MicroProse

[Trooper117]

It's been repeatedly stated that Task Force Admiral is not a flight simulator... it's easy however for people to get excited and think it is by the amount of aircraft action that is being displayed. Who knows, perhaps one day Pacific fans will get their wish 

[Dauntless]

Maybe, PAW 2!!! 

[Guest deleted@210880]

So, so happy to see this.

 

If this makes it out I will finally have no need for any other flight sim!

 

https://www.microprose.com/games/the-mighty-eighth/

 

Especially considering there's always a dose of this for a different game style:

 

https://www.microprose.com/games/task-force-admiral/

 

Hope these things make it to release.

Edited November 21, 2020 by deleted@210880

[bzc3lk]

7 minutes ago, John_Yossarian said:

So, so happy to see this.

 

If this makes it out I will finally have no need for any other flight sim!

 

https://www.microprose.com/games/the-mighty-eighth/

 

Especially considering there's always a dose of this for a different game style:

 

https://www.microprose.com/games/task-force-admiral/

 

Hope these things make it to release.

 

 

[TikiBar_Ted]

Are they flight sims?  My impression was they were RTS-like in execution.

 

Anyway, I have them wishlisted.

[Guest deleted@210880]

Task force seems to me to be a strategy game, which is perfectly fine. That's what i mean about different gameplay. I don't think it's trying to trick anyone (that someone alluded to).

 

I would assume mightly eighth would have pilot position, bomb sight, navigation and gun positions, as both previous ones had. I have no interest in the flyable fighters that one version had I think? As long as they don't drop the good aspects of the old versions like many remakes do!

Edited November 22, 2020 by deleted@210880

[danielprates]

This just kicked in in youtube 1 hour ago:

 

 

[DD_Arthur]

So....no progress whatsoever on B17 The Mighty Eigth III except that whoever is behind Microprose has bought up another micro developer and thus a guy in Canada is now leading the 'effort' but it appears he has no funding to speak of and he'll be using the Unreal 4 engine.  And it'll have Lancasters bolted on too.

 

 

 

 

[danielprates]

2 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

So....no progress whatsoever on B17 The Mighty Eigth III except that whoever is behind Microprose has bought up another micro developer and thus a guy in Canada is now leading the 'effort' but it appears he has no funding to speak of and he'll be using the Unreal 4 engine.  And it'll have Lancasters bolted on too.

 

 

 

 

 

Yup. I said it in this forum, in the other, carrier what's-its-name game thread. I am a little skeptical with the progress of most of these microprose games. That I know of, there is no DD diary, no objective news update etc. The news appearing every now and then seem more like a protocol of intemtions than a solid development report. So I am not holding my breath.

 

The pacific war carrier game though.... that one does feel like is going somewhere.

Edited December 28, 2020 by danielprates

[DD_Arthur]

36 minutes ago, danielprates said:

The pacific war carrier game though.... that one does feel like is going somewhere.

The Admiral? Yeah, he’s going places. The Mighty Eighth however seems to be on a from here to eternity basis.

[Gambit21]

48 minutes ago, danielprates said:

 

Yup. I said it in this forum, in the other, carrier what's-its-name game. I am a little skeptical with the progress of most of these microprose games. That I know of, there is no DD diary, no objective news update etc. The news appearing every now and then seem more like a protocol of intemtions than a solid development report. So I am not holding my breath.

 

Yeah, ever since West Racing failed to show up with an actual product (never mind what came later with a certain WWII project) I’m skeptical until a working, ‘relatively’ bug-free sim is released.

 

[DetCord12B]

3 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

So....no progress whatsoever on B17 The Mighty Eigth III except that whoever is behind Microprose has bought up another micro developer and thus a guy in Canada is now leading the 'effort' but it appears he has no funding to speak of and he'll be using the Unreal 4 engine.  And it'll have Lancasters bolted on too.

 

The only game they (Microprose) were actually working on has apparently gone nowhere, except that it's been pawned off on "Microprose Canada". What?

