Community Mega Pack

[+TexMurphy 0]

Hi all modders out there in the FE world.

 

One thing that I find extreamly annoying out of a user perspective is that once one has installed FE, FE patches and FE expansion one has to go and download tons of little bits and pieces inorder to get a rich content. The biggest issue that one has no idea which little mod works with what version of FE.

 

Do peter01´s FMs work with the expansion? Do the skins old SPAD7 (XIII moded into a VII) skins work on the new one. If not will they be updated?

 

Basicly each time a new expansion comes out one has to go through all small mods once again and see which ones apply. This takes hours and hours to get done.

 

Worst thing is when we get to campaings. First is the campaing still working? Then is the terrain working? Then are all the planes and weapons working?

 

ITS A PITA!!!!!

 

As a user Id really like a one click download that I know is "certified" with a certain version. It should also be packaged so that one just extracts it into the install folder and your ready to play.

 

It shouldnt be harder then that for a user to get a rich FE experience. Atm its way too hard for users to get the full potential of the game. A game having alot of potential but beeing tedious is not a game you buy again.

 

 

So I wonder if you modders out there are willing to contribute your work to a package that would containing the following.

 

Adding everything would be nice but hardly manageable could add on stuff as time goes on but I would see this as a possible start.

 

Flyable Planes by their respective moder (whom ofcourse would have to give permission for each and every item used) and FMs from peter01 if he could get it all done. I dont want to be dissing any of the "stock mod" FMs but it would be great to have them all alligned by the same mind:

 

AEG G.IV

AviatikC2

BE-2d

Bregeut14

D.F.W. C.V

Dh2

F2B Brisfit

Fe2B

Fe8

FokkerD8

Gotha G.IV Heavy Bomber

Halberstadt D.II

Halberstadt D.III

Nieuport 11

Nieuport 17 with 4 gun load outs

Nieuport 24

Nieuport 24bis

Nieuport 28

PfalzD3

PfalzD8

PfalzD12

R.E.8

RolandC2/Walfisch

Salmson 2 A.2

ShuckertD3

Sopwith Pup

Sopwith Triplane

Sopwith Dolphin

Sopwith Snipe

SPAD VIIC.1

 

Weapons

Weapons pack by A-Team

 

Ground objects

Rich set of ground objects since this isnt subject to FM most of the stuff that individual modders would agree to share could easily be added.

 

Maps

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall versions of both stock maps and Flanders map.

 

Aces and skins:

Rich set of skins for squadrons and individual aces.

 

Campaing.

All four campaings enriched with planes, terrain rotation and as many aces as possible.

A extra campaing on the Flanders map going from late 1916 or early 1917 to 1918 progressing through planes as correctly as possible.

 

Would anyone out here be willing to contribute towards such a project? By allowing usage of their models and by contributing with skining planes and terrains, testing fms, making campaings and anything else needed inorder to complete a project like this one.

 

Tex

[+whiteknight06604 934]

It would be a large undertaking but might be worth the work.I hope some people get motivated and contribute to this.

[JediMaster 451]

Well, as a general rule modders spend so much time on their own stuff that spending it on someone else's is almost out of the question. Then you have the whole issue of what was done by whom. If Modder A is doing it but wants to use a plane by Modder B, and B hasn't had the time to update his plane to the latest standard, what then? A really shouldn't do it, it's not his responsibility and B likely won't look kindly at it either. Should A hold up his work waiting for it, or just move on? In that case, a LOT of mods get left out and the whole "unified" thing is moot.

 

There are the so-called "total mods" that have been done for the jet sims in this series, like NATO Fighters, Op Tainted Cigar, etc, but usually all the planes in the mod belong to the same mod group and they don't touch the work of those outside for the reasons I stated above.

 

I'm not saying this will never happen, I'm just saying I don't think it likely right now. Multiple installs is one answer. All these mods work with the pre-expansion game, so leave that alone. Make a new install with the expansion and then as planes are released/updated move them into that one.

 

Sure it's a royal PITA to get the patched version working like the previous one again, but that's the price to be paid for FE being so open that so many modders have been able to do stuff for it.

