firesoldier845

Great news for those who are into those cockpit things. I'd love to have one but that would probably be the end of my marriage. Oh well, ya never know.

Hey thank you guys for posting benchmarks of the new card here. It will help me to make a better decision when the time comes. Thanks alot.

GG, I'm not arguing or trying to rain on you guy's parade - I'm just trying to put the "simulated reality" into reality. That's all. No hard feelings guys. Hey maybe we can all meet up at Walmart and buy our copies of BlackShark when it comes out and I'll buy you and D-Scyte a cold beer on me! <-HEY MAN I'M TRYING TO BE FUNNY HERE AGAIN. No seriously, both you guys mean well and so do I. I'll catch u all in HL one of these nights! or I'll see you in the next weeks "NERF AIM-120 thread" or next weeks latest " the SU-27 should have the R-77 thread". or maybe even an F-22 sucks thread, we haven't had one of those for a while here I don't think... :) Great chat and check your six both of you. Its not enough that I have so many people firing AMRAAMS at me and I probably got 2 more people out to get me now in HL. I'm off to HL tonite last post here so chat with you all tommorrow.

I snipped the end of your reply to save space. But hey man your preaching to the choir. Sure their problems with the BVR missile modelling, agreed. Just remember though hypothetically speaking when and if you are able to lock up that mig from 80km out look down and fire your "find em FIDO" AIM-120C and he can't break lock and goes down in flames he's going to be here in the forums too calling B.S on that. He's gonna want to know why and how this is possible cause he has a copy of the "Russian Official Missile Evasion Tactical Handbook" and I'm not poking fun - cause man all I do is fly the russian birds. I'm just saying this is what constantly goes on back and forth here on the forums. Heck, I don't mean to make it sound like the whole red vs blue nonsense I'm just using it as an example. I mean it what it boils down to is there is only so much they gonna be able to do with our weak computer processors as well as what they can do in their budget. GG is right there are guestimations I suppose, I mean we've already said that they can't simulate each radar pulse and the airflow over each fin of the missile or the exact radar traceray reflections and stuff like that. So all we are left with is guesstimations or probabilites with some physics too and people are going to argue all day over the guesstimations. Hey I want to apologize if I seem like I am trying to make you out to look bad or unintelligent or anything like that cause it's not me at all. Man I agree with you bro, the BVR is nerfed and we haven't even talked about ECM - LOL - I just think theirs always gonna be a grey area as far as missiles, radar, tracking logic and all that and it will never be accurate unless they simulate everything - and that's impossible to do given the reasons I listed in my 1st reply. cheers man - great chat. hope to see u in HL or something.

agreed Nothing is wrong with trying to get close or doing things that would make people use realistic tactics. I support any effort to make the game better. That's great news. :) I am sure that will be a great help to ED. sorry GG don't know what u mean by this. is it "something" advanced flight model. Well I don't have the exact figure but I'm sure the USAF F-15 simulator cost in the millions if not tens of millions. That's only one plane. So do I. But honestly, theres a lot to consider radar, seeker, physics - I don't know if it can be done accurately in a $30 game thats all I am saying. But you don't have all the information you'll never have all the information as long as these planes\radars\missiles are still in front line service. No GG, your taking me the wrong way. I don't think things should stay the way they are. I just think our expectations are not always realistic. This isn't some nerf F-15C or nerf AIM-120 reply or anything like that in disguise. For the record I fly only the Mig-29 and the Flankers A2A only because the F-15 and AMRAMM are so nerfed up it makes me sick and I won't touch the F-15 until its fixed. I get killed more times by friendly F-15s then enemy, it's bad they need to do something about the F-15. To make the guesstimations more accurate? I'm not slamming ED, cause it's the best simulation out there IMHO. But I can see it now - BLACK SHARK Lock ON MODERN AIR COMBAT GUESSTIMATER (SIMULATOR) - just being funny guys - don't take me literally. I think your being too optimistic so there. No I am on his side. I am on anybody's side that can make the game better. It's just that hypothetically speaking if ED makes some change in the missile behaivor then there will be somebody else from the other camp saying that they should be able to break missile lock by beaming 90 and getting under the missile and saying that it's unrealistic and so forth and so forth. And they simulate them on a Core2 Duo and have a software development team with a budget the same as ED? oh and you can buy the software at walmart and find your own how to do book on the internet. oh and you can get your own copy of the program from raytheon for only $30.00 - I'm not trying to be a $ick GG, just can you at least see my point of view too? just a little bit? :D That's great news. :) I own the lite sims too and do not enjoy them as much as LockON. Hey great debate GG, your an asset to the community. Hats off to you-your very knowledgable. cheers firesoldier845

