Com-Central.net

Okay gents, please check PM's.....Beta2 is ready if you have time (and thanks already for your time on this).

Y'all should see much better things now. Here's where we stand:

1) Missing P-38 and T38a gauge files (Thanks Ascout)
FIXED. The two necessary Gauge files are now included in the panel folders for appropriate versions, so no missing switches or gauges, and no other existing gauge files in the FS9 Gauge folder will be overwritten.

2) Put a GPS in the aircraft - add as window option (Thanks jo_wingnut)
Fixed by fr8ycat - enjoy your cross-country flights, wingnut!

3) Compass size needs to be adjusted (Thanks jo_wingnut and Kitform)
Fixed by fr8ycat - if it fails now, remeber that moss grows on the North side of trees...(or is it the South side??...)

4) No water effect when hovered over water (Thanks jo_wingnut)
Working here. She's a little thang, so maybe you have to get close,or possible check your effects folder, just like the stock Bell 206 this craft uses:

wake=fx_wake
water=fx_spray

..in the effects section.

Here's what she do when she get near water......


5) No Mainrotor blur in VC (fr8ycat)
Fixed with a vengeance by fr8ycat.

6) No defualt install path in installer for Euro users (Thanks Kitform)
Fixed - installer now still looks for the FS9 install path registry key and has a text path if that can't be found.

7) On the collective lever there is a starter button that is non-operable (Thanks Kitform).
Standard for this collective model, based on the Bell 206 - it's decoration only and can't be made functional as is, without making a custom button. Wish we could do that Kit, and nice catch anyway.

8 ) Collective stick, the throttle control is very slow, takes lots of mouse clicks to open/close the throttle (Thanks Kitform).
This looks to be pretty standard again for the stock collective model fr8ycat is using. Allows for fine tuning!

9) When the throttle is closed the Oil pressure gauge reads ‘in the green’ but open the throttle and the oil pressure guage ‘red lines’ (Thanks Kitform)
This, actually, is what fr8ycat's info shows, he has a photo of a real OH-6 panel taken while the engine is running and the oil pressure is pegged. You won't believe how many hours fr8ycat spent duplicating that.....

10) Don’t think the avionics switch turns off the ADF display (Thanks Kitform)
Well, after the gauge fixing and all, it seems to be working now. There was a gauge update that should resolve it, is working on my end now very well, and can you re-check?

And finally - the panels you should all see now:

Civilian 2D:


Law Enforcement 2D:



Civilian VC:


Law Enforcement VC:


This should do it.......pending a Happy New Year (our deadline goal) and many beers for ya's!!!

Stoopy...
Got your PM and went to download...
I get the dreaded "file not found", the linky...she-a no worky for me. Maybe not loaded yet?

And the most important fix of all..................My melon!

Guess I just got used to it but the pilots face is a carry over from the Army Version (RW pilot).

Not that my mug is any better but found a pic that's real official lookin, strictly buisness and "just the facts Mam".

Excellent.

Compass fixed, install path fixed, all guages and switches present. All the points I noticed have been addressed.

Excellent work and a lovely 'copter to fly.

Thanks guys for the hours you have put into this project, the result was worth it.

Nice work fellas...

Good good good! Ascout, check PM - somehow a colon got dropped from the link in the PM to you (have sent it to a proctologist for a 'scopy).

One last thing, the final inclusion of fr8ycat's new helmet and fear-inducing features needs to be added, pending an email.

So the final version will have to have that one last change, will send one more PM to anyone that doesn't mind again - last-minute final important tweak, you know how those go!

Excellent work fellas. Tested it this morning and everything works. She's a keeper. All the corrections previously noted and checked on the one that I downloaded and they all worked. I have to laugh, I had the missing gauges in my file previously, so I didn't see that particular problem. The recommendations I made were looked at with the Beta 2 version and all were working properly. I also noticed the change in the rotor in the 3d panel that I didn't really note with version 1. Nice touch. I would say she's ready for public consumption. Also, I would like to suggest a white or blank texture be added to the file for those folks that like to do repaints, and you know there are folks like that out there. It doesn't have to be listed in the config file, as those folks that do repaints will create their own entries using your basic entries. I know at least one group that would probably love the helo, and when it is released, I'm going to suggest they get it. That group is the Transload Virtual Airlines. Being a member of them, I know they will love it.

Count on it, wingnut. Part of the prep work of the exterior painting has been to maintain a fully-layered set of template files for each component with seperate rivet, detail, shadow, highlight, ATC_Number and color layers. About 8 or 10 seperate layers in all, and these will be made available very shortly after release in a Paintkit download containing template files in both PSP (Paint Shop Pro v8 or higher) and PSD (Adobe Paintshop) format. Has to be done this way because the rear doors use pure black to create an Alpha transparency layer for the windows, and as you see there are two different window types - which beats having two seperate full .MDL files. So the template files for the rear doors have seperate layers for each window type and corresponding molding and shadow that can simply be turned on or off with a mouse click by the painter. You'll see on the pending Lowskids version there will be a third additional Rear Door option that this approach allows for......

