Nightstorm

Ok folks. I'm pretty happy with everything at the moment. Several changes from the last version some small, some large. First changes that affect both versions: Reflections. I've adjusted the cockpit canopy and screen textures to permit more realistic reflections. The screens are done to simulate anti-reflective coating but they will still reflect some under the right angles. The canopy has scratches in different areas that can sometimes be seen with looking into the sun. Not enough to interfere with anything and not as many as some other older aircraft have. After all, these Raptors are pretty well maintained. The canopy also has reflections that are visible at some angles when the sun is shining on the inside of it. Just a little texture in the transparency for added immersion. Under the \Cockpit folder there are two new folders called _No Reflections and _Reflections and in each is a zip file of the Scripts folder. In case you don't want the reflections or you want to test out each. *EDIT* I adjusted the weapons bay page on all three MFD's so that the engine RPM indicators at the top change color the same as the engine display page does when you enter/exit afterburner. I also renamed "THRUST" to "RPM" like the engine page. I've seen a picture where it shows they were red and I think it says THRUST between them but I don't know if that was mock up or accurate. For now, I decided to go for consistent. Now for the changes to the single player version: The main F-22A file is a modified version of the original. That means it is of course not encrypted. The values that are set in it are based on all available public information. Key changes affect the amount of thrust which is now as accurate as can be determined and the thrust values across the entire flight model. These changes allow the Raptor to supercruise at speeds of up to approximately Mach 1.8 at altitude. You will easily reach Mach 1.5 at ~25k feet w/o afterburners. Max speed is still around Mach 2.5 with afterburners. I've included two new files that are called from the entry.lua: A2A_Missiles.lua - Contains new missiles added to DCS that can be used by the F22 or F15C. AIM-9X3, AIM-120A, AIM-120C-7, AIM-120D. Thank you to @hubson for the suggestion on how to fix missile tracking. They work great now in every mode. The AI doesn't seem aware of the missile until it's "active" timer counts down so as far as I know that still works correctly. With the 120C-7 you can truly get BVR shots now at 20+ NM depending on altitude. With the 120D I was able to lock and kill a target in TWS at 102NM. Fired from ~35k feet or so and at about Mach 1.7. FuelCell.lua - Contains a zero drag/zero weight INVISIBLE 680 gallon fuel tank that can be equipped on the F22's center station. This amount of fuel makes up for the missing fuel compared to the actual F22 which is ~18100 lbs. The extra fuel does NOT show up as internal but will show up as EXTERNAL. This is most likely a limit of the F15C avionics as the F15C is limited to 13400lbs. When this fuel cell is equipped you will have the correct fuel amount and weight but it will show as if the external tanks are partially full. Nothing I can do about that. Oh, and don't jettison it unless you want the fuel to go away Also, if you have the fuel cell equipped with two external tanks, the fuel page tanks won't read correctly but you will have all of the fuel. And of course you can't have a smoke generator at the same time as they share that station. I've included two updated UnityPayloads F-22A.lua files one located in the mod folder and one for the \MissionEditor\UnitPayloads folder. I've also included one for the F-15C since by using that file you'll be able to use the new missiles on the Eagle even without database access in DCS 2.7. The F22 can now carry the following stores: AIM-9M AIM-9X AIM-9X3 (Improved range over 9x) AIM-120C-5 (Default 120C that we can't modify any longer) AIM-120C-7 (Improved range over 120C-5) AIM-120D (Best guess on the 120D's capabilities based on it being a 100nm hypersonic missile) Fuel Tanks Fuel Cell (680g fuel as described above) Smoke Generators (All colors) The F22 also now has six different ammo types for the M61 Vulcan. They are the same types as are available on the F-16C Viper. Note that if it doesn't have "tracer" in the name you won't see any. None the less, you will most certainly see the affects. Lastly for my testing I made the liveries for the 433rd WPS out of Nellis. They are also linked below. All current downloads: Mod: https://www.dropbox.com/s/47d2gu21874torf/F-22A Multi Player.7z?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0iahwuoozbqk5t/F-22A Single Player.7z?dl=0 27th TY https://www.dropbox.com/s/4frcmzw7b1aw07b/FF 27th.7z?dl=0 43rd FF https://www.dropbox.com/s/g82eq39alxrfipc/TY 43rd.7z?dl=0 90th AK https://www.dropbox.com/s/56lxvpvrtlsyogy/AK 90th.7z?dl=0 94th FF https://www.dropbox.com/s/emikbeicv83y4cj/FF 94th.7z?dl=0 95th TY https://www.dropbox.com/s/uya06r4758zcmb5/TY 95th.7z?dl=0 525th AK https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7cu3rhtvf1o03t/AK 525th.7z?dl=0 433rd WA https://www.dropbox.com/s/g496ocsad1qxnvp/WA 433rd.7z?dl=0

