So, if you started a flight sim from scratch, a new project, what are your must have features?

January 13, 2023

6 hours ago, LuftManu said:

There is also another curious thing about WW2 sims and is that Night combat can be really interesting if done right.

Radars, GCI, navigational aids we didn't have in the old 1946 (I think we had some with mods).

?

I keep saying that.

January 14, 2023

Money's no object, there's no labor resource or logistic issues, and the world's not about to end? Okay.

Immersion, fidelity, interface, and fun. In that order, not necessarily of priority, but combat flight sims are amazing in their own right, the first three done well provides the environment for the fourth to grow on its own, unfettered.

Ground-up VR integration. Spotting, zoom, etc. would be (roughly) equal regardless of playing on a flat screen or in VR. 6DoF for all, not bonking my head into invisible walls in otherwise gorgeous, spacious cockpits
A focus on network traffic handling and prioritization, client and server side... are we optimizing for a flight sims needs, or just using "whatever"?
Budget for graphics would be prioritized based on functional impact, and the hardware requirements floor would probably be based on whatever GPU features were deemed must-haves to make things look as close to life-like as possible where it matters most (no, not DCS F10 map tree animations). That said, the solution would prioritize massive engagements that remain fluid and smooth, not winning screenshot contests.
Audio fidelity and positioning would be another absolute top priority in the engine. Not just realistic/authentic engine/weaponry sounds, which are important, but a study-level focus on simulating a pilot, a co-pilot, a bombardier, a gunner's expected experience with respect to auditory cues and nuances. Not saying the end product would be sound-studio quality in every situation, but a place to start from.
On the single player side
1. A "tutorial career" (US career as an example, say you're a new naval aviator in the Pacific, and you get to your unit in November 41... your last tutorial mission being live combat and how you perform affects your "next deployment" or duty station options for the rest of your campaign "life", dependent on difficulty/ironman settings)
2. Solo practice arenas geared toward equipping players for getting online and experiencing cooperative air war (taxiing under fire, plenty of gunnery training options with and without things shooting back, etc.)
Robust mission planning and solo/campaign design - 2 or 3 levels. At least a "Casual" builder interface, and a kitchen-sink advanced tweak all the things interface
Next gen multiplayer UI, text and voice options, web integration, and a server admin/mission manager interface that will cause joyous weeping among those who toil to produce the magic we enjoy today in our online sims
No real limitations on which planes to introduce... but the initial focus on the popular stuff, each faction starting with of course some fighters of various size and mission, a light, a medium, and a heavy bomber, a cargo and a utility. The more useful/popular, the higher the frequency of a given type to roll out in future development, but attempt to cater to all desires within reason and the usual constraints.
TacView integration, preferably a "Warbird Edition"

Other considerations

I'd pay a subscription-based fee to have access to a high-quality multiplayer arena ala Aces High. They had hundreds in the same arena back in the 90s. With today's tech, and a centralized virtual server mesh, this can be done again, and it's really without peer when it comes to the experience. If you've never watched your screen fill with 30+ Doras and K4s rolling into your 20x3 B-17s and couple dozen Ponies in a single-life event, take my word for it, it's intense.
- I'd go one more and pay a relatively high subscription-based fee if it included a "season pass" style access to DLC/content that would otherwise be sold stand-alone. I'd throw down $300-$400/year on the above without hesitation.
Ideally, having a developer-governed, community-led onboarding program to get new/solo players hooked up with the appropriate squadmates, training, etc.
The ground-game needs to be fully fleshed out, and provisions made for easily integrating player-controlled ground units, but I think that's best served by a separate team and title, under the same dev house. You can be 100% of one or the other, or own both and mix it up.

January 14, 2023

On 1/12/2023 at 5:04 AM, ACG_PanzerVI said:

If you contend that 1C should abandon MP and focus exclusively on creating content for your personal PC, I would say that is a selfish, mean-spirited remark and reflects on your maturity. You probably camp in the left lane at 65mph on the interstate too.

Ultimately, every decision to limit the scope of the project excludes lots of people. Not having a War Thunder or Ace Combat mode also excludes people who want a more arcadey game. Just like the decision to not add modern jets. And if SP was better, more people would be happy with the SP gameplay. The same for better MP. But developer capacity is too limited to do everything.

My opinion is that this game already suffers a lot from a lack of focus, especially for SP. It's pretty sad how long it took for a simple mission generator to be added. And Pat Wilson's stuff is still separate. The AI is really poor. The inability to skip ahead a lot or speed up the game a ton (which may actually be made more difficult due to having to support MP, as you can't just skip ahead in MP). And lots of other stuff mentioned.

I would love for the devs to be able to do everything, but realistically, it seems quite possible to me that a focus on really good SP would actually result a much more satisfying SP experience and in more sales than are lost due to the lack of MP. I don't consider it fair to attack players for entertaining that idea.

January 14, 2023

7 hours ago, oc2209 said:

All I want is everything already in the current BoX series, minus time dilation, plus AI improvements.

It's easy to say 'AI improvements' without really considering how it can be done. I believe the most direct method for enhancing AI behavior would be to emphasize the pair/element/rotte system. Novice AI would behave largely as it does now--no consideration of anyone else in your flight--but at veteran and ace level, it would cover its assigned partner closely.

The problem here, even from this relatively simple concept, is that the AI currently is omniscient; it's going to know the split second anything happens, even if it's not in a position to 'see' the action unfold. So then the issue becomes a matter of how quickly do you have it respond to its partner being attacked? That could be determined by AI skill level. There would also need to be an entirely new system wherein the AI would be aware of A) somebody shooting at it or you specifically, not just general shooting in the area at a nearby plane, and B) the AI would need to have 'clear my tail' behavior, both requesting it and performing it. This is something that's been lacking in BoX.

A nice side benefit of this system would be the ability of AI to call out when an enemy is setting up to attack you, beyond shooting at enemies to clear your tail. To keep it simple, nobody in your flight would be watching out for you except for your partner.

In dense fights with 10+ fighters in the mix, the AI pair behavior might get easily confused and become rather useless. So the main application/benefit of this system would be the times when an enemy AI is setting up on you or a friendly in a more gradual approach or bounce. In situations where enemy AI takes a snap shot at you as you cross its path, you're still going to be screwed, since there's no way even an omniscient wingman can warn you quickly enough. But that's realistic, at least.

*Edit:

To clarify, a useful warning would need to happen before the enemy starts firing on you. So the AI would need to recognize when an enemy is lining up to attack you. This would be the classic bounce scenario. Any enemy pursuing you in this fashion would become the immediate target priority for your wingman, above and beyond a warning over the radio. Provided you have a radio in your plane. Realistically, Japanese AI and a lot of early war Russian AI shouldn't even have simulated radio behavior.

