MetalMania

Yeah, I was actually going to try that one. Funny thing is though I know you mentioned "AV-23-R" by wingwiner in one of your earlier posts to this thread, so I went looking for it in the weapons downloads. Except in his description he says it's the AAQ-13, so I figured maybe the AV-23 had been removed or something and the weaps pack I'm using already has an aaq-13. So I downloaded it anyway because it looks like a more hi-res representation and looking at the .ini edits included in the download I see that this one IS the av-23-r. So just a little confusion between the description info and what's in the file. I haven't had a chance to try dropping it in game and loading it up yet, but I'm definitely getting a better handle on what I need to do to make it work.

Well, I guess I'm inching closer. Problem solved #1 was the load limit on the desired weapon station - it was just barely under what the weight of the pod is. So now I DO have one of the targeting pods available and can load it (ironically though it's one that was NOT the one that I modified to be available). On the one that I was trying to make available I added "USN" to the attachmenttype but I now see that the "nation name" is only USAF - so I'll try adding USN to it to see if that makes it available for a Navy plane. Back to the one that is now showing up: it's available in the loadout and lets me run the mission - and it works - but there is no visible model on the aircraft, it just looks like an empty station. In the weapondata.ini it says for this particular pod the modelname=ASQ-173, but there is no other file in the weapons folder with that name in it. I see ini, LOD, and bmp files for a lot of (all of?) the other objects. There IS a BMP ASQ-17 that looks like it should be for a targeting pod type of model, so I wonder if this is supposed to have been the bmp for the ASQ-173 especially since I searched through the entire weapondata.ini file and there are no objects called "ASQ-17". However there's still no corresponding LOD or INI file to go with it. I wonder if I should just edit the modelname for the ASQ-173 to use something like the AAQ-14 LANTIRN pod - looking at the BMP for that it looks almost exactly the same as the ASQ-17 but just a darker color.

Lasercat = F-14D or upgraded A/B with LANTIRN targeting pod?

When I'm in the loadout screen, I can't read the full name of some of the weapons (runs out of room in the "window" where the description is). Is there some way to increase that field size or allow scrolling over the name so the full text is visible?

Thanks! Hopefully I'll get a chance to try it this weekend.

Ok, well still working on this. I've done some research and apparently the F-18A didn't get it's own designating capability until 1987. No matter, I'm now just pursuing this as a learning exercise. So I checked my weapondata.ini and there are several targeting pods present. I modified the FA-18A_DATA.ini as shown to include "LP" on the left sparrow station. I made sure I had USN targeting pods in the weapondata.ini available for for the years I tried (I changed the mission date a number of times to see if it made any difference, all within the service years for both the aircraft and the targeting pod). Not only can I not load it, but I don't see any of the targeting pods even listed in the "available stores" list on the loadout page. I also noticed though that there are objects in the weaponsdata.ini that don't have corresponding individual .ini or LOD files in the weapons folder. Would that mean that they really aren't there? Do I have to modify the Loadout.ini as well or is that just for "default" loadouts for specific mission types? Above you mention enabling the pods in the aircraftdata.ini and/or weapons editor. Do you mean the FA-18A_data or is there literally a file called "aircraftdata.ini"? How would I enable them in that? Also regarding weaponsdata.ini - if I make a change there with something like notepad can I just save it and it's done or do I also have to save it with the weapon editor as well? Sorry these are all probably questions asked hundreds of times - and I am perusing the knowledge base and modding forums to try avoiding too many redundant questions - but the tips and suggestions along the way here are much appreciated. Thanks.

I've only done the stock SFP1 and Burning Sands '83 campaigns thus far, but I've only seen a basic "The enemy has surrendered, the campaign is over" type of ending screen.

Do any of the available F-111's use the Pave Tack pod or was that just the F-111F?

I don't want to derail from the initial post, but can someone give a quick differentiation between the weapons packs, since there are a number of them now? I'm just coming back to the TW sims after a while and when I first started Bunyap's was pretty much "the standard". Now I see there is a community pack and a couple from Mirage Factory. Do they build onto Bunyap's last pack or are they all new from the ground up - or perhaps specialized for changes made in the latest patches?

Not too sure about the medal system - I don't have a screenshot but I got the Medal of Honor the other day for a mission on the bombing range....

Ok, I have to ask although I somehow suspect I might not get a straight answer. What's with all the references to eels and lazercats around here?

As a side note from my trying to figure out LGBs (and why they aren't quite totally working with one of my installs) I noticed that I have both avionics60.dll and avionics70.dll in whatever directory it is that they are found in. The particular install I was looking through is SFP1 SP4 with the Burning Sands '83 mod. I was under the impression that avionics70.dll came with the latest (are we calling it SP5?) patches - which I have NOT done. So apart from how it got there in the first place (unless SP4 was avionics70), would having both of them present in a single installation cause problems? Or does the sim automatically use the latest one?

Thanks!

