Dan Verssen
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Posts posted by Dan Verssen
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Hello SpartanSniperAce,
Yes, the Emil will be part of the initial mix. Check the DIF website links from this site for a complete list of aircraft.
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The first part of the article has been posted on www.wargamer.com
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Colonel J Lee,
Thank you for your interest in the DIF series. Kozure did a great job of pointing you in the right direction to find copies of the card game. Thank you Kozure!
Believe it or not, my response to Skolman's post was actually pretty serious. The wording could have been a touch more family oriented, but he did sum up what was on his mind pretty quickly and clearly, so he gets bonus points for that.
On a more serious note, thank you for recognizing that we are trying to 'get it right'. Believe me, how ever much you guys want the game to come out, we want it to come out just bad, if not more. But, as you said, we need to make sure we do the best job possible.
We have been working on the game for a couple years, and we don't want people saying, "If only they had put in another month..."
To give a brief update of where the game is now...
The game coding itself is 99.9% done. There are a handful of last minute bugs, but other than that, it is done. We've even managed to throw in some extra features along the way. What we're working on now is the server and online issues. We're looking into the best way to meld the game software, with server/online software, with the hardware/services offered by internet providers, all into a stable/seemless package.
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Skolman,
Thank you for the enthusiasm over seeing the beta demo!
Please understand that all the people who are working on the game would like nothing better than to release the demo and get the ball rolling. We really like what we have developed and want the world to see our efforts.
But, we also need to make sure we do as good of a job as possible so as to present the game in a good light.
I'm sure that you, and most of the other people reading this, can think of a game that had promise and would have been great if only the developer had put a little more time into getting it right.
That is what we are trying to do. We could have released the demo weeks ago and it would have been 'okay'. But, we're not shooting for 'okay', we're shooting for 'great'. In the end, you and the other people will be the final judge as to whether or not we've met this goal.
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The very talented Dan Olding of BFC created the ships and water scenes.
They will be the foundation of the art of the upcoming card game from Phalanx as well as BFC's computer game. I did the layout and game stats on the cards and they turned out looking great because of his work.
Many thanks!
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MiG-3,
The stats I have for the MiG-3 are for the 1941 version.
They show the plane to be fast for the time period, but having light guns.
For example, an 'average' gunned aircraft has (6) .50 machine guns.
How does this sound from what you know?
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Alberto,
The airplane stat debates are fun!
The new computer game does actually change some of the old card game stats for a couple of the aircraft. As time as gone by, and players have pointed me to additional sources, I've made some adjustments.
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Redflag,
Thank you for the advice, but I disagree.
I think there is a large crowd of people, like myself, who like WWII dogfighting. Flight sims are great, but there is another fun aspect to gaming those situations. That is what DIF presents.
In DIF, thoughtful tactics, short and long term decision making, and developing a group of green pilots into legendary aces with heroic histories is the core of the game.
Another key aspect is the online player interaction. Players will be able to team up and battle other players, escort bombers, intercept bombers, earn medals, gain experience points, and buy a wide selection of skills for both their leaders and wingmen.
The operational level of air gaming is fun. No doubt about it. But, getting into the cockpit and twisting, turning, diving, and blazing away at enemy fighters is also fun.
At some point, adding an operational level to DIF is a great idea, and we will seriously look into it.
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You're right, the bomber Turret Defense and Turret Support ratings have been increased.
The main reason is that in the computer game pilots gain skills that make them more powerful. In the card game, players rarely fly with special pilots.
As a result, by the time a player goes after Heavy Bombers they are likely to have several skills that really increase the power of his aircraft.
The other reason is that Heavy Bombers fly in formations of two for coding reasons in the computer game, instead of 3s like the card game.
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Road Kill is an odd story.
I submitted a cute little card game called "Banzai Racers". It had 55 cards, 1 page of rules, and 4 players could play in 30 minutes. The game was about driving dune buggies through the desert in a race, drinking beer, picking up blonde hitchhikers, and shooting at each other.
Avalon Hill then developed the game into the final published product.
I still, kinda, claim design credit, but in the rules it went to one of their in-house guys. I am listed in the credits somewhere, but they mispelled my name.
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Hello Kozure,
Thank you for bringing these to our attention. We will get them fixed ASAP.
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Early on in the development of the computer game we had to decide the road we were going to take with the graphics. There were many considerations: game play, game focus, budget, market, competition, feel, etc.
The focus of DIF is the game play, player decisions, tactics, and player attachment to their pilots.
This being the case, our goal was to make the graphics entertaining, but not so flashy that they dominated the game play experience.
