The Biff Diaries lives on with changes on the way

I was considering changing the focus of this blog and moving to a new blog at MS Live Spaces. However I did not like having banner ads at Live Spaces. I did post earlier that I was changing the scope of this blog and moving virtual aircraft creation elsewhere. I have now deleted that post and this blog continues on in its original scope in the short term.

However change will come. I would expect any change of scope to be gradual with some overlap. I intend to gradually introduce more general posts on early aviation topics of interest, as distinct from 3D modeling and virtual aircraft creation.

I will still create a new blog as Live Spaces at that has some cool features (despite having banner ads).

cheers

Rob

Aeroplane Art

I originally established the Aeroplane Art web site with the intention of promoting and supporting both future payware & freeware add-on aircraft projects for the Microsoft Flight Simulator and Combat Flight Simulator franchises. Unfortunately during 2007, cancer was diagnosed in my right leg, an advanced myxoid liposarcoma, which is not very nice to have (understatement). This of course, meant that aspirations to produce payware aircraft were placed on hold, hopefully on temporarily. However creation of virtual aircraft as a hobby activity continues, albeit fairly slowly at times. Thus Aeroplane Art will have a freeware focus in the short-term. Aircraft will be made available from the major download sites.

Aircraft produced will largely reflect my interests in aviation, which as most readers of this blog know, lie in the area of vintage aviation and warbirds, especially World War 1 aircraft. I do however have interests which span the entire gamut of aviation history including modern aviation. Current endeavours focus on the Sopwith Snipe for FSX and later for CFS3. I am one of those modelers who like to create new meshes frequently, to keep my skills up to date, thus there are a number of possible aircraft that could follow the Sopwith Snipe. An update of my earlier Bristol F2B, to FSX SP2 standard is in progress also.

I hope to commence updating the site sometime between now and late February. Early to mid February is going to be taken up with further radio therapy treatment. I will post WIP pics in my blogs in addition to the Aeroplane Art site, which will also feature galleries and perhaps articles also.

Cheers

Rob

Taking Shape.

The new WIP at one day's work, looking a bit cryptic. It's summer here, and after a week of rain comes the steamy heat.... slowing me down now. Tomorrow some texture work on the Snipe. Hopefully the heat will ease up. Phew.....!!




cheers

Rob

New - WIP

Along side the Snipe I'm doing other stuff, when I can. Doing new things keeps one fresh & existing skills intact.

Here's a WIP pic... just the wings so far, but I am able to use the Oberursel & UC parts from the Dr.I. I haven't decided on the target sim for this as yet...probably FSX, maybe CFS3. Largely a RT modeling exercise for now.



cheers

Rob

Satisfaction - Snipe Cockpit WIP pics.

At last the fruits of my labours are delivering satisfaction as the Sopwith Snipe cockpit takes shape. These are WIP pictures taken in cockpit in FSX at different times of day. Many of the textures are just templates and much work on the materials remains. This is just the groundwork.

Cheers

Rob

Happy New Year & Update

Happy New Year everyone!! May 2008 be rewarding to you all. (PS - Slightly late as it's 2nd January here in Oz.)

I'm now back with 3DS Max & Photoshop and slowly making progress.

A few posts ago in my post 'Time to down tools', I posted a list of projects I hope to tackle during the course of 2008. There's others in progress too that may join that list.

Anyway first up will be the Sopwith Snipe. The Snipe has been an on & off project since 2005. The external model, sans textures was actually completed in the space of one week in July or August 2005. Since then there have been a couple of fuselage revisions. The cockpit and Bentley BR-2 engine were largely modeled in 2006/2007. There have been changes in goalposts with FSX now being the primary target, although the CFS3 version is still planned. Much has happened during that time. My modeling skills have developed and approach changed, and the FSX SDK has been through 3 iterations in addition to the betas. Thankfully everything has now settled down. It's now known that FSX can support 2048 textures. Whether I further mod the Snipe to accomodate 2048, I don't yet know, apart from 1 cockpit texture which I have already changed. I use a full set of specular textures on the external aircraft and increasing these to 2048 may cause FSX to croak on older cards. I'll experiment. I am working on the cockpit textures and rendering ambient occlusion maps, working my computer overtime (I have a break or get on with household chores while the computer renders away.)

