Oleg Maddox: "SoW 80% complete" - SIMHQ Interview

[Nausicaa]

In this very exciting brandnew SIM HQ interview, Oleg updates us with the latest news on Storm of War: Battle of Britain.

http://www.simhq.com/_air11/air_341a.html
:ernae:

The main content is ready now. 10% of the content — such as the ships and some of the ground objects on the airfields — are all that is left to be done. At the same time we are currently adding new 3D graphic effects and other features to the Storm of War series engine, and make the campaign, animate people, test and retest, etc. During the year we will spend time completing the Storm of War series engine and the first project, Storm of War: Battle of Britain. So to say that it is now 80% complete would be accurate.

 

[Kofschip]

I wonder what the hardware requirements are for the Storm of War series engine. Anybody has any ideas?

 

[Nausicaa]

No specs announced...but it risks to be hardcore.

 

[redriver6]

have there been any 'in game' shots of aircraft that we know of?

 

[Nausicaa]

Yes, there are some. Some videos to be exact. But they date back 2 years and the look of the sim might have changed since.

 

[Nausicaa]

Here is one. Oleg himself flying SoW on the Leipzig games convention.
It has to be taken with a huge grain of salt though, as this footage was recorded prior the engine and overall looks being finished.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3sf0eiQ--o&feature=related

 

[Antoninus]

Best thing for me is:

However, with the demise of Aces Studio, I really hope that many of the MSFS external developers will begin to look in our direction and consider switching over to Storm of War.

Remember that the Storm of War engine is very flexible, and it’s built completely from scratch to next-generation standards. Without third-party support we could hardly begin to explore the possibilities, and they are truly endless. For third parties, there are no limits at all. You could cover the entire history of aviation from WWI to today, both military and civilian, props jets and everything else. Basically anything you could imagine.

I hope we will see add on planes like the A2A P-47 for SOW in future. The combination of Oleg's flight and damage model with their level of systems simulation and engine failure model in a combat flight simulator would make the SOW series the ultimate piston engine flight sim platform for many years to come.

 

[Nausicaa]

Best thing for me is:
I hope we will see add on planes like the A2A P-47 for SOW in future. The combination of Oleg's flight and damage model with their level of systems simulation and engine failure model in a combat flight simulator would make the SOW series the ultimate piston engine flight sim platform for many years to come.

And I would like to add: In combination with his game engine. It's said to be revolutionary. It does some stuff that isn't even in FSX, like air masses calculated real time in particles (meaning true dynamic weather, air layers etc), it is capable of simulating radar, AI pilots that can only see you defined by actual cockpit shape, AI pilots that can be scared off, it simulates nightime (less AI accuracy), ricochets on earth and water, civil traffic, real time weathering skins, its even capable to be a submarine sim, or tank sim. Throw on that the left overs of the abandoned MS flight sim addon industry and you get a wet dream of every WW2 combat flight enthousiast.

 

[Antoninus]

From simhq. A global scenery like in MSFS is possible with the new engine. Seems that SOW could indeed fully replace FSX someday.

third party MS industry:
I hope they read my interview too. At least the part that developing military or sport aircraft.
For the jets like passenger big plane 747 or other with long distance of flight... we should wait until the performance of PC yet again rised.. or to make separate line with the great decreasing of detail on the ground surfaces of map(comparing to offered with military sim) and then we may make greater size of map or the whole sphere. Curent features of engine allow us to make the whole planet, but with too low detail and qiality, that wouldn't be too acceptable by modern terms even with reference that it is better than in MS FS.

 

[BushAV8R]

I really like the part, where they talk about third party developers. That could open up a few new doors. Let's wait and see what potential that may bring.

Developing military and sport aircraft would exactly be my thing.

 

[HundertzehnGustav]

i got nuff for a Gaming PC - just holding back on it.

 

[Naismith]

P'rhaps Oleg should try and buy the MSFS code, he and the X Plane fella are about the only ones still in the field.
I am really looking forward to this one the IL2 series were and still are brilliant.

