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Greetings All,

After doing some research, and after receiving scads of photos and info from Shredward, I began work this morning on the aerodrome at La Lovie, (my DID pilot has just been assigned here so it seemed a good time to start on this project). I have relocated the facility so it now sits along the Krombeke/Poperinge road as it should, and I've got the basic bones of the place sorted out, as well as the template for the terrain tile. Lots and lots left to do, but here is what I have after a few hours work this AM.



What we really need is someone to build us a model of the Chateau La Lovie that sits to the northwest of the aerodrome - anyone, anyone, Fullofit, Fullofit, Fullofit?



Cheers!

Lou

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Lou, is there a filter on that screenshot? Looks a more autumn than I remember.

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Ace, I ran it through the photo auto adjust feature on Paint.NET before I saved it. It definitely enhanced both the color and the contrast.

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I was going to say, that definitely enhanced the picture!

Another marvelous addition. Great work, and I look forward to trying it myself in the future.

You aren't taking any requests at this time, are you?

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I could be, but of course all requests will be answered in the order that they are received. Please stay on the line, current wait time is --- two --- weeks.

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I was working on putting La Lovie together when my pilot was there.
I can build your chateaux, sir. I can model, but I haven't learned to build aerodromes yet. I haven't found any photos of the back though. So it might look the same from both sides.

There are also fields of hop poles on the Eastern side of the aerodrome (belonging to the monastery) that are a menace to landing aircraft. Worth including I think

Hops = beer!!! Go for it Lou if you can and maybe Maeran can squeeze in a brewery!! Was there one close by???

Oh yes. Its about a mile ENE. It still exists. Its the Trappist monastery.

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Maeran, that would be great! If you put the model together and map the templates for the textures, I can 'paint' those for you. As for the hops on the poles, if those were something you would create I can certainly place them as needed. And a brewery is ALWAYS a welcome addition.

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Maeran,
Back side is very similar to the front, minus the portico. If you shoot me your email addy, I can send some pics.
Cheers,
shredward

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Thanks Shredward, I forgot to say that I had all those pics of the chateau you sent me showing it from just about every angle that Maeran would need for building.

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Shredward, message sent.

I've already been thinking about those hop poles. They're pretty simple really. They could do with seasonal textures for the hops themselves, but the poles themselves are just like telegraph poles with a wire linking them over the top

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I can see how those might have been a concern when landing. Could really tangle a fellow up.

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Lou,

This looks absolutely gorgeous and it's just beginning! If we can all simply contrived to live another thirty or forty years, will be able to fly over the streets of Doullens and read the shop signs! The word is truly coming alive.

Lou, looks La Lovely! I see Maeran is picking up the slack. Well done Sir.
Raine, you just need to move Lou’s pilot around more often. He’ll get all the aerodromes done in no time at all.

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Thanks for the encouragement folks, much appreciated as always. I have just now sorted out the take-off/landing location and direction in my WIP La Lovie. According to a detailed account written by a Belgian gentleman who lived right next to the aerodrome in WWI, the flight line was just off to the side of the row of four hangars with planes usually taking off and landing towards the NNW, depending on wind direction. He also noted that the field was fairly large, enough so that planes were often seen taking off and landing at the same time. Great stuff!

Here is a shot of 65 Squadron's 'B' Flight preparing to take off from the noted location.



And here is another showing the flight returning. Maeran, if you are able to provide me with the hops poles and plants as a 'building' file I can create a facility to place them on en masse that will mask over the area beneath the plane and give us the hops field there.



Off to grab another cuppa' and plug away for a while longer on the project this morning.

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Absolutely amazing, Lou. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Another item that continues to make WoFF an outstanding WWI sim... many thanks!

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Ace and Trooper, glad to know it's looking good to you gents so far. In anticipation of Maeran's Chateau La Lovie I've gone ahead and created the facility and roughed out a terrain tile template showing the roads around the Chateau. I am using one of the stock WOFF buildings as a stand-in until Maeran has his model finished. Now that I have this fitted fairly close, I can go ahead and blend the new facility and terrain tile into the surrounding landscape, using the many photos and maps of the Chateau grounds provided to me by Shredward. Much to do here, far more than around the aerodrome itself actually, but I will have to call a halt for the rest of today as the weather has cleared and I can now get outside and get some more winterizing done around the old homestead.



Later!

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Looking very nice Lou. I wonder how much it will be affected by the 2020 release.
We may hve some work to do for all the other airfield mods.

That configuration of tracks will make airfield recognition a doddle!

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Yup Trooper, should make for a superb landmark.

Robert, we will most certainly have reworking to do of our mods when WOFF2020 is released, what with all the new, enhanced landscape tiles.

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Lookin' good Lou. All your custom fields are fantastic, adding a touch of realism unparalleled in any other sim I think. Tell me, would you happen to know why the roads/paths around the building are shaped as they are? Seems a little too specific to not have some purpose...equestrian track? I hope I don't feel stupid for not realizing the obvious

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Thanks KK, realism is what we're aiming for.

As to the road layout, it appears it was an aesthetic choice as they simply curve through the grounds surrounding the Chateau. The final roads will be a bit narrower when I'm done. I started by overlaying and scaling the following very detailed WWI map, (found at the McMaster WW1 Map Archive and which Olham shared here a good number of years ago), directly over the terrain tile and then traced in those roads. After I place trees and shrubs and other buildings and such it should take on a bit more of the overall look and feel of the place back in the day.