 

And UE4 as the engine? Talk about technical limitations. The current CEO of Microprose was a founder of TitanIM using the amazing tech offered by Outerra, and they've decided to go with Unreal. Wow...

 

3 hours ago, danielprates said:

Yup. I said it in this forum, in the other, carrier what's-its-name game thread. I am a little skeptical with the progress of most of these microprose games. That I know of, there is no DD diary, no objective news update etc. The news appearing every now and then seem more like a protocol of intemtions than a solid development report. So I am not holding my breath.

 

The pacific war carrier game though.... that one does feel like is going somewhere.

 

TFA, Regiments, Second Front, Sea Power, etc etc, Microprose is just publishing them. They have no hand in the development process of those titles.

 

2 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

Yeah, ever since West Racing failed to show up with an actual product (never mind what came later with a certain WWII project) I’m skeptical until a working, ‘relatively’ bug-free sim is released.

 

 

I think people need to dump the concept that this game is going to be a sim. David Lagettie pretty much said it isn't a flight sim, so I wouldn't hold my breath for it to be one. It's been stated numerous times via interviews and their official Twitter that it uses a 'streamlined' system.

 

"We won't have a cockpit with over 500 switches where it takes you ten minutes just to get off the tarmac. We want to get people quickly into the game, be part of it, and be entertained."

 

Oddly enough, whenever David Lagettie is mentioned over at Hoggit it usually results in a series of sighs and grumbles. There has got to be a story here where it concerns this guy.

[Feathered_IV]

I got the impression that the B-17 game was intended more as a slightly multiplayer VR experience with lite RPG elements.  I never saw anything to suggest it would be a proper flight simulator.  

[simfan2015]

IMHO Unreal engine 4 may not even be the biggest issue. If that decision was made only recently... they are back to square one!? Also, It is only a guess, but maybe we won't be able to either fly the planes or look at them from a 3d perspective. May be we can only be a gunner or a bomber type of character, unlike what we already enjoy in il-2 GB and COD. Time will tell, but I guess the scope of this may be revised. Nevertheless, if it is done right we still might be in for a Breathtaking experience in VR!? 

[danielprates]

5 hours ago, Feathered_IV said:

I got the impression that the B-17 game was intended more as a slightly multiplayer VR experience with lite RPG elements.  I never saw anything to suggest it would be a proper flight simulator.  

 

I always felt it would be too much to ask for, a study-level 4-engine bomber sim. "In today's economy?"

[Lusekofte]

I had both one and two version of this. By the standard of those days I felt it had enough sim feel into it. I took off myself climbed and found my place in formation. Flew a little bit and then hit accelerate time. Next waypoint I checked navigation and hostilities. Dropped my bombs over target. Took care of the wonded and sat in turret. At English cost I took over the flying and landed. I felt good about the FM. I will at least expect this to be up to date. If not I will not be a customer

[DetCord12B]

19 hours ago, danielprates said:

 

I always felt it would be too much to ask for, a study-level 4-engine bomber sim. "In today's economy?"

 

It was never advertised as such, ever. Go back and read Lagettie's tweets and interviews. This is the problem here, people have made assumptions and placed expectations upon the product without ever having done any research on what was planned from the get-go.

 

19 hours ago, simfan2015 said:

IMHO Unreal engine 4 may not even be the biggest issue. If that decision was made only recently... they are back to square one!? Also, It is only a guess, but maybe we won't be able to either fly the planes or look at them from a 3d perspective. May be we can only be a gunner or a bomber type of character, unlike what we already enjoy in il-2 GB and COD. Time will tell, but I guess the scope of this may be revised. Nevertheless, if it is done right we still might be in for a Breathtaking experience in VR!? 

 

UE4 is a huge issue though. It's incredibly small terrain circumference render barrier is a hardcoded thing. It isn't such a big deal when running around on the ground in a FPS/TPS, but it becomes a major problem the higher in altitude you go as it draws/renders features around the CP at a distance of about 50Km, if that depending upon complexity. You can fake the funk and or apply graphical bums that obscure things, but they won't work when airborne when the player can view the world in 360'.

