[i]Dear Fans, Dear Followers, Old & new, Welcome to this October 2022 dev diary for Task Force Admiral.[/i] Some new progress to show this month. Most has been showcased in our previous weekly updates on our social platforms, but as these are usually limited in terms of length of text and media quantity, this update is an opportunity to put that all somewhere, where it matters, and where it will last! We will actually start with the main dish. Those who have been following us know that we have been making steady progress in the development of the GUI & gameplay-related functions over the last few weeks, bringing Task Force Admiral every day a bit closer to an actual game, rather than a mere tech demonstrator, if I was to be say it in a silly way. Here's a series of comments we posted regarding our scouting system and how the AI interacts with it, which will offer some insight in what we've been doing. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/83a0065e0d3466ba97ffd66c0f375e65125b9064.gif][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/83a0065e0d3466ba97ffd66c0f375e65125b9064.gif[/img][/url] First of all, we've been teaching our Artificial Intelligence engine the ropes of carrier combat - and carrier combat 101 says that a good battle starts with some good scouting. This was also the opportunity to test our basic friendly fog of war. Indeed, we wanted to make sure that you actually lose contact with your scouts (at least as a permanently spotted, accurate plot on the map) the moment they leave your immediate sighting and radar range. That worked. And when they come back, they are also coming back as unidentified aircraft, so that works too. So far so good. Still, it would be a bit unfair to leave you with no clue whatsoever in regard of where their position is, so we added a small icon on their flight plan which tells you where they [i]should be[/i] if everything went well. Naturally, if they got shot down without sending a report, them not returning at all will be your first hint that perhaps not everything went so well on that specific search sector... [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/5426a981e4be9d99fb084eff4b9acb4a6eb43aae.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/5426a981e4be9d99fb084eff4b9acb4a6eb43aae.png[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/0bb9ba52138a40c72960f2f09472654065b46781.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/0bb9ba52138a40c72960f2f09472654065b46781.png[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/1768c8ed408072dc064b4fdecf7ab571a1940eb9.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/1768c8ed408072dc064b4fdecf7ab571a1940eb9.png[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/99e1d4b72fe325636aa5cc46a820a36aca380b8b.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/99e1d4b72fe325636aa5cc46a820a36aca380b8b.png[/img][/url] In other cases, we also had contacts spotted before a radical turn, and with the original spotter shot down shortly after its first report, the AI was not updated and sent its aircraft out there in the void. An embarrassing episode for that Japanese raid indeed, missing its target by a whole 50-60 miles. Bad luck, but all too historical actually! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/4da27b1d1769b0fd21d7a237871e6105fa7927ba.png[/img] By recreating the conditions for the random blunders of the era, we sure hoped to see our game recreate them organically, with as little intervention on our part as possible. Fortunately, our theory in terms of design did deliver ultimately, and we had our first small AI carrier vs AI carrier engagement proceeding as it should - that is, absolutely chaotically. We have described it below: [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/4cbd8f5b6c8bf65a80e756a5644f52ced8e86e5c.png[/img] Ok, it wasn't really a full-fledged carrier battle, as we're still adding feature after feature, but that was the first time carriers actually engaged each other in some remotely comprehensive way that involved a full day of scouting & attacks, before retiring at night (which was helped by the fact that these ships cannot sustain damage as of now - again, upcoming features). What was more interesting was that it was a full AI on AI battle, with no human intervention, and it was pretty fun to see how things evolved organically from very similar, remotely different standpoints using our observer mode. It might look like much from here, but believe me it tells some beautiful stories, really, and ends up being a happy confirmation that the gameplay certainly has much original potential. The day started with a scouting mission programmed for each side. Both carrier task forces had an "interdiction" task set for them, which implied that they would search a given sector, either provided by the scenario maker (the case here), the player (if it's a friendly TF) or generated from known data (that is, around the area the AI would expect the enemy to be the day following a loss of contact later during a scenario). [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/374a6b60ad72be473b1c51cbaa7c066b8044074f.png[/img] As scouts went on their respective business, they both encountered the enemy and reported its position. The scouts on the IJN side were sent up faster (as the US carriers started in a recovery mode, necessitating a few extra minutes of rearrangement of the aircraft on deck). That mere factor changed a lot of things, actually. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b86b7482593c75c2dd80d577e140d6b36a14bcfc.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b86b7482593c75c2dd80d577e140d6b36a14bcfc.png[/img][/url] As the scouts left the vicinity of the enemy force (ultimately you will be free to order them to loiter & shadow relevant enemy forces, but it wasn't part of their instructions here), strikes were prepared on both sides. The scouts weren't shot down (we haven't programmed automatic CAP yet) so they went to the end of their research leg and returned. The info having reached the Japanese carrier force first, it meant that the Japanese raid went out first and cleared the decks before the return of the US scout above the Japanese TF. