I know it's a little late for Valentines Day. Excessive flapping, bumping and separation is discussed in this priceless US Army video from 1980. If only they had "RotorCam (tm)". The Apache has a fixed rotor, mast bumping isn't an issue but it's all part of helicopter theory.
I've been forced to continue hunting for other employment to deal with a mounting debt crisis. As a result work was put on hold the past two weeks (hence the lack of updates). I apologise for letting my post slide, the project really is taking a toll. I've been ordered to get back to Combat-Helo ASAP (taxes and all that business stuff needed to be done too), I'll be updating as well as I can. There's an engine update to finish rolling into the project (I started on that earlier in the week, this fixes a problem with terrain and I hope the EntityUserData and hierarchy problem).
A Twitter follower suggested I post some Gun Cam footage, I had a look at that and found vegetation range/LOD issues in the MTADS camera need dynamic adjusting (not sure what the most efficient method will be yet).
I'll just round this entry off by stating that raising funds in the UK for technical entertainment projects is very difficult if not near impossible. Bank staff/accountants take one look at video of Apache cockpits and give you funny looks like you're some kind of gun nut (that actually happened).
In the meantime, enjoy the technical detail of the above video.
Another Example
Here's a great example of ground resonance, link provided by reader Christian.
Thats funny, because thats how I look at bank/accounting people.... just cuz i think they're major assholes LOL. Someday in the future, people will look back on us and laugh that we had banks.
ReplyDeleteI work with a guy that was a crew chief on cobras.. he tells us about how he adjusted the rotors with sticks and chalk... he'll love this.
I may have some work for you if you would be interested... its a flex project for desktop video conferencing that Ive been thinking about launching... looks like gas is going to spike so it may be time.
Email me at jefffyd123@hotmail.com and Ill send the concept design doc and what i can pay.
I can get $ in an escrow and a test server going.
I don't know about your intended "sales channels", but you might think about digitally releasing a paid beta like DCS A-10C? Under the premise that people knowingly buy a beta they expect bugs to occur (up to some degree - don't know whether you've reached that) and it could help to alleviate debts. At least I'd buy that!
ReplyDelete@Sebastian What we had in mind is more like a Minecraft release model with rolling updates eventually culminating in a version 1.0
ReplyDeleteRecently time has been at a premium with interviews and prep required. I've had really bad days when I've just collapsed on the couch dreading looking at the project and wondering why me. In the grand scheme of things it's very silly, if that's all you've got to worry about but there's a lot of passion and time wrapped up in this. I'm a loyal person and other people put a ton of work into it and I won't let them down.
If you want insight into what it's like at this end of the compiler, watch this trailer..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhaT78i1x2M
That's pretty much what it's like for a lot of us.
Hi Flex. Dont worry about not posting any news or anything. We want You to be ok with everything and then all other things around the project will be more satisfying. (i hope I wrote it the way I meant it :-))
ReplyDeleteI already saw that vid because as a helicopter student on a Robinson22 that "Behavior" is well known for a semi-rigid rotorsystem. There is a label on the control on all R22s which says that you have to prevent Low-G maneuvers. My respect to the vietnam era helicopter pilots grows and I can imagine how many crahes due to must bumping and therfore lost of the complete rotorhub. I imagine the lost of the holy "jesus nut" while flying was not he only issue then, technicaly.
ReplyDeleteHey Flex, maybe u are the "Notch" for CH! ;-) :-D
At least Notch got something out. Minecraft has infinitely wider appeal. If you guys were happy with a Helicopter that went up/down, turned left/right and bounced around a bit we'd have been playing this a year ago "Maximum Overkill" style.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, lets not dwell of the bad stuff.
Can't remember who it was, a blog reader or someone who used to fly in the 404th (my apologies) told of someone who walked out of flight school when they learned about all these moving parts.
I went through Fred's HTR C# code admiring all the physics and the wonder of how fiddly that was, taking into account flapping and all that kind of stuff. And in a fairly logical order too, you don't readily appreciate the difficulty of putting code for something like that together. Simply the order you apply forces per update has an impact on behaviour.
When you're dealing with numbers output by recursive functions for lots of these dynamic forces one tiny error makes the whole thing blow up. Debugging (my implementation) was a major problem for Fred.
We never implemented a total airframe 'destruction' effect for the Apache. We need something to happen when you crash catastrophically. I had in mind a kind of 'ragdoll' but without joints, attach major limbs to physical objects and let the native physics engine take over, which in the case of Newton.dll would probably result in bits flying into bloody space. Worth a shot though.
Finally getting to the bottom of the sensor bug.
