AH-64 Pack

[franze 196]

So far we've reused a few actions for certain functions, e.g. change sights will switch between FCR and TADS targeting modes, binocular changes gun burst mode, cycle target will also cycle FCR targets; most functions have been redistributed under the Custom User actions for more versatility however. This leaves you with the option to set which keys you want for a specified function.

[doveman 7]

It's no problem re-using certain keys within the mod depending on what mode it's in, just as long as those keys don't also trigger something else unrelated to the mod. I don't think the binocular key when in a chopper anyway, so there's no problem using that to change gun burst mode, although it's better if one key can be used to toggle mode whatever weapon is selected, so e.g. with gun selected it would toggle burst mode, with Hellfire selected it would toggle Direct/Top-down mode, etc, as then I can just assign one button on the controller to "Fire Mode", which is easier to implement (and explain).

[franze 196]

We've tried to stay away from actions that are already bound to something since that presents a lot of problems as you've noticed. Combined with the custom user actions, this gives us enough to handle most of the critical functions; some systems such as the waypoints will require usage of the action menu however, but these are limited to functions that aren't critical.

[doveman 7]

We've tried to stay away from actions that are already bound to something since that presents a lot of problems as you've noticed. Combined with the custom user actions, this gives us enough to handle most of the critical functions; some systems such as the waypoints will require usage of the action menu however, but these are limited to functions that aren't critical.

Good to hear. I appreciate having to use the action menu can't be avoided completely and isn't really a problem for non-critical functions.

[Raafatah64 0]

franze did u made the destruction good on this addon or is it like the bis ah64 destroyed thanx

[nodunit 397]

We can't comment on that pertaining to the apache in particular, however if you would like an example of what we will be using please have a peek at this http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?118939-Su-17-22M4-ALPHA-ArmA2-release which was a testbed for the damage. There are some oddities such as being able to use damaged and nonexistant rudder or elevator. You can see parts of the aircraft destroyed pending damage, for example wings can take damage, rudder, tail and more, from light damage to parts ripped with framework showing, and as the aircraft takes damage handling becomes more difficult (aircraft will lean towards the damage depending on severity)

If you do not want to download the addon to see it, here is a short video demonstrating a bit of the testbed in Arma 1 http://www.mechmodels.com/mas/downloads/su17_dam_fx.wmv

Things that can be damaged will also be much more numerous compared to the default, but that is for another day.

Edited April 24, 2012 by NodUnit

[Warsaw 1]

Thanks, it's great.

[Raafatah64 0]

thanks nodunit to tell u the truth all i care is the release of this lovely addon thats all that matters and very good job and will u guys release both the ah-64a and ah-64d or one by one thanx

[nodunit 397]

Hey everyone, this isn't exactly an update of the usual kind per say, I was going to keep quiet about this one until the next official update but I felt it should be shared.

Thats right, cockpit shadows ARE actually doable, the funny thing is that the key has been staring us in the face this whole time..proxies! Pilot's cast shadows with their proxies, so in theory should a proxy molded to cockpit shapes not do the same thing? Well ladies and gentlemen you have your proof right here and let me tell you, it makes one HELL of a difference.

If you are working on a vehicle and wanted shadows for your interior but weren't sure how, now you know, and I highly recommend you do because it changes the feeling so so so much.

The two greatest pro's for this is that it does NOT effect the external shadow in any way, so you don't have to worry about that performance hit.

Second is that it is local only to the crew in that position, so the pilot would see their own, as would the co pilot.

Remember, create a proxy and then give it a shadow LOD, add what you want then add that proxy to your model. The best thing is that bulldozer will show the shadow in real time so you can get an idea of what it looks like before going ingame.

Edited April 27, 2012 by NodUnit

[kremator 1064]

Very nice indeed! Good find. Looks lovely.

[rksl-rock 1300]

I don't want to sound like a killjoy but why not just use the "shadowvolume - viewpilot Lod"? It doesn't affect the external shadows and reduces the draw resources etc since the full shadow isn't drawn from that view. You can get some quite complex shadows from it too. Atleast as much as the proxy methods. Or am I missing something?

[nodunit 397]

We tried that, I even tampered with it alongside Max Power but neither of us could seem to get it working, it's as though the entry is there but just doesn't function even with the config entry added and the extra LOD nothing came of it.

[max power 21]

Unfortunately, the viewpilot shadow LODs seemingly do not work. I have never been able to make them work, and I get the impression that it's the same for other people on the forum. I had these LODs, and I tried all kinds of different combinations of config values, but nothing. I did this, now all of a sudden my interior shadow LODs are working, thanks to NodUnit.

edit: Ninja'd.

Edited April 27, 2012 by Max Power

[rksl-rock 1300]

How complex a shadow lod are you using then? Becasue I've been using the "shadowvolume - viewpilotcargo" Lods on all the RKSL stuff for years with no problems. Maybe not as complex as you though? What sort of poly count are you using and are you leaving any textures on?

[max power 21]

My viewpilot LOD is not very complex at all. 2800 triangles, no textures. Nothing shows. I've tried viewPilot, gunner, and cargo shadow LODs. All no dice.

[rksl-rock 1300]

My viewpilot LOD is not very complex at all. 2800 triangles, no textures. Nothing shows. I've tried viewPilot, gunner, and cargo shadow LODs. All no dice.

Well all i can say then is that mine appear to be working. I havent really looked into it. But looking at the Lynx, Puma, Harrier and Typhoon etc in game im getting shadows consistent with my view pilot shadow lods. I dont know what else to say? I'd love to know why though.

EDIT - For reference the Lynx AH9 is 1582 faces + 12 DRS blade blur proxies. No textures, sharp/hard edges and inverted.

