Filescamp Farm upgrade project

Hi folks;

After having been exposed to the historic photo of Filescamp Farm that Raine posted in the DiD campaign, I decided that it was time to fix the representation in WOFF and bring the Filescamp, Izel les Hameau and the Filescamp Farm all together as they should be.
It is a fairly exhaustive process but not as bad as my undertaking for Roucourt. I still have a long way to go on the project what with Christmas, New Years and family events quickly coming along.
Once finished it will be added to the Consolidated Airfields mod and probably offered stand alone for those who have not so robust systems.

The following screen captures indicate what has been done so far: The first is an aerial overview of the general concept. The second is a very rough rendering of the general terrain and buildings that may make up the farm enclosure itself. It is a work in progress and the buildings and the enclosure itself are just experimentations at the moment.

Best Regards;

Robert, I'm REALLY excited about this. Of course, my pilot will have moved away from Filescamp by the time it's ready, so we need to start thinking about DiD 3 starting after next November!!!

This is exciting, Robert. Keep up the great work.

Anyone running a 46 Squadron career should be quite excited.
Olham used to be a 46 man.

Thanks folks. The encouragement is always appreciated.

Way to go Robert!

Oh, this is very exciting. Another of the great historic aerodromes being brought to life.
Cheers,
shredward

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Looking very nice Robert, and a much-needed addition to our beloved sim.

Excellent project, Robert! Really looking forward to it.

The extra load on Vram will also give me an excellent excuse to upgrade my ancient video card, so thanks for that as well.

Here is the latest status of Filescamp Farm, Filescamp airfields and Izel Les Hameau. Lots more to do but things are coming along.

I have reached out to Geezer for some more farm buildings and hopefully I will find more appropriate ones I can use.

That is a thing of beauty, Robert.

Thanks Ace, but I feel I have a fair bit to improve my skills if I ever wish to aspire to RAF_Louvet's works. Maybe some day

Nice!

Tnx Duke

Current statyus of affairs"

All that remains on this project is to populate the Filscamp Farm with the appropriate Officers, CO buildings and trees. I am somewhat limited in building selections and a really clear vintage picture of the facilities. The one I have is rather less than desirable in clarity.
The Farm enclosure itself will not change much unless I acquire some additional farm building structures. I hope to have this wrapped up by the end of the week if I have the time to spend on it.

Here is how it looks at the moment: (the road is currently obstructed in the bottom part of the picture and will be corrected shortly)

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Looking mighty fine Robert!

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Fantastic!

Amazing, Robert

Wow. From what I have read, accommodations for officers and NCOs were in Nissens, while the squadron office and mess were wooden buildings. Don't forget the tennis court

Robert, any chance for a snowman 3D model? Looks great!

Well folks, things have come to a grinding halt. It seems I cannot co-locate Filescamp with Izel les Hameau due to a restriction within WOFF or CFS3. I ran into this problem once before when building Roucourt.
You cannot move an existing airfield/aerodrome more than 1 nautical mile from it's original source. If you do, your pilot will not be allocated to the field and a substitue field will be chosen instead.
The closest I can get the fields together, leaves them 1.5 NM apart and that is not historically accurate but it is what I feel we will have to live with unless the Dev's have a solution to this problem.

In the mean time I am plodding ahead with the airfield facilities and will relocate the farm and the two parts of Filescamp airfields together at the best location I can find.

I should have remembered this problem from Roucourt. I could have saved myself a lot of time. RAF_Louvert was the man who identified this issue to me back then. It should have been a lesson well learned. I won't forget it again.

In summary, Filescamp will be unexpectedly delayed due to Christmas events and the additional effort I must put in. It will get done though as soon as time permits.

Cheers folks

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Robert, sorry you're having that relocation issue, believe me I feel your pain. The CFS3 engine is, simply put, a royal pain in the arse when it comes to modding. Nothing about it is easy, even when you think it's going to be. Keep up the efforts Sir, they are much appreciated.

