My Projects (EricJ)

[FastCargo 412]

Working on this bird, and this thread has sort of been a multi faceted experience.

 

Some notes:

 

1) Detailing the process as was done in this thread (seeing a bit behind the curtain) is a double edged sword. On the one hand, everyone gets to see the process involved, and just how much effort goes into making an aircraft mod (more about that in a bit). You can get a good idea of what's involved, how far along is the progress, and what kind of unexpected things crop up. It also allows the modders to be able to get info out in a forum manner, verses constant PMs back and forth. However, it sort of removes some of the surprises that are available for those waiting to download (no 'it's Christmas!' feeling) and can be a distraction for modders if everyone and their brother starts trying to have a say in the model (too many cooks). And of course, time is taken away from modeling when we have to post here. Each project is a bit different, and some may lend themselves well to this format, while others may not.

 

2) This project proceeded fairly rapidly, but it had several advantages, mainly certain things already existed, including a cockpit, effects, sounds, pilot and seat models, and an appropriate FM. And of course, the original aircraft model. The cockpit in particular can be a HUGE time and effort sink. My T-38/AT-38B cockpit took so much out of me (it's still not textured) that I determined I will never build another one. Not having that to deal with was a huge motivator. Aircraft models are much easier to deal with overall. Another project that I'm working on literally only took me 5 days from clean sheet to a fully mapped and in game aircraft model. Premade aircraft models are also a love/hate thing. On the one hand, all the curves, shapes, etc are usually good. But, the downside is rarely the model you start with is fully ready to be in game. Things like pivot points, mapping (which is VERY tedious), extruding cockpits, and all the detail bits can frustrating if they need to be done on the fly. I've found it's actually MUCH easier to map the model, then separate and animate parts. Supposedly, this has gotten easier with newer versions of MAX. Anyway, having an aircraft model means you also have to deal with how the person who made it did things...which may not be the way you do things...which can be a handful.

 

3) I used this project as a test bed for all sorts of modeling tricks and enhancements, which lengthened the development time. Sometimes, the overwhelming perfectionist (some would say anal) drive combined with the 'urge to fiddle' can REALLY test the limits of what exactly should be done with a project. However, the flip side is that all these techniques for the various things tried and incorperated or rejected will improve the next project....and as you get better, you get faster at it. Part of what caused my other project currently being worked to go so quickly from clean sheet to flyable mapped model was being able to 'borrow' parts and techniques from other projects.

 

4) Finally, overall, this has been a whole lot of fun and very informative. I've learn lot about the Super Hornet and modeling, which is never a bad thing.

 

We think you guys are really going to like this one...

 

FC

[FastCargo 412]

As far as I know, all versions of the Super Hornet will be released as a single download.

 

A note on belly landings:

 

This occured to me during one of my tests. I realized back in the Korean Air War mod days that belly landings weren't modeled well when I tried landing a damaged F-80. I touched it down as light as possible, slow, flat with all my surfaces hanging out...should have been a textbook 'scrape and run'. Instead I crashed...foul!

 

Belly landings have been surprisingly uneventful for certain aircraft. There's video out there of a T-38, F-16, F-18 all doing belly landings and the pilots walking (running) away with minor injuries. It annoys me that you can't do that with certain aircraft. So I set out to fix that with the Super Hornet.

 

You can belly land with it...but it takes a light, smooth touchdown below a certain speed. Also, you need to keep it straight once you touchdown. And finally, don't try this on a carrier...you will probably be a statistic. It's not completely realistic (you don't scrape or catch fire, and not all the parts that should fall off do fall off), but it will suffice for those times you take damage and need to massage it back to a friendly runway.

 

FC

[+EricJ 3,935]

And yes, it will be a whole package (E,F,G). On the whole you're likely to see the E and F for cycled flights more than the G, which is set on a different "period" stock. Other things to note with this, the ATFLIR is it's own seperate model, so if you like it, you can throw it on the A model, and the D model that MF has shown in it's own thread. Initially the ALQ-99s were just for the Growler only, but given the really bad quality models (I think) from the Bunyap pack it's a welcome surprise. More to the point the RAZBAM ones are really good, however, they're fixed to the model, and as such, non-usable. Later on today I'm going to remove the Bunyap ones and leave FC's. Haven't tried belly landings quite yet... but for now... as FC said, barring my own personal views, it's pretty nice to fly overall, and hopefully shouldn't disappoint.

 

On another note, the VFA-102 CAG is pretty much done, just waiting on SidDogg to send the pics for the current scheme.....

 

But the only issue I've seen is just a carrier issue, which hopefully can be sorted out and should be (as quoted from FC), done done!

[+EricJ 3,935]

Finished the CAG skin... just needing SidDogg...

 

And going to incorporate the RWR Symbology from fractalnoise into it. I've also modded some HUD stuff after flying the F-16C Blk 30, using a box for laser targets, while air to air targets (to avoid confusion) will still have the box, with a diamond in the middle. On a note it reminds me back in the day with EF2000, that sim was just too way ahead of it's time...

[+starfighter2 112]

 

Can I suggest this RWR?

[+SidDogg 130]

... ALL RIGHT!!!

 

CHECK IT OUT.

 

I'm just going to lay it out in description form, since I couldn't find time to get over to the squadron...

I'm putting the lettering JUST AS IT APPEARS ON THE AIRPLANE. Since the forum engine can't center

everything here, just be sure that the title is centered UNDERNEATH the name.

 

 

Starboard Fuselage (Just Below the Canopy, Forward of each warning sign):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

PILOT==> CAPT ROSS "MONKEY" MYERS

DCAG

 

WSO==> CDR MONTY "ASH" ASHLIMAN

CO

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Port Fuselage (Just Below the Canopy, Forward of each warning sign):

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

PILOT==> CAPT MICHAEL "MAGWAI" WHITE

CAG

 

WSO==> CDR DAVID "CHICKEN" LITTLE

XO

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Starboard Aft Gear Door (Centered, just above the Vent):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"PC" SPOT==> PS1 (AW/SW) DAVIS

SOY

 

=================================================

 

...That's basically it.

 

This is how the Battle "E" should go, THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE:

 

 

 

...It's just like that, except, of course, it is white instead.

 

I hope I have been of service.

 

Good Luck!!!

Edited March 2, 2009 by SidDogg

[+EricJ 3,935]

I would say maybe not for the text. JAT81500 has done a superb job with the decals and if the decals are able to be placed there, I would highly suggest JAT finding out. Reason being there are names on the texture itself, but not enough clarity in which it allows. Methinks it's doable, but if not I'm sure JAT81500 can do something, as I'm not that good with names as far as textures. But as a decal, most worth checking out. And thanks! I know I can get the Battle E on there no problemo

 

I'll throw the texture in the bird tonight starfighter2, and it looks good enough there, hopefully there

[+X RAY 83]

I think that debut day will be closer!

[+EricJ 3,935]

Looking good starfighter2, and yeah, I'm going to use it

 

Images for the HUD symbology, A2A and A2G.

 

We're just going through final checks so a few days at the most.

[+EricJ 3,935]

SidDogg, this is pretty much what I can do within the limits.

[+SidDogg 130]

Hey Eric, that's pretty good!

 

...All you have to do is make the name decals black, and scale them up, just a TAD...

 

...I meant to say before, CDR Ashliman's name goes in the back, because he's an NFO...

 

and on the Plane Captain Spot, SOY stands for Sailor of The Year, the guy's not really a plane captain... [yeah, i know ]

 

...Then You'll NAIL IT!

 

...I apologize if I sound too critical...

 

...I suppose it's release after that?

Edited March 3, 2009 by SidDogg

[zmatt 2]

Hey the details are what separates a good mod from an epic mod.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Hey Eric, that's pretty good!

 

...All you have to do is make the name decals black, and scale them up, just a TAD...

 

...I meant to say before, CDR Ashliman's name goes in the back, because he's an NFO...

 

and on the Plane Captain Spot, SOY stands for Sailor of The Year, the guy's not really a plane captain... [yeah, i know ]

 

...Then You'll NAIL IT!

 

...I apologize if I sound too critical...

 

...I suppose it's release after that?

 

 

Ahh got confused..... got it. I guess so... I've submitted the README but no word, and no other complaints/suggestions, as we've found little else to mess with (or additions/removals) so in a couple days I'll standby, and then get it uploaded.

[+EricJ 3,935]

It's probably too big SidDogg, but at least you can read it

 

And not an epic mod by the least, just well-done IMHO zmatt..

[Silverbolt 104]

You're right, it's not an Epic mod, it's an Eelpic mod!

[+EricJ 3,935]

Just an update, 'm gonna have to break it down into a few parts, it's not going well uploading (what I think) larger than 20MB files, and with 7z, 30MB in size, so my tomorrow morning I'll try it again. But as said no more updates/recommendations will upload soonest.

[+SidDogg 130]

LOOKIN GOOD MAN!!!

[Caesar 305]

Congratulations on the release! Even as a Tomcat guy, I can say I'm glad these panned out, and I have downloaded all 3; will have to try them when I get time later tonight.

 

Bravo Zulu, gentlemen!

[FastCargo 412]

As expected, a few bugs made it through the process.

 

We (the team) will list them here along with solutions. If you are an end user, DO NOT POST YOUR BUGS HERE! Post them in the specific aircraft release thread.

 

Resolved issues (either fixed or a limitation of the ThirdWire engine):

 

Bug: Ground mapping radar does not appear to work.

Solution: In FA-18E_avionics.ini change: [RadarDisplayGround_Map] to [RadarDisplayGM] (Thanks to ArturR for the solution).

 

Bug: Wingtip missiles don't align properly when wings are folded.

Solution: None. A bug that appears if the missiles are anything other than zero degrees pitch on a moving pylon. Attempted with rotating pylon modifier with no success. Also, it's mentioned in the readme.

 

 

Unresolved issues (no solution found or worked on yet):

 

Bug: HUD AOB indicator is misaligned as in the AC-130U - it's way off to the left and only visible when banked over to the right.

Troubleshooting: Pending.

 

Bug: I've found a problem on ground,not much in the E but F and G are suffering cause their landing gears are below ground level.

Troubleshooting: Causes include different shock handling between Oct 08 patch and eariler patches, setting on the gear on a carrier in the launch position will not work right if the aircraft is setup to belly land (which is mentioned in the readme). Still troubleshooting...inconsistent across users. For now, what definitely works is commenting out the SystemName=****Skid entries in the data.ini...but you lose belly land ability.

 

FC

[sunliner 0]

I just downloaded the Echo model and that thing is beautiful! Awesome work...I have no modding talent at all so I'm very impressed and thank you for sharing this.

 

I do have one thing I wanted to mention. I noticed the Echo sits kind of high on the main landing gear, like they're not compressed enough. I should note that the only way I've flown it is with a light air/air load out so maybe with more weight on it, it sits more normal.

Not a big deal, just curious.

 

Thanks again for all the work and for sharing it with the rest of us!

--Mike

[+EricJ 3,935]

I just downloaded the Echo model and that thing is beautiful! Awesome work...I have no modding talent at all so I'm very impressed and thank you for sharing this.

 

I do have one thing I wanted to mention. I noticed the Echo sits kind of high on the main landing gear, like they're not compressed enough. I should note that the only way I've flown it is with a light air/air load out so maybe with more weight on it, it sits more normal.

Not a big deal, just curious.

 

Thanks again for all the work and for sharing it with the rest of us!

--Mike

 

I'll have to see on that, I notice too yes, it sits higher (you should have seen it at the beginning) than normal. I'll muck with it and see what I can get.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Figured since I didn't come through the Skyhawk, this should make up for it:

[+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,545]

Blueangels?! Looks cool!

[Viper6 3]

I'd take a Hornet over a Skyhawk any day!

[+EricJ 3,935]

Well this was a "break" from a skin I'm doing for Vampyre, an "easy" one, turning out to be real annoying around the cockpit area, but coming along though: