"Suspension of disbelief" is a hot phrase in PC
simulations. Some key elements of suspension of disbelief
are communications and interaction with other elements,
object modeling and graphics detail, and the campaign
structure. Most developers have moved in the direction of a
dynamic structure to give the illusion of a real time
environment.
One example of this structure is the WARGEN engine which
Digital Image Design developed for EF2000 and TactCom.
WARGEN oversaw every element of the virtual battlefield,
with two levels of AI: WARGEN and SMARTPILOTS.
In the virtual battlefield, stuff is happening all over the
place, and it is NEVER predictable or repeatable. This
feeling of dynamism, and of an unpredictable tactical
environment in a larger community of interaction moving
toward a specific goal, has become the great diamond in the
sky for sim developers. Or, the "grail" for those in the
know... ;-D
Since this interview involves more than one member of the
DiD team, they have asked to give credit where credit is
due, so here are the dudes!
The TFX Team:
PRODUCTION
Simon Kershaw - Producer Roger Godfrey - Technical Producer
PROGRAMMING
Stephen Powell - Lead Programmer Derek Johnson - Mission
Logic, Game Logic, Game Data Files, and Avionics David
Ewing - Aero Engineer Gareth Clough - GUI John Williams -
Network Communications System Michael Hocking - Campaign
Design and Coding Jeremy O'Brien - Aero Engineer - Flight
Logic, aircraft Messaging Steve Hunt - AI Code, Mission
Planner design and coding, ACMI, Visual Effects Code, Smart
views, and Campaign Extensions Steve Monks - Basic Avionics
Modules, Program Module Integration, TFX3 Game Logic Dr.
Tim Preece - Ground War Code and Campaign Modules Mark
Lomas -Localisation
ART
Bill Bird - Manual Lay-up and Production, Keyboard Insert,
Box Artwork Design and Production, Game Typography Research
& Development Ian Boardman - Head of Art & Design
Paul Hollywood - Head of Art & Design Andy Bate -
Senior Artist Andy Gahan - Senior Artist Martin Carter
-Senior Artist Donna Chippendale - Senior Artist David
Ambler - Artist Neil Ambler - Artist Damian Edwards -
Artist Matt Green - Artist Andy Mann - Artist Ian Tasker -
Artist Chantelle Thacker - Artist Rev. Stephen White - Lead
interface artist, Online Help R&D
Mike Burrows - Programmer - Win95 Research, Development,
and Integration Scott Kirkland - Code and Integration for
Accelerated Cards Robin Anderson - Programmer - SmartMuse
QA
Tony Buckley - DID Quality Control Manager, Publisher
Relations, Game Testing Jon Spencer - Head of Testing John
Knight - Game Testing, Mission Building Carl Jackson - Game
Testing, Mission Building Phil Owen - Game Testing, Mission
Building Matt Pearson - Game Testing, Mission Building Phil
Mervik - Game Testing, Mission Building Dave Armsby - Game
Testing, Mission Building Simon Livesey - Lead Game Tester
for TFX3, Mission Building Jonathon Radcliffe - Game
Testing, Mission Building Robert Lunt - Game Testing,
Mission Building
Significant Others
Martin Kenwright - Managing Director Don Whiteford -
Projects Director Colin Bell - Director Russell Payne -
Director Chris Orton - R&D Director Nick Clarkson - PR
& Media Manger Paul Chaffe - Logistics and Exhibitions
Manager
Q: I can still recall TFX: Tactical Fighter Experiment.
When I first loaded it the graphics were quite impressive,
but I think it lacked a manual and that plus some other
distractions put me off. How did you get from there to
EF2000?
Roger G.: TFX was DID's first stab at a relatively serious
flight simulation product. Previously we had produced 'F29
Retaliator' on the Amiga, ST and PC. F29 was fairly basic
compared to today s flight sim's, but it was good fun. TFX
allowed us to experiment with more sophisticated flight
simulator concepts such as accurate flight models.
The TFX2 project began in earnest in October of 1994. The
idea was not just to take the original TFX code base and
produce a sequel but to really push the envelope and
produce the best combat flight simulator possible. We
developed a lot of risky new software technologies for the
product such as SmartPilots, the EF2000 model and WarGen.
These are risks that have now all paid off. The fact that
EF2000 is still selling after 2 years proves their worth.
Q: What were the major design goals for EF2000?
Roger G: One of DID's holy Grail's (we have several) is
photo realism. EF2000's graphics were a real big step
towards that goal; F22 is a step closer still.
The other major design goal was to create a flight
simulator that you can completely lose yourself in. In
EF2000 the war happens around you regardless of whether you
participate or not. However you have a nice shiny EF2000 to
play with so you can select a mission and lose yourself in
this virtual world. However to do this we had to create a
lot of graphics and write a lot of code to make the
elements in the world behave in a realistic fashion.
