Sara Louise Capon

Hi there Slait, No, Flight one are the only ones I know of to release the complete package, I just worded it like this so there no mis-understandings as to which team does which bit, and why.

Hi there Philip, The UHDT textures are how I originally textured the cockpit, so 4096x4096 as per the above Screen Shots, that goes for all textures, the Diffuse, Specular, Bump and Reflection maps that DX10 uses. The released textures were 2048x2048 on the Flight One release. So just to make it clear, these are not part of the Flight One / Coolsky Model as released on the market at present. They are textures I've made at McPhat, and discussions under way on how to release them. Hopefully by the time the first Service pack is released for the Flight One release, as these textures also include the ADF updates, plus any others that may crop up as part of the bug hunting, inlcuding the issue some are having with the overhead being blurry all being well. Any textures for that release will be at the Flight One size given of 2048x2048. The extra's above will either be an addon or a seperate upadate, as stated above, that's still in question as to how.

I'm not sure why, I'm not a settings expert as i try not to tweak too much as I need FSX as raw as possible to try and see a basic view of how things will look without to many graphics card frills. You won't get the same sharpness as the above shots, as those are the UHDT textures, the released ones from flight1 were 2048x2048, However your textures should be readable. My settings are set the Max Texture to 4096, and everything else is set to let the application decide, except Texture Filtering set to High Quality, Texture filtering - Negative LOD Bias - Allow, Tripple Buffering Off. Maybe someone here who tweaks more might be able to help a bit more.

Hey all, A few updates, just finished help sort out the adf in the VC, now I have a real one sat in my hands lol, so Jamal and Espen are working away on that too, with getting it setup correctly (It's still the same collins version, with a drum display, you can see some photo's here of the real world ones...... http://www.flickr.com/photos/saraslave/sets/72157631583272363/ Also been working on something else, what colour would Sir/Madam like their cockpit... These are in the original 4096x4096 size, so the original detail we had in mind. Naturally the initial loading time is longer, but once loaded that's it. Don't expect to be able to use them with a 512mB graphics card though lol. Not sure when, if, or who will release them, but that's not my side. IF your wondering what my setup is for painting and flying, its old, but functional .... Intel QX6700 Quad core at 3.00GHz (It won't over clock). 6Gb 1066 DDR2 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2048Mb in SLi. running at 1920x1200 It depends what you are used to, i get 6-10fps for flying in heavy scenery areas, And obviously can't max out sliders with this CPU, but can still fly around with UK2000 airports, and playsims UK photoscenery with treescapes added. So your rig, is important. Also I use DX10 all the time, much faster, and this was designed around that to gett all effects, There are fixes for the DX10 bugs like scenery and taxiway guides, I'll see if i can dig up the Shader fix, it's on the AVSIM forums though.

As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one who worked on this aircraft in the forum. I don't hide that fact either, especially as I have my Mcphat logo on. My job is to do textures. My Job isnt to say it's great, or incredible, or fantastic. That's not my call, that's why the forums are a good thing. It's for you the consumers to decide that. What I do try and do, is tell you what I know, try and offer support where I can (Which is not a requirement as this is not my plane, just have been around this model a bit longer than most). I will tell you what we tried to achieve at our end of the show, namely the model and textures, and answer any questions in general. I and the other parties in development appreciate the time people have taken to write reviews, or thoughts on the matter, especially those of an unbiased nature either way, positive and negative, and also feed that back to the concerned parties. The more you the consumer feed back, the more the all parties concerned can improve on what is and is not liked, or could be improved. So thank you all again, and keep posting

Hi Simbio, I use the Saitek's to, I just tried them and here's what I got... Course works as normal on the multifunction panel, as do the radio functions on the radio panel including DME. The heading works, but you need to switch the attitude director to N/L (Nav Loc) for it to control heading, Whereas the simulator you use HDG on the Attitude Director, and Heading On on the Autopilot Panel. That's the only difference I can see without further testing. I don't know if anyone else had tried, might be worth checking the Coolsky Forum.

