F-22A Raptor mod enhancement mod

[hubson]

Hi, it is one beautiful mod, I am very happy that you are improving it, Nightstorm. I am eagerly waiting for the mentioned  flight model tweaks.

As for the amraams, I've noticed that changing "go_active_by_default" to "1" in weapons.lua makes them effective as they suppose to. They work in tws too. Maybe they are pitbull right after launch this way, i don't know how to test it. Anyway, kind of satisfying for single player at least, 100% kill.

[Nightstorm]

1 hour ago, hubson said:

Hi, it is one beautiful mod, I am very happy that you are improving it, Nightstorm. I am eagerly waiting for the mentioned  flight model tweaks.

As for the amraams, I've noticed that changing "go_active_by_default" to "1" in weapons.lua makes them effective as they suppose to. They work in tws too. Maybe they are pitbull right after launch this way, i don't know how to test it. Anyway, kind of satisfying for single player at least, 100% kill.

 

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. 

[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

Edited April 19, 2021 by Nightstorm

[hubson]

Oh my god, we need bigger maps now..  Great work!

[Mith86Arg]

2 hours ago, Nightstorm said:

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

 

 

 

Thanks! 

[BRAVO_16]

Fantastic!  Thank you.

 

What do I do with the 'MissionEditor' folder?

[Mith86Arg]

1 hour ago, BRAVO_16 said:

Fantastic!  Thank you.

 

What do I do with the 'MissionEditor' folder?

 

Everything goes on the (xxx)\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta folder

[FoxHoundELite]

thanks. The AIM-120D is working as intended

[Nightstorm]

One thing I forgot to mention.  I have another mod for the RWR database.  Which, thankfully is still accessible in DCS 2.7.  I've updated that mod for 2.7.  The idea was to allow for F22's and F35's to show up correctly and not as a <U>

 

Here's the mod:

 

DCS RWR Symbology (digitalcombatsimulator.com)

[Nightstorm]

5 hours ago, BRAVO_16 said:

Fantastic!  Thank you.

 

What do I do with the 'MissionEditor' folder?

You've got a couple of options:

 

The F22 mod has the following folder:  \Mods\aircraft\F-22A\UnitPayloads\  

That folder has an F-22A.lua which is the default payload selections for the Raptor.  You can replace that file.

 

Or you can place it here:

 

\MissionEditor\UnitPayloads\

 

That folder (also under Saved Games) is where any and all of your customized payloads are stored for various aircraft.  The F-15C one should go here if you want to use the new missiles on the Eagle.  The F22 one can go in either or both.  If the files are different from each other, for example you kept the original F22 loadout in the F22's folder but placed the custom one here, then you will see all loadout options that have different names, even if they are the same loadout.  It won't hurt anything either way.

 

 

[Jerec]

I I get this message.

[MEBF109]

4 minutes ago, Jerec said:

I I get this message.

IT suposed to go in your User/(xxx)/Saved Games/DCS.openbeta/mods/aircraft

Edited April 19, 2021 by MEBF109

[Nightstorm]

See the installation instructions here:  DCS F-22A Raptor Mod by GrinnelliDesigns | FSOutlet - Flight Sim Outlet

 

Make sure that you have Grinenelli's mod up and working before attempting to use my mod.  My mod IS NOT a replacement for the original.  It has many changes though and a few additions but still requires the original.

[dwalk]

Hi, 

 

Been scrounging around the interwebs trying to find a way to remove the pylons that the fuel tanks attach to and stumbled upon this thread. For some reason I can't remove them regardless of which payload I select. 

 

Love all the work you've done on the already amazing Grinelli mod, but still haven't been able to find an answer to my original conundrum. If anyone here has some insight I would appreciate the help. Gracias.

 

 

 

 

As you can see the pylons are still there. Not sure what's causing this.

 

 

 

[Nightstorm]

From what I've seen that's just in the load out editor view.  In mission the pylons are not there unless you have the fuel tanks.  And as to why they're showing up in the load out view, no idea.  I thought I'd seen them for other aircraft too and went back to check.  Yep.  I'd say that its working as intended by ED.

 

See the empty F-16C.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Nightstorm

[dwalk]

42 minutes ago, Nightstorm said:

From what I've seen that's just in the load out editor view.  In mission the pylons are not there unless you have the fuel tanks.  And as to why they're showing up in the load out view, no idea.  I thought I'd seen them for other aircraft too and went back to check.  Yep.  I'd say that its working as intended by ED.

 

See the empty F-16C.

 

Yeah, I just noticed the same thing.

 

If you could do me a favor and sign my "i'm an idiot" card, I'd appreciate it lol. Thanks

[Nightstorm]

10 hours ago, dwalk said:

Yeah, I just noticed the same thing.

 

If you could do me a favor and sign my "i'm an idiot" card, I'd appreciate it lol. Thanks

Hey, no worries.  Lots of changes.  The new load out view is nice though.

[Nightstorm]

A few changes the last couple of days;

 

I've created two versions of the reflection.dds file as it's opacity is what determines if the displays are reflective or not.  I've put them in two folders in the .\F-22A\Cockpit\Scripts\IndicationTextures\Backup folder.  The default is reflections enabled.  If you don't want them just copy the other to IndicationTextures folder.

