P-61 project...?

[Seahawk72s]

I saw this and was wondering what happened..?

[falcon409]

Robert was working on this project with someone else from the SOH crew many years ago. It was halted for some reason and shelved. About a month or two ago Robert resurfaced and mentioned that he still works on it when time allows (he's working another project for a payware developer) and wants to get it completed and released, but it's not anything that will be forthcoming. . .and not for quite some time to come actually.

[Seahawk72s]

Robert was working on this project with someone else from the SOH crew many years ago. It was halted for some reason and shelved. About a month or two ago Robert resurfaced and mentioned that he still works on it when time allows (he's working another project for a payware developer) and wants to get it completed and released, but it's not anything that will be forthcoming. . .and not for quite some time to come actually.

Its an interesting aircraft, I hope someone else feels the same...

[WarHorse47]

Yes. It is interesting. In looking at the video it seems about complete, so I don't understand what is needed to finish it.

Almost wish Milton and team would take this on (with Robert's approval) and complete it like what they're doing with the A-20 series.

[falcon409]

Yes. It is interesting. In looking at the video it seems about complete, so I don't understand what is needed to finish it.
Almost wish Milton and team would take this on (with Robert's approval) and complete it like what they're doing with the A-20 series.

In the video, it does appear that the gauges are more "placeholders" than finished 3D gauges (if that was ever the plan). Also, the VC doesn't show a lot of the detail that Robert showed in early WIP shots. I seem to remember a lot of the radios and other avionics packages look pretty detailed. . .this VC looks stark by comparison. If those details were added after this video was shot that would be a real plus!

[roger-wilco-66]

That massive dev thread which accompanied the project was my favourite one for a long time. There's a huge load of interesting information in it. Glad the project doesn't have to RIP!


Cheers,
Mark

[Seahawk72s]

That massive dev thread which accompanied the project was my favourite one for a long time. There's a huge load of interesting information in it. Glad the project doesn't have to RIP!


Cheers,
Mark

I found the dev thread, I had no idea how large this project was...

[warchild]

I took the project over from the original dev. Please forgive my loss of memory. It's been years. Robert came on board as the 3D modeler and he, I and Paul Frimston worked on it for a couple of years till Robert assumed complete ownership and disappeared with it.. It's one of th reasons I left flight simming..
Pam/Warchild

[warchild]

Yes. It is interesting. In looking at the video it seems about complete, so I don't understand what is needed to finish it.

Almost wish Milton and team would take this on (with Robert's approval) and complete it like what they're doing with the A-20 series.

Warhorse:
There was a great deal that needed completion. I may be angry at Robert still for disappearing, but I admired the man. He is the immaculate perfectionist and what he was doing to the interior of the plane was jaw dropping to say the very least. He has gone through hundreds if not thousands of photographs to bring that plane into life, in the truest and most authentic form he possibly could. He took no shortcuts.
For my part, an Paul Frimtons part, we dove further into that FDE than even Pauls beloved B2 Delta; Delta558. We almost had the flight model perfect..

[warchild]

That massive dev thread which accompanied the project was my favourite one for a long time. There's a huge load of interesting information in it. Glad the project doesn't have to RIP!


Cheers,
Mark

Mark?? Would you have the link for that thread?? Would you mind sharing it?? I ant seem to find it any more..
Thanks
Pam/Warchild

[PRB]

This was a great project. The P-61 is such a magnificent airplane and completely missing from the FS world. A shame! I am sad that this one didn't find it's way to completion. Pam, that You Tube you posted here, from a few years ago, is still one of my favorites of all time.

[Seahawk72s]

Mark?? Would you have the link for that thread?? Would you mind sharing it?? I ant seem to find it any more..
Thanks
Pam/Warchild

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...project/page46

[warchild]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...project/page46

Thank you, thank you thank you thank you... There i SO much in that thread. Needless to say although i remember a lot of it, i've forgotten so much, even the Maestro's name. I truly appreciate this..
Pam/warchild

[N2056]

I guess I need to provide some sort of status regarding this project. Over time it became a very complex model. Exporting it became an issue to the point where I was actually spending a lot of time trying to simplify it just to get it into the sim. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I finally got to a point where between technical difficulties and burnout I finally had to put it on the shelf. To be clear, there was no desire to claim total ownership of anything. I just could not manage to get my vision of what it should be into the sim. If I failed to communicate that I am sorry. You have no idea how disappointing that was to me.

The project started out in Gmax. I now have it migrated to 3DS Max. I also have been able to overcome the issue of exporting mega-poly models in the course of working on my commercial product. While working on that project I have learned a lot of good stuff regarding modeling. Cool stuff like shadow baking, and optimizing the model to improve in-sim performance. All of this will go into the P-61 when I get back into it.

