WWGeezer

Sounds like fun……will get some practice time in with the Mossie

Date is unclear, but this baby step into a new WW2 sim is now advertised on Steam. I think you will also be able to purchase it directly. I do like the idea that theynpicked the one thing that no one else has as a starting point. Will be interested in seeing what they charge for a single scenario to try out their new engine. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2761800/COMBAT_PILOT_CARRIER_QUALIFICATION/

Well, Plague.....as it happens was with my wife at a thrift shop and couldn't help but think of you. Here are some pics

Sandy, it sounds like the "patriarch" approach ends this year with the introduction of retail products. Here is what Jason said in his look ahead for 2026. "Our plans are to release Carrier Qualification next year which is tentatively scheduled for Summer 2026. However, we will begin an Early Access phase before then and transition away from our Patreon program and focus on retail sales. We may keep a Patreon for those that really want to support us to the max, but the public will be able to buy CQ as a regular purchase on Steam or direct from us when we launch Early Access."

Okay one more and I will stop. This is a year old but gives a lot of framework for philisophy for Combat Pilot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ewbZItEbEU After watching these last two videos it is tempting to say F##ck the Russians and get behind Jason’s effort.

And here is the most recent update from Combat Pilot and what to expect in 2026. Note VR support is being worked on and an actual early access version on Steam is on the horizon https://www.patreon.com/posts/combat-pilot-dd-147012368

And here is his recent commentary on Combat Pilot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne7IYIsCWD8

These videos have ton’s of ad’s, but the content is interesting. The first discusses the pro’s and con’s of supporting Battle of Korea, the second compares the pricing structure to DCS and War Thunder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i58AWBZMMzo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plIjtpeLxd8 He makes a lot of interesting points about the genre and the flight sim community. He made a few points that sunk home. 1. After Jason left, 1CS’s communication has sucked, and requires a lot of guessing to figure out what they are doing. 2. There is uncertainty if BOK will be a one and done, but the developer has said publicly that they intend to move into Battle of Pacific after Korea comes out and that BOP will be the same engine and will be delivered under the BOK title, just like Flying Circus was with Great Battles. 3. Lots of frustration in the community about lack of bombers in the sim. Raises a lot of questions about the final emphasis of prop planes vs jets vs bombers. That blend could be the success or failure of the sim. Jet people and prop people don’t tend to mix well and it is unclear how a sim that mixes both will be recieved 4. Some of the most insightful comments I have heard about DCS vs IL Sturmovik communities. His greatest support for BOX titles is that they deliver a full environment to fly in compared to DCS’s focus on individual aircraft fidelity. His biggest critique of BOX is the HUGE learning curve for mission building that greatly limits the number of people willing to build missions and host servers. That combined with very poor support and communication kind of shoots them in their own foot. 5. The initial support / response to BOK has been tepid to say the least. 1CS’s comments about the Pacific Theater seems to be in response to Combat Pilots early development. Our squad’s history has been strong in the Pacific Theater…it seems like its going to be a wild ride to get back there with Jason and 1C’s wrestling to get there first. The success or failure of BOK will certainly shape that race.

I had lincoln logs too. I remember the big green flat sticks for roofing too. I also had some of the giant sized plastic soldiers ( like 5" tall). Germans were in gray plastic, allies in green and tan for the Japanese. We didn't have bb gun battles, but early on we learned that plastic burns well. Our backyard had a pond it and a few brave soldiers burned at sea. Yikes!

So my grandson is becoming a Lego maniac. He uses a lot of minifigures and has superhero battles and the lego's go flying. I thought I would get in on the act and found an alternative manufacturer that makes WW2 ruin kit sets to use as back drops for his battles. Santa brought me two kits, on in greys and one in browns ( you can decide who the good guys and bad guys are). I loved how they used clear plastic for broken glass and textured and smooth blocks to show damaged walls. We have a used lego shop here ( we are only a few miles from Lego Land) and they have bins full of mini-fig parts that you can mix and match figures, so I made up three guys in blacks and greys and three guys in tans and browns. Picked up some small radios and binoculars as well. Take a look!

Phew....this took forever, but now the drawing is 100% mine. I drew the outline and shade textures in ink, than did the colored layers on watercolor paper. Had to make the scans of water color very hi res ( 600 dpi ) to get the texture to show. Than imported it into photo shop to apply the dark arts to get things close to the look of the original. Each file is 17" x 22" and is about 500 mg's. Thankfully the final images are only around 5mg

Hope to be there!

I liked the sentence on culture. But are we greater than the sum of our posts....err, parts?

Loving the Dog Pics

I think the problem is Meta is constantly chasing what they consider the most popular features and seem to be willing to partially develop something, throw it into Beta and let people suffer. Will be really interested to see how Valve's Steam Frame performs, because may sense is Valve will be trying to hit a mark that is focused on PCVR and make it very stable for a long time. Hoping I can go another couple years and than face what my PC and headset should look like.