baffmeister

The attached FM is for Wrench's recent La-11 upload available "Here." This FM contains all the original Wrench tweaks so you can just drop it in and go fly. I would suggest backing up the original though, just in case I missed something. The easiest way is probably just to rename the original to something like La-11_DataOrig then drop the new one in. This FM has a few more improvements than the current La-9 FM so I may be updating the La-9 sooner than I expected. La-11_DATA1.0.rar

La-9 beta 0.99 FM attached. I don't plan any updates in the near future but please post any improvements or fixes on this thread so I can check them out. For newbs, when flying the prop planes you will probably want to activate the rudder trim work around. Just have a look in the control.ini and scroll down to this section: [RangedControl002] AxisControl=YAW_CONTROL MaxValue=1000.000000 MinValue=-1000.000000 DeadZone=10.000000 Saturation=153.000000 ReverseJoystick=FALSE MouseScale=1.000000 UseMouseRate=FALSE ReverseMouse=FALSE LimitValue=TRUE SelfCenterRate=0.000000...............Do this and you can use the coma and period keys to trim the rudder. KeyControlRate=1.000000 AllowKeyControl=TRUE IncreaseControl=YAW_RIGHT DecreaseControl=YAW_LEFT CenterControl= Alternatively, you could just scroll down to the engine section in the La-9 data.ini and disable the Moment of Inertia entry: MomentOfInertia=//4.00..........do this I noticed the TW Spitfires and Mustang have some armor around the cockpit so I added some to the La-9. I am also using Wrench's entries for fuel tank protection which seems to be a good generic approach for the later WW-2 aircraft. This FM also has a generic mach tuck effect that I've been playing around with. It's easy to recover from but is a reminder that the WW-2 prop planes would get into trouble at the higher subsonic mach numbers. I expect to have a drop in La-11 FM available in a few days for Wrench's recent upload.

I read somewhere the La-9/11 used the filtered exhaust/inert gas injection into the fuel tanks to provide some fire suppression. Not sure about self sealing but I would also assume that would have become common by at most the mid war years. I will probably just do the tanks as they are on the La-11. The result seems quite realistic to me.

Question Time: I noticed Wrench's La-11 had some armor around the fuel tanks so have tried the same thing on the La-9. The results are quite interesting. It makes the plane much harder to bring down in a dog fight although I think the armor could be reduced somewhat. Instead of "steel" as the armor could I just use "aluminum" to simulate some structure around the tanks? Here is an example of the La-9/11 fuel tank entries: [FuselageFuelCell1] SystemType=FUEL_TANK FuelTankID=1 MaxFuelAmount=400.0//557.928 SelfHealing=TRUE FireSuppression=TRUE MinExtentPosition=-0.5,1.0,-0.5 MaxExtentPosition=0.5,3.0,0.5 HasArmor=TRUE ArmorMaterial=STEEL Armor[FRONT].Thickness=2 Armor .Thickness=2 Armor .Thickness=2 Armor[REAR].Thickness-2 Armor[TOP].Thickness=2 Armor[bOTTOM].Thickness=2 The TW Spitfires and Mustang have no armor nor self sealing tanks, which seems kind of strange. The Mustang does get some FireSuppression.Examples: TW Spitfire [FuelCells] SystemType=FUEL_TANK FuelTankID=1 MaxFuelAmount=296.88 SelfHealing=FALSE.........................Not a self sealing tank! FireSuppression=FALSE MinExtentPosition=-0.33,-0.39,-0.77 MaxExtentPosition= 0.33, 0.22, 0.30 TW Mustang [LeftWingFuelCell]mustang SystemType=FUEL_TANK FuelTankID=1 MaxFuelAmount=283.77 SelfHealing=FALSE..........................Also, not self sealing. FireSuppression=TRUE MinExtentPosition=-0.70,-1.03,-0.68 MaxExtentPosition=-1.95,-0.20,-0.40 With the intent of keeping things fair, should I just do the La-9/11 tanks the same way as the Mustang/Spitfire or should I add some protection and leave it to the "PropHeads" to adjust their TW Mustang and Spitfires in a similar fashion? At present, the Spitfire in particular is a bit of a "One Flick Lighter".

