Some screenshots of the new T-45... including cockpit images!

Here are some pictures of the new T-45C Goshawk. I finally found some time to work on the cockpit and the student/pilot station is graphically almost complete - I just have to fix some animations and clean up some textures. From the functional standpoint, some needles are not working yet, and I still have to do the warning and caution lights - and the night lighting. In terms of functionality do not expect any major change from the previous version - the major difference will be that what is there should be significantly closer to the real thing.

I am sorry but I do not have time right now to add more comments - so I hope the images above speak for themselves....

The real F-35 Full Mission Simulator

The F-35 Full Mission Simulator

As my previous post was about the real T-45C simulator, here is a picture of the first real "Full Mission" Simulator of the F-35, recently delivered by Lockheed Martin to Eglin Air Force Base's 33rd Fighter Wing.
Obviously this simulator sports state-of-the-art fidelity and realism, as well as a top-notch visualization system and, of course, can be set to simulate all the variants of the F-35.

Back to videogames (yes...I am a blasphemer...I still consider FSX just a videogame...) I have some good news. Meaning that I've made some significant progress with the T-45C student/pilot cockpit...and graphically I'd say it is 90% complete - I just miss some minor details here and there and I'd like to redo a couple of textures. It looks good IMHO. It is mostly "hand-drawn" meaning it looks less photographic and a little more stylized - but it is also much closer to the real deal - and IMHO it is closer to the general graphic style of FSX (& Flight - I hope that it will be possible to port it to the new simulator). Long story short it looks better than the previous one - and it is also less resouce-intensive so that it may be possible to model the instructor cockpit too (albeit I will probably not replicate some minor differences between the two cockpits that are there in the real plane - like different layout of external lights controls to name one). Still the instructor cockpit presence is not confirmed - I may not have time to complete it in a reasonable time.

I will post some WIP pictures of the new cockpit as soon as I've placed all the missing details - probably during the next weekend.

Now, that is a T-45C simulator...

That is a wide screen!

This is (or should be) an actual screenshot... Javier's carrier looks definitely much better :-)

I've recently spotted on the internet few pics of the "real thing", that is the real T-45C simulator... So here they are. The simulator is static and sports a pretty wide screen (although we "simmers" know that it is not the best of the best out there) which seems very effective. In terms of graphics, well, Javier's carrier looks much better IMHO :-) but again, these simulators are not made to impress with graphic realism (or have fun), their job is to help you learning the instruments and the procedures... Then, given the high standards of many "hardcore simmers" (i.e. "I bet I could land a real Tomcat even if I've never touched a real plane" armchair pilot) , I'd bet that there is someone that may consider this simulator "too arcade" :-) Talking about arcade games...for those who missed them, there are some new Microsoft Flight screens on the official website (here). The pattern seems to be a monthly update (alternating screenshots and videos). I think it looks pretty good. Although many will think it is very similar to FSX, on closer inspection, there are some interesting tweaks that make it look much better (for example a MUCH better shadow algorithm - which include autogen now). On the graphic side, I'd say so far so good. I just hope the performance will be good. Also, I think that, at this point it seems clear that, in spite of the name change, this seems to be a new version of Flight Simulator. It will probably have some more missions (which I like) and a "casual mode" (which to allow your 5 years old son fly a 747, but I'm sure it will be optional). I'd be surprised if the maximum level of realism will be lower than the one of FSX - and I honestly can't wait to see more of this new release. I just hope that there will be an efficient way to convert FSX native add-ons to Flight...

T-45C External model complete

My apologies for the lack of updates - I've been very busy in the past few weeks and I had very little time (and will) to work on my FSX projects. Needless to say I've completely missed my target of delivering a Beta version of the new Goshawk before the end of Februrary - and I'm still at least 30 work-hours away from that target.

The good news is that the external model is done - initially I wanted it to be a very light 3d model... but in the end it became a very detailed one (which may disappoint some users with slower machines). On the good side, I am extremely happy with its visual quality - although the outer doors of the main landing gear have a wrong shape.

The virtual cockpit, I mean the student/pilot one, is roughly 50% complete - it still lacks the side consoles as I have not complete their main textures.

The instructor cockpit is still in my to-do list, although I am considering a later release - as I do not have the time and motivation, at present, to complete it in a reasonable time... The main problem is that I work 9-10 hours per day in front of a computer screen, and it is really hard to find the will do sit in front of another computer screen when I am at home!

