617Dambusters

Hi everyone,

I followed Charlie3's link from his post at Targetware..

First a brief Bio

Simon Morley
41 years old
British
Long term partner - Julie
Kids... Reef (11), Georgia (9)
Electrical Design Engineer
mac user

I originally flew iEN's Warbirds but found the bomber side lacking and as a 3d modeller I wanted to help improve it, but was refused... This frustrated me even more and so after some time turned to Targetware where it was explained I could help.

Targetware has like all avaition combat sims, a predominance of fighter pilots. Although they wish to have bombers within the game, it's easier and quicker to produce fighters, they're therefor of greater quantity, people fly then, want to produce more and it becomes more and more fighter orientated...

This is the nature of aviation combat sims the world over.

I wanted to change that even if only in my little corner of the world... So I modeled the Lancaster.. well actually all the Lancasters.

MkI, MkII, MkIII, MkVII, MkX... Dambuster, Tallboy and Grandslam variants...

Also modelled the Manchesters..

It's my hobby... they're not finished and whether to me they'll ever be finished is debatable.

They're flyable, they hit all the numbers. Targetware by all acounts has the best damage model and within Targetware the Lancasters is far and away the best.

I'm not here to 'Rah Rah' Targetware so take the above sentance with a pinch of salt... I aint no 'Fanboi' and that gets me into a fair amount of trouble over at Targetware land.... but it's my hobby and my mission is to create the best Lancasters within a combat aviation sim not kiss the but of some game engine developer.

Flying someone elses sim, who doesn't have the same passion for bombers as I, just doesn't cut it for me. I need to be able to say 'that bit isn't right' and then actually put it right... it's not just about flying....

There's a small team of guys over there that feel the same way about bombers... it's an uphill struggle but at the same time we get to watch the planes grow from 'grey' models to somewhere near looking right... So if there's anyone here that wants to help us, then that would be great. If it's flying you're interested in, that's also great as it's nice to know people that are interested in bombers.

I guess you're interested in time scales... ?
Well we like you guys work for a living, we have kids and such and things take as long as they take...

But with more hands at the pumps things will go faster...

On-going projects

Lancasters
Manchesters
Wellington
Liberator
Privateer
Ju88
Adora 196

The Entire German Fleet - Including Graf Zepperlin (trust me on this)

I'd like also to do the Halifax....

regards

Simon

Hi there Simon!
Welcome to our little forum.
You have found one of the most bomber-happy bunch of guys in the gaming world.

We have been flying strategic and tactical bombing missions together for over three years.
While we will one day be flying the big boys here, right now we are limited to twins.

Naturally as the 617 squadron we are VERY interested in Lancs in all their variants and in fact the interest in any heavy bombing iron is very strong here.
I hope you won't mind if we harrass you with some questions?

What kind of mission structures are you guys working on?
Will the bombers be multi crewable?
How many planes can we expect to see in the air at once?
Just how detailed is the damage model?
How detailed is the instrument model?

Have you ever played WWIIOL?
Allow me to extend our invitation, should you ever decide to try this game, to come fly with us.
We have some very skilled strat bombers here and while we may not be able to consistantly put 8 in a pickle barrel, we regularly put 40-60 bombs inside a half acre factory grounds from 3 miles up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hi Simon

Nice of you to drop by...

I installed Targetware last week,, but do not have all the mods yet.
I have Richthoven's Skies, Target Korea and the Tanx, which mod has the Lancaster so I mite give it a go!

I also found it difficult setting up my joystick, a Saitek X45. The setting's that I thought I saved after lots of work where gone the next day when I started the game... not to mention the calibration!

And if you ever feel like joining us on a Bombing raid you are more than welcome to come along!

Hey Simon

I haven't read a whole lot about Targetware either.

I'm interested in the missions aspect too. Do you pick a target and fight your way in with all the fighters out there?

Are large bombing raids formed regularly?

Is it free or is there a subscription?

Is it one large server that everybody plays on?

When is that DamBuster mission going to be completed?

OK I downloaded the game engine and got a biplane in the air...

Saw a server with eight people online but couldn't get in.

How do you spawn a Lancaster? What mod do you download?

Managed to find a Havoc and I attacked Rabul base but couldn't figure out how to use the bombs!

Strafed stuff until I crashed!

Tzulscha wrote:
I hope you won't mind if we harrass you with some questions?

Fire away...

Tzulscha wrote: What kind of mission structures are you guys working on?

We're working on 4 missions at present...

