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Hey!
Time for an update!
I have been working on performance improvements and graphical improvements.
Here you can see the progress of my new water shader which is alot cheaper performance wise, which allows alot more resolution of the water mesh.
I've also managed to add reflections of the sky, explosions and objects, allthough it's abit too clear atm.
https://youtu.be/3UsOA3lWpEQ
Cheers!
Some new FX in the works.
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJwIjoxfQ%3D%3D/patreon-media/p/post/42212339/e20324be85f84c34b935ddf1331e44dd/1.png?token-time=1602712700&token-hash=cC98VT8P7XOZro9CBKSy58EiFgkYe0genYI_T2Uu9nE%3 Dhttps://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJwIjoxfQ%3D%3D/patreon-media/p/post/42212339/69e39d0c8b704cb4b82f1e81f7568392/1.png?token-time=1602712700&token-hash=EbvWejnaQwHDpwpym69ytZIbTPLTWU75nk-8Z4z8_MY%3D
Here is another video with the new water and wip FX in action:
https://youtu.be/Q_atHyzQAKY
Another small graphical fix that does alot for the immersion, a new bow spray, slightly overdone here though:
https://youtu.be/TvzZMJTaH5s
I am currently working on adding dynamic shadows to the game engine. So far they are added to the Scharnhorst model, but as you can see there is still room for improvements. Mainly the resolution and the so called 'shadow acne'. https://youtu.be/GNcFy8XMVJg
I hope you are all staying healthy and are having a good start of the new year!
Allthough last year was crappy in maaaany ways, it saw good progress for Battleship Command!
As many may know, I've been learning programing and 3D-modelling as I work on Battleship Command, and during 2020 I made many revelations regarding performance and graphics.
So in the demo, that is very near, you'll (compared to the april 2020 demo) spot much better graphics and performance.
I have changed the way textures and models are loaded into the simulation and improved the UV-maps, this has resulted in:
-Loading times reduced to a few seconds, from what was a few minutes before.
-Ram usage reduced to aprox 1.2gb instead of 4-5gb as in previous versions.
This all have of course improved the frame rates which has allowed for higher resolution of for example the water mesh!
Cheers! :salute:
Hey!
My GPU melted recently, so I had to use an old card which made it hard to work on the 3d world stuff for a while.
But now I have my new card installed so I can show some progress again.
I am testing different ways of implementing terrain.
And now I've found a nice way to render all of Europes land masses in a rough way.
Terrain will have very little purpose/priority in BCS but it's still nice to have.
Now I just need to sync it with the ingame map so I can start creating convoy routes in the north Atlantic.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.02.18-22.24.01.80.png
The ingame map is in sync with the terrain and I started to create a mission with randomly spawned ships randomly chosing between hundreds of routes.
Time to switch on the radars and hunt tonage until the fuel bunkers are dry...
https://youtu.be/kgiO9TS6SbY
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.03.03-23.15.11.82.png
Time compression has taken some time to implement since there is so many things affected by it.
All the AI's movements needs to be compressed, all the Scharnhorst boiler and turbine actions as well as the steering and calculations of headings towards waypoints.
A big problem was that when compressing time, the ship was steering too hard and the violent rudder action prevented the ships to gain a straight and steady course.
But it looks like I've solved those issues now!
The terrain generation is not very pretty at the moment.
But what a joy to be able to take a trip through the channel!
https://youtu.be/fPgWr11Ggjo
I thought it was time to create a Discord, so feel free to jump in for a quick chat about the game progress and discuss ideas!
https://discord.gg/DtHGqb7Ucx
Out on patrol with five Deutschland class ships when suddenly three Nelson class battleships appeared in the fog.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.04.06-23.29.34.33.png
At around 15km distance all guns where firing rapid salvoes and hits were recorded on both sides.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.04.06-23.29.16.60.png
I quickly lost two of my pocket battleships to the heavy 16" shells of the Nelsons...
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.04.06-23.32.48.44.png
But before the battle was totally lost, one Nelson succumbed due to flooding.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.04.06-23.33.29.51.png
I've been back in the shipyard working on some new targets.
Here's a nice freighter, still missing some details and improved textures.
But she floats!
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.04.22-23.51.10.81.png
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJxIjoxMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/patreon-media/p/post/50359433/8869d950879a438aa383876166e3a81f/1.png?token-time=1625184000&token-hash=VrW0B0jOWdxJUvXexHcs4YifbC_qUNJCst20iaUSkHk%3 D
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJxIjoxMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/patreon-media/p/post/50359433/8869d950879a438aa383876166e3a81f/1.png?token-time=1620338442&token-hash=YOm2FhgXR4a8QXdNcen15l6gnFaT4tBxAvQ_Dh1e9h0%3 D
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJxIjoxMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/patreon-media/p/post/50359433/286885adc6e04ccfb703b90e12ebc092/1.png?token-time=1620338442&token-hash=ZFsu3-DgNF-LTDbQ9oMrD15LlXfIQDpC_ubyyazRhrE%3D
And sinks....
