Hello

I'm the pain in the neck with the Mi-28 cockpit (instruments not working) .

I have now access to the source code, but it's really a kind of chinese to me at the moment. As I want to be able to fly all helicopters which ever made for EECH Allmods with my homepit, I nearly spent about 1500 hours to make it until now (and it's not nearly finished), I search for any way to do it without spending further hundreds of hours in trying to fix some problems with Allmods that apparently only disturb me but no others.

I'm not able to fix (if it's even possible) the lost instruments in the newer versions like 1.15.3 to 1.16.0, so I decided to go another way and try to fix the tail rotor collision problem of 1.15.2 Fix5 (the last version with working instruments) with the hesco barriers simply with making them a bit larger in diameter.

This way I could use 1.15.2 to fly the russian helos with working gauges and maybe in parallel 1.15.4 to fly the US helos including the Blackhawk. Not a nearly perfect solution, but all I can do if nobody else has a desire or time to work at EECH Allmods anymore (at least for the next year as it looks at the moment).

I've been able to extract the LWO objects for the hesco barrier itself and the collision object from the EEO files. As I couldn't buy Lightwave3D for 695$ and the trial period isn't long enough to learn how things are working and fix something for an old lad like me, I used a free program to convert the LWO to 3DS to make it possible to use Blender for editing.

No problem so far, I can edit the objects, but the converter isn't able to reconvert 3DS to LWO!!! So does anybody know a converter which is able to reconvert my 3DS objects to LWO again or is there anykind of plugin known for Blender or any other free 3D software which is able to deal with LWO files?

I'm not sure if there is, and even is there was, I think the converter that converts them back in to EEO/EES files might complain about the geometry.

I think I remember there being some kind of standard 3D format that can be opened in various programs. You could try using that?

I made the original Hesco barriers. Do they need to be made larger? I think I had tried to scale them to the size of the helos in the game, so they looked realistic.


Is there much point in proceeding with 1.15.2? I think it contained a lot of experiments, which didn't make it into 1.16. As 1.16 is now the new main version, it might be an idea to get things working there. I know you're not sure of the code, but things might be happening on the coding front soon, in that some people might (that's might) be coming back. No guarantees.

It's just that future developments with likely get done in 1.16, so changes you make to 1.15 won't be included.


p.s. if you're working on the code, could you read the notice I put on Codebase about branching? Just trying to keep things tidy.

Hi messyhead,

thanks for the reply. As for the LWO thing, I've found out you could use Blender out of the Box!!! So far I can see (I'm no real 3D user) you could really use this freeware to edit the EECH Allmods 3D. Only thing you have to do is activate the plugin which comes with Blender. Don't now why it isn't activated at start.

Here is the info for anyone else who wanted to use a a freeware 3D software to work with EECH Allmods objects. I hope it is fully compatible, cause I have only imported things until now, so take a look by yourselves:

https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Import-Export/LightWave_Object

export plugin:

https://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?336749-The-LWO-import-export-project



As for the other things you mentioned, it is so:

I have planed for decades to built a homepit. I always wanted to have a cockpit which is useable with different kind of fighter jets and attack helicopters. After a long research there were a few simulators left, I wanted to use. They are Falcon BMS, DCS, Strike Fighters Project 2 and of course EECH Allmods. The main problem is that every simulator has it's own interface based on completely different hardware if you want to use it with a homebuilt cockpit.

From the ones I mentioned only one is fully realizable with in and outputs without any further problems. This is Falcon BMS. So I decided to fully integrate the hardware needed for it in my pit. For DCS I had to use a totally different hardware, so I decided to leave the outputs (gauges, warninglights etc.) away and only use it with the inputs (HOTAS, switches etc.) which are compatible for any kind of sim (even in the case if I would like to play a sub or tank sim with the cockpit, which I will never do with it). Same goes for SFP2 which hasn't any option to make outputs at all.

But as I said in another thread before, I'm over the years was getting more and more a fan of attack helicopters and wanted to have my pit as much functional for them as possible, too. If you search for an attack helicopter simulation, you relatively quick will realize that there isn't anything other than EECH Allmods. Nothing compares to it in acquisition to realism, weapon systems and the selection of helicopters you could fly. The only thing that was also a milestone of this special genre was the good old Longbow Anthology which I still can fly (my homepit has an extra PC for old sims with Windows ME) but not really integrate to the pit cause of it's age and missing interfaces.

So if I want to have outputs like MFD's gauges and warninglights with the helos also, I have to use Allmods. There are a small handfull of people, who have already a working pit with Allmods running, so it's possible in the end. BUT I have too use extra hardware for it (OpenCockpits modules), because what I found out there is no way to use the interface software SIOC with the hardware modules I still use for Falcon BMS (Pokeys56/57U).

