Installing skins into Strike Fighter 1

[SHOOT54]

I am a newbie to this program and would like to know the proper way to install skins into Strike Fighter project 1. Can anyone elp me on this subject? Thanks

[+NeverEnough]

Thanks to the really open nature of the Thirdwire SFP1 series, adding new skins is pretty straightforward. From the downloads section here, select the desired aircraft skin and follow the instructions on the download page (usually just a mouseclick on the "Download" tab at the bottom of the page). Download the file to either your desktop or My Documents, and I ALWAYS virus scan the file immediately after downloading. Thanks to the excellent administration of this site, I have never found a virus infected file on CombatAce but better safe than sorry! You will need either WinRar or 7-Zip programs to decompress the downloaded file. Both programs are available free, so Google the program name to locate a download location.

 

I always make a new folder on my desktop to extract the new skin to, and name it for example VX4Ferris_F-14A (a really great looking skin!). Naming the folder with the skin name and aircraft type helps avoid future headaches when you later are trying to remember what plane the skin is for! Next drag the compressed skin file over the new folder you just created, and from the pull-down menu that appears select "Extract Here".

 

After extracting the compressed skin file to your newly created folder, open the folder and you will usually have a folder (in this case VX4) and sometimes a readme file. The readme file will give you the details on installation of the skin and sometimes history on the plane or unit. To install the file in the sim, in this case you would go first to My Computer, then the drive the sim is installed on, then the program the plane is in (i.e. Strike Fighters Project 1), then open your Objects folder. Within the Objects folder, open the Aircraft folder, and finally the specific plane folder (F-14A). Then drag and drop the VX4 folder into the F-14A folder, and from the dropdown menu presented select "Copy Here". If your sim is patched to current levels (SP4), thats it! Earlier patch versions required you to add the new skin file to the plane's ini file (F-14A.ini), but I think it was in SP3 and later patch versions this function is performed automatically by the program.

 

Normally, you are officially good to go at this point. The reason I said "normally", is that some older skin files do not include a Texture.ini file, which the program needs to recognize the skin. Creating a Texture.ini file ain't rocket science, but for now you'll be better off just sticking to the more current skin files while you learn the ropes!

 

Enjoy the whole world of resources the many talented individuals in the Strike Fighters community have made available for your viewing pleasure!