Battle of Britain Campaign Feedback

[Bandy 3]

Seamless tiles eh!?! Perhaps you've advanced past this, but just in case, this might be helpful so try this tutorial LINK.

Though I imagine getting multiple potentially abutting tiles seamless is a PIA...

 

CA_Stary, thanks for the FX update! I was just thinking how I enjoyed your beta WWII FX, but now, GREAT!

 

BB.

[dsawan 624]

Hi, how is this mod going? Were there gonna be me109 e-4 and 4b's at some point? Thx.

[+Baltika 85]

Hi, how is this mod going? Were there gonna be me109 e-4 and 4b's at some point? Thx.

 

Hi dsawan,

 

There will be further update(s) to the old BoB campaign, just probably not anytime soon. I had been holding of for the new patches, and now we know that although the flight modelling for prop planes is vastly improved, most of the WW2 birds we have need a thorough FM overhaul to work right under the new build. I admit I found that rather disheartening at first, as FM work is beyond my capability. But, it seems we will soon have a WW2 style baseline FM when the Thirdwire P-51 is released, so maybe things will advance some then.

 

I have also been distracted by a number of other projects, and really I am juggling too much stuff at once, mainly in TE, witness various WIP threads I have posted in here. So not much is getting finished. New Year's resolution: don't start any new TE or campaign projects, finish existing ones first

 

I think Russo mentioned recently that he had some other 109 versions in the stable - maybe we can persuade him to make a release ?

 

Also, there was a thread here recently in which someone pointed out ways to improve the Emil FM included in this campaign d/l - I forget who/where now.

 

And, yes, I mentioned myself that I had a good data source on the various Emil versions, and planned an upgrade to include all the variants, at least as far as armament/engine rating etc goes. I confess I have not got particularly far with that.

 

As ever, too much to do, too little time.

 

Thanks for the interest, nice to see this thread hauled up from the vaults

[+Geezer 3,569]

There will be further update(s) to the old BoB campaign, just probably not anytime soon. I had been holding of for the new patches, and now we know that although the flight modelling for prop planes is vastly improved, most of the WW2 birds we have need a thorough FM overhaul to work right under the new build. I admit I found that rather disheartening at first, as FM work is beyond my capability. But, it seems we will soon have a WW2 style baseline FM when the Thirdwire P-51 is released, so maybe things will advance some then.

 

Will add Gladiator and CR.42 to my to-do pile of 1930s aircraft. Both were used in BoB.

[dsawan 624]

thanx, for the update gents. i really love flying the 109 jabos and the effects for my BOB install are awesome. Keep up the good work when can.

[+Brain32 265]

I have new hi res tiles for BoB terrain nearly completely finished a day or two...

[+allenjb42 4,234]

Veltro mentioned making a Defiant in one of his threads...

[Bandy 3]

BP Defiant, yes! I've been waiting for that one, and thank you in advance. Those poor sods who had to fly them must not be ignored, they were very brave indeed.

If I read a post over at 3rd Wire correctly, veltro=the modder-formerly-known-as geezer.

 

After re-reading Peter Townsend's book (highly recommended to get you in the mood to BoB...), I was struck by the repeated anecdotes of how the 8 rifle calibre guns of the RAF fighters caused so many Luft. bomber crew casualties. I started to think about pilot hitboxes, and how that made a big difference in head on assaults, so I simply added hitboxes to the gunners in the bombers as well. It works as far as I can tell, and will pass them along (I know, I know...)

 

WRT BoB terrain, new tiles always welcome to freshen it up, thanks. I've been struggling with figuring out TE for the first time (thanks for tuts Gepard) so I know it isn't as straight forward as all that, but is there any chance of someone modding real CLIFFS at Dover? Maybe nit-picky, but I've always wanted to buzz the chalk while hunting down 110's :yes:

 

The longevity of this mod is truly inspiring, thanks to all who've contributed and those who play to keep it interesting.

[Viggen 644]

Watched The Battle of Britain on Sunday night. Got back into the mood for my "Wings Over WWII" installs. I forgot how much fun it was to go after Junkers in a Hurricane or chase 109s in Spitfires. Went as far as to add the Battle of Britain voice pack.

 

So, great job Baltika! Can't wait to see the next version, with Veltro's Defiant, or Geezer's Gladiator Maybe the addition of the Italians too. Did Bomber Command launch any raids into France during the Battle of Britain, would be fun to fly Veltro's Wellingtons in some retalitory strikes-if it is historical of course

 

Only question/concern/comment, is that, I've been flying Spits with 603 Squadron (I think). I've had two escort missions so far, flying over France, and I'm not sure if that is supposed to happen. Unless about 10 Spitfires from several squadrons and 8 light bombers wanted to do insturment checks

 

The only other thing is that I get bad FPS when I or other aircraft fire their guns for extended amounts of time. Perhaps CA_Stary's next WWII effects pacl will fix that

Edited December 16, 2008 by JA 37 Viggen

[+Stary 2,427]