Not to sound argumentive cause I agree there seems to be some issues with all the missiles. But, bro it's a computer game. Sure we like to think of LockOn as a an alter ego life man, it's my favorite game I love it. But, I just don't know if it's possible to get the level of reality some of us are looking for in a $30 game. I mean how exactly is ED modeling the radar and missiles and tracking logic I really don't know. It's not like they can call up hughes or vympel and ask for the missile or radar software so they can simulate it. Even if they did get some really good information - simulating it accurately in a computer program is completely another issue all in itself. Obviously there are also issues with gameplay balance and other things too. I'm not disagreeing with the issues you brought up, it's just that sometimes I think our expectations are not realistic. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to believe that when I turn the radar on my plane and there is an enemy target somewhere out there that that each pulse of the radar is being computated and responds exact to real life. I'd love to know when I fire a missile that physics are being calculated on each and every fin and all the surfaces of the missile as it's guided to the target. I'd wish a lot of stuff. But reality is were not going to get it in a $30 game. Sure maybe the radar missiles could be a bit more accurate and that's all you really are trying to say. I'm just saying it's a game, there has to be balance. I don't know if the game would be fun to play if it was lock up - insta kill. I don't think it's possible to guesstimate any of the missiles\radars performance based simply on outcomes of past engagements because their hasn't been enough of them between the aircraft in the game. I don't think it's possible to model everything 100% accurately without the exact software code of how these things work and their not going to get that info anytime soon. Even if they did have all the information on how the missiles\radars work, I still think it would be impossible for them to model it all to a totally realistic level and sell it for $30.00 a copy. I mean, even with all the information - simulating it accurately in a computer physics model is not easy and I don't even know if it's possible on current hardware. So my point after my long rant is, it's a $30 game and there has to be compromises somewhere in the missile coding\radar logic both from a financial aspect and also from a hardware aspect. Hey, I know your only saying u wish the radar missiles would be a bit more accurate. But I'm just saying I don't think we really know if they are or not, and I don't think it's possible to model it either. I'm not going against you D-Sycte, I'm on your side - agree with what you say 99% - I just don't know if it's possible to get everything we want or to know for sure how everything is going to respond in the game as compared to real life. I don't even think ED knows, I don't even think the manufacturers of the missiles and radar systems could accurately simulate everything in a pure scientific physics computer model. cheers man - I hear you and agree with u 99%. good posts guys-

The learning curve for LockON is quite steep. This is not necessarily the best way to learn but you might want to start out with 1 particular plane and work up from there. I played WWII fighters games for YEARS and never got into the jets until LockOn came out. I had no CLUE how anything worked at all. It was completely overwhelmed by all the controls and how things worked. I even shelved the game for like 2-3 months out of frustration. Then one day I just dedicated to learning the ropes so I started out with SU-25 and read all the chapters on SU-25 and did all the tutorials on SU-25. I think it or the A-10 is a good place to start. SU-25 is fairly easy because it's just like a WWII plane with jet engines and guns and a laser designator. Plus you can get online and fly the VVS504 A2G server which is a great place to get your feet wet in online play. If you go on some of the other servers you will get pwned, repeatedly and without mercy. I mean nothing against the other players it's just that they are good and they have a 3 year head start on you as far as mastering the game. Play offline too. Create your own missions against SAM sites with labels on and learn how to evade SAMS. Then play with labels off. LockOn is a great game and there are plenty of good people online that will help you out. But I think since u say you are a total noob, which I was when I started - pick a plane and stick with it for a while until you feel comfortable with the game - then move onto some of the more complex aircraft and systems. IMHO start with SU-25, then go to the T, then the Mig-29S and lastly the SU-27 because its kinda hard due to the lack of ARH missiles. You'll get the hang of things and feel free to ask someone will be more than willing to help. If you see me online feel free to ask anything. The VVS504 A2G server is a great place to start and most of the same people are on each night and everyone is very helpful.

