streakeagle

I don't know what causes this, but it has happenend to me. When certain individuals were on my server, I couldn't join with my other PC. If I got in first, they couldn't join. I always assumed it had something to do with my router. But my router should have little to do with two different people trying to join from the internet. I don't know what could be doing this besides someone's router's NAT behaving funny. I don't know how Hyperlobby or SFP1/WOV could be causing that kind of problem? Maybe it has something to do with the some kind of conflict between the ISPs? I have Roadrunner. You can eliminate Hyperlobby as a possible contributor to this problem by using a batch file to join by IP.

If you try hyperlobby in the evenings during weekdays and at random times on the weekends, you will find there are 20 or more people regularly playing WoV online. I am the only person that leaves a server up all the time in the hopes of attracting more players, but others can and do host since they don't like the hard settings on my server ;) If you look up at the top of this forum, you might find topic that explains what you need to do to join a server in spite of firewalls and routers along with a lot of other useful guidance... try here: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=8452 Once you overcome your firewall / router issues, I think you will find it easy to host games yourself. Then you can control the settings and decide whether you want to dogfight or fly co-op missions. Good luck!

+1 Combat Pack is a game compilation recently released by Strategy First that includes a Strike Fighters Project 1 and five other games. I have yet to see it in stores, but others have already mentioned it on the various SFP1 forums and you can find more info on it using Google as it is available for purchase online as well. I assume you have bought this disk and have the box? http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/256131.asp

If you want to change the service date of the aircraft, go to the F-14 folder. A file name something like F-14_data.ini will have the dates at near the top of the file.

If the aircraft shows up in single player and the server has the aircraft installed correctly... then there is only one thing that would keep the aircraft from showing up: the service date. If the aircraft is not available in the year specified by the server (a dropdown when starting a session), then those aircraft will not be listed. You may want to knock back the service date for the F-14 to overlap the Vietnam era better.

bump for the search engine challenged ;) I spent a tiny bit of time to verify that this FM works with the latest patches for SFP1 and WOV. It will be awhile before I make a new version of this FM incorporating TKs new F-4B FM as a baseline for editing.

I have bad new for you. This problem was reported to TK a long time ago and he had done nothing about it despite having released two patches since then. I keep bumping my post about this at the Third Wire forums and have even added a request for using vector for zoom control. Perhaps if more Track IR users chimed in, TK would consider it worth his time. Anyone playing SFP1/WOV who owns Track IR and hates the uplook limitation, please post a comment here to help attract TKs attention: http://bbs.thirdwire.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1090 TK only responds to a vocal majority. Multiplayer gets neglected because those who play it are a minority. Track IR is probably being treated the same :( So please speak up!

For SFP1: List of changes implemented since v11.05.04 (Service Pack 3). * Radar will now default to OFF in Normal/Hard mode and when starting on the ground, and must be turned ON manually. * In-flight nav map now shows location of the runways. * Text problems in German/French/Spanish versions on Pilot Records screen has been fixed. * F-4C cockpit backup attitude indicator is now working correctly. * F-4C loadout problem with the centerline station has been fixed. * Radar screens may now display grid overlays. * Ground Mapping Mode radar display has been adjusted so ground objects are more visible. * A-4s' radar display have been changed to B-sweep type. * Amount of time required to obtain air-to-air radar lock while playing with Radar Display options set to Hard has been reduced. * Propeller engine torque being applied in the wrong direction has been fixed. * Player can now only be assigned escort missions in campaign if there are enemy fighters intercepting the bombers. * A bug in campaign attrition code that was causing other AI aircraft squadrons to slowly disappear during campaign has been fixed. * Short campaigns can now end much sooner than before. * Multi-player co-op clients can now see AI planes correctly. * The effect of ground clutter against SAM radar has been increased, and you can break radar lock easier by flying at low altitude. * Delete button has been added on Campaign Screen to delete previously saved campaign files.

