making a helicopter ground object

[Guest zerocinco]

I spent a day creating a whole new target area in Route Pack 1 and ready to post. (included also is a railway station and train lined up with the Thai Nguyen bridge for another mission.) But, I need a helicopter. Not a flying helicopter. I need a ground object helicopter. I'd like something that looks commie but can't bite back. Maybe the H-5? (Maybe a few parked MiG's to shoot, too, over at Ben Loi.)

 

I have .LOD files from several. I can write all the .INI entries. But using the .BMP's I can scrape up, I can place them, target them (either as an object in WOVQMD or as a target in the appropriate Terrain files), I can fly to them. I just can't SEE them.

 

Help! It's May 1, 1970. Today, Nixon is sending the US Army into Cambodia. Students will riot all over the world. In the mean time, while nobody is looking, the 355th, 388th and 366th TFW's are going to break the Bombing Halt...in a Big Way at Bat Lake. The longer you screw around at the target, the worse the AAA gets. You are the first flight in (lucky) but you have to wait until everyone checks out (unlucky).

 

I just need a helicopter sitting on the pad at the petroleum storage facility (the more oil, the more smoke.)

[+Jimbib 747]

Isn't there a helicopter as a ground object in JSF_Aggie's DBS 72 campaign? Could be worth asking him about it.

[Guest capun]

You just cannot take a plane (or helo) that is normally flown and plop it as a ground object.

 

Why?

 

- Poly count. The ground object code has a poly count limitation. You could get around by using the lower poly LOD if available but..

 

- Plane/helo models are set at frame zero to be in their clean flying condition. That means wheels up, flaps up, cockpit closed, etc. For ground objects you need to set them up in the ground condition: Wheels down, plane above the ground with the tires touching the ground, maybe tilted for tail draggers

 

- Textures are too high res for the ground object code. This is easily fix using a paint program and reducing the pixels to 128x128 or 64x64

 

I would have to see you helo ini files and the groundobject ini files to see if they are done correctly

 

Pasko has a Mi-8 in his todo list, it could fit what you need. You just have to convince him to speed it up.

[Guest zerocinco]

Thanks for the explanation. That seemed to be the problem. I was using the close up LOD. Maybe I will try the most distant LOD after diddling with it some.

 

No need rushing Pasko along. I have some graphics to do today at work. As long as the programs are open anyway...

 

Thanks, as usual...