Developer Diary #332 Discussion

[Gambit21]

15 minutes ago, Noisemaker said:

No Italy, do it yourselves guys... 

 

Like we're all graphic designer/game designer/3-D modellers with tons of time on our hands... 

 

Mingya

You would  need a ton of time - too much. That’s the point.

 

 

[ST_Catchov]

51 minutes ago, moustache said:

what company would say that these employees are demotivated and on the verge of depression or appear tired and sad in a communication?

 

Twitter? Not that I care.

[Noisemaker]

2 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

You would  need a ton of time - too much. That’s the point.

 

 

Sure, it needs time.  At least they're paid for it.  If they said they would bring Italy out in 4 years, I would invest my money now, so that they could achieve that goal.

 

[Enceladus828]

@Wardog5711Thank you for asking Albert and Daniel some questions I posted regarding if pilot swimming animations and the ability for you to be warned of enemy aircraft will be added in the next installment.

Glad to know that they will be added, or that they'll try.

 

Oh, and I really enjoyed your model ships in the background. I wish I had the time and space for them. 

?

[MajorMagee]

Such things are possible.

 

[CanadaOne]

30 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

 

 

Please not this again lol.

 

This again. 

 

It is an ongoing fundamental oversight and it would be lovely if it was addressed. If the sim is about to get a serious paintjob, what better time to improve things.

 

 

 

30 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

As a 'power user' of both mission editors, there are some things that make the IL2 editor easier to deal with...trust me on that.

Bezier select, copy/paste logic is HUGE...I'd give anything to have that over there.

 

Further, the IL2 editor is not difficult to use once you learn a few things. 

I've no faster in the other editor that I am in the IL2 editor, and I have hundreds of hours in both.

 

I'd give anything to have a few features of each editor in the other, but if I had to only work in the IL2 editor and never touch the other one again, I'd be OK with that.

I wouldn't put it past them to improve it with time, but if it never changes I'm OK with it.

 

 

That the "mission editor" is outside the sim and requires leaving the game in order to use is, and let us be oh so polite... dated in concept. I do not have to crank the engine on the car with a handle, nor do I have to rub sticks together to start a fire, and all things being equal, I should not have to turn the sim off and open a separate program in order to place a plane on the map where I want it, and then turn off that program, and then restart the sim to fly the aforementioned plane. 

 

That the "mission editor" is capable is not the issue. That it is, shall we say, less than user-friendly, as well as being a separate program, is the issue.

 

And you, being an experienced and very good campaign builder, are not amongst us unwashed masses for whom the "mission editor" is a difficult beast to tame.

[Halon]

Was a really positive live stream and I really appreciated it. Loved to see the passion too! Excited to see where this will lead. For me the most interesting bits were your hopes about AI and performance improvements, such as 'putting the AI in the plane' so it behaves like an individual pilot.

 

My personal hopes are for larger formations and for flyable four engined heavies (TB-3 would be the dream). If it looks prettier then all the better, but I would really love smarter AI and larger numbers of planes in the air doing more believable things all at once.

 

I would like to think that this is still part of the BoX series but I'm not sure.

 

Thanks for the hard work though guys.

[Rjel]

I really enjoyed that conversation. I'm looking forward to more in the future. Both Albert and Daniel came across as quite likeable and forthcoming with their answers. Albert has a very sharp sense of humor also. Did anyone else think though that if he wore a bandana and a ponytail, he'd make a very passable Willie Nelson?

[Lusekofte]

Did I misunderstand? Did you say bombers with only pilot pit and gunners?

I beg the difference , pilots pit and bombardier pit and AI gunners would be much better in my opinion. Access to bombaim from bombardier position 
 

[Gambit21]

24 minutes ago, Noisemaker said:

Sure, it needs time.  At least they're paid for it.  If they said they would bring Italy out in 4 years, I would invest my money now, so that they could achieve that goal.

 

Not a tenable plan I’m afraid.

Investors need a return. Italy would not yield it, especially after 4 years of working on it. Thus no Italy. 

[Noisemaker]

2 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

Not a tenable plan I’m afraid.

