Zephyr Net

A quick update on the implementation of FA - 2 ...

So far we have been successful at Map changes and updates. All default maps will indeed be upgraded to all new terrain tiles and appropiate elevations, city placments, etc. I have also found a way to represent multiple geographical areas onto the same map. An example is how we will represent the different areas of Israel...

the same map will include shorelines to the Med, then desert areas, grassy developed industralized areas, and irrigated crop areas...

Also the mountians will have realeastic tiles showing the different rocky areas...

Also Egypt, the Sinai, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and sections of Saudi Arabia will all be on one basic map...

So the entire area will be usable for campaigns and coops with realeastic terrains and built up facility areas (ports, cities, factory complexes, SAM sites, etc)...

Another update...

Runway lights are now a reality as are night 'glow panels' that are on US/Nato/Western type aircraft. This will help you obtain a good visual on your fellow pilots when in formation at night and make it easier to see the runway when landing...

Plus carriers now also have lights...

And building windows will have lights... They will not 'all' be lit up though, as rarely at night is a building fully occupied... sections will be lit up and others still dark...

Just some tantalizing details I wanted to throw out in front of everyone of some of the current success I have had!

Next step is weather implementation and looking at rain, fog, and clear skies in different areas of the same map!

CAG out...

Great! About weather thing, I have very good suggestion for you. If you are making heavy stormy or rainy day, then the rain drops should have 'splash' effect on your windsheid. FS 2002 have this features, when raindrop fall on your windshield, you would see many of water splashing on your cockpit while making popping noises. It would be an awesome and would provide 'rainy' feeling to simulator while having dark and white cloudy combinated on sky.

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"Great pilots are made not born... A man may possess good eyesight, sensitive hands, and perfect coordination, but the end product is only fashioned by steady coaching, much practice, and experience."
Air Vice-Marshall J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson, RAF

Do you have any screenshots?

Zephyr

hmmm.... I'm wondering what rain would actually look like on a windscreen at 400kts.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Screenshots? Of what? The programming code?

Implementation of these developments are months away. We are discussing what is going to be implemented(What we have found as 'possible' in the uncovered code and files) in FA-2. FA-2 does not yet exist as a usable code...

Rain will be vertical moving pixels specificially around the viewable areas of the aircraft or targeted item...

THe reason rain failed previously is the fact that once implemented it was present everywhere within the game and crushed the frame rate to low single digits...

THis new way of 'area' coverage of the rain will allow you to 'fly' into and out of specific areas where the external views will have, what appears to be, vertical rain drops falling around your aircraft...

The other multiple weather areas will also be the same... Essentially this is accomplished by breaking the map into 'blocks' of selected weather instead of one weather pattern for the entire map...

CAG out...

umm, I have an interesting idea for you. How about, suppose you make tornado? It would be fun trying to fly around while being sucked by tornado as you try to escape from it!

_________________
"Great pilots are made not born... A man may possess good eyesight, sensitive hands, and perfect coordination, but the end product is only fashioned by steady coaching, much practice, and experience."
Air Vice-Marshall J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson, RAF

CAG I have a gripe about something in Futures and since others are doing it I thought I would say it publicly.

some of you are hacking the exe to remove the range hit % on missles displayed in the HUD. The logic is that this info is not displayed in a "real" cockpit. This IS true BUT that info IS avaiable to the pilot in-flight and covers most engagement scenarios regarding angles and range and such. The differance is that for a "real" pilot the info is stored in his head from countless classroom lectures and technicle papers, A "real" pilot only developes proficiancy with a few weapons over his career, the AA guys learn Sidewinders, Sparrows, and now AMRAAMS. The AG guys learn some or all of those along with dumb bombs, JDAMS, LASER bombs(these are mostly the same as the guidance systems are used to fine tune a "well aimed bomb" with JDAM having some stand off capabilities as well), and one or two longer range weapons Mav, SLAM, AGM-130 but most squads seem to specialise in just a few of these more advanced weapons. In FA we use ALL these weapons and many more while hopping from platform to platform. So I think the % should still be displayed in the HUD. All done now lol

_________________
Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

btw CAG the SLAM in Futures flies too low, and I think AMRAAMs dive into the target, yours level out and match target alt before impact. The cockpits are dead on , nice work!

_________________
Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

SLAM(and I am assuming the SLAM ER also) is to low? Thanks for the input! I iwll work on the missile FM...


The hit % is removed as you said above, for reality sake, However the functional graphical moving range bar on the HUD displays the same data by the location of the range bar in the range box along the right side of the hud once the target is 'bugged'.. however the information you are referring to, in the trianed pilots head, will also be availabe in the pre mission briefings in teh new campaign interface and the new FA - 2 manual in PDF format for the FA pilot to learn himself... Is that sufficient?

The percentage used to be way off anyway. I like it better without the percentage displayed.

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curiouse why you removed the "Cancel" button from the screens, I know it still works but you have the ok buttons but the cancel button is just like a text display or whatever

_________________
Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Because those buttons interfeared with the new UI screens. The button colors looked like hell with all the choices I had for new screens. All those buttons will be gone by the time FA - 2 comes out. The interface needs a complete face lift and this is included in the upgrade also...

The UI Screen currently in FA Futures will also change to an improved version...

ok just wondering

_________________
Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

And sorry I shouldnt of said removed from FA-2... I should of said improved. Their graphics will be at a much improved level and they will look quite different..

Possible rain effects in FA-2?
Would hail storm be possible?
Someone mentioned tornadoes.
Remember the movie, "Tornado" from a few years ago?
What about tornadoes with flying cows (ok, mooses and camels)?
Eh, why not "flying" SAM trucks and other not too heavy vehicules
being trown out randomly by the tornado?

Back to the secret levitating bathroom I go!

FlatulentFox
Unusual flyer with unusual ideas: the Laws of physics do not apply to me.