Next it will most likely be the Sopwith Baby, once my Clerget model is complete. After that or in parallel it will be the F6F-3, then followed by the Albatros DVa. There's one other possibility that I won't reveal just yet..... Now that Gennadich have released their freeware Dr.1 I have re-scheduled my Dr.1 way down the list (yep I was doing one of these too - for a payware project - that's the way the cookie crumbles LoL). Anyway the parts will be useful for another Fokker aircraft - freeware for FSX, which I might start today, just for the challenge and a refresher - my first all new aircraft for 2008 :) It won't delay the Snipe. I'll try and include the Junkers D.I into the mix too, in the next few months.

Cheers

Rob

Snipe Cockpit

Now that I have resumed working on my projects, here's a WIP of the Snipe virtual cockpit. I've fixed a few things and am now working on the textures. As you can see it includes much of the external aircraft. Much of what is shown here are texture templates, some parts being colour coded on my texture sheet. Some of the textures will take some puzzling out, as it is many months since the parts were uv mapped.

The arduous task of animating the cockpit begins now too. It's almost a year since I last dabbled in coding parts xml. I have also to make decisions on cockpit lighting for the Snipe. All Snipes appear to be equipped with instruments lights. However they were usually only fitted with an accumulator, which in turn had to be hooked to a generator, usually mounted on the undercarriage struts. The generator was usually only fitted for night missions. Do I cheat and enable the lights anyway? And if I do the question of implementation in FSX. I'd like to use effects instead of lightmaps. However I don't know if that's possible. Light maps complicate matters somewhat as switches light individual instruments, making maps difficult as I would have to split them up.

I'll be waiting until I have a DX10 capable computer before I enable volume shadows on the interior materials, if that is possible in an open cokpit aircraft. Hopefully it will be possible.

I'll also be exploring dropable bombs for the Snipe too.... more modeling ahead. :)



Again have a happy new year.

Rob

2007 ends and a gradual return to virtual aircraft hobbies.

I seem to be on the mend from surgery (though there's still a bit of a caveat hanging around with infection), and gradually resuming interests in hobbies etc. I've been picking away at the Sopwith Snipe trying to pick the threads of where I was at before surgery, and develop renewed interest in the project. I'm also picking away at modeling bits & pieces for various projects such a Clerget engine (also soon a Mercedes DIII) and Spandau MG08. Completion of these bits & pieces will see me move ahead with a number of projects.

I still hope to start working on detailed aircraft for rendering sometime in 2008 to allow a little bit of freedom from low/medium poly modeling. Some of the images at Military Meshes are very inspirational.... some great draftsmen & artists. I will probably dabble in conventional art too in 2008 as a counterpoint to all the precision involved in aircraft modeling. Of course music also gives me great pleasure... the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 DVD provided a great finish to 2007 - especially Jeff Beck , Derek Trucks and of course EC himself (now to restring my guitars LOL).

All the best for 2008 & take care.

cheers

Rob

Biff in PC Pilot Winter Special

I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email informing me that the FSX Biff is featured in the PC Pilot Winter Special. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a copy in a few weeks myself, when it appears on newstands here. The Biff was download of the month in PC Pilot earlier this year.

The other good news is that I am home after 3 weeks in hospital, having major surgery on my leg. The road to recovery will be long though, and restrictions on sitting for any length of time will prevent me from resuming modeling for a while.

cheers

Rob

Before I go.....

I'd like to post some exterior shots of the Sopwith Snipe (FSX). The exterior model is nearly complete... a bit of dirt to be added and unit markings.... probably a No.4 AFC aircraft to begin with. The cockpit will have to be completed after surgery... which means way in the future :(







cheers

Rob