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On the long flight across Ethiopia the passengers aboard the CH-53E, a US Navy SEAL team, reflected that it was a little over 24 hours since they had been checking into a luxury hotel in Dubai. They had just started a well-deserved spell of R&R after a particularly intense period of operations in the Persian Gulf. Operating from Navy ships and aircraft they had been part of the protection for international shipping from Iranian aggression As well taking on the occasional covert recon of Iranian facilities.. (But that's a screenshot story for another time.) It seemed like no sooner had the SEALs checked into the hotel in Dubai when the call came that they were to be picked up and flown back to Bahrain as a matter of urgency. Transport was enroute and they were to grab their gear and head to the roof ASAP... 'Hey pilot, don't go yet. We're missing a couple of the Team that went straight to the beach to hang with some air hostesses we met on the flight down.' 'No problem, we'll pick them up on the way' A flight to Navy HQ in Bahrain, a hair-raising transit by speeding fully-loaded SUVs to the airport, and the SEALs were climbing aboard the Boeing 707 charity-chartered aid flight to Djibouti... 'Skipper, why couldn't we have just taken that flight?' ''We don't know who's watching flight arrivals in Djibouti. And in any case we're being met at the airport there for a connecting flight. that we don't need the other passengers to see. Now shut up and get some sleep. You don't know when you'll get another chance.' Turbulence shook the SEAL leader from his thoughts. The CH-53E was taking on fuel as it continued it's journey to Gondar, hub of USMC operations supporting the aid operation in-country on Ethiopia.. He opened the intel package that he had been handed on boarding the helo to find out just why he and his men had been plucked so urgently from the lap of luxury to exchange one desert battlefield for another. To be continued...

rokieborghunder sent me the last version of the ship. It is still WIP. But on the screenshot below you see some members of the crew on deck. and parked planes in the hangar. When it will be finished, the Kuz will be a beauty and eyecandy.

Spent some time again this weekend in the Pacific theater and managed to capture a couple of nice shots of the early Tomahawk. I should probably start doing some FM tweaks for a small selection of two-engined aircraft, for an extension of my 1937 - 1941 package for SF2, but the flying is just too addictive. Von S

isnt that illegal? lolz...oh no thats incest ha ha

nuclear testing (big thanks to russouk2004 and Kjakker!)

Also I was working on most of the US nukes earlier this year to get all of the various yields right for each of the types presently available in SF2. Maybe we can get proper models for all of them as some are using placeholders and others are old and could use a LOD or texture update.

Stratos planes are Vickers 553 project from 1953 and Supermarine seafang...old version new ones being done. pics in screen threads sefang last page of WW" and Vickers last page of 2 seaters threads here you go DA redid skin added basic temp....remapped it as other overlapped and would have given u headache...I know where bits are ,you dont lol..so hence easier temp\mapping. just added basics to data etc...do what you want with it lol B28.7z

And I guess we'll never know, will, we?

22 years ago, flight testing of the F-22 began at Edwards AFB

Still like to feature creep because it's a request:

I realize it's a bit off but the way that the skin is setup it works like this. I can move the slimers down and see if it looks better but here it is colored.

View File Caproni Ca.310 Libeccio The Caproni Ca.310 Libeccio (Italian: southwest wind)was an Italian monoplane, twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II. Derived from the similar Ca.309, it had its combat debut during the Spanish Civil War and took part in the earlier phases of World War II in Libya. Some were used in attack groups as a temporary replacement for the unsatisfactory Breda Ba.65. The last Ca.310 was retired by the Italian Air Force in 1948. 3D Model (Veltro2k) Textures and FM (Charles) Cockpit (Kesselbrut) Best Sim : Thirdwire THIS MODEL IS ONLY TO BE DISTRIBUTED AS FREEWARE AND IN NO OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE SHALL IT BE USED, EVEN IN PART OF ANYTHING THAT IS PAYWARE. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COMBAT ACE MODDERS AGREEMENT Submitter Veltro2k Submitted 09/29/2019 Category Italian Origin  

Will this do? I have the B28FI set as free fall and the B28RI set as retarded. I am thinking of changing the yield numbers on the folder and file names to the Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, and Y5 designation and only having the specific yield listed in the FullName= entries inside the files.

@russouk2004I am mating your lods to my data files.

@KJakker - good idea. I've made Mk.7 tactical nuke with latest F-101 redux. on other blasting things- I have HoundDog, BOMARC, and Regulus in WIP...

