Milton's A-26 in FSX [Archive]

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LordAkshay798

October 16th, 2011, 15:09

Last I heard, someone was working on converting Milton's venerable A-26 to FSX SP2. Is there any news on this project?

stansdds

October 17th, 2011, 02:48

I don't think there has been any news for a very long time.

Milton Shupe

October 17th, 2011, 05:14

The project was startedright afterour project completed but Dan got busy with commercial ventures and real world.

The gmax source is available to anyone who wishes to bring it to native FSX life.

Just PM me with your interest and I will provide.

warchild

October 17th, 2011, 13:17

Oh gods how i wish i knew something about modeling...

Milton Shupe

October 17th, 2011, 14:50

Oh gods how i wish i knew something about modeling...

LOL Not to worry; it has been taken care of ...

Roger

October 17th, 2011, 15:18

LOL Not to worry; it has been taken care of ...

Now that sounds like...news:engel016:

Bomber_12th

October 17th, 2011, 15:25

There will be something posted to these forums next week, which will provide more information and an outline of sorts, on things to come. ; )

LordAkshay798

October 17th, 2011, 15:37

Cool! Thanks for the replies! Now only if Jankees did some A-26 textures... (insert daydream here) :P

stansdds

October 18th, 2011, 04:42

There will be something posted to these forums next week, which will provide more information and an outline of sorts, on things to come. ; )
:applause::applause::applause::applause::applause: :applause::applause:

warchild

October 18th, 2011, 08:57

Holy Crap John!! Your working on it?? heh. my day just got a whole lot brighter :).

Bomber_12th

October 18th, 2011, 09:21

I won't be starting in until my current project-focus is completed, but I hope to get started by the end of next week. My eventual goal is to revitalize the SOH A-26 with all of the FSX bells and whistles (bump maps, spec maps, larger resolution textures, etc.), as well as a big VC enhancement. However, as this will take quite a bit of time to reach, as I have told Milton, my initial plan will be to just convert the current A-26, as it is, to FSX native standard, and that will be released when finished as a 'phase 1' of the eventual 'full' FSX conversion. This will allow the A-26 to be available for all, in FSX native form, in a much shorter time span, and the final 'phase 2' release can be made at a later date. After 'phase 1' is released, the further attention to FSX materials/enhanced VC will be undertaken, but that is not to say that 'phase 1' will not see some various enhancements as well, beyond the general FSX conversion work - it just depends on time. 'Phase 1' will be available before the end of the year, and I'll start a new thread when work gets underway - one reason being so that anyone who may be interested can keep me on my toes with it. ; )

I want to publicly thank <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Milton</st1:place></st1:City> for his generosity in openly allowing the source files to be available for folks like me to do this!

warchild

October 18th, 2011, 10:08

Wellllll, i'm terrible with visuals ( not quite blind as a bat, but certainly not old eagle eye either ), and i dont think its possible to improve on the original flight model. Dont know, its been a long time since i flew the bird. but thank yopu for stepping up to the plate. I dont believe the old girl could be in better hands :)..
Pam

huub vink

October 18th, 2011, 13:29

Sounds great! Thanks Uncle Milton & John!

Huub

Pips

October 18th, 2011, 14:23

Outstanding news! You guys are just the best. :)

LordAkshay798

October 18th, 2011, 18:43

Outstanding news indeed! John's eye to detail and Pam's flight model expertise will make this an unbelievable aircraft!

warchild

October 18th, 2011, 19:51

to be honest, my flight modeling capabilities pale in front of Jerry Beckwiths ( in my own not so humble opinion ).. I believe Fliger747 also did an FDE for the A-26 that was outstanding. Stilll, if asked... Working on one of Miltons planes would almost be a dream come true, and i HAVE been in love with the A-26 ever since i first time i saw this little movie called "Always" which remains one of my favorites ( especially when John Goodman gets bombed with borate )..
yeahh, it'd be a lot of fun.

Milton Shupe

October 18th, 2011, 20:17

I am really excited that John stepped up to do this. Ultimately, this aircraft will be much better as a result and I for one am looking forward to that.
Thanks John :applause:

FYI, Fliger747 did the FM for the original FS9 SOH A26B/C project.

warchild

October 18th, 2011, 20:26

Then he did an outstanding job of it.. and i obviously have my flight model engineeers somewhat confused as to who did what when. Jerry did the FSX version then, which was also excellent..meh, I blame it on old age and senility setting in.. Thats me excuse and i'm stickin too it ;)..

stansdds

October 19th, 2011, 02:22

italoc

October 19th, 2011, 07:14

Holy Crap John!! Your working on it?? heh. my day just got a whole lot brighter :).

Mine too !!!!:applause::jump::applause::jump:
Italo

Bomber_12th

October 19th, 2011, 09:24

Outstanding news!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the SOH A-26 in FS9 and the port over has been "ok" in FSX, but having one that is fully FSX is going to be great.

A revamped VC for FSX sounds good. Will it also be possible to upgrade the external model of the B-26K to include "C" series R-2800 engines? Sounds silly, but the reduction gear case of the C-series looked very different from the B-series R-2800's.

