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Hey Guys! As part of my grand "Type 21 Frigate" project for PR:Falklands, I needed to make the correct version of the Lynx (the HAS.2) to operate from its flight deck, based off of PR's existing Lynx AH.7 model. This, inevitably, lead to a total update and optimization of the original Lynx AH.7 and in turn the creation of the modern Lynx AH.9A variant of the Lynx.


British Army Air Corps Lynx AH.7
PR players should all be very well acquainted with the Lynx AH.7 (Army Helicopter Mark 7) since it has been ingame as the British Army's Light Utility Helicopter since v0.85 (2009), but since then I have optimized and improved somewhat and they were actually quietly implemented into v1.5 last year, just other than the changelog it wasn't mentioned as the other versions of the Lynx were not finished enough for me to make this post.
Most of these changes are invisible or hard to notice but most of the changes have either decreased the overall load on the client's system to draw and load, while some have just made the vehicle look better with little or no extra load on the client's system. One of the most notable changes is the main texture resolution which have been increased from 1024x1024 to 2048x2048 (four times the texture size/detail) while only slightly increasing the overall memory usage from before with moving all the transparent parts off the main sheet and onto their own unique small sheet with only transparent parts on it.
New optimized & higher quality "Rotor Blur" textures were also made since the old rotor blurs used the main rotor's rotor blur for the tail rotor, missing the tail rotor's iconic red and white stripes from the blur.
There is a whole range of other small improvements and optimizations made but most of them I can't remember and are too small to be worth noting but the bottom line is that the Lynx does not only have a smaller impact on your hardware but also looks better than it did before v1.5, and all these optimizations have of course been passed on to the other mew versions below!

While the Lynx AH.7 was retired from service in 2015 it will still be found ingame but on historically older maps/layers, fulfil the same Light Transport/Utility Helicopter role as it did before. With both Temperate and Desert versions/skins, where the Desert version features the extra engine intake and exhaust sand/dust filters that the Temperate version does not and as before, it can be armed with two GPMG 7.62mm door guns.


Credits:
Model: Wybl, foul_killer & Rhino
Textures: Pride & Rhino
Export & Coding: TrahnLee & Rhino


British Army Air Corps Lynx AH.9A
Design and Development
In late 2008 an "Urgent Operational Requirement" contract was undertaken by AgustaWestland to upgrade the Army's Lynx AH.9 aircraft to support operations in Afghanistan with integrating improvements developed for the new "AW159 Lynx Wildcat" which was still well in development, into the old airframe. This most notably included the new CTS800-4N engines (that were originally developed for the cancelled RAH-66 Comanche program but had been adapted for the Wildcat program), which transform the performance of the Lynx AH.9, producing 37% more power than the original engines, giving the AH.9A a significant increase in power, allowing it to operate in the extremely hot and high altitude conditions found in Afghanistan, and at the same time enabling it to carry more equipment. The Lynx AH.9A upgrade required modifications to be carried out to the main gearbox, top deck structure and rear fuselage to accommodate the new engines. On top of the new engines and other not so notable improvements include a port mounted, rapid-fire, M3M Heavy Machine Gun, seriously increasing the firepower from the previously mounted 7.62mm GPMG & a port, nose-mounted MX-10 IR Camera with laser range-finder/illuminator that is operated by the co-pilot.

In-Game
Ingame this helicopter will fulfil the same Light Transport/Utility Helicopter role for the British Army as the current Lynx AH.7, but will be featured on more modern maps/layers and is set to be included in update v1.6. The Co-Pilot will have full control of the nose-mounted MX-10 IR Camera with laser range-finder/illuminator & it can be armed with a rapid-fire M3M Heavy Machine Gun on its port side with 600 rounds of ammunition.

The ingame model is a modified version of PR's Lynx AH.7 and on top of the modifications mentioned above, the landing skids were removed and replaced with the new wheels and suspension system found on the AH.9, as well as many other smaller differences found between the AH.7 and AH.9/AH.9A variants.


