I've been admiring for months now the novel approach that Aspect Sims seems to have taken in modeling their aircraft for KOE.
These are not traditional wire mess models, but 3D airframes..........aircraft skeletons if you like!Have we ever seen this method used in any other flight sim to date?
[img]
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UwDdAlkaM...441495553218358[/img]
The amazing thing is (besides the incredible ammount of work that must go into making just one aircraft........these are not "a plane every couple of day" type projects), is that the whole modeling approach seems to be intergrated into the sim's skin and damage rendering system also.
Take the following picture I assembled from KOE design and in-game screenshots for example. The shot up Albatros inset shows how the damage effects seem to be produced by deleting the outer skin from the affected areas
(the airframe shows through). Of course this is not substituting a damage skin for displaying hit areas, but instead seems to indicate a system of hit location skin removal, like IL-2 introduced, but on a more elaborate level.
[img]
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UwDdAloac...441495626412554[/img]
Now some of the advantages that this extensive approach to modeling the sim's aircraft may enable, would be easy skin swapping, a "full bodied" damage system which features direct hit location for the effects, and cockpits that will be fully 3D.
WOW!!! I think the Aspect design team has been quietly innovating some perhaps revolutionary new game mechanics, that when we finally get our chance to see them working in KOE will truly amaze.
Sometimes pictures speak a thousand words..........