Weather

[YamaRaja]

Does AH have weather built in?
I've been here 1.5 years now and have never seen it.

Like rain, snow or wind?
Snow map even perhaps.

In my ventures with Fighter Ace we had it but used it like a storm moving thru. So it would come in for an hour or so then clear back up to a sunny day.
Leaving it on for a full rotation of a map angered a few squeaky wheels. (whiners)


We had some cloud layer time periods to. Like a cloud layer at 12k that was 2k or 3k thick.
Forcing bombers to a lower alt or providing a cat and mouse type of dogfight. ( cool when your so close to a guy you can hear his motor but cant see him, firing a few burst just to see if you can hit them. Then their supprise when it disipates off exposing them )
This can also be used for runners to hide and run in so that issue can irritate some.

We also found that more players liked it than disliked but just were not as vocal about it.

Yama

[Butcher]

Does AH have weather built in?
I've been here 1.5 years now and have never seen it.

Like rain, snow or wind?
Snow map even perhaps.

In my ventures with Fighter Ace we had it but used it like a storm moving thru. So it would come in for an hour or so then clear back up to a sunny day.
Leaving it on for a full rotation of a map angered a few squeaky wheels. (whiners)


We had some cloud layer time periods to. Like a cloud layer at 12k that was 2k or 3k thick.
Forcing bombers to a lower alt or providing a cat and mouse type of dogfight. ( cool when your so close to a guy you can hear his motor but cant see him, firing a few burst just to see if you can hit them. Then their supprise when it disipates off exposing them )
This can also be used for runners to hide and run in so that issue can irritate some.

We also found that more players liked it than disliked but just were not as vocal about it.

Yama

Here's the problem with flooding the game with graphics such as weather, not everyone's computer is top notch, mine barely handles the game right now in a perfect condition (under 400 on and not in a giant furball).

What I am trying to say is - HTC has to balance the game between the percentage that have crappy computers - and the percentage that have up to date computers to keep people happy.

Same Argument in another thread about directX 10, What about everyone on XP? You don't suddenly want to lose a hundred or more subscribers based on the request of a few people - eventually the game might go DX10 - but not for some time.


I have seen some weather in the Scenarios and Snapshots, thunderstorms in the distance - while the CM's change the air to make turbulance and such.

[Drano]

What Butcher says. Its a balance thing so that those with less than a top of the line PC can still play. Yama, you and I were flying in the same area for a but last night. I thought the  in the area looked great in the early morning sun, but there were some commenting on range that they were killing their frame rates. My rig is pretty high end right now but it wasn't long ago when my old one could barely cut it. So I get that.

As to actual weather I'd have to say no. These planes didn't generally operate in driving snow storms or thunder storms if they could avoid them. Personally, I'd be less than pleased if I logged on and there was a thunder storm that I had to wait out fur an hour. When I want to fly I want to fly.

[YamaRaja]

Light rain, IE no lighting which are light sources and taxing on a system.
No massive thunderstorms no one wants to fly in. Nor "driving snow storms".
So it just looks like you are flying thru rain it is no more taxing on a system than clouds, snow isnt either.
They didn't avoid flying thru rain only and in fact did it much in the Pacific theater.
When sitting still still it looks like its raining or snowing down, when moving it turns into blowing rain or snow, the faster you go it looks like streaks, pretty cool really and no more for you system to draw than clouds or fog.
If done properly its substantially less taxing than drawing detailed ground terrain or the new ground clutter.

It could also add some diversity to the ground war. The million yard shots so many complain about would be a bit tuff.

DX8 does it just fine so not sure where the DX10 or 11 comment fits here.
Nor would it be "flooding the game with graphics"
It could also be with a check box so you could see it or not such as the other graphics in the game.

The last game I was involved in the development of we had it all, with people flying on older DX8 XP machines.
Even some old 98SE machines.
Its actually something you can do to have some graphic diversity without creating a big system load.

It kills me and killed me when I see knee jerk responses to things like this.

[kvuo75]

we have wind.. it is not used in the main arenas tho. almost always used in special events.


we have cloud/fog that moves in and moves out.. SMpizza map has it at the ports..


 

[Bruv119]

We had some cloud layer time periods to. Like a cloud layer at 12k that was 2k or 3k thick.
Forcing bombers to a lower alt or providing a cat and mouse type of dogfight. ( cool when your so close to a guy you can hear his motor but cant see him, firing a few burst just to see if you can hit them. Then their supprise when it disipates off exposing them )
This can also be used for runners to hide and run in so that issue can irritate some.

