Hi there,

Well, I had a really really bad week. Some personal stuff hit the fan and I just got annoyed answering the same questions day in and day out.

Anyway, I'll try to summarize the things I've get asked constantly:

1) Sensitivity control on Windows.
Df1 had this adjustment on Windows machines. And I received way too many complains from mobile players so on Elite it was removed.
In exchange I adjusted it so that mobile and PC plays much more similarly.

But... the problem with PC is that I can't control it 100%. And adding a sensitivity bar doesn't help much. Why? Because your PC/Mac may not feel smooth, but each computer is different and they may rotate much more than the one next to it. On top of that, you may have a joystick and some joysticks have their own sensitivity software that allows you to turn fight like crazy. In short, some PCs will feel slow, some will feel fast and if you have a sensitivy bar... which way would you go? Obviously PC would destroy all mobile players in no time. And we would go back to happy PC players and constant complains of mobile players.

So, the only solution is to split PC/MAC and Xbox players on their own separate games (which also split players) but Elite does not have enough of these players just yet. You'll have to forgive me but for now it stays as it is and when enough people joins (hopefully when Xbox One version is out any day), we'll have enough people to have this option.

2) 20 minutes timer.
It's a test. I'm collecting data on it to see what's the average game and which missions are faster/slower. I'm also making changes on the server and keep in mind that I'm also working on new mission types. The 20 minutes timer is not set in stone. I will adjust it accordingly because I also don't want 2 hours games (many many people complained about that). I'm not ignoring you, i'm just playing around with different settings until I hit something that feels fair.

3) Squadron Wars, new airplanes, new stuff that I've promised.
Oh yeah, it's all there. Delayed until boredom. But trust me, i'm working on it. The main delay is due to critical fixes on different platforms. The highest priority is for people to be able to play, it doesn't matter if I add something new if half the Android/PC pilots couldn't even get into a game. So those things were to be addressed before anything else and unfortunately much of that stuff was due to Unity game engine and I just had to wait for them to give me the patch.

I think the game is much more stable now (at least my crash reports are reduced by a huge amount on the last releases), so very soon you'll begin to see more of the new stuff. I'm already collecting internally all data for Squadron Wars so I already know which squadron is better compared to others Soon you'll see.

4) I'm not ignoring you.
I just have 20 things going on at the same time and I need to prioritize.

zuperman wrote: Hi there,


1) Sensitivity control on Windows.
Df1 had this adjustment on Windows machines. And I received way too many complains from mobile players so on Elite it was removed.
In exchange I adjusted it so that mobile and PC plays much more similarly.

But... the problem with PC is that I can't control it 100%. And adding a sensitivity bar doesn't help much. Why? Because your PC/Mac may not feel smooth, but each computer is different and they may rotate much more than the one next to it. On top of that, you may have a joystick and some joysticks have their own sensitivity software that allows you to turn fight like crazy. In short, some PCs will feel slow, some will feel fast and if you have a sensitivy bar... which way would you go? Obviously PC would destroy all mobile players in no time. And we would go back to happy PC players and constant complains of mobile players.

So, the only solution is to split PC/MAC and Xbox players on their own separate games (which also split players) but Elite does not have enough of these players just yet. You'll have to forgive me but for now it stays as it is and when enough people joins (hopefully when Xbox One version is out any day), we'll have enough people to have this option.

I have a solution to this problem were you would not have to split the PC/MAC/XBOX players from the mobile players. Add energy fighting to the game. For instance in a hard turn aircraft lose energy and will eventually stall unless they are turning at rate that allows the engine to maintain their speed in that turn. Diving from above gives you more energy to use in a turn and climbing gives you less because of gravity.

If you added some sort of system like this PC/MAC/XBOX players aircraft would also have to same turning limits. They might be able to make the aircraft turn harder and maneuver faster because of their sensitivities in the beginning of the fight but if they keep it up they will bleed their speed off very rapidly and stall or they will be slowed considerably enough they will not longer be able to turn very hard because they will be fighting their plane in a turn and trying to keep it from stalling. This will put them in a vulnerable postion because their enemy with more energy will be able to out maneuver and out climb them.

The PC/MAC/XBOX players would still have an advantage because of their sensitivity but it would be very limited and only useful for a shot amount of time. It would really take some skill and a lot of risk of losing any advantage they had really quickly to utilize the sensitivity advantage.

