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DH114 Heron Upgrade WIP

ejoiner said:
First and foremost, thanks for this great effort. I actually bought the plane because of this work. :)

3 questions.

1. I use FSX and have a non default install. F:\FSX when I copied the new skins over to my ../simobjects/Airplanes/DH-114 Heron folder, the aircraft wouldnt show up in the simulation. I did the usual checks on aircraft.cfg sequencing order, etc. but still no go. I isolated it to the texture.cfg which seems to map to some other file structure, perhaps P3D? I noticed that the default structure for this AC does not have a texture.cfg, so perhaps thats it. I blunt forced it by copying my texture folder to the individual livery folders to test this out and then it worked. Not sure if theres a more elegant way to work that.

2. I dont use DX10 etc. I use ENBseries.ini etc. I find that some aircraft, particularly the Apache Airlines Heron, are too shiny. How can I back that off some?

3. Your blank aluminum liveries are awesome. However, I cant open them up in Photoshop because the files are too big. Photoshop 7, which I use (and admittedly OLD), doesnt like those huge textures above 2048x2048.dds Possible to get a set of these that are 2048x2048? I find that textures above this on my machine at least, really just suck FPS.
Click to expand...



3 Answsers: :untroubled:

1. FSX, Steam and P3D reference aircraft using the same syntax, so this should not be an issue. Your install disk for the sim should not be a problem as long as you are pointing everything to that disk. I run my P3D on an isolated SSD Locan Disk (E). I've never had any issues, except with the intricate stitching together the various permissions needed to run networked weather and navigation softwares'.

The default aircraft contain a set of common files in each texture folder. I created a texture folder to carry all of the common files. If you install either or both of my upgrade sets, the individual texture folders contain a .cfg file coded to fall back to the common texture folder. Folder name texture.
Note: The texture file in either set is identical, so if you install both of my upgrades you can simply overwrite that file with no negative impact on the set.

If you have installed both of my sets, you should remove the original aircraft folders that are replaced by my upgraded. In your aircraft.cfg file, overwrite the old entries with the replacement entries. The six additional new entries can be added in any sequence to the aircraft.cfg file. Everything should display normally if you follow the procedure in the readme file I put in the kit.

2. DX9 will display alpha layers differently than DX10 or DX11. I run my FSX setup at DX9 to assure I have a good baseline to reference. All of my textures definitely display better in P3Dv2, they are designed around DX10 or DX11. If you think the DX9 versions are too strong, I can make a DX9 specific set. I would however strongly Steve's DX10 fixer if you have a compatible video card.

3. I totally forgot how much of a PITA early Photoshop was when working with large files. I'll make an alternative 1024 version of the PK to be more PS friendly.

Let me know if my tips get you straightened out on your install
 
Alan_A said:
Just back from a short test hop in the Prinair paint. What a fantastic improvement - a whole different airplane. Many, many thanks!

One question - I notice in P3D 2.5 that the cockpit windshield reflections are pretty fierce - picking up clouds, I think. I haven't flown the original in a long time and can't recall whether that was a feature of the original as well. Are there options for toning it down? And are they realistic? If not, I'll be more than happy to keep flying it as is and will just tell myself that it's spent a lot of time in the salt air - which for Prinair is pretty much on target.

Really just a minor question about a truly great effort. Thanks again for putting the Heron back in my fleet!
Click to expand...


You're definitely welcome to the skins. I do these skins for my own personal enjoyment, but I think I would be a bit of an arse to not share with this community.

You're right, the cockpit reflections are strong. I haven't looked at that yet, but it should be a basic alpha channel tweak to fix it. I'll have a look.
 
jankees said:
The QF seems to have a white(?) line on either side of the color band, and an outline along the first window?
Click to expand...


Good eye Jankees. I'm still tracking down reference materials on XM-296 and can't establish whether it had that white border or not. I'm working on XH-375, which definitely does have the details you pointed out.

Right now I'm concentrating on the color and alpha balance in the spec file to get the proper level of light/color reflection. For high polish, I shift my spec more towards black to get that blackish reflection you see on polished chrome/aluminum. I'm close...you know how it goes. lol
 
peterwatkins2 said:
BTW the fuselage stripe on XH375 was 'Edinburgh Green' not the blue of the other aircraft!
Excellent stuff gman. When your paintkit is issued I will use it to re-vamp the Heron paints I have done (with your permission!).

Peter W
Click to expand...

