It looks like IL-2 day around here! SimHQ has put up their new preview of IL-2. Man I can't wait for this baby!!!!
Here is a little teaser:
"As I said earlier, there really hasn’t been a dedicated Eastern Front simulation. Some games like Warbirds and Aces High have Soviet aircraft in their arsenal and other games like EAW have add ons that create eastern front scenarios and even campaigns. However, IL-2 will be the first WW2 simulation that was designed strictly as a Russian Front simulation. In this regard it is highly overdue as more aircraft and more personnel fought on the Eastern Front than any other front in the war. The brave men and women that fought on both sides of the conflict have never been represented fully. It seems rightful that it is a Russian team that is bringing the Sturmovik to the virtual skies for the world to see."
"Quite apart from gameplay or other considerations, graphics is one area where it is immediately apparent that IL-2 Sturmovik stands out. Available cockpits in the pre-Beta build for the Bf 109, MiG-3, P-39 and IL-2 are simply excellent. "
Ok, it's here. 1.0799.1 has been released. This release only fixes the serious bugs in 1.0799. It does not contain any new features. The release fixes the following:
- Fixed ApplyDamage CTD. Engine shutdown after getting damaged caused a CTD in certain situations. - Fixed gun-routine for AI aircraft. - Fixed Maverick FOV - Fixed Aim-120 DLZ timer. - Fixed SMS weapon selection. (Not being able to select inner hardpoints in some cases). - Changed barcap limit from 17.5 nm to 30 nm - Additional checks to prevent CTDs. - New crashhandler. Will help us better track where crashes occur.
Grab the patch from the eTeam site by clicking
HERE
I'm taking a few days off to spend some quality time with my family. With the redesign and the extra workload on the site lately coupled with the busy period I've had at work, my family have been a little neglected of late. Gonna take a few days to redress the balance. I'll still be around and on the forums etc but not as much as usual.
"GA-Sim is looking for a couple of talented writers to help its overwhelmed and overworked Editor in Chief out with editorial and news content. I am looking for a couple of people interesting in writing daily news and/or reviews for the site. Requirements for the position include good writing skills, a basic knowledge of HTML, and an interest/knowledge in simulation gaming and the simulation industry. If you're interested, please drop me a line at this email - brian@ga-sim.com The position is an unpaid one, the only pay being free games to review and what not. I thank you for your time, and look forward to hearing from you."
BBall has updated his column with an article about the way the media reports aviation accidents. Here's a snippet:
"I guess the major point in all of this ranting is one thing, even the people WHO ARE QUALIFIED to form credible opinions about such things shouldn’t. When I’m in the back of an airliner dead-heading or pleasure travelling, do I know what’s going on up in the pointy end? Well, kinda yes, but mostly no. I know what they should be doing and when they should be doing it, but as far as the particular environment for that particular flight with regards to the weather, ATC, the aircraft, etc….no, I have no idea what the crew is being confronted with. When I’m in uniform in the cabin riding somewhere and the plane hits a bump, etc, invariably several people’s heads jerk around to look at me….just once I would like to jump up and yell, “we’re all gonna die!”….probably wouldn’t sit well with the guys that sign my paycheck."
The Targetware series of online combat flight simulators, are based upon a unique physics engine ,developed for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms by Sickware, a privately held company located in San Francisco, California. Sickware operates as a virtual corporation comprised of an international development staff from three countries.
Today, Targetware announced the introduction of its Web Site Affiliates program. This program has been established in conjunction with an International group of Webzines and flight-sim enthusiast web sites, representing various countries including France, Finland, Canada and the U.S. Once the Targetware series releases into open beta, it is anticipated they will receive ever increasing community demands, with requests to download complete 3D plane models, skins, terrains, utilities and other Targetware related files. This program is being implemented to facilitate a more efficient world wide access by the virtual flight simulation community, to the many aftermarket add-on file resources expected to become popular through the use of the Targetware series of flight simulations.
