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mue

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Everything posted by mue

  1. Although the target area editor in its current state only has viewing (and no editing) capabilities I decided to release a first version. Maybe someone find it already useful. For usage instructions read the readme.txt. I tested it with stock terrains, Rends germany terrain and the range terrain. Feel free to report bugs, feature wishes etc. TargetAreaEditorV0.1.zip Screenshot: Rends germany terrain, (now ex-) airbase near my hometown.
  2. As most of you know spotting other aircraft in SF2 is quite difficult. I think most are using the red targeting box to engage enemy aircraft. But only the currently targeted aircraft is marked with the red box and not the other aircrafts. Another option would be to turn labels on (HUD Display option set to "Easy"). Unfortunately the label text is too verbose and is also shown at too long distances. Some people already had the idea to change the label text into a single dot but AFAIK nobody has accomplished it yet...until now... I proudly present the "dot label mod": dot_label_mod.zip With this mod labels are shown as a dot and only within a distance of 10 nm. This mod uses a modified text drawing shader that hides all characters and digits of the label text and only draws the "dot" character. Unfortunately there is a negative side effect: the text in the target info box is also "filtered" by this shader and therefore not correctly displayed. So I disabled the target info box. Furthermore to get rid of the way point label text (which shows up if the HUD Display option is set to "Easy") the shader also completely hides all text that is drawn with NormalColor. This means that also the text in the top info box and in the bottom left info box is hidden. But the afterburner message is still shown. To install this mod just put the contents of the zip file (huddata.ini and twfont.fx) into your Flight folder and set the HUD Display option to "Easy". The enemies are shown with red dots, and friendlies are shown with blue dots. But you can change the colors to your liking by changing the values of EnemyTargetColor and/or FriendlyTargetColor in the huddata.ini AND setting exactly the same values (without the alpha compononent) in the twfont.fx files: e.g: if you set in huddata.ini EnemyTargetColor=0.1,0.2,0.3,0.4 you must set in twfont.fx float3 EnemyTargetColor = float3(0.1,0.2,0.3);
  3. As Nyghtfall already wrote: blender 2.78/2.79 does allow for angled pivot points. If you rotate an object it actually does rotate the pivot point (and its attached mesh). To see the rotated pivot points you have to set the Transform Orientation option to Local, e.g. through the Transfrom Orientation Selector in the 3D view header or with Alt-Space. The problem with blender 2.78/2.79 is, that you can not directly rotate the pivot point without rotating the attached mesh. But you can use this workaround: - First rotate the object (pivot point and mesh) in the opposite direction. - Then apply the rotation to the mesh with Ctrl-A Rotation. That resets the rotated pivot point to the global axes but keeps the mesh rotated. - Afterwards rotate the object back in the wanted direction. That rotates the pivot point in the wanted direction while the mesh is back in its original orientation.

  4. LOD Exporter for Blender

    mue commented on mue's file in Utilities / Editors

    Currently not, but maybe in the future.

