aaronwhite

That's always going to be a risk with early access, which is why there's also the discount given. If people want to put their money up on the promise of things to come being what they expect, they can, and they get a discount in the process as a trade off. If people want to wait until the thing is feature complete, and just watch the progress from afar, they can do that and then just have a higher price to pay down the road. Without really knowing anything more on what's going on between RAZBAM and ED, it does seem like this is part of the way ED handles 3rd party modules after the mess that was the Hawk forever ago, where ED was left with a module that they apparently couldn't really do anything with because they lacked the source code and were stuck with a module they could no longer properly support after the original developer went away. ED, from what I remember, changed it to where companies have to provide them the source code so that in the event that a developer just collapses or decides they don't want to deal with DCS anymore, the customers who purchased their modules aren't left without a functioning module and ED is left with the choice of having to remove a module people already paid for or try to reverse engineer some module to get to a point where they can update it. Also, I believe ED requires a certain level of development to be achieved before a 3rd party can put their module up for sale.

I always wonder how many projects they had queued up for more modern Russian stuff that had to get axed because of Russia's shift in getting even more tight-lipped and secure than they already had been. Even an older Mi-28 would be a blast, and I'll continue to dream of a day where we get a Ka-52 with multicrew to really give the Redfor a counter to the AH-64.

Just about finished on this one! So much more enjoyable than the AH-64 which just started to feel like a chore towards the end. On this Ka-50, I'm going to play around with chipping and fading the black/green camo a bit around areas that are likely to be heavily worn, like access panels and steps. I don't want it to look too weathered, but given the wear and tear on the skin, I figured some chipping of the paint would be a nice excuse to test out the Wacom tablet I got to save my wrist a bit of pain and discomfort from using a mouse to do it. The pressure sensitivity is a real help for work like this, and it's so much easier to do smooth camo lines with the natural feeling of a pen in your hand. As always, it will have the custom IRIAA pilot to go with the helicopter and I'll probably swap the engine numbers for black ones that stand out a bit less. This scrapes and chipping still aren't finished, since I've reworked it a bit since this picture, but I'll keep messing with it. nullnullnull

In celebration of finishing the nightmare that was doing a 4-tone camo for the AH-64, I figured I would return to a much more sensibly organized template and fun helicopter to skin, while recreating the first DCS skin I ever made over 2 years ago. The file sizes have definitely gone up since then, but the Black Shark 3 shows why it's worth it with all of the details. Hopefully I can wrap it up by next week and then who knows what I'll do next.null

I can finally take a break from coloring in bolts and screwheads! Here's the Apache in the 4-tone camo And here's the plain OD version as well.

Finally! I'm calling these things done. I'm sure there are some small details that could be picked at, but after literally weeks of hunting down individual screws and bolts, I'm going to call it good enough. Hopefully, tonight I'll be uploading the modern Czech Air Force camo version and then a matching OD version for anyone who likes the "Apache Classic" look. The Apaches will come with custom pilots in green flight suits and appropriate patches on their shoulders (the bug where the Army patches appear no matter what appears to be around, but once that is fixed the Czech patches are underneath. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an easy solution to remove them). I'll drop a link here once I get them uploaded. Just need to grab some in-game screens first.

Last update before release. Hopefully I can get this thing out of my life by Monday. I think I've hunted down every damn rivet head I can think of. It was miserable. I just have to finish up the pilot textures, and then find one more part on the tail, and after that, I'm calling it good. I'll probably create a quick olive drab one too, just for fun. Enjoy! null

Another update that feels like...barely anything has changed... I've spent the past week in my free time whenever possible hunting down the various screws and detail parts. The tail is done, now I'm finishing up the bottom and side blisters on the fuselage, before finally finishing up the wings, engine and fuselage itself. As anyone who's done a skin with camo on here can attest, finding all of the various screws takes forever. There has to easily be 500 screws to track down on this model, if not more. It's got to be the most complex model I've ever worked on painting in DCS. But it's looking pretty good so far, if I do say so myself.

From what I remember, the Hind had a similar issue. It was a bit frustrating until it was added, because on multiplayer servers if the server switched to a winter map, you were just kind of SOL because you couldn't do anything about the icing buildup on your engines.

I think this is one of the things I was looking forward to the most with ED talking about all of the improvements they were making to the way they handled animations regarding the Super Carrier deck crews. The possibility for them to implement new animations for troops on the ground, crews around aircraft (I would love for them to be able to add animated maintenance and loaders, just for a little life around airbases). But also having crew in the rear of helicopters and letting you see and pickup downed airmen or drop off soldiers from a fast rope out of the back. There's so much awesome potential there, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle it.

Still a ton of work to do, but I figured I would post a small update before I go back to studying. I've got a cert exam in two weeks, and it's been eating most of the free time I would rather spend on finishing this skin up. Camo layout's all pretty much done at this point, just need to go and align things. After that...it's detail hunting season. That's going to take an eternity. In the end I'll probably create an olive drab Czech Air Force version to go with the camo one, for people who like a little variety in life.

That's amazing work! I am definitely jealous of those skills. Now you just need to build yourself a custom cyclic and collective and you're good to go!

It takes some getting used to, but once you're comfortable with it, it gets easier. I tried to disconnect the idea of trim in fixed wing planes entirely in my mind. Instead I think of the trim as a "Hold my joystick and pedals for me". I fly with the "instant trim" selection, so basically what I do is I'll trim a bit of left cyclic at takeoff, and then once I get it up into the air with my feet on the rudders and just flying it manually with the cyclic, I'll start to pitch the nose forward and add whatever collective I need to get some forward airspeed with a gentle altitude increase. Once I start getting close to the stable angle I want to fly at, I'll click the trim and basically center all of my controls right away. Since I've been doing this since the Ka-50, I've gotten used to it. Then you may need to make small adjustments, so you'll notice you're holding a little more left cyclic than before, so you trim again. You'll be constantly adjusting your trim though. It's not quite like a plane, because any increase or decrease in speed, collective, turns, whatever you do, all of it is going to require you to re-trim the thing out. Dropping the collective will move your nose one way with the torque, so you'll need to add a little opposite rudder, maybe some opposite cyclic and trim again. Once you get used to it though, I think you'll be surprised how little you end up thinking about it. And you can always hold the trim, get stabilized then release it to get setup.

My jealousy is immeasurable.

Another thought I had, you might reach out to one of the mods and ask if they can put you in touch with Wags via email or something and he can offer some advise. I believe he's been flying everything in game with a twist rudder stick, and watching some of his videos flying the helicopters, he appears to have become pretty proficient at it. Might be worth something to look into to help you get to continue flying while they work on George.

This is awesome! I've wanted to mess around with the TSD features in the Apache, but going around and hand-adding all of the various obstacles and WP types would be 2 hours of time as is. This looks like a great substitute until ED comes out with whatever solution they are working on for the process. I imagine it'll be tied to the data cartridge implementation, but either way, this looks like a great addition for the time being.

Alright, more progress made...though it always feels like it's not that much. I've got the shapes I want mostly sorted out. I think I might redo the engines a bit, because I don't love the way the back/mid section looks, but the fuselage camo is mostly complete, outside of the area directly behind the rotor. It's hard to see (it was for me too, since I didn't even notice it until looking at a reference photo probably 3 days ago) but the bottom is a slightly lighter grey than the light grey of the fuselage, and it's got a bit of a wave-like pattern on the real thing, so I'll be working on getting the bottom sides found and painted. As always, the layout of the thing is incredible and infuriating. I was working with the wing template and colored some rivets yellow to see where they appeared, along with some other miscellaneous parts that I was unsure of, and it turned out that the yellow parts that are on the template near the left wing's outside pylon were rivets on the right wing formation light, a hinge holding one of the left rotor doors in place, and some other small part that I couldn't figure out what it was. Anyhow, work continues in my free time. I use this as a break from certification studying, but I really want to get it pushed out, so hopefully I can finish it up in a week or two. The rivets and screw, along with the random hatches and panels are really going to be a pain to track down. I've got to work on sorting out the font too, since what I have now isn't looking like I wanted it to. Enjoy!

Appreciate it! I love having a forum where we've got actual experts on the stuff around. It's definitely a lot better than people like me trying to Google my way to something that makes sense!

That's what was always confusing to me. I guess is it just slightly quicker than just shoving the collective down in the same scenario? Or is that the engines idling means there's less of that power going to the tail rotor, which the collective drop itself wouldn't cover? I'd love to know what happened during testing or with older helicopters for the McDonnell Douglas team to have included the button.

