Aircraft Skins for Missions

[earl1937]

The only skins you download with the game are the default skins. In order to see different skins on other aircraft or on your own aircraft, you need to download the different skins. If your PC struggles with AH then having more skins can reduce your performance. It can be a good idea to only have the skins you use yourself.

Are you asking for the mission planner to list the selected skin or to provide it?

Provide it just like it does the default skin! But let the mission planner, (one who is setting up mission), select which skin should be used!

[FLS]

Earl the mission planner doesn't provide the default skin, you have those already from the game download.

Because custom skins can create performance issues and to keep the game download file smaller, the choice to use any or all custom skins has been left to each player.

[APDrone]

Earl the mission planner doesn't provide the default skin, you have those already from the game download.

Because custom skins can create performance issues and to keep the game download file smaller, the choice to use any or all custom skins has been left to each player.

FLS.. Earl means the single 'default' skin per plane.. the one that is set in the hangar for each plane when you first start playing.  That is the skin that the mission launcher always uses for the plane that launches from a mission.

Earl ( and I ) would like to see the ability to change the skin that the mission launcher uses, so you could assign, say, the 390th BG skin for B24s and the 4FG skin for P51s.

These are skins that are approved and part of the skins provided by HTC, available to everybody. 

[FLS]

I believe the reason for that is that the default skin is the only one you have unless you choose to download the other skins. That's why I asked if Earl wanted another skin listed as a suggested choice. The mission planner currently cannot provide skins. If Hitech thinks it's a good idea he'll put it on his list if it's not already there. It just seems like a lot of work for something the players can do themselves while they wait for the mission to start.

[earl1937]

I believe the reason for that is that the default skin is the only one you have unless you choose to download the other skins. That's why I asked if Earl wanted another skin listed as a suggested choice. The mission planner currently cannot provide skins. If Hitech thinks it's a good idea he'll put it on his list if it's not already there. It just seems like a lot of work for something the players can do themselves while they wait for the mission to start.

Why should the "skins" be treated any differently than say, the bomb load or fuel load?  There are options  to the planner on both of those items! If I can request 25, 50, 75 or 100% fuel load out, why can't I also select the skin?

[FLS]

You'll notice you can select a skin in the hanger only if you have it already downloaded to your computer.

If the mission planner was going to select the skin for a mission every player would have to have the skin already downloaded on their computer.

The bomb or fuel load does not need to be downloaded. Just like the default skin, everything you need for fuel and weapons is already downloaded to your PC with the game.

It's possible that HiTech could rewrite the mission planner so that it causes a selected skin to be downloaded for players in the mission who don't have it but that would be a big change from their current position that players get the default skins only with the game download and each player gets to choose the additional skins they want to have on their computer.

[BaldEagl]

The game downloads one default skin per aircraft because they HAVE to.  Otherwise you'd see the plane shape with no paint.

Each additional skin download takes additional space on your hard drive.  Some players may not want to give up that drive space, much less have it forced upon them by every joe shmoe mission planner.

Each skin downloaded can be not only used by, but seen by the player.  Without downloading them players can't see them.  They see the default.  The reason for this is that every skin that resides on your computer needs to be pre-loaded into texture memory in case you run across it in the game.  For those with older, slower computers this WILL cause a degradation in performance/frame rate.  Every skin loaded will exacerbate the problem.  HT has allowed for a solution to this of sorts; it's the option to "turn off other players skins", therefore you only have to load your own into memory.

Even though my computer is fast enough to handle skins, I like to keep a lean and clean machine running at the peak of performance.  I DO NOT download skins outside the defaults and always turn off other peoples skins.  The only exception I make to this is scenarios where I allow for the skins my own squad is flying.

Your request essentially allows you and any other mission planner to take partial control of my computers resources.  I would be a very, very unhappy subscriber if HT were to allow this.

