Calibrated USAAF/USN/LW Reticles v3.2 - with new F2A-2 sight - Printable Version

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Calibrated USAAF/USN/LW Reticles v3.2 - with new F2A-2 sight - NonWonderDog - 10.05.2009

This mod adds new textures for every reflector gunsight reticle in every USAAF and USN fighter and bomber, and now every Luftwaffe fighter. In addition to the new textures, I've calibrated every reticle to its proper size by editing the meshes (most were correctly sized, but some were way off). I've also altered all of the reticle masks to prevent the reticles from showing through the cockpit with 6DoF, and I've changed most of the reticle masks to have more realistic projection areas. For version 3, I've added an improved Revi 16B mesh to all planes that mount that sight, and version 3.1 includes the Mk.III Mod 2 unity telescope on the F2A-2 Buffalo.

Several of these are guesses, like the P-38 sight and the 30 mil sight (should probably be 35 mils) on the Hawk 81A-2. They should be generally correct, though, and in any case they're still more accurate than the default reticles. I'm still constantly looking for more info, so if you have something that proves these wrong, send it my way.

Screenshots:
[Filefront ate all my before and after pics. I'll put them back up soon.]



The cross of the K-14's fixed reticle is now visible even when the sight is set to "Gyro Only." The real sight has a lever on it that blanks out all of the reticle except for the cross, allowing you to see how much lead the sight is computing without cluttering up your view (this is, in fact, the preferred mode of operation). The real sight also had two gyro only modes (day and night, with the night setting fixing the range at 150 yards), so if you don't like having the cross visible there is an option included that restores the gyro-only mode. It would be possible to reprogram the plane and cockpit scripts to add the extra modes, but it would hurt compatibility for what is (for now) mostly a texture replacement.


DOWNLOAD:
Filefront
Mediafire

v.3.2 PATCH
Filefront
Mediafire

For those who like to tinker, my GIMP project files are here.

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- F22-Raptor-2006 - 10.05.2009

nice work looks nice

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- Guest - 10.05.2009

Yes-this looks great!

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- Davidson - 10.05.2009

Nice!!
Thank you so much! Much better than the others!

Regards

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- JAMF - 10.05.2009

Looks good. Dunno what the Lynn type 3 "mask" looked like, but AFAIK these masks were changeable, to fit the tasking. IIRC they gave the gunsight mask on the 38 an inverted V from the center, when carrying rockets. The P-38 lightning saw a variety of gunsights used like the N-3C, but the model displayed in the cockpit is the Lynn type 3.

Here's a look at the N-3C mask:


The resulting image:


I would need to retake that photo someday at night, with 24Volts instead of 12V.

Great job!

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- FlyingFinn - 10.05.2009

Excellent work!

I've been waiting for this for a long time.

Do you have plans for other reticles as well?

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- KG64_Cnopicilin - 10.05.2009

JAMF Wrote:Looks good. Dunno what the Lynn type 3 "mask" looked like, but AFAIK these masks were changeable, to fit the tasking. IIRC they gave the gunsight mask on the 38 an inverted V from the center, when carrying rockets. The P-38 lightning saw a variety of gunsights used like the N-3C, but the model displayed in the cockpit is the Lynn type 3.

Here's a look at the N-3C mask:


The resulting image:


I would need to retake that photo someday at night, with 24Volts instead of 12V.

Great job!

What have ur neighbours done to you????

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- JAMF - 10.05.2009

KG64_cnopicilin Wrote:What have ur neighbours done to you????

Just being in the wrong place is enough.

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- KG64_Cnopicilin - 10.05.2009

JAMF Wrote:

KG64_cnopicilin Wrote:What have ur neighbours done to you????

Just being in the wrong place is enough.

So you should live in a castle in the middle of nowhere.

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- Guest - 10.05.2009

KG64_cnopicilin Wrote:

JAMF Wrote:

KG64_cnopicilin Wrote:What have ur neighbours done to you????

Just being in the wrong place is enough.

So you should live in a castle in the middle of nowhere.

LOL

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- RogueSnake - 10.05.2009

:o Outstanding NWD!

Great to see you here! Loved your mods for ARMA's tanks!

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- NonWonderDog - 10.05.2009

JAMF Wrote:The resulting image:

That's an interesting photo; the reticle is a lot redder and thicker than in other photos I've seen. You've probably got the dimmer turned most of the way up, but does it look like that to the naked eye, or is some of the flaring due to the camera?

My reticles are a bit too yellow, even compared to other photos, but I had a hard time making them any further red without looking cartoonish. I'll give it another whirl, I guess.

The only written source I've seen for reticle thickness is from a post-war test report for a gun stabilization system on a P-80. That report specifically says, with pictures, that the center cross and gyro pipper on the gunsight they used (a K-14 variant) are 1.2 mils in radius. I've given the center dots a 1.25 mil radius and the cross a 1.5 mil radius (to make them a bit easier to see), with similar line widths for rings and such. Do you feel as if your gunsight could achieve such sharp reticles, if it were properly adjusted? What I've got now is probably good for well adjusted reticles (and it works decently well at night, too); I just wish I knew what the average one looked like in WWII.

I'm asking because I can tweak my glow-effect script fairly easily and re-generate all of the reticles here in a half hour or so. It shouldn't be a big deal to make thicker reticles if anyone wants them. Future reticles will use the same mat file and glow effect, too.

For references, I used photos like this, this, this, and this.

EDIT:
Would either of these be better for the P-38? I haven't a clue what it should look like.

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- JAMF - 11.05.2009

The shift to redness is likely due to the 12V, so it's only on half power output. Dunno if I will be able to put 24V on it, but I would say that would put it in the white spectrum with a yellow edge (like adding a lot of "glow" to yellow). The camera used was old, shooting in evening light and I'm using the window as reflective surface, so that would result in a thicker image.

I might have some time Friday to do new shots under darker conditions with a better camera.

I'll see if I can find info on P-38 gunsight images.

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- Catahoulak9 - 11.05.2009

These are looking great NonWonderDog. I can't wait to see what you do with the Navy reticle.

I'm glad someone is carrying the torch with work on the reticles. We didn't realize how crappy the originals were until Sojka introduced his brightened reticle back in the AAA Jurassic period. Improving them is important because we can't turn them off and they are right in front of your face everytime you fly.

Maybe someone can look at developing a way to turn off the lamp when the sight isn't needed. There is code somewhere that already cycles through this for the K-14 sight.

Anyway, thanks NonWonderDog and please keep these coming.

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- NonWonderDog - 11.05.2009

Catahoulak9 Wrote:I can't wait to see what you do with the Navy reticle.

WIP.


I've had to make some more significant model edits to make such a ludicrously huge reticle show up (that's the size it's supposed to be, honest), and something goofy happened to the mirror. I probably just used an old version of hier.him, so I'll have to find the new one and redo it. I'm rather proud of the results so far, though, and this is definitely the single worst reticle in the stock game.

EDIT: It isn't physically possible to see a projected reticle image with a larger apparent size than the lens, so this screenshot is a bit odd. You should really only see the whole reticle if you lean in with 6DOF. I might be able to simulate that behavior by adding another layer to the mask, but I don't think I can make it fade out at the edges. Should I try to do this, or would it be a waste of time? (I guess I could just tighten the mask into an oval in the middle, and get much the same effect. I think I'll do that instead.)

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