  5. Version 0.3

    434 downloads

    I tried to implement the exporter only based on the information I found by investigating LOD files. I'm not a 3D Modeler myself. I only tested the exporter with rather simple object (hierarchies). The bottom line is that I have no idea if the exporter works for you. So please give feedback. Note: This plugin requires blender version 2.78 or 2.79. It is not compatible with blender versions 2.8+. 1.) Installation Open the Blender User Preferences - Add-ons Tab (File -> User Preferences... -> Add-Ons) Click "Install from File..." Browse to and select the exporter python script "io_export_sf2_lod.py" Click "Install from File..." (or double click on the script name) In the Add-Ons Tab under Supported Level select Testing and enable "Import-Export: Strike Fighters 2 LOD Exporter" The LOD exporter is now installed and enabled. Under File -> Export you should see the menu item "Strike Fighters 2 LOD (.lod)". It's greyed out until an exportable object is selected. 2.) Usage Select the object you want to export and click File -> Export -> Strike Fighters 2 LOD (.lod) The file browser opens. In the lower left area you see the LOD exporter options: -enable/disable writing the out file (text file with information about the exported object(s)). -enable/disable animation export -allow decals: This option is similar to the option in the original TW-Exporter: "Exporting using AllowDecals=0 causes the vertex to be shared, so it can reduce the size of the .LOD but also causes decals to "bleed" along the edges." This dialog setting is used as default for all objects to be exported. However, it can be overwritten by each individual object via the custom object property "AllowDecals" = 0(false) or 1(true) The selected object and all child objects are exported. Two custom object properties are supported by the exporter: -AllowDecals = 0 or 1, This option is similar to the option in the original TW-Exporter: "Exporting using AllowDecals=0 causes the vertex to be shared, so it can reduce the size of the .LOD but also causes decals to "bleed" along the edges." -UseFlatNormal = 0 or 1, if set to 1 then all vertex normals are pointing straight up (normal = (0,0,1)) in the objects local coordinate system. Please note! The objects must meet the following requirements: -No scaling in the Transform Properties allowed (that means: scale x = y = z = 1.0). If your object has scaling, it should be applied to the mesh (Ctrl-A) Scaling is only allowed for animations. -A material must be assigned to the object. Only the first material of an object is exported. The following material parameters are exported: -Diffuse Color (the lod file format also contains ambient color. Currently the exporter set ambient color = diffuse color) -Specular Color -Specular Intensity -Specular Hardness (I think in 3ds Max it's called glossiness) -if "Shading -> Emit" > 0.0 then self illumination is enabled -Transparency (if transparency is enabled, then the object doesn't cast and doesn't catch shadow. if transparency is disabled, then the object cast and catch shadow. The specific LOD format version the exporter writes, doesn't support arbitrary cast/catch shadow combinations. The other LOD formats I don't understand enough (yet). Sorry!) -Alpha -Mirror Reflectivity -Diffuse texture image name (as diffuse texture the exporter uses the texture where "Influence -> Diffuse -> Color" is enabled) -Normal map texture image name("Influence -> Geometry -> Normal" is enabled and the Normal value is also exported) -Specular map texture image name("Influence -> Specular -> Intensity" is enabled) -Normal and specular map can only be used together with a diffuse map. (If I exported a normal or specular map without diffuse map, then the LOD wasn't shown in the game or the game crashed. I don't know why...) Animation Export: This exporter supports the following object animation types: location, rotation and scaling. Frames 10, 20, 30, ..., 100 are exported as animation 1 Frames 110, 120, 130, ..., 200 are exported as animation 2, ... 3.)Credits: Thanks to logan4 and angelp who provided me with specific lod files that helped me to understand the lod file format better. 4.)Changelog: Version 0.1: -initial release Version 0.2: -bugfix: didn't work in blender version 0.79 Version 0.3: -animation support -added custom object properties: "AllowDecals" and "UseFlatNormal"
  6. This is the first release of the LOD Exporter for blender. A main reason for this release is to get feedback / bug reports from you users (3D Modeler). I'm not a 3D Modeler myself. I only tested the exporter with rather simple object (hierarchies). I tried to implement the exporter only based on the information I found by investigating LOD files. Thanks again to logan4 and angelp who provided me with specific lod files that helped me to understand the lod file format better. The Bottom line is that I have no idea if the exporter works for you. So please give feedback. The Exporter Script: Update: The latest version can be found in the download section: https://combatace.com/files/file/16747-lod-exporter-for-blender/ 1.) Installation Open the Blender User Preferences - Add-ons Tab (File -> User Preferences... -> Add-Ons) Click "Install from File..." Browse to and select the exporter python script "io_export_sf2_lod.py" Click "Install from File..." (or double click on the script name) In the Add-Ons Tab under Supported Level select Testing and enable "Import-Export: Strike Fighters 2 LOD Exporter" The LOD exporter is now installed and enabled. Under File -> Export you should see the menu item "Strike Fighters 2 LOD (.lod)". It's greyed out until an exportable object is selected. 