Items for Patch 1.2 list ...so far

[StormcloudCreations]

I've gathered together some improvements for the next patch (1.2) list so far.

- Fixing various little glitches reported in the Support forum, about 5 of them or so

- Adding a feature where the first 12 out of the 18 pilots are randomly selected for you

- Adding an Exit Mission feature when either A) all of your pilots are in the Pre-approach area or B) When the main target is destroyed

- Adding an exit button to the Combat screen, as per many requests [:D]

- Still working on the resolution issue; if a solution is found, it will be in there

- Speeding up the Combat display/updating a little bit using various methods

- Add slightly higher chance for bandits to move, and sharpen their AI a little as well

- Adding an altitude indicator on the individual pilots for the main combat screen

- Moved to DirectX for various game functions, increasing overall game speed 5-10%

[Umbriel]

Wish :
- possibility to choose random generated pilot.
- More than 1 level for pilot (double exp to reach each new lvl ?). For example, Dino need 4 xp to gain a level, so to the next 8 xp, then 16 xp and so on.
Each lvl, random effect : +1 x 2 (so 1 to Ata + 1 At or +2 Ata or +2 AtG) or Slow to Fast.

[hmssirius]

Still disapointed that screen res issue is such a low priority. Having purchased a game that is halfplayable at best is not a good thing, Particularly for such a long period of time. Surely some of the forum suggestions such as windowed options are not that hard to implement. At present I would be even happy to have a half baked solution to the problem like moving the buttons up into the playable screen area or hotkeys. The amount of screen lost from the bottom on a 1440 lap top is not that much and is almost playable. I see other posts about developers listenening. This may be so but why are they not acting. [&:]

[Umbriel]

Yep, a Window mode will be great !!!!

[StormcloudCreations]

fishhead: The reason for this is quite technical in nature, but certainly the screen res thing isn't a low priority at all, and i've been looking for a solution to implement. I have a possible plan, but it's proven to be a real pain. Part of it is the programming language used to create the game itself is proving to be a bit of a barrier in and of itself.

[CapnDarwin]

Derek,
 
What language are you using for Hornet?

[StormcloudCreations]

Those who are bored by nerdy talk can ignore this post: [:D]
Mostly Visual Basic 6, fully patched. It's fast, flexible and great for most development, but it also has its limitations and I ran into a few of those here. I actually bit the bullet and plan on converting most of my future development with Stormcloud (and probably Matrix too) to VB .NET/2005 (and 2008 when it isn't a buggy mess). Better Vista support, faster compiler, better flexibility and in-built support for resolution changes and all of that, and by now most people have the framework needed installed.

[mikebowen1962]

Re the exit when target destroyed I assume that would only be when in the pre approch otherwise exiting when over targey would seem wrong.
 
Not having a clue about these things but is it worth talking to others about the screen resolution problem.  IIRC GofA has it and it works but its probably a different code or whatever.  I think if that were solved sales would soar as its idea to play on a lap top when time is tight.
 
Mike

[CapnDarwin]

Derek,

I've played a little with VB6 for some things at work (day job). Rob and I are using Borland/Code Gear/whoevertheyaretoday Delphi 2007 with a number of 3rd party tools to cover the work we are doing on the Flashpoint games. Rob is wiz with that software and I've been using it for a number a things for years. It has a very fast and good compiler for standalone exes and a ton of good third party tools. It might be worth looking into down the road if you are looking to change code base.

Thanks for the info.

[CptWaspLuca]

Please add altitude indicator on hornet icons in the tactical display to the list! I need that

[NefariousKoel]

I like the random pilot picks.. care to add any more detail on how that'll work?

Also.. I agree with Wasp's altitude indicator of some sort in the main play area.  I know you mentioned that you want to put that in?  Maybe you forgot to include it in the list?[:)]

[StormcloudCreations]

Random pilot picks: Basically they'll be a button you can click, and it will randomly select the proper amount of pilots from each skill level for you. Along with the random campaign selection, it will throw a bit of a change-up at the player to deal with.
 
Yes...I suppose an altitude indicator may have to be added in. It's on the list now.

[StormcloudCreations]

Work on the 1.2 patch has started, and should be done in a week or so. Thanks for everyone who contributed ideas!

[Sonny II]

ORIGINAL: StormcloudCreations

Work on the 1.2 patch has started, and should be done in a week or so. Thanks for everyone who contributed ideas!

Will we be able to apply it to the demo?

[Axeking]

Too bad "Make the game responsive" isn't on the list.
 
 For me, the lag in response to mouse clicks is ruining an otherwise good game.
 
It should not take 20-30 seconds to respond to a supress/evade order... (for example)
 
  This on a 2.6 GHz machine with a gig of ram...
 
 Randy

[StormcloudCreations]

rlnonay: I actually plan on testing some ideas to make the game a bit more responsive. That amount of delay seems very system dependent though; on my 3.2 Ghz system with a gig of ram with a pretty basic Dell 128MB video card, there's very little delay, almost none. None of our testers reported that kind of delay. If you're running a lot of other apps at once that access the hard drive, that could cause some small delays. But then, some testers were running a lot of other stuff at once too.

[rednick]

hi
i'am one french player ...
Is it possible to rename Pilot ???
and what about a scenario and campain editor ???
thks

[StormcloudCreations]

Pilots can't be renamed right now, and scenario/campaign editor is something we may consider later on.

[Richard III]

Derek
 
Couple things, I can`t seem to get the " surpress" function to work all the time in the Demo, even though  I follow the instructions in the in-game help.
What is the correct sequence  for this function ?
 
The other issue is that I find the missions, even at the lowest level, very tough to complete due to the extensive ground SAM`s and the endless number of bandits that appear. Since the Hornets, unlike the real birds, have a very limited number of weapon hardpoints in the Game ( which I realize is an abstraction for Game reasons ) and you usually need 40-50 % AtA loadout to deal with the Bandits, you usually run out of AtG weapons or the ability to use them after a pilot get to high " stress " from evasion. It really seems the Game Pilots are much too prone to high stress from " evasions", and therefore become useless in the mission, and that is very unrealistic, if you use the real world of Naval Avation as some baseline for the Game.
 
 If you get a  hostile " event" while inbound, it get worse. It would seem from looking at the AAR`s above, from people envolved in developing the Game System, that I`m not alone....While it may be me, I`d respectfully suggest that the Game Balance be looked at again and perhaps receive more play testing.  All this is not a "Slam" on the Game, I think there is a real gem lurking in there, but it`s not quite here yet.
 
Thanks
 

[Erik Rutins]

Richard,

I think some of those balance concerns may also be just a matter of practice. We've had requests from experienced gamers to make the game harder as well, I encourage everyone to give the difficulty settings a try. I initially found HL to be quite tough too, but at this point I can complete the demo campaign without breaking much of a sweat.

Regards,

- Erik