A alternate Skin System

[LCADolby]

I sat looking at all of the skins in AcesHigh thinking; "These are all fantastic, but the only interactivity I can have with a skin is adding my Squad emblem. And when Film making, 2 aircraft looking exactly the same gives an artificial feeling".

Later the same day I had a few goes on IL2's Cliffs of Dover, and enjoyed playing around with the many options I have to make my aircraft truely individual.
My propsal to HTC in my wish is that AcesHigh could implement a similar system. The system would be fantastic for AcesHigh's squad they could have alot more immersion when each wing have its correct markings and tail numbering. Imagine an AcesHigh screenshot with 4 aircraft in a finger 4 formation with this system, truely epic visually.

The base skin is relevent to each individual real life WW2 squadron
Noseart can be added
Serial number can be added
Tail number can be altered.

Base skins with no markings


Base skin with added markings

Tail number changed

Added weathering effects.


Please give this serious consideration.

 

[tunnelrat]

Man that'd be a hell of a lot of work.

Therefore, I approve.

Get a PO cut, and GET IT DONE.

[oboe]

+1 would be awesome to be able to personalize your skin like that.  Not sure how hard it would be on game resources, etc.

HTC could still retain overall control by reviewing and making available base paint schemes and markings.  Would LOVE to be able to create my OWN semi-historical skin, or duplicate some real flyer's plane if I choose.

[Void]

Would be very great. But it would take alot of time implementing this into the game.

 

[LCADolby]

Not the intention of adding more work.
 AH is bound by it's number of skins, and some aircraft have a number of skins from the same squad. Rotating skins to replace old one with new ones is alot of trouble for HTC. I thnk they may have even given up on the rotating idea all together.
The way I see it this could help HTC with only needing 1 base skin for each squadron a skinner wishes to make. The markings can be universal over a number of skins. The player can add his squad emblem on one side, like my Eismeer crest, and on the otherside the aircrafts noseart like Memphis Belle for example. Or even add the nose art and squad art to which ever real WW2 aircraft he wishes to look like.
I'm sure there may be few drawbacks, but will they outweight the good a system like this adds?

[Wiley]

Cool idea.  Only problem is, when you put 100 planes in range of your client, all of that information will need to be passed back and forth between the game clients before it renders them.

Considering how many PCs hiccup just getting the right skin out of the relatively few we already have loaded up for enemy planes, I'm not sure we're quite ready for that.

Wiley.

[LCADolby]

Cool idea.  Only problem is, when you put 100 planes in range of your client, all of that information will need to be passed back and forth between the game clients before it renders them.

Considering how many PCs hiccup just getting the right skin out of the relatively few we already have loaded up for enemy planes, I'm not sure we're quite ready for that.

Wiley.

But like skins now, the system could be turned off to a default?

[Wiley]

Here's the thing though...  If it's an option, all that info would have to go up to the server, and be dispersed to the other clients regardless of whether they act on it to load the appropriate options.  It would be a significant increase in network traffic.

As it stands now, a plane is probably represented by type, skin number, and some kind of efficient data structure that represents the bits that have fallen off of it due to damage.  With that kind of system, you'd need to add all the information for those options you've listed.

Wiley.

[oboe]

Actually Dolby, as far as film making goes, there is a way to get uninstalled custom skins to show up in the film viewer as if they were installed.  So you can already support your idea of the finger four formation of a squad each with a separate skin.

This screenshot contains a skin that has not been released.   As long as you put it the proper skin sub folder, and then select the installed skin with the .res # that corresponds to that subfolder slot, when you play the film it looks like you were flying that skin in the MA.

[tunnelrat]

Actually Dolby, as far as film making goes, there is a way to get uninstalled custom skins to show up in the film viewer as if they were installed.  So you can already support your idea of the finger four formation of a squad each with a separate skin.

This screenshot contains a skin that has not been released.   As long as you put it the proper skin sub folder, and then select the installed skin with the .res # that corresponds to that subfolder slot, when you play the film it looks like you were flying that skin in the MA.
(Image removed from quote.)

Man, oboe... that's an amazing pic!  Captures a lot.

 

[Debrody]

Great idea, Dolby, and wouldnt be hals as hard to make it real.
 

[guncrasher]

lots of people would have only one skin for tanks.  bright red.



semp

[LCADolby]

lots of people would have only one skin for tanks.  bright red.



semp

You really think HTC would approve that 

[LCADolby]

I thought I'd bring this up again, because I was on Cliffs of Dover today, and... well... it's looks awesome when you are in formation and can see the line go 2, 3, 4

[earl1937]

I thought I'd bring this up again, because I was on Cliffs of Dover today, and... well... it's looks awesome when you are in formation and can see the line go 2, 3, 4

Good suggestion sir! To add to your wish, the skins, most anyway, are already in hangar, and the simply easiest way to up all aircraft with same skin is to enable the mission planner to select the skin for each aircraft in mission, then post and when mission launches, each different type of aircraft could have the same squadron skins! Sounds simple enough, all the elements needed are already in the hangar, just a matter of AH wanting to enable skin selection when posting missions. I don't see where that would be any different than selecting ords or fuel for mission!
Of course, now all in mission can select the skin picked by sortie leader, spawn out on runway and there you are.
What you are suggesting is a good idea!