Flight Model & Avionics Predicament

[Roger Hedrick]

I have spent a multitude of hours researching how I can try to edit the avionics and flight model of the CJS Super Hornet. Alas, I have had little to no success. I’m at a loss right now, and I would really appreciate some help. I know little to nothing about coding or computers, so this is all very confusing to me. From all my research, I found that the player flight model for the hornet (also used by the CJS Super Hornet) is a professional flight model. This PFM is a .DLL file and is encrypted. I heard the avionics are also encrypted (probably also in a DLL file [i never found it so I wouldn’t know]). 
 

Can someone help? I got DCS for my 15th birthday in July, and I found the Super Hornet a while ago. I just really want to make the flight model more like a Super Hornet. 
 

If someone knows how to edit these DLL files(idk if that’s legal. Is it?) please teach me. Or maybe if someone knows how, you could edit it for me I suppose? Maybe a developer could help me, someone with knowledge and authorization?
 

Please, I just really want this. I know the Hornet and Super Hornet are really similar, but I love the little details. I love small changes that make each aircraft different, even if it’s two variants of the same aircraft. I love dogfighting, and I’ve heard of the AoA and slow speed performance of the Super Hornet being even better than the Legacy Hornet. I’d love to experience that. I don’t intend to sell or pirate the DLL files or anything. I know they took years of research and development, and I deeply revere that dedication. I would never steal that work. I’m not trying to pay anyone for this, and I don’t expect someone to help. I’m not entitled to help. However, I just wanted to reach out and see if I can find the right person who wants to help me. All I want is to fly the Super Hornet with my little brother and my friend. Please help, I’m out of ideas.

Also, if anyone does help, here are the changes I would love to see:

Decreased RCS to around 0.1-0.5 m²       (I think it’s in the .lua but I’ll put it in just to be safe)

Increased radar detection range.      (The AN/APG-73 did 60nm, but the AN/APG-79 does 80nm; I can detect a plane sooner than Legacy Hornet can)

More consistent Radar STT lock      (DCS Legacy Hornet loses STT lock a lot; appears to almost be intermittent at times)

Increased thrust       (to emulate increased subsonic acceleration)

Better AoA performance        (Legacy Hornet flew at max 35^o AoA; Super Hornet allegedly has higher max AoA; 20% better seems like a good estimate)

Increased lift       (Better slow speed characteristics; more control at low speeds; 20% better seems good)

Increased pitch rate       (Nose pitches up or down quicker and with more control; maybe 7^o faster)

Increased survivable G load       (requires higher G-force to break wings off airframe)

 

(If I over-explained, I’m sorry. I just don’t know if I used the right aviation terms and want to make sure I’m understood properly)

Edited March 22, 2023 by Roger Hedrick

[razo+r]

The only one who can edit these DLLs is the one who created it, in this case ED. Nobody else has access to it. And ED has no plans as of yet to do a Super Hornet, so you're at a dead end here. 

If you want to know how legal it would be to edit the DLL, read the EULA. 

[Roger Hedrick]

42 minutes ago, razo+r said:

The only one who can edit these DLLs is the one who created it, in this case ED. Nobody else has access to it. And ED has no plans as of yet to do a Super Hornet, so you're at a dead end here. 

Are any ED employees willing to edit some of the lines to do that? I’m not asking for a complete flight model for the Super Hornet airframe. I’m just asking for them to slightly modify the existing DLL. 
 

Is any one of them willing?

[Rudel_chw]

2 hours ago, Roger Hedrick said:

(idk if that’s legal. Is it?)

 

It breaks the license agreement that you acepted when installing DCS, see article 3.1.b   ... and asking ED employees to do it for you is not a nice move, as they could be jeopardizing their jobs.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Rudel_chw

[Roger Hedrick]

23 minutes ago, Rudel_chw said:

 

It breaks the license agreement that you acepted when installing DCS, see article 3.1.b   ... and asking ED employees to do it for you is not a nice move, as they could be jeopardizing their jobs.

 

Oh I didn’t know that was a thing. I didn't know that they aren’t allowed to tweak the flight models. Well, is there any way to create a more basic flight model? Not a simple flight model, but something more complex.

