Advice on what pack to get.

[Rhinogamer]

Hello I am new to the forums but not new to fight sims. I recently came across the Strike Fighters Project and am extremely interested in it. Lately I have been playing Falcon 4 Allied Force, Falcon BMS, and IL-2 1946. I have tried the DCS simulators and am tired of having to actually know how to fly the real plane in order to play the game... I have already done that with Falcon. Back in the day I really enjoyed Jane's Fighters Anthology, the wide range of planes and missions with the "light sim " characteristics. I am not a fan of arcade type flight games. Strike Fighters looks to be a good match for my needs. So my question is which Strike Fighters Project 2 module do I start with that will give me the most bang for my buck. I have been thinking of North Atlantic... but I would like suggestions. Thanks for any advice. Oh I want to play the game vanilla for a bit before I get into modding it.

[+Soulfreak]

welcome on board!

It depense on.

-which timeframe do you favorise

-which aircrafts do you favorise

Edited May 29, 2013 by Soulfreak

[Rhinogamer]

welcome on board!

It depense on.

-which timeframe do you favorise

-which aircrafts do you favorise

 

To tell you the truth any timeframe and any aircraft. I am sort of fond of the Tomcat or the phantom or the crusader... sort of narrows things down I guess. Are there any perks to any individual module?

Edited May 29, 2013 by Rhinogamer

[+Soulfreak]

Then i think you should go 1st with SF2 Vietnam and maybe also get SF2 North Atlantic.

No, there are no special offers at the moment.

[macelena]

Just as he said. If you like USN planes, SF2V is the way to go. It is my favourite, together with SF2I, for historical backgrounds and such. Also, combining SF2V with SF2NA makes the later much more interesting, with USN Phantoms, the Crusaders, CVA-63s, et cetera.

[Slartibartfast]

Personally I would go with SF2 Europe as there are lots of mods for that one and is probably a very good starter pack and then add the others as you go along. As there is the Excellent Nato V pack which spans a very good time span though it is primarily land based and then you could also download the Operation Desert Storm which does include Naval aircraft (Tomcat F-18 A-7 and A-6). Also the mods here are extremely well done and also you can mix and match what you want aircraft wise.

 

Problem is there is no easy option as we all want different things...

Edited May 29, 2013 by Slartibartfast

[Spiritwalker69]

Problem is there is no easy option as we all want different things...

 

And mostly end up wanting it all!!!!

 

SF2V or SF2E are probably the best starter options either standalone or merged with SF2NA. Again it all depends on what you are looking for, however you have visited the right place for most things SF2 and even better everything here is freely available without qualification.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Spiritwalker69

[+SupGen]

I,m going with Soulfreak and macelena on this one. North Atlantic isn't the best starter...it only has two player flyables and kinda of a limited tactical/operational scenario. SF2 Vietnam comes with a bunch of flyables including most of the aircraft that come to mind when you think of the mid-cold war era: F-4s, F-8s, A-7s, etc. It also has a great Air and Ground War Expansion Pack available here. As mac said, it also provides a better base to merge NA with (if those were the only two you had) and you can add the others as you go. I think SF2 Vietnam (merged with NA if you've got the coin) provides the broadest introduction to what the series has to offer.

[Rhinogamer]

Thanks for all the great replies. One more question, is the realism equivalent to the old Jane's Combat sims?

 

I think I will start with Vietnam and slowly add from that. It was mentioned that there where more missions available from this site. How hard is it to install mods such as more campaigns or planes etc? Furthermore, I read something about a campaign customizer... I take it that is only available if you get the second expansion pack? Thanks again for the input. Oh and when I do want to mod the game is there a list of "must haves" for Vietnam or for the series in general?

[macelena]

for Vietnam, there is a complete pack by eburguer with the wich you wouldn´t need to mod anything else as it includes pretty much everything. There are some mods and mission wich are also easy to install, just look at the readme and drop files where due.

 

The campaign customizer is a DLC by TW. Its use is not much if you have just one title or get mods as needed. Indeed, it is not much useful as you can edit the campaign with ease. The second expansion, for Europe, includes a mission editor, wich is much more useful. However, if you don´t have either sf2e or exp2, you can download it as a DLC as well for 10$

Edited May 29, 2013 by macelena

[jodandawg]

Get'em all and have a blast modding and playing whatever you're in the mood for.

[+KnightWolf45]

full merge his the best options even all stock you lots of stuff to have fun whit and can learn to use diferent aircrafts from F-4 to Mirages!

 

its all about how much money you spend at one time

[Do335]

Falcon 4 Allied Force, Falcon BMS

when you've done falcon aka the master of complex as well as master of mods... go all 5 merged....

tis not a complex game at all, stock version gets boring quick. variety of mods is the one to go for.

[+MigBuster]

I would just go for SF2V - with either SF2I or SF2I that come with the default ground war campaigns V doesnt have.

 

 

I wouldn't overwhelm yourself with loads of games and mods to start - get used to flying for a bit - the cold war era is probably a bit different to Falcon/IL - the tactics change all the way through it as the missiles/radar/ airframes change.

[+Wrench]

and at some point, just plane jane SF2, as the desert terrain (mainly it's cataloge file, aka "cat") is needed for a buttload of the add on terrains

[Do335]

...

meh probably true... might've flown too much meself and gulped down the whole process anyways

[Rhinogamer]

Thanks again everyone! I got Vietnam and love it... have already gone on an F-8C campaign and died a couple of missions in due to a botched carrier landing. However i managed to rack up four air to air kills before my demise. Simulation settings on hard of course. I am thinking about starting a YouTube "lets play" channel just for this series.

[Romflyer]

Thanks again everyone! I got Vietnam and love it... have already gone on an F-8C campaign and died a couple of missions in due to a botched carrier landing. However i managed to rack up four air to air kills before my demise. Simulation settings on hard of course. I am thinking about starting a YouTube "lets play" channel just for this series.

 

It's good to hear that you figured out a good choice and that it's working for you. As mentioned earlier by Supgen..........you need this http://combatace.com...20-vpaf-add-on/

It is complete package that will transform your install into a much better simulator.....I don't think very many people run SF2V without it.

 

Welcome to Combat Ace

Cheers

Romflyer

Edited May 31, 2013 by Romflyer