Air Ace Update
by Phil Carlisle · 04/11/2006 (6:22 pm) · 18 comments
Well, Air Ace has been going pretty crazy this last few weeks. As we get content into the game, do some code, get the backend fixed up.
Backend systems
Air Ace is basically what you might call a "small multiplayer online game". A target of a few hundred or so players in any given instance of the game arena seems a reasonable target. So we have essentially an authentication backbone which users login to from the game client, once that is approved, they can then view and join games. The sessions are all authenticated and tracked and the servers send stats to the stats tracking server.
Now in order to scale, we have to start thinking about our instantiation scheme. It might be that we have some kind of balance monitor process and spawn new instances of the game based on the current game load.
The other thing is actually locating the various servers. We currently have a very cheap game server hosted in germany (39 euros for 1tb bandwidth and thats INCLUDING hardware). We can essentially scale up the game by quickly bringing those online. Ideally though, we're going to have to diversify our server base a little bit to give a good experience for US players. Something to think about for the future.
A friend of mine in Manchester is also looking at hosting the game from thier servers, so I'll follow up on that once the game is a bit more "there".
Artwork
This has been going really well. We now have what boils down to a full set of WW2 assets, barring some soldier meshes (we can get those too). One thing that has me concerned a bit is the huge variation in quality. It might be that we end up reworking some peices to bring it in line with the better assets. But at least fundamentally we are getting there. Watch for some shots of our tank battalions, the destroyers and the aircraft carriers to come!
Of course, the most imporant part of the game is the planes. So we need to really get those up to speed. Pascal is doing some great work for us rigging and getting some of the contractor planes in the game. Although the quality of those is questionable at best.
Luckily, we also have some other really talented artists on the job, plus we have some contacts that are starting to bear fruit (look for an updated set of screenshots or an IOTD from that this week).
Here's a beta of the stuka cockpit mesh, this is the mesh you see in first person camera views. Of course it'll have all the working dials and such. The actual plane is a seperate mesh, so that you dont have the huge polygon count of the cockpit AND plane in external views.
As you can see, these are pretty high quality. We have more of a similar quality coming up.
Research
Speaking of artwork. One thing you tend to do when developing a game based on WW2, is become a real bore. I spent far too much time last weekend looking over some of the gun camera footage available on google video. That stuff has taught me a lot of things that will be possible to add to the game. Things that wont really affect gameplay, but affect the simulation and the immersion. Even though we're essentially making a blaster game, we want it to feel real and immersive for the players.
A few examples are that when you strafe a ground target, it depends on the material of the object you hit wether you get simply a sort of dirt explosion, or a small flash (i.e. ground vs metal). Another interesting thing I saw, was from a jet-fighter combat video I saw. It shows the planes doing some rolls and what is interesting, is the intensity of the sunlight and shadow within the cockpit. Thinking about it, thats pretty obvious, as your flying above the clouds, the sunlight is as intense as it gets. So you get a very white-out kind of look in your cockpit. We'll have to simulate that once TSE gets a shadowing solution. Self-shadowing inside the cockpits is a total must-have for the immersion to work!
Anyway, I'm going to get some time in on doing some render trickery soon. But right now its cockpit code and finishing up some contract stuff and the AI pack.
So there ya go for a quickie update! More is happening behind the scenes.
Backend systems
Air Ace is basically what you might call a "small multiplayer online game". A target of a few hundred or so players in any given instance of the game arena seems a reasonable target. So we have essentially an authentication backbone which users login to from the game client, once that is approved, they can then view and join games. The sessions are all authenticated and tracked and the servers send stats to the stats tracking server.
Now in order to scale, we have to start thinking about our instantiation scheme. It might be that we have some kind of balance monitor process and spawn new instances of the game based on the current game load.
The other thing is actually locating the various servers. We currently have a very cheap game server hosted in germany (39 euros for 1tb bandwidth and thats INCLUDING hardware). We can essentially scale up the game by quickly bringing those online. Ideally though, we're going to have to diversify our server base a little bit to give a good experience for US players. Something to think about for the future.
A friend of mine in Manchester is also looking at hosting the game from thier servers, so I'll follow up on that once the game is a bit more "there".
Artwork
This has been going really well. We now have what boils down to a full set of WW2 assets, barring some soldier meshes (we can get those too). One thing that has me concerned a bit is the huge variation in quality. It might be that we end up reworking some peices to bring it in line with the better assets. But at least fundamentally we are getting there. Watch for some shots of our tank battalions, the destroyers and the aircraft carriers to come!
Of course, the most imporant part of the game is the planes. So we need to really get those up to speed. Pascal is doing some great work for us rigging and getting some of the contractor planes in the game. Although the quality of those is questionable at best.
Luckily, we also have some other really talented artists on the job, plus we have some contacts that are starting to bear fruit (look for an updated set of screenshots or an IOTD from that this week).