Investors need a return. Italy would not yield it, especially after 4 years of working on it. Thus no Italy. 

Your opinion.  I know you're Pacific fixated, but that's not getting a red cent from my wallet.

[CanadaOne]

5 minutes ago, Noisemaker said:

Your opinion.  I know you're Pacific fixated, but that's not getting a red cent from my wallet.

 

Really? 

 

I'd love to see the Pacific. Hellcats and Zeros would be some solid fun.

[Cavemanhead]

Been following flight sim development for 40 years.  IL-2 (Maddox) was groundbreaking when it came out, and in many ways, the 1C team carried on that legacy with BOS and all the follow-ons taking it another ratchet up.  I remember simple things like the sounds and the movements of the pilots in the planes, the grass blowing, the turf being affected by a crash landing, etc...  All really amazing stuff as it was developed and incorporated.  The VR experience was also second to none.

 

It seems the perfect time to think about a new engine.  The old one worked and hung in there but it's showing its age - especially the environmental aspects.  I know I may be in the minority but I'd love to see a hyper-realistic graphical look and feel (as shown in the link of the 190 shots), with a focus on the underlying elements of the simulation to show damage and recreate the feel of flight very accurately - exactly as you seem to want to take the new sim.  I'm happy to see a new development cycle and believe it's necessary to remain competitive.  VR should be a priority in this next development cycle.  8 zillion planes and variants?  Not so much from my POV.  Just a great core experience that is so immersive that nobody cares what variant is being flown.  I agree with a previous post about the AI modeling being a core thing to "reinvent" if necessary.  Good luck to the team and it what you have planned sounds exciting!   

[Noisemaker]

6 minutes ago, CanadaOne said:

 

Really? 

 

I'd love to see the Pacific. Hellcats and Zeros would be some solid fun.

Good on ya.  Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.  I want flyable medium bombers (Beauforts, B-25, B-26, and if we're reaching A-26), torpedoes, and early-mid war Spitfires.  Oh, and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (Thanks to the devs for remembering that, as I first brought it up with the new cloud tech), thank you very much. 

[CanadaOne]

4 minutes ago, Noisemaker said:

Good on ya.  Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.  I want flyable medium bombers (Beauforts, B-25, B-26, and if we're reaching A-26), torpedoes, and early-mid war Spitfires.  Oh, and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (Thanks to the devs for remembering that, as I first brought it up with the new cloud tech), thank you very much. 

 

Fair enough. We can't all like the exact same things.

 

And I would love to see an A-26. Even better if I could fly it right into Vesuvius as it was erupting. What a way to go.

[zan64]

2 hours ago, drewm3i-VR said:

 

The graphics are extremely dated compared to DCS.

please, i like my fps and dont to drop $3,000 on a new computer

[smink1701]

Ok, no Pacific. 
I will need to see / hear some BIG improvements to hit the send cash button. AI, visuals, etc. A slightly enhanced GUI, DM, FM ain’t gonna get it. 

[CUJO_1970]

Well they obviously want to do Pacific, it's just going to take time.

 

The good thing about the Livestream (to me at least) is that we at least know they will continue to fill gaps with collector aircraft that are missing from current titles. Some of the aircraft choices for Normandy and Bodenplatte are my biggest pet peeves.

 

As I said earlier, this open all kinds of doors for all sides for both aircraft and battles.

 

 

[Noisemaker]

3 minutes ago, CanadaOne said:

 

Fair enough. We can't all like the exact same things.

 

And I would love to see an A-26. Even better if I could fly it right into Vesuvius as it was erupting. What a way to go.

I think it speaks to the schisms in the flight sim community.  We all want different things.  Some want to go after bomber streams, others want to fly the bombers.  Some want to fly from carriers, others want to bomb those carriers.  Some want the best of the best of the best of piston (and jet) aircraft of the age, and some of us want to fly a Po-2 at night and stealthily bomb an enemy forward position (Speaking of which Devs, I'm still waiting on improved U2/Po-2 campaigns and AQM, not to mention the ability to fly with the Night Witches squadrons).  In the end, we pay for what we want.  That said, if we don't ask for what we want, it will never be offered.