F22: ADF, Click for larger image...
Early on in the project we realised that to give EF2000 any
long term appeal to the virtual fighter pilot we needed a
realistic campaign system (a lesson learnt from playing
Falcon 3). WarGen was created to provide the pilot with an
inexhaustible supply of new missions as well as game play
progression. The aim of playing EF2000 is to defeat the
invading forces. The theory was that the challenge of
defeating the invading enemy forces would keep the pilot
coming back for more. The fact that EF2000 players are
still playing campaign missions after two years on the
market proves that the concept works.
The other goals involved getting the player plane model to
behave correctly, getting the SmartPilots to dogfight (and
not plow into mountains in the process - not easy) and
having a realistic suite of interactive avionics.
Q: EF2000 won sim of the year from at least one major
magazine. Were you expecting that?
Roger G: We are quite proud of the trophies we have in
reception here at DID towers. We knew we were in with a
chance of winning a few awards. At the time of EF2000's
release we had a real technical lead and there was little
competition out in the marketplace. The sim market is now
more competitive that ever before so those prestigious
awards are going to be that much harder to earn. We are
quietly confident in F22 ADF; however we only have limited
shelf space for those trophies in reception!
Q: DiD was very active on the internet forum as EF2000
evolved. EF2 may have been the first serious simulation
product that was built in part to the specifications of the
sim community. Was that a learning process for DiD?
Roger G: Yes, very much so. Most of us here are keen flight
sim players and hang out on the flight sim forums. It
seemed natural to ask people to send us their comments and
ideas. The multiplayer network campaign patch happened
after several hundred emails arrived here at DID. It took a
while to write and actually cost quite a bit to do but it
was well worth it. We spent many nights testing that!
Another feature that we have taken our time with on F22 ADF
is ACMI. This was one of the most requested features for
EF2000. The new F22 ADF ACMI is really cool. It allows you
to record and then view engagements within the 3D system.
The player can then view the action from any point of
presence within the 3D; for example you can view the whole
engagement from the view of an enemy pilot.
Q: As the revisions took flight I was impressed at how much
the original product had grown, to the point where TactCom
and now version Two are really very mature combat flight
simulations. Are you happy with where Version Two has
arrived?
Roger G: Yes. Graphics + and Version 2 are the final
chapters of EF2000 (for the time being at least). There are
still features that we wished we could have added; however
most of these will be appearing in F22.
Click for a larger image..from EF2000 v.2.0
Q: How much was the military involved in the production of
EF2000?
Roger G: Quite a lot really. DID produces military training
simulators as well as the domestic flight simulations.
DID's military work was in it's infancy during the early
part of EF2000 but as the project progressed our military
work really took off. We have many contacts now in various
organisations that we can call on. In fact during the
development of EF2000 one of the real EF2000 prototype test
pilots came in to the office to have a look. He made
several constructive comments about the model and flight
control system (which were implemented of course).
Q: I understand that World Air Power has forged some kind
of alliance with DiD, sort of paralleling the alliance of
Janes and Origin/EA. Tell me more about that. How is it
impacting the development process of TFX3?
Simon K: We have access to all information held by World
Air Power, which is a considerable collection of every kind
of media, plus their knowledge, very few companies in the
world are as clued up on military aviation, and its
surrounding subjects as they are today.
In addition World Air Power have been invaluable in gaining
insight into the F22 and its systems, and in verifying our
conclusions on the way the F22 works.
Q: What were the design goals for TFX3?
Roger G: The general ethos behind TFX3 was that it should
be as big a jump over TFX2 as TFX2 was from TFX1. To do
this we have had to develop several new software
technologies:
· WarGen 2
· SmartViews
· Smart Muse (interactive music system)
· Smart Sound (3D sound effects system)
· New high fidelity F22 flight model
· New six degrees of freedom smart pilot models
· Advanced mission planner
· AWACS tactical system
And the list goes on. 'F22 ADF' and 'Total Air War' will
now probably be a far bigger step over EF2000 than EF2000
was over TFX.
Q: How much has feedback from the simulation community
impacted the design goals and the process of design?
Roger G: For the most part we knew what was going to be
required in the sequel quite near to the end of the EF2000
project. We received a lot of requests for features that we
intended to be incorporated anyway; which is good because
it showed that we were on the same wavelength as our
players. However we still get requests for things that we
never thought of and we go - 'hey, that's kind of cool';
and if we have the time in the project plan we will try to
incorporate the changes.
We have had requests for some extraordinary features. One
of my favourites was a request for Godzilla to make a cameo
appearance in F22 destroying Tokyo. Unfortunately we could
not do this in our time scales (maybe next time :).
