VincentLaw

Florida would also include Kennedy space center for DCS: Space Shuttle. (Vandenberg AFB could alternatively be used for space launches from a California map)

If you read Wags' post again, it is referring to EDGE in general, not to any specific map or set of maps. Since this is actually a semantics argument, we can discuss it purely by analogy. So what you are saying is that if I am selling ice cream with an option for a cherry on top, as soon as someone selects a cherry on top, I can't say I am selling ice cream with an option for a cherry on top anymore? Certainly that specific customer has exercised their option, but it does not change the option in general for people buying ice cream. Maybe the next map will be DCS: California.

I like this one, so I will repost it here. Turns out propellers are very effective against trucks. Unfortunately, trucks are also effective against propellers.

There are not any announced official plans to upgrade the Black Sea to the new map format for EDGE, however, the Black Sea map is not being dropped. You will still be able to load the old map and all associated missions even with EDGE in place. Subject to change™

Couldn't they put a Faraday cage (or an aluminum foil hat) around the back and sides of the radar to block the undesired emission lobes? Maybe that would interfere with the main lobe though. A little reading on the topic reveals that an "ungrounded" metal surface would reflect some of the radiation back at the emitter (which is obviously undesired), but maybe you could ground the shield to the frame of the aircraft. Would that just turn the frame into another emitter?

It means that EDGE supports this feature optionally, which means it is entirely up to the map maker instead of being stuck one way or another. This assumption does not follow logically. It purely means that it is possible, but not necessary for maps to be projected onto a globe. Which maps will or will not be projected onto a globe cannot be known until an official statement by the devs about that particular map (or by testing it after release). For example, it has been stated by the map dev for DCS:WWII that the Normandy map will not be on a globe. I don't know if a statement has been made either way about Nevada, but in July Wags said they were rebuilding it with the new map tools, so this may actually be the third iteration of Nevada. In any case, a map SDK will be available, so even if ED (or partners) never made a map on a globe, the possibility that it can be done means we may see a community made global map at some point. It could start out as a really simple, low fidelity globe with maybe one airport, and slowly have more detailed areas added here or there. I also assume this statement means we should not run into a problem for trying to detail too many areas of the globe map. If I remember correctly, Georgia, for example, was limited in potential size/detail by RAM because of the way the map was loaded.

I like the part where he says: That is a big step in bringing members of the civil sim community to DCS. So many possible implications!

Regarding cloud shadowing: I think this image has cloud shadows in it (top right and left)

There is more than one airport in Nevada. You can always stay in Georgia... I do expect more maps to be released more frequently though once the technical hurdle of integrating DCS and EDGE is dealt with, especially with the SDK available. That post is from April, and I don't think they ever got around to filling us in on the "other future maps," (unless referring to WWII), but that statement includes that other future maps may be in development already.

speaking of NASA's website, I am amused: http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131004/183931414/Russian-Pirates-Offer-NASA-Help-in-Times-of-Crisis.html

Back when Nevada was announced, I thought I would be flying my shark around Vegas, but now I get to fly in the Huey with official civilian skins. That is just about perfect. I actually bought the A-10 more for Nevada than the A-10. I was never much of a Hog fan (needless to say that changed a bit because ED is awesome)

I'm not really sure what the advantage (from a consumer point of view) of preordering would be. Just put $20-$40 in a safe place and pretend you preordered it. I am guessing that, like all other ED modules, you will be able to download and install (but not activate) the map without owning it, so you can do the online transaction while you are waiting for your download to complete. You don't really get the map sooner either way unless they decide to do a pre-order exclusive beta test, but then it's kind of like just regular ordering. Having a preorder available might be beneficial to ED though, because then it guarantees people won't have changed their minds or found something else to spend the money on by the time it is released. (Or if they did change their minds, they are still stuck owning it.)

Looks excellent. Assuming my computer can handle the city on high density, I see myself doing a lot more night flying in the future. edit: obligatory OMG

Slow and fast motion are possible in DCS. It is currently possible to slow down to 1/50 speed. Alt-Z slows down the simulation, Ctrl-Z speeds up the simulation, and Shift-Z returns to normal speed. This works both in replays and during flight. One thing that would be nice is a rewind or "skip backwards" ability. I understand that it could be a difficult problem to simulate the game in reverse, but "I-frames" could be added at regular intervals to make jumping both forward and backwards possible. This would significantly increase the replay size, so it should should be off by default.