I agree this would be a start, but to piggyback off of your comment: we would still need something link an AI powered, interactive radio communication system where we can "talk" to the AI tower, command center, and wingmen like on Combat Box with their SRS bot, but with more interactivity and features. Things like an interactive radar map where we report contacts which then appear on the map in the reported position (even if slightly inaccurate), would be so immersive and authentic.

January 14, 2023

@Aapje There's some sense to what you say about needing to deliver a focused product with limited resources, but I think a SP only sim is basically unviable in 2023. I can only think of one (Roger Meatball), while multiplayer-focused Warthunder is one of the biggest names in the genre.

I think the development problems unique to multiplayer are not ultimately that hard. They affect games of all genres, so there are lots of resources about how to address them. If you're going to the trouble of making a SP flight sim, it doesn't make sense to not bolt-on MP, even if only as an afterthought.

Meanwhile, the problems unique to singleplayer are much harder: things like "how to make an AI that dogfights believably" or "how to disperse and move ground assets historically" are more specialized and domain specific and likely require much more development time. Singleplayer is also more demanding of assets like maps and scripted missions, the production of which doesn't scale well.

Finally, I think there's a problem of generating press with a SP only game. Community generated content tends to be multiplayer focused. SP-only players tend to be less engaged, and are mostly not the ones putting videos on youtube or discussing the sim online. Even with a great single-player product, it's going to be an uphill battle to sell it if the most active portion of online flight-sim groups isn't playing.

January 14, 2023

5 minutes ago, Charon said:

@Aapje There's some sense to what you say about needing to deliver a focused product with limited resources, but I think a SP only sim is basically unviable in 2023. I can only think of one (Roger Meatball), while multiplayer-focused Warthunder is one of the biggest names in the genre.

I think the development problems unique to multiplayer are not ultimately that hard. They affect games of all genres, so there are lots of resources about how to address them. If you're going to the trouble of making a SP flight sim, it doesn't make sense to not bolt-on MP, even if only as an afterthought.

Meanwhile, the problems unique to singleplayer are much harder: things like "how to make an AI that dogfights believably" or "how to disperse and move ground assets historically" are more specialized and domain specific and likely require much more development time. Singleplayer is also more demanding of assets like maps and scripted missions, the production of which doesn't scale well.

Finally, I think there's a problem of generating press with a SP only game. Community generated content tends to be multiplayer focused. SP-only players tend to be less engaged, and are mostly not the ones putting videos on youtube or discussing the sim online. Even with a great single-player product, it's going to be an uphill battle to sell it if the most active portion of online flight-sim groups isn't playing.

Bingo, MP should be the #1 priority if the devs want a popular game with potential to grow...then AI doesn't even matter as much, which is great.

January 14, 2023

17 hours ago, Avimimus said:

Build a pre-WWI flight simulator along the lines of KSP or X-Plane... with a good flight model, good graphics, and structural modelling within a plane-builder... so you could attach bamboo, wires, silk, and prefab joiners/airfoil spars together to build an aircraft and then try flying it... (possibly with some typical pre-WWI airshow and record setting scenarios in addition to free-flight)..

I love this idea, as much as I enjoyed the movie score years ago ... ?

I remember a program in the 80/90's (?) which allowed something close (maybe on Apple ? ) for various machines ???

But I'm afraid this will not enter in the views of the Devs neither in the world of the Serious player or the fast-shooting junky !

January 14, 2023

The potential of being able to sneak up on an AI plane.

Attacking out of the sun.. blind spots.. maybe a random chance that the AI pilot isn't paying attention.

The AI's situational awareness could be tied to it's skill level.

January 14, 2023

On 1/9/2023 at 6:40 PM, jollyjack said:

As for VR, i only had a brief stint once, and wonder still how one copes with PC keyboard use;

you need to use one quite often, and with this ole blindfold lump on your head; how? I'm still stuck with my TrackIR ...

I got myself a button box. You can make your own there's lots of information on youtube

January 14, 2023

13 hours ago, [TWB]80hd said:

subscription-based fee to have access to a high-quality multiplayer arena

What would make the arena "high-quality" compared to any other MP arena?

January 14, 2023

4 hours ago, Bonnot said:

I love this idea, as much as I enjoyed the movie score years ago ... ?

I remember a program in the 80/90's (?) which allowed something close (maybe on Apple ? ) for various machines ???

But I'm afraid this will not enter in the views of the Devs neither in the world of the Serious player or the fast-shooting junky !

Well, yes - definitely what I outlined is far too extensive (and more like X-Plane)... but was just an answer to what I'd be tempted to experiment with if I were starting from scratch (and avoiding competition with existing simulators.

That said, I do think a 3rd party could probably turn a profit making a Bristol Boxkite for Great Battles/Flying Circus (i.e. the main British trainer in WWI). It'd be a very different flying experience and it'd be relatively cheaper/faster to model (no cockpit, similar textures used throughout, structurally simple) so would turn a profit pretty quickly:

Half the wing loading of a WWI fighter and an excellent view.

P.S. Obviously the original didn't have the cockpit instruments.

January 15, 2023

In a nutshell:

A strong technical foundation that allows for smooth, high framerate performance in flat screen and VR - now and in the future. This means multicore support, potentially rendering the cockpit on a separate thread for VR users.
Excellent flight models
Good systems modeling (I DO NOT CARE ABOUT CLICKABLE COCKPITS)
Accessible, robust, and dynamic multiplayer servers

January 15, 2023

-make skins pay to show off, heck make forum badges cost each 5$ and ppl would buy that just to show off... and even WT would be small player in sim world with amount of money flow from skins, nfts and badges...

January 15, 2023

Other features:

* Compound skins. The sim should be aware of concepts like national markings, ID codes, kill markings, unit markings, art, invasion stripes, etc, and should be able to composite them. I shouldn't need to open photoshop to update my kill tally in career or apply a piece of art. It would even be cool to extend this to multiplayer, and automatically give players an externally visible record of their current streak of victories.

* A realistic "damage model" for pilots. Pilots who are shot should, some of the time, bleed out in the cockpit. Brutal? Yes, but realistic. Don't get shot.

* Death shouldn't cut over to an external view or a different crew position. Dead is dead. Fade to black, with some minimal effects to make it clear to the player that their monitor didn't just shut off.

* First-class career mode for non-pilot roles. I'd like to see gunner, navigator, radio operator, and bombardier positions all fleshed out. I've never liked the whole "switch crew position" concept. Let me start the flight in that position and end the flight in that position. Killed? Fade to black rather than switching positions. It should, however, be possible for that crewman to move around the plane to a different position to take the place of someone who has died.

January 15, 2023

16 hours ago, dbuile said:

What would make the arena "high-quality" compared to any other MP arena?

