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Night Blitz Dynamic Scenery Screenshots

Reply...

RJ,

I ended up using them on all of the "Blitz" missions, and I'm working at top speed to finish the entire package as soon as possible.
 
The scenery is not going to be a stand alone, it just myself having a play.
Although I made a gsl searchlight that doubles as a flack gun, I found they pop up all of a sudden so I made an api out of the model and placed them with airportforwindows, I had to adjust the pivot on the searchlight to make the api for accruate placement.
In the mission I adjusted, I placed the Br_94mm_AAgun at the searchlight location.
Mixing ordinary scenery with gsl scenery can give the mission more dynamics and more fun playing.
I don't know how many developers are out there for cfs2 but hopefuly with the production of the cfs2 magazine and the information contained, it will spark new life into some of the older scenery.
I use to think all scenery in cfs2 should be damageable and crashable but playing the missions I find this may be untrue.
Robert John.
 
Conversation Starter

RJ, you've touched on a subject that has confounded me for YEARS......

I have not seen a definitive explanation of how APIs work, how they are placed, and their inner workings. After long searches, I finally gave up and only file them away for "later use".

IF you've the time / inclination, perhaps an article on how they work ?

SC
:kilroy:
 
Yes I will do an artical on API'S and placeing them with airport for windows.
tweeking fsregen to make gmax API'S
Make apis out of existing objects.
RJ
 
RJ

Talk about high fidelity!! That images looked to me like pictures from 1940!! Excelent!! Though my kid would laugh at the definition in my brain and I think in any CFS2 fun they look amazing. Thank you. You are giving another twist to this old hobby of mine.
 
Reply...

Good evening,

Because I am using them for the Luftwaffe "Blitz" missions, they will be included in the campaign, when it is ready for release. I am getting really close, there are only twenty missions I have to modify, and then the fourteen German bomber missions left.

I was able to knock out a full twenty-one missions this afternoon and evening, so we'll have to see how many more I can get to in the next couple of days.
 
Rami

It sound like you have a line of production for missions!! Thanks for sharing this ammount of work with us.

Cheers, Discus
 
View attachment 68945View attachment 68946View attachment 68947

Martin Writght made an animated fire texture macro for cfs, and I always wanted it to show up in cfs2 but could not untill now. After playing around with EOD I found the code to make it show up very well at night, More on the subject later.

Macro File for Airport V2.10
; (c)1999 Martin Wright
; This File is Freeware
; This Macro file may be distributed Freely providing no
; charge is made. Scenery created with this Macro file
; may be distributed Freely providing no charge is made.
; Commercial distribution or use is not allowed.
;========================================================
; CFS Active Airfield Object - Flames1.api
;=================================


Robert John.
 
Rami,
If you have any other night missions and would like some ordinary scenery making ie placing objects, give me a shout (pm or email) I am thinking of putting the animated fire textures inside a gsl buildings and see what happens.
Robert John.
 
That fire looks to me very good for burning wood or fuel: wood buildings (Hamburg), oil or fuel storage areas like hangars, fuel depots in ports and airbases, etc.

Another nice addition! Thanks RJ
 
If you use macros, download cfsact10 from Martin Wright cfs website and in flames1 .api change
Bitmap(Fire_S~1.bmp 0 0 0 0 ) to
LoadBitmap( 0 L6 EF 0 0 0 "fire_sheet.bmp" ) now we have animated flames for cfs2.

There are more macros to play with. Yes every thing I made or adjusted would make good dynamic scenery.
More to follow.
RJ.
 
A nobel

Robert John said:
If you use macros, download cfsact10 from Martin Wright cfs website and in flames1 .api change
Bitmap(Fire_S~1.bmp 0 0 0 0 ) to
LoadBitmap( 0 L6 EF 0 0 0 "fire_sheet.bmp" ) now we have animated flames for cfs2.

There are more macros to play with. Yes every thing I made or adjusted would make good dynamic scenery.
More to follow.
RJ.
Click to expand...
:medals::medals::icon29:
 
Reply...

Robert John,

I ended up doing my own layouts for the cities in the Blitz raids, and did not use the new "dynamic scenery" files. I actually prefer the shorter-beam searchlights you did, and used the files from the "RJ night mods" as my base. What are the differences between those and the new files?
 
Rami,

The shorter searchlights that I sent you was my first searchlights and I thought they were to short, so I made them longer. They have dps that doubles as a flack gun and you can use them in mission builder.
I find gsl objects viewing distance is too short and just pops up so I placed the objects as macros in airportforwindows, objects placed this way can be viewed from greater distance but cannot be destroyed and donot use dp files. I placed AAguns at the base of the searchlight in mission builder to be used in missions.
In the first RJ_GROUND.BGL all three objects are inside, in the second only the searchlight ( LONGER) and the nightinf object is there, the nightveh is now in RJ_GROUNDVEH.BGL, the bgls can now be placed in their own folder groups, ie SCENEDB/inf, and SCENEDB/veh

If the first RJ_GROUND.BGL is ok like it is with all three objects in please let me know. or I can adjust the files to your liking.

Robert John
 
Reply...

Robert John,

The original package really is fine, but I'll try the new ones. With regard to GSL, the tendency of it to "pop up" is a little annoying, but it's far better than the alternative. If you're doing missions, having to place those objects for every mission can be tiresome and a laborious exercise. GSL allows for far better frame rates and much-reduced mission size. (It also takes less time for the missions to load.)

Having permanent macros and that sort of thing is why we made the shift several years ago toward GSL, and why I configured my campaigns that way. I will be more than happy to use the revised files, though.
 
Hi Rami,
Please stick with the first package, I will update the objid for the taller searchlight. Sometimes to have a few macros in missions can be beneficial in that if you want a little nighttime light the macros show night time textures and daytime textures although I have found a work around to have brightness in gsl models.

I think there is more understanding of what can and cannot be done with scenery and frame rates.
Yes doing static scenery can be time consuming, but can be worth it for very special missions.

Going to do an artical on that subject.
Robert John
 
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