2.5.6 Shkval enhancement mod

I did some tweaking after coming to the realization that the new shkval is totally useless at night.

The color MFD mod doesn't seem to be working anymore. The underlying image that comes into the shaders has been hopelessly darkened or gamma'd down such that it too is unusable.

This is a net resolution improvement in both day and night ops for the shkval.

Step 1 is to remove (back up) lensGhosts.hlsl from Bazar/shaders/PostEffects

(this eliminates the reflection on the shkval of the cockpit)

This mod gets applied to the main DCS installation. It affects two files.



The two files that are changed are in shaders. Back them up if you wish.(edited)

WARNINGS:

1 - This is for the KA-50 only. It will likely interfere with the MFD of any other aircraft.

2 - No idea if it passes IC (because I don't care).

3 - When you enter the aircraft it will be a static white display. Max out brightness and contrast, then start dialing the brightness down. You may have to wiggle this a little bit to get the right image.

4 - HIGHLY likely this will be mooted or broken by future updates. This is intended for "the time being."

If anyone finds a way to improve, or bring back the color MFD mod (owner is not maintaining anymore), please feel free to take this further.

Before:

After:

FargoShkval.zip

@fargo007, I just took a look, and the Schval color mod (that I updated a while back for 2.5) does work on this version of DCS. See attachment.

I might take your advice and remove the glare though! Seems a bit much even when in minimal sunlight.

mfd151.zip

Before I download, does it work with the JF-17 WMD Targeting Pod? I´d Love to have a colored TGP for the JF-17.

@fargo007, I just took a look, and the Schval color mod (that I updated a while back for 2.5) does work on this version of DCS. See attachment.

I might take your advice and remove the glare though! Seems a bit much even when in minimal sunlight.

As I said in the OP:

The underlying image that comes into the shaders has been hopelessly darkened or gamma'd down such that it too is unusable.

We had been using this with great success prior to the ka-50 cockpit update.

In the new 2.5.6 cockpit, the ka-50 shkval is so dark that it's completely unusable at night. With, or without the color mod.

Try it. Apply the color mod and fly the ka-50 at night.

I'd LOVE to be wrong here because many of us preferred the color mod.

Ah, night was the keyword that I missed. I fired it up in the middle of the day, and although it was quite washed out, it was colorized. I'll give it a go during dark hours and see if there's anything we can do about it.

Thank you so much man.

Willing to pitch in if you find a way to tune the image before the shader gets it.

The issue as I find it is unique to the ka-50. None of the other MFD's in other AC were affected.

The color mod was so key to our squadron it was almost de-rigueur. We would love to see it return.

I mean like a parade and stuff.

Check this out (see attached). Still a bit lacking in brightness during the day though. I got tired of messing with the numbers. Feel free to tweak it for a good balance of day/night!

Still can't lock on at night without the auto/manual switch working correctly...

NOTE: This modification could affect other aspects of the game. This file was created for a specific request, not for realism.

mfd151.zip

Does this remove the baked reflection in cockpit window?

It does not. I could not completely get it to go away by removing the file mentioned above. My change is for MFD gamma/saturation/brightness changes to allow the Ka-50 to see (not necessarily target in the current state) in color and at night to a good degree for target acquisition.

This is a big improvement!

Now that I see how these values can be manipulated, I understand how this works a whole lot better.

You can still launch Vikhr missiles, but you have to guide them to the target manually by slewing the targeting gate very precisely.

Thank you @Chump for your quick attention and excellent quality response.

In the new 2.5.6 cockpit, the ka-50 shkval is so dark that it's completely unusable at night.

That's the limitation of the real life TV camera - there's no FLIR in our version of the Ka-50.

As a side note, it would have been a great opportunity for ED to make Blackshark 3 model the Ka-50N "Night Shark" or Ka-50Sh (even though "Neither of the Ka-50 night-attack versions has entered full production").

As said, the KA-50 is a limited day period of operations.

What ED has not yet implemented is the Shkval filters (below the contrast knobs) and not updated even manual to tell what each filter mode does.

There should be some filters for a sunset, sunrise etc situations.

... I mean like a parade and stuff.

Let me know if you need any LUA or ME help in the future!

We will get the parade together, thanks again @Chump!

Even the Merkury system that is in the Su-25 would be a vast improvement, and was apparently intended for the N, so I think there's a basis of authenticity there. The dragon we are chasing here (with the changes in these mods) is a point somewhere between the functional light filters, and Merkury LLTV. Both are good points to bring up.

If these are added/improved in the upcoming paid version, I'll cheerfully reassess.

Those who wish to fly the Ka-50 in daytime only and insist on version-authenticity are of course free to continue doing so.

Do you know if this is still working with latest updates. Wholud like to give it a try.