You know what's funny?

[+malibu43 142]

I was born in the early 80's, and therefore gew up on a heavy dose of F-14's, F-18's, F-16's, A-10's etc... All I knew about the F-105 was that it was ugly. F-4's... bleh. All I knew about Vietnam was what I learned watching Flight of The Intruder. The Cold War was something boring that happened between WWII and Desert Storm...

 

I only stumbled across the TW series because I had recently picked up F4AF and was looking for a modern-ish A-10 game/simulation (A-10 Cuba was just a "little" dated looking). LOMAC wouldn't run on my laptop, so I thought I'd give this "Wings Over Europe" game a try. I found it fun and started adding all my other "80's era" favorites. Given my affliction for the A-6 and my past experiences with virtual naval ops (F/A-18 2.0 was my first real flight sim), I thought I'd give WoV a try as well.

 

Slowly over the next couple of years a shift took place. I ventured more and more into the world of "cold war" era aviation. Man, there was a lot of cool stuff I had never heard about. I started getting really interested in Vietnam. I read books like Thud Ridge and WTR (also re-read FoTI). It got to the point where I was interested enough in Vietnam to notice that WoV was missing a lot of stuff and it needed a big freeware mod to improve it. And of course WoE is great because it features all those Cold War jets doing what they were designed for - all out war in Europe. What!?!? There were conflicts in the mid-east during those times too? Featuring more of these jets I previously thought to be nothing more than REALLY expensive and over-sized paper weights? Cool. The Falklands mod for SF1 was a total shock to me. You're telling me the UK fought Argentina at one point?

 

So anyway, the point of all this is that I have FC2 installed but never play it. I have F4 BMS installed but never play it. I have IL-2 1946 installed but never play it. I do have all of the SF2 titles installed and fire that up regularly (even if just to fly around using the arrow keys on my laptop). I find my self more interested in the status of the KAW mod than SF2NA or the update of the ODS mod. I few years ago it would have been exactly the opposite.

 

Blah blah blah. Yackity yack yack...

 

Anyway, thanks TW and Combatace for sparking my interest in an era of aviation that I otherwise would have never even noticed!

 

 

[+Stary 2,427]

funny you say that Malibu, as I was all about F-19 Stealth Fighter, then Stealth Fighter 2.0 (F-117), F-18 Hornet (like you) back in the early 90s, read about them in then quite new on the market here computer games magazines, playing the F-19 on Commodore C-64 (there was such version released! highly unstable though), then on my friends's 486, then my own Pentium with brand new Windows 95 and whole 8 MB of ram Dad bought me... it was all pirates back in those early days, my first PC sims I bought were Tornado with Desert operations addon on CD and Aces Over Pacific with 1946. It was 1996. Then came early 1997 and I bought Janes' ATF. That title was dream come true. All those planes! Those screens, the INTRO! Library, mission editor. Manual in blue jeans soft cover. Later, custom libraries adding cluster munitions downloaded via modem @ 2 kilbytes/s at school...

 

Then around 1998, 1999 during the "simulators flood" from modern military I switched to WW2 and Luftwaffe sucked me in.

Funny as some 12, 10 years ago I knew ins-and-outs of all Bf-109, Fw-190 variants and could draw all Junkers prototypes from memory, often drawing my own creations during boring lecture. Now I hardly recollect some data or designations. EAW was the title I choosed as my object of eternal love. Especially when I discovered Sandbagger's sites and other ones in early 2000s... If only I knew back then that name of the creator will come to my simming life again in several years with different titles and era...

 

I remember reading Strike Fighters preview on Sim HQ, at that time I was like "Jets? Blah!"

 

Then I had some time break from flight sims and gaming in general, when I came back Il2 was still in it's full glory but I still played modded EAW over and over.

Then in March of 2005 a friend of mine, and mostly choppers junkie gave me his Wings Over Vietnam. I searched some info about it back home, installed... played for few hours bitching about EVERYTHING except the planes. Some time later, during summer break on studies, one evening out of boredom I started searching for mods for it. First that came as a result was

F-111 with nice dedicated cockpit (I think it was Varks' Den...) then some infos and screens on Sim HQ, finally Combat Ace. That night I created my account here.

