SF2: Vietnam Air & Ground War Expansion 2.0 help please

[Jarhead0331]

So I cannot get this excellent mod to run on my newish Windows 8 machine. I have a merged install containing SF2:V, SF2:NA, SF2:I and SF2:E. All are running the July 2013 patch. I've installed all the mod subfolders into the proper "mod" folder in user/save games/Thirdwire/SF:V. I've checked the options.ini and its pointing to the correct folder. when I run SF2:V, I still just get vanilla SF2:V. It is not picking up and running the mod. Any tips? I thought maybe the July 2013 patch required me to install the the Sept 2013 update to the mod, but since I do not have SF2, I am unable to do that...

Thanks in advance.

[+eburger68]

Jarhead0331:

 

If the mod is not showing up in when you run the game, then the mod isn't installed in the place where the game expects mods to be. Two possibilities come to mind:

 

1) The Expansion Pack is installed to a mod folder that the executable you're running isn't using.

 

2) The Expansion Pack is installed to the correct mod folder, but is in some kind of sub-folder or set of nested folders within that mod folder, the effect of which is to hide the mod from the game.

 

As I can't see what your mod folder looks like, I can't tell what the problem. Bottom line, though, is that the mod is not properly installed.

 

One other note: if you're running at the July 2013 patch level, then you need the Sept 2013 Update for the Expansion Pack. Without that update, you're going to see lots of problems. So that means I would strongly recommend that you get SF2, then install the Sept. 2013 Update.

 

Eric Howes

[Jarhead0331]

eburger68:

 

Thanks for the reply. 

 

I seem to have sorted the problem, but I'm not entirely sure how.  I deleted all of my SF2 titles and reinstalled. However, this time I did not reintall Israel or North Atlantic.  I also purchased SF2 vanilla, reninstalled your mod and applied the Sept. 2013 update.  I now appear to have the campaigns and the aircraft.

 

Out of curiosity, do you think the problem could have been caused by an improperly merged installation of the various SF2 titles, ie. they were instaled in the wrong order.  Alternatively, could the installations of Israel and North Atlantic somehow created a disruption somewhere?

 

Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

S/F

[+eburger68]

Jarhead0331:

 

The most recent patch levels of the SF2 games are supposed to allow installation of the individual games in any order, if I'm not mistaken. So, I doubt that was the problem. If the base game worked, the modded game should also work. In your case, it seemed that the game simply did not see the mod package where you had it installed.

 

Eric Howes

[wiki]

@jarhead
Did you follow the install procedure ?

-copy paste original SF2V.exe somewhere else and rename it to your own (ex: SF2 GroundV or else anything u like)
-then move it back to folder thirdwire/strike fighters
-make a shortcut then run it
-after already in menu screen then go fly for a few seconds then quit
-check if it's already make its own folder in your folder /savedgame/strikefighters/(your new vietnam folder should already there)
-then delete all file inside objects folder in those new created folder
-then simply extract those Vietnam Air ground gold 2.0 mod including new patch expansion Air ground 2.0 inside those new created folder
-after that open option.ini
-in the line single mission make a date as in reference in manual readme SF2 Ground vietnam (maybe around 1962-1972? i forgot :D ) then save it
-now your mod should run propperly, just click at shortcut game
 

Happy hunting!

Edited December 7, 2013 by wiki

[Jarhead0331]

@jarhead

Did you follow the install procedure ?

 

-copy paste original SF2V.exe somewhere else and rename it to your own (ex: SF2 GroundV or else anything u like)

-then move it back to folder thirdwire/strike fighters

-make a shortcut then run it

-after already in menu screen then go fly for a few seconds then quit

-check if it's already make its own folder in your folder /savedgame/strikefighters/(your new vietnam folder should already there)

-then delete all file inside objects folder in those new created folder

-then simply extract those Vietnam Air ground 2.0 mod including new patch Air ground 2.0 inside those new created folder

-after that open option.ini

-in the line single mission make a date as in reference in manual readme SF2 Ground vietnam (maybe around 1962-1972? i forgot :D ) then save it

-now your mod should run propperly, just click at shortcut game

 

Happy hunting!

I do not recall seeing any of those instructions in the readme, so I did not do any of that.  I've installed this mod on several different machines running several different operating systems, configurations and software versions over the years and I don't recall ever doing any of that, other than running the game once to create the "mod" folders.  Anyway, I do seem to have managed to get it to run, so problem solved. I just wish I definitevly knew how so I could help others and avoid this again in the future.

[+eburger68]

Folks:

 

Actually, there's no need to edit the Options.ini SingleMission StartYear/EndYear lines. You only need to do that when a mod needs to run outside the default year spread, which is 1948-1982. (The terrain .INIs for the Vietnam terrain are limited to 1964-1975.)

 

Eric Howes

[+Stary]

Eric,

 

would you be interested in decreased lights ranges for various flak effects?

 

I set them in my Expansion install lower cause right now to me they cause too bright light too far away

[+eburger68]

Stary:

 

Sure, post what you have and I'll take a look.

 

Eric Howes