Flanker562

Damn gamers... Seriously good thing that people are safe and so on. Gonna be a rebuild, and need to fix what caused it.

Yeah the intake on the prototype turned me off to that contender though. But the F-35 does look better, but this "production" version looks better anyway.

No I didn't know about that they had actual Migs I've known about Nellis for a long time (I mean you can't miss that show).

Okay, i had to fix the Sentry Gun because it wasn't as polished and finished that I thought. Thats rectified and here's how it will look:

Aside from the texture, the main priority of the work is UA-57 detailing. C.Eagle hooked me up with some magazine models, and I'm wondering how I'll incorporate the bullet feed chute. Right now, I have a simple box on the tripod, but I'm sure a real ammo feed would look better, like in real-world setups. I will figure something out. Also fixed a texture error on a vest for my Flanker562 Weapons Pack. Also got a request for folding rotors. I'll have to look into the models as I think I can follow the same for the A2 AH-1Z. If I figure out how to do the rotors, I'll see what I can do, but I'm thinking issues will come up for stowing on a deck. I personally don't care much for niche gameplay like that, since you can't move the helos around as you would in real life, so it remains to be seen if it will work or not. Hatched did it with ACE, but since I don't use it at all, if it does work, make it a scroll wheel menu option. First, I have to get it to work, and I don't know if it'll do anything for the mod, as yeah...

adaptation might bring in customers, but if you're not reliably engaging with your customer base, it's a I have some of the maps as well, but normally just fly on the base map. I did get the full Afghanistan map, as well as Iraq myself, since I served there. I got Kola, and the Persian Gulf, but yeah stick to the default map for training and stuff, and don't run missions other than to fly around and see stuff. As for the rest I agree with you. A lot of games flounder because as you're right, marketing is also customer support. I mean I barely fly SF2 and frankly don't have much hope for it in the long run while everybody else draws in people. Kinda like how I respond to player requests/problems. I don't give an attitude (I might a little bit), but if there's an issue I solve it, for a free product. But for paid games they should present reliable customer service and so on, to keep the player base knowing that they care more than just the money.. Steam adaption might bring in customers, but if you're not reliably engaging with your customer base, dead product. I mean you hit the nail on the head, and I think that's what I inadvertently tried to say, even though looking back I didn't. But yeah that's the biggest gripe of Thirdwire. They have a decent product for it's age, but overall the constant wise cracks about TW and how they handle their customers, is well deserved in IMHO.

NTC had some working WarPac vehicles and I saw a true-to-life BMP-1 pass in front of me when we got waxed one day. Anyway that's not surprising though, but didn't know that they had flying Migs for real though. I know SOF operates Mi-17s or -8s.

You'll find DCS more with a learning curve than anything else. The Mission Editor looks formidable to some, and flying isn't like SF2, where you have some ease. I have yet to start doing carrier ops in DCS, but with SF2, you can not do it for a year or two, and still trap fine. I don't know, ED has always focused on authenticity with a TLAR (That Looks About Right) methodology. They've improved customer service with people who beta test working with players on systems and the like, a step up from us beta testers bringing up an issue, and then them looking at us like we got something growing out of our forehead. Different times, and the only issue is the pacing of projects. It takes a long while for modules to get out of Early Access, and there's (somewhat understandable) commentary on (some say colorful) the forums, and if I didn't work for them for a time, I'd be saying the same thing, so I just got an edge on the projects that they work on, and more patient with the workflow. I don't spend a lot of time with DCS, not because of any past gripes and stuff, but sometimes I like Arma 3, where flying helos is a bit easier and something than other than fixed-wing, which A3 doesn't do that well, admittedly from some real-world pilots, but it's believable enough for me at the moment. Anyway, DCS is for the long haul, and I don't think that the unpopularity of the Strike Fighter series (I get quite a lot of views sometimes on my videos) was because of poor marketing, I think it was just not listening to it's customer base, and that was reflected back when they wanted us to crowdfund the Win10 update, where participation was very minimal. He gets most of his money from mobile games, and there's always somebody posting mobile screenshots on their Discord. I think TK is just a poor manager, and maybe just has a wrong attitude towards supporting his products. That's my read on the situation anyway.

Agreed, valid points too. I noticed that TK put WOE on Steam, and maybe that will attract more customers in the future for a game like what SF2 is. We're seeing a lot of people come in for SF2 though on this site, so that's a boon too. The only problem is as you said, the viability of the game,and the veterans who played SF2 don't always have a good opinion of the lack of support and age of the game. Sure people do find new ways of keeping it relevant, but if TK moves the games to Steam, I would buy it myself (especially SF2) so I don't have to keep a copy of the installer on my hard drive. All I would need to do is log in to Steam, and redownload the game, and be set.

