Thursday, April 22, 2010

In search for the Ultimate Tomcat...


As I design FSX add-ons for fun, when the projects come to the final polishing stage (which is very boring) I tend to lose the focus on their completion, and usally start working on other things.
Which in this case, as some of you are aware of, would be the T-45C update.

I've been playing with the new Goshawk for some time... but I have to confess that I could not get it right. That is, there are so many things I'd like to change that I grossly underestimated the amount of work. I've also considered buying professional 3D data to speed up thing... but apparently there is no data available. So I am not so sure it is the right thing to do, right now.
On the other hand, while looking for a T-45 3d mesh I found some nice meshes for the Tomcat at a reasonable price... Played with the 3D yesterday night and the results were really good. Long story short I am putting the T-45 on hold and make a new version of the Tomcat first.

So, the status of my projects is as follows:

F-35A Lighting II
I've almost finished remaking the MFDs. Then I have to finish a couple of repaints and the external weapons model. These are the last outstanding items in my to-do list, apart from a final round of tests - just to be sure everything works.
As for the release...it will be release as soon as I've finished moving into my new home - and the new home is connected to the internet.

T-45C Goshawk 2.0
Delayed. Simply put, it is not coming as nicely as I hoped - and requires much more work than I thought. I have to think about that (...and find the time to read the Natops - thanks Phil)

F-14(D?) Tomcat 2.0
Warming up the engines. Initial work with professional 3D mesh is VERY promising. Undecided between B and D versions. It will be freeware, but may be will have payware additions (to cover the cost of the mesh license) - meaning that the base package will be freeware, and "optional" features (like different weapon loads) could be payware. Or a freeware "D" and a payware "B"... I don't know. Still, trust me, the preliminary build is looking very good.

TA-4J Scooter
Project evaluation. Well, the fact is I want to do a top-notch naval jet trainer - and I'm considering the TA-4J as replacement of T-45 - you know, in virtual reality you have the time to run backward :-)
It is just an idea, for now, but I'll probably make some preliminary work on it - if it will look good, I may decide to do this instead of the Goshawk...

14 comments:

SpazSinbad said...

TA-4 PCL (NATOPS Pocket Check List) for pilot to carry in cockpit here: http://www.filefront.com/11994183/NATOPS-pocket-TA4-best.pdf/ (7.3Mb) Glad to help out with the Skyhawk - great news for a great aircraft. More Skyhawk files at: http://www.filefront.com/user/SpazSinbad

Anonymous said...

@Dino Cattaneo,

A whole NEW "authentic" Tomcat??? Yes, I'm interested...
...and, YES, for me it must be "Payware-worthy" for sure. However, I think you know what my expectation are; if not, here's a hint: (But, please ignore any old user-related squables; they had nothing to do with what my suggested requests are).
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?topic=2086.0

Finally, (I'm speaking for myself here): It is VERY VERY important for any payware to be authentic in look, function, and feel in game; especially if you've invested the money in the necessary hardware to enhance the realism. Moreover, as a pilot, I look for certain things to do in any aircraft, like navigate, manage fuel, communicate, etc., and, in the case of Naval Carrier Aircraft, all actual related operational requirements. So, if its not too much to ask, please make it as requested in the post.

And, I like all I'm seeing in the F-35, so far. But, please, don't burn yourself out trying to make it 100% perfect. Don't get me wrong, it needs to be fully functional, the way you intend to make it. But it also makes more sense to work on getting it functional and looking good and bug free before delivery than either never finishing (due to overwork/frustration) or simply running over (budget/time). So, take what ever time you want to make it happen, only do it complete, Please. Grazie! :)



Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

[b]Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
From,
James F. Chams[/b]

Anonymous said...

@Dino Cattaneo,

A whole NEW "authentic" Tomcat??? Yes, I'm interested...
...and, YES, for me it must be "Payware-worthy" for sure. However, I think you know what my expectation are; if not, here's a hint: (But, please ignore any old user-related squables; they had nothing to do with what my suggested requests are).
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?topic=2086.0

Finally, (I'm speaking for myself here): It is VERY VERY important for any payware to be authentic in look, function, and feel in game; especially if you've invested the money in the necessary hardware to enhance the realism. Moreover, as a pilot, I look for certain things to do in any aircraft, like navigate, manage fuel, communicate, etc., and, in the case of Naval Carrier Aircraft, all actual related operational requirements. So, if its not too much to ask, please make it as requested in the post.

And, I like all I'm seeing in the F-35, so far. But, please, don't burn yourself out trying to make it 100% perfect. Don't get me wrong, it needs to be fully functional, the way you intend to make it. But it also makes more sense to work on getting it functional and looking good and bug free before delivery than either never finishing (due to overwork/frustration) or simply running over (budget/time). So, take what ever time you want to make it happen, only do it complete, Please. Grazie! :)



Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

[b]Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
From,
James F. Chams[/b]

ScimmiaSpaziale said...

@ SpazSinbad

As usual, thanks for the documentation. I did a quick feasibility check on the TA-4J...with mixed results. I'm not sure about it. If I had time, I'd probably do the F-14A and TA-4J. But, given there are coding and (minor) modeling commonalities, and the possibility to reuse the good parts from the older models, the F-14D and T-45C would be a moare doable combination...

@ James
Will have a look at the post, although you know that my high-priority features are somewhat different than yours...

As for the F-35, well... I can guarantee it will be far from being perfect :-)
But the more detail you add, and the more ideas you get... I started with a simple "fixed" configuration MFD, then a configurable one, and now I have a resizeable and configurable one :-)!!!

neutrino said...

Wow, Dino - I was crossing fingers that you will upgrade the MFDs and there you go, awesome, can't wait to see it :)))

ScimmiaSpaziale said...

Well... the implementation may be less spectacular than it sounds... but I am happy with that. For each of the two screen halves you can:

-use the whole half screen as integrated radar/gps map...

-have the current pages (1/4 screen) to pop-up and...

-shrink each page to host 2 mini-pages on the bottom

I still need to integrate the FCS,ICAWS and FUEL pages and then it is done. Still far from being accurate...but definitely much better than the Alpha version.

Anonymous said...

Already love the Tomcat, so an even better Tomcat would be great!

Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Hi Dino been watching your stuff for awhile, great stuff.
I was wondering if you could get more authentic sounds for your next F-14 version?
Like for example this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUltbapMQxU

Anonymous said...

The most important thing - in my view- would be to make a Naval Jet-Trainer with working Backseat to use FSX´s SharedSkies.

SpazSinbad said...

Terrific 'GO to WHOA' T-45C Goshawk real world catapult to arrested landing video via pilot helmet camera: http://acquiry.com/?p=359

SpazSinbad said...

Field Carrier Landing Practice in the T-45C Goshawk - Filmed with the VHoldR Contour HD Helmet Camera in 720p/32fps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_JdADh4Zrc

SpazSinbad said...

A good 'history of the T-45' Goshawk here: http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/aircraft/types/boeing-bae-systems-t-45-goshawk.htm

bouttier said...

bonjour:j'ai fait un don de 5€ pour avoir les liens de l'avions T-45 Goshawk et le F14 Tomcat pour FSX.

salutations CLAUDE BOUTTIER

Anonymous said...

bonjour.j'ai fait un don de 5€ pour les avions FSX du T-45 Goshawk et le F14 Tomcat.par mon problème de langue je n'arrive pas à vous lire.
et je n'ai pas trouvé ou récupéré les liens ou add-on de ses avions.

cordialement BOUTTIER Claude