What have they been working on?

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Author	Topic: What have they been working on?
Michael Harrison General	posted 02-04- 06:51 PM http://www.rcsimulator.com IP: Logged
Zoycite JAG	posted 02-04- 07:00 PM Do they shoot Looks nice. Hmm reflective textures? Hmm, new terrain for SDOE? Hmm BTW, love the clouds. ------------------ Zoycite {GS} GUNSLINGERS visit The War Paint Factory IP: Logged
Falck Pilot	posted 02-04- 07:03 PM sweet! those thunderheads look awesome in the distance. the fantasy maps sort of remind me of pilotwings. IP: Logged
Stark Pilot	posted 02-04- 07:04 PM OK... I've got one question for you... are those trees actualu objects or just a creative use of textures? Actually my real question is are those OpenPlane aircraft... meaning could we import planes from FS into RCSimulator or vic-versa? It looks very nice though - I'll definantly have to check this one out when it hits the shelves. -Stark IP: Logged
Nat Pilot	posted 02-04- 07:04 PM couldn't bear making an ass of myself for too long, so I've deleted the first part of this.... and this was just sumthing I was thinking about.. OK, here it is... you guys make a plane pack for SDOE, but from looking in the mission editor, after installing the plane pack, I can't use the old models of the aircraft. Would it not maybe be a better idea to unbig the origonal par files, and add the plane pack into them, thus allowing missions with aircraft relative to the year of the mission. It seems feasable to me, and a good way to open up space for any other objects that will need a seperate par file. I guess you guys know the answers to this, and how easy (or not) it'd be to do, but I think it's a much better solution ------------------ JV~44 "Naturlich" If you can't beat em.... out run em! http://members.xoom.com/naturlich/ [This message has been edited by Nat (edited 02-04-2000).] [This message has been edited by Nat (edited 02-04-2000).] IP: Logged
Hawk JAG	posted 02-04- 07:11 PM Micheal, welcome to my world. Can I use my own transmitter? Good to see you have a go at this. There are some great RC sims out but yours looks like a winner! Paul Grubich RC Warbirds http://home.earthlink.net/%7Epgrubich/ IP: Logged
Nat Pilot	posted 02-04- 07:22 PM er...... did I unknowingly offend anyone??? didn't know it was a project of Micheals.... thats different, thought someone was pinching the ideas from the guys here.. ok, made an ass of myself IP: Logged
roadtoad Pilot	posted 02-04- 08:09 PM Wow! Can I preorder now? Lunar gravity too! Are those 32bit tga textures to get the relecto? Those city canyons look really appealing - is there ground object destructibility? A couple of full-auto BB-guns in the wings and plenty of glass windows would make me real happy Will there be a "catch the AI cat" mode? I played with HangSim for a bit and got bored fast - this one looks very interesting. IP: Logged
Zurawski Pilot	posted 02-04- 08:22 PM Now maybe I've been hanging with the OPP boys to long ... ... But I see immense potential here for user created stuff! RC aircraft plans can be found at virtualy any hobby store ... giving you virtually "EVERY" design detail ... airfoil ... weight ... CofG ... surface area ... YOU NAME IT! Granted ... these won't be any "historically accurate" aircraft. However, they WILL be exacting replicas of "RC AIRCRAFT"!!!!!! I would think RC flyers would be "pooping-their-pants" at the thought of this! IP: Logged
Private Roger Pilot	posted 02-04- 08:36 PM Another nice visual courtesy of Zur. IP: Logged
Zurawski Pilot	posted 02-04- 08:58 PM .. PR, ROF! I sure do have a way with words, don't I? IP: Logged
Michael Harrison General	posted 02-04- 09:46 PM Zoy: At the moment, only the Spit shoots. We'll be tweaking the features in the Events as time goes on though so that may change. Stark: The trees are both objects and creative use of textures. They do bad things to your plane when you run into them. Yes, they are OpenPlane based. The format will change slightly to accomodate some other features we'll be adding, but bringing in your own work will be possible through OpenPlane. Hawk: yes, you can use your own transmitter. We'll be shipping with an interface from RipMax which I've found to be infinitely more reliable than our competition. toad: "relecto"?? huh? At the moment there isn't much in the way of "destructability" but that will change as we polish the game. Zur: you are mostly correct. The thing that's funny though is there are many many rc modelers (and I've come to learn, manufacturers) who don't really know why their models fly. They just tweak existing models within small limits. But at least you can get your hands on a model and measure for the information you need! IP: Logged
