Steel Beasts 5.0 Thread

[Skoop]

TBH, I'd rather they scrub all the 4.xxx development and go full blown 5.0 all in.  Makes no sense dangle all this 5.0 stuff infront of us, meanwhile all the work goes into the 4.xxx series.

[Rinix]

TBH, I'd rather they scrub all the 4.xxx development and go full blown 5.0 all in.  Makes no sense dangle all this 5.0 stuff infront of us, meanwhile all the work goes into the 4.xxx series.

Ssnake has a post which may answer your statement: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15856-loose-ends/#comment-225949

I don't expect it to take that long. But of course, predictions, particularly those about the future, are a fickle thing. For our military customers it will be a gradual transition. You, on the other hand, want a new version that basically delivers what you already have (and then some). That means, we can make it public only after the bulk of all conversion work is complete.

[Skoop]

Cool, thanks for that. 

[Rinix]

Ssnake on infantry being made able to shoot while crouched and standing: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15856-loose-ends/#comment-225963

I certainly won't rule it out. But one of the reasons we're moving to version 5 is the increasing complexity of the current AI code. So I'm predisposed to schedule this as a "5 activity".

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15809-hype-thread-2022/page/9/#comment-226309

There'll be a minor feature shown in a video later this week. There were bug fixes that shall be listed in the Release Notes, and those will contain a chapter about each editor (among other chapters).
Our development focus is on a completely new Map Editor for version 5 (not ready yet, obviously), and on bringing the features and vehicles developed over the last two or three years into this PE version. So, don't expect revolutionary revelations.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15929-best-pc-specs-for-map-editing/#comment-226306

Memory: You can have decent Steel Beasts performance with 16 GByte. There may be (rare) occasions where 32 GByte are better, but we will design SB Pro 5.x to perform well with 16 GByte if possible. If you must save, 8 GByte will still be tolerable for the next few years, hopefully even longer. More than 32 GByte seems like waste to me.

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15809-hype-thread-2022/page/9/#comment-226317

That we're working on version 5 is not a secret to any regular reader on this forum. I'm usually not reporting much because we're still in early stages of the development, and talking about a pie in the sky isn't helping anyone right now in the best of cases, and might create a wrong impression that version 5 is just around the corner in the worst case.
That the Map Editor is in the most urgent need of renovation is also rather obvious. We neglected its development for a long while. I could go into the reasons behind these decisions, but it's probably sufficient to say that we originally were too optimistic about what 3rd party software could deliver, then we tried to find a stop-gap solution that effectively went out of the window with the transition to the map packages data format. Last but not least, when faced with prioritization decisions, for every feature to win, a dozen others lose.

So, yes. The Map Editor needs improvements most urgently, so it seems to be the logical starting point for practical version 5 development.

[Rinix]

Crew dismounting damaged vehicles possibly coming in version 5.0: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/311/#comment-226362

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15853-im-now-confused-as-to-which-pre-order/page/2/#comment-226757

Version 5.0 will do away with DirectX 9. The first version 5 application will be finished this year. But we will have to develop a number of version 5 applications that we may then fuse into one integrated package later (or keep separate; e.g. from a functional perspective a Map Editor could be kept a separate program without loss of convenience for the user) before we can present it as a "Steel Beasts version 5" to the general public. The execution phase with all the combat vehicles and explosions, the fun part, will take longest to convert. So, in all likelihood there will be one or two more intermediary versions, shall we call them "4.5" and "4.8" or something like that.

[Rinix]

Playable helicopters will not be a priority in version 5.0 and afterward: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/312/#comment-227222

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16089-printing-maps/#comment-227288

Is there a way of prininting the mission maps but with map symbols for key building types as opposed to the black blocks.

No.
I think that version 5 will offer such options, from what I'm seeing in the prototypes. But not version 4. I have no idea about a practical workaround either.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15809-hype-thread-2022/page/19/#comment-227486

Hopefully, the SB5 engine will satisfy my technical demands for night-fighting. Because, frankly, I have yet to see games that do darkness justice beyond mere visual effects.
It should be noted that this will be yet another pure PE feature, once implemented, because training usually doesn't want it.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/55-we-love-screenshots/page/134/#comment-227799

The V4.x and earlier Steel Beasts Engines will always have a problem with large building numbers on a given map.
V5 is going to change that (up to a point), but of course that's not helping anyone, right now.

[Rinix]

https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/15809-hype-thread-2022/page/21/#comment-227815

While individual 5.0 applications will appear for .mil customers as early as 2023, it will take much longer to fully migrate the current functionality to version 5, and to integrate the different components.

So, there probably will be a 4.5, maybe 4.7 PE release before version 5 is ready.

[Rinix]

There is the possibility of improvements to the AI in version 5.0: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/16181-what-do-you-likelove-about-sb-pro-pe-43/#comment-228035

[Rinix]

Illumination ammunition will become a possibility in version 5.0: https://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/4546-steel-beasts-content-wish-list/page/316/#comment-228700