Ki.61 Update

[oboe]

When the Ki.61 model is updated, I think it would be great to add an earlier version like the Ki.61-1b.  The model we have now, Ki.61-1-KAIc, began production in 1944.   The Ki.61-1b was basically the same airplane (same engine) but the fuselage was slightly shorter and armament was 4x12.7mm machine guns or 2x12.7mm in the nose and 2xMG151 20mm cannon in the wings.   This would be more accurate for the Hien flown by the 68th and 78th Sentai in New Guinea in 1943 against the 5th AF.   

I'm also looking forward to the great new cockpit art, the Hien had a nice instrument layout and the extra glass panels on lower left and right help with visibility:

   

[glzsqd]

I want the later war versions of the Ki-61, as well as the Ki-100

[Phoenix3107]

When the Ki.61 model is updated, I think it would be great to add an earlier version like the Ki.61-1b.  The model we have now, Ki.61-1-KAIc, began production in 1944.   The Ki.61-1b was basically the same airplane (same engine) but the fuselage was slightly shorter and armament was 4x12.7mm machine guns or 2x12.7mm in the nose and 2xMG151 20mm cannon in the wings.   This would be more accurate for the Hien flown by the 68th and 78th Sentai in New Guinea in 1943 against the 5th AF.   

I'm also looking forward to the great new cockpit art, the Hien had a nice instrument layout and the extra glass panels on lower left and right help with visibility:

(Image removed from quote.)

I'm likin that cockpit model. 

[oboe]

That cockpit is from Pacific Fighters, but HTC crew will do just a good a job if not better.

Ki.61-II with Ha-140 engine supposedly did 394mph, but only 99 constructed before engine factory destroyed.  That engine was really unreliable I guess.  The Japanese mated the remaining Ki.61-II airframes to a Mitsubishi air cooled radial engine creating the Ki.100.  Pretty slow (360mph) but lighter and better climb rate than the Ki.61 though.

 

[hgtonyvi]

Keep the KI61 we have right now.....Oboe you think it will affect any part of modeling if they change the entire plane model? I think the ki61 should be a little faster.....

[Greebo]

I think HTC would probably just add the earlier Ki-61 armament setups as hangar options, like they added the all-MG option for the C.205. These would not be likely to see much use in the MA but would be good for scenarios. I'd like to see the Ki-100 modelled as well.

[Wmaker]

I also would very much like to see earlier Ki-61. It would have better flight performance since it is much lighter and has the same amount of power as the variant currently in AH.

[FBKampfer]

Add an early model and the -II.

[oboe]

Keep the KI61 we have right now.....Oboe you think it will affect any part of modeling if they change the entire plane model? I think the ki61 should be a little faster.....

Oh I definitely agree that the current model should be kept.  HTC made the right choice with the -KAIc, given the MA's tilt toward later war aircraft.  Those nose-mounted Ho-5 20mm cannon devastating in close.  But I would like to see different armament options and how the change in weight between the different gun packages would affect handling and performance.  Greebo might be right, maybe it'll be a single 3D model with all the different packages available as options.  But I have learned that there was an increase in fuselage length by about 8" with the -KAIc, and its interesting because when I would adapt the IL-2 skins to AH format, I always had to add length to the fuselage.  I'm not sure how much difference in center-of-gravity 8" makes in a 29' airplane, but maybe it would be significant?.   I believe I can see the shorter nose evident in this first screen shot (IL-2?) compared to the second, and I think the shorter nose just looks better, more trim, somehow:





A lot will have to change in the Ki.61 update.  Currently the skin is divided between 2 256x256 bitmaps - that will probably change to a single 1024x1024 bitmap.     

EDIT:  The Ki.61-1b also has a retractable tail wheel (top picture).  That really helps maintain a more trim, cleaner look.  I don't know how much that would affect top speed, but I would think it would increase it by at least a few mph?  My understanding is in real life the tail wheel retract mechanism was problematic and their solution was to install a non-retractable tail wheel.

