busy with the gameplay functions themselves.

 

One of the important features of Task Force Admiral are notably our advanced formation system, which will recognize two main types of formations - simple formations, and compound formations - which will be customizable and manageable to an extent that hasn't been done before in any game about the topic. This GIF from the formation editor within the mission editor proper gives you an idea of how easy and intuitive it is to move your ships around in a larger, multi-division task group. This destroyer division is being formed into a line formation, a bent line formation, a loose/customized formation, an arc formation, an echelon right and an echelon left formation using a few clicks.

This is not only necessary from a tactical standpoint, it is also the best way to ensure that we will be able to recreate meticulously historical task groups by placing ships where they ought to be when the information is available. The in-game configuration screen uses the same system, with an actual grid placed on your navigation table instead of a paper maneuvering board. Paired with the fleet defense interface that allows you to customize threat arcs and defensive air operations (Combat Air Patrols & Inner Patrols, mainly), the common interface allows you to remain familiar with the tools you use in both modes in order to achieve maximum efficiency.

 

Hope the wall of text didn't scare you! Feel free to comment, just bear in mind that it is very bare-bone. Don't worry, it gets only prettier from here 

 

 

In other news, Yamato had a small tribute a few days ago too - I know some of you in here probably are fans of the Missy, so allow me to post a few good views of the Lady while I am at it

She still gotta have her skin roughed up, she's just getting started - these are the original basic textures made by our 3D artist, on which our 2D artist will now operate. More on that in a few weeks once we're done with more urgent ships.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Amiral_Crapaud

[Guest deleted@188321]

Please gib meeeeee

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Getting closer, but not there just yet

In the meantime, will you entertain a few moving pics in the service of a fine little collab?

If you're into PTO stuff, don't hesitate to share it around! Some new footage (but don't mind the mise-en-scène, it is still not a flight simulator, just a cute strategy game ^^)

 

 

Cheers!

[danielprates]

11 hours ago, Amiral_Crapaud said:

will you entertain

 

We will! I love that Kraut's (much respectfully) videos, his recemt tour of a Hp Halifax is just excellent, and it is thanks to him I finally know how the bowels of an Avenger looks like.

 

Are all of the animations in his vide from TF admiral?

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Aye! It's all from the game (except for his cute little map animations that is!)

[LukeFF]

Great job! The story of the Hornet during Midway really is quite a story in itself. I knew about their flight to nowhere from reading Shattered Sword, but seeing it visualized was also very informative.

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Thank you for the kind words Luke!

 

We had a little update put together from stuff we've been working on over the last two months. Nothing spectacular if you've been following us every week, but others might find some interesting content in there, especially if you're into PTO (but otherwise would you be looking at this very thread? ^^)

 

As always remember it's a strategy game, not an air combat simulation, so don't expect wonders in regard of plane handling, but at least we do hope to suspend your disbelief from a safe distance

Cheers! And big thanks again to the audience & to the 1C team for their kindness.

 

 N

[danielprates]

God damn!  This thing is shaping up so very nicely! 

 

You know Crapaud, you guys are doing the right thing with the concept you chose. For a strategy game, I want excellent air warfare i can LOOK AT and see being aptly resolved, but I don't want to CONTROL IT, you know, hands-on. That would be a mistake. I don't want to be that bore who compares games  but, still, let's see what happened with War on the Sea. It is a superb surface ship action simulator, but it falls flat when it decides to give you control over planes and subs, with the same interface you control other ships. It was bound to become clunky and unsatisfactory.  Worst, it uses simplifications for important aspects of carrier operations, for instance, launch and recovery (there you click a button and pop, the planes are there, deployed and flying). Not trying to be a dick about it, that game is a work in progress, there are things it is meant to do well and others where they are just trying to give you something extra... I realize all that. They know what they are trying to do and they are doing it, then it is up to you to like it or not. I am only mentioning it as an example of where TF:A shouldn't try to go. 

 

In a few words, you know what I am expecting from TF:A? A better, modern version of CARRIERS AT WAR. There the overall strategy is what you are worried about. Weather, recon and intel, deployment, tasking etc. The complexities of operations such as launch and recovery, and the combat itself, was dealt in detail but left to a competent AI to handle, instead of being placed in my hands via an inept UI. 

