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Civil Ships

dvslats

dvslats

Charter Member
With all of the recent updates to the PTO in the scenery department and the .lay files that came with them, I'm hoping someone can give me some suggestions for Freighters and Tankers to populate them with. Usio's ships look fantastic but put a real hit on the FPS. The stock ones give great FPS, but look kind of....like stock ships. Are there some that would fall into the middle of the road category? Maybe a generic type freighter or something along those lines? Been searching around SOH with little success. Thanks
 
Are you looking for Freighters to use in Layouts for missions or to GSL?

The VN series is good, as is their Liberty Ship, better on FPS than the other one. There's also the Hog Islander, AVP4 Lapwing and SS Adventure.....and....
 
Pen32Win said:
Are you looking for Freighters to use in Layouts for missions or to GSL?
Click to expand...

It's to change a GSL that uses JMK ships. I did not try the Hog Islander because it looked so good seemed it would fall into the same category as Usio's ships. Really what I am after is some Japanese freighters (though they do not have to be Jap by design) that can be used in numbers of eight to ten, fairly close proximity. AVP4 Lapwing and SS Adventure...who made these Pen? Thanks for the help.
 
Jaxon has some great repaints of the Liberties and there is a great reproductions in Collins Shiyards at Fox Four.
 
Hi Fibber, I did not see any civil type ships at Collin's site, though that dose not mean they are not there...do you have names of them?
 
In that case, IMHO, you should just delete them from the GSL totally.

I don't think ships should be put in the GSL Layer for three major reasons.
1. You can't sink them.
2. For missions/campaigns they're often a problem when it comes to the AI's. They end up attacking the wrong ship(s) when left to select their own targets (Attack Current Point). They just end up in the way too often when doing historical recreations too.
3. Ships Move, often.

I think the same thing about aircraft, vehicles, creates, oil barrels and any other objects that gets moved around a lot. I think the place for them is in mission files and Layouts for missions that can be changed with ease, not the GSL Layer. For me, the GSL Layer is too stagnate for objects that were always on the go.

In the end it's a personal choice. I rip all of that stuff out before I even install a new GSL GOB. The list I started will provide you with a few of what's out there. They're my personal choice for high FPS shipping.

SS Adventure was put out by ChrisN. It's a conversion of Phil Crowther's FS2004 ship.
Looking for Lapwing's author now.....
 
Pen is correct. For maximum frame rates and AI efficiency, ships, AA guns and parked aeroplanes are probably best left out of GSL scenery. The best way to add them is through layout files or for the mission builder to add them in through the .mis file when making the mission. Recent scenery uploads by Pen32 and by Arndt have layout files included that place the ships and AA guns properly, but outside of the GSL layer.

Following this technique will also reduce the size of scenery uploads by quite a bit as it keeps the gsl file much smaller.

As for ships, don't forget to look in the library here for:

Wolfi's Prinz Heinrich: PRINZ_HEINRICH.zip
Crowther's Libery Ship: Liberty_ship.zip
Crowther's SS Adventure: CN_SS_Adventure_CFS2.zip

Be sure to pick up Collin's sampans and junks at his site. They make the coast and rivers of China look very nice and make good targets for Operation Game Warden in the coastal waters of Vietnam.
 
Never knew that about the ships in a GSL package. Seems like very sound advice Pen and Jagd, Thanks very much for all yer suggestions, Dv :ernae:
 
Now Waitaminnit !!!

Good to know about not putting ships and such in a GSL...

But what about buildings and hangars ? Can they still be destroyed ?

[I must have missed the memo on this class update...]

SC
:kilroy:
 
Buildings and such are no problem in the GSL Layer. That's the best place for them. Better FPS. Even Aircraft in the GSL layer can be destroyed; but I change/update Aircraft way too often for that. Ships on the other hand, you can shoot, bomb, torpedo them until you're blue, they ain't sinkin'. They won't sink even if you crash into them in Invincible mode.
 
Fellows, I think I am the only one that uses the GSL program that is built into CFS2.I found this easy and for me faster than using M W Wright`s GSL program. As Pen said there are somethings that can and can`t be destoried when added as GSL scenery.I will add static ships ,aircraft and other movable objects to my GSL but only as background,if they are to be used as objects to be destoried then I put them in as static objects.If the objects are to be moving objects I can group them togeather.I then only need to use one of the moving objects with waypoints and the group will follow the lead object.I found that on my pc that I get better FPS if I use GSLed scenery because layers tend to still slow me down where as the GSLed scenery and background add a few more frames per second.I switch out GSL empties as needed for each mission.:typing:
 
AI confusion with GSL Objects

SC7500,

Sometimes the AI will get confused with GSL buildings and won't attack the specific target you want attacked or the target that the WP directs them to. In this case, simply placing an object like a vehicle inside the building or an object near a bridge will clarify the situation for the AI. While we can't see it, the AI can be directed to attack the object and thus destroy the goal of the mission.
 
"In that case, IMHO, you should just delete them from the GSL totally.

I don't think ships should be put in the GSL Layer for three major reasons.
1. You can't sink them.
2. For missions/campaigns they're often a problem when it comes to the AI's. They end up attacking the wrong ship(s) when left to select their own targets (Attack Current Point). They just end up in the way too often when doing historical recreations too.
3. Ships Move, often"

I agree, Having ships or for that matter AA guns in the basic scenery leaves the mission builder/designer no flexibility.

BTW: VN has a decent appearance/framerate Japanese Tanker/Merchantmen pack here on the Outhouse: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=1020
 
Well that should cover it. I've got me more ships then you could shake a fore mast at. One nice little tid bit about Wolfi's Hogislander...comes with a flag.bmp. A little change in the dp/ allegiance, and a new flag can get you any nationally needed. And the FPS are decent in mas. Appreciate all of the suggestions. Gonna go load a couple more...:wave:
 
Sorry, misread my own computer files shorthand. Should have written Ground Crew for the British Tankers.
 
The SS Adventure's flag is easily repainted for different nationalities too and, like the Hog Islander, she was a pretty common type of steamer so she's very authentic in an Italian port, a Japanese convoy or even in San Fransico Bay.
 
Hey Fibber, found that one also on Jaxon's download page...
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=13199

I should have thought of Jaxon's stuff before!!....Nice, Thanks, he has at least a half dozen other civies too.

Jagd, your post on the AI behaviour...so this is the reason for Pen's Prioritized Crates? Those make sense now....I know...****...to have AI's attack static aircraft in revetments, just finished reading it. :redface: Very Kool...One last question, the lost threads had a post on doing the same in as ship's dp. Anybody save that? :ques: :kilroy:
 
Jagdflieger said:
...Sometimes the AI will get confused with GSL buildings and won't attack the specific target you want attacked or the target that the WP directs them to. In this case, simply placing an object like a vehicle inside the building or an object near a bridge will clarify the situation for the AI. While we can't see it, the AI can be directed to attack the object and thus destroy the goal of the mission...
Click to expand...

Thanx, Jag ~ for as long as I can remember [which ain't that long lately], I've set up my GSL'd Theater bases with BASIC buildings set down... I mean, hangars as "placeholders" on the periphery, control tower, windsock,etc. That way I have something to look at while the engine starts B4 takeoff.

And SW, after some thought, it makes sense to leave placing AA gun revetments to the individual ~mystery and all that.

I hadn't experienced the damning effect of GSLized ships becoming unsinkable just yet, tho ~ good to know, and thank you !

SC
:kilroy:
 
Oh, revetments and gun pits are okay, I meant the guns themselves. Unsinkable? I always thought GSL Layout objects were destroyable... I've done it. (though never tried a GSL placed ship.)
 
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