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Lou, you warned me before when I had the problem with Roucourt. I should have remembered! ( should have, could have,,,,,,).
I will do the best I can to finish Filescamp and then work on Ireland separately at the same time. Hopefully the devs can find a way to let us deal with this issue.

I know that they were able to place the original airfields any where they desired so there must be an encrypted control method in play here. The 1 NM limitation on moving an airfield from it's original location seems to be a CFS3 engine issue.
Our problems would be solved if we could have a method to update the encrypted code I suspect. IT WOULD ALLOW US TO ADD NEW AIRFIELDS AND OTHER FACILITIES TO THE SIM.

Sorry for the lengthy dissertation.

Best Regards

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Just out of curiosity Robert, since UE was introduced have you tried going into the "CampaignData" folder inside the "campaigns" folder and given a shot at changing the values of a specific aerodrome in one of the appropriate "________Airfields_______.txt" files? There are three sets of values for each airfield and all three would absolutely have to be adjusted in the exact same amounts, and you would also then need to match the line entry for that same aerodrome in the appropriate "global_layer.cvs" and "gsl.lib" files. All that being said, if there is not another location entry hiding somewhere else in the WOFF files for the drome you're attempting to move it might just do the trick for you.

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Hi Lou;

Good suggestion, and well worth a try. I have seen this file before and there is a version stored in the "Targets" sub-folder under the "Periods" folder. They are identical in structure. I'm not sure if both or only one of these files are currently being used, but I suspect both would have to be updated with identical coordinates, along with the "QCLocations" folder entries.
I must have a go at this and I will report back on my findings.......As soon as the warden gives me permission.....

Cheers mate and thanks for giving all this some thought. I sincerely hope it works. If it does, I wonder also if we will now be able to create NEW airfields that are usable.

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Yes Robert, I am sure each specific entry in all relevant files for the aerodrome you are attempting to move would need to be changed so that they all read exactly the same. I'd forgotten about those files in the "Targets" and "QCLocations" folders, good on your for remembering. As noted before, the CFS3 engine makes none of this easy.

Cheers to you as well mate, and I too hope beyond hope that this will work!

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Well, I did as you suggested and "No cigar"!!

I guess there is something else at play here. It would be nice if the Devs chimed in to identify if there is something we can do about the restriction. I don't think this particular problem can be overcome by us modders.

Best Regards

Announcement!!!

Thanks to JJJ65 for lending a hand, we cooperated in some testing and he was key to helping resolve the issue of not being able to co-locate Izel and Filescamp.
It seems I will be able to continue with the project and provide the mod as I intended. Oh Joy!

Robert, you just couldn't wait for Christmas, you had to open that present early. Great news!

Well, if time permits, it might just be out in time for Christmas.

That's great news, Robert! Jara is a miracle worker!

Does this also mean that you may revisit Roucourt at some point in the future?

Hats off to Jari. Good luck the rest of the way, Robert.

Yahoooooooooooo!!!!

per ardua ad astra


Well done

Cheers,
shredward

Roucourt was already done in the consolidated airfields mod. Is there a reason to revisit?

I must have misunderstood. I thought you said above that you ran into the same issue when you were working on the Roucourt airfield, so I assumed you had to come up with a compromise because you couldn't move two airfields that are too far apart from each other together.

Now that Jara has resolved the issue, I thought you might be able to apply it to Roucourt, but I guess it is already fixed.

Cheers!

Bob

The similar problem I was referring to with Roucourt was that I originally planned to move it to a different location which was too far from the original. I compromised by taking a shorter distance.

Gotcha. All clear now.

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Robert, you must enlighten me on the details of how you and Jara sorted out the issue. Inquiring minds want to know.

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I'll wrap it up in the appropriate seasonal paper and Tinsley and send it to you.by PM. Once I finish this airfield I think I will work on a comprehensive guide on how to build airfields, explaining the tools and the process. It will take some time but I think it will be very useful for budding modders.