Additional changes not listed below: Nosewheel steering animation works now (no mods required!) Check out the moving map display in the A-7 Corsair ;) List of changes implemented since v11.05.04 (Patch 1). * Radar will now default to OFF in Normal/Hard mode and when starting on the ground, and must be turned ON manually. * New SEA Planning Map with airbase names and positions has been included. * In-flight nav map now shows location of the runways. * Problem with autopilot not being able to land the F-8E Crusader on aircraft carrier has been fixed. * The Jet Blast Deflectors on SCB-125 modernized Essex class carriers are now working correctly. * F-4C cockpit backup attitude indicator is now working correctly. * F-4C loadout problem with the centerline station has been fixed. * Aircraft carriers are now moving in campaign mission. And AI carrier landing routine has been improved. * Problem with A-4 sometimes not staying connected to the catapult has been fixed. * Flight model for F-105D and F-8E have been refined to give better transonic and supersonic performances. * Radar screens may now display grid overlays. * Ground Mapping Mode radar display has been adjusted so ground objects are more visible. * A-4s' radar display have been changed to B-sweep type. * Amount of time required to obtain air-to-air radar lock while playing with Radar Display options set to Hard has been reduced. * Propeller engine torque being applied in the wrong direction has been fixed. * Player can now only be assigned escort missions in campaign if there are enemy fighters intercepting the bombers. * A bug in campaign attrition code that was causing other AI aircraft squadrons to slowly disappear during campaign has been fixed. * Short campaigns can now end much sooner than before. * Multi-player co-op clients can now see AI planes correctly. * The effect of ground clutter against SAM radar has been increased, and you can break radar lock easier by flying at low altitude. * Delete button has been added on Campaign Screen to delete previously saved campaign files. * The altimeter in A-6A cockpit is now functioning properly.

http://lfeldhaus.tripod.com/cmdrjackfeldhaususn/id14.html

The quality and beauty of the mods for this sim never cease to amaze me. I love the fact that you can not only fly but even fight with great aircraft like this one that are rarely if ever modeled in any other sim. Sure almost every aircraft you can think of is available for MS FS 2xxx, but who wants to fly aircraft that don't have fully functional radars, bombs, missiles, etc. ?

From where I am sitting, it still says F-4B in both places ;) Glad you are enjoying the flight model :)

Voice Comms Trying to type a chat message in the middle of a dogfight or a ground attack run can be very difficult. The solution is for everyone to use the same voice chat program. Modern internet service and PCs have plenty of bandwidth and CPU cycles to spare for good voice comms. Many free downloads are available: the old reliable RogerWilco, Teamspeak, and Ventrilo to name a few. Even IM and netphone programs like MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and Skype will work with some sacrifice of bandwidth and CPU power. It helps if there are free servers available to everyone to support the comms. I have used all of the above programs at one time or another. Presently, my I suggest Teamspeak for several reasons: It is easy to install and configure (almost anyone can get it talking within a minute or two of downloading it), it is very tunable to work on different levels of PCs and internet connections (i.e. there are plenty of advanced options to meet anyone's needs), and best of all there is a free server at CombatAce.com open to any and all flight simmers! To get Teamspeak, go here: http://www.goteamspeak.com/index.php?page=downloads If you go to the homepage of http://CombatAce.com, there is a link to the free public Teamspeak server. After you click on the link, you are on the Teamspeak page. Click on the server IP to open the login dialog box and type in your nickname. Click on the submit button and then click on the "click here to log in" text. This will automatically open teamspeak on the lobby channel so you don't have to figure out how to connect! You can now adjust the settings as necessary to permit voice activated or button activated mic and try to talk/listen to other people that are there. There is even a test mode in case you are alone. You haven't achieved the full immersion of multiplayer until you have experienced live voice while flying coop or dogfight.... 10x the fun!