Here's a beta of the stuka cockpit mesh, this is the mesh you see in first person camera views. Of course it'll have all the working dials and such. The actual plane is a seperate mesh, so that you dont have the huge polygon count of the cockpit AND plane in external views.
As you can see, these are pretty high quality. We have more of a similar quality coming up.
Research
Speaking of artwork. One thing you tend to do when developing a game based on WW2, is become a real bore. I spent far too much time last weekend looking over some of the gun camera footage available on google video. That stuff has taught me a lot of things that will be possible to add to the game. Things that wont really affect gameplay, but affect the simulation and the immersion. Even though we're essentially making a blaster game, we want it to feel real and immersive for the players.
A few examples are that when you strafe a ground target, it depends on the material of the object you hit wether you get simply a sort of dirt explosion, or a small flash (i.e. ground vs metal). Another interesting thing I saw, was from a jet-fighter combat video I saw. It shows the planes doing some rolls and what is interesting, is the intensity of the sunlight and shadow within the cockpit. Thinking about it, thats pretty obvious, as your flying above the clouds, the sunlight is as intense as it gets. So you get a very white-out kind of look in your cockpit. We'll have to simulate that once TSE gets a shadowing solution. Self-shadowing inside the cockpits is a total must-have for the immersion to work!
Anyway, I'm going to get some time in on doing some render trickery soon. But right now its cockpit code and finishing up some contract stuff and the AI pack.
So there ya go for a quickie update! More is happening behind the scenes.
About the author
#2
04/11/2006 (7:14 pm)
Its looking very good. 
#3
04/11/2006 (7:25 pm)
Hey, that looks great.
#4
04/11/2006 (7:26 pm)
Looking great
#5
04/11/2006 (10:31 pm)
Excellent res on the texture Phil. 
#6
04/12/2006 (2:27 am)
nice textures! 
#8
The cockpit is looking great, hope you have TrackIR working with it :)
04/12/2006 (4:54 am)
One tactic I always read about was attacking from above with the sun behind you so that you'd be lost in the glare. Its a shame that most games either never implemented this or didn't have the tech to do so, hopefully with TSE it's something you could add in :)The cockpit is looking great, hope you have TrackIR working with it :)
#9
You all are my heros! Can I play one handed? (I say this while unzipping...)
04/12/2006 (5:29 am)
Man I am so buying this. A 100+ people all dueling in WWII era fighter planes! My dream game! The only reason I suffered through WWII Online was to dog fight and bomb ground targets!You all are my heros! Can I play one handed? (I say this while unzipping...)
#10
I bought a MS sidewinder force feedback joystick about 3 years ago and it's just been sat in my cupboard ever since when I found that pretty much no decent combat flight sims support it :( Pressing the fire button on the stick and getting to feel those guns firing is something I dream of to this day ;)
04/12/2006 (7:48 am)
Please support force feedback :pI bought a MS sidewinder force feedback joystick about 3 years ago and it's just been sat in my cupboard ever since when I found that pretty much no decent combat flight sims support it :( Pressing the fire button on the stick and getting to feel those guns firing is something I dream of to this day ;)
#11
Thanks all for the nice comments on behalf of the artist :)
04/12/2006 (8:37 am)
Ian: If it is possible to support it, we will. I dont have a FF joystick myself, seems theyre hard to get hold of now too, but I can definitely rumble the rumblepack :)Thanks all for the nice comments on behalf of the artist :)
#12
almost the same thing you are talking about...
--Mike
04/12/2006 (8:46 am)
Quote:what is interesting, is the intensity of the sunlight and shadow within the cockpit.have you seen these Phil... www.thunder-works.com/media.htm
almost the same thing you are talking about...
--Mike
#13
It's wierd that the iforce products disappeared. I loved my old Logitech force feedback stick in FS2.
04/12/2006 (2:33 pm)
Yea but WWII was like scratch and dent. That one (thunderwks) looks too perfect. It's wierd that the iforce products disappeared. I loved my old Logitech force feedback stick in FS2.
#14
04/12/2006 (5:25 pm)
Michael: There's no shadow in thier cockpits. Only simple GL lighting and its not as extreme as the movies Ive seen.
#16
04/14/2006 (1:21 pm)
I really like how you guys did that rubber crash pad. Bump map? Looks sweet.
#17
They have an SDK available that I'm sure you'd qualify for. Check it out here:
http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
04/18/2006 (3:56 pm)
Even better than force feedback would be support for the TrackIR head tracking system. I reckon it's an essential feature for any flight sim.They have an SDK available that I'm sure you'd qualify for. Check it out here:
http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
#18
04/29/2006 (2:23 am)
Phil..every time you post a blog you make me want to just send you my credit card in the international mail. Just charge anything you sell onto it. ;)
Torque 3D Owner Todd Pickens
Looking forward to the screens.