.DAT Variables

[AdityaB]

Just like the variable

GEARHORN
and
STALHORN

are there (I an air there are, though not found in this thread....) sound variables?
I mean something like a custom taxiing find, custom max throttle sound....?

By the way how do you create new variables or unearth them??

Thanks a lot

[NightRaven]

There aren't a lot of sound related variables; I believe those are the only 2 directly related to the sound.
Custom sounds are not supported as yet.

New variables are introduced as YS is updated. These new variables are found in the stock planes by painstaking analysis of the stock .dat files.

[u2fly]

Anybody know how "VISLDAID" variable of ground object DAT work in YSFlight?

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VISLDAID VASI

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VISLDAID PAPI

[waspe414]

VISLDAID (visual landing aid) PAPI or VASI define the red and white lights for runway approach.

Setting VISLDAID PAPI in the .dat of a ground object with a .dnm will set the parent SRF of that DNM to the PAPI light. I'm still not sure how colour change angle is calculated, but it does seem to be relative to the face.

Conversion to PAPI shading is not affected by face brightness or SURF name. Adding the tag to the Burke .dat turned every face bright, though, so I'm not positive what's going on with brightness. Face colour only affects at what angle the light changes from red to white (regardless of input, the light is still red). There's nothing special in the SURF header to indicate lights.

I've not messed with the VASI setting, but its implementation should be the same. I'm not sure what the differences are, aside from PAPI being 1x4 and VASI being 2x2.

Interestingly, the face shading seems to start from the negative X axis. Left and right papis are mirrors of each other, and the light faces are all vertical, yet they change in the opposite direction.

[Flake]

PAPI lights take first srf declared as a PCK in the dnm file, and breaks it into 4 equal polygon groups. First quarter is light one, second quarter is light two...

So in stock PAPI you have a srf with 4 polygons, being the lights, and another srf to house those lights.

I did a write up on this somewhere on this forum...

[kiwiflieger]

I did a write up on this somewhere on this forum..

This one?

[decaff_42]

Been doing some F-35B Hover testing and I have found some weights for the weapons. By obtaining baseline fuel amounts for no weapons in a hover, then gradually adding on multiple weapons, I'm able to get a reasonable approximations for the weapons below based on the fuel delta percent and knowing the max fuel weight. Hope this information is helpful for other ppl!

AIM-9 = 200lb
AIM-120 = 275lb
B250 = 250lb
B500 = 500lb
AGM = 600lb
Fuel Tank (empty) = 300lb

[Skipper]

There is a factor in the .DAt file that is called "Weigload"..Weight of the load.

WEIGLOAD - The weight of the payload (missles and bombs). This influences the model's flight characteristics, especially in a fighter.

Would this change the weight of the weapons, depending on what you've set here?

[decaff_42]

That is a great point. I didn't test that variable. I imagine this would be closer to what payloads are carried, such as passenger weights or pylons, etc. It would definitely be worth checking that out when I've got the time, or anyone else who is interested could use the F-35B dat from the VNAF Airfest 2016 and modify the dat file.

[NightRaven]

bump

Updated with proper 2015 descriptions, slightly more information on other variables and fixed (minor) formatting errors.
Quite sure we still missed some variables though, like PROPVMIN.

[u2fly]

Found one more variable, that not yet listed in first post of this topic.
Inside stock "CONCORDE" found next

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LOOKOFST 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m

It used for set position of rotating centre of Outside-Aircraft View, that by default assigned to F6 and F7 keys inside ysflightKeyAssign.asn

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...
KEY F6 OUTSIDEPLAYERVIEW3
KEY F7 OUTSIDEPLAYERVIEW2
...

[Flake]

How many degrees of YAW the aircraft moves at CRITSPEED when the stick is hard in one second.

Oh Myyyy!

Slight typo, doesn't matter that much though.

Thanks for this write up - using it now to define the DATFile class of my YSFlight library!

[decaff_42]

Question about the RCS values.

