[i]Dear Fans, Dear Followers, Old & new, Welcome to this August 2022 dev diary for Task Force Admiral.[/i] Hopefully we'll keep it short and to the point, with a recap of a few items of interest that have been explored this month, including some that were kept for this very update. First of all, the video of the month, this time courtesy of our 3D artist Rizki. As people often ask us questions about our ships and how they're done, our artist filmed himself while recreating a ship from head to toe. Nothing fancy, it is an auxiliary, so it is comparatively simple - yet it is probably a good introductory video for those who might be interesting in trying out their skills in 3D ship making. Everybody has to start somewhere - might as well start with him! [previewyoutube=em_KTagqa_c;full][/previewyoutube] His technique was mostly self-taught, like it is the case with many artists out there, so it certainly doesn't mean that there's a single right way to get to the final result. Yet, as Task Force Admiral will have to display massive engagements over a very large area, we made sure that all elements in the pipeline were as optimized as they can get. At the end of the day, this ship is a good example, as a game ready model which required less than 30,000 triangles. Sometimes the perfectionism, especially when it is all about applied knowledge, is about doing more with less rather than the other way around. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/35c15030d14495d9e7035a338829a4b73d1a8106.jpg] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/35c15030d14495d9e7035a338829a4b73d1a8106.jpg[/img][/url] Featured in the video is AD-15 Prairie, as a good example of the auxiliaries you will find in-game. As a Dixie class tender, she shared a hull with USS Dixie (AD-14), but also in most part submarine tenders USS Fulton (AS-11) and USS Sperry (AS-12) and to some extent USS Curtiss (AV-4) - which requires a big fat hangar on the stern - all of which at one point or another contributed to the battles and theaters featured in Task Force Admiral vol.1, and will show up where they are supposed to be. And if they don't, well, you'll be free to tailor make some scenarios to make them shine! They will be joined by a large family of other smaller combatants, merchants or specialized vessels. Often ignored in the domain of gaming, auxiliaries were actually the most common sight even at sea or off the coast of Guadalcanal. Giving them the attention they deserve is paramount to making Task Force Admiral a bit different from what came before it, hopefully all for the best. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/a66992f9e6f6b65fb76a77f38d0747f9509571a8.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/a66992f9e6f6b65fb76a77f38d0747f9509571a8.jpg[/img][/url] Note that Prairie and her sisters are only halfway to her homeport. It is time for Julien our 2D artist to ride the pipeline and use the assets produced by our 3D artist to give the ship her final look. In a game like Task Force Admiral, it is important to make the most out of the 2D art itself so as to complement, enhance the 3D model. Now that the original skin has been produced by Rizki, Julien can work his magic and start providing the ship with as many liveries as required - as you can see here with Kongo Maru, another one of these ubiquitous designs that you will often encounter in the game, and bomb accordingly. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7cfbd94468516efea3e80363221d203984dce0a4.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7cfbd94468516efea3e80363221d203984dce0a4.jpg[/img][/url] The amount of work Julien accomplishes when fine-tuning 3D models into the ships you will have in-game is absolutely paramount to the end-user experience. You can very easily compared the result between the base 3D model of Yamato (1941) when she was fresh from the 3D shop in the July update, and how she looks like now, after a few good strokes of paintbrush and a huge load of talent. Hopefully we'll get to show you Prairie in her new clothes soon enough too! [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/832cbb58cb72e6bae19e22a5bd26eeff27ef6b26.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/c74f79af65c9e0661fa5595eb9378f3f26d715a4.jpg[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/2d4800f9b72ed71c694edcb5c4188d32c34820a3.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/69aae86b023339bfb67cf659e99f257dc8a3a80d.jpg[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d7c7528e72271f95ddcf46edb20face97ff68023.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/bc6022c5b105835443c1f084010a0d89d42b8343.jpg[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/921658d30000e0b78ea1ecff31d6ad061766d744.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/4a64876c836a07dd2672cc27851320f532ec2a7a.jpg[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/82e7ff5769a1a8f4d912119d5ed1b0cef89dbc8f.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/a72af79785864896cb0c2f33fa4ee2a862860b7b.jpg[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/2c4c85dd41f84d82054c499fcf818a2bfb31432a.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b22956a5c781ba89de79f47d67f9a302bf930c34.jpg[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/13547dc4052910fc568c0c603939c13c25905a52.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b591d824f897a473b1705bfa6d2074c87ca3e45b.jpg[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/0b7021011c682d17bd6c475e50001ffbc1f68a20.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/c7b687957c26bbeaf5d200e06200467e3a29c265.jpg[/img][/url] Don't worry though, the art team wasn't the only one hard at work this month. Despite a short Summer respite so that we could spend a few quiet days with the family, one cannot say that time wasn't used productively [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/97f8be546c601739f7b0f183063ff1b75226e517.jpg] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/97f8be546c601739f7b0f183063ff1b75226e517.jpg[/img][/url] First of all, performance tuning is still on-going, and we did step it up a bit further. After the 50 v 50 dogfights of a few months ago, we wondered how it would scale beyond that, with, say, 200 aircraft and 50 or so ships in the same scene. We're happy to say that it is still going fine, with zero bug in sight. A most important matter when a battle like Midway entails having around 500 aircraft and 40 ships maneuvering in such a tight space. If they were to all meet in the middle of the ocean, one would have to take into account the workload of the AI and the effects proper, but when it comes to displaying these numbers, we are not too afraid. