I have forgotten who it was that was asking about a WW1 sim. This might be of interest.
Target: Flanders, Report to the community
November 16th 2002
There are two major developments to report at this time. First, we have a new terrain. Second, we have an entirely new campaign structure.
Our new terrain was produced by jgro using ground cover tiles developed by Rob Hoag of On the Edge (
http://www.rhoag.com/html/welcome.html). Thanks to Mr. Hoag’s generous contribution, Target: Flanders now has access to a full set of gorgeous terrain tiles which cover all four seasons. The new terrain also features a North-South running sector of the Western Front to either side of the town of Arras. The front layout is based on its position in the Spring of 1915. The new terrain will shortly be populated by ground objects on which Datter (of davidtitusproductions.com) is currently working. The team is very excited by Datter’s arrival, especially jgro, who will finally get some help!
Jgro wants me to remind you all that the terrain is not finished. This is just the basic layout. It still needs roads, railroads, etc. But as far as I am concerned, the most important element, the front, is there at last!
The addition of the sector of front is crucial in that it provides a focus for aerial operations. As 1914 progressed, both the Allies and the Germans on the Western Front realized that preventing enemy patrols from observing their dispositions now meant providing air defense over the front. The need to observe the enemy’s movements and preparations behind the front, and the realization that the enemy should be denied such observation, precipitated the birth of wartime air operations. With the addition of our front-line, there is no longer a need for pilots to wonder what to do, or to “look for the fight” (to use arena vocabulary). The job to be done is obvious: Observe the enemy beyond the front, and prevent him from observing you. Everything grows from there.
Target Flanders’ emerging campaign structure is made possible by the introduction of our front and attempts to wring every possible ounce of realism out of the current Targetware scenario system. Every test pilot in the Target Flanders team now has his own aircraft which he can “true-up” to his own flying style. Trueing-up is the WWI equivalent of trimming. It could only be performed on the ground before take-off by adjusting the aircraft’s rigging and customizing its flight surfaces. At the moment, pilots can adjust (within allowable limits) the incidence of their aircraft’s flight surfaces. After further tests of the system, other allowable modifications will be introduced. Random aircraft performance variation is also on the drawing board. WWI aircraft were not built to very exacting tolerances, and variation was a fact of life, just as it was in 18th century shipbuilding for example. Every aircraft in Target Flanders is individual and unique. Every pilot has his own aircraft.
The Targetware engine allows an individual aircraft file to be stored on the server. Pilots must submit their customized file for approval before it can be used by the server. Thereafter, the Targetware engine allows the pilot to log on only if his local customized file matches the one stored on the server.
A new set of scenarios has been created. They are simply called 6 AM and 9 AM. They represent the state of the front at those times and are of 3 hours duration. They allow the pilots to fly missions as they see fit for the attainment of their side’s goals. More scenarios will be added as tests on these first two progress.
Please visit us at
http://www.targetflanders.com for the latest!
Screenshots of Jgro new Arras terrain, using Rob Hoag’s terrain tiles:
The trueing up thing sounds interesting.
