NeverEnough

Great new terrain Wrench! I'm off now to fight the War in the Pacific...

"Well what kind of ROE do you use ? You need different tactics when you fly red birds. AI Phantoms and their AIM-7s are very good in BVR so you have to be accurate in your missile avoidance process" Hey Kreelin, thanks for all your outstanding work on bringing this bird to life for us. I have had a weakness for the Fulcrum since I first saw the pictures of the surprise visit to Finland in Aviation Weekly. I was flying Fighter Sweep missions in WOE using the Soviet MiG-29A in 1984, since I thought the earlier time frame was more survivable. The missions start at altitude, and usually get a contact warning within about one minute of starting. Skill level and enemy activity was set at normal. Initial contact usually has the Phantoms at about 1 o'clock and approximately 30 miles out. As soon as I get a missile launch warning, I start popping flares and chafe at about three to five second intervals and initiate violent changes in direction and altitude. Usually I get a death rattle call from my wingman, followed immediately thereafter by a high explosive and high velocity enema... What do I need to do tactically to be able to return safely into the welcoming embrace of my beloved Olga?

"Some of you are really killing this hobby by such attitudes. I am now at the point of shear disgust with the hobby because of a few in the community. I havent fired up the sim in weeks. I got the B-1B, my Viper Blk 10 project, and a few others on hold because of the lack of motivation to do anything. The hobby has now bred a community of rivet counters and nit pickers so much so that the life has been sucked out of my favorite past time. No matter how high the quality, someone ALWAYS find a gripe. If it was a low quailty POS, full of bugs, I can see the complaints but it isn't (TMF hasn't released a POS to date) and still the covert overtones of said rivet counters/nit picking continues. Again I just shake my head in disbelief. " The biggest challenge is the sheer breadth of age, cultural and experience variations coloring the individual interpretations of each and every mod released for the sim. This community includes everything from snot-nosed kids who have never seen any of these birds in real life, to veterans who have left sweat and sometimes blood in the cockpits of the real deal. The cultural gap spans the world, which sometimes brings the "us versus them" perspective into play. Then to ensure any normal, well adjusted human being goes absolutely ballistic; there will always be those individuals who see only glaring errors and omissions where all others see only beauty and grace. Take a look at the names of the individuals viewing this thread, and the names of the true talent that have graced this sim with their selfless art and efforts will leap out at you. These are the opinions which carry the most meaningful weight.

I've been looking forward to the release of the MF MiG-29A packages with huge anticipation. Thanks to all those whose efforts went into making this beautiful addition to the Thirdwire world! As usual, this is another exceptional piece of work.

Veltro2k, even the payware service is not this good! Thanks for tweaking the model for us all.

I think the cannon projectile would be moving forward initially at the muzzle velocity, added to the forward velocity of the firing platform (the plane).

"NATO designator,huh??? Ok, gotta start with an "F"..... and it has to "not realy make sense" (like the others -c'mon, Fishbed??)" How about Frodo?

Wow MontyCZ, this should be a real kick in the head good time! Looking forward to doing some jungle canopy thinning work with bird.

First, I think this is a really great idea. A plane which would be perfect for what FC outlined would be Bunyap's beautiful P-26A Peashooter. It looks like something from a Thomas the Tank story, CA-Stary modeled a really nice basic cockpit for it, and Wrench has a number of very colorful skins available for it. It is a basic seat of the pants plane, with a FM like a hummingbird. Visibility around you is terrific for sightseeing, and it has fixed landing gear. The internet tends to lend itself to a pretty one dimensional view of the individuals who cross paths. This forum certainly provides alot more insights into the lives of its members. I guess maybe that aspect is what keeps drawing me back here.

As per your usual standards, Pappy wields a mean paintbrush! Beautiful work....

Erwin, this will gladden the hearts and lift the spirits of all true Red Air enthusiasts! Great news.....

The DS Mod is an amazing accomplishment on so many different levels. The enthusiasts took a incredibly complex piece of programming code written by somebody else, and literally bent it to their own mind. The artistic work on models, skins, strategic interaction and playability is dazzling. The organizational effort required to bring together all the contributors individual efforts into final finished package must have been huge. All of this was performed across different time zones; while dealing with normal family, work and real life demands. I am personally in awe of what you fine folks have put together, and especially incredulous that this labor of love was created with the collective works of volunteers. Wow, and thank you all for what you have done.

Hey Typhoid, if you have any affection for the scooter you are going to find SF2 worth the puchase price. I have never been a particular fan of the TW A-4 models, but have been thrilled with the increased detail in all the SF2 A-4 models. If you take a look closely at the exterior of the new models, you will be amazed at the increased fidelity of them. The little airflow directors on the outer portion of the wings are just painted on in the old models, but are actually part of the new A-4 models. The new A-4 cockpits are head and shoulders better than the old SFP1 A-4 models in terms of detail. TK has really out done himself with these new scooters. My only disappointment is that so far I have not been able to import the SF2 A-4 models into any of the other TW sims. I asked about whether that was possible over at the Thirdwire forums, and TK said the new unicode in SF2 prevented transferring them to the other TW sims. I hope someone more clever than I am will get around that barrier.

Except for Nicky and Raceindriver, it's all man love..... Something about that just seems so wrong!

"Great stuff, but the AVQ-23 lod is still missing from the folder...... " BPAO stated that the lod is included in the Thirdwire cat file.

You crazy guys really should consider getting some well deserved rest after all your efforts on this project! Well done, gentlemen....

Down in the weeds, with your hair on fire..... Life is good!

This is pretty amazing progress on a model that looked originally like it was going to be stillborn.... You good people have done some incredible work!

Quite handsome, they are!

Have a great birthday Veltro, and thanks again for all the outstanding models you have been producing!

If "people in the know" like KillerBee and Crusader shared their insights, I made sure I kept good notes! A-4E & F Only in the left underside of the rear fuselage, near the end of the hook. Original position by KillerBee, slightly tweaked by me (Moonjumper). add to [Fuselage] SystemName[0xx]=ChaffDispenser and down by the // Weapon Stations [ChaffDispenser] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=-0.2,-2.75,-0.50 EjectVelocity=0.00,-4.50,-5.50 NumChaff=30 NumFlare=0 How do I get a pair of flares/chaff to exit the station? I get get each of them exit different sides of the fuselage but not two at the same time. Add two separate dispensers at the same position but with slightly different EjectVelocity SystemName[014]=Chaff SystemName[015]=Chaff2 [Chaff] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition= -0.3,-5.30,-0.8 EjectVelocity=-5.0,0.0,-2.0 NumChaff=30 [Chaff2] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition= 0.3,-5.30,-0.8 EjectVelocity=-5.0,0.0,-1.5 NumChaff=30 A-7 With this setup (example only from my own A-7 Chaff modifications, not sure about your eject positions) you release TWO Chaff cartridges with one button push. Chaff goes the lower left side with some dispersion due to the different EjectVelocity. BTW, I see that your dispenser locations are more forward on the fuselage than they are on my A-7's. Mine have them nearly direct under the middle of the tailplane (seen forward/rearward axis) and offset 30 cm to the sides. Two dispensers holding 30 *rounds* each. A-7B has 60 Chaff total A-7D and E has 30 Chaff/Flare each. Took the dispenser positions from photos in Ospreys book on A-7 Units during the Vietnam War.

