FastCargo

Tantobot, you obviously read this article here: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=11879 Which showed you how to make the HUD with Avionics70.dll and a CCIP. However, you did see this, right? [HUD] HUDColor=0.0,1.0,0.0,0.7 BoresightOffset=0.0,0.0 ViewportTopLeft=-0.125,-0.080 ViewportBottomRight=0.125,0.230 GunBoresightAngle=-2 RocketBoresightAngle=-5 Note the bolded area? That's the HUD view area defined off the center point of view...think of it as the opposite corners of a square. In ViewportTopLeft=LLL,TTT where LLL is the left side of the square, using negative numbers, and TTT is the top of the square, also using negative numbers. In ViewportBottomRight=RRR,BBB where RRR is the right side of the square, using positive numbers, and BBB is the bottom of the square, also using positive numbers. So, to move your HUD around, simply adjust these numbers. Now, obviously, this will only adjust the viewport (the 'hole' you can see the HUD in)...not the locations of some elements of the HUD. Look for 'ImagePosition=' entries...adjust those numbers to adjust the position different parts of the HUD appear. It will take a lot of trial and error and stopping and restarting the sim to see the results of your tweaking... FastCargo

Or go to a local Circuit City, CompUSA, etc...they may have it for 5 bucks. Or do what I did...I found it at Goodwill for 99 cents...yep, less than 1 dollar! FastCargo

RCS when within a mile is pretty much irrelevant. Your visual signature is the bigger problem at that point. However, if you time it right, you can minimize your time at altitude. This is a problem with any type of popup attack. FastCargo

Check this thread from this page: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showt...18346&st=75 and subsequent pages. Shows you how to modify the data and loadout.inis for the specific F-104s you are asking about. You need to learn about the following topics: How to extract files from your .CAT files. Extracting the data and loadout .ini files for your specific aircraft. Extracting the campaign files, specifically the campaign and campaign_data.ini files. Then look at the campaign_data.ini files and learn what each aircraft entry means. It's actually very simple to substitute aircraft in campaigns. FastCargo

I assumed they were SAM thruster corrections...because they seem to have the same trajectory... FastCargo

You have WOE right? Either reinstall to a different directory, then copy the stock WOE sounds over to your /sound directory of your modded install...or if the sounds are in one of the .CAT files, use the .CAT extractor utility to pull them out and put them into the /sounds directory. FastCargo

The rear-firing missile never proceeded beyond test...all you have to do is think about the problem a rear-firing missile has to solve to make the intercept and you can see why it's easier to just have a conventional missile pull 40+ Gs instead. Let's examine the issue: 1. Getting a positive lock...on the bandit and not your wingman gunning for him. 2. Coming off the rail with enough acceleration to overcome traveling 400 kts in the wrong direction. 3. And if not, initially flying backwards without tumbling end over end...and assuming you're not pulling hard in radial Gs which you probably are. 4. Then having enough energy to reaccelerate to make the intercept of the target...assuming he hasn't pulling an out of plane manuver to defeat your shot while it was trying to accelerate to something to manuver with. Or do this: 1. Getting a positive lock with a helmet mounted sight with datalink. 2. Come off a conventional rail with the airspeed of the aircraft giving you additional energy. 3. Make a 40+ G turn...no worrying about swapping ends unless you lose a fin or thruster. FastCargo

Phantoms baby! http://www.robbreport.com/Articles/Wings-W...pin-Control.asp And it's semi affordable and right down the street! FastCargo

That guy is 72 years old, yet he doesn't look like the kind of person to mess with in the first place! Dumbass pickpocket... FastCargo

Hey, I wouldn't mind a Block 60! Though I'd miss the CFTs. We're training UAE guys right now...that Block 60 is amazing! FastCargo

An interesting variation of the 'pop up' attack. I'd imagine if you had a little too much smash at the top of your split-s and didn't control it in the dive...it could be a problem. You know, there are several advantages to this tactic: 1. You only roll once instead of twice for the standard 'pop up dive' attack. 2. You don't end up doing a big horizontal turn in the target area when trying to egress...and can avoid flying deeper into hostile defenses. 3. Your split-s works nicely to confound the targeting solutions of AAA and SAMs, turning your horizontal speed to almost nothing while seriously losing altitude. 4. It can come as a surprise to the ground target because you actually overfly it first (like a recon flight) then suddenly use the vertical to attack from a direction not expected. Some drawbacks: 1. Lots of negative Gs while upside down...can be uncomfortable (and disorientating) after a bit. 2. More exposure at altitude verses standard pop up because you end up droning for a bit waiting for the target to pass under you. 3. As mentioned above, if you miscalculate your altitude, you may not make the pull out. 4. Only a very short time to stabilize before you have to pickle. Very interesting tactic! Comments from the bros? FastCargo

Vulkan, They might be a work in progress. If you don't see them here, they probably do not exist yet. FastCargo