If I make this new extra complex and also expensive (at least for me with my small budget) work at my project, I would like to use Allmods with all the helicopters it offers and of course I do not make a cockpit for realism and then fly a helicopter which has no instruments in the sim itself.

I really hope that the work at Allmods remains, but as there isn't any alternative to it for the meanwhile, I search for away to get it running for my needs. Maybe all my work is a waste of time, if the community comes back to Allmods, but who knows...

P.S: For anyone who never worked at Allmods before, you have to use the converter EEO2LWO (look at EECH Central for it) to get a Lightwave object before you can use this for editing it with Blender. The way back is LWO2EEO, but as said I'm still testing, so I couldn't give the guaranty that this objects working with EECH without any problems.

@ messyhead
I really wanted to help you all with the mod, but I'm such a noob in coding that I think I'm not really able to do anything a new release could benefit from. If there is anything a noob could do to help, let me know it!

O.k. Blender works! Objects work in EECH, BUT if I use EEO2LWO where are the texture files?

The command says: Usage: eeo2lwo file_name.eeo file_name.lwo [textures directories]

Have tried different things for [textures directories] like C:\textures or \textures or textures and also made a directory before, but no texture where ever extracted.

What is my fault ?

First we need to export the existing objects of EECH, so that we can find the object we need to edit. Use the method described in 3D_modeling#Exporting to export the objects and scenes.

Next we need to find the scene for the object we want to edit. There are too many scenes for it to be effective to look through all of them manually. But you can try searching for something which describes it, most scenes have fairly obvious names. For the landing pad I searched for PAD, LANDING, FARP and MAT. The last two reveals a couple of interesting objects named 00BB_FARP_MAT.LWS and 00BC_FARP_MAT_GREY.LWS. Try opening them up in lightwave layout and bingo, this looks like what we want!

Note for textures to show up you must have a directory called \textures in the root folder on your hard drive where you've unpacked the textures. If you don't see any textures then the problem is probably that you don't have this folder, or that it's missing files.

Thanks blackshark, I will try this!

Step by step I'm learning a little bit. Yeah , I have edited the FARP_COLLISION.EEO, the FARP_HESCO.EEO, an the Lod files FARP_HESCO_LOD1.EEO to FARP_HESCO_LOD3.EEO.

And I couldn't believe it at first , IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING IN EECH , even the collision, but I wasn't able to get back the textures to the hesco barriers .

Will try your advice and look if I'm able to learn a bit more

Copy your textures from eech 1.15x \general and \camo to your unpacked textures folder.

O.k. will do so. Oh man, this seems like it will be another long night . Hope I will not again fall asleep with the face at my keyboard. Doesn't look that nice if you look in the mirror the next day

Or you have to indicate in the blender settings directory texture(dont know blender)
Good luck, dont give up The beginnings are the worst

O.k. tried many hours to get some results, but there is no way.

Have also searched some 3D forums and find out that there is a known problem with textures missing in LWO objects if you use any other 3D software than Lightwave3D itself.

Considering that I'm no code or 3D guru and will never be, it doesn't make sence for me to work further at EECH Allmods. I really would like to do so, but as things stay at the moment it's much to complex for a newcomer to make any content finished or even help to fix some bugs. There is also missing a description how things are working. The hints you get at EECH Central are very dated and you have to search also old threads in the whole forum to get any information.

I already have a really complex big project, my home cockpit, which I also have to finish. If I fritter with programming know too, this will never be finished. At the other side it's really sad cause I wanted to use Allmods with the cockpit, too, but only if things are working.

I hope that those guys who made all this amazing new flyable helos with cockpits, the extraordinary terrain, weapon systems etc. possible will come back some day to finish the few bugs or still unfinished content.

Things I really would like to see, before anything new is made (just my opinion):

- working Mi-28 Havoc pilot cockpit and maybe a gunner position also to draw level to the other helos

- working cockpit for the KA-50 Blackshark, because it's still not finished yet

- working UH-60 Blackhawk with cockpit (messyhead is working on it)

- maybe someone will make the A version of the Apache available with a working pit, cause it would be nice to have a less modern counterpart for the hind at the US side too. It seems to me that this was already planned to do, cause if you use the debug mode its chooseable in free flight also.


I f those things are done EECH Allmods has a more finished state and if no one has the time or desire to still work on it we have at least a useable version with working content of it. Maybe there are a few other things not working, but the things I've mentioned are really serious in my opinion. Allmods was ever made more realistic, to be a real attack helo simulation, but helicopters with no working instruments aren't very real I think.

I know that some guys think that's fussy, but if a content is in the game it has to work or leave it. At least those things that are evident the first time you start the game. That's how I see the things. I know so many mods that not really playable because so much had done in parallel and only a few projects get finished. After a while no one had the desire to work at it anymore and what left over isn't absolutely useable at all.

