comrpnt

Hi Eric, sure, that's good to know. Part of the revamp of these previous packs was to make them easier to consume - as the pre-req models were very hard to acquire and numerous. So, I've used Stock whereever I can - occasionally at the cost of historical accuracy but it's a tradeoff that's worth the price, and of course a few pre-reqs that are publically available. Finally there are a few 'specials' that I provide myself that aren't available anywhere else. As I'm nearing the end of this work, here's the final list I've come up with: Gramps' UH-1H Huey (Used in place of the UH-34 for "Flaming Arrow" helicopter escort missions) Hinchinbrooke's "Cardiff" Type-42 destroyer (Used to populate the carrier fleet with escort ships) Kesslebrut's Infantry pack for SP4 (updated by TeTeT) (Provides both VC and US ground forces) Mirage factory weapons pack, compatible with October 2008 Thirdwire patch (The latest weapons and effects, compatible with Thirdwire October 2008 WOV patch) Sundowner's VMFA-531 (early) F-4 Skin (The correct F-4B skin for VMFA-531 during 1965) Veltro2K's KC-135 tanker (Used to provide 'simulated' aerial refueling support for longer missions) As parked statics only appear in game-generated single missions, I provide my own for eye-candy, mostly for use at Da Nang and Phu Cat: F-4B static, F-100D static, 707 static (doubles for the KC-135 static). There are a couple of other Terrain folder objects that provide VC caves for a few of the missions, and then the usual Types and Targets definitions, new Loadouts, and finally some new Formations definitions. Pretty straightforward stuff and a lot smaller than previous packs in this series. Cheers, regards, Paul.

Hi folks, first, congratulations on this mod - quality work, thank you. Second, my completed historical re-enactment of USMC VMFA-531's tour from April 1965 is almost complete and I'll be happy to make the files available to the folks here to incorporate into this pack. I'm in final testing at present, having spent the last 5 months rewriting the existing mission packs to work better with the October 2008 patch and adding new missions to complete the set. For a teaser, see attached ReadMe extract PDF for what you can expect. Malibu - I'll send along the files you'll need once I have everything tested and in-place. Regards, comrpnt. VMFA-531 ReadMeFirst-short.pdf

Warm dark beer all round! Happy Birthday Ant. All the best to you! Regards, Paul.

I trawled the forum posts a couple of times but couldn't find an answer to this seemingly simple question. Do auto-generated parked static aircraft appear in single missions that a user loads from the Missions folder - rather than appear in the 'created' single missions that the game also provides. From testing so far I've seen parked auto-generated statics using the 'created' single mission option but NEVER during a mission that I have created myself and then loaded. And I mostly only ever load and play my own created missions. So, I was just wondering. Anyone ever seen these birds appear within missions they've authored? The answer is going to affect my next deliverable. Cheers, regards, comrpnt.

Hi FC, aha! That explains a few things - such as why I wasn't seeing them (I only ever use my own single missions). But it's also quite useful as it turns out because I can design my missions starting positions as I like them and not have to worry about double-booking a parking space on the ramp for my own statics and the player's aircraft. Thanks for that insight - I appreciate the confirmation. comrpnt.

Thanks greatly received and similarly dispensed to all those modders whose work I rely on in order to build my own mods. Speaking as a modder and, if I may, on behalf of modders we surely are standing on the shoulders of giants - the folks who build and provide the environment and models from which we then are able to go a little further. I call it the Brotherhood of Thirdwire, a kind of unselfish global collaboration that could teach the rest of the world a thing or two. Kind regards, comrpnt

Many happy returns. Regards, comrpnt.

Copy that - good scene. Thanks for reminding me of it. I also like this one from BoB... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncC0lOJPYRw&feature=related. Capt. Speirs... what a guy! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Speirs)

Hi folks, I just exceeded my bandwidth on Photobucket. Fair enough you might say, but this interested me as things have been bobbing along nicely for ages, until BAM!, someone or something started taking a real interest in one particular file. The past few days... Over the last 6 months... Possibly the particular file being hit by this site has been linked, or maybe even hijacked. I don't know. This is not something I have a lot of experience with but the reason I mention it here is that over 95% of any images I keep on PB are linked to from this site. Anyway, thought you'd all like to know and would be interested to hear from anyone with similar experiences. Cheers, regards, comrpnt.

Oliver, may you rest in peace my friend. comrpnt.

