FastCargo

Ah...gotcha. Interesting... FC

Also, a quick note...the old sims will still work on Vista/Windows 7...you just have to patch them with the Oct 2008 patch. Just a thought. FC

You really have to wonder what they were thinking? I mean seriously, there wasn't ONE person in the whole chain who could have said "You DO know what's going to happen if you attempt this...right?" FC

Doesn't really look like a painting...looks like a Photoshop job. FC

Okay, lets try a logical answer. In every terrain, either within the CAT file it references or within the terrain's folder, there are several files that have specific airfield information. As an example, for VietnamSEA, you'll see files called VIETNAMSEA_AIRFIELD1.INI, VIETNAMSEA_AIRFIELD2.INI, etc. Within those files are entries that talk about where the taxispots, parking spots, and lights are for the airfield. As an example: Note the entries in bold. This allows you to not only determine the likelyhood of seeing parked aircraft, but how big those parked aircraft can be. You can even (for you advanced modders) change the locations of where they are parked. This might be useful for custom airfields. Also, there is only ONE reason to EVER attempt a repack of a CAT file, and that is if you trying to build a non-traditional merged install of the first generation of ThirdWire sims (SFP1/WOV/WOE/WOI) - say trying to make a SFP1/WOV/WOE/WOI combo install. Otherwise, there is NO reason to ever try this, especially not for the SF2/V/E/I series (Generation 2). It is very easy to end up screwing up something if you attempt it. FC

What's a NSA? That's the first time I've heard of such a thing in a drop. FC

This development is disturbing to say the least. If a private website such as ourselves were to issue such an edict, that's one thing. It's a private website, we can do what we want. There is no such thing as freedom of speech on a private website...no matter what some chuckleheads may say. Not pointing at anyone in particular. However, it is quite another matter for the government to get involved. You would think the government would have other things to do than worry about anonymous comments about their elections. FC

Bringing the OV-10 back is not a new idea, it's been proposed several times...unfortunately, this is one of those "doesn't look sexy enough and it's too old" ideas that never makes it very far. The AT-6B was the front runner for the contract the last time I checked. It's too bad...for current ops it's a great platform. FC

Well, the problem isn't that it is difficult to make the fixes for NF4+...the individual fixes are easy. But there are a LOT of them that would be needed. FC

The Gold combo pack includes the expansion pack. If you just bought the Gold pack...you should already be fully up to date. I don't think you need to patch. FC

Well, run the game, I'm pretty sure somewhere in the splash screen is the date of the latest patch. I'd look for it except my install is heavily modded, including a whole new front end interface. FC

Yep, no worries. And yes, the SF2 series does not require a weapondata.ini/dat file or using the weapons editor to add third party weapons. It's all drag and drop now...much better! FC

Are you sure the Nov 08 update hadn't already been incorporated into the original install? FC

Odd, it shouldn't be doing that....all that appears correct. Does it work in the sim properly? And as an aside, you shouldn't need the weps editor in the SF2 series. FC

Hmmm...I'm stumped at this point. I've got the wing pylons working properly...but can't get the centerline station to behave. Not sure why...I'm going to continue to hack at it. I'm not seeing any obvious things wrong at the moment... FC

Well, mikey, while you're working on that, I'll tell you why the sim tends to handle weapons racks oddly. The answer lies in the way the sim accesses data. This assumes you are loading from the weapon screens...otherwise, the sim will simply use what is in the LOADOUT.INI to the best of it's ability. In the older sims, those with a weapondata.ini/dat file, the sim would simply go down the list in numerical order until it found the weapon rack that met all the parameters (type of weapon to be carried, length, diameter, weight, etc) and use it. However, problems could immediately show up. An example is if you were trying to load Stingers to be carried by a helo or something like the AT-6B. There is a custom 2IR rack I built for the Stinger. It has very small Load,Diameter, and LengthLimit parameters (ie you can only fit a Stinger on it). However, in the old days, you would simply tack the new weapondata entry on the end of the weapondata.ini, run it through the editor, and you'd have a new weapondata.dat. The problem is immediately apparent. The second you start loading something other than what's in the LOADOUT.INI, the sim will go down the list in the weapondata.dat. But it will NOT encounter the 2IR rack I built first...it instead will encounter the 2IR that comes stock with the sim (the LAU-105 rack). That rack has much larger Load, Diameter, and LengthLimits to be able to carry 2 Sidewinders...which means you can easily fit 2 Stingers on there. Yep, you'd get a loadout with a very silly picture of a Cobra with tiny Stingers loaded on huge LAU-105 racks. In the Gen 1 sims, this could be fixed...what you did was simply reorder the rack entries. The way I did it was from more to less restrictive. In other words, I'd put the Stinger 2IR rack first, then the LAU-105, etc. It works the same way with TLR, TERs, MERs, etc. The BRU-61 was another example...I simply made sure it came before the standard TLR rack (or any other TLR rack). Of course, this could get complex with multiple racks...I did a brute force method, pulled out every entry that was a weapons rack of any sort, re-numbered what was left of the weapondata.ini. Then I took all those weapon rack entries, sorted them by category, then by most to least restrictive, then renumbered them to put them all at the end of the weapondata.ini. Ran it through the weapon editor, and voila...an install that would use the right rack MUCH more often for the particular weapon if you loaded it from the hanger screen. In SF2, the problem is now obvious. Because the sim doesn't normally use the weapondata.ini/dat for 3rd party weapons...it will always look at the weapondata.ini first, THEN look at your nice sorted weapons folder, and go in order. Unfortunately, since the weapondata.ini/dat is looked at first, it always will use the standard TLR rack before the BRU-61. And I'm not sure how the sim would react if you extracted the weapondata.ini and customized it yourself...would it ignore anything outside the weapondata.ini/dat? And do we want to start playing with weapondata.ini/dat files again because a few racks won't behave? I haven't done the research yet...not sure I want to with 2000+ weapons available... FC

