Looking for PSP

[dewoitine]

Looking for PSP (Periced Steel Planking) Marston Matt or others.



Thanks for your answer !

 

[dewoitine]

So sorry but you must read "Pierced Steel Plating"

 

[Pat Pattle]

Hi Andre, I think there is already a PSP texture in the ETO files which Joost made.
If not email me and we'll put something together.

Clive

 

[popsaka]

Clive, is there an airfield in ETO where one could experience the 'psp' effect?

 

[Pat Pattle]

Hey Pops

I'm at work so can't check but any of the Advanced Landing Grounds (ALG) in the 1944 or 45 eras should have it. Need to ask Frosty really but he's busy working hard in RL these days.

 

[Frosty]

Clive is right; there's an ALG in France, near the Normandy beaches (1944 or 1945) and one in Belgium or Luxemburg (1945, ALG-29 if I am not mistaken). In the Allied airfield folders there are three ALGs using PSP: one for fighters, one for bombers and one for transport AC. These are based on generic layouts/templates found in some official document. The RL airfields probably didn't look like this due to local terrain constraints etc. but they can be dropped into the scenery wherever you need an ALG.

I created a detailed PSP template that showed the terrain underneath (through the holes) but that doesn't show in-game. What we have now is something we have to live with until we know how to model the real deal, lightening holes and all... It's applied through the .MOS editor, just like the normal concrete runway slabs.

 

[dewoitine]

Hi all,

I did not understand everything but I have this photos from France 1940



GC I/3 Meaux-Esbly may 1940

 

[popsaka]

Thanx guys. The 520 in that photo looks quite quick, whot?

 

[grizzly50]

Hey, guys, for the record, and in addition to what Frosty has said, there are three PSP fields in CFS3 ETO Expansion 1.40, in the ACC_Airfields folder, in the ETO Expansion main game folder

1. ALG Bomber
2. ALG Fighter
3. ALG Transport

They only appear in Era 5, 1945. Two, A-2 and A-29, are listed in QC under France, and one, Y-29 is listed under Belgium.

I hope this helps.

 

[Frosty]

As usual Grizzly provides the most complete information! To illustrate the PSP, I dug up an old screenie from its development days:

 

[gaucho_59]

Incorrect!

In the interest of veracity...
I beg to differ... it is neither pierced or whatever the other fellow wrote...
I am retired US Army officer... Viet Nam vintage 1969... so I speak with some authority...
both USA and USAF nomenclatures defined PSP as Perforated Steel Plates... back in WW2 and Korea the were
referred as Marston mats... but no longer....
We used then extensively in Viet Nam in Army airfields as well as sandwiched as well as in field hospitals (walkways and improvised
MEDEVAC Helo pads) Also, in the construction of bunkers... sandwiched between rows (piles) of sandbags (reinforced flexible fiberglass
plastic bags)...

In case anyone is interested I have developed texturing for PSP... the hues can be changed at will... done in layers... sizing as well as
it is in very high resolution... (800 pps)

 

[Pat Pattle]

Very interesting points Gaucho, always goo to hear from someone with first-hand experience. Could I have a copy of that texture if that's possible please?

As well as the Marsden matting there was the lighter Sommerfeld steel rod type. I've also seen a steel Coir mat type, a version of which is in Andre's Meaux-Esbly photograph.

 

[Frosty]

Gaucho, Thanks for your reply and effort but the screenie is not incorrect, it's a matter of what CFS3 can't or won't display. I don't like to quote myself but a few posts ago I explained that I did a similar texture as yours (I do know what PSP looks like) but that CFS3 won't display the damned thing as such. Even when it is displayed as it should in the .MOS Editor, the game engine turns it into what the screenie shows...

...I created a detailed PSP template that showed the terrain underneath (through the holes) but that doesn't show in-game. What we have now is something we have to live with until we know how to model the real deal, lightening holes and all... It's applied through the .MOS editor, just like the normal concrete runway slabs.

If you can make it work in CFS3, I'd very much would like to know how you did it. To have PSP runways and aprons as in, say, Mig Alley is something I would like to see very much!

 

[gaucho_59]

Yes... of course...

Very interesting points Gaucho, always goo to hear from someone with first-hand experience. Could I have a copy of that texture if that's possible please?

As well as the Marsden matting there was the lighter Sommerfeld steel rod type. I've also seen a steel Coir mat type, a version of which is in Andre's Meaux-Esbly photograph.

Just PM me your email address and I will send it ASAP
Let me know whether you can open Paint Shop Pro images or Photoshop... (the PSP (mat) is textured over a blank background... that can be a grass texture or sand... or anything.
The color can be manipulated with Paintshop Pro or Photoshop...
Cheers,


Carlos

To Frosty... what I meant as incorrect was the name Pierced etc. Have no idea what CFS3 can or cannot display...(I operate FS9 and CFS2... in FS9 the texture can be displayed well... provided the original is in high definition to start with...)

