progress of SSMS 2

[vinny002]

Hi, guys!!

The graphics in the sneak peak of SSMS 2 is stunning!! I wanted to ask you, how is the SSMS 2 coming along? It's getting interesting!!

                        Cheers,
                        Vincent

[Admin]

Still in Alpha stage, progress as planned.

/Admin

[Nats]

I cant say I am all that impressed by the alpha graphics - the trees look a bit lame. But there is a way to go of course yet I'm sure the graphics will look great eventually.

I would definitely like to see better shadows on orbiting objects in SS2. I find the objects in orbit in the present game look a bit too bright with a distinct lack of contrast (same for the objects on earth like the towers etc actually). Whereas its true that sometimes orbiting objects dont have completely black shadows due partially to the earths reflection, most photos I have seen of the shuttle etc in orbit do look very black in shadow and its something that I do find a bit unrealistic in the present game. I would certainly like to see this improved as the in orbit views are the main reason I bought the game. Its a small point admittedly but as the new game seems to be concentrating on graphical improvements I thought it worth saying.

[Pocci]

I am sure, that photos does not help to define the brightness of the shadowed part of orbiting objects. It would be interesting so have reports from astronauts, that have already seen this with their own eyes.
The human eye is very adaptive to brightness differences. More than most cameras.
The game "simulates" the naked eye in most views, so it would be best to follow advice from real astronauts.

/Armin

[Admin]

Nats: we are concentrating on ALL departments, not only graphics. The sneak previews show only a tiny part of what we have planned.

Poci & Nats: shadow "color" depends on zillion  of things, among  them the anount of ambient light and reflection from surrounding objects, transparency and color of the objects casting the shadow, etc. etc. I don't think we can ever match reality with the current technology (in real time), so basically we'll be looking at many compromises.

Regardless, the realism will benefit from self-shadowing even if we use some good approximation.

/Admin

[Pocci]

Regardless, the realism will benefit from self-shadowing even if we use some good approximation.

Definitive, and I am looking forward to see that

/Armin

[vinny002]

Hi, guys!!

I wanted to ask you, I'm very interested in finding out more about the new features of the SSMS 2. Will there be any working circuit breakers like what you see on the overhead panel which is used for turning stuff on and off? Will there be any new sounds like APU sound, and the wind sound when the space shuttle is ascending into thinner air and into space? The atmospheric rendering is good in SSM2007 but the atmospheric rendering will be better in SSMS 2. I'm sure the SSMS 2 will have more features than what I asked about here.

                          Cheers,
                     Vincent

[Admin]

Vince,

Keep watching the forum. From time to time we shall be releasing official information.

/Admin

[fleurenf]

Looks great but what will be the computer specs to run SSMS 2?

[Admin]

Looks great but what will be the computer specs to run SSMS 2?

See above my answer to Vince.

/Admin

[Nats]

Nats: we are concentrating on ALL departments, not only graphics. The sneak previews show only a tiny part of what we have planned.

Poci & Nats: shadow "color" depends on zillion  of things, among  them the anount of ambient light and reflection from surrounding objects, transparency and color of the objects casting the shadow, etc. etc. I don't think we can ever match reality with the current technology (in real time), so basically we'll be looking at many compromises.

Regardless, the realism will benefit from self-shadowing even if we use some good approximation.

/Admin

Yes sorry I shouldnt have said you were concentrating on only the graphics as I am sure there is quite a lot you will be adding in addition. Good to see though that improvements in the in orbit graphics are on the table. Being unable to ever get up there myself I would love this new sim to get me there in all but reality, the present sim doesnt quite do it for me, albeit being very impressive. Sun glinting off metal and windows, seeing the earths reflection in polished metal and glass, seeing the earths clouds and their shadows moving over the earth realistically and perhaps hurricanes and storms affecting lift offs and being where they were in reality, seeing the earths seasons change the globe - all this would add so much to the in orbit views, would love to see these kind of things in the game. For me it isnt so much pushing the buttons and doing the missions, the views from space are what I play the game for as much as anything else.

[Admin]

Nats: we are concentrating on ALL departments, not only graphics. The sneak previews show only a tiny part of what we have planned.

Poci & Nats: shadow "color" depends on zillion  of things, among  them the anount of ambient light and reflection from surrounding objects, transparency and color of the objects casting the shadow, etc. etc. I don't think we can ever match reality with the current technology (in real time), so basically we'll be looking at many compromises.

Regardless, the realism will benefit from self-shadowing even if we use some good approximation.

/Admin

Yes sorry I shouldnt have said you were concentrating on only the graphics as I am sure there is quite a lot you will be adding in addition. Good to see though that improvements in the in orbit graphics are on the table. Being unable to ever get up there myself I would love this new sim to get me there in all but reality, the present sim doesnt quite do it for me, albeit being very impressive. Sun glinting off metal and windows, seeing the earths reflection in polished metal and glass, seeing the earths clouds and their shadows moving over the earth realistically and perhaps hurricanes and storms affecting lift offs and being where they were in reality, seeing the earths seasons change the globe - all this would add so much to the in orbit views, would love to see these kind of things in the game. For me it isnt so much pushing the buttons and doing the missions, the views from space are what I play the game for as much as anything else.

Hmm, I'm confused. Previously you hoped that we don't concentrate only on the graphics part, and now you're saying that this is the most important thing for you 

Anyway, our work is not done yet - by far. Standby for other sneak peeks - when they come.

/Admin

[Nats]

Important to me but definitely not the most important thing for me, graphics are just one aspect of a game. Fun gameplay, enjoyable graphics, addictiveness, immersion, realism, ease of learning, are all very important to me in a game. Needless to say I dont play many games these days. Last games that had all of this for me were Frontier Elite and EF2000. Developers these days seem to concentrate on difficulty, complexity and graphics to the detriment of everything else unfortunately. Playing a very difficult game puts me off more than anything else. I feel SSMS1 falls down a bit here. I am not quite finished with it yet but certainly it strains my willingness to keep on playing on occasion :-) Shame becuase its a great game otherwise. Hope the new game will have the opportunity to just cheat you way through an impossible move for those of us who arent qualified astronauts.

[Dappa]

Important to me but definitely not the most important thing for me, graphics are just one aspect of a game. Fun gameplay, enjoyable graphics, addictiveness, immersion, realism, ease of learning, are all very important to me in a game. Needless to say I dont play many games these days. Last games that had all of this for me were Frontier Elite and EF2000. Developers these days seem to concentrate on difficulty, complexity and graphics to the detriment of everything else unfortunately. Playing a very difficult game puts me off more than anything else. I feel SSMS1 falls down a bit here. I am not quite finished with it yet but certainly it strains my willingness to keep on playing on occasion :-) Shame becuase its a great game otherwise. Hope the new game will have the opportunity to just cheat you way through an impossible move for those of us who arent qualified astronauts.

EF2000!!! Awesomeness!

But seriously, cheating our way through? That would affect realism quite a lot, which is -as you point out - an important aspect of a simulation (or game). I think there are enough aids in the current game, with access to all kinds of arrows and spheres pointing out exactly where we need to be. All these can make our life on orbit quite easy already.
If we want to wander mindlessly through all the complexity that comes with spaceflight and the space shuttle, then why do we even bother to play this simulator?

[uri_ba]

ahh, EF2000, where I learned how to do basket refueling.
Important skill for bets with other sim playing friends