Forum > Tornado
Modding Tornado
Frankie:
Haha! Apparently in the default Tornado game, the Spectator View (F4) already has the pan left and pan right feature. So Hack #11 is a no-Hack. Guess I confused the Remote and Spectator views.
Frankie:
For those with the original Digital Integration (or Spectrum Holobyte) Tornado combat/flight simulator installed on your computer, or if you fancy digging up that old CD-ROM (or diskettes!?) to install the simulator, I am making the latest multiple-views-modded FLIGHT.EXE available to you. Below is the link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5appd9ysehp1d2/FLIGHT-at-end-of-Sunday-15th-October-2017.zip?dl=0
Instruction:
This will only work with the Non-Operation Desert Storm version of Tornado.
Simply make a backup of the original TORNADO\FLIGHT\FLIGHT.EXE and then extract the Zip file. Then copy my FLIGHT.EXE into TORNADO\FLIGHT subfolder.
Frankie:
11. Checksix view
Mod: Fullscreen rear view with F2 (Modded Satellite View) - allows you to Checksix!
By Frankie
Link: None. Open the VIEWS.ASM file. Then follow the code hack shown.
Description:
I managed to mod the Satellite View inside VIEWS.ASM so that when you hit F2 you get a front-facing almost full-screen view, and if you hit F2 again, you get a full-screen BACK VIEW. Both views can be further adjusted by pressing and holding down < or Shift< or > or Shift>.
What I did was to change line 1542 from
mov TMP_VIEW.VP_PITCH, ax
to
mov TMP_VIEW.VP_PITCH, -45
-and-
I commented off line 1253 by adding a semicolon in front. Like so:
;mov TMP_VIEW.VP_ROLL,0
This angle is new to Tornado. Here you can see the rest of the Squadron queued
up behind your Tornado. The white line is a runaway line marker.
Another unique angle. See those droplets falling down behind our Tornado?
They are from YOUR Tornado, not your Squadron mates'. You have overflown the runaway and
the bomblets are raining down BEHIND you.
Your JP-233 bombs are going off behind you. Seconds later, your own Squadron mates hit the other targets surrounding the runaway.
See those bigger flashes of orange and white at the bottom-right corner of the last screenshot image above? That would be drone Squadron flights doing what they've been programmed to do best - hit the target on time, every time. The angle is unique. The visual damage done to runaway thanks to the cumulative efforts of the Squadron is unique to Tornado. The story this image tells is powerful.
This proves that there is almost no limit to what the 24-year old assembly language source code can do . All it takes is TIME, TIME and creativity, curiosity and lots of luck. Perhaps even Providence. I am sure that there are many other tricks the code can do if coaxed properly and patiently.
Watch the video below to see the new Satellite View (F2) in action.
Below is video showing more action using the modded Satellite View (F2). This time it's a 6-plane mission.11-IDS Airfield Dawn Attack. When the video is ready, check out the last 5 seconds of the video. Those seconds is what Tornado was/is all about. Start of the take-off has some green clipping on the runaway. Not sure what is causing that. Never mind. It's minor to me.
Cheers
Frankie Kam
Frankie:
12. Use the Right or Left TV Tab Display to activate glorious night vision effect
Mod: An improved Night Vision Goggles view
By Frankie
Link: None. Open the TAB.ASM file. Then follow the code hack shown.
Description: All you need to do is to comment off one line. ONE LINE. NVG has been done before. Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein of Germany wrote the original NVG mod back in 1996. That mod made the entire screen show up in night vision green. My hack allows just the windshield to be in night vision green. Plus, compared to Heinz's mod of 1996, my hack makes it extremely easy to implement and to activate/deactivate during the game.
A single semicolon (remark command) to rule them all!
Change the Right TV Tab Display to the TIALD view
Glorious green
To deactivate the NVG effect, simple select the FLIR view inside the pilot's central MFD. See above.
All external views will show in the NVG effect when activated.
Application of the mod? I think this version of NVG, compared to Heinz's brilliant NVG mod of yesteryear, is easier on the eyes. It is easy to implement the 'hack' of commenting that one line, and easy to activate and deactivate during the game. It will also allow you to better target ground targets in the darkest of nights. Mauser strafing and night shooting sprees in the making!
I have a feeling that Tornado 2 of 2018 is simply going to be the same 16-bit assembly language Tornado FLIGHT.EXE, albeit with at least 10 to 20 minor improvements. What matters in the end is the cumulative effect of the mods, no matter how small they may be, will enhance the overall gameplay of this classic flight simulator. We may not have the DESERT.EXE source code, nor the source code to Robin Heydon's brilliant Advanced Mission Planner (AMP.EXE), but what we have is a God-send. Kevin Bezant's full source code of the 3D simulation part of Tornado. FLIGHT.EXE is simply going to get better over time.
So here's to more mods over the next 6 months or so!
Frankie:
13. Wump-Crump-Shake the Tornado
Mod: Shake Tornado at moment of ordinance target explosion even when Tornado is outside of weapon's damage hemisphere
By Frankie
Link: None. Open the WEAPONS.ASM file. Then follow the code hack shown.
Description: In the default game, all weapons have damage hemisphere values. For example from the second screenshot below, the 1,000lbs GPB will damage the Tornado if the Tornado is within 750 feet from the blast. So if the Tornado is, let's say, 1,000 feet away from the blast, then there is no visible tremor or shaking of either the pilot's or navigator's cockpits. That's why it pays to make a bomb run from a safe height.
How to blow yourself up with your own bombs - from the Tornado game manual
One of Tornado's notable strengths is also one of its greatest weaknesses. The simulation is accurate down to the plane physics, aerodynamics, ballistics and explosion data. However this results in a less fun experience. For example, imagine you as the gamer after having fought your way through AAA and SAM defenses, manage to bomb the target, only to be greeted by a less than impressive sound effect, and with no visible cue of the explosion. In the achievement of high fidelity physics data, the fun factor has been sacrificed in some parts of the simulation.
Existing code in WEAPONS.ASM
The purpose of this "Wump-Crump-Shake the Tornado" hack is to put the fun factor into the bombing experience by shaking the cockpit screens even if and when the Tornado is OUTSIDE of the damage hemispheres of any weapon. This is a tad unrealistic, as at certain heights and speeds the Tornado may well be unaffected by the shock waves of the blast behind and below it. However this hack ramps up the fun and immersion factor. It gives the gamer a visual cue as to the moment of impact by shaking the screen slightly. This visual cue, combined with the auditory feedback of the explosion sound is my way of enhancing the combat experience of this 24-year old flght simulator.
Here is the hack. Put the code SHAKE SHAKE_BRAKE,HSHAKE_OFF,VSHAKE_LO,65535 right after the NextMobile: label. See image below.
This code gives the cockpit a brief, small but unmistakable shake/tremor/jolt
This code will cause a slight shake of the cockpits when a bomb detonates. If this is too small an effect for you to notice, then you can try replacing the code with SHAKE SHAKE_COLLIDE,HSHAKE_HI,VSHAKE_HI,50 which is a much stronger shaking of the cockpit or tremor.
Here is a video showing the effect. You can see this effect at 00:23 and 01:13.
Don't blink at 00:23 and 01:13 or you will miss the effect!
So now with my hack, when the bomb hits home, there's gonna be a whole lotta shakin' goin' on! Inside or outside of the Damage Hemisphere. This puts the F-U-N factor back where it belongs. Inside the simulator. Adjust and stir to taste.
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