DCS WWII: Europe 1944

Minoslas · 10-02-13, 08:09 AM

Q&A DCS: WW2 Terrain SDK

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...3&postcount=43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornbread View Post
OK, so, if the SDK is going to be released in about a month, does this mean the lid finally comes off with regard to the secrecy of EDGE technical features?

This is the landscape editor. All its features will indeed be revealed.

However the ability to compile the final map and to let tanks drive or planes fly over the new landscape will not be released out. So, many features that relate to the terrain's implementation within the game will not be a part of the SDK.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...8&postcount=48

Quote:

Originally Posted by empeck View Post
Could you elaborate a bit? What else will be needed to make new, fully functional map for DCS World/WW2? If SDK isn't enough, then what's the point of releasing it?

The point of releasing the SDK is so that maps can be made faster by the community than RRG can make themselves, without giving all the tools to make it functional. This will let them put more attention to the aircraft. Enough will be provided to make the land, but the final conversion process of it to let it plug into DCS/DCS WWII will be done by ED or RRG. This would act as quality control, which is in my opinion a good thing.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...2&postcount=51

Quote:

Originally Posted by White Owl View Post
Would it be possible to use this editor to expand the edges of an already existing map? I'm thinking of how much we want just a few airbases in Southern England. I'm thinking that maybe instead of creating a wholly new map, we could make the existing map larger.

A map in EDGE actually has real-world coordinated connected to a virtual globe. It has constraints.

You could create your own landscape project that borders an existing map.

Then you could just join the two projects together, and have them combined.

That's how, for example, you could join forces between multiple creators working on the same map. Just split it, then join it.

Theoretically you could do silly things like take Normandy, make Scotland, and make Ruhr, then join them together. You'd be able to take off from Scotland, climb, fly over barren nothing below, cross over pretty Normandy, fly over some more nothing, bomb a factory, and then go back home.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...1&postcount=78

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentEagle View Post
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this would make it impossible for developers to test their creations in the simulator. That seems pretty counterproductive. As a developer myself, I find this part hard to understand. If the concern is an oversaturation of mediocre or "half-baked" terrains, why release the tools to all backers in the first place. Why not just just to those with serious interest and capability, such as how 3rd party development of aircraft is currently operating?

If a user wanted to create a free terrain or even one that was only used by himself, would he really need to have ED/RRG convert it for him. What about every time he wanted to make a change?

Guys, we have an SDK for a game that's not out yet.

Even if we were to release the EDGE source code as freeware, you'd be in the exact same boat. Build, create, compile, and then what?

Until you have at least the DCS WWII alpha, you have no game in which you can fly over your terrain.

We cannot release an even earlier build than our alpha.

The SDK comes with its own landviewer, which is the app in which I did all the footage in the latest vid. That's where you'll test your landscape.

I'm sure we'll have the outstanding questions resolved well before DCS WWII hits alpha. Once we have an official stance on commercial use of EDGE by 3rd parties, everything else will follow naturally.

With non-commercial use, we're obviously interested in having a large amount of user-made content. We're also a very small team and we can't be the quality control or the publisher for everything our users make.

The only reason to release an SDK is to help your product grow. No one on this side has any desire to be the bottleneck in that process.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...2&postcount=84

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron886 View Post
Luthier, can you shed some more light on the purpose for restricting the SDK? Will this be specifically for DCS:WWII purposes, or will 3rd parties be able to create sceneries unbound by the WWII theme? I like what you're saying, I just want to see an improvement of the simulator as a whole.

Quote:

Originally Posted by empeck View Post
SDK won't work with DCS: World? Lets say, wouldn't it be possible to make a tiny map for DCS: World? Like Corsica from the video or even smaller.

There's pretty much one game engine at this point.

What works in DCS WWII works in DCS World, at least on the developers' machines as of this very second.

You can theoretically create anything you want, but I really have nothing to do with DCS World as a product line.

The reason why we are talking about the SDK now, the reason why we're releasing it when we are, is DCS WWII specifically.

I personally am interested in garnering and supporting a large-scale community effort to create new WWII content. Here, my main goal is to make sure we have as many talented, dedicated people working on this as possible, and that they enjoy doing it and want to keep doing it long enough to finish the process.

If we just put hurdles in their path, prevent them from seeing their own work, or provide poor support, then this entire effort is wasted: me making that video, discussing this now, us making the effort to create the SDK for external consumption, future discussions with backers, writing tech specs, etc etc etc. There's no point in us doing any of that if we'll give you the kind of SDK that people play with for a while, shrug their shoulders, and go find something better to do with their time.

This I guess should be a more important point than any technical details. Not what we're doing, but why we're doing it.