Specify which sim, and which fuel tanks. I suspect I know the answer (it's a pretty simple one) but I need more information. FC

You know, it DOES look like a F-22, F-23, and Su-27 hybrid. F-22 general wing planform, F-23 forward fuselage, and Su-27 general engine arrangement (interestingly, it looks like the engines are slightly divergent). FC

No it wasn't. FC

FC

Ant, I agree with you to an extent...that's one of the reasons I specified for those wanting to help to insert specific links to the Knowledge Base or other threads or to help with the search function (because I have to admit, the Search function here isn't that great sometimes). I agree that general 'check the Knowledge Base' responses don't help as much, but I think it's useful for new guys to have URLs they can click on that someone helping them provided. It allows them to get the answers they need while still getting familiar with the Knowledge Base and how it works. The hard part with Q and A is trying to strike a balance between total hand-holding and complete flailing. FC

Folks, just to be clear, please ask questions and help folks when you can. This is just a template to make both sides of the conversation more productive for everyone! FC

Folks, I've been seeing a trend lately of so-called help being anything but. There are people who come to us with a problem looking for help, but the 'help' has been causing more harm than good. I'm talking about folks answering without thinking or doing the research first. Giving folks answers that may damage their installs, or at least cause them to waste their time in frustration. Or answers that are rambling, incoherent, or have nothing to do with the problem at hand. And it also tends to be the same people doing it over and over. This is especially problematic for those looking for answers where English is not their primary language. So, I'm going to suggest some ground rules...for both the person asking a question and the person answering the question. First, for the person asking: 1) Flight sim communities in general tend to be a more mature crowd. What that means is that we expect to read full sentences, paragraphs, proper punctuation and capitalization. If you cannot be bothered to make the attempt to make yourself understood in a logical manner, we cannot be bothered to sort through the mess that is your post to help you. Yes, that includes folks for whom English is not a primary language. Most of us have been around long enough to know the difference between a person who is trying hard to make themselves understood and those who aren't...no matter what language they are translating from. We can also tell the difference between the occasional gaff (one of us is a notoriously bad speller...ahem) and someone who is not trying at all. 'L33T' speak may work in the ADD addled, 10-year old, spastic bunny hopping world of the FPS on your PS3, but it will not get you far here. 2) Please use Google, the search function here, and the Knowledge Base before you post. In addition, be familiar with your computer. Be familiar with the sim...I can't tell you how many times folks have had to answer the question about key assignments because someone couldn't be bothered to click Customize under the Options, Controls screen. Know what the heck Notepad, directories, files are. A PC is not a XBox 360, nor is it a MAC. They come in all shapes and sizes and operating systems. These series of sims have been around 6 years, with freeware mods almost as long. The sims, computers, and operating systems have constantly evolved, and mods released a long time ago may not work in current iterations of the sim. Being computer phobic will not help you here at all...remote tech support is a PITA, especially when those providing it are doing so on their free time. 3) After all that, if you still have not solved your problem, then post here in the proper location in the Forum (ie The Pub or the Knowledge Base is NOT the place to post your issue). State your computer specifications, what operating system, which sim you have and what patch level it's at. Specify if you are running any mods. Detail specifically what the problem you are seeing is and what factors you have checked, what troubleshooting you have done, what searches you have ran. The more information you post (screenshots can help), the sooner folks can narrow down what the problem is and help you. 4) Finally, if you get your problem solved, provide feedback and thank the folks that helped you. One, it's polite, and two, it may just help the next person who has your problem of being able to help themselves. Second, for the person wanting to help: 1) The rule about using coherent language applies here too. If you do not do the skull sweat to make your answer as readable and as understandable as possible, the translation filters the asker may be using may not be able to make any sense of what you are trying to say. Keep your answer short and to the point...any extras keep out of the answer, or at least wait until the end of the post. 2) Help the poster help themselves. If it's a brand new guy (only a few posts), they may not know their way around. For the fairly simple stuff, help them...point them to the Knowledge Base (if it's a question already answered) or point them toward relevant threads. Insert specific links and help them with the search function (ie "run a search using this particular term"). Ask them for more information if it's needed to help troubleshoot. 3) Know what the heck you are talking about! Do NOT blindly suggest stuff without a logical train of thought. If it's for something complex, test it out yourself first! Recommend backups, insert caveats and explain exactly what the problem was and how it was solved. A 'shotgun' approach is confusing and frustrating for both parties. Keep it laser beam tight...the more variables you eliminate, the quicker you can come to a solution that makes sense. 4) An addition to step 3 - "Better to be thought of a fool, then open your mouth and remove all doubt." If you do not know how to help the person at all...then don't post. You can suggest a logical course of action to troubleshoot (or point them to specific parts of the Knowledge Base), but keep it polite, logical, and to the point. But do NOT suggest solutions if you have no idea of the problem...better to simply pass it by and let someone else help. Hopefully this will result in less 'reinventing of the spinning wheels' for everyone...I may make this a sticky if folks find it useful. FC

Probably not for a long time. FC

If you are using SF2/V/E/I patched to Dec 2009, do the following: Backup your F-31A_AVIONICS.INI first! Go into your F-31A_AVIONICS.INI and find the [DTVFilterMaterial] entry. Then substitute the [DTVFilterMaterial] and [HUD] entries with this block of text - Should fix the HUD problem and possible TV screen issues. FC