Stephen1918

File Name: Spanish Civil War, Polikarpov I-15 File Submitter: Stephen1918 File Submitted: 22 June 2016 File Category: First Eagles - Golden Era - Allied Add-On Aircraft Spanish Civil War Polikarpov I-15 Read Me The Polikarpov I-15, nicknamed "Chato," was one of the primary fighters used by the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Republic bought a large number of them from the Soviet Union, and manufactured even more in Spanish factories. The Polikarpov I-15 was armed with four machine guns and could carry a light bomb load. They were used mostly as fighters, escorts, and interceptors. They were used for ground attack missions on occasion. My Polikarpov includes a basic green paint skin, decals, two loadouts, and a 25kg bomb. Instructions for installing the bomb are included with the download. I have also included my skinning templates with the download. Credits Thanks to Ojcar for making the data file for the Polikarpov I-15. Thanks also to Crowford who provided valuable resources for the plane and loadouts. And thanks to Geezer for resources and inspiration. Installation Instructions For FE1 - Unzip the file. Move the folder named "PolikarpovI15" into your FirstEagles/Objects/Aircraft folder. You will also need to install the bomb. The bomb and instructions for installing it are included as separate files. For FE2 - Unzip the file. Move the folder named "PolikarpovI15" into your FirstEagles/Objects/Aircraft folder. Then in the FirstEagles/Objects/Decals folder, create a new folder named "PolikarpovI15". Move the folder named "D" from your Aircraft/PolikarpovI15 folder into the Decals/PolikarpovI15 folder you just made. You will also need to install the bomb. The bomb and instructions for installing it are included as separate files. Click here to download this file

File Name: Nieuport 12 File Submitter: Stephen1918 File Submitted: 22 August 2011 File Category: Nieuport The Nieuport 12 was an improved version of the Nieuport 10. It had a more powerful engine, a larger upper wing and a slightly larger tail plane. These features gave the plane the power and performance to fly as a two man fighter. I have fitted my model with an Etévé gun mount holding a Lewis machine gun in the back, and another Lewis gun on the upper wing for the pilot. I have included three skinning options, identical except for the decals. The Italian Linen uses the Italian insignia and includes the red and green underwing panels. The Russian skin uses the Russian insignia and includes the roundels on the tail planes. The Standard Linen can be used for all the other Entente powers. This plane uses the national markings that come with First Eagles, so you can easily change nationalities (in the Standard Linen skin only.) I have included decals for serial numbers which will be applied randomly. Historical Notes: The numbers are fictious, but in the correct range for most Nieuport 12s. British planes carried the serial number on the fuselage. The Nieuport 12 wasn't used by the Italians, but I included the skin anyway. The Etévé gun mount ring should be flush with the fuselage, but because of limits in the way the game animates objects, I had to raise it up to avoid it intersecting the plane when it moved. Credits: My thanks once again to Ojcar for making the excellent data.INI file for this plane. My thanks to Nix for providing the engine sound file. Thanks also to Nix, Sinbad, Whiteknight06604, and 33Lima who provided suggestions and resources for the Nieuport 12. Version 2 Revised data file by ojcar improves performance and corrects hit box locations for the fuel tanks - corrects muzzle location for rear gun - engine sound added - thanks to Panama Red for testing Installation Instructions: For FE1: Unzip the file and move the folder named "Nieuport12" into the FirstEagles/Objects/Airplanes folder. You also need to move the sound file "clerget9b2m2.wav" into the FirstEagles/Sounds folder. For FE2: Unzip the file and move the folder named "Nieuport12" into the FirstEagles/Objects/Airplanes folder. Then in the FirstEagles/Objects/Decals folder, create a new folder named "Nieuport12". Move the folder named "D" from the Airplanes/Nieuport12 folder into the Decals/Nieuport12 folder you just made. You also need to move the sound file "clerget9b2m2.wav" into the FirstEagles/Sounds folder. Click here to download this file

I think the problem is with the alpha channel in the TGA file, rather than with the graphic settings or render engine. For the rivers, the shade of grey in the alpha channel has to exactly match in all the tiles, if you're using tiles made by different people, they may not match. You may have to do some copy and paste. For the buildings, the shimmering is caused by having two surfaces on the same plane, the game is trying to show them both. In Jan Tuma's courtyard buildings, there are actually two buildings at the same location, but the alpha channel should remove the duplicate surfaces. Check the alpha channel in "Mesto.tga" and make sure it hasn't accidentally been altered or erased.

Nice! I see a Swiss flag. What terrain is this?

