Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Waffle on October 31, 2004, 02:46:01 AM
-
I was looking at Best Buy at video cards..(just shopping, no purchasing) and saw Pacific Fighters on the shelf...
I looked at and put it back down - then looked at some cds and then picked it up and thought - awww - what the hell...
Anyway, I loaded it up and tried it out....
I must say - I'm not impressed.
The graphics look nice on screen shots and advertisments, but honestly, I don't see Aces High that far away from being better than the graphics that are in PF. (in some case, AH2 is already better)
Here's a shot from AH - Pay attention to the wings
(http://www.dangreve.com/ahss2.bmp)
Now here's one from Pacific fighters
(http://www.dangreve.com/pf.bmp)
Now granted, in PF the water looks good - but guess what - we got new water. Well PF has clouds - We got clouds - don't see them that much, but they're there.
Now the new cockpits in Ah and the new models will be something to be seen. I for one am looking forward to the new models, but, like everyone - I am never happy...lol
There are several things, that I am not sure that I like in the new cockpit screen shots that I have seen from AH. I guess that the primary "visual" concern is the 3d instrument bezels.
as example in the ki 84:
(http://www.dangreve.com/ki846.jpg)
and the b24:
(http://www.dangreve.com/b24cp.jpg)
as you can tell, they are 12 sided polygons, instead of a circle.
I, personally like the way they currently are rendered - the bezel is done in 2d... and the 109 Artifical Horizon looks great since it was updated for example
I do like the fact that they now have "glass" over the gauges that will reflect with light.
Considering that most of the time playing AH is inside the cockpit, I believe the polygon bezels will give it a "blocky" feel.
Maybe allowing for more bitmap "space" in the interiors would help. Instead of having one or 2 1024x1024 maps, add a 3rd or 4th bmp to allow more detail in the cockpit using 2d instead of 3d.
One thing that i do like that I would like to see in AH is the canopy glass modeled. the distortion around the edges of the glass as well as the relections than would be seen from the inside. Also stuff like the "knock-out" panel on the spitfire canopy..stuff like that.
one more thing would be to incorporate other damage into the models. when you loose a wing tip...a little twisted metal or a spar showing would be neat to see..instead of the perfect break.
Btw - i love the fact that we have bullet holes where ever we get hit :)
All in all I believe that Aces High will have the best of both worlds very soon. the candy and the playabilty. Looking forward to it. As you can see - we already have better aircraft textures :)
-
IMO, the primary key for these superb graphics of IL2, FB and PF is the management of the light and the Sun.
-
Oleg is paying a lot of attention to cockpits and number of aircraft. Il-2/FB/AEP/PF has now some 200+ aircraft. No wonder the flight model quality has definitely gone.
UBI strategy doesnt help as well, they rushed PF, they couldnt put everything on 2 CD's, the game miss some important maps and skins and has the usual amount of bugs. Now they have to fix everything with a mega patch/add-on. As usual. Then they wont be able to support PF becouse work on BoB is beginning. As usual, same story with FB and AEP.
Business is business :rolleyes:
-
Yes the flight model fairy has definitely been at it again in PF.
I think there has been a general effort to dumb down the FM, especially in the carrier aircraft.
I have to admit the eye candy is very nice (just upgraded my vid card so I can have lots of effects now), but I won't be playing it much until the magic looping corsairs get fixed.
-
I got pacific fighters yesterday too.....
nearly cremed my pants when i saw this:-
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/71_1099217227_beauty.jpg)
Beaufighter Mk21
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/71_1099217279_viii.jpg)
And a clipped wing Spit VIII.
I have only done 2 campaign missions so far, one in a RN Seafire (wow) pwning Ki84's and i was VERY disappointed with the Pearl Harbour mission in D3a.
i gotta say the graphics do not look all that groundbreaking to me.
-
Originally posted by Furball
i gotta say the graphics do not look all that groundbreaking to me.
That's because everyone else is catching up.
I agree with MANDO that the lighting effects make a big difference.
The others are:
The water (if you can have it without killing your fps): but it already looks like HT are working onsomethign similar.
The damage effects (depends on each a/c but the holes you can see into and broken struts where parts go missing are very cool).
The effects: especially hits (sparks and explosions) little bits coming off, ammo casings, fire etc.. The AH hit sprites are looking pretty dated.
Colours/palette: the jello green land and navy blue sea in AH could do with some tweaking.
-
We have clouds? Really? Never seen any...
Well I know we HAD clouds but they must have disappeared somwhen on the way. God how I miss the could-fighting!
---
PF wasn't supposed to have ground-breaking gfx - hey it's the same engine! They improved water effects though! You're high-alt shot does not praise that. Down low you have moving waves, reflections and what not.
Now I am also not THAT impressed with PF but I know what to expect. It's FB in a pacific scenario! The carrier ops are most impressive and far more challenging than AHs cv landing.
The IL2 series was groundbreaking at its start. Though they screwed up a few things it's still THE best prop sim out there! It cannot beat AH in the multiplayer part though - and that's why I am here.
-
PF wasnt made for big improvments to graphics it was made to put more planes and upgrade some stuff.
-
Hmm,
I'd say PF is way better than AH2 gfx-wise. Even if you dont turn on perfect water, the graphics are really good even on a mid-range-pc. The forests are way better looking than in AH2 I think. But, PF has the big advantage that there is no GV that has to move through them. Cockpits look great in PF although the FW190 has a spirit-of-st-louis-gunsight.
Flight-models are, well, questionable. The F4U is rock stable at low speeds, can only be outturned by Zeros and spits it seems. I believe that this is an advantage all the carrier-planes got because they have to be able to land on a CV.
I think while the FMs in AH may be less sophisticated in some areas, the planes do match up better against each other.
The online-experience is way better in AH off course. PF has now 128-Player-capability, but still its only a big furball. Just bigger than it was before. Its fun for some time but it gets old. There is a coop-mode but that is somewhat "canned" as well. Coop needs you to bring some time as well. But then these missions can be fun. But, if you want a quick hop just before bed or what, forget about coop. In AH everything is giong on in the same arena at the same time. There are no other gamplay-aspects or modes in PF AFAIK.
In single Player they now have dynamic campaigns, but these are missing the big picture, so is seems they are just many of the same missions over and over.
Just like in AH a few years before the F4U1-C just rules the skies. Quad hispanos, much ammo, very tough DM and a favorable FM make this plane very dangerous.