 

Using this engine is a massive mistake.

[Feathered_IV]

1 hour ago, DetCord12B said:

UE4 is a huge issue though. It's incredibly small terrain circumference render barrier is a hardcoded thing. It isn't such a big deal when running around on the ground in a FPS/TPS, but it becomes a major problem the higher in altitude you go as it draws/renders features around the CP at a distance of about 50Km, if that depending upon complexity. You can fake the funk and or apply graphical bums that obscure things, but they won't work when airborne when the player can view the world in 360'.

 

Using this engine is a massive mistake.

 

Presumably it was fine for the Lancaster game.  Being at night, where long distance vision wouldn't be such an issue.

[DetCord12B]

19 hours ago, Feathered_IV said:

 

Presumably it was fine for the Lancaster game.  Being at night, where long distance vision wouldn't be such an issue.

 

Maybe so, maybe no. It never made it to pub and development was all but stalled until Microprose scooped them up. We have no idea as to the technical limitations they ran into during development. World wise you can dupe a lot in UE4 to mask the ugliness via things like sprite generation at certain LOD distances, but that only typically works from a 0 terrain (FPS/TPS) perspective. Still, apart from world building, generation, and render problems are the major hurdles to overcome with regards to physics.

 

From the UE4 forums:

Quote

The singular issue apart from visuals and terrain is the simplified physics tree. When you try to incorporate a flight engine, which is pretty demanding, it has a tendency to bog the engine down or break it completely. Numerous threads around here about that where developers ran into problems of getting the flight engine injecting data as quickly as it needed to be. This is why most flight sims use their own tech and in-house engines.

 

Not saying it can't be done.

 

Just that they picked the wrong engine to build a flight game with and they're really shooting themselves in the foot. There are far better choices out there when it comes to this stuff, all of which are affordable.

[simfan2015]

It might be simple... maybe it won't be a true flightsim at all. Heliborne uses UE4 and it is not difficult to spot the engine's limitations, at least in that game and the way it got implemented. If it turns out to be a cockpit only game like stars wars Squadrons then that too would probably make a huge difference. If microprose only selected the game engine at this time we are years away from it becoming available. UE5 might be the way to go!? 

Edited December 30, 2020 by simfan2015

[Sokol1]

More "rumors" in this "rumor'ware".   ?

 

B-24, Lancaster

 

 

[simfan2015]

Since "War on The Sea" from Killerfish Games is going to be released in February I wonder how this is different from Microprose "Task Force : Admiral" !

It looks very similar to me except -technically/graphically- TFA is using DX11 whereas  War on The Sea seems to be DX9 (older game-engine ?).

*Both* look great but I, personally, would like to know in which of these upcoming game I would invest the time and effort to get familiar with !?

Does anyone have any idea how these are different ???

Thank you. 

[Guest deleted@210880]

On 12/28/2020 at 3:17 PM, 216th_LuseKofte said:

I had both one and two version of this. By the standard of those days I felt it had enough sim feel into it. I took off myself climbed and found my place in formation. Flew a little bit and then hit accelerate time. Next waypoint I checked navigation and hostilities. Dropped my bombs over target. Took care of the wonded and sat in turret. At English cost I took over the flying and landed. I felt good about the FM. I will at least expect this to be up to date. If not I will not be a customer

 

This is exactly it. It worked as an experience, you had to do things, you had moments of panic, frustration, satisfaction, sadness, there was navigation, the bomb sight, nursing broken engines...

 

The strength for me was in that you were attached to your crew, which from what I have read about bombers it was all about. i.e.  the crew as a unit rather than the aircraft serial number  was the core. A pilot would pick his crew time and time again and if he couldn't have his usual naviator, or observer etc it was a blow to morale (until the adrenaline took over on the mission). Of course the original B17 had you pick your name and nose art and you stuck with the aircraft too so it had a connection to both. It is these sort of RPG elements that bombers/multicrew campaigns need, hell,  fighter careers need them too (in the way PWCG tries to do). Things like your crew members being on leave, or having battle fatigue, desertion maybe, bailing out sometimes but getting back days or weeks later, having your crew bail but you actually manage to nurse the aircraft further... These things don't need to be 'processed' in the flying game engine (other than the events like bailing etc.) but are 'processed' in the menus.