These pictures might be useful. Also, what about the ADM-20 Quail decoy? We have the "IsDecoy=" entry for cruise missiles that might make them possible. Also here is a list of all US Nuclear Weapons. https://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html

Post war Spits

Hello, friends, Just came back from my long vacation to Turkey Istanbul, It was a really great one I should post some photos. Back to 3d work, I will try to complete the civilian airport terminals I was thinking off having them separated models so users can shape the terminals and the gates the way they like. I should have them after maybe a week. then I will try to catch up with some requests that I have not completed. Seven Lakes National Park

Some F-22s have taken flight again in the skies of the Strangereal universe... Mobius Squadron, 118th TFW, North Point, Independent State Allied Forces Mobius Squadron, 118th TFW, North Point, International Union Gryphus Squadron, No. 207 Squadron, Cape Aubrey, Aurelian Air Force

Soon.

Hello everybody, The next update 3.201 will be released really soon. In the previous Dev Diaries, we told what it will bring for Bodenplatte, but it will also contain many improvements for other projects as well. Let's start with Tank Crew. The first important feature (not only for tanks, but it is especially important for them) is the new occlusion system for object markers. Now ground and aerial object markers will be occluded by other moving objects, cockpit elements, hills, trees buildings, etc. It should really pump up the tension of battle even in the 'markers on' mode. Second, we have changed the way a turret (or closed sights MGs like bow MG-34) is steered on all tanks, now it moves like on M4A2 before and there is a special overlay indicator showing the set turret direction. In addition, all the Tank Crew player controllable tanks now have improved engine startup procedures, both visually and audibly. Pz. IV and M4 have autonomous turret traverse mode working with effects and animations. The tanks handling has been improved. Many of them have their interiors and some exterior details updated. Two historical campaigns set near Prokhorovka designed by Alexander Timoshokov and Victor Sechnoy are finished and their beta testing should start next week along with the commander interface for controlling the crew and an entire platoon. To create correct mission scenarios, a lot of effort has been put into research - just their briefings have enough text to fill up 40 book pages. Ground AI improvements required a lot of time as well. We plan to release these campaigns to all Tank Crew owners in October. Now onto Flying Circus. The coming update will include the Arras area map (1918). The cities, towns, and airfields recreate the atmosphere of the era believably. The designers paid special attention to smaller details in the airfield buildings. The towns have trade squares, suburban blocks and more detailed factory areas. There are barbed wire and dugouts on no-mans-land. Together with the latest technologies available in IL-2 engine, the new Arras map will give the aviators of the Great War the next level of immersive flight and dogfights above the Western Front positions. Returning to Bodenplatte, we're glad to report that we have found the means of increasing visual quality of Tempest Mk.V even more. Since the end of Summer, our artists worked on the texturing and materials and you can see the result on these screenshots. The aircraft released in the previous TOWs also gets attention - Battle of Stalingrad owners will see IL-2 mod. 1942 and Bf 109 G-2 skins updated to 4K quality thanks to Martin =ICDP= Catney and Francisco =BlackHellHound1= Bindraban. But not only visuals are being upgraded for our previous projects - we're also working on some sound improvements. For instance, DB-601 and BD-605 engine sounds installed on Bf-109s and Bf-110s will become more realistic in 3.201. You can discuss the news in this thread

Did some flying again this weekend, first in ROF, but then I ended up spending more time in SF2 and FE2. ROF is definitely a respectable sim with great damage modeling, but I had much more fun in SF2 and FE2. Also the AI is I think noticeably better in the TW sims, particularly in FE2 where, depending on skill, aircraft sometimes disengage and try to head for home, or temporarily disengage and then jump back into the fray. Von S

I'll put it on my To Do list down the road Stratos, as I got to find a high res decal of it. I have a decal sheet already but I will see what I can do with it. Finally managed to tweak the numbers and number list shows the 400 series modex. For the TMF Hornet pack, the VFA-195 skin and decals have to be present for it to work (for the numbers): I also have to redo yhe stars as the dice aren't positioned right.

this do you for now...just a quickie...need adjust the attach point and get the bump better.. effects shitty thnx to the crap dx issue

Over Hokkaido, Kuril Islands 2 terrain (WIP)

Getting the nose right, as well as the rest. I used some Hagesawa decals for the VMFA(AW)-225 ends and they turned out okay. Speaking of model kits, the skin is a kit bash if I ever saw one, given I have three references for the same jet and I can only do so much.

aha here we go...

View File VFA-94 Line Jet 2005 This is the F/A-18C version of VFA-94 on its 2005 cruise. The FA-18 series by the Hornet Team is required for this skin, and drop this skin in the FA-18C_03 directory and go fly. The VFA-195 decals are required (should be part of the pack already) for the correct modex for the aircraft. Submitter EricJ Submitted 09/29/2019 Category F-18  

Let me help with the loadout and station files. I actually noticed this issues when working on the B-52 for you last year but I did not want to pester Ravenclaw_007 because of his workload and health issues.

