Lt DeFault

On 3/20/2024 at 8:33 PM, Ssnake said:

We track only rounds with explosive content to their impact point since it's far more likely that they will cause noticeable damage.

Very sad to read this. I think we played quite a few times together.

R.I.P., Mikkel.

Truly the end of an era.

I am able to use my Saitek X52 joystick and throttle with SB. That's because the throttle plugs into the joystick and they are both recognized as one controller. And the programming software for the joystick ensures that SB has no problem dealing with the fact that this controller effectively has something like 170 buttons.

So, maybe it isn't just an issue with the design of SB. Maybe the controller designers share some of that responsibility.

7 hours ago, Count Sessine said:

I didn't realise Space Engine included the ability to fly around in spaceships. Very interesting, will have a look.

Here is a link to FREE legacy versions. The current version is US$24.99 on Steam. I am still using the last free version.

I recently downloaded an add-on pack of Star Wars ships and am having great fun establishing stable orbits in my Imperial II class Star Destroyer while I play the Imperial March in the background. It looks absolutely stunning. Maybe I'll post some screenshots a little later.

Cheers!

On 6/6/2022 at 3:01 PM, Captain_Colossus said:

in the 1990s there was a DOS space combat simulator which purported to use newtonian physics called 'mantis'- there was nothing fun about it, because it was much too difficult to dogfight in space with realistic momentum and inertia in space with no gravity, atmospheric effects, aerodynamics and control surfaces. the player's craft and the enemy ships slip and slide all over the place and taking control of it was all work with no payoff.

 

if these games take that route, to what extent are they fun if you have to literally use contemporary technology known to us now- basically using control thrusters which you must fire in different directions, having to apply the right amount at the right time, apply the opposite effect to neutralize a particular direction rather than returning the controls to neutral, and so on- requires preparation and mental concentration rather than getting to the action of flying, if that is what you want

[...]

the alternative i suppose would be to shoehorn something into the games like future tech which for some reason can mitigate all that, but then it isn't as 'realistic' either.

I occasionally play a game called Space Engine, which was primarily designed as a procedural universe simulator. The ability to fly around in spaceships was added later. The developer did decide to include a bit of "future tech" - namely warp drives and extremely powerful engines with no fuel limits. But you still need to carefully consider your maneuvers, because the game indeed uses [mostly] accurate physics. In fact, you can use the standard formulæ for real-world orbit calculations in-game. The difference being that there are no enemies to try and outmaneuver. But you can still get yourself into trouble if you're too near a planet or black hole, etc.

The thing is ... that's exactly why I enjoy the game. Because you can plan complex maneuvers - including orbital rendezvous and docking - without having to worry about someone shooting at you. I always did wish the developer would add the ability to include objectives or some type of scenario to complete. So it looks like Flight of Nova might be right up my alley.

2 hours ago, Ssnake said:

True. And in both cases, additional badgering did not influence the decision at all.

28 minutes ago, P Lakowski said:

Perun Vids are particularly good .any one know his history ...he appears to be kiwi?...ok aussie

From his YouTube channel, on the "About" tab:

Quote

An Australian covering gaming in the good times, and the military industrial complex and national military investment strategy during the worse ones... Regular content on Dominions 5 and Phoenix point, but irregular coverage on other titles that catch my interest. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, I've also been covering lessons from the conflict and how they may inform the future investment decisions that other nations may or should make. It should go without saying that all views expressed by me in any of this content are simply personal opinion.

PS

His "Community" tab is also active, which is rare.

18 hours ago, Rad said:

Holy hell, is that a turret?

15 hours ago, Ssnake said:

reporting, but not opinionating

^This.

Apparently 'reporting' is dead. I find myself reading multiple articles by as many varied sources as I can find just to try and sift out what is fact vs. the authors' opinions. It seems that everyone has an agenda these days. Or, we always have but we've stopped caring enough to hide it ... I suppose.

Well, let me see how much it'll cost me to upgrade. That way I can test it myself, which is the best solution anyway ... and I get to see all the new features. Win/win.

 I might be able to help with this. I've done the same thing in the past with other vehicles (see here for an example - and don't let the low resolution scare you, I can likely make it higher). I'm probably a few versions behind, so if you could upload the relevant textures I could give it a shot. But I'm only slightly familiar with the Russian language, so no promises regarding the accuracy of the translations (I'd probably use Google translate and a bit of common sense to work out the appropriate English labels). Or maybe there are some Russian/English speaking members who would kindly lend their expertise?

It's been a while since I've done it, so I'd have to re-familiarize myself with the appropriate file formats and settings, but I'd be keen to try. Just let me know.

Cheers!

Apparently GIMP can handle them as well.

I'm not sure about the Warthog, but the software for my Saitek X52 allowed me to program the throttle as "bands", each of which could simulate a keyboard button press. So, for example: I set the throttle to have 5 "bands". Going from closed throttle to open, they simulated the button presses for reverse, stop and then three forward button presses. Only problem with that setup was that if I moved the throttle from stop to fast speed (2x forward button presses) and then back down to what you think would be slow, I ended up at top speed because that was actually another forward button press. So you'd have to move all the way back down to stop and then up to slow. If that makes sense.

It worked. But in the end I decided it was actually easier for me to just use the keyboard. I think there is a thread around here somewhere that has my old X52 profile in it.

Nice!

My wife and I were doing some reorganizing recently and we came across a bin full of my old game boxes. She asked if I wanted to keep them, seeing as most of them won't even install on a modern PC. I reluctantly agreed to get rid of a lot of them.

I did keep a few ... like my original SB. I'll have to look and see what else I still have.

Glad to hear you're okay, RogueSnake.

The storm was still pretty strong when it passed over the east coast of Virginia. I had to race outside and take the flag down before it got blown right off the pole.

1 hour ago, iamfritz said:

Not gameplay videos, but very cool videos I found on YouTube today.

Nice!

Just so you know: there is another thread for videos not related to SB, but which are still topical:

I don't understand how I can have a badge for making 500 posts and still be a noob.

I am finding this all quite amusing, though.

EDIT: Oooooh, I just got promoted to "Rookie"! 🤓 All noobs must now call me "Your Excellency"!

Same happened to me. I just kept deleting everything on the first page until it contained only what I wanted to keep and then went to page 2, etc.

Kind of tedious, but at least I only started with three pages.

I deleted as much as I could while also trying to preserve the context of a few posts.

Cheers!

R.I.P. Dusty Hill.

👍

'Tis better to be pissed off, than on.

There's an eyelash in my eye and it's really pissing me off.

2 hours ago, Mirzayev said:

AI could also use some work as far as scanning the flanks; flank attacks pretty much result in the enemy never seeing you.

Yeah, that was my first thought. I think in SB, this dude would've been dead within the first few seconds.

Don't get me wrong, this looks like fun for a more casual player. And I enjoy Cold Waters for the same reason.