Thank you for the color tip Peter. When I was a kid building models I had a complete set of Profile Publications books to reference. I sure wish I still had those...they were magnificent.
 
gman5250 said:
The default aircraft contain a set of common files in each texture folder. I created a texture folder to carry all of the common files. If you install either or both of my upgrade sets, the individual texture folders contain a .cfg file coded to fall back to the common texture folder. Folder name texture.
Note: The texture file in either set is identical, so if you install both of my upgrades you can simply overwrite that file with no negative impact on the set.
Click to expand...

One thing to note, if you copy the upgraded files straight into the original folders, any textures that Gman has moved to a shared texture folder will remain in individual folders untouched, so FSX will use those first before looking in the shared texture folder defined in the texture.cfg.
 
gman5250 said:
3 Answsers: :untroubled:

1. FSX, Steam and P3D reference aircraft using the same syntax, so this should not be an issue. Your install disk for the sim should not be a problem as long as you are pointing everything to that disk. I run my P3D on an isolated SSD Locan Disk (E). I've never had any issues, except with the intricate stitching together the various permissions needed to run networked weather and navigation softwares'.

The default aircraft contain a set of common files in each texture folder. I created a texture folder to carry all of the common files. If you install either or both of my upgrade sets, the individual texture folders contain a .cfg file coded to fall back to the common texture folder. Folder name texture.
Note: The texture file in either set is identical, so if you install both of my upgrades you can simply overwrite that file with no negative impact on the set.

If you have installed both of my sets, you should remove the original aircraft folders that are replaced by my upgraded. In your aircraft.cfg file, overwrite the old entries with the replacement entries. The six additional new entries can be added in any sequence to the aircraft.cfg file. Everything should display normally if you follow the procedure in the readme file I put in the kit.

2. DX9 will display alpha layers differently than DX10 or DX11. I run my FSX setup at DX9 to assure I have a good baseline to reference. All of my textures definitely display better in P3Dv2, they are designed around DX10 or DX11. If you think the DX9 versions are too strong, I can make a DX9 specific set. I would however strongly Steve's DX10 fixer if you have a compatible video card.

3. I totally forgot how much of a PITA early Photoshop was when working with large files. I'll make an alternative 1024 version of the PK to be more PS friendly.

Let me know if my tips get you straightened out on your install
Click to expand...


Thanks a lot for the detailed answers. I actually do have Steves DX10 fixer etc. However, I use DX9 ENB Series because I have a version that I can use for night vision that works great. I love that for night time, foul weather down on the deck flying in helicopters and fast jets. Trade off is some things like cockpit shadows etc.

Appreciate the willingness to humor me on the PK... :)
 
gman5250 said:
Thank you for the color tip Peter. When I was a kid building models I had a complete set of Profile Publications books to reference. I sure wish I still had those...they were magnificent.
Click to expand...

Gman.. I've got 001-262 handy and believe it or not.. the Heron isn't among them! If there's anything you need in the future.. drop me a line and I'll see if I have it;)

ATB
DaveB:)
 
DaveB said:
Gman.. I've got 001-262 handy and believe it or not.. the Heron isn't among them! If there's anything you need in the future.. drop me a line and I'll see if I have it;)

ATB
DaveB:)
Click to expand...

It's always the case isn't it? Never the one you need. Wouldn't it be great if they digitized all of that art and data...what a resource that would be.

When I was an kid and teenager, I didn't realize nor appreciate how fortunate I was. My dad ran the largest U.S. model airplane plans mail order business for years. In our garage we had all of the Profile Publications booklets, ABT decals, Official paints, RC Modeler, Aero Modeler, Flug & Model Technik, and other RC plans. I had a full balsa rack, glues, silk and the rest. We had a family 152 Aerobat that I took lessons in and I was encouraged to start slinging an airbrush at 7 years old.

I still paint by hand with a collection of Iwata pens, but Photoshop has taken priority. Today I took delivery of a Wacom Pro 17" tablet and am acclimating myself to the touch screen/pen interface as I type this post. Only one word....amazing!!! The airbrush background will be a huge advantage. :applause:
 
If anyone has lower wing shots of either or the QF aircraft I'd like to see those.

I'm interested in wing number size and orientation. I have one shot of XH-375 which shows larger numbers than standard RAF.

Is the Edinburgh Green accurate in this screen cap?

 
Like many aircraft that got transfered around, both XM296 and XH375 apparently carried a variety of colours.

