F-35 Lightning II - Closing Beta 1 testing

While I had not much time to work on the F-35 lately, I've already made several changes - and tried to fix the defects of the Beta 1.
My current "internal" build is now significantly different from the Beta 1, which is to be considered out-of-date.
I will keep updating the Beta 1 WIP post as reference (link below - please note it is not up-to-date in the moment I am writing):

http://indiafoxtecho.blogspot.com/2010/03/f-35a-beta-1-test-work-in-progress-post.html

At present, the only thing I am unable to fix is the occasional "jamming" of the MFD - the associated XML code seems correct, and the root cause seems to be a FSX "delay" in passing some internal parameters between the gauges... I will try changing the code once again, as soon as I will have the time - but chance is that this defect will be there at the time of release.
By the way, before the product is released, I will publish a document with a complete list of known inaccuracies and defects. The product will be available for download on a "no refunds" policy, which is common practice for many e-commerce sites. While I do not like the "no refunds" attitude, there are no practical ways in which I could support refunds. The best thing I can do is to give to potential customers the most accurate and complete information I can provide.

Here is an updated project schedule (realistic best-case scenario):

03/21 - Closing CR's for Beta 1
03/23 - Start AF-1 and F-35A model conversion
03/31 - All models complete
04/04 - Submit Beta 2 for final checks
04/11 - Create final build
04/15 - Submit to e-commerce sites

And while the virtual F-35 is late... it seems that the real one is making huge steps forward: the VTOL version is moving towards vertical flight test - currently slows down to 40 knots!

http://www.f-16.net/news_article4027.html

UPDATE:

F-35B achieves first vertical landing!
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/100318ae_f35b-vertical-landing.html

other videos (short take-off, hovering) here:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/f35/index.html

F-35A Beta 1 test Work-in-Progress post

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NOTICE TO TESTERS
I noticed from the test reports that there is a misunderstanding on how the new HMD should be used. The new HMD does not require the SHIFT+1 superimposition - doing so will be confusing and redundant.
There will be, in the final version, a simple superimposition of some information (e.g. mock weapon status) to give the "feel" of an HMD... but flight data will be fixed in space in front of the A/C. This is also the way it works (afaik) in the real plane - only some tactical and weapons information (and night vision) follow the head movement. The rest is fixed like a HUD - with an exceptionally wide FOV.
***********************


Below is a list of issues either known or found in the Beta1 build as released to testers tonight. This list includes only the "accepted" issues - i.e. things that I acknowledge as actual defects (if compared towards the scope of the project).
I will keep this list updated, as reference for me, for the testers and also for anyone interested in the project progress.

Note to testers: no need to rush - I won't have much time until the next weekend. While evaluating the flight model, please keep in mind the fact that the aircraft is loaded with two JDAMs.

UPDATED 16-03-2010

External model:

1) Nose gear door does not close perfectly. STATUS: CLOSED - there was a glitch in the animation sequence, fixed on model build 48.

2) Fuselage/engine nozzle do not merge as they should. STATUS:CLOSED - modified nozzle 3d model on build 49

3) Nose gear - one piece of the old nose gear structure is still visible. STATUS: CLOSED - deleted on model build 49

4) Right Slammer misplaced. STATUS: CLOSED - Fixed on model build 49

5) Visual interference of main wheels into gear doors. STATUS: CLOSED - Fixed on model build 49

6) Pilot reflection on canopy glass is too strong (especially evident with canopy open) - STATUS:CLOSED - minor issue, but enhanced glass transparency so that the effect is less evident on model build 49

7) Uneven brightness of the A/B base textures. STATUS:CLOSED, minor issue but a/b base texture redone.

8) Shiny engine surfaces in A/B area do not look good (depending on lightning). STATUS:CLOSED, shiny attributes removed from engine inner surfaces

9) Asymmetry in the slats position. STATUS:CLOSED. There was a mistake in the animation tags, fixed

10) Slime lights offset from the tail surfaces. STATUS:Closed. Fixed position of the slime light polys - a small gap is still visible under certain conditions (gap is present to avoid clipping issues).

