FastCargo

You missed the point of the post. It's called by a name, not by a designation by those who operate it. My point was, most pilots call their aircraft by it's name (official or otherwise), not by it's designation. There are exceptions...but they are rare. Huns, Voodoos, The Deuce, Rhinos, Thuds, Zippers, BUFFs, Vipers, Eagles, Hornets...names...not numbers and letters on a spreadsheet. FastCargo

I disagree somewhat. Now, like with anything else, people can go overboard. With that being said, I think combat aircraft should get a name...official or otherwise. A lot of times, the name can evoke images or feelings toward an aircraft (good or bad). Something that rolls off the tongue...and doesn't sound sanitary like an alphanumeric designation. That's why were here, right? Because we enjoy the feel (even simulated) of flight? Bean-counters call it a B-1B. Pilots call it a Bone, because that's what it does to you after it rips over your head at 200 feet, beyond Mach 1, the wall of air distorting light , leaving a smashed trail like God's own finger, whipping up dust and debris in a thunderstorm of fury...just before the sound and heat of four F101s putting out 30000lbs of thrust each drive your eardrums through the other side of your skull. Then the eighty-four 500 pound bombs that it just puked out in 2 seconds arrive on your head... FastCargo

Hey Wags (and Caesar as a side benefit), Glad you got it fixed...never say the USAF can't help the Marines every once in a while... Interesting info to know about the early Hornets...thanks for posting that stuff. I'm sure other people smarter than me can use that kind of first hand experience... FastCargo

Okay, part of the issue is that you've got a combo HUD there...you've got parts of the older F/A-18A HUD mixed in with the newer F/A-18A HUD. The 'fuzzy' stuff is the old stuff. Alright, here is the most straight forward way to fix it, but it takes a while to download the file you need. Go to this link and download the Mega Pack C6: http://www.checksix-fr.com/bibliotheque/in...hp?Fichier=4541 It's a HUGE download, and has a lot of stuff in it. Install the pack, but NOT into any of your current installs. Make a 'fake' install location for it. Once that's done, look in the Objects/Aircraft section for a F-18BA. It's a Blue Angel F/A-18A, but has the modern avionics. Put that aircraft into your Objects/Aircraft directory of the install you want to fly the F/A-18 in. Now, go into your old F-18 directory...you see the subdirectorys of skins? (most named for the squadrons they belong to). Copy those directories to your F-18 Blue Angel directory. Go into the F-18 Blue Angel directory (F-18BA)...you see the subdirectories with the Blue Angel skins (BA, B1, B2, B3, etc)? Delete them...all of them. Open up the F-18BA.ini file and first look for the entry that says this: [AircraftData] AircraftFullName=F-18 Blue Angel etc... Change it to: AircraftFullName=F/A-18A Hornet Then, find these entries: [TextureSet001] Directory=BA Name=BlueAngels N°1 Nation=USN Squadron=Blue Angels Specular=0.150000 Glossiness=0.500000 Reflection=0.100000 [TextureSet002] Directory=B2 Name=BlueAngels N°2 Nation=USN Squadron=Blue Angels Specular=0.150000 Glossiness=0.500000 Reflection=0.100000 [TextureSet003] Directory=B3 Name=BlueAngels N°3 Nation=USN Squadron=Blue Angels Specular=0.150000 Glossiness=0.500000 Reflection=0.100000 [TextureSet004] Directory=B4 Name=BlueAngels N°4 Nation=USN Squadron=Blue Angels Specular=0.150000 Glossiness=0.500000 Reflection=0.100000 [TextureSet005] Directory=B5 Name=BlueAngels N°5 Nation=USN Squadron=Blue Angels Specular=0.150000 Glossiness=0.500000 Reflection=0.100000 [TextureSet006] Directory=B6 Name=BlueAngels N°6 Nation=USN Squadron=Blue Angels Specular=0.150000 Glossiness=0.500000 Reflection=0.100000 Delete the entries...yep, go ahead and delete all of them. Save the file as FA-18A.ini. Delete the following files from the F-18BA directory: F18_fuse.bmp F18_leftwing.bmp F18_nose.bmp F18_rightwing.bmp F18_tails.bmp patch.bmp Rename the F-18BA directory as FA-18A. Done. It works...I just did every single step myself to verify it works. Also, you should be able to delete your old F/A-18 too. Let me know if this works for you. FastCargo

Hey wagsled, Could you do us a favor and post a screenshot with what you are seeing? I think that'll help us figure out what's going on. That's kind of a strange combo of symptoms. FastCargo

I have to tell folks something, seeing it from the other side (as an instructor)... Combat flight sims really do not help you when starting in your flight career. I'll say that again...combat flight sims do not help you when starting your flight career. The majority of folks who wash out of training wash out in the basic parts of training...when you're still trying to learn how to do the simple stuff...maintaining altitude, situational awareness, and aircraft parameters. Jug can talk to this more...but IMHO, if you want to make it through to become a hunter-killer (or a trash hauler, take your pick), get the basics down first. If that is your intent...I would suggest MSFS first and discipline yourself to fly instruments and fly procedures well. That's the foundation that almost everything else flows from. FastCargo

