Geezer

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.

Found a really cheesy Chinese video about aerial combat over China circa 1937-1941. It makes a John Wayne movie seem tastefully restrained, but - for the most part - has first rate aircraft mockups and computer animations. Lots of fun over a couple of beers.

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.

Nope. Many stock TW objects are ALREADY 63% of actual size. Wrench has posted several times about his experiments in trying to compensate for this scale disparity. "also, not to be forgetting that map is "3rd wire world size", 63% of reality" http://combatace.com/topic/84865-first-eagles-ww2/page-2 Dunno why he overlooked that in his earlier post. As far as your ill-advised comment about "screwing" the game up, I suggest in the future you get your facts right before making any more dumb remarks. I am one of the few trained and experienced professionals to pay any attention to TW and, when opinions differ, actions speak louder than words. When you have demonstrated the ability to produce professional level models and graphics, then we can discuss game production.

Thanks. RE 63%: curious you should say that - you are the one that told me several years ago that TW ground objects should be 63% of actual size. Experiments with test terrain tiles and models in Max suggest why TK did it that way. Given the klunky nature of his 1999 game engine back then, a full size game world populated with full size objects would have brought the average simmer's computer to its knees! As Stary has pointed out, the entire TW series has always suffered from inadequate art direction - this has caused a number of visual mismatches that I am trying to overcome. Two shots below illustrate sizing problems with full size objects versus 63% objects. First shot shows ground objects full size, as in the previous shots. Second shot shows copies reduced to 63%. Note how they better fit the roads and trees in terms of size and appearance - this results in improved immersion. The alternative - enlarging the ground tile art even more than I already have - is something I would like to avoid. It's not yet clear if dozens of 2048 and 1024 images will run successfully without reducing the frame rates too much. We'll see. The good news is that the tiles and objects can be used in upgrading other maps in both SF and FE. Full size objects, as shown in previous shots. Objects reduced to 63%. Note how they appear more realistic when compared to the trees and road.

More test shots of tile art. Getting close to what other combat flight sims looked like ten years ago. Shots show 2024 art pasted to an FE 500meter tile. Vehicles and buildings are full size, visible from gamer's cockpit on take off. Objects elsewhere will be 63% of this size and will fit artwork features - such as roads - even better.