USAAF2

I'll try that, I do have one awfully large composite shape that should probably be broken up. As of right now, the largest mesh has 9941 vertices, which is probably somewhat ridiculous. There are 4 smaller objects of 233 vertices attached to it. Edit: Thanks again, I'll do some changes and hopefully fix it now.

Okay, though possibly unrelated, I think I overcame some hierarchy problems using 3D studio's help files. I paged through the "3D Studio Max Exporter Notes" found on this site trying to find what I was doing wrong and cannot nail down my problem...:-(

Okay, I got the model into a trial of Max 9 using the FBX utility and installed the Third Wire exporter in that version of the program. The problem is that I still experience a crash of 3D studio when attempting to export in .lod format. Can somebody walk me through the steps that are needed to make a model ready for the final move to .lod format? Also, even if it isn't responsible for this, I would also appreciate a good explanation of how to best assign the hierarchy to the different meshes of the model. Edit: It is apparently a problem with my model, as I just made a test cylinder shape and exported it without issue. Thanks everyone.

Thanks for the help, I suppose I'll go the FBX route and try to get it into a trial of Max9 that way. I didn't quite know what the 2008 version should be referred to as, so I just said max10. :-)

The trial was the 2008 version (10), and the exporter is meant for version 9. I think I just shot myself in the foot trying to use the latest version, so I should probably download a 3dsmax9 trial version or have somebody else make the .lod. My question now is there any difference in the programs that would prevent a max10 file from being read properly in max9? Or does anybody want to export it for me and send it back to me? lol, I knew I would make some kind of silly mistake.

http://www.ausairpower.net/ I think I might do some .ini editing and make myself a quick substitute for the re-engined "missileer" F-111 they talk about in one of the articles. It also has info on the Tacit Rainbow missile and a lot of other things.

How about Soviet missiles like the Kh-59, Kh-55, SS-N-26, SS-N-27, Kh-31 and others?

Hello everyone, I have been experiencing a strange issue in WOV when trying to play multiplayer with another computer. Both machines are loaded with the same files and there is no problem initiating or playing a game between the two except that the player's aircraft from the host computer will never be loaded with missiles or gun ammo. The other computer does not experience this issue and has the loadout in flight that is determined by the file in the aircraft's folder, in addition to gun ammo as well. We were playing with "Guns and Missiles" selected, and this issue has reappeared each time we try to play. The strangest part is that we recently added ~25 WWII aircraft into the game and are able to fight with those (aka. the guns have ammo in that case, but not on later aircraft for the host computer). Aside from the additional aircraft, the only other change that was made recently was the addition of the American Northwest terrain. I am at a loss as to what is causing this issue and would appreciate any help in figuring this out, especially since the files match to play together even though only one computer is experiencing the problem. Thanks.

As far as I know, originally the game did not let us play together and I had to go back and save the weapondata file with the editor again to overwrite the updates on one computer. Could this still be the problem? I was under the impression that if there was any remaining difference in the weapondata file that it wouldn't be possible to play at all. In normal mission gameplay everything still works fine. The terrain is exactly the same, as it was copied from the first computer. Thanks.

Nope, we copied the planes and other files from my computer to his like you just described. Thanks though!

What are the green lights near the pilot's eyes for?

I would like to know if there is a difference in the FM content between First Eagles and WOV, in other words can you install the add-on aircraft people have made for First Eagles into Wings Over Vietnam without a problem? Thanks.

This would have to call for a reissue or separate version of the planes using a rotary launcher, but there might be a way to make one. I'm not versed on the 3D modeling, so this is just an idea I'm throwing out here: There are moving/rotating pylons for the aircraft with variable sweep wings (like the F-111 model). So, could you take that technique and model the rotary launcher as a "pylon" in the aircraft model itself and tie it's rotation to a user controllable input (maybe one of those animation keys)? If that part would work, is there some way to keep a weapon from firing unless it is in the bottom position on the launcher? If this is possible, then you could have a rotating launcher for cruise missiles and also be able to switch back to a normal bombay just like if it was a "mer" in the weapons pack. Like I said, I'm just making a suggestion and don't know the details very well myself on how to approach this beyond what I just thought of. Anyway, this take on the idea doesn't really relate to the weapons pack itself and would have to be taken up by those responsible for the planes using such a device.

Is it feasible to create the rotary internal weapons racks that the B-52, B-1, and B-2 can use for cruise missiles?