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That Sir, is an outstanding idea.

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Reaching out to anyone who has a clearer picture and/or more detailed drawing of Filescamp/Izel and Filescamp Farm.

Here is what I am working with at the moment and as you can see the photo is less than desirable for picking out details of potential buildings on the farm that are nested in the tree areas:

I would like to ensure as much accuracy as possible and would appreciate any material you may have that identifies facility placements.

Best Regards;

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Robert, for what it's worth here's a shot of the tennis court.

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Thanks Lou, and a fine shot it is, but where to place it would be the question that needs answering.
I wonder if you might possibly have more info in that extensive library you have.

Robert, from what I understand of the layout, somewhere near the NW corner of the farm is the best best.

Bishop talked of it being in the orchard
Cheers,
shredward

From memory, I'm pretty sure Arthur Gould Lee said the orchard was the NW corner, so that sounds right. Here is a picture of the interior of the farm complex.

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Yes, in the orchard is where the tennis court was located. And it was covered with "pierre de fosse from the Bruay mines", according to A.J.L. Scott's "Sixty Squadron R.A.F."..

Thanks for all the research details on the tennis court Lou.

Another shot of the tennis court

Cheers,
shredward

German aerial photo 24/02/17

Shredward, Oh such a tantalizing photo!! I wish it was closer and more of the farm was visible. I sure would love to see the original photo string!!

Robert, try comparing this modern view of Filescamp to the 1917 shots. The old buildings are still there and you have only to delete the new ones, then add the additional foliage from 1917.

And ... wait for it ... there is always the MAP!

Robert, have you tried adjusting the contrast on the images you have?

I bet the crew that took that photo thought they were too close for comfort - home to one of the crack fighter squadrons on the Front

Cheers
shredward

Shredward, Ha Ha! you have a point there!

Raine, Thanks pal, but I already have that photo and it is by far the best source. Fullofit, has given me a great suggestion about playing with the contrast. It looks like his version is a big improvement. I will take the photo to my Corel draw and play with it to see how much better I can get the photo image.

So much work to do and so little time to work on it!!

Geez Corel? I didn’t realize this great Canadian product was still around.

Yep, Corel is still around and used in the sign industry and other assorted graphics applications. I have version X7 (17) but X8 hit the shelf a few months ago. I have used it for repaints in OFF and find it very useful for repainting paper models and of course for layouts for signs .
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Beard

Beard, what kind of paper models are you working on?

Anything that meets my fancy, planes, trains, automobiles (literally) ships, automata, toys, tanks, armored cars, birds, and assorted other animals.

Beard

Do you design them in Corel or buy them ready to cut and glue?

I usually redraw models that I have downloaded (buy and free) in vector format then add textures in raster. Attached is an EV that I designed, I shamelessly used OFF for the texture design. By the way, the engine does turn with the prop.

Beard

Ooooo, pretty! What scale is that? 1:33? Would like to see more of these in a separate thread as not to disturb Robert and his work. I'm fascinated by what amazing stuff can be done with cardboard. Are you familiar with Halinski models? They are insanely detailed.

Lets get this back to the original discussion, in response it is a 1:33, but if you are interested in card models go to http://www.papermodelers.com/.

Sorry for the distraction guys,
Beard

Filescamp/Izel Update:

The progress on this airfield has been rather slow due to available time and some redo's of terrain. I suspect I won't have this ready to place under your WOFF tree for Christmas.
Hopefully it will be ready before New Year. Apologies for being too hopeful, there is much more work involved than I anticipated.

Best Regards;

Right, Robert?

Take your time, I'm sure the wait will be worth it.

It's been awhile, but Filescamp is progressing well. Just some more trees on the Farm to do and the village of Le Hameau just behind Izel airfield which itself needs a few small changes.

Latest pic is attached

Looking very fine Robert !

Cheers,
shredward

Thanks Shredward.

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Oh that is spiffing indeed Robert, looking forward to the final product!