Also, while I was looking for the right mood to complete the Goshawk cockpit, I did some work on the new Tomcat - the external model is 80% complete and it looks really good too! I'll post some pics as soon as the next build is done.

New Flight screenshots from Microsoft

Microsoft has just published some new screenshots of Flight, along with a much awaited clarification about the Windows Live tag of the new simulator (which generated some speculation that Flight could only be used online).

The new screenshots can be viewed here .
The general opinion is that Flight looks much like FSX - and I think it is true to some extent. Yes, it looks similar... but if you watch closely the screenshots and the video shown so far, you'll notice some significant improvements - like a much better scenery "creation" and better shadows.
I mean the "syntesized" scenery -textures, rivers, coastline, roads and autogen- look definitely better (e.g. coastlines look more realistic) and less prone to some mistakes in the current FSX system (for example the roads and rivers merge much better with the base textures).
As for the shadows, it seems that the algorythm is much more realistic and shadows are much less "abrupt".

I just hope there will be a way to import some of the work done by many designers in FSX. I think it is OK to drop FS9 code compatibility, but I hope the native .mdls can be imported -or at least Microsoft could provide an .X files converter. Should not be much of a problem, as the .X file should be a "DirectX friendly" file format...and then I see the FSX Orion Maule in the screenshots...

Anyway, what we have seen so far looks like a refined FSX. Which is a good thing IMHO. But we all know what we need most: a modern, efficient code that can benefit from current hardware.

Shoul I write a wish list... well, yes, it would be quite long...but if I could just have an improved FSX that runs at full detail at 60fps with some of the most complex add-ons, then I would be happy.

In the meantime, I am still working on the Goshawk... but no significant progress to report so far - mainly due to lack of time.

Another quick update...and a word about facebook and emails.

Just a quick update with some screenshots, including the first images of the new virtual cockpit. The external model is 95% done - it only needs some minor texturing cleanup and a couple of details. It is much better than the previous one IMHO, although it is not as lightweight as I hoped. The cockpit model, on the other hand, is lagging. What you see in the screenshot is what is ready so far - the main panel is ready and so is the canopy - everything else is void for the moment. Let's say it is roghly 30% done. Good news is that it is closer to the real one and uses less resources than the previous iteration - possibly making room for the instructor's cockpit too.

With the current pace, an Alpha build may be ready by the end of February or mid-March. But that is just an estimation and, as usual, it will depend a lot on the time I will have.

Then, a word about e-mails and facebook. Yes, I am on facebook *BUT* I use it to share stupid stuff with my real-life friends. I do not use it to post anything related to Flight Simulator. That is why, while I've received several frienship requests from simmers all around the world, I've always "ignored" them. My apologies for having ignored them, but please understand that my choice is to use facebook only to communicate with people I know in person - it is the only way in which I think facebook is useful and fun for me.

Also, I'd like to apologize for the delay in replying to your emails - unfortunately I do not have time to reply in detail to each one quickly. I'm doing my best - that is spend an hour or two per week replying to my personal email.

Last thing, please do not email me for generic enquiries about Flight Simulator (like how to install scenery, or how to design a plane etc.). I am sorry but I really do not have the time to reply with sufficient level of detail, and, for such questions, you'd better check Google - there are a lot communities which provide plenty of tutorials to do almost everything FSX can do.

Well, that is it for now. I sincerely appreciate your interest in my works and...well...I just wish I had more time!

New T-45C - two screenshots.

Above are a couple of screenshots I posted few days ago at Sim-outhouse... As you can see the outer model is almost done (let's say 95%). It just needs some minor details (mainly in the cockpit), some texture "clean up" and some minor animation tweaks. I have to confess am really happy about its quality so far.

I started working on the virtual cockpit and the main panel is almost done. It has been modeled directly over the NATOPS cockpit diagrams so it should be significantly closer to the real thing (although the previous one was reasonably close). I will post some pictures once a larger portion of it is complete.

For now, the plan is to keep the stock F/A-18 avionics code (HUD and MFDs), so the display will incorrectly indicate two engines and a radar (although I know that a "virtual radar" for the real T-45 is in development - i.e. a "radar simulator" for training). It would be possible to make 100% accurate avionics... but that will require a lot of time and resources.

On the good side the HUD, features some tricks I learned while making the F-35 so it looks better. I have not decided wether to make also the instructor's cockpit or not. I know it would be cool, but I want to keep the project "small" - that is the only way to deliver something.