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FSX Battle of Britain

Let's hear all about the eye candy at those military bases.
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John Young
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

I can't tell you want to design Brandon. If I did that you wouldn't own the project. I can only facilitate you into reaching a goal, but if I don't know what the goal is and it keeps changing anyway, I can't help you to get there.

You are also making life more difficult than it needs to be by not using the AI resources we have here - particularly my wartime AI and opting for flyable models as AI instead. I tried to point out the problems in using the Blenheim but you ignored it and complicated it further by opting for a flyable BF-110 that you probably can't paint and distribute, never mind any frame rate issues and thought for the end user if you were to distribute the package.

Scenery without any 3-D structures is just boring, when you can create atmosphere with a few objects, like fighter pens and a bit of work looking for suitable third party library objects.

I'll think about this a bit more overnight and I'll make some suggestions to you tomorrow. In the meantime 3 things that would help me please:

- Could you take a screen shot of your FSX version number - that's the whole line including the bracket between "Microsoft Flight Simulator X Delux" and the copyright line? You click "Help" and then "About Microsoft Flight Simulator"

- Could you post the flightplan.txt line for your AI test at Middle Wallop?

- Tell me if you are able to work with 3-D objects and exclusion rectangles?

John
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John Young
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

Right Brandon, I don’t know if I can survive this, but we’ll see.

This is your project, so what I am going to suggest to you is only that, I’m not going to tell you what you must do, but if you are prepared to listen to me and to others here, you might end up with something usable.

We need first to get the rabbits back into their hats and not let them out again:

- Forget about Leeuwarden, it’s too far way and you don’t have the right AI to go with it.

- Forget about using any flyable aircraft as AI – they might be frame rate heavy if used in large numbers and you probably won’t have a licence to paint them. If you want to use any of my wartime AI, including the Spits, Hurricanes and Buchons that’s fine. I have a ton of bombers too and probably more relevant, a Ju-52. That could fly between two Luftwaffe airfields eventually.

- Forget about AI aircraft “attacking” an airfield by making a slow approach, gear down, flaps down and overshooting, or worst still, performing a touch and go. If it were mine, I would have them flying radio or undercarriage check circuits and out to a waypoint in the English Channel for operational sorties. If you really get the hang of this, you could also spawn some enemy AI at the waypoint and fly them to another waypoint past your home airfield so they overfly it. I could weld the gear up if necessary for that AI.

- Avoid fiction. We are certainly not going to deface RAF roundels by painting Russian red stars on top of them. If you use other people’s work, with their permission of course, you give credit for it.

I think you should concentrate on one airfield, get the full AFCAD, 3-D components and simple flight planning in place before tacking a second one. I’d carry on with Middle Wallop since you have started it and set that in June 1940 with 609 Sqn Spitfires. Apart from C-type hangars, I have fighter pens, camo nets and other bits that would help, but you will have to earn them.

I’m still thinking about trusting you with my e-mail address. We will need a better method than the forum for exchanging screen shots and files. I want to get on with my own work and I don’t want to risk that by constant bombardment with questions that you could have answered yourself if you were prepared to read manuals.

There are two starting points I think, both are preparation:

I would like you to download AFCAD2 and Traffic Tools, both by Lee Swordy. Install only AFCAD2. It’s better for drawing 1ft wide invisible runways on grass. From the Traffic Tools download, extract the manual and read it, then read it again so you understand how the 3 components of a traffic file work and what they look like. Look at how TNG's are set.

If you haven’t done so already, create a sub folder in your Middle Wallop folder called “Reference”. Then fill it with whatever photos and information you can find about the airfield in war-time, starting with the aerial image on the Wikki site, although I expect you have it already.

Once you have done that and have answered my 3 questions from yesterday, we can discuss next steps.

Does that sound OK?

John
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

John Young wrote: 19 Mar 2019, 06:21 Right Brandon, I don’t know if I can survive this, but we’ll see.

This is your project, so what I am going to suggest to you is only that, I’m not going to tell you what you must do, but if you are prepared to listen to me and to others here, you might end up with something usable.

We need first to get the rabbits back into their hats and not let them out again:

- Forget about Leeuwarden, it’s too far way and you don’t have the right AI to go with it.

- Forget about using any flyable aircraft as AI – they might be frame rate heavy if used in large numbers and you probably won’t have a licence to paint them. If you want to use any of my wartime AI, including the Spits, Hurricanes and Buchons that’s fine. I have a ton of bombers too and probably more relevant, a Ju-52. That could fly between two Luftwaffe airfields eventually.

- Forget about AI aircraft “attacking” an airfield by making a slow approach, gear down, flaps down and overshooting, or worst still, performing a touch and go. If it were mine, I would have them flying radio or undercarriage check circuits and out to a waypoint in the English Channel for operational sorties. If you really get the hang of this, you could also spawn some enemy AI at the waypoint and fly them to another waypoint past your home airfield so they overfly it. I could weld the gear up if necessary for that AI.

- Avoid fiction. We are certainly not going to deface RAF roundels by painting Russian red stars on top of them. If you use other people’s work, with their permission of course, you give credit for it.

I think you should concentrate on one airfield, get the full AFCAD, 3-D components and simple flight planning in place before tacking a second one. I’d carry on with Middle Wallop since you have started it and set that in June 1940 with 609 Sqn Spitfires. Apart from C-type hangars, I have fighter pens, camo nets and other bits that would help, but you will have to earn them.

I’m still thinking about trusting you with my e-mail address. We will need a better method than the forum for exchanging screen shots and files. I want to get on with my own work and I don’t want to risk that by constant bombardment with questions that you could have answered yourself if you were prepared to read manuals.

There are two starting points I think, both are preparation:

I would like you to download AFCAD2 and Traffic Tools, both by Lee Swordy. Install only AFCAD2. It’s better for drawing 1ft wide invisible runways on grass. From the Traffic Tools download, extract the manual and read it, then read it again so you understand how the 3 components of a traffic file work and what they look like. Look at how TNG's are set.

If you haven’t done so already, create a sub folder in your Middle Wallop folder called “Reference”. Then fill it with whatever photos and information you can find about the airfield in war-time, starting with the aerial image on the Wikki site, although I expect you have it already.

Once you have done that and have answered my 3 questions from yesterday, we can discuss next steps.

Does that sound OK?

John
Some updates:
Russian Spit scheme has evolved into a realistic one,
I will use Sketchup to make fighter pens etc.,
Do AFCAD2 and TTools work with FSX?
If you don't try you can never succeed, if you always try you succeed more.
Twitter: @Brandon71822792
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

John Young wrote: 18 Mar 2019, 20:52 I can't tell you want to design Brandon. If I did that you wouldn't own the project. I can only facilitate you into reaching a goal, but if I don't know what the goal is and it keeps changing anyway, I can't help you to get there.

You are also making life more difficult than it needs to be by not using the AI resources we have here - particularly my wartime AI and opting for flyable models as AI instead. I tried to point out the problems in using the Blenheim but you ignored it and complicated it further by opting for a flyable BF-110 that you probably can't paint and distribute, never mind any frame rate issues and thought for the end user if you were to distribute the package.

Scenery without any 3-D structures is just boring, when you can create atmosphere with a few objects, like fighter pens and a bit of work looking for suitable third party library objects.

I'll think about this a bit more overnight and I'll make some suggestions to you tomorrow. In the meantime 3 things that would help me please:

- Could you take a screen shot of your FSX version number - that's the whole line including the bracket between "Microsoft Flight Simulator X Delux" and the copyright line? You click "Help" and then "About Microsoft Flight Simulator"

- Could you post the flightplan.txt line for your AI test at Middle Wallop?

- Tell me if you are able to work with 3-D objects and exclusion rectangles?

John
.txt line: //FSXDAYS=False
AC#1,G-HURR,1%,24Hr,IFR,12:00,TNG13:24,190,R,0000,EHLW,13:44,15:19,220,R,0000,EGVP
yes I can work with them
If you don't try you can never succeed, if you always try you succeed more.
Twitter: @Brandon71822792
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John Young
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

Thanks Brandon.

How familiar are you with Sketchup? What have you produced and compiled so far?

AFCAD2 will work with FSX. TTools won't directly. It's the manual in the latter that I wanted you to read.

Will you be answering my 1st and 3rd question?

The 3rd question relates to placing objects with ADE and excluding default objects.
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

I have made hangars previously with Sketchup.
Q1.
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Capture45.PNG
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

Yes I do place objects with ADE
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

Yes I do place objects with ADE
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

Jolly good. So, when you make the fighter pens, be aware that they are FCW4513 Type B, not the usual type E. You will find some plans on the net. Middle Wallop seems to have had 6 of the large type (54ft max width) on the NW dispersal and 6 of the smaller ones (76ft) on the SE dispersal. You could also make and place the weapons bunkers on the SE side too. That would add even more interest.

I would complete the AFCAD first with all the parking and roads.
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

The only issue with adding roads is that modern cars would drive on it
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

One fighter pen
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John Young
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

Nope, wrong type. You didn't read what I said.

You draw the roads as unconnected taxiways not vehicle paths.
Last edited by John Young on 19 Mar 2019, 18:05, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

OK, will try that
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John Young
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

This will help you:

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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

Brandon, if you need any concrete, stone block or grass textures for the pens, I have plenty, including a shed with a green door. Just ask. Alternatively, if you didn't know about this resource, you will find it very useful:

https://www.textures.com/

You need to register. The very high resolution textures you pay for, but you won't need those. Decent sized ones are free.

Use one 1024x 1024 pixel sheet to amalgamate the textures and leave room for other structures like the weapons bunkers too. When you export and convert the textures save them as DDS Dxt1. Are you OK with that?
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

Please may I use the shed with the green door?
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

It's a box - the simplest shape there is. If you can make the pens, you can make the box.

What's the problem in making a box?
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

My way of making it into a .bgl, Model Converter X isn't working. Is there a tool like it I can use
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by John Young »

Why do you want to turn it into a .bgl? You want to turn it into a .mdl file that you can place with ADE.

If MCX doesn't compile the model, what error does it throw up?

Post me a shot of the model.
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Re: FSX Battle of Britain

Post by ConcordeBOAF »

Ill try adding an MDL in ADE
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