CFS3
Fantastic news ! Can't wait to get my hands on these P-47's ! What joy ! Long live CFS3 ! Regards ,Scott
Fantastic news ! Can't wait to get my hands on these P-47's ! What joy ! Long live CFS3 ! Regards ,Scott
Okay, here goes: Since you folks have been waiting for so long and I like to keep my promise, here's a WeTransfer link to the 'epsilon' version to play with if your Christmas dinner doesn't turn out to be what you hoped for or if you just want a hands-on update on the P-47:
https://we.tl/t-6WWX93SkER (This link expires after a few days)
There's a couple of things you need to keep in mind:
1: IT IS WIP!
Let me repeat that: The model is NOT finished!! This means that many things you will see, are not how I want them to be when the model is published for real. This goes especially for the VC's modeling, paintwork, and weathering. Those are all in various stages of development. So, while I appreciate feedback, I think it is of little use to let me know that X or Y looks unfinished, dull, plain or unrealistic. Most of your expected remarks probably already are on my list. However, if you should detect any glaring mistakes or errors, feel free to let me know! I am always happy to learn from you or discuss how I came to do things the way I did them.
Why then share a model in this state you may ask? Well, it's already been so long (and it will require even more time to finish), you all have been very supportive, some people are apparently very eager (I am looking at you, Scott!) and Christmas might simply be a good time to share something. Anyway, I hope you don't mind and will still enjoy it.
2. For the moment, the flight model is Aviation History's for their P-47D-26. The D-25 and D-26 are pretty similar, flight model-wise - as far as I can tell.
I couldn't find whether I am allowed or not to include their files with this model but all credit goes to them. I only changed some file names and references, the contact points section and some basic strings in the .xpd for loadout and UI description purposes. The AvHistory readme is included.
3. The R2800 sound pack is a freeware one found on the internet created by Gary Jones. His readme is also included.
4. So it is only me who is to blame for the modeling and the painting!
What do you get?
A historical P-47D-25 model that flies, shoots and can be equipped with the AN-M38A1 practice bomb to hone your bombing skills while you wait for the finished product. It includes a cold start engine smoke effect, a designated bomb crater model for the M38A1 and a spotting smoke effect. The VC is best enjoyed using a head tracker of some sort; the VC is the place I hope you will spend the most time in, so it is the most detailed part of the model.
How to install?
1: After unzipping the files, it should simply be a case of dropping the contents into your ETO install. I can't remember seeing any overwriting prompts but should you encounter one, it's best to cancel and make a backup of your original files first.
I placed the files in a folder structure (including a description file) that can also be used by JGSME, should you prefer in- and uninstalling files in your precious CFS3 installation that way (that conveniently takes care of any possible overwriting troubles). So you can also add the entire top level folder into your JGSME mods folder (but if you have renamed your ETO install anything else than "CFS3 ETO Expansion", you have to rename the top level folder first).
2: If you want to add the start-up smoke and spotting smoke effects to your install, you have add the contents of the "Add To EffectsXML.txt" -file to your effects.xml file. You can place the strings anywhere between the opening ("<Effects>") and closing tags ("</Effects>") but just above the closing one makes 'em easier to find again if you want uninstall the effects.
Controls:
Right now, the cockpit is partially clickable, meaning that you can use your mouse to manipulate various controls. This may be indicated with a custom cursor (I would like to know if you find them intuitive). Due to CFS3 limitations, there isn't always a visible animation (yet) but the control might work anyway. For most functions there's also a CFS3 tool tip when you hover your mouse over them. In most respects this is similar to the SJ (RSM) Spitfires (sans the RMS functionality), so I hope it feels fairly familiar. I don't think it is necessary to (re)assign any controls if you have the SJ Spitfires installed. Feel free to explore the cockpit!
Known issues:
- Don't try to fly at dusk or night because the perspex and instrument glass turn opaque. I am not sure what causes this but it needs to be solved before night flying is an option.