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/86e5bcb917a3572678aef287da8c215585a2f592.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/86e5bcb917a3572678aef287da8c215585a2f592.png[/img][/url] On the other hand, the US strike was still assembling when the Japanese scout came back, and it was shot down by a fighter. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/628a0161e15471dc2be6128553a9886797ff9427.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/628a0161e15471dc2be6128553a9886797ff9427.jpg[/img][/url] This resulted in the Japanese losing sight of the US force, while the US side didn't. As both carrier task forces changed their heading a few minutes after that to remain in range of the enemy, the US acout came back in time to report this change, but nobody was now in position to do so on the Japanese side. The result is that despite faster reaction times, the Japanese strike was sent on a wild goose chase. As the Japanese bomber slipped by the US force, missing it from 50-60 nautical miles, the US force went straight for the enemy. Yet, the US force also experienced its own issues: it was now approaching the Japanese carriers with part of its escort lagging behind after having attacked the snooper... [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/75c607bac8b7cfb5eec140d9a7736cfab504c64c.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/75c607bac8b7cfb5eec140d9a7736cfab504c64c.png[/img][/url] These events are actually reminiscent of actions that took place on different sides in 1942 (the afternoon IJN raid at Eastern Solomons, which missed completely the US force for the first one ; the catastrophic distraction of Hiryu's escorting force at Midway, going out of its way to intercept lagging SBDs on the ingress leg, along with a comparable event at Santa Cruz for the second). And it is refreshing to know that these kind of SNAFU events can be generated by the flow of battle as long as the conditions are met to recreate their causes. That's what happens with a handful of aircraft in the air - imagine when there will be dozens of them, with their comms & doctrine fully implemented. Can't wait! [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/632c5cb1530568bf697df6d4d32ab5216f4ce5e6.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/632c5cb1530568bf697df6d4d32ab5216f4ce5e6.jpg[/img][/url] As October went along, we added feature after feature to the engine. The AI is now capable of setting up CAP patrols and is actively engaging incoming strikes all by itself. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/0841d9ac2d213e5a916b448d23a300a0829fbb2c.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/0841d9ac2d213e5a916b448d23a300a0829fbb2c.jpg[/img][/url] We are also working on AAA (anti-air artillery) logic. We are testing guns on a few platforms first, so as to make sure that they will be properly calibrated in-game. But even with just a mere two ships firing, the results are pretty convincing, if not impressive at times in terms of volume of fire... Approaching a US Task Force will ill intents will be costly, as it should be! [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/ed4d00bb924981aecfc55fcf6c04ae4ae441322e.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/ed4d00bb924981aecfc55fcf6c04ae4ae441322e.jpg[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7d16bbdce42f725ffeddf1e90002f22cd9e6a3d0.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7d16bbdce42f725ffeddf1e90002f22cd9e6a3d0.jpg[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/f32f4dbe7b1b6434c69a9cc7c9324e58a5bf5389.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/f32f4dbe7b1b6434c69a9cc7c9324e58a5bf5389.jpg[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/397698f18ed761539ea847dedea975a062127d59.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/397698f18ed761539ea847dedea975a062127d59.jpg[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d95009e1da7428b695a14240921e98a7c02bf713.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d95009e1da7428b695a14240921e98a7c02bf713.jpg[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/767b1c548c62b575fc2a41f854e4571a6c63e013.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/767b1c548c62b575fc2a41f854e4571a6c63e013.png[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b61954806a782a17303e93ac9f63c60ff4a1716c.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b61954806a782a17303e93ac9f63c60ff4a1716c.png[/img][/url] It's all very work in progress of course, but it's a good taste of things to come. This one is quite buggy, because the ships did not have a hitbox yet, and the aircraft don't explose on impact just yet, but here's a Val getting shot down on its dive and hitting the water just a few feet away from the carrier, like it happened so often in 1942. Hopefully this aspect will be functional in time for the next dev update - and I'll happily try to record a Val attack from Yorktown's vulture's row! [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7f5e8f7cf35a43b700ab6082a282e6a74abd2608.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7f5e8f7cf35a43b700ab6082a282e6a74abd2608.jpg[/img][/url] And, last but not least, a few shots of the Japanese strike getting home. Or at least, whatever is left of it after overstaying its welcome over the US task force (and yeah don't worry, Shokaku's antennas will be lowered during air ops, eventually!) [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/0ac3a01e98475d83b7a7d54d4e871533c262456e.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/0ac3a01e98475d83b7a7d54d4e871533c262456e.jpg[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/72ebf75070256ccbc8cb326e27adf240b42f576a.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/72ebf75070256ccbc8cb326e27adf240b42f576a.jpg[/img][/url] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7ecad698b116428de80a51115c6d5a55df1640f7.