Multiplayer liveries

[lev-kusanagi]

Liveries add personality and creativity to this world, could we make it so servers can allow custom liveries to be 1) Selectable by pilots even in air starts 2) Viewable by everyone in the server? Without having to predownload /preinstall your friends' liveries first.

 

 

Would be a lot of fun! I'm sure lots of people would love this. Most of us feel like we actually own a real jet when we buy one in DCS. We wanna be able to customize it!

 

Cheers,

лk

[Buzzles]

2) Viewable by everyone in the server? Without having to predownload /preinstall your friends' liveries first

No, thank you.

I used to hate joining servers for CS/HL/UT etc and being forced to dl dozens of character models and skins, which I wouldn't use.

With skins in DCS being a massively larger, I definitely don't want to spend ages dl'ling skins when joining a server just because the server admin has added their and their friends' skins.

[Mike_Romeo]

2) Viewable by everyone in the server? Without having to predownload /preinstall your friends' liveries first.

 

 

A skin can be multiple GB's big. Just imagine you want to fly on a big pubic server with 60+ people and everyone has it customized skin. You would have to download over 100GB skins first befor you could join the server and they you have to download multiple skins over the time cuz new people joins ther server. :joystick:

 

 

One day I am sure the internet will be fast enough for that kind of toy but the future isnt now.

[Tailhook]

Are you supplying the extra bandwidth and storage space in addition to the added loading time?

[Gruman]

No Thanks.

But some more default liveries would be nice. Maybe include some correct and quality ones made by users (with their approval, of course).

Squadrons can do their own skins and distribute them as needed. IMHO more than enough.

 

 

BUT I wouldnt be against a simple way to change the name on the plane.

(Maybe an option in the mission editor. If the Mission Maker prefers to define the name himself, he can choose to do so. If he likes the players to have their name on the bird, give them a Player_Name Variable.)

[lev-kusanagi]

No, thank you.

I used to hate joining servers for CS/HL/UT etc and being forced to dl dozens of character models and skins, which I wouldn't use.

With skins in DCS being a massively larger, I definitely don't want to spend ages dl'ling skins when joining a server just because the server admin has added their and their friends' skins.

1. Servers could choose to enable or disable this

2. You could opt out as a user of course

3. The shared skins don't need to be gigabytes in size

[lev-kusanagi]

Inb4 laser-hello-kitty-F-18-with-flashy-neon-outlines skins all over the place :megalol:

We all know how this will end.

Sure, and some servers could block third party skins, but there are many tasteful third party liveries out there.

Edited October 18, 2020 by lev-kusanagi

[lev-kusanagi]

Are you supplying the extra bandwidth and storage space in addition to the added loading time?

You'd be able to opt out. The size of this problem is 1 bit.

[lev-kusanagi]

Consider also that this would help people feel like they own their planes. If you have VR you know what I mean, you feel like you're there. If you're able to customize your plane it increases the sense that you own it. Right now it feels like we have a license to fly F18s in this virtual world. Nothing uncool about that, but not as cool as owning your own.

 

PS. Alternatively as a shorter term thing, one could allow personalized tail or nose art, pertaining to squadron or personal branding. Those would certainly not be gigabytes in size and would be easy to transfer.

Edited October 18, 2020 by lev-kusanagi

[bies]

For me I would rather have the opposite - mission maker allow only one realistic livery for the whole squadron just with different tail numbers.

 

Instead of rainbow unicorns, black 'dangerous killers', pink troll paintings, 'scarry' dragon scale etc.

 

Some small painting below the canopy? I would be okay with that (probably wouldn't be using it) but not sacrificing net code bandwidth which is already under severe pressure.

 

But that's just my opinion.

[Jarlerus]

If the server can have a list of endorsed skins, then "huge downloads" and "massive amounts of silly skins that no one else will use" won't be problems.

[upyr1]

This might be a good idea when flying with the bois on a private server but on a public server this is going to be a nightmare.

