Geezer

Progress shots of the Curtiss Hawk III. Its ready to UVW map, then make skin artwork. Been reading up on CAF aces, and discovered some technical details about the Hawk III. They were armed with a .30 Browning and a .50 Browning, which gave them very effective firepower by the standards of the mid-1930s. Also, the Japanese Mitsubishi A5M had superior performance to the standard Hawks, so the CAF stripped bomb racks, drop tank gear, airflow ring, and sliding canopy to improve performance. That explains why there is so much variation in the old photographs of CAF Hawk III aircraft.

Thank you. I clicked on your link, but the screen was blank. Below are some test shots of buildings and river objects.

Anyone interested in aerial combat during the Sino-Japanese war might find this website interesting. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/sino-japanese.htm

Wow! I am both impressed by your research and honored that the citizens of your home town still commemorate Lt. Moni. Thank you for this fascinating information. Progress shot of Mitsubishi A5M2 and A5M2 Otsu below:

Thanks. This aerial campaign was my first mod interest when I discovered First Eagles back in 2006/7. I have always loved the subject matter - high adventure and aerial combat with sophisticated biplanes. Chennault was involved from the very beginning of the campaign as an advisor, and eventually resulted in the American Volunteer Group, popularly known as the Flying Tigers.

Thank you! Do not apologize for your English - I appreciate your help as I do not speak Chinese. Below are some test models for my proposed map.

Yes! I would very much like to "borrow" your maps. The only detailed maps I've been able to find are modern, so they show too many roads and too much habitation.

Progress shots of the Northrop 2EC.

I thank the Chinese people for honoring that pilot, and all other brave men and women, who fought to resist the spread of fascism 1937-45. I am back modding after some Real World interruptions - I'm upgrading my old China war models (see below) and also thinking about making a small map for the aerial campaign over the Shanghai - Nanjing region. Because of the language barrier, I am having trouble finding accurate 1937-38 maps of that region. Would you be willing to assist me?

Those are Northrop 2EC attack bombers, one of the first variants of the revolutionary Northrop Gamma. The last shot is a 2EC bought by the RAF for evaluation.

Great stuff - thanks! I love the Art Decco refueler. I had been considering a tractor and bowser for the Brits, now.....?

MUE - I expect stupidity from Wilches, but not from you. No SF modder, with the possible exception of Stary, knows anything about art direction. That's why SF still looks so bad despite many years of effort. You're ignoring the obvious evidence, and presuming to tell an expert - me - how to make realistic looking gameworlds. Its called art direction for a reason, and is the aesthetic equivalent of system integration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_director Bottom line in the REAL WORLD is that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but not every opinion has value. No professional cares if you disagree. The core of your objection is the road size? I'm a professional designer so I can make the road any size I want! Indeed, what you see is just a test iteration - if any of you were professionals, you would know that multiple variations are required to gradually identify the correct relationships. Your objections are noted, but I am the one doing the work - and I know more about visual design than ANYONE modding TW games. If you don't like it, TOUGH SHIT!!!! I've had many associates from my working days ask me why I wasted my time working on TW stuff. They pointed out that nearly ALL the modders were amateurs who knew next to nothing about professional design, which is why it looked so bad and would never get any better. They were right. I now take my leave of these forums because I have better things to do than listen to dumb shits who will never produce anything of professional quality.

Thanks for clearing that up. Understand I have done this before with other game systems, I am just not familiar with the TW system, so I am grateful you have clued me in about the process and its limitations. It sounds like the objects will have to be scaled to fit the gameworld after the TE gets done creating the mesh. My comments about Wilches stand because I have no intention of using the stock objects. Do not interpret my rejection of the stock objects as criticism of modders' efforts - they were doing the best they could with what they were given. The problem is what they were given was many years behind the state of the gaming art, even when brand new. Ten years later, TW looks even worse when compared to ROF, CLOD, BOS, etc. I have stated repeatedly I am out to push the envelope and see what can be done with TW's system. Using the existing objects is perpetuating mediocrity. If this seems harsh, see my comments above about untrained students need to have faulty ideas pounded out of their heads. That's how it works in the real world....and that's how you achieve professional results and improve the hobby. By NOT doing things the same old way as before. Again, thanks - I appreciate your help.

I'm working on a batch of WW1 3D aircraft to send you. Hopefully, they will assist you in working out how to make airfield objects. FWIW, I've found that LOD2 (and subsequent) look more realistic without bracing wires. There is a widespread misconception that bracing wires should be black. That almost never happened in the real world - they were usually primered or anodized grays or greens. Also, never use true black as a general color: http://combatace.com/topic/87534-art101-for-modders-theory/

NP - its actually a fun hobby for an old retired geezer. It will take a long time for me to develop the new ground tile artwork, but the results will eventually trickle out to other FE and SF modders. An explanation will be useful here, so there won't be any hurt feelings in the future. Attending a first rate art school is a bit like military boot camp. In both cases, the trainees are carrying around in their heads faulty ideas that must be pounded out of them. This training is then reinforced by experience in the real world, and results in the artist/designer looking at a task differently than an average person views the same task. Simply put, TW set a mediocre graphics standard with SF and FE, and modders quite naturally used what they were given. As Stary accurately said, TW sims are right out of 1999......and it shows. With some exceptions, most of the existing graphics must be scrapped to drag the sims' appearance into the 21st century. Towards that end, I will also develop new trees, buildings, etc. It will take a while, but its a fun hobby and will give other modders baseline material that does not look like klunky 1990s graphics.

Excellent! Very good analysis - there is always a need for static model aircraft for airfields.