This is something I've been looking forward to doing for many months. If anyone ever thought for even a moment that I didn't care about realism... well...
Click the picture to see the video.
Turbulence not included. (may take a min to buffer)
If you want to see a higher res WMV version click here
Enjoy.
36 comments:
Oh man this is going to be so much fun! One thing I noticed though, it appears the EGT gauge isn't registering anything in the rear 'pit on the simulated model?
Darrell
Good eyes Darrell, and it should not be registering anything. The EGT sensor in the real L-39 doesn't provide enough voltage to give accurate readings on both the front and rear EGT gauges at the same time. So there's a switch in the rear cockpit, next to the throttle, to transfer the reading back and forth. It defaults to the front cockpit...
...and so it is in this virtual L-39 too. ;)
Realism ftw. :)
Now that you mention it, I do remember reading that in my L-39 manual ! I was just testing you LOL !! ...seriously, I did read it, but had forgotten it . Looking forward to seeing what else you have included!
Darrell
Suuurree... ;)
Actually there's a LOT of stuff in the manual that made it into the airplane accurately, and some stuff that isn't in the manual either. Having access to some very kind L-39 pilots and maintainers, ones with lots of experience, was a huge help.
Thats was 30fps!?? seemed like 40 or 50!!! The simulated one was smoother than the real one hahah great vid
-jesse
Thanks Jesse. Yeah 30 fps, but Vegas smooths the output a bit by default, on both.
That's why I built her for multiplayer pilots first, I want that kind of smoothness all the time. That was with some heavy autogen as well, and with all of LA in front of me. :)
Yeh that Hollywood sign sure is going to kill your fps....
Well not ALL of LA, that looked like Van Nuys Airport, Which means you still had the Santa Monica mtns in front of you blockin the view of LA. Anyway, I dont mean to interrupt but I followed your advice and upgraded to the 920 but theres a problem, Normally my core temps are in the 30's but When I run fsx & the sims3 the core temps run into the 70's and my comp cuts restarts. Is this bc the heatsink is on incorrectly? thanks
jesse
Close Jesse, it was actually Burbank airport, runway 15, so yup, all of downtown LA is just over those hills in front.
You should not be getting 70 deg C on your cpu. With FSX running at high detail you should see 45-55 deg with proper cooling. Anything over 60 and you need to back off your overclock or get a better cooling solution.
Oh Burbank! ok. anyways thanks again yea it gets in the 70's and its stock! so thanks for confirming that for me ... Im still a novice.
great job on the plane. Do you find it strange that this "thing" you've been working on for the past year+ isnt tangible? I never knew how long these things took. cheers!
jesse
No worries Jesse. Yeah I wouldn't use your computer at all really until you get the cooling problem sorted out, something is definitely wrong there, and if your cpu is shutting down from overtemp you could eventually damage it.
As for the plane, it's a strange feeling, and I expect a kind of withdrawal to hit when it's out on the market, but it's been an adventure. Last Oct is when it went from being just a thing, to being alive. No other way to explain it than that.
Jesse, the stock cooler is definitely crap on the 920's from what I've read. If you can still find them, I purchased a Coolermaster V8 for mine and my core temps are usually around 50 to 52 running FSX full blast for an extended period of time.
Darrell
@ anonymous THANKS MAN! I was just searching google for a aftermarket cooler, Im trying to get my system to perform like Lotus' 30fps goin on 50fps. haha
@lotus
Yea same thing I thought, I havent used it for 4 days bc i have no money left to buy another cooler! haha I have to wait a week until I get paid again. THIS is how much I am addicted to this game! haha.......(its a good addiction.)
jesse
for this video, did you use the newer reflections? bc there was minimal visible reflection on the brown plane in the fsx side. But on the real side there was lots of reflection.