All in all I like to play both and after all we may be pretending to want to have everything as RL-like as possible, but actually we are very well off with just playing games. And both are just that. And thats OK by me.
-
"The graphics look nice on screen shots and advertisments, but honestly, I don't see Aces High that far away from being better than the graphics that are in PF. (in some case, AH2 is already better) "
wow
-
i say IL-2s graphics are way better then AH the trees look real the sun looks real the water looks real clouds look real. IL-2 trys to make the whole game look real but AH just trys to make the planes look real.
this (http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/505_1099221186_grab0000.jpg)
vs this(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/505_1099221878_clipboard01.jpg)
-
Boring.
Thats what i think of the PF campaign so far (IJA IJN RAAF). Takes too long to get to the fight.
And waffle, your screenshots at the top are biased. you are using a player made skin vs. stock.
-
Originally posted by Furball
Boring.
Thats what i think of the PF campaign so far (IJA IJN RAAF). Takes too long to get to the fight.
And waffle, your screenshots at the top are biased. you are using a player made skin vs. stock.
YOu know there is a command now to skip to the next way point? You'll need to map it to a key to use it/
-
oh cool thanks, didnt realise!
it really needs it.
-
If you only bought PF as a stand alone you wasted your money.
Get the FB/AEP gold pack and dump the campaign generator that ships with the box (DGEN) and get one of the 3rd party campaign/mission generator.
PF will be patched several times and as a matter of fact there's already a beta patch for DGEN/PF.
There's also tweaks you can do in your config.ini and tweaks for DGEN.
For example if you use DGEN then you can add the following in your config.ini
[DGen]
NoBadWeather=1
MissionDistance=50
NoAirfieldHighlight=1
RandomFlights=5
MaxFLAK=5
AirIntensity=High
GroundIntensity=Low
Maxbomberskill=1
CampaignAI=Hard
CampaignLength=VeryLong
CampaignDifficulty=Hard
I am not going to go throw and explain what each line does but you can search the UBI or SimHQ forums.
You can also add planes to the campaigns and you can specify the types of sorties you want to fly (fighter, attack etc...)
FB/AEP + PF is the only way to go.
PF = typical boring Pac garbage with a huge 'Jap-Gap' in terms of plane match ups. Great for the Farm Boi Ami warrior hero types but a complete bore for us normal folk. :p
If you only play offline you should know that AI is simplified in that all planes fight the same way. So if you are flying as Japanese fighting against F4Us they will turn fight you etc...
AI is no fun to fight no matter what the game. Once you get familiar with their pattern no matter what you set their difficulty to they are easy to kill.
The IL2/FB/AEP/PF series all had and have issues but you are blind if you think AH cockpits look 1/10th as good as those in IL2/FB/AEP/PF. The planes skins in IL2 are at a lower res in that the entire aircraft is crammed into one 1024 x 1024 template. For instance the AH wing is about 4 times as large as a pf wing. However, the AH models (I haven’t seen the new ones) are low poly and can't compare to those in IL2/FB/AEP/PF.
AH's cockpits are functional and utilitarian. I guess that’s a good thing for those who can't read metric and need ammo counters etc...
I will say that IL2/FB/AEP/PF cockpits are the reason for the restrictive view system. The cockpits there are designed with a fixed head position in mind. For instance the round knobs really aren’t round. They can be half round or quarter round depending where they are. If you could move your head around you would see this. As is the IL2/FB/AEP/PF cause a pretty big FPS hit depending on the plane. Test it by going cockpit / no cockpit.
I play IL2/FB/AEP/PF exclusively. The problem with AH isn't the 'graphics' it’s the players and the game play. I would rather spend a few hours a night furballing on a good DF server then 10 min watching the pork and auger in the main.
In terms of FMs I fly 109s exclusively and fly them the same exact way in FB as I did in AH. I still kill the same planes (p51, spits, lalas etc...) the exact same way as I did in AH.
The 190s suck worse then mushbirds, err warbirds. But 190s are for nachwuchs and Kurt Tank wannabees.
-
From all accounts the PF flight model is utter total 100% blue ribbon first place political add qulifying BS. Fighters pretty much never stall, and the aircraft that are the most twitchy and hard to fly can accept full deflection on the control surfaces with no ill effects.
avoid PF, DO NOT SUPPORT THIS TYPE OF CRAP.
-
waffle make sure the graphix are turned up all the way befor you say things!
-
PF Has nice Eyecandy, but IMHO FM got worse. Tie fighter is gettin closer and closer.
For the Graphics, new Perfect settings have on my system at least a major hit on FPS. Still Don't now what everybody likes about those IL2 cockpits so much. Visibility in those Planes, esp. LW, just su.... and instruments are usually close to unreadable.
Also Single trees may look nice, but the Pancake Woods even worse.
Only think that still make me yawn are those incredible weather effects.
-
i got the il2/fb/aep/pf going now, i cant find hardly any multi player rooms tho, most just have the il2/fb/aep. guess ill have to wait till more get it. the designated pf room s never have anyone in them. As far as graphics go i get better graphics with aces high because ah uses the hardware better, a pentium 3 ghz computer is recomended for pf. i got 1.6 ghz, the game plays like a slide show when im trying to land on the cv. I think track ir works better in aces high too. i cant even look over my nose for deflection shots in il2. tho the gunnery is totaly different in pf, to the point where i cant hit worth beans. all in all pf rocks in one player and is lamer in multi, as usual. Compairing the two is sort of like compairing apples and oranges ug bad metaphor. Ah is a MOGG il2 isnt its designed to be a classic one player game with the multi thrown in there. i think oleg realizes the importance of a streamlined multi playing system and is moving more towerds that in the latest patches, but he simply can only go so far in that direction because he would have to rebuild the game from the ground up to make it do what ah can.
in the end i find both games fun to play, i just get sick of compairing them because they are so different in intent. ah is ground breaking il2 is aces of the pacific for the new age, btw aces of the pacific is my favorite game of all time, you just cant re make a game like it.
ug someone shoot me for writing so much. :(
oh and on further notice, i think target ware is the middle ground between ah and il2. if you want graphics and game play this is the game! well will be when its in its final release. Im getting sick of the fm table system that aces high and il2 use, tw uses a real physics engine that i think will be the new bread of flight sim ground work. tw also has better graphics than il2 hands down.