[cubanace]

3 hours ago, Roger Hedrick said:

Oh I didn’t know that was a thing. I didn't know that they aren’t allowed to tweak the flight models. Well, is there any way to create a more basic flight model? Not a simple flight model, but something more complex.

You would need to create your own EFM flight model and set of systems for your super hornet but then you will loose all advance sensors and smart weapons, so yeah its a dead end.

 

[Roger Hedrick]

6 hours ago, cubanace said:

You would need to create your own EFM flight model and set of systems for your super hornet but then you will loose all advance sensors and smart weapons, so yeah its a dead end.

 

Wait. You’re the one who made the SU-57 mod. I presume that means you know a lot about this then. Do you know how I could learn to create an EFM with some avionics?

[Ithronwise]

The last thread where you asked for changing the flight model (which is property of ED as I already wrote in that thread) was deleted because trying to get information about how to get access to the flight model was a violation of licence rights. If ED don't want anyone but themselves to change their flight models, then you can't go over it.
The flight models of all official modules (and also of the standalone community mods) are the result of years of hard work, research and testing. All these things cost a lot of money and (in case of ED and the 3rd party developers) the only way to get this money back (to pay their employees for example) is to sell modules based on these flight models. If they would give information about their flight models to everyone who asks for it, they would give away the basis of their business and would be bankrupt very soon.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Ithronwise

[Rudel_chw]

13 hours ago, Roger Hedrick said:

is there any way to create a more basic flight model? Not a simple flight model, but something more complex.

 

I'm sure that it is feasible, as the developers of the A-4E Mod have done, but I have no idea about the technical aspects involved as I'm not a developer, just a user.

[AdrianL]

13 hours ago, Roger Hedrick said:

Well, is there any way to create a more basic flight model?

The A-4C mod has an EFM, which you can see the source for here https://github.com/heclak/community-a4e-c/tree/master/A-4E-C/ExternalFM 
Lot of C++ code and not for the faint hearted. Why a lot of mods use the FC3 flight models.

[Copprhead]

The A-4E has a rather simple flight model compared to a F-18:

- no fly-by-wire 

- only subsonic

Both aspects greatly increase the complexity of the flight model.

Not even speaking of the avionics and MFDs.

 

Note that every month someone (often people allegedly with some 3d modeling and coding background) wants to add a realistic full fidelity super hornet to dcs. So far there is none. 

[Roger Hedrick]

6 hours ago, Copprhead said:

The A-4E has a rather simple flight model compared to a F-18:

- no fly-by-wire 

- only subsonic

Both aspects greatly increase the complexity of the flight model.

Not even speaking of the avionics and MFDs.

 

Note that every month someone (often people allegedly with some 3d modeling and coding background) wants to add a realistic full fidelity super hornet to dcs. So far there is none. 

Well, I have a decent bit of free time between clubs and schoolwork, so I’m willing to devote time to this. If I could learn how to code the EFM and avionics, I’d be willing to do it. I put things on hold, but I never really give up. 

So if you or anyone else know where to start and where to go to learn all this, that’d be great!

[dSAF Dancer]

35 minutes ago, Roger Hedrick said:

So if you or anyone else know where to start and where to go to learn all this, that’d be great!

if you want to start into coding an external flight model you have to study quite deep into equations of motion and fluid dynamics as far as I know and you need to learn to code in c++, so if you want to start going in that direction thats where you have to start studying. Then you need to get access to wind tunnel data or alternatively CFD data for the aircraft you want to model.

 

If you have all these basics then you can start looking into other open source flight models like the one of the a-4 that was already linked above

[MaxGladio]

2023/3/23 AM6点31分，razo+r说：

The only one who can edit these DLLs is the one who created it, in this case ED. Nobody else has access to it. And ED has no plans as of yet to do a Super Hornet, so you're at a dead end here. 

If you want to know how legal it would be to edit the DLL, read the EULA. 

Does this mean that I cannot view or edit this DLL? And I'd like to know what FM.dll(for example) is used for in the mod and how I can create it myself, as I want to ceate my own mod. If you can provide me with some advice,that would be great.