Credits:
AH.7 Base Model/Textures: Wybl, foul_killer, Pride, TrahnLee & Rhino
Model Extras: Rhino
Texture Extras: Rhino
Export & Coding: Rhino


Fleet Air Arm Lynx HAS.2
Design and Development
This was the initial Naval production version produced for the Royal Navy and the French Navy (known as the Mk.2 with a few small differences), first flying in 1972 and entered service with the FAA in 1981. The HAS.2 was powered by two Gem 2 engines and featured a tricycle wheeled undercarriage, folding main rotor blades & tail, a "harpoon" deck restraint system, an emergency flotation system & a nose-mounted British Sea Spray radar giving it an all-weather capability and the ability to target surface vessels with Anti-Ship Missiles. When deployed in the anti-submarine role, it could carry two torpedoes or depth charges. For anti-surface warfare, it could be equipped with up to four Sea Skua Anti-Ship Missiles although only two were often fitted to extend the operational range and endurance of the helicopter. A total of 60 Lynx HAS.2 were built for Royal Navy and 26 Mk.2 for the French Navy. The Lynx HAS.2 set the foundations for many later naval versions of the Lynx which has probably been the most deployed & successful Naval Helicopter of all time.

Operational History
The Lynx HAS.2 participated in combat operations during the Falklands War in 1982 in both Anti-Submarine and Anti-Surface Warfare, as well as the covert insertion of Special Forces into the islands by night. On the 3rd of May, a Lynx conducted the first combat-firing of a Sea Skua Anti-Ship Missile, firing on the Argentinian patrol boat Alferez Sobral, inflicting considerable damage to the vessel. This was the first use of sea-skimming missiles in the conflict. Although none were shot down in combat, a total of three Lynxes were lost aboard vessels that were struck by attacks from Argentine aircraft, these vessels being HMS Coventry, HMS Ardent and the SS Atlantic Conveyor.

In-Game
The Lynx HAS.2 will operate from the flight deck of the Type 21 Frigate & as such, will not be included ingame until the Frigate is. How exactly it will operate ingame I'm going to keep under wraps for now as things have yet to be finalized and I don't want to give too much away at this point but you can probably guess somewhat from the information and pictures above.

The ingame model is again a modified version of PR's Lynx AH.7 and on top of the modifications mentioned above, the landing skids were removed and replaced with a new tricycle wheeled undercarriage system (that differs from the Lynx AH.9A's), a modified nose, two versions of the Sea Skua Missile Racks & a modified cockpit with the co-pilot's radar screen.
Credits:
AH.7 Base Model/Textures: Wybl, foul_killer, Pride, TrahnLee & Rhino
Modified AH.7 Textures: TheObscure & Rhino
Model Extras: Rhino
Texture Extras: Rhino
Export & Coding: Rhino


Argentine Naval Aviation Lynx Mk.23
Design and Development
This was the Export version of the Lynx HAS.2 for the Argentine Naval Aviation (Spanish: Comando de la Aviacion Naval Argentina, COAN) with only a few minor differences & only two were built.

Operational History
The two COAN Lynx Mk.23s took part in the initial Argentine invasion and occupation of the Falkland Island in March 1982 as part of Task Force 40, with one lost in an accident on the ARA Santisma Trinidad (a Type 42 Destroyer) on the 2nd of May 1982.
They were grounded following the Falklands War due to British embargo on spares with the single surviving helicopter later being sold to Denmark.

In-Game
Again I don't want to give too much away here as to how you will see this ingame but you can probably guess somewhat from the information and pictures above. This will also not be included until the HAS.2 & the Frigate are released either.

The ingame model is a slightly modified HAS.2 with new diffuse textures, although it shares the same normal and spec textures as the HAS.2 to save memory.


Credits:
AH.7 Base Model/Textures: Wybl, foul_killer, Pride, TrahnLee & Rhino
Modified AH.7 Textures: TheObscure & Rhino
Model Extras: Rhino
Texture Extras: Rhino
Export & Coding: Rhino



Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates!

Simply beautiful. Awesome work, Rhino!

Great work as always Rhino!

Might have to come back to PR to fly these! Love the Lynx gutted I missed working on them.

