Question regarding a Phantom for SF:NA

[Flapsfull 2]

Hello everyone,

 

I have a question. I bought/own SF:NA . My question is, is there a F-4 phantom model (USN or USAF model preferably) that I can

legally download from the file library and use in SF:NA?

Don't get me wrong, I know that if I search SF2 Files->Cold war era> US origin  there a lots of phantoms.

My question is, am I allowed to use one of those in SF:NA since the only two original aircraft included are the F-14 and A-7. I would like to honour TW copyright

and I don't know whether the F-4 models in the download section are completely newly designed or whether they use the Third Wire f-4 external model / cockpit or parts there of

that were only originally included in the earlier Wings Titles.

Hope this  sounds not too complicated. I simply would like to do things correct regarding copyrights.If someone who is knowledgeable regarding the models/mods in the library

could provide some information it would be great

Thanks a lot in advance,

 

Kind regards,

 

Oliver

 

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Flapsfull

[+Trotski 936]

You wouldnt be infringing any copyrights as far as I know, there has never been an issue with using any 3rd party models, skins , terrains, or campaigns, you are allowed to mod, alter and pretty much do anything you like, other than re publish copyrighted material from and of the TW series, ie. If for example, you created a skin for , lets say one of those F-14's you have already, if you then uploaded it to this site, you wouldnt be allowed to upload any of the copright material,  LOD's etc so the same goes for downloading from here, nothing on this site is in breach of anything, so download away, and have fun !!! 

[+Trotski 936]

As a further note, if you only have the SF/NA part, I would recommend getting the full set as that will also increase your "stable" of available aircraft, also the add on DLC packs are worth having as well, I assume you have been on Thirdwires website, and seen all the goodies on there ?

 

[+allenjb42 4,234]

In short. Yes, if you see a F-4 in the Downloads you can use it in game without any legal infringements.

Have fun! 

[Flapsfull 2]

Hello,

 

thank you both for your very quick replies . I'm glad to hear that I can free and legally use the phantom from the download section!

Yes trotski I 've been on the TW website and am considering purchasing another one of the SF2 series titles as well.

Thank you very much again. most helpful!

Kind regards,

Oliver

[fallenphoenix1986 603]

1 hour ago, Flapsfull said:

Hello,

 

thank you both for your very quick replies . I'm glad to hear that I can free and legally use the phantom from the download section!

Yes trotski I 've been on the TW website and am considering purchasing another one of the SF2 series titles as well.

Thank you very much again. most helpful!

Kind regards,

Oliver

If Phantoms are you'r thing then I'd recommend SF2 Vietnam, you can merge the two titles into a single install which means you'll be able to use the features added in NA in Vietnam. There is a very intuitive simple mission editor is available as a DLC, though if you want to spend a bit more its included in the European expansion pack (however you'd also need SF2E as well).

[+Trotski 936]

yes Vietnam is a must, but like I said get 'em all eventually if you can, I have the full set, including all the DLC and First Eagles as well....greedy ?.....moi ?.....nah lol lol lol the main thing is enjoy the sim , if you have never tinkered or modded before , its a good and relatively easy sim to work with as well, and the community on here is great, and friendly  and will point you in the right direction if you get stuck with anything at all.

 

[Wrench 9,849]

The only Phantom missing from the stock hangar is the "S" model. All the others, B,C,D,J are stock 3w units. The F-4N is available as the DLC, and for the price, well worth it, as is the JASDF F-4EJ. The BLW (German) F-4E and F-4F are stock from SF2:E.

Be advised, when downloading and adding 3rd party Phantoms; the Mirage Factory units come directly to mind, you may need to rename the non-factory addons (via folder and main ini  to something NOT stock, as there WILL be conflicts when/if you get the 3W units. If that seems confusing, we'll clear that up when it's needed to do so. It's really easy to do.

Phantoms is one of the main things that's great about the SF/Wo*/SF2 series

[fallenphoenix1986 603]

14 minutes ago, Wrench said:

Phantoms is one of the main things that's great about the SF/Wo*/SF2 series

Amen,

To the best of my knowledge its the best combat "sim" featuring the F-4... if you just want to fly the F-4 then FSX/P3d have a couple of really nice add-ons but if you want  to blow something up this is where you need to be... at least until the DCS module arrives though that wont have the variety you get here.

[+Trotski 936]

..........................................................................Double Ugly; Rhino; Old Smokey; Lead Sled; Elephant; St. Louis Slugger; Eisenschwein ("Iron Pig"), Fliegender Ziegelstein ("Flying Brick"), Luftverteidigungsdiesel ("Air Defense Diesel) (Luftwaffe nicknames); Tomb (early RAF nickname); Kurnass (Israeli nickname meaning "Hammer")................nothing subtle or fragile about the F4 ,  but boy what an aeroplane, love em' even though was constanly deafened by the buggers when patrolling the airfield...............................................

[fallenphoenix1986 603]

1 hour ago, trotski00 said:

 was constanly deafened by the buggers when patrolling the airfield...............................................

I'll take deafened over getting blown off my feat by a visiting F-4F at Leuchars 

[+streakeagle 871]

Even after DCS World releases its F-4E, there is no substitute for the SF2 experience: pretty much every minor variant of very major F-4 that ever served except for the F-4S and the modern updates to the F-4E/F-4F series... and historically themed environments to fly and fight in. I don't fly SF2 very much any more after about a decade of flying for hours nearly every single night I was home with an operational PC, but I still love it and appreciate its many advantages over past and present sims.

