JdB Addon Releases

[krzychuzokecia 717]

It's not a gun, I got tired of making them.

:( Why? Your guns were... cute! :)

I've started on something new and am going to reveal it in small bits unless someone manages to guess what it is before I reveal the last bit. Whoever guesses right gets ... a cookie.

Wild guess: a door handle on a car.

[JdB 151]

:( Why? Your guns were... cute! :)

Wild guess: a door handle on a car.

I've been doing guns (and finishing those of others) since 2003 with very few exceptions and it's become a routine. A hobby should never become a routine imo. I found the work on the Higgins and LCVP more interesting despite the technical difficulties of getting them to work like I wanted because it's something different. The only thing I'd never try is models of living things. Realistically recreating living objects is the hardest thing to do, and only a handful of addonmakers have ever really ventured into that field.

Getting closer. I'm of course looking for the exact manufacturer, name and designation (if any) ;)

Part 2/3:

The hint: I'm no longer in service. I'm not from France but I did spend some time there.

Edited August 20, 2014 by JdB

[guziczek101 11]

Hanomag ? :)

[JdB 151]

Hanomag ? :)

An interesting guess, but no that's not it. Hanomags have been done enough already.

[krzychuzokecia 717]

A hobby should never become a routine imo.

Oh, yes, that's true!

Getting closer.

Really?! Well... So it's a car (or truck?), used in France (but that doesn't mean it was used by French), and it's obsolete now... Probably something of US, or German origin, am I right? But I can't name it still, give us some more time (BTW: I bet that second picture shows front grill?). :p

[guziczek101 11]

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Beaverette ??

[JdB 151]

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Beaverette ??

Hehe, what an ugly little thing.

Since you're all wrong, but getting closer here is part 3/3:

The hint: My suspension doesn't hop along like a kangaroo, but than again I'm not named after that Australian animal anyway. You would think my creator prefers bratwurst over fish and chips but that's really not the case.

[krzychuzokecia 717]

The hint: My suspension doesn't hop along like a kangaroo, but than again I'm not named after that Australian animal anyway. You would think my creator prefers bratwurst over fish and chips but that's really not the case.

My last try: Daimler Dingo?

If not - I give up, I know nothing about WWII armored vehicles (I can tell apart T-43 from Tiger, but that's all).

[JdB 151]

Daimler Dingo?

Yep.

[Apocalypse 83 47]

I never would have guessed that. It looks brilliant. It's always nice to see some good old British vehicles in CWA. :) Great work.

[Revan9190 132]

Ah, man. I've been waiting to see more British vehicles. Looking brilliant, sir! :)

[=SappeR= 39]

Looks great :)

[krzychuzokecia 717]

Yep.

Jeez, I feel so stupid now - second screen was immediate give away...

Looks great :)

Can't argue with that!

BTW: do You plan only WWII era-specific variant(s), or maybe some crazy, DIY-uparmored variant for FIA?

[=SappeR= 39]

BTW: do You plan only WWII era-specific variant(s), or maybe some crazy, DIY-uparmored variant for FIA?

While I do only LuAZ-967M - Soviet(Ukrainian) transporter of the Front Line.

More plans I do not have now.

[krzychuzokecia 717]

While I do only LuAZ-967M

Err... Mine question was targeted at JdB (and his Dingo), but this is also good news! :)

[=SappeR= 39]

Ok...

[JdB 151]

Thanks :)

@=SappeR=: Nice work, I've always like addons that haven't been done before :cool:

BTW: do You plan only WWII era-specific variant(s), or maybe some crazy, DIY-uparmored variant for FIA?

Only some different variants are planned, mainly the country and unit insignia will be changable through hidden selections with some standard sets available in the editor. There may be some slight variants with boxes, ropes or cans on the vehicle. The Dingo only had 10mm of armor all around except for the front where it had 30mm. I'm not sure how the engine would have handled a significant amount of additional metal and the ability for the FIA to fit in a more powerful post-war engine seems unlikely.