Is there much difference in handling between the 7 and 9A?


Future plans for a Wildcat as 9A has been retried?

Are the Argentinians going to get a ship as well, or did you just put the missiles on the HAS.2 variant to show that they can fit those if the Argentinians do get a ship in the future?

Anyway, these are some very good looking models, always nice to have some new variants that add to the overall feel of the game. Looking forward to seeing those bad boys in-game.

Rock'n'roll

Cheers guys!

AnimalMother. wrote:Might have to come back to PR to fly these! Love the Lynx gutted I missed working on them.

Hey Animal, when did you join the FAA?

AnimalMother. wrote:Is there much difference in handling between the 7 and 9A?

Currently, there isn't any engine code difference between the two so both will handle the same. At some point might look at making them slightly different but even thou the AH9A has 37% more power, it also has a lot more kit strapped to it and historically operated in Afghanistan where the air is thinner so its end performance wouldn't have been much better once you factor those bits in and don't think it is worth making a "_woodland" version for temperate climate maps either.

AnimalMother. wrote:Future plans for a Wildcat as 9A has been retried?

Shhhh, don't tell anyone
Was annoying as hell that as when Camo convinced me I should make the AH.9A it looked like it would stay in service for a few years yet then just as I had basically finished it, the MOD in their predictable wisdom announced it would be retired in a few months... Still even thou it is somewhat unrealistic for modern maps it is still the proper Lynx for Afghan ones.

As for making the Wildcat, I would like to and have thought about it but even thou I do have the engines made from the AH.9A, the entire fusalarge and the rest of it would all really have to be made from scratch including a new cockpit/1p model and all that is quite a lot of work when I have still yet to finish the Frigate etc so no, don't see myself making it unfortunately

SShadowFox wrote:Are the Argentinians going to get a ship as well, or did you just put the missiles on the HAS.2 variant to show that they can fit those if the Argentinians do get a ship in the future?

They aren't just for show

great work Rhino, keep it up

Rhino wrote:Hey Animal, when did you join the FAA?

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but I haven’t, a hint in my signature. Army aviation.

Rhino wrote: Currently, there isn't any engine code difference between the two so both will handle the same. At some point might look at making them slightly different but even thou the AH9A has 37% more power, it also has a lot more kit strapped to it and historically operated in Afghanistan where the air is thinner so its end performance wouldn't have been much better once you factor those bits in and don't think it is worth making a "_woodland" version for temperate climate maps either.

Shame that maps don’t reflect altitude and temperatures, that would really make flying interesting in PR. As from speaking to pilots they raved about the difference in performance, especially in the UK or Europe. More so now on Wildcat. We’ve done 10,000ft asl hover.

Rhino wrote:
As for making the Wildcat, I would like to and have thought about it but even thou I do have the engines made from the AH.9A... ...

Felt like a bit of a snap decision to disband 657 and bring an end to 9A. They were already earmarked to switch to WC by around 20/21.

You can also keep the main rotor head and blades [emoji38]



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AnimalMother. wrote:Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but I haven’t, a hint in my signature. Army aviation.

Saw your location is now Yeovilton and put the two and two together since that is the home of the FAA, do the Army operate from there now too? Guess there is plenty of room for them to do so for the last 10 years

AnimalMother. wrote:Shame that maps don’t reflect altitude and temperatures, that would really make flying interesting in PR. As from speaking to pilots they raved about the difference in performance, especially in the UK or Europe. More so now on Wildcat. We’ve done 10,000ft asl hover.

Ye, would be a nice feature indeed. A shame the Army refuses to use the LMM on their Wildcat but I bet as soon as a war brakes out they will be strapping them on in next to no time.

AnimalMother. wrote:Felt like a bit of a snap decision to disband 657 and bring an end to 9A. They were already earmarked to switch to WC by around 20/21.

You can also keep the main rotor head and blades [emoji38]

Ye, most likely a cost-cutting exercise but one that did make a little sense (unlike most of them) since they could then take the engines from them and put them straight into the new WCs.