Thanks to C.Eagle, I managed to incoporate a tripod for the UA-57. I think it works well, and need to put a magazine of some sort, because a 1000 round mag has to be somewhere on the model

I think DCS and SF1/2 have gone in different directions, despite being (as far as SF2 is concerned). Where SF1/SF2 have stagnated to a portion that buyer confidence is kinda not there. Its still a good game, and SF2 remains on my hard drive, but more and more DCS is better, just due to the fact that DCS is constantly evolving and getting better. I think the parity is totally different: TK wanted more of a "simple game" than the abject complexity of DCS. I mean both have their detractors, and DCS is far from perfect, given that fedliety is also a curse, where developers take a year or so to get a functional airplane and the way ED handles business with it's third party developers. ED is ED, and so on, but I don't think that DCS will also not take me away from the Thirdwire series. I hardly play DCS since I'm not in a milsim/virtual squadron, but overall I find sometimes that SF2 is just good fro hopping in a jet, and flying without al the clicky components that DCS offers. I mean sometimes people go overboard about the complexity, but sometimes even in some cases I just want to hop in, run the autostart, and then go fly. As far as longevity, it remains to be seen if DCS can bring in the same jets as SF2 as far as stock aircraft that are present in the TW series of games. I mean its great , both have their detractors, and DCS is far from perfect, given that fidelity is also a curse, where developers take a year or so to get a functional airplane, and the way ED handles business with its third-party, sometimes people go overboard about the complexity, but sometimes, even in some cases, it's a welcome sight to see and interact with all those cute switches and do things that SF2 could never do in a million years. It remains to be seen that if DCS makes a Vietnam map, the desire for the older jets (and props) will turn out.

A new episode of For Whom the Bell Tolls is posted, start anew or catch up: https://bit.ly/4tbZws0

It's actually pretty neat you have the AIM-120s and how their mounted on the pylons.

AH-1Z RC28 - Removed some texture errors - Hopefully cleared another rpt error Flanker562 Weapons Pack RC131 - Tweaked the TA64 3D scopes to be more friendly to head trackers by pulling the memory point back a bit. - Added 7-round magazines for the ACP2-CP using the Magazine Well system. Also available are JHP+ magazines - Adjusted the cost of the bullets, increased them to make them more likely to be used by AI - Fixed class name inheritance for the .45ACP rounds, should be close to what they really are. Flanker562 Helicopter Pack RC193 - Weapons on the Ka-125 pylons sit on them as they're supposed to on - Added a "UH-80D Ghost Hawk" that has a full datalink system, unlike the apparent receive-only setup, which should help in missions with datalinked units - Removed the old ESSS pylons on the Battle Hawk and replaced them with the ones mounted on the CheroHawk. - Cleaned up and added new UI images for a wide variety of helicopters - UA-57 Sentry Gun works as intended, has rotating barrels and muzzle flash. - Removed Laser Designator from the TF562 Sharpshooter

I remember I didn't like the color for the Su-33 in Flanker 2.51, and retextured it to a more darker green, which worked out pretty well though, so the green does work as intended, even if it was a for a simulator.

Flanker562 ACPC2-CP Mags RC1 - First Release https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3712739832&result=1

Well thanks to HorribleGoat, I managed to get the muzzleflash working, so it's technically "Feature complete" as it's just a simple automated turret of course, now with functioning barrels and muzzleflash. I may add some more components to flesh it out, but it works, it kills. I also forgot to mention it's datalinked to friendly units, so you can see the little green box in the Sensor display. It will probably engage any infantry units that show up and show you it's engaging them when they disappear.

Wow, I skipped the video, but the text is good enough though.

Other work that was done was adding Pylons Settings images, which needed to be done for some of the helicopters, like the Ka-125 and Ka-145. Those will be in the update this Sunday. More or less, it's not a priority, but I think the UH-92 CheroHawk needs some work on the position of the drop-down menus. I need to look at it and fix it so it represents the actual positions so it's easier to figure out what goes where.

I recently saw a current Battlehawk, and looked close to the CheroHawk wings, so I simply copied and pasted the wings from that bird to the BattleHawk, giving it some more of an updated look rather than the outdated ESSS pylons and wings. It's been adjusted and more attention to detail (pylons work the same, just in different positions, etc.):