Hi all, I agreed with Pat to post some info (and continuous progress I hope) on my 3D Overlord Project here. I have been intrigued by D-Day for over 50 years and now finally am having a go at recreating it. I have built hundreds of plastic scale models, played many D-Day board games, have all the related computer games, devoured hundreds of books and visited the area many times. But none of this comes close to what I am working on now. Bear with me for a moment........ Introduction Here's the thing: I am a flightsimmer since, oh, sometime 1976, and after losing my job I changed my hobby into my work: publisher of flightsim add-ons. And just for those who never looked at this; I am relating to Microsoft Flight Simulator (X, their latest and last version). I am an expert on that program, even worked with MS on some aspects of it at some time, and have all the iterations of the program, from even BEFORE it was owned by MS. So what has all this to do with our research forum? Well, I figured that FSX (as it is called) is the perfect platform to recreate some of the history of the war. NOT as an action game where one can shoot at each other or at computer models, but more as an educational project that tries to visualize the lay of the land, the infrastructure at the time, objects and views. I finally found a like-minded fellow FS publisher, FranceVFR from Rennes, who also wanted to do something with the data available. So we started the (partial commercial) project dubbed 'Normandy 1944 for FSX'. And yes, partial commercial because we need to make a living and have lots of cost, and 'partial' because all of this history AND FS stuff is HOBBY as well as life and we cater to a large hobby (aviation) community. So FranceVFR made the Black-and-White (!) 'background' for the project and I myself provided some aircraft models for it. This way new customers buy a complete package that 'does' something, i.e. one can fly over the 'aerial photos' of the 1946 situation in a (also black and white) aircraft of the era (or in any other aircraft he/she may have installed on his computer of course). That's the 'Base Pack'. NEXT come the 'add-ons'. Add-ons is the 'industry' I am in. Basically these are additional programs that can be loaded into one's computer and into the existing FSX program. This way one can add new aircraft - or just new paints of existing ones - , new improved landscapes, showing the REAL heights and undulations for instance, adding new or improved airfields, buildings and other objects, etc. ad infinitum. The Research Since I have done extensive research, ALSO from THIS forum, I figured it might be worthwhile to keep you informed here of the project and its progress, and hey, maybe even ask questions.... or answer them.... on it. For one, I already used OUR (bought from IGN France) background IN the simulator to verify locations of old aerials. I know we can use Google Earth for this, but we have 'Google Earth 1944' at our fingertips now and that MAY have some advantages at times. I found parts of our WW2 Glider Quests original photos using this material, then overlaid the three sources to match ! The way I want to portray the area AND the time is in FOUR parts. The user needs to CHANGE the add-on versions himself. I make FOUR versions of each add-on, showing 4 different periods in time: 1. before June 6 2. ON June 6 itself (somewhere during the morning hours) 3. the beach head established.... maybe a few weeks into June 4. the logistics.... with Overlord well under way for some months I am currently working on THREE aspects of the project...... 2 of these are FREE add-ons to the base product. 1. I am building part of Juno Beach, at Courseulles-sur-Mer 2. I intend to build the Mulberry B harbor at Arromanches. 3. I want to build the ALG's (landing grounds) and these may be commercial projects again, because it involves flying ;-) For Courseulles I have made a 'beta version' with some of the German bunkers and beach obstructions already in place. It needs more work. And I have started work on the Mulberry items..... I need to model some 15 different constructions, such as the various pontoons, pier heads and bridge sections. See the pictures as to where I am currently..... I hope some of you will find this interesting :huh: (Large versions on the website mentioned below) Oh, and here is a little video showing some of the Courseulles work I have done already.... http://youtu.be/aPB1ZFP8wKk And finally, I am running a special website for this and other related projects at FSClassics. Regards, Francois
Update: I am now not only building the Normandy harbours, but also some of the ships sing them. Researching the LST's I happened upon the site of the group maintaining the last of these in the US and got in touch. These volunteers keep LST 325 afloat AND running... they are currently on a month long tour through the US, showing the fully restored vessel to the public. The 324 visited Normandy many times, from D-Day onwards ! Check out the Youtube video in my article ! http://fsclassics.com/of-course-we-need-the-navy/
Had my project published on War History Online too: http://www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/digital-d-day-project.html I am still pushing along......