FastCargo

1. What is different about the Pilots folder in the Gen1 series vs the Gen2 series? Simple...there is no Pilots folder in the Gen1 series. Any pilots from an SF2 download must be placed directly into the Objects/Aircraft directory. 2. What is different about the Weapons folder in the Gen1 series vs the Gen2 series? Ah...now we start getting into the nitty gritty. Though the Weapons folders look the same (Gen 1 patched to Oct 08 and SF2), how they work is significantly different. If you'll notice, in an SF2-specific weapon folder there are now TWO ini files...a basic ini, and a data.ini file. The basic .ini file looks about the same, and usually tells what LOD to use, visibility distance, and shadow data. However, the meat of the weapon is located in the data.ini file. Note that the entry looks very similiar to the original weapondata.ini entries in Gen 1 sims. So you can guess what you need to do. Yep, copy the entry from the data.ini file to the weapondata.ini file, run the weapons editor as per normal. There are several caveats though. One, the ModelName parameter, the basic .ini file name, and the weapon's directory name must ALL match...otherwise, you may not see a weapon model at all (ie the directory name must be AGM114, the basic .ini must be AGM114.ini, and ModelName=AGM114 in the weapondata entry. Also, the [WeaponData] entry (including the ObjectFullName and ObjectDataFile parameters) are not needed in the basic .ini file...if you notice, all that info is located in the data.ini entry...so delete those lines in the basic ini. In addition, weapon visual effects can be specified with the data.ini itself. So you'll need to see if such an entry already exists within your Effects folder in your Gen 1 install. Otherwise, you'll get damage effects, but no visual boom. Finally, if the weapon is part of the aircraft model (ie drop tanks), you're sort of screwed. You can either make the tanks non-jettisonable (within the aircraft data.ini), create or adapt another model to use for that aircraft (keeping the original tank 'hidden' as per above), or accept not carrying any drop tanks at all. 3. What is different about the Guns folder in the Gen1 series vs the Gen2 series? Simple, there isn't a Guns folder within the Gen1 series! All guns are handled through the Gundata.ini/gundata.dat files and the gun editor. Basically, you handle the guns the same as you would handle converting a Weapon from Gen2 to Gen1, except there are no LODs, folders, to handle. Simply take the information from the specific's gun data.ini file, and paste it into the gundata.ini (you may need to extract it if you haven't already) and run the gun editor in a very similar fashion as the weapons editor. One advantage is that once you do that, you can delete the specific gun directory since Gen1 sims don't use them....all the data they need is in the gundata.ini/gundata.dat files. 4. What is different about the Decal folder in the Gen1 series vs the Gen2 series? In the Gen2 series, ALL aircraft decals are now consolidated in the Decals directory. So the path specified in the Decals.ini file located in an aircraft's skin directory always starts from the Objects/Decals directory...verses the Gen1 series where all paths are assumed to start from the Objects/Aircraft directory. So you can see how to fix this already...simply create a directory inside the particular skin directory you have the decals for, move the decals over, then adjust the paths in the Decals.ini to reflect the new location. Personally, I'm going to recommend to modders to keep the directory structure for decals in Gen2 exactly how it is in Gen1 sims...that way all end users have to do is move the directory, without messing with the Decals.ini file. FC

Cockpit open mesh. Not much that can be done I'm afraid. FC

Stock or 3rd party A/C? FC

Hmmmm....just did a test on SF2V on the rig I just mentioned, same exact single mission (no randomness at all). 1. Stock - approx 15~18 FPS. 2. Enbseries old (DX9) - ~30 FPS. 3. Enbseries newest (DX10)(same settings as DX9 version) - ~34 FPS. Never noticed that the old series gave me a speed boost...and the newer one is even better and yet for you old users of it, you can make it look exactly the same but with the mild speed increase... FC

I can verify it doubled my frame rates on Vista 32, Core Duo 2.4Ghz, NVidia 8600GT, SF2 series. Same exact single mission...literally all I did was place the .dll file in the directory to test. I had been using the enbseries for a while now too...enhanced some older games and I liked the mild bloom effect (tweaked it) that did a nice job simulating a hazy day flying (like Texas in the summer). But this is MONEY! Better looking AND faster... FC

Well, I know we still use the term 'in the weeds' for being very low...so my guess would be low altitude as well. FC

