Stephen1918

The Sikorsky S.16 is coming along. I'm working on the cockpit now (tracking down Cyrillic instrument faces.) Then I need to tweak down the poly count, make the skins, and work on the data file. It will take another week at least. This is my second plane and is a learning experience for me. If anyone has constructive criticism or comments on the Aviatik, please post them so I can learn to make better planes. Thanks, Stephen1918

Ojcar, Nix, and Sockboy - I'm glad you like my planes, but I probably won't be able to do all of them. Those were made for animation, converting them for games is turning out to be an incredible amount of work. Still, I should be able to get a few of them into FE this summer. The Sikorsky is coming along... Stephen1918

I agree with Whiteknight, the skins look great. I'm looking forward to more.

Thank you! I'll only be doing First Eagles for a while. I'm interested in World War I airplanes.

Thanks for your comments everyone. I've been building WWI aircraft in 3D for several years (http://www.swroble.com/Aircraft/WWIAircraft.html). The Aviatik DI is my first one for gaming and I'm learning how different the game version has to be. Ojcar, thanks for the list and for starting a new FM. Someone who's a better flyer than I am should test it. My next one will be the Sikorsky S-XVI, it's not a glamorous plane, but I like it. It will be several weeks before you see it here. Quack74, I'm looking forward to your new skins. Stephen1918

I uploaded the Aviatik-Berg D1 today. This is my first plane for First Eagles, I learned a lot while doing this and the next one will be better. If anybody wants to revise the data.ini, please do. I included my skinning templates for those of you who want to make more skins. Quack74 has already started making skins and has posted some screen caps. Stephen1918

View File Aviatik-Berg D.I Aviatik-Berg D.IDesigned by Julius von Berg for the Aviatik company, the D.I was the first fighter completely built in Austria. The Berg was light and maneuverable, and after structural problems in the early models were overcome, it became a good combat plane. Although nimble, reasonably fast, and able to reach higher altitudes than many of the planes it fought, the Aviatik D.I was prone to overheating. Many pilots flew with the engine cover panels removed, so I built this plane without the engine cover. Early versions of the plane had the two Schwarzlose machine guns mounted low on each side of the engine. Later versions put the guns higher and within reach of the pilot to make it easier to clear jammed guns. This is a later version with the guns firing through tubes under the manifolds and projecting through the radiator. I have included a basic skin along with my skinning templates. I highly recommend the skins made by Quack74, available at CombatACE as a separate download. Revision 1 - June 12, 2011It appears that I made the original about 20% too large. I have rescaled the plane to the correct size, this involved making some changes in and around the cockpit. Since I was revising the cockpit, I put the correct guns in this version (Schartzlose instead of Spandau.) I have also included the FM written by ojcar, and the sound for the Austro-Daimler engine made by Nix.This version includes all new LODs, new data file, new cockpit ini, and new decal ini. If you have downloaded the previous version, it would be easiest to just delete the whole folder and replace it with this version. Revision 2 - September 20, 2011I have added a complete set of letter decals so you can set a flight letter in the Loadout screen, or the game will randomly assign a different letter to each plane. There will also be a different serial number randomly assigned to each plane as well. Revision 3 - June 5, 2012I have made slight changes to the model, especially in the rigging. This revision has all new LODs. Ojcar has made changes to the FM to work with the new model. All the decals are the same as before. Installation Instructions - New install For FE1 - Unzip the file and move the folder named "AviatikD1" into the "Aircraft" folder in the FirstEagles/Objects folder. You also need to move the sound file "Austro-daimler200.wav" into the FirstEagles/Sounds folder. For FE2 - Unzip the file and move the folder named "AviatikD1" into the "Aircraft" folder in the FirstEagles/Objects folder. Then in the FirstEagles/Objects/Decals folder, create a new folder named "AviatikD1". Move the folder named "D" from the Aircraft/AviatikD1 folder into the Decals/AviatikD1 folder you just made.You also need to move the sound file "Austro-daimler200.wav" into the FirstEagles/Sounds folder. Installation Instructions - Update existing install For both FE1 and FE2 - Delete the following files and replace them with the new versions: All the LOD files and OUT files - you are deleting three of each and replacing them with four of each. The OUT files are optional and not necessary for the game. AviatikD1.ini - the new one makes use of the extra LOD.AviatikD1_DATA.INI - The new one uses the new rigging and is slightly more compact than the original.Everything else is the same as in the Revision 2 download. Submitter Stephen1918 Submitted 05/09/2011 Category Other Central Powers Aircraft

Thanks for posting these Quack. (And thanks for test flying the prototype.) The plane looks pretty good, if I may say so myself, flying in the Italian campaign. I am in the final tweaking process, I should be done in another day or so. Stephen1918

Thanks, I got it. I was setting the rotations in Local instead of in View. That seemed to make the difference. And the the animation IDs do not show up in the .OUT file, but they still seem to be there. Thanks for everyone's responses. Stephen 1918

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I have the frame numbers correct, and I've rest all the Xforms. When you make an animation, does it show up in the .OUT file? Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I have assigned the TCB controller to all three motions, even though I'm only using the rotation.

Can anyone who is familiar with 3DS help me out? I'm using Max version 8. I'm building a model for First Eagles and I'm having a hard time getting the animations to work in the game. I've tried using AutoKey and SetKey to make the keyframes. I've assigned the TCB controller. I've tried setting the keyframes from within the controller. I've tried both editable mesh and ediatble polys. I have the correct exporter plugin. The plane actually works in the game, but I can't get the animations to show up. Should I be able to see the animation ID in the .OUT file? I have tried every combination I can think of. What have I overlooked? Stephen1918 (Sorry, this may be in the wrong place. How do I unpost, or move to the correct folder?)

Thanks everyone for your help and encouragement. Sinbad, your advice was most helpful. And yes, I plan to make more, but I need to finish this one first. It's been a learning experience... Stephen1918

Hello everyone, my name is Stephen1918 and I just joined a few weeks ago. I am building an Aviatik-Berg D.1 (prompted by Quack74). It should be ready in a week or so. I have some rather newbie questions: 1. How can I see the plane on the ground to check the at-rest angle? When I land, or when I start on the runway, the plane keeps coasting, even with the throttle down and engine off. 2. Is it considered accepable to use texture maps that come with First Eagles? Especially for things like cockpit gauges. I would never use anyone else's creations without asking permission, but the ones that come with the game seem like fair game to me. (I have the SFP1E Extract Utility.) Please advise me on what's acceptable. 3. Is it Ok to use fictitious markings, or should every plane be realistic? I notice that the skins I've seen here all identify squadrons and pilots. But as you can see, my Aviatik is imaginary, (but realistic, I think.) - (Quack74 is planning to make more skins when the plane is finished.) Thanks for your help, Stephen1918