SF2V Expansion Pack - End Game, 1974-1975

SF2V Air & Ground Expansion Pack v. 2.1

** End Game, 1974-1975 **

 

This is an add-on package for the "Strike Fighters 2: Vietnam Air & Ground Expansion Pack v. 2.1" available at CombatAce. This add-on includes three new campaigns, all based on the events of late-1974 and early 1975, when North Vietnam launched its final campaign to conquer South Vietnam and re-unify the country. Also included are a number of new aircraft and other items to fill out these new campaigns.

 

This add-on package is designed to be applied over the top of an existing installation of version 2.1 of the Expansion Pack with the latest update package applied as well as the VPAF Add-on Pack. You can download the four main Expansion Pack files here:

 

Part 1:

http://combatace.com/files/file/10189-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-gold-part-1/

 

Part 2:

http://combatace.com/files/file/10190-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-gold-part-2/

 

Part 3:

http://combatace.com/files/file/10192-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-gold-part-3/

 

Part 4:

http://combatace.com/files/file/10193-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-gold-part-4/

 

The VPAF Add-on for the SF2V Expansion Pack was released in Feb. 2011 as a separate download:

 

http://combatace.com/files/file/11794-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-vpaf-add-on/

 

The latest update package for the Expansion Pack can be found here:

 

Sept. 2013 Update:

http://combatace.com/files/file/10466-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-sep-2013-update/

 

Please take a look over the remainder of this ReadMe before installing this add-on.

 

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Requirements

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The minimum requirements for this add-on package are the same as for the latest cumulative update for the Sf2V Expansion Pack.

 

** Minimum Requirements: SF2V + SF2 + SF2E

 

In addition to SF2V you must also have "Strike Fighters 2" (SF2, with the Desert terrain) as well as "Strike Fighters 2: Europe" (SF2E) as part of your base install of Strike Fighters 2. SF2 and SF2E are required in order to provide several aircraft that are not included in SF2V.

 

** Support for SF2NA

 

This update adds support for installations that include SF2NA, but SF2NA is not required.

 

** Patch Levels

 

This update supports several different patch levels:

 

1. Jun2009b: the last patch level before Dec2009, which introduced support for DX10. The first phase of the install process for this update provides all the files necessary for the Jun2009b patch level. Those on later patch levels will need to proceed with the additional install steps in order to pick up the updated files for later patch levels.

 

2. post-Mar2012: any patch level from Mar2012 through the most recent patches in 2013 is also supported. Files unique to these patch levels are installed in later steps during the install process described below.

 

** VPAF Add-on

 

The VPAF Add-on for the SF2V Expansion Pack was released in Feb. 2011 as a separate download:

 

http://combatace.com/files/file/11794-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-vpaf-add-on/

 

This Add-on is now required in order to install this update package. The update process has been built on the assumption that the VPAF Add-on package is installed (with its alternate campaigns and several aircraft updates). If you have not already downloaded and installed the VPAF Add-on package, please do so before trying to install this update.

 

** Latest Cumulative Update for the SF2V Expansion Pack

 

You should have the latest cumulative update for the Expansion Pack installed before applying this add-on package. Currently the latest update is the Sept. 2013 Update:

 

http://combatace.com/files/file/10466-sf2v-air-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-sep-2013-update/

 

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Installation

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The installation process has three phases: one for the main add-on files; a second for users with the Mar2012 or later patch levels of SF2V; a third for users with SF2NA merged into their SF2V installs.

 

Here's how to apply this update package:

 

1. Ensure that SF2V, SF2, and SF2E are all properly installed & updated as part of a

merged install.

 

2. Ensure that the Expansion Pack v. 2.1 (Mar. 2010) is installed to your SF2V Mod Folder,

that the VPAF Add-on in installed, and that the latest update package for the Expansion

Pack is applied. (See above for links to all components mentioned here.)

 

3. Unpack SF2V_AG-XP_v2_74-75.7z to a safe place on your drive.

 

4. Open the \1_All_Patch_Levels folder. Drag and drop all the files and folders from within

the \To_Mod_Folder sub-folder to your SF2V Mod Folder, overwriting as prompted.

 

5. If you are running SF2V at the Mar2012 or later patch level, open the \2_Mar2012_Patch

folder. Drag and drop all the files and folders from within the \To_Mod_Folder sub-folder

to your SF2V Mod Folder, overwriting as prompted.