Here's what I copy and pasted from KillerBee's original post on SimHQ: KillerBee: The F-4S had two ALE-29's at a location that would be hard pressed to find if You hadn't worked on them before. Each ALE-29 had 30 slots for either Chaff or Flares. ALE-29's are 30 Shot Buckets that are basically the mainstay Bucket of the US Navy/Marines since the early 60's. Some of the Aircraft had provisions for two ALE-29's like the A-6's and F-4's. Thus, the Total of 60. A-4's, AV-8's and A-7's only had a single Bucket. We used to load Single Bucket Aircraft like the A-4/AV-8 with one Chaff Cartrage, one Flare Cartrage....ect. Location of the Buckets as follows: A-6- Two Buckets in the Middle of the Arrestor Hook....Middle of the "A" Frame Hook on the Aircraft's Airframe. A-4- Just foward of the Arrestor Hook, offset to the left just alittle. AV-8- Just forward of the Airbrake. This is for the "A" and "C" Models. The AV-8B had them there, Plus added Two more Buckets on the Fuselage Aft Section just before the Vertical Tail. F-4- US Navy/Marine Phantoms had two Buckets just Aft of Mid Section of the Aircraft behind a Trap Door System. The Doors would open and eject the CM....I'll have to Post a Pic on this Location, But all Versions of Navy/Marine F-4's had them there. USAF Phantoms had there Buckets on the Aft End of the Shoulder Pylons, right behind the Sidewinder Rails... Also take in account that some of these Aircraft had On-Board ECM to go along with their Ejectable CM..... XXX> Meaning next Number in Line... Put this under FUSELAGE in the DATA_INI's of the Navy Version Phantoms...F-4B thru QF-4S. SystemName[XXX]=ChaffDispenser At the bottom of the Weapons Stations Section of the DATA_INI's put this: ChaffDispenser *** SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=-1.00,1.00,0.50 EjectVelocity=-5.00,0.00,10.00 NumChaff=30 NumFlare=30 *** Note. Add Brackets around the Word ChaffDispenser. Some of You Research Guru's will have to check, But I think the F-4C had the Chaff/Flare Location the same as the Navy/Marine Birds.... Here's for all the other USAF Phantoms... In the Aircraft's DATA_INI under LeftWing put this: SystemName[XXX]=ChaffDispenser1 RightWing this: SystemName[XXX]=ChaffDispenser2 Under the Weapons Section, Add this: ChaffDispenser1 SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=-2.05,1.50,-1.23 EjectVelocity=0.00,-20.00,0.00 NumChaff=0 NumFlare=30 ChaffDispenser2 SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=2.05,1.50,-1,23 EjectVelocity=0.00,-20.00,0.00 NumChaff=30 NumFlare=0 Remember to add the Brackets. This should take care of US Phantoms..... A-4's.... Under Fuselage in the DATA_INI: SystemName[XXX]=ChaffDispenser Under Weapons Station Section: [ChaffDispenser] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=-0.25,-1.23,-0.53 EjectVelocity=0.00,-4.50,-5.50 NumChaff=15 NumFlare=15 WOV A-7's..... Under Fuselage in the DATA_INI : SystemName[XXX]=ChaffDispenser1 SystemName[XXX]=ChaffDispenser2 Under the Weapons Station Section: [ChaffDispenser1] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=-0.30,-4.89,-0.65 EjectVelocity=0.00,-5.00,-5.00 NumChaff=0 NumFlare=30 [ChaffDispenser2] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=0.30,-4.89,-0.65 EjectVelocity=0.00,-5.00,-5.00 NumChaff=30 NumFlare=0 WOV A-6A...... Under Fuselage in the DATA_INI, Change this: SystemName[005]=Tailhook SystemName[006]=LeftMainGear SystemName[007]=RightMainGear SystemName[008]=ECM SystemName[009]=ChaffDispenser1<< Add the "1" SystemName[010]=ChaffDispenser2<< Add This. SystemName[011]=TopFuselageLight<< Renumber This. Under the Weapons Section of the DATA_INI, Remove the Old Entry and Add this: [ChaffDispenser1] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=0.00,-6.38,0.34 EjectVelocity=0.00,0.00,-10.00 NumChaff=0 NumFlare=30 [ChaffDispenser2] SystemType=DECOY_DISPENSER EjectPosition=0.00,-6.78,0.34 EjectVelocity=0.00,0.00,-10.00 NumChaff=30 NumFlare=0 The AV-8C should be OK. I informed Kreelin's Team on Location durning Development. Ejection Angles could be Tweaked some more. Thanks KB

She's beautiful......

Has anyone had any success extracting the really nice Scooters from SF2 for use in SFP1, WOV, WOE or WOI. The new SF2 A-4 models have 1024 x 1024 skins, much more detailed exteriors and significantly nicer cockpits. I used the SF2 CatPack tool to extract all four ObjectData.cat files, and then copied the relevant files and lods over to a new A-4B folder. I copied all the cockpit files I could find into a Cockpit folder in the new A-4B folder. Something different in the SF2 aircraft folder is the loadout image is a tga, rather than a bmp file. I converted the loadout image to a bmp file, and editted the SF2 A-4B.ini to reflect the change. The majority of the cockpit files are located in the 003 ObjectData.cat, but some cockpit files such as mirrors, compass and digits are located in the 001 ObjectData.cat. After all the effort extracting all the bits and pieces, the new A-4B does not appear in the list of available aircraft when I placed the folder with the SF2 model in the latest patched version of SFP1. I had changed the stock SFP1 A-4B folder name to xA-4B so the game would not see it. Something strange occurs with the A-4B.ini after going to the screen in SFP1 where you select the aircraft you wish to fly. Everything down to the texture set portion in the A-4B.ini converts to [ ] where the headings were before opening SFP1; and the text under the Aircraft Data, LOD's, Shadow and Damage just goes away. The Texture Set headings and text all remain untouched. Am I missing something obvious?????

Kreelin pegged this one! Here is the word from TK: Vista version's data files (especially the text files) are in Unicode, and can not be read by XP version. TK