If you are tight on money, SF2 is rather high priced for such a dated sim that technically isn't even supported past Windows 7. There is too much content to fully appreciate if you buy it all at one time. I have everything TK ever published for SFP1/WoX/SF2 (except for a few of the localized versions released outside the US). But I bought them all piecemeal as they were released, so the cost was spread out over a number of years. The downloads from CombatAce make it possible to get an amazing experience out of SF2 after only owning one core version of the game, which may have contributed to the games financial demise. Unfortunately, SF2NA was more like a naval expansion pack focused on a new terrain engine tested with Iceland, ship-to-ship combat, improved carrier support, and adding the F-14 Tomcat with its unique avionics and weapons. You really need another one of the core games to get the full scale flyable plane set, terrain, and campaign options the game is known for. 

WoV/SF2V (Vietnam) was always my favorite with WoI/SF2I (Israel) a very close 2nd. Both of those historical settings are very much centered on the F-4's actual combat record. SF2V's inclusion of aircraft carriers makes it a natural match for SF2NA. If you want to focus on flying F-4s on historical missions, SF2V and/or SF2I are the games you really need. SF2I has a unique stock flyable aircraft that may interest you: the F-16A. It also has the F-15A. SF2I also has Expansion Pack 1 that adds the flyable P-51 Mustang.

But for many people, one of the most cost effective and best ways to expand your SF2 install is to get SF2E (Europe). The big score in SF2E are the flyable F-15A, A-10A, and Harrier. SF2E also has Expansion Pack 2 that adds the flyable RAF Lightning series and more importantly includes the mission editor so you don't have to buy it as an addon. Once you have the SF2E/Exp 2 setup, you can come to CombatAce and get the free NATO Fighters addon that provides a comprehensive expansion of the flyable plane set in one package. SF2NA's core theme of a hypothetical Cold War gone hot at Iceland from the F-4 to the F-14 time frame overlaps the SF2E NATO vs Warsaw PACT Cold War gone hot in Germany from the F-4 to the F-15 time frame. So if you are enjoying SF2NA but don't have the money to buy all the core sims and expansion packs, I would strongly consider buying SF2E and Expansion Pack 2 as the most cost effective way to vastly expand the gameplay options. But if you have a strong interest if flying F-4s in historical rather than hypothetical conflicts like me, you might be better off with SF2V and/or SF2I.

The odd man out in all of these posts about what is needed to enjoy SF2 when on a budget is the original SF2 game based on the original SFP1 game: a fictional war between two fictional middle eastern countries with one side backed by the US and the other backed by the USSR. On the surface, it is not historical in any way starting with the fictional terrain, but it represents many real world situations where the USA and USSR went head to head via proxy countries like Israel and Egypt. If you don't mind the fictional aspects, it is essentially the same as buying SF2I with one substantial difference: it is the only SF2 game where you can fly a campaign as a mercenary and build up funds to upgrade your aircraft/squadron. If you enjoy a dynamic campaign where you can make a difference and steadily improve your hardware as you successfully complete missions, you might like this one more than any other. I am not much of a campaign person. I like to recreate historical missions. But if I am going to fly a campaign, this is one of the most fun ones due to the ability to get rewarded with more than living to fight another day when you succeed. Whereas the Vietnam campaigns are historically accurate and therefore somewhat dull and repetitive, hitting the same targets day after day with limited air opposition that can be completely killed off in a few missions leaving you to face tons of AAA and SAMs. SF2I is a much more exciting campaign environment: a lot happens in a short time in the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur. But you don't have the fun of building up your aircraft and unit that a mercenary campaign offers.

So, enjoy SF2NA and the many free mods you can use to expand it, but if you really like it and would like to get a lot more out of it, also consider buying one of more of the other core games and associated expansion packs as dictated by your interest and budget. There is nothing quite like owning all of the games/expansion packs which ensure maximum compatibility with all available SF2 mods.

[+Trotski 936]

All of what Streak said up there ^^^^ .........the beauty of the SF series, is if you have all the titles, including First Eagles, you can fly the full history  ( with a few small exceptions) of aviation combat, from the skies of Flanders and other WWI theaters, through the mid war period, and on to WWII and Korea, then Vietnam, Israel, the Scandinavian front, the North Atlantic , through to Desert Storm and beyond, no other Flight sim that I am aware off gives you this in one family of sims. there are more aircraft and mods on this site than you can shake a stick at, and there is a pretty active modding community keeping this sim going, long into the future I hope.

[+streakeagle 871]

The complete stock plane set available when you have all of the games is amazing. The biggest shortcoming being that none of the red side were flyable. Add in the free aircraft and cockpits available for download, and it is over the top. Razbam doesn't appear to be selling its SF payware any more. Their addons had a few minor glitches but provided some excellent aircraft. Despite YAP's announcement that they were going to cease doing business after Eightlein died, they are still selling their mods. Not my favorite company, but they have some great aircraft and carriers that cannot be found elsewhere.

[Flapsfull 2]

Hi everyone,

sorry its a been a while since my last login. I simply wanted to say thank you to you all for your many detailed replies

and your advice regarding the SF series in general , as well as for installing non-stock addons.

It seems, especially regarding the phantoms, SF:WOV is the reference. Good to know and helpful for a buying decision.

 

Its very nice so see such a helpful and  quite active community here brought together by a common simulation interest

That s something special.

 

Thank you all once again,

 

Kind regards,

Oliver