I am not a navigation expert, so this is simplified and probably has errors, but here goes: How big of a deal it is depends upon how big the map is and what you are trying to do on it. For a close quarter infantry map, earth's curvature will never matter. If you just want an instant action dog fight, it's not a big deal either. Curvature distortions will become more and more prominent the further you get from the center of the map, which matters on long distance flights, or if you want to have contiguous terrain over a large distance even if you don't plan on crossing the entire map in one flight. Choosing the projection is not necessarily straight forward either. Depending upon the projection you choose and where you are from the map origin. The nice square Philadelphia city blocks might end up being parallelograms, or maybe you compromise and the city limits don't match the proper coordinates anymore. Lets say we like simple, and go with the very straightforward equirectangular projection where latitude and longitude coordinates map directly onto X and Y coordinates. You get this: The dimensions of this map are pretty close to 1 to 1 near the equator, but there are a few problems with this map. First, and most obviously, the further from the equator you get, the more things get stretched horizontally. Greenland is not nearly that wide, and the North Pole is the "North Line". Second, if you draw a perfectly straight, diagonal line across the surface of this map, it would actually be a curved line across the globe, so this map is basically useless for long distance navigation, and you end up somewhere you don't expect to be. Third, what happens if you fly off the West side of the map? Ending up on the East side makes sense right? What about flying off the North side? Should I end up in Antarctica now? Then do I teleport to the other side of the map or end up on a new copy of it? Let's fix the North Pole problem. I discovered that you can fly circles around the North Pole in DCS, so someone suggested this projection to me. Now if you fly over the North Pole from the Black Sea you will end up around Alaska, even better, the equator is continuous, so you can fly circles around the middle of the planet without worrying about flying off the map. You will have to constantly turn to stay on the equator though, even though in real life you would be flying straight across the surface. Even worse, the stretching gets really bad in the southern hemisphere. Antarctica encircles the entire planet in a great ice barrier, beyond which lies nothing. So this map isn't very good for navigation or modeling the entire world either. I discovered You can actually fly circles around the south pole in DCS too though, so maybe it has this projection? Maybe, maybe not. Now what if you want to fly from China to Australia? The direction you need to fly to get from point A to point B depends upon what projection DCS uses, where the origin of that projection is, and how the edges of the map are handled. As far as I know, only ED knows which speicific projection they use, and I can tell you that polar circumnavigation from Batumi to Batumi does not get you back to Georgia (also, some of the navigation instruments start to fail before you get back). You can see this projection, and EVERY projection for that matter (there are lots), has its own share of problems. This makes creating a proper "world map" like FSX or X-Plane have basically impossible even with an SDK and infinite time. Now for a couple other problems caused by earth curvature not being modeled: In naval warfare, how far away you can detect enemies depends upon the horizon. (at lower frequencies or higher altitude, the "horizon" is further away.) In DCS, the horizon is infinitely far away, so if you put a high power telescope with negative elevation capability on top of a tall mountain, you could see most of the surface of earth, even if it is on the opposite side of the planet (not obstructed by another mountain.) Also, I mentioned before, orbital mechanics doesn't work around infinite 2d planes, and the rotation of earth cannot be properly simulated. This means DCS: Orbiter, or DCS: ICBM are not possible, and it will cause errors any time you are flying at high speed and high altitude. This even significantly effects the shell trajectory of the Paris Gun from the first world war (If you aimed at a large Battlefield 3 sized map, you would completely miss the map.). A final point. Last time I checked, there was a bug with the sun angle (and possibly star positions) when flying over the north pole caused by the flat earth representation. When you fly over the north pole, the sun will actually switch sides. If all you care about is blowing stuff up, then you are right, it doesn't matter. (P.S. Cool coincidence: On my browser, if you open and close the second projection with the third projection open, the north pole for both projections ends up in the same spot on the screen (may depend on screen width and zoom))

ami7b5 having to fight with the idea of the noncollidable trees prior to pledging would not have changed due to my response, since my post was after he pledged, but the way he said "please don't remind me of those trees" makes it sound like he did not read my post since he is still concerned about it. The statement is not "it will eventually be solved," it is basically "yes" to vegetation collisions. I realize my response to ami7b5 could seem kind of rude though, and I apologize for that. (I updated my response to be more appropriate.) If you mean the statement by Ilya: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09/27/the-flare-path-toad-array/

Apparently you did not see my response to your post. Trees will probably be collidable in DCS WWII.

I am pretty sure those "special skins" will be available to all players. They just get to leave their mark on the game development.

I would use something like this as an icon. There is no way you are going to fit the clutter of all those words into something recognizable at 8x8 pixels, but people still know KFC sells chicken. (Alternate color, 128 x 128, 64 x 64, 32 x 32, 16 x 16, 8 x 8) Fancified DCS World icon style.

Referring to the curvature of Earth, not the terrain roughness. The black sea map is a flat plane with 3d coordinates mapped onto it, so you cannot actually circumnavigate the planet. (do polar circumnavigation, or you might follow your compass in a big circle). This means making an orbiter or ICBM module for DCS is impossible, because you cannot orbit a flat plane. It also means that making a map that spans long distances would have stretching effects.

Trees will probably be collidable in DCS WWII.

I am pretty sure that DCS:WWII will be a single install, so "Pacific 1943" and "Berlin 1945" would just plug into the same install. Maybe down the road we will have all of our modules installed 5 times when there is a DCS Great War, DCS: Vietnam etc., but as long as it is only RRG, we will only have to install everything twice.

Yes, but at the $20 level you will not get your P-51 license until WWII is released.

P-51D (from DCS World) FW.190D-9 (from DCS World) Bf-109K-4 Spitfire Mk IX P-47D-28 If the combined kickstarter and invisible paypal funding reaches $150,000: Me.262A-1 There were more aircraft stretch goals, but they would probably require a divine intervention to reach: (note, these are no longer visible on the kickstarter page) $425,000: B-17 (other goals may differ, based on cached google page) $550,000: Hawker Typhoon IB $550,000: FW.190A-5 $750,000: A-26B-15 $1,000,000: P-38J-15 $1,000,000: FB.VI $1,000,000: Me 410 A or Ju 88

I had $2.05 in my Paypal account. Now I have $0.05 in my Paypal account. Yes.