Hmmm...most discussions I've heard don't consider the latest patch a Service Pack...but it's all a matter of semantics. Usually they just specify the date of the last patch as a reference (08.30.06). FastCargo

Hello CombatAce fliers! Welcome to Air Combat School. I am FastCargo and am your MFWIC of this forum! This forum is a subset of the CombatAce Website and will focus on Air Combat. What's that mean? 1. It will not be sim specific. It will focus more on all air combat, from 1 on 1 tactics, to prosecution of the strategic air war in support of political objectives. 2. It will not necessarily be a rehash of what is out there already. It will be a place to pass on information though, either something new or help those with questions find the information they need. But please don't ask a question unless you can't find a clear answer with Google or the search function on CombatAce. 3. After Action Reports (from real military pilots and virtual ones) are welcome...preferably with lessons learned to help your buds survive! 4. Force on force discussions are fine (A/C vs A/C, IADS, technologies and how they affect tactics, etc). 5. We all hear about dogfighting, only a little less on attacking ground targets with fighters. But what about recon, SEAD, standoff jamming, heavy bomber tactics? The less popular parts of the air war? Disadvantage tactics...how to survive when you're the one in the corner... Help all our buds in all parts of the conflict. 6. This is the place for the 'There I was' stories, where we talk with our hands! I encourage discussion on all parts of the air war. But with that being said: 1. This is not the place to bring up specific sim problems (bugs, quirks). There are other forums for that, please use them. 2. One thing we always try to tell budding pilots is that there a clear difference between procedure and technique, but that they get mixed up a lot...getting guys in trouble. For you forum participants, there is a difference between fact and opinion...but that gets mixed up a lot...getting guys in trouble. 3. There are things we are all passionate about...enthusiasm about military aircraft is no exception. But just like in real flying squadrons, leave the emotional baggage out of the engagement. If you find yourself getting wrapped up, it's time to take a deep breath, extend, and separate from the fight. We would prefer it not come to that of course... 4. Because military conflict supports political objectives a lot of the time, it is probable that the politics will enter into the air war discussion, especially at the strategic level...which means playing with WCE. Please don't use this forum to try to step around the rules about political discussions. 5. This forum is what you make it! The less rules we have to make, the less work we have to do to keep the peace, the happier we are! Welcome, and 'Fights On!' FastCargo

If it's anything like SFP1/WOV/WOE, FE will just default to the default WWIPilot.lod model. No UCAVs here! :) FastCargo

I don't think there is a Service Pack 5. Also, the weapon editor on Combatace is the most recent. FastCargo

Okay, this is going to sound really stupid, but I happened to find this in my Weaponsdata.ini: [WeaponDataxxxx] TypeName=LAU-105A FullName=LAU-105 AHM Rack ModelName=LAU-105 Mass=73.029999 Diameter=0.100000 Length=2.800000 AttachmentType=NATO,USAF,USN NationName=USAF StartYear=0 EndYear=0 Availability=2 BaseQuantity=4 Exported=TRUE ExportStartYear=0 ExportEndYear=0 ExportAvailability=2 WeaponDataType=6 WeaponsRackType=2AR NumWeapons=2 LoadLimit=300.000000 LengthLimit=4.000000 MaxFuelAmount=0.000000 Attachment01Position=0.282000,0.000000,-0.020000 Attachment01Angle=0.000000,0.000000,-5156.620156 Attachment02Position=-0.282000,0.000000,-0.020000 Attachment02Angle=0.000000,0.000000,5156.620156 It looks like a post weaponspack release addon...simply making a 2AR version of the LAU-105. Maybe this is the problem? Maybe try adding this to your weaponsdata.ini, then use the weapons editor in the standard way. I can't see anything wrong with your hardpoints as they stand right now. I forgot this entry was in my weaponsdata.ini...so this is maybe what is allowing me to select 4 AMRAAMs. FastCargo

Gocad, Can you attach your FA-18A_data.ini file to your post? I'll take a look and see if I can help. FastCargo PS Actually, never mind...I've posted my data.ini as a text file...check it out...

Download this program: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autom...mp;showfile=343 Use it to open up the file Objectdata.cat, located in the Objects directory. In that file you will find the original F-104G_data.ini file. Extract the file...it will be in the Objects directory. Move it back to your F-104G directory and you are done. In the future, make a backup before you install mods in case something breaks. FastCargo

After some further tweaking with the position of the new AHM racks, this is what I've come up with: Which looks like this: Compared to reality (posted by GoCad): There is clearance between the inner and outer pairs of AMRAAMs. Like I mentioned before though, you can't have only 2 AMRAAMs on the inner stations, because they'll be buried in the plyons. But it looks pretty, and is user selectable in the loadout screen! FastCargo