Extensive list of links to SFP1/WOV websites with downloads: CombatAce SFP1/WOV weblinks Okay, you just bought Strike Fighters Project 1 (SFP1), Strike Fighters Gold (SFG), or Wings Over Vietnam (WOV) and you want to play online... Installation Being able to play online starts with the most basic of steps: getting the game installed correctly. Someone cannot join your game when you host, nor may you join someone else who is hosting if you don't have the same version. 1. Start with a clean install separate from any other installs you have used with user made addons. 2. Go to http://www.thirdwire.com, then download and install all of the latest Service Packs or patches for the game you purchased. 3. If you have SFP1 (not SFG or WOV), you should also download and install the official F-4J and A-4F free addon aircraft. Online Internet Multiplayer via Game Lobby Servers Now you are in a good position to host or join a standard server. So how do you join? To easily find other people, you need to download and install a game lobby server: 1. Hyperlobby is packaged with Wings Over Vietnam and supports SFP1 and SFG. This is where you will find most people who are playing online. However, the version of Hyperlobby included on the WOV CD is already obsolete. You will need to go to http://hyperfighter.sk to download and install the latest version. If you have SFG, Hyperlobby won't recognize the "SFG.exe" as Strike Fighters, so you should do the following if you want to use Hyperlobby: a. Go to the root folder of your install. By default it should be "C:\Program Files\ThirdWire\SFG". b. Copy the "SFG.exe" and paste it into the same folder. It should be named "Copy of SFG.exe". c. Rename the copy to "flightsim.exe". 2. Gamespy Arcade was originally packaged with SFP1. If you have SFP1, you can use this software if you want, but you will have to download the latest version. You will find almost no one is ever playing SFP1 through their lobby. Gamespy does not support WOV. I haven't tried SFG. Connections through Routers and Firewalls Okay, you have a clean, patched install and a game lobby program, what next? It could be as easy as logging in to the game lobby server, choosing the appropriate game room, and either hosting or joining a host. It could also be a lot harder. You may be using a router and/or a firewall. SFP1/SFG and WOV can be very picky about how it communicates over the internet. Whether you are hosting or joining a host, you may need to open certain ethernet ports for communication. There are too many different makes and models of routers and versions of firewall software to describe how to open these ports, in general you need to use port forwarding and/or port triggering. Note: A special consideration when using port forwarding, is your IP static? If your PC's IP is dynamic (which is the normal DHCP setup), you will have to make sure your port forwarding is going to the correct IP before you start playing or change your PC and router to support a static IP. Please read the appropriate manual or get help from the router manufacturer as required for more specific information on port forwarding and static/dynamic IP assignment. WARNING: Opening ports in a router or firewall is circumventing some of the security that these devices/software are supposed to provide. SFP1 (WOV does not appear to require these ports!) requires the following ports to be opened: 1234 TCP & UDP 46000 TCP & UDP Microsoft DirectX 9.0 DirectPlay is used by SFP1/WOV, which requires the following ports to be opened: 2300-2400 for both TCP & UDP 6073 for UDP HyperLobby requires the following ports to be opened: 1698 TCP & UDP 21000 TCP & UDP Hyperlobby also requires ICMP echo reply protocol for latency calculations, so you may want to disable Block Anonymous Internet Requests (or the equivalent) if you want people to see your ping status. Online Internet Multiplayer without Game Servers If you know the IP of the host computer, you can connect directly through TCP/IP by typing the following from the command line: FlightSim -join:[xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx] -n:[callsign] -c:[c] -p:[password] where [xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx] is the IP address of the game to join, [callsign] is your callsign, and [c] is an optional number 0-15 representing your color. [password] is an optional password required to join private session. A host can start the session normally, or start using the following command line: FlightSim -host -s:[sessionname] -g:[g] -m:[m] -n:[callsign] -c:[c] -p:[password] [sessionname] is the name of the game session, and [g] is the game type (0 = dogfight, 1 = co-op) [m] is the maximum number of player, default is 16. [callsign] is your callsign, and [c] is an optional number 0-15 representing your color. 0 = red 1 = green 2 = blue 3 = yellow 4 = magenta 5 = cyan 6 = orange 7 = purple 8 = violet 9 = ochre 10 = sand 11 = maroon 12 = pink 13 = olive 14 = peach 15 = turquoise [password] is an optional password; the session will be private (and only those with correct password can join) if this parameter is present, and public (and anyone can join) if this is not. A sample DOS batch file for starting and joining TCP/IP sessions, "join.bat", has been included with SFP1, but it can be used with WOV as well with very little modification. Simply change "flightsim" to "wov". The batch file can be found in the Strike Fighters directory. If you only have WOV you will have to create the batch file. Batch files can be created and edited by any text editor (such as notepad). Just remember to change the file extension from "txt" to "bat" (if it isn't already "bat") after you save the text. To join my WOV server, the batch file text should be of the form: wov -join:70.127.88.212 -n:your callsign here -c:your color index here A complete example using my callsign and an arbitrary color is: wov -join:70.127.88.212 -n:streakeagle -c:1 Note: I do not have a static ip so it is subject to change at any time. Hyperlobby is the most reliable way to join my server. Offline LAN Multiplayer via built-in game interface A LAN offers several advantages over playing via the internet: a built-in interface for doing so, lower chances of lag due to network connections, and no need to configure a router. However, software firewalls may still get in the way. The only big disadvantage is that you need to get two or more players with computers and joysticks together in the same place. 1. Start the game (SFP1, SFG, or WOV) Note: things go smoother if you get the host PC up and running before trying to join with other PCs. 2. Click on the MULTIPLAYER button. 3. The screen will go black for a while, then the main Multiplayer screen appears: 4. The host PC must click on the HOST button. Note: The remaining steps (5 through 10) only apply to the host PC. Other PCs must click on the desired available SESSION NAME, then click on the JOIN button to join the session. 