The Lost Hours web site has posted a small review of FS2002. Here's a snippet:
"Put mildly, the graphics are breathtaking. The landscapes are gorgeously rendered, and maintain their looks, even at low altitudes. Mountains no longer have pointy polygon-inspired jagged shapes - their peaks roll and peak almost picture-perfectly. Waves can be seen breaking on the shorelines while the sun and moon reflects off the water. At high altitudes, contrails can be seen on some of the larger aircraft."
Four new screenshots have been added to the f4ut website. To quote Brownsnake:
"The first two are concept images of the new UI for SP2. The theatre selection screen and the AWACS screen. (Please note that those theatres might not be in the final release.) The other two shots show more trees in action. It looks great!"
SimHQ note that cgonline.com have re-reviewed the game. Their review is named "World War II Online slowly but surely crawls out of the trenches" and here's a snippet:
"That's one of the reasons the current state of the game is so surprising. Sometime after the 1.20 patch the game began to resemble something you'd actually want to play; with the 1.30 update, it's so much improved that in many respects it's a totally new experience. Not perfect—not by a long shot—but 100% better than it was."
Dogfighter have posted the second part of their preview. Here's a snippet:
"The sound algorithms used in the game make for dynamically changing in-cockpit sounds and those caused by objects outside the cockpit, too. While hearing another plane fly past over top of one's own engine noise might not necessarily be realistic, neither is having a view limited by a 2D monitor with no peripheral vision… the sounds in the game give excellent cues as to what's happening around one's own aircraft and external views reap especially excellent rewards."
I've posted a whole batch of exclusive screen shots of Microsofts Flight Silmulator 2002. This sure is one purty looking sim. You will notice by the frame rate counter in some of the shots that MS have optimised the performance very well. These shots were taken on a PIII 850 with a V5500 using 4x fsaa.
There's been a whole bunch of updates at the F4ut website. As well as some UI screenshots and details of a sortie from a SuperPAK beta tester, BrownSnake has posted a general "heads-up" about SuperPAK. Here's a snippet:
"Some of the features you might have heard about are:
- New High resolution UI - Several new theaters - In game theater switcher - The improved MP Code that never made it into 1.10 - Very much improved flight models - New Dx8.1 Graphics engine - Revamped, realistic (and hopefully more intelligent) ATC - Improved avionics for current weapon systems (i.e HARM) - New avionics for new weapon systems (i.e JDAM) - Even more improved AI - Realistic AWACS screens in the UI - Lots more that I don't know about yet...
Note that this list in NOT final. Not in any way! All of these might be removed if we run out of time. There might be many more... Nobody knows as of today."
Sim-Arena have posted the recent press release from Xicat and some screenshots. Here's a snip from the release:
"On the cusp of release Jane's Attack Squadron had a really great buzz around it, but unfortunately, was placed on hold," says Ian Davis, Ph.D., CEO of Mad Doc. "Looking Glassä Studios had done a great job with it - it was already a game poised to win legions of fans: great graphics, top-shelf production values, amazing gameplay. And like a lot of people, the game piqued our interest here at Mad Doc. So much so that we've brought the core team from the game together to finish what they started."
Dogfighter's "Flight Sim Follies" is back. Chase "Scharmers" Dahl comments:
"Anyway, it seems like everybody enjoys the sim. I know I enjoy it – and I’m a hairy-chested, he-man, two-fisted combat simmer – I was hooked on it when I played the Alpha at Microsoft’s Gamestock back in March. (It didn’t hurt that the MS2002 Project Manager gave me a bunch of kudos over a landing that I was sweating bullets over. Let me tell you, when you have a bunch of MS guys and game journalists watching you, you don’t want to flub a landing when you are Scharmers, King of Simulations.) The graphics and feel are incredible, and the new technologies it provides greatly improve the flying experience."
Again at Dogfighter, Rodion "Sotka" Podorozhny and Gian "Phaetn" Vitzthum have posted the first part of their preview based on testing with the closed beta. Here's a snippet:
"First impressions fighting against AI aircraft is that they are controlled by human players. Of course, after a length of time any flight simmer can adjust to the fighting styles of any AI but, nevertheless, IL-2 sets a new standard in modeling WWII air combat maneuvering. The repertoire of AI aircraft moves is impressive, and it is not uncommon for one-on-one fights to last ten minutes or more."
