AH Avro Lancaster for FSX/P3D (preview)

[Bjoern]

Well, we'll be animating a lot of stuff but there is unfortunately a cap on amimation calls in FS and with main cockpit, radio station, nav station etc. to add, we'll need to be selective.

There's no such limit for visibilities, so switching between visual on/off states for switches is an alternative.

 

[bazzar]

3D visibility switching requires twice the amount of geometry. On and off states both require geometry and mouse rectangles. The VC10 had close to 700 individual animations which we had to cull before it would run. The Lanc will certainly be close to that figure.

 

[bazzar]

One other question please. With the amount of detail you are showing, will there be an AI type autopilot to allow one to move into the various positions and enjoy all the beautiful stuff you and team have created and put into this forthcoming gem?

Well, the bombroom has a degree of proportional control anyway so that the bombardier can adjust final course, aircraft trim etc. But we will probably fit a dummy autopilot so that you can "fly" from all stations. As we get into this we will have more updates on what actually happens in those stations.

 

[hairyspin]

I hope Tail End Charlie, the rear gunner, gets his office too. I met a real Tail End Charlie once who had done 26 ops when the war ended. I remarked he must have been glad: he replied, with feeling, that he was!

 

[hairyspin]

...The VC10 had close to 700 individual animations which we had to cull before it would run. The Lanc will certainly be close to that figure.

Bill Leaming reported some years ago a limit of little over 500 animations in an FSX model, iirc.

 

[bazzar]

It's on the list but only after the other stations. There's more equipment in the tail turret than in the front or upper mid. Not to mention four machine guns and their belt feeds.

 

[bazzar]

Bill Leaming reported some years ago a limit of little over 500 animations in an FSX model, iirc.

Yes that's right. With a little smoke and mirrors you can improve that but not by a great deal. I believe one major developer has asked LM to look at the issue.

 

[wombat666]

Well, the bombroom has a degree of proportional control anyway so that the bombardier can adjust final course, aircraft trim etc. But we will probably fit a dummy autopilot so that you can "fly" from all stations. As we get into this we will have more updates on what actually happens in those stations.

'Bombardier'????????

Really Baz, 'Bomb Aimer' please, no 'Bombardiers' in the Royal Air Force.
Looking forward as usual to another classic AH masterpiece.

 

[bazzar]

Sorry matey but in official RAF training films they refer to the bomb aimer as a bombardier.I believe the term goes back as far as Waterloo and all that.

 

[jankees]

for those that want to get an idea what it was to be a Lancaster pilot, I heartily recommend a comic by Belgian artist Marvano called the Seven Dwarfs

outstanding story explaining the horrors of these flights, and it's available in English on amazon.

 

[huub vink]

'Bombardier'????????

Really Baz, 'Bomb Aimer' please, no 'Bombardiers' in the Royal Air Force.
Looking forward as usual to another classic AH masterpiece.

Sorry mate,

Not everybody speaks Australian slang.....

Try to say "Bombardier" with a stiff upper lip and you will realise that it all make sense

Good'day

 

[Bjoern]

The only book on Lancaster ops I ever read was "Tuesday's War", which was fictionalized.

3D visibility switching requires twice the amount of geometry. On and off states both require geometry and mouse rectangles. The VC10 had close to 700 individual animations which we had to cull before it would run. The Lanc will certainly be close to that figure.

Well, it's the only way out if you don't want to bust that limit.

Weren't the DC-8s modeled by AH as well? I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the drawcall figure in ModelConverter.

 

[bazzar]

Well let's just say people work differently Bjoern, it's what makes the world go around.

 

[wombat666]

Sorry matey but in official RAF training films they refer to the bomb aimer as a bombardier.I believe the term goes back as far as Waterloo and all that.

We did have (or do have) a 'Bombardier' classification in the Green Machine IIRC, but that was technically just another 'Grenadier'..........
The ones at Waterloo were definitely members of the PBI who were required to throw 'Bombs', them round black ones with a match fuse as seen all the time in the vicinity of 'Wiley Coyote' in the 'Road Runner'.

 

[SSI01]

Will H2S be present? Or bulged bomb bay doors?

 

[Bjoern]

Well let's just say people work differently Bjoern, it's what makes the world go around.

I figure the contract has a bit to do with this as well, but fair enough. (Although a wish that efficiency featured a more prominent role in such endeavors.)

 

[hairyspin]

The only book on Lancaster ops I ever read was "Tuesday's War", which was fictionalized.

A recent read, with no fiction about it, was The Other Battlle by Peter Hinchliffe: highly recommended account of the Nachtjagd versus Bomber Command. The author was a navigator during ‘44 and ‘45 and draws from firsthand accounts from both sides.

 

[Alan_A]

for those that want to get an idea what it was to be a Lancaster pilot, I heartily recommend a comic by Belgian artist Marvano called the Seven Dwarfs

outstanding story explaining the horrors of these flights, and it's available in English on amazon.

Ordered.

And still grateful that you introduced me to Yann and Hugault (currently navigating through Angel Wings in my imperfect French)...

 

[IanP]

Bombardiers in the UK are Corporal-equivalent in the Royal Dropshorts, er, Royal Artillery. A Lance Bombardier is a Lance Corporal equivalent. Always to be bellowed at maximum volume, because by the time they get promoted that far, they're already deaf...

(And yes, the entire Army has equivalent wisecracks for my old Corps, too!)

Baz - usual question - I'll drop you an e-mail.

Cheers,

Ian P.

 

[Bjoern]

Thanks for the H/U, Tom. Nachtjagd is one of the few subjects I still need a good book on. Primarily interesting because the Luftwaffe could still hold its own long (minus fuel) long after Big Week wrecked the daylight squadrons.