Fubar512

Before anyone passes judgement on ThirdWire's water shader FX, compare what TK has done on a limited budget, by himself, to what Microsoft did with a much greater budget and a large staff, in MSFS X: Talk about obvious transition effects!

Is this the effect your looking for? Listen to the machine gun rounds hitting the water and the destroyer's flank... http://forum.combatace.com/uploads/1212063..._43_4152332.wmv

Ok, When you extract the bulletobject.ini (which must be extracted from the objectdata.cat), you'll see entries like this for each category: [HmgEffects] TracerEmitterName=TracerSmokeEmitter GroundHitEffectName=HmgGroundHitEffect GroundHitSoundName=DirtHit WaterHitEffectName=CannonWaterHitEffect WaterHitSoundName=WaterRic<----added by me ObjectHitEffectName=HmgObjectHitEffect ObjectHitSoundName=Impact1<----added by me ArmorHitEffectName=HmgObjectHitEffect ArmorHitSoundName=ArmorHit<----added by me AirBurstEffectName= AirBurstSoundName= As you can see, I've "added" three different sound file callouts, to correspond to file of the same name, that I've placed in the sound folder. In order for the game engine to utilize them (of they did not exist in a default installation), you'll need to extract the "soundlist.ini", from the flightdata.cat. Once you open that file, you'll see (surprise!) a numerical list of sounds. Say we want to add the water ricochet sound (WaterRic). We'll first have to add the new entry to the existing list, in numbered sequence: SoundFile078=WaterRic We're not finished yet, though. Next we'll need to create a matching entry for at the bottom of the page, like so: [WaterRic] Priority=HIGH 3DSound=TRUE DopplerEffect=TRUE NumBuffers=4 MaxDist=500.000000 MinDist=10.000000 InsideConeAngle=360 OutsideConeAngle=360 ConeOutsideVolume=0 Save your edits, and you're done. One more thing, this series does not support stereo files. They must be monaural (mono) in format. I personally edit or record them in 16-bit mono, at 44.100 kHz, as I have a high-end sound card, and can get away with it.

Yes there is. It requires (obviously) the sound files themselves, and then, corresponding edits must be made to the objects/bulletobject.ini and flight/soundlist.ini.

You don't believe me? Fine, have fun hosing your install. Unleash the hidden but ever-present CTD potential. "Turns around, pulls pin, throws away spoon, and hands over grenade" http://www.download.com/Free-Hex-Editor-Ne...&tag=button

You cannot edit a dll in this series. It will not pass the CRC once you do, hence, it will be rejected and the game will either not run at all, or CTD during the loading process.

Again, some people don't seem to understand. So I will spell it out one last time, even though my first inclination is to close this thread before someone hoses their install trying to prove the unprovable :yes: The series mainly relies on parameters defined within initialization (.ini) files. Those parameters MUST match data contained within the .dll (dynamic link library) file, that corresponds to the aforementioned .ini file. For example, AiircraftOnject.ini corresponding .dll is Aircraftobject.dll. Back around January of 2003 or so, a gentleman by the name of Galanti "cracked the code" (so to speak) and suggested edits to change the behavior and aggression level of the AI. He uncovered this gem by using a hex-editor to peruse the data contained within the aircraftobject.dll, specifically, the data that controlled the AI aircraft. A year or so later, based on (and credited to) Galanti's work, we released the first UberAI. It was upgraded over time to include new parameters as they became available (in SP3) including "ChanceUseVertical", "FightWithoutAmmo", etc. Work stopped on it after the release of WoE and SP4, so it's valid up to the current patch level of SF/WoV/and WoE. In short, if the data is not there, the game engine will not understand it. You might as well add the following line under DogfightAce, as it stands as good a chance of working as do some of the previous suggestions: ChanceFlipEnemytheBird=100 Now, if you open up the aircraftobject.dll in WoI and FE, you will see a lot of new & exciting parameters, but alas, you cannot use them in the previous titles until they are patched to SP5, and receive a new, game specific aircraftobject.dll in the process. Oh, BTW, you cannot just drop the aircraftobject.dll from WoI or FE into those older games, either...it won't run. Anyway, carry on, do silly things, claim that they work, lowered the price of oil in the bargain, and all that. But, maybe you should try pestering TK at ThirdWire and ask, first

Water & Terrain ShaderFX in acton, WoI. Take note of the transition between the water and the "sand". You'll notice a tiling effect on the terrain that I'm trying to eliminate. Make sure you run the linked video in full screen mode. http://forum.combatace.com/uploads/1212063...43_10424666.wmv

Now, you can change out the NOISENORMAL.BMP and tailor it for a specific terrain. This is the effect I'm after, hopefully without obvious transition lines (visible borders) for WoI, or any desert terrain. Anyone want to step up to the plate and try it?

First, to run the shader effects, you need a video adapter that natively supports DX9.0. That would be at least an ATI Radeon 9500 or later, or a Geforce 6000 series or later (If I'm not mistaken, the GF 5FX series had issues with DX9 support). Second, you need to have the terrain and effects detail set to the highest levels. Now, the file in question is the WATEREFFECT.FX file. These are the settings that I'm currently using: const half3 CameraPos : CAMERA_GLOBAL_POSITION; const half3 SpecularColor : SPECULAR_LIGHT_COLOR = { 0.8, 0.8, 0.8 }; const half3 WindVelocity /*: WIND_VELOCITY */ = { 2.0, -4.0, 0.0 }; const half2 FogDistance : FOG_DISTANCE; const half StartFadeDist = 1500.0; const half EndFadeDist1 = 8000.0; const half EndFadeDist2 = 18000.0; const half SpeckleAmount = 0.7; const float NoiseScale = 0.0005; const float WaveCycleRate = 0.85; const float WaveMovementRate = 0.0003;

Well, it's a no-brainer (and it should have been obvious to me from the onset), but after playing with this, it appears as if the maximum effects rendering distance is still limited by pixel-size. :yes:

Terrain.FX in the "X_terrain".cat file. Thanks, Deuces...I knew you'd eventually chime in on this.

These lines do not presently apply to SF/WoV/WoE, as they are not present in the aircraftobject.dll, hence, the game engine does not "understand" them. MaxRollForGunAttack=180 CannonBurstLengthShort=0.25 CannonBurstLengthLong=0.5 MaxRudderForGunAttack=1.0 MaxRudderForManeuver=1.0 This will change when those titles are upgraded to SP5, after which they'll brought up to parity with WoI and FE.

Try using the search feature, it works well, and helps dig up lots of info http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?s=&am...st&p=149612

By editing the "MaxVisibleDistance" parameter in each aircraft's data.ini file (which you'll find under the "detect system" header), you will give AI aircraft what amounts to GCI or AWACS coverage, and all but force BVR engagements. . I generally add 10000 to the existing value. For example, if the default value is currently "8400.0", make it "18400.0". [DetectSystem] RadarType= VisualBlindArc=5,6,7 VisualRestrictedArc=4L,8L MaxVisibleDistance=8400.0 <---edit this to 18400.0 HasRWR=TRUE BaseRCSModifier=1.2 For bombers or similar large aircraft, a value of 40000.0 or even greater is not out of the question. In the case of low-observable (stealth) aircraft, I suggest cutting the distance by half or even by 75% (IE., 8400.0 to 4200.0 or even 2100.0), just to keep things somewhat realistic.

Also, I suggest that you try editing the "MaxVisibleDistance" parameter in each aircraft's data.ini file (you'll find it under the "detect system" header). I add 10000 to each value, for example, if it's currently "8400.0", make it "18400.0". This imbues the AI with what amounts to GCI or AWACS coverage, and forces BVR engagements. I suggest that you do the opposite for stealthy aircraft, cutting the distance by half or even by 75% (IE., 8400.0 to 4200.0 or even 2100.0), just to keep things somewhat realistic. Know what? I'm adding this to the Knowledge Base.

Until DS becomes available, just create an analog using one of the other radar models, and place them on the map where they would help provide coverage with as few "holes" as possible. FYI, I network some of my 37 mm guns, and all of the 57, 85, 100, and 130 mm AAA guns.

No, because flares are visually an effect, and globally, share the same values (entries) in the countermeasure.ini file. For reference these are the entries that I'm using: [FlareData] EffectName=FlareEffect MaxVisibleDistance=12000 HeatSignature=100.0 DragFactor=1.00 LifeTime=4.0 VelocityDeviation=0.3