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AnKor's Shaders

Andrey simply told his shaders to ignore the system driver value, and to use a fixed value he provided.

Besides the skywriter look, the other thing I notice that is different from what I'm getting is that the contrail starts to show up full strength right at the exhaust ports, where with my install there is a delay of about a hundred yards behind the aircraft before it brightens from transparent to white (modeled to look like what I see happening in the sky with real contrails).

I had an older version of the contrail effect I published for the P-38 some years ago that looked like your pictures, and it was speed based so it would work all the way down to ground level.
 
MajorMagee said:
Andrey simply told his shaders to ignore the system driver value, and to use a fixed value he provided.

Besides the skywriter look, the other thing I notice that is different from what I'm getting is that the contrail starts to show up full strength right at the exhaust ports, where with my install there is a delay of about a hundred yards behind the aircraft before it brightens from transparent to white (modeled to look like what I see happening in the sky with real contrails).

I had an older version of the contrail effect I published for the P-38 some years ago that looked like your pictures, and it was speed based so it would work all the way down to ground level.
Click to expand...

I am not at home yet but took a quick peek: There are multiple references earlier in the effects.xml file. They seem to have different values, so that may be the cause. The question of course is whether we can simply delete those. My guess is that they are in the file from another contrail development (that wasn't altitude based).

I agree that the contrail should start a certain distance from the AC, as the warm exhaust air needs some time to cool down to the condensation point. I adjusted the distance in the aircraft .xdp but it seems the effects.xml needs editing first to get your effects to work anyway.

PS: The first entry below is the one that was already there, the second one is yours:

<high_contrail_1 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="35" FadeInTime=".25" FadeOutTime="12" PosX="0" PosY="0" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2000" SegmentLength="12" Width="1.4" WidthGrow="1.5" InitialAlpha="0.3" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha=".40" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0" FinalColor="255 255 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="dr_smokeball.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<high_contrail_2 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="40" FadeInTime=".25" FadeOutTime="10" PosX="0" PosY="0" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2000" SegmentLength="12" Width="3.6" WidthGrow="1.5" InitialAlpha="0.3" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha=".50" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0" FinalColor="255 255 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="cloudpuff_4.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<fx_high_contrail ClassName="GroupEffect" Effect0="high_contrail_1" Effect1="high_contrail_2" Effect2=""/>

<high_contrail_1 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="30" FadeInTime="5" FadeOutTime="25" PosX="0" PosY="-0.5" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2000" SegmentLength="12" Width="3.6" WidthGrow="1" InitialAlpha="0.0" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha="0.33" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0.0" FinalColor="222 222 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="tr_condenstrail_basis1.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<high_contrail_2 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="30" FadeInTime="5" FadeOutTime="25" PosX="0" PosY="0.5" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2743" SegmentLength="8.75" Width="3.6" WidthGrow="1" InitialAlpha="0.0" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha="0.33" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0.0" FinalColor="222 222 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="tr_condenstrail_basis2.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<fx_high_contrail ClassName="GroupEffect" Effect0="high_contrail_1" Effect1="high_contrail_2" Effect2=""/>


Edit 2:
Simply removing the effect strings that were already there, doesn't do the trick: neither contrail effect is visible. Not the old one and not the new one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joost, contrails are on constant with my set up! Hope this can be sorted?

BTW can't be only two of us who have installed, anybody else seeing this, it helps developers get things fixed it there is more input?
 
Yes, having duplicate effect names is the root of your trouble. It doesn't make sense that removing the first set didn't resolve the issue though.

Why you're not seeing these limited by the altitude control once you eliminated the version using dr_smokeball.dds and cloudpuff_4.dds if the proper entries for tr_condenstrail_basis1.dds and tr_condenstrail_basis12.dds are in the TextureMagic.ini file is baffling.
 