Additionaly for the paint kit, there is a "Master" template file that has all seperate components (fuse, cowl, tailboom, rear doors) arranged in final position to each other, still as seperate layers, so a painter can draw up stripe schemes and such on an overlay layer, then merge down onto each layer, then cut, copy, rotate and resize each copy into each seperate template file as an accurate reference - this should help greatly in one thing I have a lot of trouble with on helos, which is the very painstaking job of aligning stripe placement and angles between components. The stripes on the Pomona PD version go across all four components and the texture mapping is slightly different for each, so it was a chore that should now be greatly assisted by this approach.

Just have to make sure the final release is fozen and then I'll final-prep the paintkit, it'll be available very soon after the Lowskids version goes out the door which is following immediately next.....we just have some quick shuffling of some skids and such to do, all the other tweaks from this Highskids version will be rolled in. Sound OK?

If you go to helispot.com or airliners.net and do a photo search, there are some gorgeous examples to model from the real world....not to mention any fictional types that should look equally sexy. It would be GREAT to see some additional repaint versions of this hot ol' gal!

I'd like to make at least three more paints for it after release, one of which will be of a real-world model, this one to be exact......just in case anyone has plans for this paint scheme, I'm claiming it in advance, that's all I ask!

Stoopy...
OK, got my new zip file. Haven't loaded it yet. Just a note: "Deane Baunton's" name still needs correction in the readme file...don't forget!

D'oh!!!!

It's in three places altogether.......the README outside of the installer (included in the ZIP), the presentation info within the installer screen itself, and in the readme that gets written to the aircraft's folder.

I corected it in the last two places but not the first - you'll see when you install. Dang, man, you know Stoop's weaknesses like the back of your hand! Good one!

- JG300-Stoopy

Count on it, wingnut. Part of the prep work of the exterior painting has been to maintain a fully-layered set of template files for each component with seperate rivet, detail, shadow, highlight, ATC_Number and color layers. About 8 or 10 seperate layers in all, and these will be made available very shortly after release in a Paintkit download containing template files in both PSP (Paint Shop Pro v8 or higher) and PSD (Adobe Paintshop) format. Has to be done this way because the rear doors use pure black to create an Alpha transparency layer for the windows, and as you see there are two different window types - which beats having two seperate full .MDL files. So the template files for the rear doors have seperate layers for each window type and corresponding molding and shadow that can simply be turned on or off with a mouse click by the painter. You'll see on the pending Lowskids version there will be a third additional Rear Door option that this approach allows for......

Additionaly for the paint kit, there is a "Master" template file that has all seperate components (fuse, cowl, tailboom, rear doors) arranged in final position to each other, still as seperate layers, so a painter can draw up stripe schemes and such on an overlay layer, then merge down onto each layer, then cut, copy, rotate and resize each copy into each seperate template file as an accurate reference - this should help greatly in one thing I have a lot of trouble with on helos, which is the very painstaking job of aligning stripe placement and angles between components. The stripes on the Pomona PD version go across all four components and the texture mapping is slightly different for each, so it was a chore that should now be greatly assisted by this approach.

Just have to make sure the final release is fozen and then I'll final-prep the paintkit, it'll be available very soon after the Lowskids version goes out the door which is following immediately next.....we just have some quick shuffling of some skids and such to do, all the other tweaks from this Highskids version will be rolled in. Sound OK?

If you go to helispot.com or airliners.net and do a photo search, there are some gorgeous examples to model from the real world....not to mention any fictional types that should look equally sexy. It would be GREAT to see some additional repaint versions of this hot ol' gal!

I'd like to make at least three more paints for it after release, one of which will be of a real-world model, this one to be exact......just in case anyone has plans for this paint scheme, I'm claiming it in advance, that's all I ask!

I'm thinking "Anomaly Airways" could use one of those....modeled on the one Hangman did for me on the AS350. Same-same as that, but on the OH-6A.

Ooo, that would look good - wonder if Hangman would be interested, or if not if he'd mind licensing that scheme out for someone else to paint? You're right, is IS choice!

Ascout, jo_wingnut, Kitform, can I ask one more favor please? Pretty Please?

We have one last final tweak - unhappy with the pilot helmet, colors and face, fr8ycat remodeled the helmet (see his post above) and supplied a new face texture (his, so don't blame me how it looks LOL!!!) and the helmets are now, since resized, different colors (couldn't do that before because the huge size of the helmet, with brighter colors, made it look like a small planet was in the cockpit).

Could any of you possibly re-download the updated BETA2 version (link is EXACTLY the same), re-run the installer real quick and report if you see these new pilots as shown below?

Ascout, Deane Baunton's name is now correct in all 3 places, too, you should see.

Then we have a release for the New Year!

...and come to think about it, maybe one more tester, if anyone's interested, might be a good idea to try a fresh install with no overwrites.....so if anyone wants to ring in the New Year with a zoomy new egg-shaped rotor-wing, PM me!....

There you are Sirs!

OK, I re-re-downloaded and re-re-loaded. The pilot thingy is good, and I have all my switches. My rotor % gauge is still pegged unless I kill main power or fuel valve. Musta' be sumthin' peculiar to my FS9 setup.

Oh, maybe this was not worth adddressing, but I notice (NOT a complaint) that apparent rotor speed (visually) does not change from idle to 100%...it is constant (and fine with me if not intended to do otherwise).

Flys good, looks good!