ABC's F8F Bearcat - FSX Native Conversion in Progress

[Milton Shupe]

If anyone's interested I've made the ordnance selectable via payload and added back the belly tank, selectable or deletable via fuel. When you do this the model sags on the undercarriage struts at least. Whether the flight model is affected I don't know. Perhaps best to add when all other mods to the model have been made.

The ordnance is one model part in MCX but if the source .mdl files for the pylons, rocket rails, rockets and bombs are available separately they can be made selectable separately too (I'm not competent to split up a single model part).


Finally, is there a paint kit available from which I can make bump maps?

DaveQ

Dave,

Thanks, I am still working on a few things, droppable tank is one of the items I added back in 2014 I think. It will be available in the release.

The bombs/rockets can be easily changed to separately addressable parts if desired, mounts separated. I will add custom XML for gauge addressing, and include the names of the model parts so they can be easily addressed in other ways.

RE: Paint kit: hopefully a painter can answer this one; I do not know. The exterior is mainly covered on two textures; f8ffuse and f8fwings.

[Milton Shupe]

A few shots of the Beta in P3D_V3.4. Headed to Nellis from North Texas. Below me in the second shot is JD's Sheppard AFB.

That paint is looking nice Ed; is that a WIP of yours? Curious what the white stripe is on the starboard hstab.

[falcon409]

That paint is looking nice Ed; is that a WIP of yours? Curious what the white stripe is on the starboard hstab.

The livery is one I did after the RTWR 3 years ago actually. As for the white line. . .It's a hi-lite that shows depending on the angle you view the airplane from and shows on both left and right sides, nothing I added though.

[Milton Shupe]

The livery is one I did after the RTWR 3 years ago actually. As for the white line. . .It's a hi-lite that shows depending on the angle you view the airplane from and shows on both left and right sides, nothing I added though.

Ah, okay. In the final release there will be a common texture folder. You are likely missing the added textures for bumps, specular, glass, etc. You can easily find and add the bumps and specs from the beta release as they are the only DDS files in the texture folder.

[falcon409]

Ah, okay. In the final release there will be a common texture folder. You are likely missing the added textures for bumps, specular, glass, etc. You can easily find and add the bumps and specs from the beta release as they are the only DDS files in the texture folder.

I have already setup a common texture folder and this is the full beta package, I simply added a few of my textures from the previous "portover" version. . .so the bumps and specs are active.

[blanston12]

i tested it in P3D and had just a few comments.
First the title= issue most FSX aircraft have in P3d. P3D the value after title= is what shows up as the text in the aircraft selector so I would suggest changing

title=F8F2 Bearcat Bombs Rockets

to

title=Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat Bombs Rockets

Second in the FSXA conversion the cockpit textures look washed out, even compared to the previous 2014 modified version. Here is the comparison.


Here is the new version.

Here is the old version.

Lastly there is one panel, the last one, the Radio Panel that appears to be missing gauges. Here is what it looks like.


But at least the issue with the window transparency is fixed, it flys well right out of the box with no modifications required.
I did notice from the previous version you removed the center fuel tank. Is there a way to get a version that has all the drop tanks installed and no bombs?

[Milton Shupe]

I have already setup a common texture folder and this is the full beta package, I simply added a few of my textures from the previous "portover" version. . .so the bumps and specs are active.

Thank you Ed; I will look at all the specular settings to see if something is amiss there.

BTW, I resolved the night time HUD display issue.

[Milton Shupe]

i tested it in P3D and had just a few comments.
First the title= issue most FSX aircraft have in P3d. P3D the value after title= is what shows up as the text in the aircraft selector so I would suggest changing

title=F8F2 Bearcat Bombs Rockets

to

title=Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat Bombs Rockets

Second in the FSXA conversion the cockpit textures look washed out, even compared to the previous 2014 modified version. Here is the comparison.

Lastly there is one panel, the last one, the Radio Panel that appears to be missing gauges. Here is what it looks like.


But at least the issue with the window transparency is fixed, it flys well right out of the box with no modifications required.
I did notice from the previous version you removed the center fuel tank. Is there a way to get a version that has all the drop tanks installed and no bombs?

Thanks for that input.

I have changed the titles.
Cockpit textures are not very appealing to me but I will see if something can be done there.
That panel will be removed; it is a remnant of the RTWRace panel; an oversight.

EDIT: There is, and will be, a "clean" version in the package with an optional, droppable center drop tank. As I mentioned, the drop tank is setup but was not working as of the test release. Working on that now.

[falcon409]

i tested it in P3D and had just a few comments.
. . . . .in the FSXA conversion the cockpit textures look washed out, even compared to the previous 2014 modified version. Here is the comparison.


Here is the new version.

Here is the old version.

I would suggest that the only difference between the two (since they are, in fact, identical) is the direction of the sunlight. If you put you aircraft in slew mode and turn it so the sun lights various portions of the interior you can go from a well defined interior to one that shows little or no detail. I am the one who redid the VC textures for the mod in 2014 so I can tell you this with confidence.