The only other thing is that I get bad FPS when I or other aircraft fire their guns for extended amounts of time. Perhaps CA_Stary's next WWII effects pacl will fix that

 

Viggen, pen your TracerSmokeEmitter.ini included in WW2 Effects pack, and change line:

 

[EmitterType001]

Name=TracerSmokeEmitter

EmissionType=POINT_EMITTER

UpdateType=NON_MOVING

MaxVisibleDistance=1000.000000

EmissionRate=0.0035 -the higher values the lower tracer data and higher framerate

ParticleUpdateType=RANDOM_MOVING

ParticleRenderType=SPRITE

ParticleLifeTime=1.00000

ParticleLifeTimeDeviation=0.500000

ParticleWeight=0.00000

ParticleRandomness=0.0

ParticleWindFactor=1.0

ParticleColorTableType=LINEAR

ParticleColorStart=0.6000000,0.600000,0.8000000,0.400000

ParticleColorEnd=1.000000,1.00000,1.000000,0.1000000

ParticleSizeTableType=LINEAR

ParticleSizeStart=0.200000

ParticleSizeEnd=0.40000

BaseSizeDeviation=0.2

TextureMaterial=TracerSmokeMaterial

 

I suggest changing "EmissionRate=" from 0.0035 to 0.005 or 0.007

 

@Brain32 : eager to see it!

[Viggen 644]

Thanks!

[+Baltika 85]

Only question/concern/comment, is that, I've been flying Spits with 603 Squadron (I think). I've had two escort missions so far, flying over France, and I'm not sure if that is supposed to happen. Unless about 10 Spitfires from several squadrons and 8 light bombers wanted to do insturment checks

 

 

Glad to hear you're still enjoying the old BoB campaign

 

Re the above, yes a few escort missions were added, so it is supposed to happen. See Post #46 and #47 in this thread for an account of one such mission carried out by 151 Sqdn. I think later on in BoB, such daylight bombing raids were cut right back, so if you want to take them out, go into the campaign_data.ini file and reduce the MissionChance[ESCORT]= number for your squadron to 0. You will have to re-start your campaign for this change to take effect.

 

I am also really looking forward to flying the Gladiator, thanks Geezer for taking it on

 

Likewise with Brain32's new tiles, great work, really looking forward to them :yes:

 

Cheers all,

 

Baltika

Edited December 16, 2008 by Baltika

[Viggen 644]

Ah, so they did I guess. Should have read the earlier posts. Sorry . I'm not complaining though, the first escort mission gave me a great chance to get a screen shot, which I will post when my town has power again ...cursed ice storm

[mppd 16]

I finally got around to doing a WW2 SFP1 install with the BofB Campaign/Terrain. Looks superb!! Hats off to all who contributed. Have been poking thru the Forum thread also.

 

I also downloaded Gocad's Spitfire Markings - this is great. Is there something similar in the works for the Hurricane for BofB?? I'd be interested in jumping in to this, or working with someone if it's in the works.

 

Thanks,

Mike Druzolowski

[Wrench 9,849]

Weren't there Hurri skins the campaign d/l??? I don't remember!!!

 

Markings are easily done (I cheated on a lot of Spit skins and used decals ie: XX(roundel) for one decal and X for the individual letter, AI (O) one decal, A as another. Should work the Hurricanes, too.

 

If you want my template, you're welcome to it. It DOES need the lower wing roundel changed -- I've got the wrong type on there (on the Spits, too, IIRC)

 

The base skins would all be the same (since we can't do the 'mirror camo pattern without a whole seperate skin folder), just redecaling for squadron letters

 

I may have a home-made template for Russo's Emil, but I'll have to look for it...

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[mppd 16]

Thanks for the offer Kevin,

 

I'd love to see the hurry templates. The campaign provides for three squadrons with the MkI with squadron marks on the base skin with the individual acft number as a decal.

 

I have the Rowan offering, but I'm so sold on the TW sims that I'd really like to start into the SFP1 version. Some of the Rowan features (like handling the campaign) seem a bit beyond me, but the cockpits, terrain and flight models seemed nice.

 

Thanks again, and I hope I can come up with something that will help you all,

MIke D.

[+Stary 2,427]

Some of the Rowan features (like handling the campaign) seem a bit beyond me, but the cockpits, terrain and flight models seemed nice.

 

Couldn't agree more, gave the Rowan a try earlier today. But I prefer the Thirdwire way of handling things

[+Baltika 85]

I finally got around to doing a WW2 SFP1 install with the BofB Campaign/Terrain. Looks superb!! Hats off to all who contributed. Have been poking thru the Forum thread also.

 

I also downloaded Gocad's Spitfire Markings - this is great. Is there something similar in the works for the Hurricane for BofB?? I'd be interested in jumping in to this, or working with someone if it's in the works.

 

Thanks,

Mike Druzolowski

 

 

Hi Mike,

 

One of the things I have been fiddling with for the next update is a system of decaling for the Spits/Hurris so that all squadrons have the correct squadron code designations, and that by extension I can make all squadrons flyable, with the correct markings. Wrench was kind enough to send me his new Hurri template a while ago so I have a "new" early ETO Hurri base skin with Wrench's all new panel lines, rivets wear and tear and associated goodness.

