britgliderpilot

Well I got the screenshot by pressing the Print Screen button, but I assume you mean the loadout screen background . . . . There's a texture that fits in the background. By default it's a bright blue, square texture . . . . at the stage of that screenshot I was experimenting and hadn't twigged it was square. Had to find a nice screenie, deliberately mess up the aspect ratio, and then reinsert it. I have to admit that the discovery wasn't mine, someone else discovered it for another menu mod. But it does look much better than the blue.

No, it's not a sign that ED are trying to sort out a dynamic campaign for Black Shark. They ARE working on a new and better mission editor that might help pave the way for such a campaign . . . . but it won't be at that level for Black Shark release.

Good spot! IIRC, 79 (along with 109) is a Sukhoi prototype/demonstrator that didn't enter squadron service. Given that those photos were taken during carrier trials, you'd expect there to be some detail differences . . . . . the flat-topped tails is something I'd never seen. Oh, and obligatory Navy Supermod screenies and download link: http://www.lockonskins.co.uk/?page=downloads&cat=109 :D Expect a newer, better version of this idea from me or Alfa after Black Shark release :)

No, that's a coding issue and as such is not moddable by the community. Plus the undercarriage would need to be upgraded to Su25UTG standards. Not sure what the information is regarding the nav systems, either - the carrier landing avionics would be all-important for this aircraft. It'd be great to see - I for one would love a naval addon for Lomac with an AFM Su33 and an Su25UTG. However . . . . as others have pointed out, there are far more pressing priorities for Lomac. Fixing what's present and then adding in a more complex mission generator, for a start. A new toy is all well and good - but if the other aircraft in the game are still handicapped by a clunky mission-building system, limited replayability, and dodgy weapons modelling then I don't think it's worth doing. Black Shark won't do as much in these regards as some would like, but there's an awful lot going on behind the scenes to pave the way for it in the future.

:P Having said that, I've been spending some time at The Other Place, and I'm afraid I have to admit that the-rotary-winged-one and crew can actually be hilarious in their element. Shame things got too serious over there, neither place is the same since.

Crossfire refers to a card that can be linked to another card (assuming you have a private power station and two PCI-E slots on your motherboard) to increase your PC's graphics power. The X1950 family comes at various speeds - I think the XTX is the fastest at the moment, but IIRC the Crossfire tag could apply to any of them.

Funnily enough, the trial version doesn't show the video playing while scrolling through the screens. . . . . it's damn cool, though. Think I might just buy it.

I've got one - I replaced an X800XL with it. Seems the limiting factor is still my CPU in Lomac, but otherwise it's handling almost everything I can throw at it. Half-Life 2 and Far Cry are both maxed out, FEAR needed to be turned down a bit. It's definitely worth looking at, but the Nvidia drivers and shadow bugs are beginning to annoy me. And I have a sneaking suspicion that ATI may prove cheaper. Compare the cost with a similar speed ATI card (think the X1950 Pro is the closest in performance terms), and see what comes out on top. Performance bracket seems good for the moment, though. The 8800GTX is way too expensive, and the GTS model is still up there. You'll certainly notice the difference over a 6600GT . . . . grin.

It's all about CPU power. Lomac won't strictly make use of dual core CPUs, but the new Intel Core 2 Duos still stand head and shoulders above anything else. I'm running an E6400 at 2.5GHz (up from 2.13GHz as standard), and it's coping very well - an overclocked E6700 or X6800 might crack Lomac :) However . . . . just as the AFM and high detail 3D model of the Su25T decreased performance in Flaming Cliffs, so the more complex helicopter AFM and even more detailed Ka50 model will affect performance in Black Shark.

I imagine he saw the thread and exploded out of pure excitement. . . . alternatively, he's off getting stoned somewhere :P

Not as a simulation, or in terms of graphics. Gameplay remains to be seen - I've heard very good things about EECH and dynamic campaigns.

Hmmn. Is there any kind of effect that guy DIDN'T use in that movie? :P

This man has listened to the official statements! He's right, though - the main focus of Black Shark will be the helicopter. It's going to take long enough to get that done. There is a finite amount of manpower at Eagle, and adding AFM is something that takes a lot of work. Having to wait is just a reality . . . . there is just no way to add AFM to the other aircraft that quickly.

I'm going to be surprised if the Joint Strike Fighter isn't mysteriously found to supercruise when it arrives . . . . certainly with internal weapons, although it's open to debate how much it'll operate with or without pylons. With this level of sensor fusion, stealth, and AMRAAM, I really wouldn't be worried about it being a really VERY capable A2A aircraft. Certainly better than the Hornet or Super Hornet. With today's systems I think you probably could use a single multirole aircraft satisfactorily - train one squadron in A2A, whack external pylons and SDBs on the other squadron and train it for A2G/CAS. Still worried about the range on the JSF . . . perhaps with external tanks on strike-tasked aircraft it'd be better, but even so . . .

