Could we see a little preview of the -A liveries..?

[ShinyMikey]

Hey HB, I was wondering f you might show a little preview of some of the -A liveries. I'm curious about which squadrons will be coming with the A model. Also do you think you might add a couple more default -B liveries (I have tons of F-14 skins, but default ones are better so that everyone on the server can see what you're wearing)?

 

Also, thank you for all the hard work on the Tomcat. I'm an F-14 lover since way way back, and I've been flying and fighting in the HB tomcat almost every day since March 2019 :pilotfly:

[LanceCriminal86]

I'd expect later -A skins than the cool 70s High-vis ones. The problem with the B is that there really weren't a ton of them in use during the time periods HB is representing. Two squadrons only had them for a few years (211 and 24) before transitioning back to A models. So you're basically looking at VF-11, 32, 74, 101, 102, 103 before and after assuming the JR name, 142, 143, and then some test birds with Pacific Missile Test Center and the VX squadrons. And they've already included a decent sample from those squadrons so I'd probably only anticipate seeing a few more "line" jets here and there if we get anything. Maybe someday Camel Smoker and Thief of Baghdad but some more model work needs to be done to make sure the camo patterns look right (various parts here and there mirrored left/right would need to be separated).

 

I spent a whole bunch of time researching what other B model skins we're missing and honestly, it's just more MODEX here and there of the exact same schemes. Most of the squadrons listed went through significant changes of scheme from the early-mid-late 90s. VF-32 basically looked the exact same from 1992 all the way through OEF/OIF. 101 was a RAG squadron. VF-11 basically just stuck with the same getup like VF-32 with some minor changes to the CAG/CO jets. VF-103 and 143 did have a few style changes but again a bunch of those are already represented.

 

The dynamic MODEX issue is what we are waiting for from HB, as they already said it's going to be hard to implement a generic MODEX that works for most squadrons. I've also heard concern that trying to have multiple MODEX styles like the Hornet might be very resource intensive. Once that hits each squadron should be fine with a CAG/CO bird and a generic line jet skin for MOST people, except the rivet counter nerds like me that love having a full 10-12 jets with every MODEX to BuNO correct from a certain period of time, at the expense of 65% of my SSD (only partly joking).

 

If you need a fix for that early look A model, look up YaeSakura's stuff on Userfiles. I've been feeding him research and we've been sharing photos and stencil references, down to correct BuNOs per MODEX. He's been churning out some awesome stuff lately and redoing stuff as his skills increase and we get more research done.

 

I'm personally hoping to knock out some reserve A models, who knows if they might pass muster someday. It's not easy when you can't go out and scan a jet from 1998.

[ShinyMikey]

I actually prefer the later low-vis type line jets to the early A styles. For either the A or the B I would hope to eventually get some dynamic modex numbers..I have large sets for vf-213, vf-31, vf-102 (99 and OEF), and vf-143 and they do take up a lot of drive space.

[LanceCriminal86]

You should see my template folders where I keep all my skins, the templates, and the duplicated templates that I stripped out and dedicated to VF-201 which is now as big if not bigger than the original Heatblur template lol. On top of that my actual DCS directory with the finished skins, with custom roughmets and all that jazz!

 

A while back they said they are intending to represent each of the squadrons, but since I figured the attention would be more on the main fleet squadrons I've been working hard on VF-201 and eventually will do VF-202. Like other devs I believe HB are open to incorporating skins as official ones, they just need to be researched and accurate as possible, and up to their standards of quality. I've made that my goal, and @Ensamvarg has been a great mentor and resource on skinning the Tomcat.

 

I'm certain whatever he's got coming for the A is going to be absolutely awesome!

[WolfHound009]

I wanna see some 70s hi viz liveries with the -A

[WolfHound009]

Does anyone know any good tutorials for DCS skinning, particularly for the F-14?

[LanceCriminal86]

There's not really a tutorial per-se for the F-14. It's a template you have to jump in and learn, the hard way, all of its quirks.

 

You're going to want a LOT of ram and Photoshop. GIMP has issues with the template.

 

You're going to need a lot of patience.

 

The EXT 1 and 3 textures are "backwards" as is the right wing. So any text will need to flipped horizontally.

 

The tails have a significant shift from where it goes from the VSTAB to the actual rudder, that you have to shift any designs to make the transition seamless.

 

 

One of these days I was thinking about trying to stream or records some of the tough parts of the Tomcat and some tips but school and work take priority right now.

[WolfHound009]

There's not really a tutorial per-se for the F-14. It's a template you have to jump in and learn, the hard way, all of its quirks.

 

You're going to want a LOT of ram and Photoshop. GIMP has issues with the template.

 

You're going to need a lot of patience.

 

The EXT 1 and 3 textures are "backwards" as is the right wing. So any text will need to flipped horizontally.

 

The tails have a significant shift from where it goes from the VSTAB to the actual rudder, that you have to shift any designs to make the transition seamless.

 

 

One of these days I was thinking about trying to stream or records some of the tough parts of the Tomcat and some tips but school and work take priority right now.

 

Thanks for the advice! If you do decide to record the tougher parts of the Tomcat I’d love to see it.

[Swordsman422]

Yeah, the tails are tricky, especially when the artwork covers both the rudder and vertical tail. When we say you need photoshop, you need a fairly current version, too. CS4 suite has issues reading some of the layers as corrupted, especially on the tail. Except for one side, I had the rivets and stiffeners missing and had to rebuild them.

 

My recommendation, make yourself a blank template of the base livery you want to work with first, transplant it into your livery folder, and then add markings one file at a time. Test every time you make a change. When you make changes, the final thing you should do is merge visible layers and save as .dds but don't close Photoshop. The easiest thing to do is use Photoshop's step backward function after testing if you need to make changes.

 

Good luck.

[Uxi]

Every livery doesn't need to be dynamic. Just one or two would do nicely. VF-84 would be an easy choice.

[Swordsman422]

Someone would raise hell that their own requested livery wasn't dynamic. Just because VF-84 is "everyone's" favorite doesn't mean it should be the only. All liveries should be equally supported.

[Uxi]

Well it could be the Diamondbacks or whatever else. Or even two or three. Expecting them to support one or two is realistic. Expecting them to support every variation all at once is not realistic and we'll be waiting a long long time if that's the criteria.

 

Seems the most popular ones first and then others later is not unreasonable.

 

The others could still be available by the livery creators as statics in the meantime.

[Swordsman422]

I wouldn't say the most popular liveries should be handled first, but if they were to do it this way, the most "standard" modex placement that would cover the broadest options of subjects. That's assuming the atrocious kerning issue can also be handled, or the very common italicized modex numbers will look awful.

[Nealius]

Yeah I'm hoping we get dynamic Modexes for the squadrons. Fixed modexes for one or two (e.g. CAG), then one generic with a dynamic modex for each squadron.