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Certainly a comfortable place to land, except those hops poles...

Geez Lou, that's a lot of trees on the Chateau property!! I hope it doesn't kill the FPS. You may recall I had to scale back trees on my Roucout and Filescamp Farm airfields. How are you planning to handle it?

Best Regards

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Fullofit, yes, very comfortable and roomy, provided one steers clear of the hops poles as you say.

Robert, I will definitely NOT be putting in all those trees, just enough to get the feel of the place. I'll also use the 'woods' terrain to fill in as well, just as I did with Havrincourt Wood.

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Sounds good. Maybe some day we will be able to get mass tree representation without the FPS hit.

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Ah, the dream. Well, one of the dreams anyway.

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I spent a few hours last night building the chateau. Then realised that I should maybe consider FPS rates

This is the scaled back version with a very hasty texture from photographs. This is too low detail for use, but gives me a starting point.



I think I can get away with pulling some of those columns out a touch and the doors and windows in. Plus chimneys. What do you think?

Then on to those hope vines!

Wow, Maeran. That's impressive.

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Maeran, that is looking great! Can't wait to see your finished Chateau in the sim. And the hops poles too.

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Oliver is so going to visit Freddy at La Lovie.

Brilliant work all.

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Epower, Oliver is welcome anytime, and of course Freddy will stand him to rounds.

I have the basic 'canvas' painted for the Chateau terrain, and I've done a second fitting into the surrounding landscape. Still some small fit tweaks to make as I go along, as well as tweaks to the textures themselves, but it's all close enough now that I can start planting trees and putting up structures. This is where things can get a tad tedious.



Out for the rest of the day, must run me Mum to the optometrist for her yearly check-up. Later all!

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AbFab !!!!
Cheers,
shredward

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The last couple of mornings have seen some fair progress on the Chateau grounds at La Lovie. It's filling in rather nicely, even if I do say so myself - and I do.



Cheers!

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This will really help the Wrong-Way Corrigans of our virtual world sort out the three neighbouring fields of la Lovie, Proven, and Poperinghe. Great Stuff !
Cheers,
shredward

Lou, the circular paths around the chateau make a lot more sense now that you've got the other stuff around in the area. Magnificent...really looking good!

A progress report on the modelling. All the modelling is done. Just sorting the UV maps and textures before I import them via gmax into WOFF for testing.

Excuse the lines all over the chateau. Thats the wire frame of the model, to show it better

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Looking great, Maeran!

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step in to our time machine!!! Very nice Maeran !
Cheers,
shredward

That’s great work, a pleasure to see this grow! Keep it up guys!

Hi guys, I am just wondering and I guess this an old topic, but have you considered making these airports part of the vanilla game?

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Dryjo, that would be entirely up to the devs. At this point the only one of the numerous aerodrome and landscape mods to make it into the vanilla sim was my RNAS Great Yarmouth station.

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Texturing finished. Export and test next

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Outstanding!

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Great work! Really looking forward to this, Lou and Maeran, although I am not sure my aging system will quite be up to all the additional airfield improvements.

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Is that the hops field directly in front of the landing approach at La Lovie? I think it is!




Is that the Chateau sitting in its place of prominence at La Lovie? I think it is!




Maeran has completed his outstanding models and sent them along to me, so I got busy this morning putting together another facility for all the many hops poles and plants that needed arranging, and then placed the new chateau building as well. Brilliant! Thanks again Maeran for the fine models, your time and talents are much appreciated Sir.

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Very, very nice!

Fantastic work. Well done Maeran and Lou!
Oliver might have to suffer "engine trouble" requiring an emergency landing next time he's that far north.

Haha! If I knew that you were going to put that many hop stands in, Lou, I would have saved you a job and made them longer!

Seriously chaps. Don't land in that lot. It would be like flying into a forest of telegraph poles strung with wire. Even if it does smell of beer.

Oh wow! This could become a new favourite. Did the RFC have use of the Château? Pilots in chateaux seem to be a Hunnish thing, but I'd be happy to make an exception.

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No no Maeran, the size you built works great as it allows me to make the rows just a tad untidy, rather than having them perfectly straight. It's honestly no different than when you have to put in rows of trees one by one.

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The lowly RFC had to make do with huts, Raine. That Chateaux was used as HQ V army.

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Raine, the RFC didn't, but the brass hats and senior staff offices from several different British Army units made use of it throughout most of the war.

EDIT: You beat me to it Maeran.

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Epower, if that happens just make sure he has enough alt and speed to clear the hops field. As Maeran noted, you do not want to get tangled up in all those poles and wires.

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No indeed. Fortunately Oliver will have much practice after routinely dodging the trees guarding the approach to Lavieville.

Beautiful work Maeran and Lou. I'm always excited to see developments with the lovely and crisp terrains and 'dromes in WOFF. Thank you also JJJ for the historical injection mod. for historical aircraft parked at 'dromes.

Von S

P.S. Those who are running my FM tweaks for some of the higher-hp aircraft, such as the 235hp Spad 13 and 220hp Spad 7, might want to come in diagonally for a landing at this field, otherwise it's beer and hops for you.

is that not SOP after a day en l'air ?