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heclak

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  1. Hello DCS pilots! Today we are releasing a minor patch that addresses some of the more critical issues with the Community A-4E for DCS World. This is a compatibility patch which addresses the changes in the lighting engine in DCS World as well as the new MIZ file format that affected the use of the catapult with the Community A-4E. We hope that you have been enjoyed flying the Community A-4E and we hope to see you in the virtual skies! Download the latest version here: https://github.com/heclak/community-a4e-c/releases/tag/v1.4.1 Find more information on the Community A-4E project page: https://heclak.github.io/community-a4e-c/ Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/tQZbkTQ Version 1.4.1 - 2 September 2020 Added added dimming wheel on angle of attack indexer ladder lights will now dim when INST LIGHT knob is in any position other than the OFF position for night operations glareshield lights will now dim when INST LIGHT knob is turned up past the first 20% (approximately) Changed changed warning lights to use additive_self_illuminated shader as transparent_self_illum has been deprecated in DCS 2.5.6.50321 updated brightness range for the gunsight updated cockpit lighting brightness for DCS lighting changes gunsight brightness is now a logarithmic function to allow for better brightness control tweaked glareshield annunciator textures for night lighting (a-4e_lights_1, a-4e_instr_details_1) updated texture for gear handle (a-4e_instr_bckgd_3) Deprecated Removed removed payload option to load incomplete buddy pod Fixed fixed clickspots on throttle where they do not track the position of the throttle fixed incorrect spelling for TRIMMER SWITCH - LEFT WING DOWN updated carrier detection code for MIZ file version 18
  2. Already fixed the catapult issues. Most like TACAN too as they are all related. The latest build is out with the testers now. Waiting for them to test and get back with new findings.
  3. [Community A-4E] Update on the cockpit lighting issues in DCS World Open Beta [Community A-4E] Update on the cockpit lighting issues in DCS World Open Beta Hi fellow DCS pilots, I would like to post a mini update addressing the lighting-related issues in the Community A-4E in the latest Open Beta of DCS World. I’m sure most of you who are using the Open Beta branch of the DCS World are aware of the light issue plaguing a number of modules, particularly lighting and annunciator elements in various modules. The Community A-4E is no exception. The annunciators on the glare shield and the caution panel are significantly harder to read in the sunlight. Our preliminary analysis shows that the issue is plaguing 3D elements that are marked with the "transparent_self_illum" material property. This material type was used in the elements mentioned above in the A-4E. The rendering of elements tagged with this material property has changed in the recent OB patches and we are unsure if this is an intentional renderer change or if this is a rendering bug. If this is indeed a bug, we believe that an official patch for DCS is on its way so that everyone can experience the hard work of all the various DCS developers once again. For the benefit of community information, negating this issue in the A-4E would require switching the material property used to another which could achieve similar results and several texture updates to adapt to the requirements of the newly chosen material type. While this might not seem like an unachievable task, it does still require the time of the development team to code, repaint the textures and for testers to verify the changes. As we are unsure if this is a temporary or permanent change, we do not wish to issue an official patch at the moment and only to roll it back next week. If this is indeed a temporary issue, this would be an unnecessary inconvenience placed on the users of the A-4E when some patience would have served us well. Not to mention that due to the mode of distribution available to use, each patch would involve the user to manually undertake several steps to have their A-4E installation kept up to date. We would, therefore, try to minimise the number of patches issued to reduce the opportunity for version disparities among users. This would also assist in managing the workload on the team and allow us to pursue more features instead of this constant task of rendering tweaks. We hope this information would help provide more insight into the Community A-4E development process and we will keep you updated should there be more information to be made available.
  4. It’s in the installation instructions on the project page. It’s just deleting a folder in Explorer.
  5. Get the updated v1.4 and there's a workaround included for launching on the SC. Disable the catapult checks and you'll be able to line up to the catapult yourself.
