Fighter Ops’ Rick “Rjetster” Ladomade Page 6

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20mm: Another topic that the community is interested in that of third party add-ons and mods. I gather that there will be an SDK toolkit to access these add-ons, and that FO will approve and distribute them. Is that about right, or is it somewhat more complicated?

Rick: When appropriate, we will release a set of tools to modify existing content and create new content for the program. The tools will verify the integrity of the created content before exporting to the game format. More strict integrity checks can optionally be done by XSI to make the add-on officially approved. All required measures will be taken to make sure that multi-player sessions with user-created mods are problem free.

20mm: OK, now for some tougher questions. First, what’s the projected release date for the initial module? I understand that Fighter Opsis just now entering pre-alpha builds?

"...our number one priority is to deliver a product that does what it promises."Rick: You are correct; we are entering the pre-alpha stage at the moment with good momentum moving forward. At this stage of development and unfortunately at this time there is no way to give an approximate release date of Fighter Ops. That’s why we have a dedicated web site and forum so our progress can be followed. What I can say is that a good end product is what matters most and is much more important, so our energy is focused on that. With that said, our number one priority is to deliver a product that does what it promises. We will accomplish this priority first.

20mm: Next, what type of PC is going to be required to run Fighter Ops? I realize you can’t accurately predict what it will take to run optimal settings at this point, but are you intending to optimize for dual-core or quad-core processing?

Rick: Fighter Ops uses computational resources in various ways. CPU and GPU processing power, disk storage, RAM and fast LAN connections are being used whenever possible. All of the current common hardware features (like multi-core processors) and many of the not-so-common resources are indeed on our radar and will be utilized when necessary.

20mm: I know you’ve said the first module is DX9, with the subsequent modules in DX10. What are you seeing as the benefits with DX10?

Rick: The benefits of DX10 are twofold. First, some things that are possible under DX9 can be implemented more elegantly under DX10. Also there are certain effects that are only possible with DX10. From a user’s perspective, many of the noticeable advantages of DX10 cannot be captured in screenshots and can only be appreciated while playing the game.

20mm: In this day and age, it’s almost a given that a new simulation will support NaturalPoint’s TrackIR® products and six degrees of freedom (6 DoF) technology. Tell us about the integration of TrackIR. Will a player be able to look around inside the cockpit and push those buttons we all love to push?

Rick: I am a huge fan of NaturalPoint’s TrackIR, and I would highly recommend it to everyone. Once you go TrackIR you never go back. TrackIR is supported in our current version of the graphics engine. This means that the player is able to move around freely in the cockpit. Exterior views will benefit from this functionality as well; however, expect a few additional surprises when it comes to other ways to use the 6 DoF functionality.

Pushing buttons and interacting with cockpit instruments is also possible in our engine. The player can click on cockpit instruments while inside the cockpit. The ability to use the mouse buttons to interact with the program is not limited to the cockpit; and many other features are being implemented for the exterior views; as well.

We are also very excited to begin testing the Matrox® TripleHead2Go™. We are very confident that this amazing product will give us very cool surround gaming features.

"...our success will be determined on our finished product, not by our attempted goals."20mm: This is going to sound coy and I don’t mean it to be, but where do you see Fighter Ops fitting on the ladder of all time great combat flight simulations? Is it even a fair question at this point in time?

Rick: It’s a fair question. We adhere to certain logical and basic ethical rules of engagement, and our intent is not to rank the merits and legacy of one flight sim over another, because there are some astonishing ones currently out there, and a few more great sims on the horizon with Black Shark and Jet Thunder. But contrary to that observation, we are extremely confident thatFighter Ops will grow into a very powerful simulation platform that will enjoy strong community support over time. Obviously our success will be determined on our finished product, not by our attempted goals.

20mm: What’s the expected price range for the first Fighter Ops module?

Rick: We are taking many factors into consideration before making a decision on actual pricing, so there still remains a tad of ambiguity in this area. Obviously we are estimating things like product uniqueness, product elasticity, etc.. We are currently evaluating this and will announce prior to launch.

20mm: How about for subsequent modules? Will they all be at the same price point, or do you anticipate they will vary?

Rick: The consensus is to release individual major components (modules) at different intervals and price these components to reflect the development effort, market factors and user value. Following every major component, such as the training module, combat module, naval module etc., there may very well be a series of add-ons that follow. The arrangement is to deliver these add-ons gratis. For instance following the training module will be a series of combat aircraft that will begin their training. These aircraft will be an extension of the training module and delivered at no extra cost. This theory is most consistent to our overall preparation and plans at this stage.

20mm: What distribution method do you see for the initial release?

Rick: The reality is that Fighter Ops will not sell on store shelves any time soon. This is a specialty product, marketing directly to a specialty flight simulation market group. The current plan is to distribute Fighter Ops through our web site, where you can either downloadFighter Ops through our high end servers, or you can place an order for a hardcopy and have it mailed out to you. We may even look into an e-commerce style partnership system to deliver Fighter Ops software to market worldwide. The advantages of this hybrid virtual distribution approach will allow the customer to order the packaged version of Fighter Ops online, plus manuals and materials, or to choose immediate downloads of the software via a high speed internet delivery system. We are looking for a nice satisfying effective balance in this area.

"The current plan is to distribute Fighter Ops through our web site..."20mm: How about for the subsequent modules?

Rick: At some point you will be able to access and browse our digital catalog of new add-ons, modules etc; and then you will simply choose what you desire by adding them to your cart to be mailed out, or to download immediately.

20mm: Anything I didn’t ask that you can tell our readers about Fighter Ops?

Rick: There are so many additional things we can discuss, but I will leave them for another time. I will insert a few more things that pertain to development and goals. First, network support is a very big aspect ofFighter Ops; and networking isn’t limited to multiplayer gaming only. There are some very powerful features that will be supported when a network is present. Another point I would like to emphasize is that the user will not need a next-generation system to run Fighter Ops. We are doing our best to offer cutting-edge graphics on high-end systems; but those who are not very concerned about graphics, or who do not want to do a major upgrade for Fighter Ops, can still enjoy the Fighter Ops with downgraded graphics.

Another area where there has been a lot of uncertainty is what sort of foliage and trees we will apply to the Fighter Ops environment. We have done extensive testing with different techniques and formulas in this area, with remarkable programs such as SpeedTree® etc. However, at this point we have not decided which direction we will take or if we will implement our own in house trees and groundcover. I point this out in response to your opening dialogue.

We at Fighter Ops are making very good advancements as we punch forward, however, please understand that we still have a long ways to go, and we will continue to give it everything we have to deliver a fantastic modular simulator.

One last thing that I would like to mention is the support of having this “Innovative Community.” By this I mean web sites like SimHQ that continue to bring this community together by means of original solutions, concepts and innovativeness while also creating the necessary environments to keep this passion of simulated flight alive. If we all work together in support of one another, meaning other flight sim companies that are working just as hard as we are, then the opportunities for our passion will endure well into our futures. The future is our own making… companies can develop and build incredible flight sims all they want, but the reality is that it takes good people, such as this community to make it happen. It only takes one person to make a difference, so we have to be able to count on each other to do so.

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