About This File
SF2NA Ultimate Carriers Pack
This package collects a large number of aircraft carriers available at CombatAce, puts them into one package with semi-standardized data tweaks, numerous error corrections, complete SF2NA conversions, and touched up or overhauled skins. Also included are several new carriers based on existing models. This package is thus designed as an ultimate one-stop shop for all carriers available at CombatAce, exclcuding USN and Soviet carriers.
Please note that there are no new models in this package. All models included here have been released before on CombatAce. Indeed, most (but not all) of carriers included here have been released previously with rudimentary SF2NA conversions applied.
So, why re-release these carriers in this package? This package brings several new things to the table, including:
- corrected DATA.INIs (basic ship data, catapult data, angled deck configuation, etc.)
- several tweaked or significantly overhauled skins
- indexed decal sets to represent various carrier classes
- several newly created individual ships (usually to represent particular carriers
at specific stages of their service lives)
The majority of the ships here are Royal Navy carriers, though you will also find carriers from Canada, Australia, India, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France.
Please read the remainder of this ReadMe carefully, as important instructions regarding installation and use are included below.
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What's Included
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This package includes 34 different carriers, which are organized by carrier class or by nation (in the case of France, Italy, & Spain). Some of these carriers are set up to represent entire classes or partial classes, with decals indexed by ship number.
Please note that you may find several different versions of the same carrier, each configured to represent the same ship at a different stage of its service life.
There are also several fictional or "faux" carriers.
Colossus Class
--------------
\
R95 Arromanches
\
Colossus Class CVL [Colossus,Glory,Ocean,Venerable,Vengeance, & 5 others]
\
HNLMS Karel Doorman
Majestic Class
--------------
\
HMCS Bonaventure
\
HMCS Magnificent
\
HMAS Melbourne
\
HMAS Sydney
\
INS Vikrant
Centaur Class
-------------
\
HMS Albion
\
HMS Bulwark
\
Centaur Class CV [Centaur & Hermes]
\
HMS Centaur (Early)
\
HMS Hermes ('80s)
\
INS Viraat
Invincible Class
----------------
\
Invincible Class CVL [invincible,Illustrious,Ark Royal)]
Illustrious Class
-----------------
\
Illustrious Class CV (Early) [illustrious,Formidable,Victorious]
\
Illustrious Class CV [illustrious,Formidable,Victorious]
\
HMS Victorious (Post-refit)
Implacable Class
----------------
\
Implacable Class CV (Early) [implacable,Indefatigable]
\
Implacable Class CV [implacable,Indefatigable]
Audacious Class
---------------
\
HMS Ark Royal
\
HMS Eagle
\
HMS Eagle (Late)
Misc/Other
----------
\
HMS Eagle (1918)
\
HMAS Australia (fictional) [using SCB-125 model]
\
Merchant Aircraft Carrier
\
INS Vikramaditya
\
HMS Vindictive (fictional)
France
------
\
R91 Charles de Gaulle
\
Clemenceau/Foch Class CV [using SCB-125 model]
\
La Fayette Class CVL [La Fayette, Bois Belleau]
\
Mistral Class BPC [Mistral,Tonnerre,Dixmude]
Italy/Spain
-----------
\
R01 SNS Dedalo
\
C551 Giuseppe Garibaldi
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Installation Requirements
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All of the carriers included in this package are configured for use with "Strike Fighters 2: North Atlantic" (SF2NA). Thus, for any particular install you plan to use one of these carriers in...
- SF2NA must be part of the install base (even if other SF2 titles
such as SF2V or SF2E are also merged into the install)
- the game .EXE you use must be either the main SF2NA executable
(StrikeFighters2 NorthAtlantic.EXE) or a re-named copy of it in
the case of custom mod installs.
If you try to use these carriers in an install that does not conform to the above requirements, you will likely find your aircraft sinking into or falling through the carrier deck.
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Installation
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All of the files to be installed can be found in \To_Mods_Folder. The task of installing the various bits included here is fairly straightforward. For any particular install that you want to install carriers to, do the following:
1. Install the supporting files
Supporting files include all the files found in the following folders, which should be copied or moved to the corresponding folders in your Mods folder:
\Effects
\Flight
\Objects\Guns
\Objects\Weapons
\Sounds
Please note that the \Flight folder does include a new SOUNDLIST.INI. If your destination Mods folder already has a customized SOUNDLIST.INI, you can simply add the new entries from For_SOUNDLIST.txt (found in the root of this package) instead of overwriting your entire custom SOUNDLIST.INI.