Is this like a coefficient to the soft lock and lock ranges?
For Example:

Range = RCS * stock Range

[u2fly]

Think I found one more not yet discribed option keyword for EXCAMERA variable:

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EXCAMERA "NAME" 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m 0deg 0deg 0deg CABIN

Strange, that in first post of current topic EXCAMERA options keywords not described.

I read related topic EXCAMERA and its too not include CABIN option
viewtopic.php?t=1587

So, for now there are (at least) three different options for this variable:

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EXCAMERA "INSTRUCTOR_VIEW" 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m 0deg 0deg 0deg INSIDE
EXCAMERA "EXTERNAL_VIEW" 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m 0deg 0deg 0deg OUTSIDE
EXCAMERA "PASSENGER_VIEW" 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m 0deg 0deg 0deg CABIN

INSIDE - show visual cockpit & instrument panel & optionally HUD (all visual effects that you can see in COCKPITP position)
OUTSIDE - show faces inverted (cutted) + fully disable visual cockpit & instruments panel & HUD
CABIN - show visual cockpit (like INSIDE) but fully disable visual instrument panel & HUD (something like passenger that is sitting in the back seat; usefull for 2nd pilot position in tandem aircraft)

P.S.: best choice is not use this optional keywords inside comments or not use any comments in EXCAMERA string (#comment). For example if you write this...

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EXCAMERA "NAME" 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m 0deg 0deg 0deg CABIN # INSIDE

... then YSFlight will set INSIDE option instead of CABIN !

ATTENTION!
Do not use EXCAMERA variable without any option keyword, because it will generate errors!

[Neocon]

something like passenger that is sitting in the back seat; usefull for 2nd pilot position in tandem aircraft)

That's good information. I don't think I have seen the CABIN option before.

[u2fly]

That's good information. I don't think I have seen the CABIN option before.

It already presented in few stock bombers for "BOMBBAY" view (../aircraft/b29.dat, ../aircraft/g4m.dat, ../aircraft/lancaster.dat, ...)

[u2fly]

Additionally to previously described EXCAMERA variable options I found few more interesting options and variables, by digging stock aircrafts

-- New discovered variables
CKPITIST FALSE #show instrument panel in the COCKPITP neutral view (if FALSE then instrument panel can be made availiable only in EXCAMERA views)
CKPITHUD TRUE #show HUD in the COCKPITP neutral view (if FALSE then HUD can be made availiable only in EXCAMERA views)
ISPNLHUD TRUE #use both HUD and instrument panel (set aircraft to show them together, if other not specified)

-- New discovered variables options

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EXCAMERA "NAVIGATOR" 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m 0deg 0deg 0deg INSIDE NOHUD

.. INSIDE NOHUD - is something in between only INSIDE and only CABIN view (you can see instrument panel, but can't see HUD).

-- Summary
Using combination of those variables and this EXCAMERA option you can make aircraft where main pilot will see only HUD, and other pilot will see only custom instrument panel (defined using INSPANL variable from *.ist file)

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EXCAMERA "NAVIGATOR" 0.0m 0.0m 0.0m 0deg 0deg 0deg INSIDE NOHUD
CKPITIST FALSE
CKPITHUD TRUE
ISPNLHUD TRUE

P.S.: How it work you could see in stock "F-15DJ_EAGLE" ( ../aircraft/f15dj.dat )
--
All this and some additional info you could get from next edition of YSFLIGHT HANDBOOK soon!

[Grigor]

WPNSHAPE GUN FLYING can also be used, to great effect, though the orientation of the srf doesn't exactly follow the attitude of the plane. Low poly count would be advisable, as so many are produced. The shape also doubles as the oft-wished for muzzle flash effect, as seen here:

[Flake]

though the orientation of the srf doesn't exactly follow the attitude of the plane.

Correct, the "bullet" is always oriented north. Oversight in coding I think.

[u2fly]

though the orientation of the srf doesn't exactly follow the attitude of the plane.

Correct, the "bullet" is always oriented north. Oversight in coding I think.

This issue presented in "YSFlight ver.20150425", but in "YSFlight Test ver.20170122" there NO such limitations, and each bullets has random orientation!(I already check it today)