 

If that is the direction you are going .... this can't go wrong, it just can't. 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by danielprates

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Hi there Daniel

 

Yes, I usually compare the core gameplay of TFA to that of CAW, so no worries, you got that one identified right ^^

I see it as a logical evolution of the concept, on steroids. The same way SSG wanted to emulate real time with run5 in CAW, we will make it actual real time thanks to contemporary tech. The same way CAW had 2D animations for attacks, we will translate them into believable 3D fighting for the same reasons. The same way CAW tried to have an acceptable surface combat system in case of an encounter of the kind, we will do our best to provide the game with the equivalent, at least, of a fighting-steel grade surface combat engine. If you liked CAW, there's no reason not to like TFA as long as we do our job fine. As you say, hard to go wrong when one starts off good foundations.

 

On the other hand, it has become clear that the perks of using a simulation engine is that it allows to diversify gameplay horizontally & vertically, to higher and lower levels of player agency. Considering how big of a fanbase we have coming from Battlestations, I do believe that once we're done with our original plans, an action-themed DLC is not to rule out for those who'd like to jump quickly in a Wildcat or an AA mount. But this truly is a thing of the future, and will not affect the experience of those who'd rather armchair their way in (I am one of those). Anything in-between these two dimensions though (that is, commanding a force and flying a plane) is prone to micro/mis-management and is a dangerous territory in my opinion. And as you say, WotS does it already, and we will definitely separate ourselves from its gameplay paradigm in order to offer something different, and hopefully fresh enough to keep people interested.

 

Cheers & thanks for your kind words

Edit: nearly forgot - a wall of text you might find interesting as it talks about GUI & the command structure. Cheers!

https://www.reddit.com/r/hoggit/comments/o8vaox/weve_done_a_small_compilation_of_the_latest_work/h37kpid/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Edited June 27, 2021 by Amiral_Crapaud

[danielprates]

So @Amiral_Crapaud it's been a while; news from the front?

[Guest deleted@188321]

13 hours ago, danielprates said:

So @Amiral_Crapaud it's been a while; news from the front?

 

new stuff on their steam page and youtube

[danielprates]

8 hours ago, randybutternubs said:

 

new stuff on their steam page and youtube

 

Yeah not really, its the same thing since may/june. I hope everything is ok.

 

Sea Power: Naval Combat seems to be going at "full speed ahead", if you pardon my naval jargon.... matey. ... (cough).

[Alexmarine]

15 hours ago, danielprates said:

 

Yeah not really, its the same thing since may/june. I hope everything is ok.

 

Sea Power: Naval Combat seems to be going at "full speed ahead", if you pardon my naval jargon.... matey. ... (cough).

 

They kinda dropped updating Steam tbh, all their comms seems to be mainly on Twitter or I think even FB. Of course they also update on the Microprose discord.

 

Sea Power received an update early October after a radio silence of almost 9 months, let's say it looked less updated than TFA

[danielprates]

11 hours ago, Alexmarine said:

 

They kinda dropped updating Steam tbh, all their comms seems to be mainly on Twitter or I think even FB. Of course they also update on the Microprose discord.

 

Sea Power received an update early October after a radio silence of almost 9 months, let's say it looked less updated than TFA

 

Oh that is great to know, I will check it out. Thanks. Misleading tho isn't it? If you are not following exactly the right social media, you dont know what is happening anymore, and changing mid-way the platform doesn't help. It was so convenient having Amiral Crapaud update us here, I hope he is allright.

[Alexmarine]

6 hours ago, danielprates said:

 

Oh that is great to know, I will check it out. Thanks. Misleading tho isn't it? If you are not following exactly the right social media, you dont know what is happening anymore, and changing mid-way the platform doesn't help. It was so convenient having Amiral Crapaud update us here, I hope he is allright.

 

I'm sure he is fine. If he has stopped posting here it is, I would dare to say, a matter of politeness between him as a game producer and the game producers of Il-2.

[Amiral_Crapaud]

  

On 11/6/2021 at 9:34 AM, danielprates said:

 

Oh that is great to know, I will check it out. Thanks. Misleading tho isn't it? If you are not following exactly the right social media, you dont know what is happening anymore, and changing mid-way the platform doesn't help. It was so convenient having Amiral Crapaud update us here, I hope he is allright.

 

 

Hello guys! Hello Daniel

 

Thanks for your concern. In regard of the way updates are dealt with though, I wouldn't say that "misleading" is the intended result - but it just so happens that whatever I'd post on Steam barely makes a few thousand views. Honestly I do even have people complaining on the message boards when news are being post just one click away. Truth be told the problem is discoverability this day - there's no good, 100% efficient recipe I am afraid, and I although I should really get an update going on both Steam and the website, it's a lot of effort for not so much I can tell you (Steam in particular - gosh every update is a pain...). But I'll get to that at some point. I might even start making them monthly as we get closer to our playable slice.