The Targetware engine blends an exceptionally secure and unique development architecture together with direct "hands-on" community participation, in order to create a 250+ player on-line environment, which essentially has been designed by the customer base itself. With an open architecture approach to graphics, flight models, terrains and even servers, Targetware combines extensibility and customization with a high-fidelity flight simulator, that insures that everyone is playing by the same rules. Targetware is the "branding" identifier for the engine and the series of products that are being built under it. For example, the first of the series will be titled Target Korea and will feature the Mig 15bis versus the F86f-30 Sabre. Target Korea is currently undergoing closed beta testing and is expected to be simultaneously available in open beta for both Windows and Macintosh systems within 90 days.
Armored Task Force Alpha Technology Release Available! Program to test stability of future wargaming title is released to the public. Cary, NC, February 20, 2000 Shrapnel Games announced today that, through it's partnership with ProSimCo, they are proud to release an early alpha of the upcoming, innovative, wargame Armored Task Force to the public. Richard Arnesen, of Shrapnel Games, said, "We have decided to give the general public a sneak peek at the future of wargames. This demo grants the player the functionality of what can be found in the previous ProSim release, Brigade Combat Team. Numerous additions to the AI and graphical and interface tweaks will come in the months to follow." This release, by no means, represents all of the features of the final release of Armored Task Force. It is intended to be functionally equivalent to BCT: Brigade Combat Team. It lacks all of the friendly and enemy AI features which will eventually be added. Also, it is missing the higher-echelon layers which will allow players to give high- level orders to companies and platoons. It is also missing many of the vehicle types, such as fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and ammo carriers, which will be included in the final release. Armored Task Force is currently under development and you can find out more about the game at http://www.shrapnelgames.com.
SimHQ have been very busy today. They have posted more new articles than you can shake a stick at. Too many in fact to post individually. You will be doing yourself a disservice if you don't go check them out :-)
SimHQ have posted part 2 of their Targetware interview. Here's a snippet:
"SimHQ.com: At what level of detail will the flight models be? As an example, the Sabre could reach supersonic speeds in a dive, but the MiG-15 became highly unstable in these same circumstances. Will this be modeled and noticeable?
Sylvan: Absolutely, and in great detail. In addition, every aspect of an aircraft's flight model will be contained in an easy to read text file that anyone can look at. If anybody disagrees with the modeling, thinks we've made a mistake, or simply has some data that was unavailable to us, we encourage them to make their own version of the aircraft and share it with us. Rather than argue about who is right and who is wrong, we can all share data and test changes to flight models for ourselves as a community effort."
Enclosed is the wish list and/ or to do list for RP5. About 75% done with ALL these items so far: The primary goals for RP5 will be to complete the modeling of the other aircraft in the game and to ensure that we have all the needed weapons in place to accurately support the theater. We will look primarily at the weapons from the F-16C BLK 50/52's perspective as they pertain to the current use and employment. Falcon 4.0 remains an F-16C BLK 50/52 simulation. although we have been able to activate the ability to fly other aircraft in the game, we cannot really simulate those aircraft to the same degree as the F-16. We will be limited in the use of any new MFD symbology. In the case of what was previously known as "AI aircraft," again we will not be able to change their avionics in any way and the use of those weapons will be primarily focused on the AI's ability to use that weapon and not the human player.
We are again limited by the 3d models that are available in the world. We can create, modify and change any aircraft in the game in the way it performs. How it looks in the 3d world is not something we can do at this time nor is it our area of expertise. Importing new 3D modelds could be days or months away. We will not change the default MPS campaigns but will provide the units necessary for campaign editors to create new and exciting campaigns. We will also support the needs of other theater designers at their request. It is reccomended that all theater designers concentrate in modern scenarios as the technology changes to support historical scenarios would casue a significant change to nearly every system in the game. We do not have the resources to support every radar since 1960 to 2001. Requests for support should be made in a timely manner so that we can provide the necessary development time and testing to support the request. Expect 30 days for support. We will not support experimental or non fielded weapons and vehicles. All weapons must be in widespread use and currently tactically deployed.
Proposed New Vehicles for RP5.
J-7 III for China Mig 21 units J-5 SU-24 MIG-31 SU-30MKK K1 ( Korean MBT) MD-500 Gunship for DPRK MIG-29C for Russians. SA-10 (ohmigod) SA-4
Vehicles fixes Fix Hardpoints Separate ground and air cannons BMP-2, Bradley Flight models- Fuel rates. Flight models - performance Continued Hardpoint changes/fixes. Fuel tanks Create new cannons for all aircraft variable Rates of fire.