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.04.22-22.28.28.51.png
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJxIjoxMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/patreon-media/p/post/50359433/286885adc6e04ccfb703b90e12ebc092/1.png?token-time=1625184000&token-hash=Ips-42wvepNIifNGDINzVwpIWAaiCBYXACk35ZpFvzc%3D
Nice to see you have not lost heart despite all the quietness around here :up:
Maybe you should contact iambecomelife to see if he wants to share some of his merchant ship models with you, would speed up the process and free you from that more tedious part. :ping:
And he is a brilliant modeler, his ships are incredibly good looking for the small poly count they really have. :yeah:
Hi Hitman!
Nah, I've come too far to give up on this project! I have so much love for this idea and vision, so I would finish it even if it would just be me playing it in the end.
It has crossed my mind to contact him, I am really impressed by his models and I try to learn from him.
I wish he would make a tutorial on modelling ships!!
The reason I am not contacting him is that I am not sure if and how my project will go commercial. So I can't offer any deal regarding license or payment at the moment.
My plan is to release my "ship importer tool", which will let anyone import ship models to the sim.
Build a model in .3ds, load it into the tool and setup where the different FX (funnel smoke, wake) should spawn, scale the ship to the game, setup collision box, add your turrets and write in the values needed (topspeed, armor values, cargo type, ammo, caliber, fuel and so on).
Then the tool will convert the model to my file format, create the config file and the ship will be spawnable in the campaign or mission editor.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.04.27-23.04.52.81.png
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJxIjoxMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/patreon-media/p/post/50557560/a05f599a2468410898983e18f76a9d1c/1.png?token-time=1620864000&token-hash=m1JSUocPWRNlgFBWxsydWWDkXXiVcoT_j7mlxjFfJG0%3 Dhttps://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJxIjoxMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/patreon-media/p/post/50557560/a05f599a2468410898983e18f76a9d1c/1.png?token-time=1625184000&token-hash=9bt6NLLHj3JkwMUV244VppQwW5j31mKunjXNGl8tbFI%3 D
That sounds awesome! :Kaleun_Cheers:
Hey everyone!
I hope you all are having a good summer!
I have been travelling and visited a few new museum ships that I havn't seen before. So good times!
Code wise I have been working on AI vs AI combat, and added a few new ships.
Here's some photos from a recent battle I set up:
The German force consisting of a few Hippers, Deutschlands and a Scharnhorst.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.21.33.99.png
The Brittish force.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.22.36.05.png
Around 15km in between the opposing fleets.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.20.07.56.png
It got sweaty very fast with the Hippers sinking one after the other.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.18.02.46.png
Soon enough I was also targeted.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.19.48.55.png
Heavy list starting to develop.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.20.55.34.png
Hipper firing.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.21.57.87.png
A Brittish cruiser dead in the water.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/battleship1a-screenshot-2021.08.02-21.23.05.09.png
iambecomelife
08-10-21, 11:33 PM
That three stacker has seen better days. :hmmm: I guess it's a historical result, German cruisers were better (on paper) than the British county - type cruisers (because of course the Nazis didn't really care about abiding by the treaty limits)... Nice pictures.
That three stacker has seen better days. :hmmm: I guess it's a historical result, German cruisers were better (on paper) than the British county - type cruisers (because of course the Nazis didn't really care about abiding by the treaty limits)... Nice pictures.
Yes, that County got unlucky!
They were a very even match the Hipper and the County. I believe the Hipper only had slightly better armour, but nothing that made a huge difference.
So the winner would probably the one who scored the first hit.
In the above battle there was a KGV class battleship who pulverized all my Hippers...
Cheers mate!
I am currently working on AI behaviour and the "quick mission" mode, but I needed a break from the code and decided to update my T2 tanker model:
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/t2.jpg
iambecomelife
08-18-21, 09:55 PM
Great work, I like how much attention you paid to the rigging. Now since I can never leave modelers alone ..:haha:
will there be lots of great particle effects? Burning/leaking oil would look nice and dramatic; I like simulators that have different types of fire/smoke depending on what you hit. Also survivors in rafts/boats? Maybe with a small bonus for capturing enemies with intelligence, like in U-Boat?
And even better, I would LOVE to have you able to blow off a ship's bow/stern with the other half still floating - this happened to several torpedoed WWII tankers, like the "Esso Nashville"..
https://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1461.html
The front half of "Esso Nashville" ended up on the bottom of the sea and is popular with scuba divers from North/South Carolina to this day...the back half survived the war and sailed for many years! :)
Great work, I like how much attention you paid to the rigging. Now since I can never leave modelers alone ..:haha:
will there be lots of great particle effects? Burning/leaking oil would look nice and dramatic; I like simulators that have different types of fire/smoke depending on what you hit. Also survivors in rafts/boats? Maybe with a small bonus for capturing enemies with intelligence, like in U-Boat?
