SFP2 or SFP1/08 Patch Models in SFP1_06

[DARoot 6]

Well, OK, I will post these comments and observations, for the benefit of others, who MAY be wanting to try to set up their own dedicated

"Pacific Theater" (PTO) installation of SFP1, for the sake of, perhaps, saving YOU some of the time and trouble I had to go through ....

 

1) It has been recommended, elsewhere on this Forum, that you "upgrade" to SFP2 NA (or, at least, use "WOE" [Wings Over Europe] as

your "base" installation module. I cannot comment on that, as I have neither.

It may be your best advice ....

 

2) Most of the really nifty terrains (and Campaigns) currently available are ... rather old ...

AND were designed for earlier versions of the SFP1 Game Engine (between 2004 and 2010).

[Wrench, for one, recommends using them with SFP1 patched to NO LATER THAN the August 2006 patch. I must concur.]

 

3) After fighting with, and fooling around with, various aircraft (that apparently caused CTDs in my SFP1_06 Installation, even when I was NOT

flying them), I made a SECOND installation of SFP1, patched to the Oct 2008 level. THAT solved THAT problem.

 

4) Not to point fingers or anything, but the aircraft models I had problems with in SFP1_06 were --

-- A-Team's "B-26B" (designed and tested in WOE at the 2008 patch level)

-- Veltro2K's "PBY-5a Catalina" (with .ini adaptations by Wrench) [designed and tested in SFP2]

I INVARIABLY got CTDs (well, "Strike Fighters Has Stopped Working" error messages -- same thing, really...) when these were used, and

some times even when NOT used, but otherwise present in the "\Aircraft" folder.. in my SFP1_06 installation.

-- To a lesser extent, I also got CTDs (as above) when using the following -->

--- A6M2-N (designed for SFP2, but "should work" in SFP1...)

--- A6M2-N_Early (designed for SFP2, but "should work" in SFP1...)

--- B-17F (designed for "Gen1")

--- Pasco's N1K1 "George" (no comments)

ALL of the above (except B-26B and B-17F. which are A-Team models, and Pasco's N1K1) are using Wrench's FM modifications.

 

5) Well, I first found out that the "B-26B Marauder" would work FINE in the A-Team's "Wings Over Russia" install (which REQUIRES SFP1

patched to the Oct 2008 level). [Hurrah! I thought -- Re-install PTO to a SFP1_08 "base," and all will be well!]

 

Not so fast ....

 

Yes, the "B-26B" and the "PBY-5a" DO work fine in the SFP1_08 environment.

Problem is, every OTHER airplane (with a few exceptions) in my stable is, for the most part, unflyable in SFP1_08

[blows up on runway, completely uncontrollable, or "..departs from controlled flight..." at various points].

ArmourDave's 4 Japanese aircraft seem to be OK in both.

Oddly, most Bomber aircraft appear to be OK in both (but, a bit SLOW in SFP1_08).

Wolf257's aircraft FMs are REALLY hosed in SFP1_08 ...

(Well, Wrench DID warn us about this ....)

 

In short, switching to SFP1_08 is NOT the answer ... causes more problems than it solves ....

 

Here's a quickie "Test Report" using the PBY-5a as an example, comparing Single Mission results (Anti-Ship -- LOVE firing torpedoes) in my

SFP1_06 and SFP1_08 installations (everything is THE SAME in each, except the SFP1 installation used) for whatever insights these

provide to the more experienced modders out there --

-- SFP1_06 --

--- Solomons-V3 (terrain)

1942

- CTD on load

1943

- Load OK, "Alt-N" OK, CTD on lineup for torpedo attack

1944

- CTD on load

--- Okinawa 1944-45 (terrain)

1943

- Load OK, "Alt-N" OK, CTD on "Esc" after being shot down.

1945

- Load OK, "Alt-N" OK, "Mission Complete" OK, "Approach Home Base" OK, CTD on "DeBrief" Screen.

