Mirage 5F placeholder WiP

[Gunrunner]

Since with WoI we have a nearly perfect Mirage 5F airframe (and since I ported my WoE to WoI), I thought it would be nice to make a placeholder until the TMF releases his own version.

 

What do we need ?

 

1) An airframe (a LOD)

In this case, the Lybian Mirage 5D as it already has the right specular/gloss values all over (which isn't the case of the Nesher).

 

2) A cockpit

In absence of something better and references on hand, the nesher cockpit is the best stand-in we have (the Mirage 5BA having substantially different equipment and avionics, and the Nesher and 5F being basically identically out of factory).

 

3) A flight model

The Nesher will do nicely.

 

4) Avionics

Same as above, the Nesher is as good as if TW made a 5F themselves.

 

5) Skins and decals

We have a template, albeit of little help, and we can use some existing decals at first to speed up things as the TMF released aircrafts from the same units and time scale already.

 

6) Weapons

By using the TMF weapons pack we inherit a lot of weapons used by the 5F, or the means to create them, we'll see that later.

 

so, let's begin...

 

1) The airframe

 

- Create a Objects/Aircraft/Mirage5F directory

 

- Copy or extract from objectdata.cat the following files and directories :

Nesher.ini

Nesher_DATA.ini

Nesher_LOADOUT.ini

IDFCamo1/

and rename then by replacing Nesher by Mirage5F, except in the IDFCamo1 (which you can rename as ADACamoEC3-3 as we'll be working on this squadron first) directory where you must replace the Nesher_x.bmp names by Mirage5D_x.bmp (remember, we'll be using the Mirage 5D LOD and don't want to edit it).

 

- Open Mirage5F.ini and replace the existing content by :

[AircraftData]
AircraftFullName=Mirage 5F
AircraftShortName=Mirage 5F
AircraftDataFile=Mirage5F_data.ini
CockpitDataFile=Nesher_cockpit.ini
HangarScreen=Nesher_hangar.bmp
LoadingScreen=Nesher_Loading.bmp
LoadoutImage=Nesher_loadout.bmp
LoadoutFile=Mirage5F_Loadout.ini
AvionicsDLL=Avionics60.dll
AvionicsDataFilename=Nesher_avionics.ini

[LOD001]
Filename=Mirage5D.LOD
Distance=100

[LOD002]
Filename=Mirage5D_lod2.LOD
Distance=250

[LOD003]
Filename=Mirage5D_lod3.LOD
Distance=500

[LOD004]
Filename=Mirage5D_lod4.LOD
Distance=1000

[LOD005]
Filename=Mirage5D_lod5.LOD
Distance=10000

[DamageTexture]
DamagedPostFix=_holes.tga

[Shadow]
CastShadow=TRUE
ShadowCastDist=10000
MaxVisibleDistance=800

[TextureSet001]
Directory=ADACamoEC3-3
Name=ADA EC 3/3 Ardennes
Nation=FRANCE
Specular=0.400000
Glossiness=0.400000
Reflection=0.000000
Squadron=ADAEC3-3

Take note that we changed the LOD called by the file, as seen above.

 

- Open the TextureSet.ini file within ADACamoEC3-3 and change its content by :

[TextureSet]
Name=ADA EC 3/3 Ardennes
Nation=FRANCE
Squadron=ADAEC3-3
Specular=0.400000
Glossiness=0.400000
Reflection=0.000000

- Open the Mirage5D_DATA.INI file and change the whole MissionData code block by the following values :

[MissionData]
NationName=FRANCE
ServiceStartYear=1972
ServiceEndYear=1994
AircraftRole=FIGHTER
AircraftCapability=DAY_ONLY
Availability=RARE
Exported=FALSE
PrimaryRoles=STRIKE,CAS,SWEEP,ARMED_RECON,SEAD
SecondaryRoles=ANTI_SHIP,RECON
NormalMissionRadius=436
MaxMissionRadius=872
Ceiling=16093.4
MinBaseSize=MEDIUM

 

There, you have a Mirage 5F ready to fly with the right dates, name and roles...

 

Yet... we are still missing something for our airframe, Mirage 5F, once embargoed, were quickly introduced into French service but quickly added VOR navigation antennas on the vertical tail.

76.IAP-Blackbird is kind enough to be interested by this project, so I'll let him take care of the explanation ;).

