LanceCriminal86

Any chance to get some correctly scaled stuff like the landing gear and hook levers?

The challenge I've been running into is tracking BuNOs to which MODEX, and even tougher is pilot names. Generic MODEX skins aren't as tough to pull off but pilot names are proving very tough for me to find for more than a few birds.

I'm wondering if the issues with their new missile behavior not working in multiplayer slowed things up, with the expectation they could finish it and move on but then it just wasn't working, meaning time spent trying to get that to work instead of Forrestal coding.

I rewatched the 20% off vid, sadly not Forrestal that I could see. It sounds like they're winding down for the holiday already and they did push out some major content for the Viggen guys. I'm going to just figure we come back from the new year and Forrestal shows up somewhere in January.

I'd love to know what the process is like to bring models in as even just AI assets. I'd assume it's less intensive than say the A-4E-C or MB-335, but I'm also getting the feeling after watching Heclak's stream last night that there's a lot of work just in terms of rigging the model, assigning the right material names, animation bones, etc. With as many missing aircraft as there are, having more resources or walkthroughs on the process could help fill in some of the gaps where ED isn't immediately intent on filling in, like the F-4S and F-4N, the AD-3 Skywarrior, the RA-5 Vigilante, etc.

BuNO 162705 was photographed as late as 2003 Oceana airshow as 113, but it may be that she was reassigned to 101 for the final cruise. Guy swears there was a 113 as it was the hangar queen and nobody wanted to work on it. I'll see if she was a spare parts bird.

Perfect! My other thought was going to be creative usage of Alpha layers to make the visor assembly "invisible". When I did some modding work in Rome Total War years back, one way we got over the maximum model/unit limit was by adding extra parts to the same base unit, and then using alpha layers to only display the helmets, crests, weapons, or shield shapes we wanted for one unit. I was also thinking something like that may be needed to do the MODEX, since you guys mentioned there were a lot of different locations depending on squadron, year, etc. Maybe if you could somehow map all of them and get them to all display the MODEX, then you could use alpha channels or comment out the un-needed ones in the descr.lua. Then all the fancy fonts can just be handled using the numbers DDS files like other birds such as the F-18 do.

And here I was about to post "I really wish HB would reconsider offering the HGU-55 as well". Is there a way you guys can use "switches" or flags in either the description.lua or somewhere client side so we can swap the pilot/helmet models at will in skins? Being able to have both helmets as an option will really help with modeling both the older As and the As that still served into the GWOT with the Checkmates, Tophatters, Black Aces, etc.

Isoko, have you found any resources for other MODEX with VF-103 in terms of pilot assignments? I've been working with a guy on the Discord who serviced AA-113 a lot on the 2004 final Tomcat cruise and really wanted to be able to get that aircraft done for him. I am pretty sure I have the right BuNO for the bird I just don't have pilot/RIO info.

Yeah about that.... Good news is the Viggen guys got some of the long standing wants, the RAT, pilot model in cockpit, and a new campaign. Tomcat just got a few bug fixes and RWR additions.

I think realistically the weight would have been a bigger issue, both for landing and launch. But hey, these are pixel planes, so challenge accepted!

I can't see a specific post or reply in the thread, but does the A-4E-C model have or support Roughmets? I tried to create a roughmet just to test and see but it didn't seem to "take".

Can't wait to plop a Tomcat on it!

It looks to me like he found that Marine Times article from a few years back. Or again, he's some boot who got tired of Gunny hitting him with the "Hey there Devil Dog"

The only guys that actually get all itchy about it anymore are boots. *cough*.

Oh my. I thought I'd heard there was an A-7E around but it seemed there was a reason it wasn't mentioned openly here. But would definitely love to see it since they were in use right up to the Gulf War alongside the F-14B and F/A-18.

Any idea of other models you might be planning if you can find them? There's a few more birds that don't appear to be on anyone's development radar that would help fill out the carrier environment back to the 80s: A-7E Corsair II F-4N or F-4S Phantom SH-3 Sea King I think the C-1 Provider maybe was still around in the 80s? With the Forrestal family and the A-6 and KA-6 coming down the pipe the 80s and onwards USN would be pretty well represented if we could get some more of the above.

Did you build that whole setup? Got a thread on how you went about it? Been strongly thinking about building a pit that I can still do all my regular games in, something like yours with an adjustable mouse tray and allowing the keyboard to flip out would be pretty neato. Also was thinking of using a cheap aluminum drag racing seat to get closer to that ejection seat feel.

With HB working on the Forrestal family, I'm now kind of sad nobody is doing Big John. Kennedy had -14s from 1974 with the Swordsmen and Tophatters for a really long time, hell the Swordsmen flew from her when they slapped those Libyan Mig-23s down. She was still around to be VF-103's last Tomcat cruise in 2004, on her final cruise. My old man also got his senior cruise on her in mid '72, even got a backseat ride with the Tophatters in an F-4B.

If I understand the TARPS correctly, something more "realistic" maybe after the TARPS bird lands and completes its sortie, the units "seen" in the visible area of the TARPS pod while active could be marked on the F10 map. You wouldn't want anything but static objects to be "live" icons because fog of war. You could probably simulate that right now with just scripts having an aircraft flyover a certain narrow zone over a target, and then just leave icons that classify the ground targets only after the recon bird has landed and then a timer. Obviously the cooler and more immersive way is tie actual screenshots in and have the data also populate to the F10 map or briefing screen, or even kneeboard.

That's why I think we should have both functionalities, something that integrates into a dynamic campaign and scripted campaigns or even standalone missions, but also a tool that can take that output so it can be used in dynamic missions as well, online OR offline.

I was adding that for servers that are running dynamic missions and/or had someone in a ZEUS type role, so you could have someone run a TARPS mission against an emplacement, airbase, objective, etc. and then assign a strike mission to players. Those players could then use or at least view the TARPS imagery for immersion and planning on what they need to bring along. For non-dynamic mission servers or campaigns, as long as the images are put somewhere the engine can grab and pull them from that would be nice. I figure this is the time to build the ideal case wishlist, and then we'll see how it pans out and what can even be done in the 2.x engine.

IronMike, is it possible even just to have a function where if the "target" unit or coordinate is in the viewfinder of the TARPS cameras you can have a mission objective flag? I guess the question is, did the TARPS pod provide live feed to the cockpit at all like a LANTIRN, or was it just an on/off trigger the RIO would engage when over the target? If it's the latter (or I guess even the former) then perhaps the model to propose to ED is that TARPS is given its own viewpoint or at least the same framework as a LANTIRN, but tie a screenshot function into it, which it then drops into a folder. Then ED would need to find a way to have the DCS client be able to access and display those images in-game under the mission briefing window. I figure you guys already have concepts as to how you'd like it to work and naturally ED is going to have to make moves to do it, I'm just spitballing. Maybe stage 1 is something that can just work for single player missions or campaigns to take screenshots from the TARPS pod's "view", and later as ED continues to work, a multiplayer function that can integrate with a live server is implemented. The Singleplayer one can still be used in MP for situations where a virtual squadron makes a new mission based off the success of each mission they do in a campaign, it just wouldn't work for live MP with dynamic missions until some additional integration is done.

[Released] V1.0 VF-32 : ENS Jesse Brown, F4U-4 of USS Leyte, October 1950 in action at Chosin https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3307191/

VF-32 skin is released and I've revamped the 1st post.