Problem Installing Terrain Mods

[IamFritz]

First of all, gotta say it- this is a fun sim/game. It doesn't have all the button pushing I'm used to, but it still rocks visually and flight model wise- awesome. Thanks to the developers and modding community.

 

My system is a Lenovo desktop 3.1 GHz x 4, 6 GB RAM and GeForce GT 620 w/2 GB RAM. I will be posting screenshots.

 

My aircraft preference is the F-15 Eagle in all its carnations (Thank you, the creator of the F-15 Super Pack).

 

I currently have SF2, SF2E, SF2I and SF2NA.

 

I have a few questions about mods and what not.

 

Let me get this one out of the way: Why, with THAT system, does North Atlantic bring my system to its knees? It's 4 fps, no kidding. The tiles don't seem that complex or anything. If that's the status quo for NA, has someone made a mod/fix for it? I'd love to get a little carrier action from time to time, but the only way to play now is to crank all teh detail down so it looks like a 90's flight sim, well... it's a cryin' shame, isn't it?

 

OK, now onto other questions. I'd love to install the GermanyCE mods, but I have no folder. My Israel game has a folder. But my Europe, NA and SF2 mod folders have no Terrain folder. Now, in the program's directory (c:Program Files (x86)/Thirdwire/Strike Fighters 2/Terrains) there is a Terrains folder, but it has "security catalog" files by the terrain names (Desert, GermanyCE, IcelandNA, IsraelME), instead of folders. Why is there no corresponding folder for each game? I'd love to find these folders and get that beaufitul rolling, tree-covered countryside for Germany.

 

Oh, and I'm updated all the way up to the latest patches. Really stinks they fixed the cloud level up high- that made for some great dogfights at first.

 

It's a lot, but thanks in advance for all your help.

[+EricJ]

http://combatace.com/topic/62302-what-is-the-mod-folder/

 

This should help with your questions...

[+MigBuster]

 

Let me get this one out of the way: Why, with THAT system, does North Atlantic bring my system to its knees? It's 4 fps, no kidding. The tiles don't seem that complex or anything. If that's the status quo for NA, has someone made a mod/fix for it? I'd love to get a little carrier action from time to time, but the only way to play now is to crank all teh detail down so it looks like a 90's flight sim, well... it's a cryin' shame, isn't it?

 

 

 

 

The Terrain engine is new in SF2NA - but TW ran out of money I suspect to get it optimised properly

 

I have replaced it with another which gives back the FPS - here is the latest I think http://members.quicknet.nl/lm.broers/  - unzip and see the readme.txt - basically a copy and paste job

Edited August 22, 2013 by MigBuster

[+Fubar512]

The GT 620 is your weak link.  It is actually less capable than the onboard video on the latest AMD APUs  and Intel Haswell CPUs. The following chart compares the previous generation of AMD and Intel onboard solutions.  Notice that the GT 620 paired with the AMD A-10 is actually less capable than that same processor when it's using it's embedded video (A-10 5800K).

 

Edited August 22, 2013 by Fubar512

[IamFritz]

It's not the GT620- I couldn't play SF2 higher than 800x600 with the old on-board card. I can play with everything maxed out now with the 620. I'll try that SF2NA download.

[IamFritz]

I understand the mod folder concept. I've added dozens of planes and atmospheric mods. And they work beautifully.

 

I've even manually added Terrain folders and dragged and dropped as instructed but the game doesn't show the mods I drop into them- same old vanilla terrains.

 

Look, I'm a veteran at this stuff. I was a professional Falcon 4 dancer back in the day. Back in the 90's I modded Falcon 3 using a hex editor to remove Su-27s from Saddam's air force and replace them with MiG-23s. I've tangoed around the floor with 3 iterations of LOMAC...  in short, I am no noob.

 

I'll pour over the above forum links and readmes in case there's any thing I missed.

[+Wrench]

just to be clear, in you mods folder(s) is the main terrain subfolder named

 

Terrains

 

plural, not "Terrain" singular.

[IamFritz]

One of them did have that typo- my default desert one, and when I fixed it, it now works- thanks! But Germany still doesn't.

[IamFritz]

Heh heh heh. Now I see what I did wrong. Embarrassing, not admitting to it publicly.

[+Wrench]

[IamFritz]

I got Germany to work, but the sky was wrecked. GRRR. Tryiing a re-install from the ground up.

[IamFritz]

...aaaaaand crap. Now none of the mods are working.

 

Once again, I can add planes and effects fine. But the theater terrain mods aren't working.

 

I'm using Windows 7, how much of a difference does that make with the mod folders?

[+Wrench]

absolutely none.

 

all my terrains are built in Winge7, for SF2 at the latest patch level.

 

Even if the terrain is 1stGen, and NOT had the new ter xxx statements added to the data ini, they work. just without the latest visual effects. The only way a terrain cannot show up, is mismatched names between the various inis and the TFD/HFD.

 

can you post a screenshot of the /Terrains folder of the mods folder in question?, like below???

 

if the sky was NFG, I'd remove any "Sky Mod" stuff from the /Flight folder, or wherever it is they install

[IamFritz]

I figured out I was installing the NF4, which was meant for SF1, onto my SF2 install. That's why it went south. I downloaded and installed NF5 and now Europe is all pretty and awesome.

 

Next are the NA FPS mod, and the hires default desert mods. Which I had running before, but had to remove to fix NF5.

 

Thanks for your post- It'll prove helpful as I mod along.