 

Crew management is never going to happen in BoX, it could I'm sure if they wanted to, but it would have happened by now if it was going to; then there is the limitation of not having a simplified FM for AI bombers and simplified gunnery to enable more aircaft.... these are the things that a new mighty 8th (or similar) could hopefully use but in BoX I personally find they limit the game enjoyment and potenital greatly just in the name of purity. But, BoX is what it is, and very good in so many ways, but just because BoX would need a new engine to but heavies in formation, doesn't mean it can't be done to a standard that is not a thoroughly good enterntaining game. I've said time and time again, it isn;t eye cany I seek these days, all the combat sims have good enough graphics, even WoTR, it is the content and gameplay that needs to blow the mind in my opinion.

Edited January 27, 2021 by deleted@210880

[simfan2015]

 

51 minutes ago, Yo--Yo said:

the original B17

Incoming ... also " B-17 Squadron" on Steam with exactly that ... Crew/Squad management (seems to turn out not unlike the beloved 'UBOAT') ...

 

Seems to be yet anothet B-17 experience simulator with indeed and especially a ... "management" part :

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1502460/B17_Squadron/

[Guest deleted@210880]

4 hours ago, simfan2015 said:

 

Incoming ... also " B-17 Squadron" on Steam with exactly that ... Crew/Squad management (seems to turn out not unlike the beloved 'UBOAT') ...

 

Seems to be yet anothet B-17 experience simulator with indeed and especially a ... "management" part :

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1502460/B17_Squadron/

 

Thats interesting thanks, I will definately give that a try, if it is done well it could be quite entertaining. It even looks like the originals a bit!

 

Your navigator in the original got better the more he flew, and I think the more you actually corrected his plot on a mission the quicker that development was, this was brilliant, both in the challange and 'doing' somethign for you, the reward for doign it well, and then the bond you had with him afterwards when he was capable. I recall the pain of losing him late on and then having to have a rookie navigate to Berlin and back!  I htink the second version you had more of a pool of crew so if you rotated them you could avoid that problem somewhat.

 

Ultimately I do desire the buzz of actually flying, throttling up and rolling down a loooong runway, then easing of the ground, gentle turns etc.....which surely can't be there to much extent, but we'll see what it offers.

 

I just like games that entertain and grip you, they don't have to be the best of the best in graphics, or tech, just entertaining and that make you want more. I mean I played the original Legend of Zelda this lockdown and it is brilliant in what it offers on such a basic platform, really a great gaming experience!

 

 

[Sokol1]

5 hours ago, simfan2015 said:

" B-17 Squadron"

 

Looks like an "little" version of "The Might 8th" for... mobile. ?

 

 

 

"Mission accomplished, press L for landing" ?

 

Anyway nice... EAW like visuals.  

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by Sokol1

[ZachariasX]

?

[RedKestrel]

5 minutes ago, Sokol1 said:

 

Looks like an "little" version of "The Might 8th" for... mobile. ?

 

 

Anyway nice EAW visuals.  

 

"Mission accomplished, press L for landing" ?

 

Is it just me or is the camera movement really strange in that trailer? Like they're trying to replicate dynamic head movement and just failing.
 

[Guest deleted@210880]

Oh crap. I think I've actually become one of 'those' people....

 

When I watched that video I identified the 109s as Emils and thought 'hmm, thats not right surely...'

54 minutes ago, RedKestrel said:

Is it just me or is the camera movement really strange in that trailer? Like they're trying to replicate dynamic head movement and just failing.
 

 

Seemed ok to me. Hard to tell how it all fits together in the actual game.

[RedKestrel]

17 minutes ago, Yo--Yo said:

Oh crap. I think I've actually become one of 'those' people....

