May 11 updates out now!

[Bravo2009 2]

I am also having a lot of flickering, but it only occurs inside of the cockpit. Post patch I started an Operation Linebacker II campaign, flying F-4J's. Every time I have a mission over Hanoi I have flickering when I am approaching the city. Again it only occurs inside of the cockpit, and it locks up the system and I have to end the process via task manager.

 

I have a 460GTX, Intel i7, with at least 4GB's of RAM. Merged install. It's no biggie, but just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

[Gr.Viper 131]

I have a 460GTX, Intel i7, with at least 4GB's of RAM. Merged install. It's no biggie, but just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

I reported something of that kind to TK. My SF2 simply crashes on even seeing the in-flight map of Hanoi, with the AAA and SAM scattered all over the place.

[gillg 4]

Thanx for the replies guys, yes MB it is a merged install, I can still see all the folders and all files are still there.

I'll try the CAT extractor and see if that works, but it seems no one else has this problem.

[gillg 4]

Hey davo, that worked. I Also tried repacking extracted CAT files with the new CAT tools, but no joy unfortunately. But the menu folder in the mod folder trick worked so that will do... Thanx for that davo.

 

Oh and my CH files work. It must have reckonised the files after rebooting. ????

[davokingy 0]

Glad it worked out

[+PureBlue 71]

Anybody desiring the extension of building/tree fading distance, might want to express opinions on TW's board:

 

http://bbs.thirdwire.com/phpBB3w/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8372&p=51931#p51931

or here: http://bbs.thirdwire.com/phpBB3w/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=51958#p51958

[Heretic 2]

"Not changeable", huh?

 

:/

 

No patch for me then. I just love trees too much...

[+PureBlue 71]

Yeah, what a bummer

 

There's of course a way to get back the tod effects of the previous versions:

 

EDIT: NO, I take that back. This only gives previous version minus 2km of view distance!!

 

For trees:

Copy the file TERALPHAOBJECT.FX to your respective terrain folder. (And make this is used in the terrain's _data.ini

 

Comment out the following lines:

 

float fade_with_distance(float FadeDist)
{
float fade_alpha = 1.0;	
const float fd = FadeDist - g_FadeDistance.x;
//if (fd > 0.0)
//{
//	fade_alpha = clamp(0.0, 1.0, 1.0 - (fd * g_FadeDistance.z));
//}

return (fade_alpha);
}

Edited May 23, 2011 by PureBlue

[+Brain32 265]

Hmmm allegedly it's adjustable by horizon distance but I tried even some crazy stuff and it didn't seem so at all. I've set horizon distance to 500 000 lol I could see airfield structures and other 3D objects like I was a Superman

 

...but the *.TOD based trees and objects were still rendering at like 500m away from me

 

Why is this like that I do not know, I don't think this is a good solution by TK

[+Julhelm 266]

Maybe he's betatesting on an ABC-80 and tweaking the settings for that.

[Guest Pfunk]

TK's locked out the LODs?

 

I suppose it was necessary.

[+Dels 594]

I have also noticed that the issue of some aircraft shadows not showing due to two sided materials (e.g. L-39ZA) as per my post earlier this year has been fixed or resolved in some way.

[+PureBlue 71]

It's pretty scandalous by TK, taking away the features that are already implemented in the engine.

And continuing the trend to set hardcoded boundaries to our options..

:suicide2:

[Icarus999 70]

Hmmm allegedly it's adjustable by horizon distance but I tried even some crazy stuff and it didn't seem so at all. I've set horizon distance to 500 000 lol I could see airfield structures and other 3D objects like I was a Superman

 

...but the *.TOD based trees and objects were still rendering at like 500m away from me

 

Why is this like that I do not know, I don't think this is a good solution by TK

 

 

 

He is not listening to his customers,when it comes to the terrain/ cloud bug that has plagued the series, it seems like he is in his own little world. The reason I continue to buy and play these games is that guys like Stary turn the stock terrains into works of art. When the day comes that they can no longer do the magic that they do because they are locked out.... that is the day I stop buying these games.

