- Offizieller Beitrag
4.37.3, aktueller Stand
1.) U3 - Release timeline
Intially, we had in mind to release U3 by end of June and before the summer break but…
We got a couple events that delayed us a bit:
- We ambitioned to use the new 3D format but we had issues (will give more details later)
- The license / IP holder change
- We had to rest a bit from the U1 and U2 rush…
U3 - More than an update
Yes… Let’s say it out loud! This 4.37 update 3 will feel like a major release but won’t be one…
Since U2, around 380 code Pull requests have been done and we’re still counting!
What does that mean? Well it means that we already have pushed more modifications than between 4.36.3 and 4.37.0!
Some would argue that we should have named it as a major release but 4.38 is already booked for our new terrain release and we count on it…
From an asset perspective, not much will change visually but there are major braking changes…
U3 - What to expect
There are a couple areas of focus for 4.37 U3:
The BML format
This is a major breaking change that will need for creators to convert LOD 3DDB to the new BML format…
Internally, @Seifer and others worked hard to implement it in the current 4.37 branch and solved numerous bugs that were discovered during testing…
What will you gain? Well, this is a v1 of BML format that doesn’t support PBR but will help push the boundaries of higher triangles models and optimization of draw calls.
You can expect better performance on more recent hardware but it is not possible to quantify it right now…
ARH Logic (Active Radar Homing)
I don’t count the debates around this but we hope coming to an end on this with something we believe plausible…
Maybe we won’t find anymore 150 pages threads around this
Campaign logic
Well… This is not a surprise anymore, there have been posts by our new campaign expert that worked on make the engine planning missions better and manage a new acceptable level of risk (ALR) that people will be able to tune in the mission XML files.
Other stuff for the campaign and fixes will come but I don’t want to spoil too much
The F-15 and other planes
Obviously there are a lot of new features for the F-15C coming up in U3 that will add more systems and will make it more usable but don’t consider it fully “ramp startable” yet…
Nevertheless, this opened the door for other planes and some will see basic level of implementation in this future update…
More fixes and MP stability
Let’s state that the level of stability has reached levels never known before in Falcon history and we aim to continue that!
Our goal is still to host a TvT after the summer once U3 is released and considered stable by the community…
4.38 - What’s next?
This is a question we’re not able to answer right now but what I can tell is that we progressed further thanks to decideted people in the team that still continue to update objectives and maps for our new terrain engine.
Obviously, the attention will shift to it after U3 is shipped. The first aim of U3 is to test the BML format and make sure we have this part correctly implmented before we shift the terrain engine…
Thus, I cannot give date for 4.38 becase the road is still long to a complete state. the finish line isn’t too far but it will be still some work before we are satisfied with a “releasable” version of it…
Anyway, thank you for your support and see you in the virtual skies!
2.) Currently, we have two blockers (all related to F15):
- ramp start: still missing a few switches, being implemented as fast as possible.
- radar: something wrong, not burning through jammer. This is being looked into.
Once those are finished, we call freeze and begin final testing. There are other desirable things that will probably go into the release as well if finished on time:
- F15 autopilot.
- shadow mapping optimization (important for VR).
ETA? Well, I already missed the first deadline and I am about to miss the second one… but let’s try it again. I really feel like September is going to see .3
Quelle: BMS-Forum