In DIF there is a fair amount of information that should be taken into account when making decisions. Also, game play is fast, player turns will be starting every 10, 20, or 45 seconds depending on how the mission is set-up by the creating player.
I don't want to give you the idea that DIF is complex, but it does have depth. Think of Chess, a new player can learn to play in a few minutes, but it is a game that is dominated by skill and experience. DIF is much the same, a new player will be able to click through the Help screens and learn how to play in 5 minutes, but there are a lot of tricks and tactics to be learned with each new aircraft.
Hope this helps!
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No worries!
The game is going to include dogfighting, bomber escorts, and bomber intercepts as part of the core system.
Online play will include both tournaments and historical tournaments based on WWII air battles.
Future plans are wide open at present, but I would expect both scenarios and campaigns to be added.
Over the years, Down In Flames (DIF) has developed a reputation of being extremely interactive between the players and myself. When the players want something added to the game system, I do my best to add it to the game.
Welcome aboard!
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Hello Pete,
Great to hear from you!
I just saw Chris two nights ago. He came over for dinner and we played the VS superhero TCG.
Thank you for the words of praise for the game.
We are all working very hard on it to make sure it is the best game we can make. I have high hopes for continuing the series and expanding into other areas with the great guys here at BFC.
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Ted,
I was wondering if anyone was going to notice Ping Pong!
Some of the pilot names the testers choose are kind of off the wall... Others are simply unprintable in a family setting...
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Elmo,
We're still in development on this stage of the game so details are scarce, but players will be able to play against each other in real time through the internet.
Each mission will allow 1 to 4 players.
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Lanceh2,
I'm not an expert in programming, but I don't think DIF will run on a Mac.
I remember there being Windows emulators that will allow Macs to run Windows programs. Maybe one of these would work?
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A couple of failed bail-out attempts by the top pilots leaves Harv's guys at the top... and now we all get to hear about it...
Harv's Strategy:
Step #1. Get a few easy kills to get on the ladder.
Step #2. Have pilots kick back at the pub for the next couple weeks. Tell old war stories to anyone who comes within arm's reach, "There I was, on his tail, he tried to shake me, but no..."
Step #3. Claim the top spot when everyone else has been shot down...
No worries. All in good fun. Having one of my guys with 31 kills get shot down and fail to bail out didn't leave me bitter. Not one bit. grumble. grumble. grumble...
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>>I think we should hold off posting the Alpha Leader Board until my pilots are on top. <<
I don't mind that, but it would be nice to post it here in 2004!
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Hello A.E.B.,
There will probably be a few more aircraft added. It depends on time and testing.
As for why these particular aircraft were selected...
Aircraft were selected based on giving each nation as wide of selection of aircraft types as possible at different quality levels.
Between the four nations, there were maybe 100 different major aircraft that participated in the war. Our goal is for the initial release to include about 30 to 40 of them, and then to add more aircraft on a regular basis.
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Hello Greg,
The initial countries will be the UK, US, Japan, and Germany.
However, I would like to expand into the Soviets, French, and Italians after the first release.
I never heard what happened to Chris Robinson. We were emailing back and forth daily, then he just disappeared one day. Did you ever hear anything?
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Chris,
Welcome aboard DIF!
You're right, the Light Bombers (LBs) have changed from the card game. I had been wanting to make this change for a while in the card game, but after the first game was published it was very hard to make such a change. So, it just kind of hung around through the other card games.
The only other change that I can think of is that you must select an enemy aircraft to play maneuvers. This includes Vertical Roll (VR). So, in the card game you could VR when ever you wanted, in the computer game, you must be engaged. There are a few fuzzy spots in the card game rules concerning VRs, and this method of dealing with them closed those holes in the rules.
The first release will not include campaigns, but there are a few features in the works that will more than replace them.
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Raskel,
Great news about your son liking DIF!
My son, age 10, has been helping with the computer game playtesting. It works out well, he gets to play as soon as his homework is finished and corrected
It is my hope that DIF opens up the world of wargaming to a lt of kids their age. I think it would great to have worldwide squadrons of kids enjoying the game.
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Hello Kozure,
Thank you for the interest in DIF.
I was about to answer when I saw that Brian had fielded the questions.
With any luck we should have some screenshots and other info soon...
Down in Flames Official Website LIVE
in Down In Flames
Posted
Hello Brethon,
Welcome to the family!
I started visting this site about a year ago when I started working with the BFC guys on the DIF game.
I plan on adding the Soviets, French, and Italians after the initial game is released.
I would also like to add in a few of the lessor known aircraft. I've always been a fan of the Polish P.11c, not the best aircraft of the war, but they fought with valor.