Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: cajun on September 13, 2003, 10:46:00 AM
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I've heard several people mention HTC coming and posting bits and peices of news here and I would like to hear any bit of it I can, and perhaps we can even collect it all up and make our own little faq/news thing :D heehh
Anyway, I've heard absolutely nothing about AHII's development and would greatly appreciate any news anyone has even if it be months old :)
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Quit your *****'n and bellyaching already! Jeezuz you'd think that because you pay to play that you're owed something. Well I got a surprise for ya punk. You'll know more when they damn feel your damed ready to damned get it and not a damned moment damned sooner.
In the meantime take a long walk off the short pier already
(how'd I do Arlo and AckAck? )
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Umm, did you read my post at all? :rolleyes:
I did not ask them for information, Im asking community for whatever information they have heard.
And btw, I do not have a paying account anymore and havent for about 6+ months now.
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All that I know is that it will be here in "2 WEEKS"
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A player created FAQ is actually a good idea.
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all this AH2 crap is gettin old, everyones hating on each other over a game, he asked for old info not anything new, hes been gone awhile and doesnt know all the stuff we've already seen. Yes we should make a thread with all of the info so far we know thatd be a really good idea and add to it until AH2 gets here.
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Originally posted by cajun
I did not ask them for information, Im asking community for whatever information they have heard.
I bumped up three threads, but one - about no new planes - seems to have disappeared..... maybe because it is no longer true? We can live in hopes. :) Anyway the other two threads are:
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91984 and http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91369 ;)
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Cajun, I think you have a good idea here and I'm sorry people are mocking it. I've read in several places that HT answered a lot of questions at Con, for instance. If anyone who got a question answered there, in addition to what the staff has said on the boards, could post it to a centralized thread instead of throwing what they heard into one of the multiple threads that have popped up, we could actually get an idea of what's been said about AHII. I know there's a lot of misc. stuff floating around and unless you read every thread every day you might miss something. :)
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I went to the con. This was one of the main reasons that I went to the con ... to hear it right from the source. I know not everybody can get to these cons, but from what I understand, this con did not have quite the turnout that other cons have had because it wasn't in Grapevine. This surprised me, cause I knew that HT would show with the AH II goods and let the info fly, and this probably would be the only opportunity to get a lot of the answers.
Here is what I got ...
1) New flight model
This has been discussed in length here in Pyro's post. That stuff bores the crap out of me, but from what I heard, the wings will have, I believe, 4 points of data gathering as opposed to the 2 points that are used now. HiTech said that these new points will make the stall characteristic, not more forgiving, but rather more "real". The stall on the P-51 that we flew was very smooth and not as snappy and violent as what we have now, which I took his word as being more "real". That was the only part of the discussion that I heard ... there could have been more, but I think that I needed a beer at that point.
2) New graphics model/engine
I saw and flew the new P-51. The detail is fantastic. Seams and rivets jump out at you. HiTech has already posted a pic of the left wing. We were told that ALL planes will be converted to support the new graphics (quite an undetaking if you think about it.) I would categorize the new tracers effect a part of the new graphics engine. From what I saw, it looked awesome, but HiTech said that he wanted to tweak it a little more (+ or - the alpha effect). HiTech has re-done all the explosion effects. He blew up a hanger and the effect was impressive ... definately different than what we have now.
3) New damage model
What HiTech didn't show prior or since the con was the right wing on the same P-51. This wing showed all the different types of damage that will be displayed. Detail ranged from bullet holes to large holes ripped thru the wing that one can see thru. Damage on this wing during the demo had no effect on the flight due to the fact that it was for testing the display only.
4) Micro-Terrain will be implemented
The ground objects are now 3-D. Rolling an ostwind under a tree and looking up, one can see the different layers of the tree coverage. When asked if the trees will stop bullets or will trees cause explosions, he responded with ... its all configurable. This means that the map-maker has the option to choose if ground objects provide visible cover, physical cover, and when bumping into these obejcts, will they cause you to stop, blow-up, or pass right thru them.
Visually this Micro-Terrain is extremly impressive. We will have the ability to activate levels of detail. If I remember correctly, bump-mapping was switchable, and one other setting will be switchable too, just forgot what it was. HiTech said that it is his intention to make more of these types of settings switchable from within the game so that one does not have to leave the game to make the changes.
5) New objects for map-makers
These objects will make the ground more detailed and immersive if they so chosen by mapmakers. I saw a few different looking towns (not capturable) that were in different states of destruction or decay. They are just eye-candy. Field layouts, from what I saw will be changed ... new airfields.
6) New Clipboard menuing system
Very intuitive and windows-like. Hard to describe without the visual. I would say that it has a switchblade effect ... sub-menus sliding out from parent menus.
7) Tour of Duty Mission Engine
All missions will be scripted and then loaded into a databse and the AH TOD engine will read and execute them. Sounds simple ... bet it wasn't. I don't know if there was a discussion of the TOD gameplay aspects ... I might have been getting another beer.
He spoke of no new gameplay changes for the "Classic" version. He said that there will be no new planes introduced for the initial rollout. He said that AH II will be introduced in Beta as the "Classic" version and the "Tour of Duty" will follow after. The is a very smart and logical decision IMHO ... work the bugs out in the MA before firing up the TOD, which adds another level compexity with the automated missions.
This is all that I can remember ... If you do any kind of software development as a profession, you can understand the daunting task that each of these points addresses with the exception of #5. Since the annoucement ... to when AH II is supposed to be released, is what I would consider a monumental task for any development group if 10-15 people ... HTC does not have this kind of staff I believe. Not only is the coding a daunting task, but all the research that must have been done is mind-blowing.
