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cadeau.gifOfficial release for Stearman(s) from Golden Age Simulations  -  by Lagaffe

Hello everyone,

Sorry not to have been more present on my site and not to have given news for more than six months but I was at "work".

Contacted last July by Golden Age Simulations, I agreed to carry their Stearman PT-17 on the MSFS simulator. In the end, not one but three aircraft were carried, with 3 different engines and a specific flight model for each aircraft.
Our tests were based on a very advanced US team and on the no less important opinion of two Stearman drivers still in activity.
The pure design lasted 3 months and the other 3 months were mainly devoted to adjustments and tests to perfect these addons.

To complete this adonn, we decided to create from scratch two vintage drivers, a man and a girl who are provided in the addon and who are selectable via the GUI of MSFS.

Here is the official video presentation:


This addon is available on Sim-Outhouse in promotion for one week (20% discount) then it will be offered for sale on the usual channels of Golden Age Simulation:

What I remember from this adventure: GAS or rather exactly Paul and Gil are a small team very nice, made up of enthusiasts, as the team of testers they have built around this project and it was a great pleasure (I hope it will not be the last collaboration) to realize this with them even if the language and the 6 hours of jet lag did not help in some situations.

Good flights cool

Published on 15/01/2024 : 16:02  - none comment none comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
cadeau.gifPrepar3D v5.2 released this night  -  by Lagaffe

Very good news, after diner long awaited: the release of the long awaited v5.2.

Many fixes, I invite you to read the ChangeLog on the LM presentation page: https://www.prepar3d.com/latest-news
The SDK is also left out ... I've loaded it, but considering the time, I'll do a little report tomorrow morning.

Good download cool

Published on 09/06/2021 : 22:43  - 2 comments 2 comments - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
frenchvfr/avion.gifOfficial release of Menestrel HN-433 & 434  -  by Lagaffe

Hi, first release of an aircraft maded French-VFR for MSFS opus

First release of a native plane for MSFS after the trial gallops with CYMX and CTH3, two sceneries that I ported last year.
Since a number of testers were starting to mope and were looking forward to the release of this plane, I decided to "drop the baby" and make it available in v0.9.5.


 

There are still a few graphic points to correct and the radio to integrate but I'm waiting to find a solution that satisfies me.

For the radio, I'm thinking of abandoning the original 360 channels Badin-Crouzet VHF and replace it by a portable ICOM like the current owner did.

Good fly ! cool

Published on 09/06/2021 : 16:54  - none comment none comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
cadeau.gifTextures design standards  -  by Lagaffe

Textures design standards

In the years 2000 to 2010, textures for 3D models were designed from 3D models that were projected onto plans, these plans becoming texture maps (maping) that were then worked from 2D software such as PhotoShop, Corel Draw or The Gimp.
In the last three or four years, a new way of designing textures for 3D models has emerged. With this new design, PBR textures "have been used more and more in simulators and games...".
It is now the 3D objects themselves that are worked on using specific software where one paints directly on the model, freeing oneself from the constraints that were inherent in the old processes, for example the junctions between parts that were difficult to achieve.

In the category of these new softwares, Quixel (Adobe PhotoShop plugin) and Substance Painter (SB) were the precursors.
Quixel, which required a lot of resources (it ran within a PhotoShop edition and it was enough that the image to be processed was a little large for the software to crash irremediably).
On the other hand Substance Painter created by Allegorithmic (a French company) was a dedicated software which imposed itself by its new approach and its graphic performances.

One or two years ago, Allegorithmic was bought by Adobe and the software became unaffordable (nearly 200 €) for the occasional use that one can make of it in our creative field. But it has become a reference in the graphic field: games, graphic design, etc.
Quixel has also transformed itself and has become Quixel mixer. It is free and it is no longer a plugin of PhotoShop but a dedicated application.

I had bought an SB licence in 2018 during a promotion on Steam and immediately the software showed its great capacities but in return it still requires a very large investment to get the quintessence from it.

Philosophy of this new software: As simple as the old graphic process was, we took the 3D model and projected it on a plan or we drew seams on the object and then we developed the garment of this object on a plan. The result was called a mapping or texture map which served as a model for livery enthusiasts.
This mapping was covered by several layers: dirt, rivets, shadows, etc. and in the end it was the texture that would dress the object.
The models of light restitution were based on diffuse reflection, specular and normal.
The big difficulty was to find the right stitching so that the final design could be made without deformation and could be conceived on all the objects making up the model. The joining of a line on several objects was a difficult challenge to solve. This problem was a constraint in what could be achieved and could in some cases prevent the realisation of a livery.