Another of my favourites was from a very enthusiastic
player of EF2000 who had bought himself a G suit and
designed a device to inflate and deflate it depending on
outputs from the serial port. He wrote to DID asking for a
patch for EF2000 to make use of his gizmo. We were unable
to accommodate him for technical reasons: what would have
happened if the program goes wrong? This guy could have got
squished.
Q: WARGEN seemed an incredibly ambitious project, and it
succeeded beautifully in some ways and failed in others.
Tell us about WARGEN II...
Roger G: During the development of EF2000 WarGen was
regarded as being very experimental. It was (and still is)
a very complex piece of program code and took a long time
to perfect. In fact at one time we were worried that it
might not make it in to the final version of EF2000;
however it was completed and it did work.
WarGen II is very different in that it works in real time.
It is a truly dynamic campaign system; no more refreshing
of the campaign system every eight hours! WarGen is
continually working away creating new missions and forming
new tactics. We have two specialist A.I. programmers
working on the campaign and it is looking good.
Mission Planner. Click for a larger image..
F22 ADF also has a very powerful mission planner attached
to it so you can easily co-ordinate your forces. Flights
can be instructed to take off from different bases and
different times but still rendezvous to achieve their
objective. For the player who wants to control every aspect
of his attack you can edit attack patterns and design
weapons packages. The depth of the campaign and mission
planner systems is truly astounding.
Q: What kind of opponents will we take on in TFX3?
Roger G: The game is set in 2010, roughly about the time
that the F22 finishes it's production run. By that time we
expect the next generation of fighters such as the SU35 and
SU37 to be in common use. The game still features old
favourites such as the Mig 29 and SU27 as front line
fighters. We even have a few Mig21's with BVR capability.
Because of the nature of the campaign scenarios you could
also come up against other F22's and some other little
surprises…
Q: How will the interface have changed for TFX3?
Roger G: We have completely thrown away the original EF2000
GUI system and adopted a new system. From the players point
of view the new interface is more colourful and better
presented. The user interfaces themselves have had more
time lavished on them. We are very pleased with the new
interfaces and we can not wait to see the user response
from the F22 players.
Q: Reference is made to an interactive cockpit design. Will
we be able to control most aircraft and weapons functions
by clicking on the appropriate switch?
Roger G: The two biggest differences between EF2000's MFD
system and F22's is that the displays have a far higher
resolution and the displays themselves are interactive. In
EF2000 you could only interact with the MFD's using the
surrounding buttons. In F22 you can actually click in the
screen display.
For example in the autopilot MFD display you can change
modes by clicking on the appropriate box in the screen.
This enables us to create far more intuitive pilot to plane
interfaces.
Also in the Attack, Situation and Defence displays you can
click on to units to gain more information on them.
Q: One of the major gripes on the sim forum regarding EF2
had to do with wingmen AI and control. How much more
control will we have of our flight in TFX3?
Roger G: The menuing system is still on the TAB key.
However it has little in common with the menu system in
EF2000. The menu system has been completely redesigned to
incorporate more flexible communications between the player
and other units and installations within the game.
Q: Suspension of disbelief is almost a mantra among serious
sim fans. EF2000 went beyond most other sims of its time by
giving us a dynamic environment where randomness was
extremely high and where one felt that one was
participating in a real battle environment. One area that
seemed ripe for expansion was the area of comms, where one
could listen in on other flights and observe their
interaction with targets and one another. Will TFX3 give us
that ability?
Roger G: Yes. The new in-flight communication system allows
you to change the frequency of your radio. This allows you
to eaves drop in to the computer controlled planes
communications. At first it's kind of strange hearing them
giving instructions to each other independent of your
actions. We like it though.
Click the image for a larger shot..
Q: How much will flight modelling have evolved for TFX3?
Roger G: We have two aeronautical engineers working away on
accurate models for DID's products; both military and
domestic. The model and flight control systems are being
honed as I type. We expect to have the most realistic
flight model for a F22 available on the market. The flight
model also has a high alpha flight mode to take advantage
of the vectored thrust on the F22. This is major amounts of
fun in close quarter dogfights.
Q: What is SMARTPILOTS and how has it evolved for TFX3?
Will we see skill levels grow as pilots fly more missions?
Roger G: SmartPilots is the name we gave to our computer
controlled pilot AI. The idea was that SmartPilots would be
able to perform all the actions of their human
counterparts; fly, fight, bomb, land etc. Jeremy O'Brian,
our lead aeronautical engineer has recently re-written the
SmartPilot system do give them 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF)
flight modelling. In other flight sim products planes fly
in the direction they point and have very limited flight
modelling. This is not so in TFX3. 6DOF makes them subject
to the same physical laws as the player. They even flare
out when landing correctly. It really adds that extra
dimension of realism to the game. SmartPilots also now have
skill levels. If you have a squadron of pilots in the
campaign they will improve over time (assuming they don't
buy the farm during your missions :).