[migmadmarine]

Something I think is also potentially misunderstood due to English being a second language for them, is what was meant by "you can make the maps as good as us" when asked about the next package(s); With how it was phrased and the context it came up in, along with the fact that there has only been one community made map made and released, I interpreted that as meaning "you guys can make the map [boundaries] as good as us [to predict what we are likely to make in future]" as a part of their continuing to try and tease/hype up before announcing the next package, rather than an actual call for us to try and make more community maps. 

[Sybreed]

1 hour ago, zan64 said:

please, i like my fps and dont to drop $3,000 on a new computer

Dcs runs pretty well on most computers dating 5 years... it's a well optimized engine for the most part. 

[I./JG52_Woutwocampe]

3 hours ago, moustache said:

what company would say that these employees are demotivated and on the verge of depression or appear tired and sad in a communication?

 

A company doesnt have to clearly speak those words to make it obvious. Nor do they have to explicitely say things are looking great to actually sound optimistic.

[Mm1ut1]

Damn , I’m 66 years old !  I hope I live long enough to see it ! 

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

1 hour ago, zan64 said:

please, i like my fps and dont to drop $3,000 on a new computer

So let's keep the game stuck in 2013? 

 

Ridiculous. Updating the graphics engine should IMPROVE performance, if anything. IL-2 is poorly optimized as it is.

[Gambit21]

2 hours ago, Noisemaker said:

Your opinion. 

 

...as well as the opinion of the Dev team apparently.

 

 

2 hours ago, Noisemaker said:

 

I know you're Pacific fixated, but that's not getting a red cent from my wallet.

 

...well that's just sad. 

Nothing like early to mid war PTO. 

As PTO fixated as I am, I can still appreciate other good things like I16 vs 109E...because I know what compelling WWII content is you see. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Legioneod]

Exciting news and I hope everything works out for the best. Some of the comments have me a bit confused though. Will the next release be part of the BoX series? or is it separate?

 

Im excited to know what the next theater or release will be, though I do hope it's not set in the eastern front. One that I think would be very interesting and kind of fit with what has been said is CBI Theater or something similar. Flying a mix of lend lease aircraft as a Chinese pilot would be pretty cool plus alot of the current aircraft for Bodenplatte and Normandy could be used in various scenarios.

 

As for the continued development of collector aircraft, I really really hope a B-26 or B-25 will be in the mix.

Edited November 10, 2022 by Legioneod

[Gambit21]

Storch

[BlitzPig_EL]

Hawk 81 and early LaGG 3.

[ShampooX]

It would be nice if the artists working on the Stug cammo skin could give us a little more green and a little less yellow this time around.  The yellow Panzers stand out like a traffic sign in on-line play

Edited November 10, 2022 by ShampooActual

[Docholiday]

Hallo

 

I  really hope all the, ambitious plans don' t  mean that they will  play the same game with us like in RoF !:

 

A completely new game-basis will be created  and everybody has to buy every plane and every map a second time ! ?

 

Cheers

 

Doc

 

 

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

4 hours ago, Noisemaker said:

Your opinion.  I know you're Pacific fixated, but that's not getting a red cent from my wallet.

You are grossly in the minority on that one. Nearly EVERYONE else on here is dying for the pacific.

[ST_Catchov]

There is much speculation, wishful thinking and argument here. It is a fun game yes and makes Han laugh like the Cossack. But obviously, and without argument, FC's expansion moves suddenly forward like a blitzkrieg and is the most important feature of the last two DD's. There is no debate. Han does not laugh about this. He is serious, but perhaps with a wry smile of satisfaction.

[Juri_JS]

To be honest, I found the stream a little vague and sometimes confusing, probably because of language issues.

 

Maybe someone can clarify these points:

 

- Is time dilation only an issue caused by inadequate CPU performance or can it be improved by updating the game engines CPU usage?

 

- Will the next game be the start of a new series or will it be part of GB?

 

- Will the planned updates of the graphic engine also improve the earlier titles of GB?

 

- What improvements of the graphic engine are planned exactly?

