Visual Realism from the Cockpit

[Saurdaukar]

This may have been touched on before, but I didnt find anything very informative from searching regarding this specific issue.

The actual game, Aces High, I have very little problem with.  The plane sets are great, the flight models are great, and Ill even go so far as to say the gunnery is a step up from most sims.

The thing I would like to see in AHII that would add alot of immerssion for me (which it what HTC is shooting for afterall) is visual realism.

Now, bear with me.  When you shoot at a plane in AH, you see some flashes, tracers fly towards your intended target, hopefully you see "tennis ball" hit sprites, maybe a part falls off, maybe you get smoke, and the con is down.  He then turns into a parachute and the plane disappears in mid air.

These are all things that happen within seconds of eachother that can be altered to increase the immersion factor, and for me, the fun factor as a result.

Sorry to bring up another sim, but some of you may remember the video posted here that showed some of the "eye candy" from the latest Warbirds "attempt" (P47's mostly).  The tracers looked like something out of a bad Japanese cartoon, but the hit effects were fantastic.  Small "bursts" when you hit a vital system, small peices falling off, etc.  I actually enjoyed watching the film because it looked like a WWII gun cam.

There are many little details like that, which I think can and should be implemented into AHII.  As another example, Ill sight strafing.  In AH (and every other sim for that matter) when you shoot at the ground, you are rewarded with a burst in the dirt, and thats it.  Would it be possible to mimic what we all see in gun cam footage?  I mean, specificly, would it be possible to show the odd tracer shooting off into a different direction like a ricochet?  This would also be a great visual addition when you attack, Say, an IL2 with 7.62mm guns - instead of seeing hit sprites and getting frustrated because no damage is being done, why not show the tracers "bouncing" off in all different directions?

The parachute thing, Im sure has been discussed, and I think that the planes morph into chutes to keep the number of objects down that the server must track.  Would it be possible in AHII to allow the plane to remain visable, even after the pilot has bailed, and show it augering?  Again, a simple thing, but it increases the immersion factor significantly I think.

Im sure many of you can think of alot of other little odds and ends that actually take away from the realism aspect of AH beyond the few Ive mentioned - most of them seem like easy fixes, but Im not a coder.

Does HTC have plans to address any of these concerns?  Are they even concerns?  Dont take this as a rant or anything, Im just curious if the things that I would change for AHII are the same things that the team is looking into.  If not, think of this as a suggestion.

[2Hawks]

Is to watch the burning wreckage of my victims auger. Like zekes spinning in over the carrier, or the spirals the smoke makes from a bomber as it spins into the earth.

Having planes continue on after the pilot has died or bailed would be a wondersouly fantastic addition. Make ground assaults much more satisfying too.

Dunno, maybe it's a domination thing...

[seabat]

by Saurdaukar

"Would it be possible to mimic what we all see in gun cam footage? I mean, specificly, would it be possible to show the odd tracer shooting off into a different direction like a ricochet?"

I am certain that when I have made attacks on tanks in the MA I have seen ricohets.   If I was not seeing things I would guess that it is possible to show these effects on other objects.

I like the way impact of rounds are shown on the water in the MA.  I get distracted sometimes watching the water boil.  Impacts with the ground are a little weak IMO.   Increasing the size of the puffs of dust would satisfy me.

[acepilot2]

Nooo!!! You read my mind.   I was about to post about the same exact thing.

When you shoot a plane, it almost looks like the bullets bounce off.  In old games like Combat flight simulator, when you shot someone, it was great.  Tiny bits of debris fell off.  When a bullet landed in the plane, little puffs of smoke came out.  This game also needs a better bailouts.  It needs not being able to bail at high g's, jammed canopys, failing parachutes, and just better bailout eye candy.

When shooting down a plane or crash landing, instead of the plane instantly turning into a cheesy explosion it would be just nice to see it burn up, turn into a motlen hunk of metal, and skid and roll along the ground for a bit instead of it just blowing up.  This would work well for crash landings and it would work well for tanks so they just dont blow up when you kill them.

[Kweassa]

I keep thinking that maybe we're gettingour expectations a little too high.. but it's never bad to dream about things

 I totally agree that the hit sprites gotta be changed. AP content shells should give out tiny white sparks, as compared to HE content, which shells explode on contact.

 I've been thinking that perhaps the buff gunnery problems, are also caused by the hit sprites. As seen in the MA, buff gunnery is actually not so easy - inexperienced buff gunners usually need a lot of rounds to actually get a feel of the accurate lead.

 However, once any of the numerous rounds connect, they immediately start giving off the "tennis ball" hit sprites - from that point, the buff gunner zeroes in with extreme accuracy, since he knows how much lead he has to give when shooting. He has a reference point which is so visually obvious that even a fool can at least take an enemy interceptor down with him, even if his buff is going down - give an arbitrary spray, watch the tennis balls, and then correct lead!

 Perhaps the changes requested in hit sprites, would become the most influential change ever since the ambient sounds were  put into AH.

[Rutilant]

Those hit sprites should be SMALLER! they're as big as the freakin tanks

for me, #1 thing to be added: Dust being picked up by faster moving GVs, maybe little pieces of dirt and grass, rocksd being thrown up behind em once moving past a certain speed?

[Kweassa]

Personally, I'm really dying to get a screenshot of the "MTF" Pyro mentioned in the interview.

 Supposedly, it's a "Micro Terrain Feature" which enhances levels of immersion very greatly, and Pyro sounded awfully smug about it

 And also, some other things are mentioned, such as various terrain forms, allowing the GVs to hide, ambush and etc etc..

 I wonder just what it will be like!

[oboe]

Agree with Saurdaukar 100% on the hit effects from WBIII.   Very cool - pieces fly off; sometimes a puff of smoke followed by a much larger puff/explosion with more pieces breaking away into slipstream.  It is extremely well-done.

I also dislike the plane morphing into the chute, and would much rather see the plane continue on into the ground after a pilot bails.