Add On

[Red Von Hammer 0]

The addon is out, check it out at thirdwire! xD

[Firecage 1]

Please answer a few questions before I hit the DL button !

 

1) How do the FMs fly in Hard FM now? Are the sopwith planes flyable in Hard FMa dn how is the DR1 in the add on ?

 

2) DO I need to re install a new load of FE so no conflicts happen on the add ons I have already?

 

3) Honest opinion of the AI now after the patch...

 

4) How are the Add on planes like the early war stuff and those doing with the new FE add on?

 

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited October 21, 2007 by Firecage

[+Tailspin 3]

2. The addon overwrites a bunch of files. Those files are listed at the Thirdwire site in the Readme.txt file. It pretty much overwrites all the stock aircraft .INIs and also the Terrain Target and Types .INIs. You also get new terrain and airfield textures. I chose to do a clean install of First Eagles, patched it up to v.02.19.07. then installed the Expansion pack. The only glitch I had was my version of DirectX 9.0c wasn't compatible and caused a CTD. I upgraded to the last version of 9.0c and it took care of it.

 

Here's a link to the readme.txt at Thirdwire. They recommend not just copying your mods into the new game. They say its best to modify the new files themselves.

 

http://www.thirdwire.com/readme/wwi_exp1_readme.txt

 

I haven't flown it enoughto comment on your other questions...although the Camel seems to be a handful.

[Thomas H 0]

I think that both the Camels and the Dr1 are great in hard FM. They're excellent performers as long as you treat them with respect but can and will bite you if you push them to hard. just as it should be...

 

I made a seperate install for the expansion in hope of some online dogfighting :)

 

Thomas

[Bandy 3]

1) How do the FMs fly in Hard FM now? Are the sopwith planes flyable in Hard FMa dn how is the DR1 in the add on ?

2) DO I need to re install a new load of FE so no conflicts happen on the add ons I have already?

3) Honest opinion of the AI now after the patch...

4) How are the Add on planes like the early war stuff and those doing with the new FE add on?

 

Ah, yah probably downloaded it already, but anyways...

 

1) I find the Camel infinitely twitchy in hard mode, and the DR1 so very capable in that German sort of way (nothing bad implied at all, fact quite contrary) . They are a tense match for each other, it could go either way...

The only thing that I noticed odd is that they both require constant forward stick in level flight... I even checked whether my joystick was out, it wasn't. Is this a historical trait??? I flew the 110 HP Camel and the 130 HP back to back, and they are different handling planes, as they should be. Some pilots swore off one or the other.

 

2) I backed my original FE folder up, and for a quick fix last night just "patched over" it. It worked, I had loads of fun, but I also have some environment graphics issues at the horizon and in the sky (and likely others). Looks like a clean install is needed sadly...

 

3) The AI is very capable (I got nailed about half the time ), yet in my limited experience with the expansion, probably not as "driven" as Peter made them (for good or bad, I'm not sure yet...). But that is a very subjective opinion at this point and I reserve to change my mind with time...

 

4) To make sure my joystick wasn't buggered up (see #1), I flew Instant Mission (also to see if TK had changed the Instant Mission, or added another choice for it which would have been nice; he hasn't...[disappointed]) and the SPAD XIII handles mighty differently now. Thus I think changes to all early planes is to be expected since TK has introduced some very nice spins and stalls, and who knows what else at this point. Maybe Peter has his work cut out for him? But he is a better judge of that.

 

Overall, my opinion is likely tainted by the fact that, out of expediency and a desire to play with the little time I had this weekend, I simple tried to patch it over.

I still had a lot of fun. I can only imagine what a real Camel flew like, and this is as close to it as I imagine. I keep having to check whether I have inadvertently hit game speedx2 by mistake. But still, the Camel was a notoriously nervous flyer, and that "notoriety" has not been achieved in hard mode; it could have been harder, but maybe it wouldn't have had as much commercial appeal perhaps (?). Those who think that the stock a/c roll too easily will think the same thing.

 

IMHO, the jury is still out on whether I got as much out of my $30 this time around... Then again, the U.S. dollar is tanking

It is so much more than a patch, but not a new game.

Edited October 21, 2007 by B Bandy RFC

[Firecage 1]

Yes, I already did the DL and installed to a clean install of FE.

 

The planes do have a lot of forward stick need to keep them level. I have heard that this was the case but I'm not 100% it was to this degree, might have been though.

 

So far I have been in the Dr1 and the Alb DVa and I am VERY impressed with both. I think over all the planes are a bit more twitchy then they were pre patch, which makes for some working and re-training of the Aiming of guns a bit. This may also be some setting of the J stick in the options area. I have not looked at the dead zone and sensitivity settings yet.

 

The Dr1 is just a thrill to fly and is fast to become My fave plane at this time but I still have many more new planes to fly and also need to re-fly the old planes since I'm thinking they probably fly much differently. I think the FM on this DR1 far surpasses the FM I did on the Ateam Model and the Ateam FM itself in Hard mode. I have not flown the new patch in normal FM and don't plan on it so all this is based on Hard FM.

 

I love being able to take off from the airfields a bit more than before, it can take some time to get to where your going but its a good trade off when your doing it for immersion factor. The blip on the Eng's in the DR1 takes some getting used to in DF's and you have to learn to time it well so as to not lose to much speed/Energy.