The Tirpitz mission
A Manchester raid on a French Port
A Sub pen mission
The Mohne Dam mission

Tzulscha wrote:Will the bombers be multi crewable?

The game engine at present doesn't support this... and without bombers and the pilots there's no justification for the game engine developers (Mark Nine Systems) to put the development time in.

You can however as the pilot visit all the positions in the plane...
You can operate the bombsite but no fire the guns which are controlled by AI.

Tzulscha wrote: How many planes can we expect to see in the air at once?

There's no limit...

Tzulscha wrote:Just how detailed is the damage model?

There are 86 damageable items on the Lanc...

engines, wingspars, flight surfaces... you name it.

Tzulscha wrote: How detailed is the instrument model?

All Major instruments are modelled...

Oxygen, fire extinguishers and such aren't... it's up to the developers to add this functionality.

Tzulscha wrote: Have you ever played WWIIOL?
Allow me to extend our invitation, should you ever decide to try this game, to come fly with us.
We have some very skilled strat bombers here and while we may not be able to consistantly put 8 in a pickle barrel, we regularly put 40-60 bombs inside a half acre factory grounds from 3 miles up!

Thanks for stopping by!

I haven't played it.... I don't have the time to play and make planes...

Thank you for the invitation...

Simon

With regards flying the Lancaster...

The plane is at the moment under going Alpha testing by a selected part of the Targetware community...

Following their comments and having had the wool pulled away from my eye's... It's suprising how when you offer up a years worth of work to people how you suddenly see all the warts...

The Lancaster is no where near finished...

The external 3d model is completed but needs more work on the texture..
the internal 3d cockpit model is completed but needs extensive work on the texture...
The other stations needs work on both 3d and 2d but is passable..

The flight/damage models are perfect...

The animation of parts external and internal parts like control collumn throttles and such is done, but some instruments on the engineers panel needs work.

She has the full set of bomb loads...


To create a simulation that's realistic is not just the plane that needs doing it's the terrain, the targets, the animation the particle effects, the night fighters.... I'm pulled this way and that, and it all takes time...

But it's my hobby, so I don't mind..... however if you're waiting if could get disapointing..

Look I'm trying to manage your expectation... I don't want you thinking that I've a completed mod... it's not like that...

If you want a particular mission then over at Targetware you can make it...... I wanted bombers, so I have to make em... and there targets.

It's a kind of a chicken and egg situation... there's no bombers, so no volunteers to help make em...it takes longer to make them... Without bomber pilots over there it's a lone voice amongst many fighter pilots.. go over there make you presence felt in the Target for Today Forum and try and make the developers take note of the waiting bombers pilots that exist.

I have a new version to go up in a week or 2 , it contains all the Lancasters and not just the MkI..... I'll make it availble for you guys so download the game engine, get your joystick working and we'll see where we go from there.

Regards

Simon

P.S..... Is there anyone here that can do textures ?

Hey simon. I tried the targetware also. I can not figure out how to map my joystick butons for alternate fumction's?

Take Joystick issues to the Targetware forum, they're very good at solving these things... I'm pretty useless.. Tell em what joystick you've got and ask for someone's config file...

Oh and here's a little target I have...

Figured out that Lancasters have not been released for public consumption yet... although bomber could use us as testers...



Not a bad game. Still free. Ya can't play ground. It's like Call of Duty. Ya get these missions that you hafta pass. It's mutiplayer but not multicrew.

I recommend it when burnout kicks in.

Graphics are like WWII Online Beta though! Kinda funny but the flight models are good.

Primary difference as I understand it is players can create the planes.

(You can't be a bomber for every mission. The mission preselects the equipment available although in the few I've tried, you generally get to pick between a few planes.)

Download the Target Rabaul version to get the WWII missions.

Dang bomber I didn't see your post before I wrote mine.

I'm confused. Are you trying to create your own missions and everything? Not just the planes?

Oh and if you want to open your testing to us - let me be the first to say that we would be honored.

If you had to guess, when is this game going to leave open beta testing?

Sweet ass screenshot btw!

Look I'm trying to manage your expectation... I don't want you thinking that I've a completed mod... it's not like that...

If you want a particular mission then over at Targetware you can make it...... I wanted bombers, so I have to make em... and there targets. [quote][/quote]

Guess I need to read first.

That's effin awesome.

Great list of proposed missions too. I really hope this works out for ya.

Sounds like it it is set up like Warbirds?

Eh - first CAP mission... I suck at CAP