THE FOLLOWING FILE IS DESIGNED AS A QUICK REFERENCE FOR THOSE WHO USE NICKS PROP DUST AND ARE ALREADY VERSED IN HOW TO MAKE THE CODE LINE EDITS.
THIS FILE WAS DESIGNED AS A QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR INSTALLING/APPLYING THE NEW FX TO AIRCRAFT USING MY NEW LOCATION FORMULAS AND INCLUDES A DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW SEAPLANE GAUGE
THE NEW FX FILE NAMES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME AS MY ORIGINAL PACKAGE
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QUICK EDITING TIP:
When I install a new plane and want to apply the dust and water FX quickly, I locate a plane in my FS installation that has the working FX lines edited into its configuration files which closely matches the scale, number of engines and prop height of my new plane. I then copy/paste the dust FX line edits from the [LIGHTS] [SMOKESYSTEM] and [EFFECTS] section from the working plane to my newly installed aircraft. I use the same method for the gauge file edit to the panel.cfg file. Once the copy/past process is complete, I properly re-number the added light lines to the [LIGHTS] section into sequence and then I use my new planes [GeneralEngineData] and the provided formulas noted below to change the X-Y-Z (A-B-C) location numbers in the [LIGHTS] and [SMOKESYSTEM] lines to work with my new aircraft. I also make sure the correct [Vcockpit.XX] number is edited into the panel.cfg file.
This method makes installing the FX to a new aircraft easy and quick. It can be done in 5 minutes or less once you get the hang of transferring the lines and properly calculating/editing in the numerical location numbers.
NEVER OVERWRITE THE ENTIRE [LIGHTS] SECTION FROM ONE AIRCRAFT TO ANOTHER... ONLY ADD THE DUST FX LINES OF THE [LIGHTS] SECTION FROM ONE AIRCRAFT TO ANOTHER. ON THE OTHER HAND IT IS OK (AND NECESSARY) TO OVERWRITE THE ENTIRE [SMOKESYSTEM] AND [EFFECTS] SECTIONS FROM ONE PLANE TO ANOTHER.
Below is a complete description of each installed gauge so you may closely match the height and design specifications of your 3rd party aircraft to a gauge:
Gauge file name:
HeloPropDustFXcontrol.xml
This gauge is used for helicopters ONLY. It will work with single or twin engine (main rotor) choppers. It is designed to activate with 20% throttle or greater. Reverse pitch is not supported. The rotor wash effect will appear or cease when the helo is at a 30 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (30ft and below = wind on 30ft and above = wind off) The dust/mist effect will appear or cease when the helo is at a 24 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (24ft and below = dust/mist on 24ft and above = dust/mist off)
R22HeloPropDustFXcontrol.xml
This gauge is used for the Robinson R22 type helicopter. This gauge is used for R22 type helicopters ONLY. It will work with a single or twin engine (main rotor) choppers but reads the manifold pressure instead of throttle lever percent. I had some problems getting the Robinson R22 to respond to throttle code so I programmed this gauge to respond (effects enabled) when the manifold pressure is above 14hg. The rotor wind effect will appear or cease when the helo is at a 30 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (30ft and below = wind on 30ft and above = wind off) The dust/mist effect will appear or cease when the helo is at a 24 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (24ft and below = dust/mist on 24ft and above = dust/mist off)
LargePropDustFXcontrol.xml
This gauge is used for ALL planes that have 2, 3, or 4 engines AND that have a prop or engine center that measures 10 feet or HIGHER from the ground in the simulator. Large military (C-130 scale) or commercial transports, Douglas DC-3, The Ford Tri-Motor, etc fall under this specification. It is designed to activate with 13% throttle or greater or 10% reverse pitch or more. The dust will appear or cease when aircraft is at a 16 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (16ft and below = dust/mist on 16ft and above = dust/mist off)
MultiPropDustFXcontrol.xml
This gauge is used for ALL planes that have 2, 3 or 4 engines AND that have a prop or engine center that measures 8 feet or LESS to the ground in the simulator. Most small twin or tri prop aircraft fall under this specification such as the Beech Baron 58. It is designed to activate with 20% throttle or greater or 10% reverse pitch or more. The dust will appear or cease when the aircraft is at a 9 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (9ft and below = dust/mist on 9ft and above = dust/mist off)
SinglePropDustFXcontrol.xml
This gauge is the same as the MultiPropDustFXcontrol.xml except it is designed for small planes that have only ONE engine AND that have a prop or engine center that measures 10 feet or LESS to the ground (NOT WATER) in the simulator. Most small single prop aircraft fall under this specification including Pipers, Cessnas, the Cessna Amphibian and ALL small floats planes. It is designed to activate with 20% throttle or greater. Reverse pitch is not supported. The dust will appear or cease when the aircraft is at a 9 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (9ft and below = dust/mist on 9ft and above = dust/mist off)
SeaPropDustFXcontrol.xml
This gauge is used for seaplanes that have 2, 3, or 4 engines AND that have a prop or engine center that measures 10 feet or HIGHER from the ground (not water) in the simulator. small- medium and large military or commercial water transports, Bill Lyons Goose and Golden Hawaii seaplanes, etc fall under this specification. It is designed to activate with 23% throttle or greater or 10% reverse pitch or more. The dust will appear or cease when aircraft is at a 16 foot elevation to the ground/water or less. (16ft and below = dust/mist on 16ft and above = dust/mist off) NOTE: THIS GAUGE IS NOT FOR FLOAT PLANES OR SMALL AMPHIBIANS.
