A Lockheed "Rounder"

[Milton Shupe]

Hi,
I admit I did add a couple of things to a panel and was told off by Milton ! but this time I behaved and just downloaded and installed the latest version ( ** Full Replacement for all previous Releases, Fixes, and Upgrades as of October 14, 2015 **) and have found the Autopilot strange..in the 2D view none of it's lights come on and in the VC in the upper section above the screen is the Autopilot on which one lights does come when engaged; above that is an altitude setting panel which doesn't seem to do anything and I would appreciate assistance, as usual.
The other thing is, are these beautiful repaints coming along seem to be for FSX only, so I align myself with Tom Gibson and enquire about any FS9 skins coming along.
Andy.

In all fairness Andy, when you check out a beta release, you should not be changing it before testing and reporting. Now that you have the final release, change as you like.

 

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,
You're quite right, and I can be a thoughtless fellow a lot of the time, so I apologise unreservedly for my messing about . But this time I'm being serious!; I've touched nothing on the panel..perhaps I should d/load the Lodestar again.

Andy.


@Willy...is it possible to add in a 'how to redo for FS9' note in the Texture folder at all?
A.

 

[Willy]

Hi,
@Willy...is it possible to add in a 'how to redo for FS9' note in the Texture folder at all?
A.

Andy, in the readme file, are some basic instructions for it near the top of the text file. But I'll expand on it with some more detail in a separate file.

Willy

 

[Milton Shupe]

Hi,
I admit I did add a couple of things to a panel and was told off by Milton ! but this time I behaved and just downloaded and installed the latest version ( ** Full Replacement for all previous Releases, Fixes, and Upgrades as of October 14, 2015 **) and have found the Autopilot strange..in the 2D view none of it's lights come on and in the VC in the upper section above the screen is the Autopilot on which one lights does come when engaged; above that is an altitude setting panel which doesn't seem to do anything and I would appreciate assistance, as usual.
The other thing is, are these beautiful repaints coming along seem to be for FSX only, so I align myself with Tom Gibson and enquire about any FS9 skins coming along.
Andy.

I assume you are talking about the Lodestar? in FS9? Using Windows 7 or earlier?

The autopilot is an older type that works more like a heading/altitude hold setup so yes, it works a bit differently.

The 2D autopilot does not have lights. Tool tips will indicate status.

In the VC, I added indicator lights to show status as a convenience.

The only light that does not come on in the VC autopilot is the FD light as there is no FD support for this aircraft, so it does not engage.
If you want it, change the aircraft.cfg in the Autopilot section, statement flight_director_available = 0 to be a 1.

The Altitude Setting works fine for me. Once the ALT Hold switch is on, set the altitude selector to desired altitude and the aircraft will climb or descend at the default rate.

Hope this helps.

 

[Willy]

I'll have to admit that until recently I preferred the 2d panels. But with the Lodestar, I don't even use it. I've thought about just taking it out.

The only user issue I've had with it was tuning the ADF radios until I figured it out. As for the AP, I use the one in the overhead. Sperry and I have never been friends. As far as I'm concerned, the Sperry AP just takes up valuable space in the panel.

 

[Milton Shupe]

Well, I have to apologize to all of you who fly our products. I have not had a panel and gauge programmer since the C-1A project started back in early 2012. I have had to cobble together panels and gauges the best I can with some help from the texture artists when gauge faces needed to be changed, or a panel texture needed to be done. So, as a result, my panels and gauges are a bit long in the tooth and not done the way they should be done. But, I will continue as long as there are good people here who will help and you all can tolerate these very basic panel setups. I am neither a texture artist nor an xml programmer but can do the basic stuff.

 

[Willy]

Milton, I really don't think it was a major issue with the ADF radios. Just took me a few minutes fiddling with it to figure it out. And you have a "stockroom" full of quality gauges to select from. You have nothing to apologize for!

 

[wbuchart]

A Lockheed "Round

This is an awesome place to be, for sure, with all the talent running about. Thanks to all of you who make SOH great!

Here's the basic list I have since 2011. It does not include some of my small collaborations for flight models; may have forgotten some. List does not include a host of AI or MP variants or CFS2 collaborations.

