Well -- maybe this doesn't look like a step forward -- but it is.
Original model had HD texture skin1o 2048x2048 - but a lot of wasted space on the texture. Total of 4194304 pixels
So I've changed the texture to skin1o - 1024x1024 and skin2o 944x944. Total of 1939712 pixels -- less than half.
Now all I have to do is move the UVW Mapping around to fit the new tga's
Also removed the "authentic" hump from the rear of the flight deck so that aircraft would spawn correctly. The hump was causing crash on chocks release problems for a full flight deck.
Sometimes you have to fudge things to fit within the game limitations. Ramp on the forward part of the deck is working fine for the historically correct range of aircraft.
Still not able to get the Barracuda to work on the flight deck. Unfortunate since it is an important aircraft for some historic scenarios.
Problem seems to be with the aircraft not the ship. Same problems occur when the stock Illustrious is substituted for Furious.
Aircraft noses over into the deck before it can gain forward speed. Problem is sensitive to the speed of the CV so to do with windspeed lifting the tail too rapidly.
I can't fix this.