Posts by MDIvey

  • [Released] Sopwith 7F1 Snipe for AF4

    Sopwith Snipe for Aerofly FS 4

    Readme for version 1.0

    Description

    Sopwith, with their 7F1 Snipe intended to produce a successor and improvement of their successful Camel Fighter. It had nearly twice the power of the Camel with its Bentley BR2 engine, but it was also a lot heavier so it was not everything that it was intended to be. It did however succeed in removing some of the vices of the Camel that made that a dangerous Aircraft to fly for an inexperienced pilot. Entering World War 1 at the very end it had little impact on the conflict. With some improvements to the Tail and Aileron design it became the main stay of the RAF fighter force until the late 1920s.

    Features

    • Custom Aerodynamics
    • Custom Sounds
    • Basic Working Virtual Cockpit
    • Early model with Small Rudder and Ailerons
    • Late model with Larger Rudder, Fin, and Enlarged Ailerons
    • A Collection of Repaints for both models
    • Hand Crank Engine Start from cockpit

    Credits and Copyright Ownership

    Sopwith Snipe 3D model and textures: Matthew Ivey

    Sopwith Snipe 3D cockpit model and textures: Dom Henry

    Pilots 3D model and textures: Bertrand Augras (beber)

    Custom Sounds: Dan Hopgood

    Main TMD programming: Matthew Ivey and Jan-Hendrik Hanuschik (IPACS)

    Fuel and Engine Starter programming: Krzysztof Kaniewski (krzysk)

    Disclaimer

    Use it at your own risk. The Sopwith Snipe is a freeware product which has been tested on a Windows 10 installation of Aerofly FS 4 version 4.03.01.10 (2023-05-24) and should also work on Mac and Linux versions. Use with VR hands should be supported but is untested. Some features are work in progress and may or may not be extended over time.

    Installation

    Please extract the downloaded zip file and move the two folders “sopwith_snipe_early” and “sopwith_snipe_late” into your user folder 'aircraft' directory, on Windows: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\Aerofly FS 4\aircraft\

    Cockpit Layout

    Forward

    Left Side


  • [AIRCRAFT] Metallic Surfaces, Chrome and Aluminium

    Here is the Matt Aluminium Recipe

    normal and ambient applied as above...

    color, reflection, specular and specular_alpha as below...


    note: top right on color texture... metal grey is much darker

    top right... reflection is grey not red

    bottom left specular.... painted areas dark, metal lighter

    bottom right specular_alpha... painted areas lighter, metal darker

    KR Matt

  • [AIRCRAFT] Metallic Surfaces, Chrome and Aluminium

    I'm all for sharing with others what I've learned in developing Aircraft for Aerofly, at least when I can find the time, because if more people are involved in creating content for Aerofly we all benefit.

    One of the challenges I've encountered is getting metallic surfaces on my Aircraft. Notably on the US Navy Buffalo. I came up with a solution that looked pretty good but I would say it looks more chrome than Aluminium. I was never very keen on the fact that it always looked a bit shiney on unlit surfaces... fine for chrome, but not the metallic Aluminium paint often used, that is kind of more matt. Anyway you might want chrome...

    so here is how its achieved. The above does have a normal and ambient texture applied...

    but more crucial are the _color, _reflection, _specular and _specular_alpha....

    _color top left, _relection top right, _specular bottom left, _specular_alpha bottom right. Note reflection texture is more saturated red for shiney areas, less so for painted areas

    KR Matt

  • [RELEASED] Duo Discus for Aerofly FS4 Version 1_0

    Duo Discus for Aerofly FS 4

    Readme for version 1.0

    Description

    The Duo Discus is a high performance glider from the German manufacturer Schempp Hirth. We have recreated this aircraft for Aerofly FS so that you can fly it in the sim. Our Duo Discus comes with several different repaints, some with and some without winglets. The handling characteristics and performance values have been set-up together with a real world Duo Discus pilot and are pretty close to the real world aircraft which make the experience quite realistic and fun.