Hi Dave, you're not wrong. I read a vivid account of the raid in this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eighth-Air-Force-American-Britain/dp/1845132211 Nail biting stuff. This is worth a look - in case you've not seen it - some great shots of low flying in-bound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWO7UqP7acc&NR=1 Regards, Paul. :-)

Hi Eject, you will need to extract the _targets.ini file and add to it to define your own target areas and target objects. For example, in WOE go to Terrain/GermanyCE and edit file GermanyCE_targets.ini (you may need to use the CAT extractor first to get the stock file from the ObjectData.CAT file). Looking through GermanyCE_targets.ini you'll see friendly and enemy target locations defined. A simple one would be to add something like the following: [TargetAreaXXX] Name=SAM site reported at gridRef(58,77) Position=580000,770000 Radius=7000 ActiveDate=04/20/1979 InactiveDate=04/30/1979 Location=2 Alignment=ENEMY Target[001].Type=SAMRadar Target[001].Offset=0.00,0.00 Target[001].Heading=270 Target[002].Type=SAMLauncher Target[002].Offset=0.00,1000.00 Target[002].Heading=315 Target[003].Type=SAMLauncher Target[003].Offset=1000.00,0.00 Target[003].Heading=270 Target[004].Type=SAMLauncher Target[004].Offset=0.00,-1000.00 Target[004].Heading=225 Target[005].Type=SAMLauncher Target[005].Offset=-1000.00,0.00 Target[005].Heading=270 This will place a cross-shaped SAM site (1 x SAM radar and 4 x SAM launchers) on the map at x/y coords 580000,770000 with the radar in the centre of the cross. The name of the target is important if you want to make it read sensibly during the mission briefing when you load the mission during the game. For example, see the attached mission file. Active and inactive dates effectively turn on and turn off the target so that they appear and disappear from the game map, depending on the date of the mission, set in the mission file on line "StartDate=04/22/1979" Offsets are calculated as x (left/right) and y(up/down) from the "Position=" value. For example, Offset=0.00,0.00 is the same as the "Position=" value (580000,770000). Offset=1000.00,0.00 real location is, in this example, 581000,770000. Offset=0.00,1000.00 real location is, in this example, 580000,771000. Offset=-1000.00,0.00 real location is, in this example, 579000,771000. Offset=0.00,-500.00 real location is, in this example, 580000,769500. Offset=-500.00,-500.00 real location is, in this example, 579500,769500. ...and so on. You get I idea. The heading value is simply the compass heading on the game map, so 0(zero)=North(up), 90=East(right), 180=South(down), 270=West(left). ***Important: The names of the objects in the target location MUST be exactly the same as those defined in the GermanyCE_types.ini file (the "Name=" field for each 'type' entry). For example, from the WOE GermanyCE_types.ini file... [TargetType061] Name=SAMRadar FullName=SAM Site TargetType=SAM_RADAR UseGroundObject=TRUE ActiveYear=1965 TargetValue=200 RepairRate=0.555 StartDetectChance=80 StartIdentifiedChance=20 IncreaseDetectChanceKey=10 MaxVisibleDist=8000.0 DestroyedEffect=SmallRocketGroundExplosion SecondaryEffect=VehicleFireEffect SecondaryChance=50 [TargetType062] Name=SAMLauncher FullName=SAM Site TargetType=SAM_LAUNCHER UseGroundObject=TRUE ActiveYear=1965 TargetValue=100 RepairRate=0.555 StartDetectChance=20 StartIdentifiedChance=0 IncreaseDetectChanceKey=0 MaxVisibleDist=8000.0 DestroyedEffect=SmallRocketGroundExplosion SecondaryEffect=VehicleFireEffect SecondaryChance=50 Hope this helps, regards, comrpnt. WOE_SAM_test_mission.zip

Hi Steve, I use this site to gen up on target areas for some of my mission designs: http://www.rjsmith.com/topo_map.html For example, see this one: http://www.rjsmith.com/Thai-Nguyen-Center.html All the best, regards, Paul.

Indeed Derk, I was there in May when this happened. We all stood around immediately afterwards holding our breath, wondering if he was going to be able to stop before the trees at the far end - because of the gradient of the runway all you could see of her was the tail sticking up above the tarmac. Thankfully all ended well and I think the only casualty was a bit of tyre rubber, and perhaps a new pair of shorts. Glad to see this clip has made it on-line now - it shows it from a new angle. Looking at the size of her, it's amazing to see what a sticking throttle and stiff front-side wind can do. Cheers, regards, comrpnt.

Hi Ant, Jeff, what was that about "Great minds..."? I was looking into this for the final -531 mission pack. Here you go, F-100D Aggressors circa 1965, with a pairs departure from Da Nang (closely followed by a pair of F-4Bs on a rollercoaster ride through the highlands.) Everything leaves from the same base, but remember to set FriendlyAirDefenseActivity=0 to avoid being toasted by the local 'blue' AAA. Cheers, regards, Paul.

Hi Steve, confirmed. I see the same thing from the extracted _targets.ini for that entry, from that version of WOV: [TargetArea123] Name=Vinh Airfield ... Target[043].Type=blastshield Target[043].Offset=518.60,-295.60 Target[043].Heading=270 Target[050].Type=vBarrack1 Target[050].Offset=621.86,-226.03 Target[050].Heading=90 Regards, Paul.

Even though it's not immediately obvious from the title, the following mission pack - while getting older now - could easily be updated to use the F-14 in Libya (at present the A-5A is used on a deep strike mission into that terrain). Everything else is provided. See here: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=5989 Regards, comrpnt.

