AI props

[smilo]

back in my multi player days, sometimes,
the props of other players did not turn.
as i recall, there was a fix for this, but,
i can't remember what it was....any ideas?

also, while checking out an addon aircraft
as an opponent in Quick Combat,
i noticed that the props did not turn.
any suggestions how to fix the problem?

[No Dice]

Smilo,

I think they had to be run thru Aircraft animator ?

Also have a scasm tutorial to fix animations here:
http://www.thefreeflightsite.com/Design.htm

Dave

[smilo]

thanks Dave, i've got that one.

i may be mistaken, but, as i recall,
the one mentioned came from the old RAF662 CFS Utilities page

[Ivan]

Hi Smilo,

I remember the static propellers in Quick Combat. I never did figure out why that was happening.
When I started building my own aircraft using AF99 and Aircraft Animator, I noticed that the animated parts (Engine RPM Below....) did not show up in Quick Combat either. The result wasn't horrible in general, because all that was missing was the Propeller Blades in general, and they normally would not be visible anway because we would be seeing a Propeller "Disc" effect. THAT also wasn't there, but still it wasn't horribly distracting.

With some aircraft (The ones with animated Propeller Spinners), the Spinner would also disappear and THAT was certainly distracting.
When I started doing my own animated Spinners, I didn't run into the same problem. I doubled up the Spinner pieces in the assembly sequence and the animated version would show up with player flown aircraft and the non animated version would show up in the AI flown aircraft....

That worked for the FW 190A I built many years ago. When I tried to do the same with the Macchi fighters a few years back, the same idea would not work. There must be some magic in the AF99 assembly sequence for the FW 190A because it still works even with a rebuild and the Macchi fighters needed their AI Spinner put in via SCASM.

I know there is a way of using SCASM to copy the visual model from the MDL610 format MDL file that AF99 builds into the MDL7XX format that Combat Flight Simulator uses. I believe that is the tutorial by Corrado LaPosta that No Dice prolly has on his site.

My understanding is that the variables used by CFS are not quite the same as the ones used by earlier Flight Sim versions so this is necessary to get the AI displays working properly (including AI Landing Gear and Aircraft External Loads like Bombs). Although I believe it would be cool to do, I personally have never wanted to do it badly enough to bother.

I hadn't posted earlier because this is just my experience and not really a solution to your issue.

- Ivan.

[No Dice]

Have a few more Tutorials Here:
http://www.thefreeflightsite.com/Tutorials.htm

Hope they help?

Dave

[smilo]

thanks for the replies.

in a nut shell, here's what's going on;
i have an old version of Herve Devred's Ju88A4
with three sets of textures by Arno Brooks
that i downloaded many years ago.

the model is not fantastic by any means, but,
it's a hell of a lot better than the cfs stock ju88.
i think it could be a good replacement for the stocker.
problem is, in quick combat, the props don't turn.
if the props disappeared, i could live with that.
also, i haven't tested it in missions or multi player.

i was hoping that the old multi player prop fix would do the trick,
but, i haven't been able to find it yet.
and being the lazy OB that i am,
i don't have (or want to take) the time to dink around
learning how to do it myself with hex editing or scasm.

[Ivan]

If this is a Herve Devred project, then it is probably AD2000 and you have more experience than we do.
I am kinda curious how good this model is. Can you email me a copy of this thing?

- Ivan.

[smilo]

that's what i thought.
turns out it's pre-ad2k.

i'll send it in the morning.

[papingo]

If I'm not wrong the fellow LaPosta says that
the still prop prob is cozzed by using the wrong
variables mod 610 vars and not cfs vars.
I have one plane that exhibits this prob
the AF5 Texan some day I might look at
this prob.
It would be good if we had a module that
could be fitted to the SCX TO REPLACE THE STOCK PROPS

[Ivan]

Hey Smilo,

Check your email.

The technicians in my workshop were temporarily recalled from other projects and seem to have found a workable solution.
You should have seen the amount of flying sparks and metal chips!!!

Papingo,

I believe that the stationary propeller is something before MDL610. MDL610 is what AF99 / Aircraft Animator create and although they are not a great match for the CFS variables, they are not horribly unsightly for AI aircraft. Their propellers don't show, their landing gear doesn't come down, and their bomb loads don't show which I believe is what LaPosta was trying to fix.