And didn't know the rotors where the same hehe

Rhino wrote:do the Army operate from there now too? Guess there is plenty of room for them to do so for the last 10 years

Yeah 1 Regt AAC moved to Yeovilton in 2014 from Gutersloh. Around the same time 9AAC disbanded I believe.

Rhino wrote:Ye, would be a nice feature indeed. A shame the Army refuses to use the LMM on their Wildcat but I bet as soon as a war brakes out they will be strapping them on in next to no time.

I asked the same question (albeit hellfire or it’s replacement) of the Colonel commanding the ARF. Quite simply had they done that the Apache E model purchase could have been lowered. We discussed the Kiowa/Apache teaming concept as that’s what we’ve started doing with WC (nothing new to Gz/Lynx teaming back in ‘91).

Rhino wrote:Ye, most likely a cost-cutting exercise but one that did make a little sense (unlike most of them) since they could then take the engines from them and put them straight into the new WCs.

It was cost saving for the Army/AAC. Lost the liability of the SF Sp Sqn (657). The RAF with Puma force taking up that mantle. Manpower could then be reallocated to other units that held significant gaps.

There’s a lot of commonality between them. The AFCS computer is the same as the Mk1!!


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Hi Rhino

Rhino wrote:One of the most notable changes are the main texture resolution which have been increased from 1024x1024 to 2048x2048 (four times the texture size/detail) while only slightly increasing the overall memory usage.

I worry, this change may affect those with video cards where supersampling is be enabled, there sheets are multiplied by a factore of x2 or more... requiring more vRAM.

Also, have you considered the possibility of pixelation / texture shimmering, if mip LOD isn't adjusted accordingly in BF2 editor? IF not this adjustment will need visual testing so to arrive at a mip LOD level that coinicides with existing 1024 sheets that make up majority of PR.

The lynx can be a one-off becuase the work has already been done but everything else, in development, present and future, I urge for the entire PR modding/dev community to agree upon and eventually set a standard (re: mip size) for future devs to abide, to prevent futrther 'deviation' and in turn maximising consistency across PR. Consider that potentially, time may be wasted in future with descendant devs updating older additions, from 2014, to align with the standard as set by this Lynx, 2048.

I just think the community would be shooting itself in the foot, adding more work where its unessesary... It's an old game and some texture improvments aren't going to stack up to modern AAA titles anyway. PR has a certain character. Attempting to 'improve textures is futile in a way.

Either way, if you really want to encourage 2048, which is what you are doing (or if 2048 already exists in PR 1.5 already, which I suspect, judging from all recent vRAM related crashes on maps like kashan v2), I urge changes be made to the quality tiers in video settings in main menu to reflect such additions, heres a jist of this proposal:

Ultra High setting - High level textures but with added 2048 textures (i.e. Ultra as an entirely new tier)
High - existing high standard i.e. no 2048 textures per 0.85 / BF2,
Medium - existing medium standard
Low - existing low standard (could dispose of all together so that there remains only 3 tiers to choose from, see below)

High v2 - high but with added 2048 textures
Medium v2 - existing High standard i.e. no 2048 textures per 0.85 / BF2,
Low v2 - reflect medium standard / settings

I've actually had this re-arrangment proposal in mind for a while now but never had / saw the opportunity to act, until I seen you mentioned 2048 mips on your here blog. Hopefully my concern makes sense.... I'd like your input.

What prompted me to think of re-arrangement initially, was the observation that High texture setting had been greyed out on 32-bit systems in an update (1.4?). Like I say, I suspect what led to this change was a combination of things: devs being too liberal with textures, the limitations of 32bit systems and the recent advent of supersampling, on by default on newer video cards (people were having excessive CTD due to lack of vRAM, that I am certain of). Either way, I'd like to see the setting option return. Perhaps include a notice next to the High option, instead of disabling the option outright. I would like to test High on 32 but can't currently (at least not under normal conditions, i.e. without force of /3gb switch).

Thanks and good work as always.

Also, 0.85, I still remember it

Hey WeeGeez.

2048 use to be the standard of all our vehicles in PR, the Lynx was in fact originally released with 2048 textures but around v0.9, maybe a bit later, we had gotten to the point where players were simply running out of memory to load all the textures and they would crash on map load as a result of it.