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Just to add a bit of info, I uninstalled this latest shader set, I've gone back to the previous, and the Fw 190 that I edited to show contrails, still has the exact same contrails that don't turn off! So it looks to me, that the new contrails are not even showing, are they being overidden with the old contrail effect?
Can the older set be deleted somehow, I never use them anyhow? This kind of stuff is not in my comfort zone, so not really in a good position to delve into it.
 
Yes, find this section of effects.xml

<high_contrail_1 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="35" FadeInTime=".25" FadeOutTime="12" PosX="0" PosY="0" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2000" SegmentLength="12" Width="1.4" WidthGrow="1.5" InitialAlpha="0.3" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha=".40" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0" FinalColor="255 255 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="dr_smokeball.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<high_contrail_2 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="40" FadeInTime=".25" FadeOutTime="10" PosX="0" PosY="0" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2000" SegmentLength="12" Width="3.6" WidthGrow="1.5" InitialAlpha="0.3" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha=".50" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0" FinalColor="255 255 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="cloudpuff_4.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<fx_high_contrail ClassName="GroupEffect" Effect0="high_contrail_1" Effect1="high_contrail_2" Effect2=""/>

and delete it, then paste in this code to replace it if you don't have it there already,

<high_contrail_1 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="30" FadeInTime="5" FadeOutTime="25" PosX="0" PosY="-0.5" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2000" SegmentLength="12" Width="3.6" WidthGrow="1" InitialAlpha="0.0" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha="0.33" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0.0" FinalColor="222 222 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="tr_condenstrail_basis1.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<high_contrail_2 ClassName="TrackEffect" FlatTrack="0" Lifetime="0" InitialDelay="0" ParticleLifetime="30" FadeInTime="5" FadeOutTime="25" PosX="0" PosY="0.5" PosZ="0" CountSegments="2743" SegmentLength="8.75" Width="3.6" WidthGrow="1" InitialAlpha="0.0" InitialColor="255 255 255" Alpha="0.33" Color="255 255 255" FinalAlpha="0.0" FinalColor="222 222 255" BlendMode="QuadSprite" Texture="tr_condenstrail_basis2.dds" ZBias=".03"/>
<fx_high_contrail ClassName="GroupEffect" Effect0="high_contrail_1" Effect1="high_contrail_2" Effect2=""/>

I've highlighted the texture files that are being used by each version, so you can see why one version works at all altitudes, and the other only works above the altitudes listed in the new February 2017 TextureMagic.ini file.
 
Yea I see now, that fixed it Andy, thank you! Looks :censored: awesome now!

BTW thanks for pulling all this together for us!

What's coming next from this bloody genius Ankor?:biggrin-new:
 
Again, I think I did all that (I noticed the difference between the effects) but still no joy for me :banghead:. Could there be any other settings in some file or CFS3 Config that might affect the showing of these VFX?

So, let's start over; can anybody help me to the unedited, original version of effects.xml that came with ETO v1.50? (Really don't want to reinstall all that).
 
MajorMagee said:
Sorry, none my various copies of the Effects.xml in ETO are still original. Here's my latest version you could try.

Please make a back-up copy before changing anything.

View attachment 47803
Click to expand...

Thanks!!

But I got them working - And I am not proud to say (but not too proud to admit) that I made the classic, epic and ultimate fail by confusing feet (UI selection) with meters (TextureMagic.ini) :banghead: :p87:. So I started QC at 10.000 ft which of course is too low for the VFX too kick in ...:stupid: But since there are TV shows that center around this sort of pilot error (with usually deadly results) I am glad it is just a sim...
 
*** Helpful Tip ***

While the new contrails are a wonderful addition to the realism, they may not be appropriate for every mission (unfavorable weather conditions, tired of seeing them, etc.). The fastest way to disable them once you've added them to all of your higher flying aircraft's xdp files, is to bump up the minimum altitude to a very high value like 15,000 in the TextureMagic.ini entries. Then all you need to do to restore the effect when you want them again is to set it back to the default 7,500 (or whatever other value you prefer for a particular mission).