Wouldnt it be great if the left side was fs8 and the right side was fsx? lol that would be soooo cool.
the fsx side needs:
+darker plane shadow,
+more grass and dirt definition
+more glint & reflection from sun
if fsx had these things it would be more realistic. And another thing that cuts realism from fsx is the fps... The human eyes on average sees things in real life @ 75 fps and most systems can only average 25 on fsx... so that means most of us are flying fsx at 1/3 the rate we would in real life. Its murder trying to sync up with the aerial refueling plane... anyways, thats my take on it. otherwise fsx is lots of fun and I really wish aces wasnt cut. Hopefully they can take what they had and build on it elsewhere...
jesse
Hey Jesse. It's a very low rez video remember, so the reflections get mushed up a lot. When you see it in the sim you'll see that that plane is very glossy. Specularity is an FSX weak spot, so you'll never end up with planes that shine quite like the real thing, it can't model light scattering like real paint does. Any attempt to compensate for that makes them look more like plastic toys. Keep in mind that in the real world light is bouncing all over the place. FSX can't do that kind of thing computationally. Well, it could, but you'd get 1 frame per minute, maybe.
As for the fps, agreed, but we won't see frames like that for many years to come. And it's moot anyway because most LCD monitors can only display 60 fps.
On the scenery stuff, FSX softens shadows when you add low visibility or fog like in that shot, dunno why, just does.
One can nitpick FSX all day, but when you take a big step back and see what it's actually doing, it's one hell of an achievement.
For some strange reason as that song was building up to the drums, before they came on, I knew they were going to be there....hmm a pattern emerges maybe?
Anywho, the sounds are very good, sounds like there's space in the decibels to hear someone speak. What was the clicking noise btw? Was it the gear?
Thanks Doug. Yup, I set up all of the sounds in the plane to work for shared cockpit first. Singleplayer be damned for all I care! :) The cockpit sounds are quite a bit quieter than the external ones as well, noise canceling headset style, plus AI traffic sounds are included, so L-39s sound like L-39s in multi, not learjets.
The manual lists the best sound settings for flight in it. It'll pay to use those settings, there's some subtle sound stuff in the plane.
You can hear the ground roll sounds near the end of the takeoff run yeah, they get loud just around the time you leave the ground.
@Lotus,
thanks for that detailed insight. I took your advice and got a great aftermarket cooling system for my cpu and now the temps stay in the 30's and 40's. however the vid card temp is unusually high(50's at idle), and when i run sims 3 and fsx, now the VIDCARD temp is shooting to the 70's and the comp shuts down after about 2 mins of this. any suggestions?
-jesse
btw, this all started OUT OF NOWHERE! Ive had the same vid card for months. Its just really frustrating... thanks!
-jesse
Maybe your case doesn't have very good cooling or your videocard is overclocked too high. You can download rivatuner to control your videocard fans directly, and set them all to 100%. That may help.
Thanks, I def try it.
Now on the sim side it seems as if the instructor(or back seat guy) is a little lower than the real one... Its seems like theres better visability in the real one... is that just bc when u shot the real one u were holding the camera a little high or what??? thanks
jesse
The perspective is different yes. 3D graphics and cameras don't produce exactly the same results, and I held the camera up near the top of the canopy in real thing.
Very impresive!
Hello from Belgium!
Merci beaucoup Black. :)
Possessing a penchant for 1)training jets 2)well modeled VCs and 3)realistic glass in the VCs, you may be unsurprised to hear I have a considerable hard-on for this.
Only just found your project but will be watching closely until release.
Scotchegg
Thanks Scotchegg. If that's what you like, well I think you'll enjoy the Albatros. Release should be less than two weeks away now.
-mike
Hi it's me again!
i've 2 question for ya:
-Would the L-39 be available on FS9 too or just FSX ?
cause i've FS9 and FSX but not a big machine for running FSX with high quality.
-Do you speak french ?
Hi Black. I can speak a little bit of french, but not well, and not enough to have a real conversation about airplanes, just simple things. I didn't pay attention in school haha.