 

The code will call that file for the background on all displays either way.  So I eliminated the other two scripts folder archives.

 

Some MFD page changes:

 

Engine page - changed the afterburner RPM color from orange to yellow.  Most of the references I've found show green/yellow/red on those readouts and the EGT already was yellow.  I thing yellow is a good way of saying "caution" you're in AB and burning fuel like there's no tomorrow.

 

Weapons Bay page - I restored the word THRUST instead of RPM for those indicators as the references all show that it says THRUST there even though it's the RMP display from the engine page /shrug.  I've also color matched those for yellow in AB instead of orange.

 

GROUND SAFE - being yellow makes sense to me.  Because you master arm switch may be on but weapons are still safe because of weight on wheels.  But you might want to check.

WEAPONS SAFE - Is now green.  Green is good.

WEAPONS ARMED - is now red.  Because red means danger.  When you pull the trigger something is gonna happen....probably.

 

 

Those changes affect both versions.

 

For the single player version, I've added external stores on the wing pylons of the Raptor if you choose to use them.  I've created a separate small mod to get all of the new missiles to work on the pylons.  Details here and links below them.

 

External stores for the F-22A Raptor.

The Raptor is capable of mounting external missiles on it's wing pylons.  The main lua file has already been updated for this.

By default it can mount the existing stock missiles on LAU-115/LAU-127 luanchers.

AIM-120B
AIM-120C-5

In order to mount the new missiles it requries a minor modification of a main install folder file and an edit to the F-22A's entry.lua.

There are two folders containedl:

CoreMods and F-22A.

The CoreMods should be copied to your main DCS Open Beta install folder.  It will add the A2A_Missiles.lua to that folder and replace the entry.lua which has one line added to it to call the A2A_Missiles.lua.  This will not work from saved games.  The new missiles are ignored for the external stores.

To prevent calling the A2A_Missiles.lua twice, which may or may not cause an issue, there is a modified entry.lua in the F-22A folder.  Replace the one in your F-22A mod folder in your DCS saved games.  It simply comments out the call for the A2A_Missiles.lua since it will be called in the AircraftWeaponPack.

Now you'll be able to mount four more missiles to wing pylons on the Raptor.

Operational note:

The SMS page is only designed for 8 missile stations and will not show the stores on the wings.
The HUD will show the stores on the wings however, if you mount the same type of stores on the wings and in the internal bay, the wings will be selected first and will have to be fired before the internal bay can be selected.
External missiles will fire left wing first and then right wing much the same as the interal AIM-9 bays.

Beyond that they work fine.  I've tested all types.

Available missiles:

AIM-9M
AIM-9X
AIM-9X3
AIM-120A
AIM-120B
AIM-120C-5
AIM-120C-7
AIM-120D

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0iahwuoozbqk5t/F-22A Single Player.7z?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/47d2gu21874torf/F-22A Multi Player.7z?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zia323bvadtkznl/F-22A External Weapons.7z?dl=0

 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Nightstorm

[sanc2775]

My toy doesn't show inside my game what m I'm doing wrong?

 

[sanc2775]

What m,i doing wrong guys why my plane doesnt show up?

[Nightstorm]

I don't know what to tell you.

 

I'll just repeat what I said the last time you were having problems.

 

Install the base F22 mod.  Found here:  DCS F-22A Raptor Mod by GrinnelliDesigns | FSOutlet - Flight Sim Outlet

 

Does it work?

 

If it does, then you should be able install these files on top of it if that's what you wan to do.

 

If it doesn't, you've got another problem.  Uninstall any other mods, do a repair and try again.

 

The fact that the plane isn't rendered at all, would seem to indicate that it can't find the model.  If you only installed my mod....it can't possibly work as it requires the original from Grinnelli.

[G.J.S]

4 hours ago, sanc2775 said:

What m,i doing wrong guys why my plane doesnt show up?

 

The F-22 shows up in the loadout screen for me . . . I'm going to say you likely have installed something that has ar5ed your installation, or NOT installed something that you should have, try a repair.

 

*See the last sentence that Nightstorm wrote above . . . . I'm guessing he may have it . . . 

Edited April 22, 2021 by G.J.S

[sanc2775]

Well i installed the Grinnell model first like you said, and I overwrite your after, but nothing worked my friend still have the same issue.

[Nightstorm]

On 4/22/2021 at 1:11 AM, sanc2775 said:

Well i installed the Grinnell model first like you said, and I overwrite your after, but nothing worked my friend still have the same issue.

I saw that you posted over in the A-29 mod thread with the same issue.  I would suggest that there is something wrong with your install.  Remove all mods, do a repair.  Install just one mod without changes and see if it works.  Move forward from there in small increments.

 

When I updated to 2.7 I figured that some mods wouldn't work any longer or even worse cause crashes.  And they did.  So I removed everything tested the base game.  

 

Then I installed saved game mods a few at at a time, test again.  Good, add some more.  Bad?  Figure out which one doesn't work and skip it for now.

 

Do the same thing with any mods to the core game files.

 

That's my best advice.  Modding isn't an exact science and requires some patience.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Nightstorm

[dwalk]

Howdy nerds,

 

Might any of you know where I can find a more in depth explanation of the different FCS modes, their effects and function, and when it's best to use them?

 

Much gracias