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Juri_JS

[Gribb23**]

Excellent and a much appreciated chat. It is great to see the (personable) people behind the scene and Albert and Kurt's obvious enthusiasm should reinforce our confidence that IL-2 Great Battles will continue to develop its stellar trajectory.  What's this about 40 being " just a number" Kurt? - that's what I say about being 76!  Great to know we have a mature team! 

[JG27_Steini]

Very disappointed that there is never be a update for the radio / message system. It was outdate the day it was released. I dont understand why it was never been touched. I keep getting messages from 10km away and always repeating. The command system barely work and is subject for 1 decade now. They just dont care.

[moustache]

3 hours ago, ShampooActual said:

It would be nice if the artists working on the Stug cammo skin could give us a little more green and a little less yellow this time around.  The yellow Panzers stand out like a traffic sign in on-line play

an official answer that is not so long ago...

 

[HBB*Hunger]

1 hour ago, Juri_JS said:

To be honest, I found the stream a little vague and sometimes confusing, probably because of language issues.

 

Maybe someone can clarify these points:

 

- Is time dilation only an issue caused by inadequate CPU performance or can it be improved by updating the game engines CPU usage?

 

- Will the next game be the start of a new series or will it be part of GB?

 

- Will the planned updates of the graphic engine also improve the earlier titles of GB?

 

- What improvements of the graphic engine are planned exactly?

 

Good points!

[AEthelraedUnraed]

8 hours ago, CanadaOne said:

That the "mission editor" is outside the sim and requires leaving the game in order to use is, and let us be oh so polite... dated in concept. I do not have to crank the engine on the car with a handle, nor do I have to rub sticks together to start a fire, and all things being equal, I should not have to turn the sim off and open a separate program in order to place a plane on the map where I want it, and then turn off that program, and then restart the sim to fly the aforementioned plane.

I would say that the concept of one single app for everything is dated. Microsoft tried it with Win8 that could be deployed to everything including tablets and phones; see how that went. If you have two separate goals (i.e. playing and creating missions) that may be related but have a completely different workflow and requirements, it's usually better to keep the apps separate.

 

8 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

Not a tenable plan I’m afraid.

Investors need a return. Italy would not yield it, especially after 4 years of working on it. Thus no Italy. 

I'm curious which modules you think *would* yield a good return, that haven't been done already.

 

Obviously, many PTO modules (although I think they'd need at least some land-based aircraft and relatively close-by missions to keep people interested) would yield a good return, but the PTO is already off the table. Korean War is off the table too as it isn't mainly piston engines. Berlin is a too large city. CBI? Most people would think it's a crime series. BoB or Africa since their agreement with CloD presumably dissolved? BoB isn't possible for the same reasons as Berlin; Africa would probably yield even less returns than Italy I think (remember that Italy isn't completely unheard of, even in AAA titles (Sniper Elite 4 for instance)). I think we can agree that outlandish propositions such as the Battle of the Atlantic or Arctic are just that: outlandish. Which basically just leaves Italy and Eastern Front 1944. Do you think the latter would yield a much better return worldwide, especially given recent renditions of Tolstoy's works?

 

Anyhow, I guess we'll find out since Italy is off the table now too.

 

8 hours ago, Noisemaker said:

No Italy, do it yourselves guys... 

 

Like we're all graphic designer/game designer/3-D modellers with tons of time on our hands...

If there's some capable 3d modelers and texturers out there, I'm willing to give a Malta map a try (its small size keeps things manageable; it's only a portion of the Lapino map). When fiddling around with the game tools, this is how far I got:

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by AEthelraedUnraed

[sevenless]

10 hours ago, Jade_Monkey said:

My thoughts went to an early Stuka variant, it was widely requested (or maybe just some loude voices?).

 

Yes, true. Ju-87 B2/R2 played an important role until 1942. Would fit perfectly into BoM and BoS.

[Zooropa_Fly]

All sounding positive, looking forward to seeing what comes next..

 

I just hope they don't spend too much time on pilot models - I'm not even in the plane when I'm flying !

And disappointed the ww1 collector planes are still a way off, it's been a while.