File Name: Oeffag C.II File Submitter: Stephen1918 File Submitted: 31 December 2015 File Category: Other Central Powers Aircraft The Oeffag C.II was a two-seat Austro-Hungarian plane introduced in mid 1916. It was intended to replace the Hansa-Brandenburg C.I. Pilots considered it a better plane, but it wasn't as maneuverable, and did not completely replace the Hansa-Brandenburg. The Oeffag C.II was armed with a single machine gun and was used primarily for reconnaissance, but could also carry a small bomb load for infantry support missions. It was used mostly on the Eastern Front, but also served on the Italian and Baltic Fronts. My version has two skins with an early and a late insignia scheme. There is a complete set of number decals and a loadout for a small bomb load. I have included my skinning templates with the download. Historical Note: The Oeffag C.II could carry four 10kg bombs, which were carried in the cockpit and dropped over the side by the observer. In my plane, I mounted them on a bomb rack under the fuselage. Credits: My thanks to Ojcar for making the FM file for this plane. My thanks also to Nix for making the sound for the Austro-Daimler 160 engine. Installation instructions: Note - The engine sound for the Austro-Daimler 160 has been used with other planes so you may already have it installed. I have included it with this download in case you don't have it yet. For FE1: Unzip the file and move the folder named "OeffagC2" into the FirstEagles/Objects/Aircraft folder. If you don't already have it, you also need to move the sound file "Austro-daimler160.wav" into the FirstEagles/Sounds folder. For FE2: Unzip the file and move the folder named "OeffagC2" into the FirstEagles/Objects/Aircraft folder. Then in the FirstEagles/Objects/Decals folder, create a new folder named "OeffagC2". Move the folder named "D" from the Aircraft/OeffagC2 folder into the Decals/OeffagC2 folder you just made. If you don't already have it, you also need to move the sound file "Austro-daimler160.wav" into the FirstEagles/Sounds folder. Click here to download this file

Thanks for finding that and letting me know. The sound is part of Nix's sound collection which he uploaded some time ago, and has been used on other planes. I assumed that everyone already had it. I have uploaded a new version of the Oeffag C2 which includes the sound file.

I think the terrain problem is due to the height maps for each tile (xxx_hm.bmp) The data file has a HeightMapScale setting which is set pretty high for some tiles. Try lowering the scale setting, or eliminating the height map altogether. I've found that the individual height map is really only useful along rivers or lake shores, it doesn't make a big difference in the farms. I don't know what is causing the shadow problem in the Nieuport 12. I've looked at my original files, and played with the settings in my installs and I cannot reproduce the problem in FE1. Has anyone else run into the shadow problem with the N12?

Cocas, a small number of Arado AR 68E were used by the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War. So Yes, please upload it when you get it finished, we can always use more planes. Also, I am using FE1, will you make the skins are BMP, please?

The Heinkel He 51 was one of the main fighters used by the Nationalist side, so we'll make one soon. Right now, we're focusing on getting some variety and a balance between the two sides so people can start using them.

Yesterday, I uploaded the Polikarpov I-15 for the Spanish Civil War. The Golden Era section in the download area divides aircraft into "Allied" or "Axis", which seems wrong for the 20s and 30s, especially for Spain. I put the Polikarpov in the "Allied" section because it was designed in the Soviet Union and they eventually joined the Allies. http://combatace.com/files/file/16209-spanish-civil-war-polikarpov-i-15/

Looking good Geezer! The AA gun will come in handy I like the level of detail you put into the skins. For the lighting, I think darker shadows would help get the effect you're looking for. Try lowering the AmbientColor at the same time you increase SunColor and SunLightLevel.

The bombs for the Polikarpov I-15 are done. I went with the Soviet AO-25. Normally the I-15 carried up to 25 kilograms on each wing, but we know that they sometimes overloaded it for short runs. I did two loadouts, one with only one bomb per wing, and another with two. I will include the bomb and installation instructions with the plane. Looking through the GunData for FE, I noticed that there are several post WWI machine guns included with the stock game, including the Soviet 7.62MM PV-1. So the guns for the I-15 will be from the stock FE guns. I also noticed a 1928 Fiat-Revelli, and a 1927 Madsen. There may be others... I had a minor computer glitch and lost a couple of days on the cockpit, so I won't be ready to upload until I get the cockpit re-skinned. The plane is done, the LODs are done, the decals and skins are done. I'm still working on the FM and the cockpit.

Thanks Crawford! This is an excellent resource for the I-15. The information on bombs came in handy, it looks like the I-15 could carry four different sizes, now I'm trying to determine which kinds were available to the Spanish Republic. I am also using the other info to make changes to the plane.

I found these (copied and pasted from a larger drawing.) The bottom one looks like the one on the drawing Geezer posted. I'll probably go with that. It looks like there are 3 mounted under each wing.