 

Rest is history.

 

 

Thank you TK&Combat Ace

Edited December 2, 2011 by Stary

[+Julhelm 266]

When I was a kid my favorite airplane bar none was the RA-5C. I've lost count of the number of digital RA-5's I've created since doing an A-5 shootemup using SEUCK on the C-64. I know I did a bunch in FST which was an awesome program. It had really good terrain tools, too.

[+ianh755 196]

The 1st Sim I ever remember was around the late 80's and called F-16 Falcon on the Spectrum 128 +2 with it's multi-load tape! I ditched sims until my dad bought a 486 and we got TFX. After I joined up and left home I again ditched PC's altogether until playing F-22 ADF on a mates PC sparked my interest back. Then came the best sim I've ever flown (and I've logged 1000's of hours in it) - F-22 Total Air War (best campaigns ever!).

 

Then in the early 2000's came the dry years as everyone stopped making sims! I think the authenticity put most regular people off and the companies couldn't sustain themselves on the hardcore users only. I still kept buying whatever came out (B-17, Combat Flight Sim, Falcon 4.0, even the F22/F16/Mig29 pack etc) but nothing really captured my interest for long.

 

It was about 2007 when I finally tried SF1 WOE and while I enjoyed it I thought something was lacking and it was put back on the shelf. After a few years I got bored and re-installed it and searched the web for patches which brought me here. I found the ODS install and thought "it's free, it's got Tornados in so I'll give ago" and it was like playing a whole new game (the clouds, the effects, the new planes/weapons - WOW ). That started a trawl of the other SF1 games and as many mods as I could install and each stock game was usually improved tenfold by the work done by the guys on here.

 

I only made the jump to SF2 when a new computer meant Win7 (DX10) and it's amazing that the little changes can add up to so much extra. Yet again the mod community has taken a stock game where the A/C look amazing but the rest is lacking and turned everything upto 11. I've still got a SF1-ODS install as there's no ODS yet for SF2 and going between SF1/SF2 graphics shows the newer game really does look so much better.

 

Next I suppose will be SF2-NA and we'll what happens after that!

[Aarow 0]

you guys are lucky, i only discovered these awesome TW series only few months ago, i was dealing with civilian aviation sims for a while..

but luckily enough i have been able to get lots of the freeware stuff up to now, builded my sim platform for the cold era and now ready to take some action

Edited December 3, 2011 by Aarow

[KiwiBiggles 122]

I'd been thinking about buying SF2 for probably a couple years, and never found quite enough justification to jump in with some cash. It wasn't just the game, I needed an upgrade to W7 and a RAM upgrade. It actually took a mobo blowup to get me to the computer store. Once there I barely managed to loosen the purse strings just enough for the long awaited upgrade (with a young family there are ALWAYS other priorities) ... and it was the just released A-4K DLC that did it for me. Here's why....

 

 

When I was growing up, these A-4Ks were based just down the road from the town where I lived, and they would sometimes exercise at the local civvie airport - which I could see from my bedroom window. When these Rhinos came to town for Triad 76(?) my old man was working on base at Ohakea (on a civvie contract) and chanced to meet the pilots, a lady freind of the family had something to do with it - pilots huh? Anyhow, they were really nice fellas and my brother and I got to go on base and sit in those very F-4s on the apron. I've seen the A-4Ks at airshows and elsewhere many times since, though sadly now they're gone forever.

 

I've wanted to fly these birds myself ever since, and flying them on the 'puter is just fine by me - I'm convinced I'd be a "smoking whole in the ground" in very short order in a real jet. To be sure, my virtual flying bears this theory out!

