USS Arizona for FSX

[TARPSBird]

Those of you who enjoy building ship formations using Lamont Clark's AICarriers program should take a look at NCGent's drivable USS Arizona (BB-39) for FS9 that he uploaded here over the weekend. This ship is a beautiful model with detail equivalent to the Yanco ships, if not better. She drops right into FSX Boats and with the addition of a sim.cfg file (and the normal addition process to AICarriers) she steams right along. If anybody is knowledgeable about creating effects a dedicated smoke and wake effect would be nice, but any of the FSX wake effects will work.

 

[Willy]

I downloaded it with the hopes of being able to somehow add the Arizona to the FSX AI ships. So, I'll ask the question. How do you do it?

 

[TARPSBird]

After unzipping the download I put the "USS Arizona" folder into the SimObjects/Boats folder. Then I deleted the panel and sound folders and also the aircraft.cfg and .air files, and made a very basic "sim.cfg" file (see attached, drop the txt extension). And that did the trick. I made a simple two-ship formation in AICarriers with the Arizona and a 4-stacker DD and it worked fine. I don't create AI ship tracks but if she works OK in AICarriers I assume she will work OK on scheduled tracks.

 

[Willy]

Thanks Tarps! Hope to have the Arizona moving about soon.

(It's a black shoe thing )

 

[gastonj]

Hi,
I think it would be possible to add smoke effects(funnel) with Mcxconverter.
JMC

 

[DaveB]

I noticed this and wondered if it would work in FSX (hadn't seen a dedicated FSX version). I have an uneasy feeling about replicating warships that met a sorry end.. especially allied warships (I'm ex-RN). My dad was the same bless him.. he could never watch Titanic (he was Merchant Navy)!! I might give it a go though.. by way of a tribute

The hull needs to be black at the waterline.. not red admire. You only ever see the red admire if the ship is in dry dock or the sea is as lumpy as hell A minor point but one that frequently pokes me in the eye
ATB
DaveB

 

[DaveB]

I've just had a look at this in FSX using AICarriers.. couldn't resist.

It is beautifully modelled.. no two ways about it. However.. it drags my FR's down from 30fps to between 6.6 and 7.7:0 Sadly.. it's completely unusable for me in it's present form. Hopefully.. some clever chap will run it through MCX and pull the drawcalls down. The quality is outstanding but the price in FR's is way beyond what my i5 can handle

Not played with MCX for a long time but thought I'd try my hand. Ran the model through.. saved the textures as .dds then saved the model in FSX format and bless my soul.. FR's are back to normal (30 set at 30)!! Wish I knew how to add smoke fx but even without.. she's now a keeper Black around the waterline is actually there.. just a bit too thin. Will thicken it up a little and Bob's your uncle.

ATB
DaveB

 

[DaveB]

Thar she blows..

ATB
DaveB

 

[DaveB]

Not too painful.. thar she smokes!!

Shouldn't be too difficult to turn her into Pennsylvania. Not sure why the upper structures are white.. seen no evidence of this but am happy to leave 'as is'.

ATB
DaveB

 

[Butcherbird17]

What smoke effect are you using Dave? I noticed that there are no effect files with the download, and after checking both fs9 and X. I don't have any of the effects for Arizona.
The white mast are just the way we Americans roll. You might also notice that you can change the texture for the red top turrets, they are in the texture folder and need to be renamed to show.

Joe

 

[gray eagle]

What is the entry in the AI carriers.cfg file
this is what I have and it no show.


[formation.29]
title=USS Arizona
unit.0=USS Arizona, 0, 0

 

[Butcherbird17]

What is the entry in the AI carriers.cfg file
this is what I have and it no show.


[formation.29]
title=USS Arizona
unit.0=USS Arizona, 0, 0

Did you add a sim.cfg file to the Arizona?

Joe

 

[gray eagle]

Did you add a sim.cfg file to the Arizona?

Joe

Yes.


Edit: I fixed it.

[formation.29]
title=USS Arizona
unit.0=USS Arizona, 0, 0


I had to change the title in the sim.cfg file to USS Arizona
and drop the BB stuff after the title. Now it shows.

 

[Willy]

Speaking as a retired Navy engineroom type, the Chief Engineer and the rest of Engineering Department would be having a total hissy fit with that smoke. To us engineers, smoke coming out of the stack is like farting in church. Very bad form...

Heatwaves would be ok. But never smoke...

Besides, you're not supposed to be smoking out the fire control types in the towers.

 

[Butcherbird17]

Here she is with the red turret tops.



Joe

 

[TARPSBird]

Speaking as a retired Navy engineroom type, the Chief Engineer and the rest of Engineering Department would be having a total hissy fit with that smoke. To us engineers, smoke coming out of the stack is like farting in church. Very bad form...

Willy you are 100% correct, especially in the pre-war days. That was mentioned in a history of the Arizona I borrowed from a friend. The fire room gangs prided themselves on efficient combustion even when the ship was crankin' on the knots. If the CO or Battleship Division commander saw excess smoke, even in port, lotta folks would catch hell. But it's still a nice effect in FSX, maybe a tad lighter than DaveB's smoke. I just want to know how he did it.

DaveB, how did you add the smoke???

 

[gray eagle]

Speaking as a retired Navy engineroom type, the Chief Engineer and the rest of Engineering Department would be having a total hissy fit with that smoke. To us engineers, smoke coming out of the stack is like farting in church. Very bad form...

Heatwaves would be ok. But never smoke...

Besides, you're not supposed to be smoking out the fire control types in the towers.

I can remember many a time when I had to man the rail on the Bonnie Dick or Hancock (had a wooden flight deck when I was on them) and the "snipes" would set safeties and
I also remember choking on the stack gas hurling out profusely from the stacks, and the soot getting all over my nice whites. I do remember the smoke they made.

 

[Bookman1960]

Arizona Effects

I've been working on converting hundreds of ships from CFS2 and FS9 for use in FSX over the past year+. I addition to converting and getting proper air files for solid sailing, I've also taught myself much about effects. I learned to make two sets for ship -- one for player drivable and one for AI -- the use/require very different approaches; as player effects won't work when ship is used as AI.

When I saw the Arizona this week, I knew I had to get back at this project. So...I hop to have an effect set for the old gal very soon. It will feature, wake, splash, smoke and lights.

To see what I've been doing, I present the HMS Barnham:

Darkened Ship - Bow View

Running Lights - Bow On

Running Lights + Deck Lights (from the mast spotlights)

Running Lights + Deck Lights - Stern View

 

[gray eagle]

Willy you are 100% correct, especially in the pre-war days. That was mentioned in a history of the Arizona I borrowed from a friend. The fire room gangs prided themselves on efficient combustion even when the ship was crankin' on the knots. If the CO or Battleship Division commander saw excess smoke, even in port, lotta folks would catch hell. But it's still a nice effect in FSX, maybe a tad lighter than DaveB's smoke. I just want to know how he did it.

DaveB, how did you add the smoke???

That's what I'd like to know too. I tried various Yanco ship smoke effects and they are nice but the effect is too far aft of the stack.

 

[Bookman1960]

Smoke and Wake...

My previous post showed what can be done with lighting (and to be honest there is much more that can be achieved, that was simple example). This post shows what an AI ship with smoke, wake and bow splash look like...

I can't wait to start editing the Arizona!