Hey guys,

I am developing a modern MBT Sim. I am in the early stages of development, but I am dedicated to this project. I was an M1A1 Crewman in the 2nd AD.

This is our forum if your interested in checking out my dev notes and seeing some videos I released to showcase what I have done so far.

http://www.americasarmor.com/Forum/index.php

Here is the link to the videos:

http://www.americasarmor.com/OpOrd.html

Hooah,

Sim...not game. Terrific, cause that means the M1 will have an interior. A World Of Tanks type of set up would not have interested me, but this looks very promising.
Please finish it.

Dude. Very cool!

Sweet, keep us updated...



Bullet

Like I said, we are still in the early stages of development. At first it will be released as a 3rd person, and we will continue developing, fleshing out the turrets and testing. The gameplay will be miles from WoT.

We are reaching out now to spike the interest from you guys. I read some threads on here, seeing alot of guys wanting what isn't available, besides SB. Yes I had the pleasure of getting a little SB time and as an ex-tanker, it is very technical and very detailed as far as data. I haven't seen the scale of the maps, but I assume they are very large as the graphics are not the greatest. We will be meeting in the middle with the land size and textures. We are not trying to compete with SB. I just love tanks and want to offer an alternative besides the current tank games or sims.

We still have a lot of planning to do, so if you are interested, we have a Q&A where you can ask questions or see the answers to questions others have had.

Jay

Great news Jay... looking forward too it. If/when you get a little more into it... sure would like to help you spread the word with a little Q and A article... so let me know when you get more details down on what it will be and not be.

And welcome to SimHQ... keep us informed.

Thx.

Thanks Magnum,

That would be outstanding.

Nice work Jay, good luck.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

That looks really nice.

Are you willing to post up images here at SimHQ? I assume one has to register at your site to view attachments.

I noticed you stated that you are waiting for more data on the T-95, if that project was ever real, it is dead now and whatever it was Uralvagonzavod claimed to be manufacturing will not be produced.

Yes you have to register to see anything on our forums.

Yeah I read up on the T-95, to bad......

I can see what images I can post on here, although the videos here: http://www.americasarmor.com/OpOrd.html doesn't require registration.

Here is a couple Images. This is just a test area for the programming development.

Good start! What engine are you using, or are you rolling your own?

Using unity Pro, I wouldn't know where to start with doing an engine....

Testing for the reticle and LRF.

LRF Operational:

Unity? Great, I expect it will run on OSX then! I realize you are not doing cockpit interiors yet, but it would be nice to have at least the option to have gunnery and sights from the correct camera position, not 3rd person.

Like I said it will start out in the third person, then head towards fleshed out turrets. If you're in 3rd person, you will not have a reticle to fire, so it would be pointless, you will have to goto the gunners camera position to have the reticle as well as the LRF to fire an accurate shot.

Yes it will be in OSX also.

Looking forward to it.

Ex-US Army was in when 5th ID at Ft Polk became the 2nd AD. Moved the unit to Ft Hood then i went to 25ID Hawaii.

(F-Co 502nd Avn Regt)

I got there before you guys came to Hood. I was in C C0. 1/67, volunteered with 3/67 to goto NTC a lot. It's a shame 2nd AD is deactivated.....

I uploaded another video to this page:

http://www.americasarmor.com/OpOrd.html : AARM Dev 4 Video.

GPS is under dev now, the reticle and LRF is no longer viewed in the 3rd person view. Also I added the hull and turret orientation display, which I will be adding a compass to. I may make it small, I guess that's why I am posting here, to get feedback...

I also added the ammo count in the GPS view, although I am not sure if it is going to stay. Its a sim so you can pop open the tray and get an estimate of how muxh coax is left so I am not sure about it being at the ready like that.

The coax and 50 are now operational with firing systems and their effects. I still need to add the tracers. Check your volumes..

Here is an image with the Tracers implemented.

Gunners GPS has the 3X and 10X sight, along with a bit of LRF fine tuning.

The new video 4 is that a shock wave in front of the gun? I see steam/smoke rising off the gun when firing the 7.62...neat effects.

No there is no shock wave on the main gun "yet", I am still working on that effect, and think it would make the blast look a lot better. I also am working on the same effect for the exhaust, as well as the blast on any explosions when destroying a target.

What you are seeing is probably just the smoke from the main gun and the quality of the video being decreased for viewing. I am trying to work on different codecs for keeping the quality of videos with less buffer times.

Thanks for noticing the neat effects..;)

Looking nice

Looks great for such an early stage of development!

WOW!! Looks awesome so far!

Thanks guys,

If you guys have any questions, fire away.

Is your intention to develope something like Steel B. 2.0? Or is this goal too high?

What theatre(s) are you looking at setting the sim in?

I am a former "Tanker", and I want to create that feeling you get when you are conducting operations in an Abrams or for others in their respected MBT's.

I have tried SB, and besides the graphics which are not that bad, was a pretty good experience. I wouldn't say I am trying to recreate SB though.

As far as my goals are concerned, I want to have a modern Tank Sim that has modern technologies and scenarios, using the modern technology to create it. I don't think this goal is too high.




We will be conducting operations in any Theatre that is hot, Fiction and non-fiction conflicts. There will also be a Gunnery Range at Ft. Hood, which you will be conducting Tank Tables VI -VIII possibly.

One confirmed Theatre is going to take place in Germany, which will be a Cold-War type scenario. Another will be in a desert scenario.

Sold

Sounds perfect, but it is really a difficult task...
But what you´ve delivered so far looks more than promising!

The scene lacks of Tanksims and Warshipsims(i think they will never return)!
But now SB has a competition...

I was a M1A1 crewman (all positions), then tank platoon leader, XO, and Company Commander, including a tour in Iraq with a tank-brad company team. I'm currently a MAJ in the cavalry. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know.

Stephen

Sir,

You have a PM.

It looks very promising! It's one tough undertaking that you are tackling!

A couple of questions:

is this going to be strictly an armour sim; i.e. no infantry; artillery etc? Just tanks on tanks?

What about the gameplay?Single player mutli?Will you include a mission editor?

Finally do you intend to make more than just the Abrams but also other tanks: Leopard A6, Challenger 2, T-90 and apcs as well?

Kudos for the work done and all the best!

I have answered a few of these questions here: AARM Q&A http://www.americasarmor.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=125

Feel free to ask some more in this format, so all the questions are located in an organized manner for anyone else that may have the same question.

all i see is error 403 Forbidden... darn work DSL.

Your IP may have been banned due to your work IP return as a content spammer.

Give me the IP and maybe I can unban you if it doesn't change constantly.

Sorry~

i'll just wait till i get off...

hey I was 502nd 2AD 1st platoon tiger brgd.
87 to 92.

on that note unfortunately iPhone web page not mobile friendly.
can not view the videos, you have any on YouTube?

Hooah, I was in the Tiger Brgd also, just a bit after you.

Most recent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPtgHd20Egw

Earlier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4hFTsL10jQ

Some Visual effects I did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7lWgaMFWJc

I will be creating a AARM dedicated YT channel soon.

thanks bro!

I like the suspension movement in the vids and the last one was great what did you use to create that?

That's Classified.

I meant the video, what software to get the model into the video?

Oh...lol

I used screen capture (Fraps) and captured gameplay in the lastest build.

Is that what you were asking?

No lol, what software did you use to do the effects and actually place the tank in the vid?

I used (Classified) to (Classified), then (Classified) to (Classified).

LOL

I have released a new video of some things that have been under development. There still needs to be some fine tuning of some things, but we're getting there.

http://www.americasarmor.com/OpOrd.html : Video AARM Dev 5

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFiGx2SH4AQ&feature=youtu.be

I have also made some sections of the forums viewable without registering...;)

http://www.americasarmor.com/Forum/index.php

Work so far on the TIS. Still need to add the 3x and 10x reticles. The noise still needs a bit of adjusting.

The above image is the lastest work done to the TIS. The 3X and 10X reticles are now implemented and working.

Looking forward to this, All-American. I like the wheel and track graphics as well as the lighting effects of the weapons. Most of all, I like the recoiling main gun, which I don't think has ever been modeled in any M1 sim to date. I hope you provide lots and lots of Cold War scenarios! 3rd person sounds gamey but I hope I'm wrong. Good luck...I will be keeping an eye on this one!

Thanks for your interest Trac,

It will be heavy Cold War at first as the first release will feature the M1A1.

I realize some may think it is a bit gamey with the 3rd person, but it will pay off in the next version featuring the turrets fleshed out. You will not have any way of firing in 3rd person accurately as the reticles will not be available in 3rd person.