11) Nose gear Y-bone and landing lights are too high. STATUS:Closed. Lowered the 3D objects a little.

12) Missing guiding features from the refuel receptacle. STATUS:CLOSED. Action: redesigned refuel receptacle area - still not 100% accurate, but should be much closer to the real design.

13) Lights position/strobe/white nav light. STATUS:Open. Lights position is being changed. Some unintended reflection on the fuselage is possible due to FSX default effects (evaluating custom light effects). Nav white light missing as I could not identify its actual location. Strobe missing for the same reason.

14) Wing vortices location mismatch. STATUS:CLOSED. Action: Roberto sent a file that fixed this issue. Thanks Roberto.

15) Afterburner effects bleeding through the engine nozzle. STATUS: Open. Action:unclear. This is not usually not due to a model or coding fault, but it is due to two things: 1- Misplacement of .fx graphic effects by FSX (happens to various amount on all systems) 2- User graphics driver setting to "performance" (instead of quality) will create major bleeding. I will rework the effect a little, but bleeding may still appear on some systems, depending on setting and drivers. EDIT: redesign of the .fx system should significantly reduce the bleeding.

16) Afterburner effect does not extend much beyond the nozzle profile. STATUS: Open. Action:Complete redesign of the afterburner effect. Now extends beyond the nozzle with a nice halo - afterburner stages are preserved. A little tweaking may be needed for stage 2 - currently too yellow.

17) Oxygen mask animation sequence incorrect. Oxymask floating in the air from time to time. STATUS:CLOSED. Redone specific animation sequence. Still, not 100% fixed as it would required a skinned (non-rigid) mesh - but should be much better in most cases.

Rejected CR's:

- Enhance detail of the nose probe. Reason for rejection: changes would not be noticed by the majority of the users.

Virtual cockpit:

1) MFD pages may occasionally jam. STATUS: OPEN - after several attempts the situation is much better, but still happens. Action: Not sure if I can completely fix it. User can reset the MFD or reselect the page - and this usually fixes the issue. NOTE: Most users do not experience this or do not feel this as a critical defect. Status turned to yellow.

2) ICAWS mode inop. STATUS: CLOSED - Added ICAWS code to XML gauges

3) Incorrect light switches operation. STATUS: OPEN - Action: modified XML tags associations

4) Miscellaneous mismatches of the FUEL MFD page. STATUS:CLOSED - fixed .XML graphic and text calls had left to right mismatch...

5) A-ICE button inop. STATUS:OPEN. Action: add missing code. It is unclear what the real function should be - in doubt, the switch will activate all the anti-ice systems of the A/C

6) A/P: unnecessary bank control code. STATUS: CLOSED. Removed code completely.

7) A/P: missing VVI control code. STATUS: CLOSED. Reworked A/P layout and added requested feature.

8) A/P: A/T trigger not working. STATUS:OPEN. Action: unclear. I may be missing some essential entry for the A/T... since my FSX planes all suffer from this issue.

9) MFD:Graphic "ghosts" in the ENG and FCS pages (and misc.malfunctions). STATUS: CLOSED. It was a side effect of double gauge calls (implemented to limit the jamming issue). Double calls removed.

10) HUD/HMD: Optimize resolution and color. STATUS: CLOSED. Now it looks as good as it can be :-)

11) HUD/HMD: VTOL icon appears when the HOOK/STOVL button is pressed. STATUS:OPEN. Action: this would be correct for F-35B - should be removed from F-35A .

Flight model:

1) Microoscillations when the plane is still. STATUS:OPEN - due to contact points instability - it was fixed on aprevious build but it is back in the latest. Action: Check contact points / aircraft .cfg

2) Minor yaw instability. STATUS: CLOSED. Action: while there may be some margin for further improvement, latest flight model is much less prone to yaw instability. Thanks Roberto.

