SF2 Realism Mod

[+HomeFries 29]

Here's a thought (I know we're getting ahead of ourselves, but while we're brainstorming...):

 

I think rather than have a "heavy" pack and a "lite" pack, have additional features that build off the "lite" pack. Keep the same baseline regardless, and build on that.

 

We're already looking at multiple downloads for the basic RP, as well as the squadrons. Why not do series of aircraft over a generation as separate packages? I'm already planning on doing the A-6 Superpack as dependent on the RP in order to keep things consistent and keep the download size to a minimum. Obviously, we're talking about a major difference between a series of additional INI files versus a huge skinpack, but the same principle applies.

 

If someone wants to build a campaign with certain required features, he can say that the campaign requires the Realism Pack, the xxx aircraft package for the RP, etc.

 

That said, we are getting ahead of ourselves. We certainly need to think about this approach, but there will no doubt be a few iterations before the proper hooks are in place for people to build on the RP.

[+malibu43 142]

Here's a thought (I know we're getting ahead of ourselves, but while we're brainstorming...):

 

I think rather than have a "heavy" pack and a "lite" pack, have additional features that build off the "lite" pack. Keep the same baseline regardless, and build on that.

 

We're already looking at multiple downloads for the basic RP, as well as the squadrons. Why not do series of aircraft over a generation as separate packages? I'm already planning on doing the A-6 Superpack as dependent on the RP in order to keep things consistent and keep the download size to a minimum. Obviously, we're talking about a major difference between a series of additional INI files versus a huge skinpack, but the same principle applies.

 

If someone wants to build a campaign with certain required features, he can say that the campaign requires the Realism Pack, the xxx aircraft package for the RP, etc.

 

That said, we are getting ahead of ourselves. We certainly need to think about this approach, but there will no doubt be a few iterations before the proper hooks are in place for people to build on the RP.

 

Or what about instead of aircraft packs that spans the life of an aircraft, we did "decade packs"? A follow on pack could add red and blue aircraft (and weapons and ground objects) to get us up to ODS. And then another one to flesh out everything up through the 90's. And then finally a "5th gen" pack that takes us up to present day... just a thought.

 

My experience in the past was that it was a pain to get one of my older WoE installs to span up to the late 80's, just because I had to piece so much stuff together and then get it all to work well. Because of that, I've since given up on it. But it might be worth given it a try again...

 

But, yes, we are way ahead of ourselves....

[+Dave 2,322]

I like that idea but lets get the baseline done first and see what works and what doesn't. Then from there we can build 'heavy" pack

[+HomeFries 29]

concur.

[+HomeFries 29]

also i know Dave said go crazy AND dont over think it. but would there be interest in adding say 50 Transport squadrons in the squadronlist? already plane to do some US Army attack BNs (Vietnam and Germany dontcha know)

 

I would consider Transport units the lowest priority, because if you want to add a non-player flyable or non TACAIR unit to the theater, you can use UnitName=. SquadronList is great for a player's unit to show up in a decoration, as well as for having a set of decals that can span multiple skins. If we're approaching 800 or 900, we should probably leave room for expansion of tactical units.

 

No problem with Army Aviation units, though. Sooner or later, somebody will make a helo for SF2 that will have us lining up to bag red tanks with TOW and Hellfire.

Edited July 15, 2012 by HomeFries

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

yea figured that on the transport but if i find myself with the space it was an idea given the number of transports here.

as for helo's what abouot the AH-64 found here? and most freaking defineatly as i start learning abuot 3DS Max i WILL freaking make an AH-1S. but thats two years not two weeks!

[+HomeFries 29]

How much space are we talking about, DA? Can you upload your latest version?

[+HomeFries 29]

Dave,

 

I've uploaded my submissions for the Realism Pack.

 

Some of these files supersede the A-6 files submitted by malibu43, in particular the data files which now include the fakepilot and custom pilot/seat combos in the new datafiles. The loadout files have also been updated to reflect the restricted carry ability on the internal pylons, and a few tweaks are included that were made after malibu and I collaborated. Most notably, I have removed any STARMs from the A-6A loadout file, as the A wasn't wired for it. If you want to put these in (especially since we're not modelling the B), they are in malibu's loadout files.