[+Tailspin 3]

Personally, I don't care for self-installing "mega-packs". I never use self installers anyway. I like to know what is going in my game and what is being overwritten so it all goes into a Temp. folder first. I have way too many .INIs set up to my personal tastes, clouds, sounds, aircraft dates, engine armor, etc, etc. Not saying those all inclusive installs aren't great. They are and it takes a lot of hard work and attention to detail. But they also take up HDD space and mine is limited right now. Right now, I'm not modding the Expansion Pack. I want to see whats in it first. That way I don't "break" something new trying to "fix" something else.

 

HOWEVER, if someone wants to build a Mega-Pack for those who aren't inclined or capable of installing individual mods themselves you can use any of my mods. The worn airfield texture won't work with the new tiles. Not sure about the Bridges for Verdun. Depends on whether the layout of the road network was changed. I see where TK has added bridges defended by AAA in his Cambrai terrain. Wonder where he got that idea and where's my money?

[gambit168 27]

Im with Tailspin on this 1

i have so many tweaks by me , that i cant remember wot or where,

its easy to re unzip some1 elses little mod , but if u have change/tinkered with most ever file and u like wot u got , u cant , keep track of all the changes

so im really careful about adding new .inis, cos u dont remember wot there is , but I hate it when it gets wiped out by an unrelated mods .ini set

[Guest capun]

Same here that is one reason that we do not put our models in a self installer. Also if you are doing all kinds of mods you need to know what is going on, and yes we have heard the argument about non-techies having troubles

[+peter01 2]

Well, I'm all for this.

 

It really would be for new players, or those coming back after some time.

 

Expecting people to d/l literally hundred of mods, and then installing, geeez.

 

Without new players over time, this game will wither, TK will stop devoting time to it, and besides, if we want an active community (essential fo any game), the more interested the merrier.

 

Of course the seasoned FE'ers could just d/l to a temp directory, and then cherry pick the stuff they want - or preferably whats in the pack could/should be made individually available as well.

 

I'd also say it should be consistent with whats out there as well, or at least reasonably so, so that it expands the game in a compatable way as well. Not a stand alone pack, as in everything different, not initially at first at least.

 

But thats just my view. And its a big task, it would need several people. And there may be different views about what the aim is........

[Firecage 1]

Great idea with a few major issues to tackle

 

1) To put it all on a CD requires someone to either burn Cds and Mail them for free which may not be something people want to spend money on. I also think there are alot of issues with trying to ask for cash for the effort since alot of members may not want to see someone getting cash for their ideas/property.

 

2) Make one huge file that may have problems finding a home due to the size of the file. Again maybe we could break it into 4 files and DL them in smaller pieces. Maybe all the FMs on one , planes on another, campaign/missions on one, etc...

 

3) Compatiable problems from Release 1 to release 2 to Release .... etc. This has already shown its ugly head with the exp pack. All the add on planes SEEM to not work well together with the new exp pack FMs so far.

 

4) Will the Old campaigns work with the new releases.

 

5) An amazing amount of skins to keep up with which plane they work on. Not an amazing task but its gets to be an interesting thing when your trying to get skins for of lets say 20 squads per side and have every squad have their own look.

 

Now I have a spare USB drive that just holds EVERY mod, skin,FM,plane, etc thats been released so far so I can grab most anything I want and add it in as I want but I know as a new player this appears a bit daunting and I would like to find a way to get more people here to this game if possible. Making things easier to get hold of can't hurt.

[+TexMurphy 0]

@general topic

 

I think this thread http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=22935 shows the need of a thing like this

 

@Firecage

 

Ive not said anything about CD or money. No such thing should be involved. If its a community thing its a community thing.

 

@Maybe another way to do this

 

I can see the problem with everyone wanting to get involved, contributing, ect, ect and the fact that there would be two sources that needed to be kept up to date the standard mini mod and the package.

 

There might be another way about this.

 

Maybe I should sitt down and write a downloader/installer.

 

This is how it could work.

 

XML files that define install packages. Each package is "certified" (strong word but at least verified) against a certain version of FE.

 

For example a campaing developer devs a campaing he then creates a xml file which includes links to that campaing, the maps needed, the planes need, the ground objects needed and the skins needed and information what version its been tested for.

 

Download the xml, fire up the installer, select the xml, enter your CA username/password and hit install.

 

Now this can theoretically be done but it would need the permission fo the CA crew to write a installer that logs on to the site and makes the download. It really isnt any different then one doing it manually in terms of traffic to the site. It just automates the procedure.

