Loose ends

[mpow66m]

When will ''loose ends ''be tied up on vehicles? Such as playable loaders MGs,BMP 3 100mm and bow guns be playable ect?

[pumagreen]

I doubt loaders machine guns will be playable anytime soon. There's not a lot of training value from that. They would only be doing that for civilian market and they sound pretty busy setting up for the new engine.  

[Ssnake]

The new engine, however, would allow to have more than two coaxial weapons (say, one 100mm gun, a 30mm autocannon, and a 7.62mm coaxial MG, to give a completely random example). Or to have more than one gunner on a vehicle, where one would mount some AA MG. That's among the reasons why we're making the rather painful effort.

[Parachuteprone]

Speaking of which, sure wish we could have an option to ditch the Loaders mg in the Leo 2a6.

It isn't used in game.

It' completely blocks the peri view to the left side .

Drives me nuts.

 

Even if it could be pointed skywards or backwards or somethingwards to get it partially out of the way at least.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by Parachuteprone

[mpow66m]

So are you saying the 100mm is going to be functional?

[Ssnake]

In version 5?

Sure, eventually.

[TankGirl90]

12 hours ago, Ssnake said:

The new engine, however, would allow to have more than two coaxial weapons (say, one 100mm gun, a 30mm autocannon, and a 7.62mm coaxial MG, to give a completely random example). Or to have more than one gunner on a vehicle, where one would mount some AA MG. That's among the reasons why we're making the rather painful effort.

A new engine you say? 😮

(Yes I've been gone for a long time lol)

[Ssnake]

Not in this update; 4.3 continues to use the (heavily modified, lighting-improved, high-res terrain-enabled) Viper Engine that we adapted with version 3.0. So all this talk here is about version 5.0 and beyond. It's quite likely that there will be a Version 4.5 and/or 4.8 release before 5.0 is in a shape and form that it's suitable to replace the existing SB Pro PE.

[F.T]

19 minutes ago, Ssnake said:

Not in this update; 4.3 continues to use the (heavily modified, lighting-improved, high-res terrain-enabled) Viper Engine that we adapted with version 3.0. So all this talk here is about version 5.0 and beyond. It's quite likely that there will be a Version 4.5 and/or 4.8 release before 5.0 is in a shape and form that it's suitable to replace the existing SB Pro PE.

Oh，5.0 will be in the distant future.

[Ssnake]

Depends on your definition of "distant", but yes, it's definitely not "around the corner". It can't be. If we want to get rid of parts of the legacy code that impede further development - there are some - and if those parts needing replacement have deep roots that touch all parts of the rest of the code (they do), then you can't just replace the render engine and call it a day. The UI middleware needs to be replaced (well, "a UI middleware needs to be added" in the first place). The render engine needs to be replaced (DirectX 9 will be discontinued eventually, and doesn't allow the performance boosts that we want to achieve). AI code needs to be re-written from ground up. And then, every (combat) vehicle we have in SB Pro needs to be converted in code and in scripts. Often, that will go along with a 3D artwork facelift. These are the four major dragons that we must slay. It's doable, but it's not trivial. And in the meantime our customers still expect updates and a functional Steel Beasts for training or entertainment.

[TankGirl90]

15 hours ago, Ssnake said:

Not in this update; 4.3 continues to use the (heavily modified, lighting-improved, high-res terrain-enabled) Viper Engine that we adapted with version 3.0. So all this talk here is about version 5.0 and beyond. It's quite likely that there will be a Version 4.5 and/or 4.8 release before 5.0 is in a shape and form that it's suitable to replace the existing SB Pro PE.

Ohhhh okay, so not any time soon but at some point. Nice

[mpow66m]

V5 in 5 years?

[Ssnake]

I don't expect it to take that long. But of course, predictions, particularly those about the future, are a fickle thing. For our military customers it will be a gradual transition. You, on the other hand, want a new version that basically delivers what you already have (and then some). That means, we can make it public only after the bulk of all conversion work is complete.

[Simcoe]

4 hours ago, Ssnake said:

I don't expect it to take that long. But of course, predictions, particularly those about the future, are a fickle thing. For our military customers it will be a gradual transition. You, on the other hand, want a new version that basically delivers what you already have (and then some). That means, we can make it public only after the bulk of all conversion work is complete.

Do you expect any updates to infantry before 5.0? Like being able to shoot crouched and standing?

[Ssnake]

I certainly won't rule it out. But one of the reasons we're moving to version 5 is the increasing complexity of the current AI code. So I'm predisposed to schedule this as a "5 activity".