5. The HOST A NEW GAME pop-up window appears on the host PC: 6. Type in a SESSION NAME (if you don't like the default one). 7. Choose a SESSION TYPE (normally PUBLIC for a LAN). 8. Choose a GAME TYPE (DOGFIGHT or CO-OP, discussed below). 9. Choose the MAX PLAYERS (if the default is too low). 10. Click on ACCEPT to start the session and continue to the next screen. DOGFIGHT Session This is a free-for-all death-match with respawning. 1. The Multiplayer Dofight screen appears: 2. The Host PC must select the DATE, MAP, and LOADOUT. 3. Other PCs may join this session at this time. 4. Every player (including the host PC) may select any available AIRCRAFT, PAINT SCHEME, MARKINGS, and SQUADRON. 5. Click on the FLY button to start flying. Note: the FLY button may not be clickable for a number of reasons such as not having the same files installed as the host PC or the host PC has not clicked the FLY button. 6. If a player is killed, the player will respawn after a small delay. 7. Any player can press the ESC key at any time to exit flight and go to the Debriefing screen: 8. Click on the REFLY button to return to the Multiplayer Dogfight screen and choose another aircraft, or click on the ACCEPT button to exit the session. Note: The host PC will no longer be the host if the ACCEPT button is clicked on after the ESC key has been pressed. All other PCs can join and exit the session at will after the host has started flying until the host PC exits the session. Beyond the obvious choices through the game interface as detailed in the above procedure, the Options.ini file in the root folder has the following configurable values to vary the dogfight environment: [DogfightHost] MissionMap=DESERT MissionYear=1968 Loadout=1 StartTime=10:30:00 RespawnTime=30 RespawnDistance=4000.000000 MinHeight=2000.000000 MaxHeight=5000.000000 HeightDeviation=1000.000000 ContrailAlt=7000.000000 StartYear=0 EndYear=0 StartTimeDeviation=240 ScreenshotsDelay=60 WeatherType=SCATTERED In addition, a dogfight ini can be placed in terrain folders so that each terrain has its own configuration (this is important if you install addon terrains!). The file should be named "x_dogfight.ini" where "x" is the name of the terrain. For a clean install, the file would be placed in the only available terrain folder, "desert", and named "desert_dogfight.ini". The contents of such a file might be: [startPosition] Position001=266000,392000 Position002=536000,366000 Position003=246000,538000 Position004=410000,424000 CO-OP MISSION Session This is a lot like random single missions except the every aircraft always start in the air and the players are free to choose which side they are on. 1. The Multiplayer Mission screen appears: 2. The Host PC selects the MISSION MAP, MISSION DATE, SERVICE for both sides, and both the MISSION and AIRCRAFT for each flight. 3. Other PCs join. 4. Every PC must choose a flight by clicking on an <OPEN> pilot slot. 5. The host PC must click on the ACCEPT button after everyone has joined and all of the appropriate selections have been made. 6. The Multiplayer Hangar screen appears: 7. The host PC begins the mission by clicking on the FLY button after all the players have appeared in the hangar. Addons You have successfully gotten multiplayer to work. You either hosted other people or successfully joined a game hosted by someone else. But, you are bored with the stock terrain, aircraft, and/or weapons. What about the hundreds of free addons available on for download on the internet? In theory, almost all addons will work with online multiplayer if everyone has the same files as the host installation. Certain addons that work great with single player may cause issues online multiplayer due to size, complexity, or bugs in the multiplayer implementation. 1. Addon aircraft should be limited to a small list of aircraft that everyone wants to fly. This avoids problems with the filechecker and makes it easier for everyone to download and install exactly the same files. 2. Addon weapons and fuel tanks are completely covered by the Weapons Pack addon. Unfortunately, the sheer size of this file gives the multiplayer file checker a lot of trouble, which means people will have trouble joining. Even if everyone is able to join with the Weapons Pack installed, you may experience some strange bugs while flying and fighting. It is better to use the weapon editor to create a custom weapons pack with only the weapons and fuel tanks needed to support the installed aircraft. 3. Addon terrains do work, but may cause some inexplicable anomalies. Check-Six Multiplayer Standard I mainly host clean/patched installs to keep my servers as accessible as possible, but custom installs are a great idea and a lot of fun if everyone involved can agree on a standard that works. A group of French players have set a such a standard that can be found at CheckSix! Of course that is in French. If you can't understand what is posted, the people involved understand English and hang out at forums like Column5 and SimHq Voice Comms Trying to type a chat message in the middle of a dogfight or a ground attack run can be very difficult. The solution is for everyone to use the same voice chat program. Modern internet service and PCs have plenty of bandwidth and CPU cycles to spare for good voice comms. Many free downloads are available: the old reliable RogerWilco, Teamspeak, and Ventrilo to name a few. Even IM and netphone programs like MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and Skype will work with some sacrifice of bandwidth and CPU power. It helps if there are free servers available to everyone to support the comms. I have used all of the above programs at one time or another. Presently, my I suggest Teamspeak for several reasons: It is easy to install and configure (almost anyone can get it talking within a minute or two of downloading it), it is very tunable to work on different levels of PCs and internet connections (i.e. there are plenty of advanced options to meet anyone's needs), and best of all there is a free server at CombatAce.com open to any and all flight simmers! To get Teamspeak, go here: http://www.goteamspeak.com/index.php?page=downloads If you go to the homepage of http://CombatAce.com, there is a link to the free public Teamspeak server. After you click on the link, you are on the Teamspeak page. Click on the server IP to open the login dialog box and type in your nickname. Click on the submit button and then click on the "click here to log in" text. This will automatically open teamspeak on the lobby channel so you don't have to figure out how to connect! You can now adjust the settings as necessary to permit voice activated or button activated mic and try to talk/listen to other people that are there. There is even a test mode in case you are alone. You haven't achieved the full immersion of multiplayer until you have experienced live voice while flying coop or dogfight.... 10x the fun!]SimHq[/url]

