Heberth's F-22A Raptor Project

[+Menrva 4,200]

6 hours ago, KJakker said:

Be sure to give the ventral bays a modified "EjectVelocity=0.0,0.0,-98.0" in order to throw the missiles clear when launched.

Thanks for the suggestion, will check!

11 hours ago, EricJ said:

I'm assuming that the model has the same mapping? I may do a skin or two (or was thinking about it) but wanted to see if your project changed things.

The 3d model has been reworked completely, and the skins are much more detailed than in the alpha version of the 3d model by Heberth. We will be providing templates when the package is ready to be uploaded.

BTW, that white/light grey skin is a what if F-22N Sea Raptor, assigned to the USN's VX-9 squadron. The Raptor is obviously not aircraft carrier based, but there were concepts about one, so I decided to make such a skin. This skin is totally my idea, but I find it rather bare and uninteresting as it uses low-vis decals.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Menrva

[+EricJ 4,245]

5 hours ago, Menrva said:

Thanks for the suggestion, will check!

The 3d model has been reworked completely, and the skins are much more detailed than in the alpha version of the 3d model by Heberth. We will be providing templates when the package is ready to be uploaded.

BTW, that white/light grey skin is a what if F-22N Sea Raptor, assigned to the USN's VX-9 squadron. The Raptor is obviously not aircraft carrier based, but there were concepts about one, so I decided to make such a skin. This skin is totally my idea, but I find it rather bare and uninteresting as it uses low-vis decals.

Good to know as I'm waiting for the rework, thanks!

[+Menrva 4,200]

Looking Glass, Storm. Requesting authorization for protocol Nova.

Storm, Looking Glass. Standby for Nova confirmation...

Storm, Looking Glass. Prepare to copy... message states; "you are clear for weapon release." I say again, National Command Authority has cleared you for weapon release.

Looking Glass, Storm, copy. Weapon release is authorized. Nova is away!

Looking Glass to all allied aircraft. Nova has been initiated. Pullback code is Safe Haven.

Edited November 2, 2019 by Menrva

[+Menrva 4,200]

@EricJ Since you're expert with painting Navy aircraft, I'd really like to have some suggestions by you for the fictive F-22N Sea Raptor skin I made. Right now it's just plain light grey, with a few decals applied; numbers on the nose, squadron name "VX-9" on the fuselage behind the canopy, etc. The skin is obviously what if, but I really like to make it somewhat believable, as if it were a real prototype back in 1998-1999. What kind of colour should the plane be? Should it be the same grey colour of your Super Hornets? By being a concept/prototype, should it have fancy black vertical tails with the squadron emblem, hi-vis decals or low-vis ones? I will post screenies at a later time, but I really feel like it's the most uninteresting skin I've made, of the whole package.

[+EricJ 4,245]

I'm not sure but VX-9 is a test and evaluation squadron, a normal Strike Fighter would be "VFA-number" and probably more suited to a prototype than a VX bird. As for colors you can go with the Super Hornet colors  (They look totally grey in some situations) and probably would be more like a serving jet. As for squadron you have the whole gamut to go with if you go with a VFA rather than VX (you can be more colorful). Or if you're going with a prototype you can have some sort of "F-22N" like the prototype YF-22/23 when they were going through trials and in the prototype stage. Just my .02

[+Menrva 4,200]

12 hours ago, EricJ said:

As for squadron you have the whole gamut to go with if you go with a VFA rather than VX (you can be more colorful). Or if you're going with a prototype you can have some sort of "F-22N" like the prototype YF-22/23 when they were going through trials and in the prototype stage. Just my .02

Just like I imagined, so a VX aircraft would be less colorful and more low-vis. As for the prototype thing, I have made a YF-22 skin already, and very old games such as JetFighter 3 portrayed a playable F-22N but with the skin of a YF-22. I want to do something different.

Below you can see the USN skin I described earlier; notice the F/A-22 decal, that's the name the Raptor got until 2005, and it really suits the Navy theme:

Edited November 5, 2019 by Menrva

[+EricJ 4,245]

VX birds can be colorful,  but line jets would be less colorful and more grey oriented. Usually if they have 100 or 200, 300, or 400 on the side they are colorful, as well as 101 and 201, 301, and 401,and so on. But as for color that is an option as you can have it more tactical (color preference is up to the CAG and CO from what I have noticed), and frankly the F/A-22 wouldn't have much color, such as the Super Hornet prototype jets and so on. But realistically the color scheme is good enough for a basic skin. 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by EricJ

[+yakarov79 11,089]

On 28.10.2019 at 10:20 AM, Menrva said:

Be sure to give the ventral bays a modified "EjectVelocity=0.0,0.0,-98.0" in order to throw the missiles clear when launched.

F-22 is equipped with Launcher LAU-141/A - which launch missiles off the rail, not throw away from the bay. That is why LAU-141/A is fitted with motor plume deflector which prevents damage to the side of weapon bays when launched

Another story is in main weapon bay which is fitted with LAU-142/A AVEL (AMRAAM vertical launcher) this launcher carries and ejects AIM-120 missile before launch.

[+Menrva 4,200]

In the end, I remade the fictive Sea Raptor livery; old games from the 1990s, such as Jane's Fighter Anthology or JetFighter III, portrayed the F-22N Sea Raptor simply as a YF-22 based on aircraft carriers. The Sea Raptor livery I propose is based on the YF-22 paint scheme, but it is stripped of its two-tone camo, so it's just light grey. I also added some USAF stars on both wings, as suggested by two images found on the internet;

Edited November 11, 2019 by Menrva

[+Menrva 4,200]

My PC is low-end so I rarely use Unlimited graphics options, unless I am testing a mod I am going to release. As you guys may know, specular maps are used in all their detail only when Effects are set to Unlimited.