Q: Another area that was requested for enhancement in EF2
was the integration of the ground war. How does TFX3 handle
the broader environment?
Roger G: We have a fully functioning ground war. The Tanks
fight each other on the battlefield, trains travel around
the desert (on train lines), trucks travel down the roads,
SAMS trundle around taking pot shots at enemy aircraft and
AAA snakes into the sky. This is great stuff for Close Air
Support missions. Now the F22 would rarely be used for CAS
but the game allows you to fly CAS missions as and when you
like. Of course the other aircraft will perform CAS using
SmartPilots as well so don't be surprised if you see A10's
smashing T-80's to bits or EF2000's performing Wild Weasel.
Q: TFX3 integrates tactical and strategic elements beyond
EF2000. How will it accomplish this?
Roger G: With F22 Total Air War the player has a far
greater degree of control over the way the war is fought.
The mission planner is not just used for you to create
missions you want to fly; you can use it for positioning
CAP's over your sensitive installations or create a series
of missions leading on from one another - you can really do
anything you like with your planes. . Also if any of the
planes you send up are F22's then you have the option of
flying the mission.
Say you wanted to bomb a strategically important target but
it's SAM umbrella is just too hard to penetrate. You could
tackle the problem in a number of ways:
Plan several strike missions to the same target with a
large contingent of Wild Weasel flights. This may work but
you could end up losing a lot of your planes. You could
plan a F117, JSF or F22 mission to take out the targets in
the night using their stealth capabilities. You could plan
a continual series of Wild Weasel flights until every last
SAM launcher is destroyed. Then send in your bombers. The
choice is yours.
Along with the mission planner you also have the AWACS to
play with. This allows you to control the planes in the air
in real time. You can re-task and vector planes around to
deal with threats as they appear. Also you can jump in to
any friendly F22 in the theatre from AWACS. You can
engineer dogfights by vectoring flights and then watch the
resulting dogfight using smart views.
Q: DiD has advertised that there might be an Independence
Day add on for TFX3. How did that goal come to pass? Has it
remained in place? Can you tell us more about the
development process?
Roger G: Sorry Len. I can not comment on this at the
moment…
Q: What about VR helmets? Forte is now testing a HMD that
will go up to 1024x768 with stereoscopic effects and head
tracking. Dolby surround seems almost a new standard. Will
these technologies impact TFX3?
Roger G: Currently we don't have HMD's factored in to the
project plan. The current generation of HMD's (with a few
rare expensive exceptions) just don't cut the mustard.
However if a really cool piece of kit appears and if we can
add it quickly enough we will try to include support in F22
ADF.
Q: Many virtual pilots are dreaming of the integrated
battlefield. Will TFX3 eventually allow networking with a
future DiD sim, or will there be an add-on to allow us to
fly joint missions with another strike platform?
Roger G: Multi-player battlefield technology is another of
DID's holy grails. One of DID's long term goals is
something called EBT (Electronic Battlefield of Tomorrow).
This is an innovation that will start to appear in products
after F22 ADF. However no decision has been taken with
regard to TFX3 add on's other than 'Total Air War'. Q: What
is the coolest feature of TFX3?
Roger G: This is a really difficult question because we
have so much in the product. If I had to pick something
though, it would be the high alpha manoeuvre mode using
vectored thrust in multi-player dogfights. It adds a whole
new dimension to the close quarter air to air combat. King
of The Skies will never be quite the same again!
Q: What other projects is DiD working on? How is the tank
simulation progressing?
Roger G: Tank is looking really cool. The Tank team are
using DID's brand new hierarchical graphics engine for the
simulation and it is coming along in leaps and bounds. We
also have some other really exciting projects in the
pipeline but I am not allowed to talk about them yet.
Sorry! Q: What is out on the horizon for DiD? Where do you
want to go after TFX3?
Roger G: Somewhere hot with a beach! After TFX3 is finished
the TFX team will be heaving a collective sigh of relief
and be heading for some serious rest and recuperation. But
when we get back…
Simon K: Don't worry Len I'll soon have them working on an
even better product!
Roger G: There certainly will be a TFX4 at some point;
however it is still a little too early to talk about
that… Rest assured, the TFX team will not be resting
on our laurels after F22 ADF and F22 TAW.
F22: ADF was released in early December and the TAW upgrade
will arrive late in Q1 1998. Note that ADF will have the
AWACs option but not the Base Commander option.
Furthermore, the mission structure in ADF consists of Tours
of Duty, scripted missions that flow through different
campaigns. Graphics modes will allow up to 800x600
resolution running under Glide with specific support for
3dfx...