Welcome to the community! SFP1/WOV lacks some of eye candy of the IL-2 series (clouds and water especially), but the aircraft look great and with a little bit of tweaking can be made to fly great. IMHO, the moddability of SFP1/WOV makes it the ultimate combat flight sim for single player despite some limitations of the AI (and some bugs that should finally be corrected in the next patch). The main disappointment you may have with SFP1/WOV (if you aren't hung up on the 3d cloud issue or lack of an ejection sequence) is its minimal support for online multiplayer gameplay. Multiplayer does work and is very fun, but you only have two choices: dogfight (a deathmatch between all players with respawning) and co-op with a few generic missions. But the absolute best part of this game is that it is still growing. Not only do volunteers crank out a ton of great mods almost daily, but TK continues to provide free patches for all versions that not only fix bugs, but add all kinds of new features. I hope you have as much fun with this game as I always do.

The way to get to multiplayer with SF Gold is via Hyperlobby. You have to go to the Strike Fighters room. SF Gold is not 100% compatible with SFP1. It is missing the F-104G and C-130A. As such, you will not be able to play on a host server that has these aircraft installed. If you find an SFP1 host willing to strip his install of the things you don't have, find an SF Gold host, or host the game yourself, then you shouldn't have any problems. The main problem you will have is that there are only a handful of people playing Strike Fighters and Wings Over Vietnam online. Of those few, most are playing Wings Over Vietnam, which is why I have my host set up for WOV and not SFP1. I tried alternating between the two games daily, but WOV got dramatically far more traffic and IMO deserved the dedicated server. If you can't find someone to play SF Gold with you online within a few days, let me know. I have a copy of SF Gold and would even be willing to act as a host if I knew someone would be there to fly. P.S. All parties need the same version. I suggest you install the latest patch from Third Wire. You may want to consider having a clean and patched install separate from your main install if you have addons. Some addons don't work well with online play and more importantly, everyone playing must have everything the host has. Sticking to clean installs with official patches for online play keeps things simple and makes it easier to troubleshoot problems joining multiplayer sessions.

