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not quite ready for prime time, but its a start

that gap between the inside and fuselage... and if could ....canopy inside the rear part...it is invisible...if you could add some lining... I started to convert my stock "Over Vietnam series" to this new model...

One more small update for this thread before I retreat temporarily into work mode - as per relevant info. in my previous post, have now done further tests and it is indeed possible to load DDS terrain files directly into FE2 (simplest is to point to relevant DDS files from within the general data ini file that resides in the "Terrains" folder). Having said that, one peculiarity about loading of DDS terrains, instead of BMP ones - is that trees, buildings, other objects, etc., do not show up anymore. Once DDS files are converted to BMP format, on the other hand (as seen in the pics. in my previous post) - trees and buildings once again nicely come through. So, unlike FlightGear that siphons in PNG-to-DDS converted satellite imagery (when its photo-scenery option is set up), FE2/SF2 would require conversion of DDS to BMP files, so as not to smother out the added immersion of objects and trees already present in/on the ThirdWire terrains. Couple of pics. below with DDS ortho/photo-scenery being tested in the Mesopotamian theater in FE2. Graphics look quite good to me but unfortunate is the loss of trees and whatnot - so it's back to conversion to BMP format. Also, as evident in the pics. below, with careful choice of satellite photos the effects are not too jarring between different tiles when all are placed together. Not too bad for initial, manual placement of tiles - but very tricky to place correctly once you get towards rivers, seas/oceans, shorelines, and so on. The job of a terrain modeler is not an easy one - virtual drinks on the house for all terra-formers, also for object-placement ini file crunchers. One thing I particularly like about the satellite photo-scenery options in FlightGear is that, if you like, you can set things up in such a way that the scenery downloading/siphoning mechanism follows your aircraft as you fly, and nicely drops correctly placed terrains below, around, and in front of your flying path. Such a feature requires, once the photo-scenery siphoning system is set up, that you make sure to feed the following command/property to FlightGear itself: --telnet=5000 The photo-siphoning mechanism then connects to local IP no. 127.0.0.1 (i.e., "localhost") on port 5000 and "feeds" satellite imagery to FlightGear as soon as terrain images are downloaded. Such an automatized process makes unnecessary the hassle of manually attempting to place photo-scenery tiles in correct places and positions. (Scenery can also be saved locally, for later offline use - without always having to re-download images.) While there is no multiplayer capability in FE2 - theoretically, if the "telnet=5000" command could somehow be fed to the FE2.exe itself - then a simple re-duplication of one of the more accessible photo-siphoning mechanisms used by FlightGear (e.g., the Julia programming app linked to a photo-scenery Julia add-on) - might work for FE2 too. Will post further thoughts in this thread if I find that there is any way to get the photo-scenery siphoning system to "talk" (establish a telnet connection) with FE2. Otherwise, it will be a very slow process of manually picking through, and choosing, satellite tiles - and that will be called up via the general data ini that's in the terrains folder. Cheers all (& good dreams about auto-loading of satellite imagery in FE2),

I like taking pictures ... (you can fill in the rest!!!)

A quick entry and it works. Simply open up the EA-18G_Data.ini and replace this with what's in the ffile: [LeftOuterWingStationAHM] SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=7 StationGroupID=1 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition=-4.6057,-0.9769,-0.1579 AttachmentAngles=-4.0,-3.0,0.0 LoadLimit=157.100000 DiameterLimit=0.179000 LengthLimit=3.66000 AllowedWeaponClass=IRM AttachmentType=USN ModelNodeName=LeftOuterPylon PylonMass=135.7 PylonDragArea=0.03 LaunchRailNodeName=LeftOuterAHMRail LaunchRailHeight=0.158 MinExtentPosition=-4.376,-3.085,-0.179 MaxExtentPosition=-4.717,-0.585,0.333 [RightOuterWingStationAHM] SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=8 StationGroupID=1 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition=4.6057,-0.9769,-0.1579 AttachmentAngles=4.0,-3.0,0.0 LoadLimit=157.100000 DiameterLimit=0.179000 LengthLimit=3.66000 AllowedWeaponClass=IRM AttachmentType=USN ModelNodeName=RightOuterPylon PylonMass=135.7 PylonDragArea=0.03 LaunchRailNodeName=RightOuterAHMRail LaunchRailHeight=0.158 MinExtentPosition=4.376,-3.085,-0.179 MaxExtentPosition=4.717,-0.585,0.333

I found an other Eiffel Tower lod on my harddrive. And to be honest: it's ugly:

I'm not complaining, it looks good already, and while I haven't flown it yet that much, still quality is good and I'm glad he's responsive about it.

cool... no.2 in that picture. man, that was fast...take your time, this is not a race

is it number 1 or 2 Fixed Fixed Fixed Done. I will make three LOD for one with the ALR15, APR-25, and ALQ-100 one with ALR15, APR-25 and that one with APR-25, and ALQ-100