Dedicated servers are limited based on some hard operating system/networking caps. There are some creative ideas out there that attempt to circumvent this, but at least in the recent past, there has been a hard 64-player limit in as far as how many separately tracked individual objects there are actually visible to your client at any one time.

We have more that 64 player servers, but never see more than a couple dozen engaged within the limited rendering "bubble" at any one time. In order to provide an environment where you can have 100+ player controlled planes in visual range on a furball, you need a very specialized client/server architecture.

This type of foundational architecture means that you could have a truly massive dynamic campaign as well, with complex field captures and logistic infrastucture baked right into a quasi-persistent arena:

We see an example of the dynamic nature with how Finnish Virtual Pilots handles their dynamic front line within the constraints of the current sim. Player activity drives the ground game, and voting at the end of the map alters the theatre in increments.
For the strategic/supply battle, take a look at what Combat Box is doing their logistic infrastructure in Apollo (rear bases - if undamaged - send supplies/repairs to front line bases between maps) - If you don't defend your front line bases, they will need resupply and repair. If you don't defend your rear/industrial targets (or the trains themselves that deliver the supply from said rear targets), they will never get these resources

What I mean about a "high-quality MP arena" is a dev hosted and managed "MMO" computing cluster that expands on the above, and never needs a "map roll" - everything just keeps going, and the yanks and huehues pass the torch to brits and euros, and on to the asiatic hordes and aussies/kiwis, and so on.

Events, challenges, and major strikes could be driven centrally, and a truly cohesive and inclusive structure like that brings a community together in a way that separate servers with a fraction of the ability to manage such density can never achieve.

The best of all worlds would be one or more official "main arenas" and large 1-off event arenas while still providing dedicated server options like we have today.

January 15, 2023

SHOOTING STATS !!

January 15, 2023

19 hours ago, Avimimus said:

just an answer to what I'd be tempted to experiment with if I were starting from scratch (and avoiding competition with existing simulators.

Thanks for the link , great video : love watching hands and feet acting and the "line of sight" here is amazing !

As you said it's a dream, but maybe someone.........?

January 15, 2023

On 1/14/2023 at 8:29 PM, Bonnot said:

I love this idea, as much as I enjoyed the movie score years ago ... ?

I remember a program in the 80/90's (?) which allowed something close (maybe on Apple ? ) for various machines ???

But I'm afraid this will not enter in the views of the Devs neither in the world of the Serious player or the fast-shooting junky !

I'm a sucker for pre-ww1 crates and that fascinating early aviation period. I guess you could fly around piers at 50 feet in air races or test out early parachutes or crazy antics like looping the loop and making the demoiselle's swoon as a dashing aviator. Or just hedge-hop if they ever make hedges. I'd love it.

January 15, 2023

6 hours ago, [TWB]80hd said:

Dedicated servers are limited based on some hard operating system/networking caps. There are some creative ideas out there that attempt to circumvent this, but at least in the recent past, there has been a hard 64-player limit in as far as how many separately tracked individual objects there are actually visible to your client at any one time.

We have more that 64 player servers, but never see more than a couple dozen engaged within the limited rendering "bubble" at any one time. In order to provide an environment where you can have 100+ player controlled planes in visual range on a furball, you need a very specialized client/server architecture.

This type of foundational architecture means that you could have a truly massive dynamic campaign as well, with complex field captures and logistic infrastucture baked right into a quasi-persistent arena:

We see an example of the dynamic nature with how Finnish Virtual Pilots handles their dynamic front line within the constraints of the current sim. Player activity drives the ground game, and voting at the end of the map alters the theatre in increments.

For the strategic/supply battle, take a look at what Combat Box is doing their logistic infrastructure in Apollo (rear bases - if undamaged - send supplies/repairs to front line bases between maps) - If you don't defend your front line bases, they will need resupply and repair. If you don't defend your rear/industrial targets (or the trains themselves that deliver the supply from said rear targets), they will never get these resources

What I mean about a "high-quality MP arena" is a dev hosted and managed "MMO" computing cluster that expands on the above, and never needs a "map roll" - everything just keeps going, and the yanks and huehues pass the torch to brits and euros, and on to the asiatic hordes and aussies/kiwis, and so on.

Events, challenges, and major strikes could be driven centrally, and a truly cohesive and inclusive structure like that brings a community together in a way that separate servers with a fraction of the ability to manage such density can never achieve.

The best of all worlds would be one or more official "main arenas" and large 1-off event arenas while still providing dedicated server options like we have today.

we will se something like that in WT before we see it in DCS or GB 2.0

January 15, 2023

Not much on my "must haves", really. Stuff like CloD and GB already offer an amazing framework/launchpad, but they're all mostly lacking in the same areas.

An extensive, dynamic (single player) campaign
Good AI - wingmen that support you and react to events as they happen
Time compression that goes above 8x - let me skip to the action! Or at least save mid-mission!

On the wish list of things that would be amazing to have:

Flyable, four-engined bombers! Give me a Lanc!
Huge, realistic formations

And as for things I don't think any other flight sim offers:

An integrated, co-op career (PvE) so me and my friends can join a squadron and take on the world together

As others have said in other threads, it'd be nice to forget about e.g. modelling drop tanks in the most realistic way humanly possible, and just give us an engine that's authentic in all the right ways, and that can give you the immersion that players crave. Look to things like European Air War, (and much much further back, Aces over Europe/the Pacific, Battle of Britain: Their Finest Hour and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe). It's the immersion and feeling of "being there" in that cockpit that sells the games, far more than the rivet-counting accuracy of fuel systems.

Edited January 15, 2023 by kingspoons

January 15, 2023

On 1/14/2023 at 4:49 AM, drewm3i-VR said:

Bingo, MP should be the #1 priority if the devs want a popular game with potential to grow...then AI doesn't even matter as much, which is great.

The biggest problem with MP in sims like this is the realism settings. The number of people who want to jump into a full realistic sim can be counted on not much more than your fingers and toes (only a slight exaggeration). I'm speaking at least partially from a personal perspective too. I tried to jump online on Rise of Flight, but there are no servers offering anything less than the most realistic settings, and because that's not how I usually play, I didn't even know how to make the thing take off...

The other thing that may be an issue is that same "commitment" that was mentioned of MP players. If you have a hardcore contingent of players who are on every single night, and have honed their skills over hundreds of in game flying hours... it just ends up giving them too much of an advantage. New pilots would join, only to be seal-clubbed out of the sky by a squadron of legitimate flying aces, and end up not coming back.

Edited January 15, 2023 by kingspoons

January 15, 2023

28 minutes ago, kingspoons said:

The biggest problem with MP in sims like this is the realism settings. The number of people who want to jump into a full realistic sim can be counted on not much more than your fingers and toes (only a slight exaggeration). I'm speaking at least partially from a personal perspective too. I tried to jump online on Rise of Flight, but there are no servers offering anything less than the most realistic settings, and because that's not how I usually play, I didn't even know how to make the thing take off...