 

So once I got home from the store and confirmed my 'puter was back in running order - it wasn't long till I slapped down for SF2E. I found BeachAV8Rs training missions at SimHQ, and they led me here for the various upgrades required for the training missions. Being a mission editor nut, of course I soon needed a better mission editor, I'm keen on fifties cold war scenarios anyway - the early Bundesluftwaffe is fascinating with guys like Erich Hartmann, Günther Rall and Gerhard Barkhorn involved - I'd even created a campaign in IL-2 - so Exp2 was a no brainer.

 

Funny thing is - it's been over a month now and I'm having such a blast I still haven't bought the A-4K that started it all!

 

Very, very soon though...

[+Dave 2,322]

Hey Kiwi if money is tight I would be more than happy to buy you a copy. I know about the young family thing and there were people who helped me out so I would like to pay it forward.

[KiwiBiggles 122]

Hey Dave,

 

That's a really generous thought, but honestly we're fine - just have to be bit thoughtful about the family budget is all, and we get by OK all things considered.

 

Man, when I think about the hours of enjoyment I've had flight simming, mainly with the IL-2 community, and now here at CombatAce, I'm already very, very grateful. I've been paid forward many times over by all you guys who devote your time (the most precious resource of all!) to the communities. I don't begrudge TK either, I really appreciate the product he and his crew have put together, and understand the difficulties of running a business.

 

Flight simming has become an important activity in my life, whether it's to relax and take my mind off the day to day challenges of our world, or to appreciate the sacrifice of service people all over the world. It's been well worth the time and money invested.

 

 

Really, thank you for the offer though, I'm humbled.

 

 

Kiwi

[Spinners 15,986]

I've been (military) aviation mad since the early 1970's when 1/72 scale aircraft modelling gripped me but I never really got into flight sims (or any other form of gaming) until about four years ago when I picked up IL-2 for £3.99 in the local Woolworths. At the time my PC wasn't really suitable for gaming but IL-2 held my interest for a few short weeks until January 2008 when I picked up Strike Fighters Gold which ran pretty well on my PC so quickly added WoV and WOE from ebay just before WOI came out as a download. I've since downloaded all the earlier titles from the Third Wire store and in Dec 2008 SF2 came out and I've really enjoyed the release of the earlier titles in SF2 format and the Expansion Pack's and DLC's. The era covered by the Third Wire sims really hits the spot for me!

[Wrench 9,849]

KiwiBiggles:

perhaps this will help:

 

http://combatace.com/files/file/11719-new-zealand-a-4k-skyhawk-pack-for-sf2-re-dux-major-update-140211/

 

by one of your neighbors, dtmdragon

[KiwiBiggles 122]

Thanks Wrench, that's a really nice pack. I'll check it out!

 

All the best

Kiwi

[Tony_Spike 19]

I've been (military) aviation mad since the early 1970's when 1/72 scale aircraft modelling gripped me but I never really got into flight sims (or any other form of gaming) until about four years ago when I picked up IL-2 for £3.99 in the local Woolworths. At the time my PC wasn't really suitable for gaming but IL-2 held my interest for a few short weeks until January 2008 when I picked up Strike Fighters Gold which ran pretty well on my PC so quickly added WoV and WOE from ebay just before WOI came out as a download. I've since downloaded all the earlier titles from the Third Wire store and in Dec 2008 SF2 came out and I've really enjoyed the release of the earlier titles in SF2 format and the Expansion Pack's and DLC's. The era covered by the Third Wire sims really hits the spot for me!

 

pretty much the same as me ...but realy started in the early 90s (i was born in the 80s but 1987 is my limit of rememberance so i class myself as a 90s kid ...it was when i did all my gaming anyway) i was a big fan of jets at the time though ...solidified by movies like top gun and wings of the apache, iron eagle, blue thunder, flight of the intruder, ....also films like battle of britain and dambusters caught my attention ......i was a scribbler ...i would draw aircraft for my other plane mad freinds at school (one was an air cadet) from memory

 

i started off playing the commodore 64 but i never had any flying games exept top gun ...my real interest in sims started when i got 3 games ......LHX attack chopper on the mega drive, F117 Nighthawk & Wings on the Amiga 1200 (though i got these in 1998 rather than when they first came out ....we were a poor family and i didnt get chance to buy the latest releases)

