1FSTCAT Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Where's all the buzz from this game? I've seen a couple of videos on the game news sites now, but nobody's posting?? I'm interested in the damage modeling. Can anyone with Battlefront, or the developer, give us details about how damage is modeled for the planes and ships? Do the vehicles have a fixed number of hit points that tick down as they take damage, or do they use damage modeling similar to Theater of War? Are ballistics and angles and armor thicknesses calculated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mllaneza Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I'm pretty sure I've heard that the damage modeling is hit-point based. That's a shame if true. I'm hoping for better from either Battlefront or the mod community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Funny you bring this up because we are about to open a Developer Diary section on the Blogfront tomorrow, and Wargamer.com has also just posted an interview with the devs that should clarify some points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatEtr Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I too was concerned about the damage model. Judging from the videos, it looks pretty arcadey. But having read the interview it looks like this is not the case, good news indeed. Here's a bit from the interview about the damage model: WG: The grognards of course will be interested in knowing how ballistics and damage models been designed in the game. Can you please describe them? AM: The ballistics for every shell and bullet, as well as damage done by them, are calculated on the basis of the object's weight and starting velocity. Just a good old school physics course: E=m*v2/2, and no tricks or simplifications. We had encountered several performance issues with our physics model - say, you have four Hurricane MkIIB planes, each one of them has twelve machine guns, and each gun fires 12 bullets a second - this caused a significant fps drop. Our programmers really had to beat their brains out in order to resolve that issue. If we take torpedoes and aerial bombs, it gets simpler - when the most damage is done by a high-explosive charge, you can just select the yield of the explosion on the basis of historical and technical documentation, and also just the common sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destraex Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I'm pretty confused about the realism really, some things seem ultra realistic while others are dumbed down for gameplays sake.... and due to the devs language it seems a straight answer is hard to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastttt Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 I was on the old forum for this game and things dragged there for yrs so it may be that the buzz has kinda burned out I hope that it does get published in the next few months and is not vaporware I had gotten pretty much to the point that PT boats was going to be vaporware I'm more just a wait and see right now Where's all the buzz from this game? I've seen a couple of videos on the game news sites now, but nobody's posting?? I'm interested in the damage modeling. Can anyone with Battlefront, or the developer, give us details about how damage is modeled for the planes and ships? Do the vehicles have a fixed number of hit points that tick down as they take damage, or do they use damage modeling similar to Theater of War? Are ballistics and angles and armor thicknesses calculated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 I'm pretty confused about the realism really, some things seem ultra realistic while others are dumbed down for gameplays sake.... and due to the devs language it seems a straight answer is hard to get. Well, you could always try asking here Do the vehicles have a fixed number of hit points that tick down as they take damage, or do they use damage modeling similar to Theater of War? Are ballistics and angles and armor thicknesses calculated? A new blog entry in the DevDiary is coming later this week, touching upon the damage modeling. In short: the game is using real physics to calculate damage. "Hitpoints" (usually as color coded info bar) are used as a visual tool for the player to confer the damage status of a ship's component, but that's it. Various "damage zones" are tracked, and the damage and effects of damage to each are modelled differently and realistically, such as blocked rudders etc. More details in the upcoming part 2 of the diary later this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nokturnal Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Just a quick question. Will Battlefront be changing the name in anyway? I only ask because as the game has already been released in a few places, and has already been given some fairly poor reviews (but i think for good reason, having played the demo myself). If the new and improved game is released with the same title it may simply be ignored by those who had read a review or played on the older version. Not to mention the confusion it will create with the general public who don't visit forums and want to buy the game, they may wind up buying the wrong one and giving more unfavourable reviews (unless it'll be removed from stores/sites upon the release from battlefront?) It sounds like it's shaping up to be a great game, and judging by battlefront's previous work it should live up to the expectations, so i think it should be given a chance with it's own name, or atleast "Battlefront Presents - PT boats: Knights of the sea" . Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destraex Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 from what I have been told Battlefront are not doing anything other than localisation and maybe a few bug fixes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nokturnal Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 from what I have been told Battlefront are not doing anything other than localisation and maybe a few bug fixes? Hmm, you have a point there, i just had a quick skim through the dev notes, and while they mention alot of interesting features, i don't think i saw them once say "we will be adding..." - Having only played the demo (and not for long) most of these features may already be in the game without me knowing. It would be nice to get a list of what's being added/changed/fixed - But i am sure that will come later down the track. Either way, i still think it would be wise to show that it's a different game..Provided there are infact alot of important changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonarman Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Just a quick question. Will Battlefront be changing the name in anyway? I only ask because as the game has already been released in a few places, and has already been given some fairly poor reviews (but i think for good reason, having played the demo myself). Yes, I hope Battlefront has actually played the game it is about to publish and read the Russian reviews thoroughly, Google does have a translate function you know! Also be sure to check out the forums over at Subsim.com (the largest naval simulation gaming site on the web) where we have been following this sim since day one almost six? years ago. The game does have its shortcomings, which would not really be that hard to overcome (better sea response / more dynamic elements in missions, less arcade looking HUD, mission editor). I only say this as I want this to be just the first of a series of WWII naval games from Akella/Battlefront and I think