Has there been any word on expandability besides that it will be?

Like who will be able to make expansions and what kind?

Or what 3D suite would be required, because those models look just a teeny bit more involved than the RB3 planes, IMHO?

Or will it be like IL2 where the actual FM/DM and workings go through a central control that may or may not stay in support beyond a short limited time? It has it's strengths yes, but I'd be happier if the addon ball could be passed to at least a small company when Aspect moves on if they do.

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I have a very hard time seeing a game engine capable of simulating 1917-1918 and yet unable to cover the entire war with addons. Going from WWI to WWII I could see a problem and if the planning is narrow then lighter than air craft and some interesting ground objects could be ruled out -- I just don't think anyone would do that nowadays.

In the past things had to have tighter limits just due to what they ran on. Hard choices had to be made early not just due to the hardware but also to the OS they ran on. The machines we run on are scaled for incredibly more than what was around when RB2 was started and the software tools are likewise advanced. Nobody writing advanced sims today or in the past few years should be making the kinds of choices that cuts out what used to have to be.

RB2 came out just after memory had blossomed and the Pentiums finally really began to spread and it had been IIRC SEVEN YEARS from the groundwork to release. There's no need to project the possibilities or limits of efforts started in the last 5 years by the limits of what was started back over 10 years ago. It's like trying to project what WWII hardware would be like if the basic technology was limited to what was available before 1930.

If the sim doesn't come out expandable then it's not because of people here. The modularity required for it is only good coding practice that leads to a better and more maintainable project, easier to debug and faster to produce. It will be there. But perhaps enough fighting and yet another WWI sim can turn into a half-arcade, cracked FM cross between a hawk and a turkey like a sim I can think of and then expandable or not the addons never come, the way to make them ends up being fished out by users who have to deal with a black box executable and someone goes around saying the sim could never be expanded.


My big plea for this sim:
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From what I saw with RB3 development, and I got to see a bit more than average, the real killer came about with the huge push for making the planes match the tables. The engine had to be twisted in unhealthy ways that meant the flying was going to suffer, that power low or off was going to be even worse and that bad performance in many areas was going to be matched by exploitable cracks in the FM. That's what can happen with a physics based engine forced to meet DEMANDS by a bunch oh anal-historics with tables and perfection complexes. Not ruined from the start, but definitely by the end with multiple seperate camps that couldn't be pleased. SO FOR EVERYONE'S SAKE, JUST BE WILLING TO LET THIS BE WHAT IT CAN!
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Neal

That is why I hope they keep the FM/DM in house. Let 3rd part modders make the aircraft, vehicles, or whatnot, IF they meet the graphic standards.

It takes a long time to model an aircraft for Il2 because the standards are high. I hope Aspect follows, or is following, that path.

Get the game out of the gate first. If it sells well, more addons and support will follow.

I plan to buy it the day it hits the store.

To respond to some of your questions Neal; no, we've been given little to no information on KOE's expandability, or modability, but there's been a ton of discussion on these topics here already.

Problem is, there's a typical six month lag time in most people's comprehension.

Apect already has plans to do other games. When the KOE staff are done with KOE, they will move on to another game.

Judging by what other companies have done, we'll get one or two bugg fixes, but no add-ons.

If we're lucky, they may assign a secondary team to adress any problems we may have......But that secondary team will not have the knowledge like the first team did.

ahhhhhhh...what a ray of sunshine...

BF1942, IL2FB, MOH, EU2, etc says you are wrong.