Official Dynamix Red Baron II Bug Fix List #1

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Reposted from the Delphi Flight Sim Forum June 12, 1998 courtesy of Tyler Hart/Dynamix.

"OK, here we go. First of all: for various reasons I won't have a web page up til early next week. Cage, if you'd like to grab and archive this, it would be most appreciated.

A list of important points to consider as you read this:

• I have a lot of other things to work on that you want to know about. If I spend the next few days answering "please clarify point #37B" messages I'll never get on with it. So I would like to ask a really big favor of you all: a short moratorium on making me go over this in detail. Let me get the rest of the first big round of stuff off my "to do" list and then we can nitpick. Believe me: there's a lot more info where this came from, but I need to make it presentable...so discuss amongst yourselves, and don't expect me to jump right in immediately unless there's something really, truly glaring.
• Not all bug fixes have been verified at this point; they have all been coded, and regression testing is currently underway. This means there may be more work to be done - programmer hours spent - making the listed changes "stick."
• All the FM changes are basically there. Minor tweaking is still in progress but that's all. There are still many, many more fixes on the "to do" list. As Tucker explained, this is a floating, complexly interdependent priority list that will be in flux up til the last day on the schedule (more or less). What this means is: don't freak out if it's not on this list!!! Please.

  The next step in this process is for me to over the long list of "leftovers" with the team and get them each tagged according to their probability of getting done. I hope to have this done next week sometime, but it's a whopper, and will take a lot of the team's time. I'll have to snatch that time as I can without breaking into what they're doing too badly.

  What I mean by "complexly interdependent" is that every choice you make in terms of allocating hours, etc effects every other possible future choice. I'm only speaking now in terms of resources, not to mention other complex interdependencies that come up when you're working on the AI (for example). We can't explain every one of those trade-offs - that task itself would be big enough to push some of the actual work off the bottom of the list - but will try to provide a few illustrative examples in that "leftovers list."

  To sum up my little preamble: this is installment one. If your "pet bug" is here, you're set. If it isn't, don't panic yet. It may turn out not to be on the list, in which case you can still flame us later ;o). But this list isn't even close to final. It's just what we're sure of.

  Okey doke? Enuf of that, then. On with the show:

Flight Model Changes

1. Added a field for adjusting lift-to-drag ratio for each plane.
2. Improved engine code for better modelling of the prop/engine combination to make acceleration and power have better "feel." Modelling accuracy was improved by adding more parameters to the engine/prop combo.
3. Improved engine throttle response for better realism
4. Added improved torque effects, scalable per plane with on/off switch in the realism panel
5. Added gyroscopic effects, scalable per plane and selectable in the realism panel with torque
6. Eliminated the end-over-end tumble
7. Adjusted planes' speed and climb rate
8. Re-enabled the old "easy" flight mode
9. Improved in-air initialization - no more tumbling on startup!
10. Improved propwash modelling - makes handling at various speeds & power settings more realistic
11. Improved ground effect modelling
12. negative-G engine cutouts
13. Drag effects from damage
14. Fuel usage linked to throttle setting

I don't have by-plane specific information, sorry...

Graphics

1. 3DFx support added
2. Cockpits reworked - scrollable view now looks like fixed views in the original
3. New special effects added - transparent smoke and fire, concussion rings for explosions, much much more [Tyler's note: I saw some of this today. It ROCKS.]
4. Dyanamic lighting effects added; explosions are light sources
5. Discrete clouds and scud layers added [I saw this too. Incredible. Thin dark little fragments, big puffy cumulous, you name it.]
6. Terrain colors reworked to look more natural