2.) Usage Select the object you want to export and click File -> Export -> Strike Fighters 2 LOD (.lod) The file browser opens. In the lower left area you see the LOD exporter options. Currently there is only one option: enable/disable writing the out file (text file with information about the exported object(s)). The selected object and all child objects are exported. Please note! The objects must meet the following requirements: -No scaling in the Transform Properties allowed (that means: scale x = y = z = 1.0). If your object has scaling, it should be applied to the mesh (Ctrl-A) -A material must be assigned to the object. Only the first material of an object is exported. Only the following material parameters are exported: -Diffuse Color (the lod file format also contains ambient color. Currently the exporter set ambient color = diffuse color) -Specular Color -Specular Intensity -Specular Hardness (I think in 3ds Max it's called glossiness) -if "Shading -> Emit" > 0.0 then self illumination is enabled -Transparency (if transparency is enabled, then the object doesn't cast and doesn't catch shadow. if transparency is disabled, then the object cast and catch shadow. The specific LOD format version the exporter writes, doesn't support arbitrary cast/catch shadow combinations. The other LOD formats I don't understand enough (yet). Sorry!) -Alpha -Mirror Reflectivity -Diffuse texture image name (as diffuse texture the exporter uses the texture where "Influence -> Diffuse -> Color" is enabled) -Normal map texture image name("Influence -> Geometry -> Normal" is enabled and the Normal value is also exported) -Specular map texture image name("Influence -> Specular -> Intensity" is enabled) -Normal and specular map can only be used together with a diffuse map. (If I exported a normal or specular map without diffuse map, then the LOD wasn't shown in the game or the game crashed. I don't know why...) The exporter supports no animation yet
  7. Nice find. I could reproduce this bug. First I feared that all CDdc calculations (e.g. for ailerons, elevator and flaps) were bugged too. But tests showed me that they work correctly (i.e. the drag increases and the aircraft slows when these control surfaces are deflected). It seems that ReverseInput=True in the Rudder section triggers the bug (the ReverseInput option is absent in the other control surface sections).
  8. Of course the game engine's FDM does take this into account. CGPosition= does not do what you think it does. The cog inside the FDM is fixed at 0,0,0 (in the FDM coordinate system). CGPosition= then positions the FDM in relation to the 3D Model by moving the FDM (cog) to the given position (in 3D model coordinate system). If you want to change the cog position in relation to the aerodynamic surfaces inside the FDM you have to change the x coordinates of the aerodynamic surfaces instead by altering the Xac*TableData. Since the (real) F-16 is aerodynamic unstable and requires a FBW system, and the game engine does not simulate FBW, I assume that the FDM is adapted to be more aerodynamic stable instead.
  9. Of course does the elevators contribute to the total lift force. It's basic rigid body physics (keyword: equivalent force systems): e.g. an upward force at the elevator is equivalent to the same force applied to the cog and an additional moment around the cog with moment = force x cog-elevator-distance. Sure, the lift contribution from the elevators is nearly neglectable compared to the main wings, but it's there. But that is rolling moment due to slip angle beta Clb (of the wings) and not Cldc (of the rudder). That would be drag due to beta Cdb. Unfortunately this coefficient is indeed missing in the SF games. I tested a side slip maneuver with the F-100A: full rudder and opposite aileron to keep the wings level. And indeed the heading doesn't change. That means that either Cydc (of the rudder) is too big or (the absolute value of negative) Cyb (of the fuselage and tail) are to small, or both. Therefore you can try to decrease Cydc of the rudder (maybe until 0.0) and/or increase the abolute value of negative Cyb (of fuselage and tail).
  10. Here you got it wrong. Cydc is the coefficient of side force due to control surface (rudder) deflection. E.g. when applying right rudder the rudder generates 'lift' at the tail in the left direction and therefore 'pushes' the aircraft to the left (the original positive Cydc is correct, but maybe too high). Since the tail is behind and above the cog additionally a rolling moment (counter clock wise) and a yawing moment (tail to the left, or front to the right) is generated. Both moments a defined by Cldc and Cndc. I think the coefficient you are looking for is side force due to slip angle beta: Cyb. Main contributors are fuselage and tail. You can try to increase this coefficient if you think the side slip force is too low.
  11. Yes, as I wrote, (because of a bug) the other games ignore the non-default saved games folder location on drive G and put the mod folder always in the default saved game folder location, i.e. C:\Users\<your user name>\Saved Games\Thirdwire\<game name>. If you want the mod folders of the other games also in the non-default saved games folder location, you can use a workaround by modifying C:\Users\<your user name>\Saved Games\Thirdwire\<game name>\Options.ini: [Mods] Directory=G:\<path to non-default saved games folder>\Thirdwire\<game name> After running the game, a new mod folder will be created at the new location. At the old mod folder location you only need to keep Options.ini and Version.ini, all other files can be deleted here.