    Features

    • Great handling characteristics
    • Realistic performance and glide ratio
    • Realistic yaw string simulation
    • Realistic magnetic compass
    • Realistic wing flex
    • Front and rear seat view
    • Canopy can be opened
    • Side windows can be opened
    • Animated stick and rudder pedals
    • Forward facing anti-collision light in the canopy which can be switched off
    • Optional winglets
    • Fully clickable cockpit, all switches, buttons and levers work
    • LX S100 Vario with working compensated, average, MC and last thermal average needles
    • LX S3 Vario with working compensated, average and netto needles, arrival height display based on Aerofly navigation route
    • Switching between thermal and speed vario mode, with front and rear master switching
    • Working COM unit
    • Retractable landing gear with gear warning, that can also be switched off
    • Smartphone moving map
    • Temperature indicator

    Credits and Copyright Ownership

    Duo Discus 3D model and textures: Matthew Ivey

    Pilots 3D model and textures: Bertrand Augras (beber)

    Additional TMD programming: Jan-Hendrik Hanuschik (IPACS)

    Disclaimer

    Use it at your own risk. The Duo Discus is a freeware product which has been tested on a Windows 10 installation of Aerofly FS 4 version 4.03.01.10 (2023-05-24) and should also work on Mac and Linux versions. Use with VR hands should be supported but is untested. Some features are work in progress and may or may not be extended over time.

    Installation

    Please extract the downloaded zip file and move the 'duodiscus' folder into your user folder 'aircraft' directory, on Windows:

    C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\Aerofly FS 4\aircraft\

  • [AIRCRAFT] FUSELAGE VIEW CAMERA

    Clear as mud 😁 I had to look up what a Euler rotation was. Understood about 10% of what I read. Not sure I understand why you need more than a fixed co-ordinate framework xyz and a point location to specify these cameras... I don't follow but maybe I don't need to. What I've done above works. I'll try using that gismo of yours and see what it spits out in the range of -1 to 1. If I can't get this to work can I leave it as is?... That won't cause any problems for AF4?

    KR Matt

  • [AIRCRAFT] FUSELAGE VIEW CAMERA

    Interpreting that for left view as example <[tmvector3d][Direction][ -0.5 -2.2 0.0 ]>

    2.2 radians is 126 degrees and its negative because it looking right rather than left along the width axis

    0.5 is 28.6 degrees, being negative it means the camera is tilted down toward the front, along the length axis, by that angle, from the origin point

    and 0.0 means the vertical axis is perpendicular

    Have I got that right?

    Can you explain what X0 is? I assume R0 is the 3D xyz point the camera is looking from

    Thanks for your help Jan

    KR Matt

  • [AIRCRAFT] FUSELAGE VIEW CAMERA

    So Basically the camera direction is a vector in radians? I have a job working out the values I need... tried -0.5 -0.866 0.0 [/tt]

    that gave me...

    using the hat switch to turn the camera I wanted more like this...

    After some trial and error I used this code....

    Which Looks like this... left

    right...

    KR Matt

  • [AIRCRAFT] FUSELAGE VIEW CAMERA

    Jet-Pack (IPACS)

    Jan, can you explain the way these new Fuselage views are set up because I've been trying to change them for my aircraft and the results aren't always what I expect, so I think I haven't fully grasped how they are set up. I want the camera to look more toward the tail of the aircraft so the whole things is in view... and I've been playing about with the middle direction figure. If I change it from -0.8 to -0.5 that would be 45 degree backwards Yes?

    KR Matt

    Code
                <[camera][CameraLeftFuselageView][]
                <[string8][Body][LeftWing]>
                <[tmvector3d][R0][ -0.6 6.9 0.6 ]>
                <[tmvector3d][X0][ 0.0 -1.0 0.0 ]>
                <[tmvector3d][Direction][ 0.1 -0.8 -0.1 ]>
                <[float64][Cone][0.0]>
                <[bool][InCockpit][false]>
                <[string8][Tags][fuselage wing left]>
            >