P.S: What I really didn't understand is, there was a realtively good working version which already had the Blackhawk in and the tail rotor bug also fixed. Only the instruments of the Havoc had to be made workable again. This was 1.15.4 or Clickable Cockpit 3.0. Why this backstep in 1.16.0?

Could you use Blender for the model, then do the textures in LW?

If anyone's interested in learning Blender, this looks like a good course.

https://www.udemy.com/blendertutorial

Hello messyhead,

have played alot with EECH Allmods the last days. Can't get my hands of it, cause I really like it, but it has still so much bugs.

The problem is, that I didn't have Lightwave3D. Blender is able to edit the models but couldn't handle the textures. I had the possibility to test it at a friends laptop who owns Lightwave3D and here all works perfect.

As I said before my budget is relatively low and Lightwave3D is really expensive. I'm no 3D modeler at all so it make no sence for me to buy it only for Allmods.

I have also looked a bit at the source code, but although some parts are even understandable for me, the whole thing and how all parts work together is much to complex for my understanding.

What I wanted to do was making the instruments in the Havoc working again and as far as I understood the whole part of it was removed (or better excluded) from the code since 1.15.3 (Clickable Cockpits 2.0). It seems that there were some problems with D3D9 and the old textures which made glitches, but instead of fixing it, it was choosen to remove them. I had to churn the whole forum to find something about it .

Same goes for the KA-50 which has the needles of the instruments at the wrong gauges (Altimeter, Vertical Speed). This I was able to fix by simply change the gauges behind the needles. Not perfect, because now they aren't at the place like in the real helo, but the show the right info. Sadly I wasn't able to move the needles to the right gauges, only the other way arround (simple texture work).

The speed indicator has it's needles 90 degress wrong rotated at the gauge, but the much greater problem to fix is that the ratio of the needles movement is wrong. It only turns about a bit more then 180 degrees from 0 to fullspeed and the gauge itself has a much greater display range.

1.16.0 Fix1 has a really impressive terrain and airfields etc, but I miss the gunner position of the Hind, the flyable Blackhawk (hope you will finish it ) and the already mentioned bugs above do really disturb me. The Mi-28 only worked until 1.15.2 Fix5 and then never again. The KA-50 was always Beta (since nearly three years now).

I don't understand why nobody cares of this relatively easy to fix problems? So many new complex things have been made over the years, but no one is able to fix those problems? Have seen a discussion about the right effectiveness of the Hellfire which was about 5 or more pages long, but nobody cares about completely missing or false instruments in some helicopters ?!?

The europe map has really some bugs. If you choose to fly the KA-50 in freeflight and you are spawned to an airfield at the middle position of the helipad (helos before and after you) the main rotor will be destroyed, because of a collision with an invisible object.

All I can do at the moment, is hoping that some guys come back to Allmods and will finish it a bit more. It's really the only attack helicopter simulator we have at the moment! There is nothing else which is comparable with it. DCS lacks the interesting modules (except the Blackshark) and it's unlikely to see anything like an Apache, Kiowa or Havoc for it the next ten years. All the other stuff out there is simple action flightsim with only impressive graphics, but eyecandy makes no simulator!

@ messyhead

Are you able to to some work for me? All I need is a version of the 1.16.0 Fix1 cohokum.exe you compiled for your Blackhawk project, but with the "#if 0" and "#endif" removed from the "gfxfiles.c" in the "aphavoc/source" directory of the sourcecode. This "exclusion" was done to the code since 1.15.3 and still remains to 1.16.0 Fix1.

Because the "#if 0" and "#endif" states aren't used in the last version (1.15.2 Fix5) the Mi-28 instruments were working, I think it's the reason why they aren't shown anymore.
Might be that they create graphical issues, but this way I could play a bit arround with different texture formats to look if I can get them working again.

I have tried to compile an executeable by myself, but I'm no coder. I always get error messages if I try it. To adjust the executeable for different texture formats is then no problem for me, because I can simply use a hexeditor for eg. change .psd to .tga or something else to try out my own textures. If you didn't change the bit lenght of the executeable itself, it's not a problem to edit it. Have done this in some other old simulators I changed some small things to let it look a bit better, also.

P.S: The mentioned "exclusion" begins at line 100 in the "gfxfiles.c"

I'll try and have a look at it. I think those were related to debug mode, buy I'll create an exe without them to see what happens. I don't currently have a working Dev environment setup though, as I had to restore my laptop from a backup.

Hallo messyhead,

many, many thanks!!!

Yes I know this too. Had to setup my laptop from scratch some months ago. The HDD got damaged without any warning. Had made some backups, but of the things that were really important most was lost. I have a 1TB in. Since that time I had sworn to make regular backups, but once again I didn't do it. It always so time-consuming. Have not learned anything, I know

But you remind me of something I should do!