FastCargo

Can't be done. In our 'Adding Anything to a Ship' thread, we talk about this limitation. Ground objects only can use one missile system, specifically one type of missile system in one location on the object. Ship combat has been a weak point of the series...the ground objects data.ini were mainly designed for SAMs, AAA, and tanks. FC

Oh I hope the heck not...there really isn't any reason for it. And it would play havoc with some of the enviromental mods out there. FC

Okay, according to TK on the TW website, because most of the time and money seems to be going into the Tomcat and new terrain engine (!), there doesn't seem like there will be significant changes to the carrier side of things. He hasn't even confirmed a new Nimitz class carrier (I would think that would be a given)...but I am going to assume there will be one closely sized with Skatezilla's version. So, to narrow down the parameters of the project: A Nimitz carrier as a base. A flight deck running concurrent ops (not completely realistic, but allows use in campaigns). Deck will have aircraft, GSE, personnel, maybe some weapon carts. From what I can tell, the GSE and personnel shapes haven't changed that much since the late 70s, so those will stay constant. The question is what aircraft for what time periods. Here are the aircraft I have MAX files for so far (some were native, some I had to convert from other sources): F-14A FA-18A FA-18E/F/G EA-6B A-6 E-2 F-35C I am in the process of evaluating a few other models, including an A-7 and SH-60 from Sketchup to MAX. I haven't found a decent Hoover or Sea King model yet, they may not be included. My question to folks in the know is how many different variants of the flight deck should be made and which aircraft for which variant. Keep it simple, remember that nothing will be moving. Also, this will only encompass the Nimitz class carriers, and minor model differences (ie FA-18A vs FA-18C) won't be broken out...this is a static display after all. Also, any other models I should be looking for feel free to suggest, but only if you think it SIGNIFICANTLY enhances the flight deck. FC

Welcome to 2011...glad to hear no one has died. FC

But towed decoys can be built and implemented...it's just not easy. FC

Yes, you are wrong. Lets make this simple...radars are like flashlights. If you both are in a dark room, and you each turn on your flashlights and shine them at each other, guess what, you can see each other and shoot each other. Now, if only you turn on your flashlight and shine it at your target, you can still shoot him. BUT, he will know you are trying to shoot him because he can see the flashlight pointed at him, so he will try to evade. Does that make sense? Radar does not care if the target you are trying to lock on and shoot has it's own radar system. FC

DEVIL 11, what is your native language? FC

Okay, this isn't that hard. First, download this: http://combatace.com/files/file/9685-b-52gh-mega-era-package/ This has the correct cockpits for the B-52. Then, read this: http://combatace.com/topic/43234-how-to-make-a-sf2-aircraftweapon-useable-in-gen-1-thirdwire-sims/ This will let you import the B-52s into the eariler version of the sims, including the cockpits. Then, read this: http://combatace.com/topic/20789-how-to-make-ai-planes-flyable/ This will show you how to use those cockpits for other version of the B-52. Why use an A-6 when you can have the real cockpit, including a co-pilot. FC

Yea, we are going to need a lot more than that to go on. Screenshots, system specs, etc. FC

If it's black, it's because the skins aren't showing up at all...make sure the texture directory exists. Also, the OUT file does nothing for you...its information only. FC

Well, I'm going to hold on the project temporarily until TK can answer just a few questions I have about the Tomcat sim regarding the carriers. But I have been finding more and more models to import into the project, so filling the deck won't be an issue. Remapping on the other hand... FC

And for those with images of 'teh sex plane' in their heads... FC

The problem with other decks is the MAX models are needed to 'build' the deck. Until you have MAX models available for those items, building remains limited. That being said, I just found a nicer EA-6B model for free, and I think Skatezilla put out a version of his carrier that already has a Hawkeye model on it... FC

I was wondering that myself. Because TK himself has said that the Tomcat sim will include naval combat, I would assume a few things: 1) Carriers will be reasonably destroyable vs needing stupid amounts of firepower, which means the Flight deck issue will need resolution. 2) Weapons may need to be targetable...I believe one of the things the F-14 was to do for fleet defense was kill cruise missiles. 3) Carriers will need to have usable, multilayered defenses. Reason 1 is almost certain, reasons 2 and 3 may not happen. How TK changes the carriers will certainly affect how this is done in the future. If carrier defense weapons become relevant, the 'weapon' method won't be useful...UNLESS TK allows multiple types of weapons on a single ship. Also, TK could change the coding for carriers to treat them more like airbases with 'parking spots'...that certainly would be a cheap way to populate a carrier deck if you put strict limits on width and length of aircraft (note the parameters exist in the data.ini of the aircraft in question). FC

I would tend to agree with Bongodriver...because the animation doesn't do anything for game play, it doesn't need to be player controlled. FC

A-goddamn-men! FC

Some more experimenting after Vampyre gave us some great info... The diagram of the Nimitz I have isn't quite perfect, so there are a few minor mismatches. But you can see, a concurrent ops flight deck is busy looking, even at this early stage. FC

I thought there would be more interest as well, the problem of course is unless you've got several aircraft models lying around from other projects, you still have to build the aircraft (which would be your main population). And like you said, you have to disarm the ship...but ship combat really hasn't been a strong suite of the series, especially because the aircraft carriers are hard to kill due to the flight deck requirements. FC

Well, in theory you could make different weapons with the same LOD, just different skins. Then you have different carriers for different squadrons. An example would be say VF-11 on CVN-69 with CarrierAddon1 or VF-12 on CVN-70 with CarrierAddon2. The carrier and CarrierAddon LODs are the same, just different data.ini entries (for the carrier) and different bitmaps (for the 'weapon'). FC

I think they won't work...the 'prop' bug was related to a new LOD that gives TGAs shadows. Because of this, I think all the new LODs aren't backwards compatible with any installation older than Dec 2010. FC

Sure enough. What I really need right now is someone (a squid type) to give me a probable deck arrangement for concurrent ops. Then Eric, you can tell me how you would like the mix of aircraft and where (and as an aside, if you want any thing like different arrangements of pods, drop tanks, canopies, etc). Then someone with deck crew and vehicle MAX files (and maybe pilot/ejection seat MAX files to boot). I can then create a 'weapon' that will fit on any Nimitz sized carrier and can be used in campaigns. Of course, it would only have Super Hornets on the deck... FC

The prototype you see here is one skin for all the models. However, making different skins wouldn't be that big a deal. My plan was to have one skin for the E and F models, and another skin for the G models. The problem, as with anything else, is that the more different skins you make, the more textures you have to load into memory. Obviously, I could remap the models to try to compress the amount of texture usage, but that starts getting into the 'more work than I want to do' phase... FC

Yes, this method would work in adding ships....but the ships, aircraft, deck crew, etc, would have to be one massive LOD file. In addition, you would have to add wake effects in the carrier's data.ini for the other 'ships'. FC

Okay, I've been playing with this a bit using the weapon method: The disadvantage is that you basically disarm the ship, you can't apply decals,lights (but can have lighted materials) or sounds. The advantage is that it's basically a permanent install in that you can prevent the 'missile' from ever firing, plus it can be used in campaigns (if you set up the arrangement right for concurrent launch and recovery ops). Ya take your your pick and takes your chances... FC

Uh yeah, the black helicopter crowd already has talked about this one... http://combatace.com/topic/61681-testing-testing-123/ FC