USN Phantom questions

[+daddyairplanes 8,629]

soooo i made a mod listing all the post vietnam USAF Phantom units and their skins. I am now working on doing the same for the Navy, and Eventually the Marines. my only reference at this exact moment is a Detail and Scale of Atlantic Fleet F-4 Squadrons, though my wife is sending a few more books in the next few weeks. my questions, for modders and Phanatics alike are...

1. the shoulder DECM pods on the intakes. they are featured on the F-4N (in R/L and Storm's mod) but also appear on later F-4J models, though abit shorter than on the N and S. Are the ones on the N part of that LOD or added on thru fake pilot method? also is there a way to scale it down if added on thru fake pilot so they are not as long?

2. is modex in any way related to the BuNo? or is it simply an in Squadron marking?

3. while on the topic of BuNo, am i correct in believing that the F-4Ns kept their B model BuNo and S's their J Buno?

4. Finally i found out when working my USAF mod that too many decals will blank out a particular part of the skin. the most realistic way i believe of doing this here project is to put most of the items into one TGA though that will likely be a couple of MB rather than the 256KB of most decals i've done. will too large a single tga also blank a portion of the skin or should i be safe to go the large single route?

 

hope to post some screenies of overall gloss gull grey and TPS on the stock J model on monday when i get over to the other compound and can up/download from my own computer.

final, final question: would i be wrong to use pics of monica bellucci as the loading screens?(think persephone from the matrix) thanks in advance for your assistance.

[+streakeagle 864]

Integrating multiple decals into one big decal is the way to go :)

[Icarus999 70]

The ECM fairings on the N were the longer version... the J and S are identical.

 

The only F-4N mod I know with the ECM Fairings is the old F-4N for series one, it has them painted on the skin rather than modeled.

 

If there is a new correct model id love to know about it.

[Spinners 15,966]

Great project DA. BTW the N would make a cracking Third Wire DLC...

[Wrench 9,421]

Great project DA. BTW the N would make a cracking Third Wire DLC...

 

I said THAT a long time ago!!!! I'm dying for good stock ones!

 

btw, the N & S are listed in the Nov.2011 aircraftobject listing

 

 

to answer DA's ??? (having done s**tloads of USN decals for KAW....)

 

modex number have no relation to BuNums; modex number series (100, 200, 300, etc) relate to the squadron's position within the CVW. Traditionally, the 1st two are fighters (100, 200), 2nd attack (300, 400) and so on.

 

as has been said, integrating the CVW tail code & any 'art work' (stripes, symbols, etc) into one decal is the best. Don't forget that BuNums would be seperate. but don't go tooooo crazy with commbining; due to overlarge sizes, and not to be forgetting that each one needs 2; a right and left - lots of work and big files to up/download.

 

TK has supplied us with (literally!) boatloads of squadron badges for all the Navy/Marine birds. Extract the squadronlist.ini and brows through it. The squadron number, as shown below:

 

[Squadron170]

Name=VMFA115

DisplayName=VMFA-115 Able Eagles

Nation=USMC

 

should mean (iirc), sqtail170 (or whatever the navy one's are called) would probably be that particular squadorn's tail decal. Again, you'll probably have to extract all the decals from the object cats to cross check

Edited December 29, 2011 by Wrench

[Wrench 9,421]

forgot this:

 

reccomended download, it be even if volume 3 (rhyme!)

 

http://military-machine.blogspot.com/2009/06/usn-aircraft-carrier-air-units-vol3.html

[+daddyairplanes 8,629]

thanks for the replies everyone. i believe the Gen 2 N model has the fairings tho i will hafta double check after work tonight. @ Wrench trust me i'm all over the squadron.ini and ordering the tails. already have the tails, 4 digit numbers and squadron names extracted and setting to work. i dont expect this to be an easy project given Navy squadrons are less standardized in markings than USAF. the good news for the Atlantic fleet half though is that all but i think 3 squadrons are stock. less editing to do everytime a new patch comes out, unlike my USAF one! and yes when its done i expect it to be HUGE, again given that there is black noses, white noses, overall gull gray, tactical paint schem and Ferris. that not even going into Bi-Centennial birds! but hey gotta have something to kill the downtime here....

