mppd

Monty, Sure I'd like a copy of it! I love SPADs - always will. As I said, I'll see if we can add a few details to snap it up a bit - Kevin has the data.ini file on the run...we'll do a re-release in a SEA camo - freeware for all. Credit will always go to you guys of course. Thanks, Mike

Always loved the SPAD in SEA. I'd be interested in seeing it. I know the original YAP had what I thought was Monty's A-1H but it was mapped differently to allow correct camo. I'd like to adapt my textures that I did originally for Ron's SPAD and the decals also of course for release here for this one. Should not be too tough. Send the OUT file too for mesh names if you can. A few details added would help spiff it up too. Or, would Monty like to share the max file? By the way, do we have correct drop tanks for this? I know there were several styles also. Thanks, Mike D.

Outstanding! Should not take much to adapt my textures and decals to it for a SEA bird. Good work, and thanks. Mike D.

This was really my only problem with the original file - trying to do a SEA camouflage scheme with identical mirrored halves of fuselage and wings if I remember correctly. The folding wings is a real plus. Split it down the middle and we'll be in business!! me

This version of the A-1 is not available yet - correct? Does it still have identical mirrored fuselage sides? Oh, and I understand the snoring bit.....

John's Yankee Air Pirate 2 series now has a very neat feature - a drag chute deployed with the CTL + O bomb bay animation keypress, as an add-on to the existing game .LODs. Very clever. See the thread at Simhq: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topi...tml#Post2726673 I am in the process of finalizing the first of a series of modified F-4 Phantom IIs, and I figured that I might as well add the drag chute door animation to go along with this neat feature for YAP2 users. I presently have the door animated with the Shift + 4 keypress, but I'd like to change it to have both my door open at the same time as John's drag chute deploying with the CTL + O keypress. Can anyone help me? My current chutedoor data.ini entry is: [Fuselage] ..... SystemName[018]=Dragchutedoor [Dragchutedoor] ;SystemType= SystemType=ANIMATION InputName=ANIMATION_4 DeploymentMethod=MANUAL AnimationTime=1.0 AnimationID=2 MaxDeflection=120.0 Retractable=FALSE ModelNodeName=chute_hatch Oh, my door also closes with the repeat of Shift + 4 when it probably should remain open. Please note that I have deliberately omitted John's data.ini entries here - you should purchase YAP2 to get this yourself. Thanks, Mike D.

I guess I finally get it - if the door is using animation slot 4, then if I just change John's animation slot reference for the bombbay in the data.ini to slot 4, both items should work at the same time with keypress Ctl + O. Wish I knew why that concept seemed so difficult to me.... Thanks again folks

With all these CAF and ADC/ANG Voodoos coming to CombatAce, anyone give a thought to making a terrain map for the Northeast USA? Would be fun to intercept historical TU-95s heading for the area. Mike D.

Well that's my question - is this a data.ini edit? How would it read - I poked thru some likely candidates like bomber types. The bomb bay already has an entry in the weapons section for the drag chute - my question is how do I tie my door to that? The weapon station bombbay entry does not ever have a ModelNodeName, so how do I tell it that the door is what I want to move?? For that matter, if I was making an airplane that HAD a bomb bay, how would I get it to do the animation I wanted with the CTL + O keys?? Sorry I seem to be such a dolt about this, but I'm still new at much of this...it wasn't very long ago I was asking for people to make small parts for me...! Thanks

But it sounds like my question's answer is - no. I can stick with the double set of key presses. Any way that you look at it, I still think that it was a cool idea and am glad to see it in the sim. Eye candy it is, but so is the open canopy on an airplane. Thanks for the comments folks. Mike

Well, as I said, I made it animated already, but instead of two key press combos, I'd like to just make it as one (in the real bird, you yank the handle and it works, no two operations needed I don't think. Mike

Hmmm...I did some serious searching this morning, and darned if I can't find an F-4 with AIM-9 rails AND a TER loaded at the same time. I poked thru the Dash 34 I have and cannot find a specific prohibition against it either though. Lots of photos of AIM-4D Falcon rails on inboards along with TERs, but no AIM-9 rails!! Check out this photo though...AIM-9s one side, TER with 750 lb M117s on the other at Ubon in 1967. Thanks for the insight, learn something new every day. Mike D.