[falcon409]

As an example, 3 shots from three different directions by turning the aircraft:

[Milton Shupe]

I just want to say thank you to everyone who is helping identify these issues. They will be addressed this week and we can possibly have a final release out by the weekend.

EDIT: Oh, I need someone to do some traps trying to catch a wire. Anyone tried that yet?

[blanston12]

I would suggest that the only difference between the two (since they are, in fact, identical) is the direction of the sunlight. If you put you aircraft in slew mode and turn it so the sun lights various portions of the interior you can go from a well defined interior to one that shows little or no detail. I am the one who redid the VC textures for the mod in 2014 so I can tell you this with confidence.

In this case, both pictures were taken at the exact same location at very close time, just long enough for me to take a screen capture, switch planes and screen capture again. I don't think the opaque windows had anything to do with it either, I also tried with the transparency fix that you helped me with and it looked the same as the 2014 version, but in my example I wanted to show the original version that I had not done any modifications to.

[Willy]

EDIT: Ooooops; no, I better not do that as this aircraft is a sanctioned RTW race contender and I do not want to undo that. I can however test the required changes and make them available for those who want them.

Milton in our local events, we follow the RTW rules (for the most part) on aircraft. If a mod doesn't make it unrealistic and it's available to everyone, then it's legal. I can't remember off the top of my head if the F8F actually had dive flaps though.

RE: Paint kit: hopefully a painter can answer this one; I do not know. The exterior is mainly covered on two textures; f8ffuse and f8fwings.

I'm not aware of an exsisting paint kit for the F8F. But it's not that hard to make one, just a bit time consuming getting the detail right.

[PhantomTweak]

Lastly there is one panel, the last one, the Radio Panel that appears to be missing gauges. Here is what it looks like.

I use that pop-up extensively. Great little way to see a lot of info very quickly, and all in one place. I will fix that if you want. I use it in several aircraft, especially in Race planes. It doesn't affect the FDE, so it should be legal. Please note the use of the word "should"
If you prefer, I can make it an add-on to just about any plane you might want to use it in and up-load it for common availability, or send it to someone for inclusion in a particular plane, or whatever you think best.

By the same token, if you want to remove it completely, that's your choice too, Mr. Shupe. It's your plane, after all

Pat☺

[falcon409]

I also use the race gauge pop up. I have replaced the missing gauges with gauges of my choice and use it quite a bit on the long hauls.

[blanston12]

I use that pop-up extensively. Great little way to see a lot of info very quickly, and all in one place. I will fix that if you want. I use it in several aircraft, especially in Race planes. It doesn't affect the FDE, so it should be legal. Please note the use of the word "should"
If you prefer, I can make it an add-on to just about any plane you might want to use it in and up-load it for common availability, or send it to someone for inclusion in a particular plane, or whatever you think best.

By the same token, if you want to remove it completely, that's your choice too, Mr. Shupe. It's your plane, after all

Pat☺

Back in the day I used to use it a lot also, when trying to get the 2014 version working in my p3d setup I got a collection of other gauges to replace those that were missing and made sort of a mini panel with a few gauges from the mooney bravo including the bendix-king auto pilot and a few gauges from the HDI, Attitude and vertical speed gauges . Mostly i wanted the autopilot and the HSI so I could set the heading for the autopilot. Nice if something was there but would not ask the team to spend any time on it, I can easily cobble together something for my own use.

[PhantomTweak]

Back in the day I used to use it a lot also, when trying to get the 2014 version working in my p3d setup I got a collection of other gauges to replace those that were missing and made sort of a mini panel with a few gauges from the mooney bravo including the bendix-king auto pilot and a few gauges from the HDI, Attitude and vertical speed gauges . Mostly i wanted the autopilot and the HSI so I could set the heading for the autopilot. Nice if something was there but would not ask the team to spend any time on it, I can easily cobble together something for my own use.

I can too, and plan on it. I just thought I'd offer.

As to landing on the boat.
I did a few bounces today, not really enough for a great data set, HOWEVER:
I discovered that speed at wheel touch is crucial. The slowest possible is required. Also, cutting the throttle just as you cross the round-down is also critical. About 82-85 kts, full flaps is best. Even so, it wants to nose over. I'm working on the Cable_force_adjust= setting to solve the trouble. Also, the longitudinal position of the tailhook has an effect. I suggest about 38-45 for that setting, but I need more time to dial it in. Trial and error is a slow process...
Lastly, the view over the nose is virtually impossible for a straight-in approach. I recommend the long, sweeping approach. That keeps the boat in view out the left of the vc. Takes some practice after flying modern jets onto the boat for so long.
I need a little more time to get everything dialed in, but I'm sure others will be able to work this situation too.







Good flights too all!
Pat☺

[vmag17]

Hi Milton

Thank you so much for bringing this AC to FSX - this was one of my favorite rides in FS9.

Regarding carrier landings:

The following [Tailhook] settings (which look a little strange I know) give me an arrested landing (without tipovers etc.) using
a standard WW2 USN approach pattern and a speed of 90KT at the cut. Hope this works for anyone else having problems with
the original settings.