 

[Nausicaa]

Oleg answered some questions on SIMHQ. Here is a resume:

There are in every country some people that do not understand my personal principles:

- never speak about features that are not defined 100% for the final release, like speaking others and then we all understand than its not happened or never happened...
- to show only these things that really will be in the final release.
- I never promise anything that we are unable to develope or create.
- I never show anything when I think that its not the time, or by other words - when its ready to be shown and looks better than others or at least not worse
- we have other methods in development than most developers. We don't upgrade initial simple core, but make modules in parallel processes of development and complete it around beta. Hope from this point of view it is fully understand-able why I dislike to show ingame shots - because they are unable to show what we will have

Just to remind:
Before I begun to show some shots from Il-2 and speaking about features of the sim, we were developing Il-2 engine and features of the sim itself for more than 2 years. Il-2 was way more "simple" AT ALL than our current project...

Currently I spoke about business... very important for the whole Flight Sim industry! Probably it is the main thing of the whole interview... It is important for the thousands developers involved in this industry around the world.
And really I show the things that nobody have yet... really... Even these that sounding that they did better than Il-2 or so... but not better than I show...
No one serious game developer will never tell full features of the game before the right time. For me these that tell it before - looks really like unexperienced kids. This my interview is probably to confirm that I PROMISE EVEN MORE THAT IT WAS IN THE PAST in comparison to promises of some others.

Ingame shots I plan to show from september of this year. Not earlier. So be patient.

PS. My friend Doug knows way more about our work, but he hasn't right to speak about it. So to say him "you missed"... He is really in the boat.

PS. And "Pilot head will pivot" - it is incorrect understanding... It was already in IL-2. In SoW it is but way more.... Animated human means other. I told it really for the first time, as well as some other items...

"From interview and looking on some objects it is clear that we will have way more animations of ground personnel, soldiers, sailors, etc... and of course the crew of aircraft (in general gunners and second pilot if is), than it was in Il-2.
Such things add a lot of immersion, born jokes, animation films, etc... Its a life of flight sim. Hope you understand what I mean."

In our plan is present running and jumping in a cockpit pilots (as we all reversed jumping from...)

Already too much info I gave...
I don't relly know how much will be in release, because this isn't the main features of the sim, so I don't tell these details which we have in mind and over which we are working. So I prefer to do not promise when I'm not sure at all in all various of animations that will be present in final release. Maybe some of them will go in add-on... But some will never go...
But in general... means we are working over such things and in was in our general plan from the beginning of BoB development.


About online. I really would like to put there much more than in Il-2. Some features there will be for the first time in the world (or some of them - for the first time for the flight sims). Some like in shooters... anyway when I will be ready to say that all or most part of them went in a final code - then I will tell it with details.

Also would like to point that we will stay with the complexity of trafic transfer near the Il-2 code that allow users to have smooth gameplay and don't limit too much users by the quality of connection. It is very importnant for success of the product.
So I'm sure that some limits in visuals if you are play online will be present like it was in IL-2. By other words there will be same methods of optimizations and compromisses that to get playable online, but weith completely new features.

Oleg on arflow simulation in "Rise of Flight" (post by Rootango)

They don't model physically real airflow around aircraft. Trust me. For this modeling PC isn't so capable to calculate it in real time. There is simplified replacement of physics-aerodynamics with good visual effect. It is possible to get by different variants of replacement.

The FM there is good enough, but not at all items of behaviour, say, on the lowest speed moments in force on aircraft. I have this sim and spent about 4 hours during two days to look everything there. But I don't plan to comment their product. So don't ask me. I only would say that it is first time when I see FM very good after our own from Il-2. I like FM there.

Propwash simulation is present in Il-2. However in Il-2 wasn't any interaction of prowash with the surraunding objects, except the plane itself. As well as all moments were modeled in Il-2 in necessary complete amount. Another thing was how they precise... Precise of BoB FM is the next level smile.

If you can't use B'n'Z in Il-2 then you are doing something wrong. The most successfull online pilots in Il-2 using boom and zoom as the main tactic. Me too on most aircraft, especially on Tandrbolt and FW-190s.

More from Oleg on Rise of Flight:

1. I saw all I want from professional point of view. Other couple of hours it was played by my guys on my computer, when I was absent. Also one of our programmers was beta tester. So I have own and my guys opinion.
I already said that I don't plan to comment them. It isn't looking
well from my side. So don't ask me to do it.
Also my opinion could be different to others, already bought this sim or planning to buy.