New weapons: AGM-130 AGM-84E S-24 rocket BMP-2 30mm canon All new aircraft cannon specific to the aircraft. No more generic 30mm cannon. GBU-15 GBU-16 AS-17 AS-18 SA-16 SA-18 AA-9 Fuel tanks SA-10 w/ vehicle Roland w/vehicle ODAB 500 AGM-142 MK-83 Mistral w/vehicle
Weapon Fixes Review DRAG values on weapons/racks Review FLAK weapons Review HARM hit properties and Blast area- LOAL? Variable ROF for TRACER weapons. ( All guns will now shoot real cyclic ROF and not the M61 ROF of 6000 rpm)
Unit mods- Fill out existing aircraft units- Review 2d war values- especially Mi-24.
New units SA-10 SA-4 Restore Airmobile units MT=4 Fuel rate and range values Replace Chinese MIG-21's with J-7's Replace Russian MIG-29's with MIG 29C New SU-30 unit. New ZPU-4 unit New K1 unit New SU-24 unit
Objects: Review object priorities for recon view Review all objects for consistency.
Stores: Review Stores files.check with new weapons Create F-18 stores file. "0" stores will be generic Ground units.
Proposed EXE changes
Weapons: Review FLAK, don't target lead aircraft. target all. Bomb Fall ballistics- No successful GBU barrel roll drops. Lower minimum engagement range for SAMS. FLAK engagement envelope. SAM engagement evelope changes.
Avionics: NCTR- complete rewrite. HMS Scan bar 2.2 deg. RWR Age out DOGFIGHT MODE HUD declutter. STT lock retention.
AI Changes:: New A-G logic. New doctrine files New wing commands Review Check Six command New Vectors in bullseye fixes. Fuel conservation/RTB (nearest airbase) when Bingo. AI taking off from Damaged Runways AI To drop bombs smarter, not all aircraft drop all bombs on one target. Choppers attack routines, Lower speed. Check CREW flag and see if more than 1 can eject. Note: AI changes will primaritly focus on suvivability issues and getting your aircraft home. We will try and eliminate all AI behaviour that causes catastophic losses to men and matierial.
Doctrine: Reducing squadron aircraft with hangar damage. Airmobile units flying beyond the FLOT. Attacking CCC. ATO Generation- No unescorted bombers. ATO- Unlock TOT. Make the entire mission editable. Accurate working AWACS and GCI. Supply aircraft destroyed have an effect on the campaign. RETARGET like OCA on BAI and CAS missions. Develop Marker flares or some type of FAC ability, probably more rocket related.
The attached file is a tribute to the wonderful work of RPG members Christain Thomsen and Miran Klemenc with the tools from Julian Onions.
Because 1.0799 contained some annoying bugs and 1.09 won't be here for a while, eTeam decided to release 1.07991. The release will fix the following (and maybe more): - Fixed ApplyDamage CTD - Fixed guns - Fixed mav fov - Fixed Aim-120 DLZ timer. - Fixed SMS weapon selection. - Changed barcap limit from 17.5 nm to 30 nm - New crashhandler.
The upgrade will consist of one executable and one file to place in your Falcon4 directory for the new crashhandler.
1.07991 will hopefully be released on February 24th.
I have now brought the Recent Articles Section up to date. The newest articles are at the top left and the oldest at the bottom right. Thanks to a new script from Coda this should now be kept up to date.
I have posted another batch of Chunx's Aerial Photography. These were all taken from in or around the Suerhornet. There are some great carrier landing shots too.
Feast your eyes on these beauties by clicking
HERE
Chunx has updated his column with the story of how he got his call sign. Here's a snippet:
"Oh, but before I begin, a word about real military callsigns. As most folks know, in my line of work the players tend to have, well, enlarged egos. And so it is not lost on us quick-thinking college boys (and girls) that a big ego can be a strength AND a visible weakness in this line of work. As such, most folks get callsigns (no, you don’t get to pick your own) that are designed to be a constant prick to the fragile balloon that is one’s ego. Usually a good callsign is one you earned the hard way, through an act of personal buffoonery, that follows you for your career. Which is not to say any of us are limited to ONE act of buffoonery."
Ok I'm back online. I've had no net connection over the last day and a half which has been a massive pain in the ass. Most of the Falcon 4 downloads have now been restored although it will be a few days before they are fully restored. I will get the rest done as soon as I can.
Sim News is reporting several new skins from different artists. There are new skins from Viperwear as well as Jetfighter. I'm sure both are worth downloading! ;)
Sigh, Frugal leaves me in charge for a couple of hours and everything goes upside down =)
I just received news that files1.frugalsworld.com account, which held a large proportion of the downloads section of the site, has been taken off for good. We need to reupload every file to the new server and update DNS but I am unable to do that right now -- i have no FTP info or the ability to ammed the zone files.
Appologies for the inconvinience, hopefully, it will all get fixed by monday.
This interesting post I found on CNET news will probably make more sense to the pilot types:
[snip] ... war training, specifically. In two weeks, several government agencies are scheduled to issue a final report outlining new spectrum that can be used to support so-called 3G wireless services. 3G, or third-generation wireless services, are expected to include high-speed Internet access and video streaming. [/snip]
Of course, having that spectrum available for normal users and internet providers would probably be asking for too much...
Oups. Got a call from Frugal who asked me to let everybody know that his cable modem has gone b0rked and refuses to get an IP address. In other words, no news from him until it gets fixed. Oh well... Maybe I will be able to find some generic ones to post as I know next to nothing about flightsims.
Sad news for gaming, once again... CNET Gamecenter is now dead after four and a half years.
You can find more at www.gamecenter.com. Also worth reading the related thread on the PlanetCrap forums which got quite busy over the last couple of days.
I have posted an editorial by BBall entitled "Take 2 Sims and Call Me in the Morning". Here's a snippet:
"I guess my personal journey of discovering just how much these funny little computer disks have helped in the last year, began in a hospital bed two days before Christmas '99. I had gone in for a "simple" biopsy to reveal the nature of the afore mentioned tumor, and after having been briefed on the procedure, was informed that I would be getting out of the funny little "no butt" gown they made me put on, and heading home in a couple of hours max. That wasn't to be. I would end up seeing Christmas from the inside of a hospital ward…and that's never a good thing."
Coda has updated his column with some interesting news about Roger Wilco. Here's a snippet:
"Since their budget was still not looking good, they decided to make RW into a spyware product. This has caused much concern with the original Resounding team, but we have no choice but to do what they tell us, since they owned the rights to RW. We had no input on the decision, and we couldn't do anything about it."
eTeam have posted some pics of the moving ships in eFalcon 109
"In earlier versions of Falcon 4.0, the ships didn't move at all. They did fire though, but their rate of fire was way to high. By using some of the logic from battalions, Codec finally got them to move, and fire. They are now able to fire guns as well as missiles. They even fire on the move..."
Thrustmaster have posted a review of Battle of Britain. Here's a snippet:
"The Me109 is almost the equal of the Spit in most fights. The leading edge flaps improve low speed handling greatly, and you can watch them deploy automatically from an outside view. In fact, for the novice the Me109 seems easier to handle in the low speed regime since it is tougher to stall than the Spit. My multiplayer tests (109 vs Spit) against another human pilot of my ability usually come out 50/50."
Blue Byte is about to conduct an extensive online beta test for the upcoming World War II flight-sim, IL-2 Sturmovik, starting March 2, 2001. If you're a combat or flight-sim fan and you apply, you stand a chance to both experience the game before its release AND to have an influence on the way it plays when it releases to the public in Q2 2001.
Those interested in participating can register online. Minimum PC specifications required to take part in the beta test are a PII 300 MHz, 3D graphics card and 64 MB RAM.
Those interested in participating can register online. The beta test software will be exclusively available to successful applicants soon after, and the IL-2 Sturmovik beta test will be conducted from then on.
Suggestions for improvement and error reports will also be sent via the Internet to Blue Byte by the beta testers.
The selection and registration of candidates for the beta testing begins immediately. Blue Byte will choose suitable candidates from those applying to take part. This will be done on the basis of the candidate's hardware in tandem with a random selection process.
