**Albatros D.Va** This aircraft requires the latest FS-WWI Plane Pack to function correctly. Credits for this aircraft go to the following: 3d Model: Sv Texture: Recon3 OpenPlaneStudio Code: Sv, ArgonV Missions: ArgonV GUI: ArgonV Updated by: ArgonV Old History and past notes/revisions: Albatros Dva WWI Pack V1 Version by Sv (sean@schoolmusic.com) Pang did a major FM upgrade of the Albatros for the WWI pack including two new airfoils, the NACAWWI1 wing and NACAWWI6 tail. Albatros Dva Version 6 by Sv (sean@schoolmusic.com) -------------------------------------------- Here is the Albatros Dva entry to the OpenPlane Contest. The aircraft was created by: Sv (Sean) Dauntless851 (Mike) Nuum (Paulo) The base for this model was the Fokker DR1a by Parsoft (now Inertia Games). Certain sounds are derived from the Red Baron 3D sound pack add-on. Hangar stats come from www.theaerodrome.com Special thanks to Nuum for his friendship and encouragement, it has been (and will continue to be) fun! Nuum also invented and implemented the wires that appear on the Albatros - a work of art, as always Nuum :) Also many thanks to Dauntless851, who's work on the Albatros Dva is as evident as any of my own; the very esence of the Albatros is his work, the textures that make up the aircraft. You can see many other fine examples of Mike's art at the OpenPlane WWI site, at least 5 other top of the line skins! Mike also sent me the drawings I used to design the Albatros. Thanks to Michael who sent me great pictures of the Albatros cockpit that I used. Thanks to Bryan Russell for OpenPlane Studio, THE OpenPlane Editor! Thanks to Hippie for the extractor/builder tools and AC3D plugin, the key. Thanks to my own squadmate Private Roger for coming up with the contest idea! Thanks to the whole OpenPlane and SDOE community for all the help along the way, especialy JT and Tailslide! And last but not least, thanks to Parsoft/Inertia for SDOE and more importantly the OpenPlane concept! May there be many more! -Sv The Albatros was built using the following tools: AC3D, Hippie's Extractor/Builder, Hippie's AC3D plugins, Bryan Russell's OpenPlane Studio, Adobe PhotoShop, GoldWave audio editor, and Microsoft Visual Source Safe. Version 6: The "contest" version This version was released for the contest. This version only contains such add-ons as hangar files, training missions, etc. >>> To install: Unzip the AlbatrosDva_V6.zip file into your Fighter Squadron\media folder. Or you can unzip it to a new folder you create anywhere, then copy and past that folder's content into your Fighter Squadron\media folder. >>> To fly: You can fly the Albatros Dva from the hangar and training missions. If you have the SE5a you can also fly the "AlbatrosDva" mission in the Word War 1 theater. Or make your own missions for the Albatros! See http://www.schoolmusic.com/chickencoop/SE5a/albatros.htm for future news. -Sv >>> Version History: Version 5.1: Fixed reference to wire texture Version 5: Wing wires added by Nuum, THANKS NUUM! You are the master! This is a huge improvement for the Albatros. New engine design. The old engine is the low detail LOD. The new engine is much more detailed. New skin for the contest, this is a great skin from Dauntless851 - see the openplane wwi site for details (http://www.schoolmusic.com/chickencoop/openplane_wwi/index.htm) Version 4 Updates: Visual: I added the correct inner wing struts and wheel struts. Also the wheels are in the correct location now and a little further apart - this makes ground handling a little better. I added all of the collion points so the Albatros no longer sinks through the earth! Version 4 represents allot of very boring work with low detail LODS, but allot of cool work with DM. Low detail LODS were carefuly created - I investigated the switchins through many tests in SDOE - getting the switchins MUCH closer yet very good looking results. This is much better than the SE5a - it uses high switchins like the Fokker DR1a did, and worse still the low detail LODS use basic textures that are ugly. The albatros uses the same textures, even top and bottom, left and right sided! This helps FPS VERY much - especialy in big missions. I need to make this same fix for the SE5a. Also I chose not to use the damage LODS for the Albatros - the markings are so complicated that you can hardly tell the damage anyway. Also this hlps conserve texture memory considerably. Instead I chose to focus on the DM itself. The DM has been reworked from scratch. The SE5a was also done at the same time to get these planes to be comparable. Each part was tested by shooting at a parked Albatros from a B-17 side gunner. Main updates are as follows: 1. Wings are harder to shoot off. These take 50 hit points. It is easy to hit the wings on a WWI plane, but it takes allot until you hit that solid wood to get some real damage. 2. Engine will spew white smoke even if you hit it once - then when you get the 10 hits needed it will cause a small explosion killing the engine. 3. The pilot now takes 1 hit. If you shoot at the pilot and hit him maybe even once or trice he will die - the screen goes red and the plane has no control. This seems to have made killing the fuselege easier as well - before if you shot near the pilot he would never die and the fuselege never took damage. I shot every bullet from the B17 into the mid fuselege with no damage! Now if I do that the pilot dies, then another couple bullets explode the fusege, or cause fire. 4. Fire. The fuselege can take 40 hits. At 20% damage the fuse catches on fire - this kills the pilot fast and the plane will arc into the ground, out of control. Still, it is hard to hit the fuselege, so not too many kills are fire related. If the plane crashes into the ground very hard it explodes. If it is a fairly hard hit it catched fire. Softer ditches just cause parts to break off. I had to make the fuselege fire resistant or any fire would explode the fuselege (cause 10 damage) immediatly. I also added some AI control setting, such as a aircVa top speed of 200, and a low maneauvering speed of 70. Version 3: Cockpit re-built, thanks to Michael (mic@dowco.com) for sending some awesome Albatros cockpit photos! Guages have been re-positioned (these have not been finished yet) and a real moving control stick has been added. Also that leather binding around the cokpit opeing has been created, what a pain! Also a fuselege airfoil has been added to make the rudder more effective. This version is not a pronounced as the "rudder plane" I posted at the forum earlier- - that was just a test so this effect was exagerated. If you want to make skins for the Albatros, edit the wings.tif and fuses.tif. As always, thanks to Mike (dauntless851) who provided the great drawings of the Albatros Dva for me. Version 2: New skin! Carl August von Schoenebeck's Albatros D.Va Skin by rkdodge email - rkdodge@home.com Thanks Rick, great work! Also see the great skins by Mike (dauntless851) at: http://www.schoolmusic.com/chickencoop/SE5a/albatros.htm Also new cockpit. This will be re-done though... Version 1 --------- The Albatros Dva is based on the Parsoft Fokker DR1a plane that is downloaded with the OpenPlane Demo (www.openplane.org) FM: All basic areas and weights have been assigned to reflect the stats of the real Albatros Dva and the plane has been balanced. It still uses the FW190 airfoil. Prop properties have been hacked - I still need to work on this area. DM: The Fokker Damage LODS will show up when this plane recieves damage. Also the low detail LODS are still the Fokker. This is the next step. Sounds: Same sounds as the Se5a Still on the to-do list: - Cockpit - Inner wing struts - Wing wires? - Collision points - Low detail LODS - Damaged LODS - Squadron - Hanger files - Training missions - Full DM/FM work. -SV sean@schoolmusic.com **Update** -Sv's Spandau guns added -Engine damage and fuel tank damage added -Windshield added -Hires texture support added -Seat added -New gunsite -German gauges added **Update PP4** -New FM -Code tweaks -New pilot