The new Shockwave FSX B17

[Guest The Wizard of Oz]

The new Shockwave FSX B17I have just downloaded the new updated B17 specifically designed for FSX. My thoughts? Well the model has more detail than previously, looks very nice indeed, although there is one annoying visual problem. But let me go back. I bought the original Wings of Power set which included a B17 some years ago. This was a great advance in fidelity at the time and from all specifications was pretty well spot on for flight dynamics. One of major flaws however were the pilots that were about half the size that they should have been (the Hobbit pilot problem). I was hoping that Shockwave would post a patch but it never surfaced. However they released a second version of ** that I purchased earlier this year that fixed the B17 pilot problem and with some mods it was successfully imported into FSX and performs well. However, there is unfortunately a z buffer problem with clouds showing up in front of the prop circles in FSX using this version.The new FSX specific B17 has replaced the prop circles but unfortunately they don

[Scott - A2A 164]

First, props appear as solid disks to the naked eye. In the FS2004 B17, we created the "camera effect" props. We like those for nostalgic reasons, but they weren't realistic.However, if you have not noticed, look at any stock FSX aircraft. The props flicker, and jink. This is a bug in FSX. The prop disks are fixed for FSX in terms of the cloud clipping issue, but we made the props more faint only because of the FSX bug. Taking everything into consideration, we believe these are the finest compromise for the most realistic prop in FSX.BTW, the Heavy Bombers and Jets patch that will include new crew for all heavies (not just the B17) should be out any day now. Scott.

[Guest The Wizard of Oz]

Hi Scott,"First, props appear as solid disks to the naked eye."I presume you mean that the prop disc texture is uniform rather than

[Scott - A2A 164]

I agree looking through a prop it definately flickers, but if you watch a prop aircraft fly overhead, especially one with colored tips, they look quite solid. Personally, I think the camera effect props are a nice place to have a bit of artistic license. If we didn't have this bug in FSX, we would have gone with either a bolder solid disk or the camera effect props (possibly give the customer a choice for their preference).Here is a nice shot of those camera effect props on the ** B29:Scott.