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Posted

Just wondering if anyone knew the trick to this, or even if there is a way to change this.

 

I looked in Caquot.ini & Caquot_data.ini, also, Groundobjects.ini & wwiVerdun(&_targets) but I saw no position coordinates.

I'm thinking it can only be changed with 3D modelling, but I could be wrong....I've been wrong before.

 

In-game I've encountered them at about 1600ft which is more than acceptable however,

 

I realize that the real-life 'working altitude' for WW1 balloons (Caquot/Drachen) was between 1000-4000ft and, to my surprise, were even able to reach heights of 6000ft. The observers could see as far as 40 miles.

 

Anyways, thanks for any input here.

 

cheers, Recon3

Posted

I wondered about this too when I did a balloon busting mission. I couldnt find a way either. Will be interested to see what comes up here.

Posted

Well, there is a MaxAlt= entry in the *balloon*_data.ini but that would seem to affect all the balloons of that particular type and only the max alt. Since they are Ground Objects, I'd guess that a terrain editor may be required. I've left a request for help in the SF Forum. Maybe someone there can shed some light.

Posted

I'm no terrain/ground object guru, but I'll try to help.

Is it a ground object or is it a target attached to the terrain? (I don't own FE)

It might be both, and if FE's light SFP1, go into the terrain_types.ini and see if there's an entry for that ballon. It might say:

usesgroundobject=true

Are the ballon busting missions the same as armed recon in SFP1?

If it's a ground object, I'm afraid you might be out've luck because then if there aren't changes to the FE engine, it would be in the lod. If that's the case, you can try fiddling around with a hex editor.

 

Hichinbroke has built a ballon, maybe he can shed some light on this...

Good luck!

Posted
...I've left a request for help in the SF Forum. Maybe someone there can shed some light.

 

 

Any word yet, Tailspin?

Posted
...Is it a ground object or is it a target attached to the terrain? (I don't own FE)

It might be both, and if FE's light SFP1, go into the terrain_types.ini and see if there's an entry for that ballon. It might say:

usesgroundobject=true

Are the ballon busting missions the same as armed recon in SFP1?

If it's a ground object, I'm afraid you might be out've luck because then if there aren't changes to the FE engine, it would be in the lod. If that's the case, you can try fiddling around with a hex editor....

 

Not sure if it's a ground object.

Not sure what you mean by hex editor.

 

Thanks for your help, you guys!

 

 

cheers,

Recon3

Posted
Not sure if it's a ground object.

Is the ballon folder in the ground object folder? If there's no .ini, you might need to extract it fom the .cat using the .cat extractor, available here.

 

Not sure what you mean by hex editor.

A hex editor lets you edit a .lod, the only way to do it without actually having the original max file. It is not very straightforward, it actually is shortened from hexadecimal editor, I normally use it to find mesh names or the texture names that they use, but with some experimenting, editing of the model might be possible, there's probably someone in this forum that knows if/how you can do it. I use hexedit (look for it on Google).

 

Good Luck!

Posted

Yes, found the balloons in the GroundObjects folder...extracted it.

 

D/L'd Hexedit.....will have a look at the LOD.

 

Thanks for you help jtin!

 

 

cheers,

Recon3

  • 1 year later...
Posted
Yes, found the balloons in the GroundObjects folder...extracted it.

 

D/L'd Hexedit.....will have a look at the LOD.

 

Thanks for you help jtin!

 

 

cheers,

Recon3

 

Hi Recon3

 

What result did you have? I am trying to create a "Balloon Apron" and those were rigged as high as 10,000 feet (3000 meters).

 

Since you already started this quest I am curious to know what you found.

 

Thanks,

 

sinbad

Posted (edited)

It's been a while since I've played, and even longer since I've looked into this issue, but I seem to recall the balloons are a terrain object (could be wrong here)...not an object on their own, ie; like an aircraft or vehicle (that which can be simply modified in the Object.ini file). Therefore, the information needed to change the altitude of the stock balloons was beyond my knowledge..... I wish I could help you.

 

Good luck sinbad.

 

 

edited R

Edited by Recon3
Posted

Thanks Recon3.

 

I'll try another way. It appears the file structure may have changed since you worked on this.

 

sinbad

Posted

Are you trying to change the balloon altitude in FE?

 

This is from my WOI ASAT package which includes a 'satellite'. The 'satellite' is simply a balloon that has been placed REALLY high.

 

Note the area in bold:

 

[MissionData]

NationName=SOVIET

ServiceStartDate=1960

ServiceEndDate=2020

GroundObjectRole=BALLOON

Availability=COMMON

Exported=TRUE

ExportStartDate=1960

ExportAvailability=COMMON

 

[GroundObjectData]

DamagedModel=

DestroyedModel=

DestroyedEffect=VehicleFireEffect

EmptyMass=30.00

Component[001]=Body

 

[sound]

EngineSoundName=

MovementSoundName=

 

[DetectSystem]

TargetType=AIR

DataLink=TRUE

OpticalSight=TRUE

NightSight=TRUE

VisualRange=100000.0

ViewportPosition=0.0,0.0,-6.00

MaxVisibleDistance=100000.0

RadarCrossSection=50

 

[WeaponSystem]

 

[MovementSystem]

MaxTurnRate=3.00

MinAltitude=100000

MaxAltitude=100010

 

[body]

StructuralFactor=0.1

//MinExtentPosition=-2.88,-11.44,-7.50

//MaxExtentPosition= 2.88, 10.54, 5.11

MinExtentPosition=-500,-500,-10

MaxExtentPosition= 500, 500, 10

 

Hope this helps.

 

FastCargo

Posted

Hi FastCargo

 

Still testig but, yes your data does help.

 

I had overlooked the MinAltitude setting.

 

This is what I am using now-

 

[MissionData]

NationName=RFC

ServiceStartDate=07/1916

ServiceEndDate=11/11/1918

GroundObjectRole=BARRAGEBALLOON

Availability=COMMON

Exported=TRUE

ExportStartDate=1916

ExportAvailability=COMMON

 

[GroundObjectData]

DamagedModel=

DestroyedModel=

DestroyedEffect=BalloonFireEffect

EmptyMass=11000.00

Component[001]=Body

//Component[002]=Basket

 

[sound]

EngineSoundName=

MovementSoundName=

 

[DetectSystem]

TargetType=AIR

DataLink=FALSE

OpticalSight=TRUE

NightSight=FALSE

VisualRange=12000.0

ViewportPosition=0.0,0.0,-13.50

MaxVisibleDistance=12000.0

RadarCrossSection=50

 

[WeaponSystem]

 

[MovementSystem]

MaxTurnRate=1.00

MinAltitude=3000.0

MaxAltitude=3010.0

 

[body]

StructuralFactor=0.1

MinExtentPosition=-6.60,-11.20, 5.35

MaxExtentPosition= 6.60, 17.20,-7.50

 

//[basket]

//StructuralFactor=0.5

//MinExtentPosition=-0.45,-1.04,-15.30

//MaxExtentPosition= 0.45, 1.04,-13.40

 

 

But the placement on the terrain is a bit tricky. After that, I'll try to fugure out how to the "Apron Strings"

 

Thanks for helping out. sinbad

post-6006-1213888903_thumb.jpg

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