Easy guys, lets keep it to a dull roar. FC

1. What are the differences in the LODs between third party Gen 1 and Gen 2 aircraft Answer: 2 additional mesh nodes have been activated in the SF2 aircraft. One is a new 'Afterburner' node...basically a illuminated part of the aircraft inside the engine now 'lights up' when the afterburner is selected. The second is the external drop tanks are now part of the LOD model but can be jettisoned. Which means skins for the tanks can now be placed within the aircraft skin folder...no more 'hex editing' seperate drop tanks LODs. They also can be decaled. 2. What's that mean to me? It means a couple of things. One, the afterburner and drop tank nodes will ALWAYS be visible, unless you make changes in the data.ini to 'hide' those meshes (reference this post: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?s=&am...st&p=306057 for the exact details). It also means that if the model does not come with seperate drop tank meshes that go in the Weapons folder, that you will not have jettisonable drop tanks available for your aircraft.

Well, the question becomes: "Does harming a life financially come close to harming a life physically?" or "Does intent factor into punishment?" or "Does the number of people harmed influence the severity of the punishment?" Consider - Mr. Stallworth didn't intend to kill or harm anyone...but he did. But Mr. Madoff systematically and deliberately destroyed the savings of dozens for his own personal gain but didn't actually kill anyone. Which is the more vicious crime? Personally, I think he shouldn't be in jail. Instead, all his assets should be stripped to repay the people he lost money to. He then should be forced to work as a minimum wage worker for the rest of his life, with any earnings outside of basic needs to be paid into an account to continue to repay those he wronged. As icing on the cake, it should be a job that is deliberately nasty and foul...maybe searching through landfills for recyclables...in a New Jersey summer. FC

Unfortunately, I don't know if there is any way to resolve it. That's the reason I abandoned a similar thing I was doing with the F-5F. The only way I know of is to make them part of the model. FC

Not necessarily. FC

Taken care of once the T-38 is released. FC

I'm assuming any stock (ie ThirdWire) aircraft offered in the SF2 series which can carry drop tanks already has the new tank setup. It would seem silly to not have such a setup for every aircraft which is drop tank capable (editing MAX files to accomplish such a thing was pretty easy...took about 10 minutes if you have the aircraft and drop tank models already available). FC

That is correct! Yep, no more hex editing (for those aircraft with the built in drop tanks). FC

Stary, Very true. TK has mentioned he is going to release a CAT extractor himself. That would be VERY helpful, especially if it has at least the utility of the old TW Gen 1 CAT extractor. I'll tell ya folks, I can't emphasize how much easier installing mods is with Gen 2 ThirdWire sims. For the end user especially, it's a godsend. I can't tell you how many times I've had to help folks dealing with Weapondata errors and pilot addons. Really, except for decals, darn near everything is easier with the SF2 series. And even decals is easy to change as USAFMTL showed me if you're bringing an older mod into the SF2 series....don't even have to edit a single ini file. FC

Not that I'm aware of. FC

I had built a aircraft model with a sphere around the pilot's eyepoint, but all the faces turned inward, then treated like a slimer in the data.ini. Makes everything have a green tint when the lights are turned on, to simulate wearing NVGs. The TGA I used was pretty transparent. I could try with a pretty close to opaque TGA and see what happens... FC

I tested something putting a 'bubble' around the pilot's POV that basically added a green filter to everything when you turned the lights on, but it really wasn't green enough. The problem is you'll start losing visibility if you try to make it real green by making it more opaque. FC

Yep, gotta agree with USAFMTL on this one. The new folder structure makes darn near everything easier (the exception might be decals). No fooling with gun/weapon editors, no fooling with core files, and with the method someone else posted in the KB, you can run ALL your mods with ONE install. That's right, one core directory can run every install you have...each of them self contained. If you have 20 installs, that adds up pretty quickly (considering a normal, stock install will set you back almost 1 GB each). I don't plan to release anything in the future compatible with legacy installs. FC

Or for those fans of TF2: On a more serious note, RIP Billy Mays. FC

Nah...my stuff isn't THAT detailed...but it'll actually run on most computers... Uploaded, awaiting permission from one more person whose stuff I included before the file can be approved. FC

Not yet...but getting there! FC

Release imminent. Finally! FC

That may be true...but how many people you know with XBoxes are? FC

Heh...his name wasn't Buck Wyndham was it? Cool story! FC