-- SFP1_8 --

--- Solomons-V3 (terrain)

1942

- OK to end

1943

- OK to end

1944

- OK to end

--- Okinawa 1944-45 (terrain)

1943

- OK to end

1945

- Crash (my fault), and CTD on "ESC" to End Mission.

Make any sense to anybody?

[not to me, unfortunately ...]

 

So, I'm asking the more experienced Members of the Community to, perhaps, "step up" and post SOMETHING, SOMEWHERE (in

"Knowledge Base," perhaps?) about --

 

-- How to "reverse engineer" aircraft models and FMs designed for SFP2, or the post-Oct 2008 SFP1/WOE environment, to work consistently

in a 2006 SFP1 environment...

 

-- Conversely, how to "upgrade" aircraft models/FMs designed for the 2006 environment, to the latest SFP2/post-Oct 2008 environment.

 

6) On a (somewhat) related, if tangential, note --

While puttering around with these tests, I could not help but notice that the "Shortland Island Seaplane Base"

(Position=428437,495477) in the "Solomons-V3" terrain "Targets" file has some anomalies (most notably, a "tent_round," and an oildrum

storage tank, in the middle of the water, some distance from the N and S (E and W?) ends of the "Seepiste" (in-the-water) landing field for

this area.

[Does this sort of thing bother you? Does me.

ESPECIALLY if I'm trying to take-off (in something like a B5N1 "Kate" or A6M2-N "Rufe," which are slo-o-o-ow to begin with) and there's this

godforsaken tent right in front of my flightpath ....]

 

-- (a) What th' ???

-- (b) There is probably a good reason for it, as more experienced modders have adopted it, but I do NOT understand why carrier-based WWII

fighters/bombers cannot utilize WWII-Era carrier models as their "runways/home bases."

I've read (and implemented) the suggestions in "Knowledge Base" about Adding WOV Carriers to SFP1, and have made my own missions for

WWII Carrier practice from that tutorial (using the "Akagi" and "A6M2" models, and the "CV-9" and "F4F-4" models) with great success.

{If I can fly it, and the Game AI/Autopilot can fly it, it must be OK, Eh?]

If there is an explanation as to WHY such stalwart modders as Wrench, Baltika, etc. believe a "Seepiste" (in-the-water) runway is better than

an actual carrier model, I, for one, would like to hear their views.

(Somebody posted elsewhere that problems with 3rd-party aircraft "blowing up" when trying to take off from 3rd-party carrier models could be

solved by changing the length of their "runway length" entry in their "xx_data.ini" file, but I have not yet had occasion to test this, as

everything I have done to date in this area has worked flawlessly without it. Yeah, the WWII planes get "catapulted" off the deck in an

a-historical manner (when you hit the "B" key), but at least they work ... And landing them is the real test ...)

 

Since someone will invariably ask, I'll post the following System Specs concerning my computer, and the environment in which the above

tests were run --

 

Windows XP, Service Pak 3

100 GB RAM (76.8GB currently available)

Integrated Graphics Card (on Motherboard)

Everything else (Swap Files, etc.) set to "Normal" or whatever...

SFP1 patched to v.08.30.6.9 (August 2006 Update)

AND

SFP1 patched to v.8.10.0.16 (Oct 2008b Update)

In-Game Graphics set to "Medium" (except -- see below**)

In-Game "Enemy Activity," etc. set to "Normal"

All Terrain set to use "...Desert.cat" and with:

//UseEffectShader=TRUE

//EffectShaderName=TerrainEffect.fx

All aircraft set to:

MinBaseSize=SMALL

** I had to disable ALL of Deuces's Enhanced Environmental Effects (which were supplied with some terrain mod or other), because they

caused SEVERE frame rate hits in-game, in SFP1_08.

NOT a problem with SFP1_06

... Go Figure...

 

Hope some of this information is helpful to somebody

.

DARoot

 

[Another aside -- Who changed the Forum Setup, and where did my "avatar" pic go to?]

Edited August 5, 2012 by DARoot