It also would open a whole new realm to dogfight. Pilots would have to strategicly plan their engagements. They would have to decide what they could do and have to identify an escape plan for when things go sour. For instance it would not be wise to try and engage a plane with a significant altitude advantage. It would be better to engage an aircraft flying lower than you and your escape plan would most likely be to dive on them fire some rounds off and then immediately climb away with the energy gained in the dive.

I think by doing this you would not have to take the community and divide it up. Also to deal with the bigger screens being able to aim better than the smaller screens the farther the range the more the bullets should diffuse out rather than having an arcing laser stream. It would make long distance shots more diffacult and less reliable forcing pilots to get in closer. It would also give more relevance to having a energy system. Because your enemy would not be able to just nose up and pop you out of the sky. It would also give more room for multiple different aircraft on one side to be good successful fighter planes than the current chain were the top plain beats all the other aircraft in everything. It would add more aircraft variety.

The only cons to this whole suggestion is that people are going to cry about it for a little while, and the team selection is going to have to be rigged up so that games are even. It couldn’t be any of the 7 on 1 games or 4 MORAF against 4 Aspirants. It also would take a long time to code it all and do the research on the aircraft in the game.


Edit - I would also suggest having options like arcade mode which would be the current game physics and then a simulator mode which would have the more advanced physics for energy fighting and bullet diffusion. Then keep WWI and WWII separate each with their own beginning planes that new players can fly and aircraft that you can upgrade to as you a gain rank rather than having toward your way through WWI first and then start into WWII.

(Soccer fan? )

Why bust a gut trying to make it a level playing field for all devices , all things ain't equal or fair in real life so why should we expect them to be in DF. Players should learn how to cope with what they have instead of keeping on complaining cos some ones got something different. Pilots in WW1 never complained cos the other side had better planes!!
We all need to play together what ever device we have and quit the complaining.

erm its not called soccer in the rest of the world rudy its called football

Rudolf Rednose wrote: (Soccer fan? )

I understand your testing the timer thing zup.it's just that guy like me that don't have much time.to fly anymore.don't have enough time in a game to figure anything out .that's all just when I start to get my eye in the game ends.

Could you just set a maximum turn rate for each aircraft type?
Then the only advantage for those with more sensitivity would be they would get to their max turn rate a fraction of a second quicker?

zuperman wrote: Hi there,

Well, I had a really really bad week. Some personal stuff hit the fan and I just got annoyed answering the same questions day in and day out.

Anyway, I'll try to summarize the things I've get asked constantly:

1) Sensitivity control on Windows.
Df1 had this adjustment on Windows machines. And I received way too many complains from mobile players so on Elite it was removed.
In exchange I adjusted it so that mobile and PC plays much more similarly.

But... the problem with PC is that I can't control it 100%. And adding a sensitivity bar doesn't help much. Why? Because your PC/Mac may not feel smooth, but each computer is different and they may rotate much more than the one next to it. On top of that, you may have a joystick and some joysticks have their own sensitivity software that allows you to turn fight like crazy. In short, some PCs will feel slow, some will feel fast and if you have a sensitivy bar... which way would you go? Obviously PC would destroy all mobile players in no time. And we would go back to happy PC players and constant complains of mobile players.

So, the only solution is to split PC/MAC and Xbox players on their own separate games (which also split players) but Elite does not have enough of these players just yet. You'll have to forgive me but for now it stays as it is and when enough people joins (hopefully when Xbox One version is out any day), we'll have enough people to have this option.

2) 20 minutes timer.
It's a test. I'm collecting data on it to see what's the average game and which missions are faster/slower. I'm also making changes on the server and keep in mind that I'm also working on new mission types. The 20 minutes timer is not set in stone. I will adjust it accordingly because I also don't want 2 hours games (many many people complained about that). I'm not ignoring you, i'm just playing around with different settings until I hit something that feels fair.

3) Squadron Wars, new airplanes, new stuff that I've promised.
Oh yeah, it's all there. Delayed until boredom. But trust me, i'm working on it. The main delay is due to critical fixes on different platforms. The highest priority is for people to be able to play, it doesn't matter if I add something new if half the Android/PC pilots couldn't even get into a game. So those things were to be addressed before anything else and unfortunately much of that stuff was due to Unity game engine and I just had to wait for them to give me the patch.

