10-17-03

This is a new afterburner effect for Kirk Olsson's F-16.

Thanks Kirk! Great job on this fine aircraft!

BACKGROUND:

This afterburner was inspired by some photos of real F-16 afterburners,
which often look like a big "torch".

The effect is controlled by an invisible XML gauge; effect appears when
two conditions are met: throttle is above 94% and N2 is above 85%.

This xml gauge was adapted from one made by Rob Barendregt, who I thank
very much for his help!

Does not use the [smokesystem], only the [lights] (logo lights).
This way Kirk's use of the [smokesystem] for vapor effects is not disturbed.

Effects include:

* New afterburner effect.
* Custom high-altitude contrail (default activation).
* Custom jet engine start-up effect with three (or more) minutes of "heat" shimmer.
* XML panel lamp showing afterburner "on/off".
* XML afterburner control gauge.

INSTALLATION:

Unzip to a temporary folder, then:

1. Put the entire folder "KO_F16_FX" into the FS9\gauges folder as a "sub-folder".
Won't work if the XML gauges are mixed in with all the others.

2. Open the "New_effects" folder and copy the eight files into the FS9\effects folder.
(no overwriting; all new filenames)

3. Open the "New_texture" folder and copy the two files into the FS9\effects\texture folder.
(no overwriting; all new filenames)

4. Using Notepad, edit Kirk's F-16 panel.cfg file as below:

1.Add at the end of the gauge list in "[Window00]":


//------------AB 2D Panel Lamp----------------------------
gauge50=KO_F16_FX!F16_AB_PANEL, 445,362,38,17
//--------------------------------------------------------


2.Add at the end of the gauge list in "[Vcockpit09]":


//------------AB 3D Panel Lamp ---------------------------
gauge04=KO_F16_FX!F16_AB_PANEL, 454,98,58,24
//--------------------------------------------------------


3.Add at the end of the gauge list in "[Vcockpit11]":


//-------AB/logo light Control via Throttle---------------
gauge05=KO_F16_FX!F16_AB_THROGGLE, 0,0,1,1
//--------------------------------------------------------

(Be sure to "slash" out any other afterburner gauges, as they may conflict..)



5. Using notepad, edit Kirk's F-16 aircraft.cfg file as below:

1.Add at the end of the [effects] section:


contrail=fx_F16ko_Contrail //adds contrail when temp is -30c
//startup=fx_F16ko_JetStartHeat3 //smoke puff at startup, w/3 minutes of "heat"
startup=fx_F16ko_JetStartHeat6 //smoke puff at startup, w/6 minutes of "heat"
//startup=fx_F16ko_JetStartHeat9 //smoke puff at startup, w/9 minutes of "heat"

(Just un-"slash" the version you want to use...)



2.Replace the [lights] section with the lines below:



[LIGHTS]//retains all Kirk's original lights(except AB), list re-numbered, effects added...
//#1=beacon #2=strobe #3=nav
//#4=cockpit #5=landing #6=taxi
//#7=recog #8=wing #9=logo
//index,type, long, lat, vert, fx_filename
//---------------------------------------------
light.0= 3, 12.2, 2.48, -1.4, fx_knavgre
light.1= 3, 12.2, -2.48, -1.4, fx_knavred
light.2= 3, -5.9, 16.70, 0.7, fx_knavgre
light.3= 3, -5.9, -16.70, 0.7, fx_knavred
light.4= 1, -19.1, 0.00, 3.3, fx_kbeaconwhite
light.5= 1, -20.2, 0.00, 12.0, fx_kvbeacon
light.6= 4, 15.6, 0.00, 3.5, fx_kvclight
light.7= 3, 12.2, 2.48, -1.4, fx_kbeacongreen
light.8= 3, 12.2, -2.48, -1.4, fx_kbeaconred
light.9= 5, 15.0, 1.90, -7.9, fx_kLVIPER
light.10=5, 25.0, 1.90, -5.9, fx_kLVIPER
light.11=2, -12.6, 3.40, 1.1, fx_knavwhi
light.12=2, -12.6, -3.40, 1.1, fx_knavwhi
light.13=2, -14.6, -0.60, 3.1, fx_kLVIPER
light.14=2, -14.6, 5.60, 3.1, fx_kLVIPER
//----------afterburner effects------------------------
light.15=9, -19.70, 0.00, 0.0, fx_F16ko_BURN_ONE
light.16=9, -19.70, 0.00, 0.0, fx_F16ko_BURN_TWO
light.17=9, -22.30, 0.00, 0.0, fx_F16ko_TORCH_FLAME
light.18=9, -18.00, 0.00, 0.0, fx_F16ko_GLITTER
//-----------------------------------------------------



OPERATION:

As you increase throttle to max the afterburner will appear, and the panel
lamp will light up. Pull back the throttle and the afterburner and panel
lamp will go out.

The high-altitude contrail is longer in duration than the default, starts well
aft of the aircraft, and appears when temp is below -30c (default activation).

The startup smoke and "heat" begins at engine combustion (default activation);
and after the smoke puffs quickly go away, the "heat" will last for a specific
duration denoted in "minutes" by the number in the effect filename.(3, 6, or 9min.)


"HEAT" NOTES:

The "heat" effect uses many hundreds of sprites and can affect frame rates on
slower systems like mine (733mhz), so I use the "heat" effect mostly on the ground,
taxiing, run-up, and take-off, where it can best be seen in "spot" view. In flight
the aircraft moves so fast that all those sprites can't keep up, and they trail
behind a good bit. So by putting a time limit on the "heat", it just goes away
quietly after take-off. You can remove the time limit and thus have "heat" all
you want, but it won't go away after engine shutdown (you have to select a new
flight to get rid of it). The effect file can be edited with Notepad to adjust
the time limit; only 4 lines have to be changed (see the file). Three ready-made
time limits are included, 3, 6, and 9 minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These effects and gauges are for freeware use only, with all credit due.
They cannot be used on any payware/shareware/commercial projects w/out my permission.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments welcome..

JR

resdes@earthlink.net

NOTE: Earthlink "spam-blocker" will intercept all emails from addresses that are not
yet in my address book; just put "Afterburner effects" in the subject line so
I can spot it. No need to respond to "spam-blocker" queries, as I check it daily :)