Help Yourself

[+Jug 99]

Thanks to all of the modders out there, there is bunches of stuff for almost all aircraft. Comes a time, though, when you have decided to make a nation specific aircraft fighting in a custom campaign over add on terrain, where you find yourself hunting for that neat little [canopy] or [landinglight] add on to a stock or add on aircraft and you just can't find the doggone thing anywhere. The way I handle it may help you if you are starting out in this series and want to get into the whole nine yards of what you can do in TK's magic worlds. I have an external hard drive that does nothing but keep all my Wo* information. I have a file naming standard that aids the computers ability to sort and assist me in finding the files I need. I start with a date (YYYYMMDD - file construction date, not download date) underscore (_) what the file is all about (Effects, Terrain, USAF, USSR, Sounds) underscore(_) and then enough details about what is in the file so that I don't have to open it to find out what is in it. An important part of the file details is things like author/team that developed the add on. Many times follow on add-ons refer to a specific product by a specific author/team (e.g. Mirage Factory) and when it is right there in the file title, it makes it easy to find. In any given file folder, the files are sorted by date and you can tell which cockpit mod is the most current by going to the bottom of the list. I have an aircraft folder that is split into individual folders for each aircraft in the game subdivided into folders for skins and hangar/loading screens. I also include a [aircraft]_Addon text file that is the neat little stuff that I pick up on the various aircraft via the forum, experimentation or otherwise consolidated into a text file. Contents of my F-100D Super Sabre Addons demonstrates what I mean:

 

F-100D Addons:

 

Add the following:

 

[fuselage]

SystemName[009]=Canopy

SystemName[010]=ECM

SystemName[011]=DecoyDispenser

SystemName[012]=DorsalPositionLight

SystemName[013]=VentralPositionLight

 

[nose]

SystemName[007]=LandingLight

 

[LeftWing]

SystemName[009]=LeftLandingLight

 

[RightWing

SystemName[009]=RightLandingLight

 

 

Renumber the SystemName items sequentially.

 

 

Add just above the crew section:

 

[Canopy]

SystemType=HIGHLIFT_DEVICE

CLiftdc=0.00

DeltaStallAlpha=0.00

AreaRatio=0.00

DeploymentMethod=AUTOMATIC_SPEED

Setting[1].Angle=30.0

Setting[1].DeployValue=15.0

Setting[1].RetractValue=10.0

MaxDeflection=30.0

MinDeflection=0.0

ControlRate=0.3

AnimationID=2

 

Add at the end of the weapons section:

 

[ECM]

SystemType=ECM_JAMMER

JammerType=DECEPTIVE_JAMMER

JammerStrength=20.0

MinExtentPosition= -0.23, 1.60, 0.74

MaxExtentPosition= 0.23, 2.99, 1.15

 

[DecoyDispenser]

SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER

EjectPosition=0.0,0.0,-1.0

EjectVelocity=0.0,0.0,-1.0

NumFlare=40

NumChaff=40

MinExtentPosition= -0.23, 1.60, 0.74

MaxExtentPosition= 0.23, 2.99, 1.15

 

 

Replace the entire lights section with the following:

 

// Lights ---------------------------------------------------------

//Position=[Left+/Right- of centerline], [Fwd+/Aft- of center], [Above+/Below- of center]

 

[LeftPositionLight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Position=-6.654,-4.246,-0.534

LightSrcOffset=-0.0,0.00,0.00

Color=0.88,0.25,0.25

Brightness=0.03

LightSrcRange=0.5

CanFlash=FALSE

 

[RightPositionLight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Position=6.654,-4.246,-0.534

LightSrcOffset=0.00,0.00,0.00

Color=0.25,0.88,0.25

Brightness=0.03

LightSrcRange=0.5

CanFlash=FALSE

 

[TailLight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Position=0.0,-7.656,2.4262

LightSrcOffset=0.00,0.00,0.00

Color=0.88,0.88,0.88

Brightness=0.02

LightSrcRange=0.5

CanFlash=FALSE

 

[VentralPositionLight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Position=0.001,2.114,-1.058

LightSrcOffset=-0.0,0.00,-0.01

Color=1.0,0.0,0.0

Brightness=0.03

LightSrcRange=0.5

CanFlash=TRUE

FlashTime=0.90

 

[DorsalPositionLight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Position=0.0,2.291,0.997

LightSrcOffset=0.00,0.00,0.01

Color=1.0,0.0,0.0

Brightness=0.03

LightSrcRange=0.5

CanFlash=TRUE

FlashTime=1.00

 

[landinglight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Color=0.88,0.88,0.88

Brightness=0.06

Position=0.0000,4.0500,-1.3025

LightSrcOffset=2.6046,49.0560,3.50

LightSrcRange=150

LightRange=45.0

CanFlash=FALSE

LightNodeName=LandingLight

IsLandingLight=TRUE

 

[Leftlandinglight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Color=0.88,0.88,0.88

Brightness=0.06

Position=-1.825,-1.0000,-1.275

LightSrcOffset=2.6046,49.0560,3.50

LightSrcRange=150

LightRange=60.0

CanFlash=FALSE

LightNodeName=LandingLight

IsLandingLight=TRUE

 

[Rightlandinglight]

SystemType=LIGHT

Color=0.88,0.88,0.88

Brightness=0.06

Position=1.825,-1.0000,-1.275

LightSrcOffset=2.6046,49.0560,3.50

LightSrcRange=150

LightRange=60.0

CanFlash=FALSE

LightNodeName=LandingLight

IsLandingLight=TRUE

 

To Personalize the Super Sabre copy the Jug.tga file to the appropriate skin folder

 

Then add the following to the decal.ini file in that skin folder

 

[Decalxxx] <-- ensure the numbers are sequential

MeshName=fuselage_front

DecalLevel=0

DecalFacing=LEFT

FilenameFormat=F-100D\USAF SEA Camo\Jug <-- ensure the path maps correctly

Position=5,0.465

Rotation=7

Scale=0.7

DecalMaxLOD=3

 

It is kinda like a self made Readme file for my Wo* aircraft incorporating all of the neat things that I or other folks have come up with than enhance the sim experience. I find it very useful for reconstructing a specific favorite aircraft for a custom campaign over a custom terrain. Anything new or neat that comes out, I just cut and paste to my living text file and I know where to find it all when I need it. I currently have some 60Gigs of stuff that is mostly all about Wo* Sims to indicate what 4 years of faithful participation on this site and others can give. My suggestion is to organize early or that neat tweak will never be found again. Others may have some organizational techniques that could help a new guy get started and not be overwhelmed by all this nifty stuff.

Edited August 20, 2008 by Jug