A-20 Havoc	Next Up
Beech D18S	Beechcraft D18S FSX Portover
Aero Commanders	AC500CA1, AC500vc1, AC500W, AC520v3, AC560vc3, AC680v3 FSX Portover
Aero Commanders	AC680S VC Redo - WIP
Avia 51	Avia51 Wheels, Floats, Amphibian
Avia156	Avia156 Wheels
Avia56	Avia56 Wheels, Amphibian, Floats, Skis
Avia57	Wheels, Floats
Consolidated PB4Y-2	with Tankerguy - Still A WIP
Lockheed Harpoon	Harpoon PV-2, PV2D, Tanker
Lockheed Vega Ventura	PV-1
Lockheed Lodestar	C-57, C60A
Lockheed Lodestar Civilian	L-18 Civilian
de Havilland Dash 7	Dash 7 5 - models
Cant Z.1007biz	Collaboration with MVG3
xp47j	Republic Experimental xp47j
xp47h	Republic Experimental xp47h
xp72	Republic Experimental xp72
Grumman Tracer	E-1B
Grumman Tracer	EC-1B
Grumman Tracker	S2F-3
Grumman Tracker	S2A-CDF
Grumman Tracker	S2AL-CDF
Grumman Trader	C-1A
Grumman Trader	C-1A Cargo
Grumman TurboConv	S2Turbo Military
Grumman TurboConv	S2Turbo Civilian
Grumman TurboConv	S2T-CDF
Grumman Tracker	S2AL-CONAIR
Grumman Tracker	S2F-1
HMS Bounty	6 Liveries, AI and Static
Pinto Racing Stock Car	New version with Rob Barendregt
Rockwell Cmdr 685	Rotohub model - Doing FS9 version - Rotohub doing the FSX Native
Mallard	Grumman Mallard G-73; LDR doing FSX Native
Mallard G73T	Grumman Mallard G-7Turboprop; LDR doing FSX Native
Fleet 50	9 Variants - 3 engines, Floats, Skis, Tundra Tires (only 3 released)
F7F-1	Gman5250 doing the FSX native side
F7F-3 Single	Gman5250 doing the FSX native side
F7F-3 2-Seat	Gman5250 doing the FSX native side
F7F-3N	Gman5250 doing the FSX native side
F7F-Tanker	Gman5250 doing the FSX native side

There are many fine people here, and Team Milton, you are at the top of the list. Not only do I appreciate the recent releases you all have done, I still fly your classics on a fairly regular basis. DH80, Spartan, A-26, Grizzly civvie racer and the AT-11 to name some!

Thank you all for making life more fun!

 

[PeteHam]

I've tried to convert the FSX textures Willy did for the Western Lodestar.

Here's the process I used (my notes) ........

Convert these FSX textures to FS2004/FS9 use .........

Use Martin Wright's FSX DXT/BMP
*******************************
Click 'Image' - Format ....
Convert these textures to either 32 bit (or DXT 3 bitmaps),
Click 'Image' - Alpha Channel ....
Flip them vertically .....
Save as .... " ..... bmp"

These are 2048x2048 16Mb size !!!!!!
Go to bmp image ...
Right click .... Edit ...... Resize ..... 50% ( these are then 16 bit )

Use Martin Wright's FSX DXT/BMP
*******************************
Convert these textures to either 32 bit (or DXT 3 bitmaps)

These are now 32 bit, 4 Mb size.


But as you can see the comparison between Willy's polished metal finish and my glossy but flat finish are quite different.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

Pete.

 

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,

This has to be the most helpful site on the web. Thank you for all your help. I will try one of these textures now!

Your panels, Milton, are works of wonder; the ac500 with cracks and cobwebs(?) is a thing of beauty and a favourite. Thank you for all the aircraft you and the team have made.
Andy.

edit
1)Willy, I just looked at the textures and realized I didn't understand even where to start! When you say 'click 'image'-Format '..is that with each texture in the folder? You mention Martin Wright's program twice; are you showing 2 ways to do the changeover? and can you do the whole texture folder in one lump, as it were?

A.

 

[djs1]

Hi Andy

Having had four days of trial and error, here's how I do it using the DXTBmp software.

Open DXTBmp and from "file" select the image.
Once loaded, hit the "send to editor" button. Mine opens in Paint
In paint select resize and change the pixels from 2048 to 1024.
Save as bitmap image which on my machine then sends it to Pictures with a default re-name of "norm"
Select this from the software and hit the "Save extended image button.
Save as either DXT 3 or Extended 32 bit 888-8
Hit the vertical flip button and save again.
Just a case then of re-naming the image and moving to the texture folder.
I only do the main textures, ie fuselage, engine etc and copy over the common textures as appropriate to the model.

Not got round the alpha thing yet for the shine, thats for another day.