The L-39 is only for FSX, there can not be an FS9 version. Far too many features on the airplane require FSX's abilities, and it would be almost impossible and pointless to convert it for FS9, sorry.
However it performs very well in FSX, so you should not have any framerate problems.
Okay thank you for your quick answer :D
Pas un probleme. :)
I own an L39 and I'm looking forward to your release.
I haven't had sim software for years as I'm pretty busy but I want set up a really good system just to help with my real flying.
Can you recommend the best hardware (joy stick, throttle, and pedals and even seat set up, to best use your L39 package.
How do you suggest the differential braking is done for best real life simulation.
What computer hardware would you suggest to get the best out of FSX and your L39 package.
Any help would be appreciated.
Any release date yet?
Hi there. You are my #1 target audience!
You have a real one, I'm envious, grrrr. :)
Glad you're looking forward to the release, and I really hope you like it. I've gone to insane lengths to reproduce all of the L-39's quirks.
Release should be in less than two weeks.
Here's a list of what you will need to use my L-39 effectively hardware wise:
You'll need a pretty fast computer, just because FSX demands one by default. Basically you'll need a core2duo 6600 or better system, with at least 2GB of ram, and a good Nvidia 512mb graphics card (or better) for best results.
Bottom line there is that the newer and more powerful your system is the better the results will be, by quite a margin.
Joystick wise I highly recommend the Saitek X-52 Pro flight stick and throttle quadrant setup, and CH Pro rudder pedals. Saitek makes pedals as well, but they aren't nearly as durable (or comfortable) as the CH ones. Both items run around $150 each I think.
Above all that, you will absolutely 100% want a Track-ir. You can get them from www.naturalpoint.com. It's a head tracking device that allows you to look wherever you want in the cockpit just by turning or moving your head. It tracks a small infrared clip which you attach to your headset or a baseball cap.
The L-39 doesn't have any 2D panels so having a track-ir is pretty essential to get the best out of the plane, and it frees your hands up to use the throttle and stick, rather than panning your view around with joystick buttons, which is slow and clumsy.
As for differential braking, it's a bit of compromise in FSX. It doesn't really support a bike style stick brake like the L-39 has, but with the CH pedals you can just depress each pedal to get differential braking, like in a Cessna 172.
If you really want to get hardcore you could probably tie differential braking to the rudder itself, like the real thing, by using FSUIPC, a joystick interface addon for FSX. A quick google search will locate that for you.
If you don't have FSX yet I highly recommend buying the Gold Edition of it. It includes service pack 1 and 2, which are needed for the L-39, and also includes the Acceleration addon, which adds some planes and the Reno air racing course. You can usually find it at Best Buy and places like that. If you buy just the regular or deluxe versions of FSX you will have to download and install those service packs. The Gold edition should be easy to find.
Cheers,
-mike
Mike,
Thanks for your prompt response. I've just completed a weeks L39 flight training in the US and I am returning home this week.
My L39 is based in the US and I intend to commute for flying so I want to have a sim back home for in between visits.
I'll check out the stuff you've suggested and start getting it together.
Regards Gary
No worries Gary. If you're looking at a new system to run FSX I recommend the following:
Intel Core i7 processor, faster the better.
3-6 GB DDR3 ram, as fast as possible.
Nvidia 280GTX 1024mb video card
64 bit OS, vista 64 or wait for windows 7 preferably.
Hi Mike,
I've ordered the CH pedals, the Saitek X52 pro joy stick and throttle combo, the NaturalPoint Trackir and the Microsoft FSX Gold.
I'm just finalizing the computer and one supplier has suggested a 3 monitor setup rather than a single.
I also have a a projector system in a home theatre so I could either the projector, a single monitor or a 3 monitor set.
I would like your thoughts on this as I don't know what will work best for your L39 program.
Also, when is your launch date for your L39 package.
Kind regards
Gary
Ok....... I've my simulator set up nearly together.
Is you L39 package ready to Go?
Gary
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