2. To be fair I found that online protection is a future for PC games. And they did it. However I see it by other way.
Really didn't find there anything interesting personally for me from professional point of view, except I already pointed above and here.
For the players it is interesting. Because it is first good WWI sim for a long time absence on PC them.

But.. stop. I promised to do not answer.

Oleg answering post by Antoninus:

"That was the best thing in the whole interview for me. Combining the indepth simulation of aircraft systems that the 3rd party industry around MSFS is able to offer with high fidelity flight and damage model will produce the ultimate flight simulator.


In the interview Ilya mentions that there are virtually no limits for third parties. So SOW engine is in theory capable to model modern computer based avionics and other complex systems? Sometime in future we could see a modern jetfihter sim based on your engine?"

Yes, the limits are almost absent (nothing is perfect, you know, so the limits to make say space shuttle would be present, but no limits to make submarin sim or to put it in a flight sim online gameplay... And we will not gibve with the open code the control of single soldiers. this will overload online gameplay. It should, if happend the separate line of products...using this or modified engine). It is modular construction and third party may add some program modules working across our interface that to program modern radars and weapon. However with the release of BoB we will have own features that will cover only our needs for BoB. The step by step, say for Korea we'll add something new... This means that the engine really is designed that to be way more expandable than Il-2 engine and without our total control that was with Il-2 series before it was hacked completely.

Say we give with the release two AA cannons that are playable. It will be also a sample for users-developers that want to make other such types of objects controlable for users in a sigle and online gameplay... (the single mission for the AA canon is some kind of mini game inside of flight sim, hovewer in online gameplay it is really very importnat unit and you may invite your friends that cna't yet fly well to play AA while you are flying in air.

We also have already the sample of "cockpit" for the car for the same purpose. It will not go in release but will go as a sample for third party developers how it should be done.

In online the score for the killing people will be absent. The score system will be around the planes, ground targets as tanks, cars, ships, etc.. This is my principle that I will never change. As well as you will be not able really to kill animals in our sim and to get the score for that... but animals of different kind will be present smile

Ok... again speaking too much. Its theme for future interviews. I'm going to sleep.

Question by Richardg:

"Is the game optimized to use multiple CPU cores? "

yes.

 

[Antoninus]

Oleg has alsoposted a few screenshots in the 1c forum:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=77360&postcount=13

 

[Nausicaa]

Just bringing them over here:

Hi,

We did some uniqie feature. Fore these that are unable to draw well we did
the feature "one click paint" of the aircraft skin and then you get it looking in the
sim already with all details.
However we still keep the feature of total redraw as well.

Normal

Night

Training

Selfmade

Selfmade exlusive

German and UK ballons. The Waft of wind resulting a motion of cordage (ropes)

View of construction

Possible damage (not at once)

 

[Naismith]

OOoooh I jutht love the one with the flowerth, thtop it, you are getting me all unethethary.

 

[Nausicaa]

This one just in: Yesterday Oleg confirmed on SIMHQ that the SOW engine supports clickable cockpits. However, they will not be in the stock aircraft in the initial realease. Personal opinion: I see him waving an invitation card for third party developers here.

From SIMHQ

"Just one small question here.

Will the SoW engine support clickable cockpits and interactive, 3rd-party modelled A/C subsystems? As far as I've understood the initial 1C-made planes won't have those (i.e. they work more or less like the ones in IL-2 in this regard), but they're nevertheless very important as options if you want to create interest in the MSFS / civvie sim modeller community...

PS. Thanks for the interview, nice to hear things are still firmly on-track and rolling"

We have done that everything that moves in cockpit is possible to control by the mouse. It is in Engine. But it isn't the way how it should be in combat sim. So it is supporten in a code, but probably we will not put it in the Combat sim, becasue it is helpless method of control in combat. Trust me.

 

[HundertzehnGustav]

there is a glove for such stuff
seen it on youtube, a guy using trackIR the classic way
and a glove as the mouse

...all on a regular Screen in Black shark

 

[HundertzehnGustav]

Man i hate what happened to that Wellington! O.O