UncleTgt,
Outstanding work...almost photorealistic! Looks like a vacation advertisement from a tourism agency.
UncleTgt,
Outstanding work...almost photorealistic! Looks like a vacation advertisement from a tourism agency.
"Rami"
"Me? I'm just a Sea of Tranquility in an Ocean of Storms, babe."
My campaign site: http://www.box.net/shared/0k1e1rz29h
My missions site: http://www.box.net/shared/ueh4kazk3v
My scenery site: http://www.box.net/shared/knb1l0ztobhs2esb14rb
Can't wait.
Luverly stuff UT!
Please can you book me two tickets for a month there, 5 star with all the trimmings...many thanks...
Shessi
Airbase gsl & eye-candy ... Almost ready to upload.
Beauties! As I said before.....can't wait.
A new entry has been added to Add-Ons Library, category CFS 2 Scenery Add-Ons
Description: Milne Bay Scenery for CFS2 by UncleTgt
This is a reworking of the stock sceneries for the Milne Bay area at the SE end of PNG. It is designed for use with Rhumbas mesh, but the scenery excludes provided should mean this works well in a stock mesh install too.
Contents:
New Ground2K scenery for each, including fringing reefs.
New airbase scenery, made using FSSC.
New gsl infrastructure.
New custom Landclass & Waterclass.
Some simple missions using the stock F4U-1A Corsair for viewing the gsl airbases & scenery
The sceneries are as developed during late 1943 & encompass the immediate offshore islands. It includes a new seaplane base on Samarai island. This was developed by US Seebees in July 1943, & was an active base from the Autumn of that year.
Known conflicts:
Installing this scenery pack will require the archiving of some airbases from Maskrider's Papua New Guinea scenery.
Gurney:- My version is a more developed base layout than Maskrider's, from mid-1943
Turnbull:- My version is a more developed base layout than Maskrider's, from mid-1943
Milne Bay No2:- My version is at a slightly different location to Maskrider's
Dogura:- I struggled to find any reference to ww2 airstrip activity at Dogura, though there was a small runway used to service the Catholic "cathedral" built nearby. I replaced MR's airbase with a simple cleared short runway instead.
Installing this scenery pack
The G2K scenery included in this package requires copying contents of your scenedb/world/texture folder to your main CFS2 texture folder. (see SECTION A: TEXTURE PREPARATION)
SECTION A: TEXTURE PREPARATON
1. Highlight all files in your SCENDEB/WORLD/TEXTURE folder
2. Copy and paste them to your main CFS2/TEXTURE folder
3. If asked to overwrite click “no”
4. Hi-lite all files in the MilneBay_UT_UT/TEXTURE folder
5. Copy and paste them to your main CFS2/TEXTURE folder
6. If asked to overwrite click “no”.
7. Highlight all files in the MilneBay_UT/SCENDEB/WORLD/TEXTURE folder
8. Copy and paste them to your your CFS2/SCENDEB/WORLD/TEXTURE folder
9. If asked to overwrite click “no”
SECTION B: ADDING NEW SCENERY & GSL
12. Drop the folder "SWPTO_Islands_UT", "SWPTO_Reefs_UT", "SWPTO_River_Deltas_UT" & "SWPTO_Excludes_UT" into your main CFS2 folder, or wherever you pull your add-on scenery from. Note: If these folders already exist, because you already have my Solomon Sea scenery installed, then simply copy the contents & if asked to overwrite click "yes" - this pack has the latest version of these files.
13. Next, drop the content of the gsl folder along with GSLMan.exe into your CFS2/GSL folder. If asked to over write click “Yes”.
14. Make a back-up copy of your current cfs2.gsl file. Its OK to leave it in the GSL folder- just rename it.
15. Open GSLMan.exe from inside your CFS2/GSL folder.
16. From the "Available Custom Gobs" list hi-light the gsl version you want. "Lite" is the air facilities only, "full" includes eye-candy. Select the MilneBay_UT (full or lite).gsl & click the "ADD" button.
17. Wait until GSLMan.exe says it's thru then…
18. Close GSLMan.
SECTION C: ACTIVATING & ARRANGING THE NEW SCENERY IN CFS 2
(NOT REQUIRED IF MY SOLOMON SEA scenery is already activated in CFS 2 & you added these new files to the relevant folder contents)
20. Activate the "SWPTO_Excludes_UT" scenery. Put this low down in your Library listing, just above the "Runways" (stock runways layer)is a good location.
21. Activate your "SWPTO_Islands_UT" scenery. This can be quite high in the listing, way above any mesh, watermasks or exclude layers, BUT CERTAINLY ABOVE the "SWPTO_Excludes_UT" layer! I put my G2K sceneries below the "Airport Facilities Data" layer.
22. Activate your "SWPTO_Reefs_UT" scenery. This needs to sit above the "SWPTO_Islands_UT" layer. You may see unusual display effects if this sits below the "SWPTO_Islands_UT" layer.
23. Activate your "SWPTO_River_Deltas_UT" scenery. This needs to sit above the "SWPTO_Reefs_UT" layer. As above, you may see unusual display effects if this layer ordering is not followed.
The screengrab of my own Scenery Library order is included in this zip & should help with clarification.
The scenery is installed.
NOTE: To make the runways available in MB enter the runway entries listed in the SolomonSea_UT/airbase_entries.txt file into your airbases.dat file which can be found in your CFS2/INFO folder. Be sure to back up your current airbases.dat file first.
Credits
Thanks to:
Jean Bomber for his inspiration, advice & support. He talked me through getting to grips with G2K & more…
Maskrider for all his airbase packages & the blended airbase tutorial. This set the standard for airbase sceneries for the game.