And even better, I would LOVE to have you able to blow off a ship's bow/stern with the other half still floating - this happened to several torpedoed WWII tankers, like the "Esso Nashville"..
https://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1461.html
The front half of "Esso Nashville" ended up on the bottom of the sea and is popular with scuba divers from North/South Carolina to this day...the back half survived the war and sailed for many years! :)
Thanks! The rigging adds alot to the looks. In the beginning I had a hard time with the models looking like tiny toy boats ingame, and there was no feel of scale/size.
That changed when I started to add details like rigging and handrails (is that the word?).
Regarding particles, atm you see most of them in the pictures above. There is explosions of different sizes and burning fires with smoke of different size and intensity. I am planning to add more types of explosions and fires, it's fairly easy with my current system.
I haven't planned to add people and floating lifeboats, but maybe later in the development because I would like to have it.
I haven't yet experimented with parts breaking off the ships or hulls splitting in the engine, so I don't know how to do it efficiently. So that would also come much later unless I suddenly get a good idea how to do it.
The fun part with being a programer is those "eureka" moments, for instance I recently managed to implement ship wakes and foam after the shell splashes into the water shader. Something I've been wondering about for years, and suddenly after I stopped thinking about it, two weeks ago I just realized the solution.
Edit: I forgot to answer the oil trail question. I haven't decided yet, but fairly easy and cheap to implement.
Hey everyone!
Long time no update, and you won't get much of an update now either.
A lot is being worked on, but nothing that I can really present yet.
But I'll leave this one here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74WxwLdMLG8
Have a great weekend everyone!
Cheers
It's a new year and I am eagerly travlling to see what lays ahead, at the horizon! It looks promising!
On a personal note, I have been on this forum for many years, so some of you may know me allready.
But for those who does not, I am a music teacher who allways loved to play subsims, flightsims and military sims on my free time.
I had only been a hobby programmer for some years as I started working on Battleship Command.
Now during my parental leave I decided to study software development at a HVE (Higher Vocational Education), and since programmers are in high demand here in Sweden,
I am allready in the process of signing the contract for a nice developer job.
So soon I will be a PROFESSIONAL programmer! :o
Battleship Command is progressing steadily and I am now deciding the scope for demo 3.0 so that I have a goal in sight.
As it looks now I need to bring up the detail and texture level of the warships to atleast the same level as the merchants.
I've started to build new interiors for the Scharnhorst based on the actual plans of the ship, that needs to be finished at a basic level atleast.
And then the demo needs to be built, with missions, some bugfixes and some small features needs to be added.
It's impossible to set a time frame, so I'll just say "soon".
Cheers!
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/battleship1a-screenshot-2022.01.18-23.20.12.12.png
And first out we have the Suffolk who is getting some new textures and added details.
Here she is with new hull texture and lower superstructure texture. Up next for a repaint is the upper superstructure.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/suffolktexturework.png
Here's one of my favourites, the Nelson class with a fresh set of textures and details.
Apart from the untextured guns, she's looking quite badass.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/battleship1a-screenshot-2022.02.25-22.49.12.53.pnghttps://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/battleship1a-screenshot-2022.02.25-22.50.33.67.pnghttps://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/battleship1a-screenshot-2022.02.25-22.51.10.20.png
Another battleship is getting refurbished.
Plenty of new details in the model.
Now I am adding textures and checking how they look ingame.
At the moment I am quite conservative with texture resolution and vertice count, so that I can see how the minimum level of detail affects my engines performance.
Which class is this?
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/battleship1a-screenshot-2022.03.01-23.53.30.38.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/821092552681324574/949074292174372905/Battleship1a_Screenshot_2022.03.03_-_23.36.12.28.png
With this beauty being close to finished (for this iteration), it means I am pretty much done with the British ship roster for the upcoming demo 3.0.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/belfast.png
And here she is, reimported into the game.
In duty protecting a large convoy.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/belfast2.png
Here's a look at how the water and splash FX looks at the moment.
The foam in the water after the shell splash has added alot to the feel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU6otYABBoQ
Demo 3.0 is out on a testrun for the supporters and patreons!
It will go through some testing, bugfixing and a few small things might be added.
As soon as all is ok, I will release a public demo 3.0 here on Subsim.
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/battleship1a-screenshot-2022.03.22-23.11.31.62.pnghttps://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/battleship1a-screenshot-2022.03.24-21.39.07.00.png
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xRULdtwa2Fs&t
Torpex77
07-23-22, 12:18 PM
Thia looks really good so far! :salute:
Thia looks really good so far! :salute:
Thanks Torpex!!
Sadly I couldn't release demo 3.0 to the public for various reasons.
I will report in soon with a status update!
https://battleshipcommand.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/chase.jpg
Onkel Neal
11-17-22, 06:43 PM
Any updates? Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
Hi Neal!!
Yes, I am hard at work porting over my project to Unity and improving all aspects of it.
I am very close to being able to properly present the improvements!
Very soon :-)
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