05.04.2009, 05:28
To my mind there's nothing intrinsically wrong with frankenplanes. Obviously, as this is a historical sim, I'd like them to be as accurate as possible, but then... They are cobbled together from bits of other aircraft to resemble the intended aeroplane, and although the work that goes into them can't be denied, can we really expect them to be exact? No, of course not.
We then have to ask modders to tackle 3dsMax and produce a work of art. Like everyone else, I'll probably have a religious experience when these projects finally fill my hard drive, but good things come to those who wait.
So do we sit back and wait for digital perfection, or do we accept a slightly awkward rendition in the meantime? You see, as much as I want fantastic reproductions of the real thing there just isn't ever going to be enough variety, so if the frankenplane is halfway tolerable, why not? It'll do until someone makes a better one.
It brings up the question of replacement aircraft though. That needs to be done a little more carefully. There are combinations that work ok - I can live with the Fairey battle replacing non-japanese Kates. I find it more difficult to accept losing an existing aircraft/nation combination simply to add another model. Is it possible to add single nation models? So that, for instance, the Hs123 frankenplane only works for Germany instead of non-italians? Or does that block other choices?
If there's a conflict, I do think frankenplanes should have their own slot. That however, involves something more than juggling parts, and for that reason we shouldn't lower our expectations when creating them.
In a sense, only the best will do. Keep up the good work, and if your frankenplane looks the part and doesn't interefere with anything else, it's good enough for me.
We then have to ask modders to tackle 3dsMax and produce a work of art. Like everyone else, I'll probably have a religious experience when these projects finally fill my hard drive, but good things come to those who wait.
So do we sit back and wait for digital perfection, or do we accept a slightly awkward rendition in the meantime? You see, as much as I want fantastic reproductions of the real thing there just isn't ever going to be enough variety, so if the frankenplane is halfway tolerable, why not? It'll do until someone makes a better one.
It brings up the question of replacement aircraft though. That needs to be done a little more carefully. There are combinations that work ok - I can live with the Fairey battle replacing non-japanese Kates. I find it more difficult to accept losing an existing aircraft/nation combination simply to add another model. Is it possible to add single nation models? So that, for instance, the Hs123 frankenplane only works for Germany instead of non-italians? Or does that block other choices?
If there's a conflict, I do think frankenplanes should have their own slot. That however, involves something more than juggling parts, and for that reason we shouldn't lower our expectations when creating them.
In a sense, only the best will do. Keep up the good work, and if your frankenplane looks the part and doesn't interefere with anything else, it's good enough for me.