I have found the above selection of gauges have worked for all the aircraft I properly applied them to. I designed the set to cover the specifications for the majority of aircraft out there however if your 3rd party aircraft does not meet one of the above specifications -or- the effects are not appearing/disappearing at a proper elevation -or- the throttle level for the aircraft and you need to create a custom gauge for your aircraft, please refer to the GAUGE_TWEAK.txt file located in this package for custom gauge creation and editing.
PLEASE SELECT THE GAUGE FILE NAME ABOVE WHOS DESCRIPTION CLOSELY MATCHES THE AIRCRAFT AND PROP HEIGHT YOU WANT TO APPLY THE F-X
Once the proper gauge is selected based on the mentioned aircraft specifications you must edit the gauge code line and then place the entire code section as shown below into the correct location of the panel.cfg file for the aircraft. The following was made for copy/paste into your 3rd party aircraft panel.cfg file. The panel.cfg code section with the gauge line is:
You must edit the gauge name into the line EXACTLY as it is typed above and do not remove any commas or syntax of the line:
Next, The XX in the [VCockpitXX] heading above represents the next (last) number in the VCockpit list sequence of the panel.cfg file. The proper VCockpit number must be edited in place of the XX of the [VCockpitXX] heading.
In cases where there are NO [VCockpitXX] entries in your 3rd party aircraft panel.cfg file simply add the entire section at the very end of the last [WindowXX] section and number it: [VCockpit01]
RECAP:
1. Select the correct gauge file for your aircraft
2. Edit the gauge line with the gauge file name your aircraft requires
3. Place it (edit it in) where it belongs in your 3rd party aircrafts panel.cfg file and properly number it based on the VCockpit sequence of that file and save the panel.cfg file
1. CREATE AND RE-NUMBER THE LIGHT LINES (light.xx) INTO THE EXISTING [LIGHTS] SECTION SEQUENCE AND NOT EXCEED: light.18 =
2. APPLY THE FORMULAS PROVIDED BELOW TO THE A-B-C LOCATIONS.
3. CHANGE THE _x EXTENSION IN THE fx FILENAME FOR THE CORRECT SCALE/TYPE FOR THE AIRCRAFT BEING USED
The [LIGHTS] LINES:
NOTE: The txt file: BLANK_TEMPLATES.txt in this package has a complete set of blank copy/paste templates for any/all prop aircraft.