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/3073ec7a97a93b660935905870ce7ef971b5a74d.gif[/img] On the GUI (Graphical User Interface) front, we have started the design process on the counters you will be using on the strategic map. Although the old tabletop-like wargame counters you could see in the original trailers were kinda cool (at least to yours truly ^^) and worked fine in our prototypes, it quickly became obvious that they were unfortunately a [i]cul-de-sac[/i] design-wise. They wouldn't indicate the heading of the relevant task force or contact, would definitely loose clarity when zoomed out, even when rescaled... And last but not least, we just did not find a satisfying way to have them coexist when two forces are so close to each other that some sort of merging was required. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b6a1a0371c4a3a6b60c28cca06de440aff604c48.png[/img] As such, we had to stray away from a purely skeuomorphistic approach by abstracting them to some extent. This will have the combined advantages of making the mission of the task forces clearer, and more obvious to the untrained eyed, while the round shape allows us to put a directional indicator along the ring. Although these below were early prototypes, we are definitely heading that way. Note that the large space above the ships will probably be used for a nationality flag to add to their readability. The facing will also help our color-blind players to more easily distinguish between friends and foes, beyond the colors themselves. As for the other information, it will be displayed in a dedicated pop up window during fly overs, not unlike what you had in games such as Task Force 1942 or 1942: The Pacific Air War. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d052ff146bed8ff9c12263406ca60eafa7b9bf06.jpg[/img] Once the display system will be in place, at least sufficiently for proper testing, we will spend our time on the AI logic that brings these forces in contact and in conflict. Task Forces types, Tasks and waypoint types and everything they cover will finally be designed and implemented fully. As for the rest, it's reaching a point that I might call "mature" enough for dedicating our next round of effort to substance rather than looks. Getting there boys! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/749950bea4779771bdc5dac7ffec053f97f66167.jpg[/img] August was also, naturally the 80th anniversary of Operation Watchtower, which marked the beginning of the Guadalcanal campaign. Like all the rendezvous of 1942, we couldn't let that go without a small homage. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7440a3ab52855eb94e6870ea03bea7b2648ce3ce.jpg] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7440a3ab52855eb94e6870ea03bea7b2648ce3ce.jpg[/img][/url] It came in the form of Julien's latest painting, depicting the last moments of unfortunate USS Quincy, sunk 80 years ago off the coast of Guadalcanal in the first of many bloody surface engagements in what was to become the Iron Bottom Sound. CA-39 sustained crippling damage during the engagement, leading to a dramatic loss of life, leaving more than half of her complement dead, wounded or missing in action. Those who have an interest in learning more about her fate can read her official damage/loss report, available online at the Navy History and Heritage Command [url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/w/war-damage-reports/uss-quincy-ca39-astoria-ca34-vincennes-ca44-war-damage-report-no29.html]at this address.[/url] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/64b955ad83c591716216f32f2542a82934be40e9.jpg[/img] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/3b8295dba181f2f0f7cb0196b9eaf336020e5c12.jpg]Click here[/url] to download the high-res JPG version of Julien's work. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/2975a7d0de21499c9647a50392e021bbe758c768.jpg[/img] Finally, a shout out to Jochen Heiden, a noted [i]War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition[/i] who has taken a liking to Task Force Admiral and has begun to cover us, and has kindly offered us shelter on his discord server too! [previewyoutube=aa-tr165LKQ;full][/previewyoutube] His tutorials are the top of the crop when it comes to taming that tough beast that is WitP:AE, so don't hesitate to subscribe to his channel if you are among the few ones who got acquainted with this monument these days, as it is sitting [url=https://www.matrixgames.com/game/war-in-the-pacific-admirals-edition]at a formidable -80% discount[/url] for an extra few days. If you're a PTO fan, that one game was very much worth its $80 - you can expect it to deliver all the same at $16! ːsteamthumbsupː [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d654aa817c248dc7b6cf29acb0e9f3c6e0f31386.gif[/img] That is all for today Folks! Thank you all kindly for your attention, dear followers. Wishing you all a fine life September, especially to all those who study and work at school – days ahead remain tough, but there's one thing you can be certain of, is that we're way too far in development to let you down. Hopefully, we'll see each other again for great news by the end of the Fall. By the way, if you don't want to miss a thing, and aren't fond of Discord, Facebook, Twitter or else, don't forget that we have a mailing list here specifically made so as to keep you updated of all our Steam updates and other announcements which might be big enough to deserve a special treatment. Click on the pic below to access the form. [url=http://eepurl.com/gMCA4T][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/ec1e440c0859915037dcd5df35fd06b872632fd9.jpg[/img][/url] Cheers & see you for our next update! The Task Force Admiral team. [url=https://discord.gg/xyWqGak][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/e80ee0a9741f654567f884e9bb163776ad9a13d8.png[/img][/url] [url=https://twitter.com/DrydockDreams][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/3a1e97f2cf149c6dd4fa9c243f434178f5232067.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.facebook.com/TaskForceAdmiral/][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/6e6ba1996ebbeab842854775398d296eecd31ac6.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv_rxX8PnLOVt77K3FaIPnw][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/afce089fb35fc0312b165cb1f1e7be638fc2e063.png[/img][/url] [url=https://space.bilibili.com/478394397][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/6e999aff3471cd2fac37ccbdc0082a1a8a2634a3.png[/img][/url]