New Clouds!!! :D

[f35raptor]

As soon as your check is posted in my account I'll be glad to go get another, I would say $2500 should cover it

Was thinking the same thing. Imo i would think that that a good handfull oc Ah players  dont have the extra cash to spend a thousand dollars or more on a good system.

[Pand]

Was thinking the same thing. Imo i would think that that a good handfull oc Ah players  dont have the extra cash to spend a thousand dollars or more on a good system.

At some point people need to upgrade their computers to handle newer games and graphics.

My current gaming machine is 5 years old... a Q6600 with 4gig ram.
I upgraded to a video card from newegg a year ago (Radeon 485X) for $60.

I run in 1080p (1920x1080), use detailed water/terrain/water reflections/bump mapping/1024 shadows/2x anti aliasing--- pretty much everything on but the object reflections, and get between 30-60fps (all depends on the number of aircraft in the vicinity).

Works ok for me, but I find it hard to believe people expect to be able to play a game efficiently on hardware older than mine.  Note: I'm not making this a contest of "post how old your computer is", just making a point

I built a quad core machine about 6 months ago to run network based applications and backups for the house.  Cost a total of $129.00.  Utilizing extra HDs laying around the house, that system plus a $60-$100 video card from today should get you into the 21st century.

[hitech]

At some point people need to upgrade their computers to handle newer games and graphics.

Works ok for me, but I find it hard to believe people expect to be able to play a game efficiently on hardware older than mine.  Note: I'm not making this a contest of "post how old your computer is", just making a point

Carrie, Our administrators computer is 1 year old. She would have a fps of 10 with the clouds 30 with out. It is not age, but a video card bottle neck. Long ago we made the mistake of pushing the limits of what system specs are. It almost put us out of business until we modified the code to be able to run on lesser machines. It is not that existing players would not up grade, but rather anyone who would try and the get crappy performance, would not become a new customer.

HiTech

[Pand]

It is not that existing players would not up grade, but rather anyone who would try and the get crappy performance, would not become a new customer.

That's fair.  I have a business laptop that runs Aces High like trash, so I don't play on it.

[InCrypt]

I really wanted to see these new clouds. So, last night I launched the NDISLES map in a CA. Eureka! There they were, right over tank town! I flew a couple of hops checking them out from multiple directions and angles. They look awesome! I did keep an eye on my Frame Rates, (CTRL-I), and they weren’t that bad, but then I've got a monster video card; a "Radeon HD 6970 2048MB". I spent some time trying to get over the cloud bank - did you know that thing goes to 42,000 feet! Then I flew into the bank and put myself into a tail spin while in the cloud column. I wanted to do a "In the Bag" vertigo test.
Finally, I zoomed down to the base of the cloud bank. Much to my surprise, entire column had drifted over to the mountains near the mouth of the volcano, the one between A-1 and A-43. I was buzzing the tree tops while in the clouds, when something strange happened…

The Clouds disappeared!

I had a momentary frame rate hit, the computer stuttered, and the pop, they were gone and there was nothing but clear blue skies. I'm not sure if this is a bug that needs to be reported, or, if the clouds had just hit the end of some weather file. I waited for another 45 minutes, but they never came back.

Any thoughts on what this could be?

InCrypt.

[hitech]

I't sounds like they hit the end of their path, they come back about 1 hour after they are removed.

HiTech

[ImADot]

The Clouds disappeared!

I had a momentary frame rate hit, the computer stuttered, and the pop, they were gone and there was nothing but clear blue skies. I'm not sure if this is a bug that needs to be reported, or, if the clouds had just hit the end of some weather file. I waited for another 45 minutes, but they never came back.

Any thoughts on what this could be?

InCrypt.

Clouds have a lifespan.  They are programmed with:  when to start (after the terrain is loaded), where to start, direction and speed of travel, size and number of clouds, altitude min and max, where to stop, how long after "death" before they respawn. They disappear once they reach the end of their run from their programmed start and end points. If a specific "respawn time" is not given, I think the default is something like 1 hour.

[InCrypt]

I't sounds like they hit the end of their path, they come back about 1 hour after they are removed.

HiTech

I thought it might be something like that. Not knowing the re-spawn time defaulted to an hour is what threw me.

Question:
Are there any other maps that have the current 3D clouds, but over a larger area, and last for a longer duration? I want to do some "Cloud training" with my squad, so we're intimately familiar with how clouds affect tactics, and am looking for a place that will fit that bill.

Thanks again!
InCrypt

[Wiley]

I quite like them.  I wish they weren't still the flat texture and were actually a smoke effect, but I bet it's probably something to do with keeping them available to those with lower spec.  These one do seem to do a much better job at fooling the eye though than the previous ones.  Good job!

Wiley.

[hitech]

I quite like them.  I wish they weren't still the flat texture and were actually a smoke effect, but I bet it's probably something to do with keeping them available to those with lower spec.  These one do seem to do a much better job at fooling the eye though than the previous ones.  Good job!

Wiley.

Smoke effects are also flat textures, and done the same as clouds are.

HiTech

[ImADot]

I'm guessing this might cause many computers to explode, but is it possible to have these flat textures turn to always face the player face-on?

[Wiley]

I haven't spent a whole lot of time in the smoke from a carrier, but I've never noticed the flat edges you see when you're inside a cloud looking out at specific angles.  Odd.

Wiley.