Other Changes

1. Torque/gyro effects, Easy Flight Model toggles to Prefs screen (but you knew that ;o)
2. Removed Modern Cockpit
3. Added end of mission info when leaving sim before arriving at aerodrome
4. Added date to main campaign screen
5. New "no enemies" option in the Fly-Now prefs, in the "respawn time" selection area
6. Numbers used to calculate "threat levels" for bombers and balloons lowered
7. AIs have larger firing cones (reduces the accuracy of their fire)
8. "Return home" navigation option added - only usable as flight leader. Basically, the autopilot no longer needs to hit every waypoint on the way home
9. Easier to put out fires by trimming throttle, etc. Was very simplistic and difficult to achieve
10. Added distinctions between inline & rotary engines regarding effects of oil leaks
11. "Ganging up" behavior - this is one we're testing now. We think we have a fix for it, it's been coded and we're currently checking it. I'll follow up on this one specifically since it's been a topic of major interest...but it looks good.
12. AIs less likely to bleed airspeed in maneuvers
13. AIs more aware of the ground, specifically the dangers of crashing into it, including when following disabled targets to the ground
14. Flights stay on their route rather than engaging when low on fuel
15. A/C fly defensively when out of ammo
16. AIs no longer get "free" gun jam clears
17. Engine heat modelled more realistically in damage model
18. Engine damage changed. Power losses less frequent and less immediate; engines take longer to die. Combined with point #7 this should resolve the "they always kill my engine with one shot" problem.
19. Critical hits added for engine fires & fuel leaks

Bug Fixes

The distinction between this category and some things in the previous one may be slim. but we gotta draw the line somewhere...;o)

1. "You can't run outta gas" bug fixed, and fuel leaks come into play as well. Combined with FM change #14 this means you will really need to start watching your gauges!
2. If the player dies in midair and the mission ends, his a/c is always destroyed
3. Personal stats are now correctly updated following a transfer
4. Weirdness when deleting pilots from the Log fixed
5. Game now end if pilot jumps out of an invulnerable aircraft [too bad, I thought that was one of the funniest things I ever heard of]
6. MP no longer crashes if you run out of lives and press "Start new game"
7. New Pilot screen and Log now show current aerodrome
8. Pilot "grunting" no longer continues after he's dead [another personal favorite]
9. Fixed a fatal DTD that occured after you look at Log page 43
10. a/c no longer roll backwards when you start the engine
11. Bombers now recognize rendezvous in manual and autopilot
12. Fixed the following Combat Autopilot bugs:
    1. CA will now clear jams
    2. CA will no longer continue chasing enemies it can't catch
    3. CA will not attack enemies if you are out of ammo
    4. CA will no longer run you out of fuel
13. AI will now try to disengage
14. Changing your pilot's flight position in the Mission Builder no longer causes a crash
15. Fixed a crash bug in editing and saving single missions
16. You can now uncheck Player Flight in the Mission Builder flight setup
17. Fire effects attach properly to damaged shapes
18. In software render, RB2 now does graphic updates after Win dialogs are removed
19. fixed a bug in Mission Builder altitude settings
20. can no longer Export an unnamed file in Paint Plane
21. Event boxes in mission results no longer gets drawn under the map scale
22. Redouts and injuries no longer cause gfx bugs on German instruments
23. TAB now starts engines properly if there is no analog throttle
24. Wind sound no longer continues after crashing
25. Previous and Next buttons are now dim if there is no appropriate page
26. Fixed crash bug in mission builder when you change dates
27. Ace Preview - the following fixes have been made

• German
  1. Almenroeder: was credited with a kill after he died....and it's a German plane
  2. Baumer: credited for shooting German balloons
  3. Immelmann: Kill list has 15 victories, bio says 16

• French
  1. Dorme: Bio says "...provinces lost to France..." um, shouldn't that be "Germany?" yep
  2. Pinsard: Listed as KIA 6/12/17, has 11 kills after that. Bio says he lived.

• British
  1. Barker: bio implies he survived. Also that sixty German planes thing.
  2. Fullard: Listed as KIA but bio says he lived
  3. Little: first kill listed as a Sopwith Pup. geez, do that as a player and they put you in jail
  4. MacLaren: kill list says first kill March, bio sez Feb
  5. Mannock: he was KIA 7/26/18

Well alrighty then. Have fun...

Tyler Hart

Dynamix Online Representative

tyler.hart@dynamix.com"

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