The other issue is that same "commitment" that was mentioned of MP players. If you have a hardcore contingent of players who are on every single night, and have honed their skills over hundreds of in game flying hours... how is that game ever going to grow? New pilots will join, be seal-clubbed out of the sky by a squadron of legitimate flying aces, and never touch it again.

I think the answer to this is to simply have servers offered with different levels, which we do have today. The normal servers are also very popular and even allow things like outside views.

Secondly, I think the answer to the concern about lurking aces clubbing newbie seals, is to allow players to spawn with COMPETENT AI wingman who we can communicate with via an integrated voice radio system, as well as creating diverse and varied gameplay on a large map so action doesn't concentrate in predictable spots as it does on Finnish over tanks and temp arifields for instance.

My dream of a multi-player sim, would have many single-player elements, like many strategic flights of AI bombers on each side that would be immersive to either hunt or protect, moving AI ground units, supply columns, transport columns, trains, etc. all over the map.

I would also love if we could have real photo recon missions where our responsibility is to survey vast areas and communicate over radio to AI command and control which would then place our reported contact type and location on the map (even if inaccurate).

And I firmly believe multiplayer is best when it is focused on a dynamic campaign elements with moving fronts. When connected either an integrated (not external) SRS-like radio system that is easy to setup and use--combined with AI towers and control centers that can route players to targets and base ala the SRS Bot but better--the opportunities for multi-player for all skill levels are endless.

12 hours ago, Zooropa_Fly said:

SHOOTING STATS !!

Play online, we have them there ?

On 1/14/2023 at 6:01 AM, Zooropa_Fly said:

The potential of being able to sneak up on an AI plane.

Attacking out of the sun.. blind spots.. maybe a random chance that the AI pilot isn't paying attention.

The AI's situational awareness could be tied to it's skill level.

Good idea. IL-2 1946 has this in spades with AI in many of the modpacks like BAT.

20 hours ago, Thorne said:

In a nutshell:

A strong technical foundation that allows for smooth, high framerate performance in flat screen and VR - now and in the future. This means multicore support, potentially rendering the cockpit on a separate thread for VR users.

Excellent flight models

Good systems modeling (I DO NOT CARE ABOUT CLICKABLE COCKPITS)

Accessible, robust, and dynamic multiplayer servers

Boom ?

Edited January 15, 2023 by drewm3i-VR

January 15, 2023

17 hours ago, Charon said:

Other features:

* Compound skins. The sim should be aware of concepts like national markings, ID codes, kill markings, unit markings, art, invasion stripes, etc, and should be able to composite them. I shouldn't need to open photoshop to update my kill tally in career or apply a piece of art. It would even be cool to extend this to multiplayer, and automatically give players an externally visible record of their current streak of victories.

* A realistic "damage model" for pilots. Pilots who are shot should, some of the time, bleed out in the cockpit. Brutal? Yes, but realistic. Don't get shot.

* Death shouldn't cut over to an external view or a different crew position. Dead is dead. Fade to black, with some minimal effects to make it clear to the player that their monitor didn't just shut off.

* First-class career mode for non-pilot roles. I'd like to see gunner, navigator, radio operator, and bombardier positions all fleshed out. I've never liked the whole "switch crew position" concept. Let me start the flight in that position and end the flight in that position. Killed? Fade to black rather than switching positions. It should, however, be possible for that crewman to move around the plane to a different position to take the place of someone who has died.

All really good ideas ?

January 16, 2023

Stuff multiplayer server admins want which is a long list
Fix netcode so servers don't cause clients to lag

And in general stuff that lets the community create more content for the game
Native multiplayer skin support like 46 had

A better DM that doesn't miss things and have blackholes
A single pilot physiology that is far more restrictive to clown car manures like the wobble

Graphics settings similar to what reshade offers:
Native sharpening adjustment
Native colour saturation adjustment
Native gamma and contrast adjustment

Native vulkan wrapper - in my testing DXVK just works already

Clear and industry standard names for graphics settings with more options

Redo all the maps at ground level so they support tank gameplay

Make spotting universal for all resolutions

Engine ruled by temperatures and not timers

If possible VR optimisations so CPU usage is reduced

Upgrade packs for existing planes so they have more options

A more optimistic view of multiplayer instead of thinking people only play single player because that is what they want to do, think what does the multiplayer community have problems with and how can we support them to make multiplayer better.

A few more options for controller inputs
native xbox/ps4 plug and play

Edited January 17, 2023 by RossMarBow

January 16, 2023

11 hours ago, RossMarBow said:

Stuff multiplayer server admins want which is a long list
Fix netcode so servers don't cause clients to lag

And in general stuff that lets the community create more content for the game
Native multiplayer skin support like 46 had

A better DM that doesn't miss things and have blackholes
A single pilot physiology that is far more restrictive to clown car manures like the wobble

Graphics settings similar to what reshade offers:
Native sharpening adjustment
Native colour saturation adjustment
Native gamma and contrast adjustment

Native vulkan wrapper - in my testing DXVK just works already

Clear and industry standard names for graphics settings with more options

Redo all the maps at ground level so they support tank gameplay

Make spotting universal for all resolutions

Engine ruled by temperatures and not timers

If possible VR optimisations so CPU usage is reduced

Upgrade packs for existing planes so they have more options

A more optimistic view of multiplayer instead of thinking people only play single player because that is what they want to do, think what does the multiplayer community have problems with and how can we support them to make multiplayer better.

I agree with everything, including improving the maps/terrain, but minus the tanks...I really think a game like IL2 can be a sandbox, but that it should be so for everything aerial combat related and leave it at that...things like radio navigator positions, gunners, bombardier, etc. should be modeled, but tanks are just a step too far because we want the game to have high fidelity and be good at meeting its aim, which ought to be to provide the ultimate WWII aerial combat experience, both SP and MP.

I really think tank crew and Flying Circus not only took away developer resources from GB, but that they'd also be better as standalone products with separate teams. I really don't get why RoF didn't just carry on its parallel development...in many ways, it's still FAR superior to FC, especially with mods.

January 17, 2023

I agree with upper opinion, I would always add Flak though, no armoured cars or tanks, but human directed flak (possibly on company level also :))

January 17, 2023

I am both surprised and disappointed that no one mentioned head/eye tracking as being a must. TrackIR and Tobii Eye Tracker are a must if you don't go the VR route.

January 17, 2023

3 hours ago, JG7_X-Man said:

I am both surprised and disappointed that no one mentioned head/eye tracking as being a must. TrackIR and Tobii Eye Tracker are a must if you don't go the VR route.

It goes without saying!

Another item is per plane input mappings. I'd never want to go back...