I have posted a review of VideoLogics SonicFury sound card. Here's a snippet:
"One of the things I really like about this card is that it has support for all the major 3D sound API’s. Too many of my current games use A3D which isn’t supported by my SBLive. This isn’t a problem with the Sonic Fury as it supports EAX and A3D as well as Directsound 3D and some API’s I wasn’t even aware existed. Operation Flashpoint sounds far better through this card than it did through my live. The same is true of many of the other games I’ve tried."
Sim-News have posted and interview with Manfred "Schumi" Nelles with information on what is planned for the F4SuperPAK Balkans Theater release. Here's a snippet:
"Other new aircraft that are planned for the Balkans are: F-104 Starfighter, Tornado, Harrier, Mirage 2000, EuroFighter 2000 (for future scenarios), F/A-18 E, A-6E, B2 Spirit, SU-33 (carrier based SU-27), SU-34, J-22 Orao and SU-24. The SuperPAK Art department is already working on 3D Models, the Realism Department on Flight Models. Also some of the new aircraft will probably get their own cockpit graphics."
The F4ut has posted an article regarding scenery modelling and editing. Here's a Snippet:
"This project has now been completed and all buildings have been resized so that they are at a correct height for the number of floors. Also I have resized some of the landmark structures to their correct sizes based on actual data as they also needed adjustment. For example the Kim Il Sung statue in Pyongyang was 385 feet tall when in real life it is only 85 feet. Others such as the Seoul tower, which was modelled at 370 feet is in fact 750 feet tall. There are also a number of landmarks, which for some reason are not placed on the landscape but which exist in the model database so look out for these in our coming releases."
Thrustmaster have posted an article discussing bomber missions inbound on a Luftwaffe base and various tactics. Here's a snippet:
"The IL-2 is able to absorb a number of 20mm shells from close range. Shells through the wing, tail and even the fuselage may not do much damage. Shells through the oil cooler, the cockpit, or the gas tank are generally fatal for the aircraft, though a 20mm shell can be stopped by the armor around the pilot. A 30mm shell will pierce the armor and its explosive power is tremendous."
With recent events casting a bit of a pall over our lives, I thought some humor might be in order. I was pondering starting a series about some of the more “colorful” people that I’ve met in this crazy business of flinging aluminum tubing through the sky. They’ve run the gamut from nutty, to eccentric, to just plain horse’s asses, but in the end, they’ve all influenced me in one way or another. They’ve provided me with humor, consternation, puzzlement, or just plain awe."
Thrustmaster have posted the third part of their HOTAS retrospective. Discussing the Cougar, the article incudes an interview with Guillaume Lelevé. Here's a snippet:
"The ability to program mouse movement is also very cool. You can literally preset the mouse to move to a particular screen location and then click, all with the touch of a button. That will be very useful in a simulator where everything needs to be done via the mouse (Jane’s F/A-18 or Elite for example).
But programming features are good only if you have a solid manual and a good programming interface to use them. The manual is 185 pages with a complete description of what, why and how to do things. Don't be worried by the number of pages, the level is progressive: it starts with basics and goes deep into things and everything is well explained. For the programming interface, nothing is better than Foxy and the new edition is excellent."
Dogfighter have posted an interview with Chris "Mo" Sherland, Producer with Cornered Rat Software. The interview discusses the recent 1.30 patch with specific regard to the flight-sim aspect. Here's a snippet:
"Our policy on flight models has not changed. We won't be tweaking individual models after they are done, our physics loop negates the need to do that simply because our aircraft are all component-based; if a wing has X area and X airfoil, then it'll do X in the wind tunnel period. Now then, if we find an error in the loops calculations we will definitely fix it, but we won't do that until we see a bug. We put this loop through some very serious scrutiny by a lot of respected professionals and they poked holes in it that we filled, and when we find more, we'll fill those too. What we won't do is hack the loop to make planes do what folks "think" they should, that's just not our style. As far as the future goes; structural limits, visible damage, detailed WEP and injection controls, and more refined multi-engine control are all planned, as well as a lot of other stuff."
