[F4RADAR] Lightweight standalone radar application
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Dear Tumbler,
you couldn’t start your membership in this Forum better… your utility just looks interesting and promising too.
In this while, my best compliments and regards.
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would be nice to get a version with a map and nav data waypoints, for radar approach control (human ATC potential)
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Thanks pilot, excellent tool good job. waiting for more. Go Go Go.
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What would be really cool is if this could be introduced by way of actually having to be in a AWACS flight in order to use it.
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Sounds good! …
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Thanks for all the enthusiastic reactions! Yes, I hope this software can be used both for GCI applications as well as ATO.
I also got some feedback from people using it, giving me valuable inputs to improve usability and add features. One of the things that will be added for sure is the toggleable background map, also mentioned above by Blu3wolf.
So please keep that feedback coming! I can’t promise I can fix everything right away or can implement everything, but I take notice of all your points.
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Thank you for doing this, amazing
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version 0.2 is out:
- Added the option the load and toggle a background map. Any size will do as it will be stretched to the 1024x1024km grid but I kindly suggest the 9.5MB high res version found here
- Added the option to toggle the Bullseye being shown
- Increased detection range
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Hi! What is on your todo/roadmap for this project?
(Please say something with bullseye on the radar.)
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I’ve created a lightweight standalone radar application for BMS from scratch : F4RADAR. Currently it shows all contacts within 200NM radius above 5000ft MSL. It shows individual planes and therefore should also be suitable for ATO. With the right mouse button you can also draw BRAA-lines. The only requirements are that your BMS session is in 3D and your own plane is parked on the ramp. Do give it a try a let me know if you have suggestions or encounter bugs.
It should run straight from the box but formally installation of F4RADAR requires
- DirectX (which you need for BMS anyway)
- 64bit Windows10 (feedback from Window7users is welcome)
- although present on many system Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019 (click link) can be required. Some reported all 3 versions, x86, x64 and arm were needed to fix the issue of “vcruntime140_1.dll is missing”.
Version history and changes:
-
version 0.1 initial release (18.06.2020 )
-
version 0.2 changes (25.06.2020 )
- Added the option the load and toggle a background map. Any size will do as it will be stretched to the 1024x1024km grid but I kindly suggest the 9.5MB high res version found here
- Added the option to toggle the Bullseye being shown
- Increased detection range
You can get it here on my google Drive folder.
Amazing tool, any chance we can get RWR info. some how, example if it’s a unknown F-16 it shows up as 16, similarly if it’s a J-7 it shows up as a 7 rather than 21 (I know a separate ask but wondering)
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Tumbler,
Feature request: manual selection and visual management of identity/identified friendly and foe contacts.
manual assignment and visual management of hostile groups to be engaged by ordered/tied friendly groups.
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Any chance of having the application run on a second pc over a network?
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Thanks again for the suggestions and feedback here and via other channels. I hope to implement quite a few of those features. Creation of groups and visual management is on my wish list as well, but i have to admit that a networked application will require quite some effort, so don’t hold your breath.
Anyway, some features have been added, mainly to declutter the screen when plotting a BRAA line. So I’ve created version 0.3:
- Speedbased magnitude of heading vectors
- Decluttered info when drawing a BRAA-line and changed color for clarity
- Toggle added in view menu for display of the labels
The download link is in the startpost and please keep your suggestions and feedback coming!
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Amazing tool, any chance we can get RWR info. some how, example if it’s a unknown F-16 it shows up as 16, similarly if it’s a J-7 it shows up as a 7 rather than 21 (I know a separate ask but wondering)
any one else may want to chime in, i am really going through the sim folder and radar.dat files but can’t make a link of where the rwr symbology is being driven from. It seems like there is an index but no actuall mapping, like how does a mig-21 shows up as 21?
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Just released v0.4 which should include nearly all features you would expect from the GUI. Version 0.4 has these changes (04.07.2020):
- History trail for contacts
- Keyboard keys to toggle map, history, labels and bullseye
- Options for all colors, bullseye rings, vector length, history length, size of contacts, and transparency of the map
- Added the option to save preferences in .ini file, will be placed in same folder as .exe
Next I’ll try to add more features to the tool itself. Adding aircraft type can be one of them but I’d like to do so with some sort of fog of war implemented.
I also got the feedback that some bogey disappear for a few sweeps and than pop up again. I can’t really see how that should happen, but if you experience it, do let me know and info on the situation (altitude, speed, distance, etc) would greatly help.
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Version v0.5 is out, thanks Eagle-Eye for the help and also other for providing me with feedback. This version now also sees contacts outside the 3D bubble but has it limitations. Enjoy it while you can!