[+daddyairplanes 8,629]

ok decalling and numbering question. tried adding the lil BuNo's in addition to the large 4 digit one commonly seen. get it to show but not randomize with the USN fighter numbers. how do i get the BuNo to randomize as well? do i need to add it as a second column in the numbers.lst? or is there another method? the decal was listed as F-4JBUNOxxx with the filename being F-4J\USNGrey1\F-4JBUNO. again it shows, but all birds in the flight have the same Buno and dont have time for the next 12-15 hours to experiment further. if i do hafta add as a second column(like in nose art) then this is gonna be a really historically accurate mod!

[Wrench 9,421]

they're just standard or garden varity Level=2 decals. Look at some of my Skyhawk and/or Phantoms skin/decal sets ... they change and WILL rendomize (as all Level 2 decals do, and will stay matched with each other)

 

the numberlist is usually for the Modex numbers, but does control the 4 digit tail BuNum and the "aircraftname" 6 digit BuNum as well (as long as they associate in order

 

example:

 

500 (modex *** )

5094 (tail 4 digit)

A-4C

145094 (bunum on aft fues)

 

they'll always match

 

what I do, expecially for Modex of a certain sequence, is NOT use the generic USNFighterNum or USNAttack (or USMC for that matter) decal pointers.

 

I pull ALL the relevant numbers from their cat, rename/renumber for each use.

 

like above, for the A-4Cs used by VSF-1 -available in our d/l section-shamelessplug!--, (actually, in this case I made new Modexs -Modexi?)as they were 500 series, and called them "Num***"

For the 4 digit, I called them "FNum" (fueselage number)

BuNums were easy, as just 'BuNum', with the aircraft type name, and the full 6 digit number. in the screenie below, you can just make out the aircraft type name and bunum decal under the stab.

 

reusing the stock ones, if the Modex is 201-219, I pull them, and drop them in the /D subfolder, and rename to fit what I need, and create a number.lst accordingly.

 

it's actually pretty easy.

Do you have the full USN BuNumber listing? I hae the complete list from 192-something through 1988. It's also somewhere in the 1stGen downloads section. If you cant find it, I'll repost or PM it to you (or anyone that wants it)

[+daddyairplanes 8,629]

thanks for the help Wrench. was listin em as 0 level, going to 2 made it all right again. nice thing about the stock decal.ini, it has alot more space for decals on fuselage_p than the air force models do. and combining nationname, insignia and squadron name frees up abunch of slots too! as promised here is some screenies. this is very early WIP for me as i'm just getting the logic for proceeding down, still have much research and pic hunting to do to get images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

please ignore serials/buno's i was still fixin it when i took the screenies and havent applied the decal list to the other skins yet as i still have to convert images to the right colors.the gloss gull overall i have in two versions right now. those units that had it with colorful markings seemed to be a lot glossier while those that had toned down markings seem to be much duller. still really early in this game for me. lets say atlantic fleet should be done, two weeks after SF2NA release! also gettin some outside help for DECM pods for all late naval Phantoms. thanks again for all the assistance you guys have given!

[skwabie 0]

as a naval phantom lover I also find it a shame that the J version doesn't have the ECM fairing (perhaps TW was modelling the earlier J but...) it would be really great to see those added!

[Spinners 15,966]

For the era that Third Wire are (currently) covering the J is just fine as it is.

[skwabie 0]

For the era that Third Wire are (currently) covering the J is just fine as it is.

 

Actually I think TW has just more focus on AF versions. We don't get an F-4J (75) or an F-4S etc.

Mirage Factory does a great job on the S and F-4JUK with ECM fairing but the shape of the nose is a bit of... Guess there's just no perfect solution on this one hehe

[+ST0RM 145]

BuNos stayed the same as their previous type (B or J).

 

My N-mod had the ECM painted on the skin as I didn't have a LOD to add it via the fake pilot method.

 

-S

[Spinners 15,966]

Actually I think TW has just more focus on AF versions. We don't get an F-4J (75) or an F-4S etc.