It's worth making a note that the entire series is about to be concluded with the release of the final installation. For that release I will be revising all of the previous sets to work with the post-October 2008 patch, compatible weapons pack and fewer pre-reqs. Then I plan to port them all into SF2V. So you may want to wait for either of those releases in the next few months. Cheers, regards, comrpnt.

It can certainly be done for single missions - in fact it has, many times over in the VMFA-531 Mission Packs (available for download here in the User Missions section). Here are some screenies... Or fly a Misty mission, if you're interested in something faster... Etc etc... Regards, comrpnt.

Hi folks, thanks for your kind words. As there is no way to create an association between objects and lights, and therefore the destruction of an object to there being 'no lights' I guess things will have to stay pretty much as they are. With one alternative. Please find attached alternate Ramp1 ini definition files with the anti-collision lights definitions removed. I left the floodlights as they were. The file names enclosed end in "_Ramp1_2.ini" so either renamed them to end in "_Ramp1.ini" or change the name of the appropriate AirfieldDataFile entries in the _targets.ini file. Some folks will choose the latest file I've supplied. For myself, I prefer the former with anti-collision lights. At least now you have a choice. Regards, comrpnt Ramp1_enhanced_lights_B.rar

It's not well documented but re-arming in a mission IS possible. Simply edit the Controls/Default.ini file (or whatever controls file you're using) and add the following line to the [ControlSet001] section REARM_WEAPONS=ALT+W Re-run the game, expend your weapons, then press the key combination defined in the line above. Hey presto - you're rearmed! Here's proof (using the FuelWeight value to prove that these shots were taken one after the other on the same flight) Armed ----- Unarmed ------- ALT+W Re-armed -------------- Now, of course, with great power comes great responsibility, so I expect folks to RTB, taxi to the arming pit and then press the rearming button. No cheating while airbourne! ;-) (BTW, it doesn't work for fuel unfortunately). I'd like to take credit for discovering this but someone else posted the details a while back and I simply made a note of them - if the original author of this tip reads this please make yourself known, I expect that folks will want to thank you personally. This is the first time I've tried it and was pleasantly surprised to see that it works. I used WOE (patched Oct 2008) as my testbed. All the best, regards, comrpnt.

Mmm, well in theory you could use landing lights from some complex static aircraft positioned on the ramp, but the cost is quite high. For example... 1. You'd need about 40 landing lights to replicate the image above - not sure how the game would cope with the demands of calculating light source and shadows from each of these sources. 2. The static - if that's what was used (and I couldn't think what else you could use) - needs to be defined in a single mission file, so couldn't be used in all situations, like campaigns or game-generated single missions. 3. The offsets and positioning of each light would involve some tricky calculations given the location of the static and the central point (offset 0,0) of the runway layout in question. 4. The lighting up time of the lights could not be controlled - they'd be on all of the time. Yes, what you see above is a compromise as the lights are not real but it's pretty simple to do, in keeping with the rest of the airfield lights and available for any one to use no matter what context - single mission, campaign, game-generated mission, whatever. Regards, comrpnt.

Pureblue, in addition to the most excellent work going on here, please find below lighting definitions for the 3 ramps in your test upload package above. First some screen shots... Floodlights with 24 x 7 anti-collision lights on top: Floodlights when lit - timed to come on at the same time as the hangar flood lights that face the ramp: And an overview of what it looks like in context, across the whole ramp: (BTW, I also included anti-collision lights for the SunShelter in AB1_Ramp1. Not shown here) The enhanced _Ramp1.ini files are attached. Simply replace the originals above with these new enhanced ones. Cheers, regards, comrpnt. Ramp1_enhanced_lights.rar

Sure - no worries. QRA sheds look good. Nice to see them being re-used. BTW, did I read somewhere that someone is working on hangars and sheds that allow you to taxi in/out without hitting the collision bug that affects the stock shelters? Cheers, kind regards, comrpnt. :-)

Actually Dave, I partially disagree. It's not well documented but re-arming in a mission IS possible. Simply edit the Controls/Default.ini file (or whatever controls file you're using) and add the following line to the [ControlSet001] section REARM_WEAPONS=ALT+W Re-run the game, expend your weapons, then press the key combination defined in the line above. Hey presto - you're rearmed! Here's proof (using the FuelWeight value to prove that these shots were taken one after the other on the same flight) Armed ----- Unarmed ------- ALT+W Re-armed -------------- Now, of course, with great power comes great responsibility, so I expect folks to RTB, taxi to the arming pit and then press the rearming button. No cheating while airbourne! ;-) (BTW, it doesn't work for fuel unfortunately). I'd like to take credit for discovering this but someone else posted the details a while back and I simply made a note of them - if the original author of this tip reads this please make yourself known, I expect that folks will want to thank you personally. This is the first time I've tried it and was pleasantly surprised to see that it works. I used WOE (patched Oct 2008) as my testbed. All the best, regards, comrpnt.