SM2 release date

does anybody know when SM2 will be released? i haven't heard much about the progress of this lately and it seemed that everybody kinda stopped talking about it. i remember last summer everybody was looking forward to it and talking about it like crazy. now it doesn't seem like a hot topic anymore. [:(]

There isn't a set date yet. I'm glad that the hype has died down since it allows us to focus on making the game instead of answering a ton of questions about it. Once we are ready, we'll get people talking about it again by releasing screenshots and/or movies [:)]

Your going to have to make a lot of changes to compete with other coaster software. The sense of speed sucks on scream machines so you might wanna consider changing that. Also don't add so many tracks into the demo. There so many tracks that when you come to the wws track exchange you have all the tracks there.

^for the sense of speed problem, they can adjust the default FOV to help. But what I heard about SM2 is that it's GUI is alot better and it's graphics are going to be sweet. There are problems of SM1 that I really get sick of and I'm really looking forward to the new version.

Originally posted by Matt

Your going to have to make a lot of changes to compete with other coaster software. The sense of speed sucks on scream machines so you might wanna consider changing that. Also don't add so many tracks into the demo. There so many tracks that when you come to the wws track exchange you have all the tracks there.

Sense of speed sucks? No way. Unless you have an earlier version of SM.

SM1's speed is fine, and always has been. It's feeling is different than other games, but the physics are correct. However, you can adjust the feeling by using the FOV settings and the actual physics by using the time multiplier setting found in the game's ini file. SM2's demo will be completely different than SM1's, and it won't include everything because I want the download size to be as small as possible for the demo. It will most likely be one steel style and one wooden style. That's enough to test out performance and get a feel for the game IMO.

The sense of speed sucks on scream machines so you might wanna consider changing that

Are you insane? The sense of speed in SM is far better than in NL. To me SM feels much more realistic rather than NL's sense of constant linear acceleration which i feel is one of the majour flaws in the game, but the thing is it is barely noticable.

If you go download a POV of a real coaster then ride SM, you will see how the speed of SM is almost perfect. If you do the same in NL, you will find the train will carry alot greater speed at the end of the run compared to SM which is not accurate in real life

^ I don't know about that. SM feels too plain and not wild enough, I don't know, might be because SM's graphics are older and don't seem to carry certain details that NL has.

Edit: I think it's because it doesn't support cam shocking (except on woodies) The camera needs to feel less controlled. Also, the head movement sensitivity should be increased IMO.

coasteragent - It really comes down to what you're used to. If all you play is NL, SM will feel weird. If you mainly play SM, NL will feel weird. All I can tell you is that SM's physics are close compared to a real ride. They feel different because they use a different base unit when converting between real-world measurements and OpenGL units. Hopefully SM2 will put an end to the comparisons since it is a different product than SM1 (and NL), and it's aimed at a different market. SM1 ended up being totally different than what I had planned initially, so SM2 is more focused on my original vision. The hardcore "everything must be dead-on perfect" users are not my target audience, and they never were. I have added stuff for that group, but most of the new stuff focuses on the overall experience, not on how perfectly smooth the track is.

[Kev]

Originally posted by DragonsIOA
The hardcore "everything must be dead-on perfect" users are not my target audience, and they never were. I have added stuff for that group, but most of the new stuff focuses on the overall experience, not on how perfectly smooth the track is.

This sounds interesting, and most likely will appeal to a larger audience, IMHO. Don't get me wrong, I try to get my coaster tracks as smooth as I possibly can, and prefer that it can be done as easily as possible...whether it be with NL or SM. However, I never have been one of the anal types that is bothered by every little bump or jerk on a coaster. I would rather spend my time setting up the layout and atmosphere of the ride than worry about some of the technical track details that I'm not really qualified to worry about in the first place. [:D] I'm definitely looking forward to seeing exactly what you have in store for us with this new version, and I hope that it will open up a new direction for the coaster game community, judging from what you just said in your post.

Is there a way to create things mathematically? (like NL's elementary?)

Either way, I can't wait for SM2. RCT3, dispite it's terrible realism problems, did add new experiences and were fun. Is this what SM2 is supposed to be like?

As for me, the bumps and jerks of a coaster do bother me a little, but if it's not too bad, then I won't really care. But I won't let things slide on n00b tracks. But I do hope the riding will be smooth enough though. If it's at NL level or better, then I won't mind at all.

[coolbeans326]

is there any chance that you'll use any Direct x9 feautures for PC users?

The reason that SM dosne sound as fas is because NL has the wond sound...

is there any screenies for sm2 plz?

[Oscar]

There are no screenies available at this time. Any screenshots or videos will be released nearing the time of completion as stated by DIOA in other SM2 threads here.

The sense of speed sucks on scream machines so you might wanna consider changing that.

You may want to ride a coaster in your life to feel the sense of speed of a coaster. Or feel free to download the bgt video from here and check out the POV of kumba at the end and compare it to the kumba track in NL, you'll see how right SM is, or how wrong NL is.

[coolbeans326]

^ or how crappily made the kumba ride is NL. As for sense of speed IN, I don't know, cuz I haven't tried out SM yet.

Originally posted by thecool326

is there any chance that you'll use any Direct x9 feautures for PC users?

Don't know how I missed this one... Right now the engine uses PS1.x and PS2.0 if available. Technically the engine supports PS3.0 as well, but I haven't found a need for it yet. However, MS just did a hugely idiotic thing with part of DX which may force me to switch back to OpenGL [:(] Unless, of course, I want to force the end user to download an extra 30megs just to play the game. I'm kind of waiting to see how it all plays out at this point. Until I know more, I'm sticking with the December SDK release.

It's been veeeery long since this discussion. SO are there any updates? It kinda feels like this project isn't even started. Can we get like a percent showing us how much is done. Like for example(50% percent done, 30 percent done, etc.)

I haven't been posting any updates lately (like for months basically). I've explained why on my site. I'd say the game is probably 60% done at this point.

That's really good(In my opinion) I'm rooting for you guys! (LOL)