Steel Beasts 5.0 Thread

[Rinix]

Unmovable turrets on the ground will possibly be fixed in version 5.0: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16264-blown-off-turrets-blocking-your-way/

[Rinix]

A recrewing vehicles function is hoped for by Ssnake to be possible in version 5.0: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/316/#comment-229104

[Rinix]

Versoin 5.0 will enable the possibility of eSim Games working on implementing copying and pasting in the map editor and mission editor: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16322-copy-pasta-units-in-mission-editor/#comment-229307

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/316/#comment-229322
https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/317/#comment-229330

1) A copy CTRL+C / paste CTRL+V in the mission editor that lets you select any unit and copy it and paste that copy anywhere on the map to speed up mission making by magnitudes.

Perhaps copied and pasted units could assign new numbers to them so that it doesn't mess up the logic? For instance, if a unit that's coped is named 1/A then the first copy and pasted unit would be something like 1/A(2) and then the next copy and pasted unit would be 1/A(3) and so on, so that each copy and pasted unit is different in name, but identical to the original in all other respects.

2) Better multi-core support for multi-core processors. Seems like the sim still utilizes one core more than taking advantage of multiple cores like most modern PC games do.

3) Better UI scaling for the menu. Tried to play this at 2560x1440 but ran into two issues. First was Windows 11 scaling causes the mouse cursor in the game to be invisible. Also, text inside of the gray text boxes within the game overlapped letters and even ran outside of the text boxes. I had to reduce scaling in Windows 11 down to 100% from 175% (Recommended) to get the mouse cursor to appear and to get text to fit inside the boxes. But it was so teeny tiny that I could not read it and so I had to reduce resolution down to 1920x1080 to be able to read anything, and even then it's still pretty small. It would be nice if the game had its own UI scaling system that allows users to increase text scaling and able to play at higher resolutions.

4) Heat blur for all vehicles in the game.

5) Maybe some mud and dirt effects that dirty up the vehicles in the game if you got time. Nothing I hate more than a clean tank or a man with a pickup truck that ain't got a spec of dirt on it or someone who's got a fast sports car and drives it the speed limit. 🤦‍♂️ The hell did you buy it for?  And I was a police officer. I remember I used to consider pulling over law abiders with those nice sports cars that drove them the speed limit. Felt like it gave me probable cause to search them. Why you acting so suspicious driving so legit with that sexy fast sports car hmm? 🤔😆

#1, version 5
#2, version 5
#3, version 5
#4, can you give me an example where this isn't the case?
#5, version 5 - eventually (but probably not initially)

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16403-issue-no-directional-sound/#comment-229986

No, SB Pro is still plain Stereo. Version 5 will eventually get a new sound engine too; how quickly we'll get there remains to be seen, but clearly things need to improve.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16442-converting-single-player-mission-to-small-coop-scenario/#comment-230438

I'm sorry about that, but support for your networking is beyond the scope of what eSim Games can deliver. The multiplayer part of Steel Beasts was designed when things were simpler (and less secure).

For version 5, I hope that we'll be able to set up a game session brokerage server. You'd connect to that, and it would then hand over your connection to whatever game session was available. That should make things a lot easier. Unfortunately, it's the future, not what Steel Beasts can do for you right now.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16442-converting-single-player-mission-to-small-coop-scenario/#comment-230458

I don't think that there's going to be a PE version 5 within two years. We can roll out partial updates to our military customers, but a PE version will require that the full content with all features has been converted (minus items that we bay decide to discontinue). For some elements the conversion will be relatively easy, for others, it's going to be a lot of work. I don't want to kick off a whole new "version 5" debate again. If you search the forum for this keyword, you'll find plenty of statements from me.
The issue at hand is getting the network games with you and your buddy working. If you search this forum for your router brand and model you may find some tips for its configuration.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16479-a-question-on-future-updates/#comment-230683

