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[WIP] Laos 1968 - Lima Site Pack 1

roger-wilco-66

roger-wilco-66

Administrator
Staff member
Work in progress is humming along nicely on my Laos 1968 Lima Site package #1.
This package, of which several more will follow until Laos is covered, will contain LS-20a Long Tieng, LS-05, LS-22 and LS-14. It also contains a complete Cambodia / Laos / Vietnam SEA road network including the HCM trail in Laos, or known parts of it at least.

The places, expecially famous LS20a (or LS98) Long Tieng, will be very detailed and with very authentic scenery objects like Gen. Vang Paos villa, the famous temple or buildings etc made using contemporary photographic reference.

I'll post some updates now and then! Here are some views of Long Tieng:

ls20a-temple-03.jpg


ls20a-ramp-07.jpg


ls20a-ramp-01.jpg


This is the view from the roof of General Vang Paos villa. The placement of the Villa is geo referenced, so this might really look somewhat like in real life (one day I'm going to visit this place!!!) :

ls20a-ramp-from-vangpaos-villa.jpg
 
You're a Master Mark! Love your creative style, as well as the very appropriate atmosphere of your shots.
 
Wow, this is awesome. Thanks Mark. I guess I had better tune up the Trojans and Bird dogs.
 
That first screenshot is just beautiful !
And the scenery is awesome of course :)
I'm not such a fan of the 3D mountains though. But I suppose it wasn't possible to obtain the same shape with a 1m or 5m local mesh ?
 
Thanks!
As for the aircraft, I wish we had a good DHC-4 Caribou to go along, which was a real workhorse in Laos back then. I fly a lot with the Piglets Porter and the Air America Huey. Ants T-28 and the Bird Dog are also proper equipment. A real challenge is landing the C-130 there!

Daube, this is an alpha version. I first tried it with a custom mesh, but it looks horrible. The textures stretch awfully and the trees float in the air due to the steepness. The 3D rocks are the way to go, but I will put some vegetation around them to blend them better into the surrounding terrain.


Cheers,
Mark
 
Ah yes, I didn't consider the texture stretching ! Very good point indeed. Then yes, the 3D object is the way to go.
Concerning the Caribou, I believe Virtavia is the only company that made one, but it might be quite old now...
 
Count me in too! I'm still looking for a Royal Lao livery for Ant's T-28 and I'm anxiously awaiting Marcel Felde's Turbo Porter for this AO.
 
Obie311 said:
Count me in too! I'm still looking for a Royal Lao livery for Ant's T-28 and I'm anxiously awaiting Marcel Felde's Turbo Porter for this AO.
Click to expand...

My Ant T-28 came with a Lao livery, one that the Ravens flew, if I recall right!
Ditto on Marcel's Porter, although that model never flew in Laos and the dash will look modern. But it will be a treat anyhow.


Cheers,
Mark
 
Great news, Mark!! I love your Chodo scenery - thrilled you're tackling SEA.

Will the Plain of Jars area be covered? Not requesting - just asking.

I've been re-reading about the early Barrel Roll and Rolling Thunder missions, and in particular, the RF-8 sorties through Laos. Having the "new" F-8 dusted off, these areas look just the ticket for some low-level recce ...

cheers,

dl
 
DL,

the first pack will cover the immediate area around Long Tieng, then I'll move up to the PDJ or better all of the military region II, V and I, to cover the north. The first pack is rather small because LS-20a is very complex and time consuming. The smaller lima sites of other areas are faster to develop and the successive packs will contain more of them.

There are many good books on the subject, in fact, reading them inspired me to do these sceneries. I think I have most books that were written about the "secret" war in Laos in the aviation context. Right now I read the Raven Chronicles, which present an immense load of information, expecially about Long Tieng. I also researched at the University of Texas which hosts a lot of declassified CIA and Air America material about the subject. Anything that sticks to my brain and can be used as reference to the scenery is considered in the project.

Cheers,
Mark
 
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