Network Sites: FPSguru.com RTSguru.com UnboundGamer.com
Login:  Password:   Remember?  
Show Quick Gamelist Jump to Random Game
Games:570  Guilds:2,964
Members:1,441,619  Online:0
Guests:0  Posts:4,581,399

Newsroom

Newsroom

Filter Week Filter Game
RSS

WWII Online : Dynamic Weather System Video

Posted Sep 16, 2009 by Michael Bitton

In the near future, World War II Online will be getting a new dynamic weather system, and we've got a new trailer showing the neat weather effects off!

The weather effects aren't purely visual either, for example, pilots will be subject to the detrimental effects of bad weather if they don't fly above the clouds.

More information on the new weather system below:

How it will work
At midnight of each game day cycle, the host will run a process to decide if the upcoming game day is going to be a "bad weather" day. On "bad weather" days, lighting is reduced, and a layer of dark clouds is added to the sky. Limits have been included to ensure that consecutive "bad weather" day selection are minimized. Every game hour of a "bad weather" day, the host runs a secondary process to determine if rain will fall anytime during that hour. If the result is positive, a random selection is made to determine how many minutes rain will fall. This will range from 5 to 60 game minutes. This step is done to avoid having a state of rainy weather for an extended period of play and to create variety. When rain is active, a rain texture within a certain radius of the player is displayed. The rain drop texture is actually composed of dozens of drops applied to a tile or "sprite", giving the appearance of volume. There is an additional sprite that displays splashes of rain hitting the ground. To complete the entire rainy day experience, random claps of thunder will echo throughout the game world. All weather settings and effects are global for the game world.

At midnight, the next cycle begins and if the system determines the next 24 hour game cycle is to be a clear weather day, then the "bad weather" cloud layer will be removed and it will clear skies ahead- at least until the next cycle is set.

Aircraft and weather
One important issue that has been addressed is ensuring that weather didn't negatively affect the air game. When a "bad weather" day is active, there are lighting changes and a layer of storm clouds are added at approximately 800 meters. This elevation has been set by the production team for play testing through Beta and may be adjusted. This layer does have breaks through which bombers can still see the ground below. Above the new cloud layer, the sky lightens and the rain vanishes leaving clear, blue skies for pilots. All changes created by the "bad weather" day are erased once a pilot climbs above new cloud layer. The fog settings do not change on "bad weather" days. Above the "bad weather" cloud layer, pilots will see no differences in air-to-air combat.

A full rundown of the dynamic weather system can be found here.

See it in action here.

 
 
Death1942 writes:

sounds good and i hope they can build on this system.  Hopefully it will end up having an impact on gameplay (do you attack that town that is covered in storm clouds to negate the air superiority of the enemy or do you attack the town to the south that is bright and sunny but closer to your airbase)

I don't think they should be so worried about the air combat in the game, realism is what this game thrives on (to a certain extent) and it doesnt get much more real than postponing a paradrop due to bad weather.

New Post Quote
9/16/09 5:46:23 PM
 
odinfish writes:

I think this is a great improvement for the game towards added realism, but I also think the next step should be an overall optional graphics upgrade much the same as Eve Online has offered to their subscribers. I love WW2 Online but the graphics are sorely outdated.

New Post Quote
9/17/09 8:19:18 AM
 
Leave this field empty
Post Your Comment:
Our RSS 2.0 News Feed

Special Offer

Sponsored Links

Reviews:
Revisiting Dome City : 8.2 Reviewed on Tuesday July 05
Fusion Fall Review : 7.0 Reviewed on Friday March 06
Pirates of the Burning Sea Re-Review : 7.0 Reviewed on Thursday March 11
Dark Age of Camelot: Trials of Atlantis Review : 7.9 Reviewed on Thursday December 08
The Saga of Ryzom Review : 7.0 Reviewed on Sunday October 31
Popular Features:
Player Perspectives : Content Locusts Killed My MMO Column added on Friday January 27
It used to be that hitting the level cap in an MMO was something that... Read More
Star Wars: The Old Republic : Good Cop, Bad Cop – SWTOR General Article added on Monday January 30
There is no question that Star Wars: The Old Republic has stirred strong feelings on... Read More
General : The 2011 Player’s Choice Winners Award added on Thursday January 19
A couple of weeks ago, we asked you, our valuable readers, to vote for those... Read More
The Secret World : Deck Templates Dev Journal added on Thursday February 09
The Secret World is going to feature one of the most complex abilities systems in... Read More
The WoW Factor : What is a “WoW Killer?” Column added on Monday January 16
Everyone is always looking for that game that will be a "WoW Killer" but what... Read More