The only other bit that I am juggling is on a very personal note. My Dad passed away just after Christmas last year after a stunning degradation of his health over the course of about six months. He suffered a stroke, and shortly after that was diagnosed with cancer. It was devastating for me to watch him fade away so fast. Were it not for him this project (or any of my other ones) would probably not exist at all. One of my early releases was a Thorp T-18. Dad made 3 of them over time, and that was the plane that hooked me for life. When I realized I could recreate that plane in the virtual world... well, here we are. I started that model using the original design program known as Flight Shop in 1997. Over time I worked on it without a lot of reference material or modeling knowledge. I eventually released it, but now that I have solid info on it (actual blueprints) I discovered that it was pretty far off from the real thing (in my book). I have begun to revisit that project as a tribute to him.

So where am I at regarding the P-61? The commercial project is close to going Beta. Pending how that does in sales weighed against how much time I put into it will determine if I continue in that realm. I think I already know what that answer is going to be. That said, I would imagine a possible scenario where I am working on the P-61 in parallel with the Thorp Redux. It would be cool to somehow get the group together again, Teamspeak broke for me a long time ago. Never could figure out why.

I hope that makes things a bit clearer.

[roger-wilco-66]

Mark?? Would you have the link for that thread?? Would you mind sharing it?? I ant seem to find it any more..
Thanks
Pam/Warchild

Hey Pam,

I'm really delighted to see you chiming in here. I'm also sorry to read that there was trouble that caused you to leave. The link to that awesome thread is mentioned above. Thanks for posting it, I somehow was unable to find it and thought it was gone.

Cheers,
Mark

[wombat666]

I guess I need to provide some sort of status regarding this project. Over time it became a very complex model. Exporting it became an issue to the point where I was actually spending a lot of time trying to simplify it just to get it into the sim. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I finally got to a point where between technical difficulties and burnout I finally had to put it on the shelf. To be clear, there was no desire to claim total ownership of anything. I just could not manage to get my vision of what it should be into the sim. If I failed to communicate that I am sorry. You have no idea how disappointing that was to me.

The project started out in Gmax. I now have it migrated to 3DS Max. I also have been able to overcome the issue of exporting mega-poly models in the course of working on my commercial product. While working on that project I have learned a lot of good stuff regarding modeling. Cool stuff like shadow baking, and optimizing the model to improve in-sim performance. All of this will go into the P-61 when I get back into it.

The only other bit that I am juggling is on a very personal note. My Dad passed away just after Christmas last year after a stunning degradation of his health over the course of about six months. He suffered a stroke, and shortly after that was diagnosed with cancer. It was devastating for me to watch him fade away so fast. Were it not for him this project (or any of my other ones) would probably not exist at all. One of my early releases was a Thorp T-18. Dad made 3 of them over time, and that was the plane that hooked me for life. When I realized I could recreate that plane in the virtual world... well, here we are. I started that model using the original design program known as Flight Shop in 1997. Over time I worked on it without a lot of reference material or modeling knowledge. I eventually released it, but now that I have solid info on it (actual blueprints) I discovered that it was pretty far off from the real thing (in my book). I have begun to revisit that project as a tribute to him.

So where am I at regarding the P-61? The commercial project is close to going Beta. Pending how that does in sales weighed against how much time I put into it will determine if I continue in that realm. I think I already know what that answer is going to be. That said, I would imagine a possible scenario where I am working on the P-61 in parallel with the Thorp Redux. It would be cool to somehow get the group together again, Teamspeak broke for me a long time ago. Never could figure out why.

I hope that makes things a bit clearer.

Real life and Family outweigh all other pursuits.
Hope the Commercial Project does well and yes, it would be nice to see the 61 eventually come full circle.

[warchild]

Real life and Family outweigh all other pursuits.
Hope the Commercial Project does well and yes, it would be nice to see the 61 eventually come full circle.

Indeed sir.. Indeed, but please excuse me if i seem overly excited once again, as after all these years, our teams work, is still loved and wanted by this community. I wish I could make miracles, but i cant. However, that doesnt stop me from wanting too. You folks are the greaatest, and i truly wish i could move mountains for you..
Pam/warchild.

[warchild]

Hey Pam,

I'm really delighted to see you chiming in here. I'm also sorry to read that there was trouble that caused you to leave. The link to that awesome thread is mentioned above. Thanks for posting it, I somehow was unable to find it and thought it was gone.