2. Add the carriers
The carriers themselves can be found in the numbered directories (which are organized by class or nation). The carriers should be installed to \Objects\GroundObject in your Mods folder.
DO NOT simply grab all the numbered directories and drop them in the GroundObject folder, as they won't show up in game. Instead, you will need to drag and drop the particular carrier folders from within the numbered directories.
3. Add the decals
For any carriers that you install you should also install the corresponding decals, found in \Objects\Decals. Decals go to the same location in your Mods folder (\Objects\Decals). The decals folders for carriers are named the same as the corresponding carrier that uses them. Please note that there are a few carriers that do not have decals.
4. Install the LODs for Hermes & Viraat
We were not able to include the LOD files needed for the HMS Hermes ('80s) and the INS Viraat (which uses the same model as the Hermes). You will need to download the "Falklands '82 for SF2" package from CombatAce, which includes the necessary LODs:
http://combatace.com/files/file/13296-sf2-falklands-mod-redux/
When the download is unpacked, you can find the ncessary LOD files in this location:
\_For_SF2NA\Objects\GroundObject\Hermes
Copy the .LOD files to the folders for the the Hermes and Viraat, which are included in the \1c_Centaur_Class directory of this carrier pack.
Once the LODs are installed, make a COPY of the R12-R2b.LOD in each folder and rename it to R12-R2b_COL.LOD (this is the collision LOD for the ship).
* * *
That's it. You should be good to go.
If any carriers are not showing up properly in the game, that's because you didn't install them correctly. My advice will always be to review the steps above, consult the Knowlede Base at CombatAce.com for the relevant articles on installing mods to Mod folders, and try again.
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Notes
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A few notes about the carriers included in this pack.
1. Decal problems: many of the models included in this pack suffer from decal problems -- decal bleeding, mirroring, doubling, and occasional distortion. Although I have tried to minimize these problems as much as possible, you might see decals being inappropriately mirrored, often in a distorted fashion, in odd locations on some of these boats. Also, to minimize problems, I have occasionally positioned decals slightly forward or aft (or above or below) where they ideally ought to be.
2. Texture mapping problems: some of these models also suffer from texture mapping issues, which means that sometimes things just quite don't line up properly or aren't perfectly mirrored from one side of the boat to the other (because the texture map is effectively wrapped around the model in an odd fashion).
3. BPC Mistral: included in this package is an alternate skin for the BPC Mistral named FNGrey. I would have liked to make it the default, but discovered that the bridge area of this carrier is simply not mapped -- meaning that part of the island will always remain the default light blue. Also, decals will not show up properly on large parts of the hull, which means that I haven't been able to use them for the hull numbers of the three ships in this class. Thus, we're stuck the painted-on hull numbers for the lead ship of the class.
4. R91 de Gaulle: the model for this carrier is very poly heavy (I'm guessing because of the static aircraft and deck crew included). On some PCs game performance and frame rates might lag severely. As with the Mistral (from the same author), some parts of the model simply aren't mapped, which has limited what I've been able to do with the skin.
Finally, it's worth pointing out that many of the models included in this package date from 2004-2006. The oldest are seven or eight years old -- created during the first few years of the ThirdWire series. Although they still stand up fairly well, they are showing their age. Carriers (and ships more generally) seem to be some of their more difficult jobs that modelers can tackle in the ThirdWire series (along with cockpits), so we should be thankful that we have the models we do.
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Credits
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This mod package includes the work of several modders:
Hinchinbrooke .............. original models for all Royal Navy carrier classes,
except where noted below; La Fayette (old)
AlphaSim & A-Team .......... Hermes & Viraat
Aleks1 ..................... BPC Mistral & Charles de Gaulle
YEYEYE ..................... La Fayette & Dedalo
bobrock .................... Giuseppe Garibaldi
ThirdWire .................. HMAS Australia & Foch/Clemenceau
Zola25 ..................... skin for INS Vikramaditya
Wrench ..................... previous mods to many carriers included here
Paulopanz .................. previous mods to many carriers included here
The line drawings included in \_drawings are from ShipBucket.com or The-Blueprints.com.
If we have neglected to credit anyone here, please let me know. I will get it fixed ASAP.
---------------
Eric Howes
eburger68
12/19/2012