Typical Example Light line:
light.10=8, -10.4, -6.3, -6.0, fx_nickspropdust_dirt_s
A B C
This line is decoded as follows:
light.XX=Y, A, B, C, fx_filename_surface_aircraft type or scale
**** KEY: ***
light.XX - is the numerical order of the light in the list starting with: light.0= and go up to a maximum: light.18=
=Y, - is the light type that is being switched on and off. The LIGHT types we are using are: =6 SNOW&WATER, =8 DIRT, =9 GRAVEL&SAND
A, B, C, - is the X,Y,Z location of the center of the effect in reference to the aircraft
fx_filename_surface_aircraft type or scale:
- is the effects file name to be played which is designed for surface type/conditions and the scale/type of aircraft
The formula for finding the proper effect location USING the [GeneralEngineData] section of the aircraft.cfg file are as follows:
(2 engine example)
from the aircraft.cfg file:
[GeneralEngineData]
(Never change these numbers)
Engine.0 =10.00, -8.50, 3.50 <---Engine 1
Engine.1 =10.00, 8.50, 3.50 <---Engine 2
A B C <---- the numbers I refer to here are transferred to the [LIGHTS] section lines after you apply the CORRECT formula for the aircraft being used:
NOTE:THESE RULES ARE TO GET YOUR FX LOCATED VERY CLOSE HOWEVER IT MAY STILL REQUIRE FURTHER TWEAKING AFTER VIEWING THE RESULTS IN THE SIM
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Formula Rule #1:
For any aircraft that uses the following gauge:
...and the plane is NOT a tail dragger (wheel or skid) and it does NOT have a significant tilt to the rear of the plane as it sits on the ground, and it is NOT an Amphibian, use the following calculation method:
for the [LIGHTS] section line, subtract 6 from the first number and 6 from the third number of each engine line: A-6, B , C-6,
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Formula Rule #2:
For any aircraft that uses the following gauge:
...and the plane IS a tail dragger (wheel or skid) which has a significant tilt to the rear of the plane as it sits on the ground, such as the Piper Cub, and it is NOT an Amphibian, use the following calculation method:
for the [LIGHTS] section line, subtract 20 from the first number and 6 from the third number of each engine line: A-20, B , C-6,
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Formula Rule #3:
For any aircraft that uses the following gauge:
...and it is NOT a huge military transport such as a C-130 or Sikorsky VS-44 and the plane is NOT a tail dragger (wheel or skid) and it does NOT have a significant tilt to the rear of the plane as it sits on the ground, and it IS a SEAPLANE or LAND based plane use the following calculation method:
for the [LIGHTS] section line, subtract 10 from the first and 10 from the third number of each engine line: A-10, B , C-10
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Formula Rule #5:
For any aircraft that uses the following gauges:
and it IS a SEAPLANE or LAND based plane and the plane is NOT a tail dragger (wheel or skid) and it does NOT have a significant tilt to the rear of the plane as it sits on the ground and it IS a huge military transport such as a C-130 or Sikorsky VS-44, use the following calculation method:
for the [LIGHTS] section line, subtract 10 from the first and 20 from the third number of each engine line: A-10, B , C-20 (note: C= this may require as little as 12 or as much as 23 for very large planes)
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Formula Rule #6:
For any aircraft that uses the following gauge:
LargePropDustFXcontrol.xml
...and it is NOT a huge military transport such as a C-130 or Sikorsky VS-44 and the plane IS a tail dragger (wheel or skid) and it has a significant tilt to the rear of the plane as it sits on the ground, such as the Douglas DC-3, use the following calculation method:
for the [LIGHTS] section line, subtract 20 from the first and 10 from the third number of each engine line: A-20, B , C-10
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Formula Rule #7:
For any aircraft that uses the following gauges:
for the [LIGHTS] section line, subtract 10 from the third number of each engine line: A , B , C-10
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FORMULA and [LIGHTS] SECTION LINE EXAMPLE:
Using the formulas provided above and assuming you have a 2 engine 3rd party aircraft which you have matched the specification of the MultiPropDustFXcontrol.xml gauge to the aircraft (props are 9ft or less to the ground) and it is NOT a tail dragger and it is NOT an Amphibian, the following will be the correct entries for A, B, C for each engine (light type) in the code lines below using the information from the [GeneralEngineData] in your aircraft.cfg file and APPLYING the formula above:
[GeneralEngineData]
(Never change these numbers)
Engine.0 =10.00, -8.50, 3.50 <---Engine 1
Engine.1 =10.00, 8.50, 3.50 <---Engine 2
A B C
| | | <--------example FORMULA: MultiPropDustFXcontrol.xml but NOT a tail dragger or Amphibian = A-6, B , C-6,
A-6 B C-6
light.XX=8, 4.00, -8.50, -2.50, fx_nickspropdust_dirt_X // Engine 1 dirt, dry mud, clay surface types prop dust
light.XX=8, 4.00, 8.50, -2.50, fx_nickspropdust_dirt_X // Engine 2 dirt, dry mud, clay surface types prop dust
light.XX=9, 4.00, -8.50, -2.50, fx_nickspropdust_gravsnd_X // Engine 1 gravel, sand and short grass surface types prop dust
light.XX=9, 4.00, 8.50, -2.50, fx_nickspropdust_gravsnd_X // Engine 2 gravel, sand and short grass surface types prop dust
(replace the X in the effects filenames above)
File extension _h = All Helicopters - Only
File extension _m = Medium to Massive (scaled for medium size (DC-3's) and also C-130 Military and massive commercial transport planes)
File extension _s = Standard (Used for all standard small planes)
For a complete and comprehensive description of all the effects files that were installed with this package, their names and how to identify each one, scroll down to the: DUST EFFECTS (.fx) FILE IDENTIFICATION section located at the very end of the README_FIRST.txt file.