 

immediatly i was hooked on wings ...its story and gameplay are awesome ...i was on it all the time...but i played LHX every day i could and played nighthawk at least once a week, ......ever since then i have loved flight sim games ......i even managed to get hold of an old NES with ultimate air combat ......then i snagged a playstation around 2000 and a copy of Air combat and ace combat 3 ....so yeah ...fanboy

 

but it wasnt till a few years ago i got a old PC and then a laptop when that broke (it came with a 3 internet package from carphone warehouse)........i managed to find a few sims for it i like ...mostly old abandonware dos games like red baron ...but i did buy from gamestation a decent WW1 flight sim called wings of honour battles of the red baron (or something similar)........i was back looking for that wings fix you see i been hooked on WW1 sims since despite my love of jets .....then one day last year it broke .....i was rootin round on amazon for a replacement and found a game called the history of flight

 

it contained Battle of Britain 2 ...i had tried the first on my old pc and it wouldnt work properly cos you had to chuck coal in the pc it was that old .......and unfortunatly whilst this one worked the graphics card on my laptop wasnt good enough for my full enjoyment, .......it also came with F/A 18 hornet, .......that wouldnt even install,

 

the 3rd game it came with was strike fighters gold

 

i tryed it ......and i would love to say the rest is history .....but it wouldnt install either ...something about not being able to locate the installer despite it being on the disk

 

i turned to the 4th game hoping to god it would justify the tenner i spent on it, ....the whole reason i bought it in the first place ......i had tryed the others first out of simple curiosity before i put on my love .......a little game called First Eagles

 

and now the rest is history ...........i found it was the best i had played on in a long time (and decided that even though BOB2 didnt realy work that both games were enough to justify my purchase ....i just had to get a faster comp) and looked for more info on it ..i read the game was moddable from wikipedia and also found that the aforementioned strike fighters was part of the same series....... searched for mods and found this place

 

instantly signed up and bought a months membership

 

then later on i bought WOE and my jet love has been rekindled .....so i got vietnam and SFG just to see if i could get a working version and im happy to say that i do now (btw their is nothing missing on my origional copy file wise ...if my original had worked i would say my purchace definitly was justifyed) ..then i downloaded israel from the thirdwire site and now i have a merged first gen, and i love em enough that if i ever got a newer pc i would shell out for the second gens aswell ...i seriously do not begrudge TK my money when its on something this damn good

 

i just downloaded FE and WOI expansions too so .....im gonna be a busy little bunny lol

[arthur666 65]

Thanks yall. It's nice to have some perspective on this weird hobby. My RL friends will never get it, nor do I expect them to.

 

Grandpa flew P-51D in WW2, and had some amazing stories, so I think that is what sparked it all. Like Malibu, I grew up in the '80's (born mid '70's) so the teen fighters were all I cared about other than WW2 stuff. Built tons of Revell models and generally geeked out on planes. C64 brought Strike Eagle, F-19 Gunship and others. I used to take those Microprose manuals to school and study them, especially those line-drawing diagrams and specs.

 

Living in central NC, the only military planes I usually saw were A-6's from Cherry Point, I guess. One flew over at a low enough altitude about once a week. Not buzzing the treetops, but low enough that I could tell it had a tan nose. Going to Myrtle Beach was always a treat because of the A-10's stationed there thru the 90's. They would cruise down the strip at <1k feet, I remember the distinctive whine of the big fans. They were dark green, and the first time I saw one painted grey, I was shocked. Once on the ride home (backroads, out in the sticks), I saw one doing (very) low altitude maneuvers, literally at treetop level, making banked turns over cotton fields and popping up over the wind-breaks. Awesome.

 

A couple of times one summer while I was at Hyco Lake, floating out in the water on a weekday, an F-14 would come screaming over the lake at a couple hundred feet, wings fully swept. Flew right over me one time. That was an amazing experience.