[ONTOS]

Are we getting an update on the Ki-61? I didn't know. We have been getting a new landscape for years (yawn.) Instead of an up date, give us a couple in Italian planes instead of variations of planes we already have.

[Greebo]

HTC usually introduce a mix of updated and new models with each major update. The only new ride that has been announced for the next version is an updated TBM. It seems likely that HTC will update all the remaining AH1-era skins before beginning on the earliest AH2 ones.

The main improvements any updated AH1 skin will have is not resolution. Skinners already use 1024 res tiles when skinning AH1-era aircraft, even though the default art was 256 res. So a Ki-61 skin now will be on two 1024 res tiles, an updated one on just one 1024 tile might even have worse texture detail.

OTOH the the latest models are much more detailed and accurate shape-wise both inside and out due to their vastly higher poly count and have far fewer issues like the mirroring, stretching and warped textures which make skinning AH1 stuff really irritating. Also any updated shape would take advantage of bump mapping and specularity mapping, the latter of which makes a big difference on BMF aircraft like the Ki-61.

[oboe]

Are we getting an update on the Ki-61? I didn't know. We have been getting a new landscape for years (yawn.) Instead of an up date, give us a couple in Italian planes instead of variations of planes we already have.

HTC has been working through all its old models, giving them make-overs.  This has been going on slowly, for years.   Only HTC knows when the Ki.61 will get it's turn, but I hope its coming before too long.  The aren't that many planes left to update.  Maybe ten or so?   The Ju88, Ki.67, TBM, F4F/FM2, and Ki.61, just off the top of my head.  For example, engine cowlings on radial engines are updated to be actually round rather than octagonal; cockpits get make-overs and are given real moving controls.   Also, the damage model is updated, so you'll see the underlying spars and internal structures exposed when control surfaces are damaged.  In the old model, if you lose an aileron, that part is simply "deleted" from your view.  In the new model, the part is still there but displays the damage.  Its HTCs continuous improvement, and really needs to be done to try to stay competitive graphically with other current flight sims.  The current Ki.61 control panel is pretty simplistic:

[bustr]

Whatever game that screen shot is from, the art guy put an IJN reticle in an IJA gunsight. Yet they did the art for the correct IJA gunsight. The Type 98 IJN reticle shown there is 145Mil diameter. The Type 100 that should be there is 100Mil diameter.

[bustr]

And for the record. Daytime ops reticle were white in both Japanese services. The prevalence of the orange reticle for IJN\IJA planes in air combat games since the 90's was someone goofing at the beginning of the PC gaming era and everyone taking that as gospel.

Japanese gunsights had a daytime white light diffuser, reddish\pink night time diffuser. Same as the german gunsights the Japanese were using, or based their models from. And a polarized slide up or flip up sun filter for the white daytime reticle. Along with a dimmer rheostat.

The IJN Type 100 depicted in the screen shot was a modified copy of an export model produced by Optische Anstalt Oigee, Berlin.

Also the segmented 80Mil ring in the Type 100 gunsight has 2x the number of partitions as the real type 98 reticle. The Type 98 reticle is overall 145Mil in diameter in part due to how slow the cannon round velocity was of the first generation of A6m fighters. The US and RAF concept of 100mph ring(100Mil) was based on faster rounds. I suspect the artist was taking license for playability rather than historic accuracy.

[oboe]

Deep knowledge there, Bustr!   Its from Pacific Fighters; I;ve never played it but maybe they have a feature like AH where you can set your own gunsite?

btw I've always wanted a feature turn the gun site off/on, ever since I accidentally triggered a burst while formation flying in a scenario where friendly fire is on, I thought it would be a good idea.   (I'm imagining it would be linked to a gun safety or charging system - I'm not sure how WWII guns were charged and fired, and what mechanisms prevented accidentally discharging).