- Ivan.

[smilo]

email check...package received.

HIP, HIP, HURRAY!

the master and his select group of techs has done it again.

i've only done some minor testing, but,
it seems that the Ju88A4 model is functioning properly.
new props and animation in free flight
and no stopped props in quick combat.
who could ask for more?

with some time and a little luck,
i will have the aircraft.cfg rewitten
so this aircraft will replace the stock ju88a.
i also want to have all three sets of textures
accessible from the select aircraft menu.
not a problem. really
i also need to test some more
and write one of my long winded readmes.

[Ivan]

Glad it worked for you.

One other thing you will probably need is a better AIR file for this bomber. The AIR file that came with it doesn't even handle the propeller startup animation properly.

This kind of thing opens up lots of possibilities. Consider how many fairly good visual models are out there that do not have the proper moving parts and such. This little task wasn't that hard to do.

- Ivan.

[Ivan]

Hi Smilo,.

While looking for a good candidate to test the CFS Tachometers I have been working on, I came across this old aeroplane.
It stood out when I was checking out different aeroplanes I had installed because the Propellers are pretty easily recognizable as being identical to my FW 190A (because that is where they came from).

A couple years back when this thread was last active, my technicians were a bit lazy and just ordered two Propellers from the FW 190A spares instead of machining new ones.

The reason I decided to revive this thread is because I was thinking that this really is a pretty well shaped model with a good Panel and if it had a better AIR file and perhaps a real Virtual Cockpit, it would make a pretty good Player Flyable Aeroplane.

I did a quick test and this AIR file is pretty far off; Do you have a good CFS AIR file for this beast or is it worth creating a new one for it?

After looking at this aeroplane for a while, I think a Night Fighter version of it will be added to my Build List

- Ivan.

[smilo]

my apologies, i can't answer your questions.
i'll have to look into other air files
and yes, i think this aircraft is worth the effort
of creating a new and better air file.
wanna do one?

for the record, i use this model
as my cfs default ju88.
it's that much better than the original.

[Ivan]

Hi Smilo,

Yes, I remember what you wanted it for.
I was just thinking that it could still use some improvements and that they would not be difficult.
The Propellers on this model are actually closer to the appearance of the later higher powered Night Fighter variants.
The Propellers from the Dornier 17Z are a much better match for the A-4 Bombers.

A Virtual Cockpit would not be difficult either but again requires a lot of time.... And a working Development machine.

My Son is still sick, so nothing besides a little Gauge experimentation is likely to happen for at least a couple days.

Just for curiosity's sake, I know you had the intention of finding better models to replace all of the CFS Stock aeroplanes,
so what did you arrive at for each one?

- Ivan.

[smilo]

it's been a long time.
i'll have to look and see.

i know, a week or so ago,
i moved a lot into the hanger folder,
to make room for current ad2k models.
it wasn't that there was a lack of space,
i just didn't want to wade through
a large select aircraft list to find what i wanted.

[Ivan]

Hi Smilo,

There is no need to reload anything or chase anything down.
I just wanted to know if (Other than the Dornier 17Z) there was anything else from the stock aeroplanes that you needed a replacement for.
Perhaps you have something I do not know about yet and perhaps I have something you don't know about yet.
I have a few hundred aeroplanes installed on this game machine and even more installed in my uncooperative Development machine but normally don't go looking through everything as I did recently to find a 4 engine test aeroplane.

- Ivan.

[smilo]

honestly, i couldn't remember what the stock airplanes are.
fortunately, i have a clean cfs install with no add ons.
looking in the aircraft folder, i can see,
i have, with the exception of the bf 109g,
all aircraft covered by a better quality add on.
of course, i am using a couple/three
of your unreleased models.
also, i'm not sure if many
of the models being used
stand up to today's tougher standards.
but, as i recall, all are much better
than the original stock aircraft.

i wish i had known sooner,
you were looking for a four engine test bed.
i have several candidates
that might have filled the bill.
although, i'm sure the air files
could use much improvement.
most could, right?