Testers please

[Buddy1998 2]

Ok, so I hope that I'm not getting in way over my head with adjusting the aircraft.cfg file, but I think that I made a slight improvement (well a big improvement IMHO).

 

I noticed that the AI controlled Pfalz DIIIa in the sim was very sluggish when turning or performing evasive manouvers. So, I spent a few days trying to figure out how to improve the planes performance.

 

 

Here's what I did:

I adusted 2 vaues in the aircraft.cfg file

empty_weight_pitch_MOI = 2585

empty_weight_roll_MOI = 606

 

Then I saved the changes and tried a dogfight with a veteran AI Pfalz vs my PUP. There seems to be a noticable difference in the planes performance.

 

 

I'd like a bit of help to test out my experiment, since I may be bias.

 

Installation would be to back up your cfg files and then replace them with the files in the archive inside both the Sqd and QC1 folders (:\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\aircraft\Pfalz_DIIIa_Sqd and :\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\aircraft\Pfalz_DIIIa_QC1). Then try a quick combat with an AI controlled Pfalz and see if you notice a difference.

 

To uninstall, just delete the files and replace with your backed up copy.

 

 

If you're interested to try it, I'd greatly appreciate your feedback in this thread.

aircraft - Copy for QC1 Folder.7z

aircraft - Copy for Sqd Folder.7z

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Hi Buddy.

 

My computer is down right now, so no OFF flying (or testing) for awhile, I'm afraid, but I am interested in hearing your results. I assume you decreased the pitch and roll MOI settings. In my FM experience, I did not notice much of a difference in my aircraft performance by altering the MOI settings, but I did hardly any testing to see how the AI might have reacted to those changes.

 

Note: There are also several pitch, roll, and yaw settings in the .air file, but that is a hex file and difficult to figure out unless you have a 3rd party tool such as Airedit.

[Buddy1998 2]

Hi Herr Prop,

 

I've been so immersed in trying to figure out the mechanics of the cfg file that I forgot that you are having computer problems. Unfortunately, I don't have enough experience with diagnosing hardware issues, so I'm of no help in that area. I sincerely hope that you get your computer up and running so that you can have piece of mind and we can all benefit once agian from your knowledge and experiences in modding OFF.

 

After reading several articles about simulating the aerodynamics of a plane, I found that you need the input of someone who is familiar with the plane for advise and not just iput a bunch of numbers and equations. So, most of the planes will behave realistically even if some of the weights, measurements and ratios are altered a bit from real life. Except for maybe a few professional development companies who specialize in flight simulators for training actual pilots, OFF is initially a game trying to simulate WW1 Aircrafts - which it does IMHO exceptionally well.

 

Having said all of this, my aim in modifying the cfg files is to make the AI more challenging and at the same time trying to keep the AI planes behavior as historically accurate as possible. Since I don't know how to adjust the AI reactions in this game, I decided to try and modify some values in the cfg file instead.

 

I started with a dogfight between a Pfalz DIIIa and a PUP because the Pfalz is a very formidable enemy and a very maneuverable plane. I choose the PUP because of its FOV. At the stock Pfalz FM, the planes does very shallow turns and slow dives making it kind of a sitting duck. After reading about adjusting the cfg parameters, I found that only certain values can be adjusted and others should not be touched. From these, the MOI values were the ones that had the most impact on the AI planes flight mechanics.

 

So, I used a common formula to estimate the MOI value and then started adjusting from that point. I used MOI = EmptyWeight * (D^2 / K)

for Pitch D = Length (feet) K = 810

for Roll D = Wingspan (feet) K = 1870

for Yaw D = 0.5* (Length+Wingspan) K = 770

 

Although this is a rough method, it gave me a nice ballpark. I'm still in the process of fine tuning my results, but with just small adjustments in the MOI values, the AI Pfalz was maneuvering quite well. I understand that there is an inherent limitation of the CFS3 engine and the AI will never have human like reactions, but at least it's now more challenging with more than one AI Pfalz attacking you.

 

I cannot determine if adjusting the MOI values made any difference in the player's craft. The plane does not load for me if I make any adjustments to my own plane. Unless I can find a way to keep my ajustments for the plane that I fly, for now I will only focus on the AI craft.

 

I hope to see you flying again soon.

 

 

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Interesting.

 

I admit I am strictly an amateur at aeronautics, but I have learned a bit from browsing around the web. How did you arrive at your "common" MOI formulas? Also, in your equation, I assume that "K" stands for a constant value for each setting? Would you mind if I try your equations in my FM mod?

 

I cannot determine if adjusting the MOI values made any difference in the player's craft. The plane does not load for me if I make any adjustments to my own plane. Unless I can find a way to keep my ajustments for the plane that I fly, for now I will only focus on the AI craft.

 

The .cfg files are very sensitive to changes. They must use some kind of checksum or something to compare the total number of bits in each file, so you have to be careful not to add any extra numbers to any of the variables in the .cfg file or you will get a "This aircraft is nor certified for OFF..." message. For example, changing this variable:

 

empty_weight_pitch_MOI = 978.75000

 

to

 

empty_weight_pitch_MOI = 2585.75000

 

will lead to an error. To fix it, change your value to empty_weight_pitch_MOI = 2585.7500

 

Notice I have removed the last zero to the right of the decimal?

[Buddy1998 2]

Well, I think that I found out the air files take over when there's a conflict between it and the cfg which will give an error and that's why the planes won't load for the player. Since I don't have AirWrench, I can't do anything to the cfg file for the player.

 

 

I'll just stick to educating myself a bit more on the cfg file whenever I get a chance.

 

Sorry, I just assumed that the formula was well known since it's on the msdn website: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526949.aspx#mozTocId243173

 

After a few more attempts to use the formula, I noticed that it messed up a few of the allied aircraft's diving abilities. When I looked further into this - specifically CFS3 aircraft files - I didn't recognise a pattern used when calculating the MOI values. Sometimes the roll or pitch MOI values would be larger than the "empty weight" value which of course didn't match with the formula. I still need to understand why these values would increase above the empty weight. So, I'm hoping that I can get an answer.

 

 

In the meantime, I'd like to work on some issues with the DM in my xdp files

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Personally, I haven't noticed any particular conflicts between the .cfg and .air files which seem to cause problems. There do seem to be some variables that aren't in the .cfg files that are in the .air files, however. If you want to look at the .air files, I can send you a link or maybe even a zip file that I have for Airwrench. I'm pretty sure it is freeware.

 

Hmm, funny I haven't noticed the formula before. Thanks for the link.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Oh, my guess why the dive of some aircraft were wrong with your new MOI values is that many of these WWI aircraft were pretty tail-heavy, so their center of balance is not the same as most modern aircraft. I bet the problem you experienced was most acute with the good climbers, such as the Pup, Camel, and Dr1.