Raider Pilot	posted 02-04- 09:47 PM Congratulations, You guys. That is Awesome! Great details The sky and environment look real. Fly behind and on plane views too A Workshop! (Plane building?) I can't wait. Good luck. I hope this brings you the rewards that are long overdue. Raider {GS} IP: Logged
Byrd Pilot	posted 02-04- 10:13 PM The graphics look beautiful. It'll be nice flying an RC without worrying about crashing in my neighbors yard. MH, could you tell us a little about the view options. I could see a PIP view and possible a chase view. Any POV's from the planes themselves? IP: Logged
Pete Hawk Pilot	posted 02-04- 10:37 PM Michael and crew, congrats! It looks MARVELOUS! Really! Very much so in fact. As mentioned in Michaels post above, the competition... I HAVE their product and this looks HANDS DOWN a 1000% better/nicer. Not only do the planes look fantastic flying, but I bet when you crash the entire airplane doesn't just pause when it touches the ground and makes a silly crash sound. With this engine you are doing, I bet since it's OpenPlane based they rip to shreds! That'll be a blast! Also the environments... WOW! (hmmm, I think I see some A-10 Cuba in this... the moonbase stuff (from the network games)... hehe. Cool. From the pics I have just seen, I can't wait to get it! And get it I will (being an R/C flyer/fanatic for some 20 years now). One idea for you. DO HELICOPTERS! Another one that's big... NIGHT FLYING with the colored wands on the wingtips! Let people pic the colored lights they want to use (or just go with red for left and green for right, white on the tail). Why? Because it'll sell like hotcakes (but I'm sure it will anyways)! There is nothing like that out yet, ever. Also it'll get you guys working on a lighting engine that can carry over into your next flight sim! Brilliant guys, beautiful stuff! (Also if you did heli's we could bring that new technology into the next sim as well) I always wanted to fly the helicopter that's parked on that ship in A-10 Cuba! A Hind I think it was. IP: Logged
Sv Pilot	posted 02-04- 11:44 PM Wow. IP: Logged
roadtoad Pilot	posted 02-05- 06:02 AM reflective textures. I've noticed that some of the newer games are simulating reflectivity by tinkering with the alpha channel of 32bit TGA files. 'Midtown Madness' is the most fun of these, but that otherwise drecky 'Interstate 82' is the most accessible in that you can paint the cars you drive; and by tweaking channels the illusion of reflection appears as light sources strike it. IP: Logged
Spanky the Mad Dog Pilot	posted 02-05- 07:43 AM Spanky here... I'm all for reflections but be carefull. I find the Midtown madness ones to be a WAY over done and because of that they actuall detract from the game for me cause they don't look real. IP: Logged
roadtoad Pilot	posted 02-05- 10:11 AM Roger that Spanky! Playing with this format I found that small changes in the transparency of the RGB channels made large changes in reflection; and that what I did in Image Composer didn't give the same result in Photoshop. Tricky stuff. If I82 were more interesting I could likely learn more. IP: Logged
Michael Harrison General	posted 02-05- 11:46 AM We won't be doing texture reflection in RC Sim. In fact, there won't be many graphic engine additions. We're focusing most of our effort on the planes, training and events that are being added specifically for RC flyers. IP: Logged
JG2_FireCat! Pilot	posted 02-06- 02:27 AM Michael I posted a screenshot and link in another forum. The response I got from an avid RC pilot was that he thinks you should add choppers. Apparently, choppers are the really big thing now in R.C. Modeling, more popular than airplanes, and it would have the benefit of an increase in market appeal. Anyway, just a suggestion. BTW, it looks beautiful! Salut! JG2"FireCat!" IP: Logged
Spanky the Mad Dog Pilot	posted 02-06- 04:18 AM Spanky here... Well i would think that its a little late for new stuff to be incorperated but i suggest helis as well. One more for ya is some sailplanes well even one would be cool. The barrier to this would be i don't think the game models thermals. One question MH there doesn't seem to be that many events. Are you looking for more ideas? If so i'm sure we could come up with a gaggle. What do ya say? IP: Logged