 

I held back on the message board front in general, or even Steam or the Website for that very reason too, by the way. Heavy promotion doesn't make so much sense these days (I mean, at least morally-speaking to me when I wake up in the morning - otherwise promotion is always useful), it sounds like a lot of promise and little achievement so far as long as we don't have our vertical slice ready. Still those who follow us on our social account know that we have never missed a screenshot Saturday - pulse in there & beating regularly.

 

In regard of the message boards in general, and the Il-2 board in particular, I don't want to make it look like I am spamming either - I used to post pretty much for every screenshot Saturday or so, and at the end of the day I don't know if people don't get tired somewhat of our kinda... progress paradox (that is, we show stuff but we're still nowhere close to giving a deadline - I've seen people lose their temper because they couldn't be told a month or even a year of release).

Alex's remark is true too - Jason has been very kind to us to us, and I don't want to use the place like some sort of giant billboard, when on my end I have very little to offer in return (well I'd be, I am very happy to repost Il-2 news on Twitter for instance, but it doesn't compare in any relatable measure to the kind warmth extended to us in here).

 

Obviously still, we're still very much years away from the day we'll make anything flyable in TFA, so at least there's that, we absolutely are not in competition - and if we were, we would still be leagues away (or behind, depending on the PoV) to offer the sort of experience Il-2 has given us over the years (if not the decades if you want to include the whole legacy). I am still looking for a way to properly repay Jason for his kindness, but that's naturally between him & myself.

 

Now, in regard of some long-awaited cookies, I'll be happy to share the progress of the last few months, if you're still into that sort of jazz

 

There's all sorts of news to talk about, let's just focus on a few highlights. First, the art! We're remaking the Flagplot 3D to add in some more details (can't risk to look too shabby these days with the sort of beautiful work achieved by teams such as the one behind Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter - let's see how it goes!)

 

 

We also plan on having a hub for all side functions (historical part, videos, ship & aircraft reference, hall of fame, etc...). Julien our artist has been hard at work on this too

 

 

A cute trial here with a ONI-like poster of Japanese carriers, as we had finished painting Junyo/Hiyo. Of course it makes for a poor computer wallpaper for being too clear for the job unfortunately, but ultimately it could be nice as an actual wallpaper I believe. Anyway, here it is (many carrier shots are available on twitter for those who might be craving for them flattops)

 

 

Another highlight is the progress when it comes to our command system. We elected to go for a tactical environment not unlike what you'd have in, say, the Homeworld series, with the equivalent to the "sensor" view - aka, unlike what has mostly been done until now, an actual 3D tactical view of the battlefield with a traveling effect for the camera between the real 3D world and its stylized version. It does save on performance awkwardly, because hey if we had a 2D view in a window, it would still require to make another 3D instance - while here you're just swapping between the two by hitting the spacebar, which is pretty handy & GUI friendly. Here's a video which describes the process at the time of prototyping.

 

 

It started like that, when prototyped with flat silhouettes

 

 

 

Then we got our cute little simplified models (which are useful LOD-wise for other business btw) which were recreated so as to look like little scale models, the kind naval wargaming players are well-acquainted with.

 

 

Mix the two, and you get that, along with our turn system, which also tried to be a bit original, precalculating the turn and taking into account that ships (or for what it's worth any vehicle) has an incompressible turn rate - here we did take some inspiration from games like Fighting Steel which always made sure that you knew what you were in for when ordering a turn by showing your trajectory.

 

 

 

Had much fun challenging the lady (and her AI, because it's obviously the elephant in the room here: AI formation keeping during complex maneuvers)

 

 

Sooo... About formation turns. Well, there's the easy part, out of two ways of turning: the all ships turn order, which will set a turning waypoint for every single ship ordered. When it reaches it, all ships turn together. Like at the parade!

 

 

 

 

Ok, I said it was the easy part - because you start with a formation A, and you end up with a formation B which doesn't inherit the previous state. But what happens when formations need to be kept? That's a formation turn (or change of front) and I can tell you, anything that isn't a column will make you enter a world of pain. Had to teach the AI to behave, and there again, I think we kinda made it happen, to our great relief. The AI will do its best to keep its speed at the expected level and do the thing, based on the lowest performing ship in the formation (in terms of turn rate, mainly).

