Huge Developments this Summer!

[Cornered Rats]

June had some HUGE accomplishments that we can't help but outline in case you missed it, and we're going to be going into details about what to expect from CRS in July, such as the next game release scheduled (Version 1.36.7.0). We also have another major release planned for August-September which will include several new vehicles being added to the game. This is all being made possible by YOU, the WWII Online player base and your continued subscriptions, so let me be the first to thank you and I hope you find the many details and photos in this article to your liking. Have a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!

View the full article on battlegroundeurope.com

[delems]

Flak 38 looks good along with the water.  And yes, server much better.

 

But, the biggest problem in game, atm, is the blatant unfairness going on by players sitting in game world AFK for hours on end, disgusting.

First time I've logged in, in days; already found 2 AFK players sitting in game......

 

Also, sure hope PPOs fixed, barb wire and pits both borked with last patch.

 

And, be nice if one of those new vehicles is something from 1944 or 1945 for axis.  This 1942 tank vrs 1944/5 tank bit silly.

[GrAnit]

The engine damage model is awesome!  I really like the dark puffs and the dark oil smoke trail.  Very impressive!!

[GrAnit]

@XOOMBTW, the straightness f the roads is WWWAAAAYYYYYYY overdo for an upgrade.  Any work going on or plans to fix this?

Edited July 3, 2020 by GrAnit

[XOOM]

On 7/3/2020 at 9:37 AM, GrAnit said:

@XOOMBTW, the straightness f the roads is WWWAAAAYYYYYYY overdo for an upgrade.  Any work going on or plans to fix this?

I had this discussion with PITTPETE about it, it's a pretty in-depth requirement to do so. It is possible and it is something I'd like to look at, but we're still examining all of what it would take. I gather at this stage we'd have to go in and manipulate the models, then that might mean the overall game map as well, all of the textures, etc etc. 

[TR6AL]

On 7/3/2020 at 9:37 AM, GrAnit said:

@XOOMBTW, the straightness f the roads is WWWAAAAYYYYYYY overdo for an upgrade.  Any work going on or plans to fix this?

@GrAnitwhat do you mean by "straightness" ? As in looking down the road straight or across the road as in contour/condition.. ruts etc ? 

[sideout]

bah.......i miss the white stakes on the road!

[N8]

Can't wait.   

[GrAnit]

20 hours ago, tr6al said:

@GrAnitwhat do you mean by "straightness" ? As in looking down the road straight or across the road as in contour/condition.. ruts etc ? 

I mean the road/non-road interface is a hard and straight edge which very unrealistic looking.  The other issue are the hard angles where road segments join - they should be curved.  Also road textures could use an upgrade so the look better. 

[lazybugged]

+rep for air game, my new favorite mode

[TR6AL]

On 7/10/2020 at 4:11 AM, GrAnit said:

I mean the road/non-road interface is a hard and straight edge which very unrealistic looking.  The other issue are the hard angles where road segments join - they should be curved.  Also road textures could use an upgrade so the look better. 

@Granit that is getting looked at as part of the texture upgrades  by Pittpete . Fingers crossed  

[jwilly]

"Road straightness" caught my attention...I thought perhaps it was meant to refer to the straight-line nature of most roads. Roads in 1940 western Europe tended to be less arrow-straight, and more curvy even in their straight-on-average sections.

And because roads are "baked into" the terrain tiles, fixing that arrow-straightness would require editing a bunch of terrain tiles. 

And if that was going to be done, it'd be a perfect time to add quadrant-connected secondary roads/farm lanes to the edited tiles.

[TR6AL]

4 hours ago, jwilly said:

"Road straightness" caught my attention...I thought perhaps it was meant to refer to the straight-line nature of most roads. Roads in 1940 western Europe tended to be less arrow-straight, and more curvy even in their straight-on-average sections.

And because roads are "baked into" the terrain tiles, fixing that arrow-straightness would require editing a bunch of terrain tiles. 

And if that was going to be done, it'd be a perfect time to add quadrant-connected secondary roads/farm lanes to the edited tiles.

Modifying the roads on the tiles is one thing i want to do but I am just learning to edit them. I am also looking for other ways to add side road/lanes that I can place individually .. The issue with having the lanes "baked in " is then they become cookie cutter  roads again and not versatile.  I am looking into different options but it is on my "to-do" list as well as making a couple more road tiles to make long roads less "weird" 

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by tr6al

[foe2]

2 hours ago, tr6al said:

Modifying the roads on the tiles is one thing i want to do but I am just learning to edit them. I am also looking for other ways to add side road/lanes that I can place individually .. The issue with having the lanes "baked in " is then they become cookie cutter  roads again and not versatile.  I am looking into different options but it is on my "to-do" list as well as making a couple more road tiles to make long roads less "weird" 

 

Tr6al if you are learning the rope with the road tiles, can I ask a question about the railway tiles?  would it possible a lot further down the line give them an  overhaul to make the rails and sleepers 3d? it already occurs on rail bridges so its clearly possible in game. it would just give the game a  slightly more polished look rather than a flat 2d railway line. 

