Tailspin

Good subject BB. IMHO the whole MaxG thing needs to be looked at in detail. Some hard data from the period would be nice but that is scarce. Seems its mostly, "If you dive aircraft "ABC" too fast, "this" and "that" happens. It'd be nice to know just how fast "too fast" is...for each aircraft. How that affects the AI ?

SPAD..there are free programs available to unzip .rar files. I use 7zip.

I think you've misunderstood. The "nuff said" comment was entirely about A/C and flight models. I'm trying to look at the big picture and the future. IMHO there isn't much future in 3rd party A/C that aren't useable in the latest version of the sim. Now we are reliant on a 4th party to make them work. What happens when no one steps up and does it again? The way I see it is the more A/C we get from TK, the better. The more patches and expansion packs, the better. I can play the stock sim and still enjoy it immensely. As Heck points out we don't just get a couple of A/C for each side and a new terrain. There are always lots of other enhancements included with Thirdwire updates. TK has to make a product that is good enough to stand on its own. I don't know how many people buy the sim and never add a thing except expansion packs, but I would think it is a significant number. I think modders tend to lose that perspective. He has left it open for modding for our enjoyment. No doubt he profits from that, but making every change costs time and money. I think we get our fair share of attention from Thirdwire. Yep. Modding for this type of sim can be a frustrating PITA. But then...you're the one who got yourself into this mess. I apologize if I have offended you. That was not my intent.

Interesting discussion. I suppose I have a little different take on the subject of add-ons. I don't see how its up to Thirdwire to worry about the compatibility of add-ons with their updates to their products. Should be the other way around. At some point a lot of add-ons that have been effectively abandoned by their "producers" won't be worth downloading. This would already be the case without outside help in some instances. Its not Thirdwire's problem. Its not "too bad" that TK is constantly updating and improving First Eagles. Its "too bad" that modders are not keeping up. Aircraft, in particular, are affected more than other mods as the flight model is an integral part of the mod itself. What good is an aircraft model without a useable flight model? Not much. Nuff said.

Hmmm...I guess I'm the only one that likes rebuilding from scratch every chance I get?

.....gol danged new fangled fancy schmancy board software....just get used to something, somebody gotta come along and make it all different....BAH! HUMBUG! ...found one...

Well we all know the drill. Keep a clean copy or two on the HDD. Burn another one to disc. TK has consistantly in the past been known for tweaking all aspects of the game. Thing is, just a slight tweak requires requires a new file to replace the current in game version. Good thing is we usually get some nice upgrades in different areas of game play or graphics with the expansion packs. When is the next EP due anyway? ..........DAMMIT!!! I can't see the smilie faces.... >:(

File Name: FE Ground Object Gallery File Submitter: Tailspin File Submitted: 2 Jul 2009 File Category: First Eagles Object Mods Here is a file with screenshots of the various "stock" terrain ground objects found in the terrain TYPES.ini. This is just a general list. Not all types listed would appear in the game. This is intended as a reference for modders interested in adding or removing objects in target areas or for making new target areas. I've left some TYPES out intentionally such as villiage and town buildings and some Ground Objects like tanks. TS Click here to download this file

Mike, The mods I did for the 37mm and AAMGs are already set up as different objects than AAA. Everything for setting them up is in the readme. To put them around balloons all you need to do is find the offset coordinates.

You're welcome! Also, I don't think there is anything you can do about the shadows. I recently got a new computer and play with shadows on HIGH. On my old system I could not play with shadows on due to the FPS reduction. Didn't know what I was missing.

BTW...that file is my working modding file so if you find anything strange like a bridge turned the wrong way or something like that its because I started doing one and didn't get around to "tweaking" it. Sorry folks. This is one of those projects that I started on but never cleaned up and posted. It should be very nearly complete though and is certainly OK to use. I use it everyday when I fly FE.

OK. Here is the Cambrai targets.ini. It already contains all the coordinates for AA MGs, Bridges, and Bridge AA defenses. All the necessary bits to get them to work should be in the Verdun Bridges and or AAMG mod in the above links. Don't forget the Sandbag pit mod too if its not included...frankly I did these so long ago I don't remember. Set up for the Cambrai TYPES.ini will be exactly the same as the Verdun TYPES.ini so just copy and paste the pertinate info to the Cambrai TYPES.ini. Like I said its been a while since I made these so if you have problems let me know and we'll fix it. WWICAMBRAI_TARGETS.zip

Airfield MG mod you say? Go here. http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=6202 Get your 37mm guns here and subsitute one of these for one of the AAMGs. http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=6165 Or as suggested, download Peter01's last campaign files and all the hard work is done for you. You want BRIDGES with AA protection? Go here. http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=6201 Stand by and I'll post my terrain target .ini for Cambrai so you can do brigdes for Cambrai too.

I'd almost guarantee 99% of those who say FE isn't "immersive" enough for them haven't spent much time with it. Next time those beggars give chase try and fly over as many friendly airfields as you can on the way home and give our boys on the ground a chance at them.

Hi Adler. The sim does not have a sound for the blip "switch off". There is no idle sound because the engine isn't actually idling without spark to the cylinders. Although you should probably hear something like the prop noise from the wind still spinning it its either engine sound on or engine sound off.

There's an effects package, pretty sure its Laton's, that changes the flashes into puffs of smoke. Very nice effect.

Timon, the keyboard keys you need are backslash which selects an air to ground weapon. And Enter which releases or fires the selected air to ground weapon. To make sure you are armed with bombs select the Loadout screen before you start the mission. It should show you have bombs or you should be able to select them. If bombs are not available it will say none.

First, for a stock install you don't need a weapons folder. The stock game doesn not have rockets available but bombs should work. Some planes have internal bomb bays so you won't see the bombs until you drop them. Others have external racks that should have bombs on them. Depends on the mission type you select. If you are wanting to use add-on aircraft and also make the Le Prieur rockets available the easiest way to get everything working is to download Peter01's flight model package. That will contain all the files you need. Just follow the installation directions and you should have no problems.

Thanks Nathan. Can you say that again in English? <jk>

Hi Stary. Nice job. The trees look outstanding. You mention rivers. Is there a way to make sand or dirt colored banks along the rivers?

From what I've read, IRL, engine torque on takeoff is compensated for by opposite rudder input. Once aerodynamic forces take over the effect of engine torque is reduced. In game increasing torque tends to make takeoffs nearly impossible. The problem being as in all flight sims you can't "feel" any forces as they begin to act. You are using visual cues only. Anyway as PR suggests you can reduce engine torque in the Engine section of the aircraft data.ini by making MomentOfInertia= closer to zero. Its important to remember that these planes were unbalanced in their control forces, had no or very rudimentary trim control (those that did usually had only elevator "trim "and that was set on the ground), and many required constant attention by the pilot to simply fly straight and level...let along coordinating controls during manoevers. Additional forces such as engine torque was just something that had to be dealt with by the pilot using control input alone.

Sheesh...another year already? Over the hill and picking up speed. Thanks folks! As for you Dave.....

Yes, any plane can be AI. When you choose a Single Mission the game randomly (not entirely random...it depends on date of service and availability) chooses your AI opponent from the entire Aircraft folder...flyable or not.

There's no really short answer. Its not difficult...just a bit tedious. It works the same as it does for the rest of the Thirdwire series so please have a look at the Thirdwire Knowledge Base over on the Thirdwire forum here. If you can't find something helpful there or if you have questions then come back and I'll try and give you a quick rundown.

This is a really good sky mod folks. Give it a try.