I've been working on the cockpit.

This discussion has gotten lively! That's a good thing because I'm learning a lot. Crawford, the photos of the I-152 give me a good idea of where the bombs were mounted. I spent some time looking for info about the 8kg bombs it carried. Does anyone know if the Spanish Republic manufactured their own bombs or did they buy them from the Soviets? I'm trying to figure out what the bombs on the Chato should look like. One the things the pilots liked least about the Chato was that it was so short and wide that it was impossible to see forward while on the ground. Pilots had to zig-zag when they taxied, but once it the air, it was very maneuverable and relatively fast. I've armed my I-15 with PV-1s. I think it was more common than the ShKAS, and (importantly) I found several photos of the mounts. I do need to make the models of these things.

Thanks Crawford! These are excellent photos. The plane is actually a later version of the I-15. The upper wing is not attached to the fuselage. But The cockpits were the same in both versions, so these will be most helpful.

Thanks Geezer. Over the years I have built up an extensive reference folder for WWI, with dimension drawings of the guns, detail photos of engines and gauges, etc. Now in the Spanish Civil War, I'm having to look up everything and it's slowing me down. I was sort of hoping to find a shortcut. Your references will help me start a new collection.

Good catch Ojcar. I knew practically nothing about the Spanish Civil War when I started this. I've had to do an incredible amount of research. I've discovered that there were many versions of nearly all the planes used, different engine cowlings, different landing gear, different wing tips, etc. Many times, the export version was different from the domestic version. For example, the Hawker Fury used in Spain was not the same as the British Hawker Fury. I have also had to do a lot of research into the kinds of guns and bombs used. Up until now, I just had to go to the Gun Data ini and find the gun. Not so with the SCW. If anyone knows some good websites (with pictures!) to help me learn about 1930s machine guns and bombs, please post a link.

For the Spanish Civil War. The Polikarpov I-15 was one of the primary fighters for the Republican forces. Many were bought from the Soviets, and a lot more of them were made in Spanish factories. It was armed with 4 machine guns and could carry a light bomb load. The model is nearly complete, but I'm still tweaking the upper wing. I have a lot of work to do in the cockpit. And I will have a lot of learning to do to bring the data into the 1930s.

The Model Node Names are assigned in the 3D software. I don't know how one would go about changing the LOD file. Would a hex editor work? 3DS assigns a default name if the modeller doesn't assign their own. Something like "Box001" or "Object001." So every part will have a name. Those names are listed in the OUT file. They also show up in Mue's LOD viewer. So you should be able to get things working without changing the LOD. By the way, the same model node names are used in the decal.ini.

Nicholas Bell did the work on the hitbox revisions, I just copied them in. I use the stock InLineExhaustEmitter because I think it looks more realistic, but I didn't change the location. Thanks for that!

What I meant here was that the model node names in the data.ini have to match the model node names in the LOD. In the Halberstadt D5, they didn't. So the game registers the hit, but doesn't know what part of the model needs to show the damage. I used Mue's LOD viewer to make the corrections. The wings now take damage. The zip file contains the original FM uploaded with Geezer's plane, I added Nicholas Bell's hit box revisions and I added my model node name revisions. I am using FE1 so I am not using the FMs for FE2 that VonS has made. If you are using the VonS FMs, you'll need to do some copy and paste to update the file. HalbD5Data.zip

No need to apologize, Crawford. You're trying to learn and I'm happy to help.

Crawford - You may already know this, so forgive me if I get too basic - The "holes" are actually decals that let the user know that the plane has been hit. The damage may not actually line up with the bullets that were fired, but "damage' will appear somewhere on the part that got hit. The "holes" decals have to be TGA files with an alpha channel, most of the detail in the TGA file will be in the alpha channel. I think that the problem with the wings may be a problem with the hit box instead of with the skins. In the data file, each major part has a "MinExtentPosition" and a "MaxExtentPosition" which create a box around the part. If these are not there, or are too small, then the part may not register that it has been damaged. Nicholas Bell has been posting hit box revisions in another thread. He posted revisions for the Halberstadt a few weeks ago. You may need to make changes to the data.ini in order for the wings to show damage. (Nicholas Posted revisions for the Halberstadt D5 on 09 May 2016 - 02:37:10 PM) Edit - I just looked at my version of the Halberstadt D5, it looks like the model node names in the data file are incorrect. So the game registers the hit, but doesn't know which part to change. These will all have to be corrected. If you have Mues LOD viewer, that might help, otherwise you'll have to do it using the OUT file. Also, check to see if VonS has posted a revised FM for the Halberstadt, he may have already fixed it.