Time for another progress report .... though these will only be presented from now on as time permits or we otherwise see fit to do so.
V6.0 models have now been produced for the DC-8-50, -50F, -61, -61F, -62, -62F, -63, -63F. -71, -71F, -72, -72F, -73, and -73F .... among which "NEW" (because HJG have never offered these previously) models for DC-8-50F HK3 and -61F HK3 are also included. All as presented earlier within this thread.
As stated from the very start of this thread .... "there are some things we can do and other things we'd like to be able to do but can't" .... for reasons of either some of the original source code relating to these models simply not now being available (but having said this we've also, as we've progressed, discovered we've been able to do a number of other things we hadn't actually planned or envisaged being able to do), and also otherwise needing to avoid a logistical exercise that might impose need to re-do every individual DC-8 texture we've ever released, but which, I assure everyone
"JUST AINT GONNA HAPPEN". So .... we need to draw the line somewhere by proceeding with what's practical and avoiding what's impractical whilst also achieving something acceptable too
Any time we start editing existing models though there's the ever present danger that what we do may affect existing textures .... an impact we loosely term as being "TEXTURE BUMPING". There's a number of "developmental reasons/limitations" that can impose this, primarily founded in the way these models were each produced some 20 years ago, which we only discovered during our model editing processes, and which "DID INDEED" result in "a few textures" being "BUMPED" (fortunately less than the number of fingers on one hand though), but which,
"THANKS ENTIRELY TO PAUL's EFFORTS AND DETERMINATION" we've been able to
"SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVE" and without having to replace any existing textures. Becoming aware of potential model/texture related issues .... like this .... recently resulted in our needing to check, what we then recognized as being "all potentially affected" textures, for each of our new V6.0 DC-8 models in order for such issues to be discovered and rectified .... and which is what this presentation's primarily about
Here's what was discovered happening in the case of "some/a few" (very few in fact) existing textures when applied to our "NEW" V6.0 DC-8 models. Note how the the rear fuselage to tail striping appears misaligned. These details aligned more than acceptably when used with our old/currently downloadable V5.4 DC-8 models, but, not with our "NEW" V6.0 models ....
As is evident per each of the following same texture subjects on our "NEW" (re-edited) V6.0 models though these issues have .... again .... been
"SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVED" per model adjustment/s of the sort that don't risk anything else being adversely impacted nor require us to replace large quantities of texture files either ....
Again I reiterate .... "NOT ALL" existing textures were affected. Less than a handful were though. Fixing these discrepancies
"DID NOT" require our adjusting any of the existing texture files. The issues discovered were mostly and
"VERY SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVED" per adjustment/s being applied to the model mapping .... since variations in this data were discovered to be evident between both PAX and FREIGHT version DC-8 models and of which we, ourselves, were unaware given the long ago developmental foundation of original versions of these models.
None-the-less .... and for our own comfort and assurance .... we considered it prudent to check everything on our so far completed "NEW" V6.0 models .... and with the following "very reassuring results" ....
DC-8-50DC-8-50FDC-8 SUPER 61DC-8 SUPER 61FDC-8 SUPER 62DC-8 SUPER 62FDC-8 SUPER 63DC-8 SUPER 63FDC-8 SUPER 71DC-8 SUPER 71FDC-8 SUPER 72DC-8 SUPER 72FDC-8 SUPER 73DC-8 SUPER 73FHopefully this presentation helps explain some of the challenges we often confront whenever editing and updating data .... and also why these sorts of projects can never be completed overnight for following morning release. It's all an extremely time consuming, and some even very frustrating, process. As I've stated on this forum many times previously ....
"PATIENCE WILL BE/SHOULD BE REWARDING" .... for those whom care to practice such positive virtues
More news will be presented "as it comes to hand" .... or rather .... as we otherwise care to release it.
Mark C
AKL/NZ