XM296 went from the old polished alum to grey/white/blue and then when transferred to the Navy the blue was changed to green but I think Edinburgh Green is not the FAA shade used on the "Admiral's Barge".
.
http://www.airliners.net/search/pho...order=photo_id+desc&page_limit=15&thumbnails=
http://www.abpic.co.uk/search.php?q=XM296&u=reg
http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1032444/

few pics of XH375 seem to be around except for those while in it's day-glo & black scheme but one I found certainly appears blue - it's likely the same underwing shot you have: http://aviadejavu.ru/Images6/AE/AE03-5/14-2.jpg

While it looks like there is a light/white line surrounding the blue I'm wondering if it might not be a 'blush' due to the contrast in the photo or a highlight from rivet lines. http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1051311/

BTW, General motors used the colour "Edinburgh Green" on 1977 models
http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorco...inburgh Green&con=1&page=1&rows=50&size=large

BTW G, XM296/N82D is sorta in your neighbourhood- it's based in Albany OR but the CofR has lapsed so I don't know if it's a WIP or now going to be derelict.
 
Bump:

Just popping in to thank everyone for their helpful links, photos and data. I'll follow up on these.

I'll be offline for 10 days, so I won't be able to respond to posts.

In the meantime...I hope you all enjoy the updated skins.

Gman...
 
Just an update for anyone thinking of buying this great classic aircraft. It's currently selling on FS PilotShop for the bargain price of $14.98 - half price!
 
OK...I just had to bite on this one. Father's Day after all :)
Just downloaded all files 5 min's ago (DH114, gman500's updates and cbfsim's version for the sound files), so have not even installed it yet.

Whether I enjoy this or not remains to be seen as it's not the type of aircraft I usually buy, but this is largely irrelevant.

I just really enjoy seeing efforts like gman5250's; labours of love for the sake of our hobby and not just the almighty buck. Such efforts appear
increasingly rare as the years pass. Gman, many thanks for your kind efforts, obvious talents and for sharing. This not only got my nod but show of
support in the form of a purchase.

I take this opportunity to thank all at SOH who selflessly give to advance our hobby for its own sake.
 
I don't know if this shot of a Green Parrot will help you with the FAA Admirals Barge notice the gold trim between the green and white.

Green_Parrot.jpg



From memory I think the colour was called Grass Green BS381c 218

RGB 82, 132, 49

#528431 http://www.color-hex.com/color/528431
 
Last edited:
I've spent some time with the Heron today and I'm enjoying it beyond what I initially expected. Superb exterior model transformed by gman's handiwork. This is a stunning bird to look at from exterior views. The engine nacelles and rivet work are simply outstanding. While the prop spinners are not animated, I don't find this takes much away from an otherwise beautifully constructed model.

Be warned however as this one has earned the 'biggest bird with the slowest speed' award in my hangar :) This actually adds to its character however; needs to be flown carefully. I had a few...um...exciting moments navigating the Swiss/Austrian alps as passengers screamed in horror. Need planning and thought given modest climb rates and long takeoff runs. I've resisted the temptation to increase power in the .cfg or lighten the load below 100% as I do prefer it this way. I do miss playing with prop and mixture controls but this also provides for uniqueness in comparison to others in my hangar.

I was also getting nasty cockpit glass reflections with gman's textures (using fsx dx9) and after some mucking about managed to find a texture file called "GlobalEnv_AC_Chrome.dds that I turned off and this appears to have eradicated the issue. Completely clean glass now which I actually prefer in order to take in my scenery unimpeded. Gman please let me know whether this was a smart thing to do or not...I don't quite know if turning off this texture file might affect anything else you've done to enhance this model.

Gman, if you wouldn't mind identifying the texture file associated with the VC's 'ceiling' I would be most obliged. Compared to the default textures the ceiling now appears blocky and pixelated with exaggerated color gradients. The default ceiling looks much better on my setup for some reason. I think I'd like to replace that particular file with the default one unless another solution is evident. Thanks for your anticipated response.

Also, I did download the suggested sound files in the first post; quite an improvement, but I seem to loose other sounds....cockpit, gear up/down, etc. I managed to copy over some gear sounds and that now works but wonder if anyone here has perfected a nice sound set using the enhanced sound files, tweaked for full effect on the DH114. The replacement sounds also do not appear to embrace sound cones and such; I'm by no means an fsx sound tweaking expert. Any advice here would be most appreciated. The makeover this fine aircraft has been given is well-deserved.
 
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