 

[airfighter55]

Psp

That is very very interesting !!!

I am searching for a small airfield with PSP for a long time !

Have we such an airfield in CFS3 ETO ?

airfighter55

 

[Frosty]

...To Frosty... what I meant as incorrect was the name Pierced etc. Have no idea what CFS3 can or cannot display...(I operate FS9 and CFS2... in FS9 the texture can be displayed well... provided the original is in high definition to start with...)

Thanks Carlos, I understand! Compared to CFS3 the 'civvie' sims' abilities to display runway textures etc. verges on photorealistic. Maybe it's time to try again. Could you post a screenie of your texture in action?

;-)

 

[gaucho_59]

Here is a couple of tries...

Thanks Carlos, I understand! Compared to CFS3 the 'civvie' sims' abilities to display runway textures etc. verges on photorealistic. Maybe it's time to try again. Could you post a screenie of your texture in action?

;-)

Given the size of the CFS3 textures... here is a first try... obviously if the textures can be made larger there is room to make them look more realistic...
I have not used the OD texture I presented previously in FS9 yet... when I do... I'll show it...
In the meantime... these two (horizontal and vertical elevations... depending on how the show in the sim.... one of the two should work) are food for thought and further experimentation...

 

[Pat Pattle]

I've re-looked at some testing work that Kevboy and I did years ago on finding better runways.
In this pic the runway is made up of 50m sq blocks (gmax) and in this case rendered with Gaucho59's mat texture.
Obviously the scale is wrong and there are some issues with the texture flashing as you pan around but I think it has possibilities.
Anothe issue is the aircraft shadow appears under the mat! This has alpa allowing the grass through but may be better textured in.

Also, has anyone noticed that in the stock game buildings folder is one called 'runways'? Inside are 2 textures, one dirt the other concrete, that as far as I know do not appear in the game anywhere. I'm wondering if originally the developers were looking into modelled runways?

I'll see if I take this a bit further, if anyone else wants to try it let me know.

 

[gaucho_59]

I had not thought about it....

I've re-looked at some testing work that Kevboy and I did years ago on finding better runways.
In this pic the runway is made up of 50m sq blocks (gmax) and in this case rendered with Gaucho59's mat texture.
Obviously the scale is wrong and there are some issues with the texture flashing as you pan around but I think it has possibilities.
Anothe issue is the aircraft shadow appears under the mat! This has alpa allowing the grass through but may be better textured in.

Also, has anyone noticed that in the stock game buildings folder is one called 'runways'? Inside are 2 textures, one dirt the other concrete, that as far as I know do not appear in the game anywhere. I'm wondering if originally the developers were looking into modelled runways?

I'll see if I take this a bit further, if anyone else wants to try it let me know.

Interesting... my matting can be used leaving the holes transparent... and the grass would show through...
I am going to try that... pure green holes... and pass it through the DXT program... the picture you posted
shows the holes very well...so I imagine that the texture must allow detailing... if one can select the number
of tiles at will to cover the runway...at will.... then the size of the tile could permit detailing...
got to try that...
Cheers

 

[Pat Pattle]

there are some issues with the texture flashing as you pan around

Sorted that problem, I've turned the xdp from a building into a carrier:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<UnitData>
<General Allegience="0" LongName="" ShortName="runway_50x1000" ModelName="runway_50x1000.m3d" BlastDamageScale="1.0" ImpactDamageScale="1.0" FireDamageScale="1.0" Priority="2" Type="moving" EnteredService="01/01/1930" BlastDamageMod="0" ImpactDamageMod="0" FireDamageMod="0" AllowSpawn="n" Category="Carrier" Country="Britain" >
</General>
<GunStations>
</GunStations>
<Description String=""/>
<Moving MinSpeed="0" MaxSpeed="17" CruiseSpeed="9" GroupSize="1" Type="1"/>
<Loadouts/>
<DamageBoxes>
</DamageBoxes>
<Systems>
</Systems>
<Effects>
</Effects>
<Ship KeelDepth="10"/>0
<Airbase>
<Runway Start="0 0 -400" Stop="0 0 400" Width="50" Turn="10000" SurfaceType="concrete"/>
</Airbase>
</UnitData>

The runway now stays in view constantly, but a side affect is that the gear gets damaged on take off, any ideas anyone?
This has implications for cfs3 airfields with ground detail as per fs9
One of Kevs early test textures:

Interesting... my matting can be used leaving the holes transparent... and the grass would show through...
I am going to try that... pure green holes... and pass it through the DXT program... the picture you posted
shows the holes very well...so I imagine that the texture must allow detailing... if one can select the number
of tiles at will to cover the runway...at will.... then the size of the tile could permit detailing...
got to try that...

I used your layered image but without the coloured lower layers. In cfs3 when saved as a .dds with alpha the ground shows through the holes.
Not sure if that applies in the formats that fs9/x cfs2 uses?