Korea. IL-2 Series Dev Blog #7

[LukeFF]

Dev Blog # for Korea. IL-2 Series is now available for your reading: https://il2-korea.com/news/dd_7

[[CPT]Crunch]

Now that's good news, the game needed this rework desperately, looks very well researched and done.

[Jade_Monkey]

The evening lighting on the first picture terrain really highlights the terrain granularity. Pretty cool tech overall.

 

On a side note: Can the runways get the rubber skid marks from landings? It would feel less sterile (airfields looking good though)

[LF_Mark_Krieger]

Could it be possible to add a option to deactivate the lens glare effect? In the natural eye this doesn't happen. I understand it can be a kind of cinematic effect, but personally I prefer the immersion of what a pilot would see through his eyes and not through a camera.

Edited August 23, 2024 by LF_Mark_Krieger

[Avimimus]

I never saw the value in improved lighting... until I saw the value in it (literally). I remember, in the Rise of Flight days, thinking 'why are the spending time on that'... and gradually coming around to 'they know better than I do'.

 

  

9 hours ago, LF_Mark_Krieger said:

Could it be possible to add a option to deactivate the lens glare effect? In the natural eye this doesn't happen. I understand it can be a kind of cinematic effect, but personalñy I prefer the immersion of what a pilot would see.

 

Yes. I also found this with the new propeller tech (introduced in Great Battles last year) - it simulated the view of a camera rather than the human eye.

 

It totally understand that the footage we see is usually from the perspective of a camera (as most of us don't fly these planes), but it would be nice to have the option of seeing it more realistically.

 

Also, if we're simulating the view of a camera - shouldn't the game be monochrome? Almost all WWII and Korean War era footage was shot in black and white after-all!

 

P.S. It'd be pretty awesome to have non-panchromatic film simulation for Flying Circus etc... given the limitations of film emulsions in the era, it'd be pretty interesting to try to get a good photo.

[354thFG_Leifr]

Looks great, I hope we learn more about the weather systems coming up with Korea! I'd like to see localised weather fronts moving around, rather than homogenised across the entire map.

[Trooper117]

Yes, looking good, but... Where is everybody???

[T24_Martin]

I am definitely hyped about this theatre and all the progress and improvements are looking fantastic!!!

 

Nevertheless, my passion is WW2 and WW1 aircraft. So I could imagine this counts for a lot others here in our IL2 community. Just from what I read it feels like most of the questions concern new WW1 and WW2 planes, maps, fixes and improvements... That may be the lack of writing here. 

 

I also would like to see more mixed DDs. A large portion of Korea and some snippets of our current sim.

[=MERCS=JenkemJunkie]

3 hours ago, Trooper117 said:

Yes, looking good, but... Where is everybody???

They're all doing something else during the wait like normal people. We're the degenerate junkies thirsty for drips of Korea info.

[Avimimus]

Having thought about it some more - I'm switching sides: Simulating the view from a camera would actually be worth developing further - Simulating the difficult of taking aerial photographs better would be a pretty awesome addition to make gameplay more complicated for photo-reconnaissance... so while this started as a joke, I'm actually thinking that better simulation of cameras might actually add a lot of gameplay depth...

[LukeFF]

8 hours ago, Avimimus said:

Almost all WWII and Korean War era footage was shot in black and white after-all!

 

I think you'll actually find that by 1950 a large chunk of the aerial footage (at least when it comes to still photography) being shot was in color. It certainly seems that way from the all the various books I've looked at.

 

5 hours ago, Trooper117 said:

Yes, looking good, but... Where is everybody???

 

Outside enjoying the summer weather.

[MajorMagee]

3 hours ago, Avimimus said:

Having thought about it some more - I'm switching sides: Simulating the view from a camera would actually be worth developing further - Simulating the difficult of taking aerial photographs better would be a pretty awesome addition to make gameplay more complicated for photo-reconnaissance... so while this started as a joke, I'm actually thinking that better simulation of cameras might actually add a lot of gameplay depth...