In FS2004 the [SMOKESYSTEM] is NOT the same as the [LIGHTS] section in how the calculated A, B, C numbers reference the X-Y-Z location. The same engine location data from the [LIGHTS] section IS used however where that data goes in the line is a bit different in the smoke system! For a refresher, here is a copy of the engine locations directly from the [LIGHTS] code lines created earlier in this tutorial with the formula already applied:
Next, transfer the numbers to the smoke system lines from the [LIGHTS] section HOWEVER.. When transferring this data to the [SMOKESYSTEM]... the A, B, C data MUST be entered in the ORDER as shown:
[SMOKESYSTEM]
smoke.0= -2.50, 4.00, -8.50, fx_nicks_watrsnoland_s // Engine 1 water, snow and ice surface types prop dust (standard small aircraft)
smoke.1= -2.50, 4.00, 8.50, fx_nicks_watrsnoland_s // Engine 2 water, snow and ice surface types prop dust (standard small aircraft)
C A B <----- ***place the numbers calculated from the light code lines for each engine in this order***
You can see the same engine location numbers that were already located and calculated in the [LIGHTS] section are used (A - B - C), but they are placed in the [SMOKESYSTEM] code lines in a different order (C - A - B). If this edit is not done properly the water, snow and ice surface types prop dust will appear to be coming from the wrong location in reference to the aircraft prop locations on the screen.
NOTE:
ALL [SMOKESYSTEM] lines use the FX file name: fx_nicks_watrsnoland_X
Use the same method as described in the [LIGHTS] line section to determine the extension to be used ( _s _m or _h ) with the EXCEPTION of Grumman GOOSE scale aircraft, which will be:
File extension _sg = This is a special water/snow/ice runway FX file designed for Lynn and Bill Lyons Classic Goose or ANY other Grumman Goose scale seaplane
TWEAKING or EDITING THE EXACT [LIGHTS] SECTION LINES FOR PROPER LOCATION AFTER VIEWING IN THE SIM:
The formulas I designed should place the effects very CLOSE if not exactly where they should go in reference to the aircraft however if you find after flying the aircraft the effect location is still not visually correct, you may tweak the location numbers A, B, C to get the effect exactly where you want it. The following is a key for the numbers:
Example:
A B C
light.XX=8, 4.00, -8.50, -2.50, fx_nickspropdust_dirt_s
A = If the dust/prop wash FX needs to be moved back toward the rear of the engine or aircraft, tweak this number to a greater negative value. If your dust effect needs to move forward, tweak this number to a greater positive value.
B = If the dust/prop wash FX needs to be moved to the left of the engine or aircraft, tweak this number to a greater negative value. If your dust effect needs to move to the right, tweak this number to a greater positive value.
C = If the dust/prop wash FX needs to be moved down closer the ground, tweak this number to a greater negative value. If it needs to move up, tweak this number to a greater positive value.
The scale of the numbers is based on meters in the simulator. 1.00 = 1 meter to the scale of the aircraft model in the sim.
AIRCRAFT.CFG [EFFECTS] EDITS:
NICKS ALL WET AND THE GROUND FX INSTALLATION:
This is the last and easiest part of the editing process. Below I will provide a list of generic copy/paste entries for the different types of aircraft that you can quickly transfer to your 3rd party aircraft. Open the aircraft.cfg file and scroll down to the [EFFECTS] heading:
For all Amphibians or water landing SEAPLANES that are not MASSIVE scale transports, overwrite the entire [EFFECTS] section with this:
For ALL aircraft that ARE massive in scale such as a C-130 military transport or equivalent size (16 to 23ft wing height), including seaplanes, overwrite the entire [EFFECTS] section with this:
