Zephyr Net

Hi all,

I recently resurrected FA from my bookshelf. It was a favorite of mine back in the late 90's. My son, now 11, was ready, so I unvailed FA and he's been blown away by it. Then I found I wasn't the only FA nut-case. It seems there's a lot of us. And, you guys have done so much with the game even though EA abandoned it. Kudos to all who have done work on libraries.

I've played around now with a few of the libs out there (mostly JK's and the GT libs). Are there libraries out there with flight models that vary "realistically" across different aircraft?

Also, I recall being able to save screen shots of FA duirng gaming. Is my memory fading, or should I be able to do this?

thanks!
raz

To get a screen shot, you first need to be using FA version 1.02F. You know whether you have this or not by looking at the splash screen that comes up when you launch the program. If it says "1.02", you can't do it until you install the 1.02F patch. If it says "1.02F", you are good to go. The key combination is Ctrl-Alt-Shift-V. If you do it right, it will say "Yahoo!"

_________________
That's pronounced SPY - APPLE, and it stands for Sabre Pilot In A Past Life

Air power rests at the apex of the first triad of victory, for it combines mobility, flexibility, and initiative. -- Colonel Corazon Santiago, Spartan Battle Manual

You will then need a screenshot converter to convert teh images from raw format to bmp. I sugges Raw2BMP as it is the most relaible version of the program. I believe Zephyr has it posted for download, but if his version is corrupted, I can send it to you...


CAG out...

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hanks, SPIAPL and CAG!

I take it that recording "video" of a mission is out of the question?

ALSO....

I flew some carrier landning missions I built to test the flight models of the JK libs and the GT libs. With JK, it seems many jets, especially the ones with good lift ratios like the F-18, I can fly as slow as 80 knots. However, the F-4 flew very well (realistic stall speed). Thus, I could not fly the f-18 with a high angle of attack and have it drop altitude.

In contrast, the GT libs seem to bring about more realistic stall speeds with aircraft like the F-18, but on the F-4, the stall speed seems pretty high (near 150 knots).

This is only a few small data points, but I would be interested in hearing about anyone else's experiences.

cheers,
raz

I have not done much flight envelope editing for default aircraft in my libs. The GT lib has always advertised much modification of flight models, although some would say certain stuff is suspect. That lib also contains some interesting spacecraft type vehicles to test the limits of FA envelopes. I believe Kaptor did a lot of flight model work for both his libs and FA Futures.

To record videos you can use a utility such as FRAPS:

http://www.fraps.com/download.php

Zephyr

To the best of my knowledge, all of the naval aircraft in FA have unholy high stall speeds. I hesitated to use Navy flight models in many of the aircraft in my Korea LIB, because it was nearly impossible to get them to take off from land bases without some serious editing of the flight envelopes.

The F-4 is known for really high landing speed, though. Have you ever watched one land, and seen the drag chutes coming out of the back? That's why.

_________________
That's pronounced SPY - APPLE, and it stands for Sabre Pilot In A Past Life

Air power rests at the apex of the first triad of victory, for it combines mobility, flexibility, and initiative. -- Colonel Corazon Santiago, Spartan Battle Manual

That's NOT why, drag chutes are easier on the airframe than full braking and the Air Force decided it was cheaper to use chutes and extend the airframe life. Phantoms DO have a somewhat higher landing speed and were know to be one of THE most landable planes EVER, when coming aboard the carriers.
Now the F-105 had a crazy-mad landing speed, fast enough that you HAD to use the speed brakes to slow down enough to use the braking chute!!

I didnt do much FM modeling for my planes in my LIBs ( a little but not much ) the work I have done for FAF has been massive and impressive but I am still not happy with F-4 and F-22 and F-18 lopes, they are far more accurate than others I have seen but still not quite "right". Would like to find time to perfect them.

_________________
Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

You have all the time that you need Kap! Feel free to make any changes you want to, just let me know...


CAG out...

_________________
Hotshot
"FAF Shape Meister"
FAF/FA-2 Design team
TSH Member/Developer
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FA Futures/FA-2 is Still Being Worked On and Will Be Released...

Not sure if I should start my own thread for this, feel free to fuss at me if I should.

In DOTJA, I used the A-6 FM for the F-84G Thunderjet. It felt pretty much like the Thunderjet in Mig Alley, but does this sound realistic to you guys?

_________________
That's pronounced SPY - APPLE, and it stands for Sabre Pilot In A Past Life

Air power rests at the apex of the first triad of victory, for it combines mobility, flexibility, and initiative. -- Colonel Corazon Santiago, Spartan Battle Manual

Ummmm...

No

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"FAF Shape Meister"
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TSH Member/Developer
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FA Futures/FA-2 is Still Being Worked On and Will Be Released...

CAG, what a/c flight model do you suggest for the F-84? As I recall from my various readings, it wasn't very maneuverable...

_________________
That's pronounced SPY - APPLE, and it stands for Sabre Pilot In A Past Life

Air power rests at the apex of the first triad of victory, for it combines mobility, flexibility, and initiative. -- Colonel Corazon Santiago, Spartan Battle Manual

Well there are no working FMs in default FA, so you cant use anything in there to simulate any aircraft, even the one it is designed for originally.

I suggest you instead spend time learning how to edit FMs and get the data you need from research on the F-84 and then make your own original FM...

That is how Kap does it...


CAG out...

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FA Futures/FA-2 is Still Being Worked On and Will Be Released...

I know, it's an old thread.

I just noticed tonight that the F-4 default ceiling is 42k'. Atrocious!

I'd like to know everyone's opinion on which available lib/mod has the closest to "realistic" flight models?

Have we come to a concensus on this issue? (Kapset ?, Fa Futures 2003 ?, Others ?)

FAF... Kapster... then the 714 Libset.

I tested Kap's F-15C for FAF against the parameters from the DCS F-15C and they are spot on for maximum G, instant turn rate, take off roll, landing roll, and acceleration with standard internal fuel and air to air weapons load. His landing gear is a bit more touchy but I believe he did that to force players to burn their fuel before landing.

His F-16s are a match for what came out of Falcon 4 BMS as well as can be simulated in FA...

The G load limits with weapons are not simulated well in FA so Kap was able to work into the G tables a weight imposed performance penalty to simulate it. How he did it I have no idea... I was never able to do that work... His skills were unsurpassed.

All his MiGs are quite good for what was available publicaly as were his Sukhois.

_________________
Hotshot
"FAF Shape Meister"
FAF/FA-2 Design team
TSH Member/Developer
VNFAWING.com Forum Administrator

VNFAWING Forums
VNFAWING Website

FA Futures/FA-2 is Still Being Worked On and Will Be Released...