I'll see what I can I do, but for the initial release, it will just be the variants covered as they were in the original FS9 release (with possibly the earlier gun-nose variant added, like the one I made using Milton's source files shortly after the original FS9 release). Any B-26K/A-26A work, if done, will be seperate/done at a later date, though I also don't want to step on any toes over at Razbam, as they have a very nice FSX B-26K already under development. With 'phase 1', it will allow anyone interested in a FSX-native SOH A-26, to not have to still wait for months to have it. Honoring the original idea (by the community, for the community), I'll only be providing these releases through SOH.

I'm a stickler for trying to only give/take credit where credit is due (much more so in recent years than in the past). When I eventually start posting screenshots/updates of the work (so as to show all who are interested that things are progressing on it/that I'm not slacking on the job : ) ), if you like what you see, please say so, but at the same time I don't want to take any more credit, for what will be done/shown, than I really should. For me personally, it is Milton's baby, and always will remain so, and on top of the fact that a number of other members have their work in the aircraft as well (for whom I will try to get in contact with soon). I do however appreciate any and all of the interest in the task at hand, and thank you for it!

Helldiver

October 19th, 2011, 09:46

God bless you, John and Milton. As far as I'm concerned the A-26 esthetically compares to the Spitfire as being the most beautiful aircraft that ever flew. Although I have a hard time with the B-26 designation. We already had a great Martin B-26 flying during the war. It always will be the beautiful A-26 to me.

stansdds

October 20th, 2011, 02:39

stansdds

November 10th, 2011, 02:38

:bump:

Any updates?

jankees

November 10th, 2011, 04:24

Hey I missed this somehow, outstanding that this great bird will be upgraded!
Knowing John, we can expect great things...

Bomber_12th

November 10th, 2011, 06:27

Thank you for expressing an interest in this! As of right now I have been going through the exterior model, and replacing all of the FS9 materials with FSX materials. After that I will go through and assign all of the animations/coding. Once the exterior of the aircraft has reached this point, I will be re-doing the main exterior textures, in much larger resolution, from scratch, and thus by doing so I will also be able to more easily build up the specular and normal maps, which I hadn't planned on doing on this first release, but have decided to do so. I hope to post some screenshot evidence of all of this, soon enough. ; )

Milton Shupe

November 10th, 2011, 06:42

Yea!!! Thank you John. I really look forward to this one for native FSX. :applause:

LordAkshay798

November 10th, 2011, 13:29

Thanks a bunch, John! I'm really looking forward to this bird in FSX . :salute::applause::icon29:

stansdds

November 11th, 2011, 04:17

Glad I :bump: -ed this back to the top. :applause::applause::applause:

Roger

November 11th, 2011, 04:20

Marvellous:applause:

Milton Shupe

April 3rd, 2012, 07:03

Sorry to bump this but inquiring minds want to know :-) :bump:

muletrain

April 3rd, 2012, 16:45

Thanks!!!!!!!

Bobr2

April 4th, 2012, 20:42

This really sounds great will be wating for it.:salute:

Milton Shupe

May 3rd, 2012, 19:25

This really sounds great will be wating for it.:salute:

LOL What he said :-)

fliger747

May 6th, 2012, 10:15

Great plane, another one of the many Miltons Best....

T

stiz

May 6th, 2012, 10:21

yea come on bomber, leave those mustangs alone for a bit, they'll live :icon_lol:

Bomber_12th

May 6th, 2012, 11:39

I'm sorry, but it has turned out to be not quite what I expected I'd be getting into (I'm not going to go into detail) and its fallen by the way-side over the past few months. However, as I mentioned to Milton a couple of weeks back, I've re-started the project just to get at least a no-fuss, bare-bones conversion done.

TuFun

May 6th, 2012, 12:16

If you would like to fly Miltons A-26 in FSX... Tony's update for FSX can be dled here... http://simviation.com/1/browse-Vintage-66-3

Created this video with Tony's updates, also since I'm a non smoker, I removed the Camels! 64842

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofe_lqVFKQE

Bomber_12th

May 6th, 2012, 18:25

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b6.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b4.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b3.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b9.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b10.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26b8.jpg

fliger747

May 6th, 2012, 18:58

The original panel and gauges were done by Rich Murray (Real old Salt) which I always liked a lot. Rich was enjoyable to work with and sadly he fell out of the FS community due to serious family issues.

John: Thanks for taking this up!

Regards: Tom

Firekitten

May 7th, 2012, 05:38

Milton Shupe

May 7th, 2012, 05:45

Absolutely excellent news... I've always loved this ship (As A fire tanker, rather than a warbird).

An fsx native version of the standard one will be ace.... (Save me having to fly with all the lights off to remove the background of the gunsight) but a totally revamped one? oh wow... lovely! If you need any help on the texture side, I'd love to lend a hand.

I've been reading SOH for a while, and only just started posting, but I really love the 'by the community for the community' spirit here, its one of the last places it seems to exist sadly... So regardless of being a newbie, I'll offer what I can.
Rachael

Hi Rachel,

Welcome to SOH :wavey: I have to agree. Bomb_12th's efforts are highly appreciated and welcomed. The A26B/C and B26K's are just over 5 years old now since that project released so this effort is genuinely warranted. Thank you for your interest here.