I usually ground pound and I have some time to do some 3d objects and I really want to do them. I don't have the time to do aircraft. I want to add some main battle tanks from other nations like the British Challenger, Israeli Merkava, French Leclerc, and Russian T-90. I don't have any clue which one I would do first. Question is - are any of these already done for BS, because I don't want to waste time doing them if there are to be in BS? I don't know if any of the BETA testers can reveal due to NDA or something like that. But I'd like to know. Also, can they even be added to game or can we only replace existing models?? Chizh anyone can u comment?? I'm serious about doing these and getting them in game since I ground pound I would enjoy this greatly. Maybe we could have some scenarios different then strictly Leopard, M1 vs T-72. Let me know ASAP so I can get started. Again, I don't want to waste the time if there is no chance they will be put in game or can't be put in game or if a few of them are slated to be added to BS. cheers fs845

Does anybody know if we can acutally make NEW additional ground units or only replace existing ground units? The reason I ask is I wanted to make French and British main battle tanks and don't want to waste time doing them if they can't be put in game.

Does it matter 3ds Max 7 or 8?? Are there plugins for both, I haven't even looked at the info on how to export??

Unified shaders. I think it will help a lot, even in the older titles that aren't DX10. The 8800 was almost nearly twice the fps of X1800 in benchmarks of Lockon. However, they benchmarked on brand new Core2DUO extreme. So you guys are right he will probably be CPU limited. Oh and to the original poster, I had P4 3.2 and a 6800 Ultra, only I didn't have 2 gigs of RAM like u do, I only had 1. I think you can run a few things on high. I wasn't dissappointed but at the time it replaced a P4 2.4 and 9800 Radeon and I thought when I got the 3.2 and 6800 I was really going to be able to turn up the settings. Well it wasn't what I expected. Certainly, though the game was enjoyable. I still ran mostly everything on MEDIUM and I think I bounced around between settings depending on if I was doing A2A or A2G. My new computer is Core2 DUO 6700, 2 gigs RAM and a 7900GT and it's pretty sweet but I still run WATER and VIS on MEDIUM to get smooth fps. I consider trying the water tweak MOD to try higher water settings for reflections and stuff.

I replaced 6800GT with a 7900GT and was very happy. I would wait though for 8XXX series if you could.

What does this have to do with anything?? Is this supposed to mean that unless I've made a 3d model I can't voice my opinion. Cause I haven't actually seen any of your 3d models either nor any 3 models from any of the other people's 8 pages worth of comments in this thread. Oh and FWIW, I've made at least a dozen 3d models for other sims. If I didn't have family, kids, wife I would more than likely do some stuff for LockON. I'm considering maybe doing some ground units - would like to see some main battle tanks and APC from other nations cause I mostly do ground pounding online. We can go back and forth all day on what is a legit flaw and what is just plain a whine. It's subjective. If I wanted to point out some of the whines I would have quoted them but I am not here to debate that or get into a battle with those individuals. I rarely if ever join the constant bickering here over this game. I'm just pointing out that no matter how good he finishes this model there will always be complainers and unless he wants this to become a full time job he should just do it the way he wants it to look. You can have the last word. I don't want this thread to turn ugly and it already stinks so I'm not going to reply back. Maybe I was in bad mood when posted or took things wrong way. I just hate to see guy put all this work in when I know people will complain never ending no matter what or how good a job he does. cheers oh and no hard feelings -

First off thanks for doing this model. Its' really awesome. A word of advice though - YOU WILL NEVER MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY Walmis. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone specifically but flight simmers in general are the most ungrateful, demanding, whiney gamers. I wonder how many of them actually even consider all the time you put into designing this beautiful aircraft for FREE and then to have so many whiners c/o of minor details. If it's not the canopy shape, it's the wheels, the pilot, the intakes, blah blah blah...nothing but a bunch of ungrateful complainers. If there not argueing over missile performance, or plasma shields or switchable cockpits, then there complaining about a FREE add-on. And people wonder why publishers shun away from flight sim games... All I am saying Walmis is your never gonna make everyone happy so if you like it the way it is then tough for the ones who don't like it. Even if you get everything down to the milimeter exact duplicate of real F-15C they will find something to cry about like incorrect number of lug nuts on front wheel or something else. Good job it looks awesome.