Edited April 27, 2012 by RKSL-Rock

[nodunit 397]

I don't think we're talking about the same kind of thing, Rock, in game I do get shadows from the exterior into my pilot LOD, but I'm talking things such as switch, knob, dash, generally any object in the cockpit to cast shadows.

Edited April 27, 2012 by NodUnit

[max power 21]

A way to test would be to put a floating box in your view pilot shadow LOD that is interpenetrating some structure that would normally not be shadowed.

I would like to know why as well.

[rksl-rock 1300]

I don't think we're talking about the same kind of thing, Rock, in game I do get shadows from the exterior into my pilot LOD, but I'm talking things such as switch, knob, dash, generally any object in the cockpit to cast shadows.

I think we are talking about the same thing. But from what you describe and what I'm seeing in game I just think we're seeing different results.

And before your edit:

If they work as you say then surely you would be generous enough to share with us how you did it and a small image to show that it works, yes? :)

If it it does work on my stuff and we can find out why I will happily share. Why wouldn't I?

---------- Post added at 00:46 ---------- Previous post was at 00:45 ----------

A way to test would be to put a floating box in your view pilot shadow LOD that is interpenetrating some structure that would normally not be shadowed.

I would like to know why as well.

im in the middle of typhoon code nightmares. I'll have a look as soon as i'm done with re-writing the configs.

---------- Post added at 02:05 ---------- Previous post was at 00:46 ----------

OK after testing on the Merlin - the model with the least similar shadow lods - I'm going to have to apologise. You are definitely right.

At first pass you can see shadows that arent present in the main shadow lods. But after further poking around and eventually disabling both the main and viewpilots shadows they still appear to be there. So i can only assume that the lighting engine is adding some extra shading. Again I'm sorry for disbelieving you but I had previously never heard of this issue. And after 9 years of making models with these lods I was sure the damn things worked. It just seems very odd when even the BIS models have viewcargo/pilot shadow lods and they don't work. They must have at some point. Is this a recent change? Is there a bug report for this already?

[nodunit 397]

Apology accepted :) It is indeed strange that it behaves that way, I could swear it worked previously in Arma 1 but I can't say for certain if it ever did in A2, I imagine everyone who saw the view shadow LOD's were just as confused too, but hey all that matters now is that it has been realized and we have a way around it that opens a new visual door.

I'm checking the community tracker but thus far I haven't seen anything pertaining to the view shadows in particular, perhaps it was accepted that "That's the way it is" so nobody mentioned it.

[rksl-rock 1300]

Apology accepted :) It is indeed strange that it behaves that way, I could swear it worked previously in Arma 1 but I can't say for certain if it ever did in A2, I imagine everyone who saw the view shadow LOD's were just as confused too, but hey all that matters now is that it has been realized and we have a way around it that opens a new visual door.

I'm going to go so far as to say I know it worked in arma1 and arma2 at some point. I remember making view shadows lods to fix and issue i had with odd lighting. So I know they had some affect. Maybe its one of those bugs that just crept in at a patch and no one noticed until now.

I'm checking the community tracker but thus far I haven't seen anything pertaining to the view shadows in particular, perhaps it was accepted that "That's the way it is" so nobody mentioned it.

Well if you want to start a bug notice I'll happily vote for it.

[nodunit 397]

I'll set it up later once I review the rules and instructions for it. In the meantime we have a way around it, and I hope we see some more shadow rich interiors for it.

Edited April 28, 2012 by NodUnit

[max power 21]

It just seems very odd when even the BIS models have viewcargo/pilot shadow lods and they don't work. They must have at some point. Is this a recent change? Is there a bug report for this already?

I made my viewpilotshadow LODs for exactly this reason. When it wasn't working on my addons, I assumed it was something I was doing wrong, until I got fed up and tested some of BIS's stuff with the same result.

---------- Post added at 17:11 ---------- Previous post was at 17:10 ----------

I'm going to go so far as to say I know it worked in arma1 and arma2 at some point. I remember making view shadows lods to fix and issue i had with odd lighting. So I know they had some affect. Maybe its one of those bugs that just crept in at a patch and no one noticed until now.

Well if you want to start a bug notice I'll happily vote for it.

I recall others stating that they were working at some point before as well.

I will also vote.

[franze 196]

The first of a series, MPD FLT page video:

This video shows the FLT page in action, showing all the various functions off. The FLT page duplicates some of the IHADSS Flight symbology in cruise mode on the MPD screen, so it's handy for a look down reference or times where you have IHADSS turned off (or IHADSS is damaged). I'll let the video speak for itself.

Some other news:

PFZ functionality has been implemented along with target sharing. It's possible to create a PFZ containing a set of units in an area and using this for organizing and sharing purposes. PFZ control is done through a selection mechanism, sort of like targeting but instead you're cycling though 8 PFZs. The TSD then changes the icon color for targets in the selected PFZ to white and has a further mechanism to filter for a specific PFZ. To share targets, one selects a PFZ, creates it on the map, then uses PFZ SEND to upload targets to a global cache. Other players can then download with PFZ RECV which will add the targets to their selected PFZ or just to their target database. This mechanism enables aircraft to designate a set of targets for others as well as sharing targets with units unable to detect them or outside of their detection range. It also adds an organizing element by allowing aircraft to set different targets for different aircraft and thus cuts down on wasted ordnance. This will be showcased later when the TSD is ready.

About all I've got for now, I'm sure there's more but at this stage I've either forgotten about it or it's not quite ready to be shown yet. :)

[ei8ght 11]

OMG just amazing, I can not wait to immerse myself in reading the pdf to learn how everything works.

Franze and NodUnit thank you for your work