the only way for il2 surviving is to involve to highest standart and not to stay in 2000s years
when you play ROF and il2 you can see the quality gap between them (graphical dommage FM etc etc) ,
today if il2 is the only WWII simulator (clodo is a fail) tomorrow BOS will be here and will be more attracting than an old game with a quality gap always highter
yes Il2 have increased the plane/maps to a incredible number but the graphical/dommage/FM have not so involved
your computer can't use HiRez or you dont want? you can use S3TC compression! but the CPU/GPU/RAM are always increase so it is not a problem to use HiRez for the players large majority
(sorry for my poor english)
HiRez should be an option, all mods should be made with normal resolution.
Personnally, I prefer computer resources to be used in putting more things in a mission than overworking because of HiRez eye-candy.
Valid points on both sides.
Hi-res options in texture is nice to have, but also raise some questions (for Il-2 modding in general):
1) Hi-res cockpit improves the game - and so would hi-res plane skins, hi-res map texture, higher polygons in planes, maps and object models, more planes in the air, better effects, newer effects and newer gameplay elements (radar for example). Can the Il-2 core engine handle all these advancements together? If so to what degree is the frame rate and game play affected? (Currently IL-2 still struggle to handle truly large aerial scenarios a la big bomber raids)
Mod users always have the options to use mod or not - that is true. This is more of a question for modders, and modding community in general, to consider in terms of priority and what gameplay experience they would like to achieve (like mission builders have to balance between historical accuracy, object density and gameplay when designing missions).
2) Also want to point out that while IL-2 mods can attempt to keep up on the graphics front, but it can also 'compete' with newer sims in terms of gameplay (e.g. night fighting capability development) and scope (e.g. simulate broader time period, more in-depth coverage of existing theaters)
3) The other question is also to what degree would it exclude part of the community with lower to mid-range processing power machines?
Back to question from Poncho - going forward, there is the option to up-res the newer cockpits, and also to add more polys to the cockpit or add functionality to the cockpit. Poncho will no doubt balance the visual quality to be achieved against the number of mod users who can enjoy this and how this may affect gameplay. It is really the choice of the modder in terms of what gameplay experience s/he wants to achieve.
Last but not least - thank you again, Poncho. Your cockpits have drastically improved the P-47 flying experience.
Cheers,