[TailHook]
tailhook_length = 6
tailhook_position = -23, 0, 4.0

This works for me for all Carrier speeds down to 18kt - without a headwind.

The settings below also give a decent catapult launch.

[launch_assistance]
launch_bar_pivot = 2, 0.0, -1.17
launch_bar_lug = 2.00, 0.0, -2.00

Also some good Bearcat - Carrier video here: https://youtu.be/-7s8wMNyoz0

[Milton Shupe]

Back in the day I used to use it a lot also, when trying to get the 2014 version working in my p3d setup I got a collection of other gauges to replace those that were missing and made sort of a mini panel with a few gauges from the mooney bravo including the bendix-king auto pilot and a few gauges from the HDI, Attitude and vertical speed gauges . Mostly i wanted the autopilot and the HSI so I could set the heading for the autopilot. Nice if something was there but would not ask the team to spend any time on it, I can easily cobble together something for my own use.

Thanks for the comments. I have no problem with anyone using that, or any of the variations of that popup. It evolved over the years.

My issue is since I do not own or have permissions, I cannot redistribute the gauges. If you have the popup in any variant of the Bearcat, it will work fine with this version.

EDIT: If it would help, I can leave the window in panel.cfg with no active gauge entries. Since I used the Bearcat in the RTWR in FS9, some of my gauges would not work in P3D.

[Milton Shupe]

Hi Milton

Thank you so much for bringing this AC to FSX - this was one of my favorite rides in FS9.

Regarding carrier landings:

The following [Tailhook] settings (which look a little strange I know) give me an arrested landing (without tipovers etc.) using
a standard WW2 USN approach pattern and a speed of 90KT at the cut. Hope this works for anyone else having problems with
the original settings.

[TailHook]
tailhook_length = 6
tailhook_position = -23, 0, 4.0

This works for me for all Carrier speeds down to 18kt - without a headwind.

The settings below also give a decent catapult launch.

[launch_assistance]
launch_bar_pivot = 2, 0.0, -1.17
launch_bar_lug = 2.00, 0.0, -2.00

Also some good Bearcat - Carrier video here: https://youtu.be/-7s8wMNyoz0

Thank you; I will plug these entries into the cfg. Great video; thanks for sharing.

[Milton Shupe]

If anyone's interested I've made the ordnance selectable via payload and added back the belly tank, selectable or deletable via fuel. When you do this the model sags on the undercarriage struts at least. Whether the flight model is affected I don't know. Perhaps best to add when all other mods to the model have been made.

The ordnance is one model part in MCX but if the source .mdl files for the pylons, rocket rails, rockets and bombs are available separately they can be made selectable separately too (I'm not competent to split up a single model part).


Finally, is there a paint kit available from which I can make bump maps?

DaveQ

DaveQ,

Not sure if it helps, but attached are the names of the rockets and bombs and hard points just to show they are in fact separate entities.
I do however plan to rename them per custom xml setup by Stokes2112 so they may be addressable by gauge along with my A-20 Havocs that are a WIP.

Just FYI, since I returned from vacation, my wife and I both have had the crud. Being on meds for the past 8 days has only made life bearable; my head is mostly in a fog, and doing any kind of complicated problem resolution and fixes is sometimes just not possible. So, I will be taking my time wrapping up changes and preparing for a final release.

Just an example, I have been running in circles trying to get the drop tank to show. The weight is drop-pable but the tank will not show. :-) I'm apparently too much in a fog to sort it out. LOL
EDIT: Well, found out I was using the wrong key combo for the tank, but the animation and location needs to be changed. :-)

[Milton Shupe]

Well, I think I have all the changes made from your reports.

I'll wait for any further test reports before proceeding.

[blanston12]

Thanks for the comments. I have no problem with anyone using that, or any of the variations of that popup. It evolved over the years.

My issue is since I do not own or have permissions, I cannot redistribute the gauges. If you have the popup in any variant of the Bearcat, it will work fine with this version.

EDIT: If it would help, I can leave the window in panel.cfg with no active gauge entries. Since I used the Bearcat in the RTWR in FS9, some of my gauges would not work in P3D.

thanks Milton, I would be happy if you took it out or left it in. I think most of us by now should know how to update a panel.cfg file if we want to update it. I was wanted to make you aware of it, whatever you decide to do about it you will still have a lot of happy flyers out here.

[DaveQ]

DaveQ,

Not sure if it helps, but attached are the names of the rockets and bombs and hard points just to show they are in fact separate entities.
I do however plan to rename them per custom xml setup by Stokes2112 so they may be addressable by gauge along with my A-20 Havocs that are a WIP.

Thanks Milton, I'll look into it again, and hope you and your wife are feeling better.

I suspect it's MCX that's lumping them all together. Bad workman blames his tools!!

In the absence of a paint kit I'm working on putting some panel lines and rivets together and making up bump maps and specs. But don't get much time and these things take me ages, so don't over-excite yourselves!!!

DaveQ

[txnetcop]

So far so good...traps perfectly! Hope you and your Honey are feeling better!
Ted