 

Now we skip all the parts we don't have to touch, and end up to skinning and decals...

 

5) Skins and decals

Ideally we will end up making our own skin and decals, but as an interim solution, to quickly jump into the cockpit, we have another solution.

 

In the end we strike to have 4 skins, covering all the units operating the Mirage 5F in Europe, namely :

- EC 3/13 Auvergne Silver (From 1972 to 1973?)

- EC 3/13 Auvergne Camo (From 1973? to 1994)

- EC 3/3 Ardennes Camo (From 1972 to 1977)

- EC 2/13 Alpes Camo (From 1977 to 1994)

 

One of the units using the Mirage 5F was the EC 3/3 Ardennes, a unit specialised in SEAD, fortunately the TMF released the Mirage IIIE with skins and decals for the EC 3/3, so all you have to do to get placeholder decals is to get the excellent Mirage IIIE (here or here).

 

So, until we get a template, what can we do ?

We can recolor existing skins, here's a quick and dirty way :

a) Open a BMP in Photoshop, let's say Mirage5F_1.bmp

b) In the menu, search for Image > Adjustments > Replace Color...

c) Select the color to replace, here we'll start with the sand color (click on any sand colored part that's not a rivet, panel line or dirt stain).

d) Change the fuzziness to 100, as we want to change colors without changing too much of them and ending with strange colors in other places.

e) Select a result color close to what you want it to be, here a grey/blue (my choice was 7a7c91).

d) Click OK.

Repeat, using the Green as a color to replace and 5C5E53 (a darker green) as a target, you'll notice that the earth color change too, and that is why this time, while repeating the process for the Earth color, you'll set Fuzziness to 50, so we don't end up modifying too many colors (the target is, to be quick, 5C5E53).

 

You'll end up with something that could pass for a Mirage 5F camouflage for the time being, you then can add details, modify areas, such as the nose, to fit the real thing, but since it would take longer to explain the process than to do it, we'll see that later on and I'll let you play with Photoshop by yourself...

In the meantime, you can download my interim skin... ADACamoEC3_3.zip

Edited May 15, 2008 by Gunrunner

[+76.IAP-Blackbird]

I will help you with stuff, but you can`t use the Mirage LOD for rerelease. We have to make a mod with a long nice readme! How to extract it and stuff like this.

[Gunrunner]

The plan is to release only parts and a how-to, so people can do it themselves, a little DIY project of sorts, so we don't have to redistribute anything but our own work.

[+76.IAP-Blackbird]

Ok agree with this.. lets start this weekend or next week have to finish some stuff.

[Gunrunner]

Take all the time you need, I'll go forward with my own parts too.

[Gunrunner]

6) Weapons

 

We'll also need some very specific weapons that we lack in both TMF WP and the Bunyap's WP.

Forget about the RPK, just when I tested it I found one already done -_-

 

What we'll also need, especially for our first squadron, is the AS-37 AR, an anti-radar missile, fortunately that one is easy too as we already have his evolution, the AS-37 ARMAT, using (almost) exactly the same airframe, so our job will only be to duplicate the ARMAT and change it into its predecessor.

 

Of course, these new weapons, and those already existing would be nothing if we don't edit the Pylons and Loadouts of our Mirage 5F to take advantage of these weapons and ignore those she never used.

Edited May 15, 2008 by Gunrunner

[PGC]

One of the possible results... (TMF inside, but not the next one...)

 

[+76.IAP-Blackbird]

@ Gunrunner, I will start the coming monday on your stuff. ;-)

[+76.IAP-Blackbird]

Hey Gunrunner sorry for this delay, I had some stuff to do.. like babysitting.... mh very time consuming..

 

I will have some free time the next days... is all you need this antenna on the vertail?! or more?! Say what you need ?!

[+lindr2]

Good idea!

And how about Mirage 5А, Mirage 50 and Mirage III-5 ?

[+torno]

this it only works on woi? in sfp1, woe the airplane does not have warping control somebody can have the solution please.

[FastCargo]

Mirage III-5 ?

 

You mean a Mirage IIIS?

 

 

FastCargo

[+lindr2]

No, i interesting about Pakistanian Mirage ROSE Program, in some old sources it has Mirage III-5 name

Edited June 14, 2008 by lindr2