 

I did an interesting CFS3 Korea Mod for night recon back in 2017. Here is part of the readme notes to give you an idea of what might be involved.

 

Quote

 

*** User Notes ***

The M122 100 lb photoflash bomb illumination lasted just 1/5 of a second. It relied on tripping the shutter on the camera with a photocell when the flash went off to expose the image.  This method avoids being illuminated by your own light source for more than an instant, as happens with a parchute flare. 

This short illumination period makes taking the picture in CFS3 problematic as you would never know when the 1/5 of a second will happen to hit ctrl+;. For this implementation I've stretched the time slightly to 1/2 second with a 1/10th fade-in to catch your attention. To take a picture you have to watch carefully and be very quick on the pause key; then you'll have time to select the desired camera view and take the shot.

 

The illumination effect is not drawn by AnKor's shaders if you are not looking in their direction so it might seem like you've had a dud if too much time passes without seeing a flash after dropping one. Sometimes changing your viewing position can provide a better success rate in seeing the flash.

 

Photographer - Use F3 to make the cockpit invisible before taking photos. Use ctrl + ; to take photos. You are in control of the aircraft so maneuvering for the best shot is possible. Be careful not to get disoriented by the oblique views. Using F5 to see the artificial horizon and altimeter to help maintain your proper flight attitude is important for the photo intrepreters but you may also want to hide it before you take the final shot to prevent obstruction the view. Using P to pause the game makes it easier to take a moasic series from a fixed location. Each view has a slightly different parallax so panorama creation is not possible without some image distortion.  

 

The Photographer can select different camera views using the hat switch or num pad keys. - TrackIR Head Movement Should Not Be Used

1. Oblique Left is looking down (75 deg) and to the left side of the direction of flight (-60 deg)
2. Rear View (Check Six Position)
3. Oblique Right is looking down (75 deg) and to the right side of the direction of flight (60 deg)
4. Oblique Left is looking down (60 deg) and to the left side of the direction of flight (-60 deg)
5. Default Position is looking straight down (90 deg) with the direction of flight at the top of the screen.
6. Oblique Right is looking down (60 deg) and to the right side of the direction of flight (60 deg)
7. Oblique Left is looking down (45 deg) and to the leftside of the direction of flight (-60 deg)
8. Oblique Forward is looking down (75 deg) with the direction of flight at the top of the screen.
9. Oblique Right is looking down (45 deg) and to the right side of the direction of flight (60 deg)

Additional views can be created for an unexpected target of opportunity by banking and pitching the aircraft. Photography can occur at a range of altitudes, and the [ and ] keys can be used to fine tune the field of view to best frame the area of interest.

 

 

Composite mosaic image from above mod (daylight mission).

 

Night Photoflash

Edited August 10, 2024 by MajorMagee

[[CPT]Crunch]

US Navy exclusively used color film during WWII, any footage you see in black and white was deliberately converted later. 

[Avimimus]

10 minutes ago, [CPT]Crunch said:

US Navy exclusively used color film during WWII, any footage you see in black and white was deliberately converted later. 

 

Yes, that was what occurred to me too! I might be biased because of looking at black and white prints of colour film!

 

2 hours ago, LukeFF said:

Outside enjoying the summer weather.

 

Yes, also occurred to me!

 

 

1 hour ago, MajorMagee said:

I did an interesting CFS3 Korea Mod for night recon back in 2017. Here is part of the readme notes to give you an idea of what might be involved.

 

That is pretty neat! Thanks for sharing.

 

P.S. I've been going around looking for Korea mods while waiting for this sim to come out... and it is surprisingly hard to find them these days. I might have to try to get Mig Alley working.

[352ndOscar]

I am still concerned about the terrain templates I’m seeing versus color photographs of the period.  Korea - the country - is just not covered with all these broad green grass area and the forests depicted are European - not Asian - and are way too thick.  Korea is a rocky, dirty, sand country where farming is 95% of their economy and they had to scratch their living out of the extremely poor soil.  Some work still needs to be done here.