-
One of the things I dont like about the IL2 series is the lack of "auto-climb" It may be gammey but I dont like to have to "Fly" the plane all the time. I like to set auto pilot on climbout and then minimize the game and surf the web for a few mins then return to the game and once at altitude look for a fight.
Just my opinion.
-
Hey waffle,is ya dont want PF i will take her in a sec,i can buy it too lol:D
-
Janes WWII fighters deserves a lot of credit since that's where most of IL-2 comes from. I just noticed the other day that even the auto pilot works exactly the same. I think that's why I'll probably never buy the games myself. I haven't played pf yet, but in FB the sun seems a bit ridiculous, and I allways thought lens flare effect in a game was a dumb idea.
-
I like the posters point.
Because AH2 uses much larger textures then any IL2 decendent. Things like the wings look way way better on updated planes.
And what is it that we see when we play? THe wings the cockpit framing...the tail feathers...
But the atmoshphere in IL2 just eats up AH2. THe mist in the valleys. the sun the clouds. In external view it looks way way better then AH2. But looking at your wing in a new skin like the camo jug 25s...AH2 looks fantastic.
And the ground terrain in AH2 while not as pretty from a post card stand point, is way way better from a tank game play stand point. There is no comparison at all.
AH2 is doing just fine...
But I will buy and enjoy PF.
-
Originally posted by Suave
I haven't played pf yet, but in FB the sun seems a bit ridiculous, and I allways thought lens flare effect in a game was a dumb idea.
You can turn the lens flare off.
Splash1
-
Waffle. About difference in AH2 And PF Skin's-AH2 and PF defaults both blow. But like AH2 PF also has custom skins.
-
Like I've said in a previuos POST, I have PF just 3 days old and willing to sell it for $20.00 + postage USFunds.
Not my cup of tea.
-
What's the point of comparing a boxed sim to an MMO? Seems like apples and oranges to me.
On a semi-related tangent, anyone remember Pacific Strike? I loved that game so much, a flight "sim" with characters and a plot... all in glorious 2d sprite graphics.
-
Not to be a fanboi but some of you are overlooking the obvious. The terrain here is pretty much a placeholder.
What can be done with skins, will be done with terrain.
Have a new guy around the office too.
Some will be very much surprised what's comin in the terrain areas.
I won't be :D
-
hey A star,if i buy it from u,or can i,would u do the shiping and stuff,i will buy it for 20!
-
NO dice LANG
-
Originally posted by Furball
And waffle, your screenshots at the top are biased. you are using a player made skin vs. stock.
Even though it is a player made skin (mine, in fact) it shows that the graphic capabilites are much better than PF. Look at the new stock 109s or 190s wings. It's the texture map - we have 2-3 1024x1024 bmps to work with -THe il2/pf series only has one. We win in resolution.
thebest1 waffle make sure the graphix are turned up all the way befor you say things!
Settings were at perfect.
Originally by Pongo like the posters point.
Because AH2 uses much larger textures then any IL2 decendent. Things like the wings look way way better on updated planes.
And what is it that we see when we play? THe wings the cockpit framing...the tail feathers...
But the atmoshphere in IL2 just eats up AH2. THe mist in the valleys. the sun the clouds. In external view it looks way way better then AH2. But looking at your wing in a new skin like the camo jug 25s...AH2 looks fantastic.
And the ground terrain in AH2 while not as pretty from a post card stand point, is way way better from a tank game play stand point. There is no comparison at all.
at least someone's reading the post.
As far as the fog / mist, I've played with it offline in AH - the fog distance, ect....and it looks pretty good -only problem with having that in the MA is the visibility...can see the whines coming.
one more negative issue is the sound in PF....granted - the defaults in AH aren't that better, but the ah system can handle it if they ever get around to "ear candy" Trust me - been playing with the ah sounds alot.
One negative is the reverb over everything in PF...like they tried to put a EAX filter on the output side of the audio coming from the program. I'm not sure if this can be disabled in set up.
-
I agree with a lot of what you said Waffle.
The biggest killer for me in the IL-2 series is the complete lack of readable intrumentation. In AH I can use my guages to read my aircraft's situation. To do so from the guages in the IL-2 series requires me to look down using an awkward key press and then slowly try to understand the smudges that are the guages.
Couple that with a pilot that seems to be wearing a back brace and a cervical collar and thus is completely unable to see out of his fighter and you game braking failures for me.
-
huh lol no dice?so u are jokin eh?,seriously i will buy it from u for 20 bucks,they dont have it where i live yet
-
Originally posted by Waffle BAS
Even though it is a player made skin (mine, in fact) it shows that the graphic capabilites are much better than PF. Look at the new stock 109s or 190s wings. It's the texture map - we have 2-3 1024x1024 bmps to work with -THe il2/pf series only has one. We win in resolution.
Im not so sure about this Waffle. I believe I read somewhere from one of the HTC members that the B-24 skin is a single 1024x1024 bitmap. I would have never guessed it if I wasn't told, though.
-
LANG, you said u would buy for $20.00 and I pay for shipping:confused:
-
IIRC, IL-2 skins are 512x512.
-
IL-2 skins were 512 by 512, yes. I think a couple of people might still play the original game.
But IL2-FB, AEP, and PF all 1024 x 1024.
You can make'em 512 x 512 if you want, tho.
Splash1
-
Originally posted by TrueKill
i say IL-2s graphics are way better then AH the trees look real the sun looks real the water looks real clouds look real. IL-2 trys to make the whole game look real but AH just trys to make the planes look real.
this (http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/505_1099221186_grab0000.jpg)
vs this(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/505_1099221878_clipboard01.jpg)
too bad the IL2 pic is the B239 and the AH pic if the F4F
-
I prefer PF... IF they would release a server client capable of handling more than 128 clients I would drop AH like a hot potato.
-
The original Il2 skins were 512 x 512 but since FB they are 1024 x 1024.
The difference is that with FB/AEP/PF the entire aircraft is crammed on a single 1024 x 1024 bmp. The AH skins are multiple 1024 x 1024 bmp's (those that have been upgraded). Who knows if they will stay this way. Pyro has indicated that the texture maps have changed to eliminate all the mirroring so we don't know what that will mean.
Look at the D9 wing bmp in AH and compare that top the wing section of the FB/AEP D9. The AH wing is 4 x times bigger. So a 1 pixel rivet or line in Il2 will look fat and blocky unless a good skinner gets a hold of it..