I dont think he has any MODS, its a clean install with only the latest patch. He finally made it to the forums and posted in the bugs section.

"Ok, I will go and check it out. Unfortunately that last peice of advice did not help, i changed the timeouts to 600, but it still did not work. When I get into the game, it appears to be frozen, as if i am paused or something, but I can also see other peoples planes, they are frozen too, although I can look around my cockpit like I could at any other time." This is what he posted to me. He keeps getting kicked off every server. We can't figure it out. Any more suggestions.

We tried multiple servers and he gets to the plane select screen and loadout and we can chat. Then he hits FLY and as soon as he hits fly I see his name drop from the scoreboard. Then he says the game loads and he gets to the cockpit and the screen of cockpit is there for a few seconds and he is kicked out of the game. BUt at least he looks like he is getting booted as soon as he hits fly- at least that is what I am seeing when looking at the scoreboard and he types "ok im gonna hit fly now". BAM he's gone. BUt he doesn't know it until the plane loads up and all that.

No he is just trying to connect to a server on hyperlobby. Actually the S77th one he tried last night several times. I was playing on it so it was working fine. He says he has patched 1.12a version.

My buddy just bought flaming cliffs and he is trying to get online with me to play. Everytime he connects he chooses the side to play for and his loadout and then when he hits FLY it goes to like the airfield view screen and never spawns in the cockpit then a few minutes later he gets kicked. Any clues what this could be? Any tips or suggestions I could give him?? thanks guys

Did u see the benchmarks for LockON on firingsquad.com ??? - compared to 7900 almost double performance, not quite but almost double fps! I just wonder though if the lowest fps is gonna be close to same cause game is CPU bottlenecked. Still that's impressive. I'm not gonna run out and buy one but I'll more than likely upgrade in 2007 sometime after I see what ATI comes out with and go with the better platform for LockON. I really like how they have the unified shaders now instead of the seperate pixel and vertex shaders, sounds like that alone was a good idea.

Oh and I almost forgot, I did have some major video rendering problems that all of a sudden creeped up in my Lock On. I couldn't figure out why SO I REINSTALLED LockON and xvid and now my videos are rendering perfect again.

Hey MrWolf, first off thanks for the great servers for us to play on. As for your question I am pretty sure that windows won't play AVI files that are greater than 2 gbs. so that is why you are having problems. Now this is debatable like F-15C vs SU-27B, but I like the xvid codec that comes with LockON. The quality is outstanding. So select xvid and set your quality to 100%. Don't use uncompressed video or the file sizes will be too large. This depends also on your resolution but wide screen 1280X720 (16:9) which is like high definition quality 30 fps I'm getting roughly about 2 minutes of video at around 450-500 megs compressed with xvid. So to stay under that 2 gb limit you would need to keep all the rendered material under 8 minutes or around there. If your edited track file is longer than 8 minutes then you might want to split it up and render different parts. You can do that also with the times up in the right upper corner of screen - just change the start end times to the areas of the video you want and break it up into different movies. Naturally if your rendering video at a lower resolution or frame rate you can fit more video per mb than the numbers I quoted above. It's also debatable which video codec is best, I like xvid but others may disagree.

FWIW in a lot of slavic languages the W is like a V in english so it's possible that maybe that could be some of the confusion here with Kiew or Kiev or whatever - maybe its the same thing just spelled differently.

I've been playing since release and since I mostly played online I didn't bother with the add-ons and stuff but lately I seen a lot of nice skins and addon files so I starteded messing with MODMAN and I made a complete mess of my lock on installation and had to reinstall. I know it seems idiot proof but honestly I downloaded a few skins and installed them and the next thing I know modman is crashing and my LockOn is all screwed up. Everything is fine after a complete re-install but what is the correct way to install these add-ons and skins without nerfing my LockOn? Is 5.0 the latest version of MODMAN I should be using to install skins?? What's this install in CDDS file thing? Is that what I am doing wrong? thanks for any help.

I'm still waiting for someone to ask what free flyable add-on will be included after BS is released? - lol