[fabianfred]

An In-depth look at the .......Static.ini file

Opened with Windows Notepad, this file is merely a list. A list of all the Objects in the game. That is, all the objects which appear in the

'Objects' menu in the FMB.......not the 'Stationary Objects/Ships/armour/aircraft', which are usually non-moving versions of the normally mobile

things from the ships/armour/vehicles/aircraft/artillery menus. So the Objects here are usually buildings, trees and other furniture. They usually

have a damage model, unless they are indestructible objects such as castle walls or the big Crimea rock.

If you are using the normal, default, vanilla FMB...then all the objects are just given a number, which corresponds to their position in the list of

objects in the static.ini..........with certain exceptions. The normal FMB does not show, or give access to, the map-builders tools, which are the

Airfield runway/taxi/parking plates...in their different versions of concrete/sand/grass/etc. Also the Kronstadt set of summer and winter plates

do not show upon the Normal list. In the list of numbers for the Objects in the FMB you will see only the items which the game wants you to

see.....so the airfield plates mentioned and kronstadt plates and a couple of other odd items like the bush called 'kust' and the Mount Suribachi

'Mount', will not appear on the list, and it will skip to the next available item, and all the numbers will remain in sequence.



Look at the screenshot of the Object number 13 ...which is the Sevastopol Quay....and if you open your static.ini in Notepad you will find it is

the 13th item down the list.

[buildings.House$SevastopolQuay]
Title SevastopolQuay
MeshLive 3do/Buildings/Crimea/SevastopolQuay/live.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/Crimea/SevastopolQuay/dead.sim
Body RockBig
Panzer 1.30

At the top of the static.ini are explanations of how the Objects use some parameters......we will cover those later.....for now, the first Group of

Objects come under the section which starts with...

//===========================================================================
[***]
Title House
//===========================================================================

all items in the static.ini come under the folder 'buildings', which is a sub-section of the 3do folder.....so the
[buildings.House$SevastopolQuay] comes under the 'House' section and is called Sevastopol Quay..
Next important bits are the MeshLive and MeshDead lines........ these give the address for the game to find the folder containing the tga files

which give the skins of the Object, and the mesh files which tell it how to construct the shape of the object...and also the damaged version

which is the Dead one. Other files within the Objects folder will tell the game engine that it is a collideable object when Live, but not when

Dead....as we have all seen vehicles driving through damaged buildings. Some Objects are not given a MeshDead address, because either

the Object is indestructible, or it simply disappears from view when destroyed.....

Here is an example...the trees by default do not have a damage model and disappear when destroyed....

[buildings.House$FurnitureTree2]
Title TreeType2
MeshLive 3do/Tree/Tree2.sim
MeshDead
Body WoodMiddle
Panzer 0.01

This is my own entry from my damage mod....I simply used the address for the tree stump which is in the 'Pacific' section (further down the list

in the static.ini) and used it as a damage model, so that when destroyed this particular tree will leave a tree stump behind, instead of nothing.

[buildings.House$FurnitureTree2]
Title TreeType2
MeshLive 3do/Tree/Tree2.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/Pacific/DeadTree1/dead.sim
Body WoodMiddle
Panzer 0.01

The next line called Body ....is either WoodSmall,WoodMiddle,RockMiddle,RockBig,RockHuge,FuelSmall,FuelBig....... the Wood/Rock/Fuel

telling the game engine what kind of secondary effects to give the object as it is destroyed....being either just some dust, or smoke, or flames

too.

The last line is called Panzer, and has nothing to do with the tanks....apart from it denotes the strength of the object...and how easy it is to

destroy....the smaller the number...the less strength it has....so you can fiddle with this number yourself....if a particular building or object is too

easy to destroy or not easy enough (in your opinion).

All we have referred to so far are the standard objects which came with the game, or the various patches released by Ubi.

Without adding any extra folders to the MODS folder in the il2 root...you can still make quite a few changes and additions right here in the

static.ini.....just by copy/cut and paste.

If you have the 4.09beta patch installed, then right at the bottom of your static.ini you will find the section.....Humans... with all the little soldier

figures, sitting and standing etc.

//===========================================================================
[***]
Title Humans
//===========================================================================

[buildings.House$Human_01]
Title Human_01
MeshLive 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/live.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/dead.sim
AlignToLand 0
Body FuelSmall
Panzer 0.005

you will notice the parameter 'AlignToLand' and if you change the 0 to a 1 then when standing on a slope the figure will be 90 degrees to the

ground instead of 90 degrees to the horizontal..... this applies to all objects....so you can add this line to an object which doesn't already have it

and make it a 1 if you want it to be perpendicular to the ground in a certain situation.
You can also make this a brand new seperate Object ....simply by doing this....