I honestly don't know what you all are talking about in that you can't read the IL2/FB/AEP/PF cockpit gauges. I can read them fine. On some AC some gauges get blocked by the stick, but most of you probably don't play full real anyway and have hud messages and the speed bar on to give you all the info you need. If that’s not enough then there's a number of 'device link' utilities that can give you even more info then what the AH gauges show.
If you don't know how to read your gauges or if you don't know the cockpit layout there's a number of webpage’s that have the cockpits labeled for you.
Some of you probably have all the chatter set to native language as well. If you can't speak German, Russ, Japanese etc then all you need to do is copy your sounds from the US folder and paste them into the German, Russ, Jap etc folder. There is also an accented German voice pack, British etc that you can dl. You can turn off all those words by adding these to your conf.ini.
NoSubTitles=1
NoChatter=1
NoHudLog=1
You can turn off lens flare as well.
NoLensFlare=1
I don’t have any ‘words’ on my screen when I play except maybe speed bar depending on the server I am on.
Box games are never as good as they will be out of the box. Once all the 3rd party stuff gets done and all the tweaks and adjustments find there way into the game it gets a lot better.
I don’t want to come off like an Oleg fan boi and will agree that IL2/FB/AEP/PF series has issues, some of them quite big and close to a ‘game killer’. Like aircraft visibility; a plane 500m out can virtually disappear against the terrain. The muzzle 'explosions' prior to PF were stupid as well. Also some of the 'dirty' canopy class is a bit much.
YMMV
-
Originally posted by gatt
Oleg is paying a lot of attention to cockpits and number of aircraft. Il-2/FB/AEP/PF has now some 200+ aircraft. No wonder the flight model quality has definitely gone.
UBI strategy doesnt help as well, they rushed PF, they couldnt put everything on 2 CD's, the game miss some important maps and skins and has the usual amount of bugs. Now they have to fix everything with a mega patch/add-on. As usual. Then they wont be able to support PF becouse work on BoB is beginning. As usual, same story with FB and AEP.
Business is business :rolleyes: [/QUOTE
Possibly the difference is the business model...?
UBI makes its money selling the software.... the online is a side business....
AH makes its money ONLINE... thus does a better job of supporting that.
-
Once they started adding US planes you could see what was going to happen. Oleg said as much early on and again in one of those 'why aren't .50cals uber' threads.
Amiwhiners are far worse then anything you ever heard form the so-called 'lwhiners'.
Planes dont stall because the Amiwhiners would though a fit the first time they spiraled in flying their 'war winning' hero planes like the Hog.
Since PF and AEP are mostly attractive to the Ami market and as indicated in a thread over at UBI less likely to be pirated in NA you can't blame them for wanting to maximize profits.
I am not saying that is whats going on but figured I would add to the conspiracy claims... ;)
-
I agree with Furby on this one. Waffle BAS, your screenshots are biased. In AH2 you have your texture size maxed out. In the IL2 screenshot, its a stock skin. Other skins in that game have high texture sizes.
Sorry to say but IL2 graphics does beat the pants off AH2. But it should... All of the coding and scripting is alot more complex, they are working with Ubisoft etc etc. They have alot more people on the dev team aswell. Are they both fun? Yeah. But I would vote IL2FB/PF to be alot more realistic and have alot more eye candy than AH2 does.
-
Originally posted by Mak333
I agree with Furby on this one. Waffle BAS, your screenshots are biased. In AH2 you have your texture size maxed out. In the IL2 screenshot, its a stock skin. Other skins in that game have high texture sizes.
Uhh - the screenshots are taken at both software's "perfect" setting.....therefore ah2 does beat PF and Il2 on those settings for aircraft texture.
Theres no bias there, there is fact. Fact is Ah2 uses 2-3 times more bitmap space for aircraft texture than PF does.
-
ok man astar how much is it all togther 27.95?
-
Wotan,
I don't know what you are talking about in regards to the cockpits, but on my system they are an illegible mess. I tried to fly without any HUD as I really dislike the HUD, but I could not make out any of the cockpit guages. They are a farce and to claim otherwise is silly. They are so small and blurry that they simply cannot be read in anything like the speed needed during combat.
And that still leaves out the insanely limited ciews from the cockpit.
-
I play both games
ALOT
and the quality and resolution of the wings in AH2 are far better. What ever the combination of things that go into the make up of the models the AH II ones seem to have higher resolution skins by a long shot.
-
Originally posted by Waffle BAS
Uhh - the screenshots are taken at both software's "perfect" setting.....therefore ah2 does beat PF and Il2 on those settings for aircraft texture.
Now these pictures WERE NOT taken with perfect settings. The next step down.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/269_1099273563_image1r.png)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/269_1095298652_pic1.png)
Fly what you want.... it's your 5 bucks... we just have a lot of avenues to choose from...
-
langford - unless you live in IndoChina - dont pay $8 for shipping....thats just wrong
-
Sorry to say but IL2 graphics does beat the pants off AH2. But it should... All of the coding and scripting is alot more complex, they are working with Ubisoft etc etc. They have alot more people on the dev team aswell. Are they both fun? Yeah. But I would vote IL2FB/PF to be alot more realistic and have alot more eye candy than AH2 does.
Considering the fact that the game uses 2 CDs for initial installation and another CD for expansion, AH2 isn't really all that shabby.
The quality of the terrain is a big minus for AH2, but considering that the AH system takes a different approach its not bad at all.
The AH terrain is created by a utility that allows the players to mold and shape every aspect to their own taste. If HTC gave up on this approach and made a non-player accessible terrain, I'm pretty sure they could have made a much more prettier looking one.
The quality of the 3D models were never too far apart, and whatever difference there was, the 'new standard' HT has commented on, seems to be quickly catching up whatever difference there was in the first place.
So then, why is it AH looks 'gamey' and IL2 series looks so better?
Because, the 'cockpit experience' of IL2 feels much more real than AH.
In flight sim games more than 90% of playing time is spent inside cockpits. However, it was this part that AH was so weak.
1. The 'generic cockpit layout' made it easy for players to access the guages, but it sacrificed the historical feel of the planes totally. The end result is the 'gamey', 'generic' feeling.
