Im back! I finally retired!!!

Hello all, some of you may remember me but I was around here back in the hey days of cfs1-2-3 fs202-4-fsx. I left the flight sim scene for a long time to build up cr1 and simTECH into viable companies. I was working as a design contractor working on games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Assassins Creed and the latest one was Destiny 2 forsaken by Bungie.

Not exactly flight sim stuff...lol!! :P

But I did very well at it and I am now retired... FINALLY!! Yes Im old...53 years young this May!! How the freekng hell did that happen!! lol

So I took 3 months to just hang out with my faithful little wife and my bratty kids just to get reconnected and build a little tiny studio in my house to work on flight sim full time. I see that 3d prepared has taken off really well. I will wait for version 5 to start building for them, they are after all a military contractor.. and we will see how long they let us civies play around with their game.
For now I will work on cfs3 and fsx. I have around 30 planes in different stages of build so that's enough to keep me rockin for a good long time.

I'm by myself in this now and I like it like that, and I will lhave to get back on the band wagon, its been a while, but i did it once before and I will do it again. I will build the planes first for fsx just to cover some expenses for the server and a few programmers I will contract to for some of the stuff I want to do in my air craft. Then the planes will be converted to the cfs3 and released at the same level of detail that my fsx planes will be at.

I hope to solve some issues in cfs3 from what I learned working with the big boys, mainly the dx stuff and the land/ water / sky environments.

So stay tuned I will be releasing new stuff a few times a year and making life rough on the "big" guys around here...lol

Nice to see some of my old friends still around and I hope all of you are in good health and spirits!

I will show you some of my planes pretty quick and some stuff I just modded that is from other designers. Like my Catalina by Aerosoft, one of my favorite additions to my personal sim, of course I dissected it into many little bits and put it all back together better then stock...lol I cant help it...lolz! I will show it5 off to you all one day, I might even upload the modds to it here if they are cool with it, Aerosoft that is.

Ok all, sure nice to see you all!!

Lets get going!!:biggrin-new:

Thomas / Crashwoody

Welcome back Woody :-)

LouP

Welcome back, Woody! You've returned at an interesting time: FSX is still alive in various forms, although it's definitely into its twilight years. X-Plane and Prepar3D are having good runs, and many here and around the Web are grappling with the inevitable decision of which platform to select moving forward. Even FS2004 and CFS3 are still alive and well (just fired up the old install yesterday) with active communities out there.

Can't wait to see what you've been working on!

Welcome back Woody! :wavey: Good to see somebody return to the flight sim world. The ranks have thinned out a bit in the past few years, what with folks leaving the hobby or passing away. Looking forward to see what you've got cooking.

Well I think we will be ok with cfs3 if we up grade it to modern standards. I will build some crazy detailed planes and I hope others will follow along as well with their excellent designs.
I don't think Fsx will be going anywhere soon. After talking to the folks at steam I think we are ok. 3d prepared though...hummm its military.. you know that they don't give a rats behind about us right? and Lockheed isn't a "game developer". So far they have been ok with us civilians farting around in the flight sim, fsx on steroids....lol.. but really for how long?

I'm not prepared to abandon fsx for some time to come, its pretty much free now and with orbix, freemesh x, and all the killer planes out there and new ones coming up...hint hint...:playful: I would venture to say we are safe.
If we can get a good water environment fix then we are set. I fixed the cache problem on my copy of fsx and have it pretty stable so Im happy. I have pretty good support still after all these years with sales still going strong just from steam bleed off and im not even promoting right now or have i for years and so Im content.

If 3d prepared is good in version 5 then i will move over to it and set up add ons for it because then it will be worth it as it will be a real new flight sim, going to 64 bit opens a whole plethora of possibilities. It will also show to me that Lockheed is serious about a long term relationship with our community.

But then again, with new planes coming for cfs3.... welll...its just so dang fun to blow up stuff!!

:)

Crashwoody

That's great news. Your Aeronca is still a firm favourite, so a P3D v4 compatible one would be very welcome.

(As a slightly embarrassed PS, when not flying I sometimes hack and slay a bit in Diablo!)

Welcome back!

As a former Champ owner I was excited to purchase your Champ a couple of years back. Fully committed to Prepar3D (currently using v4.4 x64) I’d be happy to pay for a “refresh” should you decide on that course of travel. Some of the modeling released here as of late has been just stupendous and the old girl remains near and dear to me.

Best wishes for your retirement!

Carl

It's interesting, the Aeronca didn't do that well in sales until just this year, around Jan 15 2019 it seemed to catch on and is going out pretty good. It always sold steady but it lagged behind the Beech 18 and the ford tri motor.

Interesting you guys should mention the Aeronca, as it is under the knife so to speak as we speak. I have to get the sdk and 3dpv4 to look over the sdk to see where I will need to upgrade it to. It may even involve a complete rebuild, but I have been asked daily for a up date on it to v4 of prepared.

It would mean building it from scratch I think as that original model was built in gmax many years ago. So I would have to build a new one in 3DMax 2019 and animate it in Maya 2019 to add in the new bells and whistles that pv4 asks for. If I do this I may as well go over board on it and go all out...lol


Oh btw---> the beech 18 will be discontinued this year with the posting of the new web site and will be free ware as I have a new one about 50% finished that is up to date.