Thank you for that. That's the primary hold up right now is the missile testing. I want to include the custom missiles and I was trying to figure out why they wouldn't track properly in TWS. I will try that. I hadn't had a chance to dive into it in detail with all of the changes after 2.7 but I will see what that does :) Also....in other news a few additional tweaks I've worked on yesterday. The F22's M61 cannon now has selectable ammo types like the Viper does. Keep in mind that only the tracer versions have tracers, as one would expect. The SAPHEI are not tracer rounds but they pack a punch. This is actually more accurate as it's not all that common to carry tracer rounds from my understanding. Also, I've tweaked the canopy reflections to work better with the new clouds and look much closer to the reflections you see with the VIper and Hornet. Nothing baked in from the cockpit but when the sun shines on it at an angle you can see a bit of texture in the transparency. I've also been experimenting with reflective displays. I didn't want too much reflection as that wouldn't be accurate nor helpful in an all glass cockpit to get blinded by the sun every three seconds. I've created two folders with reflection and no reflection options so that folks can try it out. I hope to have an update out today. I'll start experimenting with the missiles and see what I can do. Oh and that reminds me, the missiles will also include an AIM-120A. It's not used on Raptor but as long as it's defined somewhere it can be used on the Eagle. I've tested all of the new missiles on the Eagle by modifying it's unitypayload lua file. Even though you can't select the missiles that aren't defined in the now hidden database lua you can still add them to the loadout choices and then select that loadout. And they work. And by the way, if you hadn't noticed the F-15C/F-22A avionics were designed to support the AIM-120A from the start. That's why the AIM-120D is read as an "A" type on the HUD. And even the model and textures were present for it. Just no code and it wasn't added to the allowed missile types on the Eagle.

I just finished updating it for 2.7. Updated on DCS user files to v1.9 or here: Modified lights: https://www.dropbox.com/s/eogqpjbzzo27w67/CFT_Mod_1.9.zip?dl=0 Stock lights: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g92nkb2g8bugsn4/CFT_Mod_1.9.1.zip?dl=0

Yes, I can certainly understand that. And their stance all along has been that they don't support mods or a modified game. One of their first questions has always been "Do you have any mods installed?" Followed by, "Let us see your log file." Which of course would show if you have any mods installed. Personally it's not that I want to modify the core files, I'd just like to find a way to have these types of mods function. I'd be perfectly content to have them work from the saved games folder. In the end though, it is what it is. If they choose to lock down the files then there's not much we can do about it beyond what's already been said. And at least we can still modify some things. I do hope though, that they do in fact continue to appreciate what the modding community can and has done for the game.

Well here's one *work around* for the loss of access to the \Scripts\Database\planes folder and contents. While you can't assign weapons as selectable via the loadout screen any longer you can still edit the loadouts. For example I've been testing part of the F-22 mod with a file that adds a few missiles. AIM-120A, AIM-120C-7 and AIM-120D for example. I was using these on the F-15C. The avionics support them and they are useable. So I tried creating loadouts for the F-15C.lua in one of two locations. You can use the saved games location: \MissionEditor\UnitPayloads\ Or the main folder location: \MissionEditor\data\scripts\UnitPayloads\ I added these missiles to the F-15C and the payloads are selectable in the loadout screen and they do equip the missiles. If you remove one you can't add it back of course as these missiles are not in the now hidden F-15C.lua that was in \planes. One thing I noted is that the wing pylons on the F-15 wouldn't show up unless there was a "valid" store equipped. For example, if I tried to mount four AIM-9X missiles on the wings, the missiles were there but the rails and pylons were not. They were just hovering under the wing. Not cool. But....if you either add an AIM-120B, or AIM-120C-5 or a fuel tank, the remaining station(s) can have whatever you want. So I was able to mount two 9X's on the wings so long as I mounted a fuel tank too. I would imagine this will work for any other aircraft too. There are 69 different aircraft lua files in the main folder location.

Thank you!

I truly hope this isn't the case. I know when asked, ED has said that they support the modding community. When changes like this are made without notice or explanation though, it does cast doubt on that assertion. One of the aspects I love about DCS is the ability to mod it and add new content etc.