 

However, I hit a bit of an artefacting problem detailed in this thread:

 

http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showt...47&hl=hurri

 

The issue seems to be an open mesh on the Hurri model which will require a 3D modelling guru to fix, which is out of my capability. It is worked round on the DAT Hurri skin inlcuded in the BoB d/l pack (by Gramps) by having the squadron code painted onto the skin .bmp itself. Problem with that is, you need a separate skin for each squadron, and I think the game would grind to a halt trying to load a separate one for each squadron.

 

The other issue is decal level settings for serial numbers. How do I set it up so that each squadron gets the correct serial number codes when you are using the same base skin for all your Hurris? That is, I want each squadron to display a separate set of serial numbers. As best I can do just now, every squadron will have the same serial numbers, and that seems a shame as that sort of info is readily available, almost down to the level of each plane that participated in BoB.

[mppd 16]

Feel free to send me what you have and I'll see if I can help, but it sounds like there might not be any other workaround except a base texture for each squadron and perhaps an airplane letter and its own serial number. This is how many airplanes are set up nowadays - do you think that it would really cause a frame rate drop? Would be nice to see the reversed camo scheme too.

 

I was experimenting applying the Rowan textures to the SFP1 Hurry - looks nice but probably violates every copywrite law on the books! For my own use only of course...

 

Mike D.

[Wrench 9,849]

Base texture for each squadron is probably the way we'll be stuck with...it's really not that had to just add another layer for the squadron's main ID letter (I mean, look how many layers are ALREADY on that template ... 3 or 4 more won't hurt much )

 

Best thing is, the A-Z letters can be reused for all the squadrons individual IDs. Serial numbers are pretty quick and easy to make decals (and all the positions are already plotted!!)

 

The only thing I really haven't experimentated with is 'fabricizing' the aft fueselage sections ... you'd need a seperate layer of the color sction and then use the Texture -> canvas -> then fade it down quite a ways so it just shows up. New panel lines for that region should be made too, in a 'blurred' light color to simulate the stretching. Damage tgas would need to be remade to simulate torn fabric, ala First Eagles.

 

Baltika; have you considered a request to Capun, to see if he can 'close' that mesh around engine cowling? Worth a shot. Or just go with the painted on letters. And maybe fix the 'flipped face' on the Spit's radio mast??

 

IIRC correctly, (as in I read it in a book...probably the SAM Hurricane Guide -which is SUPERB beyond belief!) odd numbered (Lettered) aircraft had one style of camo, even numbers the mirrored. Easiest way would be to just have a whole squadron/skin set mirrored. Just for giggles

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[mppd 16]

Lots of information and stuff to consider. I'd like to take a crack at some of this - the Hurricane is sort of my fav. It did the majority of the work while the Spit got all the glamor (glamour...?). The fuse ID letters were a bit different in shape and position depending upon the squadron according to the dwgs/photos I have seen. I don't have references for serials - I would tend to use the same ones unless someone can present actual serials for each squadron.

 

An entire sqdn with the reverse camo seems the only alternative. I'll play around with some of the existing texture/decal combos if I get a chance tonight (or tomorrow at any rate) to get a better handle on what is/is not possible with the existing 3D model.

 

This would help make this great campaign even better I think. Count me in.

 

Mike

[Wrench 9,849]

I can get you produciton run blocks, but not individual serials per squadron.

 

Looks like I got a 50meg book to upload....

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[mppd 16]

I spent the last hour or so just flying the RAF in random missions - what a hoot! This is a great add-on!! Everysone should do a WW2 install - blows CFS away. The WW2 effects like tracer trails and fire on burning acft looks just superb.

 

I see the Hurry tailwheel mapping issue. If we deleted it completely and added a new part like I did with all the F-4 add-on parts, will it still sit on its gear correctly?

 

By the way, also increased the pitch/roll moments of inertia on both Spit & Hurry by about 25% - seemed a bit better to me.

 

Some new textures would really spiff this up. It's a must have!! Have to try the campaign now.. Thanks to all of you guys.

 

Kevin, I think I already have serials - just trolling in case someone jumps in with some better info.

 

Mike

Edited December 23, 2008 by mppd

[+Brain32 265]

Likewise with Brain32's new tiles, great work, really looking forward to them :yes:

 

Ugh I totally forgot about that *sharply evades bricks nad stones*

I think I can finish and upload them tommorow, there's only a few tiles left to edit...

[Wrench 9,849]

By the way, also increased the pitch/roll moments of inertia on both Spit & Hurry by about 25% - seemed a bit better to me.

 

I think a LOT of us would be VERRRRYYY interestered in these...

 

Are the changes for the '06 level or '08 level patches??

 

With all the Hurri skins I've, I never noticed the tailwheel problem. Got a screenie??

 

Wrench

kevin stein