Mike Dora

Hello again After the last message the DVD drive finally failed altogether, so last weekend I replaced it and since then have had no problems with OFF in any mission mode. = problem solved - it _was_ hardware. Mike

Odd problem here with FE1. I've just noticed that Allied archie doesn't seem to be firing in the Verdun terrain. AA MGs and light cannon fire OK, but not the AAA guns. The AAA guns work OK in Cambrai, with correct white bursts, and the German stuff works OK in both, with correct black bursts. I've tested this multiple times using balloon-busting sorties, with consistent results. Any ideas anyone? If anyone wants to help with diagnoses, I'm attaching the relevant *type and *target files in a zip file. Or is it something to do with the parameters for the "AAA" object (where are these BTW?) Any suggestions gratefully received! Thanks Mike

Stand by chaps. It could be a DVD drive problem. I managed to get Quick Mission to work this afternoon, but now suddenly the hardware is playing up... Mike

Just ran into an odd problem with the OFF Quick Mission facility. I decided I needed some practice, so have been running Quick Missions for a couple of days. Although my persona is an April 1917 46 Sqn Pup pilot, I've been flying the Quick Missions with a (single-gun) Tripehound. No problem doing that. But when I switched to an SE5a, after pressing "Go to Field", and after the "contact, clear" call, I was dropped back to the Quick Mission screen. Same thing happening when I try the Pup, Camel, and back to the Tripe again. Most frustrating, after working fine for days the option has stopped working. The only system changes I have made have been to change the Scenery Detail slider up to 4 then back to 3, and the Terrain Detail slider down to 3 then back to 4 (been experimenting to minimise blue jaggies with TrackIR rapid head movements). Any suggestions on how to fix this please? Thanks Mike

Thanks Wrench, a simple solution but it worked first time. Is there anything one should rename this file to, or is it redundant? Mike

I have just the same problem, what's especially frustrating is that I can't drop any bombs. I've tried the fix of swapping-in a valid controls\default.ini file, but that doesn't work. This is a shame because WOA is a really great and very atmospheric conversion of SFP. Any other ideas anyone please? Mike

I have to say that I am _really_ impressed by the new Wings over Africa, the whole mod hangs together very well, right from the opening screen with "Lili Marlene" playing! I have only one small problem, probably not related to the mod itself, but it's something that's only showing up in this mod. I can't drop any bombs. I'm using the same joystick template that I use for all other SFP variants. After going through the usual weapons selection procedure, and pressing the "release" button - nothing. Hammering the "Enter" button doesn't do anything either. I've tried resetting the controls options, even editing the "default" file in the controls folder. No joy. Any ideas anyone? Thanks Mike

I'm reading Norman MacMillan's 1973 classic "Offensive Patrol" just now, the story of the RFC/RAF squadrons on the Italian Front in 1917/18. As well as being a fascinating narrative, it has a number of nuggets for the likes of us. For example, a footnote on p.77 tells us that "British AA shells burst with white smoke, enemy with black, Italian with _red_." (emphasis added). Now we already know about the first two colours, which are already incorporated in FE. However I would like to try to adjust the colour of Allied archie bursts in the Italian Front mod to "red" - after all there were many more Italian archie units there than British ones. Looking at the various effects files, I see that colours are defined as four-parameter groups, eg: ParticleColor[01].Value=0.300000,0.300000,0.300000,0.000000 AmbientColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 DiffuseColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 So my question to the effects experts is, what do these four values represent? Or put another way, what would people recommend to produce "red" archie smoke? BTW I'm assuming it would be a greyish/brick red colour, not something lurid like pillar box red. Thanks Mike

Been playing around with the very comprehensive and very well-done WW2 Wings over Russia mod, but have found that the "acquire visual target" command seems to be happening automatically. By this I mean that whenever I get close to an enemy ac, then it is automatically highlighted with the box/cone targeting system, without me requesting it. Is there any way of preventing this (and yes, I have tried setting the HUD option to "hard", but that doesn't seem to help)? Thanks Mike

Thanks again all, Deleting a couple of decals from the fuselage solved the problem, for the FW190As and, as I later discovered, for the P-39s. Mike

Thanks all, will try that when I get home. Mike

I've been trying out the Wings over Russia WW2 mod for SFP1, and have encountered an odd problem. The FW190A-4 and FW190A-6 models have invisible fuselages, see screenshots. The FW190F shows up OK though. Any suggestions for solutions please? Thanks Mike

Slimming down the weapons packs is a great idea Dave. One further useful step might be to take out all of the "minor nations" variants of common US, NATO, UK weapons etc. I'm not sure that we really need Turkish-specific Mk 82's, Taiwanese AIM-9's or Saudi JP 233's? Mike

Can anyone tell me please, what file/text controls the default ground targets for Single Mission CAS sorties? It used to be that on such missions I was usually faced with groups of MBTs to attack, eg T-55s etc. Lately however (after multiple mods & adaptations) I find myself being tasked to attack individual Taliban in the default SFP desert terrain (using the "Burning Sands" mod), or groups of relentlessly advancing frontline Firecan radar trucks in WOE. There must be some way I can get back to the honest business of clobbering tanks, surely? Thanks Mike

Thanks Christian, but I have a question. How do the alternative SE flight models differ from the "baseline" Peter01 SE5a? Is it just differences in max speed, or are there aerodynamic, structural differences etc? In the latter case, I recall the original, early SE5 had different wings from those on the SE5a, and its undercarriage needed strengthening, but I can't remember any other structural changes. Thanks Mike

Been trying that, thanks, but so far not detecting any significant differences - too much variance in the results.

