Fórum Brigadeiro Nero Moura

Dear Pilots!

We continue to develop ROF and take it in new directions. It is important not only in terms of filling in the complete "picture" with new, more realistic elements, but we do so primarily to improve the sensation of flight. Talks with real pilots identified the problem of determining of the distance to the ground during landing. When a plane is at a very late stage, at an altitude of less than 15 meters above the ground the lack of the surface detail makes it difficult to determine this distance accurately and contact with a surface can occur suddenly and may result in damage to the plane. We cannot increase the quality and detail of the surface by simply increasing the resolution textures, because it would require more memory and greatly affect performance. One potential solution was to "draw the grass," which was supposed to help to determine the low altitude more accurately, but it seemed to be not enough. In real life you can estimate the speed and height by noticing small stones, twigs and other micro-objects on the ground. With this understanding, we decided to try to create a micro-relief that would become visible and can be used to assist in the final stage before landing. For this purpose we used a graphics technology called “Parallax Mapping”. It is turned on by setting the Shaders to Maximum. This is the first time this technology has been implemented in the flight sim genre as far as we know. Please note that you may experience a performance hit and it is recommended for users who have an above average computer.

Of course, the re-creation of proper WWI fighter tactics would not be complete without a proper blinding sun illumination effect, which can hide an attacking aircraft. This tactic and natural element is described in the tactical advice of German Ace Oswald Boelcke. In version 1.016 this tactic will finally be available to ROF flyers. Since we are modeling the real physical and optical processes, the implementation will appear slightly different while using HDR. The sun with HDR turned on will give the appearance as if you have a filter on such as sunglasses. However, the sun illumination effect will work regardless of the settings you have chosen, in order that all participants can exploit the effect equally. We paid special attention to the optimization of this element, so it will not affect overall performance.

Another innovation for ROF graphics will be the light and color reflection. Light and as a result the color in the outside world are constantly reflected from objects and therefore every object affects the color of surrounding objects. It creates an incredibly full and complex picture of the world. You can conduct an experiment yourself; take a sheet of white paper and bring it to a colored object, for example to a bright red shirt. You will see that there will be a shade of the red on the white sheet which is the reflected red light from the shirt. Of course it’s still impossible for a home PC to take into account the diversity of mutual reflection of color and light from all objects, but the most important for aviation (and also for virtual aviation) is the sky and the earth. The sky and the earth have the greatest affect on an object in ROF. We have recreated their influence in the ROF graphics engine. This can be enabled by a new setting under "Reflections" to Maximum. Please note that you may experience a performance hit and it is recommended for users who have an above average computer.

We have also improved how reflective materials are displayed, for example the polished metal hood of the Sopwith Pup. You will see a true reflection of nearby objects and environment in it, plus stars can also be reflected on shiny surfaces at night. It is necessary to consider for artists who create new paints for planes.

There will also be the new filter "High Contrast" in the post-effects. It is done for the owners of the middle category of monitors, which cannot give the desired range of gradations. But users with higher end monitors may also like the effect. Go ahead and try it, it does not have a great affect on performance and it makes the image appear brighter and more sunny.

We have received a lot of information about our HDR filter in the past few months and the reported contrast problem was also hidden in the user’s monitor. After careful examination of differences in the ranges of basic models we have made another change to ROF settings called "Gamma Correction". Now changing the Gamma will influence the HDR properly and you can tweak it exactly to your monitor. For example, an ASUSMK 241 monitor with an HDR setting of HDRMONOHIGH the gamma value should be set to 30%. With HDR turned off it should be set to 50%. For a DELL 3007 WFP monitor with an HDR setting of HDRMONOHIGH the gamma should be set to 50%. With HDR turned off the setting should be 60%. Just pick the settings for your monitor that feels and looks right to you.

Soon we will have multi-engine machines and we had to add additional “Simple Gauges” because when flying a bomber you need to see two tachometers and two indicators of engine systems. The figures inside the gauges will show you the status of each engine. Since the number of gauges has grown, we decided to give you the ability to choose their position on your screen. Now after you right click on the screen, you can drag the gauges with your mouse and their position on the screen will be saved. In order to return a gauge to its original position on the screen, just double click on it. In the future we will give you an opportunity to hide individual gauges you do not want to see.

During WWI a lot of changes were made by mechanics at airdromes. This process led to a great variety of equipment being installed in various aircraft. As some of you know, we have chosen the principle of «a factory example» for each new aircraft we create. It means that we include only the equipment which was installed at the factory, without including any further field modifications. This concept both helps us to avoid many disputes, but also deprives you of some very important equipment. The community has rightly stated that a clock or a compass could be simply brought on a flight, for example, in a pocket of a flight jacket. We think that this is a justified opinion and now regardless of the settings which you have selected for a mission or on a server, even if the option "Simple Gauges” is disabled; you can see a clock and a compass on the screen. Also, in order to correct the limited view of a computer monitor, we have also left the baseline indicators of engine systems, radiator settings and fuel levels visible to the user. Now you can get this information easier, because for those without a TrackIR it’s harder to find these instruments. Now all pilots can fight under more equal conditions.

We have also received many complaints on the performance of TrackIR in ROF. We have tried for a long time to configure this device correctly, but in the end found that the majority of settings that may help the situation are only available to you in the software that comes with the device. Unfortunately, not everyone is using this software to its fullest extent and that may be why some are uncomfortable with TrackIR usage in ROF. Understanding this situation we decided to create an internal filter for this device, which may make TrackIR more comfortable for you, even if you did not configure it with the TrackIR software. This new option will appear in the Camera settings and it smoothes the TrackIR panning. We recommend that you set the default profile for the TrackIR and the smoothing inside ROF to 10. Perform a test flight and then continue to fine-tune it if necessary.

Microsoft once created a great controller called the Microsoft Force Feedback (MSFFB) joystick. Despite the fact that the production, service and technical support for this device has long finished, it’s still very popular due to its great performance and quality. Unfortunately Microsoft has not released any new drivers for it for more than five years and unfortunately the device does not always work correctly in ROF. There was also a strange conflict between this particular joystick and TrackIR. We decided to try and help those who use this device and make changes that may help the situation. Now by using the new "smoothing" option for the TrackIR there should be far less problems when using these two devices in conjunction with each other. At least so far it appears that way.

These are some of the more important changes included in the upcoming 1.016 update, which also includes the new Handley Page O/400 bomber. The next post on our blog will focus solely on the bomber. I will explain about how to operate this plane and how to fight in it, both in single and in multiplayer modes.