Sludge/Combat Hornet Integrator - Released

[lvflyer]

I think I can speak for the rest, but the last thing we want is to appear ungrateful or to make you feel taken advantage of.  I know how it is to spend 100s if not 1000s of hours on this hobby only to be criticized for things beyond our control and that are inherently part of the FS limitations.  I wish we could get more support from the original authors to make this what it was meant to be, but I guess that is reserved for the greed of the commercial interests.  I for one am extremely greatful that there are many of us out there still devoted to the sharing of the joys of this hobby without strings.  Without putting our minds together the task is way too large for one person to handle.  In the past all the great minds gathered in one place, maybe one day we'll get there too so we can break through the barriers once and for all.

In yours and his service

Dirk 

[Tregarth]

Dear Sludge,

I am in awe of the great work that you do.  The words "Thank you" are really not enough to tell you how much I appreciate your dedication.

Take care of yourself and take your time.  It is more important you stay healthy than that you make a deadline which no one has set.

Best wishes and thanks,

Tregarth

[Sludge]

Fellas...

Thanks for the support.  Dont take my last message too literally.  I only said "All I ask is patience" to mean for those with the AUTO-INSTALLER issues to remember that I havent forgotten about them, and I will get it out.  But to keep in mind that Im only ONE GUY with alot of demands on my time.  Its not an admonition or anything even close, just as reminder that Im working as fast as my time constraints allow, plus a little unwind brained-dumb shooter time.  Believe me, Im in the same boat as you guys, especially with things like Serge's upcoming vLSO.  I cant wait til he finishes it, but am willing to wait however long he needs.

Again, you guys are the best and thanks for your support.  All that said, I will try to get the MANUAL INSTALL version out before the break, so if you are stuck at home for the holiday weekend, you can have some fun and let me know the likes/dislikes with the CHARLIE version.

Later
Sludge

[simaddict]

Sludge,
Don't worry, kick back for the holiday! We appreciate all the time and effort you have spent and the Hornet. It's not your problem that a few of us live in the boonies where there are no high-speed connections!! Takes 5 hrs to download the latest Sludge! lol I do like the manual install for that reason, but I can simply run it before I go to bed. Problem with that is I wanna call in sick in the morning and fly the new Sludge all day!! lol
Take care of yourself and Happy Holiday!!
Mike

[Sludge]

Fellas...

OK, just got it done.  The MANUAL INSTALL is available.  I'll leave the CS Delta Hornet version til after the Holiday.

Here ya go.

www.sludgehornet.com/downloads/SludgeHornets_MANUAL.zip

Later
Sludge

[Herbie]

Hello Sludge!
Thank you for the nice Hornet v1.2 Charlie. Made on my second approach a Wire3, maybe the other figures are a little off  But the plane handles very nice. Wish you a nice Vacation. Herb

[Johan]

Sludge,

Only great things to say about your work and about the contribution of all the super skilled people who work with you. I resolved all my first day questions, I switched the "base.xml" files to re-take control of the breaks and my joystick is set back to make the best flying experience I can get from your plane. Thank you, take a break, there are a bunch of people out there who love your work and appreciate your kind responses to all our questions.
Have a nice weekend,

Johan

[wilycoyote4]

most seems good

but the brakes aren't
I do not have rudder pedals so no toe brakes.
I made the change you suggest.  Seems ok but I'm testing so I'll report later.

[lvflyer]

Just had the chance to test out on SF2.5 Carrier Mission.  Peculiar thing regarding brakes, but may be unique to me only.  I use a RC simulator controller mostly and have the brakes activated by one of the toggle switches.  Normally by toggling the switch off then one, same as pressing . key, it will release the parking brakes.  With this integration the following happens.  Upon wire trapping the brakes are engaged and will not release by using my toggle or using the . key, but will release with ctrl ., like releasing the parking brakes.  They will not release using ctrl . if the toggle switch is in the on position, but will if in the off position so FSX is seeing the switch position.  The toggle switch will not apply the brakes at all when lining up at the catapult so have to be quick to engage the parking brake with ctrl .. The parking brakes do release with the shift space on catapult launch though.  In addition raising the hook does not restore normal function.  So I think it would just be matter of listening for the hook raised to restore brake function to normal would solve the braking issues.  But like I said this may only be unique to me.  I don't think anyone else uses an RC controller like I do, but others may use a joystick button for brake activation.