Welcome back. The community has thinned somewhat from years ago but everything is still vibrant. P3D seems to be the killer sim in the old MS programming bit but FSX still is full speed ahead. X-plane has made some great strides with the release of X-plane 11 and seems to be racing P3D for the most popular sim nowadays.

I recommend you mosey over to the P3D and X-plane forums and take a look at the screen shots that are posted to see some of the fantastic work that has been going on.

Congrats on your retirement. You will probably wonder how many things there are to do to keep you busy.

and oh... Diablo was the coolest project I ever worked on and modding it is a blast... just gotta love those nasty little demons! So fun to kill ...LOL!!!

I would love to see your Do 335 in Prepar3D v4.4!! ;)

And congrats on the retirement!

Priller

I'm ready to be corrected, but as far as I know there's nothing comparable with the Aeronca or Cub currently available that's fully compatible with P3D v4, and that's pretty well all that's stopping me from trying it.

Were you responsible for the treasure goblins? I always feel guilty about slaying those little blighters.

Well let me tell you guys something, I truly feel fsx will come back on after v5 of Prepared because of the complications of building for a flight simulator that is intention-ed as a educational and training simulator. The whole intent of Lockheed is to make a product that air lines use, not hobbyists. So soon it could be very well locked out to us, that is why I'm holding back on the move up for a couple more years just to see what is going to happen. Im not saying no, I am just being cautious as the time to build for prepared is longer then fsx and its an investment in real money I don't want to see go to waste. I will just wait and see.

But now X-plane, that is a real possibility for me. They have worked for twenty years and have a stable long running community. I would consider building for X-plane much sooner then I would for 3D-parpared because of one fact. Unlike Fsx X-plane is a true simulator. Not a game engine hopped up to emulate flight as dose fsx. It can and dose render beautiful scenery and models. This is the big one for me, You are not tied down to any one builder or compiler like fsx and big brother.

I would think for me I would continue to work in fsx, push its boundaries and see if I can fix up the water class to modern standards. Also do a major over haul to the shaders(if not already done by some one) to get it up to 2019 standards.
I know the starlight game engine well and I know a few things can be done.

So I would consider building for X-Plane in tandem.

Ok so the do335...yes my baby...and my biggest pain in the butt...LOL! Just because its so hard to get real historical documentation on it, and I want it to be perfect for you guys when i release it.

Yes the Do 335, its the longest development I have ever done in flight sim, the new version is the craziest thing I have ever built for fsx, It runs great with little hit on frame rates even at 8 million polies. I have much to do on it yet, but I hope to release it to you all in 2020 early spring, and yes I will make it 3dprepared compatible, I dare not do so at this point."Cringe"

The Do 335 is in three variants, it is in the one seat ground attack version, same as the currant one, then it is in the 2 seat night fighter radar version, yes with a real vintage radar system in the back, and minimal flight controls. Yes the radar works..lol :adoration:

It is also modernized in the 3rd model into a racer. It is heavily modified to go fast, plain and simple. Fiber Composite body, forward swept wings, quad prop, 8000 hp engines, 2 of them. Full glass canopy. Back swept rear stabilizers. Modern vc with modern gauges, avionics and gps. This thing is run by 2 24 cylinder 2 stroke diesel engines that have 3 super chargers on each engine. This thing is gorgeous and not for the weary of heart. It is a pure fantasy what if plane that took a lot of research to build so that it is at least plausible for a real design. Oh it also has front nose winglets to stabilize it in flight as in the virtual wind tunnel when I tested it it was very unstable at around 750n so adding in those made it stable and easier to fly. And wow dose it ever go....lol

That one is wild.

Well let me tell you guys something, I truly feel fsx will come back on after v5 of Prepared because of the complications of building for a flight simulator that is intention-ed as a educational and training simulator. The whole intent of Lockheed is to make a product that air lines use, not hobbyists. So soon it could be very well locked out to us, that is why I'm holding back on the move up for a couple more years just to see what is going to happen. Im not saying no, I am just being cautious as the time to build for prepared is longer then fsx and its an investment in real money I don't want to see go to waste. I will just wait and see.

But now X-plane, that is a real possibility for me. They have worked for twenty years and have a stable long running community. I would consider building for X-plane much sooner then I would for 3D-parpared because of one fact. Unlike Fsx X-plane is a true simulator. Not a game engine hopped up to emulate flight as dose fsx. It can and dose render beautiful scenery and models. This is the big one for me, You are not tied down to any one builder or compiler like fsx and big brother.

I would think for me I would continue to work in fsx, push its boundaries and see if I can fix up the water class to modern standards. Also do a major over haul to the shaders(if not already done by some one) to get it up to 2019 standards.
I know the starlight game engine well and I know a few things can be done.

So I would consider building for X-Plane in tandem.

Ok so the do335...yes my baby...and my biggest pain in the butt...LOL! Just because its so hard to get real historical documentation on it, and I want it to be perfect for you guys when i release it.

