HMS Ark Royal Task Force

[John Young]

I'm planning to release an interim update for the package Foufure, that will harden the ski jump and make it operational for user aircraft in both FS9 and FSX. I just want to give Mike a chance to experiment with his AFCADs to see if the dirt problem in FSX can be overcome without having to edit the aircraft.cfg file of the user aircraft.

I say interim update because with the interest in the package, I'd like to go the whole hog and convert it properly to FSX. I already have the Sea Harriers in FSX native code, I've just converted the Ark Royal model and John B's Merlin seems fine as it is. We just need a new AI Type-23 frigate to improve the efficiency and also overcome the transparency issues when used in FSX. I'm happy to take that on.

As for HMS Ocean, well ..............

John Y.

[petebramley]

HMS Ocean would be great. She was my final seagoing posting before retirement.

[mikewmac]

......I just want to give Mike a chance to experiment with his AFCADs to see if the dirt problem in FSX can be overcome without having to edit the aircraft.cfg file of the user aircraft.

John,

My idea on modifying the HMS7 AFCAD to eliminate the dirt clods from flying off the aircraft's tires during the takeoff roll worked and a copy for you to test and verify my results with is attached to a PM that I just sent you.

As best I can tell I have also eliminated that pesky green surface from being visible from any viewing angle.

[TheFoufure]

HMS Ocean would be great. She was my final seagoing posting before retirement.

I find the HMS Ocean FS9 scenery here : http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php ... &fid=86210

[petebramley]

Thank you for that.

You know the really sad thing is that I already had this in my archive but never got around to installing it. Senility
appears to have set in.

[VulcanDriver]

With any luck you may have something to fly from the Big O shortly...

[John Young]

Mike's new AFCAD has indeed cured the dirt and the green polygon problem and I can now take-off up the ski jump in a user flyable aircraft in both FS9 and FSX (excuse the aircraft, it's one of my AI ones, used for the test as a flyable one). The quick fix to remove the dirt in the aircraft.cfg file effects section is not now needed:



I've just sent two interim updates to the Download Library:

Ark_Royal_ski_jump_FS9_files.zip
and
Ark_Royal_ski_jump_FSX_files.zip

The FSX files now have Ark Royal in FSX native code with .dds textures and I have included a replacement traffic file in FSX format to prevent AI not showing when FS9 traffic files are used in FSX.

These are both interim updates, pending a bit more design work for a V2 release.

John Y.

[hawk_sh]

Thank you for these updates.
Just did a few jumps.

However I discovered a small issue I have not noticed before.
It has nothing to do with the new ski jump, but it is related to the HMS_Ark_Royal_Bow_Spray.BGL

When in the cockpit of a user aircraft and accelerating towards the ski jump at some point the screen switches to a dark grey or blue color. This lasts for a few fractions of a second then everything is clear again when moving further forward. Also in Spot View at some positions over the bow of the ship and under certain viewing angles the screen goes dark.
I also can reproduce this effect when I try to position the view at the bridge of the Ark Royal and the slowly move forward towards the bow.
My first idea was that this is something related to a scenery effect. I could identify that it is the bow spray.

Anyone else experiencing this?

[John Young]

Hartwig, if you remove the bow spray .bgl file, does the problem go away? Is this in FS9 or FSX?

John

[hawk_sh]

I am using FS9.
When removing the bow spray, the issue is gone.
Removing certain bgl files was my way of identying that it is related to the bow spray.

[John Young]

I've tried several times this morning to see what you are seeing Hartwig using the default Cessna in both cockpit and spot view, but I can't see a problem. Could it be related to the user aircraft you are flying? Try the Cessna and see what happens.

John Y.

[hawk_sh]

It occured with the default Cessna and also with other aircraft as well as as with the "Finney Crosshairs" that I am using for scenery design or simply watching AI traffic..
Also when moving outside of the aircraft with active camera it happens.
I will try to post a few screenshots and a more detailed description on how and when this happens later this afternoon.

Might this be somehow related to a parameter in a cfg file of FS9 that influences the size of certain effects?
I think there is a parameter that influences the size of the aircraft lights, for example?
Maybe this is only an issue with my setup?

[hawk_sh]

John,

here are a few screenshots:

I started on the flight deck and slowly slewed forward until the cockpit and VC view became dark, then stopped in this position.


This is the cockpit view.
This purple color looks like the water color of the bow spray effect.



When approaching the bow from the side as shown in this screenshot, then the purple becomes more intense until you can not see through it. When moving further the view becomes gradually clerarer again.


At sea level the bow spray effect is white only.
When moving towards the bow the screen gets gradually white until complete white out.
It is not possible for me to position the crosshair directly at the bow because I cannot see it due to white out.


The last screenshot is taken from tower view looking aft, you can already see the purple haze.
When I first saw this I thought it was due to the ship's smoke effect. But it looks like it is also the bow spray and not a smoke effect.



For me it seems that the bow spray effect extends much further than what is actually visible of it.
When the user viewpoint then moves through this "invisible" extension it becomes visible again.

I hope this explanation makes some sense to you.
And it would be really interesting if anyone else exeriences this or whether this is only an issue with my setup.

[gsnde]

I will test it this weekend, Hartwig (listening to Deep Purple while I am at it ).

[John Young]

I've tried again today to replicate Hartwig's problem, but I just can't. Mike has also been trying but he can't see it either.

I tried it with my frame rate set to 10 fps to simulate a slow computer. I got a slide show, but I didn't see any purple haze.

Just in case it's related to the absence of a head wind, I tried that too - no purple haze.

Mike can only replicate the purple haze by flying through the bow spray close to sea level as you might expect. I'm inclined to think there's something in what Hartwig posted:

"Might this be somehow related to a parameter in a cfg file of FS9 that influences the size of certain effects? I think there is a parameter that influences the size of the aircraft lights, for example? Maybe this is only an issue with my setup?"

If you have changed some parameters that might have this effect Hartwig, are you able to test with the default FS9.cfg file, assuming you made a back up copy? You can test with mine if you want to.

In the meantime, the new frigate model (static and AI) that will replace the high poly one and will display properly in FSX, is taking shape:



John Y.

[hawk_sh]

Thank you for your efforts.
I followed your advice and tested it with a different fs9.cfg, the oldest copy I could find on my system.
The issue is still there.
I would like to try again with your default fs9.cfg.

From the position shown in the first screenshot of my earlier post I moved upward vertically.
The purple haze completely disappears at about 20m above sea level. Also the bow spray of the static frigates have this purple haze issue.

I also did some research about those parameters influencing the size of light effects and tried several different settings found in other forums but have not found anything that has an impact on this purple haze issue. These parameters are in the fs9.cfg.

Are there any other cfg files that FS9 uses that could have an influence?

By the way, the frigate is looking great.

[John Young]

I think if you've tried an earlier .cfg file Hartwig, it's probably not that. I think because we can't replicate the problem and no one else is reporting it, I'm not sure it's a general issue. I can't really correct something that isn't being found other than on your PC.

Sorry about that, but really there's only so much we can do.

John Y.

[hawk_sh]

Thanks John.

I absolutely understand and I do not want to waste anyone's time.
It is not a big issue and I can live with that.

So this is another mistery of different flightsim setups.

[gsnde]

Hartwig, long call but have a look what bmp the effect uses and if that was overwritten with another version?


From mobile hence short

[hawk_sh]

All the spray effects that come with the package use the fx_5.bmp texture.
This is how it looks on my system. The file date is 17 July 2001.