In the last graphic update we saw photorealistic ground textures, bump maping, reflections, pixel lighting on the water, animated water, new trees, dynamic shadows on planes and just recently on other planes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that HTC will keep adding to this fantastic new world they've created.
Here's my wishlist:
When I'm sitting in the cockpit I feel like there's no barrier keeping me from the elements. Some additional detail on the glass and acrylic canopies wouldn't go a miss. Reflections, a scratch here and there, maybe even a little spec of dirt in the corners where the glass/acrylic meet the metal of the airframe would be awesome!
The sky could do with some attention, in contrast to the new ground it looks rather bland and after all it's where I spend 99% of my time. Some new clouds which cast dynamic shadows on the ground would also be mind blowing. They have this in Wings of Prey and it really adds to depth perception of the virtual world. Hell, maybe even some water drops on the conopie when entering a cloud?
Anyone else have ideas?
Technical hurdles notwithstanding (and there are, of course), I think these are both good ideas for the wishlist.
Volumetric clouds are more than just eye candy, IMO, if they can be implemented in a way that icons are occluded while in a cloud. Then they became tactical tools for attack and evasion.
The canopies wish would be pure eye candy, of course, but it would be very immersive. I think that canopy reflections could be useful if they were visible to others. For instance, seeing the flash of the sun on a fast-moving canopy or polished bit of metal. So, I'd also like to see reflection of the sun on other planes' canopies and bright specular points on glass/polished metal. As an example, have you ever noticed how brightly cars' windshields and chrome can reflect the sun as they zoom past you, or even from far away?
But there are technical issues with doing all this and not killing lower end machines, I suppose. It's the "wish" list, so there you go. I hope they can do it one day.
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FWIW,