AIDE F-4B Flight Model Release Version 1.6 This flight model is very close to the real thing. AI is likely to crash using this FM. Use at your own risk. Simply drop these files in your Objects\F-4B folder. V1.6 fixes: Borrowed engine thrust DryMachTable from F-4C to make military power performance closer to actual charts. V1.5 fixes: Corrected typos in Right Flap and Inner LE Flap 2. V1.4 fixes: Increased Stabilator CLa to compensate for change of min deflection from -30 to -24 deg. V1.3 fixes: Corrected Leading Edge Flap errors, now droops correct amounts: Outer: 55 degrees center: 60 degrees Inner: 30 degrees V1.2 fixes: Reduced Stabilator deflection min to -24 deg per Mytai's data. Reduced Spoiler deflection to 45 deg per Mytai's data. Mapped pilot models to Navy pilots of F-4J addon. V1.1 fixes: Increased stall speed to help AI take off better. Increased corner speed to help AI fly smarter. Reduced Stabilator deflection min to -34 deg per Mytai's data. Reduced Inner Leading Edge FLaps deflection to 30 deg per book data. F-4B_DATA.INI includes many revisions to improve the flight model. It also has modifications to the fuel cells to match the pilot manual. F-4B_COCKPIT.INI has revisions to the AOA Indicator gauge and AOA Indexer lights. The Indicator now shows 20 units = 16 degrees = AlphaMax. The Indexer shows on-speed when AOA = 11.5 and 12.5 degrees. F-4B_LOADOUT.INI has had the gunpod centerline store deleted and/or replaced by the 600 gal fuel tank. Copy and paste this link into your browser (clicking won't work): http://web.tampabay.rr.com/sflores1/files/F-4B.zip Or go to my SFP1/WOV webpage where you can simply click on the link at the top of the page: http://web.tampabay.rr.com/sflores1/StrikeFighters.html I can absolutely nail the subsonic portion of the curve. The supersonic part is still very tricky, but overall I think it came out very well. The transonic part can only be improved by changing the delta for Mach tables. If I used a delta of 0.05 Mach, I could make almost every part of the FM follow the published charts. The Sustained G data borrowed from the F-4C/D is not quite right for the F-4B, so performance in that area is going to be slightly off. Most noticable is how the red curves based on The F-4B FM always have a higher Mach at the Vmax part of the 1g line. Just look at the 1g envelope to see why that is ;) I am going to leave this FM as it is for now until AIDE is improved. But in the future, I intend to make a very high fidelity FM :) By the way, your going to need to know this:

That is very good news :)

The goal for this program is to enable you to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. The program should be able to read in any aircraft data ini and generate all of commonly used performance charts, including flight manuals and height-Mach charts. Right now, I have the most important data (sustained g) available in two different formats (sustained g versus speed for a specific altitude and sustained g as a height-Mach flight envelope). Next, I need to provide instantaneous g in two formats (V-n diagram with max g versus speed for a specific angle of attack and a specific altitude and max g as a height-Mach flight envelope). Then, I need to provide rate of climb charts. Finally, I would like to provide accleration charts (time to Mach). Once I have provided all of those charts, I will have met my original goal and call the program AIDE Version 1.0. Along the way, I hope to add some tools that will make it easier to achieve specific results by automatically editing the ini file based on some user inputs about desired adjustments at key points on the charts. Unfortunately, editing the ini is still a pain in the butt right now. I am still using wordpad! But AIDE already fulfills its original purpose: allowing the user to easily analyze every aspect of the flight model and compare it to published data. When I finish the program, I will begin overhauling all of the stock flight models. While I am doing this, I intend to work on a tutorial to help people understand what they are seeing and how to get the desired results. But I doubt this program will ever spit out a complete flight model based on a few simple user inputs. This program is mainly an aid to dramatically speed up the process of flight model development for people who already knew what they are doing.

