Watch this space!

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Duh! Just after posting, I realized what you are talking about. You must be talking about the old P2 bug where some planes caught fire but kept on flying, seemingly without ill effect. I haven't noticed this testing my DM, but I will be on the look out for it. I could be wrong, but adding an "explosion" effect immediately after the fire event might reduce the chance of "flamers."

[Hellshade 110]

I haven't seen a "flamer" yet and I've been shooting holes in thing fairly regularly. I used to be pretty good about catching the engines on fire too, though that seems to have slowed up quite a bit with the new DM 2, especially if using flying the single gun Allied scouts.

 

Hellshade

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Thank you for the endorsement, Hellshade.

 

Nevertheless, there is always something else that seems to cry out for tweaking!

 

My update should be ready either tomorrow or Thursday. In addition to the fuel leak problem, the update will slightly strengthen the nose of some of the early and mid-war aircraft and make some small adjustments to the "fire chances" of some of the Albs and Nieuport's.

[+Polovski 460]

Ok just meant to watch for it is all - we did a lot of work to eliminate, so some tweaks could bring them back. By flamer I mean someone on fire who never crashes.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Gotcha on the "flamers." I can't be entirely positive, but based on my tweaking and testing, I think one way to eliminate them is to adjust the hit points on the wings, wing-tips, and maybe the ailerons so that the engines do not get too damaged before the wings have accumulated much damage. I was working on the DH5 and noticed that occasionally one would light up but keep going in a gradual descent before eventually crashing. I found that if I reduced the wing and wing-tip hit points that more planes would go out of control before catching on fire and that the ones that did catch on fire tended to also go out of control because of excessive damage to the wings.

 

Just something to think about, I guess.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Okay, the update to the HPWDM is ready and will be uploaded to the forum for approval in just a few minutes. As I have probably mentioned before, once I start tweaking I find it difficult to stop until everything is "just right," so that is the reason for the slight delay. From the 2.1 readme file, here is a list of the major changes:

 

--Fuel tanks are now more resistant to major leaks but are still susceptible to minor leaks and are somewhat more likely to catch fire if substantially damaged.

--Wing and wing-tip hit points adjusted on some aircraft.

--Nose structures now slightly stronger in several early and mid-war aircraft. (This slightly lowers the chances of catastrophic fuel leaks).

--Somewhat higher probability of pilot "hits" for most aircraft.

--On DH5 only, fuel tank hit points now higher for main tank, slightly lower for secondary tank.

--Eliminates the "engine block popping out of the fuselage" effect seen in some aircraft. (Olham may especially appreciate this one)!

 

A major part of work on this update was in adjusting the likelihood of fire and fuel leaks. One thing I wanted to do was to slow down the rate of fuel loss from major leaks. Now, although the chances of a fuel leak are about the same, you are less likely to completely run out of fuel in only a few seconds. Be careful, though! As long as you still have fuel, you can still catch on fire. Out of the frying pan, they say....

 

I hope everyone enjoys the update. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, just let me know right here.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

The HPWDM 2.1 update has been approved. Grab the file here: http://combatace.com/topic/58477-hpwdm-21-update/

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Hello, gents!

 

After I posted version 2.1 to the forum, I fired up OFF to fly and test the DH2 a little more. The DH2 has been frustrating to mod, as it has refused to live up to its nickname, "the spinning incinerator." Well, I had forgot that I had made one itty, bitty, tiny little change to the DH2 DM just before I packed everything up in a zip file and uploaded 2.1 to the forum. Well, you can probably guess what happened: all my DH2 pilots and wingmates were getting shot down in flames! My last change to the DH2 apparently made them go from fireproof to something a little more flammable. Although you can still fly with or against them and not always get them to catch on fire, I felt the effect was now overdone, so I went ahead last night and did a quick little fix up so that they are more resistant to fire.

 

Attached to this post is the fix to the DH2. Simply unzip the file into the MODS folder of your JSGME installation, start JSGME, apply HPWDM 2.1 if you have not done so already, then apply the update.