Version 0.5 changes (12.07.2020)
- Added flights “outside the bubble”, for now both friendly and hostile show up as “bogey”
- Fixed crash when you tried to use the program whilst flying
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I’ve created a lightweight standalone radar application for BMS from scratch : F4RADAR. Currently it shows all contacts within 200NM radius above 5000ft MSL. It shows individual planes and therefore should also be suitable for ATC, and the flights outside “the bubble”. With the right mouse button you can also draw BRAA-lines and it has the option to show a background map. It doesn’t require additional software for other players or server modifications. The only requirements are that your BMS session is in 3D and your own plane is parked on the ramp. Do give it a try a let me know if you have suggestions or encounter bugs.
It should run straight from the box but formally installation of F4RADAR requires
- DirectX (which you need for BMS anyway)
- 64bit Windows10 (feedback from Window7users is welcome)
- although already present on many system Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019 (click link) is required. Normally only the 64x version is needed, but some reported all 3 versions, x86, x64 and arm were needed to fix the issue of “vcruntime140_1.dll is missing”.
Version history and changes:
-
version 0.1 initial release (18.06.2020 )
-
version 0.2 changes (25.06.2020 )
- Added the option the load and toggle a background map. Any size will do as it will be stretched to the 1024x1024km grid but I kindly suggest the 9.5MB high res version found here
- Added the option to toggle the Bullseye being shown
- Increased detection range
-
version 0.3 changes (26.06.2020)
- Speedbased magnitude of heading vectors
- Decluttered info when drawing a BRAA-line and changed color for clarity
- Toggle added in view menu for display of the labels
-
version 0.4 changes (04.07.2020)
- History trail for contacts
- Keyboard keys to toggle map, history, labels and bullseye
- Options for all colors, bullseye rings, vector length, history length, size of contacts, and transparency of the map
- Added the option to save preferences in .ini file, will be placed in same folder as .exe
-
version 0.5 changes (12.07.2020)
- Added flights “outside the bubble”, for now both friendly and hostile show up as “bogey”
- Fixed crash when you tried to use the program whilst flying
You can get it here on my google Drive folder.
Does it butt-hurt more, if you use “god-mode” apps on public servers, and still get your arse whooped?
As “home-boy cockpit-builder” fancy those apps might be… (and fun to code them), do they not defeat the purpose of “what the battlefield is supposed to be” - native , for all sides - including the “hidden” and “pop-up” surprises of a battlefield (air or ground)?
If i fail to get my point accross… imagine playing COD and the other team has a 3rd party app on 2nd screen “seeing everyone, everywhere, all the time” … - well in this case exception under 5000 feet lol.
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@A.S:
Does it butt-hurt more, if you use “god-mode” apps on public servers, and still get your arse whooped?
As “home-boy cockpit-builder” fancy those apps might be… (and fun to code them), do they not defeat the purpose of “what the battlefield is supposed to be” - native , for all sides?
If i fail to get my point accross… imagine playing COD and the other team has a 3rd party app on 2nd screen “seeing everyone, everywhere, all the time” … - well in this case exception under 5000 feet lol.
Seems like this app has hit a nerve.
I assumed this app was to ‘simulate’ being an ATC. " … requirements are that … your own plane is parked on the ramp"
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@A.S:
Does it butt-hurt more, if you use “god-mode” apps on public servers, and still get your arse whooped?
As “home-boy cockpit-builder” fancy those apps might be… (and fun to code them), do they not defeat the purpose of “what the battlefield is supposed to be” - native , for all sides?
If i fail to get my point accross… imagine playing COD and the other team has a 3rd party app on 2nd screen “seeing everyone, everywhere, all the time” … - well in this case exception under 5000 feet lol.
I think you don’t get the point what the app is intended to be used for.
1. you can’t use it as gods-eye as a single pilot (assuming you are not running a second pc with BMS with another callsign)
2. the intend is to bring Human GCI to the scenario
3. If there is an AI AWACS up it still sees and even below 5000 feetI know FO decided not to allow any kind of GCI but we used in at least on one side in the latest FL Tvt and it brought a lot of immersion to the missions. And working with a human GCI is way harder to work with than just hitting “Q2” and getting an immediate perfect answer.
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Understand.
We had similar AWACS apps in the past. Some extracted what was native to the game and avaibleable from the battlefield data - just displayed it better (instead ingame 2D UI) - (i.e units, which got spotted by ground, or air, were then available in 2D).
The “nerve” point - as Pegasus82 points - is when “memory read-outs” are included, because that allows to “read, see, know” more as intented .
Btw… it is a fine line between memory read, or “manipulate” (coders will know).
This app does not work on FO servers.
Note: IF a program “by-passes” the intel-restrictions from the ingame-intel network and gets more “intel” … by defintion this is a “cheat”.