Modular loadout system for BoS?

[FTC_Karaya]

Sorry if this has been asked for before but I feel that the loadout section deserves to be improved upon for BoS (coming from RoF which I assume will be the basis)

 

In RoF just like in the old IL-2 series it is the case that you get a fixed list of loadouts to choose from (combinations of bombs mostly) but for a WWII sim in which the number of possible combinations is most likely much larger than in WWI where planes were happy to even carry a handful of small bomblets it would make sense to be able to assign bombs/droptanks/gunpods per pylon (or pair of these)

 

On the example of a Bf109G for example it would make sense to have several hardpoints modelled that allow for individual setups:

 

cowling MGs: full, empty

hub cannon: full, empty (for a later model G-6 for example the choice between MG151/20 and Mk108)

centerline rack: 4xSC50, 4xSD50, 1xSC250, 1xSD250, 1xAB250, droptank, empty

under wing: MG151/20 gondolas, empty

 

It would be a lot easier to set an aircraft up that way than having to implement and scroll through a billion pre-determined loadout mixes as is the case in the old IL-2 series and RoF. This should hopefully also eliminate the problem of being dependent on the devs decision of implementing certain loadouts which was a great issue with IL-2. It took ages to finally get proper loadouts for the Bf109Fs as well as some of the later Gustav which only had gunpods and droptanks but no bombs to choose from...

 

Anyone agree?

Edited March 31, 2013 by JG52Karaya

[AndyJWest]

You need a system that makes clear which loadout combinations are permitted - doing it your way it won't be at all obvious. 

[FTC_Karaya]

It would be a droplist with a variety of things to choose from for each single pylon or pair of. Should be quite obvious, no?

Edited March 31, 2013 by JG52Karaya

[AndyJWest]

Allowing you to select loadouts that weren't historically allowed? I'm fairly sure that Bf 109s didn't fly with both underwing gondolas and bombs...

[FTC_Karaya]

They were flown with gondolas and droptanks however, and disabling invalid combinations should not be too complicated from a programming point of view

 

I'd take this system over scrolling through dozens of pre determined loadouts any time of the week - look at some of the late Bf109s in IL-2 1946 to see just how many variations are possible and plausible, each loadout would have to be individually coded with the old system in mind which increases chances that we are limited to just a fraction.

Edited March 31, 2013 by JG52Karaya

[AndyJWest]

'Disabling invalid combinations' would necessarily involve the application either having an internal list of invalid ones, or a list of valid ones - and either way, you run the risk of missing some. With a visible list of available loadouts, you can at least see what the options are without having to try them out, only to discover they aren't valid. A list of options has to be more intuitive, and more user-friendly, I'd have thought... 

[LG1.Farber]

Some people are so resistant to change.  I guess the die hard rise of flight guys would be totally bamboozled by something as simple as this, Clod already has it.

[JtD]

Personally, I consider this a very good concept and from a programming point of view it is feasible. I would have liked Il-2 to be exactly like that. Internally, you could still simply list all available loadouts, but on the interface the user gets to chose the loadout for each slot. This way, as a user, you don't have to deal with a hundred or even hundreds of possible loadouts in a single list. Just think about an aircraft that has three hard points, where historically five out of ten different bomb types were used in any possible mix. That's either a single list of 125, or three lists of 10 each, automatically filtered. Add to this two or three belting options for the guns...

Edited April 1, 2013 by JtD

[AndyJWest]

Some people are so resistant to change.  I guess the die hard rise of flight guys would be totally bamboozled by something as simple as this, Clod already has it.

 

Why do you have to assume it is anything to do with 'resistance to change' or 'RoF vs CloD? It simply strikes me as being more user-friendly to present a list of valid options than to force the player to experiment until a valid one is found. A darn sight simpler from the programming point of view too. 

 

As for gun belting options, I can see no reason why this can't be treated separately - assuming that it is offered as an option at all. To convince me that it was necessary, I'd want to see evidence that such options were available in the field though...

[JG13_opcode]

'Disabling invalid combinations' would necessarily involve the application either having an internal list of invalid ones, or a list of valid ones - and either way, you run the risk of missing some. With a visible list of available loadouts, you can at least see what the options are without having to try them out, only to discover they aren't valid. A list of options has to be more intuitive, and more user-friendly, I'd have thought... 

Not necessarily the case. You could just have some of the options "greyed out" and unable to be selected in the first place. It's not like the loadout validation function has to run when you spawn; it can run whenever.

 

 

Some people are so resistant to change.  I guess the die hard rise of flight guys would be totally bamboozled by something as simple as this, Clod already has it.

Uncalled-for.

[Ralith]

This would be a wonderful feature to have. If you don't want non-historical loadouts, just disable custom loadouts entirely; perhaps a limited list of preset loadouts could be provided by the mission. But for those of us that don't care so much about limiting ourselves to only what got flown, and instead want to explore whatever's possible, a modular loadout system would be amazing. It would interact well with the field mods too: with 5 options per plane, that's 32 possible configurations already. Just let field mods, hardpoint loadouts, and belting all be managed with the same sort of UI.

[Pupo]

a bf3 like system as the one for weapons mod would be great.

[JG1_Pragr]

This would be a wonderful feature to have. If you don't want non-historical loadouts, just disable custom loadouts entirely; perhaps a limited list of preset loadouts could be provided by the mission. But for those of us that don't care so much about limiting ourselves to only what got flown, and instead want to explore whatever's possible, a modular loadout system would be amazing. It would interact well with the field mods too: with 5 options per plane, that's 32 possible configurations already. Just let field mods, hardpoint loadouts, and belting all be managed with the same sort of UI.

 

I think you required something already exists in RoF. There are plenty weapon/equipment modifications for most of planes. When you created the mission you can make them available of not. If you allow them, then everyone can take what he wants. If I take Halberstadt Cl.II as an example, you can take the standard armament (1 synchronized gun + 1 Prabellum), or take any possible combination for this plane (1 or 2 synchronized gun and single/twin Parabellum or Becker 20 mm canon for your gunner). Every option has different impact on the flight characteristics of the plane. The same stands for field mods, so you can take anemometer, Aldis gunsight etc. It's up to your taste only. 

Edited September 4, 2013 by II./JG1_Pragr

[ImPeRaToR]

Some people are so resistant to change.  I guess the die hard rise of flight guys would be totally bamboozled by something as simple as this, Clod already has it.

Pretty funny coming from a guy who is impersonating a - probably dead now - fighter pilot, pretending be the leader of a squadron that has been disbanded close to 70 years ago. Talk about reistance to change...

[Ralith]

I think you required something already exists in RoF. There are plenty weapon/equipment modifications for most of planes. When you created the mission you can make them available of not. If you allow them, then everyone can take what he wants. If I take Halberstadt Cl.II as an example, you can take the standard armament (1 synchronized gun + 1 Prabellum), or take any possible combination for this plane (1 or 2 synchronized gun and single/twin Parabellum or Becker 20 mm canon for your gunner). Every option has different impact on the flight characteristics of the plane. The same stands for field mods, so you can take anemometer, Aldis gunsight etc. It's up to your taste only. 

Great! Sounds like we don't have much to worry about, then.