I definitely struggled at first with the Apache, which really threw me off. I had come from starting with the Ka-50, and then getting experienced flying around in the Mi-24 after it came out, and so with the AH-64 I expected almost a better version of the Ka-50 autopilot that I was used to, which was awesome once you wrapped your head around the autopilot and trim modes. I remember the first time I was able to come flying through a valley and just perfectly park the Ka-50 behind some tree line on a ridge...it just felt like the thing was connected to my brain. I kind of expected the AH-64 to feel like that, and to be almost effortless to do things with, so it was definitely surprising when I struggled and crashed more than I probably even did flying the Mi-24. But as ED has worked on the FM, and as I've spent more time flying it, I'm starting to get closer to being able to almost always do what I'm thinking I want to. I think the hardest thing for me so far has been getting used to the ease that I can pick up speed, and then having to work on re-adjusting the trim, since I don't have the ability to just have the stick hold it's position like they can in real life. I've noticed the place I'm most likely to get into trouble is when I'm trying to quickly move from flying to entering into a hover behind cover. But I feel like ED has nailed a flight model that feels right to the brain of someone who has never flown one. It feels like a high tech helicopter with a lot of power that's not exactly super heavy, at least when it's not carrying a truckload of Hellfires, but also not the lightest thing out there. It's got some weight to it, and you definitely need to get comfortable with the controls and how it will respond. ED nailed how my mind thought flying an Mi-24 would feel too, since I always felt like I was actually cruising around in this massive murder bus with the Hind. I've had the same thing happen to me. I grabbed the Ka-50 off of someone years ago, and got to enjoy it a lot, but then the F/A-18 and eventually the F-16 came out, and I just flew those (mostly the Hornet) a ton while ED developed them. Then there was a sale for the Mi-8, so I just thought "this looks fun enough on Youtube" and became hooked. Shortly after that was when the Mi-24 came out, and thought I initially wasn't really interested, I grabbed it and started playing around with it the day it came out, and the helicopters have pretty much been the only thing I've flown at all anymore. I jump into the F/A-18 every now and again, but there's just so much fun to be had in something that's extremely deadly, but also really vulnerable. You can't fly above the threats as easily as you can in the jets, so you've really got to focus and pick your spots. Especially so when you're flying the Hind or Hip and you don't have the same stand off capabilities that you do in the Apache, where you can just park it behind a hill and really scout the area ahead.

Another small update. Still working on roughing out all of the camo shapes and finding parts on the template. After I get all of the camo down, then I can start going back and finding where all of the really small details live.

I think it's like a lot of things at this moment in the game. The old way was envisioned forever ago, and made much more simple, and now that they are looking to revamp things and it's going to be a massive undertaking to fully redo it. In the case of AI, you've got flight model issues, targeting issues, prioritization issues, and communication issues, which are thankfully all things that ED has been making some big strides on the backend with. What I'm hoping is that with the dynamic campaign progress, we'll be getting revamped AI in terms of being more self reliant. Then there's the chance for them to recreate entire dialogues (with more than just poor Wags recording everything, hopefully) or even crazier would be if there was a way for AI to be incorporated so that there's no pre-canned responses, but the AI in game will use AI to help generate real time communication in response to what is happening around them. In my mind, I can see a future where flight sims, especially military sims can use AI generated comms to give the battlefield the same kind of feeling that you get from the AI flights in something like BMS. Where flights are talking back and forth, dynamically, and responding to things in real time. But the AI would allow there to be more freedom in how they talk, and potentially even allow for different accents and voices, so things really feel more dynamic and alive. But, either way, I would guess that it's something ED is aware of and plugging away at with all of the core gameplay changes they are making.

Do you get the option to select which eye it renders over? I've always been curious how that works in VR, since in real life, you've only got the one eye seeing the sight. It seems like it would be cool to be able to have that realistically done, but I have no idea how well that would render for your brain in VR.

In case you didn't sort it out yet, or in case someone else stumbles on this with the same question. In the template, there's a drop down in the base color folder, and there are a lot of different folders under that. At the very bottom is FS 34031 V4, which is the base green. You can color directly on that, but I would recommend the easiest way is to create a new layer or layer group above it so you can keep the original there in case you need it in the future.

I believe it's something that was patched in and needed to be sorted out by ED. Maybe @NineLine has some more details on it.