 

That's true enough. Perhaps they'll be in SF2:NA

[skwabie 0]

That's true enough. Perhaps they'll be in SF2:NA

 

yea saw an F-4J_74 and F-4S in aircraftlist.... gonna start praying now.

i'm not gonna start flying an f-4 echo navy version even if all fails haha

Edited January 3, 2012 by skwabie

[+daddyairplanes 8,629]

i'm working with mppd on getting DECM for the shoulders on the late J, N, and S models. given how the mods for the N and S have worked out in Gen 2 the only serious LOD change TK should have to make is slats for the late S. thats why i think that this project would transfer easily to a TW N or S. the one major change i think i will make from stock (aside from tga's) is turning USNGREY3 from a Sundowners only skin to the three tone with black on top, grey in middle and white on bottom of the radome. i'm gonna do a radome decal first for the Sundowner's sharksmouth, but later for the several stary Marine radomes that are out there. as to Spinners comment please remember sir that my usual focus i post Vietnam(SF2V is great but not as interested in the wars where you know the outcome, its why i love SF2E!) and the stock decals are more for 61-70, especially on the J. the end result plans to be redo of the TGA for USNGrey1 and 2, changing 3 majorly, and adding two versions of Gloss Gull overall, hi and low viz, and the TPS. and of course dooing all 6 naval variants currently available. it is now settling into research on each squadron overthe years and how their markings have changed.

 

the DECM will be done long before the skins so i will likely release that with a data ini adjustment for the affected planes when complete.

Edited January 4, 2012 by daddyairplanes

[skwabie 0]

i'm working with mppd on getting DECM for the shoulders on the late J, N, and S models. given how the mods for the N and S have worked out in Gen 2 the only serious LOD change TK should have to make is slats for the late S. thats why i think that this project would transfer easily to a TW N or S. the one major change i think i will make from stock (aside from tga's) is turning USNGREY3 from a Sundowners only skin to the three tone with black on top, grey in middle and white on bottom of the radome. i'm gonna do a radome decal first for the Sundowner's sharksmouth, but later for the several stary Marine radomes that are out there. as to Spinners comment please remember sir that my usual focus i post Vietnam(SF2V is great but not as interested in the wars where you know the outcome, its why i love SF2E!) and the stock decals are more for 61-70, especially on the J. the end result plans to be redo of the TGA for USNGrey1 and 2, changing 3 majorly, and adding two versions of Gloss Gull overall, hi and low viz, and the TPS. and of course dooing all 6 naval variants currently available. it is now settling into research on each squadron overthe years and how their markings have changed.

 

the DECM will be done long before the skins so i will likely release that with a data ini adjustment for the affected planes when complete.

 

thank you very much sir!

[+daddyairplanes 8,629]

new question guys.... in the engine part of the data.ini what value do i need to change to adjust the AB? i want the right to kick in at 70% and left to kick in at 72% creating the navy burner effect, where in RL navy pilots would go min burner on one engine to reduce their smoke trail.

[+ianh755 196]

Daddyairplanes - In the engine parts look for

 

MaxThrottle=0.?? (where ?? is the throttle percentage that you want the AB to kick in)

 

so make Engine One MaxThrottle=0.72 and Engine Two MaxThrottle=0.70 and Engine One (LH) will kick in AB 2% later

Edited January 7, 2012 by ianh755

[mppd 16]

Added to 1st gen F-4 shape - should be close to 2nd gen I would guess. Sent to daddyairplanes and Storm so they can distribute as desired. Based on Crab02's original work, only adjusted shape a bit and added via fakepilot method.

 

Mike D.

[skwabie 0]

thnx a lot mppd eagerly waiting for the shorter ones on J and S :yes:

Edited January 8, 2012 by skwabie

[mppd 16]

Shorter one for J is coming - the entire F-4S is already available as a nice package at Column5 for sure, and here also I think - put together by Crab02/Dave/BPAO/Sundowner/Fubar512 - mine is dated 2010.

[+daddyairplanes 8,629]

gonna retry the Column5 S, early and late this week, but the Current Gen2 S is based on the Stock J. i would imagine if TK adds the S with SF2NA that the early S w/o slats would be heavily based offa the J and why i was working with that one. but if the Column 5 version has DECM and doesnt give me a headache converting, could give it a try.

[skwabie 0]

ah rgr... found the F-4S, links for other thread readers i suppose

 

package

http://combatace.com/files/file/11617-mirage-factory-f-4s-phantom-ii/

 

extra skins

http://combatace.com/files/file/11639-f-4s-skin-pack/

 

skin template

http://combatace.com/files/file/11616-sf2-f-4s-templates/