Stephen1918

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.

Welcome back Sinbad! I'm looking forward to your revised Strutter.

In the Flight folder, in the HUDDATA.INi, in the section for [Map], set MapDisplayLabels to FALSE.

I understand. Zooming in is actually making the field of view narrower. Perhaps the rate controls how fast it zooms? I don't really know for sure, this calls for some experimentation.

Like VonS said - Welcome to First Eagles. FOV means "field of view" and determines how much of the terrain you see on the screen. A wide field of view causes the image to stretch around the edges (a "fish eye" look) which I can see in the screen shot you posted. Most cameras are around 50, try setting to 50 and see how you like it. You won't be able to see as much, but the screen should look more "normal." This may also help with the missing tiles around the edges.

Looks really good. What fort inspired this? Have you tried placing it in a terrain yet?

I agree. Thanks for taking the time to do this, Nicholas.

A TOD Editor would be a great addition to SF and FE. I agree that your other tools have been a real asset to modders. Thanks for your efforts.

This looks like the same problem you had with the square trees - the terrain data file for those tiles is pointing to the wrong AlphaObjectTexture.

Take a look at Nippy's dogfight editor. (FE2 and FE1 Dogfight v2.3) I've made some missions for the Eastern Front using that.

Maybe it would be easier to use one of the other Lewis guns instead. I looked through all my Gun Data files and did not find a 303Cal_Lewis_MS.

This is an interesting discussion. I think in the campaigns, the AI pilots are more focused on their missions - if they're on recon, their goal is to get home with their info, so they're more likely to break off and head for home. Escorts are likely to stay with the planes they're escorting, defensive patrols would stay in their zone, etc. In single missions, the enemies you encounter are probably hunting and are likely to be more aggressive.

Impressive work Quack!

Thanks, Wrench. The castle is Gepard's, the lunette is Geezer's, the star fort is mine. There were a lot of fortifications in the area by the time WWI began.

The new Vogesen terrain has been uploaded with many new terrain objects and locations in the Lorraine area. I have changed the names of some of the airfields and that breaks Ojcar's Armchair Aces (sorry!). I am calling this "Vogesen2" so you can install it and still fly Armchair Aces in the old terrain. This terrain includes 4 new tiles, I have not made the seasonal versions yet, so this is just the summer terrain. New tiles will be made shortly (unless someone else wants to do it first.) I have not tested this with Jan Tuma's terrain tiles. I have a lot of AA and Balloon stations located in the forests, so that might be a problem with Jan's fuller forest TODs.