Wish I could help...I'm in the middle of cockpit hell myself. I suspect 'glass' cockpits would be easier because you could go with 'planes' for moving stuff, and be able to texture entire MFDs with one base texture. FastCargo

Well, speaking as a US Air Force pilot, here is my .02: Assuming you are looking for a air combat simulator for a modern day aircraft, the simulator that I think comes closet to actual USAF operation of a single aircraft type is Falcon 4.0: Allied Force (F4:AF or just F4). On hard mode, and/or with certain mods, it's damn near as close as you can get to flying an actual F-16. But be forwarned, it ain't a 'jump in and go fly' kind of sim. It takes dedication and time...like the real thing. A close second is Lock On: Modern Air Combat and it's addon pack, Flaming Cliffs (LOMAC and FF, respectively), which does a pretty good job of Russian aircraft operations...maybe not quite the 9.5/10ths fidelity of Falcon 4.0...but, you won't know the difference, especially with the Frogfoot in Flaming Cliffs, which seems to fly just right... And you'll see debates on either side as to which sim is better (LOMAC or F4). Personally, I've always thought the debate pointless, because 90%+ of the hardcore debaters don't have real time (as in 'sole manipulators') in any aircraft at all, and 98%+ of the debaters have no time in any of the specific aircraft in either sim. Good luck. FastCargo

Try this my friend: http://bbs.thirdwire.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2343 FastCargo

Damn dude. You work fast! That's some nice stuff there. FastCargo

Craig, Out-friggin-standing! Don't you have a real job? Where do you find the time for this stuff??? FastCargo

Hey guys, thanks for the answers. I appreciate all the help! However, some of the answers provide for masking, which I can do consistently. It's the overall transparancy of the item I'm concerned with, not the 'masking' of specific portions. Hinch, I think that's what I've done too!! (PSP to Gimp). Makes no sense, but it's worked... I'm going to try that paint.net program... FastCargo

The extended vertical stab was a modification that was applied to only some F-5Es, not all of them and not all at once. FastCargo

I can neither confirm nor deny at this time... However, it's quite a bit away from being done. So don't salivate too much. LOL! Good one! The MarDon? FastCargo

Okay folks, TGAs are driving me nuts. Hey, masking I can do...it's pretty easy, especially with PSP or Photoshop. But I can't seem to consistently make a proper transparency TGA. I know the value is stored on the Alpha channel, but half the time, it seems as if the alpha channel isn't even there. Usually, I end up flailing with Gimp/PSP/Photoshop and somehow muddle through to eventually get the transparency value I want. Question, is there a failure resistant (I hate to say fail proof...) way in any one of those programs to set the transparency, save it in the alpha channel, and have it work. First time, every time? I'm working on the cockpit of the T-38 right now, and there are an awful lot of transparencies I need.... Any explanations you have, please make it pilot simple...lots of pictures helps! FastCargo

You can, but again, you need someone with 3ds max to convert the file for you. Flying Toaster (who's quite excellent F-8 models from the MF you've been seeing) uses Blender. In fact, he's just finished a model that has been converted and is being worked on. A hint: It's named after 2 animals with lots of teeth. FastCargo

Well, you don't have to use 3ds max. There are other programs (GMax which is free) that can make the 3d models for you, you just need someone to convert them. The other option is getting a student version of 3ds max. It's still not cheap (almost 400 USD) but at least you don't feel like you're buying a car. Plus, it's not neutered in any way as far as I can tell, it just can't be used to make commerical products (ie payware). There is also ebay for older versions...or if you know someone 'in the biz' who would sell you an older copy... FastCargo

1) I don't know if that's possible. I don't think it is. 2) As far as I know yes. It's because you have to assign a transparancy value to the glass of something other than 100 which affects the whole mesh. However, I'm curious what would happen if you used a TGA file on that mesh with parts of it that are solid colored....I haven't tried such a thing. I've seen it done before, but I don't think I've ever seen it done to make a canopy frame 'solid' while keeping the glass clear... FastCargo

Cool!!! Rock on. FastCargo

This is an interesting topic. I've found personally to think that bloom is overdone a bit in games, but HDR is a nice idea. Simulating temporary blindness (too much white) is pretty neat. Just never been crazy about the 'fuzz' that happens...or 'motion blur' for that matter. FastCargo

Ditto! FastCargo

'Flew off by hand'...I set the catapult that I sit on with no length or strength to speak of...so when I release brakes, I just do a real jump jet style takeoff. However, it also means that the number 5 guy in your flight (the guy that will appear in your 'slot') after your number 4 takes off won't get airborne...so I usually 'Alt-N' before he has a chance to appear and takeoff...he magically shows up...:). FLIGHT_DECK is a parameter in the data.ini that sets the 'mesh' for your flight deck and sets the altitude above the ground that it is. Maybe you're colliding with the actual 'hull' of the ship? On second thought, that probably isn't it either...disregard my FLIGHT_DECK comment. Try the AV-8C and see what you can come up with. Also, I think there is a data.ini available that updates the Harrier FM to make it easier to ground handle... FastCargo