 

 

 

Then we had a good run with the sensors. We unfortunately don't have an actual curved 3D Earth, but the horizon is still there to play with our senses & sensors!
Provided with the same radar at different mast heights, the carrier below is able to detect two enemy contacts while the escort can only see the closest one, even though they are fitted with the same device. Mast height, sea & land clutter, radar performance, etc... All of this will be factored in of course.

 

 

Spotting an enemy is good, but how do you process that info and provide it to the player? We went for a system which will require the player to exercise best judgement whenever you will be faced with unidentified contacts, be them planes or ships. Fortunately, planes will end up rather early on being fitted with IFF transponders, so it will be less of a headache later in 1942 (starting with Watchtower it shouldn't be a worry anymore at all - and when one plane in the formation checks in, the whole formation will be automatically classified) but for ships, it ain't that easy... In the middle of the night, as long as the relevant realism options are checked, you might have to deal with that sort of contact - basically a blip. The only thing being indicated here is the size of the blip (two bars in

 

 

At any rate, here's the process for an incoming plane formation. First as a contact radar, then as an unidentified formation, then when classified, either through IFF or visual ID.

 

 

 

 

On another topic, we also released a prototype version of our briefing videos. Briefings offer tons & tons of data on what is going to happen, but these days it's always better to have an animated backup to make sure that the mood is there. Nothing that the video says will not be repeated and amplified in the text, so don't worry if our guy speaks a tad fast, you won't miss a thing - but it does a lot for the flavor, doesn't it!

 

At any rate, here's a first update. Lot of other stuff, more or less important, and a lot of ship & aircraft porn of course, but I will keep that for a later time

 

Cheers & thanks for your support chaps

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Amiral_Crapaud

[danielprates]

Wow! More than I bargained for!

 

Great news.

[Feathered_IV]

Relax Jonesy, you sold me.  ?

[Vig]

I am looking forward to this so much!  

[LLv34_Flanker]

S! 

 

Looks great Thank You for the update, Amiral Crapaud! 

Edited November 9, 2021 by LLv34_Flanker
Typo

[Gambit21]

On 11/7/2021 at 6:30 PM, danielprates said:

Wow! More than I bargained for!

 

Great news.

 

Yep - they get it.

[Rjel]

On 11/7/2021 at 10:46 PM, Feathered_IV said:

Relax Jonesy, you sold me.  ?

Dammit Feathered. I've sat here for quite a while trying to remember where I'd heard that line. Finally gave up and cheated.

[Gambit21]

On 11/16/2021 at 5:13 PM, Rjel said:

Dammit Feathered. I've sat here for quite a while trying to remember where I'd heard that line. Finally gave up and cheated.

 

Capt. Bart Mancuso?

That’s without cheating mind you ?

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Hello there Everyone!

 

A little update which talks about a few aspects of GUI development in TFA - Tim Stone gave us some space in his latest A2Z, and we made good use of it. It should also help most to get a better grasp at the actual scale & topic of TFA. Stating to look like an actual game, hopefully!
This way please
https://tallyhocorner.com/2021/12/a2z-12/

 

 

 

We'll try to post some fresh updates on Steam and on the website before long. In the meantime, allow us to wish everybody here in the Il-2 forums a fantastic Christmas & upcoming Happy New Year. Be safe, you and all your dearest ones!

 

 

Cheers!

Edited December 26, 2021 by Amiral_Crapaud

[danielprates]

Looking great @Amiral_Crapaud!

[Danziger]

I am getting some nostalgic 1942 PAW vibes. I like it.

[Vishnu]

Just explored the website....I'm very interested

[Amiral_Crapaud]

Kind of you to pay a visit Vishnu, welcome

 

Hi there gents!

 

 

Produced a little update on steam, as we hope to make these more of a regular thing again. Although larger pieces have slowed down, we are still very active on our social media, posting weekly updates without missing an deadline for 2 years and a half now. We certainly have the right amount of contents to hope for a continuous flow of good dope for the next months, so better use it when it's still warm.

 

Here is the update proper, along with a new video:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1281220/announcements/detail/3206008758348208424

 

 

These updates will be made of contents of all kinds so as to keep them fresh and have a little bit of everything, as the audience remains very diversified. Let's hope these few nuggets will be of interest to you!

 

Stay safe wherever you might be in these uncertain times. Take care of yourself and all your loved ones, this is what matters.

Thanks again to Jason & the team for their very kind help, hopefully everybody is fine.

Cheers and thank you all for your kind support.
 

The team