An interview with Lukáš Miláček,one of Bohemia Interactive's Executive Producers has been released on the BI Studio Developers blog. Here are some extracts :
Having his wings clipped today is Lukáš Milacek, who talks about modelling helicopters, discusses managing projects, and reveals the intended scale of Take On Helicopters (TKOH) ... Scale of the Project
Take On Helicopters is obviously going to require a number of different choppers, but can you give us an idea of the range or number of individual models?
Lukáš: There will be three base classes (light, medium, heavy). Each class will have at least one military - and a number of civil - variants (i.e. utility, VIP, SAR, law enforcement).
- So, will this range of helicopters have distinctive flight models, for example, can you feel the difference between any two choppers?
Lukáš: Each class should definitely have its own character. In the career/story mode, we'll allow the player to upgrade their base helicopters with more a powerful engine, fuel tanks or other components, like winches. Different engine and weight changes will impact upon the helicopter simulation, and thereby, affect the flight experience. We also have consultants - professional pilots that fly those whirlwinds in real life - to help us in tweaking the flight models.
- What about 'skins' for the models? Do you plan to have a range of liveries and will players be able to define their own custom variants?
Lukáš: Each model will have at least a few skin variants built in for the editor. If there's time, we may try to add support for easy custom skins. This might be similar to the way players can choose faces in the Arma series. We've got a lot of ideas, but - whatever we're able to achieve - our game will, of course, be open for modifications. We've got a well-established reputation for enabling custom-made content, and this project does nothing to change that fact.
Modelling Helicopters
- What level of detail can we expect with the models? Are they more advanced than the quality seen in Arma 2?
Lukáš: These helicopter models will be more detailed than any of our previous vehicle models. Most detailed exterior LODs are made from more than 25 000 triangles. Interiors will include detailed gauges and some interactive switches, which will be operable in 3D. There will be properly animated rotors, working doors and service hatches on the exterior. We've developed more damage "hitzones" with more simulated systems and sub-parts that should also be visualised.
- What about special equipment - for example, winch systems - will these be part of the models?
Lukáš: In the story/career-mode, the player can buy equipment for his helicopter, which, in turn, opens up new gameplay opportunities. These choppers can be modified for the wide range of roles that civilian helicopters can perform and which a player might want to try. You might equip sling-load components for construction or bringing reinforcements to the battlefield. Maybe a quality leather interior for VIP transport. A larger fuel tank would increase mission range. Searchlights, FLIR cameras, winches... and so on!
However, we're not putting up any barriers to gameplay. Outside of the story-mode, single-player scenarios will put the player within a particular context with a pre-defined chopper suited to the task. We're also developing an interesting free-flight mode, built upon procedurally generating missions depending upon whatever helicopter you pick. And, of course, the editor will support a range of helicopters for players to easily create their own scenarios. But, I think I've said enough for now! More details about our gameplay will be detailed later.
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