ReplyDeleteI don't see a "Paypal Donate" button anywhere on the site...
ReplyDeleteI know the model they're using at Interstellar Marines incentivises incremental donations to the game's development, up to and even exceeding a full pre-order of the game. You could always go the Dwarf Fortress route and add the names of contributors to your "special thanks" section of the credits.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been drooling over this devblog and wondering how I can send money to get the game into my hands a bit faster.
Good God man, put a Paypal link on your site. Go to Kickstarter.com and put your project up. There is a WW2 dice board game that raised over 100,000 dollars. People are standing by willing to give you money to get this project done!!
ReplyDeleteFully agreed. I'm accessing this site weekly since two years or so when I first learned about it on simhq. I'd definitely spend some money if there would be the chance.
ReplyDeleteBR
Agree with the comments above, Kickstarter is a very viable option and I would certainly contribute
ReplyDeleteI`m not one of those who bought minecraft. But I want to buy CH in whatever state it is, because I´m a helo nut. So if youre have that legal stuff ready pls accept preorders or the like. Sure I can imagine when people put money on this project the pressure on you will probably increasing? You are on a point of no return and we have faith in you(and AD and Fred of course).
ReplyDeleteI've been banging on about Kickstarter type funding to ages (not here granted). Since it's now high profile with recent success stories I keep pointing out that it's not legal here in the UK. This is partly for tax reasons but also it's to do with protecting people from fraud.
ReplyDeleteIf we operated out of any other country it might have been fine. Also due to tax reasons, if I personally accept payments then the tax man comes in and it would end up costing MORE. It really is utterly ludicrous. Even the makers of the Raspberry PI computer are not happy about pretty much being forced to manufacture overseas as it's far too expensive to do it here.
Again apologies for the delay.
Def at the point of no return. I've got two years invested in this and my hair is falling out, not to mention Dave et al.
Just to clarify the Kickstater legality issue, here's the Wiki link to the appropriate section...
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_funding#Legal_regulation
You need to talk to the Financial Services Authority Flex. technically the only thing you need to be able to receive money from investors in your "idea" is a fair contract. Think of us as finders for your project and you are good to go, and yes you can pay taxes on it. Its perfectly legal. Give them a ring and add a paypal link, I think you may be pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDelete*funders
ReplyDeleteHi Flex, thanx for the update and the video. I would also be in concerning financial assistance for the project.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I wish you and your team all the best.
For the time being I would like to share the following link concerning ground resonance which might be interesting to some of your readers. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2tHA7KmRME&feature=fvst) I hope thats ok.
Best regards
Thanks for the link Christian. That video is a great example which I'll add to the post above.
ReplyDeleteAnd also thanks for the tips and advice that have been trickling in for various vectors. I ve some new irons in the fire and in the meantime (since I don't have much else to do) back to working on finishing a working beta.
Hi Flexman, just happened across this and as Microprose's Gunship and Jane's Apache Longbow are probably the main reasons why my school grades never amounted to much I'm really excited by this. Like a lot of people on here say, I'd be more than happy to "invest" like £10 or so to get this done (even if it's beer money). It looks more polished than Cliffs of Dover for a start... Heck, even your website looks better than most games with way bigger budgets. Going to bookmark this page now and keep checking in to see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Nik
West Sussex, UK
Cheers Nik, if you ever make it to one of the flight sim shows in the UK and see me doddering around say hi.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite pleased with myself today, just fixed a major problem that has been elusive for weeks. Must catch up on my emails tomorrow.
When games were as good as those old Jane's titles you didn't need friends. I've been meaning to try Cliffs of Dover, I'll wager it's way more polished than Combat-Helo, our base engine has technical limits (best we could afford at the time).
I do miss F19 Stealth Fighter (still have the 'pink' give-away t-shirt) and TFX/Eurofighter 2000.
F19 with the very early guess at what the Stealth Fighter would look like? That was a pretty good game, even if they were miles out. Although I think we were all miles out when it finally came out...
ReplyDeleteMicro-investments might help get that better engine... ;) And CoD at release was not polished...
/Nik
Interestingly we have a complete shopping list and near complete roadmap for the next engine designed to address the short-comings found during development of combat-helo. It would be the difference between Longbow 1 and Longbow 2.
ReplyDeleteMight be worth doing a special blog entry on F-19 and it's ilk. There was lots of speculation and yes it was way out (although a new edition of the game did offer a choice between realistic and classic). The core of the game was threading the needle, a gauntlet with a risk-reward system. Very clever.
I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles.
ReplyDeleteI will bookmark your blog and have my children check up here often.
I am quite sure they will learn lots of new stuff here than anybody else
Thanks
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