January 17, 2023

12 minutes ago, dbuile said:

It goes without saying!

Another item is per plane input mappings. I'd never want to go back...

100% if you fly varying aircraft - this is a must. Kudos for the Devs to implement this functionality.

January 17, 2023

Regarding Ai for the new game, methodology and quality like this, coded and explained by Buddeye:

"Buddye on design of the BOB2 AI Maneuver Selection

The design of the AI maneuver Selection Criteria was driven by the need to become more deterministic and less random in selecting AI maneuvers. I felt the need to move in this direction to improve the AI offence and defense so the AI selection software had more control...

Here is a summary of how the AI selects from the (more than 80) available maneuvers:

1. Altitude (how much altitude and rate of change)
2. Speed (how much speed, and rate of change)
3. Position of A/C to each other (nose to tail, tail to tail, nose to beam, tail to beam or left, right, front, back) This is what makes the AI really 'smart' - it is constantly testing to see if it is 'offensive' or 'defensive' and chooses its response dynamically as the fight progresses.

To implement the new selection criteria I built a 3 X 6 matrix (a truth table) and many new programs. For each A/C (the unfriendly and the AI or the player), I designed programs to look at Altitude, Speed, and position and to first try and select the best maneuver option (aggressive or defense) based on AI skill level. The same I applied to ground attack scenarios, was the aircraft offensive (targets in range, and not being targeted by player or other AI aircraft or AAA) or was it defensive (targets in range but being targeted itself).

Altitude and speed can also be thought of as “energy” as altitude can be turned into speed.

I created an uber aggressive 'Terminator AI' which only chooses from the offensive tactical set, it never goes defensive, so you might want to try it out. With the tweak to Terminator routines, he was getting “cocky” so I implemented a random spinout feature. The Terminator flies so close to the edge now that he has a chance to “spinout”. This is when you can most easily get him.

I also implemented a new AI feature called “Flying Factor (FF)”. This is the knowledge of the AI pilot to fly a given maneuver (the game tracks the experience of every individual AI pilot in successful or unsuccessful sorties) and how well the AI pilot will actually fly the given maneuver (skill). The FF is based on the Skill Level (customer selected in Instant Action Missions and software assigned in the Campaign). The Terminator is assigned a Skill Level of Hero2 (the highest in the game) so that is where he gets his boost in performance (edge). BOB2 has since 2009 had up to 4 mixed skills within a flight Novice, Veteran, Ace or Hero. So you might get lucky and bag a novice with limited abilities, to then be up against an ace who has the full range of AI talents available to it.

AI Maneuver Selection is the KEY

First, the BOBII AI has a special case for selection called “Evasive maneuver selection”. The Evasive maneuver is required when an AI is shot at (either a hit or near miss) or padlocked by an aircraft within visual line of sight and range. The AI will select a defensive maneuver randomly based on the criteria/data for both Player and enemy AI (speed, altitude, and the position of the targeting AI and the AI being targeted with respect to each other). Of course, the AI will evade the players quicker, if and only if, the AI can see the enemy (remember in BOBII, the AI vision is blocked just like the player's vision is blocked by the cockpit/airframe, wings, sun, clouds and distance). So as in real combat, you have the best chance if you surprise the AI by attacking from a blind spot, with altitude advantage, out of the sun or cloud.

The first key decision to be made by the AI is to select either an aggressive or defensive maneuver. This is a complex decision based on the available information on both the Player and the Enemy AI or the friendly AI and the enemy AI. The core data considered for both Player and enemy is speed, altitude, and the tactical position of the targeting AI and the AI being targeted with respect to each other.

After selecting either an aggressive or defensive tactic, then a semi random approach is used to select a category (choose good, choose bad, or choose “neither” good nor bad maneuver). This also makes the AI very human, creating the chance that it will choose a 'bad' maneuver in some circumstances. The chance is higher for novice, and lowest for Hero AI.

Maneuvers are then divided into three parts Vertical, Horizontal, and dive for each of our categories (choose good, choose bad, and choose neither good nor bad maneuver).

In BOBII we have over 80 complex maneuvers for selection (both the aggressive and defensive maneuvers) for the fighters (Spit,Hurri,109.110) and over 50 maneuvers for selection for the ground attack aircraft like the JU87. The following are BOBII’s complex maneuvers.

Highlighted maneuvers can be ordered by the player and are also tied to the radio commands so that the player can order their wingmen to perform the maneouver:

MANOEUVRE_SELECT
MANOEUVRE_LOOKROUND (AI will weave and roll to allow it to try to 'check' in blind spots when in the combat area.)
MANOEUVRE_WELDEDWINGMAN
MANOEUVRE_BAILOUT
MANOEUVRE_TOPCOVER
MANOEUVRE_FORCETOPCOVER
MANOEUVRE_LINEABREAST
MANOEUVRE_PINCER
MANOEUVRE_MULTIWAVE
MANOEUVRE_DIVEANDZOOM
MANOEUVRE_INSIDELOOP
MANOEUVRE_LAGPURSUIT
MANOEUVRE_SPLITMANOEUVRE
MANOEUVRE_HEADON
MANOEUVRE_LINEASTERN
MANOEUVRE_VICATTACK
MANOEUVRE_BARRELROLLATTACK
MANOEUVRE_SCISSORS
MANOEUVRE_MILDSCISSORS
MANOEUVRE_TURNINGFIGHT
MANOEUVRE_SPLITS
MANOEUVRE_ZOOMANDDROP
MANOEUVRE_STRAIGHTANDLEVEL
MANOEUVRE_SPINOUT
MANOEUVRE_DIVEFORHOME
MANOEUVRE_GOHOME (Radio command for RTB)
MANOEUVRE_MAKEFORFRIENDLY
MANOEUVRE_MOVEAWAY
MANOEUVRE_QUICKROLL
MANOEUVRE_IMMELMANNTURN
MANOEUVRE_IMMELMANN
MANOEUVRE_ATTACKMYTARGET (Radio command. In ground attack radio menu, if the player has padlocked a target, the AI assigns 2 aircraft if available to attack the padlocked target. If no target is padlocked, the AI assigns 2 aircraft if available to search for ground targets and attack them, within visual range. Similar for air targets in the air attack radio menu context.)
MANOEUVRE_STAYWITHPREY (Radio command which forces AI to ignore eg fighters and concentrate on bombers. The PREY is defined by the mission target type, either fighter, bomber or ground target. Important for BOB because RAF doctrine said pilots were not to deviate from mission objectives to attack targets of opportunity.)
MANOEUVRE_CLIMBFORHOME
MANOEUVRE_STRAIGHTDIVE (for LW, this is a bunt, for the RAF Merlin engine fighters, they will roll to invert, then dive)
MANOEUVRE_OUTSIDELOOP
MANOEUVRE_SHOOTTOFRIGHTEN (eg if AI detects a comrade under attack within range)
MANOEUVRE_SHOOTTOOEARLY
MANOEUVRE_GAINHEIGHT
MANOEUVRE_LAGROLL
MANOEUVRE_EXTENSION
MANOEUVRE_DIVINGROLL
MANOEUVRE_REVERSETURN
MANOEUVRE_SELFASBAIT (or 'drag and bag' in other parlance - AI flying with an AI wingman - one AI will fly steady and slow, luring the player, while its wingman stalks)
MANOEUVRE_JINK
MANOEUVRE_BREAKTURN
MANOEUVRE_LAZYTURN
MANOEUVRE_BREAKLOW
MANOEUVRE_BREAKHIGH
MANOEUVRE_BREAK90
MANOEUVRE_BREAK180
MANOEUVRE_HIGBARRELROLL
MANOEUVRE_PANICTURN
MANOEUVRE_TURNANDRUN
MANOEUVRE_LOWALT
MANOEUVRE_ZOOM
MANOEUVRE_INTERCEPTHIGH
MANOEUVRE_INTERCEPTLOW
MANOEUVRE_GAINSPEED
MANOEUVRE_HEADONATTACK
MANOEUVRE_LUFBERRY (a special manoeuver for the Bf110s)
MANOEUVRE_STEEPDIVE
MANOEUVRE_UPANDUNDER
MANOEUVRE_STALLTURN
MANOEUVRE_SLASHINGATTACK
MANOEUVRE_CLIMBTURN
MANOEUVRE_ROLL360
MANOEUVRE_STRAFFE (if given as a radio command - attack ground targets within visual range, or if player has padlocked a specific target, attack that target)
MANOEUVRE_TRANSITION
MANOEUVRE_PEELOFF
MANOEUVRE_SNAPSHOT
MANOEUVRE_STAYONTAIL (if given as a radio command - attack nearest air target within visual range, or if player has padlocked a specific target, attack that target)
MANOEUVRE_FLYTHROUGHCLOUD (a defensive manouver available if clouds are present - the AI dives for the nearest cloud)
MANOEUVRE_REGROUP
MANOEUVRE_DISENGAGED
MANOEUVRE_SPINRECOVERY
MANOEUVRE_COLLIDE
MANOEUVRE_LAST
MANOEUVRE_ALIGNMENT
MANOEUVRE_DROPANDZOOM
MANOEUVRE_COLLISIONAVOIDANCE
MANOEUVRE_TURNTOHDGANDPITCH (turn to heading, a waypoint command)
MANOEUVRE_SCREWYOUGUYSIMGOINGHOME (when damaged, out of fuel, or low on morale - the AI will still evade if attacked when running for home.).

The AI Performance Criteria/Dependencies

Skill Level

The AI performance is dependent on AI Skill Level (which is customer selected in Instant Action and SW assigned in the campaign). BOBII AI do make mistakes (spin, crash, dumb maneuvers, bad judgment, shoot late , shoot bad, etc) which is after all very human.

The skill level of the AI is key in making decisions on about everything with respect to AI performance like (1) how well the AI fly, shoot, shoot fast, slow, accuracy, or not shoot, (2) how well the AI fly, what maneuvers are selected, and how well the AI will fly the chosen maneuver.

Experience

Each AI pilot/aircraft in the game is assigned a unique identifier. Each time that pilot is included in a sortie their experience score increases. If the sortie is successful (enemy destroyed by squadron>friendly lost) experience is also increased. If the sortie is unsuccessful (enemy destroyed<friendly lost) experience remains the same. Experience determines how many maneuvers the pilot can choose from, skill determines how well they execute them (choose good, choose bad, or choose “neither” good nor bad maneuver). This is the Flying Factor.

Morale

The game tracks the morale of every pilot and squadron/staffel in the game. Losses during combat impact the morale of a pilot and his unit in real time. If the AI pilot achieves a kill, morale is increased for themselves, and for their unit. If the unit takes losses, the AI pilot morale is decreased. When they land if enemy destroyed by squadron>friendly lost, overall morale is increased for the whole unit. If the sortie is unsuccessful (enemy destroyed<friendly lost) overall morale is decreased for the whole unit. An AI pilot's morale level and any losses of their unit during an actual combat, will increase or decrease the likelihood of the pilot choosing a bug-out maneuver ('RTB', 'turn_and_run', 'dive_for_home', 'screw you I'm going home') or a panic maneuver (panic_turn, maneuver_collide, shoot_too_early).
Random Numbers (Luck of the draw)

The BOBII AI A/C is also dependent on luck (specifically on random numbers). Random number decisions are coded through out the AI code. BOBII’s random approach keeps BOBII from doing the same thing each time. Even something as simple as the direction to start a maneuver (left or right), I will use a random number to decide (why hard code something when you can use a random number).

For example, most BOBII vertical maneuvers use a random number to assign a length of time to for a specific vertical maneuver (Like Zoom). The AI pilot will sometimes cut off early, or late, or somewhere in the middle. If early, the maneuver may carry too much speed, and if late, the AI may slow down so much that control is lost (very human).

The bottom line is that the customer will always see a somewhat different maneuver (very good, good, not so good, and loss of control) both because of the random implementation and the different physic’s parameters (speed, roll, heading, pitch, and overall energy) going into each maneuver.

The very real downside of random numbers is it is very hard to test (not repeatable) and the processing power used.

Conditions

The conditions for each maneuver are always different - weather: wind speed, and wind direction will affect airspeed, and damage to AI aircraft affects how well the AI can maneuver or what maneuvers are available. A damaged AI will not fly as well as an undamaged AI as engine damage effects airspeed and structural damage limits control surface response (damage is always taken into account in the AI flying performance

January 17, 2023

8 minutes ago, Mysticpuma said:

Regarding Ai for the new game, methodology and quality like this, coded and explained by Buddeye:

"Buddye on design of the BOB2 AI Maneuver Selection

The design of the AI maneuver Selection Criteria was driven by the need to become more deterministic and less random in selecting AI maneuvers. I felt the need to move in this direction to improve the AI offence and defense so the AI selection software had more control...

Here is a summary of how the AI selects from the (more than 80) available maneuvers:

1. Altitude (how much altitude and rate of change)
2. Speed (how much speed, and rate of change)
3. Position of A/C to each other (nose to tail, tail to tail, nose to beam, tail to beam or left, right, front, back) This is what makes the AI really 'smart' - it is constantly testing to see if it is 'offensive' or 'defensive' and chooses its response dynamically as the fight progresses.

To implement the new selection criteria I built a 3 X 6 matrix (a truth table) and many new programs. For each A/C (the unfriendly and the AI or the player), I designed programs to look at Altitude, Speed, and position and to first try and select the best maneuver option (aggressive or defense) based on AI skill level. The same I applied to ground attack scenarios, was the aircraft offensive (targets in range, and not being targeted by player or other AI aircraft or AAA) or was it defensive (targets in range but being targeted itself).