[buildings.House$Human_01a]
Title Human_01a
MeshLive 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/live.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/dead.sim
AlignToLand 1
Body FuelSmall
Panzer 0.005

you can see that all I have done is given it a new name....Human_01a....and changed the AlignToLand to 1...it still goes to the same address

for details on how to draw the object....so no need for any new folders yet.

Another variable we can add is ...

// How many meters to add to height above land's surface
AddHeightLive 0.0
AddHeightDead 0.0

so we can have yet another version of this first figure...but set at height above the ground.... to be on a pile of boxes or on a truck or sentry

tower..

[buildings.House$Human_01_3m]
Title Human_01_3m
MeshLive 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/live.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/dead.sim
AddHeightLive 3.0
AddHeightDead 3.0
AlignToLand 0
Body FuelSmall
Panzer 0.005

simply by making a new entry...by copy/paste and then altering the name to give it a unique name...in this case I have described it as

Human_01 and given the height as 3m , then put in the lines AddHeightLive/Dead........and if you do not want it to have a dead object floating

in the air when destroyed just simply leave out the AddHeightDead line altogether....by checking in the FMB and adjusting in increments of .1

of a metre you can get the height correct for your desired application.

These are completely new objects which you have brought into your own version of the game.......so, in order to avoid confusion....make a

new Section right at the bottom of your static.ini....such as

//===========================================================================
[***]
Title Mods
//===========================================================================

[buildings.House$Human_01a]
Title Human_01a
MeshLive 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/live.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/dead.sim
AlignToLand 1
Body FuelSmall
Panzer 0.005

[buildings.House$Human_01_3m]
Title Human_01_3m
MeshLive 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/live.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01/dead.sim
AddHeightLive 3.0
AddHeightDead 3.0
AlignToLand 0
Body FuelSmall
Panzer 0.005

and these two new items we have made will appear right at the end of the list of Objects in the FMB, and not disturb the default list. You can

also choose to have the new items immediately follow their original versions in the static.ini, and they will also do so in the FMB list.

Good items to make extras of at different heights are...the Humans......oil drums....boxes.....sandbag walls etc. .....By using a minus number

you can also have Objects showing only a part of themselves above the ground/water level.

If you wish to make a new skin for an Object....a house or tree or flag etc....then you will need to have the complete folder and its address

extracted from the sfs files...then your new entry for it would need to have the correct address to enable the game engine to find it.

Suppose I wished to make a new version of the Human_01 object...perhaps in civilian clothes....I would copy the whole extracted

3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human folder into a new folder I made in my il2/MODS folder.........so I would have a

il2/MODS/men/3do/Buildings/addobjects/Humans folder and in that would be seperate folders for each of the eleven figures 01 to 11. If I was

to clone the 01 figure I would copy the complete Human_01 folder and rename it ....eg. Human_01_Jack ....and the open the tga files in

Photoshop and make the changes I desire...saving as the original file names and types and sizes.
Then to get the new figure into the game I would make a new entry in my static.ini like this....

[buildings.House$Human_01_Jack]
Title Human_01_Jack
MeshLive 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01_Jack/live.sim
MeshDead 3do/Buildings/addobjects/Human_01_Jack/dead.sim
AlignToLand 0
Body FuelSmall
Panzer 0.005

You will notice the address in the MeshLive/MeshDead lines must point to the new folder I have made called ... Human_01_Jack...once he is

showing all correctly I can make other versions of him in different attitudes or heights too.

If you use the FMB+ version you will notice (from the screenshot above) that when an object is selected.....you also get to see the name at the

bottom of the screen.....in this case is...House$SevastopolQuay....which will help you find the section it is under in the static.ini.

also the FMB+ unlocks some of the airfield/kronstadt plates for you to use and so these will appear in the Object list in the FMB.....but you will

not see their picture in the little box...just a number....so look for their name at the bottom of the screen.

If you are using the Fully Unlocked MapTools FMB then the Objects list will follow the sections by name in the static.ini.....and Objects will

have the same name as in the static.ini instead of just a number.....so your newly created 'Mods' section will shown upon the list too in its own

section.

