A quandry that needs resolution....

[Wrench 9,850]

with regards to insurmountable/unrepairable flaws in the old P-47D-25, for WW2 USAAF/USAF and post-war uses in Latin America

 

For those not knowing, in this thread:

 

http://combatace.com/topic/66616-needed-new-flight-model/

 

is a screenie of the flaw. It's pretty obvious, expecially now in SF2. I've got a fairly decent flight model dialed in -- it's not 100% perfect, but flys pretty damn close what what my research has indicated.

 

I have a 90% completed package for the bubble-top, it'll contain 4 skins:

 

1 WW2 USAAF (368th FS, ETO)

1 Post-War USAF

1 FAB (Brazil, for WW2 and post-war)

1 FAC (Colombia, post war)

 

Obviously, when no bombs or tanks are loaded, the offending pylons would not be there. But on STRIKE, CAS, ARMED_RECON, ANTI_SHIP they would be. The center station is partly hidden by the belly tank. But the untextured meshes would still be there...

 

So...given this massive flaw, would you as end users download this aircraft? One main reason I want to get this out, is to have others test the FM. But with these LOD issues.... They can ONLY be resolved if we have the MAX files, which seem to be unavailable. IF we had the MAX files, my reasoning is those meshes can be seperated, and them mapped to a NEW skin bmp, seperate from the main LOD, as are the stock 3W aircraft. Given my almost total lack of understanding on how 3DS Max, works, I'm assuming this would not be too difficult of a task (for those with the skill, that is!)

 

So there it is ... is it worth it, or has this just been a one-handed exercise?

 

All answers will be considered.

I thank you for you time

 

(and yes, I've tried decaling the pylons, they won't "take")

 

wrench

kevin stein

Edited July 27, 2011 by Wrench

[+daddyairplanes 10,248]

in your attached thread pureblue mentions possibly using fake pilot method to cover them.......

[Wrench 9,850]

using the fake pilot method has one fatal flaw.....

 

the pylons will be there forever ... they will always be 'mounted' for any mission profile (especially for those that don't require them)

 

in every data ini, for every aircraft there's this statement:

 

[LeftWingPylon]

SystemType=WEAPON_STATION

StationID=1

StationGroupID=1

StationType=EXTERNAL

AttachmentPosition=-3.475,0.0,-0.555

AttachmentAngles=0.0,0.0,0.0

LoadLimit=1000

AllowedWeaponClass=BOMB,FT

AttachmentType=USAF

ModelNodeName=Left_Wing_Pylon <----

PylonMass=10.0

PylonDragArea=0.02

FuelTankName=P-47_Tank75

 

this tells the game engine that when that station is unloaded, that that particular mesh is not to be shown (in the Jug's case, standard A-A is just the centerline) . A perfect example of pylon mounting using FP, would be my F-79 Manta. The 2 wing pylons are added via fake pilot. If I hadn't fiddled the loadout ini to give drop tanks for all AA profiles, they's be hanging off the wing, with nothing on them, and no way to make them disappear. In the screenie below, is a 'clean' AA config, with no tanks. You can see the black pylons are not visible, as nothng is loaded on them.

 

Even if using a FP pylon method, it still needs a 3D guy to make and map the pylons, so they can skinned. So, that puts us back to less than Square 1.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Wrench

[+Dels 649]

If you can get the Max file, I'd be happy to "fix" this problem for you.

 

Alternatively, if all else fails, I would consider building a new model. In doing this I could easily use the skins that you have done for it so you wouldn't need to make them again.

 

Dels

[Wrench 9,850]

THAT would be frakking awesome Dels!! (the skins could use a little work, but not that big a deal, consider all else...)

 

I've been trying to get the MAX files from Wolf for over 2 months ... "advertised" for his help both here and at SimHQ. But no response.

 

Anything you need from me, just ask. Got lots of books on pdf with diagrams and suchlike

 

many,many thanks!

wrench

kevin stein

[+Dels 649]

I won't be able to get started for a short while, but do you have the skin template which had the 3d model's mesh frame? This would make the building a lot easier.

 

Dels

[Wrench 9,850]

the lined maps were never released with the original templates, sorry to say.

[+Dels 649]

Awww crap, that will make things harder. I'll let you know when I can get started by PM.

 

Dels

[Wrench 9,850]

 

 

thanks, man!!