I too am really hoping for an alternative. ED has sated in the past that they are not in favor of modified files in the main folder. And there are valid reasons for that. At one point shortly after or at the release of 2.5.6 they had locked down all of the files. Things like the F16C.lua and F18C.lua files. There was a discussion then about it that I remember. And it was pointed out that having those files in the saved games was ignored then, along with many other mods. They did relent on that and allowed access back to those files and we still have access today with 2.7. So....we can be grateful for that. I do sincerely hope that they allow us access back to at least *some* of the database files. If they want to restrict the weapons, fine...I get that. But please let us have access back to the other aircraft lua's that were in planes, the callsigns and countries and troops. That would allow a lot of mods to continue to function. I know we could stay on the old version 2.5.6 and all of these mods still work. But....that's not really an option for multiple reasons. Besides, after seeing the new clouds and damage effects....there's no way I could back.

Yes it is. And I've been testing out the new/old (depending on your point of view) lua file and it's looking pretty good. I'm also testing out some missile mods. Since the default 120C is now specifically the 120C-5 I'm working on a 120C-7 for the Raptor as well as the 120D. Everything appears to be working as it should though.

With the recent change to DCS 2.7 it's clear that all of the lua files that were located under \Scripts\Database have been integrated and are no longer available for editing. This has had the affect of rendering any mod that relied on altering these files inoperative. Examples of such mods include: Extended call signs. Logbooks, such as USN, USMC or other countries. Aircraft adjustments Weapons adjustments and more. The reason mods used these files is because attempting to edit them via the saved games was ignored and had no affect. Is there any method now to edit certain items in the former database files? A saved games file structure that would still override the main folder? For example: The Extended call signs mod had two parts....a bunch of sound files which work fine from saved games and a modification of the former db_callnames.lua to add the new call signs. As you know there are a very limited number of call signs in DCS by default. How can those modifications to db_callnames be accomplished under 2.7? Any help would be welcome. I'd love to hear from an ED rep. Thank you!

It would appear that all of the database luas have been removed and compiled somehow. This affects numerous mods. Anything at all that relied on altering any files that were located under \Scripts\Database. I don't know yet if there's any possible work around.

Yes I think so. I'm still adjusting a few things. I'll only include the modified LUA in the single player version of course. As I mentioned before, anyone with a little knowhow could use the F22 lua from the first release in the second exactly like this. So its not like I'm releasing anything that's sensitive or hasn't been already released. Full disclosure though; There is a new added feature in the new version of the F22A.lua that isn't in the old one. I didn't even know it existed. That feature adds a three ... tab in the mission editor when you're editing an F22 and if you click that tab you'll find a check box that allows you to select an option to have the weapons bay doors closed on cold start. So in the version I have here, that feature is simply not present. I checked the log files for any errors related to using the old version of the lua and found none. The weapons bay still closes slowly as per usual on a cold start and everything works as expected. Like I said, I didn't even know that feature was added and losing that and having to manually close the doors is a small price for the access to adjust the parameters for better accuracy in my opinion. And speaking of accuracy....that brings me to another "feature" I'm playing with: The maximum fuel that the F15C can hold, which the F22 is based on, is 13455lbs or 6103kg. I suspect, that's why that was the amount defined both in the old and the new versions of the mod. With lua access the amount can be changed to the correct 18100lbs / 8200kg for the Raptor....BUT......the extra fuel shows up as EXTERNAL not internal and it's reflected that way on the fuel page. The tanks show partially full. It will burn it first and then start using the "normal" internal. And....if you have actual external tanks fitted to the wing stations it messes up the fuel page graphic for the tanks. So...... Based on the work I did with the CFT mod for the Viper I created a "Fuel Cell" tank for the Raptor. It's a 0 drag, 0 weight (except for the fuel) 680 gallon tank that doesn't have a model. It can be fitted to pylon 6 on the Raptor which happens to have been the center fuel pylon on the Eagle. So...the end result is you CAN have the correct amount of fuel in the Raptor with the same limitations I mentioned above or not. It's optional as it would have to be equipped via the loadout page. So if its not equipped, everything behaves just as it has. The max internal is 13455 lbs and additional fuel tanks will use the fuel page correctly etc. And if is equipped it will act as if you have 680 gal of external fuel. You can still equip the wing tanks and get all of the fuel. It will work fine. Just the fuel page will look messed up until the external fuel is gone. I think that's a good option. When you add the fuel cell it gives the correct amount of fuel and the correct weight with no external visible sign and no additional drag. It does share the pylon where the smoke can be added so you obviously can't have smoke and the fuel cell at the same time.