 

I'm also breaking with convention in two places, both related to the included campaigns. First, I have included your VAQ-134 skin (though refoldered as VAQ134), which is referenced in the included campaign file as "VAQ134" rather than "USNGrey1". Second, I have included a low-res version of the green A-6A skin from 1966, which is used by VA-65 and VA-85 for a six month period in the included Rolling Thunder campaign. I figured for realism, this would be a nice touch, but feel free to remove the skin and reset the campaign references to USNGrey1.

 

I (obviously) have also included campaigns, which may be exceeding the scope of this pack, and NA1 in particular may be risky because TK seems to change something every patch. That said, in addion to the skin calls and campaign graphics, I have added the prowler to the Linebacker II campaign (VAQ-130 and VAQ-131, which will require the updated SquadronList.ini or a change to "UnitName="), and I have replaced the A-6E in the NA1 campaign with the A-6E_79, as that was the first operational TRAM deployment (and also necessary with the removal of LGB capability for the standard A-6E). Feel free to cut the campaign related features and just go with the datafiles; I won't take offense.

 

Finally, the included Soundlist.ini incorporates and supersedes the one uploaded by malibu. I have incorporated his GAU-8 and Flack sounds, as well as the TMF F-14 sounds (which are also used in a number of other mods). This looks like a good starting point for a baselined SoundList.ini as well.

A-6 RP.7z

[+HomeFries 29]

malibu,

 

I made some tweaks to your tracer files. I added a small white magnesium core to Tracers 4-7 (the smaller caliber rounds) to give them a white-hot look.

RealMod AAA Tracer Update.zip

[+comrpnt 16]

Interesting project - I like it! :-)

 

Count me in if you guys need any historical mission authoring.

 

Cheers, regards, comrpnt.

[+HomeFries 29]

Interesting project - I like it! :-)

 

Count me in if you guys need any historical mission authoring.

 

Cheers, regards, comrpnt.

How about the FOTI "historical" mission. Make the power plant one of the nav points, party HQ in Hanoi the primary target. Drop two on the plant, drop the rest on the HQ.

 

With the Flak mod, that mission would be amazing!

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

sorry i took so long guys, i'm wrapping up summer semester and the group project has been kickin me arse. here is progress so far, mainly filling in naval units and potential DLC units and then adding my tactical Phantom users.

 

anyone with Royal Navy units and New Zealand units i would appreciate spot checking that they show up, the USN/USMC units show just fine. Key West dets are added for any Cuba oriented mods(VF-101KW and 171KW). won't get much more done until after next Wed (finals, wife surgery, kids 1st day back to school) though first part of Aug i should be able to churn out alot in my 2 week hiatus in school. my game plan for the rest to 999 is...

636-699 USAF/ANG

700-749 RAF

750-799 French AF

800-839 Danish AF

840-859 Luftwaffe

860-879 Belgium

880-899 Netherlands

900-949 US Army

950-999 Units not covered in DLC's (Swedes and Japan already have stock entries)and any various to fill space. focus for all units above will be users of stock planes at first except US Army which will focus on attack aviation.

 

i'm going ahead to try to get to 999 so i can then see if we can continue through 1000. dunno if anyone has tried it but if it works...... then Dave i will not overthink and go crazy!

Edited July 23, 2012 by daddyairplanes

[+HomeFries 29]

DA,

 

If you really want to test the 1000 ceiling, you can add placeholders to 999 then try your 1000 entry. No guarantee that it will work when all entries are filled, but the odds will be pretty good that it will work the same.

 

Also, I still think that the 12 Dhimar squadrons should be included. Spinners already made decals for them, so we could easily add spice to the existing campaigns. We would ned to add Dhimar and Paran to Nations.INI, but that isn't a big deal; we'll want to put out a standardized nations.ini anyway.