Hope this makes sense and it helps

David

 

[Willy]

Pete, I'm not sure how others do the alpha layers which regulate the amount of shine. But the quick and "easy" way would be to use the ones that are already in the dds files:

1) load the original dds bitmap into DXT/Bmp
2) click on image and flip the image vertically
3) click on Alpha at the top export current alpha layer to the folder of choice
5) save the bitmap as a 24bit bmp
6) resize both the bitmap and the alpha layer to 1024 x 1024 and save (I usually do this step in either Photosuite or MS Paint)
7) reload the bmp back into DXT/BMP
8) click alpha again
9) import the alpha layer back into the image
10) Save as either a 888-32 bit or DXT3. 888 is sharper in the sim, but DXT3 uses less memory

Now as to the shine. I've looked at how various other folks do alpha layers. The darker something is in the alpha, the shinier it will be in the sim. FSX and FS9 seem to handle it differently (at least on my machine and more on that later). DXT/Bmp has a create alpha function, but being hardheaded, I do it differently. Some painters seem to just paint everything on the alpha the same shade of grey. That's ok I guess, but when I make an alpha layer, I load the original color bitmap into Paint Shop Pro (a copy is best in case something goes horribly wrong and I've had it happen more times that I care to think about). I then open the Image menu and click on greyscale which makes it black and white. Now at this point it would work as an alpha, but I go a bit farther. I go back to the Image menu and click negative image. This turns the bare metal bits quite dark. Now I load it in my paint program of choice (Photosuite) and paint the "painted bits" all the same shade of grey. Except the bits that are black in the color version. Those I tend to go pure white with to get a dull look. Now for the difference between sims. For FSX, I usually leave it alone as that sim seem to handle high shine better than FS9. In my experience with FS9, no "lightening" of the alpha results in washed out bare metal that all you can see is shine and no detail. And I like detail. For a FS9 paint, here's where the trickery comes in for me. There's probably a way to do it with the more common paint programs, but my ancient version of Photosuite (IV) has an effects function. One of those is a fog effect. Basically it throws everything in the alpha bit map to a lighter shade and you can do multiple passes to lighten it farther. I used to do about 4 passes for my old comps. This new one does shine better in FS9, so 2 suffices. For FSX, I don't even bother and use it without the dulling down of the shine.

Hope this helps

Willy

 

[expat]

Having had four days of trial and error, here's how I do it using the DXTBmp software.

Surely your time is worth more than the price of FSX?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-X-PC/dp/B000F6Y5IW

 

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,
Thank you Dave (and Willy again)
Going to give it another go with these added notes.

@expat, I've been wondering about trying FSX and hadn't been able to find any to buy until your post. May now try it out. Thank you.

Andy.

edit a bit later...
If this pixel changing was Diesel powered I might stand a small chance of understanding it; as it my brain collapses..I have 5 screens open at the same time and just get flummoxed! I have ordered a copy of FSX to try to make life easier.
A.

 

[Willy]

As a former Diesel Mechanic in another life, I only keep one screen up at a time. More than that and things start getting confusing. lol

Andy, you can get the Steam version (SE) of FSX pretty cheap, they have it on sale for $5 quite often. Silly me, I paid full price $29. I've paid more than that for addons. And SE comes as an improved version of FSX Gold which was the last MS version that had the all the bells & whistles.

 

[Willy]

Back to the Lockheeds....

All I was going to do was replace the ASI in the VC with the one I use in the C-46 as I tend to think speed better in knots. Well, one thing lead to another and I ended up throwing the gauges folder at it.

Still got a couple more to do. I'm going to take the notes pad "gauge" from the Wozza Gee Bee and use it for handy reference info, then install it.

 

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,
I used to drive them, not fix 'em!

Your shot of the VC shows the Alt Select panel and it was that I was thinking about as to why it wasn't in the 2D as well..in fact I don't think it's wired up.
I don't know which version I've bought, so it'll just be a surprise !

Andy.

 

[Willy]

I quit using the 2d in this one as it's one of the few that I find the VC to be "comfortable" Milton & Team need to be commended on it. I added some icons to the left side of the panel in the VC to open the popups.

Did some more work on the VC. Added a notepad with 6 pages of good info to have at your fingertips like Vne and stall speeds. Still a work in progress, but it's a good start on it. While I was at it, I tossed the Sperry otto out the door and moved the overhead one into it's spot.

 

[Milton Shupe]

Willy, that looks great. And now you all know why I continue to use flat panel backgrounds so you can modify the panel and gauges as you wish.

 

[Willy]

Milton, I'll tell anyone who asks (and some who don't) that if they're looking for payware quality for free. Look for the name Milton.