 

P.S. The update also contains a minor update to the Halberstadt.

 

 

Edited August 21, 2010 by Herr Prop-Wasche

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

I must apologize for not being around much and seemingly only posting in my own thread, but my internet time has been severely curtailed for the last several weeks because I lost my full-time job and had to drop my home internet connection. I will be picking up a part-time job teaching next week and will hopefully be able to get back on-line sooner rather than later.

 

On the plus side, I have had more time to work on my damage mod, so I have been able to make a couple more fixes and tweaks. I'm at the point where I am 98% satisfied with the DM, so I have decided to release an update. The update is 2.2, and will contain the following changes (includes the changes noted below in 2.1a):

 

Version History

 

2.2

 

--Engine hit points for Hannover, Sopwith Pup, Sopwith Strutter, and Sopwith Strutter B1 reduced slightly.

 

--Missing minor fuel leak due to engine damage added to Sopwith Tripe and Tripe 2G.

 

--Hit points for elevator cables in aft fuselage of Fokker EV, N17_Bis, N24, N24_Bis, N24_Bis_Lewis, N24_Lewis, and N28 reduced to be consistent with other aircraft.

 

--Hit points for observer/rear-gunner corrected so they are now the same as the pilot of the aircraft.

 

2.1a

 

--DH2 and DH2_m16 now somewhat less likely to catch fire than in version 2.1.

 

--Halberstadt scout now slightly less likely to suffer major fuel leak.

 

--"Fuselage_structure" changed to "rudder_cable" in aft fuselage of FE2b and hit points reduced from 28 to 18.

 

--Hit points for aileron cables in aft fuselage of Alb DV, DV later, DVa, and DVa 200 reduced to be consistent with other aircraft.

 

Other than correcting any errors, all that I really have left is some testing to see how the aircraft behave if I reduce the values of the elevator, rudder, and aileron cables from their current value of 18 to 8 or 9. Those changes will be in version 2.3, if my testing confirms that lowering these values do not have any overly adverse effects. In the meantime, I am uploading version 2.2 to the 3rd party mods forum right after I post this message. Happy flying!

[Hasse Wind 46]

Thanks for continuing to improve you already excellent DM mod. Too bad about your job - I hope your new one brings you enough money so that you won't have to give up anything important.

[Burning Beard 14]

Got it loaded and up last night, it seems to be working fine.

 

Thank You,

Beard

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Thanks Hasse Wind.

 

Yep, employment in the US of A is a bit of a struggle right now. They say that a recession is when somebody else loses their job, and a depression is when you lose your job. So, I guess we are officially in a depression.

[Olham 164]

I'm using this DM since some time now, and it works fine.

I thank you very much for all this labour, Herr Prop-Wasche - especially that my Albatros

won't shed it's wings in tight turns so easily anymore is a great help.

[Creaghorn 10]

very good work, HPW. i like it

one question though. for the people who don't use it yet and want to try, is it enough to use the 2.2 version, or does one have to install 2, then 2.1 and then 2.2?

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Good question, Creaghorn.

 

No, 2.2 is a complete standalone version and should NOT be used at the same time as either 2.0 or 2.1.

 

You can either keep 2.0 or 2.1 and disable them using JSGME, or you can delete them completely and just use 2.2.

[Hellshade 110]

Great work on version 2.2 of the Damage Model, HPW.

 

I really think it's a wonderful improvement for the sim. The more I fly with it, the more I love it. Kudos to a long, arduous job well done.

 

Hellshade

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

HPWDM 2.3 to be released soon

 

I have been working on one more--and hopefully last--update to my damage model for BHaH. The update is about ready for testing and should be released in a few days. The update contains mostly minor changes, but there are several. Off the top of my head, they include reductions in hit points for elevator, rudder, and aileron cables for all aircraft (they are cables, after all); slight adjustment in hit points to wings and wing tips of Fokker DrI; making all Nieuports slightly more resistant to fire, making several German two-seaters slightly less resistant to fire; and slightly slowing the rate of fuel loss in most aircraft.