[354thFG_Leifr]

It's work in progress apparently, but I struggle to see how the landmass will be properly converted before release date with so much else to complete. I wouldn't be surprised to see Korea sold to us as currently seen.

[Trooper117]

It'll be fine... we are only seeing bits and pieces at the moment. The game won't be out for a good while yet!

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

I think in current GB the grass and green fields are to dark green, the difference between, trees and forest is not realistic.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2024 by 1PL-Husar-1Esk

[352ndOscar]

The summer of 1950 was horrendous.  All of Korea was experiencing one of their worst droughts ever.  Temperatures were averaging between 105 and 120F.  US Troops were suffering from heat exhaustion, heat stress and heat stroke well into September.  Everything was dried up, brown and brittle.  The winters were vicious with sub-zero temperatures.  These conditions persisted through 1953. These conditions are also contradictory to the “luscious” green countryside’s depicted so far.  These conditions were and are reported throughout many chapters of US Army history on file with the US Army Chief, Military History Library.

[Dagwoodyt]

On 8/14/2024 at 8:04 AM, 352ndOscar said:

The summer of 1950 was horrendous.  All of Korea was experiencing one of their worst droughts ever.  Temperatures were averaging between 105 and 120F.  US Troops were suffering from heat exhaustion, heat stress and heat stroke well into September.  Everything was dried up, brown and brittle.  The winters were vicious with sub-zero temperatures.  These conditions persisted through 1953. These conditions are also contradictory to the “luscious” green countryside’s depicted so far.  These conditions were and are reported throughout many chapters of US Army history on file with the US Army Chief, Military History Library.

I hope the developers will address this and other posts that have pointed out what, if accurate, represents a major fail.

[354thFG_Leifr]

Well, given how Rheinland was attended to after release... I wouldn't hold much hope for the Korea we're looking at to be much altered for release, if not after.

[Dagwoodyt]

How ironic if Rowan's Mig Alley terrain was the more appropriately rendered 😏

[LF_Mark_Krieger]

On 8/14/2024 at 5:04 PM, 352ndOscar said:

The summer of 1950 was horrendous.  All of Korea was experiencing one of their worst droughts ever.  Temperatures were averaging between 105 and 120F.  US Troops were suffering from heat exhaustion, heat stress and heat stroke well into September.  Everything was dried up, brown and brittle.  The winters were vicious with sub-zero temperatures.  These conditions persisted through 1953. These conditions are also contradictory to the “luscious” green countryside’s depicted so far.  These conditions were and are reported throughout many chapters of US Army history on file with the US Army Chief, Military History Library.

I don't have info about the conditions of the terrain during the war, but could it be possible that although  there was a drought and the temperatures were high, the vegetation still persisted? Plants don't die immediately and could be a possibility, although I repeat I am totally ignorant about the conditions of the terrain.

Edited August 23, 2024 by LF_Mark_Krieger

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

1 minute ago, LF_Mark_Krieger said:

I don't have info about the conditions of the terrain during the war, but could it be possible that although  there was a drought and the temperatures were high, the vegetation still persisted. Plants don't die immediately and could be a possibility, although I repeat I amb totally ignorant about the conditions of the terrain.

IMHO since GB the vegetation (not trees) and green fields do have to dark color palette. It doesn't look right, it might be also new lighting or render because ROF looks good to me.

[Dagwoodyt]

7 hours ago, LF_Mark_Krieger said:

I don't have info about the conditions of the terrain during the war, but could it be possible that although  there was a drought and the temperatures were high, the vegetation still persisted. Plants don't die immediately and could be a possibility, although I repeat I am totally ignorant about the conditions of the terrain.

Google it. If anyone has visited Korea from the 1970's on they might be totally oblivious to this history.

Edited August 23, 2024 by Dagwoodyt

[[CPT]Crunch]

The feature I remember the most is all the thousands of perfectly round water ponds on the green hills and mountains upon descending and approaches, took a while to figure out they were artillery shell holes.