Wattisham '91

[John Young]

Having produce a mountain of AI aircraft now, I was coming to the conclusion that while that's fine for some people, for many others, it's not a lot of value without an airfield and flight plans to operate them from. I decided therefore to tackle something I've wanted to do for a while now (the airfield is about 50 miles away from me) and that's build a retro RAF Wattisham but to populate it with my own AI Phantoms, particularly in FSX code. The scenery will reflect the airfield as it was in 1991, which is when the Bloodhounds disbanded (they will be included).

The Phantoms (10 x 56 Sqn and 10 x 74S qn with a choice of 3 load-outs are all done. I've made a start with the scenery along with Stevo at ACG who is concentrating on the technical and domestic sites, while I tackle the HAS sites and other operational areas. Here's a few early screen shots:





Stevo is using high definition textures with ambient occlusion on the C-type hangars:





We are experimenting with the new GP features in ADE 1.6 to produce custom ground polygons and that with a bit of thought, includes a much easier way of making ground lighting splashes:





FS9 and FSX as usual. Still a great deal to do yet, but it's off to a good start.

John

[Sluffer77]

Oh wow! Great work thus far John n Stevo. Look forward to the release off this

[DaleRFU]

WOW, that looks great

[Chrisb]

I think I'm in love.

Chris

[Firebird]

Bloody marvellous! A few years after I left but close enough for Government work.

Nice to see the option of keeping the Bloodhounds there. Originally they were 85 Sqn E Flt but were very quickly renamed 25 Sqn C flt. You could see the bloodhound sites for miles, from the air.

[mikewmac]

Wow John!

That is going to make a great FSX package.

[Bora]

Great surprise !

The retro sceneries released by ACG are my favorite sceneries and this would be a very nice addition to those...

[gsnde]

That looks stunning, John.

[Manschy]

John, you give these AI birds that immense real look - just superb!!! Wattisham will be another great retro airfield to visit from my "homebase" Gutersloh because of its simultaneous co-existence...MEEEEMORIEEES......

[Ramrod18]

Superb work, John. Thank you!

[ronniegj]

Ah May Zing!!! Ron

[Sonarboy]

Really coming on a treat John. Absolutely superb. Looking forward to this one.

Brian

[John Young]

The two HAS areas are now complete (apart from GSE) and I've just finished planting the two large wooded areas with trees. Stevo is working on the Hangar area, while awaiting some information about the control tower.



Stevo produced some wonderful Bloodhound models a while back but they have never been published which was always a great pity. However, 1991 was the last year of the Bloodhounds at Wattisham and we have been able to include them here. I've supplemented Stevo's models with the old adjacent weapons area and optimised everything for performance. Dawn and dusk are great times for viewing:





If you are wondering why the mobile Type 86 radars (animated in the scenery) are placed on towers, it was to reduce ground clutter. The remains of the two towers are still at Wattisham today.

John

[jimrodger]

Fantastic scenery and fantastic screenshots.
Can't wait for it's release.

Jim

[lowlevelRAF]

Brilliant work guys Great much looking forward to flying out of this one !

[John Young]

Wattisham is coming on well. Stevo has been busy with the Technical and Domestic site (these are temporary textures until we get the real thing) and he has taken the lead with help from Pete Beeby to explore the new ground polygon facilities in ADE1.6 along with the more labour intensive but slightly better quality Gmax/MCX alternative.

Following a visit to the Wattisham Heritage Museum, I've been busy enhancing the HAS sites with a bit more detail, including some interior detail and new gates:







I came across an old video that featured this sign on the northern HAS site (74 Sqn Tigers) and had to include it:



The airfield fencing and Nav aid are all in places. Here's the animated ASR-1 radar, having identified the correct type (the PAR and ILS are also representative of the period too thanks to Stevo's models):



John

[Sluffer77]

Blown away by those screen shots, fantastic work by you n Stevo.

[VulcanDriver]

Wowsie! I cant wait to download this baby I'm moving house so wont be back on-line until after May 8 so it might be waiting for me

[John Young]

With most of the 2-D ground polygons done now and Stevo busy amalgamating our joint efforts, it was a nice break to return to some 3-D modelling. I've managed to finish the two HAS sites and started to think about the ASP AI flight line and the little static maintenance scene inside Stevo's C-Type Hangar. Here's a few screen shots of the progress:







While I was working on the HAS sites and the areas around the perimeter of the airfield, Stevo has been producing some outstanding work with the central area, especially the control tower and the fire station. I'm sure he will post some shots soon.

Can I use this post as an opportunity to say please, that I am away from my PC for a week starting Saturday (14 June) so I will not be responding to e-mails and PMs in that time.

John

[AndyG43]

That is all looking rather lovely John, looking forward to the day when I can get my greasy paws on it.

Speaking of which ...... Bruntingthorpe is now the home for the former Wattisham QRA hangar; is this scenery being built in library format, thus giving us the opportunity to dress up Brunters appropriately?