2. Another problem is that combat effects are still way too much lacking.
Ofcourse, AH2 has made huge progress in implementation of the tracer smoke and etc.. but there is a room for a lot of improvement. The bullet holes only show on the wings, the damaged/broken areas are clean-cut, the hit sprites are still crudely texture based, and etc etc.
Il-2 has a huge amount of eye-candy in various situations.... like, the flowing fuel that drips out of the hole when a fuel-leaking plane lands.. the hit effects... cannon-hit explosions.. API flashes... metallic particles trailing the plane upon bullet impact... temporary flames/fires ignited due to hydraulics that die out over time... etc etc..
While most of these might seem too graphic intense, there are some small things which could have been implemented in AH2 but that are left neglected. For instance, having the camera shake slightly when a plane enters flak zones.. a close impact of the flak throwing off a big vibration.. GVs experiencing vibration of the camera as bombs land nearby.. and etc etc..
3. The third and most important aspect, is what Mando nailed down - the lighting effects. AH2 feels very different from AH1 visually, since the lighting effects were strengthened. But compared to IL2, the lightings are still too weak.
-
Originally posted by o0Stream140o
Now these pictures WERE NOT taken with perfect settings. The next step down.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/269_1099273563_image1r.png)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/269_1095298652_pic1.png)
Fly what you want.... it's your 5 bucks... we just have a lot of avenues to choose from...
Looks like comic book art to me :) go ahead and turn that up to perfect and post a screenshot. Now the one thing I do like from that picture is the darker props..I think AH's could be darkened about 10 %..
(http://www.dangreve.com/109.bmp)
-
Lang, I think UPS is around $5.00 in the USA delivery, but I woun't know till I send it. Where do you live?
I'll have UPS tell me the charges and inform you before sending it.
If you agree, I'll send it & when you recieve it you can send me a check in the mail.
Sound O.K.
ecym@ntct1.com
-
HI: I only guessed that total ship, it was not a definite.
Carefull I'll get you on your 6 (SE) now aSTAR.:aok
Drop me a line if you have time.
ecym@ntct1.com
-
I like the simple fact that not all planes have the same numbers on them... it isn't like I am seeing myself in a mirror but rather that I am seeing the plane flown by my wingman.
-
I feel that the makers of the Janes/IL2 series make graphics a higher priority than more important things. And I think that the makers of AH don't.
AH caters more to the adrenal gland than to the part of the brain that processes visual aesthetics. And that's the way it should be in a dogfight game.
-
Looks like comic book art to me go ahead and turn that up to perfect and post a screenshot. Now the one thing I do like from that picture is the darker props..I think AH's could be darkened about 10 %..
With Perfect settings all the way...
(http://virtualcheckertails.com/47.png)
(http://virtualcheckertails.com/546.png)
Strait from IL-2 to here... just changed the extension to .png
I am not saying one is better than the other. IL-2 is just my choice if I fly the two.
-
That's what I meant about the sun being overdone, it turns the sunnyside of the sky white.
-
Originally posted by Karnak
Wotan,
I don't know what you are talking about in regards to the cockpits, but on my system they are an illegible mess. I tried to fly without any HUD as I really dislike the HUD, but I could not make out any of the cockpit guages. They are a farce and to claim otherwise is silly. They are so small and blurry that they simply cannot be read in anything like the speed needed during combat.
And that still leaves out the insanely limited ciews from the cockpit.
What plane are you talking about?
What res?
What settings?
I think you are greatly exaggerating.
This is the Seafire cockpit for PF (official PF SS; I am not at home so I can’t take any SS but will do later if need be).
(http://www.pacific-fighters.com/ss/SeafireIII_2.jpg)
You can't read that? Do you wear glasses? Granted this is zoomed in but that’s 2 button clicks to get max zoom. I don't need to zoom in the 109s.
Are you sure you not just confused at what you are looking at? Maybe are you just unfamiliar with the layout or the position of the indicators and this makes fast glances more difficult?
In the G-14 I just make a quick glance down with my track ir and see everything from ata, rpm, temp fuel etc...
FB's view from the cockpit is more limiting then AH's but its not 'insanely limiting' (except in the 190 ;p).
The same view system in FB is the same view system in every other game but AH. You can raise head threw the canopy in some AH planes. Again it sounds more like you are just not 'familiar' or accustomed to any other view system but AH. This is fine and good; folks like the things they are comfortable with.
However, if I asked you about wwiiol internal view you would say the same thing; "Insanely limiting". If I asked you about WB's again you would say the same thing.
There's no need to exaggerate. AH has a lot of un-tapped potential in the graphics area but AH’s draw will isn’t cutting edge graphics and it doesn’t need to be. Even AH1 provided its customers with a lot of fun. As I said AH’s game play is far from ‘dog fighting’.
Building battling, war winning are some of the terms that I would use to describe it. In FB/AEP it is a lot more fun fighting Spits and p51 then in AH. Especially, the p51s because they actually want to fight not just suicide some bombs into the closest enemy hangar. But if you like attack missions there are plenty of things to blow up as well.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/334_1090096680_ss2.jpg)
-
Heyas Wotan.....
I really want to get into il2 FB/AEP/PF but to be honest I find the game to be totally overwhelming (sp)
Could I perhaps get with you and or your squad and have you show me the ins and outs of the game?
-
How do you do a screen capture in IL2FB?
-
Nomak,
I have a TS server up but my time has been limited the past few weeks. Later this week I should get a chance to fly.
you can email me
wotan@fw-190.com
I will send you the ts ip and pw.
If you check ts you may catch one of the other guys on but it looks like thurs or so before I get on.
-
Originally posted by 4510
How do you do a screen capture in IL2FB?
Just hit the Print Screen button then paste it to your photo editor.
-
Print screen 4510, the SS saves in your FB/AEP/PF folder.
-
Thanks both... I am just getting into IL2FB AEP....
Did my first career mission.... didn't work well.... mission was supposed to be over but the guys wouldn't RTB....
I finally said heck with it... I would RTB.... and when I got 1/2 home.. nursing my gas.... I called for HELP from the guys... they then started home..... none of them made it tho.. they ran out of gas and crashed....
What can I do as a junior wingman to get them to RTB?
Thanks for the tips.
-
Wotan,
Overall IL-2s graphics are certainly better. I'm refering to functionality. That Seafire you posted isn't as readable as AH's standard view even though it is both zoomed in and panned down. In combat I do not have time to do that, and then worry about the stick being in the way as well.