The new design is based on the fact that from now on, after carrying out conventional mapping, the model or part of the model is exported in 3D into a software program that will allow painting directly on the 3D model.
This new conception deeply modifies the way of modelling and forces to think a little differently.

Graphic workflow : The graphic process is therefore as follows:
- we design the 3D model
- we create the usual mappings according to the various materials that will be applied to the model
- export the 3D model in OBJ (Wavefront) or FBX (Autodesk export model) format
- import this OBJ or FBX model into the graphics software
- various materials are created
- these materials are applied to the various parts of the object
- we export the resulting textures from these manipulations
- we go back to the 3D software and use the previous textures to dress the model
- the final result is exported in the appropriate format.

New software: Armor Paint
Project page: https://armory3d.org
Latest developments: https://github.com/armory3d/armorpaint
Documentation: https://armorpaint.org/manual
How to buy: https://gumroad.com/l/armorpaint

The sober interface, a minimalist approach but sufficient for the needs:

A second version exists ArmorPaintDXR (supplied with ArmorPaint) which allows even more things but which I didn't have time to dissect :

The Armory3D project gave birth to two products, Armory 3D Engine and ArmorPaint. The latter is of course based on the former. This engine proposes a complete integration in Blender, which at the moment is a real plus.
It has been developed since 2017.

Characteristics of ArmorPaint
- it is a software in its own right and not a plugin
- it is based on the use of nodes (like 3DS Max and Blender)
- it can be accelerated by the GPU
- it allows to create PBR textures
- it allows ray tracing
- it is in full development (I use version 0.7 or 0.8 dev)
- it allows you to make bake textures
- it runs on Windows, Linux, Apple or Android
- it is very affordable, you can have it for less than 18€ as a contribution to future developments.

A large number of videos are available on the armorpaint.org website.

As for the first steps and discovery, I propose you the youtube channel of Alexander Kiryanov (Russian author but whose English is ... very understandable) with this video in particular:

Published on 05/10/2020 : 11:52  - 1 comment 1 comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
cadeau.gifP3D v5 is near ...  -  by Lagaffe

Good evening,

Last week, Matt Davies during a session on Twitch leaked (intentionally or not) information about a zip file on his PC that seems to be the next v5 version of Prepar3D.
Looking closely at his screen that was being broadcast, one can see a zip file name that could suggest that the next version v5.0.2.33365 is being tested.

v5.0.2.33365

Some on AVsim did not refrain from spreading the information, so Intox or Info ???

Published on 03/02/2020 : 20:31  - 3 comments 3 comments - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
cadeau.gifRelease of Mirabel - CYMX with CSW5  -  by Lagaffe

 Good evening,
A brief one to announce the official release of MirabelX - CYMX-CSW5 yesterday late in the evening. This new scene is available on Quebec FSX and French-VFR, produced in close collaboration between the people of Quebec FSX and French-VFR, this scene took 1.5 years of work by three people for a result we are quite proud of... An update is planned in the coming months to add various things we wanted to model but we had decided to take a break for this end of year, to find the punch necessary for a long term project.


Lagaffe cool

Published on 17/11/2019 : 19:27  - 1 comment 1 comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
cartable.gifNew hardware for the next Prepar3D v5  -  by Lagaffe

A type of post I'm not used to writing but why not.....
The retreat coming next year and wanting to please me I will surely update my current configuration to mount a new PC dedicated to simulation and developments.

Here are my choices, not yet final:

-  Ecran Ultra-Wide QHD Iiyama 34 " ProLite XUB3490WQSU-B1
-  Case HAF 932
-  CPU Intel 9700K
-  Carte mère ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-H GAMING (6 ports SATA)
-  RAM Corsair Vengeance 16 Go (2 x 8Go) en 3600 CAS 16
-  NVidia GTX 1070Ti
-  Be Quiet DARK ROCK PRO 4
-  Storage:1 x Samsung 850 EVO and 2 x Cruxial 250 Go

Published on 31/08/2019 : 18:45  - none comment none comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
cadeau.gifMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2020  -  by Lagaffe

The news of the 2019 E3 show was the announcement by Microsoft of the launch of a new version of MSFS that should be delivered in 2020.

In 2006, Microsoft released Flight Simulator X, one of the most popular versions of one of its niche video games for real-world enthusiasts. Microsoft Flight, released in 2012, was Microsoft's failed attempt to give it a Free 2 Play follow-up. Since then, air simulation enthusiasts have looked at the competition and in particular the excellent X-Plane, recently introduced in its version 12.