Does the extra line disappear at higher zoom levels? [having a somewhat similar issue with a mod of the stock Desert terrain.]

Looking forward to this one. Time to think up some "Colonial Difficulties" for the RAF.

La-9 stripped down beta test package attached. It includes Bunyaps 4 cannon La-9 lod and one grey skin. The package I had originally included 2 grey skins, one for China and one for the Soviet Union but they looked identical to me. The cockpit is the Yak-3 but it has had a few edits. I'm using the position data and some other stuff from Wrench's La-11 upload. Some of the instruments have been fixed/changed but are a blend of english and metric units. The ASI has been adjusted and reads in KMH. The VSI that was in the upper R/H corner and read in meters/sec is now a G-meter, the other VSI reads in feet/min. Below the new G-meter is a fuel gauge that reads in kilograms and should be reasonably accurate below about 275. I think I left the altimeter alone. It reads in meters. Only minor changes to the FM. La-9package0.91.rar

I just noticed this while looking over ThirdWires P-51 data.ini. I had been flying it quite a bit but the HUD was set on hard so had no indication from the lower left corner info screen. Here is the engine section for ThirdWires latest P-51 data: [Engine] SystemType=PROP_ENGINE InputName=THROTTLE_CONTROL EngineID=1 HasWEP=TRUE SLPowerDry=1113479.3 SLPowerWEP=1234610.1 ThrustAngles=0.0,0.0,0.0 ThrustPosition=0.0,0.0,0.0 WEPThrottle=0.90 ThrottleRate=0.25 AltitudeTableNumData=23 AltitudeTableDeltaX=609.6 AltitudeTableStartX=0.0 AltitudeTableData=1.000,1.016,1.031,1.047,1.062,1.013,0.938,0.891,0.899,0.908,0.916,0.896,0.829,0.761,0.693,0.625,0.558,0.490,0.422,0.321,0.219,0.117,0.000 WEPAltitudeTableNumData=23 WEPAltitudeTableDeltaX=609.6 WEPAltitudeTableStartX=0.0 WEPAltitudeTableData=1.000,1.014,1.028,1.042,0.984,0.916,0.878,0.888,0.897,0.906,0.875,0.813,0.750,0.688,0.626,0.564,0.502,0.440,0.378,0.284,0.191,0.098,0.000 WEPMaxAlt=6479.0 WEPTimeLimit=300.0 WEPTempDelta=10.0 WEPManifoldPressure=67 NumBlades=4 PropDiameter=3.40 MomentOfInertia=6.13 PropEfficiencyAdvanceRatioTableNumData=15 PropEfficiencyAdvanceRatioTableDeltaX=0.2 PropEfficiencyAdvanceRatioTableStartX=0.0 PropEfficiencyAdvanceRatioTableData=0.027,0.496,0.730,0.845,0.870,0.870,0.870,0.870,0.870,0.870,0.870,0.870,0.870,0.204,0.000 PropPFactorCoefficient=0.0 ConstantSpeed=TRUE PropRotationDirection=1 SpinnerNodeName=prop_spinner_axel StaticPropNodeName=Spinner Static SlowPropNodeName=Spinner Slow FastPropNodeName=Spinner Fast DamagedPropNodeName= SlowPropRPM=400 FastPropRPM=1000 MaxPropRPM=1437 IdlePropRPM=600 BSFC=0.00280 MinManifoldPressure=26 MaxManifoldPressure=61 GasTempIdleRPM=70 GasTempMaxRPM=80 GasTempChangeRate=0.033 OverheatTemp=90 DamageTempDelta=20 OilPressIdleRPM=70.0 OilPressMaxRPM=80.0 OilPressChangeRate=0.4 LowOilPress=50.0 LowOilPressTempDelta=100 ExhaustEmitterName= ExhaustPosition= FireSuppression=FALSE MinExtentPosition=-0.35, 0.91,-0.63 MaxExtentPosition= 0.35, 3.40, 0.37 AnimationID=-1 MaxPowerAnimationTime=0.1 MinPowerAnimationTime=0.3

Oh well, new news for me...................................never mind......