Spanky the Mad Dog Pilot	posted 02-06- 04:48 AM Spanky here... K i have a couple. I know their not really RC simming stuff but they would be fun. K mad dogs idea was droping little GI joes with parachutes and trying to get them into the LZ taking into account the wind and minimum drop speed Mine was add an option to have smoke streams. A smoke stream on each wing tip of a different color could be really cool. This could be a great teaching aid for novice pilots as it helps them determin aircraft attidude at far distances. One last thing. MH I don't know how you guys did it this time but i personally think the Lowest level of detail LODS of the wings and tail feathers should still have some depth to them and not be just a flat poly like the planes in FS otherwise as a plane gets too far away it will be harder to see just cause the wings arn't visible when the plane is going dirrectly away from you or towards you. IP: Logged
Sv Pilot	posted 02-06- 07:43 AM Spanky, One last thing. MH I don't know how you guys did it this time but i personally think the Lowest level of detail LODS of the wings and tail feathers should still have some depth to them and not be just a flat poly like the planes in FS otherwise as a plane gets too far away it will be harder to see just cause the wings arn't visible when the plane is going dirrectly away from you or towards you. I never know what you mean by this... once the plane gets that far away - even with the full thicknes of the wing the wing would be less than 1 pixel thick - invisable! At some point you will always just see a dot - and from head on that pixel will be the fuselege, not the wings. And at some inevitable distance all the LODS switch out - you can't see it at all. Am I missing something? -Sv IP: Logged
roadtoad Pilot	posted 02-06- 07:44 AM You probably have streamer-cutting already, but whatever, I know this is something I'll buy and enjoy IP: Logged
Spanky the Mad Dog Pilot	posted 02-06- 08:00 AM Spanky here... SV You have a great point there but pixels are just compensating for bad design then. And at high reses it doesnt' work like that as much. The wing would be 3 pixels thick instead of 1. Also the fuse on some planes actually gets smaller makeing it even hard to to recognize some planes at distance. And it doesn't change the fact that if your like me and your turn your object slider all the way down for huge online flights that the wings turn into flat polys alot closer and then when you can't see them. Maybe i will have to post some pics of how they should look and how they look right now. IP: Logged
Spanky the Mad Dog Pilot	posted 02-06- 08:06 AM Spanky here... Cutting the ribbon would be a great idea. Ya could do a vertical one too. Cut the string holding the balloon to release it. How about chase the bird? hehe. Flying the bird???? IP: Logged
Michael Harrison General	posted 02-06- 12:47 PM Our plan is to put out future versions which feature helis, cars, boats etc. For this version, we wanted to concentrate on what we know best, and that's planes. We are going to have at least one glider (yes, we're adding thermals). Firecat: Which forum are you speaking of? Spanky: We're planning on releasing this summer and are only putting in the events we can get done in time. Suggestions for future releases are always welcome. BTW, SV is correct in his description of the value of depth in the lowest LODs. We're exploring several different options for making the plane more "visible" as it gets further away. We won't have ribbon cutting in this version but as I mentioned above, the plan is to come out with several follow-up updates. [This message has been edited by Michael Harrison (edited 02-06-2000).] IP: Logged
JG2_FireCat! Pilot	posted 02-06- 02:09 PM Michael Delphi Flight Simulator Forum (it's where us Red Baron addicts hang out) http://forums.delphi.com/dir-login/index.asp?g=ok&h=y&f=b&cb=0&srp=0&srt=1&rr=359014&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fforums%2Edelphi%2Ecom%2Fflight%2Fstart%2F JG2"FireCat!" IP: Logged
Sv Pilot	posted 02-06- 02:25 PM MH, The coolest idea I ever heard to make planes more visable at distance is to simulate some kind of "gleam" function that makes the plane flash every now and then - like it cathes the sun for a second. I think this would make "hunting" allot more fun as you can at least get a general bearing of the enemy - then try to sneak up on him! Right now when we play without ID tags the hardest part is spoting the enemy at a realistic distance.. or what the hell, maybe we wanna make it easier -Sv IP: Logged
