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123

Hello everyone!

With Battle of Moscow project being close to its finish, we have some time to spare on the tasks that were postponed for a long time. In the developer diary #120 we told you about our plans to improve physics and aircraft systems, bomb sights are also being worked on. In the recent update 1.107b we added the more flexible modifications filter system requested by many multiplayer server owners and the additional logging to assist us in the search of hard to find issues like invisible planes in multiplayer and crashes that happen sometimes.

Among other things for the next update 1.108 we're preparing aircraft information that will be accessible for each plane in player profile and in full screen map mode during a flight.

Collecting the data required for it wasn't that simple since many of the reference values are 'soft data', many depend on an aircraft mass and configuration which are different in different tests performed back then, so it was needed to do ingame tests to measure them. These characteristics aren't specified in the game code: they are the integral result of a really complex physics simulation system. When our engineers build a plane, they set and tune aerodynamic elements and engine parts, aiming to meet the reference data available (such as maximum speeds, climb rates, lift-drag and trim curves, takeoff and landing run lengths when available, etc.). Moreover, the reference data analysis is always a research task, so there could be different cases. In some cases there is not enough reference data available and thorough engineer analysis is required to make an educated guess while keeping other values close to the reference data. In other cases, there could be several contradicting sources and we need to determine which one is more credible.

Characteristics presented below were measured in the game, which took almost two weeks of hard work. In the end we've got informative and standardized data for all planes in the game we'd like to present you below:

Airplanes of "Battle of Moscow":

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/168-developer-diary/?p=336140

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/168-developer-diary/?p=332043

Posted Today, 06:01
update #122

"Hans"

Hello!

Today we're assembling Ju 88 A-4 cockpit consisting of 4 crew stations. Required animations are being made right now. We plan to have working quick mission mode for Moscow map by the end of this month and start campaign beta-testing in early March.

There is a plenty of work going on Battle of Moscow, but we aren't forgetting about optimizing the sim as the whole. Some old multiplayer bugs are very hard to reproduce on purpose, for example, a bug with bombs or turrets appearing in a wrong place takes up to 100-150 re-spawns to reproduce it. So we need to choose another approach to find its cause - add special logging to the public version of the game and analyse the submitted results. Next week we plan to release 1.107b hotfix that will include many changes and this additional logging to find the cause of this elusive bug.

1.107b version changes:

Global:

1. We'll add crash dump files saving. There will be a special forum thread for submitting such a file if you encounter a game crash, helping us to find and fix it;
2. Workaround for 'invisible planes' bug added (it doesn't fix the cause of their appearance since it is still unknown but eliminates its consequence);
3. Logging for 'invisible planes' bug added (we'll create a special forum thread about it to collect logs submitted by players);
4. Performance in the first Soviet scenario mission (first, summer, chapter of Stalingrad campaign) improved;
5. Crash that could happen while playing back large recorded tracks has been fixed. Unfortunately, tracks recorded in previous versions of the game won't work, so please consider video capturing your favorite ones if you'd like to keep them;
6. Compatibility with third party overlay software improved (for example, Steam and Teamspeak overlays);

Features:

7. It will be possible to tell which side controls an airfield before choosing your own allegiance in multiplayer;
8. Multiplayer mission author will be able to specify a range of allowed unlocks, not just individual ones;
9. IL-2 sight can be moved back and forth using Lalt-F command;
10. Light reflection and relief detail improved on thin metal parts of IL-2 model 1941, IL-2 model 1942, I-16 type 24, MiG-3 series 24, Pe-2 series 35, Pe-2 series 87, LaGG-3 series 29, La-5 series 8, P-40E-1, Ju 87 D-3, Bf 110 E-2 and MC.202 series VIII;
11. MC.202 cockpit canopy textures improved;

Physics changes:

12. Fineness ratios of all planes were re-checked with their flaps extended. Fineness ratio was decreased for LaGG-3 series 29, La-5 series 8, Yak-1 series 69, IL-2 (both) and P-40E-1. Other planes fineness ratios were found to be correct;
13. Twin turret machine guns are now reloaded one after another (not simultaneously);
14. Bf 109 F-2 radiator functioning in manual mode was corrected: it opens fully, but slower. There are contradicting sources available - text one and hydraulic schematic. Text one says "die kuhlerklappen durh den luftdruck geoffnet" which means that radiator was opened by approach flow. However early Bf 109 F-2 hydraulic schematic shows that radiator was manually opened by fixing the valve in 'open' position. After discussion we decided to follow the schematic;
15. MiG-3 cooling system has been corrected: now it requires opening its radiator to degrees similar to other Soviet aircraft, but at higher altitudes (since its power output maxes out at higher altitudes);
16. MiG-3 elevator trimmer won't work if the right side of the elevator is lost (where trim tab is located);