 

Watch this thread for the release announcement.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

HPW DM 2.3 update:

 

I am still testing and working out a few kinks in the new DM. The main question I am concerned with is the tendency for an aircraft to lose all of its fuel after being hit. Has anyone noticed an increase in the frequency in which your aircraft is hit and loses all of its fuel after installing HPWDM2.2? If so, have you noticed it more for any particular aircraft, and if so, does it happen too frequently in your opinion, or is it just about right? Before 2.2, I noticed that the majority of aircraft could develop up to three fuel leaks from hits to the fuel tank. In 2.2, I added a third fuel leak to the fuel tank of aircraft that previously only had two. For these aircraft only, do you think I should go back to two leaks or keep it at three?

 

Another area I am working on is the number of oil leaks. Most aircraft can suffer up to three separate oil leaks from hits to the oil reservoir. However, some aircraft (particularly Nieuports) can only get two oil leaks from hits to the oil reservoir. Is there any evidence that Nieuports or other rotaries were any less likely to get oil leaks than other aircraft?

 

Thanks for any information or advice anyone can provide on these issues. I now expect I will be able to release my next update to HPWDM in about a week or so.

[Olham 164]

Thank you for all your work, Herr Prop-Wasche!

I was recently flying Albatros D.II and D.V mostly, and had several punctured tanks, which lead to emergency landings.

Not sure about how frequent it happened though. You need some history buffs here.

 

I am very curious, if your work on the tail plane will make the horizontal flying of shot up planes more stable.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Thanks, Olham. That is exactly the type of information I am looking for. Anyone else who has installed my DM and flies Albatros noticed any increase in punctured tanks?

 

I am also interested in information about punctured tanks in Nieuports, Fokkers, and British aircraft.

 

Regarding the tail damage, I increased the hit points to the horizontal stabilizers a little bit over the standard OFF hit points, so, theoretically, it may take a bit more damage to the stabilizer before you notice increased control difficulty.

[Olham 164]

...it may take a bit more damage to the stabilizer before you notice increased control difficulty.

 

And hopefully a better horizontal level flying of damaged kites - instead of that "sinking over the tailplane" attitude,

that makes them try to climb on the prop, until they crash, tail first. That would be a good improvement.

Edited October 18, 2010 by Olham

[nbryant 8]

I recently began an Alb DII career (for the first time) and after four flights two have been ended because of fuel leaks. Will admit though it was hard to tell from the melee but it didn't seem as if I took that many hits. Otherwise I have been flying the Nieup 11, SPAD 7 and 13. I have had a couple of instances in the Nieup where I lost fuel pretty quickly but what I have found more often then not is how quickly I lose aileron control after a good burst or two. Seems the AI crates take a lot more damage before they lose their ability to manuever where one good pass and I am done. Then again, it could always be the pilot!

Edited October 18, 2010 by nbryant

[Olham 164]

nbryant, the AI can do things we can't -diving very steep with an Albatros D.III or a Nieuport 17 for example.

Try that yourself, and your wings will just rip off. But that's okay for me (mostly), cause they are also very

stupid, blind, and god knows whatelse.

Although - today I had a French opponent, who was fighting very smart. Never feel too sure...

[jamec 0]

great post. thank you for your post

[vonOben 55]

Hi Herr Prop-Wasche

 

I’ve used your latest DM since it was released and I can’t think of going back to the default version.

I’ve only had a few fuel leaks and nothing that I think would be unrealistic. The last one I can remember was in an Albatros DIII and I wasn’t too badly shot up AFAICR. It must have been a big leak though, because the tank was quickly empty.

Look forward to the next DM version!

 

Thanks for all your work on the DM!

 

Cheers

 

vonOben

Edited October 19, 2010 by vonOben