Yes the Do 335, its the longest development I have ever done in flight sim, the new version is the craziest thing I have ever built for fsx, It runs great with little hit on frame rates even at 8 million polies. I have much to do on it yet, but I hope to release it to you all in 2020 early spring, and yes I will make it 3dprepared compatible, I dare not do so at this point."Cringe"

The Do 335 is in three variants, it is in the one seat ground attack version, same as the currant one, then it is in the 2 seat night fighter radar version, yes with a real vintage radar system in the back, and minimal flight controls. Yes the radar works..lol :adoration:

It is also modernized in the 3rd model into a racer. It is heavily modified to go fast, plain and simple. Fiber Composite body, forward swept wings, quad prop, 8000 hp engines, 2 of them. Full glass canopy. Back swept rear stabilizers. Modern vc with modern gauges, avionics and gps. This thing is run by 2 24 cylinder 2 stroke diesel engines that have 3 super chargers on each engine. This thing is gorgeous and not for the weary of heart. It is a pure fantasy what if plane that took a lot of research to build so that it is at least plausible for a real design. Oh it also has front nose winglets to stabilize it in flight as in the virtual wind tunnel when I tested it it was very unstable at around 750n so adding in those made it stable and easier to fly. And wow dose it ever go....lol

That one is wild.

oh...yeah the goblins, don't feel to bad about those little bassids, just hack em up...lol they were our testing fodder to get the damages right on weapons we made. hehe so just hack em up and serve them up raw....haha.:adoration:

53 years is not old! You're very young to pretend to be a senior citizen - or to retire!

welcome back man,retirement at 53,nice! the thought you may work in Xplane makes me happy,i hope you do.

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Originally Posted by Thomas J Wood

It would mean building it from scratch I think as that original model was built in gmax many years ago. So I would have to build a new one in 3DMax 2019 and animate it in Maya 2019 to add in the new bells and whistles that pv4 asks for. If I do this I may as well go over board on it and go all out...lol

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Welcome back to the fold. Since you've been out of touch for a few years, I am happy to report that there are a plethora of free tools that may be used as an alternative to Max, and work just as well. Although, if one already "rents" Max2019, then there is no reason to not use it! ;)

For myself, I've decided to stick with Max2018 since I "own" it, so there's no recurring yearly cost. If your gmax model's mesh is really good, then there are ways to get it into Max where you can then recreate the animations and enhance the Materials to utilize PBR.

In addition to the terrific tips and tricks available from here, I strongly encourage folks to take advantage of FS Developer https://www.fsdeveloper.com where a large number of freeware and payware developers hang out and exchange useful information and tips.

Welcome back, Crash... Great to see you are redoing the Aeroncas and the Beech 18. I have both and love them. Updating them to work in P3Dv4.4 would be fantastic.

Will be interesting watching things progress.

Again, welcome back.

Welcome back!
+ 1 for updates for P3Dv4.4 (3 motor Ford, with rain drops on the windshield :wavey:).

Recently tried Ford Tri-Motor on P3D 4.4 and running good...

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Originally Posted by Thomas J Wood

The whole intent of Lockheed is to make a product that air lines use, not hobbyists. So soon it could be very well locked out to us, that is why I'm holding back on the move up for a couple more years just to see what is going to happen.

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Just to give you a little bit of insight from one dev to another since you have been out of the picture for a while....

LM actually views our flightsim crowd as a valuable and untapped resource. We spot problems and help them improve their product like no commercial client can. Locking us out is anything but in their best interests.
And 3rd party devs are even more valuable in their eyes. They have gone to great lengths to open up the simulator as no other sim does in order to give us the freedom to create addons at a quality like never before, and they themselves are amazed at what we are pulling off with the tools given us.

Also as a developer I'll agree with JB's view. LM shows no sign of abandoning their strong support for third party devs. Our products make their product so much better and they know it. And I've been skeptical in the past. You never know when a giant corp can see it in their interest to jerk the rug under you ("MS: let's fire the ACES team!") but I've seen no hint of that here.

Cautiously optimistic things will just keep getting better.

Dutch

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Originally Posted by Naruto-kun

Just to give you a little bit of insight from one dev to another since you have been out of the picture for a while....

LM actually views our flightsim crowd as a valuable and untapped resource. We spot problems and help them improve their product like no commercial client can. Locking us out is anything but in their best interests.
And 3rd party devs are even more valuable in their eyes. They have gone to great lengths to open up the simulator as no other sim does in order to give us the freedom to create addons at a quality like never before, and they themselves are amazed at what we are pulling off with the tools given us.

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Glad to hear the devs comments about LM because I find myself hesitant in buying anything new now, until I find out more about v5 . Been hearing compatability rumours about v5

Breaking compatibility is definitely the downside of constant progress. It makes for a lot of unanticipated work - especially the little things that break that they didn't mention until we find they don't work the same!

They try and stay compatible and mostly succeed.

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Originally Posted by greenie

Glad to hear the devs comments about LM because I find myself hesitant in buying anything new now, until I find out more about v5 . Been hearing compatability rumours about v5

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