 

When I watched that video I identified the 109s as Emils and thought 'hmm, thats not right surely...'

 

Seemed ok to me. Hard to tell how it all fits together in the actual game.

Yeah, me too, lol.

I mean, its an arcade game. Nothing wrong with arcade, just not something I'm looking for. 

It's just a shame that every time a new bomber game gets announced, all the bomber pilots get pumped up about a proper bombing sim and then it falls flat. they should lead with what the game will be first, instead of just teasing it.

Edited January 27, 2021 by RedKestrel

[Gambit21]

1 hour ago, Yo--Yo said:

Oh crap. I think I've actually become one of 'those' people....

 

When I watched that video I identified the 109s as Emils and thought 'hmm, thats not right surely....

 

That’s a fairly huge error to be fair.

[Guest deleted@210880]

2 hours ago, RedKestrel said:

It's just a shame that every time a new bomber game gets announced, all the bomber pilots get pumped up about a proper bombing sim and then it falls flat. they should lead with what the game will be first, instead of just teasing it.

 

Indeed, that "B17 squadron" is just whatever it is though, I say I'll get it but it depends on the price, there's no way I'd shell out 'real' game price for it.

 

The microprose "B17 mighty eighth" however, I would have proper expectations for,... although, really, I don't,... I just have hopes. I don't sit around all hyped about it's possibilities, I only really think about it when I come to this forum and see this thread active; just maybe though....it ....could be............great.......

[simfan2015]

The microprose B17 game is most probably far more detailed in every way, but still the way B17 Squadron looks reminds me of a simplified version of uboat... Up in the air though. 

[danielprates]

3 hours ago, Yo--Yo said:

 

Indeed, that "B17 squadron" is just whatever it is though, I say I'll get it but it depends on the price, there's no way I'd shell out 'real' game price for it.

 

The microprose "B17 mighty eighth" however, I would have proper expectations for,... although, really, I don't,... I just have hopes. I don't sit around all hyped about it's possibilities, I only really think about it when I come to this forum and see this thread active; just maybe though....it ....could be............great.......

 

People in this forum were so efective at bumming me out, that I am already convinced this new microprose b17 will SUUUUCK.

[Guest deleted@188321]

Don't spend any money on PlayWay's shovelware.

It's only ever half finished. They just pump out/publish low quality copy/paste games.

[Lusekofte]

16 hours ago, danielprates said:

 

People in this forum were so efective at bumming me out, that I am already convinced this new microprose b17 will SUUUUCK.

I Will stay optimistic,  until I buy It , test it and I can see for myself     

[Gambit21]

8 hours ago, 216th_LuseKofte said:

I Will stay optimistic,  until I buy It , test it and I can see for myself     

 

I will stay skeptical, until you buy it, test it, and tell me that it's not a total waste of time.

[THERION]

10 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

 

I will stay skeptical, until you buy it, test it, and tell me that it's not a total waste of time.

 

So do I - let's put our hopes in @216th_LuseKofte and wait for his expertise...

[Lusekofte]

7 hours ago, THERION said:

 

So do I - let's put our hopes in @216th_LuseKofte and wait for his expertise...

I flew the shit out of the first one  probably more than old IL 2  

I do expect a realistic FM compared to GB , I do expect the developers know what expected of a game in this genre  

Only aviation enthusiast like us will be interested in this kind of stuff . You won't invest money in anything less if you are equipped with normal intelligence . I am more in doubt if they will do it at all

[Amiral_Crapaud]

On 1/29/2021 at 1:03 AM, randybutternubs said:

Don't spend any money on PlayWay's shovelware.

It's only ever half finished. They just pump out/publish low quality copy/paste games.

 

It is surprising to see among other things indeed that people don't realize that these trailers are 100% CGI. but honestly, I'd have thought people would have realized by now
These Playway pieces are smart prototype videos, but none of these is showing actual in-game footage. Doesn't make the final games bad, mind you, but it also shows how efficient their creative marketing department is! ?

Edited February 1, 2021 by Amiral_Crapaud