I'm exaggerating for effect but it would be like me saying, "Hey Earl, let me just place this 2Gb file on your computer and slow you down by 15 fps.  You don't mind do you?"

[APDrone]

The game downloads one default skin per aircraft because they HAVE to.  Otherwise you'd see the plane shape with no paint.

Each additional skin download takes additional space on your hard drive.  Some players may not want to give up that drive space, much less have it forced upon them by every joe shmoe mission planner.

Each skin downloaded can be not only used by, but seen by the player.  Without downloading them players can't see them.  They see the default.  The reason for this is that every skin that resides on your computer needs to be pre-loaded into texture memory in case you run across it in the game.  For those with older, slower computers this WILL cause a degradation in performance/frame rate.  Every skin loaded will exacerbate the problem.  HT has allowed for a solution to this of sorts; it's the option to "turn off other players skins", therefore you only have to load your own into memory.

Even though my computer is fast enough to handle skins, I like to keep a lean and clean machine running at the peak of performance.  I DO NOT download skins outside the defaults and always turn off other peoples skins.  The only exception I make to this is scenarios where I allow for the skins my own squad is flying.

Your request essentially allows you and any other mission planner to take partial control of my computers resources.  I would be a very, very unhappy subscriber if HT were to allow this.

I'm exaggerating for effect but it would be like me saying, "Hey Earl, let me just place this 2Gb file on your computer and slow you down by 15 fps.  You don't mind do you?"

Good explanation, BaldEagl. 

Until this thread, I wasn't aware that people would specifically prevent skins from downloading, and I've been playing for awhile.  And, yes, I agree that forcing a skin download would not be cool.

However, if you did have the skin on your machine, then it would be nice for the mission launcher to use it.  Otherwise, the mission launcher should use whatever skin you have assigned to that aircraft in your hangar. 

 

[earl1937]

You'll notice you can select a skin in the hanger only if you have it already downloaded to your computer.

If the mission planner was going to select the skin for a mission every player would have to have the skin already downloaded on their computer.

The bomb or fuel load does not need to be downloaded. Just like the default skin, everything you need for fuel and weapons is already downloaded to your PC with the game.

It's possible that HiTech could rewrite the mission planner so that it causes a selected skin to be downloaded for players in the mission who don't have it but that would be a big change from their current position that players get the default skins only with the game download and each player gets to choose the additional skins they want to have on their computer.

Thanks! I am starting to get a "clearer" picture of the skin problem....I appreciate your comments, they are always very helpful to an old guy like me that is a computer "dummy"....now for another question about that "frame rate" which you or someone mentioned!
When I joined the game 5 years ago, I enabled "auto skin download" and of course, even to this day, when a new skin is put into the game, my computer receives it and I get a message in red or orange which announces for which aircraft the skin is assigned! Does having all the skins which are available for all aircraft in the game, slow my computer down? I constantly run 60 to 70 on the frame rate on my pc when playing the game and it always has. Someone made the statement that the more skins you have "saved" in your PC, it would slow down the speed at which you can play the game. Now, I have always had trouble killing anything with .50 cal ammo....I can be 200 behind someone and firing a hail of bullets and sometimes, nothing happens! Could the skins in my hangar folder have anything to do with my ability to kill aircraft with .50 cal ammo?
And BTW, thanks to you and everyone in here who answers my "dumb" questions!!!!

[Pudgie]

Good discussion going here as I have never given this any thought since I've been here playing this game.

The game downloads one default skin per aircraft because they HAVE to.  Otherwise you'd see the plane shape with no paint.

Each additional skin download takes additional space on your hard drive.  Some players may not want to give up that drive space, much less have it forced upon them by every joe shmoe mission planner.

Each skin downloaded can be not only used by, but seen by the player.  Without downloading them players can't see them.  They see the default.  The reason for this is that every skin that resides on your computer needs to be pre-loaded into texture memory in case you run across it in the game.  For those with older, slower computers this WILL cause a degradation in performance/frame rate.  Every skin loaded will exacerbate the problem.  HT has allowed for a solution to this of sorts; it's the option to "turn off other players skins", therefore you only have to load your own into memory.

