Flanker562 Arma 3 WIP Thread

[+Flanker562]

As I was doing one thing, I realized that the amount of chaff and flares for the HH-60H was limited to sixty rounds (going by the texture,  not real-world).Well, it's configured for sixty dhaff and flare. I know yes, that I'm sure that the current HH-60H only uses flares, I figure it'll be a little artistic liberty to allow it. I mean it is 2035 and so on. Anyway it's setup and I'll probably have to configure the dispenser "weapon": to fire only two flares at a time though, but that's in the background, so this Sunday it'll be correct.

[+Flanker562]

Well, I'm at a quandary with some of the other helicopters. I kinda just want to focus on doing the Helicopter Pack this week, and tweak the Geometry and so on LODs of the helicopters. And would it be better to reduce it to a biweekly update schedule? Given the amount I do, it would give players some relief in uploading to servers. I figure that would make sense. I'll figure out how to run a poll in Discord, but any feedback would be appreciated. I'm not planning on bi-weekly scheduling, but want to see what users think.

[+Flanker562]

So anyway, I at least tweaked the Kiowa a bit, fixing the Geometry LOD for it. That'll be that for this week:

- Flanker562 Helicopter Pack
- ADuke Kiowa

[+Flanker562]

Well with some asstance from Apollo on the Arma Discord, I sorta, kinda got the shattering glass working. I think it works, and shards of glass show when you shoot it, but doesn't "break", but I think the glass dissapears at least. So tht's on a limited amount of birds (some of the MH-92s have it) and see what happens with users. I want to have some graphic showing of damaging the windows and the like, but the stuff isn't working with me, yet. Maybe in the future when I get a hold of the unbinarized P3Ds that BIS will release sometime, I can get it working.

[+Flanker562]

Spent a couple of hours trying to get things cleaned up (again anyway) and found some stuff that I just didn't need to do, and ended up just plain removing some entries, after that two hours of model cleanup. Anyway the good thing is that the models that are in the Helicopter Pack are streamlined and more akin to the A3 Sample model. Still debating on the glass feature, as I use the BIS stuff, but given how I did it? Probably missed it somewhere and stuff, but it "works" and need to go through the other models (the MH-92s are done, with the exception of the DAP) sometime in the future, and get them sorted out. Not much else but next week I'll tweak the geometry LODs of the other helicopters I've done too.

[+Flanker562]

It looks like it'll be a busy week with the Flanker562 Helicopter Pack, so I'll just update the UH-1Y and AH-1Z tomorrow with the Geometry/Geometry Phys LOD tweaks, so tomorrow:

- Flanker562 Helicopter Pack
- AH-1Z
- ADuke UH-1Y
- ADuke Kiowa

[+Flanker562]

An issue that has happened I noticed with 2.20 is that the Formation Lights on the equipped helicopters don't work anymore. They work in the daytime, as intended. However, at night you really can't see them. I asked on the Arma Discord and Apollo helped me fix the coding and such, and got them to work. Now they "work" in the night time, when the4 engine is on. However, you can barely see the geometries and lights. It's something with the game, and I need to do a feedback tracker on it sometime, maybe after this post. Anyway, things are streamlined with the models and coding, so when it decides to work, it'll show as intended, hopefully.

[+Flanker562]

For the Flanker562 Weapon Pack, I'm removing the EBR, and moving the two specialty magazines to the Magazine Wells system instead, to cut down on the amount of weapons. The reason I did a custom version was to use the two mags, and now that I can use the Magazine Well system, I don't need that weapon. The textures are still there, so I may keep them and work them into another mod, or just delete the skins, lost to eternity.

[+Flanker562]

Fixed the Formation Lights. I wasn't using a BIS RVMAT, and now the Formation Lights on the helos work as intended, so I can scratch that one off. Also I found an error with the AH-96, I didn't add a correct config entry, so it'll give an error (which isn't game breaking) that will not show up next Sunday. Already:

- Flanker562 Helicopter Pack
- Flanker562 Weapon Pack

All for next Sunday

[+Flanker562]

I've been spending some time today (and since it's a holiday), tomorrow with the glass setup. It's just tedious, and learning that just to roll with the helicopter and set it up as is because it's not uniform on the models. Overall it'll take some time, so updates will be what they are with the glass issue. I predict a couple to three weeks or so to get all of them done. Also on the horizon is another ammunition mod, this time some 7.62mm stuff, that works out pretty good with the rounds, and have used them in the past with great success on pub servers, just whomping CSAT, or the rare AAF. But I'll upload that during the week. Again it's a config only mod, using the Mazazine Wells system to just load into your Mk18 ABR to have something better to mess with than the standard BIS stuff.

[+Flanker562]

Well I have to admit a lot of issues are being squashed with models. Going over them this time is yielding some issues. So, on Sunday, those who use my helicopters in the Helicopter Pack can get some good use out of the revamped and fixed helicopters. I've gone over the MH-60s (at least the SOAR ones) and need to do the three Navy ones, and I'll be done with that folder. I have to look at the other helicopters too, as they need to be updated and tweaked with the glass system, which of course said will take time to fully go over. But the fact that there are issues shows that a one-person show isn't always the best either.

[+Flanker562]

Well I seem to have misjudged the time it'll take to redo the helicopters. As mentioned I'm fixing A lot of stuff that was not finished or set properly. So when you game it after this Sunday some things will be different for players given changes to the View Geometry. Seems a lot of hidden doors and stuff, so taking fire will be more interesting now for the helicopters. But I should be able to get the fixes out Sunday, as when you use the same general model, it makes copying and pasting easier, and speeds things up, so by the end of the week I should be done with the helicopters, most of them anyway, and we'll go from there.

[+Flanker562]

Right now all I have to do with the glass system is the AH-96 and Ka-145. Right now I'm not planning on adding much, given that a lot had to be fixed in this build. I will backup the files but more or less they're safe. I think it was good I pushed for the glass rework, since it showed that a lot of helicopters were just not complete, and I always in the military in my job did terrain sketches, and they were never complete, so that's my mentality with these modss, well most of them anyway, so there's that.

[+Flanker562]

Okay I'm pretty much done to my satisfaction with the glass damage system. I had to really work on the Ka-145 and AH-96, had some teething issues with the models and config, but that's pretty much done. I don't think I have to look over the model.cfg since that was setup, so things are going to look good for Sunday. I need to do some of the other helis, but a check of the Kiowa, and maybe need to stay off of that one, though I'd like to do some of the other helos, like the AH-1Z shouldn't be too much of an issue, but I can do that later.