Baal1606687932

I like your track Kifter, but im not so good pilot, so it is hard to say for me what can be improved. Im having trouble with controling altitude during turns too, but im working on it. Also im a sideslip flyier most of the time:) "Game flight mode" is a flight mode from arcade/game presets. With GFM turned on it seems that you cannot raise heli's nose too high (perform a loop), so Shark behaviour is greatly affected. Simulation pressets have "Game flight mode", "Game avionics mode" and "Radio Assists" turned off by default. Btw, Finally i was able to record my own airtaxi. It is harder to perform , so I was flying with "Altitude hold" on. AirTaxi.trk

I downloaded all videos from HTTP 1 (USA) except Basic_Flight_Procedures_Video_EN.exe which I get from HTTP 3 (USA). All videos works well (DVD version), but I had to make small modification to override Training menu message box. This modification can be found here. Baal

Training Menu Fix and DCS: BS v1.0.0 Training Tracks ------------------------------------------------------- Forum thread can be found here. Training Menu Fix --------------------------------------------------------------------- This mod removes "Training tracks can't be played..." message box from Training menu in Black Shark v. 1.0.2. Now you can watch Training Videos downloaded from official DCS Black Shark site. Mod compatible with ModMan 7.3.0.0. DCS: BS v1.0.0 Training Tracks --------------------------------------------------------------------- Old training tracks in Black Shark v.1.0.2. Mod compatible with ModMan 7.3.0.0. This mod restores old track files in DCS: Black Shark v.1.0.2. NOTE1: Training track files were recorded in version 1.0.0 of the game, so they may be played incorrectly in 1.0.2. NOTE2: To remove "Training tracks can't be played..." message box from Training menu use "Training Menu Fix" mod. Best regards, Baal

I create ModMan compatible mod which removes "Training tracks can't be played..." message from Training menu. Forum thread can be found here.

Hi all, I would like to introduce to you two little mods. The first one: "Training Menu Fix" --------------------------------------------------------------------- This mod removes "Training tracks can't be played..." message box from Training menu in Black Shark v. 1.0.2. Now you can watch Training Videos downloaded from official DCS Black Shark site. Mod compatible with ModMan 7.3.0.0. The second one: "DCS: BS v1.0.0 Training Tracks" v. 1.1 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Old training tracks prerequisites to Black Shark v.1.0.2. Mod compatible with ModMan 7.3.0.0. This mod prepares old training track files to be compatible with new DCS: Black Shark v.1.0.2. directories structure. Changes in version 1.1: Track files were removed from the zip file as the property of ED. Use RestoreTracks.bat located in \Training\BS\en directory to copy tracks from Backup folder. NOTE1: Training track files were recorded in version 1.0.0 of the game, so they may be played incorrectly in 1.0.2. NOTE2: To remove "Training tracks can't be played..." message box from Training menu use "Training Menu Fix" mod. Best regards, Baal

Ok, Video files works for me with a little scripting. I commented out the "Training tracks can't be played..." message in file "me_training.lua" Backup old me_training.lua file in "BlackShark\modules" and replace it by extracted one from attachment. Please, let me know if this file does not work for you. EDIT: Attachment removed. See my later post for more info

Yes, I can take a look at these video files. Now im investigating new training methods used in 1.0.2 patch. It seems that both, video files and training tracks are supported in current approach. All I need is understanding of directories and files structure that have to be followed in order to play trainings properly. I will post further info soon. Baal

Last I was flying too long with my wingmans. Each of them have fell on the ground because of lack of fuel. Im not sure if they even eject...

"Training tracks can't be played in patched version. Sorry. Please uninstall patch to view training tracks." message will always appear in 1.0.2. It is placed in "BlackShark\modules\me_training.lua" in the body of "show" function. This file has been modified in 1.0.2 in order to make DCS and FC2 using the same files structure I presume. With little lua modification and restoration of backuped training files (located in Backup folder after patch) i was able to revert all changes introduced in 1.0.2 patch in this script and old training tracks works fine. Of course they were recorded in unpatched version of the sim, so sometimes heli is not doing what it supouse to do. But if you want to listen to the instructor or take control over the aircraft it is enough. If you would like I can prepare ModMan version of my changes. Baal

I saw the track recorded by pingo and it was really impressive. I thought that this kind of taxi can be really good start point for learning BS, but each time I was trying to perform an airtaxi my heli keeps back to last trimed heading. It was impossible for me to fly like that using trimmer only once and without fighting my own trim. I watched the track once again and I took control over the aircraft. I was able to accelerate to 250 km/h using only cyclic without loosing my altitude. Pingo was flying using "Game flight mode" in this track. It is the reason why this track is so impressive :)

I was trying to achieve the same effect as pingo in his "Re Improved.trk". In this track the Shark does not back to selected heading when trimmed. In fact this cannot be done unless "Game flight mode" is turned on.

I can tell what i found regarding awards: Each country has defined awards in Scripts\Database\db_countries.lua. You can achieve them by earning points in missions (last award at 3000 points). Points are gained by killing enemy units. Unfortunately, I dont know the rates of the units.