Arnold "Puma" Bell of Dogfighter has posted another "logbook". This time he uses a AE6-B Prowler in a four ship SEAD strike against North Korea. Here's a snippet:
"The Falcons flash past about 2,000 feet overhead and then turn to commit on the Flogger – excellent! The MiG-23 also recognizes that he is in deep doo-doo and forgets about us. He darts past me at treetop level with a pair of heaters fired from the Falcons in hot pursuit. I pull up just as the second missile hits the bandit and sends it tumbling into the ground."
Flightsim.com have posted the first part of their review including a trip with the Caravan floatplane from Charlotte Amalie Harbor to Culebra. Here's a snippet:
"Anyway, it is getting late. We retract the rudders and go through the usual floatplane thing of starting our run with the stick pulled right back before letting it move slowly forward, discovering in the process that the Caravan in 2002 doesn't model water takeoffs that well - try as I might I can't get the plane to aquaplane "on the step" the way the real thing does, but on the other hand, it doesn't porpoise either, so every cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps some clever programming team will get around these problems - if they do (and something can be done about the unrealistically slow drift rates) then I could get seriously interested in simulated float plane flying. The cool way of cutting take off distance is to lift one float off first, cutting the drag, but it is also a good way of sticking in a wingtip, so I am gonna pass this time."
The long awaited 1.30 patch has now been released. As usual the update can be applied by an "auto-update" when launching the game. Here's a list of fixes and enhancements from the readme file:
"-Added Blenheim -Added Bf110 -Added new scoring paradigms for missions -New trooper sounds/commands -New trooper collider fixes -Reviewed and changed off-road truck performance figures -Added more cover over most of the terrain -Added some new CPs -Fixed a cause of the "false dawn" bug -Increased speed on all AT weapons -Revisited AI targeting of trucks -Fixed the "up right" view command -Added scoring output from Database to player services -Optimized terrain loading, should reduce stutters -Optimized render routines, should improve frame rate -Altered the way kills were being tallied vs RTB/KIA codes -Altered the rev-limiter behavior on the trucks/halftrack -Added wing bombs for the Stuka -Added bomb select system for bombers (use "cycle ammo"/backspace) -Added HQ channel (broadcasts facility captures)"
The patches can also be downloaded from the WWIIOL FTP site or from
HERE
Dogfighter note that the Sturmovik Technika have posted a Bf109G2 manual that has been translated to English from the Finnish Air Force Bf109G2 Flight and Maintenance manual. The manual is in .pdf format.
Bill Womack of FlightSim.com has posted a preview with some nice screenies. Here's a snippet:
"Because the battles in Russia often had large armor components, it was only right that the IL-2 and P-39s be utilized doing what they did best: tank busting. I set up a quick mission with the goal of blasting my way through some rolling stock, and took to the air in my Sturmovik. Imagine my surprise as I dove low over rows of trucks winding their way down a dusty road, only to see the occupants leap from the trucks and dive for cover on the side of the road! The column included trucks, tanks with billowing dust from their tracks, cars and even motorcycles. The AI engine is so refined that it becomes tremendously fascinating to just strafe a column of vehicles and then replay the track (yes, you can save anything you do as a "track" and view it again later or send to friends) just to watch the ground traffic react."
Thrustmaster have posted the second part of the history of their HOTAS', specifically looking at the Cougar. Here's a snippet:
"The HOTAS Cougar system uses the Windows HID and USB drivers already in place. Everything else is done on-board, since there is a fast processor in the stick. Even calibration information is stored in the Cougar itself. In fact, these sticks are so sophisticated that they are flash upgradeable, just like your system BIOS."
f4ut has posted an interview with Shawn, one of the members working on creating new flight models as well as beta testing and trying to finish some 3D models of the F/A-18E, -18F, and A-6E. Here's a snippet from the interview:
"There is a big question regarding "realism." Do you think F4UT models will please the hard-core crowd? If so, why?