Hi All, Have been doing a bit of tinkering lately with my FlightGear install - and results are pleasing enough in what is a free, open-source flight sim. Managed eventually to get accurate photo-scenery working in FG, which is a noticeable improvement over the stock (dated) scenery that has been available in that sim for years on end (see pic. below for photo-scenery at work in FG, in this case in the Mesopotamian/s. Iraqi area; the Alb. D.I is a re-skin and FM-overhaul of a model done by Lester Boffo). On a hunch, I then converted a bunch of the photo-tiles from FG (stock format is DDS) to BMP format - so that they become visible in the FE2 terrains folder - and it does indeed work - but would require careful, aesthetic choices regarding what tiles to replace in the terrains folder, such as farms, cities, deserts, etc. - for best cohesion and not too many jarring disconnects between tiles. Nice to see that stock trees and buildings are populating over the satellite/ortho-terrains too, in FE2. Photo-scenery is simply an improved "satellite" carpet that covers the stock scenery and terrain framework in FlightGear - and by extension works the same way in the ThirdWire sims but requires manual conversion to BMP format and manual placement in the terrains folder (perhaps the DDS format would work too, but I didn't bother tinkering with the various settings/text files this time around in the terrains folder). The other good thing about FlightGear is that it is fully under the GNU GPL (General Public License; i.e., "copy-left" license) - so there are no copyright problems that I know of if one borrows such ortho-scenery for FE2 too (haven't bothered to test with SF2). And if working on such a terrain swap as a personal project - that is of course even simpler. A few representative pics. below with just a few ortho-scenery tiles placed over Stephen1918's upgrade of the Mesopotamian theater for FE2. Results look pretty good, particularly when flying higher up, and I haven't noticed any FPS drop with the photo-scenery tiles loaded. Some old tiles are still in place in the pics., for comparative purposes. Any empty areas are where I didn't bother to load tiles. Anyway - I hope you find this post interesting - it's perhaps the "cheapest" way of upgrading tiles across the various theaters available for FE2. If I find enough free time I might tinker further with this side-project; will post comments if the results prove particularly successful. Cheers & good flying,

I don't know about FE2, but the SF2 series does support jpg tiles. IIRC, their name extision needs to be called out in the terrains _data ini, with the tile listings.

I think the pylons are there for the USN birds, but a future thing for the Growlers. https://www.twz.com/air/navy-ea-18g-growlers-get-aim-9x-super-hornets-can-now-carry-more-sidewinders?fbclid=IwAR3mOtw1BaZZ1vrl3qOrO47EeM6MiwB2KanLH0KKEh4D2mOHYd3CtjAxJRA_aem_ASlhzwkox3E4QTlnqvFAGd2_as7hsAhtxhS_IB1yTziMnQUhy3azQclIF9GjGhrGFquK1Oaz4Unt714V7rOUfh2u

"A A-6A Intruder from VA-165 dodging a SAM during Operation Rolling Thunder, over Vietnam,1965 The pilot managed to evade the missile, but during the returning to the carrier, the Intruder crew demanded new underwear as soon as possible after the landing".

I was sitting at my desk when I received your feedback and I couldn't resist the excitement it brought me. I immediately started working on it and gave it my all!

What Gepard says; I cannot remember the exact number, but there are hardcoded limitations in regards to how many vertices can be rendered for TODs. Simply put, reduce the number of buildings on the TOD or the game won't render them all.

I think that there is a limited number for TOD objects, that are accepted by the gameengine. The others are simply ignored by the game and will not appear. I saw this behaviour of the game when i tried to set to many trees on the tile. With buildings, i think, it's the same.

It's a new tower. But new is relative. I have it since 2005 on my harddrive, but never used before.

L-410UVP-T Turbolet

The CE is installed separately from SF2. So you can just uninstall and reinstall, it without any issues.

Chinese dragons...

I prefer the "Cadillac" of intruders....I have company when I'm scared witless......

What a crap day !!!! Encountered a SAM, Got a hung bomb, Refuel probe wont retract, 2 miles out lost electrics.....RAT deployed, Then the tower tell me half the runway is closed & I've only got 4000 Ft use-able. This runway is like glass when its wet....... Oh, did I mention it's raining aswell ???

Just a stock F-4D

As part of your continuing training and pilot education, we have a special test for you today. As you can see, the maintainers have repainted all the gauge faces, so NONE of the numbers can be seen. It is your task, not only to remember which gauge is where, but what the information the gauge is displaying. To do this, you'll be flying a full circuit around the base. Engine start, taxi, takeoff, fly the pattern, and land. You'll taxi back to the parking slot you started from. Have a safe flight. Happy April Fools Day!!!

Sark island is now populated with TOD objects.

nothing too complex today, just some Hogs that moved in to Knob Noster from Dickie Goober.....

mix flight, 4 types, now with tanks for all again, big tanks thanks to yakaro79 for showin me a better way

Russian Attack Helicopters Mil Mi-28N, Mi-28NM and Kamov Ka-52 Alligator ;)

Strange thing. I placed an Eiffel Tower on the map, mid in Paris. In game it does not appear. Then i placed it at Paris Le Bourget airport over a hangar, for orientation reasons. Again the Eiffeltower is not visible in game. Then i flew my test plane exactly over the said hangar and the plane collided with the invisible Eiffeltower. One of the strange miracles of SF2 world.