[JdB 151]

I haven't done much work on any project as I couldn't find the motivation for several reasons, one of which is that I am having doubts about the entire Mk.5 concept. The first problem being the calibre and secondly (and related) the dimensions of the frame and it's impact on the user. Originally the M5 concept from ITM that I used as a base was chambered in 7,62x51 and 7,62x39. Using such powerful rounds would cause a lot of problems in controlling the weapon in the case of the longest version and make it exceedingly difficult to fire and prone to malfunctioning in all of the other (shorter) versions. That has to be the main reason why it never went into production and no one that I'm aware of has seriously looked into it again. HK and FN both see 17" barrels as the ideal length for a 7,62x51 rifle. Anything half that length and (considerably) less just wouldn't be usable in any real world situation.

So I've thought of alternatives:

- 1. Scrap the entire project. This thought has crossed my mind many times and still sounds very tempting not despite but because of all the time I've put into it.

- 2. Scrap all of the short versions. This would essentially make it useless since there are other DMR rifles on the market that offer superior performance;

- 3. Rechamber to 7,62x35 (.300 AAC Blackout). It uses the same internal components except for the barrel as 5,56x45 as well as magazines and so would be compatible with M16, XM and G36 magazines (+ imaginary upper receiver swap ;)). It introduces a (relatively rare but in use with USSOCOM) calibre that the original game doesn't have and compatibility with FAL, G3, AK47 and CZ magazines would be lost, suppressed magazines compatible with suppressed weapons only and not regular magazines as that would just look weird (loud guns with suppressors and vice versa) or the gameplay advantages would outweigh the realism aspect ... ?

http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/digitalwarfarestudios/jdb/M68CCO_WIP.jpg

[krzychuzokecia 717]

Are You making a computer game addon, or designing real-deal weapon? :p

Originally the M5 concept from ITM that I used as a base was chambered in 7,62x51 and 7,62x39. Using such powerful rounds would cause a lot of problems in controlling the weapon in the case of the longest version and make it exceedingly difficult to fire and prone to malfunctioning in all of the other (shorter) versions.

Why? There are various short-barrelled rifles (carbines) made for 7.62 NATO. There's 13-inch SCAR-H and HK417, and other older designs (SAS had their famous custom FALs/L1s and G3s). Granted - there's huge recoil, muzzle flash and noise, but those who need those weapons usually use them with surppressors.

And with 7.62x39 M43 this is a no problem - while it's "rifle caliber", it's not a "rifle cartridge". It's actually one of first mass adopted intermediate rounds, so it's not as "powerful" as You'd think. And again there are carbines designed for it: Romanian PM md. 80 and 90, Chinese Type-56C, Pakistani AKMSU (OK, that's a one off), and (a little bit longer) AMD-65 and AK-104.

None of them is known for malfunctioning when compared to long barreled variants. It's all about "fine-tuning" the gas system which usually means different diameter of gas port (hole) on the barrel (other parts of gas system are identical when we're talking about modern HK and FN rifles).

So such "full-power short-barrel" rifle does exists in real life. But that's not what's important - important is that You're making an addon for video game, so You don't need to think about it at all. Look at BI - they've got lightweight carbines chambered for caseless rounds in their game. What kind of propellant they used? Caseless ammo is known for cook-offs (so much that LSAT carbine was axed for open-bolt LMG, and even this beast is made for case-telescopic ammo) - but who cares? It's just a game. You wouldn't be able to simulate difference of velocity between projectile fired from "full length" and short barrel - unless You'd scrap mags commonality between them (A3 is first game in this series that simulates this).

So stop making excuses and just finish that goddamn addon! :D

[Macser 776]

Nice work on that sight.

The good thing about addons n mods is that it's a no pressure situation.

It's not something that has to be finished.But it'd be a shame to waste

the work you've already done.Especially if you've put that much thought into it.

:)

[krzychuzokecia 717]

It's not something that has to be finished.

That!

To clarify: last sentence of my previous post is not meant seriously. If JdB is fed up with his projects, nobody can't change it! But I was just emphasizing my statement that questions, which JdB have asked, while valid in world of real gun designing (though answer to them is that's not a problem), have no point when talking about a game asset.

Unless JdB wants to surprise us with full working gun CAD project of his own design! :p

As for the sight: I've got a feeling that there's something wrong with color/contrast settings of Your monitor/video card/whatever. I mean - the details (like grooves on the battery compartment) are almost invisible, they're too dark. It may look better in-game, but also may not* (that was problem with AA-12 - it was almost plain black! And the other way around with Walther - that was too bright).