I think the game is much more stable now (at least my crash reports are reduced by a huge amount on the last releases), so very soon you'll begin to see more of the new stuff. I'm already collecting internally all data for Squadron Wars so I already know which squadron is better compared to others Soon you'll see.

4) I'm not ignoring you.
I just have 20 things going on at the same time and I need to prioritize.

If at all possible, when you do split devices. Would you be able to add a option that would allow you to either play similar device mode or play all device mode. This meaning that you could still play with players(friends) using a different device with the full knowledge you may have plane performance that is lower then your opponents. I personally Don't play to be the best. I prefer team strategy and tough games. Also I would hate if I could not fly with good friends do to device segregation. That said I do understand that most players are more about the stats and level playing field. And that is totally understandable. But if there was a way to give players the choice that would be great. Maybe 3 servers. Mobile,PC, and all devices combined play. Just a thought.

Dognamitt wrote: erm its not called soccer in the rest of the world rudy its called football

Rudolf Rednose wrote: (Soccer fan? )

We all know, but them silly Muricans don't get that.

You should make a separate part of forum for all complaints and suggestions and then never look at it. You are the developer and creator, you have the vision of how you want this game to be and all of this other stuff is just a distraction from your ultimate goal. Art by committee is never beautiful.

pmoon1{WP***} wrote: You should make a separate part of forum for all complaints and suggestions and then never look at it. You are the developer and creator, you have the vision of how you want this game to be and all of this other stuff is just a distraction from your ultimate goal. Art by committee is never beautiful.

I agree with a portion of what you are saying make an official thread just for elite bugs and and glitches for people to report them, but only take reports from that thread and ignore the rest. With everyone making their own thread's you end up with 20 or more thread's with complaints spreading them all over the place to search for. If he was to make it without input from us glitches would never get fix as Zup cannot see them all in a limited time of playing that he has.

This may be heresy, but I am starting to like the timer idea! Would like the ww2 planes to be faster, though. And easier to see! Can't wait to take the new tank out for a spin. Thank you for the half price to subscribers, Zup. That's a big help!

And thanks for making a game I really enjoy, most of all.

mmm timer......make sum games timer if u like....make sum longer.....I played df1 for just over yr luved it .....yea there goin be lag an problems ...we all shud accept that .....as tryin cope with all game devices....but if I get in game an facin £ or few misfits ..I no I in for long tuff game game.....lots deths an few kills ..whoopee a kill....that where I can see if I improved...facin these guys....an plz tighten laptop controls.....I spent £20 on elite...an find myself endin back playin df1...


also explain world rankin.....I 46 ...an I shud be no where near this rank...there lots that shud be higher than me

[*M]TBUILT wrote:

pmoon1{WP***} wrote: You should make a separate part of forum for all complaints and suggestions and then never look at it. You are the developer and creator, you have the vision of how you want this game to be and all of this other stuff is just a distraction from your ultimate goal. Art by committee is never beautiful.

I agree with a portion of what you are saying make an official thread just for elite bugs and and glitches for people to report them, but only take reports from that thread and ignore the rest. With everyone making their own thread's you end up with 20 or more thread's with complaints spreading them all over the place to search for. If he was to make it without input from us glitches would never get fix as Zup cannot see them all in a limited time of playing that he has.

This is a fine idea. One thread for sensible, constructive info and to report glitches. Ignore any thread that's starts with "Hey Zup"!
Delete any whiny posts that are put on there, caution the poster about the purpose of the thread, but more importantly give Zup one place for his customers to make reports.

[M] TR wrote:

[*M]TBUILT wrote:

pmoon1{WP***} wrote: You should make a separate part of forum for all complaints and suggestions and then never look at it. You are the developer and creator, you have the vision of how you want this game to be and all of this other stuff is just a distraction from your ultimate goal. Art by committee is never beautiful.

I agree with a portion of what you are saying make an official thread just for elite bugs and and glitches for people to report them, but only take reports from that thread and ignore the rest. With everyone making their own thread's you end up with 20 or more thread's with complaints spreading them all over the place to search for. If he was to make it without input from us glitches would never get fix as Zup cannot see them all in a limited time of playing that he has.

This is a fine idea. One thread for sensible, constructive info and to report glitches. Ignore any thread that's starts with "Hey Zup"!
Delete any whiny posts that are put on there, caution the poster about the purpose of the thread, but more importantly give Zup one place for his customers to make reports.

Well said. Key Word Customers (Paying) Customers.