getting back into the sim but looking for advice

[Paul1]

Guys,

I've had SF on my PC since the very first game was published, gone through all the iterations since then and bought all of the modules, with the exception of some of the stand alone single plane downloads. A recent PC upgrade prompted me to get beck into the sim. Of course that then entailed the prospect of reinstalling everything along with all the updates etc. etc.  In the in end I repurchased all the games and planes in a single installable file. Installed on my win 10 64 bit PC and everything works like a dream, even on unlimited in the graphics settings . I had to edit the ini file aspect settings to accommodate my 3440x1440 screen to avoid the stretched look on the aircraft, but otherwise nothing else was required. GSynch monitor is running at 100hz and the GTX 3080 card, unsurprisingly, barely notices the graphics load.

But I have one or two issues that I'm looking for help with:

Because it is a merged install all the the campaigns are available for each of the modules rather than just the specific campaigns for that module, is there a way to limit or hide the campaigns that are applicable to the specific modules? 

Mod installation- when installing mods it's a bit hit and miss whether or not I get a mod specific opening screen, where one is included, generally it is just the standard SF2 start up screen unless there is specific menu mod in the mods folder, what am I doing wrong? Loading screens seem to change as do the screens for specific aircraft when selected.

Some mods ask for a config ini file to be created in the SF2 root folder, others don't. Should I be creating one by default? The official modules all have one. I should note that the downloaded mods still work, but I seem to recall there was a requirement in some mods to limit the .cat files that each mod 'Sees' when started up.

Finally a huge thanks to all the modders who have made this sim what it is today, astonishing work, truly astonishing!

Cheers

 

Paul

 

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Paul1
typos

[froggy]

Hi Paul,

I've never tried to copy an exe file without its ini file, but I suppose that, if it works for you, the game uses the StrikeFighters2.ini by default.
Using a specific ini could solve some of your problems. The simplest way to start is to copy the ini file corresponding to the exe used to create you mod.

 

Here's what works for me:

1. Mod specific campaigns:
Frist, in your mod folder rename the campaign subfolder to something like Campaigns_yourmod (I always keep the 'Campaign' prefix but I suppose any name would do).
Then open the yourmod.ini file in the main SF2 folder, and in the [Directory] section, replace the 'CampaignsDirectory' value with the new name of your campaign folder. After that, this particular exe should only see the campaigns in this folder.

2. Screens:
At the top of the same yourmod.ini file you have a [Sartup] section where the starting screen are define.
The LoadingScreen is what you see when the game is initialised (note: this file does not exist in FE2).
The StartupScreen is the basic menu that shows after that.
Both can be replaced in the 'Menu' subfolder of your mod folder.

3. cat files?
I'm not sure about what you mean by limiting the cat files. There is quite a few of them in the main SF2 folder, and by default, with a merged install, every single exe can access all of them.
I don't think there is any ini edit trick to change this.
However, if what you want is to prevent some terrains to show in the single mission menu there is a workaround.
Say you don't want to see the Desert terrain. In the 'Terrains' subfolder of you mod folder, create a 'Desert' folder. In this folder, just create an empty text file named DESERT.INI. The Desert terrain should disappear form the map choice.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Franck

 

[MigBuster]

5 hours ago, Paul1 said:

Because it is a merged install all the the campaigns are available for each of the modules rather than just the specific campaigns for that module, is there a way to limit or hide the campaigns that are applicable to the specific modules? 

 

[Wrench]

I've never written a new ini for a "new and/or renamed exe" since SF2 came out. My specific mods folders all work just fine (MTO, PTO,ETO, Viet48, etc)

[+daddyairplanes]

18 hours ago, Wrench said:

I've never written a new ini for a "new and/or renamed exe" since SF2 came out. My specific mods folders all work just fine (MTO, PTO,ETO, Viet48, etc)

sorry for the hijack, but "Viet48"? 

[Wrench]

The French 

[Stratos]

42 minutes ago, daddyairplanes said:

sorry for the hijack, but "Viet48"? 

Indochina war, lots of Hellcats, Corsairs, P-63, Ju-52...

[Wrench]

excepting we don't have a Kingcobra or Toucan (Ju-52)

 

[Paul1]

Thanks guys,

Mixed success. Intro screens working. Multiple CG options still an issue but not a showstopper by any stretch.

 

Cheers!

 

Paul