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/7ecad698b116428de80a51115c6d5a55df1640f7.jpg[/img][/url] Ok, that was a long trek already. Now for those who like nice looking models, we had a new addition to the roster with Wasp, re-made with much love by our 3D artist Rizki. I am quite sure those among you who know about that one lady will appreciate the research he went through so as to recreate all aspects of her specific construction. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/ccfa28ca1f3bb395bedeaf5c4e83c54927551db1.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/240b0a72497792e1f1ed65a1d9c7efa09a689254.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/6a4bf727db2716f082b0a591c28d073d67b5b4c8.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d05e9ac73bda6c3523441eeeef452d78f3c5d882.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d0baa8d7915071312d3bbc3338d649269ace3e5b.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/26eb952206ac20e45c07af4f7c728780ecdaac52.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/c707b57189b3e942e24dfa79e23f5a1162d1ccbf.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b113d8bfd452ab0dee76b44957a42e59650856d4.png[/img][/url] Her peculiar side elevator has always been a fan's favorite. It will be around for sure, at least, when we'll have understood how to animate it properly! [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/720af594fd6b960bd16a89c5a1c5ec4c9080aa85.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b0da48a7b414cbd876ebe7ca70b8ad3271d417ee.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/5d27529996c7d9291c5a643e96be090e24a04d2f.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b6b0adac7c5a01b1423567d49013656797e809de.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/45479baf6f8d844b67962f67489fdcdbe50b9d59.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/ae56d8a59c89b219cd555acd0375e79052993108.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/f8a30479e6ce4d75d8f1895bd6ff1440bd089f7a.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/ceaf49f25d05fa151e2358e8f92b4c81ee8363fe.png[/img][/url] She's getting the full treatment, and is nearly ready for integration. With some more objects added... [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/e348de8d6b4bda72aa89396ac43e03d89ee80e08.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b2daf07bb0006ac584941647869ec5af2f00a7ad.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/9bc2ef01d41704e3dbff683feac44bf1a0a17c4d.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/20dd09fe754d312deea5b0a4f21af8dff83406e3.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/5ddb040981cdab23574a0b0c2a44b74eff814fde.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/bf258df99c3864790c27cca4128af4cb7aa02680.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/f9ce913cb8650681859afcc40615b4591d74c7a2.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/bbf58278e0284a553fe662fc65d734ca23be94a8.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d4a60b16c914f0e8bc0ff1e2f4ce809d7a6efbb9.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/29d364f02b9516802f10ba4247e8b8611e37d038.png[/img][/url] ... and her basic skin applied, she will soon encounter the digital paintbrush of Julien, our 2D artist, for her second life, a little more than 80 years after her dramatic loss. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/54322ef328f626300b1cd9aed51e1f8211277c95.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/6cb0c58c58c75802b5100b1ffabfafce1e69e84b.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/84a3edeffcb5807e388057d0e8a8ce1cf68e832d.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/14f3ef0052e174328400165026ba160eee9bc753.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/b64791584459f6478de9e80cc4030c0649a22d54.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/d07ef816503098ae20b38492ac1def3957c7fd22.png[/img][/url][url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/3dcfe5f9779b9f304bb0e7d8abe1a4a3c676a6de.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689795/83a94efcce40301eb3d871619e4e32e5a3a31187.png[/img][/url] Now, as a final shout-out, I wanted to mention two videos of importance released this month about Task Force Admiral. First, obviously Stealth17's blockbuster who brought us quite a few new fans from all around the world. If you were interested in hearing a second opinion about our July gameplay trailer, search no more, that man has you covered! [previewyoutube=VKeHQzuA4z8;full][/previewyoutube] And yet, if the perspective of a longtime UAD player wasn't close to enough, let me introduce you to Tim Migaki's take on the very same trailer - only this time for a full hour, and coming from somebody who's into real-life naval matters. About that, if you're into Navy stuff of all sort, and especially literature, don't hesitate to pay his great blog [url=https://thetidesofhistory.com/]Fair Winds & Following Seas[/url] a visit! [previewyoutube=--gUvoDejME;full][/previewyoutube] Big thanks to both of them for their kind coverage That is all for today Folks! Thank you all kindly for your attention, dear followers. Hope that extended gibberish made sense. That was another long one, but don't worry though - unlike what has been claimed by some out there - to my bewilderment really... - these updates do not affect in any way the pace of development, besides providing our single dev with some comfort to see his work being acknowledged and archived (who knows, we might need that for a making-of some day!). Our online presence is fully handled by yours truly, the producer, who doesn't get to write a single line of code or author a single stroke of virtual brush. Besides contributing to keep our feet firmly on the ground, while developing a sense of responsibility in regard of the feedback we offer our community and our publisher, these updates are a handy way to maintain a presence online and reassure those who might be wondering about the state of development of our baby. Hopefully, some of you do enjoy these monthly rendezvous. At the very least, we do! As always, if you aren't too 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/c2616940e22ac9a4701551fbd9b78a48f10ef3b7.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]