What I am talking about in the case of IL-2 vs AH for cockpit functionality is standard zoom, front view. AH's cockpits work in that view, IL-2s are just eyecandy.
As to the cockpit views, not one single IL-2 cockpit that I have tried has the pilot leaning to the side to try to get a better rear view. You should be able to see the horizontal and verticle stabilizer and IL-2's cockpit views do not allow that. Furthermore you cannot move your view point to look around canopy framing, even though you know the enemy is there.
AH is too liberal in some planes, and in all planes in regards to the 360° neck twisting. But overall it is both more realistic in it's allowed views and more functional.
-
Now at the risk of being banned...
AH2 Graphics?
You have to be kidding me, I couldn't stand the graphics of the buildings,terrain,trees,water,sun,sky,clouds anymore which is one of the reason why I've taken such a long break. I was expecting a different engine and graphics with AH2 not AH1 with a few changes and new skins.
Yes the planes in AH2 and skins look good but the rest is close to being so bad as unplayable. I know new water is coming and other enhancements and when they arrive and look good along with other changes I'll subscribe again.
Pacific Fighters is far ahead in the graphics department even the original IL2 at 50%, of course you can't or not suppose to compare a boxed game to a online game but really it's a huge step ahead of AH2 as far as graphics are concerned I can't comment yet on the FM and damage model as yet to try it out.
I can make alot of allowances for a online game in the graphics department because of it's great gameplay (once) and community. But there is a limit, especially at $15 a month.
...-Gixer
-
Originally posted by Gixer
Now at the risk of being banned...
AH2 Graphics?
You have to be kidding me, I couldn't stand the graphics of the buildings,terrain,trees,water,sun,sky,clouds anymore which is one of the reason why I've taken such a long break. I was expecting a different engine and graphics with AH2 not AH1 with a few changes and new skins.
Yes the planes in AH2 and skins look good but the rest is close to being so bad as unplayable. I know new water is coming and other enhancements and when they arrive and look good along with other changes I'll subscribe again.
Pacific Fighters is far ahead in the graphics department even the original IL2 at 50%, of course you can't or not suppose to compare a boxed game to a online game but really it's a huge step ahead of AH2 as far as graphics are concerned I can't comment yet on the FM and damage model as yet to try it out.
I can make alot of allowances for a online game in the graphics department because of it's great gameplay (once) and community. But there is a limit, especially at $15 a month.
Why post? Honestly I believe the majority of you postings here are on defense or support of other games. You are in here posting screenshots of other games, ect...
Honestly, it's strikes me as funny how you start with "at the risk of being banned"
- it's like you're a teenager who thinks he/she is too good for a certain clique of friends.....so you try to move on and find out that you miss the old friends..but are to foolish to swallow pride..so you end up making jabs at your old friends and say"see - look how cool I am now without you folks, evrything here is so much better."
But you just can't move on. You're like that nagging ex girlfreind who never goes away. Always calling at the wrong times to say all the wrong things....
anyway - enough of the rant - go enjoy il2.
BTW . picture below is all stock.
(http://www.dangreve.com/AH.bmp)
-
"Yes the planes in AH2 and skins look good"
Like I said the planes and skins look good, nice looking wing.
...-Gixer
-
To sum it, technically, what counts as "graphics" in AH2, the base level of visual impressions, is actually pretty good.
The rest of the various stuff should really go under the 'eye candy' category. The 'eye candies' are a creative form of application that is based on the potential graphics capabilities, and in this sense, AH2 does have good potential.
But Gixer, like you've mentioned, AH2 does lack a lot of those eye-candy stuff. At least in my point of view, traditionally HTC seens to always have put eye-candy issues way down at bottom of the list, and with each new update the waiting list grows bigger and bigger.
In that sense, I do agree that sometimes, seeing the developers seemingly ignore the "small stuff" that makes the game shine out does make me uneasy.
Personally, I would like to see a big eye-candy update. No new planes, no new features, no new terrains.. but months of work entirely dedicated on implementing whatever that could be implemented under the 'new standards' mentioned. And if that happens, I have faith that the 'graphical quality' of AH2 can suddenly rise big time to satisfy most people.
But to tell the truth, I do think its unlikely. People have been wanting new hit visual effects, damage effects and etc for as long as I can remember. People also have been wanting historic cockpits for a very very long time since AH1.. and look, the historic cockpit standards have only now just arrived in 2.01 ..!
-
Why post? Honestly I believe the majority of you postings here are on defense or support of other games.
Nonsense, people are replying to your ridiculous claim that AH2 'looks better'. That last pic you posted looks like crap. The Ki-84 cockpit in your first post is better then the AH1 cockpits but post a pic of the FB/AEP Ki-84. It looks better then that.
This is your thread about PF vs. AH. The rest of us are just replying to your premise. If you all you wanted was for folks to pat you on the back and agree with you then you should make these posts on a private forum where you can control access.
AH is a great game on its own, there’s no need for comparisons. Its functional utilitarian cockpits are fine for the type of game AH is. Despite the mirroring and wrapping errors on some the AH bmp they are large enough to get great results. Pyro has said the mirror issues will be fixed and the new models look fine.
Most servers for FB/AEP have skin download off any way so unless you fly mostly offline you don’t get to use or look at the skins online in FB/AEP. FB/AEP/PF have issues all these games do. But for IL2/FB/AEP/PF one of the issues sure isn’t that AH ‘looks better’.
What I am talking about in the case of IL-2 vs AH for cockpit functionality is standard zoom, front view. AH's cockpits work in that view, IL-2s are just eyecandy.
Karnak,
They are more then eye candy, they function fine. What is it you think you need to 'study' in the cockpit?
All you need is the speed indicator, climb, rpm, boost, fuel and temp. It takes longer to type that out then it does to glance at them in the game.
By looking at the positions of the indicator (the white arrow) you can tell the setting just like you can look at a clock with no numbers and know what time it is.
I can read the numbers etc, but for the sake of argument I will accept that you can't.
If the boost indicator points to 4 o'clock then that’s about 12lbs boost. How much more specific does it need to be?
If the arrow indicator points to 12 o'clock on the tachometer then you are at 3000 rpm.
If the speed indicator is at 6 o'clock then you are doing 300 IAS.
That's why I asked if the problem is with them being unfamiliar rather then 'not functional'.