Sorry I missed this thread yesterday. KB is right, the first use of the ECM pod by F-4s was for the 02 January 1967 Bolo mig-bagging mission led by Robin Olds and Chappie James. For that mission, the birds flying as if they were strikers were wired to carry an QRC-160/ALQ-71 on the outboard pylon on one side, and a 370 gal fuel tank on the other side (talk about your basic asymmetrical loadout - better have your trim keys programmed). The only real photos I have seen of this are from video shot as the birds returned to Ubon on the Dogfights series on the History Channel (now on DVD). Also early use of tailcodes seen here. After this, the inboard pylons were modified to carry a pod, but doing so limited the bird's load carrying ability - I have seen photos of the first F-4Ds at Ubon configured this way - so by mid to later 1967 the adapter for the fwd AIM-7 wells for an ECM pod was developed. This adapter has not been modeled in the simulation as its sort of buried and not very visible with the pod in place anyway. I recently purchased an F-4 weapons delivery manual that I have not yet looked at, but I believe that it will say that the airplanes prior to 1972 had to jettison ordnance off of the TER on the inboard pylon to safely launch the AIM-9s. A three-inch spacer was then added to the rail which provided additional clearance to allow the Sidewinders to be fired with weps on the TER (although one would think that the heavy stuff would be jettisoned anyway if you started tangling with the more maneuverable migs). Mike D.

Thanks again - very sweet bird. Look forward to flying it around YAP2 territory. Mike

Thanks BB for the tip - I didn't mean to hijack the thread. But, it is always appreciated by myself when anyone chimes in with help or a similar experience. Someone could put together a newbie's guide to basic 3sdmax stuff some time - not just 3D construction, but these sort of troubleshooting tips. Hey, I never knew about linking parts until my first creation wouldn't appear in game!! Lots to learn for anyone new at this... Mike

As someone who can speak from recent experience as a NEWBIE to 3dsmax, I can testify that the program/conversion to .LOD interface occasionally still does unpredictable things. It is rare, but stuff still does happen for which I cannot explain. (I had a few parts appear in game completely out of place by a few meters - and they were certainly in place on the base model...) Only remedy was to retrace the parts completely new and delete the old, and then it worked. I refused to move them out of place on the base model in max so that they were IN place in game. Good advice from FC - hide recent parts until the offender is found, then remake that one from scratch. Mike

Trying to think outside of the box here a bit: Is there a way to duplicate a portion of a mesh, give it a unique name, and have it be invisible except when you place a decal on it? Sometimes it is desirable to have more than the allowable number of decals on an area, and this would do it...??? Mike D.

Thanks for the replys everyone. I may not use the idea on this one, but I just thought it up over a cup of coffee and figured I'd mention it before doing any experimenting. Thanks again. Mike

I'm trying to wrap up the F-4C/D that Crab started and I sort of picked up on - but thinking to make it easier to add decals. The enormous fwd fuselage decal that I used for canopy rail art, plus that area in between, plus the nose anti-glare area which were often painted, would be ideal for this perhaps. Instead of separating these parts and mapping them and trying to reposition the maps to match the old bmps, I was just wondering if they could be called out as invisible duplicate parts - rquire no mapping, plus will show a decal applied....just thinking.

Dels, These screen shots look just great. I've been waiting for this bird for a long time. Super, just super!! Mike

I spent some time with SF2-Vietnam today, and am noticing the aircraft textures very blurry - much like the problem I had way back when with WOV before I figured out the anistrophic filtering option in my NVIDEA 8600GT control panel. I tried everything I can think of, with no effect at all. Cockpit graphics are fine, terrain is fine, but acft textures (set to high of course) are blurred badly. Running XP not Vista also. Any tips would be appreciated, otherwise I'm going back to pre and post-October Patch WOV. Tried WOV also and the textures are much better... Thanks, Mike D.

Well, it's a good thing that I'm a cool, swarthy, armchair fighter pilot who doesn't get frazzled...otherwise I'd feel like a horses rear end..... Thank you, I could have sworn my only options were low, medium, or high. Color me stupid with a capital "S"... Mike

The default SF/WOE/WOV F-4D that TK presented had the AN/ALR-69 bumps on the nose RHAW housing, but he did not incorporate them on the tail drag chute door. Some other small antennas were missing for this mod also. Would not take much to make one up - plus most had the round fin tip RHAW housing. Mike

Uh...Thanks Kevin. Maybe one of these days I'll try to broaden my horizons a bit - for the time being I'll stick with "When Thunder Rolled" and "Palace Cobra" by Ed Rasimus. Stuff like that...

Uh....yeah....ummm...like I said, be nice to fly some interceptors from bases here in New England.... New Order????? Mike