 

Over all I think the plane speeds are a bit more realistic now. The SE5 were zooming me pretty much and getting some alt before returning. I do think Peters AI on planes was still more aggressive. I think he needs to get that back in this release ASAP (hint hint). I found myself again having to chase down planes that would not re-engage allot of the time. Maybe this is there to re-enact rookie pilots.

 

Guns still seem a bit OP'd and I had no problems taking down the SE5s and Spads so far. Damn the Spad is fast BTW.

 

I would say yes to anyone thinking about getting the exp pack and wanting to know if its worth it. I say YES it is very much worth the $30 investment. :yes:

 

Haven't seen any of the weather changes to terrain yet but I haven't looked at dates of action really so maybe I am staying the summer area of the seasons.

 

I am re-doing the Plane fest real fast to see how the weather changes work and make sure they have a good feel and time line. The version I had ready for this release (been wanting to add the planes in) includes only the plane sets from TKs releases and doesn't have any outside planes in it at this time. I may release it or not. I haven't decided if I want to tackle another full campaign yet. RL is eating my time really bad.

[Heck 496]

Just downloaded and started to fly it. Loving it so far. It takes work, but you can successfully take off in any of the aircraft in hard mode. The Camel is twitchy longitudinally, but from everything I've ever read she was a beastie, so I like it. The DrI can initiate a turn with the rudder, and then add aileron, which I also like. It's not as quick at flat turns as the old RB3D developed version was, but I like it. I've spun the Camel and the Spad 13 and was able to recover both if I had enough altitude. From too low, I've spun in. The young aviator he went a stunting....

 

Personally, I think it's well worth the money. I think the makers of add on aircraft have their work cut out for them revamping their flight models to fit the new fm, but I think it's well worth the effort.

[Firecage 1]

Just a new skin for the Dr1 for the new Exp pack... alailable as soon as they release it for DL.

 

[+Major Lee 18]

The terrain "season" switching is a fine development... :yes:

[+Tailspin 3]

Just looking through the terrain Targets and Types .inis there looks like some new stuff in there. Bridges and a Chateau. Some of the airfields are laid out differently so they don't all look same. I like the new terrain textures. Sure beats flying over the same old MSFS type terrain. (JMHO. A personal preference, no offense meant to those who make or use those types of tiles).

 

BTW...I loaded up the ATeam's Pup (with Peter01's last FM) and tried it out. Flys OK but needs some tweaking...seems underpowered now. I assume all the 3rd party planes will need reworking to incorporate the new stall parameters and such.

[gambit168 27]

Man !! I'm just dl'in it now fired up a vanilla FE , for it to merge with

& its fare to say , all the mods we have for our sins, make such a huge difference , its simply a whole different experience!!!

If theres a NEW SEASONS FEAture , maybe it will find its way into WOE & WOV real soon

[Heck 496]

Is anyone else having a problem with the sim crashing when you try to fly an Army Cooperation mission? I reported this at Thirdwire. I've deleted, done a clean install, run the sim, patched it, run the sim, and then installed the Expansion, trying to cure the problem, but it occurs every time I click accept on an Army Cooperation mission with any aircraft chosen. The screen goes black and the error message mentions the Singlemission.dll. I even did another download to make sure I didn't have a corrupted expansion file. Any ideas?

[+Tailspin 3]

Heck. I just tried an Army Co-op in the Camel and it CTD's (no black screen, no error message) when I hit Accept.

[gambit168 27]

just tried Army CoOp in an aeg and a camel no CTD's

clean merge with patches

[Guest capun]

It may be related to the WeaponsPack if you added them and it is still in your Weapons Folder, it seems that TK has added new capabilities (for the new jet sim?) and it will require a new weapons editor to recompile new add-on weapons.

[+Tailspin 3]

Mine only CTDs on an RAF Co-op mission. Works OK for the German side. I have a clean, unmodded install.

[Guest capun]

TS

 

I don't know if it is related but see if you have a modified WeaponData.dat in the weapons folder

[Heck 496]

I even removed my entire FE setup, and reinstalled an unmodded version. I patched it, running it both before and after the patch with no problems. Then, I installed the Expansion, and the problem showed up again. I haven't modded it at all, not even the weapons pack. Checked the registry when I deleted the previous version to make sure nothing was lurking there. This is a Vanilla install of all three: First Eagles, patch 021907 from the website, and the Expansion, so I know it isn't any modding that's causing it. TK mentioned using just 1918 as a date for these missions, but my install still ctd's.

 

I have no problems running any other kind of mission, including bombing, and just had a glorious shemozzle against Jasta 11, flying for No3 in Camels, eight Albatri against eight Camels. Planes going everywhere! Finally got one, but collided with his wingtip and was forced to land behind German lines. We lost three (including me), and Von Richtofen's chaps lost two, so they got the best of us, but it was a crazy, fun fight. I love the new flight models.

 

Heck

[+NeverEnough 78]

So far, I've had two single missions mid-flight reboot the system. No error message was generated in either case, just blink, and the system reboots! The Expansion was installed into a completely stock, fully patched FE install. The first reboot occurred early into a bombing mission in the AEG, and the second happened as I was entering into a furball flying the Sopwith F1-150.

 

I've only flown a limited number of single missions with the DR1 (what a looker!) and the Albatros D3, but no problems on either of these. The Expansion install does not have a modded weaponsdata.dat or the modded Weapons folder.

[+Tailspin 3]

capun....There is no Weapons folder. I've not added a thing to the game except for the PUP. I didn't install the weapons folder that came with it. The only extra file I added was the RotaryEngine.wav to the Sound folder.