If you are making a new item...with altered skins...then you will need the appropriate folders in your MODS folder...as well as the entries in your

static.ini pointing to it. Otherwise it will not show up in the game and may cause conflict with missions/maps. This applies to new objects you

have made, or new mods you have downloaded that others have made.

Please ask if you need further clarification upon some point......or want to know what things I altered for my destruction mod.......

Next episode.......the Technics.ini.....

[mrbingle]

Great explanation m8, well done ...perfect style to explain how to chop n change meshes for those of us that dont know as well if someone can write 1 ( nudge nudge)...

Sparty

[fabianfred]

Sorry...the meshes is a closed book to me.....I can only do simple stuff like this...and do a few bits in Photoshop.... like trees

[RAF_Magpie]

MrBingle, its simply not going to happen I'm afraid... If you wish to learn, trail and error is your best bet. Or try to catch up with someone that knows how. I know Slow for example has taken a couple under his wing... you just need to find someone thats willing to take you on as a protoge.

[mrbingle]

MrBingle, its simply not going to happen I'm afraid... If you wish to learn, trail and error is your best bet. Or try to catch up with someone that knows how. I know Slow for example has taken a couple under his wing... you just need to find someone thats willing to take you on as a protoge.

Sounds like a clique to me..i dont do closed shops either as 1 of the lucky 2 b accepted or the mass that are turned away! i presume the the same rules apply to the tutor..if he dont wanna teach then u can ask all u like u still wont get taught!..thanks for ur comments Magpie but that mentality is not something i aspire to....so ... trail and error it is for me..again thanks .

Sparty

[Flying Nutcase]

Very interesting. Men in guard towers, MG posts on flat hangars roofs, crew on plane wings...

And so damned easy to do. There's the problem of compatibility, but this really opens doors. Thanks for taking the time to do this Fabian.

[fabianfred]

Haven't had time to do the guides on the other inis yet...busy with maps and missions :oops:

[I_B_Spectre]

Well written, fabianfred. You piqued my interest early in your post when talking about things associated with airfields. You said these and other things are not shown in the normal FMB. I have not ventured beyond making a aircraft skins and mission building, so I'm not knowledgeable about serious modding. I would like to have the ability to modify existing airfields or even place dirt/turf runways in new locations. Is this do-able and does it require map modding tools or the FMB+?

[fabianfred]

That requires the Fully Unlocked maptools FMB ...which is available to all in the map makers tools section.... but when you use it to change an airfield...change textures...change parking/taxiing waypoints etc. you are in effect creating a new unique map.... so you need to follow the rules for that

you need to rename the map and have all its files in its folder in the MODS/MAPMODS/maps/xxx folder ...and its details in the all.ini file in the maps folder

plus you must have a folder with the same name in the Root/maps/ folder (make one if you don't have one)

when you edit a map in the Tools FMb you must 'Save' ....not save as ...and it will save to the root.maps folder
but it will load the map from the MODS/MAPMODS/maps/xxx folder....so to see your changes you must copy the new files from the root/maps/xxx folder into the MODS/MAPMODS/maps/xxx ....after exiting the game

[taurus]

Thanks for taking the time to explain some of the mysteries FabianFred. Every little piece helps to get the very best out of IL-2.

[fabianfred]

We aim to please :wink:

the more who understand the inner workings of il2 the better...and easier for installing maps/mods without problems

[Plantoid 1]

fabianfred:

I just read your treatise on the static.ini file and am now in the midst of working things into it such as you suggested - men, oil drums, crates, etc raised to be put on something.

I've run into a problem though:

I've added the AddHeightLive and AddHeightDead lines to the object's list and I've got the men raised with some at the height of the scaffold, some the height of the pier part, and some the height of trucks and porches. When I try to raise the vehicles in the objects list, the oil drums, and the sandbags, they won't leave the ground. What am I missing?

It'll be great to finally make a ship docked at a pier look like it's brought some supplies!

Thanks for the help.

Great days all.

[fabianfred]

just bumping this...for the new arrivals :wink:

[SkyMaster]

fabianfred

Thanks fer the bumb,I appreciate the time and thought that went into your post also.
It was very informative for me as I am getting fairly good with the static and the all .Ini's
finally.At least installing maps and mods for myself ,that is.

Once again ,thanks

I'm a new arrivial 8)

[RAF_Magpie]

just bumping this...for the new arrivals :wink:

I've stickied this for you fabian - save it getting lost in the deep dark never-regions of the IL2 MODS Discussion Section v4.08 past pages... *shudder*