Some of you Raptor lovers may know that the paint of the F-22A Raptor is very particular; it helps with stealth properties and, together with the radar-absorbent material, it produces a metallic sheen effect, to the point that the coating may appear translucent under certain light conditions. This is rather difficult to portray on old, limited game engines. With the great opportunity for specular maps in the SF2 engine, I was able to reproduce this effect to an extent. Here below a few images showing it.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Menrva

[JosefK 911]

Hey @Menrva you consider an aggressor F-22?  Rather like this Su-35 Super Flanker & Su-57 Felon emulating scheme I saw on Instagram.

[+Menrva 4,200]

4 hours ago, JosefK said:

Hey @Menrva you consider an aggressor F-22?  Rather like this Su-35 Super Flanker & Su-57 Felon emulating scheme

I have not planned to make such a skin at this time. I am still tweaking the almost 20 custom skins I've made already, so I am busy with fine-tuning them. For the skinpack I made, I focused my attention solely on reproducing the F-22s portrayed in other videogames, with the exception of the fictive Sea Raptor livery which is mostly original.

Templates will be released so everyone can try to paint the Raptor in many different, original ways.

[JosefK 911]

10 minutes ago, Menrva said:

I have not planned to make such a skin at this time. I am still tweaking the almost 20 custom skins I've made already, so I am busy with fine-tuning them. For the skinpack I made, I focused my attention solely on reproducing the F-22s portrayed in other videogames, with the exception of the fictive Sea Raptor livery which is mostly original.

Templates will be released so everyone can try to paint the Raptor in many different, original ways.

Sounds like a plan!

[+Menrva 4,200]

Raptor Skins Showcase

Real World

 

F-22 Total Air War

 

F-22 Lightning 3

 

Air Combat

 

Ace Combat 2

 

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

 

Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

 

Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception

 

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

 

Miscellaneous

[JosefK 911]

Hey can you please do an AK-coded tail?  Or make sure there's directions how in the template?

 

Thanks, as I get to see an AK-coded F-22 about once a year now.  EG: 

 

Many thanks!

Edited November 25, 2019 by JosefK

[+Menrva 4,200]

4 hours ago, JosefK said:

Hey can you please do an AK-coded tail?

There are all decals for all squadrons already in the package, including the AK tail and many more.

[JosefK 911]

6 minutes ago, Menrva said:

There are all decals for all squadrons already in the package, including the AK tail and many more.

Many, many thanks!  Getting excited!

[+Menrva 4,200]

"Naked" Raptor

Not a perfect 1:1 representation of the real looks of a mid-production Raptor, but it may be a fun bonus to include in the package nonetheless.

[+Menrva 4,200]

Here's an update on the project.

I have been dealing with an issue about GPS-guided EOGB not working on racks, and initially I had resorted to use GPS-guided EOGR, so the bomb would actually be a an air-to-ground missile. However, that makes the AI crazy sometimes (flying towards the ground and crash). Not only that, there's a severe lack of avionics for all GPS-guided weapons in SF2; you never get a cue of a lock on the target. In the end, I may have found the best workaround for all the GPS bombs, making use of some info from this very old thread: https://combatace.com/forums/topic/18331-bru-help/?tab=comments#comment-73751

Basically, all GPS-guided bombs should be changed to LGB. There is no need of a targeting pod, and the bomb works pretty much as a GPS one; in fact, on Strike missions (aircraft only using GPS bombs should be limited to Strike missions, no Armed Recon nor SEAD) you're assigned a primary target. The bomb will only lock on that target. If that primary target gets destroyed by you or the AI, you cannot drop the remaining bombs anymore. This reflects what a GPS bomb is all about, even though in the weapon files it is defined as a LGB. For the F-22A Raptor, target coordinates are preset before a mission, so the GPS-guided bomb only works for that preset target. When that is gone, you do not have data for locking on targets of opportunity. Moreover, this change from GPS EOGB to LGB brings working avionics, so it's totally for the better.

Some more testing is needed, but it seems to work just fine. A few more updates must be finalized, including an important overhaul of the aircraft's fuel cells. The package's release will most likely slide to 2020; I want to ensure that the final product is as bug free as possible, so it will be worth the wait.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Menrva

[+Menrva 4,200]

Aircraft add-on + extra skin pack coming soon...

[Wilches 1,172]

On 03/01/2020 at 3:50 PM, Menrva said:

Aircraft add-on + extra skin pack coming soon...

How soon????

[Wrench 9,848]

2 weeks...

 

 

[Wilches 1,172]

Nooooooo! Not again!!!

[+Menrva 4,200]

Sorry, guys. I have been dealing with RL issues lately. I have good news for the add-on, though. Since I had to postpone the release, I have asked for some more changes to the cockpit and aircraft 3d models. The new changes are well worth the wait IMHO. The release is going to happen (on February or March), I have worked too much on this add-on, as well as the other members of the development team did. Just wait a little longer.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Menrva

[+russouk2004 6,958]

Did you mod  its vectored thrust...? as the model H gave me has it working and bump mapping etc...been a while I forget...well im old ...thats my excuse...lol