  6. Hello, DCS pilots! I’m Heclak and I’m one of the Community A-4E developers. Plusnine and I would like to thank everyone in the community for your amazing support and your patience for the project. We love seeing your liveries, videos, screenshots, and posts for the Community A-4E. The last version of the plane garnered over 15,000 downloads, so we would like to first thank you for trying the module out! We would also like to thank the testers and other community members who have donated time and effort to test and give user feedback over the past few months on Discord: Your issues and bug confirmation and reproduction have been invaluable!. Version 1.4 Update Version 1.4 is available today and marks another milestone in the Community A-4E project. This new version brings a ton of fixes and new upgrades to the A-4E. There’s too much to get in with just one short video, but I will highlight some of the biggest changes since the last version and check out the video description for the link to the full changelog. The external model is one of the featured changes in the 1.4 update. Improved roughmet maps for matte, semi-gloss, gloss and ultra-gloss finishes have been assigned across the existing and new paints for this aircraft. Several improvements to trouble spots on the exterior have been fixed, and new details added. If you produced liveries for previous releases, make sure you grab the updated paint kit and update your work. Several new liveries have been included in this release, as well. The aircraft’s external and internal lighting has been completely revamped, and the refuelling probe light has been added. The aircraft’s taxi lights and headlamp lights now illuminate the surrounding area, and the cockpit lighting has been improved to remove cockpit glare and adds new effects, like this soft glow emanating from the radar screen. Several panels in the cockpit have been remodeled and retextured to both be more accurate, and also easier to read and use. Some of the remodeled panels have not yet had their systems coded but finishing these models and animations are the first steps toward adding these features. The aircraft’s systems are now more accurately simulated: the engine, hydraulics, and electrical systems have all had their dependencies reviewed for accuracy. This allows for better simulation of emergency procedures when the engine is damaged, or when the pilot’s fuel tanks are empty. You’ll need to know which systems can operate on emergency power to safely get your aircraft on the ground. As we improve the damage model and add visual feedback to it in future versions, this vital groundwork will become more visible and additional details to models and textures will be completed. We’ve made some significant changes to make long-term missions on carriers easier for users. Once you are hooked in, you can cancel or launch, even if you aren’t perfectly aligned to the catapult. We’re still working to find ways we can improve the carrier launch experience. Another significant change is a complete rewrite of the aircraft input bindings. In previous versions, many bindings were incorrect, unimplemented or had confusing or duplicate entries. We’ve gone through all bindings, cleaned them up, and added a host of new ones that allow you to use their favorite hardware to better control the A-4E. Thanks again to all the testers for helping us add and review all these new input options! Updating Your A-4E Install Because of all these changes to the inputs, if you’re upgrading from previous versions of the module, you will need to delete your old bindings before using the new version and rebind all the controls for the aircraft. We weren’t able to address all the A-4E’s issues in this patch, but we are glad to have achieved what we have with our limited time and resources. Here are a few quality of life improvements to the module: a new navigation log page is available in the kneeboard, which lists the coordinates of the waypoints created in the mission editor. We’ve made compatibility fixes with the new rendering system in DCS World 2.5.6. New clickable interactions for the aircraft’s mirrors, and the ability to hide the control stick. You can now wear NVGs and fuel dumping has been enabled. A new set of default bindings for gamepads are included, as are a wider selection of quick-start missions across all of DCS World’s available maps. Our New Project Page Our new Project Page includes all the important information about this release, including the changelog, and upgrade and vital installation instructions. https://heclak.github.io/community-a4e-c/ What's Next We’ve also begun developing tutorials and missions to include in future updates submitted by the community. If you’re interested in participating or think you have any other skills to offer the project, join the Community A-4E Discord server and introduce yourself! For new and old users of the A-4E alike, I’ll be releasing videos that explain some of the systems of the aircraft, including some developer perspectives, and shine some light on the lesser-known functions of this aircraft. Make sure you subscribe to this channel to receive updates. Thank you for your continued support, and enjoy version 1.4 of the Community A-4E. We’ll see you in the virtual skies! Version 1.4 Changelog: Featured Items - Updated carrier launch procedures to support more carriers (DCS:Supercarrier workarounds included) - More catapult launch options. Configuration for catapult behavior added to module options in the DCS main menu. From the DCS World main menu, see Options > Special > A-4E-C - Updated cockpit model, interior and exterior lighting - Updated collision model, critical damage, and IR profile - Improved systems modeling - Added SRS functionality to radio - Complete rewrite of inputs to accommodate additional input scenarios - Updated and added new liveries and RoughMet maps - Added new Instant Action missions - Removed AN-30, AN-57, and AN-65 models and textures (official versions of these munitions are now provided by DCS World) - Lots and lots of bug fixes See full changelog
  7. Yes. That was brought to our attention. I've already patched that out and trying to push out our patch quickly so that we minimise the effect on the community. Sorry for the inconvenience.
  8. In the beta, you'll need to go to the A-4E options menu to turn off the catapult checks. The catapult checks only work for the Stennis at the moment. We've added a few interesting launch option in our custom A-4E catapult launch system. We will probably never be able to integrate directly with SC as the SC integration code is not public. That being said, I don't recommend anyone to use the beta except for feedback testing as there are still issues with it.
  9. Yes. SRS works, SRS was patched to support the A-4 and we're looking to improve the integration further in the future. Pure models was fine up till the latest patches. ED added some files which has the same names as our files which caused the A-4E to have IC issues now. We're fixing it with the upcoming patch.
  10. I actually think we had previously added ICLS for the Stennis in an earlier patch. I could be wrong. It uses the TACAN panel but it only works for the Stennis as that is the only carrier that we have access to. Wheel chokes should work fine on the SC and the new catapult code which is still in beta (feedback from testers) should be working on the SC as well. We're working through a few more issues before putting out a stable release. We try to minimise game-breaking bugs in our stable releases.
  11. The A-4E doesn't follow the SC code as we do not have access to the SC implementation. We are using our own custom code to implement a carrier launch. It is not part of the DCS code. The lack of friction on the carrier is due to ED not having completed the implementation of carrier code for their SFM. No way that we can fix it, just need to keep stepping on the brakes like what real pilots have to do. Never let go of the brakes until the ground crew have the wheel chokes in place.
  12. Beautiful work. There’s going to be an updated paint kit coming with v1.4 so keep a look out for that. Some additional surfaces were unwrapped and tweaked.
  13. Hi Archer! Thanks for bringing this up. I just fixed this for the next release. It’s coming soon!!
  14. Did you do an air start? If you do so then there is a bug in DCS causing the gear to collapse and explode when landing. Always start from the carrier or ground. You can still explode if you land too hard but practice makes perfect.
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