Some wonderful old ALphasim Freeware planes that I wish I could fix

Nigel,

Yep, I have that one. It is a great plane. But, there's just something about the Alpha SeaFury I like better. Maybe it's nothing more than all the time I spent flying it in CFS2...but I really like that plane.

Another Heads Up on the Jaguar....for those who have the PC power to use them...new, reflective mirrors have been installed. You still can't see who is sneaking up behind you, but you get to see clouds and sky in the mirrors instead of just a static baby blue filler.

OBIO
 
I just conducted a quite reflectivity check...took the stock T.2 Empire Test Pilot School paint, tossed some alpha channels onto it and saved in 32-bit 888-8 format. Fired up FS9 and spent some time checking out that Red, White and Blue scheme with reflections....on my gosh...what a difference! I might have to help Smoothie get some new skins done for these birds to take advantage of the new reflective texturing.

OBIO
 
OBIO said:
I just conducted a quite reflectivity check...took the stock T.2 Empire Test Pilot School paint, tossed some alpha channels onto it and saved in 32-bit 888-8 format. Fired up FS9 and spent some time checking out that Red, White and Blue scheme with reflections....on my gosh...what a difference! I might have to help Smoothie get some new skins done for these birds to take advantage of the new reflective texturing.

OBIO
Click to expand...

The reference material I'll email you this evening (and to Smoothie) should help with the repaints. Really looking forward to seeing this old girl back in the air again! :jump:
 
Thanks Andy,

yeah the jaguar is a labour of love for me... first started back in '94 when the family moved back to the UK from Larissa. First military aircraft i saw in the UK was the Jag, and grew fascinated with the thing as the years went on, even shed a tear when she was retired...

thankfully our mutual good buddy Obio saw fit that we give the cat her claws back, and let her hunt down on the deck once more, i will do my best to not disappoint you guys on the texture work for it....
:salute:
 
I pulled an all nighter last night...well, that's normal for me actually....and got a paint template done for the T.2 variant. Just panel lines at this point....still have to add in all the details and decals and such. I have an urgent NEED to see this bird with a brand new reflective skin. I will do a fair representation of the shiny black Jags flown by the Saints....I don't know the squadron name, but they have the yellow Saint symbol on the tail of their planes. There will be some discrepancies in the paint scheme....the yellow edge around the jet intakes for example...things that I can not do due to the limitations imposed by the texture mapping of the Jag.

And it looks like, for the most part, the texture sheets are common from one model to the next...with some minor tweaking needing done here and there. So, it should take long to have paint templates for all twelve variants.

OBIO
 
Tim, the Black Jag was a special scheme for number 16sqn, remember in jag how violently you move the stick matters. i remember on an airshow program hosted by John Nichol (Tornado pilot shot down and captured during GW1) in which the pilot said that you have to be cautious as the Jaguar had no fly by wire so if you yanked the stick back hard you could be pitched up and over very quickly indeed... Tim will start work on the GR. variants this evening once i get Andys information, if you let me know what schemes you are doing i can plan around that...

again if i have to i will pull various all nighters in a row to 'git-er done'.... :salute:
 
Matt

Right now the only skin I am working on will be the Saints...but I will work on paint templates for all the variants. Can never have too many paints for planes. I will concentrate more on the international skins....the Jag just looks great in desert colors. Although, the RAF winter camo scheme is a real looker as well.

Tim
 
OBIO said:
....the Jag just looks great in desert colors. Although, the RAF winter camo scheme is a real looker as well.
Tim
Click to expand...

Check out these snowcats :wiggle: :

FS2004 (ACOF) - FS2004 Modern MilitaryFS2004/FSX RAF Sepecat Jaguar Snowcat Pack
[SIZE=-1][ Download | View ] [/SIZE]
Name: snowcats.zip Size: 3,094,112 Date: 03-11-2007 Downloads: 813
snowcats.gif
[SIZE=-1] FS2004/FSX RAF Sepecat Jaguar Snowcat Pack. This download adds a few Snow-cat Jaguar textures to the UKMIL Alpha Jaguar. Aircraft is the freeware Jaguar by UKMIL and Alphasim. Textures are by Jason Sparkes of UKMIL.
[/SIZE]
 
i just couldn't resist re-doing the Jetpipes, Sorry Obio if i stepped on your toes with this modification... just looking at half hours work in there alone :icon_lol:
 
Smoothie said:
i just couldn't resist re-doing the Jetpipes, Sorry Obio if i stepped on your toes with this modification... just looking at half hours work in there alone :icon_lol:
Click to expand...

Just wait until you fire the bird up and go full throttle.....there is a second texture for the jet pipe that kicks in. It has to be redone too, otherwise the jet pipe just turns into a great big ugly orange disk.

Have the T2 Empire Test Pilots School skin pretty much redone...still need to add insignia and decal details...but the base paint is done. With reflections! And it looks great. There are areas that just don't look right...due to how this bird is mapped. But still looks pretty darn good.

View attachment 36923View attachment 36924View attachment 36925

I have pretty much give up on getting the flight dynamics dialed in on this bird. If the ground handling is make better, the flight characteristics go out the window. If the flight characteristics are zeroed in, then ground handling goes out the window. If full payload and fuel is added....the plane becomes epileptic and shakes like a crazy. I am going to just include the lights section for the aircraft.cfg file so folks can add in the effects (which are tied to taxi, wing, logo, recognition lights) to what ever aircraft.cfg they feel is best for them.