3) Turn rate may be too good. STATUS: CLOSED. Action: latest flight model show a less optimistic / more realistic turn rate... still, this is, of course, the best guess we can. Thanks Roberto.

4) Potential minor tweaking needed to aileron / elevators effectiveness (slightly unresposive in some areas of the flight envelope). STATUS: CLOSED. Modified aileron effectiveness.


Color key:
Green - issue solved, or mitigated to the point is acceptable or not perceived by most users.
Yellow -issue open, and could be perceived as product defect by many users. Awaiting action or investigation. Or issue open, mitigated to the best of my knowledge but will still be perceived as defect by users. Or issue open but appears easy to fix.
Red - root cause not identified as of today. Or the problem is beyond my knowledge or impossible or difficult to solve.

What after the F-35?

Coverpage of one of the many T-45 manuals you can find on public access U.S. Navy sites, like CNATRA website. Although the T-45C NATOPS is not available to the public, these manuals are a very interesting read for any naval aviation ethusiast...and made me realize some of the mistakes in my T-45 model.

I've received several emails asking what would be my next project after the F-35, and, while the Lightning II is not yet out of the door (nor is the Beta1 at the moment I am writing) I have a clear idea on what I will do next.

And it will be the T-45 again. Ok, I know this may be a disappointment, especially for some Italian friends that were waiting for Italian plane (like the Aermacchi 339 or 346) - but I managed to get my hands on a lot of T-45 documents (in fact most of the Navy flight training course docs are publicly available from the Navy sites - with exception of the Natops) and found that my T-45 rendition is inaccurate on several aspects.

This new project would have:
- completely new visual model: an even more accurate 3d model, hi-res textures and with all the tricks I've learned in the past two years.
- an even more accurate cockpit, with optimized geometry and as close as I can to the Navy docs
- better flight model
...and any enhancement or suggestion that I've received in the past years

In short, I'd like to bring the T-45 project up "one-notch" - the scope would be to provide the community with an even more effective and accurate education and training tool for virtual naval operation. The project will be freeware - as the target is knowledge sharing. I am considering an "optional" payware version with some extras (like the rear seat cockpit) to cover some development costs, but those may be well covered by the F-35 - so it is just an option.

F-35A Beta version ready for test

Just a quick note to let you know that the Beta 1 version is complete. There are some nasty bugs (like the tendency of the MFD to turn into a complete mess fo no apparent reason) and some of the planned functionality is still missing - but should be a huge step forward with respect to the Alpha.
Since it is pretty late in the night (and since I am too sleepy to do ir right now) the files will not be packed and sent to the recipients today. I will do that asap (not sure if tomorrow or Tuesday). I will make a post once the emails have been sent.

F-35 Project update

F-35A Final outer model for Beta release

While the Beta build is still not complete yet (I'm still adding MFD functionalities), I've finally managed to go through all the CR's from the Alpha and implement fixes where possible.
There is still some work to be done, but in any case I will release the Beta 1 the next weekend (even if it will only have the AA-1 model and still miss some of the MFD functionality).

Here are the changes implemented in response to the Alpha test feedback:

EXTERNAL MODEL

1. Nozzle animation incorrect -> Redone nozzle animation (but still linked to throttle)
2. Jaggies nearby the engine intake area -> Modified fuselage model, (but it is still slightly visible)
3. Excessive gap between engine nozzle and fuselage -> Modified geometry to get rid of the gap on AA-1 model (NOTE: AF-1 and subsequent planes have a different design)
4. Wheel/tires animation incorrect -> Fixed wheel parameters in .cfg file
5. Navigation lights missing -> Placed lights in .cfg file
6. Covers for auxiliary air intakes missing when using SHIFT+E+4 command. -> Modeled auxiliary air inlet cover, but I will not model additional ribbons and covers as I'm saving polys for the weapons model
7. Irregular bumps in the external model -> Redone fuselage geometry
8. Poor detail in the refuel receptacle -> Refuel receptacle modeled
9. Poor detail in the nose landing gear -> Redone most parts of the main gear and applied new textures.
10. AIM-120 not attached to hardpoints -> modeled hardpoints for AA-1 will model LAU-147 for operative model
11. Nose gear door detail/accuracy not good enough -> Redesigned hinge and added actuator and new texture
12. Request to model the lights in more detail -> No additional modeling (issues in Boolean operations geometry), but better texture. Miscellaneous other actions (not requested by testers)
13. Wrong size of main gear wheels / tires -> Modified model
14. Add detail to the main fuselage texture diffuse/spec/bump -> Enhanced textures
15. Fix mistake in texture UVW in the inner side of air intake -> Fixed
16. Add separate moving part for weapon door hinge - visible on real plane on closer inspection, not modeled -> Modeled (note:unsure if real design is changed in AF-1)
17. A/c is sitting rather low on the main gear. Changes to the animation sequence and contact points needed. -> Changed animations and .cfg file, a/c now sits correctly

To do list:

- Better afterburner effect

No action / CR reject:

-None-

VIRTUAL COCKPIT

NOTE: VC functionality has been completely redone with new custom HUD by Jivko Rusev and Scott Printz and new custom MFD - The list below covers only issues on the Alpha build that are applicable to Beta

1. Virtual cockpit frame rate low / excessive number of polygons -> Optimization led to a 15% reduction in polys and removal of 2 texture sheets
2. Minor texturing UWV misplacement on cockpit floor -> Fixed
3. VC night lighting too bright -> Changed .fx file
4. Incorrect tooltip showing "parking brake" in the battery area -> Fixed
5. Visual hole aboce the pedals (polygons missing) -> Fixed
6. "No Hold" texture stretched above ejection seat -> Fixed
7. Stick movement excessive if compared to real F-35 stick -> Fixed

To do list:

- Complete rework of the cockpit XML (80% done - Many MFD buttons/pages are now functional)

No action / CR reject:

- "patches" on the side of the Vc glass are unconnected to the canopy; Action: modify the Vc model -> No action. Unclear how the area looks like in reality.

- Explosivc cord not connected to glass -> No action. Better leave as is to avoid clipping.

FLIGHT MODEL

Note: special thanks to Roberto Leonardo for some of the fixes.

1. Excessive top speed -> Redone Wave drag table. Now it is approximately Mach 1.69
2. Weak brakes -> Fixed brakes effectiveness
3. Pitch changes depending on throttle setting -> Fixed/mitigated with new .air file
4. Pitch changes when activating virtual speedbrake -> Fixed/mitigated with new .air file
5. Low roll rate -> Fixed with new .cfg file
6. Excessive loss of energy during high-G turns -> Fixed with new .air file (may be slightly too good now?)
7. Virtual speedbrakes not much effective -> Fixed
8. A/c prone to yaw instability during takeoff run -> Mitigated (but not completely solved - further stabilization led to a behaviour unresponsive to rudder)
   

To do list:

-Nothing, awaiting Beta test

No action / CR reject:

- High AoA dynamics causes excessively low stall speed (75kts)-> No action - left as is not to screw landing behaviour (which seems good)

- Check landing attitude AoA -> No action. Landing behaviour seems good for most users

- Full flap deployment happens at low speed -> No action. Left under FSX automatic control as maneuver flaps

F-35 Lightning II - project update and some screenshots

F-35 AA-1 climbing nearby Edwards AFB (photoscenery made with FSET). Fuselage textures are now slightly more detailed - and for AA-1 I've added a "scorched" effect to the paint nearby the APU exhaust (as happened in the real AA-1 - AFAIK, exhaust has been moved to the lower side on all models except the -C for deck crew safety concerns...)