Altitude and speed can also be thought of as “energy” as altitude can be turned into speed.

I created an uber aggressive 'Terminator AI' which only chooses from the offensive tactical set, it never goes defensive, so you might want to try it out. With the tweak to Terminator routines, he was getting “cocky” so I implemented a random spinout feature. The Terminator flies so close to the edge now that he has a chance to “spinout”. This is when you can most easily get him.

I also implemented a new AI feature called “Flying Factor (FF)”. This is the knowledge of the AI pilot to fly a given maneuver (the game tracks the experience of every individual AI pilot in successful or unsuccessful sorties) and how well the AI pilot will actually fly the given maneuver (skill). The FF is based on the Skill Level (customer selected in Instant Action Missions and software assigned in the Campaign). The Terminator is assigned a Skill Level of Hero2 (the highest in the game) so that is where he gets his boost in performance (edge). BOB2 has since 2009 had up to 4 mixed skills within a flight Novice, Veteran, Ace or Hero. So you might get lucky and bag a novice with limited abilities, to then be up against an ace who has the full range of AI talents available to it.

AI Maneuver Selection is the KEY

First, the BOBII AI has a special case for selection called “Evasive maneuver selection”. The Evasive maneuver is required when an AI is shot at (either a hit or near miss) or padlocked by an aircraft within visual line of sight and range. The AI will select a defensive maneuver randomly based on the criteria/data for both Player and enemy AI (speed, altitude, and the position of the targeting AI and the AI being targeted with respect to each other). Of course, the AI will evade the players quicker, if and only if, the AI can see the enemy (remember in BOBII, the AI vision is blocked just like the player's vision is blocked by the cockpit/airframe, wings, sun, clouds and distance). So as in real combat, you have the best chance if you surprise the AI by attacking from a blind spot, with altitude advantage, out of the sun or cloud.

The first key decision to be made by the AI is to select either an aggressive or defensive maneuver. This is a complex decision based on the available information on both the Player and the Enemy AI or the friendly AI and the enemy AI. The core data considered for both Player and enemy is speed, altitude, and the tactical position of the targeting AI and the AI being targeted with respect to each other.

After selecting either an aggressive or defensive tactic, then a semi random approach is used to select a category (choose good, choose bad, or choose “neither” good nor bad maneuver). This also makes the AI very human, creating the chance that it will choose a 'bad' maneuver in some circumstances. The chance is higher for novice, and lowest for Hero AI.

Maneuvers are then divided into three parts Vertical, Horizontal, and dive for each of our categories (choose good, choose bad, and choose neither good nor bad maneuver).

In BOBII we have over 80 complex maneuvers for selection (both the aggressive and defensive maneuvers) for the fighters (Spit,Hurri,109.110) and over 50 maneuvers for selection for the ground attack aircraft like the JU87. The following are BOBII’s complex maneuvers.

Highlighted maneuvers can be ordered by the player and are also tied to the radio commands so that the player can order their wingmen to perform the maneouver:

MANOEUVRE_SELECT
MANOEUVRE_LOOKROUND (AI will weave and roll to allow it to try to 'check' in blind spots when in the combat area.)
MANOEUVRE_WELDEDWINGMAN
MANOEUVRE_BAILOUT
MANOEUVRE_TOPCOVER
MANOEUVRE_FORCETOPCOVER
MANOEUVRE_LINEABREAST
MANOEUVRE_PINCER
MANOEUVRE_MULTIWAVE
MANOEUVRE_DIVEANDZOOM
MANOEUVRE_INSIDELOOP
MANOEUVRE_LAGPURSUIT
MANOEUVRE_SPLITMANOEUVRE
MANOEUVRE_HEADON
MANOEUVRE_LINEASTERN
MANOEUVRE_VICATTACK
MANOEUVRE_BARRELROLLATTACK
MANOEUVRE_SCISSORS
MANOEUVRE_MILDSCISSORS
MANOEUVRE_TURNINGFIGHT
MANOEUVRE_SPLITS
MANOEUVRE_ZOOMANDDROP
MANOEUVRE_STRAIGHTANDLEVEL
MANOEUVRE_SPINOUT
MANOEUVRE_DIVEFORHOME
MANOEUVRE_GOHOME (Radio command for RTB)
MANOEUVRE_MAKEFORFRIENDLY
MANOEUVRE_MOVEAWAY
MANOEUVRE_QUICKROLL
MANOEUVRE_IMMELMANNTURN
MANOEUVRE_IMMELMANN
MANOEUVRE_ATTACKMYTARGET (Radio command. In ground attack radio menu, if the player has padlocked a target, the AI assigns 2 aircraft if available to attack the padlocked target. If no target is padlocked, the AI assigns 2 aircraft if available to search for ground targets and attack them, within visual range. Similar for air targets in the air attack radio menu context.)
MANOEUVRE_STAYWITHPREY (Radio command which forces AI to ignore eg fighters and concentrate on bombers. The PREY is defined by the mission target type, either fighter, bomber or ground target. Important for BOB because RAF doctrine said pilots were not to deviate from mission objectives to attack targets of opportunity.)
MANOEUVRE_CLIMBFORHOME
MANOEUVRE_STRAIGHTDIVE (for LW, this is a bunt, for the RAF Merlin engine fighters, they will roll to invert, then dive)
MANOEUVRE_OUTSIDELOOP
MANOEUVRE_SHOOTTOFRIGHTEN (eg if AI detects a comrade under attack within range)
MANOEUVRE_SHOOTTOOEARLY
MANOEUVRE_GAINHEIGHT
MANOEUVRE_LAGROLL
MANOEUVRE_EXTENSION
MANOEUVRE_DIVINGROLL
MANOEUVRE_REVERSETURN
MANOEUVRE_SELFASBAIT (or 'drag and bag' in other parlance - AI flying with an AI wingman - one AI will fly steady and slow, luring the player, while its wingman stalks)
MANOEUVRE_JINK
MANOEUVRE_BREAKTURN
MANOEUVRE_LAZYTURN
MANOEUVRE_BREAKLOW
MANOEUVRE_BREAKHIGH
MANOEUVRE_BREAK90
MANOEUVRE_BREAK180
MANOEUVRE_HIGBARRELROLL
MANOEUVRE_PANICTURN
MANOEUVRE_TURNANDRUN
MANOEUVRE_LOWALT
MANOEUVRE_ZOOM
MANOEUVRE_INTERCEPTHIGH
MANOEUVRE_INTERCEPTLOW
MANOEUVRE_GAINSPEED
MANOEUVRE_HEADONATTACK
MANOEUVRE_LUFBERRY (a special manoeuver for the Bf110s)
MANOEUVRE_STEEPDIVE
MANOEUVRE_UPANDUNDER
MANOEUVRE_STALLTURN
MANOEUVRE_SLASHINGATTACK
MANOEUVRE_CLIMBTURN
MANOEUVRE_ROLL360
MANOEUVRE_STRAFFE (if given as a radio command - attack ground targets within visual range, or if player has padlocked a specific target, attack that target)
MANOEUVRE_TRANSITION
MANOEUVRE_PEELOFF
MANOEUVRE_SNAPSHOT
MANOEUVRE_STAYONTAIL (if given as a radio command - attack nearest air target within visual range, or if player has padlocked a specific target, attack that target)
MANOEUVRE_FLYTHROUGHCLOUD (a defensive manouver available if clouds are present - the AI dives for the nearest cloud)
MANOEUVRE_REGROUP
MANOEUVRE_DISENGAGED
MANOEUVRE_SPINRECOVERY
MANOEUVRE_COLLIDE
MANOEUVRE_LAST
MANOEUVRE_ALIGNMENT
MANOEUVRE_DROPANDZOOM
MANOEUVRE_COLLISIONAVOIDANCE
MANOEUVRE_TURNTOHDGANDPITCH (turn to heading, a waypoint command)
MANOEUVRE_SCREWYOUGUYSIMGOINGHOME (when damaged, out of fuel, or low on morale - the AI will still evade if attacked when running for home.).