the publisher & developer should take careful heed of any criticism from past releases. With a little bit of care and attention they could be receiving the 350K+ sales that each of the Silent Hunter series has attained. Please don't rush the release, strange to say that on a game which has been in development for six years, but the hurdles now are small ones, please take your time and give the game the quality release it so richly deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 sonarman, while our international english release will differ somewhat from previous releases (including the Australian), there is a limit as to how we as publisher can influence the development of a game that has already been released. Short of releasing a different game under a different title, what you will get for the international release is an updated version with proper localization and the latest in patches and updates. Expecting a different game entirely is unrealistic at this point. But the good news is that by entering into this cooperation, both Akella and Battlefront show what *could* happen going forward. Unlike other publishers, we are not bound by mainstream pressures to make a game that the store manager over at Gamestop will understand. This means that indeed a series of realistic WWII sims is possible. If it will come to that or not ultimately will be decided by the customer. Martin PS. 350k copies may well be true, but those are not full price copies, and include budget bin $1 sales as well as compilations. From what I recall Silent Hunter III had sold 14k full price copies in Europe before being slashed to below $10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonarman Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks for that Martin, I appreciate it is late in the day for changes, perhaps for the mission disc which I hope will also be available from Battlefront? I do have faith in Battlefront as a publisher both in the quality of your responses here and through the way you handled both Dangerous Waters and in particular Theatre of War where you proved your committment to the user base through the megapatches. And I do think that in Battlefront, Akella has finally found the best military sim oriented publisher to help steer it' s development of naval sims through the "challenging waters" of the West. On the plus side the game is very good graphically, the models are superb,missions are quite challenging and playable from both sides. Perhaps best of all Akella has shown great foresight in leaving the files as open as possible for modders who are already "sharpening their tools" in preparation for the release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoolaman Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 But the good news is that by entering into this cooperation, both Akella and Battlefront show what *could* happen going forward. Unlike other publishers, we are not bound by mainstream pressures to make a game that the store manager over at Gamestop will understand. This means that indeed a series of realistic WWII sims is possible. If it will come to that or not ultimately will be decided by the customer. Really, whether Akella is capable of making one or any realistic WWII sims depends on them and Battlefront, not the customer. What "could happen" is not relevant if what does happen is another disappointing localisation. The name change is not a bad idea, assuming the new version is any different to the old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Shaw Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Really, whether Akella is capable of making one or any realistic WWII sims depends on them and Battlefront, not the customer. What "could happen" is not relevant if what does happen is another disappointing localisation. The name change is not a bad idea, assuming the new version is any different to the old. If you build it ... they will come. There is a market, albeit a small one, for realism in sims as BFC has learned a long time ago. This one has the potential to tap into that market in a significant way since it has history, derring do , and solid tactical lessons that were applied in virtually every theater of the war. And who wouldn't want to go pounding through the waves at 40+ knots leaving a boiling wake and a smokescreen behind as the gunners fight off E boats with their puny MGs ... okay that's really what happened if you did it WRONG but still ... Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drrowley Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 if people can't tell, joe's been waiting for a game like this, since some people on this forum have been alive. ;)d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Shaw Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 if people can't tell, joe's been waiting for a game like this, since some people on this forum have been alive. ;)dIs that, by chance, David Rowley of my long gone miniature gaming days? And damn near that long I agree ... it's been a long time. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mllaneza Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Can't say as I blame Joe, not one bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drrowley Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 yup, tis me................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Shaw Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 yup, tis me................Ah yes, those were the days weren't they ... spending hours at McEwan's over all those miniatures from all those periods. We even had some MTBs as I recall. Now it's all onlline. the computer rolls the dice, consults the hit tables, interprets the rules and we argue via Teamspeak ... not that arguing with the computer does much good. So I gather you've at lease some interest in this one? Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drrowley Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 on pre-pay'd list, so i hope so was all so interested in cmc, mnb and histwar (sure this one broke your heart), so i'm glad this one survived the out of time ax. yea, at mcewan's, the mtb game, the neatest thing i remember was the golf tee's marking destroyers gun splashes. can't remember who was doing what, but do remember it being rather fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Shaw Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 on pre-pay'd list, so i hope so was all so interested in cmc, mnb and histwar (sure this one broke your heart), so i'm glad this one survived the out of time ax. yea, at mcewan's, the mtb game, the neatest thing i remember was the golf tee's marking destroyers gun splashes. can't remember who was doing what, but do remember it being rather fun. Well let me know ... we'll have to get on and do some multi-player. We only tried the MTB game a couple of times but those were some pretty fair rules. As usual the big issue was visibility and the difficulty indoing truly blind games with miniatures ... computers certainly solved that problem. Yeah, the HistWar was an interesting situation. I DLed the demo but really haven't played it much, it isn't grabbing my interest the way I thought it might. I'm also playing a lot of Rise of Flight and Arma2 (with a little IL-2 thrown in) with an online group. We had 7 guys up last night in our red tailed SE5a's attacking barges ... good fun. Talk to you later, Joe p.s. Sent you a PM with my email so we can talk about old times without the youngsters here rolling their eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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