So after some edits to the F-22A.lua file from the previous version of the F22 mod some interesting results were achieved. Most of the information comes from wiki pages and manufactures pages but its all we have available. The weights and thrust values have been modified to be more in line with what's been publicly released. The flight model data has been modified as well. These edits appear to achieve the expected performance of the Raptor. From the Wiki: Performance Maximum speed: Mach 2.25 (1,500 mph, 2,414 km/h) at altitude Mach 1.21, 800 knots (921 mph; 1,482 km/h) at sea level Mach 1.82 (1,220 mph, 1,963 km/h) supercruise at altitude After some testing and tweaking I was able to achieve this: Mach 2.26 at ~50k feet full afterburner. Mach 1.1 at ~2k feet barometric on full military Mach 1.84 at ~50k feet with ~30% fuel on full military. Super cruise anyone? I'd like to consult some folks before including these changes into the SINGLE PLAYER version of the mod. I *think* the flight model data changes were done by someone that went by the name "Dances". Though I don't see an active user account by that name. The reason that Grinnelli encrypted the F22.lua in the first place was to prevent cheating in multi-player. However, the previous version wasn't encrypted and folks have been using that version for quite a while. So, the ship on that probably sailed a long time ago. And for that matter, any server that allows mods could have such activity going on. I'm open to opinions/suggestions on this.

I can't speak to that. The original model was done some time ago by Grinnelli as far as I know. None of the changes I've made affect the model in any way.

@Thunder Chicken22 Yea I know what you mean on the 120s. I haven't tried to replace the F22.lua. I too am interested in trying that out. And if you don't have an objection possibly including it in the single player version.

The 94th FF squadron is done. Here are the links to the mod and all completed squadrons in one place: Mod: https://www.dropbox.com/s/47d2gu21874torf/F-22A Multi Player.7z?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0iahwuoozbqk5t/F-22A Single Player.7z?dl=0 27th TY https://www.dropbox.com/s/4frcmzw7b1aw07b/FF 27th.7z?dl=0 43rd FF https://www.dropbox.com/s/g82eq39alxrfipc/TY 43rd.7z?dl=0 90th AK https://www.dropbox.com/s/56lxvpvrtlsyogy/AK 90th.7z?dl=0 94th FF https://www.dropbox.com/s/emikbeicv83y4cj/FF 94th.7z?dl=0 95th TY https://www.dropbox.com/s/uya06r4758zcmb5/TY 95th.7z?dl=0 525th AK https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7cu3rhtvf1o03t/AK 525th.7z?dl=0 That's all of the active squadrons. There are two reserve squadrons and three test squadrons left.

Well the exact ranges for both 120C and 120D are classified. As such, I doubt that the stock 120C in DCS is exact either. However, given that you generally can't get a lock or track on a contact beyond 50 miles in any case I doubt it matters much. I would expect that since 120D had a longer range than the 120C in real life it probably goes faster. So, even in a "shorter" ranged scenario like say 25 miles it should get to the target faster than a 120C would. I have no concrete information to back that up, it's just conjecture.

First of the 94th "Spads". Flagship Raptor 10-194.

@FoxHoundELite The circle part could be do the much longer range of the D. It's range is something on the order of 100+ NM under optimum conditions. So a target at say 30NM would already be well inside it's maneuvering range. There's nothing specific in the missile code that changes behavior between STT and TWS modes though. If it tracks in STT but doesn't in TWS I dunno. Here's what we can test though; https://www.dropbox.com/s/j4rea8vitxuqp4m/F-22A Weapons Patch.7z?dl=0 This will put the stock weapons.lua back in place. It's encrypted but has only been hex edited to rename 9XX to 9X3. And it has the GUI icons for the weapons loadout screen that are called by that LUA file. So this will be the AIM-120D using the straight AIM-120C code. I'll test this myself. Just copy these three files in place over the single player version. *EDIT* Testing with this change, for whatever reason they work correctly. I'll have to figure out what about the missile code is causing that to happen. So...with this patch the AIM-120D's are basically no drag AIM-120C's. (No drag as in they're internal so they don't add drag to the Raptor.) *Updated Single player version to include the patch.*

There are several threads where people have been talking about problems with Radar guided missiles for some time. The AIM-120D code is based on the 120C's code and there's nothing in there that I know of that would prevent it from working. I'll do some testing though to see what I can see. However, as folks have been talking in those other threads it seems that AMRAAMS are easily spoofed by chaff and ECM. I've seen the same behavior way too many times flying the Viper with 120C's. The missiles either won't track or they simply go stupid and head off in a direction other than the target. Its gotten so bad that I basically have to wait until <10 miles pitbull range to be reasonably sure of a hit. That has nothing to do with the F22 mod as that was the case even before the new version was released in Feb. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Oh and another thing that I really don't get. You can test this yourself. I can pick up a friendly target on the 15/22's Radar at 60+ miles. Shows up as a dot instead of a rectangle right? I can launch a 120D at that target and kill it from 60 miles away. But I can't even pick up enemy contacts outside of 50 miles most of the time. /shrug.