Other changes and fixes:

17. Selected modifications won't reset after re-entering the modifications screen;
18. Spotters correctly spot enemy aircraft closer than specified distance (with the exception of ground vehicles that can't be detected closer than 3 km);
19. Track playback progress bar corrected;
20. Wingmen correctly drop bombs after leader (player) while carrying out 'do like me' order;
21. AI gunners will fire at any planes, not only fighters;
22. Various graphical bugs caused by crossroads fixed (missing triangles, missing crossroads or road parts, etc.);
23. Airfields and taxi ways pavement corrected for autumn Lapino map;
24. Roads will look correctly in overcast light conditions;
25. La-5 canopy texture mapping fixed as requested by skin authors (it is no longer symmetric);
26. Mission editor won't crash after repeated loading of missions containing many objects.

A bit more info about Battle of Moscow. Today we can show you preliminary (there are no trees in the city yet) screenshots of Moscow as you'll be able to see it in the game from the border of flyable area.

As you can see, while the city is effectively a scenery set, its level of detail and accuracy is unprecedented among WWII sims. The city layout of 1941 recreated in the game is historically accurate (different from the modern one), there are major landmarks, all bridges and so on.
We can show you some more autumn Moscow map screenshots as well (it is 90% completed):

121
Hello!

After 1.107 release, Battle of Moscow project is nearly finished. Ju-88 exterior model, flight physics and armament are finished and we are working on cockpit instruments and audio at the moment. The aircraft fleshes out to be an interesting one:
Ju88A4_1.jpg Ju88A4_2.jpg
Ju88A4_3.jpg Ju88A4_4.jpg
Our artists have finished drawing Battle of Moscow campaign medals:
BoM_Awards.jpg
Scenarios for unique static missions (in addition to dynamic missions) in the campaign were approved, so scripting process started. Such missions were introduced in Battle of Stalingrad summer campaign. There will be two static missions per phase, campaign consists of five phases, resulting in 10 unique static missions in total. Here is the list:

01 "The road to East"
Two Bf 109 F-2 pairs cover supply columns along Yukhnov - Gzhatsk road.

02 "Steel snake"
I-16 flight attack enemy mechanized columns in Kurgany-Myatlevo area and assist the ground forces defending Varshavskoye highway to South-West of Medyn.

03 "Chained to ground"
Bf 109 E-7 pair goes free hunting in the area of Chupriyanovka and Reshetnikovo railway stations.

04 "Dark omen"
Two flights of MiG-3 planes take off to intercept enemy bombers approaching Moscow along Minskoye highway.

05 "Bad day"
Three Ju 88 flights take off to dive bomb Klin railway station.

06 "Breaking point"
Six IL-2 planes fly ground attack mission against enemy forces in Solnechnogorsk area.

07 "Red hydra"
Two Bf 109 F-2 patrol above their airfield.

08 "Go West!"
Two MiG-3 flights provide air cover to ground forces advancing in Istra-Buzharovo area.

09 "Qui pro quo"
Mixed group of 4 Bf 110 E-2 and 4 Bf 109 E-7 attack Soviet ground forces to the West of Sychevka.

10 "Falling star"
A lone Pe-2 goes on a mission to recon enemy trains movement on Rzhev - Vyazma railway.

To complete the today's diary we present you several screenshots from BoM campaign scenario missions captured by its author Black Six:
Mis02_1.jpg Mis02_2.jpg
Mis02_3.jpg Mis02_4.jpg

You can discuss the news in this thread

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/168-developer-diary/page-4#entry330237

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/168-developer-diary/?p=326490

120
Hello!

Today is an important day for the project - we start the beta test of three new Battle of Moscow timeframe planes at once: Bf 109 F-2, IL-2 model 1941 and Pe-2 series 35. If all goes according to the plan, these planes will be available to all owners of Battle of Moscow next week. It's possible that the new update will be postponed for a week because of the large amount of new content, but let's hope for the best :)

As we said earlier, we started the discussion on what we'll be doing later this year. Long term planning requires long discussion, so we'll be able to give an answer to the question 'what will come next after Battle of Moscow' both to you and ourselves closer to its release. In the meantime, we created a list of improvements for our flight model department we'd like to have in the coming months. It consists of two independent parts that will be worked on in parallel, and the tasks are arranged in the order they will be done (the list is likely to be corrected as the work goes though). So...

Complex tasks that require significant changes or research to find their cause:
1. Find and eliminate the cause of invisible planes sometimes appearing in multiplayer (which is very hard thanks to the system complexity);
2. Fix the issue that causes stopped engines to start and stop again for some time;
3. Fix the issue with a plane turret controlled by another player not correctly disappearing after plane crash;
4. Fix the issue with proppeler dust wash effect not disappearing immediately after crash;
5. Damage model imrpovements: make hits to wing roots damage longerons and cause wing fracture;
6. Fix the issue of Pe-2 propeller sound remaining after engine (and wing) loss;
7. Improve engine start procedures on all planes by setting engine control axes to positions convenient for taxiing and take off;
8. Add a button to reset rudder axis to middle position (useful for players who use buttons to control it);
9. Improve flight model control tools that will make development process of new aircraft FMs more efficient;
10. Additional research of airplane sideslip angle influence on plane roll;
11. Additional research of dynamic airflow compressibility and its influence on plane diving and control effectiveness (previously we based FM adjustments on manuals that stated 750 km/h velocity limits, while some test reports contain data of planes achievieing significantly faster speeds in dive, when dynamic airflow compressibility is ought to be taken into account);
12. Mouse control: make the control assist react to small direction changes less vigorously;
13. Fix the issue of BF 109 E-7 - it shouldn't 'squat' when you engage brakes;
14. Fix the issue of several planes: wind can somewhat swing them on the rear wheel while parked;
15. Improve wheels modeling, that will make large planes with low power engines, but big wheels to taxi easier;
16. Improve autolevel flight assist for non-dive bombers (He-111, Ju-88, Pe-2 s. 87 and Pe-2 s. 35) so it will use rudder instead of ailerons for corrections;
17. Add engine detonation affect caused by a variety of causes (wron mixture, high miture temperature, engine overboost, etc. );
18. Add weapon misfires caused by overheating;
19. Develop more sophisticated high-G effects system so it will affect plane crew depending on their weariness, oxygen amount, wounds, etc.;
20. Make bailing out impossible during heavy rotations or other hard maneuvers;
21. Make pilot head movement more realistic by adding a simple spine model;
22. Add united controls for different adjustable stabilizers;
23. Make twin engine coolers on Bf 109 F4, Bf 109 G2 and Ju 87 D3 more detailed (currently always left cooler emits vapor when any radiator is damaged);
24. Add emergency cooldown systems to aircraft where applicable;
25. Make fuel system simulation more complex (more detailed tanks system, allow player to control engine flow and control fuel amount manually, more detailed fuel leaks and self-sealing process, fire probablity based on remaining amount of fuel inert gas pressurization, external fuel tanks.

Regular tasks:
1. Check and correct fineness ratios of all planes with their flaps extended;
2. Correct La-5 engine damage model (overheat damages it too fast now);
3. Correct Fw 190, Ju 87 and He 111 engine damage models (engine rotates for a long time with propeller blades bent);
4. Implement MC 202 flaps safety system that retracted them at high speeds to protect them from damage;
5. Correct Bf 110 flaps system to make flaps extension incremental in all cases;
6. Correct He 111 trimmer so it won't stop moving before value reported in technochat reaches 100%;
7. Correct (invert) He 111 trimmer;
8. Add landing gear breakability to all planes where it is missing;
9. Correct 'jumpy' behavior of Bf 109 F4, G2 and F2 to resemble E7 behavior and check other planes;
10. Implement jamming and self-closing of sliding canopies from high speeds and pitching/diving;
11. Correct Pe-2 issue where throttle control assist leads to oscillating throttle value at full setting;
12. Set up different radio frequencies for own and enemy planes;
13. Add tips to technochat;
14. Invert certain values in technochat (for example, trimmers);
15. Manual mode switches on planes with automatic governors should also turn off the corresponding in-game assist;
16. Bf 109 flaps control wheel should also jam when the flaps jam;
17. Planes with powered front armament will have their fire capability blocked after power loss;
18. Add reserve guns reload systems where applicable;
19. Implement smoke generators;
20. Improve hand shake effect to correspond to engine RPM;
21. Improve force feedback effects on FFB capable joysticks (taxiing over bumpy field, ground impact when landing without landing gear);
22. Correct gun fire FFB effect (it shouldn't be influenced by plane speed as it was reported to be the case on P-40);
23. Make it possible to torn off all I-16 landing gear covers in dive;
24. Make it possible to torn off upper Yak-1 landing gear covers in dive;
25. Yak-1 upper landing gear covers should be torn off in an event of corresponding wing loss;
26. Address Ju-87 oscillating engine RPM issue that happens during take off at maximum throttle;
27. Animate radiator control buttons on Ju-87 and Pe-2;
28. Turn off electric thermometers on parking for the planes with powered thermometers;
29. Jam compasses at high roll values;
30. Improve oxygen system modeling on German planes;
31. Correct Fw-190 adjustable stabilizer indicator;
32. Conduct additional research of LaGG-3 and La-5 takeoff ability with strong side wind;
33. Correct Ju 87 engine thermal modeling;
34. Correct 'near stall' audible cue on Bf 110 E-2 (currently these sounds can be heard even with minimal pitch corrections).