Thanks for the replies. I have a couple more questions, please bear with me! I gave it a quick test run on the range, and I'm part way there. The install I tried it with was SFP1 SP4 with Bunyap's '06 Weps Pack, Burning Sands '83 F-18A (included in mod) and I think I set the year to 1983. I loaded up some GBU-12's, and at about 10,000 ft and 3 miles out from the primary target dropped one. Direct hit. So I extended out for a while and turned back for some more practice, selected a target and did the same kind of pass but no more bombs would release. Looking over the exterior of the aircraft I realized I had no targeting pod (so the primary must be "ground lased" for you?). Ok, I head back to the loadout screen and checking through the options for every station I did not see any targeting pods available, only ECM pods. I'm assuming it's got to be an issue with allowed objects on a particular weapon station in an ini file somewhere, and I know that you have to be careful with mission timeframe versus years of service of various weapons, but I would have thought that if the GBU's were available in the loadout screen there would have been a corresponding targeting pod to go with it. I haven't changed anything outside of the official patch up to SP4 and the BS 83 mod. Haven't edited anything else. Maybe the plane in this particular mod is just set up to not really use LGB's on its own? I tried it with both "strike" and SEAD missions to see if it allowed different loadout options but still didn't see any targeting pods.

Hi all, Revisiting the TW series after being away from it for a while and looking to tune things up a bit. Is there a tweak out there for reducing the amount of vertical "bobbing" that the AI wingmen do while flying in formation with you? I'd like to keep a little in there but the default amount seems just a little too much. I did a forum search but it didn't didn't seem to return anything regarding that particular issue.

Hail Hail leader of the Sycophants! Hmm, that might make a good band name! Someone should come up with a set of skins for "Sycophant Squadron", for something like the Mirage Factory F-15A. You know, because it sucks and is nothing like the real thing and has a cockpit from a '56 Chevy instead of an F-15. I'm pretty new around here but I'll weigh in just the same. Is it such a crime to enjoy a sim (yes, it's a sim even if it is (gasp) 'lite') that doesn't require months of study and memorizing 4 functions per key for every single key on the keyboard? I have never heard of TargetWare. I'll be honest, I hadn't heard of the TW series until a couple of years ago I came across an "evolution of strike fighters" article over at SimHQ. My first thought at seeing the screenshots was "wow - the planes looke awesome." No, eye candy isn't everything - but as in real life it gets your attention. That article got my interest, and I picked up SFP1 at Circuit City for $5. It's easily the most bang for the buck I have ever gotten out of any piece of software for any platform in my life (except maybe FS2004), and I have only played the original campaign and Burning Sands '83 (3 times), plus the Battle of Britain mod. I'm planning on trying the Korean Air War mod, I have WOE but haven't even gotten to it yet, and will probably pick up both First Eagles and WOI. I have Falcon 4:Allied Force. I was reading through the manual (all 700+ pages), taking notes, doing training missions. That kind of sim does appeal to me. I want to "do it right". I want to experience the campaign everyone raves about. I do not in reality have that kind of time. Maybe one day I will go back to it, but to be honest I'm probably gonna have to scale back the realism (I know, blasphemy!). The reality is with a job, wife, 2 kids and a dog, home to maintain, etc. at best I will only get maybe a few hours a week to "play". I don't remember how to turn on the radar in F4AF anymore. After being away from SF for several months, I fired it up and in minutes was trading shots in a furball. I got killed for losing my SA and target fixation (and forgetting it's stupid to get into a turn fight with a Mig-17 in an F-4). So the AI isn't perfect, but it's good enough to kill you when you go dumb. I have no idea what a real Phantom feels like to fly, but I know it turns like a pig and works best with boom and zoom tactics - which is what works in the game. AA/AG/boresight modes and "click to bracket next target" is just fine for me. Isn't that basically how it works in real life, just with a little less buttonology in between? I still suck at putting bombs on target. I mean no offense to F4 players. I applaud your persistence and dedication to a fine product, and perhaps one day will drink from its deep well. But today, I just can't make the commitment. Anyway, to cut my runaway train of a post short (sorry, it's what I do apparently) - and it's no news to anyone here but maybe for someone who might read this and is thinking about checking out any title in the Third Wire series - I've come to realize that this sim is (almost) perfect for my needs right now. It looks good (and sometimes great), it is accessible, IT IS FUN. I don't know if a given plane has its optimum corner speed modelled correctly, but different planes DO generally seem to display their strengths and weaknesses as you would expect. Some of the AI are "dumb as a box of rocks", and others will swat you out of the sky before you know they're there. Not every fighter pilot that ever lived was an ace either. There are vast reserves of mods and enhancements. The community behind it is great, and this guy Stiglr is just blatantly wrong when he slams the quality of their work. You can go pretty deep with the series if you want to. And if you are time limited for simming like me, I can't think of any that are better at getting you into the air and not stuck in a manual.

Sounds like the treatement ends up being worse than the original problem. Well, thanks for the info anyway.