I must have got the La-9 from Bunyaps site at some point. I will post it here soon. Doing FM's and working with the terrain editor have some similarities. At least with FM's I learn a bit each time. When working on my one and only terrain I forget how the TE works between sessions. [because I hate the TE soooooo much! ]

Very Interesting! I downloaded Wrench's La-11 pack and was expecting to see the same 4 cannon lod I have but nope, 3 cannons just as it should have. So we seem to have dedicated La-9 and La-11 lods. I will just work on the La-9 FM for now but will include a beta test pack with La-9 lod for the next update. If things work out OK I can make an La-11 FM that can be dropped into Wrench's La-11 package. Cheers. PS: Thanks for the input Coupi & Cocas

That looks very similar to the model I have although mine doesn't have a mirror on the canopy. From my light internet research the La-9 and La-11 were very similar. The La-11 had more fuel and additional navigational equipment but only 3 cannon compared to 4 for the La-9. I think the airframes were pretty much the same so the model you show should be good for both versions. I wasn't planning on uploading a package for these planes but will post FM's for the 2 types here as they get further developed. Cheers.

The one I have been using is called an La-9_C. It has a basic grey skin with blue and white stripes on the rudder. The "C" probably stands for China, the country used in the data ini. I have no idea where it came from! I still have the original Zip file and it has no readme. I will upload a stripped down test package here after doing a few ini changes. The plane is too fast at altitude at present but the TW Mustang FM is working very well and seems to be generating the desired sustained turn rate.

Hello. I would suggest you download the AvHistory flight models and required aircraft and then create a giant "Fur Ball in the Desert." Look Here [interesting concept]

I know you don't like fictional stuff Paulo but this one has "Republic of Dohar" written all over it. [ It soon will have in my install, at least.] Thanks to cocas as well.

I started working on this fictional terrain about three years ago. The first year was spent just finding a location I liked. Got quite a bit of practice autotiling during that period. The Big Project is actually a new fictional terrain for Dhimar, Paran, Dohar and Sharnak but it is going to take so long to make it seems like a good idea to try and get a simplified "Return to Dhimar" terrain out this year. It won't have the road network, dried up riverbeds, oasis's[?], small towns, mine sites, multiple city center tiles, the odd lake, multiple port tiles, new high density building tod's, a meteor crater etc-etc-etc that I plan for the final version. What it will have is more terrain tiles than ThirdWires desert terrain has and a lot more transition tiles. It is based on ThirdWires desert terrain though and uses some of the stock tiles so it will require SF-1 or SF-2. With this thread I will have a place to ask questions and get some ideas. Starting to get the hang of the terrain editor but now I find my tile painting skills are horrific so there will probably be a lot of questions on that topic. In the photo many of you will probably recognize some of Deuces' Madagascar tiles. They have been run through a photo editor to match the TW colour palette better. Lifting textures, copy and paste, and photo editors is probably the way I have to go. Cheers.