I am a software architect (have been in the business for almost 30 years) and I am completely blown away (every day) by this game and what I saw at the con. So when you feel the need to demand that HTC come forth and spend whatever little time they might have to themselves during this development cycle, take a deep breath and be patient. I am completely convinced that HTC is busting butt to make this real for us and ... WE WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED !!!
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Sorry Cajun. The sarcastic zinger in my post was not aimed at you.
FWIW your idea would have merit. If there was any quantity of uncategorized AH-II "facts" spread through out the topics here. The problem is there is nothing much to collect or gather up that's not already in the FAQ. And the scarce e-zine interviews and the few posts by HTC aren't very concrete nor definitive either.
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I'm so glad we got SlapShot as our official link to HiTech. Without this guy we would have nothing.
Dude you got any news on the middle east road map that nobody knows about? Perhaps you spent some time with Yasser Arafat and would like to enlighten us on that subject as well????
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momoney what slapshot says is true. I was at the con as well and Dale gave us a personal little tour of what he had for ah2. He even had somebody (musta been slapshot!) try out the new stall modeling for the p51 (not really a new model, just more modeled surfaces). Everything that slapshot mentions was told to everybody who wanted to listen. Its not like Dale was 'hiding' anything.
And westy I dont know how people missed the sarcasm in your remark. That was a coffee spitter here.
erg
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Thank you SlapShot...one correction though. I thought I read that the new wings would have 16 "data points" instead of the 4 now. I think this means, for example, you'll be able to lose smaller parts of your wing, not always the huge hunk that falls off the end making most planes almost unflyable. Also, stalls etc. will be more realistic as stated above.
*******
If Ostwinds can hide under trees they better start perking them!
Ostwinds, not trees, I mean.
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MoMoney...did we miss something? Was Arafat at the AH con?
MRPLUTO VMF-323 ~Death Rattlers~ MAG-33
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Originally posted by MoMoney
I'm so glad we got SlapShot as our official link to HiTech. Without this guy we would have nothing.
Dude you got any news on the middle east road map that nobody knows about? Perhaps you spent some time with Yasser Arafat and would like to enlighten us on that subject as well????
I don't know which way to take your post.
Somebody asked .. I delivered .. simply as that.
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Originally posted by Westy
Quit your *****'n and bellyaching already! Jeezuz you'd think that because you pay to play that you're owed something. Well I got a surprise for ya punk. You'll know more when they damn feel your damed ready to damned get it and not a damned moment damned sooner.
In the meantime take a long walk off the short pier already
(how'd I do Arlo and AckAck? )
Westy! Bro! :D
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Originally posted by MoMoney
I'm so glad we got SlapShot as our official link to HiTech. Without this guy we would have nothing.
Dude you got any news on the middle east road map that nobody knows about? Perhaps you spent some time with Yasser Arafat and would like to enlighten us on that subject as well????
Dumbarse. :D
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Originally posted by MRPLUTO
I thought I read that the new wings would have 16 "data points" instead of the 4 now.
Yes, as far as I remember from the Con, it was 16 rather than 4. :) Everything else Slapshot said was absolutely true from what I can remember. :)
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So that means we can "whittle" more in the game (and get whittled)? :D
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Originally posted by MoMoney
I'm so glad we got SlapShot as our official link to HiTech. Without this guy we would have nothing.
Dude you got any news on the middle east road map that nobody knows about? Perhaps you spent some time with Yasser Arafat and would like to enlighten us on that subject as well????
(http://www.game-revolution.com/chatter/mailbag/dumb.jpg)
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Originally posted by Westy
Quit your *****'n and bellyaching already! Jeezuz you'd think that because you pay to play that you're owed something. Well I got a surprise for ya punk. You'll know more when they damn feel your damed ready to damned get it and not a damned moment damned sooner.
In the meantime take a long walk off the short pier already
(how'd I do Arlo and AckAck? )
I'll tell you when I clean the soda off my monitor
ack-ack
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Originally posted by SlapShot
This is all that I can remember ... If you do any kind of software development as a profession, you can understand the daunting task that each of these points addresses
It definitely is a daunting task, especially for a development team with just a hand full of programmers to work at it, especially for a game that's a MMOG. If the company I work for had the development team size of HTC, I don't think any of our games would have seen the light of day.
Having said that, it would still be a nice gesture to the community if once in a blue moon we'd get a substantial update either in the way of an updated FAQ or at least some screenshots showing more substantial stuff other than the teasers we've been thrown. But I know how things work in this business and with a small development house, somethings take more of a precedent over others.
ack-ack
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Thanks Slapshot! I had not read this thread before. :)
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Noses in the wind since 1997.
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but show a few teaser can be to ask for to much eh...
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Sorry bout that westy, I guess I didnt get it as I havent been around much lately :)
Thanks for all the links and info, we should all agree on what exactly has and hasnt been said for a fact by HTC, and come up with say several parts of the FAQ like "Facts" "Rumors" etc.
MoMoney - if you have nothing better to add to the conversation please dont come to this thread, if you do however you are welcome.
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MoMoney - if you have nothing better to add to the conversation please dont come to this thread, if you do however you are welcome.
He will not be back. ;)
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There is an interview here:
http://www.wargamer.com/articles/aceshigh_interview_2003/
That mght have some information you are looking for.
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Must be more Yankies in this game then Cajuns. They got to make punk replies when someone trys to ask a question.
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Originally posted by louviljlj
Must be more Yankies in this game then Cajuns. They got to make punk replies when someone trys to ask a question.
Dumberarse. :D
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durr
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Originally posted by louviljlj
Must be more Yankies in this game then Cajuns. They got to make punk replies when someone trys to ask a question.
AW had just as many tulips playing as AH does, probably a few more actually.
ack-ack
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Originally posted by Ack-Ack
AW had just as many tulips playing as AH does, probably a few more actually.
ack-ack
I'll give ya that :D