 

Tex

[Firecage 1]

All I was doing was listing ways it might be done Tex, not suggesting thats the way to go. Actually I would say exactly opposite would be my vote.

[+Dave 2,322]

@general topic

 

I think this thread http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=22935 shows the need of a thing like this

 

@Firecage

 

Ive not said anything about CD or money. No such thing should be involved. If its a community thing its a community thing.

 

@Maybe another way to do this

 

I can see the problem with everyone wanting to get involved, contributing, ect, ect and the fact that there would be two sources that needed to be kept up to date the standard mini mod and the package.

 

There might be another way about this.

 

Maybe I should sitt down and write a downloader/installer.

 

This is how it could work.

 

XML files that define install packages. Each package is "certified" (strong word but at least verified) against a certain version of FE.

 

For example a campaing developer devs a campaing he then creates a xml file which includes links to that campaing, the maps needed, the planes need, the ground objects needed and the skins needed and information what version its been tested for.

 

Download the xml, fire up the installer, select the xml, enter your CA username/password and hit install.

 

Now this can theoretically be done but it would need the permission fo the CA crew to write a installer that logs on to the site and makes the download. It really isnt any different then one doing it manually in terms of traffic to the site. It just automates the procedure.

 

Tex

Sounds like a plan Tex, when can we expect to see it done?

[column5 63]

As the person who compiled the NATO Fighters mod, I can offer a couple of suggestions on this matter.

 

1. The reason I did NF was because there are a lot of people out there--a lot more than you think--who are a little less savvy to modding the game, and I wanted to give them the opportunity to easily install some of the best mods produced for the game. In that respect the pack was an outstanding success, with over 4600 downloads of the original pack as of this morning. Its not for people who like to install their own mods and mess around with the game files.

 

2. In my opinion, the success of such an effort requires tight focus. You have to choose only mods of the higest quality and tightly integrate them into the campaings. It can't just be a hodgepodge of everything ever released. In NF for example, all the new aircraft are high-quality with skins accurate to the campaings they are integrated into. A subset of weapons was added for these aircraft, but the entire weapons pack was not inatalled due to its large size and some inconsistencies within. You also have to keep an eye on maintianing a resonable download size, which is why NATO Fighters is being released in installments.

 

3. The pack needs to be assembled by one person according to his own vision. No commitees or team decisions. Otherwise, you can kiss the goals in point #2 goodbye, because everyone will want something different.

 

That said, I would really like to see a pack like NATO Fighters for First Eagles. I would personally use it. I spend so much time working on the jet games that I don't get to do much with FE, so a quick and easy installer to add some high-quality mods would be most welcome.

Edited October 24, 2007 by column5

[dexxa 0]

Just a few general observations ....

 

1) Given that not everyone has the ability/time to manually install a

megapack, I would think an auto installer is the way to go.

 

2) Would most definitely suggest it be put together by one person, or

at least a very small group. Otherwise we'll see it in 2020.

 

3) If size is an issue just post it in segments.

 

My .02

[dexxa 0]

As the person who compiled the NATO Fighters mod, I can offer a couple of suggestions on this matter.

 

1. The reason I did NF was because there are a lot of people out there--a lot more than you think--who are a little less savvy to modding the game, and I wanted to give them the opportunity to easily install some of the best mods produced for the game. In that respect the pack was an outstanding success, with over 4600 downloads of the original pack as of this morning. Its not for people who like to install their own mods and mess around with the game files.

 

yes, yes and yes.

 

I can manually install, but given RL ... work, wife, family etc etc ...

I tend to stay away from large mods that would take an entire evening

to search down the components and man install em. I downloaded Column 5's

NATO for exactly the reasons he enumerated.

 

I'd think the vast majority of medium-soft core simmers would feel likewise (??)

[Peter Brooks 0]

I too can see the strength in a single mod for First Eagles espeacialy now the expansion pack is out.......

[JediMaster 451]

I love NATO Fighters for a simple reason--I fly online with a guy who has almost zero talent for complicated modding. We've flown FE stock from day 1, and with the expansion we now have more planes although I've had my other modded FE install that I play offline.

NF means that with the combined WoV/WoE install we have plenty of planes for MP with no conflicts plus he has a fully loaded install for offline.

I love OTC even though I've never played it MP just because it was so involved if it had to be done manually, and that's why some of the equally good mods that were NOT all-in-one I've yet to install.