Hi folks,

I’ve seen a few posts lately talking about new features or rules updates and references to some possible updates. I’d love to do this. But as some have noted, the age of the code and complexity of the different games are making this very difficult, at the least. Nick and I have had several conversations, and even he will admit how it grew a bit out of control. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not HORRIBLE code, it’s just very hard to maintain without a lot of time. So, here are my plans.

First, the current site will remain as is. Aside from some very minor changes here and there, with possible features (like repairs) added to the WS&IM Beta site, I don’t intend any major upgrades to this current incarnation. At the same time, unless usage drops to nothing, I will keep this version up and running for the foreseeable future. No matter what new sites are developed, this one will always be here as long as I can keep it going and people still want to play. We currently have about 325 active users (have logged in and made a move in the last 30 days.). That’s not too bad.

Second, I do have some plans written up to completely rewrite the BlueMax game, using latest versions of the rules.

The primary feature added here will be Altitude. To do this, I’m going with a 3D engine. No, not a realtime first person shooter, but the ability to zoom in/out, rotate around, and other things. There are several public domain engines out there that can do this for me. This requires a LOT of work, much more than I could reasonably do on a part time basis. Art work will be an entire full time job unto itself. And, if I want to do this right, I either need to buy it or build it. Therefore I’m thinking a Kickstarter of some kind to raise the funds needed to outsource this and do it right. Other features include abilities for bombing missions, campaigns, team play, pilot growth, adjustable maps, etc etc.

This site will always be free to play, but, I would offer a pay version. A bunch of you are now shutting off your minds, but it’s 2020, and nothing comes free. Without this, there is no way I can do this. I’m not going to quit my life to do it. What would you get for a few $$/month? Still working on that. One idea is the ability to personalize your planes with customized paint jobs and colors. But guess what? Even creating that customization engine is a lot of work by itself. I don’t want to make it pay to be competitive. But maybe. Perhaps you have a ground crew that goes through all of your ammunition to reduce the possibility of gun jams (this is what they really did.) I don’t know yet.

When will this happen? Sometime between now and the time I get my robot body. (once I go Robot then its Take Over the World time.) I have a pretty busy life, and a lot of other interests, so this is just one of those things I’ll need to create time for. Right now its a hobby. I’ve over 35 years in nearly all aspects of the IT industry. There is a right way to do this so that future updates are much easier. I know enough that to do this, I’ll need to hire a team to create the core systems and services. Once that’s up and going, then if it’s been developed correctly, addons and other features will be maintainable by a very small team, or even one.

Anyways, these are the plans and I thought you should know.

In the meantime,

Have Fun!

Electro

--- Message edited by Electro