Projects updates....

I have not updated the blog in a while, mainly because my vacations are over and I am back to my "real life" job... which leaves me very little time for my FSX hobby. Also, my apologies if I have not yet replied to all of the emails - sorry for that.
Anyway, here is a brief update on all the projects I am working on.
F-14D Super Tomcat

EXTERNAL MODEL: I still haven't finished the external model....which is like 99% done. Basically I still need to complete some animations and very minor details. It will be ready soon - it is really a question of few hours of work. Here is how it looks now.

VIRTUAL COCKPIT: The main reason why the external model is not yet complete is that I've mostly been working on the virtual cockpit, which in my plans would come after the completion of the external model. The reasons is that I've received a lot of high-resolution cockpit pictures sent by Ken Simmons from the Castle Air Museum which are a fantastic source to bring the cockpit model to a completely new level. I am really happy of the visual quality of the new cockpit, and although it is way too early to show it - I believe it is much better than the previous version.

FLIGHT MODEL: Well, not much to do here... I believe the actual flight model is good enough, but I will go through the NATOPS page by page, looking for major mistakes.

 

OTHER: I am considering to "hire" some volunteers for this project: I'd need one or two repainters, a sound expert and someone who is willing to create gauges for the RIO avionics - by the way this will be an F-14D(R). I have not taken a final decision on how to do it, but if you consider youself an expert in those area and have some spare time in the next few months, please continue following this blog.

T-45C Goshawk

Yes, I am still working on the T-45C... The thing is that making the F-14D I felt the NACES model was inadequate for the new Tomcat VC and I've improved it. But the T-45C is using the NACES seat too, so I have upgraded the VC with the new seat 3D model - and made some other minor improvements here and there. It should be available soon. Here is how the VC is looking at the moment:

 

 

F-35 Lightning II

 

I am considering a further update which will include new animations (crew boarding ladder and maintenace panels), new loadouts (JSOW most probably) and some minor texturing-bug fixes... Should not take long to complete it... but I have not decided the final features list and as you can see there is a lot of things I am working on...

 



 

Some WIP screenshots of the new Tomcat...

F-35 Version 2.05 Release

I have decided to pack all the recent fixes and updates to an official release, which will also limit the need to download files and patches from Mediafire (as it looks that some of its ads/pop-ups could been malicious). Version number is 2.05 and is being uploaded to SimMarket as I write.

Please remember that the installation of version 2.05 will overwrite all aicraft.cfg files - that is will delete the entries of any third party liveries you may have installed. You will need to re-add the entries in the .cfg files as needed.

Version 2.05

August 24^th 2012 – CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS VERSION:

• Added Royal Netherlands Air Force repaint
• Fixed miscellaneous problems with F-35C model
• Added paintkit (in the form of an uncompressed .bmp file without any nationality or squadron marking, no layers-sorry). These uncompressed .BMP files are stored in the “Paintkit” subfolder of each aircraft in the “SimObjects/Airplanes” folder of you FSX installation. The .BMPs are stored in .ZIP files to reduce footprint, as we believe most users will not need them.

Warning! Possible Virus threat?

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UPDATE - FILES ARE FINE

Myself, and several users, have checked the files with different antivirus software, and the files look OK. I believe the menace is in some malicious ads or pop-ups which may appear in the Mediafire page when downloading. So, seems there is no fault from my side, but please remember to navigate pages with an antivirus software activated and always check the file you download.

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Warning! I have received a second notice from a user that some my files could be potentially be infected by and unidentified virus. The first user reported a virus warning from the paintkit of the F-35, while another was just hit by a virus after downloading some of the F-35 quick fixes. I am not sure if there is actually a virus in my files or if the virus threat resides in a Mediafire ad or pop-up.

I always scan my files with my default antivirus, which is AVG (Free edition) and I have just installed also AVAST as a "second line" protection (Free edition, too) and they both report that my files and my system are free from viruses. 

I also, do not understand how a virus could infect an FSX addon without any .exe file... so I tend to believe that these threats could come from Mediafire...but I am not an expert in this field.

For the moment, I am not taking any actions as I am waiting to know more about this - I just wanted you to know.

F-14D Tomcat 2.00

Here are two screenshots of the new F-14D - external model still needs more work, especially in the cockpit area and in the animations (by the way, this time I think it is better to control the wing sweep manually with flaps controls...but still TBD).
Do not expect anthing to be ready before late Autumn, anyway, as there is plenty of work to do on the virtual cockpit.

F-35 Project - Updated to version 2.02 and clean textures for repainters

 

 

I have just uploaded a small update to the F-35 project to SimMarket - it should be available in few hours. It is a full install, 126Mb - as far as I understand, previous customers will be notified by email, while new customers will get directly the new installer.

 

Version 2.02

August 8^th 2012 – CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS VERSION:

• Added clean configuration to F-35C. This was left out from initial release due to poor quality of the modeling, but has been added due to popular request. We apologize for the lower quality of the model, which we do not consider up to part with the rest of the package.
• Fixed typo in VMFAT-501 texture set
• Changed landing gear strut textures
• Added AF-6, BK-1 and CF-1 texture sets
• Fixed minor bug on -C aircraft configuration that made the JDAM-only model unavailable to the user

Yes, I finally bent to popular will (vox populi, vox dei as the Romans said) and added the much awaited "clean" F-35. I still consider the quality of the mesh very poor, so I though it was better to leave it out of the package and provide it as a separate dowload. Then, I saw that most of the users did not download any of the updates - because probably they never visited this blog. And in the end, you cannot see the modeling defects from most of the angles (basically you see the bad polygons only if you fly upside down)... so I decided to include that in the package.

This update includes all the previous fixes, plus another repaint of the F-35A. Speaking of repaints, here is the link to the repaint "kit". It is not a proper repaint kit as I do not work with layers (yes I am a dinosaur in that respect) so they are basically "clean", uncompressed bmps. I hope they are enough for the repainters to work on it, although, I am not sure that we will see much color on the real F-35... apart from the very first prototypes, all the other schemes are gray only - maybe the radar-absorbing, robot-disposed paint used for the F-35 does not allow much in terms of colors... we'll see. Anyway here it is:

F-35 PAINTKIT (No layers, plain, uncompressed .bmp without nationality or unit markings)

As a note to repainters, I do not plan to do any more repaints - that is all from my side.
That's all for now...and probably for a while: I am in vacation, and, for what concerns my FSX hobby, I am moving full-time on the Tomcat. I hope I will have some great news for the old feline soon.

 

F-35 is available for download at SimMarket

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IMPORTANT!
I've been noticed that the installer has an issue and misplaces the files in the FSX folders (it places the model files into the SimObject folder, but they should go into the SimObject/Airplanes subfolder). If you know how to install FSX files manually, you are probably able to fix this.... but I've fixed the bug and an updated installer is being uploaded right now... sorry for the inconvenience!!!!

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It looks like the F-35 is already available at SimMarket...and I was the last one to know! Anyway, I had not given to SimMarket formal authorization to proceed - as I wanted to make a couple of changes to the webpage.

For one, calling the project "The Real F-35" is not an idea of mine, and I will ask SimMarket to change it. I believe it is a reasonable simulation - but it is far from being as "real" as other addons.

The product has still some bugs - sorry for that - but I hope that the quality level is acceptable for most users as the price - if my calculations are right, this will be just enough to cover the development costs. Again, this is not a job for me, nor I do not want it to be - still, I hope the F-35 is "professional" enough for most users to enjoy flying it. Have fun!