Some planes the gauges are hidden and impractical. I concede that but like I said there's device link utilities that can put whatever data you want on your screen.
I just don't its all that important to know to the ump degree what the gauges read. In AH I never looked at the gauges. I don't look at them much in FB/AEP/PF. Just the temp and fuel gauge the rest of the time I fly by feel.
So when I say I don’t understand I really don’t. I will just assume we have differing experiences and leave it at that.
-
Waffle,
Looking at that pic again, isn't it in 16bit?
...-Gixer
-
Originally posted by 4510
Thanks both... I am just getting into IL2FB AEP....
Did my first career mission.... didn't work well.... mission was supposed to be over but the guys wouldn't RTB....
I finally said heck with it... I would RTB.... and when I got 1/2 home.. nursing my gas.... I called for HELP from the guys... they then started home..... none of them made it tho.. they ran out of gas and crashed....
What can I do as a junior wingman to get them to RTB?
Thanks for the tips.
Sorry I missed your post.
Controlling AI is a bit problematic even if you lead the group.
They only attack (air ground etc) if they are within 3000m of they target you designate.
So if you give the command 'attack ground vehicles' or 'attack bombers' they need to be with in 3000m of that target.
AI will fight to the death for the most part. Even when trailing black smoke they won’t rtb. They ditch into trees even if there’s flat ground right next to them.
AI sucks and it always will. It sucks in every game I play.
As an Oberfeldwebel there's not much you can do in terms of controlling your flight.
You can fly a couple of ways, either go out and fend for yourself (your squad of AI will even steal your kills) or you can decide to cover you flight / wingmen. But they will do stupid stuff and they will piss you off. They will shot you; collide into you and general make a mess.
A good way to control AI is to download Shoot 1.6. You then can control the Ai throw your mic via vox commands. Do a search you should find it, its freeware.
-
Originally posted by Wotan
Sorry I missed your post.
Controlling AI is a bit problematic even if you lead the group.
A good way to control AI is to download Shoot 1.6. You then can control the Ai throw your mic via vox commands. Do a search you should find it, its freeware.
WOTAN,
Wow.. tks again... seems this game is VERY complex...
I will have to see if I am going to devote that much time to it.
I really got a kick out of one single mission I tried .... in Frankfurt... under heavy clouds... rain...
The sound of the rain on the plane's skin was very immersive.
Oh out of 6 missions (the Frankfurt one 5 times trying to learn the views and controls etc) and one campaign one.... I've not shot down anything. (sigh) My gunnery is as bad in IL2 as it was in AH. :D
But it is fun......
Anyway.. tks again...
-
Originally posted by Waffle BAS
Why post? Honestly I believe the majority of you postings here are on defense or support of other games. You are in here posting screenshots of other games, ect...
Honestly, it's strikes me as funny how you start with "at the risk of being banned"
- it's like you're a teenager who thinks he/she is too good for a certain clique of friends.....so you try to move on and find out that you miss the old friends..but are to foolish to swallow pride..so you end up making jabs at your old friends and say"see - look how cool I am now without you folks, evrything here is so much better."
But you just can't move on. You're like that nagging ex girlfreind who never goes away. Always calling at the wrong times to say all the wrong things....
anyway - enough of the rant - go enjoy il2.
He's kind of sad isn't he ? just pops in every couple of weeks to run AH down about one thing or another, very odd.
Some people are like that when they change jobs also, they'll keep running the old mob down to anyone that still works there . It's like "look at me - I found something better, I can't believe you guys are still working for that bunch of idiots , how stupid are you !"
Usually you find out they really aren't happy at the new place , they just need us to think they are.
it's a funny world
-
Originally posted by 4510
WOTAN,
Wow.. tks again... seems this game is VERY complex...
I will have to see if I am going to devote that much time to it.
I really got a kick out of one single mission I tried .... in Frankfurt... under heavy clouds... rain...
The sound of the rain on the plane's skin was very immersive.
Oh out of 6 missions (the Frankfurt one 5 times trying to learn the views and controls etc) and one campaign one.... I've not shot down anything. (sigh) My gunnery is as bad in IL2 as it was in AH. :D
But it is fun......
Anyway.. tks again...
To get your wingman to actually do something rather then follow you around tell him to 'break' first.
So 'break' then 'cover me' etc..
The 'attack my target' only works if you have that target padlocked. If you don't use padlock that command is pointless.
Also lotsa folks who have had IL2/FB/AEP since day 1 dont know that by hitting shift + tab you can bring up the console offline. Online just type > in the text buffer.
From the console you can modify both friendly and enemy icons. The easiest way to do this is edit your RCU file.
For example to customize icons (first you need to enable icons in the difficulty settings)
add these lines to the rcu file (you can search the UBI or SimHQ forums to get a break down of what all thsi stuff does)
@a fo mp_dotrange DOT 15.0 FOE ID 0.005 RANGE 1.0 TYPE 0.005 NAME 0.005
@a fr mp_dotrange DOT 15.0 FRIENDLY ID 0.005 RANGE 2.0 TYPE 0.005 NAME 0.005
To adjust FOE icons I just type fo in the console
To adjust friendly icons I type fr in the console.
I also have FPS in the RCU
@a on fps START SHOW
@a off fps STOP SHOW
To see FPS I just type on.
To turn off FPS I type off.
So if you are offline just hit shoft and tab
type in fo and it sets icons to what ever variables you have in the rcu
you can create multiple icon set Fo1 fo2 etc..
Same with Friendly.
To see FPS just hit shift tab the type in on etc...
Also the Campaign generator that ships with FB is crap. The missions are lame and boring. I suggest getting Lowengrin's DCG. It makes a world of difference. Just do a search.
There's several camapign mission generator.
You can tweak the crap out of this game to get it where you want it.
-
Soup,
Get yourself online via hyperlobby with as much full setting as you are use to, it takes it up a complete other level .
RGJ
-
I love the look of Il-2's cockpits but one thing to keep in mind is that there are a lot more techniques available to enhance the aesthetics when you're dealing with a fixed head position vs a moveable one.
I do agree that our effects are dated and lacking, but that's the next thing that Sudz will be working on.
-
Wow.
AH2 vs FB+AEP+FB...
All I see here is personal taste being declared as why one is better than the other.
Well whatever, a lot of these arguments are brand loyalty and really nothing else.
"These skins are better, no these are", user made vs stock.