Rhumbaflappy for the new more accurate world mesh – it was a desire to make best use of this development that is the driver for many of my scenery projects. He also developed the vtp1 fixer programme to fix display errors in vtp bgls compiled from Ground2K.
GavinC for his reworking of the stock airbases, making individual base reworking/ revision much easier
Shessi for his water textures, that were the inspiration for my reworking of Jimkos Pacific Blues, & indirectly lead me to develop this latest set of water textures.
Lindsay Watt for all of his scenery objects & innovations.
Wolfi for his scenery objects.
Xavier for all his scenery objects & airbase sceneries, opening up a larger world for us all to fly in
Martin Wright for all the various software tools that are so useful!
Russell Dirks for his EZ landclass programme, making large scale land/ water class adjustments possible
Christian Fumey for his excl8 & Ground2K programmes, making the creation of completely new scenery possible for CFS2.
UncleTgt
JAN 2021
To check it out, rate it or add comments, visit Milne Bay UT
The comments you make there will appear in the posts below.
Just got it. Thanks UT. I'll be up and running this afternoon.
Thank you, UncleTgt! I just downloaded it and your Solomons and Cloud Textures too.
"De Oppresso Liber"
Brilliant work, and I'm sure you won't mind my swapping a Kitty for the Corsair in the mission
Nice work Unc, if I only had the skills...
As an aside, how many ferries are still 'werrkin' across the Mersey?
In the mid '60s I can still see meself sitting on the keyside waiting for the boat [always seemed to be 'The Manx Maid or King Orrie'] after a 4.a.m. start from London, waiting for the crew to pump the last vestiges of 'squirt' out of my tank in order to allow my Goldie [1732 MK] and me on board.
Even now I can see it all in my mind's eye. The block ships [or were they hulks of ships sunk due to the 'Naughty Nazis'] as we sailed silently 'tween them.
And three hours later, out of the mist, came 'The Manx Submarine'. right in the middle of Douglas approach.
I was 21y.o. then, now I have to add a few more years on. Try 20!
Still got the Gold, she has worn better than me!
Once again, thank you for your skills. Graham
Last edited by arfyhun; January 19th, 2021 at 20:00. Reason: old age!
Ahh that do look pritty cool , Thanks Uncle
That's a lot of work buddy, thank you.
Cheers,
Captain Kurt
------------------------------------------------------
"Fly, you fools!" Gandalf the Gray
What a great start to the year. Thank you, Unc!
Cheers
BuV
One of the simplest installs I've every done. No problems. Just added it to "Solomon Sea". Took a tour last night. Don't recommend trying to land at Dogura. Love the islands and reefs. I also opted for one of your (Oct 2020 released) RAAF P-40 Kitty's in place of the Corsair. Great work and much appreciated.
I've been expanding this scenery west (back towards Port Moresby), & North (towards Buna & Dobodura).
Some screenshots of progress so far, water & landclass just about done, thinking about gsl to add (my least favorite part )
Thanks John. Very impressive. Looking forward to your westward expansion. If you get to the Gulf of Papua it would be good to see the Bulldog Road.
Can't wait. These additions to Rhumba's install are really great. Don't suppose that you have any plans for updating the middle Solomon's.
I know Maskrider was working on some Solomons scenery a few years ago, I guess Real Life stepped in.
TBH I'm not sure I will ever get to it, everything just takes so long, having to hand-draw in G2K.
For instance the rivers drawn in G2K to match the mesh, DON'T give the best appearance - I then have to hand-fly most of the highlands & adjust so they sit closer to the base of any valley. I started on this expansion straight after releasing Milne Bay, & I spend some time on it most days. The hours just stack up against doing any wide-scale areas quickly I'm afraid.
That said, it was my aim to showcase Rhumbas new mesh, & I chose my areas to compliment anyone following the US advance north from Guadacanal.
Using New Ireland, New Britain, Solomon Sea & Milne Bay sceneries, this latest expansion would get you to the door of Port Moresby. With a revamp of the Port Moresby area you could then recreate the 1942 Defence of Australia, Milne Bay, Bismark Sea & through to 1943/44 Operation Cartwheel ops against Rabaul. Both US & RAAF units were in play, so it should give our mission writers plenty of food for thought...
Having said that, the Carolines Scenery never really resulted in it being used in any US missions/campaigns until many years after it's release, so why would this be any different?
I'm still moving mud on this project. Some screengrabs of Buna airstrip (pre-battle & advance of Aussie/US ground troops) ...
Magnificent work UT!
"De Oppresso Liber"
The mud-moving continues - in amongst the Dobodura complex, redoing them to match the mesh. The pic shows Girua & Horanda strips, which were linked by a taxi-runway. Now Girua sits at 100ft higher altitude than the runways at Horanda, so I had to develop a sloping taxiway VTP poly & position it on a special staircase of A16N polygons so you could use it. It sort of works as a taxiway, but I don't think this method can be refined enough to give us true sloping runways.
Beautiful work John! Would building a wide road with Ground2k work for a sloping runway?
.
Kev,
The real issue is the requirement for a smooth surface. I think that means developing a localised (high-LOD?) mesh to sit under the sloping runway - the LOD 8 mesh is just too coarse, you'd never find anywhere "smooth" enough to make a take-off run (or landing) on.
I used a stairway of A16N flattens, using FSSC, & then drew a VTP poly in G2K in the same location. Creating a custome line to edge it & feather the transition into the surrounding terrain completes the job (see screengrab)
GSL work completed for Buna. I did 2 versions, one as an operational airbase for Japanese use (mid-42), the other for the period after their planes left (OCT '42 onwards).
Regarding the sloping taxiway that's very clever John!
Thanks for the two versions of Buna - they look fabulous. I'm warming up the Beau's engines ready for attack.
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