Yes I do. For instance on the F-15 we have many performance charts. The FM we have at this time (although still in beta) hits a lot of the peformance numbers that the charts say it should. Granted as we get better data (an actual F100-PW-220 thrust chart, and so on) the FM's will get better, but as it stands right now the FM's have take a giant leap forward.
The FM's won't be "Hollywood" types in which the aircraft will do unrealistic things (alla the early F-16 "Rocket" FM of the Hex Editing days). We are using actual aircraft data in the creation of these models, and are being helped by actual aeronautical engineers so these FM's will be close or meet actual aircraft performance."
Thrustmaster has posted a potted history of their HOTAS' and some of the games that benefitted from their use. Here's a snippet:
"As jet aircraft arrived on the scene, and then radar and guided missiles, the pilot’s workload began to increase. It became desirable to place as many controls on the throttle and stick as possible, so that the pilot didn’t have to remove his eyes from his target while adjusting target or weapon parameters.
From this experience the word HOTAS was born. HOTAS was a military acronym for Hands On Throttle and Stick. Relieving the pilot of the necessity to remove his hands from the throttle and stick and search the cockpit for other controls made it easier for him to stay in the fight successfully.
The falcon4 unified team website is now live. The webmaster, Daniel 'BrownSnake' Fahlén has posted some flight model preview beta screenshots and details the people involved and their roles within the f4ut.
An 1.10 only version of Panther's F-16 cockpit for Falcon 4 has been released. F4C detail the new aspects:
"Version2: This is for 1.10 only Whats new; -New programmable chaff/flare panel -Air refuel switch -Laser arm switch -More functional ICP -Minor graphics changes -Tacan switch graphic fix Although it is not fully functional yet, it is now usable in 1.10"
The time is nearly upon us. SimHQ have posted a link to an article on GamePC that looks closely at WindowsXP. Here's a snippet:
"Every game that works in Windows 98 or Windows 2000 *should* work fine with Windows XP. I say should because there are a lot of games out there, and we can't test them all. Of all the games that went through testing, we didn't have a single game not work correctly under XP. This means everything from Quake to Diablo to Ultima Online to the Sims. There are bound to be a few games out there which have problems with XP, but those will be few and far between."
Microsoft have released a patch to remove the World Trade Center towers in FS2k. Here's Microsoft's announcement:
"Microsoft is saddened by the horrible tragedy that occurred on September 11th. Our hearts go out to everyone involved in and affected by this terrible tragedy. We are focused on doing the right thing out of respect for the victims, our customers, partners and employees. To that end, we have created a patch that will remove the World Trade Center towers from Flight Simulator 2000. Once downloaded, this update will place a file in scenedb/cities/newyork/scenery that reflects the changes."
Finally, spawn limits have been added and the game no longer resembles "tankers paradise" or "Quake in Khaki". Here's the spawn details from the announcement:
"1) General limits: Every vehicle type will have some limit level associated with it. For example you may be able to sortie (10) 109s from an air base, but only 5 Stukas from that same base. General limits are for non-mission spawning and are subject to rank limitations. 2) Rank limits: Some vehicles will be available only to players who have gained a specific rank. All motor vehicles are not available under contested spawn rules and are rank limited for general spawning 3) Contention limits: When a CP is contended (more than one side own at least one facility there), it's vehicle list will change eliminating heavy tanks, and severely limiting most other vehicles as well. Troops will always spawn unlimited. 4) Mission limits: Every vehicle type has a mission limit. So when you take a mission, you MAY be able to get a vehicle that has been depleted from the general pool but is still available in the reserved mission pool. Missions are not subject to rank limitations for vehicle selection (hint: take and complete missions) (‘nuther hint: Taking a mission get’s that silly rank limit out of the way)."
Thrustmaster have posted a useful article about missions and campaigns in IL-2. Here's the intro:
"Since Starshoy released his campaign generator (you can visit IL-2 Center for full details), he has expanded the parameters that the player may control when generating a campaign, and further expansion will be following.
Use of this utility is quite easy, but some explanation will help for those who wish to give it a try."
Courtesy of CFS Online, Dogfighter have posted a review of this CFS2 add-on by Abacus. Here's a snippet:
"The wartime panel is so authentic looking with the complete wrap around design, from the barre which runs across the panel and has tons of switches that function (barre can be removed for visibility); a three section view option from left, to center, to right; all your required custom designed gauges; your throttles and fuel mixtures on the overhead panel along the middle bar; and working wipers. That's right, working wipers! There's a switch on the barre that controls these. The detail and accuracy is amazing, that's all I have to say. Just look at the pictures for yourself. The patch corrects one of the gauges that shared the status of your landing gear and flaps, which is supposed to be only for your gear (no flaps remember). The patch corrects this by changing the gauge, but it only corrects the left gauge of the panel, and not the right side. Abacus will soon post an update to correct this."
Also at Dogfighter, Gian "Phaetn" Vitzthum has posted a review of CH Products' updated USB version of their popular throttle. Here's a snippet:
"Overall the Pro Throttle USB gives the appearance of being well built, with a large and solid handle. The various buttons, hats and mini-joystick all operate smoothly and haven't missed a beat in weeks of testing. It is generally quite comfortable to use (noting that it is designed for use with the left hand only) and all input devices are easily operated by thumb and fingers with the possible exception of the one hat, noted above."
SimHQ have posted a review of Elsa's Flagship card. And as usual, SimHQ has put the card through it's paces with a number of sims during the review. Here's a snippet:
"I have found that this may be one time that I can honestly say that the included "bundle" is worth a serious look. The included game is a specialized version, only available with the Gladiac 920, of "Giants: Citizen Kabuto" which has been pleasantly optimized for DX8 calls so that the game takes advantage of the excellent features of Microsoft’s DirectX 8.0 code; most notably the pixel and vertex shaders of the Gladiac 920."
Version 1.2.6 has now been made available via an auto update. These are the fixes as detailed by Chris "Mo" Sherland, WWIIOL's Producer:
"-Added new sounds to some trooper functions -Changed speed values on some trooper functions -Enhanced collider for troopers -Fixed a vehicle bug where invalid positions were allowed -Added 6 new functions to "setting.exe" for more performance gains a: Suppress Muzzle Smoke = hides smoke sprite when your guns fire b: Suppress Tracer Smoke = hides smoke sprites that trail on tracer rounds c: LOD Field Of View = LOD shifts only occur at objects you are looking at. This helps mag views. d: LOD Limit Per Frame = limits the LOD shifts per frame that are displayed. This is a general render enhancement. NOTES: "Smoke" sprites are not the muzzle flash, but the smokey puffs. "LOD" stands for "Level of Detail". -Added some loading and display optimizations to increase client performance -Audited some vehicle hit files to fix incorrect functionality -Added an online connectivity ticker under the FPS indicator (num lock)"
Bob "De Janitor" Roberts of Sim-Arena has posted a new review of Saitek's X36 replacement. Here's a snippet:
"In our varied tests, the X-45 worked flawlessly (after the programming aspects were resolved) in Typhoon, Xtreme Air Racing, IL-2 Sturmovik, FS 2000 / 2002, Falcon 4 and Flanker 2.0. At no time did any of the bases tip in the furious action that ensued - and even at the highest friction levels, the supplied suction cups provided a firm plant onto the glass table top. It should also be mentioned that this is probably the best rendition to date that Saitek has produced and has personally brought me back to a heightened level of enthusiasm for older, more complex simulations. For those without a complete HOTAS or just looking for a good, affordable solution, the choice is obvious."
I have posted an editorial bt BBall where he opens his heart about his feelings on the events of September 11th. Here's a snippet:
"I cringe when I imagine what happened on those jets…I just can’t understand it. I will NEVER be able to look to the skies, at one of those lovely machines again, and not think of those brave people. In a very real sense, something died in all of us that fateful day. Was it our sense of security in our respective worlds? I don’t know, but I do know that humanity lost something; something very precious. I remember writing in my journal about how, after losing you and Mom, I now viewed the world as if through a veil of tears. Maybe we all do now."