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

placeholders duh!(smacks forehead) told you my mind was mush from finals right now

Dhimar is much more likely to fit in that plan i think than what was originally put in above. as you said Spinners did decals for it already and TK has put in quite a few units already. found that out adding other US Naval Aviation squadrons in, esp the Marines. still got VF-101/171 in there though(long planned addition).

finally for the nations most with air arms are in there those several signifigant ones need to be added (US Army, Dhimar AF). dunno bout standardized but maybe just added onto

[+logan4 847]

Just a dumb question: any red side squadron will be included or red side will have its own squadronlist.lst with a mod for red side?

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

no red side for now. i think suhsjake had something going for a Warsaw Pact Fighters mod but its been ages since i've even seen him post let alone know progress.

[+HomeFries 29]

Actually, I like the idea of a red side. Pick some eastern bloc and VPAF squadrons that flew the MiG-17, 19, 21, 23, and/or 29, which should cover the major widespread user mods for the red aircraft. Perhaps even units for each of the skins in the MF MiG-29 superpack. That could make for some interesting campaign mods with the stock theaters. No need to cover everything; that's why we already have great total conversions out there.

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

very true that many have wanted a red side, i wouldn't mind it my self. but it would take much longer i think at least for folks in the Nato side of the world to research and add the units, esp. proper basing for campaigns. anyone with more info that lived on the WARPAC side during the cold war could possibly research easier. i know i've had fun just looking up what the Sov's flew during the Berlin Airlift.

 

very true that many have wanted a red side, i wouldn't mind it my self. but it would take much longer i think at least for folks in the Nato side of the world to research and add the units, esp. proper basing for campaigns. anyone with more info that lived on the WARPAC side during the cold war could possibly research easier. i know i've had fun just looking up what the Sov's flew during the Berlin Airlift. not impossible mind you, just harder than the western side......

[+HomeFries 29]

No question about that. I dare say we should leave some placeholders for future expandability.

 

The other thing we can do rather easily is just insert the eastern block/VPAF fighter squadrons used in the campaigns. That should cover the stock theaters/campaigns, and should also give you a good sampling of Czech and DDR units.

[Centurion-1 1,228]

I was wondering if anyone cared to look at the (albeit third party) MIM-23 HAWK sams that are used on a lot of terrains, I find them overly effective compared to WP SAM systems which as far as I've understood should be at the very least equals in performance, if not more effective.

 

I've taken a gander at the inis but maybe someone more versed in weapons editing could give them a lookie? At the same time the WP sams could get some TLC. When flying I find that the only systems that is really dangerous and continually engages is the SA-8. The SA-6s and SA-3s rarely fire, while the HAWKs are expending munitions like rabid badgers on crack.

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

update on squadronlist.ini..... place held upto 1000 then added a unit. it does in fact work. this opens alot of possibilities for units and i think could be handy for standardizing for decal usage/ campaigns. will be working units uptil i go back to school on the 16th, then release what i have. anyone else want to add red air into the mix i'd love to talk with ya. here's the updated ini

 

 

 

and who can tell me what unit i added for #1000?

 

[+HomeFries 29]

Looks like a Sentry wing.

 

Just curious if you've tried a level 1 decal with the 1000 at the end of the file. If not, then I can easily test it.

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

real life as always is crunching me for time so go for it. i have a Sentry skins mod out there, all 5 ACS's and Nato's birds. now they can be represented a bit better in other mods than just the 552d skin that's standard round here. if you want, pull the decal off the skins. might be quicker.

[+HomeFries 29]

Bad news: the decals over 999 don't display on the aircraft. I think the game engine only looks for 3 digits at the end of the filename.

 

What this means is that we can still leave 100 or so placeholders from 900-999, and start using 1000+ for units which are unlikely to have specific decals, or will have decals assigned to the skin itself (i.e. not level 1). 1000+ would be a good place for the Army and Transport/Logistics units, as well as units in popular mods that don't use level 1 decals.

[+daddyairplanes 10,235]

damn but i agree with the Army bit. typically AVN Bn's dont have specific markings just UNITED STATES ARMY on the tails. woulda been nice though..... could possibly be useful as a tool for campaigns goin over 1000 but will rethink the utility of it overall. BTW offtopic anyone heard from Dave lately? this was kinda his pot of grits to start with before we all got in and stirring.