Cheers,
Mark

There was a great deal happening all at once back then. Yes, Robert made me angry, by needing a hiatus. After all, I'd been working fifteen to eighteen hours a day, seven days a week on that plane from its inception, and had gotten extremely pig headed about it (i.e. i was being an ass ). I had also just spent seven years developing a revolutionary flight model along with Paul Frimston, that i was in a hurry to get released with its corresponding plane because it not only hadnt been done before, it was mythological-y impossible to make a plane do those things in fsx. And it never came about either. And then there was my health, which in its plodding downhill gait, reach a point where i could o longer keep track of where i was at in a project or how to do the calculations. I was angriest at myself for ever having contracted this disease.. So, it wasnt just Robert's need for a hiatus. My entire life got turned upside down.. It's just that, the P-61 is a part of my soul, and its been really painful to not have it finished..
Pam

[warchild]

I guess I need to provide some sort of status regarding this project. Over time it became a very complex model. Exporting it became an issue to the point where I was actually spending a lot of time trying to simplify it just to get it into the sim. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I finally got to a point where between technical difficulties and burnout I finally had to put it on the shelf. To be clear, there was no desire to claim total ownership of anything. I just could not manage to get my vision of what it should be into the sim. If I failed to communicate that I am sorry. You have no idea how disappointing that was to me.

The project started out in Gmax. I now have it migrated to 3DS Max. I also have been able to overcome the issue of exporting mega-poly models in the course of working on my commercial product. While working on that project I have learned a lot of good stuff regarding modeling. Cool stuff like shadow baking, and optimizing the model to improve in-sim performance. All of this will go into the P-61 when I get back into it.

The only other bit that I am juggling is on a very personal note. My Dad passed away just after Christmas last year after a stunning degradation of his health over the course of about six months. He suffered a stroke, and shortly after that was diagnosed with cancer. It was devastating for me to watch him fade away so fast. Were it not for him this project (or any of my other ones) would probably not exist at all. One of my early releases was a Thorp T-18. Dad made 3 of them over time, and that was the plane that hooked me for life. When I realized I could recreate that plane in the virtual world... well, here we are. I started that model using the original design program known as Flight Shop in 1997. Over time I worked on it without a lot of reference material or modeling knowledge. I eventually released it, but now that I have solid info on it (actual blueprints) I discovered that it was pretty far off from the real thing (in my book). I have begun to revisit that project as a tribute to him.

So where am I at regarding the P-61? The commercial project is close to going Beta. Pending how that does in sales weighed against how much time I put into it will determine if I continue in that realm. I think I already know what that answer is going to be. That said, I would imagine a possible scenario where I am working on the P-61 in parallel with the Thorp Redux. It would be cool to somehow get the group together again, Teamspeak broke for me a long time ago. Never could figure out why.

I hope that makes things a bit clearer.

@N2056
Robert.
Depending on how the beta turns out, if possible, you I and Paul Frimston should get together on Discord ( its free, its capable, it's easy and it works ) Not only do i just ant to shoot the ****, but yeah, gods willing and the creek dont rise, I'd love to get back together and finish this thing.. Best of luck on this release. I'll look forward too your reply.
Always
Pam

[stovall]

What a fantastic group of folks suddenly appearing after being away for so long. Like Mark, Tom was definitely one of those who followed the P-61 project with anticipation. Pam will remember me trying to get a realistic Black Widow for the Iwo Jima project that Mark and I did some years ago. I can only hope that some day Robert can bring this wonderful aircraft to our virtual stage. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Great to see some of the most talented folks back here at SOH. Thanks for making my day!!!!

[txnetcop]

I guess I'm overly patient but I always knew that somehow things would work out...it would awesome to have the team back together...
Ted

[warchild]

What a fantastic group of folks suddenly appearing after being away for so long. Like Mark, Tom was definitely one of those who followed the P-61 project with anticipation. Pam will remember me trying to get a realistic Black Widow for the Iwo Jima project that Mark and I did some years ago. I can only hope that some day Robert can bring this wonderful aircraft to our virtual stage. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Great to see some of the most talented folks back here at SOH. Thanks for making my day!!!!

Hey Tom .. good to see you.. I spoke with Paul Frimston earlier this morning, and he's wrapping up a project he's on for Just Flight, but is otherwise ready to go. He's also muich more familiar with P3D than I am, and can make whatever changes are needed so it works as well in that environment as it does in FSX. We've already got a pretty solid FDE but want to make sure its ready to go so we'll be going over it with a fine tooth comb.

[stovall]

Hey Tom .. good to see you.. I spoke with Paul Frimston earlier this morning, and he's wrapping up a project he's on for Just Flight, but is otherwise ready to go. He's also muich more familiar with P3D than I am, and can make whatever changes are needed so it works as well in that environment as it does in FSX. We've already got a pretty solid FDE but want to make sure its ready to go so we'll be going over it with a fine tooth comb.

Looks like things are coming together nicely. This is fantastic news. Boy, I can't wait to make a flight out of Motoyama One on Iwo Jima in this great Black Widow. Good work everyone.

[roger-wilco-66]

Looks like things are coming together nicely. This is fantastic news. Boy, I can't wait to make a flight out of Motoyama One on Iwo Jima in this great Black Widow. Good work everyone.

Cheers to that, Tom!!