Oh, you gol-darn kids...having to put a microprocessor in everything. I swear, it makes me want to disassemble a rotary switch to control the light, with up a key-wound clockwork mechanism to turn the switch and make the light flash.Originally Posted by danielfindling
And get off my lawn!
Actually, we *might* have to go with a microprocessor, for one key point: Synchronizing the flash with the bang. Everything we talked about so far treats the light show and the audio show separately. Sure, Einstein and Mach make sure the flash reaches the eye before the bang hits the ear....but if the visual is going FlashFlashFlashFlash and the audio is going bang....bang...bang...bang... well, heck, that's just gonna be weird. Could adjust the flash circuit to match the rate of the audio file, but there's a good reason to automatically synchronize them (I'll get to it in a bit).
However, there's another realism point to consider: What you hear from a gun three feet away is NOT what you'll hear from a gun a hundred feet away. A close-in recording is going to get the sound of the gun's action moving, the bolt slamming shut, the belt sliding, and the brass hitting the ground. Playing that recording with a big *** amplifier is going to amplify these ancillary noises, too, and again, that'll be unrealistic. So a recording of a Lewis, Vickers, or Spandau may not be the way to go.
The *right* sound would be a *single shot* from a bolt-action rifle, repeated electronically. Bolt-action, so there's no mechanism noise involved. You'd take that noise, and repeat it. For one thing, that'll let you fire a burst of unlimited length. Most of the recordings probably are of the approved short-burst variety. Just re-starting the short-burst MP3 will also be weird.
Repeating the sound would be easy, but properly synchronizing it with the flash might not be. A simple microprocessor may not be able to play an MP3 file simultaneously with toggling an output line.
All right: Here's why I want the noise and light to automatically sync up: I visited the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in Creve Coeur, Missouri last fall. They've got a replica Sopwith Pup, with not only an original LeRhone engine, but an operable Vickers machine gun with a working interrupter gear. Our guide had actually flown the Pup with live ammo. He pointed out that the rate of fire of the Vickers *depends on the speed of the engine*.... That at low RPMs, the gun could put out more bullets before the prop blade intervened. So if you dive the plane, the gun shoots slower...and starts shooting faster as you pitch up and start climbing.
And if you have the audio automatically syncing with the flash in our simulator, you could vary the firing rate by airspeed.....
Ron Wanttaja
Reply With Quote