Testing low speed flight characteristics neaby Edwards AFB. So far so good. Most, if not all, of the issues in the Alpha build are solved and the plane flies smoothly and it is easy to fly (with thanks to Roberto Leonardo's tweaks especially in the tight turns department).

On of the major areas of improvement is the MFD which is now truly multifunctional, and allocates fewer texture sheets. Some of the MFD pages will be accurate to their real counterparts - some others will be less accurate but I'm confident that the final layout will be a reasonable compromise.

The general cockpit layout is accurate, with some exceptions and artistic licences here and there. For example the canopy frame is the "weight optimized" version - somewhat different from the actual AA-1. Another example is the lights panel, which sits where an emergency electrical panel should be. In geneal I've tried to balance accuracy, useability, graphics and...fun. Yes, I am one of those who still thinks that, afterall, it's just a videogame :-)

Last, but definitely not least, there is the new HMD by Jivko Rusev and Scott Printz. Basically Jivko has taken Scott's excellent F/A-18 HUD code and adapted it to the F-35. This new HMD gauge is as close as possible to real one (given the information publicly available) and it is a huge step forward in cockpit useability. Scott and Jivko have kindly provided the authorization to include it in the package - and looking at the screenshot I took I realize it does not do justice to their work... It looks awesome. Trust me.

Well... Above are some screens - as promised. I did not have much time to work on the F-35 lately, so the Beta is 10 days late... and the chances that I will be able to complete it before the next weekend are pretty small. I do not think I've much to add to what I wrote below the screenshots... but in short: the visual model is even more accurate, the flight model is better, the VC has more functionality and there is a great new HMD by Jivko Rusev and Scott Printz.

Now, I just hope I will find the time needed to complete it in the next weeks...

How to manage extremely complex 3D models in FSX

One of the issues I had devoping the F-35 was the extreme complexity of the model in terms of polycount - which led to several issues while compiling the model.
The problem I had was related to some of the "undocumented" FSX limitations. It was advertised that FSX models had no restrictions in terms of poly count, making it possible to create extremely complex models - far beyond FS2004 limits.... And this is true, with a catch.

There is still a 64K buffer limit for the draw calls - which in FSX are "grouped" by material. That is, you cannot have a unlimited number of vertices/polygons using EXACTLY the same material - as the polys of every part (even if disconnected) using the same material concur in the same draw calls buffer: this may result in:

• FSX exporter fails to compile
• Mdl is compiled but some parts are not showing correctly in FSX (either do not show at all, or they appear black or they cast shadows and don't show at all... I've seen every kind of weirdness)

SOLUTION:

• Create several slightly different copies of the material in gmax (e.g. Engine_material_1, Engine_material_2, Etc. which may differ just by 1 point of specular power in the basic material proprieties so they will look the same in FSX)
• Assign Engine_material_1 to some of the engine parts, Engine_material_2 to others, etc. so that each engine part goes into a different buffer
• Compile and be happy

This is the magic "trick" that allows extremely complex models in FSX.
ONE CAVEAT: if this is your case, it is likely you have exceeded the visual complexity reccomended by Microsoft. That means you may have users that will complain about the frame rates when compare your model to default ones...

To be honest this was not the first time I've encountered this problem - but I saw that this trick was unknown to some designers and I wanted to share the knowledge. By the way, I'm told that similar issues (and solutions) happen in FS9.

As for the F-35... in Italy we say "appetite comes with eating", meaning that once you started making one thing it may be difficult to stop. In this case, I started a minor rework of the MFD to add some functionality...and it turned into a major remake (which was also helpful to reduce the number of textures). As of today, HSI,MAP,ENGine,FUEL,FCS sub-screens are working and 99% complete... The other functions (COM,ICAWS and WEApon subscreens) are much easier to make - the problem is that I do not have much time to work in
I promise I will post some images tonight.