The flak smoke in CFS3 has bothered me every since it was released. It just is not realistic. The same small round puffs are exactly the same and do not look anywhere like the real thing. Real flak smoke drifts and changes shape and the air was full of smudges with the smoke in various stages of drift and decay.
When CFS3 was first released most computers could not handle long lasting effects and too much smoke would cause a heavy frame rate hit. However we have learned a lot about effects the past couple of years and have a handle on the FPS impact. Also most computers today can handle improved effects. Flyers with older PCs can always dial down the sliders.
You will see a substantial improvement in the 5" AA flak with nice longer lasting drifting smoke but the rest of the flak smoke is still the generic puffball.
For the PTO update I am going to rework the current generic puffball and send to the test teams some flak with smoke that will look real and create much more immersion as you fly thru the decaying whisps. You will see irregular jagged smoke the same as in the WW II films.
We fixed the suicide flak in ETO with better shells and gave it a better shell burst with illumination but the smoke fix is badly needed.
We will have a different smoke pattern for the 20mm and 40 mm from the larger AA so the air around the ships will be varied and very realistic.
I was watching the History Channel this evening and watched the B-17s and B-24s flying thru fak smoke that looks nothing like the generic stuff we have in CFS3.
The Team will post some screen shots and video as the project evolves.
O-1
When CFS3 was first released most computers could not handle long lasting effects and too much smoke would cause a heavy frame rate hit. However we have learned a lot about effects the past couple of years and have a handle on the FPS impact. Also most computers today can handle improved effects. Flyers with older PCs can always dial down the sliders.
You will see a substantial improvement in the 5" AA flak with nice longer lasting drifting smoke but the rest of the flak smoke is still the generic puffball.
For the PTO update I am going to rework the current generic puffball and send to the test teams some flak with smoke that will look real and create much more immersion as you fly thru the decaying whisps. You will see irregular jagged smoke the same as in the WW II films.
We fixed the suicide flak in ETO with better shells and gave it a better shell burst with illumination but the smoke fix is badly needed.
We will have a different smoke pattern for the 20mm and 40 mm from the larger AA so the air around the ships will be varied and very realistic.
I was watching the History Channel this evening and watched the B-17s and B-24s flying thru fak smoke that looks nothing like the generic stuff we have in CFS3.
The Team will post some screen shots and video as the project evolves.
O-1