In addition to tooltips and shortcuts: "Custom Tooltips" mod

Greetings, It is my first post on this forum. It is great to be part of this community! I would like to introduce to you my first DCS: BS mod as well as my first lua scrpt:) I have created input shortcuts which are taken from user configuration rather than from script file itself. Mod can be downloaded from here. (ModMan 7.3.0.0 compatible) Screenshots: - custom tooltips text - custom tooltips size and lifetime - tooltips size comparision And the readme.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Input shortcuts on Cockpit Tooltips v. 1.0 10 July 2010 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OVERVIEW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction 2. Package contents 3. Instalation / uninstalation 4. Script files info 5. Known/predicted issues and limitations 6. ToDo 7. Thanks to 8. Contact 1. INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE 1: This package was created to extend great mod "Tooltips with Keyboard Shortcuts" created by Miguez (many thanks for the inspiration). Thread about this mod can be found on ED Forums ( http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=615135#post615135 ). NOTE 2: Another usefull mode I have extend in this package is the "Cockpit Tool Tips (Hints) improved visibility" mod created by Bucić (thanks for excelent start point) ( http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=890758#post890758 ) What it extends? No key shortcuts are hardcoded into the scripts. Shortcuts are taken from current user configuration before the mission load. Tooltips format is widely configurable. (even too widely, perhaps) Tooltips size and lifetime is configurable from within gameplay menu. What are the benefits? Shortcuts are always compatible with your configuration, even if the configuration has changed. Background of my work is really simple. I have noticed that when we change some key bindings we have to change originally modifed (see Note 1) clickabledata.lua script manually. As a result we have two places where our bindings are stored. I was digging up tons of LUA scripts to find a way to link cockpit tooltips with the input commands programatically. Finally, oryginal game hints have been extended by the key sequence currently bound to each input option, so there is no need to modify clickabledata.lua file in case of key binding changes. 2. PACKAGE CONTENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This package consist of: BlackShark\modules\me_options.lua - widget bindings/load/save BlackShark\modules\me_options_form.lua - labels initialization BlackShark\modules\dialogs\me_options_gameplay.dlg - new widgets to configure tooltips Config\tooltips.cfg - Tooltips configuration file FUI\Resourcesbs\DHint.res - hints lifetime and delaytime and size Scripts\Aircrafts\Ka-50\Cockpit\clickabledata.lua - entry point for hint_map.lua script Scripts\Aircrafts\Ka-50\Cockpit\hint_map.lua - searches for input mappings 3. INSTALLATION / UNINSTALLATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before instalation make sure that you back up all your oryginal/modified files listed above. Installation/unistallation using ModMan 7.3.0 or later is adviced. Mod is compatible with DSC: Black Shark v.1.0.2 In case of any conflicts with any existing mods or serverside files, please inform me by email. (My email address is at the bottom of this file) 4. SCRIPT FILES INFO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First of all. It seems that files can be unreadable to the game when edited with unsupported encoding. All files provided in this package are encodd with UTF-8. hint_map.lua This file has three purposes: A. Read all user input configuration and store it in local table for further use. B. Create mapping between cockpit switches and input options available to the player. C. Replace old LOCALIZE function implementation with the new one. A. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ package.path = package.path .. ';./blackshark/modules/?.lua' local NewInput = require('NewInput') dofile('scripts/input/layout.lua') dofile('scripts/input/aircrafts.lua') local oldGetDeviceType = getDeviceType ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ These lines initiate oryginal tools which provide support for input configuration files. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ local function addDeviceCommandCombos(commands) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This function adds all key shortcuts for specific command to local variable inputShortcutsMap. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ local cfg_path = 'Config/Input/Aircrafts/' local aircraftName = 'ka-50' ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Some named strings. local devices = NewInput.getDevices() ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Gets all devices currently detected by the game. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ for i, device in pairs(devices) do local path = getLayoutPath(aircraftName, device) local layout = Layout() layout:open(path) addDeviceCommandCombos(layout.keyCommands) addDeviceCommandCombos(layout.axisCommands) end ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Function "getLayoutPath" finds configuration file path for input device in hierarchical manner ('\Config\Input\Aircrafts\ka-50\keyboard\keyboard.lua' or '\Config\Input\Aircrafts\ka-50\keyboard\default.lua') For details see 'scripts/input/aircrafts.lua' file. Next the Layout wrapper object is created based on configuration file. Then keyCommands and axisCommands are added to map. B. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ hintInputMap = {} -- CPT MECH hintInputMap["Gear lever"] = {"Gear lever"} (...) -- ZMS_3 (Magnetic Variation Entry Panel) hintInputMap["Magnetic variation selection rotaty"] = {["Left"]="Magnetic variation knob left", ["Right"]="Magnetic variation knob right"} ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In this part mapping is created for each hint. For example, "Gear lever" has only one function which is titled exactly the same "Gear lever" in options menu. But "Magnetic variation selection rotaty" has two functions: "Magnetic variation knob left" and "Magnetic variation knob right", thus first function shortcut will be displayed on the tooltip as "Left = ( RShift + RCtrl + M )" and the second one as "Right = ( RShift + RAlt + M )". Finally, the whole tooltip will looks like this: "Magnetic variation selection rotaty Left ( RShift + RCtrl + M ) Right ( RShift + RAlt + M )" C. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ local function getInputShortcuts(input, key) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This function builds shortcut string for specified input option (ie. "Magnetic variation knob left") and key (ie. "Left"). If the control has only one function, key will be equal 1 and won't be added to shortcut string. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ local OLD_LOCALIZE_REALIZATION = LOCALIZE function LOCALIZE(hintText) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Input mapping search. Replacing of the LOCALIZE function in order to change tooltip string (proposed by Alex O'kean on ED Forums http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=615249&postcount=7 ) 5. KNOWN/PREDICTED ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - I have found no explicit linkage of cockpit controls with the key codes placed in input configuration. All mappings are done manually. - It would be nice to have shortcuts placed below the switch tooltips in a multiline manner. (this is imposible at this time due to tooltip size calculations - no "\r" nor "\r\n" extends its height) - Several tooltips are really long. - Mod has been tested only with English version of DCS: Black Shark. It should work in Russan version as well (old LOCALIZE function is still in use), but it should be checked. - New gameplay Menu options are always English. I have found no way to localize them. - This is my first LUA script so there should exist a simpler way to get the same effect with more reliable approach. - Only the "Real mode" shortcuts are supported. They are also displayed in Arcade mode. (I don't know how to get the name of the current aircraft in lua script) 6. TODO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Add support for 'arcade' mode - Multiplayer may be affected. Dont know how the server may react on such modifications. 7. THANKS TO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Bucić for his DHint.res file attached to this package 8. Contact -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In case of any issues, corrections or bugs feel free to contact me using email provided in readme.txt file. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hopefully this mod will save your time and help to master the cockpit of the Black Shark. Happy flying, Hubert 'Baal' Bukowski