 

[TR6AL]

3 hours ago, foe2 said:

Tr6al if you are learning the rope with the road tiles, can I ask a question about the railway tiles?  would it possible a lot further down the line give them an  overhaul to make the rails and sleepers 3d? it already occurs on rail bridges so its clearly possible in game. it would just give the game a  slightly more polished look rather than a flat 2d railway line. 

 

That is also getting looked at but is out of my expertise ,but it is apparently possible . Would be nice to be able to divert the steering of a truck that gets caught in the tracks and have the ties have a much stronger effect on driving . 

[tater]

35 minutes ago, tr6al said:

That is also getting looked at but is out of my expertise ,but it is apparently possible . Would be nice to be able to divert the steering of a truck that gets caught in the tracks and have the ties have a much stronger effect on driving . 

Small as it might be, it's also cover for inf.

I know that the track ballast, etc would vary a lot, and tend to basically be flat, but a little relief couldn't hurt gameplay:

 

______/---^------^---\__________

      

Edited July 16, 2020 by tater

[jwilly]

13 hours ago, tr6al said:

I am also looking for other ways to add side road/lanes that I can place individually .

Many years ago, I was a participant in Old CRS's Design/Build Forum, and I sometimes proposed terrain projects or mocked up others' proposals. In order to do this efficiently, I built map-scale images of a tileset that allowed me to easily "customize" Five's maps, based on information shared with me by Five a long time ago. Here's a mockup I did of a proposal for addition of the Dyle River to the map. (The Allied defensive intent was called the "Dyle Plan" because the key defensive line was to be behind the Dyle River, so it's always seemed odd to me that the map omits that particularly important geographical feature.)

The background color difference visually identifies the tiles that would be replaced, from the existing tileset.

Another of the projects I worked on was a proposal to add secondary roads/farm lanes.

Having this mockup tileset to work with, some effort was put toward developing a proposal for secondary roads.

Problem characteristics:

1. The secondary road technology cannot require individual placement. The map is simply too big. Secondary roads must be part of the terrain tile system.

2. Tiles can be placed in any of four compass-quadrant orientations, and the secondary road segments on each tile must always connect seamlessly to road segments on all abutting tiles no matter the orientations of all those tiles.

A solution to the problem became apparent: each terrain tile has a secondary road segment leaving/entering that tile at the midpoint of each of its edges that is not forest or water at that point. This "quadrant" placement approach provides for high complexity and non-repeatability because the placement-rotation of tiles results in highly varied secondary road combinations.

As the secondary road system is also to represent farm lanes, which frequently led to a farm field then stopped, some secondary road elements are dead ends. That's an intentional gameplay feature.

Because comprehensive mapping would to a considerable extent defeat the gameplay complexity of the secondary road system, and aerial screenshotting is a standard mapping technique, the proposal was that secondary roads would become invisible beyond about LOD 3. Thus they wouldn't be practically photographable from the air.

The next post presents most of the non-shoreline/water tile mockups I used, with the secondary-road development proposal added. The tile mockups look simple, but a bit of analysis shows that the entire map can be built from them.

[jwilly]

https://imgur.com/a/uCuizCa

 

[TR6AL]

Thanks @jwilly , very informative.

I do have a number of maps I am using as templates . 3 maps of the UK , many maps of Germany , North Holland and France . I was wondering where they came from . I have also experimented with the Dyle river but only took it as far as Mechelin and will put it in as the map gets expanded.I will however add that river image to my list of things to do and put in with the other maps.

Side roads have not even been mentioned as being an option . At the moment just getting a modified terrain into game has been an issue. 

 At the moment there is no one who can or has time to modify Terrain tiles and I am not at the ability level to create anything from scratch in Creator , just modify existing ones. 

I didn't realize how long Five had been working on this as he left just after I started working in the editor.   

[jwilly]

If there's ever an interest in improving the water terrain...I know, the longest of long shots...I also have terrain proposals from the Old CRS days for water depths of the Channel area, and for the Westerscheldt from the North Sea up to Antwerp. Those involved a number of modified shoreline and water tiles.

The water depth map for the Dunkirk area makes obvious why it was so difficult to run into the harbor with destroyers and other fast ships once the Germans had 88mm and 105mm guns on the high coastal ground to the north and south of the harbor, and so many of the troops instead were moved on shallow-draft commercial and private boats.

Edited July 18, 2020 by jwilly

[TR6AL]

Yes @Jwilly there is an interest in improving water terrain . I would like to see the modified tiles if possible , or are they just images? 

One issue present terrain has is that there is nothing below water level . I am looking at creating something that will restrict boats from coming too close to shore , like beaches etc . The only thing I can use is islands in the Scheldts to restrict travel until I can get water depths included , if its possible .