Many of our vehicles now do have this optimized; 2048 DXT1 diffuse texture with 1024 spec/normals in DXT5 setup, as per the new Lynx setup that we have been implementing into PR for a few years now so the Lynx isn't exactly a one off so to speak but the main thing required to make it happen for the Lynx was simply moving the opacity map off the main sheet and onto its own unique sheet, so the diffuse could be saved to DXT1 and upped without having double the memory usage from being saved in DXT5 with an alpha channel for the opacity map, which was most unused. This was the old opacity map / _c.dds texture:



Compared to the new one (most of it is the glass)



As for memory, as long as we are not going over the memory limit of the 32bit BF2 engine then we don't really have to worry about anything, especially with the modern GFX cards most players have and for those who don't, they can always run on lower settings. To put the memory increase into context the 3rd person (1p textures are only loaded when you enter the vehicle), Lynx AH7 textures (not including _woodland variations loaded at the same time, since either or would be loaded), including all the extras attachments (air filters, MGs stands etc) as of ~v1.3 where 3.50mb and with the increased 2048 rez for the diffuse, higher rez rotor blur textures they now come to 4.79mb, an increase of 1.29mb, 37% for textures that look four times the detail as the old ones, even if some of the lesser obvious textures (normal and spec) are still of the same rez they where before.
Since I don't have the v0.85 textures to hand I can only estimate based off the original uncompressed textures I have that the original compressed .dds textures as of v0.85 would have come to around 12.32mb for the same selection as above, with all diffuse, normal, spec and opacity being saved in 2048 and in DXT5, with the extra bits on top being saved at full rez in DXT5 too. Might have been a little less since the rotor blur texture might have been 256 rather than the estimated 512.

As for the MipMaps, they are automatically calculated by the BF2 engine, not set manually in the editor, only the LODs themselves are set in the editor, which btw I forgot to mention in the OP the Lynx has a brand new set of LODs and cols than it did before, as well as a new wreck model with new LODs/cols for that too

As for players having issues with pixelation/texture shimmering, I've only ever seen that on the BF2 engine when a texture is saved in high rez, and with NO-MipMaps and then the gfx card is forced to try and render multiple pixels into one pixel and it just doesn't work
Also worth noting that as per the OP, the Lynx has been like this since v1.4 and many other vehicles have had this texture setup for longer than that and not seen any reports of issues of the textures for players.

Unless by Mips you mean pixel detail per meter on the highest mip? We don't actually have a standard in PR for that tbh, although tbh in hindsight we really should have set one a long time ago but it is really too late to be worth it now. The general rule of thumb now is just every new vehicle made or any old ones being optimized, to make them in this general, optimized format but no exact pixel per meter detail, just as much as is sensible without going all "4k texture crazy" just because you can as then we will end up with players running out of memory on loading again.

As for having gfx settings for different texture rez sizes, I'm not sure if we can do that with the BF2 engine, not my department but my guess is that sort of thing is hardcoded into the engine.

WeeGeez wrote: What prompted me to think of re-arrangement initially, was the observation that High texture setting had been greyed out on 32-bit systems in an update (1.4?).

Effects, not textures, were forced to High, because like a couple of other settings that are locked down, having Effects on Medium/Low gave gameplay advantages. In turn the actual effects themselves were optimized.

Thanks Rhino for the explanation I'l get onto some points pointed out but first,

Outlawz7 wrote:Effects, not textures, were forced to High, because like a couple of other settings that are locked down, having Effects on Medium/Low gave gameplay advantages. In turn the actual effects themselves were optimized.

Nah. I can assure you on x86 systems, texture quality setting HIGH cannot be selected, and this has been like this since 1.4 I believe. I do not know who implimented this change or why but I was hopeing for it to be changed back for testing purposes.... I repeat, it has nothing to do with "forced effects " setting. It's the texture quality setting.

I suspect it was done due to avalanche of complaints regarding CTD on forum shortly after newer maps with bloated somethings were added. (though maybe they've now since optimised, the setting stayed unchanged).