Sonalyst is back to the surface ?

[stormrider_sp]

Nothing new. As far as I remember, this engine has been available since at least 2016.

[Kaye T. Bai]

A guy on Facebook said he saw an early build of this at a trade show in 2011. If so, they must've been working on this for quite some time.

Originally Posted by stormrider_sp

Nothing new. As far as I remember, this engine has been available since at least 2016.

I remember a Sonalysts guy posted on this forum a few years ago and said they had something in the works but couldn't comment further. I guess this is what he was referring to.

[Overkill]

Looks like it'll be purty good when/if they decide to release it.

[Ghost Dog]

I really hope the new game has dynamic campaign. (or least dynamic/random encounters) Sub games have had this for a long time, going back to Silent Service in the 80s all way up to Cold Waters.

I fear that this will just be an update to Dangerous Waters with slightly better graphics and more platforms. (which get added with mods anyways)

[Kaye T. Bai]

Originally Posted by Ghost Dog

I really hope the new game has dynamic campaign. (or least dynamic/random encounters) Sub games have had this for a long time, going back to Silent Service in the 80s all way up to Cold Waters. I fear that this will just be an update to Dangerous Waters with slightly better graphics and more platforms. (which get added with mods anyways)

Seeing those new models sure was nice, especially considering a lot of the models from Dangerous Waters were used before in Fleet Command, a game originally from 1998!

The new Arleigh Burke DDG model looks especially nice; the one from DW was atrocious and looked more like a JMSDF Kongo-class destroyer.

[Polak2]

Do not know if this video linked below is known to anyone here but IMHO it gives some wider background picture and mixture of various areas of naval simulations/training videos which Sonalysts has been creatively involved in as of late. Including music ...wow!



I must admit that after quite a few years of well-maintained radio silence from Sonalysts those most recent glimpses/previews/presentations are still shrouded in sort of enigmatic veil as much as they are intriguing.

One rather very positive motif presents itself that because of their involvement with RL naval topics we should expect (I think/I hope) realism and serious knowledge of the subject matter.

And that is a good thing....

[Kaye T. Bai]

Nice catch! I hope any new game incorporates some form of crew interaction. But man, would it kill Sonalysts to apply some normal mapping to their models? That glossy, artificial shinyness is a bit jarring. Anyway, nice vid.

[Polak2]

would it kill Sonalysts to apply some normal mapping to their models? That glossy, artificial shininess is a bit jarring.

Graphics were never the forte or perhaps something Sonalysts would pay extra attention or resources to. Especially and understandably for the work used for training purposes.
As long as there is more simple and open way to improve graphics by modders that should be good enough. Then all is needed is time and will to make it better.

[SirKerrald]

On the plus side, destroyer design finally caught up with programmer art.

[FPSchazly]

Videos from Sonalysts posted a few hours ago!

Ticonderoga engaging surface craft with Harpoon:
https://www.facebook.com/sonalystsco...8692333336463/

Su-27s getting shot down by SAM:
https://www.facebook.com/sonalystsco...8691376669892/

Virginia on the (nail-biting close) stalk:
https://www.facebook.com/sonalystsco...8636860008677/

[GravityWave]

I would also really like to see an update that at least addresses the graphics 4:3 scaling - maybe open source (Vulcan or OpenGL). The mechanics seem to be already there. I'm coming back to DW waiting to see how CW evolves some more. CW's got the graphics and AI but is a different style. It's more game than simulator. With that said, CW is a lot of fun. DW is more challenging and deeper. Just ugly as sin these days. I'd be thrilled just to see a cosmetic update. I'm a customer for an upgrade. The Sonanalyst web site suggests more of a space simulator under development, though still involved with USN on interfaces.

[ET2SN]

Originally Posted by GravityWave

I would also really like to see an update that at least addresses the graphics 4:3 scaling - maybe open source (Vulcan or OpenGL). The mechanics seem to be already there. I'm coming back to DW waiting to see how CW evolves some more. CW's got the graphics and AI but is a different style. It's more game than simulator. With that said, CW is a lot of fun. DW is more challenging and deeper. Just ugly as sin these days. I'd be thrilled just to see a cosmetic update. I'm a customer for an upgrade. The Sonanalyst web site suggests more of a space simulator under development, though still involved with USN on interfaces.

Something you could try with DW and SC is to crank up your screen resolution.

In some (most?) modern OS you can't change the display settings in-game BUT you can change them if you edit your dangerouswaters.ini file.

Go to your dangerouswaters.ini file and find the .ModeID entry under [GRAPHICS].
The default setting is 1 (800 X 600). Change the 1 to a 2 for 1024 X 768 or change the 1 to a 3 for 1280 X 1024.
You can do the same thing with Sub Command by editing its .ini file.

We're still stuck with the 4:3 aspect ratio but the higher settings (especially 1280 X 1024) look "good enough" on a large monitor.

In terms of graphics engines, I think we need to be careful what we wish for.
Sonalyst could pull a "Sorry, the new game ONLY runs in Win10, 64 bit" and that might alienate a lot of gamers who prefer an older OS.

[Kaye T. Bai]

Another video! Some shots of an Ohio SSGN, Burke DDG, LCS, San Antonio LPD, and a P-8 Poseidon.

Apparently it's just a test bed/tech demo for now, but they did not rule out the possibility of a game based on said engine in the future so it's not a definitive no. Keep hope alive!

Originally Posted by FPSchazly

Videos from Sonalysts posted a few hours ago!

Sweet Jesus in heaven! Turns out God exists and he is real after all! Praise be to Allah (and Sonalysts)!

[ET2SN]

Originally Posted by FPSchazly

Videos from Sonalysts posted a few hours ago!

Virginia on the (nail-biting close) stalk:
https://www.facebook.com/sonalystsco...8636860008677/

So, has anyone else tried to figure out what we're seeing (besides the obvious 3D view)?

It looks like six or so "station" views across the top of the screen and something like eight game options along the side.

The two "satellite" buttons look interesting.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by GravityWave

I would also really like to see an update that at least addresses the graphics 4:3 scaling - maybe open source (Vulcan or OpenGL). The mechanics seem to be already there. I'm coming back to DW waiting to see how CW evolves some more. CW's got the graphics and AI but is a different style. It's more game than simulator. With that said, CW is a lot of fun. DW is more challenging and deeper. Just ugly as sin these days. I'd be thrilled just to see a cosmetic update. I'm a customer for an upgrade. The Sonanalyst web site suggests more of a space simulator under development, though still involved with USN on interfaces.

The bigger issue is the 16bit one that requires wrappers just to make the game run on newer OSs.
Anyway the 4:3 thing is not just making the engine technically run in the 16:9 aspect ratio, it's also needed to rework the background image bmps and reposition the interactive objects on each station screen cause now everything is done based on a 800x600 matrix.

Currently modders can edit the bmps contained in the grp files and moving position of the interactive objects requires hexediting the dlls which is a pain in the ***, to say the least, but it's possible.