This year, however, Microsoft is reviving the flame with a 4K video, on which the Redmond giant claims to show game sequences in real time, we can see what the one that has been soberly named Flight Simulator will look like.

A lot of ink has been written since this announcement but it must be said that for the moment nothing concrete has been shown... let's wait for the rest.
Published on 31/08/2019 : 17:35  - 1 comment 1 comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
cadeau.gifTomato Shade  -  by Lagaffe

TomatoShade...

While reading AVsim and the latest news of the day, I came across a post about a new shader modification tool. The tool is already compatible with P3D v4.3!

TomatoShade seems to be a new freeware/open source tool for Prepar3D whose particularity is to act on dynamic reflections - PBR way. Since this option (Dynamic reflections) is rather greedy, it is advisable to warn the user to have a light hand on the settings otherwise it may be felt on the FPS.

When you modify shaders, you first save what is done by the tool during the first launch in a subdirectory of the installation (_shaderbackup)

It is therefore first necessary to set the Dynamic refections setting to Low in the P3D interface and to check the three settings under this slider. You can then play with Ultra...

These modifications concern the planes so a tool is planned to adapt your model accordingly (profiles exist for the planes of lines of the market like PMDG and others). For details I advise you to read the readme.pdf provided with the tool.

There is not much information on this tool but it seems to be progressing, moreover being free it does not cost anything to try and make your own opinion. It seems built on the same preset file model as PTA.
The following lines are the translation of the information gleaned on AVSim in order to answer the questions of most of you (English speakers or... no).
To make my own opinion, I found presets already developed here: https://www.rdpresets.com/rd-tomatoshade-preset.html

Some captures of the interface:

https://i.imgur.com/G2q1Bm4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/aGzs1lO.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/c9KyUqF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/09V84ue.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ggaef76.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3HJA4yW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CAz7C9b.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TWaLIb5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JNvjCkF.jpg

A quick test to compare to PTA allows to highlight the following points:
 - For PBR reflections, you can use the examples provided (./profiles/tomato/*.ini) to modify your own aircraft, examples:

https://imgur.com/a/U1PsuR7

 - Tweaks from the atmosphere to the horizon, examples:
https://imgur.com/Q7Ugc7m
http://https://imgur.com/Jomx9Kx
http://https://imgur.com/haGulh9
https://imgur.com/BaESDjD

 - Use of OrbX night lights (additional colors, rendering based on viewing distance attenuation)
 https://imgur.com/ZneF2Aa

 - Puddles of water when it rains on the tarmacs decorated with dynamic reflections:
  https://imgur.com/75w09hz

For the moment, I haven't found a dedicated site but we're talking about it here: https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/538270-tomato-shade-update-out-for-43/?page=1
Some videos on the subject:
 - http://https://twitchstats.net/clip/UnusualBumblingMooseItsBoshyTim

Download linkhttps://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/26p2ufw3t6edxqb/TomatoShade.zip (Chrome seems to have problems with this link...)
Installation guide in pictures:

Published on 01/07/2018 : 12:11  - none comment none comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
Prepar3D v4.3  -  by Lagaffe

Prepar3D v4.3 coming soon

After a very quiet campaign, normally Lockheed Martin should release a new version 4.3 very soon (NLDR: probably by the end of June). This new version should probably focus on performance improvements of the native VR.

This should cut the ground under the foot of the FlyInside simulator which was due to come out in the second half of 2018 and which featured native RV support.

Prepar3D_v4;3.jpg

16 June 2018
My latest readings from the English forums seem to confirm the following tracks for this new version:
- very probable release during the last week-end of June (25th or 30th June at the latest)
- Dynamic Light improvements

We also talk about PBR textures (currently used on X-Plane 11.0) that would be implemented in P3D and a passage on DX12. If it's not for v4.3 it might be in the next v5. This last track would push the last irreducible to pass under Windows 10 to benefit from this novelty (DX12).
If that is the case, I hope that it will not be limited to simple cosmetic' modifications but to a modification of the rendering engine.

Nevertheless for this v4.3, let the people who depend on FSUIPC be reassured: Pete Dawson only thinks about taking a few days off in July and that if L-M doesn't make big changes in SimConnect, his current version of FSUIPC should work as well in V4.2 as in v4.3

Published on 01/05/2018 : 16:34  - none comment none comment - View ? Add yours ?   Preview   Print...   Top
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