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Tnx Lou. I appreciate the comment coming from a master! (Must not let that go to my head...still lots to learn)

Folks, I am happy to announce that the development of Filscamp Farm, Izel Les Hameau and the surrounding village is almost complete.
I just have to clean up some files, assemble the mod for release. It should be done by the end of the weekend if real life doesn't get too much in my way. I do have a busy weekend schedule so no promises.

Once I release the standalone version, I will incorporate it into the Consolidated Airfields Mod.

Here are some teaser pics of less than desirable quality. I extracted them from a vid, but I think you will get the idea. They are all summer time shots. I will post winter ones if time allows.

From left to right they are: South view of Fils and Izel; South view of Fils; West view of Les Hameau; SW view of Izel and Hameau

This is amazing. I can't wait to use it.

Great job as always, Robert.

Thanks Ace. Hopefully wrap up the mod and send it to Sandbagger before the weekend is over.

Cheers.

Great news, Robert! Thx for your effort.
Would you, pls, place these new airfileds together with RAF Louverts new Verdun forts and Lille citadelle into your Consolidated airfileds mod? I am ready to convert this updated Consolidated airfields mod to Populated airfileds mod v1.4 and enjoy your master works.
Thx.

That is my next step Jara. I will PM you when it is complete.

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It's looking super Robert, can't wait to give it a try! I may be able to release my finished Havrincourt Wood mod tomorrow as well, (at long last), so it could turn out to be a very WOFF moddy weekend.

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Looks fantastic! Can't wait to try it out

Amazing stuff, Robert. My did pilot, however, will transfer away from Filescamp after one or two more patrol, so I'm shattered. This will be a great addition to WOFF, together with Lou's Havrincourt Wood mod, which I'm also anxiously awaiting.

Great work, Robert (and Lou and Jara)! Everybody really appreciates all of your hard work. The new fields all look fantastic and I can't wait to see them in the campaign.

That is great, Robert! Thank you!
Waiting for your PM.

Looking forward to this. Can't wait for the one-stop shopping experience. Thank you Robert, Lou and Jara.

Ok folks, I have sent a standalone version of the Fils/Hameau mod to Sandbagger to host on his site for those of you who don't want to run the Consolidate Airfields Mod. It should be up soon as he gets my mod.

I will be releasing the Consolidate Airfields Mod version once I have a chance to Include Lou's forts and Havrincourt mod update. It should be along shortly.

Anyone having any difficulties just PM me.

SPECIAL NOTE: You will probably notice a flickering model on the North side of Filscamp Farm proper. It is a GMAX model I was working on for the Tennis Court which Raine was anxious to have me include. The flickering is due to a problem with the texture file and I will resolve that in an update once I figure out what is wrong. (Any GMAX GURU's out there willing to lend a hand with the resolution?)


Best Regards to all.

Have you checked if the normals are facing the correct direction?

???, there is nothing NORMAL about modding or modders!! (you are talking of GMAX no doubt)

Yes, if the faces are single-sided and the normals are pointing in the wrong direction the face will not render.
See the pic I just grabbed off the internet. The normals are the little blue lines that point outwards from the faces (green triangles) - one of the triangles is not rendering because the normal is pointing inside, not out like the rest of them. Something similar may be happening with some of the faces of the court.

Hi all,
Rob's mod (Version 1.0) now uploaded to the User Mods Page:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

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WOOOOO HOOOOO! Many thanks Robert for all your efforts on this outstanding mod. And many thanks to you Sandbagger for hosting all these mods. What a great community we have.

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Agree on your assessment of the community mate and thanks for the cudos. I am but an apprentice to the master here and we both know who that is!

This particular mod may prove to be too intensive for some users older systems. If that proves to be the case, please PM me and I will consider reducing some of the trees in the mod in order to reduce the performance impact.

Best Regards to all

Hi all,
Rob's mod (Version 1.1) now uploaded to the User Mods Page:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html