I would say the thick cloud rooms helped kill the game.  No-one I ever spoke with liked them.

In AH the clouds are built into the terrain, a good example would be Baltic where some areas do become pretty thick.  I wouldn't mind seeing a stormfront roll across the map but not be arena wide.  

A guy had an interesting suggestion the other day about having the north and south of maps with snowy terrain tiles and have desert ones through the middle  (basically a terrain that utilises more than one type of terrain clutter)  This would help mix things up a bit without that much work.   Help break up the endless greenery.

[wil3ur]

There are great special events.  I've had to land at fields where I wish there was some sort of beacon, because I literally couldn't see until my wheels were down.  That being said, in the MA I don't think there's enough people who'd truly appreciate it.

I give it a +1 though

Also add winter and desert maps.

[SmokinLoon]

I just wish HTC would test out a 10mph wind on a Friday or Saturday night in the MA's.  Why not?  What hurt would it cause?

They have the ability to diversify the game a but from time to time, and yet... they dont.  There a a whole bucket full worth of things HTC could do just in the server settings that would really add some depth to AH and at least change things up a bit, at if at least for a day or 2.  THEN go back to the SAME settings they've had for the past 6 years. 

[TheMercinary60]

id just like an hour or so of night every so often, otherwise i might have to just pay my $15 in December to get the chance 

[YamaRaja]

I would say the thick cloud rooms helped kill the game.  No-one I ever spoke with liked them.

In AH the clouds are built into the terrain, a good example would be Baltic where some areas do become pretty thick.  I wouldn't mind seeing a stormfront roll across the map but not be arena wide.  

A guy had an interesting suggestion the other day about having the north and south of maps with snowy terrain tiles and have desert ones through the middle  (basically a terrain that utilises more than one type of terrain clutter)  This would help mix things up a bit without that much work.   Help break up the endless greenery.

We never could have a storm front roll across the map. We did have it so it would start getting a bit cloudy then turn into a cloud cover with rain, then it all transition back to sunny day within 15 to 20 mins.

I like the north south map idea. On a few maps we had desert areas of the map.

Perhaps areas of a map snowy above say 5k

[hitech]

I just wish HTC would test out a 10mph wind on a Friday or Saturday night in the MA's.  Why not?  What hurt would it cause?

They have the ability to diversify the game a but from time to time, and yet... they dont.  There a a whole bucket full worth of things HTC could do just in the server settings that would really add some depth to AH and at least change things up a bit, at if at least for a day or 2.  THEN go back to the SAME settings they've had for the past 6 years. 

We have tried it in the past and the results we not good. In the mains we will not have wind at ground levels simply because many people will crash on take off.
The game is about fighting , not so much learning to take off and land in a cross wind.

HiTech

[Kazan_HB]

ok, but the different colors of the sky?
Dawn and dusk illuminated the red rays of the sun ...  

[matt]

Light rain, IE no lighting which are light sources and taxing on a system.
No massive thunderstorms no one wants to fly in. Nor "driving snow storms".
So it just looks like you are flying thru rain it is no more taxing on a system than clouds, snow isnt either.
They didn't avoid flying thru rain only and in fact did it much in the Pacific theater.
When sitting still still it looks like its raining or snowing down, when moving it turns into blowing rain or snow, the faster you go it looks like streaks, pretty cool really and no more for you system to draw than clouds or fog.
If done properly its substantially less taxing than drawing detailed ground terrain or the new ground clutter.

It could also add some diversity to the ground war. The million yard shots so many complain about would be a bit tuff.

DX8 does it just fine so not sure where the DX10 or 11 comment fits here.
Nor would it be "flooding the game with graphics"
It could also be with a check box so you could see it or not such as the other graphics in the game.

The last game I was involved in the development of we had it all, with people flying on older DX8 XP machines.
Even some old 98SE machines.
Its actually something you can do to have some graphic diversity without creating a big system load.

It kills me and killed me when I see knee jerk responses to things like this.

[earl1937]

would be nice to have a few "CB's" standing around, with a rain shower out the bottome every once in awhile. It would certaily add a touch of "realism" to the game!

[Butcher]

We have tried it in the past and the results we not good. In the mains we will not have wind at ground levels simply because many people will crash on take off.
The game is about fighting , not so much learning to take off and land in a cross wind.

HiTech

I Remember the whining threads when you had a night time event in the Main Arena, I couldn't imagine someone not being able to take off due to wind and start a whine war on the thread