All candidates chosen by Blue Byte will be informed by email of their success. The email will also tell the lucky candidates how to get into the game and start playing.
Targetware has publicly made available the first in a series of in-game mpeg video movies, shot from it's upcoming release of Target Korea. It was captured and produced by Brendan "brendo" Poga, who is well known within the flight simulation community for his many popular Warbirds movies. The clip is about 45 seconds and shows a Mig-15bis performing aerobatics maneuvers high over the Korean peninsula.
The Targetware series is based upon new physics engine created by Sickware, located in San Francisco, California. It blends an exceptionally secure and unique development architecture together with direct "hands-on" community participation, in order to create a potential (250+) player on-line environment which essentially has been designed by the customer base itself. With an open architecture approach to graphics, flight models, terrains and even servers, Targetware combines extensibility and customization with a high-fidelity flight simulator, that insures that everyone is playing by the same rules. Targetware is the "branding" identifier for the engine and the series of products that are being built under it. For example, the first of the series will be titled Target Korea and will feature the Mig 15bis versus the F86f-30 Sabre. Target Korea is currently undergoing closed beta testing and is expected to be in open beta within 90 days.
Ok been meaning to post this for weeks and I keep forgetting. I'm sure you would all like to join me in congratulating Julian Onons and his Wife on the birth of their Baby son Simon on the 29th January.
Haven't had the chance to do a news update today as I've been converting the old screen shots pages to the new design. In case you missed them when they were first posted here they are:
Our forums were down for a couple of hours earlier today due to a server problem. Everything is fixed now and I apologise for any inconvenience caused during the downtime. I will be monitoring the forums to ensure the problem does not re-occur.
I have posted a Falcon 4 mission report entitled "Strike on Songnim Steel Mill" submitted by Mark "Tsunami" Coyle. Here's a snippet:
"I figure this column should be easy meat for a strafe run, I circle back round and make the attack, but I'm too low to be very effective and pull up dangerously low after taking out a couple of vehicles. The ACMI later shows my altitude as low as 23ft !. With 2 Rockeyes left I head South in search of the enemy supply Depot. At my 2 o'clock I manage to spot the radar mast and turn to intercept, locking it up just in time to make the climb for a toss. Good hit and secondaries are spotted."
Chunx updated his column at the weekend with a piece about how flying sims affects his ability in the real Jet. Here's a snippet:
"Yes, I have used F4 to practice the real thing. When I came back to Hornets after a tour in Prowlers, I needed some refresher in strike-fighter tactics. So I built some very simple TEs in F4 that matched some of the more straight-forward procedures I would use in the Hornet, like practicing Low Altitude Tactics rules, pop-up attack procedures, bomb delivery profiles, sensor-based ground target acquisition, etc. Nothing cosmic. I used them the night before a training flight. And it did help. A little. Which is all I asked for. It helped me remember those tactics' procedures, their rhythm and the sight picture that they produced. I felt that these TEs helped my mind "keep up with current events" in the jet the next day."
Dogfighter have posted an article about Guillemot's forthcoming products. Here's a snippet:
"The stick and throttle just felt so perfect in my hand. The cool touch of metal combined with the near perfect ergonomics make this the most comfortable stick I have ever used. The hats, switches, and buttons use the most positive feeling mechanisms I have ever felt. The hats are smooth and solid, the switches lock when they are supposed to and return when they are not, and all the buttons have a satisfying click when pressed into contact position. The rotaries have solid detents that feel exactly like the real thing. Guillaume actually laughed at me at one point and asked if I was in love with the stick. He said I keep caressing it like a woman I was in love with."
Furball Magazine have posted their "News From The Front". Here's a snippet:
"So, what else is there? Well, Frugal found some free time after his site's face-job, and did a review of the Stickworks digital chip set for Thrustmaster HOTAS gear. Having fun there, Mark? Yeah, I bet those little buggers got there just in time for some heavy-duty beta-testing sessions on eRazor's latest EXE... :-)"
Thrustmaster have posted some news of the Hotas 2000. Here's a snippet:
"Keeping in mind the need for flexible software, easy to use for the beginner, but also complex enough for the flying Ace, we have taken a proven package, and have adapted it to the present needs. People had requested that we try to maintain the style of syntax and file layout used with current TM controllers, but now supported from a Windows interface. Fox 2 Professional fulfils the requirement and has proven itself to be a popular and very complete interface, serving beginners and hardcore users alike. Therefore the application that will ship with the controllers is based upon Fox 2 Professional, with new interface features. Rest assured, the controllers will ship with files for most simulations that are out there."
