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F-15C Eagle

I really hope the F-15E and F-15C cockpits don't look anything like the YF-23 ones do when finished. From what I saw in the photos on FSD's website...it looks like IMHO an old..OLD...Iris cockpit.

I think for aircraft of such model quality as the F-15's, we need the cockpit to turn out like the Aerosoft F-16, or the A2A P-47D.

It would be a real shame to get these F-15's, and end up with cockpits of the quality, or lack there of, that the YF-23 shows.

I'm not saying the modeling is bad on the YF-23, just the finished cockpit. It looks bland.


Regards, Diego
 
Bland? Do you mean not weathered? If so, then that would be perfectly normal for the YF-23 as the pits were pulled off the F-15E factory floor and were brand, spanking new.

If you check out the first page of this WIP, you'll see that we've started weathering the F-15C's pit and will do the same to the E.

I won't comment on the F-16's pit or the P-47. But, that said, in general, our cockpits are all weathered. (check out the Hellcat, the Corsair, the P-38 etc etc)

In this case though, the plane was only flown for about 2 weeks, if that and would have been pretty much brand new at the time of "retirement" and we like to get as accurate to real life as we can.

kc
 
Good stuff!

We really do try and get that "lived in" feel in our stuff, but for this one, it just didn't make any sense.

Our main problem with these two (F-15C and F-15E) is that because the pits are different we're going to have to do everything twice (possibly 3?)... But that's ok, cause we only have to do the fuselage once! Phew!

They are all ready modeled and painted are now awaiting layout and weathering. Once that's done, into FSX they go. (VC's only. Fuselage(s) are still being worked on)

kc
 
krazycolin said:
Good stuff!

We really do try and get that "lived in" feel in our stuff, but for this one, it just didn't make any sense.

Our main problem with these two (F-15C and F-15E) is that because the pits are different we're going to have to do everything twice (possibly 3?)... But that's ok, cause we only have to do the fuselage once! Phew!

They are all ready modeled and painted are now awaiting layout and weathering. Once that's done, into FSX they go. (VC's only. Fuselage(s) are still being worked on)

kc
Click to expand...

Do you know how the texture sheets are going to be laid out?
 
If you mean, will we be laying out the VC's textures such that a re-painter could go over them and mod them, then no. They will be laid out on 2K sheets and done so in as tight a manner as possible to keep resolution as high as can be. We don't release paint kits for the VC's.

If you are talking about the exterior of the plane, that's something I'm going to start tomorrow. I'm open to suggestions if you have them. I realize that all re-painters wish to get a model that has ease of use, but our problem is that we want to make it as accurate and as nice as possible. The two, rarely, if ever, meet. (look at Vista)

That said, if you wish, we can hire you to do the UV layouts and that way, you get what you want and we get what we want.

:mixedsmi:

kc.
 
"The First time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down." Chuck Yeager USAF​

I had the inestimable pleasure of watching the “ Right Stuff “ last night ,and for the first time with my son who knew nothing of the story , let alone what it means to be a Test Pilot.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" /><o:p></o:p>​

If ever there was a film about being a Test Pilot that had to be among the best ever done, and the planes the Chuck got to fly , that 104 looked really sharp, the X1 and any of the others he got to use before they became “ Used “ are what this FY-23 has captured.<o:p></o:p>
The appeal of a new car is much the same , there is a smell to them that i can almost detect and doing my test flights with the YF-23 , not a scratch on it , spotless , pristine condition, it’s something of an almost tangible feeling i get when putting an aircraft together , that feeling of being the first to see it in action , its one i have with some frequency in my job , and my namesake , the other Chuck , Mr Yeager knew that feeling well i think , its one we all will be able to share once the YF-23 is released ....<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>​
 
MenendezDiego said:
I'm not saying the modeling is bad on the YF-23, just the finished cockpit. It looks bland.


Regards, Diego
Click to expand...

Honestly, thats sort of how it is. Your not going to find much dirt in something as advanced as the YF-23. Back in WWII, things were dirty, gritty, and in a war. Cleaning things was not a top priority. Now, we have the polar opposite, in the YF-23. Its kept in a clean environment, maintained meticulously, and quite frankly baby'd. Im sure you can find plenty of warn F-15 cockpits though since they have been flying for many many years, but lets not compair it to the YF-23. I think the F-22 may also be in the same catagory, if it ever comes along. Having a warn and dirty prototype cockpit just feels wierd.
 
I didn't mean so much as dirty. Just the over all colors. The black is too bland if you will. The hud isn't too great either.

I hope with this F-15 series that we can get a hud similar to the Aerosoft F-16 or even the Iris Pro F-14
 
Whatever works. I'll still end up buying it :mixedsmi:

Now that I think of it, it reminds me of a mix between the Iris F-15E and Iris E.A.P. VC
 
http://www.fsd-international.com/Hangar/YF23/Index.htm

The photo from milviz looks alot better and more natural...

main9.jpg
 
Uh... yah... one is a render using GI and the other is in the game. Blame FSX and not us. Soft shadows are created by GI renderings and real-life. Something, unfortunately, we all know that FSX doesn't do well.

I think you'll just have to wait and see. We'll get some of the beta testers to post some pics... The ones on the FSD site are still WIP. Even though it doesn't say that it should be obvious as the product isn't released yet.

Once it is released, FSD will change the images in which stuff has changed. The overall "blackness" is not quite as dark anymore and there are other aesthetic changes, not least of which the "steam gauges".

You'll see and I am pretty sure you will be happy about it too.

kc.
 
Ya. I try not to show off any of my P-38 stuff in full render with soft shadows and stuff. Tends to give the wrong impression. We COULD bake in soft shadows into the texture and make it look like that, but the shadows wont move when you roll the aircraft or change directions. Its a give and take in what we can and cant bake in. Reflections are in the same boat. We still need to depend on the game engine to do the final rendering.

P.S. When we are baking textures, it takes many hours to do 1 frame using systems with quad core CPU's and 4+ gigs of RAM. Its not something that can be done live.
 
That pic comes off of our site which is not the FSX site. It's the film ready models....

Here are the WIP's as promised... The first is screenshot in DX9 so is representative of the FSX view. The second is a render but pulled out and the third is part of a texture map layout.

Hope you like. We're going to be finished the C pit by the weekend... Off to the coders!!!

kc.
 
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