*Remember that CWA doesn't use "unnaturally bright" gamma of OFP.

[Macser 776]

As for the sight: I've got a feeling that there's something wrong with color/contrast settings of Your monitor/video card/whatever. I mean - the details (like grooves on the battery compartment) are almost invisible, they're too dark. It may look better in-game, but also may not* (that was problem with AA-12 - it was almost plain black! And the other way around with Walther - that was too bright).

I'm guessing JDB was trying to keep it subtle.It can be hard to gauge black plastic/metallic surfaces.

Too much contrast can look wrong.While not enough can wash out the texture.The base colour looks

good.A little more contrast in the values might help bring out the small details. :)

Edited March 23, 2015 by Maczer

[JdB 151]

3DS MAX uses it's own gamma settings. I tweaked the colors/brigthness of the Walther in OFP and the AA-12 in CWA so that might have something to do with it. Also I check both on the laptop's own screen and on the screen I have connected to it, but I think I forgot to do that with the AA-12. The laptop itself uses the factory default settings for gamma and brightness. When I bought it I looked at adjusting it, but it was already set correctly. The external screen was adjusted as it was too light.

I feel that it is important to put more thought into this addon as usual as I am not merely replicating an existing weapon but partially designing it as well and since I like to stick to realism as close as I can I need to consider some aspects that would negatively affect gameplay. Not sure if you do, but I distinctly remember many .50 calibre sniper rifles being very hard to use since you couldn't see where your shot ended up as the muzzle would lift roughly 45 degrees and you end up admiring the sky textures. (In reality that's not really accurate since much of the recoil would go into the shoulder but since that isn't simulated this was a trade-off to prevent such weapons from becoming an uber weapon). Which brings me to the main concern: Recoil.

The shortest versions would kick like a mule and would be as awkward to fire as a Desert Eagle (and no serious operator uses those) if not worse. I want to get it as close to reality as possible so it is something that I take into consideration.

I've got two files documenting the design ideas and considerations that I'll post when I get back.

Edited March 23, 2015 by JdB

[JdB 151]

Forgot to post the documents but considering what I am going to write next there is little point in it anyway.

If testing with the bullpup design goes the way I hope (we all know the graphical hurdles/ limitations without custom anims) it will then I will be ditching the entire mod. 0 series (traditional layout) in favor of the mod. 1. This will mean that the Personnel Security Detail variant is scrapped altogether (weapons like the MP7 and Vector are far better suited for it anyway) and that all other designations will shift downwards 1 level. The bullpup without external barrel will become the Personal Defence Weapon, the version with the short barrel the Compact, long barrel the regular Assault Rifle and the version with the long silencer the Designated Marksman Rifle. The Light Support Weapon will share the model of the AR but will be slightly different in characteristics. All versions will share the same frame unlike in the old setup. This wil mean that (IIRC) the shortest version has a 14" barrel and the AR 20", the same as the M16A4 of the USMC.

The caliber will remain 7,62x51 and 7,62x39. In the other calibers you might as well pick up an M4 which negates the "Special Purpose" idea behind the addon :p

Edit: Did a quick test with the shortest version and it seems possible, but some things confuse me. I know that there is no native support for widescreen, and I know that all of the accessories are the correct size they should be. This makes some parts of the weapon look a little weird though as I didn't measure them but just made them look good as a part of the total gun. This is causing some parts to look really oversized though when combined with the optics which didn't really become apparent until I imported them into O2 ... Some things on the weapon may need to be resized ...

http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/digitalwarfarestudios/jdb/JdB_Mk5_sizetest.jpg

Edited April 24, 2015 by JdB

[JdB 151]

Did a few tweaks and ended up with something that looks better/more in balance with the other parts. I checked the M68 and it is exactly as big as the real thing and still the same scale compared to the rest as before I exported it to O2. Maybe many of the other optics made by other authors were incorrectly sized. Yeah let's go with that :o

http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/digitalwarfarestudios/jdb/JdB_Mk5_sizetest2.jpg

http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/digitalwarfarestudios/jdb/JdB_Mk5_sizetest3.jpg

Make the res. lods and on to continue texturing yay.