Show me an AH2 user made F4F4 that looks like this:
(http://members.cox.net/covclan/images/F4F-4_Early_01.jpg)
-SW
-
!!! - go Sudz :D
The head-on-stick model allows the artists to only render what is viewable from one angle (fixed head pos). That leaves not a whole lot (or as much) to be rendered correct?
The fixed head positions is a big turnoff for me and many others. ( Furious) :)
-
F4U-1A looks good as well. This is 'default' btw.
(http://www.pacific-fighters.com/ss/F4U-1A_31.jpg)
-
Originally posted by Octavius
The fixed head positions is a big turnoff for me and many others. ( Furious) :)
SOB isn't doing the back 'n forth for ya anymore?
-SW
-
Hey I still fly... the cockpits arent big enough for SOB to do his thang though. Maybe the B25 is roomy enough.
-
The B25 even has a love shack in the nose.
Hmmm, that gives me an idea for a skin....
-SW
-
cockpits to start..
I like the fact the planes/objects are larger than a dot in FB/AEP
you can take a licking and keep on ticking
there is a variety in the online server selections
-
Originally posted by Redd
He's kind of sad isn't he ? just pops in every couple of weeks to run AH down about one thing or another, very odd.
Some people are like that when they change jobs also, they'll keep running the old mob down to anyone that still works there . It's like "look at me - I found something better, I can't believe you guys are still working for that bunch of idiots , how stupid are you !"
Usually you find out they really aren't happy at the new place , they just need us to think they are.
it's a funny world [/B]
LOL
It's only a game or games. You guys make it sound as if it's your life and your upset because someone says your game is out of date and something new is better in one way or the other.
Actually, I've hardly played anything since I left AH almost a year ago other then FS2004 over VATSIM and recently a little RTW. The only game I'm really looking forward to and will make the time for is SH3.
Some of us are too busy with life (work,gf's,flying,racing) to be worried about next versions of their favourite game or getting upset when someone calls it the way they think it is.
...-Gixer
-
Originally posted by Gixer
LOL
It's only a game or games. You guys make it sound as if it's your life and your upset because someone says your game is out of date and something new is better in one way or the other.
Actually, I've hardly played anything since I left AH almost a year ago other then FS2004 over VATSIM and recently a little RTW. The only game I'm really looking forward to and will make the time for is SH3.
Some of us are too busy with life (work,gf's,flying,racing) to be worried about next versions of their favourite game or getting upset when someone calls it the way they think it is.
...-Gixer
Upset no , don't actually give 2 hoots, just bemused that someone can carry such continuing resentment over a game they don't even play, it's almost kinda "stalker" creepy.
I played Il2, good game , quite liked it, just didn't like the Multiplayer as much as AH.
But strangely I don't feel the need to go to their BBS every two weeks and tell them their multiplayer is crap and AH's is much better.
But hey , we're all different, see you in a couple of weeks ;)
-
Originally posted by Redd
Upset no , don't actually give 2 hoots, just bemused that someone can carry such continuing resentment over a game they don't even play, it's almost kinda "stalker" creepy.
I played Il2, good game , quite liked it, just didn't like the Multiplayer as much as AH.
But strangely I don't feel the need to go to their BBS every two weeks and tell them their multiplayer is crap and AH's is much better.
But hey , we're all different, see you in a couple of weeks ;)
Err I didn't start this thread. And I've never started a thread saying IL whatever is better then AH or vice versa.
...-Gixer
-
Originally posted by Gixer
Err I didn't start this thread. And I've never started a thread saying IL whatever is better then AH or vice versa.
...-Gixer
07-24-2004 10:36 AM
Gixer
Senior Member
Registered: Oct 2001
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 1339
Closed Account
After almost 3 years decided to close my account, just wanted to say thanks to all that have made AH such a fun experience. I never did get around to installing AH2 pretty much due to a lack of interest in the new release. Plus with two jobs,flying,racing and a new girlfriend, leaves little time for anything else.
Like to thank all those Rooks that have become good friends over the years, especially to BFD,Ghstdncr,Pyroman and Concho who originally helped me out when I was new and introduce me to a great squad.
Also thanks to the many foes that have helped me gain over 12,000 unspent perks and especially to Twitchy and AKAK who always gave me the best of fights and most of all a good laugh.
AH as a game is ok,as a community it's one of the best.
And all the best!
(Gixer)
Usually I find it's best to actually install a game to get a feel for it , historically I've found the un-installed ones don't go so good ;)
-
Call me crazy or call me a fan boi but from IL-2 onward to now I have played both AH and that series...Both give me something different and at some point in the future only one will live on the hard drive. Depends on several things as to which one makes it that long. The defining line is beginning to be blurred between AH type games and boxed sims....only time will tell which one gets better.
-
Pacific Fighters looks like good addition to IL-2/FB Gold Pack, but not for $40. I think I'll wait until it matures more and then packs in some more goodies and sells for $20.
-
Originally posted by Redd
Usually I find it's best to actually install a game to get a feel for it , historically I've found the un-installed ones don't go so good ;)
Actually I installed and tried out all the Beta's (not alot of difference between the later betas and the final release) and tried out the released version of AH2 since I closed my sub. I've also downloaded and tried the last versions before 2.01. Personally I grew tired of AH1 for many different reasons and just don't see enough difference between the two versions at the moment to change that opinion.
...-Gixer
-
In IL2, I don't get heckled for flying at 15k, vulching, cherry picking, etc.
I get my fun out of tank busting with the Ju-87G and I know if I drop my bombs they'll hit and do damage rather having a bad burp in a connection and not doing jack to a tank.
I don't have to worry about going against a P51 while flying a P47, or a 109 while piloting a Ju87.
In IL2 the computer doesn't care about points or kills. Everyone cooperates on an attack.
While I'm not giving up AH2 completely (I cancelled my sub due to lack of $), I'm not saying its worlds ahead of IL2.
AH2 is meant to have lower graphics so that it can appeal to a large number of players to play online to give it that "large war" experience and have a human on the other end. IL2 is more for a single player experience for those who want to fly historical types of missions where the enemy is a Ruskie, Jerry, Brit, etc, not a chess piece.
-
Here goto this thread on SimHQ:
http://www.simhq.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=98;t=009403;p=
Some dead links but there's ton of stuff to wade through. If there is something specific you want to know and can't find let me know.