A few dumb questions

[hurricane3 2]

I have some queations that I'am sure have been addressed before but can't seem to find the answers in the data base. First, is there a setting to allow you to use your hat switch to pan smoothly around like you can in FS9? Second is it normal when you take off for the rest of your formation to fly all over the place with no rhyme or reason? And last I can't find any cat files in my aircraft folders just ini folders.

I have to explain that a very long time ago when I got the sim ,I was still working and planned to get into it after I retired. Well I'am retired now and although I've played around with it off and on ,have never flown a real mission.

Back then after one of the updates (I'am in expansion pack 1 of FE1), I lost a lot of weapons including the rockets on the Nieuport 11 ,and since I don't think I'am smart enough to use the weapons editor ,though I have it as well as the extractor ,someone in the old forum told me I could force the sim to somehow get my weapons back and whatever I did worked except for getting back the rockets.

I'am sorry this turned out so long but I wanted to explain everything.

I can live with the sim the way it is ,cause I am really not a modder and probly shouldn't even have FE but my computer is almost ten years old and right now I can't afford one that will run ROF, so I'll run this one till it dies.

So (I know I'am starting to ramble here), is there an easy way to pan, why do the formations act like their all hammered, why is there no cat files in the aircraft folder,and is there and easy way to get my rockets back. If no one wants to answer I'll understand.

[+ojcar 157]

Hello, friend!

 

-You can customize your controls in the options menu of the game. Simply assing the hat switch to the controls you want.

 

-These planes are 1914-1918 planes taking off from very poorly made airfields. The best amongs them have about 200-300 Hp. Some of them are 80Hp and have hugue torque effect and no good aerodynamic dessign (for today standards). There are more powerful cars today! So, some of them are struggling to take off without killing the pilot. This, and the fact of different pilot skills in the same squadron, makes take off a little erratic and the planes of your flight tend to spray all over the place until safe speed is obtained an them can reunite in formation. This is realistic in my book. In fact, the AI in the game has much less take off accidents than real life pilots (read stories about novice pilots and Camel or RE8...). Once in cruiser heights, the formations are much better.

 

-The cat files for the planes are in the object folders. You'll need the cat extractor (see in downloads section). Neverteless, if you don't want to mod, you don't need to touch the cat files.

 

Please, explore the downloads section. There is a lot of stuff, including planes, FMs, objects, maps, effects, medal packs, weapons, etc

[33LIMA 972]

I have some queations that I'am sure have been addressed before but can't seem to find the answers in the data base. First, is there a setting to allow you to use your hat switch to pan smoothly around like you can in FS9? Second is it normal when you take off for the rest of your formation to fly all over the place with no rhyme or reason? And last I can't find any cat files in my aircraft folders just ini folders.

I have to explain that a very long time ago when I got the sim ,I was still working and planned to get into it after I retired. Well I'am retired now and although I've played around with it off and on ,have never flown a real mission.

Back then after one of the updates (I'am in expansion pack 1 of FE1), I lost a lot of weapons including the rockets on the Nieuport 11 ,and since I don't think I'am smart enough to use the weapons editor ,though I have it as well as the extractor ,someone in the old forum told me I could force the sim to somehow get my weapons back and whatever I did worked except for getting back the rockets.

I'am sorry this turned out so long but I wanted to explain everything.

I can live with the sim the way it is ,cause I am really not a modder and probly shouldn't even have FE but my computer is almost ten years old and right now I can't afford one that will run ROF, so I'll run this one till it dies.

So (I know I'am starting to ramble here), is there an easy way to pan, why do the formations act like their all hammered, why is there no cat files in the aircraft folder,and is there and easy way to get my rockets back. If no one wants to answer I'll understand.

 

Re hatswitch panning, yes it can be done. All the Strike Fighters games are set so you can use your mouse to pan around in external or cockpit views, and the hat switch does snap views. Like you I prefer panning so with all the Strike Fighers sims I have to go through this little routibe to get them set up as I like.

 

Go into Options then Controls and then select the 'Customise' option at bottom right. When the list of comamnds appears, scroll down till you come to the View Commands. Near the bottom of these wou will find Camera Pitch Up/Down Camera Yaw Left/Right. Click on them and assign them to your up/down/left/right hatswitch buttons instead of what's there now (keyboard arrow keys IIRC). There may be a better way of doing this but this works for me.

 

I also assign other joystick buttons to toggle padlock, snap back to front cockpit view, target nearest air and ground, that sort of thing, while I'm at it. I also set most of the game options to 'Hard' and in game hit 'Alt+D often enough so all the on-screen data and targeting boxes are not visible, they are ok in a jetsim but not needed and look on in a WW1 sim IMHO.

 

Re formation-keeping, FE is better than most. In OFF even a slight turn has your flight-mates skidding hundreds of meters to the outside and struggling to catch up. from what I've seen leading flights in RoF via PW's campaign generator, RoF is not great at formation-keeping when I'm leading. In FE your flight-mates weave about a lot once they get into formation, but they do keep up reasonably well. This makes FE better than OFF for playing flight leader as you can lead your boys into your chosen position to pounce on the enemy significantly more easily. One of the FE patched applied a setting that reduced the weaving a bit but if you are patched to date then you will have this already. While your comrades can take time to get into formation after takeoff, they seem to mamage it ok, especially in the game's stock planes, I don't bother circling just whiz off on the assigned course to the next 'waypoint' and before long they're at my shoulder, admittedly weaving a lot, sometimes settling into a nice tight echelon after a while. If I 'alt+N' to the objective they are in perfect formation when I come out of 'warp'.

 

I dunno about getting the rockets back but if you re-download the plane they came with (The Nieuport 11) and then re-install that, you might be ok. Dunno much about that Weapons Editor either.

 

A lot of the stuff and settings the aircraft use, cockpit files and markings and so on, are actually in the ObjectData.cat files in the Objects folder, not in the aircraft folder at all.

 

FE is more than a match for RoF in every respect except graphics. RoF is best at multiplayer and for the experience of flying a WW1 plane, but for flying a plane in WW1, OFF and FE are both better. Personaly I still find FE the best of them all, even without the mods, tho all three have things they are best at. If you fancy a change you could also try FS-WW1, it's free - see install Option 2 here: http://www.fsww1.com/

[hurricane3 2]

Thankyou guys for having the patence to wade through my post . Both your posts are very helpful and I can't thank you enough.I don't feel quit so dumb now.

[hurricane3 2]

Guys I did what you said concerning the views and after the second time it worked perfectly. I can pan smoothly all around with the hat switch or mouse. The first time I tried it I did something wrong because the hat switch would only show the left side of the plane and I could only go up and down.

The mouse would pan around but always would snap back to the front,it wouldn't stay where I panned too, so I assigned the controls again and they worked perfectly.Also when I started in the air all the other planes in the formation were in reasonably perfect alignment ,as you said.

Now one more question, how do you keep the settings with out loosing them.If I recall you open the First Eagles folder ,go to controls ,right click and check read only, but when I did this, read only was already checked and before I did this I had to reset my rudder controls.

Also I've found when you assign controls you have to move them in all directions ,other wise you might for instance have only left rudder when you push the rudder pedals.(I have all CH controls)