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Christmas news 2017


borchi_2b

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Valued Customers and Polychop Simulations fans,

Christmas is about to happen, and we decided to talk a bit about the past year 2017 and the future year 2018.

 

First of all, we want to thank all our customers for the support, which is important for any company to exist.

We’re still here and making great products for simulators so you guys must like something we’re doing and that

makes our team very happy; thank you from the Polychop family to yours.

 

Briefly, I’ll dive into some issues Polychop faced in 2017. As all of you have witnessed, we have gone through

internal issues, that already developed in 2016. As many companies face the same issues in the beginning,

there are possible routes to take and not every member agrees on the same course. As was the case for us.

We wanted to keep Polychop as a cohesive team, that way we could devote every ounce of our energy into building

great products rather than internal strife.

Therefore, with best wishes, we wished our former CEO Oliver Michel goodbye and agreed on giving him the BO105 project,

which is now run under Miltech-5. We still wished to release more products because we are confident,

as a team that we can provide some of the best simulation software available so in 2016,

we started a new project in secret to avoid the pressure of rushing out an un-prepared product and could

focus energy on improving the Gazelle. Although many things that were stated during the past 9 month are not correct

and painted a wrong picture I never felt the need to make a direct statement to any interviews, trailers,

or anything that showed codework of Polychop Simulation nor had Patrick any intent to brag about it.

This is still the case and so I can only state that for the remaining Polychop Simulation Staff,

we are glad this split was finalized before the end of 2018 and that we do not have to deal with the

BO105 and the development anymore. Sadly, due to contractual disagreements, we were not able to accept

the conditions discussed between Polychop and Miltech-5 to continue work on the BO-105 jointly.

 

We utilized most of 2017 to really hone the Gazelle and our other projects. The Gazelle itself really

saw a lot of attention and re-coding to help mature several key improvements. Flight model, textures,

and much proprietary framework was poured over until we reached a point where not only the simulation pilots felt happy,

but also a beta team comprised of actual helicopter pilots said they were satisfied with the product.

There are a few details that are still being evaluated and we are still collecting data in these areas. Some is easier,

some is not. For example, we did look into the cyclic behavior again, but currently there is no data available regarding

how many degrees the cyclic is pushed forward proportionall to forward airspeed. Many factors collate into this problem

including control rigging and wind. Given how our testing staff has very limited time to devote to

testing (dare I say, actual Gazelle pilots?) we determined that some of these issues were not worth the

effort put into fixing them. Not because it wasn’t important to us, but because it wasn’t cost effective or

prudent to do so. We also planned to have a new device implemented into the SA342M Viviane Gazelle.

The new device was a periscope that is available in the real machine, but do to framerate break-downs using the

periscope and the tv, which would both be active at the same time, we decided to not implement this feature.

Framerate management is as important to a developer as smooth textures or appealing visuals.

If we can’t implement some feature due to framerates, it hinders the experience for the end-user.

I can only provide an example: On an average system, the simulation see’s 30 FPS with an activated TV.

With the TV and periscope activated, the best we could benchmark was 15 FPS. Because of this,

we couldn’t agree to implementing it. We didn’t want to throw a new feature in that was not usable and

improve the customers experience. A picture of the periscope was shown on our facebook page earlier.

To clear the air about it: no, it is not a periscope of a EC665 Tigre HAD.

Sadly, we finally also decided to scratch the sniper version for now and probably for good,

because in DCS there is no real use of a sniper and would only be able to hit soft targets at a max range of 300m.

Instead, we decided to change the sniper version to a minigun version that, if it works out well,

would be accessible as multicrew. This is what we plan as an update for the Gazelle in 2018,

but we have no timeframe yet when this will exactly happen, because it also depends on the core coding.

This and multi-crew both require more information from Eagle Dynamics before we can really improve those features.

We will continue to work closely with Eagle Dynamics to help make the Gazelle a smooth and effective product.

 

Looking to the future and into 2018, as already mentioned, we gave away the BO105 project so we can’t guarantee a release for 2018.

The split ate a lot of resources and time unfortunately, but for 2018 we already have a strong game plan.

replace all of that with this: We are a small team, but many of our core testers are actual pilots,

some with military obligations and can only provide energy and time as available.

Thankfully, our testers and core employees who have some insight into the exciting projects in the future

and want to see these projects to completion as badly as many of you.

We want to extend a grateful and humbled thanks to all the talented people who applied for the programmer’s slots.

Our first actions for 2018 will be interviews with the individuals that applied.

We really want to grow our programmer department to produce faster code to devote more time and resources for the detail tuning.

About the programming, I had to learn that the fine-tuning is about 30% of the coding, which Patrick already knew.

We’re working with Eagle Dynamics and, in 2018, an aircraft manufacture to fine-tune our code process and produce a product

with a higher degree of fidelity.

The team at Polychop loves anything that flies and particularly, anything that spins.

Therefore, we want to branch into the interesting realm of civilian aviation and hopefully see some of our loyal customers

on other platforms. We just haven’t decided which yet and want to make a smart choice. Our team is so small that

any time we devote into a project is going to be about quality, not quantity and the choice of a non-military simulator

must provide the company with the resources to continue improving with technology.

About fixed wing products, we cannot say much because our team is still too small to work on fixed wing in addition.

This might change through the course of 2018.

And finally, we hope to open a Polychop discord channel so you, our loyal customers,

are able to interface and receive direct input with the developers, testers and people who desire you’re raw input.

So maybe now and then we will have a friendly chat.

 

At the end I also want to send out a personal note of acknowledgment to the people that supported

the current development in the background.

Without these friends, this would have not gotten as far as it already has and the community of this bird is amazing.

My girlfriend might have to buy me a Stetson one day when we visit friends overseas.