 

6. If your SF2V installation includes SF2NA, open the \3_SF2NA folder. Drag and drop all the

files and folders from within the \To_Mod_Folder sub-folder to your SF2V Mod Folder,

overwriting as prompted.

 

At this point the main add-on is installed and you're ready to play the new campaigns. If you would like to install the optional A-37A/B Dragonfly or DLC F-4N aircraft, please read the next sections.

 

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Installing the A-37A/B Dragonfly

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One important aircraft in the inventory of the VNAF (South Vietnamese Air Force) was the A-37B Dragonfly, which first went through a combat evaluation program ("Combat Dragon") conducted by the USAF in the late '60's. A number of "Super Tweets" found their way into the inventory of the VPAF (Vietnamese People's Air Force) after the collapse of South Vietnam in April 1975 and were used by the newly unified Vietnam when it intervened in Cambodia against the Khmer Rouge.

 

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to distribute the LODs (3D model files) for the A-37A and A-37B. Thus, by default, the South Vietnam campaigns substitute the B-57B Canberra in the ground-attack role for the VNAF. (The VNAF actually did briefly fly the Canberra in 1965-66, but eventually abandoned the aircraft after numerous problems cropped up in the training program for VNAF pilots.)

 

In the \Optional directory, however, you will find all the files you need (minus the LODs) to add the A-37s to the game. In order to use the A-37s, though, you must first procure the LODs from the A-Team Skunkworks site (in the "3rd Party Mods" section):

 

http://cplengineeringllc.com/SFP1/3rd_Party.html

 

Download the A-37A and A-37B packages, unzip the files, and copy the .LOD files from each aircraft to the corresponding aircraft folders in the \Optional\A-37s directory. Don't forget to copy the cockpit LODs to the \Cockpit folder in each aircraft.

 

Once you've added the LOD files to the aircraft folders, you may install the aircraft to \Objects\Aircraft directory in your Mod Folder.

 

The South Vietnam campaigns are set up so that they will automatically use the A-37Bs in lieu of the B-57Bs.

 

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Installing the DLC F-4N Phantom II

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Also included as an optional aircraft is the ThirdWire DLC F-4N Phantom II. If the DLC F-4N is included in your base install, you may install the supporting files from \Optional\DLC\F-4N. To install it in lieu of the F-4N that is installed by default (and which is a mod of the F-4B_67):

 

1. Remove the existing F-4N from the \Objects\Aircraft directory in your Mods folder.

(Leave the decals for the F-4N in \Objects\Decals.)

 

2. Move the F-4N folder from \Optional\DLC to \Objects\Aircraft in your Mods folder.

 

Once installed, the DLC F-4N will be automatically used by the game.

 

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Summary of New Campaigns

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This add-on supplies three new campaigns set in 1974-75 for the Expansion Pack. Two of these campaigns are based on counterfactual history -- namely, an imagined alternate history in which President Richard Nixon somehow survives the Watergate scandal and intervenes once again in Southeast Asia as South Vietnam buckles in the face of North Vietnam's "Ho Chi Minh Campaign." The third campaign is an updated version of MiGBuster's "The Last Stand '75" campaign, based on the actual historical circumstances of South Vietnam's collapse and eventual defeat.

 

The three new campaigns are as follows:

 

- Linebacker '75: a counterfactual historical campaign -- Nixon survives Watergate and goes on the war path when the Democratic Republic of Vietnam appears to have Republic of Vietnam on the ropes in early 1975. (Note: This campaign should not be confused with the "Linebacker III" campaign released for WOV by Malibu43 and set in the '80's.)

 

- The Last Stand '75: an update of MiGBuster's historical 1974-75 VNAF campaign for SF2V.

 

- Ho Chi Minh Campaign: essentially an alternate version of "The Last Stand," but with the counterfactual historical background of Linebacker '75, allowing the player to fly U.S. aircraft in support of South Vietnam from bases in Thailand, Yankee Station, and Dixie Station.

 

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A Note on the New SouthVietnam75 Terrain

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This add-on installs an alternate version of SouthVietnam terrain (SouthVietnam75). This alternate terrain incorporates many (but not all) of the additions made by MiGBuster to the southernmost regions of North Vietnam (Route Packs I and II) as well as South Vietnam.

