F-4B/C FSX

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Until A2A come up with their D/E/F series, I'll get started (and hopefully finish before them) the B and C models.
-Standard FSX animations will be implemented, along with a few custom ones (flaps, slats, gear, canopies, hook, launch bar, refuelling probe e.t.c.)
-Carrier capable
-Functional 3D virtual cockpits for pilot and RIO (that is 10000% sure)
-Don't expect any functional RADAR scopes and weapons. I will provide a version with CaptainSim's weapon functionality, though.

Possible features:
-Customisable loadout
-Jettison-capable stuff (looking into it)
-Whatever else comes to mind

Vacancies:
-Flight model maker -if no custom FM is made, I'll alias it to the Virtavia or IRIS "E" model Phantoms.
-Texturer (liveries needed)
-2nd modeller (to save time)



Coming after the A330 VC model is completed.

Imagehttps://dl.dropbox.com/u/21574664/F-4B_Render_03.jpg[/img]

I'll consider seriously the "paper aircraft" livery, it looks very nice.
Imagehttps://dl.dropbox.com/u/21574664/F-4B_Render_02.jpg[/img]

GaryG
Posts: 888
Joined: 19 Jul 2009, 10:32

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by GaryG »

Good start Alex, keep it up man :)

Daniel_csr
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Joined: 17 Mar 2012, 19:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Daniel_csr »

Oh Yeah!

Airbus Fan
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Joined: 08 Aug 2012, 08:04

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Airbus Fan »

Good work! :)

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Worked a bit on the forward side, fixing the shapes, carving the canopies and making the air intake flaps.
Image

TheRedBaron
Posts: 185
Joined: 31 Aug 2012, 20:11

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by TheRedBaron »

Oooh...that is nice! Just curious, have you made any other non-PA aircraft?

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Nope. Only a 717 which was not released, but was a nice experiment to learn a few tricks in FS9.
Generally, I absolutely hate modeling aircraft exteriors.

TheRedBaron
Posts: 185
Joined: 31 Aug 2012, 20:11

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by TheRedBaron »

Alexis wrote:Nope. Only a 717 which was not released, but was a nice experiment to learn a few tricks in FS9.
Generally, I absolutely hate modeling aircraft exteriors.
Ahhh...

Why do you hate modeling exteriors?

ReneM.
Posts: 159
Joined: 23 Jun 2011, 21:21

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by ReneM. »

Looks very good so far, Alexis.
Sorry about off-topic but are you only make the A330 VC or the A340 too?

Anyway, I look forward to see your jet ;)

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Yep, I'm only making the cockpit.

Back on track, the intake flaps have taken me all day to make, and I'm not yet sure they're right. The tail area is a pain in the tail too. Hopefully by this weekend I'll have the rough fuselage ready to start adding details.
Image

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

A first version of the top bleed air vents on the intake. I may have to remodel that part...
Image

TheRedBaron
Posts: 185
Joined: 31 Aug 2012, 20:11

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by TheRedBaron »

The level of detail on that is stunning! How many hours did that take lol?

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

2,5 hours for this grill. I might remake it though.

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Remodeled the grills, did some tweaking and exported to FS over Virtavia's Phantom.
There are artifacts, but generally it was a trouble free export. There are things I don't like though, the canopy is about as blocky as the default F/A-18's one. Will fix that later in developement.
Point out anything that looks out of line.
Image

GaryG
Posts: 888
Joined: 19 Jul 2009, 10:32

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by GaryG »

Alexis wrote: Point out anything that looks out of line.
No wings
No Rudder
No elevators
Hovering without any logical form of power

:P

Kidding man, nice job ;)

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

GaryG wrote: No wings
No Rudder
No elevators
Hovering without any logical form of power
How could I not notice? :(

I guess I'll quit making aircraft and start making magic carpets. :P

esg
Posts: 1591
Joined: 01 Jul 2009, 22:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by esg »

I've always wanted to fly on a carpet.

TheRedBaron
Posts: 185
Joined: 31 Aug 2012, 20:11

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by TheRedBaron »

Alexis wrote:I guess I'll quit making aircraft and start making magic carpets. :P
Will the genie be included?

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

I'll try to add Barbara Eden... ;)

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Granting Gary's unreasonable wish:
Image
Before carving gear wells and control surfaces, I'll make the rest of the vents/grills under the aircraft to break it in two models, one for the F-4B, one for the RF-4B.