- I added LG indicator lights for my personal convenience (and later P-47 models) although the D-25 didn't seem to include these; I couldn't find them in the pilot's manual, nor on any factory blueprints. Previous and later versions of the P-47 did seem to have them. If anyone can conclusively prove or deny their existence in this model of the P-47, I would be most grateful! (But why leave them out for this one subvariant?? And how would a pilot know the state of his LG?)
Happy holidays!!
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Just what I needed for this Christmas eve insomniaSo many nice details to study even if a few are yet to be finished.
Skin looks great with bump mapping. Does CFS3 display the full 4096 texture?
Happy Holidays!
Thanks!Originally Posted by sdsbolt
Just what I needed for this Christmas eve insomnia
Skin looks great with bump mapping. Does CFS3 display the full 4096 texture?
Happy Holidays!
Yes, CFS3 displays the full textures. You may have to set this in the config program. They won't work in the .mos file, though, as pointed out earlier.
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
OK, time for me to step in and adapt the fine tuned air file from my own overhauled stock models for this. Ready in a few.
EDIT - that didn't take long. Now it's a true AvHistory 4.00 series model and the credits can be shortened to simply "Flight Model by gregoryp of AvHistory (P47M) modified to reflect the P-47D series by Rene Leppä." as all bubbletop D models had the same engine specs. Fine tuning for the dorsal fin will be done when necessary, if necessary. The files are named so that they drop right in to this particular example.
As a bit of feedback, the tailwheel animation looks odd. The doors are flapping with the suspension movement like the gear was trying to retract over bumps.
What a wonderful Christmas present ! Been looking forward to this for a long time ! Excited ! Thank you so much. Made my year ! Regards, Scott
If during the next year someone asks what I was doing on the Christmas night, the answer will be "effects for Joost's Thunderbolt". Surely enough I was already in bed but thought that why the heck not, got up and did these. And now I'm going back, they're good enough for place holders.
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="US_AAF_L3_gunsight" PosX="0" PosZ="-0.6" PosY="0.97" Pitch="90.2" MinVel="-999999" MaxVel="999999"/>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_ac_Light_formation_red" PosX="5.25" PosZ="0.36" PosY="-0.13" MinVel="1" MaxVel="65"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_ac_Light_formation_green" PosX="5.25" PosZ="-0.07" PosY="-0.14" MinVel="1" MaxVel="65"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_ac_Light_formation_yellow" PosX="5.25" PosZ="-0.48" PosY="-0.13" MinVel="1" MaxVel="65"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_ac_Light_nav_green" PosX="5.98" PosZ="0.28" PosY="0.02" MinVel="1" MaxVel="65"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_ac_Light_nav_red" PosX="-5.98" PosZ="0.28" PosY="0.02" MinVel="1" MaxVel="65"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_ac_Light_landing" PosX="-1.76" PosZ="-0.3" PosY="-0.65" MinVel="1" MaxVel="55"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_ac_Light_tail" PosX="0" PosZ="-7.55" PosY="0.29" MinVel="1" MaxVel="65"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_N_gtrail" PosX="6.2" PosZ="-0.5" PosY="0" MinVel="41" MaxVel="53"></Effect>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_N_gtrail" PosX="-6.2" PosZ="-0.5" PosY="0" MinVel="41" MaxVel="53"></Effect>
@Rene [using the quote button doesn't give a quote, so I'll do it like this] Oh wow, thank you!!
Re: the TW/door animation; It is correct that the doors move in sync with the tail wheel suspension. The doors do not have a separate opening mechanism but are mechanically connected to the TW yoke with rods. They are pushed open/closed by the TW gear's lowering/raising, resulting in movement when taxiing over uneven terrain. Of course, the RL aircraft's tail wheel is really weighted and doesn't bounce up and down that much but the principle for the 3D model remains the same. If you lower the gear in flight and use an outside view to inspect the TW from behind, you'll see the mechanical linkage. It wasn't an easy animation to do, as there are multiple moving parts that rotate in different axes: The tail wheel yoke, the oleo and connecting linkage w. hydraulic operating cylinder (difficult to see from the outside but it is there), the rotating brackets that connect the rods to the yoke and keep 'em oriented (they would twist off otherwise), the rods themselves and finally the tail wheel doors. And even then it isn't perfect but the opening/lowering is quite fast and some parts are quite small...