As it is now, the 3rd person is the default view then you can go to the gunners position. There you have the 3X and 10X GPS and then the TIS with 3X and 10X. So it is kind of a 3rd/1st person hybrid.....lol.

I am a fan of the track and gun tube pyshics as well. I believe it helps add to the immersion of the Sim, even thou there is a 3rd person cam there.

Now when the tank moves it will leave tread marks behind it. I still need to fine tune it but it still looks pretty good.

Eye-candy features have been pretty sweet. Keep up the good work!

Thanks,

I know their just eye candy but to me if certain things were not happening it would take away from the experience. A 72 ton tank leaves tracks.....a projectile being fired that travels at over 5000 FPS recoils the gun tube and the rest of the object firing it...it wouldn't feel much like a tank to me if that didn't happen.

Let me know if I am missing any eye candy..lol

I think the presence of human beings should be visualized everywhere they would be present, so I hope you plan to implement 3D figures of them. For example, crew sticking out of tank turrets, drivers and passengers in other vehicles, you should be able to see your crewmates (when realistically possible), and most of all, you should be able to see your own arms and legs when your are in your own crew position, in 1st person view.

After the first release, we will be developing it in 1st person, which will be exactly what you said.

Cool deal.

I have released a new video showing the newest additions to the Abrams and which will be used on all the other tanks. Granted, there will need to be slight changes here and there for each tank, but this is basically the base programming.

http://www.americasarmor.com/OpOrd.html

Or on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQobXFXpuXA

Hi All American,

Thanks for keeping us up to date on what you are doing with you sim.

May i ask if you intent to improve the mussel flash of the tanks, and movement of the aerials on the turret.

keep up the good work.

O_Smiladon

p.s I have registered on your web site.

Yes, a lot of the features like the muzzle flash( for all weapons ) and sounds are place holders, as I am programming all the features. Then I will fine tune them with post processing effects.

I still have an issue I have to adjust with the sensitivity of the mouse and I will be moving the 3rd person camera to a proper position probably when we iron out a good solid place for it in Alpha Testing. I may also be adding an additional camera for when the players tank is shut down. I am implementing the hydraulic system so by default the stab is disabled, the player will need to engage the "Cadillacs" to stabilize the turret and guntube.

So to answer your question, a lot of things will be changed by the time it is ready for you guys.

I had a Facebook page created for AARM so some of you can get updates as soon as they get uploaded. I post the YT videos and other links there also.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Americas-Armor/261363090578452

As well as a Like box here : http://www.americasarmor.com/AARMFB.html

The more people that are interested the more I know I am doing my job...;)

Just to let everyone know that is following this, I haven't stopped working. I have been busy with work, as well as building my home.

I have been working on the FCS, specifically all the details involving the LRF and all its functions. As well as hit detection and different areas of damage that the tanks can take. I will be testing damage models for individual hits, for near misses. Meaning that if your tank takes a hit and is not destroyed, there will be a mark on the tank where the round hit. There is obviously some development and testing that will need to happen to make this work, so it may be an ongoing project to be tweaked over time.

I want to give the Tankers the feeling that I felt while being in the gunner’s seat. As I did when I had the chance to try SB, I actually felt that feeling in my gut when I would be engaging targets all over hell whipping the turret around. That to me is full immersion at its best. I commend SB for that.

I have also been testing the graphical limits, meaning the amount of trees and grass and static meshes. This will also be important to the size of the maps. Obviously the worlds will not be as large as other simulators, but I hope to make that up in detail and immersion.

If you guys have any questions, you know where to find us: http://www.americasarmor.com

What are your plans for your sim?Single player campaigns?How demanding it will it be graphic-wise?

Single player campaigns is very possible at this point, as you might have noticed, there are AI in the dev videos. It will be as demanding as any other highly detailed sim on the market.

I have released a video that showcases some of the physics and the animation of the gun tube a bit better, using a static camera other than the players 3rd person camera.

You can watch it here: http://www.americasarmor.com/OpOrd.html AARM DEV Video 6.5

Or on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V53VzvhAbFI

Or if you liked the AARM Facebook page you will get it automatically: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Americas-Armor/261363090578452 ...;)

Just finding out about this, very cool! Looking forward to more progress

Would the gunnery range (not capitalized since it's not a proper noun) be Sugar Loaf at Fort Hood?

(It's a proper nour if that is the name of the map);)

You just reminded me of the name. Was that TT-VII? Close to the airfield?