Svetlin

Well, that was quite logical actually, thanks yakarov79 

Here it is:

The Chinese PL-8 is basically the Israeli Python 3.

PL-8 - Python 3, provided by Israel

PL-8A - Same as PL-8, but assembled in China with Israeli components

PL-8B - Fully built in China with Chinese components

That said, we are fortunate to have ravenclaw's excellent Python 3.

So instead of looking for the creator of that PL-8 missile, who might be one of the InSky guys, I would suggest asking ravenclaw for a template of his Python 3 and repainting it as necessary.

This way you would end up with a much better version on the PL-8. Here is a screenshot of ravenclaw's Python 3.

SAM hunting over Vietnam in the A-6B

Crusader, that's new to me and I find it quite interesting. Can you go a bit more into detail to explain how that works in game?

May be give an example with an aircraft that already has this setup in place?

Does the ForceRailLaunch=TRUE entry make the game apply a rail launch effect to a missile which is normally ejected or not carried on a missile rail?

Or does the entry make the game ignore the fact that the missile is usually rail launched and ejects it from the hardpoint, despite the fact that the weapon data says "rail launched"?

Thank you in advance!

Well, I'd be careful with that if I were you. Take the AIM-120 AMRAAM as an example.

When fitted to the wing pylons on a F-15C, it uses a missile rail and the rocket engine is the one that propels the missile immediately at launch.

When fitted to one of the stations on the CFTs, the missile is actually ejected, so it would separate enough from the aircraft before the engine starts and avoid damage to the aircraft.

That is especially important when an aft hardpoint is used.

If you want to have more realistic missiles such as the AMRAAM in SF2, I believe you need to have 2 versions of the same missile - one rail launched and a second with the "use missile rail" option unchecked.

Then you would need to use also a specific station code entry to prevent the wrong version being loaded, such as a rail launched version loaded on a hardpoint on the CFTs.

Hi, any plans to add weapon pylons to the Buckeye? I came across a few pictures, showing Greek Buckeyes with a total of 4 pylons, apparently in a light attack aircraft role or as an early weapons training platform.

"...where to set the time for the missile to open the fins?" - right above the OK and CANCEL buttons in the lower right corner of the editor screen there is a section called Release animation.

There you have the animation ID number, Time (sec) - which I believe controls how long the animation is performed in seconds and Delay (sec) - this is the delay in seconds after drop/launch when the animation starts.

Well, I was not aware that ODS.30 already had the job done and I have kept fiddling with this.

I actually extended the ini-edits to Intruders as well. I have not shared publicly the ini edits, because I am not fully satisfied with the result yet.

Also recently ravenclaw_007 was kind and helpful enough to provide me a modified LAU-118, which better suits the purpose, as the one shared in April 2020 was apparently for USAF aircraft and USN aircraft use a slightly different LAU-118.

So now the work covers adding LAU-7 IRM rails to the Intruders (not that they often carried IRMs, but still), LAU-77 for AGM-78, LAU-34 for AGM-12, LAU-117 for single AGM-65 and LAU-118 for AGM-45 and AGM-88.

I have also slightly modified ravenclaw_007's MER data ini to create new bomb racks for the Intruders, that allow certain interesting looking loadouts that I have come across when searching online.

If there is any interest and if the modders, whose 3d work I am using allow it, I may share the end result as an upgrade pack.

Coupi, I would add the MiG-21U/US/UM to your MiG-21MF/bis wish  We do have one already, but its age is rather obvious already.

That probably has something to do with countering the effect of the props rotating in the same direction. As far as I could see in videos, both props rotate clockwise when looked at from the front. Just a guess, I might be wrong.

I am not into 3D modelling, but if I remember well, this phenomenon started appearing with the second gen games and is being referred to here as a "tractor beam".

Just search the forum for threads where "tractor beam" is mentioned.

Here is an example: 

There is something oddly attractive about having MERs used as TERs. I saw a picture of an Intruder with this setup and still can't get it off my mind.

AIM-9 on an Intruder? I was surprised to see it in a real picture of the aircraft, but then - hell, why not...

Some Ravenclaw goodies on Intruders. I love the combination of that aircraft with Ravenclaw's gifts to the community.