 

Although this alternate terrain should be compatible with earlier campaigns set in 1965-1972, we have nonetheless elected to offer this modified South Vietnam terrain as a separate terrain instead of just folding in the changes and updates to the existing South Vietnam terrain.

 

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Historical Notes

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Although all three campaigns are rooted to some extent in actual historical events, we necessarily worked from incomplete, limited historical data. In particular, the two "counterfactual" or "fictional" campaigns required us to speculate on how a U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia during 1974-1975 might have unfolded. Moreover, we have taken some liberties in constructing these campaigns in order to enhance game play.

 

- U.S. units/squadrons are based on data we were able to scrounge on the internet from various sources. We looked at WestPac carrier deployments for '74-75 and what squadrons were on those cruises with what aircraft. USMC squadrons are all either West Coast squadrons or squadrons that were visiting or based in the Pacific (Australia, Japan, the Phillipines) during that time period. USAF squadrons are pretty close to those in Linebacker II, with some exceptions based (again) on data we were able to find about those units.

 

- The VNAF is much more active and aggressive in the South Vietnam campaigns than it was historically. Although nominally the 4th largest air force in the world (following the transfer of large numbers of aircraft from the U.S. in the "Operation Enhance" and "Enhance Plus" programs of 1972-1973), the VNAF lacked the training and equipment to employ this large inventory of aircraft effectively against invading PAVN (North Vietnamese) forces.

 

- VPAF aircraft do appear in both South Vietnam campaigns. This is not historically correct. The VPAF played almost no role in the '75 Ho Chi Minh campaign, and the few air-to-ground sorties conducted against targets in the South were actually flown by VNAF defectors in F-5s and A-37s. We have included the VPAF, flying from airfields in Route Packs I and II, as this makes the campaigns more interesting, esp. with the addition of Il-28s (which the VPAF received from the Soviet Union in late 1965).

 

We have included MiGBuster's documentation for his original "The Last Stand '75" campaign in the \OriginalDocs folder. These files contain more information about the original VNAF campaign was created.

 

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What's Included

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This add-on includes the following new fixes & updates for the Expansion Pack:

 

NEW AIRCRAFT

- A-37A/B Dragonfly (optional, see note above)

- A-4F_74 Skyhawk

- A-4M_73 Skyhawk

- A-6E Intruder

- A-7D_75 Corsair II

- A-7E_74 Corsair II

- F-4D_75 Phantom II

- F-4E_75 Phantom II

- F-4J_74 Phantom II

- F-4N Phantom II

- F-14A Tomcat

- F-111D Aardvark

 

MISC UPDATES & ADDITIONS

- added three new campaigns set in 1974-1975 (see summary above)

- added medals pack for North & South Vietnam

- added new skins for the USAF F-4D_75 & and F-4E_75

- added drop tanks for new aircraft

- added alternate version of SouthVietnam terrain (SouthVietnam75)

that includes new target areas for the 1974-75 time period (see

note above)

- added SA-6 launcher and radar

- added VNAF pilots for A-37B Dragonfly

- added several new engine sounds

 

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Credits

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This update contains a number of new items from the following modders who generously allowed their use:

 

MiGBuster .......................... original Last Stand '75 campaign

dtmdragon .......................... A-4M_73 Skyhawk

HomeFries .......................... A-6 Superpack for SF2

Column5, USAFTML, & Storm .......... F-4N Phantom II

Mirage Factory ..................... F-14A Tomcat

FastCargo & team ................... F-111D Aardvark

Sundowner .......................... new skins for F-4D_75 & F-4E_75

Sundowner .......................... F-4N VF-111 skin

Column5 ............................ F-4N VF-151 skin

ChampionsVA56 ...................... A-37A/B Dragonfly skins

MiGBuster .......................... SouthVietnam75 target additions

 

If we have neglected to credit anyone here, please let us know. We will get it fixed ASAP.

 

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Legal Stuff

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We have signed onto the freeware "list" on combatace.com. As such, the original work here can be included or used in other mods as along as they aren't payware and credit is given to the creator(s).

 

Thanks,

 

 

Malibu43 & eburger68

 

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malibu43 & eburger68

18 Mar. 2014