GaryG
Posts: 888
Joined: 19 Jul 2009, 10:32

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by GaryG »

Lol....you work very fast man !

Keep it up :)

Airbus Fan
Posts: 606
Joined: 08 Aug 2012, 08:04

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Airbus Fan »

O_O Nice Alexis!

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Started work on the outer nozzles, just for the fun of it.
Image

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

And those outer nozzles don't intend to animate properly... Unlike the inner ones.
Image

Derek Mayer
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Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 16:13

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Derek Mayer »

Really nice work, great detail!

Airbus Fan
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Joined: 08 Aug 2012, 08:04

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Airbus Fan »

Derek Mayer wrote:Really nice work, great detail!

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

After spending the past four days trying to figure out why animations don't work, I decided to keep modeling and remodel anything that doesn't work. Luckily, the fuselage hasn't given me problems yet, so I'll remake the wings and engines for sure (didn't like them anyway).
Started detailing the bottom side of the Phantom, but can't find many reference shots of the B model.
Image

TheRedBaron
Posts: 185
Joined: 31 Aug 2012, 20:11

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by TheRedBaron »

So...much...awesomeness...erghk! HOW DO YOU DO THIS SO WELL?!

Airbus Fan
Posts: 606
Joined: 08 Aug 2012, 08:04

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Airbus Fan »

Nice.

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Animations do work on some aircraft, but I guess until I get my own aircraft.cfg and .air file, I won't be able to know if everything is OK.

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Started spicing it up! Will work on the tail section and some other inaccuracies this week.
Image
I just saw that hole in the rear sparrow "nest". The front sparrow hardpoints will be lengthened as well.

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Alexis wrote:After spending the past four days trying to figure out why animations don't work, I decided to keep modeling and remodel anything that doesn't work. Luckily, the fuselage hasn't given me problems yet, so I'll remake the wings and engines for sure (didn't like them anyway).
Good news on that front: animations work as they should, wings remade and engines corrected.
I'll do an animation test soon.

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Here's the outer nozzle. Will work on the inner ones too, as soon as I UV map them.
Image

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

And here's a new type of lift system, where you fold and unfold the wings rapidly to generate some extra lift.
Image

GaryG
Posts: 888
Joined: 19 Jul 2009, 10:32

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by GaryG »

The speed at which you work amazes me

congrats, keep it up

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

IN NEED OF:
-FDE
-Aircraft.cfg
-Textures
EXTERIOR TASKS

Code: Select all

[b][u]---TO DO---[/u][/b]
-Finish wing tip model
-Remodel collar (shape and cap)
-Mirror wingtips (inverted polys) - DONE
-Carve flaps (LE & TE) - TE DONE
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model and animate refuelling probe
-Test in 3dsmax
[b]-Test ingame[/b]
-Detail front gear bay
-Model and detail wing gear bays
[b]-Test[/b]
-Unwrap bays, flaps
-Model and unwrap tail fins
-Animate: Rudder, Stabilators, flaps
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model: RAT & housing
-Check UVs
-Model main gear
-Unwrap
-Animate
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model nose gear
-Unwrap
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model cockpit interior
-Unwrap
-Model & Unwrap pilots :( 
-Animate cockpit
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model and animate drogue chute
-Model & animate tailhook
-Add attachpoints
[b]-Test (arrested landing)[/b]
-Add launch bar attachpoint and pivot
-Model extension of nose gear when on cat
[b]-Test[/b]
-Add lights, smoke, afterburner (bones)
[b]-Test[/b]
[b][u]Exterior model completion[/u][/b]
VC MODEL TASKS

Code: Select all

GENERAL SHAPING
-Improve on exterior canopy/glass shape
-Create interior frame
-Link to node and animate vibration of cockpit
[b]-Test[/b]
[b]MAIN PANEL[/b]
-Model main panel & map
-Model instrumentation and map
-Animate instrumentation
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model & Unwrap Ejection seat
-Animate overhead handles on vibrations and G-Forces
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model & animate pedestal and stick
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model side panels for pilot
-UVW map and animate elements
[b]-Test[/b]
-Model and UVW map bells and whistles (screws, cables, boxes, checklists)
[b]-TEST FRONT COCKPIT[/b]
-INSTALL GAUGES
[b]-TEST gauge function[/b]
[b][u]REAR COCKPIT[/u][/b]
-Same as above
[b][u]BOTH COCKPITS[/u][/b]
-Give a try at rain effects
GAUGES