If you think the TW bounces too much, maybe we need to adjust the stiffness of the suspension. I can send you the blueprint(s) with the RL undercarriage ranges of motion, including suspension. However, it doesn't say anything about the stiffness of the oleos.
Otherwise, it might be the general design of the CFS3 engine and we have to live with the somewhat exaggerated animation.
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Here's a couple of more effects lines for the xdp file if you're using AnKor's Shaders to provide contrails and the uv interior lights to use with any future clight gauge textures.
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_high_contrail" Location="emitter_eng0_exh_r" />
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="fx_high_contrail" Location="emitter_eng0_exh_l" />
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="cockpit_light_uv" PosX="-0.275" PosZ="-1.33" PosY="0.75" Pitch="100" Heading="20" MinVel="-999999" MaxVel="999999"/>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="cockpit_light_uv" PosX="0.275" PosZ="-1.33" PosY="0.75" Pitch="100" Heading="-20" MinVel="-999999" MaxVel="999999"/>
p.s. Is it just me, or is there an odd bit of unpainted metal on the top of the cowl flap?
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
Joost - a very big THANK YOU for allowing us to have a sneak preview.
She's a real beauty! Absolute first class piece of modelling, how many thousands of hours have gone into this so far? Probably best not to count!
This screenie doesn't do it much justice I'm afraid, so much better in-sim.
CFS3 Battle of Britain Website: https://cfs3bob.wixsite.com/cfs3-bob
CFS3 ACC Member & ETO Expansion Group
There's one kinda important thing that I forgot to mention: The materials are created with Ankor's d3d8.ini set to "EnvReflection=5" and "Glossiness=5". If you have chosen other values for your ETO setup, the model may look differently from my screenies.
Ah,How could I have missed that? I had to re-export the model again to rectify some stuff and must have overlooked that. It is the top web piece that goes between the two cowling flaps. Don't know what happened to its texture and orientation. I'll redo that and upload again in a few days - I'll wait a bit to see if more like this turns up. Even for a temporary upload, this is really annoying!
And thanks to you for the effects!!
My pleasure and I don't want to knowJoost - a very big THANK YOU for allowing us to have a sneak preview.
She's a real beauty! Absolute first class piece of modelling, how many thousands of hours have gone into this so far? Probably best not to count!
BTW, Is your cowling in the VC OD green or black? It's a bit difficult to see in your screenie but it should be green.
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Beautiful and a blast to fly ! Overwhelmed with gratitude !
Please let me know when you are finished with the gauges, and I can create clight files for them if you would like me to.
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
It's green Joost.BTW, Is your cowling in the VC OD green or black? It's a bit difficult to see in your screenie but it should be green.
CFS3 Battle of Britain Website: https://cfs3bob.wixsite.com/cfs3-bob
CFS3 ACC Member & ETO Expansion Group
I still have to study that part but those are the pretty glowing instruments dials, aren't they? I'll let you know - Thanks for your offer!!
Thanks for letting me know!It's green Joost.
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Another look at the cockpit, with a little more sunlight on it. (I bumped up the glossiness for some of the textures to 00 00 00 43 to enhance the 3D effect)
Last edited by MajorMagee; December 27th, 2023 at 17:14.
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
That silky gloss on the black part of the throttle quadrant certainly looks yummy!I'll have to see if I can reproduce that with the textures themselves instead of hexediting the files. Right now I am working on some metalness for the unpainted parts. I hope to add those adjusted files to the 'update' I mentioned above (the one that removes that silly web part on the cowling).
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
What's nice about doing in with the glossiness factor in the M3D, instead of hand crafting the lighting effects through the textures, is that it is dynamic as the aircraft moves and turns in space relative to the sun when AnKor's shaders are enabled. Without AnKor's shaders then your only option is to pick a spot on the item in the texture file and place a static highlight on it. Unfortunately the two approaches are somewhat in conflict with one another as the simulated highlights in the texture are often out of place relative to AnKor's lighting effects except when the aircraft is parked on the ground.
