thought about drop tanks

[+Soulfreak 6,351]

After installing the latest Mirage Factory Rhino, i thought about all these F-4 drop tanks

that are around.

I think it would be nice to have all these different tanks (USA, J, FRG, UK, S, IAF, IRIAF, etc...)

one one model, so that you can use every tank on any phantom.

What do you think? And maybe someone like to help me?

[+Spectre_USA 7]

I've modded most of my Western aircraft to use one of 3 tanks.

 

I just got sick of making mixed formations and having only the original choice having them.

 

I am far from a rivet counter, and most are, IMHO, close enough...

[kct 5]

Probably a good idea. I've been trying to make the blue RN tanks, they seem to look a little off though.

[charlielima 328]

Wouldn't it be splendid if we had a utility with a big pool of well modeled Default (got that allready) and "neutral" fuel tanks that adapt to the airplanes paint scheme. Chameleon tanks sort of. Example: A mixed flight of Bare Metal and SEA F-105s. The user choses the adaptive feature and the tanks match the tops and bottoms of the plane carrying them. Another example would be a user flying USN birds in the gull grey scheme of the 60s and 70s. He wants his 300 gallon tanks to be all white, not grey and white so he choses the default mode. This would be huge for planes like the F-86 that wear every imaginable color, warpaint, etc. I don't see this happening tho. The "chameleon" tanks would also show tail codes, squadron markings, national markings, walkways, radome colors, those rescue arrows and even a canopy painted on the bottom.

That would be a bad trip for a rivet counter. Maybe entertaining for others.

:ph34r: CL

Edited January 27, 2009 by charlielima

[Spinners 15,966]

In SF2 I've notice that the USAF F-4's with SEA Camo have the tank camo bitmaps in the aircraft skin folder. Presumably the US Navy tanks are default unless the game engine sees the tank bitmaps in the aircraft skin folder.

[+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,545]

I think the tanks are in SF2 a part of the plane itself, there is no other explenation for this. They are used as pylons are only with Dtank entries ;-) every skin has a unique tank

[FastCargo 412]

SF2 has the ability to 'detach' certain parts of the LOD...so now you can have tanks that are part of the aircraft LOD and have skins to match. You can do this in SF1/WOx/etc...however, the tanks or any other part won't detach. This may work for certain aircraft that couldn't jettision tanks (the F-106?) but obviously, doesn't work for most aircraft.

 

I had a crazy idea on how to implement this ability in SF1...but I never tried it...I had no idea if it could have worked or not..

 

FC

[+Soulfreak 6,351]

hmm, the function from sfp2 i know.

I will start work to bring all F-4 tank skins in one weapon....

[Vader2 1]

Great Idee!

[mppd 16]

You can edit the tank files/aircraft data files to have the option of multiple tanks. I have three normal camo F-4 370 gal wingtanks that I can select on my F-4s in SEA - just for variety. I'll eventually make an all-white one, all olive-grey one also for the F-4C early versions. Here are two:

 

Mike

[+Soulfreak 6,351]

Mike, i know. ;-)

Have done it with some tanks too.

But my thoughts were, to make all F-4 Tanks!

And there on i will work! ;)

[kct 5]

Well, since the new folder structure for weapons was introduced, new drop tanks utilizing the new textures can be made without having to go through the hex editor. Only thing needed is the main.ini and the folder names, which should be different from each other.

Edited January 29, 2009 by kct

[FastCargo 412]

Well, since the new folder structure for weapons was introduced, new drop tanks utilizing the new textures can be made without having to go through the hex editor. Only thing needed is the main.ini and the folder names, which should be different from each other.

 

Uh, not so fast...

 

I actually tried this and it doesn't work. You would think it would...

 

FC

[kct 5]

Not talking about SF2. Talking about using the same .lod, but with different .bmps and .inis to call out the tank, without having to mess with the hex editor. For example:

 

Files in the white F-4 370 gal tank folder under the Weapons folder, which would be named "Tank370_F4":

 

Tank370_F4.ini

Tank370_F4.lod

Tank370_F4-001.lod

Tank370_F4-002.lod

Tank370_F4.bmp <--- Which would be white.

 

Files in the SEA camo tanks, which would be called "Tank370SEA":

 

Tank370SEA.ini

Tank370_F4.lod

Tank370_F4-001.lod

Tank370_F4-002.lod

Tank370_F4.bmp <--- Which would be in two-tone.

 

Contents of both the main .inis are the same, the only differences are the .bmp and the names of the folder and the main .ini itself. Though this would work only in versions of the games with the latest updates, and up to you to define the TankType variable called out for in the weapondata.dat file.

Edited January 29, 2009 by kct

[FastCargo 412]

kct,

 

I know you're talking about SFP1/WOx. Have you actually tried this yet? Because I have and it didn't work for me.

 

FC

[kct 5]

Rats! It didn't work out in the end. Oh well.

Edited January 30, 2009 by kct

[mppd 16]

Just as easy to hex edit the .bmp name inside the tank .LOD - there are piles of freeware hex editors. I found that you can even insert characters in the .bmp name from inside the hex editor - does not have to be the exact same number of name characters.

 

Mike

[FastCargo 412]

Rats! It didn't work out in the end. Oh well.

 

Sorry man, I was hoping you had found something I had overlooked.

 

Oh well, hex editing it is.

 

FC

[mppd 16]

Here are some more F-4 tanks for you folks since you were talking about them. I added a few more details, and made 5 Vietnam-era versions - 3 camo minor variations, an all olive drab and all white. The white is suitable for Navy versions of course if you have to fly B/J/N models... Submitted for approval today.

 

Mike D.

[Tannethal 2]

Mike great work on these, but heck why not have them all available. The F-4F tanks gave birth to this work.

 

example:

 

[WeaponData1275]

TypeName=Tank370_F4 //used the same TypeName for all

FullName=370-gal DropTank white //a fitting name to know what to select

ModelName=370_MacAir_Tank4

 

See pic:

 

Yours are nicely bunched at the end but could be moved up as seems fitting.

 

Now i have the stock 370-gal Drop Tank, the ADC Grey 370-galTank, and mikes five new variants to choose from.

They all attach to the same WET Station, no doubled or trippled entries. Just need a fitting name for each paintjob.

 

Only drawback mission generation will put the first in line (in weapondata.ini) on the birds for AI Flights.

Same happens to campaign loadouts, the first entry with matching TypeName will be selected as long as supply is limited to the entries in campaign_data.ini. Once the supply gets available one can start to choose.

 

S!

Edited January 31, 2009 by Tannethal