  12. Is by any chance your saved games folder in a different place than the default location (c:\Users\<your username>\Saved Games)? North Atlantic will create the mod folder here, but (because of a bug?) the other games will create their mod folders in the default saved games folder location.
  13. Always nice to see FlightGear mentioned here on this site. I'm a big fan of this open source flight simulator and I already tried to combine my love for the Thirdwire sims with my love for FlightGear: https://combatace.com/forums/topic/93840-strike-fighters-2-meets-flightgear/. I'm still working on and off on a tool that in the end should be able to automatically convert SF2 (and FE2) aircraft into FlighGear aircraft (with a JSBSim flight model).
  14. Yes, you first have to load objects (*.obj, *.3ds or *.lod) into the TOD editor with File->Object Manager->Load Objects... . Then you can place those object with RMB -> Add or by pressing 'A' onto a TOD. As a 'workaround' to use 'stock' TOD objects you can load a TOD with 'stock' objects, select an object and save this object with RMP -> Save Object. Then you can later load that object as described above.
  15. The info box in the corner shows KIAS. If you enable debug output with DisplayDebug=true in HUDDATA.INI, then you get a lot of additional infos, including KTAS. You can circle with ALT-D through the various display modes. I assume that TK implemented a model of the standard atmosphere that gives the air density at any given altitude and from there IAS is calculated.
  16. You can also try to increase the Cldc coefficient (Roll moment due to control surface deflection). That coefficient is usually in the [LeftAileron] and [RightAileron] sections.
  17. If anyone experience the same problem as Sundowner did (TODEditor freezing after opening/saving some TOD files): I uploaded a minor update (version 0.1.2) of the TODEditor. It now uses the native Windows file dialog. That should fix the freezing issue.
  18. I haven't experienced any problems on my system yet. What graphic card do you have? Does it always happen after editing 3-4 TODs? When does the freeze happen: after loading, after saving or while editing?
  19. I can relate to that: https://combatace.com/forums/topic/93840-strike-fighters-2-meets-flightgear/ I'm still working on and off on this project/experiment: currently working an a script that automatically converts SF2 flight models into the FlighGear (JSBSim) flight models.
  20. I'm still not sure what do you want to achieve or what do you expect? Where do the input parameter coming from?
  21. Your numbers are consistent regarding the drag force equation. Therefore I think one or more of your input parameters are wrong. Since you want to calculate air density I assume the other parameter are the input. What seems odd with your input parameters is a drag force of 34 kN on an area of 0.46 cm^2 (=0.000046 m^2).
  22. I too have difficulties to understand what he is actually doing. But what I noticed is, that in one of his posts he provides a google drive download link to a (I assume pirated) full version of Strike Fighter 2.
  23. I wrote a tool that someone may find useful: a LOD viewer. I tested it on Windows 7 and 8. Unfortunately it doesn't run on Windows XP. From the readme.txt: LODViewer Version 0.1 Author: mue Use at your own risk. The program is free for personal, non-commercial use. Usage: LOD files are loaded with File->Open... The program also tries to read the ini file with the same basename (eg. tank.lod -> tank.ini) for textureset information. The texture directory can then be selected via the texture directory combo box. If no ini file is found or it does not contain textureset information then the texture files are assumed in the lod file directory. The left upper window shows the node structure: node names and material ids. Nodes can be selected with left click and deselected with ctrl+left click. The lower left window shows the texture file names of the materials. The right graphic window displays the 3D view of the lod object. The view can be manipulated with the mouse: rotation: left click + move translation: right click + move zoom: mouse wheel reset view: middle click Nodes can be selected with ctrl+left click, and deselected with ctrl+left click on a blank area. Selected nodes are highlighted in red. Nodes whose texture couldn't be read are displayed in green. Known issues, missing features, bugs: -simplistic lighting (no specular, glossiness, reflection, bump mapping,...) -no transparency -no decals -problems with reading some tga files Screenshot: (Download link temporarily redacted)
  24. It's already there: View->Show Pivot Points of Selected Nodes (or via the icon in the toolbar) Regarding adding edititing functionalities: I don't plan to implement any of that.
  25. No problem. Sometimes it's not easy to even know the proper keywords to search for. For your problem it would be e.g. "draw distance". Sometimes I use Google to search in combatace.com, e.g. with "draw distance site:combatace.com". I remember I already wrote something about extending the drawing distance: TL;DR in options.ini set ObjectsFade=false and in flightengine.ini increase DetailMeshSize If you want the fading effect (now for longer distances) re-added then apply the shader mod from the above post. TL;DR To extend the draw distances of target objects (e.g. airbases, ...) you must for each object in <terrain>_types.ini increase MaxVisibleDist and in <targetobject>.ini increase (LOD) Distance
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