@John, the screenshots look awesome! Thank you for sharing progress. :-)

Firekitten

May 7th, 2012, 05:49

Thankyou :) Also, thankYOU! for two of my favorite aircraft, the beech 18, and this. Incredible work on your part I might add, they have held their age magnificently. I love your work.

I have actually been doing my own renovation of this classic... not great, but I wanted to bring some new fsx life into her... (This is a WIP shot, most of the fuselage and now engines are done)
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm365/rosefern_album/FSX/paintjobs/a26v2.jpg

kilo delta

May 7th, 2012, 06:02

Absolutely excellent news... I've always loved this ship (As A fire tanker, rather than a warbird).

An fsx native version of the standard one will be ace.... (Save me having to fly with all the lights off to remove the background of the gunsight) but a totally revamped one? oh wow... lovely! If you need any help on the texture side, I'd love to lend a hand.

I've been reading SOH for a while, and only just started posting, but I really love the 'by the community for the community' spirit here, its one of the last places it seems to exist sadly... So regardless of being a newbie, I'll offer what I can.
Rachael

Hi Rachael,
Welcome to the SOH...your repaint of Rallye ATS is one of my favourites in my "hangar" ;)

Firekitten

May 7th, 2012, 06:04

Ah N-Force! Hi :D (Sorry to derail the topic *runs off and hides*

Bomber_12th

May 7th, 2012, 07:41

Depending on what I'm able to accomplish today (with some crucial matters - the VC), I might be able to get the FSX-converted models available by the end of this week - we shall see. ; ) As other than the VC models, the exteriors are just about ready to go.

As mentioned, these models, although pure FSX now, are basic, straight-forward, but true, conversions, and they will allow you to fly the aircraft in FSX, problem free, and with self shadows, FSX glass and reflections, and of couse support for light bloom. I'll simply be providing the necessary updated models and prop and glass textures.

Eventually, there still will be another release, to trump this first one, which will be more expansive, with higher resolution (all new) exterior textures, spec maps, and normal maps. I really can't wait to see it with "FSX metal" applied!

Here are some screenshots of the A-26C model, converted:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26c1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26c2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26c3.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26c4.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/Bomber_12th/a26c5.jpg

Firekitten

May 7th, 2012, 08:45

Random question Bomber_12th, Its probably too much, but is there any chance of doing one of the civil C models (glass nose) with a solid upper, with the remaining glass underside? (Been trying to do an accurate 'Fire Eaters' from the movie 'Always', would be nice if the nose matched... but if its trouble, It's no bother.

fliger747

May 7th, 2012, 09:00

I have flown the FS9 in FSX, but will have to look these over to see if any Flight Dynamics tuning will be necessary. There are some differences in how FSX, especially Accel, treats engines.

Hard to believe five years have elapsed?

Cheers. T

TuFun

May 7th, 2012, 09:07

Looking really good John, A-26 and Howard are my favorite birds!

Welcome Rachael... I remember those purple colored birds you painted!!!

Bomber_12th

May 7th, 2012, 10:37

Rachael, that actually shouldn't be too hard to do, and I'll be sure to see about it!

guzler

May 7th, 2012, 10:47

Guys,

I can add absolutely no technical input, but seeing the teamwork in operation here reminds me why SOH became my FS main bookmark all those years ago :salute:

Neil

Firekitten

May 7th, 2012, 11:39

Bomber: that would be awesome.... Btw, if you want any texture help, give me a holler. I'd be glad to lend a hand.

FSX68

May 7th, 2012, 13:28

Rachael, that actually shouldn't be too hard to do, and I'll be sure to see about it!

John:

Those are some stunning photos of your A26. Very nice indeed.

Bomber_12th

May 7th, 2012, 13:41

Roger

May 7th, 2012, 14:04

Good on yer John.:ernae: I'd like to use Damian's repaints (Windrunner) and in this format I can.

Milton Shupe

May 7th, 2012, 14:29

Thank you, but just to clarify, what I'm doing is just converting Milton's work to FSX.

BTW, just stopping in to say that the VC work went much smoother than expected. Might very well have files ready/uploaded tonight, stay tuned... : )

John, you are the man! Thank you so much! :jump: :applause:

And by the way, the glass is stunning! :medals:

Firekitten

May 7th, 2012, 15:04

He's right, it is lovely... The little things are just the... well... thing!

If people are interested, I'm doing a circa 80s-90s era VC panel for the firetanker variant... I'd be happy to share it if there's interest.

Essentially it will comprise more modern steam gauges, with radio stack. None of that silly glass malarkey mind.

Sundog

May 7th, 2012, 17:27

Thanks for all the work on these B12, Milton, and Fliger747. I've missed flying this.

Milton Shupe

May 8th, 2012, 05:26

John's FSX native conversion files release is announced here:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?66516-SOH-A-26-Invader-FSX-Converted-Files-Download