Following Third Wire's announcement on Friday evening unveiling details on "Project 1", Sim Arena have secured 5 exclusive screenshots from Tsuyoshi Kawahito (T.K.), President / Creative Director of European Air War and Longbow 2 fame.
Dogfighter have posted a Target Korea Interview. Here's a snippet:
"The flight model has been designed to be of highest quality. Nothing has been compromised in the interests of both historical accuracy and to honor the men and women who flew the aircraft! With the open file format, all the data is there to see, along with any sources used to build the model. The aircraft will do anything one would expect from a high fidelity flight simulation, including stalls and spins. Other aspects like center of gravity movement and changes in inertia (from fuel usage, for example) will affect the stability and control of the aircraft in flight. The damage system allows for the deterioration of control or flying surfaces, which could make flying the plane a 'handful'. Things like fuel leakage, engines overheating and explosions from fire effects are all included in the damage system."
Chunx has updated his column with a report of an incident which happened at work. Here's a snippet:
"My pilot elected to leave the flaps down to make our fully-fueled Hornet easier to control on the slow-flying wing of the low fuel state Harrier. I elected to lock the Harrier up on radar so as to have better closing velocity information as we completed our join-up. I have joined on squadron-mates many times in my career for reasons identical to this rendezvous today. Normally what you see is three happily down-and-locked landing gear, and the cause for the alarm is a bad micro-switch that thinks the gear is up when it is really down. But as we joined up I saw what I did not want to see: The Harrier had its main landing gear and outrigger gear down, but the nose gear was up, its doors open just a crack."
"he latest addition to the Fast Jet Flight Simulations series of websites is now live!
Presenting: FJFS - Flight Control
In addition to the latest news, files and utilities for all your PC flight simulation controllers, this site will investigate the real world functions of modern H.O.T.A.S systems and apply this to your favourite sim. Naturally due to the Thrustmaster H.O.T.A.S design, Falcon 4.0 will be the first simulation to feature.
While some areas of the site are still under construction, two features have already been published:
'The Thrustmaster HOTAS Decal Kit'
Take your F22 / FLCS / TQS a step closer to the real thing...This feature will show you how to recreate the placards that appear on the actual F16 throttle and stick adding the final touch to the most realistic flight simulation controllers available.
'Notes for Cockpit Artists and Builders Regarding Fonts'
The aim of this feature is to give flight simulation cockpit artists and builders an insight into the nature and types of fonts used in modern western aircraft."
"Shrapnel Games Opens Customer Support Center Customer Service their "Number One" Priority
Cary, NC, February 08, 2001
Shrapnel Games announced today the opening of their Customer Support Center. Top of the line help desk software combined with the reorganization of their customer service department will mean faster response times on customer related issues.
Tim Brooks, President of Shrapnel Games, said, "We had to do something. Our growth has been phenomenal, we have grown over 800 percent faster than our best projections. We were dropping customer support inquiries on a regular basis in November and December. So, we invested a lot of energy and money into making our Customer Support Center the best in the industry. I want to apologize to anyone who hasn't received stellar support from us. We are committed to making our fans and customers our number one priority. Please get in touch with us, again, if you feel you have been ignored. This was not intentional on our part and we will make things right."
Richard Arnesen, Director of Covert Operations, added, "We are expecting to grow at double the rate of last year. Our new support software will allow us to keep up with customer service as we move into new avenues of distribution of our products."
Among the features added to customer support is support request tracking, which allows the customer to log into the Support Center and view the status of the request as the technicians work on completing the service request. Other features include automatic update e-mails sent to customers when a technician works on the request, time and date stamps that show progress and, the ability to enter emergency requests that actually page the technicians, alerting them to the emergency."