Actually, if you do some clever ini editing, you can get 4 AIM-120s in the loadout menu for the inner stations pretty easily. Here are the following steps: First, go into your FA-18A_data.ini (MAKE A BACKUP FIRST) file, find the Weapons Stations section, note the first 2 entries: [LeftInnerWingStation] //SUU-63 Pylon SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=1 StationGroupID=3 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition=-2.227,-1.3,-0.725 AttachmentAngles=0.0,-1.0,0.0 LoadLimit=2280 AllowedWeaponClass=FT,BOMB,RP,CBU,LGB,EOGB AttachmentType=NATO,USN,USAF ModelNodeName=LeftPyl PylonMass=123.8 PylonDragArea=0.03 FuelTankName=Tank300_F18 [RightInnerWingStation] //SUU-63 Pylon SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=2 StationGroupID=3 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition= 2.227,-1.3,-0.725 AttachmentAngles=0.0,-1.0,0.0 LoadLimit=2280 AllowedWeaponClass=FT,BOMB,RP,CBU,LGB,EOGB AttachmentType=NATO,USN,USAF ModelNodeName=RightPyl PylonMass=123.8 PylonDragArea=0.03 FuelTankName=Tank300_F18 Make a copy of this section and paste near the bottom of the Weapons Station section just before the [ECM] lines. Then change what you just pasted in so it looks like this: [LeftInnerWingAHMStation] <----- changed //SUU-63 Pylon SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=20 <----- new number (this may be a different number than yours - just make sure the number is the next number in sequence) StationGroupID=3 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition=-2.227,-1.3,-0.725 AttachmentAngles=0.0,-1.0,0.0 LoadLimit=2280 AllowedWeaponClass=AHM,2AR <----- changed AttachmentType=NATO,USN,USAF ModelNodeName=LeftPyl LaunchRailNodeName=LAU-105 <----- line added PylonMass=123.8 PylonDragArea=0.03 [RightInnerWingAHMStation] <----- changed //SUU-63 Pylon SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=21 <----- new number (this may be a different number than yours - just make sure the number is the next number in sequence) StationGroupID=3 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition= 2.227,-1.3,-0.725 AttachmentAngles=0.0,-1.0,0.0 LoadLimit=2280 AllowedWeaponClass=AHM,2AR <----- changed AttachmentType=NATO,USN,USAF ModelNodeName=RightPyl LaunchRailNodeName=LAU-105 <----- line added PylonMass=123.8 PylonDragArea=0.03 You have now created 2 inner wing AHM plyons that won't show up if you load up any other type of weapons (assuming you don't have AHM,2AR listed in any of your 4 inner wing stations). Then go up in the FA-18A_data.ini file and look for the [LeftWing] and [RightWing] entries. Look specificially at the SystemName entries. Add the following lines to the [LeftWing] and [RightWing] respectively: For the [LeftWing] SystemName[xxx]=LeftInnerWingAHMStation For the [RightWing] SystemName[xxx]=RightInnerWingAHMStation Remember, make sure the SystemName[xxx] number is the next number in sequence within the [LeftWing] and [RightWing] entries. Save the data file and close. Then (this is optional) go into your loadout.ini file and now you can add this entry: Loadout[20].WeaponType=AIM-120A Loadout[20].Quantity=2 Loadout[20].RackType=LAU-105 Loadout[21].WeaponType=AIM-120A Loadout[21].Quantity=2 Loadout[21].RackType=LAU-105 This is just so that the loadout file gives you a default. You will find that you don't have to change your loadout.ini at all if you don't want. You WILL be able to select 4 AIM-120s for the inner pylons. In fact, it looks weird if you only select 2, because now they would hang like a bomb instead of on a rail. FastCargo

Simple. This laser is a LOT more powerful than lasers on pods...those are designed to mess up the seekers on IRMs...not take out a ballistic missile the size of an ICBM. A 747 can fly high, which makes the laser more effective. A 747 can see more 'over the horizon'. And can attack missiles while still in boost phase. ABMs can only attack when the missile is in ballistic or terminal phase. And a laser's travel time is instant...an ABM still has to solve the intercept problem (hitting one bullet with another). FastCargo

7-Zip is the program's name...yes, you need to download it. Try this website: http://www.7-zip.org/ FastCargo

RAR files are a type of compression. There are several programs that will open them up. I use 7-Zip, a pretty good program to open RAR files. As far as what happened with your WOE installation, could have been just a glitch. Usually the problem with the weaponspack is that it renames Soviet weapons to their Soviet numeric designations, which can cause problems for single missions and campaigns where the Soviet side uses the west's designations. Example...the west uses a AA-XX prefix for naming Russian missiles, and early versions of the SFP1 engine did that. But the Weapons Pack readdresses them as R-XX, as the Russians actually do. So stock campaigns' Soviet aircraft may not have any weapons...until you redo the loadout.ini and data.inis (for individual aircraft) and the data.inis (for the campaigns). FastCargo

Found some surprising camo that I didn't expect would work as well - a little French Navy action: FastCargo