While TK intended SFP1 to be a modern equivalent to Jane's Fighters Anthology, it has never had the multiplayer popularity that FA enjoyed for so long. There are several reasons why this hasn't happened with SFP1/WOV: 1. Multiplayer has had major problems from the original Walmart release all the way to the present. Multiplayer did work fairly well after SP1, but there were other problems, such as excessive roll rate sensitivity that necessitated SP2. SP2 had major connectivity problems. SP3 solved the connectivity problems for the most part, but broke co-op missions. Hopefully, the next patch will solve many of the remaining problems with this sim without breaking anything else. It is due out as soon as a version passes beta testing ( t could be a week from now or even a year ;)). 2. Even if multiplayer worked 100% of the way TK intended, it doesn't really offer that much in the way of versatility compared to almost every other online flight sim. Even if people like the sim and have none of the other multiplayer problems that have dogged this sim, they get bored flying dogfights and random co-op missions. Several of us online multiplayer fans have asked TK to make some changes to open the door to a much better multiplayer experience. TK responded with a resounding "No". He is happiest making single player games and offers limited multiplayer as a generous bonus. In spite of everything against it, a group of French Check 6 forum members and a handful of American SimHq forum members did our best to get people interested in playing online. Initially, I got a surprisingly good response. But after a few months of flying everyone for themselves dogfight missions, most people get bored. On a good day 6 to 8 people come and fly on my WOV server, which I try to leave up 24 hours a day. But typically, only 2 to 4 people pop in and out of my server each day. When I tried hosting SFP1, numbers were less than 1/4 of the numbers flying WOV, which brings me to the biggest reason why SFP1/WOV has failed to catch on with online community: 3. The kind of people who like SFP1/WOV simply don't like playing online and the kind of people who like playing online simply don't like playing SFP1/WOV. Most online players are propheads who much prefer flying IL2/FB/AEP/PF, AH, or WB. Those few that love jets generally want max detail and realism (Falcon 4.0, Jane's FA-18, and LOMAC). SFP1/WOV is somewhere in the middle where most people don't want to be. IMHO, SFP1/WOV is a pretty realistic sim on Hard settings. Since that is what I like, that is how I set up my server. However, hard settings have repelled quite a few people from my server. I would rather play alone than turn my server into a gamey quake arena with HUD boxes, player IDs, and arcade physics, etc. If TK would add just a few more features to multiplayer, it could make a huge difference. Unattended dedicated server software would be nice. User-designed missions (including carrier ops) would be great too, but multiplayer is at the bottom of his to-do list. So, unless TK makes a surprise announcement, I wouldn't expect the online situation to change any time soon if at all. Come fly on my server and you will meet some great pilots. There was one virtual squadron flying with me (VFA-41). They were very good, but I haven't seen them on for quite some time. The regulars are Eject, Doghouse, Sixgun71, and a mix of a few others. Maybe you can find some people interested in starting a squadron? I haven't been flying very much lately. I have been focused on developing and using a flight model editor/analyzer to produce much more realistic flight models. Once I get that working right, I have a lot of work to do reviewing and revising the flight models of every aircraft I like ;) Of course my focus is going to be the stock aircraft typically flown online: A-4, F-4, F-8, F-104, F-105, MiG-17, MiG-19, and MiG-21. But almost every aircraft ever released could use a little polishing of its flight model.

Latest revision :)

If you go to multiplayer through the game interface, it will only show servers on your local LAN (if you even have one). If you know of someone hosting by IP address, you can use a batch file (or a user made utility I happen to host at my website) to join their session. I try to provide a 24-hour dogfight server at Hyperlobby. I was alternating between SFP1 and WOV, but almost everyone playing online wants to play WOV. SFP1 traffic fell to zero. So now I have been hosting only WOV until someone requests otherwise.

The Value Soft edition is only $10 and is guaranteed to be the real thing, so why try anything else? Unless you want the original box and instructions (in which case keep your early release version and get the Value Soft edition).

It is not out of print. If you go to the Third Wire website there is a link to the Value Soft edition (budget jewel case version). This is SFP1, but cheap and patched to SP1 (you still need to apply SP2a, SP3, and install the free F-4J and A-4F addons). The link is here: http://www.valusoft.com/products/strikefighters.html

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