Still tinkering with FE, I would like to reduce the size of the fuel fire(?) that occurs just before a plane really catches fire & goes down. The picture shows the effect that I mean. My questions are, which Effects file controls this phenomenon, and what parameters would I have to change to reduce the size of the fire? My reasons for this are two-fold. One, it jars slightly that this fire seems bigger than the subsequent "full conflagration", and two, there are occasions when this fuel fire flares up - then goes out. I could buy that if it was relatively small, such things did happen, but it doesn't feel right to have a large, glowing fireball burst out which then just goes away. Thanks Mike

Thanks Wrench, Gepard, The reason I'm asking, is that after noticing the different values for this parameter I ran some trials last night with GunnerAimOffset = 0.0. Set up recce formations of Biffs, RE8s & Strutters and sent them into harm's way on autopilot. They were frequently turning in rear gunner hit percentages of 20% or more, with figures of the order of 40% being not unusual (before of course usually getting hacked by the swarms of Albatri etc). BTW I _am_ using Peter01's detuned "*_gunner" gun data entries, with nominal accuracy reduced to 10%. What I'm trying to figure out is, if the nominal accuracy is just 10%, how come all these AI Sgt Yorks are scoring so many more hits than that? This is making attacking 2-seaters a very difficult proposition - and a formation of Gotha or AEG G-types seems like an early incarnation of the Eighth Air Force! Mike

Thanks Gepard, but in what way? Which is more accurate, GunnerAimOffset=0.0050 or GunnerAimOffset=30.000? Thanks Mike

Does anyone know how the GunnerAimOffset parameter in the AIData section of a two-seater's *_data.ini file works? I have noticed that it can take values ranging from 0.0050 to 30.000. That's a very wide range, I wonder what effect it has on gunner response or accuracy? Thanks Mike

I know that Steel's Mod M8 for Gunship! is a few years old now, but I have recently "rediscovered" Gunship! (for some reason I found it unplayable when it first came out, but second time around.. ) and I'm trying to use his amazing-looking Mod M8 package. The trouble is, whenever I try to use Mod M8 to activate any mod file, whether terrain or aircraft, I get this message: "This file is set to be launched by this PDF file. This is currently disallowed by your system administrator." Can anyone tell me how to overcome this snag, how do I convince my machine that I am its system administrator? For the record, I am running Adobe 9 under Windows XP. Thanks Mike

Problem solved, the patch hadn't installed correctly. Reinstalling the patch made everything work as it should.

I've just got the old Gunship! atk helo sim up & running (with the patch), and it's running great except that I don't seem to be able to select ATGMs from the gunner's seat using the F7 key. Very frustrating when I can see a field full of tanks. Is there something I'm doing wrong, like missing out on a preceding key sequence, or is this a bug? BTW when I'm in the driver's seat the virtual gunner will happily select ATGMs by himself..

The Harrier GR3 was fitted with a Laser Ranger and Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS) in the extreme nose. The Jaguar GR1 & Tornado GR1 had LRMTS too, fitted in the nose and under the forward fuselage respectively. I cribbed the text below from Jane's: "The LRMTS is a dual-purpose unit which can be used as a self-contained laser ranger or as a target seeker with simultaneous range-finding. In the target seeking role it can be used to detect and attack any target designated by ground troops with a compatible laser, enhancing the effectiveness of battlefield close air support. The LRMTS is an Nd:YAG laser mounted in a stabilised cage, which allows beam-pointing and stabilisation against aircraft movement. The seeker can detect marked targets outside the head movement limits. It operates at a relatively high pulse repetition frequency, thus allowing continuous updating of range information during ground attack. As range is a crucially important parameter for accurate weapon delivery, and yet virtually unobtainable on a non-laser-equipped aircraft, the LRMTS is a vital additional sensor. In a typical operation, a forward air controller with pulsed laser target-designation equipment directs the aircraft to a location within laser detection range before switching on the ground marker equipment. Radio communications between the forward air controller and aircraft crew are minimised and positive identification of even small, hidden or camouflaged targets is assured.Once the LRMTS has detected the laser energy reflected from the target it provides steering commands to the pilot on the head-up display. Ranging data is also shown and fed directly into weapon aiming computations for the accurate and automatic release of weapons." What the LRMTS _cannot_ do, is self-designate for LGBs. Some of our GR3 pilots tried this anyway during the closing days of the Falklands War, but the frequencies etc were all wrong. They had to rely instead on ground-based designation of LGB targets. Hope this helps! Mike

Franco-British warship timeshares are not new, they were doing them in Nelson's time. The French built them, sent them out, the RN took them into its fleet: HMS Ville de Paris, HMS Foudroyant, HMS Guerriere, HMS Temeraire, HMS Bellisle, HMS Tonnant, the list goes on and on..