Hello, I am just wondering if it is possible to modify the game so that missiles in flight could be targeted by other weapon systems/objects in the game. I can think of a few cases where this could be an improvement. For example, a ship with the Phalanx guns could fire at an incoming air-to-ground missile and fighters or air defenses could try to knock out an inbound cruise missile. So, is it possible to make weapons selectable as targets and make them vulnerable to hits before reaching their target? -Matt

I've downloaded the UCAV package available here and noticed that the aircraft data file has an "RCS Modifier entry" with a value of 0.00007. The thing that I have noticed is that it seemingly does nothing to reduce radar locks and launches from surface to air missile installations and fighters. From what I can tell, the aircraft is picked up on radar at the same range as a non-stealthy aircraft. I'm just wondering if this feature is fully implemented in the game and if there is a fix for it? I know that no plane is invisible to radar, but having the low-observability part would be nice. -Matt

I was just curious as to the latest progress by the respective members undertaking these projects. I've seen previews posted of the B-70 and B-2, but has the B-1 been created yet? -Matt

After a test flight in the USN A-12 model, the only missile launch that I experienced was a SA-9 IR missile that failed to successfully track. Meanwhile, a nearby flight of A-10's were encountering salvos of SAM launches from all directions. The stealth feature definitely works, just perhaps too well. I was at fairly low altitudes ranging from 10 - 18 thousand feet and flying directly towards and over enemy radars to test that change out and never had a radar tracking beep whatsoever. Can anybody recommend some settings for the BaseRCSModifier that are more realistic? (Ex: signature reduction and not complete invisibility) It sure is fun to fly relatively carefree over defenses though.......

Nevermind, I answered my question by digging around on this board. The value needs to be set as a negative number, as described in the A-12 post a while back.

Not to hijack the thread, but I tried the Tu-16 downloads in the past and couldn't get it to load in WOV. It was kind of strange, as you could fly the plane if you first selected a different plane for a strike mission and then switched to the Tu-16 in the loadout screen, but if you tried creating a mission using the Tu-16 from the main menu (date, weather, defences, etc) it would not load, stopping the game and giving an error report. Has anybody had problems installing that plane in WOV and/or am I missing something? I'm just waiting for low-level strike missions with the Tu-22M3.

Cool, it would be neat to have the B-1A prototype created from that basic model as well. Having the increased speed of the original version would make it fun to fly, even if the survivability of the higher alititude flying would make you a nice target. These three planes will be great additions to the game, after that we just need some medium and heavy Russian bombers like the Tu-22M series, the Tu-160, and Tu-95/Tu-142 series. The other side needs something of a strike capability........ :-)

After looking at the structure of the data files between flyable aircraft and ground objects (ships especially), I'm thinking that it should be possible to make ground objects usable by the player. Of course, whatever aircraft cockpit that you install wouldn't realistically represent the controls of a ship or ground vehicle, but it would be cool nonetheless. Anyway, is it as simple as changing the performance settings to reflect a ground vehicle (removing the stall effect/making it unattainable (ex. maybe a high negative number that can't be reached?), different engine specifications, revised altitude settings (basically 0 ft) , etc.) and substituting the hull data for the fuselage entrys referencing the 3-D models and other systems. In the case of a ship, couldn't you just delete the other flight controls and change the values for the rudder to reflect it's control effect. The only problem that I wasn't understanding was the propulsion of the ship. Weapon systems seem like they would be easy enough to make controllable on these models, at least surface to air systems. I'm assuming that you would have to place such a modified object into the "aircraft" folder to trick the game into thinking it is a plane, and for the preservation of realism would have to start out near the target so your ship isn't drydocked on a runway somewhere. Anyway, I just thought that it would be cool to blast some cargoships with a destroyer or fend off enemy fighters with a ship based air defense system. Also, if this idea is feasible ground units would also be fair game to modify. I know this may be a stretch of many people's interests in this game, but I'm just asking for some hints, suggestions, or possibly previous examples of how to do this (if it is feasible). Thanks, Matt

I've run into problems trying to get the vehicle stable while sitting on the ground. Right now it rolls to one side and is destroyed immediately. My idea was to have the game treat the ship as an aircraft sitting on it's landing gear, and be able to "taxi" across the water (taking advantage of the game's indifference between ground and sea landscape properties). The only problem with that is when the FM is modified, wouldn't that require corresponding wheels on the 3D model? I tried using the hull as a landing skid to sit on, and couldn't get that to work. In short, I am a little past my level of experience in getting the ship to travel across the water properly and do not have to ability to modify 3-D models. If anybody could pick up on this concept, I think it would be worthwhile to experiment with. I'm just stuck without really low ground clearance toy-boat style wheels to make it move somewhat correctly. :-) Also, if anybody has another idea on how to make the ship travel, I'm all ears. I just thought the landing gear idea would pose the least problems. Other than that, modifying ships seems to be pretty straightforward. Thanks, Matt

Well, a very crude first attempt kinda worked..... I just forgot to change the start altitude/max altitude settings, causing the Spruance destroyer to soon fall to earth and explode. Not to mention the whole problem about being overland anyway (I just wanted to see if it would even load all the way, and it did ). A little more tweaking and I think it can be done. I haven't messed with the weapons yet, but that part shouldn't be too bad once the rest is sorted out. Thanks to the builder of this model, I hope that you don't mind this odd test of your ship. Matt