That said, I put up a rendering of the 3d model in a state that it has been earlier this year without textures.

Currently, we are not sure yet into which simulation this 3d model will be implemented in the end, but it will happen.

 

So, thank you for reading and your continued support.

In the end, our goal here at Polychop is to provide you with the most realistic and immersive product that we can.

We wish all of you and your families a delightful Christmas season 2017 and a good jump into the year 2018!

 

Your Polychop Simulation Team

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Thanks buddy. Appreciate the update. Best wishes to you and your team, and hoping for modeling success! :-)

MSI MAG Z790 Carbon, i9-13900k, NH-D15 cooler, 64 GB CL40 6000mhz RAM, MSI RTX4090, Yamaha 5.1 A/V Receiver, 4x 2TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe, 1x 2TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD, Win 11 Pro, TM Warthog, Virpil WarBRD, MFG Crosswinds, 43" Samsung 4K TV, 21.5 Acer VT touchscreen, TrackIR, Varjo Aero, Wheel Stand Pro Super Warthog, Phanteks Enthoo Pro2 Full Tower Case, Seasonic GX-1200 ATX3 PSU, PointCTRL, Buttkicker 2, K-51 Helicopter Collective Control

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The Kiowa would be a nice addition to have it in DCS, either way love the Gazelle and thanks for the great module. Some more campaigns now we have the smaller carriers etc would be great for the Gazelle. Similar to the Huey Argo etc... I'm sure that would be loved by the community.

 

Cheers

James

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Thanks for the update! :thumbup:

Looking forward to the things to come :)

 

The Kiowa modell looks awesome. I especially like the M4s on the dashboard after having seen so many Kiowa videos with pilots shooting them from the cockpit seat in flight :D

Intel i7-12700K @ 8x5GHz+4x3.8GHz + 32 GB DDR5 RAM + Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 (8 GB VRAM) + M.2 SSD + Windows 10 64Bit

 

DCS Panavia Tornado (IDS) really needs to be a thing!

 

Tornado3 small.jpg

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I don't see the question asked to be relevant at all. No brainer. This is the type of asset utilised on real battlefields all over the world and is an immense force multiplier if applied correctly.....so.......no brainer.....DCS is the only place for this......(and I voted for it too). There needs to be more support platforms in DCS and I am not referring to AI......Some of us out there actually enjoy accomplishing alternative missions (mundane tasks in some people's eyes I know) however it actually enhances realism with regard to real operational efforts and deepens emersion factor IMHO.....so PC just do it!!!!!

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Best wishes to you as well and i am looking forward to what Polychop will bring to the DCS table next year!

 

I think that is a good choice to go for the mini gun version at this point in time, it sure has a bit more applicability for some time to come, at least until DCS world simulation has advanced some more.

 

Concerning the periscope: sorry to hear this won't be available! All i would ask for; please don't say 'never' and scrap the code for this feature! DCS world is in constant development and Wags mentioned their work on implementing Vulkan API at some point in the future. Thus, what might be a resource hog in 1.5 beta and 2.2 alpha, might be a perfectly viable option some time in the future. I reckon it would be a nice addition later on, and maybe get you some more sales at later stage in the Gazelles DCS life cycle. Same goes for the eventual Sniper version of course. And, its good for building a company name in the sim world as well. When customers konw a company keeps there already released products in shape and adds something new every now and then, you are much more inclined to buy stuff.

 

Anyway, thx for all the work on the Gazelle over the last months!

 

Btw, you said earlier you were gonna make an intro video about a new feature/way of measuring coordinates with the viviane. Is that still planned or was that related to the canceld periscope feature?

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i do hope for this in dcs - instant buy. very nice chopper!!

would be very dissapointing to see this jewel in antother sim, doesnt fit anywhere else near as good if u ask me.

+1.

First of all, good luck guys :thumbup: Second, please bring the Kiowa to DCS. I'll buy it the first day of release :). There are many people in DCS that like to play a support role. For instance transports on BF.

With Kiowa DCS would get a fast, player controlled, fire control platform. This would be a game changer for DCS. Not only this module would be great for those that are flying it but also for others. Just imagine playing hide and seek, lasing targets for A-10s, Harriers and Mirages :D.

Not only community but ED should support you in bringing this baby to DCS :thumbup:

F/A-18, F-16, F-14, M-2000C, A-10C, AV-8B, AJS-37 Viggen, F-5E-3, F-86F, MiG-21bis, MiG-15bis, L-39 Albatros, C-101 Aviojet, P-51D, Spitfire LF Mk. IX, Bf 109 4-K, UH-1H, Mi-8, Ka-50, NTTR, Normandy, Persian Gulf... and not enough time to fully enjoy it all

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Guys! Where are the pitchforks and torches? They said they are going to make a civil aircraft, riot we must! Or you must, because I would actually like a civil helo :$

 

All jokes aside, thanks for the update Polychop, wish you all the best for 2018 and give us that Kiowa!!

''Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.''

Erich Fromm

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Guys! Where are the pitchforks and torches? They said they are going to make a civil aircraft, riot we must! Or you must, because I would actually like a civil helo :$

What???

 

... Therefore, we want to branch into the interesting realm of civilian aviation and hopefully see some of our loyal customers on other platforms. ...

They are also thinking about Kiowa.

 

You really had confused everything, especially if you don't see a difference. Please don't spread the mess from other part of the forum.

F/A-18, F-16, F-14, M-2000C, A-10C, AV-8B, AJS-37 Viggen, F-5E-3, F-86F, MiG-21bis, MiG-15bis, L-39 Albatros, C-101 Aviojet, P-51D, Spitfire LF Mk. IX, Bf 109 4-K, UH-1H, Mi-8, Ka-50, NTTR, Normandy, Persian Gulf... and not enough time to fully enjoy it all

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