DD_Arthur

Dear Friends, As some of you who frequent our forums already know, Jason has recently announced that we're developing a new tech called DVD and invited you to guess what that actually means. There were different guesses and some of them were near misses. The answer is, DVD means Dynamic Visual Damage. In a nutshell, it places an impact mark where a projectile hit. Among the many neat possibilities this tech brings, the size of the mark corresponds to the caliber of the projectile and/or explosive power of the shell if it was of the HE variety. They also look different depending on the material the projectile hit - whether it was armor, thin metal, or not a metal at all. There are also separate marks for ricochets of high caliber armor-piercing rounds. The look of these marks is thoroughly prepared by our partners at Digital Forms and is based on real-world photos of combat damage on different objects. The marks placed by this tech are not simple 2D textures - thanks to modern graphical techniques they have visual depth. Even the penetrations can look different such as near penetrations when the armor (barely) stopped a projectile. We concentrated on making these marks as realistic looking as possible. All in all, we think this new tech would make the visual part of the damage system much more interesting and appealing both for aircraft and tanks. Tanks will be adapted first and then aircraft. It is a long-term project that will take several months. Please be aware though that this tech is visual, it doesn't affect the physical interaction between the projectiles and aircraft and tank parts or systems. We're working on the improvements in the physical damage system as well, but we'll tell you more about that later. Speaking of this new DVD tech, we must note that due to ever complex issues of graphics performance and network traffic and stability, there are some limitations to what can be done. This may be apparent in some rare cases, but we have to mention them. In certain 'critical' cases the mark may not appear or a wrong mark type may appear (like a visual penetration when there was a near penetration in fact). There is also a limit to the total amount of marks that can be placed on the object. In multiplayer, you'll see the marks on your aircraft or tank, but you'll only see the marks on other player aircraft or tanks that appeared when they were in your view. To alleviate this limitation, we added a special transmission of the most recent marks to other players even if they were looking the other way. Because of these compromises, the DVD tech doesn't replace the current visual damage system completely. The current system of visual 'damage levels' guarantees that every player in a multiplayer environment will get the visual cues on how badly a certain object is damaged. DVD is designed to enhance the existing visual damage system and we made every effort to make them work harmoniously during its development. Nevertheless, in multiplayer you'll see the marks on your aircraft and the marks on your opponents’ aircraft - which is the most important and critical application of this tech. If you saw the hits of someone else projectiles on another player, you'll also see these marks. The limitations listed above, however, won't undermine the improved visual look of the damage system the new DVD tech will bring. We hope we have found the sweet spot between visual quality with the least impact on graphics performance and multiplayer. To illustrate the new system, we would like to show you these WIP in-game screenshots.

Some random, buttock-clenching action from Cadwell a couple of years ago.... I dunno but I'm starting to get to the end of my tether with lockdown. I KNOW it's the right thing to do but I just want to get out and...do stuff. I invite my fellow Dogz to post any other random, out and about stuff they may care for here...

Nope and I hope they don’t try and turn it into one either. For myself at the moment I seem to have lost my mojo for ‘kersplosions and shootin’. I think it’s a combination of the workload I’m under and the number of Lateral flow tests I have to take🤔. What I do really crave is a flight around the block in a Cessna or a Piper Warrior or something like that. Unfortunately all my mates who had PPL’s have either let them lapse or in one case have actually moved to Portugal in order to be able to keep flying affordably. So for myself, it’s the flying not the fighting that floats my boat atm and this thing seems to hit that spot. I originally started computer flying with my eldest son and FS95 so in a way I’ve come full circle and to be able to take to the virtual skies, over places I’m very familiar with, in aircraft I’m familiar with has been wonderful these last few months.

It's out now https://flyingironsimulations.com/products/spitfire-l-f-mk-ixc-for-microsoft-flight-simulator It's twenty squid...ahh, I'm so tempted. I believe there are another two or three Spitfires nearing release or under development. Must summon the strength to wait and see....or not What I really, really want is a Mk. I. Some piccies of things in the near future....

Cornwall this morning! Gina and I take a short hop between St. Mawgan and Culdrose.

Fantastic!

Wasn't that Captain Mainwaring?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company

You mean....the bondage club is closed too!!!!!

I play golf...and I miss playing golf.

Hmm...#2

Wow. At these prices I'm starting to wonder about renting a virtual machine instead of owning a box of components that will be obsolete by year three?

Yes, they're all making that universal signal that means "Gentlemen, start your tumble-dryers"

Very many congratulations Major https://www.stephanniecamossephotography.com/post/2019/06/22/tyler-kendall-bozeman-mt-engagement

Looks pretty good. I've updated and installed the UK scenery - a six and a half hour process - but other than a little, local trot around I've not explored it yet. With the new height map the Jurassic Coast looks very authentic except for the freakin' trees! Not only has it trees on the beach a' la CLoD but also trees up the cliffs! Interesting to see Heathrow in the near distance at the end of your movie. I wonder if Boris will one day be able to afford the courage of his convictions and build a new London Airport out in the Thames Estuary?

There are shortages of all chips at the moment. The car industry is on short time working all over the world at the moment as supply cannot keep up with demand. Chip manufacturing is not an on-off industry. Think of a steel works. Once production ceases it takes time to get all the processes going again. Many closed down during early lockdowns last year and the added demand for devices during lockdown was not anticipated by the industry. They're struggling now to reach pre-lockdown levels of production but it will come back.

Just no. Thats just too much. Prices and availability will come down eventually. I don't think it's due to bit coin mining so much as a world shortage of chips at the moment.

Followed this Airbus from takeoff in Gibraltar in realtime and live weather as it climbed and headed north. i can just imagine the drinks trolley on board doing a roaring trade. "When do we touch down in Birmingham, Miss?" "In an hour and twenty minutes sir" "Great. I'll have a treble brandy and coke, the wife will have a double vodka and granny will have a large gin and orange."

Interesting...looks like we'll be getting a wide selection of cold war heavy metal in the near future....

Must get myself some pedals some day.... In a moment of weekend lockdown boredom I took my now old toys out for some exercise today. Not far down the coast they're trying to protect what Brunel built in the middle of the nineteenth century from the effects of climate change in the early twenty-first. The only way to protect the line whilst keeping it open is to use this floating rig which can 'walk' itself along the foot of the embankment pile-driving as it goes. A couple of miles further down the road provides a splendid view of some of the very large ships which have been anchored off Torbay and Lyme Bay for the last ten months. Most of the cruise ships seem to have come here from the Med. to enjoy the free parking but further out are tankers and bulk carriers with nowhere to go either. This is all a shocking twenty miles from where I live so I expect I'm breaking some sort of rule but this is the furthest I've travelled from my home in about five months!

Luuurvley! Are you waiting on a 3070 or 3080 Crash?

The real thing is much, much more scary.