Code: Select all

-Make gunsight template [b][COMPLETED][/b]
-Connect to 3D dial
-Collimate gunsight
-Make RADAR base [b][IN PROGRESS][/b]
-Make AOA gauge and apply to VC
-Make glass frost gauge and map to VC

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

-Corrected some stuff on the wingtip
-Cut control surfaces
-Detailing them
Image

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

It's nice when animations work.
There are some smoothing and shadow volume issues though.
Gear well -details pending:
Image
Trailing edge control surfaces:
Image
Canopies open, flaps fully down and wings folded. Detailed the wingfold area. Flap shape needs some morecurving (missed in 100% of the plastic models and AFAIK all FS ones). Will need to finish wingtip shapes, add LE flaps and add the wingfold mechanism:
Image

Xpand
Posts: 50
Joined: 06 Sep 2010, 16:54

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Xpand »

Wow....
All these little holes, you make those with boolean cuts right? Doesn't that make a mess on the mesh? I kinda started avoiding booleans since my early days in gmax... I probably have a severe case of OCD in what comes to 3D meshes... Of course that meant texturing details instead of modeling them... :/

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Xpand wrote:Wow....
All these little holes, you make those with boolean cuts right? Doesn't that make a mess on the mesh? I kinda started avoiding booleans since my early days in gmax... I probably have a severe case of OCD in what comes to 3D meshes... Of course that meant texturing details instead of modeling them... :/
ProBoolean has far fewer problems than Boolean.
Also, using editable polies instead of editable meshes allows you to remove vertices at will, without messing up your geometry or UVW maps at all.
I just carve the hole, "scale" the segments and then bridge them to get my details.

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Messing around with materials, to see the results in FSX. Will post some ingame screens tomorrow. Large images follow.

Image
Image

TheRedBaron
Posts: 185
Joined: 31 Aug 2012, 20:11

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by TheRedBaron »

You need to work slower. You are making me feel bad about myself :razz:

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Did some texturing tests and created a normal map.
Also corrected the nozzle collar, the shape of the nozzles, their mapping and animation range. Now they fully close, unlike before. Also the collar moves 7,5cm (3in) out when nozzles are fully opened.
Problems encountered:
-Normal maps are inverted (instead of up are going down)
-The bottom nozzle petal intermediate plate needs some adjustment as it protrudes out of the petals
-The spoilers need better alignment with the wing when deployed.
-I have to figure out the exact flap shape. I just can't get it right.
Anyways, here's the nozzle with normal maps (inverse) and corrected animation.
Image

Airbus Fan
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Joined: 08 Aug 2012, 08:04

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Airbus Fan »

Nice!

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Smoking up the completed engines:
Image
I am also redoing the entire normal map to give it a more "wavy" and fatigued look.

TheRedBaron
Posts: 185
Joined: 31 Aug 2012, 20:11

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by TheRedBaron »

Nice! Out of curiosity, do you texture each nozzle plate separately to get a varied smoky effect, or is it just some illusion?

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

I've mapped the right half nozzles of each engine separately to get some variation, and the mapping is repeated for the left half.
The two sides look identical, but it is saved from the fact that the tail is hiding the inner side of the engine. Thus, it kind of looks unique.

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

Bad news: the interior nozzles corrupted my model and no animations worked at all.
Good news: I fixed them and got them in FS for testing. It is smooth as silk:
Image

I also experimented with FSX material properties.
I got a "funky" red-orange-purple-blue specular to appear where the rusty and burned areas are (red arrows). The rest is the classic silvery specular (white arrow).
I've also added a fresnel ramp so that the specular is more intense when the polygon is facing the camera and fading when off-axis.
The normal maps work, but are still inverted (things that should be protruding are indenting e.t.c.) and their mapping is a matter of... discussion.
Image

Airbus Fan
Posts: 606
Joined: 08 Aug 2012, 08:04

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Airbus Fan »

Nice. You are working very fast. :D

Alexis
Posts: 444
Joined: 02 Jul 2009, 02:03

Re: F-4B/C FSX

Post by Alexis »

And the "butt" of the engine is more or less finished. Time to move to the front.
The textures are just placeholders and look like crap, so they won't be released like this.
Image

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