I have found that the contrails provide the human player with somewhat of an equalizer to the sometimes too perfect eyesight of the AI, but if you start to rely on it too much you can quickly get into trouble as the dogfight inevitably spirals down to lower altitudes.
 
Hi all,

Whenever I do a mission at night that involves airborne flares, they're not shown with Ankor's shaders turned on.

Yet, I can see the glow they make on the ground, but they just don't show up in the air at night. Same with "starburst" effects.

Has anyone had this before? If so, do you know of a potential fix?

Thanks,

Chris
 
The textures used by the effect need to be added to the [FullbrightSprite] list in the TextureMagic.ini file in the shaders30 folder.
 
No luck. I added flare1.dds to flare6.dds and air_flare.dds. These are all from effects/fxtextures

Still have no flare or starbursts. Same with firestorms when I use incendiaries and fires on my own aircraft.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

Also, is there a way I can adjust the darkness level at night?

Thanks,

Chris
 
The old joke is to turn up the brightness on your monitor...

AnKor's code does include built in adjustments for moonlit nights to make them brighter, but there is no global value to adjust the ambient light at night that I can find.

I had similar difficulty with getting the photo flash and photo flare effects to work for the P-61 until I remembered to add the texture filenames to [FullbrightSprite]. After that it worked perfectly. Do you get any sprites at full brightness after dark, or is everything dimmed?
 
gecko said:
The textures used by the effect need to be added to the [FullbrightSprite] list in the TextureMagic.ini file in the shaders30 folder.
Click to expand...

Off hand, do you remember if your TIs etc., had texture.dds files which one should add??

I can see a lot of fire,TIs,markers might now be a problem.
 
The key to getting JSGME to work with CFS3 is that the MODS folder needs to be outside of CFS3.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Miscellaneous/Generic-Mod-Enabler.shtml

I have a single copy of the JSGME program installed, and then created multiple desktop shortcuts for each of my 16 CFS3 install locations.

Open the shortcut and set the Target location to S:\JSGME\JSGME.exe (or wherever you have JSGME.exe located), and the Start In: to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games" (or wherever you have the MODS folder located for one of your CFS3 installs).

For the normal location C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games the MODS folder is at C:\Program Files\MODS.

JSGME will create C:\Program Files\JSGME.ini the first time you run the shortcut.

Its contents will look something like this:

[MODS FOLDER]
Name=MODS
[JSGME DETAILS]
FullPath=S:\JSGME\JSGME.exe
[FORM SIZE]
Main Height=529
Main Left=396
Main Top=693
Main Width=676
Main WindowState=0

Inside the MODS folder you will create folders that contain the modified files that you want to add or exchange with the originals.
At the top level (1) the folder needs to have a descriptive name for the individual mod. (For example 25 Feb 17 Shaders - Bob, Weather Mod - PTO, etc.)
At the next level (2) is a folder named the same as your specific CFS3 install. (Combat Flight Simulator 3, CFS3 PTO Rising Sun, DPC CFS3 Korea, etc)
The next levels (3+) are all the various files and folders that make up the mod itself. These need to be structured that same way they are in the game directories.

As you add and remove mods it will write a file at C:\Program Files\MODS\JSGME.ini (I know, using the same name again is confusing, but that's what the programmer chose to do)

Its contents will look something like this:

[DEPENDANCIES]
Feb 2016 Gunsight Shaders - PTO="25 Feb 17 Shaders - PTO"
[MODS]
New Composite Budgets - PTO - No Stutters=1
Weather Mod - BoB=2
Weather Mod - PTO=3
Feb 2016 Gunsight Shaders - PTO=4
25 Feb 17 Shaders - Bob=5
25 Feb 17 Shaders - PTO=6

Don't mess with the !BACKUP or !INSTLOGS folders inside MODS or you will destroy the ability to restore the original state of your game.

*** Once you've created the level(1) and level (2) folders in the JSGME MODS folder, you can directly unpack everything in the the zip file for AnKor's Shader package there to populate level (3+). ***
 
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