Falck Pilot	posted 02-06- 02:39 PM Yes that is the best idea ive heard for spotting enemies at a distance. Having a sun first would help. Aces high is really impressive when you turn your back toward the sun and see it gleaming of the cockpit instrument panel. IP: Logged
Pete Hawk Pilot	posted 02-06- 04:00 PM Michael, you say you are planning on releasing this summer, and as well as doing more R/C stuff. This is all very cool! BUT, I have to ask, where will SDOE and it's future relatives be in all this? I hope you guys hire some more people so you can keep everyone happy. I wish you nothing but success in the R/C dept but hope you don't get away from this game so much that you won't eventually come back to it. It's too good! IP: Logged
Jaguar Pilot	posted 02-06- 04:32 PM JG2_FireCat, I like your thinking hhhhmmmm..... never bought an RC sim before.... ------------------ Cheers! Jaguar The FS Hangar IP: Logged
roadtoad Pilot	posted 02-06- 08:30 PM distance recognition - along with flash, another practical method is to exaggerate the profile and thicken the wings & stabs - sort of a cartoon shape (toon it up?) that emphasizes whatever shape characteristic you'd spot at a distance IP: Logged
Spanky the Mad Dog Pilot	posted 02-06- 10:49 PM Spanky here.. I think flash is a good thing. Painstakenly editing the distance at which the planes switch out and makeing the low detail lods the same size as the high detail would be great. The P51 actually gets smaller. And if you have your object detail turned down it switches way before it would only show as one pixel. One more thing that could be done would be to Opimize the renderer engine for maximum FPS at high resolutions. Hi reses mean better visibiliy. A plane that would be 5 pixels at 640x480 would be 10 and show more detail at 1024x768. (grand generalization but ya get what i mean.) I think more RC sims is great. I think it could be great for the company. Maybe stagger them or if the first one goes over well enough maybe get 2 teams working. One on the rc sim updates and one on the SDOE sequals. About the Flight rc sim. Who got you to do it? Is it a closed deal? Or can you get additional backing. Why no advitising? You could have a bit in there somewhere. I can't see a problem with it. What do you guys think? Dreaming but it would be cool. IP: Logged
Michael Harrison General	posted 02-09- 05:23 PM "Who got you to do it?" Ripmax ( www.ripmax.com ) They've been after us for years to do a RC sim but we could never quite come to terms until recently. "Is it a closed deal?" Closed? In what way do you mean that? "Or can you get additional backing. Why no advitising?" Ripmax is paying for the sim and they have exclusive distribution rights although we retain rights to do a game version. We've talked all sorts of ideas for OEM versions to plane, engine, etc makers where we create a special version of RCSim that goes out with their products. Time will tell if those ideas come to pass. IP: Logged
Spanky the Mad Dog Pilot	posted 02-09- 09:15 PM Spanky here... What i ment by closed deal was could you add any advertising to it yourself or were you bound by the terms of your agreement. Like if Coca cola got you to do a cola drinking game they probly wouldn't let you put in Mcdonalds fries too heheh It seems like the Rc plane world has huge possibilities for advertising. Like you could show the guy leaning beside his flight box (of so and so) fueling up with (brand x) using a radio by(brand Y) Of course all the planes would probly be buy (these two guys hehe) all using motors by (can't remember right now) and maybe an online catolog and hot link to ripmax with a huge ripmax rc sim opening flash type ad( just a 2-5 second sucker) If you need anymore ideas i'm sure i could come up with some. i;m sure you could find a company for each of those products would would give ya some money. Some money (whatever that is) is going to be more then none if you put in all no name stuff. And i know that wouldn't bug me at all. I think ads are almost inevitable in games. Just as long as they don't get crazy. heck you could have billboards in a couple of the flight fields. Changing every couple minutes. Not all the fields but just the one or 2 that look like regular fields What do you guys think? IP: Logged

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