Unless I am mistaken, AIM-7 missiles in SF2 fly in a straight line after being fired, because they are set up as SAHM and the "lofted" option is inactive for SAHM in SF2.

AIM-54 for example is set up as an AHM and has the "lofted" option activated.

Thank you so much, problem solved  That must have really been an earlier version of your missile. Thank you once again, I do appreciate it.

Hi ravenclaw_007, I noticed some tractor beams coming from the Matra R.550 Magic 2.

Would it be possible to fix that if/when you have some time?

Thanks for the answer, ludo, the mod is great as it is and my curiosity is satisfied. I do love 2-seater versions of otherwise single seater aircraft.

Thanks for the update, team, hope the file will be approved later, so I could fly the aircraft after work :-)

By the way, I have a question about the French Mirage F1B. Most photos I have come across show the aircraft in what appears to me as a more dull or a darker shade of blue-grey color on the side and upper surfaces as compared to the skins in the mod, which are in a brighter blue color. Is that due to aging and weathering on the actual aircraft, or due to difference in lighting/camera effects, or is it actually a different camo, applied during the later years of service of the aircraft? What confuses me in the picture of the actual aircraft is that most markings appear to be with good contrast, as if freshly applied, which does not match with an aged/faded camo.

To compare, here is the Mirage F1C_82, which I believe wears the same skin as the Mirage F1B available (I apologize, I cannot take a screenshot of an actual Mirage F1B at the moment). 

Thank you, team, for the continuous hard work on the Mirage F1. It would be great if someone would approve the new version.

Looks like a MT-LBu vehicle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MT-LBu

Hi, here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjfdbOmtHKY 

Round 00:19-00:20 for a brief moment you could see the gun being elevated and the radar dish with it.

Here too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UONN6APrcU

The above link though is for a version of the system which is not loaded on an armored vehicle, but it seems to me to be the same thing otherwise.

To make things confusing, here is a third video clearly showing at around 00:43 the radar dish remaining in a fixed position with just the gun and the optical guiding system moving together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHsFe1Abk2A

The system seems the same as in the second video, but this time on an armored vehicle.

Again I am no expert and I hope I am not causing confusion, but it appears to me as if the gun would move together with the system being used for guidance at the given moment, whether optical or radar, or both if possible.

Hope that makes sense.

Hi, I am not an expert, but just checked a couple of Youtube videos, showing the system in action, and the radar dish moved both horizontally and vertically together with the gun and they always pointed in the same direction.

The thing is that the decal is not common to all aircraft in a squadron, but to a single board. So to represent a full squadron you would need 1 skin for the aircraft with unique skin design and another skin for all other aircraft in the squadron. So that will be a problem in the game as when the standard squadron skin is used in the game, you will not have the special skin appearing among the other aircraft. This is similar to US Navy squadrons having a CAG bird and line birds. If you make the CAG bird a separate skin, then you will never have the CAG aircraft appearing together with the line birds. In my example Bulgarian MiG-29UB board number 14 was decorated to commemorate 100 year of military aviation in Bulgaria and no other aircraft had these additional decorations:

Something similar on Bulgarian MiG-29A board 16 commemorating 25 years of MiG-29A in Bulgarian Air Force service:

I do apologize to Ngr for hijacking his thread.

I think that partly the problem that Ngr faces is related to how the aircraft was modelled and split in different meshes.

Here is what I mean:

The decal just in front of the exhaust is supposed to be on the outer side only, but because the whole middle section of the aircraft and the 2 engines are a singe mesh, when you apply a decal that should face left, it appears both on the right engine and the left engine facing left. The same happens to a decal that is applied on the upper side of the fuselage, that should face top - it appears also inside the engine intake, facing top. I do not know of a cure to this other than cutting the section into more meshes, allowing independent placement of decals. In my case above the decal appearing at the wrong place is a minor problem. I had to reduce the size of the board number (14) on the intake, so it could fit entirely in the separate mesh, which I believe the model creator included especially for placing the board numbers and preventing them from appearing at wrong sides of the intakes. The problem though is that in reality the board number should be bigger, but still I would call this a minor problem. Aside from these issues though I am extremely happy with both the MiG-29UB and MiG-29A models as the level of detail is exquisite.

Thanks