The panel work is done, maybe a couple small tweaks to do, nothing major.

OBIO
 
Getting back to the SBD Dauntless, I'm blaming it all on Obio for giving me ideas with his earlier posts.

I'm currently flying the old CFS2 Dauntless in our online multiplayer race in the SW Pacific as I'm better with it at carrier landings. I've been relooking at the FDG2 and Putt-Putt's SBDs to see what I can do with them and spent almost $40 on books (including a pilot's manual) about the SBD to use as references. Darn that Obio... ;)
 
Willy said:
Getting back to the SBD Dauntless, I'm blaming it all on Obio for giving me ideas with his earlier posts.

I'm currently flying the old CFS2 Dauntless in our online multiplayer race in the SW Pacific as I'm better with it at carrier landings. I've been relooking at the FDG2 and Putt-Putt's SBDs to see what I can do with them and spent almost $40 on books (including a pilot's manual) about the SBD to use as references. Darn that Obio... ;)
Click to expand...

:salute: Yeah, Willy those ideas seem to have generally sunk in and I reckon we'll shortly all be 'chipping' in to make this lovely old girl even better!
Bye the way, I know its slightly off subject, but I'll be loading a bunch of horses (2,400) up here today.
Hope you can find the extra paddock/stable space for these thoroughbreds!
 
ok one last image before i hit the sack tonight... more accurately placed lines on the GR.1.... also starting to add the details in, like the decals etc...
 
Smoothie said:
ok one last image before i hit the sack tonight... more accurately placed lines on the GR.1.... also starting to add the details in, like the decals etc...
Click to expand...

You're up to your magic again Matt! Looking forward to the Jag!

I'm still looking for sound scources on this one. Seems like you and Obio will beat me to the finish line on this one, but I will get something together for this bird, I'm sure.
 
Last night I made the last round of MDL tweaks to the Jags...a bit of work on the engine pipe materials and recolored the antenna pod things behind the canopies...some of them were pale yellow and looked horrible. Now they are dark, near black. Looks much better.

Other than working on paint templates for the Jags, there really isn't anything else I can do to improve these birds beyond what I have already done. Sure, if I knew SCASM editing there are some things that I would try to do...but since I don't now SCASM editing those things will not get tried. So, later tonight I will pack up the modified model files, modified panel config and 2D panel bmp, the gauges and effects files and get the Restoration project uploaded. I may try to get the T.2 Empire Test Pilots School skin done before I upload....that there will be one example of the Jag with full blown reflective skins.

OBIO

NOTE: The gauges I used to improve the 2D and VC panels are old FS98 FSD jet gauges...old they may be, but they are some of the best jet gauges I have seen. These gauges WILL NOT work in FSX. All the MDL tweaks I made will work in FSX. Do not contact me about this or that in relation to FSX...I have it, have a machine that will eat FSX as a light snack, but don't use it that much. Still prefer FS9.
 
Good work Obio

All these adjustments and tweaks will make for a fine Jag, Tim!
Looking forward to the changes.
Did you manage to do anything with those hideous lights?
 
The lights remain hideous. Even though I am 99.99999% sure that I found the MDL material for the lights and set them as 100% translucent, they still show up on the plane. Most likely some coding in the MDL file needs to be killed in order to kill the lights. And that is what I would try to do if I knew SCASM editing....but that is a long shot. On some of the older models, like the JAG, SCASM editing is not always possible.

OBIO
 
Not sure if the UKMIL Jag is the exact same thing as the one Tim's been flying but I just did a few laps in each of the 4 configurations with full tanks and had no trouble at all with the gear or the FDE as such. It actually flies very nicely for a fighter type.

Approach speed on short final about 130 KIAS and full flaps produce very consistent landings. The only way I could break the nose gear is if I hit the spoiler/chute command before flying the nose wheel on the ground.

All in all a very nice package already....with the improvements I see in this thread it will be even better.

Stefan
 
Earlier today I made a HUGE discovery in the aircraft.cfg file that I believe made it very hard to produce a really accurate FDE set for the Alpha Jags. Using ACM to look at the plane's geometry, I found that the wings were set about 8 feet forward of the actual visual wing location and the vertical and horizontal stabs were set about 3 feet forward of the actual visual tail. I relocated the FDE wings and stabs to match up with the visual location, and the plane seems a bit more nimble. The COG is a bit off now, but that can be easily fixed by someone with real FDE skills.

I was planning on getting the tweaked model files, revamped panel setup, the effects and such uploaded this weekend...but a new development has come about. Someone I know how has some skills in another area will be taking a look at removing the modeled on lights and possibly giving the bird reflective canopy glass. I need to package up the stuff I have done and shoot it all to him so he can work on it....not sure when that will be as he has a pretty full real life plate. If it proves to be a lengthy delay, I will upload the current tweaks and when/if he is able to remove the modeled in lights and/or add reflective canopy to the Jags, then those tweaks will be uploaded at that time.

OBIO
 
Guess which freeware Alphasim jet just received fully reflective canopy glass...inside and outside? Any guess other than the Jag would be wrong.

I subcontracted the canopy restoration to a guy who knows SCASM pretty well...and actually drug him out of a self-imposed retirement for the project. He has the T2 done and will be working on the rest.

The improvements in the Jag have taken it from a solid FS2002 jet to a really nice FS2004 jet.

OBIO
 
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