Buying FE2

[vegaslas]

Hi!

Maybe that's a dumb question, but is it safe to buy FE2 here: https://store.thirdwire.com/store_w7_all.htm#ShowMore ? I guess that's the official store, but just checking if anyone has a recent experience with it. Or should I look somewhere else, where there's a chance of getting a better price?

[VonS]

As far as I know that's the only official place/store where FE2 can still be bought - price has remained the same there for many years already, by the way. Good thing is that it is a "one hit" purchase, and all the mods are of course free.

Good flying to you,

[vegaslas]

Thank you!

I made the purchase, no issues.

[vegaslas]

I'll be sharing my impressions as an FE2 newbie in this thread. I'm currently on stock/vanilla/unmodded FE2. I'll be comparing to RoF and Il-2 FC, but I must note that I haven't spent many hours there either.

1. I spent some time configuring yaw input from rudder pedals, because at first they didn't want to work, no matter what I changed in the relevant ini file. Finally, after unplugging and plugging them again to the USB port they started working. The issue was that first time they were improperly detected by FE2 - I saw two identical entries device names in the mentioned ini file. Properly recognised by FE2 they show up as two differently named devices (yaw and brakes axes). Interestingly though, they worked properly in RoF even when they were improperly recognised by FE2. So I guess it's rather FE2, not Windows issue.

2. Maybe that's only some kind of setting or my system issue, but after switching away from the game windows with Alt-Tab it's impossible to go back to it. I need to force-quit it. WIndows 11.

3. Aircraft seem to be more pleasant (easier) to fly than in RoF (FC is in between, but still much closer to RoF than FE2). I think it means less realistic FM compared to RoF/FC. Lack of engine management (except throttle and blip switch) also makes FE2 FM less realistic, but more enjoyable when you just want to have fun and not fight with the aircraft you're flying. I also haven't noticed any gyroscopic effect of rotary engines yet in FE2.

4. DM - I saw some parts flying off of the opponent's aircraft, which is nice. Graphics are not modern in FE2, so it's hard to judge just how good the DM is, especially if you hit your enemy from a distance. I also don't think that pilots could actually hear anything other than engine, machine guns and wind, so it seems that sounds of your bullets hitting the enemy aircraft are unrealistic.

5. Missions are quick, dynamic, filled with action and opponents. Nice! RoF seems to be a bit empty and slow-paced. AI seems to be better in FE2 at a first glance, but I need to go back to RoF/FC and play a bit more, verifying what difficulty settings I use.

6. So far I've had fun with it and my impressions are positive, which may not be obvious from the points above . I'm looking forward to playing campaigns, using community mods, taking pretty screenshots, etc.

[VonS]

@Vegaslas,

Regarding your No. 3 --- stock FMs in the ThirdWire sims have often been compared to an "arcade lite" feeling. In stock form they are less realistic than what is present in RoF, and perhaps similar in realism to stock WoFF FMs. Once you gain experience with modding of FE2, recommended is to check over many of the excellent add-on terrains, aircraft, and other features, including the "FM & Realism Package" (Ver. 11.5).

Cross-linking some posts here for those who are only now discovering FE2:

FM Realism Thoughts when FE2 is Fully Modded

Helpful Tips on Spin Recovery, Musings on Engine Management, etc.

Cheers all,

[vegaslas]

@VonS,

Thank you again for the valuable hints and comments!

I posted a question in the Getting started pinned thread, but I think it makes more sense to keep everything here, so I'm just copying it below.

 

I downloaded Flanders Terrain from here https://combatace.com/files/file/4424-first-eagles-flanders-terrain/ and in the description there is a mention of Flanders Campaign:

Quote

COMING SOON

First Eagles Flanders 1916-1918 Campaign for the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and German Air Service to follow. It will include all the great available aircraft.

I couldn't find any mod with such a name, so I guess it hasn't come out as a single file, correct? Should I think of it as a series of mods and if so, which ones? Bloody April and Cambrai? Something more? Any clarification would be much appreciated. 

 

[VonS]

Hello, the link you've supplied is for a Flanders terrain project from 2007, by Edward.

I have never tried that terrain with my First Eagles 2 install, so I have no idea how compatible it is (that was made for the first version of First Eagles). I assume therefore that if there is any mention of supplied/promised campaigns in that documentation - if it's not available in the downloads section, it was never developed (i.e., abandoned in alpha or beta stage of development).

A brief list of terrains that work well in FE2:

Stock terrains (obviously), but enhance with Stary's Stock Terrains Visual Upgrade patch

Anything by gTerl, such as Italian Terrain (ver. 2), Caporetto (ver. 2), and Vosges

Anything by Stephen1918, such as Palestine, North Sea, and Galicia (ver. 2)

Jan Tuma's Seasonal Tiles for First Eagles (works with FE2 too)

If interested in campaign files, recommended are the big packs by Ojcar. I only fly single rolling missions so can't really offer helpful info. regarding campaign files and/or campaign installation.

Cheers & good flying,

[vegaslas]

As usual, a very informative answer. Thanks a lot!

Cheers!