New to SF2. Where to Begin with Mods?

[BrianRubin 0]

Hey y'all, new guy here, about to buy SF2 complete after someone told me that, if I liked EF2000, Jane's Fighter's Anthology and USAF, I'll LOVE this, and it looks like I will.

But then I came here and was quite overwhelmed by the amount of mods available. I do plan to start just by playing the vanilla game (though I do want to mod in an A-1 Skyraider, my second favorite plane behind the A-10), but I figured I'd ask: if what I want is more content (missions, campaigns, planes, etc) what should I start with? I looked around the forums and on Google but I can't find a sort of "SF2 for dummies" type of thing, which is why I'm asking directly. ;)

Thanks for your help, and it's nice to meet you all. :)

[+JSF_Aggie 1,292]

Read the Knowledge Base here, then ask if you still don't know how to do something.

Most mods come with a decent README, that include install instructions.

Try something simple first, like installing a skin for a stock aircraft.

Some of the larger mods will just say to drop the top level folder into your SF2 mod folder, but I would recommend poking around and seeing what's where.  This will help you learn the directory structure of the mod folder.

[BrianRubin 0]

I'm sorry, maybe I didn't phrase my query very well.

I was hoping for suggestions on mods to try and install as a new player to the game.

Like, a friend suggested NATO Fighters 5, so I'm gonna look into that. But I'm also looking for other suggestions.

Thank you.

[Wrench 9,876]

Welcome!!

In your original post you said yourself the very advice we give all newcomers -- play the stock (vanilla) game for a while; a few weeks to get familiar with the system and game operations. THEN start adding mods. Since you mentioned the SPAD, remember that it isn't designed to be player flyable (A.I Only), so requires a trick or two to keep it from reverting after you've made in Player Flyable (tm)

The closest thing to "SF2 for Dummies" would be the Knowledge Base. It it doesn't answer your questions, post them!

Poke around, ask questions, and so forth. Again, welcome!

 

(ps any terrain with my name on it is worth downloading <----shameless plug!! )

[FETCH2015 9]

this is a MUST watch for anybody new to the game …

Edited October 6, 2019 by Wrench
removed due to pirated content

[+streakeagle 871]

Play the stock game for a bit. Find out what you don't like about the stock game and then try to find mods that fix those problems. The stock game is pretty impressive though, despite its bugs and limitations. The main complaint are the dated terrain graphics. You can find mods that provide major texture upgrades and mods that defeat the "newer" drawing distance limitations introduced in later patches.

The best/most famous mods are complete additions, with some delivered as a "package" while others have to be searched for and downloaded as many, many individual components:

NATO Fighters 5: Adds countless aircraft mods, some that you may not find available individually/only in this mod. I think the five (V) version was the last official release for SF2E, but there are probably some newer updates for it.

Vietnam / Green Hell: I can't remember the name, but there is a comprehensive Vietnam upgrade that is comparable to the NATO addon, plus there are various terrain texture updates, most being a variation of the "Green Hell" addon.

Operation Desert Storm: like NATO, this is a fairly comprehensive addon with some unique additions.

For me, the one that is an absolute necessity is Korea for SF2. It isn't a single addon but an endless list of components that you must hunt down and download separately: terrain, aircraft, etc. 

All of these addons are getting very old and some modders have updated some of the components in them such as specific aircraft. I can't even give you the correct names of the above mods to aid your search for the best content, much less list all the updates that have occurred in recent years.

Besides Korea, my favorite thing is the get the best looking, best-modeled variants of every single aircraft available for the game. For example, there are packages for the F-101 Voodoo. Some are newer, but aren't necessarily better. Sometimes you have to mix mods to get the best result: i.e. the newer mod has better textures, but the older mod has historically correct weapons, engines, etc.

It is absolutely overwhelming how much content is available at CombatAce. If that wasn't enough, there is a private rogue site that splintered away from the main community, The A-Team Skunkworks. You have to request to join to access their content and they won't let you download too much at any one time or they will ban you, but they have content you can't get anywhere else: http://cplengineeringllc.com/SFP1/

But go back to my first statement: play the game stock for a while. There is already more to do there than you can possibly comprehend if you are a first time SF2 player. Then start out by downloading an airplane or two you really like, but isn't in the game. Then try adding skins or maybe a terrain or upgrading terrain textures. There is no shortage of things to learn/experiment with. The flight sim community at large wrongly bypassed this game. It is still one of the best available as long as you don't need multiplayer or advanced terrain modeling.

Edited October 5, 2019 by streakeagle

[FETCH2015 9]

for a overview and examples of the most popular  MOD Campaigns check out my Play List here …

****** jump down about half way through it to see my STRIKE FIGHTERS 2 Videos ….

 

 

Edited October 5, 2019 by FETCH2015

[BrianRubin 0]

Thanks guys. Just bought the game and did a bunch of missions in an A-10. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED. I don't have time to spend an hour in one mission anymore. That's a young man's game. Just get me there, give me stuff to kill and let me kill it. YAY!

[FETCH2015 9]

this is all personal preference, and opinions, and likes … the Operation Desert Storm Campaign ADD-ON is a favorite of mine because it is DOABLE and the "real deal" you get so much in one complete package  plenty of improved Planes, all time tested and thoroughly modded to use to make your own single mission with. The Campaign is one you can beat, and win. Where as some of these Campaigns are just nearly impossible to beat, but add plenty of things for you to play with creating single missions and checking out various scenarios.

Truth is … once you get the hang of it …. ( it's easy watch those tutorials ) …. you'll probably end up checking them all out before it's done.

[CowboyTodd41 134]

Falklands Campaign is a must play 

[BrianRubin 0]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys so far guys! I went through that two-part tutorial video Fetch pointed to, and did the Operation Desert Storm along with the video, and it worked great. Amazing! Now back to the vanilla game to get better at dogfighting because I am reallllly bad right now. ;)

[+Menrva 4,204]

On 10/4/2019 at 5:22 PM, FETCH2015 said:

video removed

That video even shows a site which illegally distributes the games' installers for free. Admins, please remove the video (from here at least).

Strike Fighters 2 is still for sale on the ThirdWire store and that's where it should be acquired. We do not condone illegal practices. As a safe advise, everyone should triple check if a game's officially considered abadonware and no longer property of a developer or software house. That could be the case for a 1990s game (but titles like Falcon 4.0 are still copyrighted even today), not for a recent title that's been supported continuously by the developer until 2013.