Thanks Eric, have something in mind for that plane, Baghdad airport in 2003... And ins shameless promotion, I think you will like this series of pics, in part inspired by AllenJb SF2 histories, and part by your Super Hornet pics. https://combatace.com/forums/topic/91363-strike-fighters-2-screenshots-thread/?do=findComment&comment=758058

this is actually kind of funny after running around in circles, and I really did copy and paste the 5 actual .bmp icon file into EVERY LAST folder hoping to buck shot a solution... I thought why not just google "Strike Fighters 2 how to remove enemy map icons" and the first link on top was this so it brought me back here and the fix is just so easy … it's like turning the lights on and off ….boy I feel stupid. But I know Combat Ace will still be my friend no matter what.

Advertising isn't all it is cracked up to be either. HiTech Creations bought some expensive ads for Aces High on the history channel, which should have been the perfect audience at the time. No real impact with lots of money wasted. HiTech Creations also went the Steam route, no useful impact other than slightly splintering the community between those on the original company forums and those at Steam. I wouldn't dare rename SF2 to lose the "stigma" of the "Strike Fighters" name unless some major content was added or radically improved. To be competitive with the arcade air combat games, civil flight sims, and DCS World, the terrain engine and graphics engine would need expensive and time consuming work. The crowdfunding wasn't an effort to improve the game nor to attract new players, it was a response to numerous requests from long time customers. It very effectively measure how many people care enough to follow Third Wire and seek a path forward for SF2 PC games. What I don't know is what TK actually expected the results to be as opposed to what he asked people to contribute.

@Stary & @Menrva - Ya All know more about SF2/WOx V2 series specifics than I do. Makes sense what you mention regarding terrain size. Just one of my 'Wish List' items for this wonderful Air Combat Sim. Appreciate all you guys do for this series to keep it alive and well...............Keep up the good work, well done! Sincerely, NIELS

Finally done with these...

Quiet be Jules with pointing the obvious anti-Chinese bend there or you'll get us banned again. I re-read that 2014 topic in it's entirely, the guys pointing that the video is most likely faked in video editing software... gosh. Crowdfunding eh? Is SF2 on GOG and Steam since say, 2012? Humble bundle once a blue moon? GamersGate? Itch.io even? Noooo? Then good luck with any crowdfunding in the future. Playerbase is a thing only if you try your best to build yourself one. These days it's game Discord and Twitch channels. If TK is still living in 2002 modem-and-Altavista-search era it's his choice. Want to argue? Is this harsh statement? Show me the latest "Strike Fighters Legends" official launch trailer on Youtube, please. Or the shiny cinematic high production values "SF 2 Complete" one going viral via network of CombatAce aficionados, how many views does it ha... ahhhh, riiiiiight. See my point? Yes, still nice to see TK still pushing the semi-necessary update next year but there are other things that would give him more revenue. Like rebranding/re-launching the possible Win10 edition to break the SF-stigma (I can argue it is a thing) with say added seated VR to it, even limited in capacity. Ever played the House of the Dying Sun, Il2 BOS or even something casual like Overload? Works great with standard controls, mouse even (but can't beat VTOL VR or XP11 in terms of immersion). (And for the VR-haters, sorry the tech is battle proven and stays. Don't like VR? Go back to 2015 with your hate and try harder next time. You lost iteration 2 E3D6 61FE) Avionics -apart from floating immersion killing HUDs- and FMs are still rock solid as these are when you compare it to anything post-WW2 that is not DCS. Because there is nothing like this on the market. Not yet. Someone finally will notice the gap, TK. In -flight refueling? Players don't give a crap about in-game refuelling to be honest. Ohh you do? Delusional lot. Sorry to break it to you but you're minority. Three times the charm novelty not worth the resources that could be put into better presentation first and foremost. And don't even think again about making it "moar realistic" in times of DCS. Just don't. It's futile.

After the visit in the Helicopter Museum Bückeburg I started something new....

Progressing on skin work for the upcoming F-22A Raptor addon. There will be a separate, huge skinpack featuring various fictional and alternative camouflages and paint schemes. Here below a comparison between the pre-production and production paint schemes and layouts. EMD 91-4001 Prototype USAF Lo-Viz Grey Among the featured paint schemes of the skinpack, there will be a recreation of the fictional USAF desert camouflage as found in Novalogic's F-22 Lightning 3 videogame. F22L3 features a fictional F-22 squadron (namely the 14th TFS, 9th AESOG) taking part in numerous dangerous operations all over the world, including nuclear strikes on enemy WMDs. Here below a comparison between Novalogic's original skin and the recreated one. Novalogic's F-22 Lightning 3 14th Fighter Squadron, 9th Air Expeditionary Special Operations Group

Just some A-8's