Even though my computer is fast enough to handle skins, I like to keep a lean and clean machine running at the peak of performance.  I DO NOT download skins outside the defaults and always turn off other peoples skins.  The only exception I make to this is scenarios where I allow for the skins my own squad is flying.

Your request essentially allows you and any other mission planner to take partial control of my computers resources.  I would be a very, very unhappy subscriber if HT were to allow this.

I'm exaggerating for effect but it would be like me saying, "Hey Earl, let me just place this 2Gb file on your computer and slow you down by 15 fps.  You don't mind do you?"

So if you have checked the box under Graphics Details to "turn off other players skins" then the only skin you will see is the default skin for that particular plane which is downloaded on everybody's box when you first start the game.....only the additional skins are the ones that you won't see unless you allow them to be downloaded when the game FE detects them being used during gameplay..................... .......correct?

So it is this action that causes the frequent writes back & forth to HDD & mem.......ie paging? Or causing stuttering if the box isn't fast enough to seamlessly do this in the background while during gameplay....................

Learn something here every day if you stick around long enuff........................

 

[BaldEagl]

Good discussion going here as I have never given this any thought since I've been here playing this game.

So if you have checked the box under Graphics Details to "turn off other players skins" then the only skin you will see is the default skin for that particular plane which is downloaded on everybody's box when you first start the game.....only the additional skins are the ones that you won't see unless you allow them to be downloaded when the game FE detects them being used during gameplay..................... .......correct?

So it is this action that causes the frequent writes back & forth to HDD & mem.......ie paging? Or causing stuttering if the box isn't fast enough to seamlessly do this in the background while during gameplay....................

Learn something here every day if you stick around long enuff........................

 

If you've downloaded a skin you will see it on any plane in the MA that's wearing that skin.  Every other plane will show the default skin unless you've downloaded other skins, then they will also show on any plane using those skins.

Don't show other players skins will default all planes to the default skins except your own, which will show the skin you've chosen.

As I said, I don't download or enable other players skins except in scenarios.  In that case, once I know what skin my squad is flying I jump out of the game, download it, jump back in, choose it for my plane then enable other players skins.  Because this is only skin I have on my hard drive, outside of the defaults, it's the only non default skin I'll be able to see but I'll see it on any other plane in the scenario that's using it (typically only the squad I'm flying with).

Stuttering can be caused by any number of things.  Automatically downloading skins in the background on low powered machines and having to load skin textures on machines without sufficient memory resources to pre-load them are among them.


Earl, as long as your machine runs a steady 60 fps then you have no issues downloading or preloading skins.  Most monitors have a refresh rate of 60 Mhz and most do and should enable VSync so the frame rate doesn't exceed the refresh rate.  Exceeding the refresh rate may cause graphic anomalies known as screen tearing.

[FLS]

Earl as long as Aces High looks normal you don't need to worry about loading skins. If you notice pauses, choppiness, or stutters, then you can try turning skins off to see if that makes a difference.

[Rob52240]

You can already spawn any skin, or any plane for that matter into any mission. 

[earl1937]

You can already spawn any skin, or any plane for that matter into any mission. 

Please explain how, so we all will know! There is no "pull" down window for selecting which skin I want to use for a mission which I am posting....right now, the only thing the "mission editor" will allow is the default skin for any of the aircraft which I have posted in the mission. What I have been asking for in this post is just to have the same selection option that I have for fuel and bomb load outs. If a player does not have all the skins downloaded, then the default shows up, as that is part of the download when you install the game!

[bustr]

Pick a slot in the mission. Then go into the hanger and pick the ride you will use in the mission. Pick your skin and your loadout. Then spawn on the runway and wait for the mission to start. I believe you can do this and pick a completely different ride.