[Gruman]

If the server can have a list of endorsed skins, then "huge downloads" and "massive amounts of silly skins that no one else will use" won't be problems.

 

Well. If a server endorse those liveries... The admin simply can install them. Users who have installed them, will see them. As long as the mission wont have the skins loaded by default, all players should be able to join.

[reece146]

I've often thought it would be neat for DCS to have a "Liveries server" that hosts/serves liveries IF you choose to connect to it. Conceptually kind of like an X-Window font server from back in the day (analogy for those of a certain age)

 

This would be a simple way to centralize a livery system for a group of people so inclined and makes it opt in/out in a fairly straightforward manner.

 

Compute-wise wouldn't be that bad and with all those cores that DCS doesn't use the livery server service/daemon would go unnoticed from a load perspective. ;)

 

Right now I'm hosting a nginx container with a bunch of liveries for the missions we run. It's ok as a solution I guess but everyone that wants to partake has to manually download the skin(s) and install them locally.

 

 

JAT

[Harker]

Viewing custom skins wouldn't work, since you need the files locally, on your PC and I would detest having to DL a random skin that I don't care about, simply because it says "Cpt. Maverick_83" on the side. I also wouldn't like more official skins added to the game, since they take up storage space and you are forced to have them, regardless if you own the module or not. Waste of space, IMO.

 

Instead, I would propose that ED implemented a system that would allow users to customize a default skin, in-game. Take the completely bare Hornet skin, for example and then have different customization options, using assets that are already present in the game files, similarly to how bort numbers works right now.

 

Instead of a specific livery having a specific bort number format and position, different ones could be chosen via a list. The same can be extended to roundels, squadron tail art etc, as well as pilot names. It's simply a question of adding a few more arguments to the 3D model and enabling the interface in-game.

 

Like that, you can have an infinite amount of personalized skins, with minimal storage space requirements and they will be visible to everyone. This would also solve the problem in squadrons, where each personalized bird with the pilot's name on the side currently has to be its own skin, leading to multiple GBs of the same livery for squadron members.

[lev-kusanagi]

@Jarlerusi think that's a winning idea... each server has a list of endorsed skins, which is limited and curated, to avoid huge downloads and conform to the server's culture.

 

To maintain efficiency, have a fixed size cache of skins and make the whole thing opt-in.

 

Allowing creativity doesn't always mean anime dragon lasers and so on  Some really tasteful and cool designs exist out there. 

Edited May 11, 2021 by lev-kusanagi

[Tank50us]

3 minutes ago, lev-kusanagi said:

@Jarlerusi think that's a winning idea... each server has a list of endorsed skins, which is limited and curated, to avoid huge downloads and conform to the server's culture.

 

Allowing creativity doesn't always mean anime dragon lasers and so on  Some really tasteful and cool designs exist out there. 

 

Another possibility would be to have servers 'compress' the liveries in such a way that they're smaller and easier to transmit over an internet connection. This could make it easier for most people to download a kind of 'preview' of the livery. If a person wishes to download the livery themselves and get the high-rez version, they could do so from the options menu once connected (unless the server hosts turn the feature off)

[lev-kusanagi]

@Tank Stompersounds good to me! Not everyone needs 4K liveries all the time.

[Volator]

Has there been a change in DCS in regards to skins in MP? So far only default skins worked in MP if I'm not mistaken. But today I saw another player's Huey with a skin that  was definitely not default. I do have the same skin in my library though. Were custom skins always enabled if you had the same in your folders or is that a recent change? 

[SharpeXB]

AFAIK that’s how it has always been. If you both have that skin downloaded you’ll both see it. But nobody else will unless they loaded it too. 

[OzDeaDMeaT]

I think its a great idea. I would recommend having categories for realistic, fun, personalized or something to that affect so people could opt in to see peoples personalized skins, fun (think hello kitty) and realistic (some of the skins currently made by moders that are crazy realistic).

 

+1 from me.