27th FF Fightin' Eagles - Completed https://www.dropbox.com/s/4frcmzw7b1aw07b/FF 27th.7z?dl=0 Here's the final livery for the squadron. Raptor 09-185 the flagship for the 1st Operations Group.

Updated the versions with some more minor changes: I added a VVI display window in the lower left corner of the SMFD ADI pages. It has a black background like the other readouts on those displays. I went back and made three versions of the ICP page for the display strip above the keypad. For me having some critical flight data right in front of my nose in VR is useful. The versions are: OFF (its blank like stock) DAY (It has the VVI and then RALT display aligned left/right with an identifier in the middle like so: [-0000 :V R: 00002] ) NIGHT (Same as day but using the dimmer font for night mode) As before these versions are in subfolders under Mods\aircraft\F-22A\Cockpit\Scripts\ICP and they will have to be manually copied to the Mods\aircraft\F-22A\Cockpit\Scripts folder for the version you want to use. The night version affects all of the displays on the ICP though making all of them dimmer. If you leave the day version in place, they will just be normal brightness all of the time. I've also added some additional scratches to the canopy glass when looking towards the sun from inside the cockpit. Again, not enough to be a hindrance but more noticeable than before. Same links were updated: https://www.dropbox.com/s/47d2gu21874torf/F-22A Multi Player.7z?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0iahwuoozbqk5t/F-22A Single Player.7z?dl=0

Here's the latest livery; 27th FS flagship for the "Fightin' Eagles" out of Langley-Eustis, VA. I couldn't find the exact font for the tail flash but this is pretty close, and because they're text layers I had to position them around the tail/rudder split. I think it looks nice though. Remaining squadrons: 27th FF Fightin' Eagles - In progress 94th FF Spads 149th FF Virginia ANG 199th HH Mytai Fighters Hawaii ANG 411th ED FTS 422nd OT TES 433rd WA WPS Here are the four completed squadrons. A total of 100 unique liveries including the various flagships. 90th Dicemen https://www.dropbox.com/s/56lxvpvrtlsyogy/AK 90th.7z?dl=0 525th Bulldogs https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7cu3rhtvf1o03t/AK 525th.7z?dl=0 43rd Hornets https://www.dropbox.com/s/g82eq39alxrfipc/TY 43rd.7z?dl=0 95th Boneheads https://www.dropbox.com/s/uya06r4758zcmb5/TY 95th.7z?dl=0

The main mod link is on the first page of this thread. D/L and install it and make *sure* you read the instructions on that page too. There are very specific axis that need to be set up in order for the Raptor to work correctly. Once you're good to go there. You can d/l the mods I've been working on at any of the links as they're all the same. However, I'll add them again. These are not OvGME installers but you could set it up that way if you want. I'd suggest just copying and overwriting the files in the main mod with them. First is Multi-Player that has no weapons changes but affects the cockpit displays and the default livery. (You'll see the livery on other players even if they don't have this mod and they'll see the original if they don't have it, but no affect otherwise on multi.) https://www.dropbox.com/s/47d2gu21874torf/F-22A Multi Player.7z?dl=0 Then there is a single player version that includes changes to the weapons and some of their textures. There's a version that uses the stock weapons.lua from the base mod only modified to rename the 9XX to 9X3 and there's a test version where I've replaced that weapons.lua with a custom one increasing the performance of the AIM-120D. I've been using the "test" version for a month. I only removed that version b/c of some reported crashing that I don't think was related to the mod at all. However, since the weapons are modified in the single player version....I don't know what the results would be in multiplayer. Perhaps an unfair advantage to the person with the mod, or perhaps it wouldn't connect. I don't know. https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0iahwuoozbqk5t/F-22A Single Player.7z?dl=0 *EDIT* Liveries in the next post. Test version returned to normal Single Player version as there is no indication of an issue with it.

On the PMFD lower left is a button labeled "CONFIG" hit it and you'll get options that you can cycled through and change them live while in the cockpit. Another option, is to look in the config.lua file included with a livery and at the bottom is a section for custom arguments with definitions. If you always want it to have the dark canopy for example you'd change that line 0.5 instead of 0.0. Example: [619] = 0.0, -- 0=Gold, 0.5=Dark, 1.0=Clear/0=Gold, 0.5=Dark, 1.0=Light