Thanks for mentioning that the model is designed for "EnvReflection=5" and "Glossiness=5", as that's an important adjustment when tuning the look to match your design intent. The glossiness factor I mentioned earlier (00 00 00 43) is far too strong if you have the universal value set at "Glossiness=5". (My default is "Glossiness=1")
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
Here's a first pass at the clights. Just let me know of anything you'd like to see changed.
ACC_P47DQQ_Clight.zip
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
Hey, that is very impressive, Andy!! You also got the colours right!
Did you have a source for this or was the 'daylight' version of my textures enough to figure out what colour the dials were? You should also give the decals on the instrument panels this treat, as most were also fluorescent/UV reactive. Colours are indicative, I hope. If not, I can give you those from the blueprints.
Did you know that in real life the cockpit light on right side has a UV filter? If you can lean forward enough in the VC, you might see that I modeled this on the lens (the bezel could be rotated to switch between normal and UV light). Of course it doesn't really work in CFS3 but maybe there's something that can be done in the RMS module...
How d'you get the opaque instrument glass to disappear at night? Did that happen with the addition of the clight file or did you hexedit the model?
BTW, I don't think the fuel cocks were fluorescent (although it makes a lot of sense to do so). I'll look them up and wil let you now if they were not. -> No, the blueprint just mentions cadmium plated numerals etc.
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Okay I can delete the fuel cocks , and do one for the text.
The glass is simply a matter of too little ambient light for you to see them.
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
Thanks for the effort you're putting into this! So your ambient light is set differently then mine?
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Here's one for the gmax gurus:
For the past two-three days I have been creating "*_r.dds" texture files to control the reflection/'metalness' of various parts in the cockpit. When I add these to the materials I have created in gmax and export the cockpitmodel, weird things happen in CFS3: Some parts come out as I had intended them, some parts show no reflection at all and some parts show extreme chrome-like reflection. This is weird because the RGB value in the "*_r.dds" file for all these parts is the same and the applied gmax material is the same as well.
I hope the screenie below shows this problem:
Parts 1 (right bolt) & 5 (dome nut) show no reflection at all
Parts 2 (left bolt), 3 (button on LG lever) & 4 (spacers, 4x) show extreme reflection
Parts 6 (large spacer tube), 7 (frame of throttle quadrant) & 8 (frame of throttle quadrant + lower part of throttle) show the effect I expect with the choosen RGB value (the same as for the canopy rail in the top left corner of the screenie)
I have checked the material settings and assignments for all parts involved in gmax and I removed all textures in CFS3 except the one I am working on to exclude the possibility of conflicting textures. The problem still persists, which leads me to believe that gmax or the exporter is the culprit. Has anyone an idea why this happens? Am I overtaxing gmax or the exporter or is one of them just buggy?
ACC Member, ETO and PTO contributor & librarian
Progress on the clights with updated attachment.
ACC_P47DQQ_Clight.zip
You will only see this UV effect if you have these lines in the xdp file, and AnKor's shaders are enabled. Otherwise the normal red cockpit light will be shown.
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="cockpit_light_uv" PosX="-0.275" PosZ="-1.33" PosY="0.75" Pitch="100" Heading="20" MinVel="-999999" MaxVel="999999"/>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="cockpit_light_uv" PosX="0.275" PosZ="-1.33" PosY="0.75" Pitch="100" Heading="-20" MinVel="-999999" MaxVel="999999"/>
As far as the opaque instrument glass is concerned, it looks opaque in daylight because it is reflecting ambient light back for you to see. At night there is no ambient light to speak of, only the dim UV light when it's switched on. The clights themselves are internally illuminating, so they don't cast light on anythiing else.
US Army, Major, Ret.
Service To The Line,
On The Line,
On Time
US Army Ordnance Corps.
Wow! this is brilliant. The cockpit detail and lighting is awesome, a real masterpiece.
Members who have read this thread: 60
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks