Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[agracier]

I've been trying out this mod on a few maps and I have to say this is one of the most useful mods I've used with map making. Not only is it easy to make airfields, but the possibility to change the 'bumpiness' of a landing per field individually is really nice.

As far as I'm concerned, from now on old-fashioned ground plates are out and the friction mod is going to be standard on maps.

A great mod indeed.

[boogabooga]

On the friction mod: I tried building a DCG 'BoB' campaign in UP2.01 on the 352nd Cross-Channel map.  I found the AI couldn't take off reliably from friction mod airfields without MDS activated, but I also found DCG crashed whenever I activated MDS.  I asked around, but it didn't seem the problem was well known, and I never found a solution.  I had to abort the campaign build in the end.  A BoB DCG campaign has come out since, on Cannon's map, which is not friction modded far as I know...

I'd love to know if anyone else has experience with this?

Cheers
KB

This is the kind of thing I'm afraid of. Especially the MDS relationship. I almost never play online, like many people here, and I don't activate the MDS. As I understand it, it conflicts with all kinds of things.

The friction mod might be great for mapmakers, but if people have a lot of problems with it, then it will be hard to use the map for missions and campaigns. Then a nice map might just end up as eyecandy. AFAIK, don't blank plates work for everyone?

[agracier]

This is the kind of thing I'm afraid of. Especially the MDS relationship. I almost never play online, like many people here, and I don't activate the MDS. As I understand it, it conflicts with all kinds of things.

The friction mod might be great for mapmakers, but if people have a lot of problems with it, then it will be hard to use the map for missions and campaigns. Then a nice map might just end up as eyecandy. AFAIK, don't blank plates work for everyone?

Ahhh, but the Friction Mod is not the same as the MDS Mod (Moving Dogfight Server). I never ever play on-line either (the few times I tried I got shot down while trying to take off ...). I too have had conflicts when I tried out the MDS mod without really knowing what it was.

There is a stand-alone version of the Friction Mod and there is a MDS compatible version of the friction mod. And from the posts I've read on the Friction mod, there doesn't seem to be any conflict with maps that have the mod and members who don't have the mod installed.

So not to worry about maps that have this mod. In fact, it isn't really the map that has the mod. It's the player who installs it and then the player's game can read some extra info contained in a map load.ini file concerning areas where there is less friction on a particular terrain area so that it can act as an airfield.

There should be no conflict therefore with the Friction Mod.

Groundplates do work for everyone, but they do effect frame rates when airfields are large and intricate, with lots of invisible groundplates. And if you've ever tried placing invisible groundplates over an area and tried to do so properly, mull for a moment on the term 'invisible' ... they are literally invisible and once you place them there is no way of seeing where the little suckers are ... try correcting mistakes on something like that ...

And other groundplates, the concrete, sand, green grass plates and all, are really a bit outmoded and look dated, as if they don't belong in a game the caliber of Il-2. Airfields look ever so much better using integral airfield textures like those by Mixx or Compans ...

So not to worry. The Friction mod will add an extra dimension of challenge when landing and will allow such little extras as making emergency landing fields to be easily placed and made.

Don't forget that the Friction Mod is not the same as the MDS mod and comes in a stand-alone version and is easy to install as well.

[Uzin]

Groundplates do work for everyone, but they do effect frame rates when airfields are large and intricate, with lots of invisible groundplates. And if you've ever tried placing invisible groundplates over an area and tried to do so properly, mull for a moment on the term 'invisible' ... they are literally invisible and once you place them there is no way of seeing where the little suckers are ... try correcting mistakes on something like that ...

Hi, agracier, I see you are becoming Neofyte of the Friction mod. 
As it concerns the Blank plate method, guys from Aviaskins teached me to temporarily replace , in static.ini, the text concerning the blank plates from

[buildings.Plate$BlankParking]
Title           Parking
Mesh            3do/airfield/Blank/Parking/mono.sim"
to the following one,

[buildings.Plate$BlankParking]
Title           Parking
Mesh            3do/airfield/Pac_Sand/Parking/mono.sim

so that the invisible plates became temporarily visible during their placement in the map, with subsequent returning the original state.
All and all, the Friction method rulez, however .

[agracier]

That's a nifty little trick. Much obliged.

But you're right about me being enthusiastic about the Friction mod. I've got a map being readied with a number of different types of airfields - from more or less regular fields to emergency landing areas. It is great to be able to set the emergency fields to a degree of bumpiness that allows a landing, but still makes it more bumpy than landing on a groundplate ... and you can also make relatively large emergency landing areas - say a salt flat in a desert somewhere, or other large open, flat areas. They can be made landable, but still bumpier than on a groundplate ...

The friction mod is really a great mod. Nothing flashy, but ever so useful.

[_AUS_Salmo]

Hi, agracier, I see you are becoming Neofyte of the Friction mod. 
As it concerns the Blank plate method, guys from Aviaskins teached me to temporarily replace , in static.ini, the text concerning the blank plates from

[buildings.Plate$BlankParking]
Title           Parking
Mesh            3do/airfield/Blank/Parking/mono.sim"
to the following one,

[buildings.Plate$BlankParking]
Title           Parking
Mesh            3do/airfield/Pac_Sand/Parking/mono.sim

so that the invisible plates became temporarily visible during their placement in the map, with subsequent returning the original state.
All and all, the Friction method rulez, however .

+10 for mission builders. Now that's a neat trick. Someone should package the code change & the undo into a small mod for inclusion into the next UP release.

[Uzin]

+10 for mission builders. Now that's a neat trick. Someone should package the code change & the undo into a small mod for inclusion into the next UP release.

A minimod was made by YuVe at Aviaskins. I am awaiting his written permission to post it here.

[Uzin]

EasyRider first posted a colored Blankplate a long time ago, for map makers to use as a tool when building airfields

I am sorry I did not met it earlier.

But blankplates are not the way to go IMHO

And what about the comparison of Canonuk's method of making airfields the Objects, as compared with Friction method ? What is the opinion , please ?

[agracier]

I am sorry I did not met it earlier.And what about the comparison of Canonuk's method of making airfields the Objects, as compared with Friction method ? What is the opinion , please ?

If you use integral textures like on canonuk map or on Mixx's Khalkin-Gol repaint, then you will still need invisible groundplates to render the landing area bump free. The special thing about such textures is that they look so much better and realistic, but as far as I know they do not posses any qualities like groundplates do, that make the area they are o bump-free.

So Canonuk's method is the same as using groundplates.

I'd say the ideal method is to use textures like on canonuk/mixx Khalkin-Gol and then use the friction mod to define the areas to act as landing area on the airfield texture. Gives less objects in use and takes less time to make as well ... it's the best of both worlds. Looks great and more realistic and it's easier to make.

[Uzin]

A minimod was made by YuVe at Aviaskins. I am awaiting his written permission to post it here.

Just received the written permission of the author to upload it here. The dl contains two folders, one of them making blank plates visible, the second one returns the default state. Install both these folders into MODS folder and make inactive one of them according to your choice, by insert "-" in front of folders name. Be careful, the folders contain only default objects, so any added object must be treated with the knowledge of the hints.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/0fr661tglsmb1eh/Downloads.rar

[Uzin]

As long as the Friction values are added to the map's load.ini it works fine without any extra Mo

Do you mean that with load.ini entries alone you will obtain the lowered friction, without ZUTIs mod ??? Really ?

[Avala]

So, am I understand it correctly that when you have those values in load.ini files, you don't need Zuti's friction mod? That values in load.ini works alone?


Is it possible to make the whole map as airport, select the corners of the map?