With the added 5 gun calibres came the need to display their tracers differently and this is how they look now:





VonBeerhofen

Looks good to me VB..I never fly night missions I can't see anything,,, So how do they look at noon time ??

In these shots blue tracers are machineguns and green are canons:





VBH

Can't miss those maybe I can hit something with them

VBH , are there two or three colors per shot/tracer?

Is it white, yellow and caliber color?

Yes, the fixed tip colors fade into the actual tracer color. It helps in determining the bullet's path.

VBH

Interesting discussion.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=12320

Thx Spitty, I also couldn't find the exact color descriptions used by each country, most forums I visited agreed on these differences but also noted that each calibre came with it's own color. One forum came up with a WWII document about the pyrotechnics in mixing chemicals to obtain certain colors and I think they'd be very simmilar to fireworks colors. Not going to try to mix those compounds myself to find out though,

VBH

Is that smoke out of the barrels? It looks like it. But its dark. I'll have to take EAWPRO for a spin and see if I see it.
I'll have to add that to my notes.

Yes, they're different for various aircraft as in v1.2. Can't remember if I added the fireball or if it was there already, I'm pretty sure I changed something.
Ofcourse the plane overtakes the fumes when it's flying as you can see in the last shot.

VBH

Some nice bit of film..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niJ82YCiuYU

Didn't have to turn up my volume to hear those guns, geez. Yeah, pretty big puffs of smoke too, Microprose got that right for sure.

VonBeerhofen

The different colors for different calibers makes great tactical sense, as far as the AA crews are concerned. Makes it easier to see where one's rounds are going in a welter of confusing AA fire. I suspect this is why such different colors were initially used.

That said, this advancement brings up a question I've always wondered about.
Is there some sort of forum or, perhaps depository of information, which game designers can consult for information pertinent to their various sims?

For example, and in a perfect world, VBH could have consulted such a site, obtained the correct caliber tracer colors for the various combatants in EAW, and factored that historically accurate info into his rendition right from the start? No doubt VBH will modify the colors to be historically correct, if possible. Might have saved him some valuable time had he been easily able to obtain such info at the beginning.

Another instance of where such an InfoBank would be useful is in MrJelly's depiction of a vehicle convoy. With the understanding that the depiction was an experiment, wouldn't it be very useful for a sim designer to have readily at hand pertinent info as to vehicle intervals under different environmental/tactical conditions? I'm sure that if MrJelly was to incorporate such a scenario into a version of his V1.60, he would modify the vehicle interval to be historically accurate, if at all possible.

It seems to me that such an INFO bank would have many uses, almost all of which would serve to greatly reduce the need for sim designers to constantly re-invent the wheel, so to speak. With historically accurate info readily to hand, all sorts of things in flight sims might be made far simpler. Or any historically-based sim, for that matter.

I don't insist on 100% historical accuracy. That is a goal that almost certainly cannot be achieved, for many reasons. However, I firmly believe it is an eminently worthwhile goal towards which to strive. I believe that progress towards this goal can best be achieved by ensuring the fundamentals--the small details, so to speak-- are investigated, and incorporated into the sims.

Imagine if some sim designer blundered when constructing his Flight Model (FM), and did not incorporate the Brit Spitfire's carburetor-induced cutting-out of the engine during neg-G maneuvers? Would change the entire game due to lack of historical accuracy. Simple mistake, but a far-reaching one.

Nothing in tis post should be construed as malevolent criticism of the abovementioned efforts. Quite the contrary, I applaud them. Just saying that ready access to correct, historically-based info would serve to both to inform and guide sim designers, to everyone's benefit.

Submitted for consideration.

In an ideal world it would be ideal.Unfortunately wading through the millions of bits of reference needed and making sure its correct.Ive found multiple stories for data on some "historical" points.A lot of German and Japanese stuff is still unknown.Even some P51 and Spitfire knowledge has been lost over the years..

The historical correctness regarding some of the finer points does not bother me at all. EAW is a game, and games are played for fun. Having different coloured tracers adds to the enjoyment.

In the old days I used to save scads of info on my HD but there's simply no point. There is a treasure trove of information out there on the 'net pertaining to WWII aircraft data.

For instance.

I just upgraded the He 177 to the 1.6 standard. There was some discussion about the configuration of the cockpit glass. The thing is, the Germans' were famous for not sticking with good designs that worked but instead fiddled around with relatively inconsequential design changes, much to the detriment of their manufacturing output. I found six or seven different designs and ended up picking the one that I though would be easiest to replicate.

I was able to do this by searching the 'net using the term "He 177 cockpit" and limiting the results to images only. Simply impossible without the internet.

I then had to fashion a flight model. A simple search of "He 177 flight data" turned up more info than I could ever use on this aircraft. Made setting up the flight model a 1 hour effort rather than pouring over books looking for the info..

Lastly I had to make new hangar screens for the three variants I built.. Again, a search for images using the term "He 177 A-1", "He 177 A3/R5", and "He 177 B" gave me a number of possibilities.

So my opinion is there's no need to centralize aircraft data for modders.

OTOH, a central repository of EAW info is an excellent idea.

I thought we already had one in Launchpad?

With all due respect, I believe your outlook on historical correctness is misguided. There is a right way to do things, and all other ways. If one knows the right way, and does not do so, then that is doing things incorrectly.

Again, not said as adverse criticism. I have the utmost respect for what you do, and create.

Granted, EAW is a mere Sim, but I would think adhering as closely as possible to known historical accuracy would be of benefit to all.

I would not like to think of some future person repairing a vintage car that I worked on, and cussing me out for not doing my work properly, and without my giving a thought to folks working on "my" cars decades later. Heaven knows I have cussed out people who mis-repaired "my" vintage cars and used wrong parts/methods whilst doing so. Many headaches needlessly caused when doing things the right way at the outset would have been so much simpler, and completely correct.

Half-measures, and willfully, knowingly, doing incorrect work are not how it is properly done in my field. I don't think it's proper in any field.

Perhaps I am being a bit harsh. After all, EAW is a Sim, and my doing a bad brake job on a vintage car could get someone killed,

I believe that one should do the best job possible, given current knowledge, materials, and tools. Is there any good reason for not doing so?

Again, not a slam. Just speaking my mind. And definitely no offense intended.

Sounds like Mark's EAW Help Site

I fully understand the bewildering nature of aircraft variants, especially with German aircraft, which were built in more-or-less :Batch mode, as opposed to true serial, mass-production mode. Probably one of the primary reasons they lost the race to build gear for their military, and so lost the war. Speer tried to rationalize German armaments production, but his efforts, while Herculean, were too late, and in many instances, bitterly contested.

RiBob,
You are a rivet counter. it can be a good thing.

Yes, there are many. EAW is a game and not a scientific simulation. This takes a long time for a rivet counter to lean. Man hours is the primary factor.
An opinion from a known rivet counter.

You have to weigh the cost and use of the vehicle in question. If the owner needs there 69 jag as a daily driver, time spent adding factory inspection paint is wasted time and cost.

VBH,
I am not sure about sub caliber but shells have the luminescent in the base of the shell. This prevents the tracing being seen for other directions but the rear.