 

Anyways, SF2 is were I belong.

[Centurion-1 1,228]

It's strange isn't it how aviation madness infects some of us so bad I certainly don't have any of it from any relatives, there is a strong maritime tradition in my family (father, and grandfathers on both sides) and ironically I ended up there too, but aviation has always been an obsession of mine (and well military stuff in general). I loved the scale models when I was a kid, and the early flight sims! I was born in 1986, and growing up in southern Finland it was always a treat to see Drakens (the double delta was easy to spot) and Hawks buzzing over the archipelago at pretty low altitude and then later F/A-18s. I was pretty young when Finland decided to buy Hornets in 1995, I remember going to Turku Air Show and seeing the Blue Angels perform. Man that was awesome! Also Panavia Tornado low-level passes..

 

I didn't have a PC before I was 12 which my father generously bought for me (no doubt hoping to make me some programmer genius that becomes a billionaire ) and that started me off on the PC Top-Gun (which was great!!), Digital Integrations HIND! as well as Jane's ATF. I loved the games, and after a hiatus in the early 2000s I have now returned to military simming via IL2 to SF2. SF2 really nails the "fun factor" while being solidly set in the real world as opposed to arcade sims. And since I happen to have a degree in 3d graphics and game development that I don't have any professional use for, I'm glad to aid this awesome community with whatever I can give. My only lament would be the lack of multiplayer, just LAN co-op would do it for me..

[+Soulfreak 6,524]

I was born in the 70´s and had the luck to grow up near Hopsten Airbase (2km away from our House).

Of course i was very often on the airbase to watch the Jets & some props too.

Saw a lot of different types. Damn that was so great.

During that time i felt in Love with the Starfighter.

Starfighters were regular guests @ Hopsten Airbase in that time.

JaboG 36 switched in the mid 70´s over to the F-4F so I hadn´t the luck to

see an F-104G with a Westfalen Horse on it. But i had the luck to see

Marine Starfighters, JaboG 33, JaboG 34, WTD 61 & AMI Starfighters.

The best was that i worked during my Military Duty (1996-2000) as an

ammution mechanic @ JG 72 "Westfalen" (JaboG 36 was redesigned to a Fighter Wing after the End of the cold war).

During that time i worked on the F-4F ICE. But i saw a lot of interesting Planes and things (f.e. Emergency landing of an F-4F).

I can´t remember exactly when it was, but one saturday i was with my girlfriend in a big mall. I was very bored about shopping clothes

for my girl. Then there was a game store. I went in and looked around. a few minutes later i saw

"Strike Fighters Project 1" I saw the F-4 on the cover, thought, hmmm looks interesting. Then i looked at the backside and "BOOOM" an F-104G Starfighter, flyable.

Didn´t looked at the Prize, that was equal. Bought it for 49,99€. After that i had the Strike Fighters Virus.

Registered @ SimQH & AVsim and later @ Biohaz. Rest is History!^^

[Tony_Spike 19]

Also Panavia Tornado low-level passes..

 

my one great love lol

 

i was brought up a few miles from finningley air base so i got to see the airshow from my bedroom window lol

Edited October 26, 2012 by tonyspike

[Shaka 0]

As a kid in the late 1960s I was bought up near an general aviation airport in Durban North named Virginia Airport South Africa and they had an annual airshow. I remember a Rocket assisted take off by a Hercules from barely 100 metres from where I was standing pre OHS madness obviously. The Mirage 111 dual pair and some times 4 ship formation which actually had a high speed flypast that BROKE the sound barrier. The one that blew me away was the Buccaneer doing touch and gos on this tiny tarmac strip, I still have vivid images of these events. I discovered the Strike Fighter through Cold War gone hot used to read such books as World war 3 and the like when the world appeared to be heading in that direction. Always fascinated by the subject, Combat Ace and TW have given me endless hours of living a simulated dream in helping taking the pressures of life away and the dream of flying the Buccaneer. Thank you everyone for all your contributions to this simulation from the pas,t the present and in the future.