oddball idea...

[gyrene81]

just a goofy idea that popped into my head and it may not be a good idea but i thought i'd toss it on the table...

the way things work now, if a group of players decides to pick a specific plane for whatever reason and they choose a specific skin, they are all completely identical. that's not the way it worked in reality and in the spirit of "historical immersion" it looks "wrong" in screen shots and films. not to mention the load on our systems when we don't have "disable other player skins marked then get into a big crowd.

separate all squadron, and pilot markings from the skins...maybe even the country markings. i think it would make locating and creating skins easier if historical markings attributed to specific pilots/squadrons weren't part of the skin making process. it would allow more skin variations to be submitted and the creation process should be somewhat faster. it would also allow all of us cartoon pile-its a lot of leeway in plane customization by increasing the number of variations available.

all markings would have to be historically accurate and submitted just like the skins and in the submission the plane make/model/year and pilot associated with them would have to accompany it. the skin creators wouldn't necessarily have to be the ones creating the markings. the markings are less detailed and easier to make so people who can't or don't want to take the time to make skins can create markings.

make the markings player chooseable overlays that can be applied in the hangar via a menu submenu to the skins in the hangar so that only appropriate markings could be applied to any plane with whatever skin is chosen. yes it would require a separate database layer for the markings and a little reprogramming in the hangar menu.


<fireproof suit on>

[gyrene81]

guess this idea is too complex for any feedback...maybe i need to modify it. 

[ImADot]

Sounds good to me. I understand exactly what you're asking for and think it would be a great addition - especially during special events.

[jeffdn]

I like it. At the very least, bombers in formations should have different tail numbers and radio codes.

[guncrasher]

we would have hundreds and thousands of marking waiting to be approved by hitech before they can be used in the game.  then they would have to be downloaded to each player and it would take a bigger hit on fps as now the game has to load hundreds of different custom markins as each plane you see may have a skin that is slightly different than the next.

probably not a good idea.


semp

[Arlo]

As appealing as it would be to see a unit flying with variations of the same skin, I can't help but feel there's a good technical reason why this doesn't already exist.

[gyrene81]

i thought about all that semp. the download wouldn't be any bigger than a skin download is now. the skins alone would be bigger than the markings. though without markings they would be smaller than they are now and there would be fewer skins. the markings would be very small since they could be made in 8 bit 256 color.

the luftwaffe skins would probably be the most numerous and complex due to the differences according to theater of operations, year and squadron. the usaaf would be primarily olive drab or bare metal. russia would be mostly a shade of gray. japan would vary a little but no more than 5 or 6 variations.

with simplified skins (basically paint jobs) and separate markings, a single skin could end up being equal a dozen or more of what exists now with a smaller load.

[jeffdn]

we would have hundreds and thousands of marking waiting to be approved by hitech before they can be used in the game.  then they would have to be downloaded to each player and it would take a bigger hit on fps as now the game has to load hundreds of different custom markins as each plane you see may have a skin that is slightly different than the next.

i thought about all that semp. the download wouldn't be any bigger than a skin download is now. the skins alone would be bigger than the markings. though without markings they would be smaller than they are now and there would be fewer skins. the markings would be very small since they could be made in 8 bit 256 color.

It's even simpler than that, guys. Each country would have the radio call sign letters and tail numbers created into a font. They would then be sized appropriately and placed on each plane. No big deal at all, just a simple texture overlay. Icons are already live updated, and linked to each plane as they move about the sky, and the call signs/numbers don't even have to be dynamic.

[Arlo]

It's even simpler than that, guys. Each country would have the radio call sign letters and tail numbers created into a font. They would then be sized appropriately and placed on each plane. No big deal at all, just a simple texture overlay. Icons are already live updated, and linked to each plane as they move about the sky, and the call signs/numbers don't even have to be dynamic.

Then worth exploring.

[gyrene81]

As appealing as it would be to see a unit flying with variations of the same skin, I can't help but feel there's a good technical reason why this doesn't already exist.

probably programming and database issue. it could be more complex than i'm thinking it is since it would require tying in markings to the appropriate airplane and the skin so that you don't end up with a russian p51 with japanese pilot markings and country insignia outside of where it belongs.

if it were me, i'd limit the markings to those of actual pilots and the aircraft they flew so the database would be easier to construct and update. when a set of markings is submitted, they would have to include a side view of the skin like what the skinners use now for reference, the pilots name, the year and the plane they apply to in order to be added. many of the markings like country insignia could be turned into simple templates so they don't have to be reproduced every single time.

[gyrene81]

It's even simpler than that, guys. Each country would have the radio call sign letters and tail numbers created into a font. They would then be sized appropriately and placed on each plane. No big deal at all, just a simple texture overlay. Icons are already live updated, and linked to each plane as they move about the sky, and the call signs/numbers don't even have to be dynamic.

didn't even think about that Jeff...thanks.   

[jeffdn]

Then worth exploring.

I totally agree. Some of our history buffs could create a spreadsheet that could be easily read into code, and then your plane's tail number and call sign would be selected from that. For example (totally made up stuff):

plane	skin id	letters	numbers
B17G	4	L;+G	46827
B17G	4	L;+H	46828
B17G	4	L;+I	46829

Thoughts? I think there are some interesting possibilities here.

[guncrasher]

It's even simpler than that, guys. Each country would have the radio call sign letters and tail numbers created into a font. They would then be sized appropriately and placed on each plane. No big deal at all, just a simple texture overlay. Icons are already live updated, and linked to each plane as they move about the sky, and the call signs/numbers don't even have to be dynamic.

it would still take system resources to keep track of all the different markins in addition to skins.  but one thing that basically kills the wish at least for now is the fact that it would only bee seen in films.  in the middle of a furball, they hardly notice the markings.


semp

[Fulcrum]

I like it if it can be done without impacting performance to a noticeable degree (which I'm pretty sure it wouldn't).

[jeffdn]

it would still take system resources to keep track of all the different markins in addition to skins.  but one thing that basically kills the wish at least for now is the fact that it would only bee seen in films.  in the middle of a furball, they hardly notice the markings.


semp

It really wouldn't. Once the textures are overlaid on the 3D model, they are there and loaded into memory. It would be no more resource intensive than it is currently.