We release major upgrade about once every three years, 2013 (3.0), 2016 (4.0), 2019 (4.1), 2022 (4.3). Extrapolating from that quite linear trend suggests that there might be a 4.5 release in 2025. Whether there will be a version 4.4 for SB Pro PE, who knows. I wouldn't rule it out. It might be a free update. The point is, we do not have any specific plans or a roadmap yet. Our development is a continuous process. Usually we wait until enough changes have accumulated that they justify the release of something in the $30...$50 price range.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/322/#comment-231454

V5 is supposed to be a software architecture that should make code maintenance and component replacements easier for us, so that we can react faster to shifting market trends. We're not going to end all development there. Quite the opposite, once that we have technology barriers out of the way, hopefully we can speed up innovations that are more relevant for your Steel Beasts experience.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/323/#comment-231688

Also cosmetic. Be nice to be able to paint or fill an area with debris/wood/bricks/ metal etc. in the map editor.
Similar to what we can do with bushes/ rocks etc.
The battlefields, especially around city's and roads especially look much too clean.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/323/#comment-231693

a. I agree, that our environment is too sterile
b. I agree, we need better AI/navigation before this would be possible
c. it's something for SB Pro V5/V5+

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/324/#comment-231861

As identified in Bugzilla entry 11418.

Introduce the ability for the AI to use GLA rounds, both Smk and HE, as part of the Infantry weapons capability.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/324/#comment-231865

Something for V5, we need different approaches for AI decision-making.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/325/#comment-232090

You guys made that sweet UI for the UAVs.

Yeah, it's a bit of a prototype/study for our future work. Mostly an outlook to V5, not something that we'll implement for everything in future versions 4.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16785-cpugpu-utilization/#comment-232910

I suspect that the tool you're using doesn't show the saturation of individual cores of the CPU, but just the total load. Which is misleading, obviously. If on an eight-core machine the CPU load is 12.5%, most likely that means that one core is operating at maximum load.

The next obvious question is, why don't you use parallelization more?
Because it's hard to add that as an afterthought to a software project. You either build it in from the start, or you can parallelize only certain parts (like, scenario loading, road leveling in the map editor). Which is one of the reasons why we're developing a completely new software architecture for version 5.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16788-terrain-resolution/#comment-232940

This is a change reserved for version 5. A higher resolution for the current tile map has the potential to create a lot of unforeseen consequences elsewhere, it simply isn't worth the risk.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16772-performance-settings/#comment-232975

But 10km is awesome! On my PC any higher than 11 km and hills and forests flash.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16772-performance-settings/#comment-232983

Yes, it's a known engine limitation. On my machines the problem starts with 14km+ (up to this point I thought this was universal, seems like it isn't). With version 5 we expect to eliminate these quirks.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16802-who-has-what-kind-of-pc-today/#comment-233093

To keep up with the trends and the gaming world, I want to know what to get so I'm not behind the power curve the moment the new PC arrives at my home.
Do I need 64-128GB of RAM to play today's games such as SB PRO, ARMA 3, Skyrim SE, etc?

Certainly not for SB Pro, now, or in the foreseeable future. SB Pro V5, once available (and V4 is still going to stick around for a while), isn't supposed to require dramatically stronger hardware than right now.

Do I need an NVIDIA 4090?

No.
Personally, I settled for an RTX3070, and I don't expect to need anything dramatically better in the next years. NVidia's latest generation graphics cards seem to exhibit a nasty habit of spike power demands. There seems to be a bit of a disagreement between power supply vendors and NVidia who, exactly, is at fault. Whichever way you lean, the fact remains that these top of the line graphics cards require an equally top of the line power supply, all of which contributes to ballooning costs, increased noise from all the heat that needs to be fanned out of the case, not to speak of the electricity bill.
Maybe Linus Tech Tips has a particular axe to grind with NVidia, but just check a number of the videos they made over the last six months about the RTX4090 ... maybe it's not quite so bad, but the point stands that it'll cost a lot more for diminishing returns.