Prepar3D V3 & Afterburner Effects

[gsnde]

I bought P3DV3 yesterday because I had in mind somebody told me that the afterburner effects are working again. They still don't work for me. Can I please ask some people with P3D V3 to give me feedback if there afterburner effects are okay?

I tested with Menno's SR-71 and Mike F-104. Both are way too small.

[gsnde]

Has nobody else switched to P3Dv3? I am happy for feedback about P3Dv2.6 as well, since this issue started there for me.

I am looking for the confirmation that I am not the only one with this problem (e.g. because I keep misconfiguring my simulator).

If I see that this is a common problem then I will write a tool to fix the effects. I tried it from hand with the SR-71 effect, but this is nothing you want to do manually. Also there is more to it that just the Scale-X and Scale-Z values.

[Greg]

I switched to P3Dv3 yesterday. Still need to move some stuff over so could you make a quick, simple test package for me to check?

[gsnde]

With pleasure

Sent from mobile hence short

[mikewmac]

Has nobody else switched to P3Dv3? I am happy for feedback about P3Dv2.6 as well, since this issue started there for me.

Martin,

I think you mean P3Dv2.5, unless there is a later upgrade to version 2 that is not yet listed on the LM P3D website.

In any event, I'm still running P3D v2.5 and I did not have to adjust the X,Y and Z coordinates for the fx_nbal_f15_ab.fx effect file in the aircraft.cfg file for my VT ANG HTAI F-16C/D's relative to their settings in FSX and they work great.

Hope this helps.

[gsnde]

You are right, Mike, it is 2.5. I never miss the chance to screw up numbers...

The issue I have with the SR-71, the Viggen, Draken and the F-104 afterburner is that the effect is scaled down so much it is barely visible. The position is not an issue, only the size (size matters... ) .

There are some threads in the P3D forum explaining what has changed by LM, specially this and this.

I will check the F-15 afterburner. Can you please check out the above mentioned ones? If you don't have them installed (you should!) then wait for the package I will compile for Greg.

[mikewmac]

You are right, Mike, it is 2.5. I never miss the chance to screw up numbers...

The issue I have with the SR-71, the Viggen, Draken and the F-104 afterburner is that the effect is scaled down so much it is barely visible. The position is not an issue, only the size (size matters... ) .

There are some threads in the P3D forum explaining what has changed by LM, specially this and this.

I will check the F-15 afterburner. Can you please check out the above mentioned ones? If you don't have them installed (you should!) then wait for the package I will compile for Greg.

Martin,

I didn't change anything in the fx_nbal_f15_ab.fx afterburner effect file itself when I recently upgraded from P3D v2.1 to v2.5. It is the exact same afterburner effect file that I have installed in FSX dated 7-30-2007.

Are the models that you are seeing the problem with AI or user flyable?

I don't have many addon AI or user flyable aircraft installed in P3D v2.5, so I am sure that I don't have those. I'll wait for the package that you are creating for Greg.

[gsnde]

In order to avoid any "contamination" by me it seems wise to just point you to three files to test:

1. SR-71 Blackbird
2. F-104 Starfighter RNLAF
3. J-35 Draken

As a guide what I am talking about please see these example shots for the Blackbird.

How it is supposed to look:



What I get with P3D V.2.5 and V3.0:

[mikewmac]

In order to avoid any "contamination" by me it seems wise to just point you to three files to test:

2. F-104 Starfighter RNLAF

Martin,

The above link is to an AI Royal Netherlands Air Force Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter, not an F-104 Starfighter.

[gsnde]

You have found a bad link in my reference - thanks!

Here is the right one.

[gsnde]

I have tested with the F-15 afterburner and I noticed another part of the phenomenon. The more you close up to the afterburner effect, the more tiny it becomes. If you move backwards it increase in size, but not enough.

Have you had the chance for a look already?

[mikewmac]

I have tested with the F-15 afterburner and I noticed another part of the phenomenon. The more you close up to the afterburner effect, the more tiny it becomes. If you move backwards it increase in size, but not enough.

Have you had the chance for a look already?

Martin,

I am using P3D v2.512946.0 and the fx_nbal_f15_ab.fx afterburner effect file gives my NBAI F-18E's and HTAI F-16C's a constant sized afterburner effect regardless of how close or how far away I view them from in spot view. I'm very puzzled as to why our observations are so different as I have done nothing to this AB effect file since I copied it from FS9 to FSX to P3D.

I was wrong in my previous post when I said I upgraded recently from P3D v2.1 to 2.5. I actually purchased P3D v2.4 a year ago and recently upgraded it to v2.5, but I have no idea if that has anything to do with our different experience with the fx_nbal_f15_ab.fx afterburner effect.

I've downloaded and unzipped the files from your links and I will try to get them installed and tested in P3D tomorrow. I did take a quick look at the afterburner effect files used and the MPAI F-104 and J-35 use derivatives of the HTAI F-16 AB effect file, but the MBAI SR-71 uses a unique AB effect file.

[mikewmac]

Martin,

I tested the MBAI SR-71, MPAI F-104G and MPAI J-35 in P3D v2.512946.0 this morning and duplicated your findings of the dramatic size reduction in its visible AB effect for the MBAI SR-71. I observed a less visible AB effect size reduction for the MPAI F-104G and MPAI J-35, but no where close to as dramatic as for the MBAI SR-71.

At the same time I had my NBAI F-18E's and HTAI F-16C's flying and I continue to observe no size impact on the fx_nbai_f15_ab effect that I use with them.

I hope this is of help to you.

BTW...I didn't much like the repeat drag chute deployment that occurs during landing roll outs in P3D v2.5 for all 3 of these AI models.

[gsnde]

Glad you could replicate this, Mike. Although this means the issues are for real. I guess I need to think of a tool to fix these effects in P3D....

Sent from mobile hence short

[gsnde]

An update about my P3Dv31 adventures....

Afterburner:
It looks definitely too tiny. The more you zoom out the better it gets. Close up it looks terrible.

But......the FS9 model propeller issue (that clouds and scenery objects are drawn in front of the propeller and makes it invisible) is completely gone! Aside from fixing an alpha channel FS9 model propellers are completely okay. And that is really good news...