Who we gonna lose to AH2?

[twitchy]

I run a geforce 4 vid card, and am just barely able to run the current the version of AH2. I am all for the improvements to the graphics and flight models, but I kinda feel like the game is progressing beyond reasonable limitations of the average system. I can cut down the detail level to a minimum, and get a fair frame rate, but then the game looks like something I could get out of the old atari 2600. I am a loyal customer and have been for several years now, I am CO of Pigs On The Wing, and therefore will make every effort to continue my subscription, but I would like to take this opportunity to urge HTC to bear in mind that alot of us are going to be running this game at the bare minimum. Honestly, I like AH1, and there wasn't a whole heck of alot wrong with it, and I fear the improvements will serve to become limitations.  I can't run out and buy a new video card, and I suspect that I am in the same boat as alot of the otehr players, hell a gallon of milk is four dollars now! But I would urge HTC to find some way of making this new version playable on more systems, this helps you guys by not creating a limitation on the customers able to play the game, and it helps us by giving us the new version without having to have a supercomputer to play it. I have read through some of the posts on this issue and wow, some of you guys are really harsh, believe it or not, some of us really and truly can't afford to rush out and buy a new system. I know of two members of my own squad that can't and they have been on the game for some time, if we limit the systems able to play it, we will loose players, present and potential ones. Not tring to sound like Bhudda here, but "Find the middle way." As much I like the improvements, I think AH2 is way too graphics intensive...

[twitchy]

Gixer, rest assured, here's one Pig that will miss you
Who else will out turn my Spit 5 in a Mosquito if not you?
(sniffle)
(whimper)
Besides I am trying to befriend you so you can invite me down to New Zealand and I can defect and live on your couch...


Man I love my avatar! I think it is old footage of me as a child and my beloved grandmother... She was on that Geritol, made her a little cranky sometimes...

[Gixer]

Originally posted by twitchy
Gixer, rest assured, here's one Pig that will miss you
Who else will out turn my Spit 5 in a Mosquito if not you?
(sniffle)
(whimper)
Besides I am trying to befriend you so you can invite me down to New Zealand and I can defect and live on your couch...  

Twitchy,

Invite is always open along as you bring a couple of babes,beer and some bacon.  



...-Gixer

[beet1e]

Originally posted by mars01
Holy crap there's something I've never seen before.  Either the aliens just dropped beetle off or they picked the one we know up.  Either way a change for the better.

Hahaha! In response to your earlier remark, yes I was involved at code level in the past, and IBM saw fit to hire me on three separate occasions at three different sites! (But I wasn't coding by then)

But this topic came up on voxx last night in AH2. Someone said "I guess this is what we have for the next 5 years", which is how long AH1 has lasted until the rewrite to produce AH2. In 5 years, who knows what processors and video cards will be available, along with other technology. By extrapolation, in 2009 we could be looking at AH3 - do you agree? But maybe TOD will be here in... 2006? I have no idea of the code complexity, so can only guess.

So... assuming AH3 comes some time in 2009, will the TOD/mission generation software also need to be completely rewritten? Or will it simply be a case of producing a new interface for AH3/TOD? It is widely accepted that TOD will merely be a "bolt-on", and will not be intertwined with the other AH code, so I would have thought the latter...

... hence I was slightly surprised that the same approach could not be taken this time in the migration from AH1 to AH2. Still, AH1 was written before TOD was conceived. Note the difference between slightly surprised and fullblown gobsmacked - OK? I only know what I've worked on in the past, and nothing about the AH code structure.

Just wanted to clear that up.

[mars01]

Hahaha! In response to your earlier remark, yes I was involved at code level in the past, and IBM saw fit to hire me on three separate occasions at three different sites!  (But I wasn't coding by then)

Beet as a trenches coder for the past 10 years moving electrons on a daily basis, albeit solving business problems and not writing games, I understand that there is a life span to a code base.  There are tradeoffs made for different reasons that affect it's modularity and life span.

Some tradeoffs open doors some close them.  Some constraints are due to technology or company size and evolution.  The original base could have been written for a completely different set of requirements.

Then lets talk about efficiency and speed.  Some things may need to be built in rather than modularized to increase both.

Let alone the pace of technology.  It's just recently game programmer could take advantage of the memory capabilities of graphics cards.

The fact that HTC is able to support almost 700 users in one space and time in a dynamic and constantly changing environment is a technical feat in its own.

So to say you are an IT guy and then draw a comparison to  dynamically replacing strings vs a graphics engine or the like is kind of absurd to me and says you really don't completely understand the complexities and issues faced in the software development life cycle.

BTW, just curiosity - Are the projects you worked on still in service?  What were they?  What language?

[acetnt367th]

Originally posted by Gixer
Sorry who are you? Atleast I've been around long enough to be missed by some. You've been playing AH for how long? If you've been playing for a couple years you  might be rather dissapointed in AH2 as well.

Untill then your pesonal opinon is worth less then I care to even bother replying to. Which is probably why it's taken me so long.



...-Gixer

Gixer,

As Mugzee pointed out, I apologise for the personal comment. I should not have said that.

I stand by what I said before though i.e. If you don't like it - unsubscribe. I don't see how the comments you make will add or change in anyway what is currently AH11. I have been playing AH long enough to understand and appreciate the effort that goes into making it. In fact, I don't think it is even relevant to this discussion how long I have played the game.

The game is a lot more than the Graphics. I like what I see in AH11 at the moment but I will not try to convince you of the same. You are entitled to your opinion.



Regards

Acetnt

P.S. The quantity of posts I make on this BBS is not a reflection of how long I have played the game

[Pongo]

Man this thread takes me back.
People arguing that something that is just a choice by HT is obviosly the only way something could happen. And we can all be assured if HT had chosen to follow his original thought and graft a TOD like arena onto AH1 then the same people would be here saying that it HAD to happen that way.
 Ill aggree that the order that the game has developed makes as good a sense as any. But to declare it self evident that it had to happen this way is silly.
Myself. I will probably take my  usual summer break from AH but its nothing to do with AHII. Im not nocked on my but by the graphics but I understand how having to iterate through all the AH1 models over and over has deprived SF and Nate the time to really show what the new engine can do.
So I think that AH II is cool. I think some of the changes are pretty subtle and I aggree with Creamo. Very important to support companies like HTC that continue to evolve thier products at a pace they can maintain.
I think once the game is fleshed out it will provide a net increase in subscription cause eye candy attracts the masses. Infact I am sure it will.
And for that purpose I think that eyecandy trumps TOD.
Anyway the thing is in good hands. But is silly to declare the way it has evolved as sacred and unchangable. Its just how it made sense to happen to HT and pyro. The change in the order of work was broadcast loud and clear at least a year ago. Dont know how beetle missed it.