I can confirm that, It's to do with MIP maps, It seems running at higher resolutions it's less of a problem, The boss himself is looking at settings for it for correction. The final updates / patches will of course be through Coolsky / Flight One. I'm not on those forums at present so no idea when I'm afraid. I do know however that Espen is feverishly working away at it, and we are making texture changes as brought up

Just to re-cap, Mcphat were employed by Through Coolsky (The Programmers), by Flight One (The Publisher) to release Normal Definition Textures only and the VC textures, and models. As they were worked in 4096 at Mcphat, that's how they were released at Mcphat Studios only for the general public to enjoy. There are freeby HD textures in the making for down load

Your welcome, as the airport has a DVOR 115.95 aswell, you can also use that to take a bearing and distance as a cross-check for position, And Brabdbu VOR on 112.75 about 28nm away, so could hone in a bit better, although better with 2 people for that depth. Oh, and thanks for the list of Norwegian charts, I thought i had them in my Jeppesen's, but it would appear not lol. Take care, sara

You could always go really old school (bear in mind these do not take winds into account, but a starting point... RIPAM 1M to ELRAT RIPAM Head 12 degrees 5m 250kts GUDEX Head 12 degrees 4m6s 250kts VEREV Head 12 degrees 4m54s 250kts GM803 Head 12 degrees 3m22s 235kts GM722 Head 13 degrees 1m36s 220kts GM717 Head 357 degrees 2m6s 220kts GM718 Head 18 degrees 2m4s 220kts GM719 Head 38 degrees 2m6s 220kts GM727 Head 58 degrees 2m4s 220kts GM21 Head 157 degrees 6m 220kts

Thanks Soulflight, And for being understanding, I'm not on the politics side, so only can repeat what info. I have. The next project will be in house, so will be a lot easier to track down who does what I personally wish like all others that do this, that this could be their only job, but then no-one would ever be able to afford the packages lol, and most of us would be homeless ha ha. sometimes it is just for the love of aircraft.

The first one is my fave, that's where we tie up to the tanker berth, a welcome sight after 1 months voyage to get there. Is that the new HD scenery form France VFR?

Oh yes, there are some UHDT textures coming out as freeware, as always the companies where you can't sell anything with their brand name, So always handy for the simmer

Hey all, Thanks for all your Forum posts. I have a question for MindYerBreak, You obviously don't like the VC Cockpit which is fair enough, As it is difficult to please all the people all the time, Could you give a brief and constructive description of what you do, or don't like about it. Customer satisfaction is not something we can always achieve, but we are a fairly open lot here at McPhat, and can talk to us, so I personally am just intrigued. Granted it's not PMDG, otherwise it would be a PMDG copy yes? We have used 2 completely different methods for rendering the cockpit, The method we chose was using the bump and specularity functions of FSX to give a more dynamic system to the way it looks as the plane banks and pitches, and as the sun moves around, you will see the cockpit differently, We could have gone the photo method, there are a lot out there being such an old bird, but that wouldnt give the feeling of textured surfaces, only the appearance. I'm not saying we can ever please everyone, but continuous improvement is only from feedback in a constructive way, some things we can implement, some we can't. Anyway's, Thankyou to those that do enjoy this one, and sorry to those that don't. Safe flying everyone sara

Hi Soulflight, Just a few corrections to help clear this up, The mandate for the project lies with Flight One, Mcphat did do the model for the VC and Exterior, and textured at 4096. These were worked with Coolsky who did the programming. The completed textures and model were sent to Coolsky for beta testing and updated as required. Once the final release candidate was squared away, the whole package was sent to Flight One (The Publisher) for packaging and publishing. Their requirement was for Normal definition textures, so that is what was provided. The 4096 textures are available at Mcphat yes, would be silly not to release them as that's how they were worked at Mcphat's end from day one. Regarding any misleading advertising, this was bought up with them, to quote the Boss.... Hope this helps clear up any misgivings.