 

Once I got the all clear that EXP2 was finally fixed I rushed out and bought it, only to find out that TK had purposely hosed the beautiful clouds that make the game so great. Basically I threw away my money, I held out the hope that he would come to his senses and restore the clouds with a patch and I could eventually install and play EXP2, but it looks like he has taken his threat to hard code even farther with this patch.

 

I keep hearing him say that every improvement will cost too much money and then I look at the terrains that guys like Stary and pureblue have created with much less resources than the developer has - only their love for the game and a copy of 3dsmax and I have to wonder. Maybe TK would be smart to bring some of these guys on board as contractors.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Icarus999

[+Muesli 2,151]

Give the guy some slack mates!

 

He is trying his best on a limited budget and I bet he decides what's best for

the sim. Some changes I think are made because of him having some

bad experiences with people abusing the accessability of the game files,

some other are just priority based I think.

 

Anyway, still the best flight sim game money can buy, improving

and ageing with every patch.

 

Just my 2 cents

[+Stary 2,426]

Funny as I find both of your comments Icarus and Muesli valid.

 

(Equips pitchfork, makes madface #7, marches towards Austin, TX... turns back after 5 meters, goes back to play patched version)

 

There's allways changes we just have to live with it. I'll check PBs fading tweak. The only thing TK could do (but knowing him he won't) would be slider in options setting for those that want to extend the draw distance even incorporating good old rendering bugs.

[Murphy'S 15]

Maybe if He listen our "complains", In the NeXT patch he'll extend the drawing distance.

 

Infortunately He Will not answer to the question

 

He'll do That or not but He Will not give us the answer until the NeXT patch

 

Ps: maybe DanW Will do it? ( the problem maybe discussed In the team)

[xclusiv8 35]

I think TK is full of poo with his not in the budget argument. He does not have the competence to fix the problem with the trees and clouds so what does he do? He restricts it as much as possible and at the same time makes the user experince a little duller.

Edited May 24, 2011 by xclusiv8

[+Stary 2,426]

heh I never liked the budget argument to be honest... not when it's about persistant error years old

[+Brain32 265]

Maybe he's betatesting on an ABC-80 and tweaking the settings for that.

 

LOL I had to google it, that thing came out 3 years before my birth lol

[+Brain32 265]

The thing with this is...I mean the part I have problem with is.

 

He can set the default game to be completely safe of any kind of errors and that is very sound, but why limiting the people that use extractors to extract and edit much deeper parts of the game.

 

Nobody can hold him responsible for that, and quite honestly many of us are expirienced enough with the game we could still make a mod that can lock the game and crash it or cause serious bugs, he would have to cut the modding part of the game completely to be apsolutely sure that wouldn't happen.

 

It's a bit silly...as if car manufacturer welded the hood so nobody can install Nos in it and blow up the engine, some things are simply not covered by warranty and that's all...

 

Basically what I want to say is, the in-game interface should serve the purpose of keeping the game at safe levels, if you do anything beyond that, sorry that's on your own risk.

 

And that's why I don't understand all this locking up/hard coding stuff...

[MigBuster 2,861]

I think TK is full of poo with his not in the budget argument. He does not have the competence to fix the problem with the trees and clouds so what does he do?

 

I am afraid we have no way of knowing one way or the other - so I think stating that he does not have the competance is a bit off - especially given his experience in programming computer games and his possible contacts in the industry.

[tn_prvteye 36]

The announcement that the fading distance isn't going to change disturbs me. It really is VERY annoying...ad VERY noticeable. I'd rather have to old pop-up back. The openness of this sim is what makes it great. Let's face it, if we had to play stock and stock only, this sim would have died in 2002. I have the utmost respect for TK, but if he continues locking features, he will lose the majority of his fan-base.

[Murphy'S 15]

The announcement that the fading distance isn't going to change disturbs me.

 

 

i do not think it's a a official annoucement that the fading distance isn't going to change.

 

but he clearely look upset

 

wait and see

[+Kulbit80 1,399]

One thing: why someones voting down in this very important topic on the guys that have critical opinion??? This is a discussion isn't it?

 

(I voted + for xclusiv8 & Icarus999 couse they had -)

Edited May 24, 2011 by Kulbit80