Thanks again Sludge.

Dirk

[jonboy21075]

I don't normally make a habit of posting on much of anything, but i couldn't pass this one up. i have the vrs superbug, the iris and aerosoft f-16s, and even the iris tomcat pro, yet the sludge hornet is my main bird. i love that plane. i just had to express my appreciation and awe over the whole project. Mr. Slugde, from one okie to another, thanks for keeping me in the groove and hitting that 3 wire

[lvflyer]

Folks I have an update on my server problems as posted earlier.  Gamespy disconnected somtime after I posted so the only way to connect was direct as described above.  Gamespy has always been unstable when hosting.  Anyway with the new integration the server disconnects the player, even with the blackbox.cab renamed.  So something in the new structure is causing an issue, at least on my multiplayer server.  I renamed basic folder and it still disconnected so now back to square one.

Dirk

[Sludge]

LV...

Not JUST you.  Actually, that same issue was talked about just above your posts by WILY.  IF you have your "brakes" set to anything other than ACTUAL TOE BRAKES on a RUDDER PEDAL AXIS, this "trick" will not allow you to "unlock" the brakes after they are set. The XML "trick" involved a technique that sets KEY COMMAND "key_axis_brake left/right" with a 2000 value.  The problem is that IF you dont have TOE BRAKES on a rudder pedal, FSX has no way to RELEASE the "key_axis_brake" value.  So my temporary solution for those of you that dont have TOE BRAKES on an actual RUDDER PEDAL (ie. CH PEDALs) is to disable the function.
Just go into each SludgeFA-18\PANEL\BASIC folder, rename BASE.XML to BASE.XML.BAK, then rename BASE-2.XML to BASE.XML and boom, the auto-brakes feature will be disabled.

Jon...

Thanks for the good words.  Glad you like the Sludge Hornet.

Wily...

How'd the "fix" work for ya? I'm still working on a new way to get it done.

Later
Sludge

[lvflyer]

Thanks Sludge I did read that and was hoping this particular situation would help with some insight in how to solve.  I can continue to release the brakes with the parking brake command and then use the parking brakes at the catapult.  A little awkward, but acceptable. 

Regarding the disconnects, I have confirmed that the disconnects are not just on my server.  We have tried two other servers and any time a Sludge integration is logged in strange things occur, like frozen or buried aircraft and wrong position and speed data being transmitted.  We confirmed this by avoiding using the Sludge while using the same airframes and no problems then bringing in the Sludge and problems are repeatable.  Eventually aircraft get "the host cancelled the session error message".  It's maddening why some servers can handle it and others can't.  I'm surprised more have not experienced these issues, but I can only assume using this in a multiplayer environment is not prevalent.  It just seems odd that 3 separate servers experience the same issues.  I sure would like to work with those that have been involved with this project that have a server so we can extend the testing.

Thanks in advance.

Dirk

[sonofabeech]

Sludge you ol' dawg!! you did it again, the charlie version of the sludge hornet is outstanding!!! ...thanks to you and all the guys that contributed towards this latest version ..After not having flown in over three months or so I fired up the sff2 carrier mission and put it to the test. started with a long approach from the golden gate side and once the hook was down and the hornet was trimmed up I swear it didnt move it was so stable I kept on checking that there was not an auto land function turned on somewhere never know with you guys the new developements happen so thick and fast these days I battle to keep up to date... I did notice it seemed to settle a little at the ramp but if memory serves that has always been the case? This has been the first version of the Sludge Hornet for a while now that seems to work well with the trackIR not sure if you changed the seat height position but the view through track Ir in the vc now seems to match the numbers on the hud if that makes any sense. I tried a couple of carrier circuits and was very happy with the results ...at the correct speeds charlie holds altitude in the turns really well and makes flying easy even for this rusty pilot 

[wilycoyote4]

Is it me and my pc?
Anyone have the same problem?

I'm sitting at the end of the runway ready to takeoff, I turn on the pitot heat.  I go to outside view---locked spot----and I have engine contrails.  I turn off the pitot heat and no contrails.

The temperature is 59F dew point 41F both of which are considered default.
----------------------
screenys----

trap
--128 KIAS, 75% fuel, vsi -730, Alpha 10.1, 1 wire,
my errors on vsi

note---wing bank is sensitive, that is, left or right corrections to the centerline of the slant deck are easy to over-correct in my opinion