Thanks for displaying these NyxxUK, It's nice to finally see them on someone elses computer other than snippets the beta test forum What I've tried to do with textures is going old school, painting only, No photo's were harmed in the making of this VC lol. It has been a culmination of many a long hour into the morning over a long period, using resources of the usual photo websites, actual DC9's, numerous electronic and paper manuals, and where no other option existed, or by luck presenting itself on ebay, the purchase of the actual instruments them selves, the EPR instrument being one, to cram in accurate scaels as per the real deal. A real manual with JT8D-7 engines is pretty much useable with the sim. Although probably not the first, but possibly the most extensive use of specular highlights and bump mapping in a cockpit was a goal, and think we achieved that, so even down to the smallest rivets and screws have dynamic lighting, or the grills on speakers, so as you bank, clib or dive, you see the light reflected from the surfaces as they come round into the light, and where dark like the overhead speaker, if light plays over the surface you can see the speaker underneath. There's a few easter eggs so to speak like that I've tried to include to give a feeling of realism, albeit different from other manufacturers, so the cockpit is constantly changing in it's appearance as in reality as you fly around, and the time and light shifts. The general idea was to give the surfaces texture, so you could with a virtual hand run your fingers over the surfaces, and feel the bumps, scratches, screw slots, chiped paint. It was different working with the VC Modeller Jamal, kind of bouncing ideas off each other with what could be modeeled, what couldn't, what could be bumped where modelling wasnt practical (there are model size limits as indeed texture sizes), And then bouncing ideas to and from Espen and the beta-testers, some being pilots to tune up what couldn't be gathered from other resources. Also added the rain repellant reflection slightly on the cockpit wind screens, so you get that rainbow effect slightly creeping across the glass. I could have added a few more finger prints and smudges on the gauge glasses, might play with that a bit more. There's a lot we all would have liked to add to this one, The guys are still working on getting the dome lighting working, it looks like fiddly stuff doing it 3d style, I'm sure the guys will get ther Would be nice to open the door outboard of the pilots chair in the deck to go down to the avionics bay, and manually operate the door stairs and have a nose around, and unplug the peep hole to the wheel well, and peer down to check the nose wheel, But limits stopped us there, the gauges eating a lot of the model up and selectable lighting. Anyway, It's been great working on this first full project for Mcphat, and meeting all the folks there and at Coolsky and the forums, Been my first full project from scratch, so will carry some of what I've learnt to the next, and always room improve, Must do some more C-130 repaints one day lol, I'm still a massive propellor head. Thanks again, And hope you all enjoy the plane as it is, and what may come to it. It's the customers that make us what we are, and with constructive feedback how we can improve, and give our best in return.

You'll be glad to know the screen shots are from inside FSX itself, so there's no glossy over tones from 3DS Max. All textures are hand made, no texture baking One of the reasons it took a little longer than expected. Whilst the hours tick away until flight 1 release it for sale, here's a few more teasers....

Good news Paul, yes it is, been testing the VC there myself, infact, it's best viewed in DX10 , The VC is Bump and Spec mapped on all surfaces. and thankyou.

Hi all, Hope you enjoy this one when it comes out (even I don't know when lol), True it is old school, been fun (and a long time) texturing inside, Handy if you know how to use the old school computer (Yes it's a big round slide ruler), but not needed as there is a lot in here to help you see ... http://www.coolsky.no/ An understanding of basic navigation will come in handy, as quite rightly stated no FMC, but if you can fly, you can fly right? many different ways to lock down where you are, the built in navigation simulator can help you there, or break out the charts rulers and compass to go strike those arcs from DME stations, and plot those angles from the ADF. I find good old ebay has been a great source for nav charts, flight computers, and books, all cheaper than your average flight store (and no i don't have a shop on ebay to promote lol). Regarding graphics, are they the best? not for me to decide, that's up to you. One thing i can say after working through the beta test boards is the detail and thought that has gone into the systems is extensive, including real dc9-30 pilots in there, so I figure they must know their stuff! I'm a propellor head myself, so to work on a Jet is something new for me, and this might break me into them a bit more, my only succesess with anything that didnt have a propellor are the 727, I must be getting old lol, not into the new fangled FMC's yet, I'll omit what happened on my first try in an ATR72 with one lol. anyways, stay and fly safe, hope you enjoy this one when it's released. sara