Combustion chamber isn't the problem - because the flame burns slowly you burn it within a stream of faster moving air, effectively insulates the combustion chamber walls. The problem is the first stage turbine - which actually comes into direct contact with the hot gases. They're up to and above 2000 Kelvin now, not much more is possible with metal (even air-cooled and ceramic-coated), and AFAIK ceramic is still too brittle. There are certainly advances to be made, but they're incremental at this point. Putting F-119/F-135/EJ200 tech into a commercial engine is still possible, and expect to see it a couple of years down the line. Don't know of anything truly revolutionary in the pipeline at the moment. Just further advances of the turbine concepts. The obvious problem with nuclear engines was the fallout and the shielding. Difficult. Hydrogen-fuelled engines work for zero-emissions, but then you have the problems of carrying refrigerated liquid hydrogen. Not to mention the problems of actually producing all that hydrogen in the first place . . . .

Huh. Interesting. You might be aware that we were complaining about the same sort of thing with regards to the F-35 software suite - integrating weapons, working out bugs, that kind of thing. Think it was under these rules we weren't allowed access to the source code. We were promised access by a couple of Presidents, but the Senate managed to hold it up somehow. Bizarre how close allies can't work together like this. As regards Australia . . . . the F-22 is unstoppable, and a squadron of those would protect Australia extremely well in the air defence role. However . . . . the Super Bug or the JSF should do as well against projected threats for far fewer bucks. Every other Western power assumes the same - see Rafale, Gripen, Typhoon, Lightning II, Super Hornet, maybe even modernised F-15E . . . . they're all more than good enough for air defence. What Australia has difficulty with is a long-range strike aircraft to replace the Aardvark. And they're in trouble there, because there really isn't much in that role right now. Either way . . . . the F-22 doesn't fill that role for them. It would be a waste of money - it would fail to fill the hole.

The limiting factor for Lomac (and of course Black Shark) is still the CPU - the clever Crossfire arrangements still can't deal with large numbers of units. Get a Core 2 Duo motherboard and an X6800 as well. And then overclock it :P

More flexible mission goals and triggers are the beginnings of a much more capable mission system - and yes, it would make the missions much more interestin. Are you aware that a new mission editor is being written for Black Shark? I've seen part of the wish list for features on the new one, and it seems to me that ED have a pretty solid idea about what can be improved over the current editor :)

You "just happened" to be looking through MiG-15 weapons systems schematics the other day? Pffffft . . . . . . I want your job, dude :P

Yes - you load the aircraft asymmetrically, so that the pairs of pylons have different types of bombs on. Otherwise, no, you're forced to drop in pairs. You can drop individual weapons from the Su25T inner pylons in Flaming Cliffs, too.

On a long straight road, admittedly, there's not much you can do against 8 litres of V10 . . . . . British roads, though, are bumpy (something to do with a rubbish gubberment, I dunno), narrow (something to do with having a history longer than two hundred years), and actually have corners in. The pussycat would eat the snake for breakfast over here :P

Well the Ka50 is going to be the most highly detailed helicopter simulation I can think of - the helicopter in itself is spectacular in it's detail. You can catch a glimpse of how much more detailed by watching the videos available, but that really doesn't give you the full picture ;) If the rest of FC was left untouched and a hugely detailed AFM helicopter was added, you'd still have a fantastically enjoyable sim - but ED are going beyond that. Have patience - the end result is going to kick arse ;) Interesting note on the F-22s - seems they haven't quite sorted out all those software problems still . . . .

Well we built it (in one of our rare shows of co-operation with our cross-channel friends), and we pronounce it Jag-yoo-arr ;) Not sure how the French pronounce it. Probably something like "Shag-wooarr". The 'Merrikan way has always seemed slightly gutteral to me. Entirely unsuited to both the animal and the car, both of which slink around quietly and occasionally very fast indeed :P I did try pitting two battalions against one another in Lomac . . . . and yeah, it did crumple a bit. Smaller groups required just for CPU to cope, methinks. But hey, that was 140+ vehicles.

The minimum rotor RPM for the Ka50 as marked on the dials in the BS cockpit is 80% - is this the same as the Ka32? Seems odd that min rotor speed is less than that at which the generators cut out. Not that you'd get there in normal operation, requires seriously heavy loads or single-engine operation . . . .

Quite a surprising amount - I was bored over my year in industry and looked it up. Look here for a start: http://aerostories.free.fr/technique/J58/J58_01/page8.html edit - I can only find the first part of that article in English - but if you click the PDF link at the top, you can get the technical section, as a .pdf, in French. If you're feeling brave, then there's some good stuff in there. 16 pages of it ;) "SR-71 - The Secret Missions" by Paul Crickmore might have more - it's a wealth of information on the Blackbird. I know there's a copy in my Uni library - you checked yours? The really interesting part is the intake system. You can find stuff on it, but for supersonic VG intakes the Olympus and associated nacelle arrangements are probably easier to find stuff on.