The AI Performance Criteria/Dependencies

Skill Level

The AI performance is dependent on AI Skill Level (which is customer selected in Instant Action and SW assigned in the campaign). BOBII AI do make mistakes (spin, crash, dumb maneuvers, bad judgment, shoot late , shoot bad, etc) which is after all very human.

The skill level of the AI is key in making decisions on about everything with respect to AI performance like (1) how well the AI fly, shoot, shoot fast, slow, accuracy, or not shoot, (2) how well the AI fly, what maneuvers are selected, and how well the AI will fly the chosen maneuver.

Experience

Each AI pilot/aircraft in the game is assigned a unique identifier. Each time that pilot is included in a sortie their experience score increases. If the sortie is successful (enemy destroyed by squadron>friendly lost) experience is also increased. If the sortie is unsuccessful (enemy destroyed<friendly lost) experience remains the same. Experience determines how many maneuvers the pilot can choose from, skill determines how well they execute them (choose good, choose bad, or choose “neither” good nor bad maneuver). This is the Flying Factor.

Morale

The game tracks the morale of every pilot and squadron/staffel in the game. Losses during combat impact the morale of a pilot and his unit in real time. If the AI pilot achieves a kill, morale is increased for themselves, and for their unit. If the unit takes losses, the AI pilot morale is decreased. When they land if enemy destroyed by squadron>friendly lost, overall morale is increased for the whole unit. If the sortie is unsuccessful (enemy destroyed<friendly lost) overall morale is decreased for the whole unit. An AI pilot's morale level and any losses of their unit during an actual combat, will increase or decrease the likelihood of the pilot choosing a bug-out maneuver ('RTB', 'turn_and_run', 'dive_for_home', 'screw you I'm going home') or a panic maneuver (panic_turn, maneuver_collide, shoot_too_early).
Random Numbers (Luck of the draw)

The BOBII AI A/C is also dependent on luck (specifically on random numbers). Random number decisions are coded through out the AI code. BOBII’s random approach keeps BOBII from doing the same thing each time. Even something as simple as the direction to start a maneuver (left or right), I will use a random number to decide (why hard code something when you can use a random number).

For example, most BOBII vertical maneuvers use a random number to assign a length of time to for a specific vertical maneuver (Like Zoom). The AI pilot will sometimes cut off early, or late, or somewhere in the middle. If early, the maneuver may carry too much speed, and if late, the AI may slow down so much that control is lost (very human).

The bottom line is that the customer will always see a somewhat different maneuver (very good, good, not so good, and loss of control) both because of the random implementation and the different physic’s parameters (speed, roll, heading, pitch, and overall energy) going into each maneuver.

The very real downside of random numbers is it is very hard to test (not repeatable) and the processing power used.

Conditions

The conditions for each maneuver are always different - weather: wind speed, and wind direction will affect airspeed, and damage to AI aircraft affects how well the AI can maneuver or what maneuvers are available. A damaged AI will not fly as well as an undamaged AI as engine damage effects airspeed and structural damage limits control surface response (damage is always taken into account in the AI flying performance

FFS - did we need this in 2 threads today? ?

January 17, 2023

8 hours ago, 102nd-YU-cmirko said:

I agree with upper opinion, I would always add Flak though, no armoured cars or tanks, but human directed flak (possibly on company level also :))

I agree. Some of my favorite memories in aerial combat games/Sims are hopelessly manning flak guns ?

7 hours ago, JG7_X-Man said:

I am both surprised and disappointed that no one mentioned head/eye tracking as being a must. TrackIR and Tobii Eye Tracker are a must if you don't go the VR route.

This is a given my friend lol

Seriously though, in 10 years VR will be the norm for serious players as headsets will become wireless glasses and then perhaps holograms (who knows) ?

3 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

FFS - did we need this in 2 threads today? ?

Yes we do, until the AI is halfway decent ?

January 18, 2023

36 minutes ago, drewm3i-VR said:

Yes we do, until the AI is halfway decent ?

Not in GB anymore. It is what it is. Maybe in the successor they announced in late october. We will see.

January 18, 2023

13 hours ago, drewm3i-VR said:

IYes we do, until the AI is halfway decent ?

It could be put in a hundred threads and it will make no difference... the AI issues will never be solved in this version of the GB series.

Every time something gets fixed or updated it only seems to mess something up elsewhere... it's been that way for years now.

January 21, 2023

One other (perhaps controversial) feature: full localization. Both radio chatter and cockpit labels should be in in the player's language, at least as an option.

It's immersion breaking to not understand what my wingmen are saying or to be able to read the labels on gauges. I want to imagine myself as someone who is there, not roleplay some sort of weird "Connecticut Yankee" scenario... nor restrict myself to flying only with forces I share a language with.

January 21, 2023

Another thought, weather that matches the day in history (in a campaign).

January 21, 2023

12 hours ago, Charon said:

should be in in the player's language

If you allow having it either way in your game, that'd be perfect!

January 30, 2023

Amazing that in the year 2023 games still won’t support multi threading after it’s been available for the past 21 years.

January 30, 2023

Just want a 1946 with better graphics

January 30, 2023

1 hour ago, Topeka said:

Just want a 1946 with better graphics

Some would say, but this is that, you have ww2 airplanes better graphics and as bonus better FM/DM maps and so on...

So, if you started a flight sim from scratch, a new project, what are your must have features?

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