When in doubt, do what Wrench does! I copied some terrain data info from Wrench's Cuba2010 terrain and it looks better. The caveat being I also used an early terrain height map bit map. Originally, I had rotated an HFD file within the terrain editor. This is probably unusual compared to most terrain builders who are more interested in doing realistic terrains. This time I rotated the height field bit map first before using it in the terrain editor and I think it may be the best way to go. There may be a potential for some height field corruption when rotating an HFD within the terrain editor. Keeping in mind that doing a fictional terrain gives one a lot off leeway regarding any adjustments, I have also smoothed the terrain 4 times and the result is old worn down mountains that suit the [4] mountain tiles I have made based off of the TW originals. The "Wrench Edits" give a more "bumpy" terrain but I suspect at the cost of some frame rates. Here are the new terrain data edits: [TerrainMesh] TextureThreshold=0.80 LowDetailMeshThreshold=0.50 MedDetailMeshThreshold=0.30 TileToHeightGridRatio=4 RenderMeshVertexCount=16384//4096 RenderMeshIndexCount=16384//6144 SolidObjectVertexCount=16384//12288 SolidObjectIndexCount=18432 AlphaObjectVertexCount=16384//8192 AlphaObjectIndexCount=24576//12288 [HeightField] DetailScale=20.0//1.0 DetailFrequency=1.0 MaxHeight=1000 MinHeight=0 [HeightOffset] LowDetailMesh=-1.0 WaterMesh=1.8//0.8 Dusty Old Town: I like the look of the original desert city tiles so have been trying to use them for this terrain. They have a third world look that I am going for in this terrain. Unfortunatly, I think I got carried away with Gimp's spray can and will probably have to start from scratch on these tiles. More city transition tiles probably required as well.

Yuck! I may have been messing around with a height field bit map in this area but it's not much worse than some other areas. Also, the tiles seem slightly lighter in color around the edges so it may be aggravating the appearance. Unfortunatly, under low angle lighting this seems common in ThirdWire sims. Question of the day, is there any way to increase the height field resolution in the ThirdWire sims. For example, could I change anything in the texture list ini: [mountain1.bmp] TextureType=0 DetailType=1 HeightMapScale=0.000000....from the stock desert texture list. WOE texture list has 100.0 for most if not all tiles. Also, in the terrain data.ini, would adjusting any of these help? [TerrainMesh] TextureThreshold=0.80 LowDetailMeshThreshold=0.50 MedDetailMeshThreshold=0.30 TileToHeightGridRatio=4 RenderMeshVertexCount=4096 RenderMeshIndexCount=6144 SolidObjectVertexCount=12288 SolidObjectIndexCount=18432 AlphaObjectVertexCount=16384//8192....Forget where I got these edits from but I think it's to increase the number of tod's AlphaObjectIndexCount=24576//12288 .....rendered. [HeightField] DetailScale=1.0 DetailFrequency=1.0 MaxHeight=1000 MinHeight=0 [HeightOffset] LowDetailMesh=-1.0 WaterMesh=0.8 I have been trying multiple smoothing to improve the look but would like to optimize the height field to the extent possible. Screen shot was taken with terrain detail option set to high.

I seem to remember an issue with the Sabre's viewing distance. In the data.ini have a look for this entry MaxVisibleDistance=xxxx.x under [DetectSystem] and see what the setting is.

Cheers Paulo!

Somewhere out there is a really good explanation for placing individual terrain tiles. I think it may have been written a long time ago but it was so good I actually remembered a lot of it so was able to finally place an individual tile with the terrain editor. I don't see the explanation in the knowledge base but it should be in there! Anyway, it was probably written by Wrench so "Thanks Wrench!" for that and all your other terrain editor comments. I think a lot of your comments could be compiled into a downloadable "Wrench's Terrain Editor Tips" document. The amount of patience you have explaining terrain editor stuff is "Above and Beyond".

It would seem learning the terrain editor is a requirement for some people. I want to fly simple multi-role aircraft over a fictional terrain with some eye candy and do real time missions in about one hour. You want to fly at stratospheric heights on long range strategic bombing missions and do real time missions in about one day. Maybe two days with a B-36!

No problem. I will include two, Yankee Station and Ivan Station.

Small city in the highlands. I want to use high density city tods in the final version so will keep the cities quite small to avoid a large frame rate hit. This is the smallest they will get, transition tiles only. I like the way these tiles turned out but have some problems with others. Also, about 5000 trees remain to be planted and lots of building tods to place, although this version will just get standard density building tods.