OlPaint01

Hello Peter01 I just discovered that the campaigns started to run perfectly well after I added my first Pilot. The third-party Mod Campaigns are running now as well. OlPaint01

NeverEnough@ Thanks for the Bomb Sight lead. That is just the ticket! Tailspin@ Oh, by the way, I have no experience with SFP1. Where do I go for the Mods Documentation that you are referring to? It appears that a lot of the Mods for TK's other Flight Sims could be adapted to First Eagles. Quack74@ We need to get a Bomb Sight worked out for the FE Heavys. I will start experimenting with modifing the "No Cockpit Gun Sight pipper (toggle with NUMPADPERIOD keystroke), to move it down the screen, as a Bomb Sight. The Bomber Mod referenced above is a great start...We need a vertical line on the screen with tic marks showing altitudes where to pickle the bombs-away point. In the early days the bomb sight must have been nothing more than a simple telescope marked with a vernier graduation in the optic bolted to the nose of the A/C that the bombardier peered through to line up the primary target. The existing Gun Sight .TGA could be modified to represent that, I think. JFM@ OT: Great to know a fellow Flight Simmer is so close. Pumpkin Show is a blast. This year is Circleville's Centennial Celebration. There are a lot of special events planned. I hope you can make it down! OlPaint01

Hello Quack I finally got the Airfield for Bombers File to download. I had gotten the Disclaimer Message for several days. Now it appears to be OK. OlPaint01

JFM I agree with you that we need a bombsight for the high-level bombardier on the Heavy Bombers. I have bombed successfully by doing the following: I pickle the Primary Ground Target with E keystroke (or SHIFT+E if I by-pass it). Then I padlock the primary ground target the the F4 keystroke then toggle Off the cockpit with NUMPADPERIOD keystroke. This gives me a great view of the target as it moves under me without the cockpit floor in the way. I toggle the Wings Level SHIFT+A and correct my flight path with the Rudder, line-of-sight, in the external SHIFT+F8 Player to Target View . The problem is that I have no frame of reference when to drop the ordnance. It has become a learning experience thing with me. I set a consist altitude to fly from the initial point then "guesstimate" Bombs Away. So far in my learning process I am dropping either way too early or way too late. Oh well, Practice makes Perfect!!! I got the impression after speaking with Tailspin that someone over on the ThirdWire SFP1 made a working WWII Nordan Bombsight. But I can not find it anywhere after an extensive search. We might be able to design an simulated optical sight like the Gotha bombardiers used by 'dumbing' down the Nordan .TGA file to show a pickle point based on altitude and speed. that would greatly improve our accuracy. OlPaint01

Hello All I just completed downloading and installing the March 2010 FE2 Patch from ThirdWire website. Now all TK's 'Canned' Campaigns lock up the game the moment I click on the Accept Button no matter which side I chose or which Squadron I try to fly. I must recover by using Task Manager. Wha' Happened? The 'Canned' Campaigns were working fine before the patch. I am runnig FE2 on Windows XP Pro with 2GB of RAM. I have not even tryed to install any Mods after I made a fresh reinstall and applied the March 2010 Patch again. Still no joy running any Campaigns with the game locking up at the click of Accept Button. I guess it is back to flying my fully modded FEG for a while. OlPaint01

Hello All I just completed downloading and installing the March 2010 FE2 Patch from ThirdWire website. Now all the 'Canned' Campaigns lock up the game the moment I click on the Accept Button no matter which side I chose or which Squadron I try to fly. I must recover by using Task Manager. Wha' Happened? The Canned Campaigns were working fine before the patch. I am runnig FE2 in Windows XP Pro with 2GB of RAM. OlPaint

Hello Peter01 I am having problems getting FireCage's Jasta 11 Campaign to bring up German A/C to fly in FEG. His mod appears to launch random scenerios with just Endente scouts and 2-seaters instead of German aircraft, This is strange to me since the campaign menu does not even offer the choice of Allied squadrons. Your campaigns and Charles' campaigns are running well in FEG. I particularly like flying the early war years. I have not tryed loading these campaigns or your FM's into FE2 yet. TK's 'canned' campaigns seem to be well designed are running well so far in both FEG and FE2. I have JanTuma's Terrains and CaptVenguer's Alternate Medals Pack and Guitarclassic55's Menu Mod running in FEG. JanTuma's and CaptVenguer's Mods are now running in FE2 as well. I would love to get GuitarClassic55's beautiful Menu Mod running in FE2 also. I am about to give the March 2010 FE2 Patch a try. I am on Windows XP Pro with 2GB of RAM. OlPaint01

Quack@ I really am looking forward to the renewed interest in Heavys. The skins are beautiful!!! Months ago, I believe that I recall Sinbad was working on a Heavy Bomber Campaign for First Eagles with scenarios that included Gotha Raids on London. He was attempting to arrange a bombing squadron stream with a common target for all to hit. As opposed to the way it works now with you targeting the primary and the rest of the AI hitting targets of opportunity. He also mentioned that he was cooperating with several others to perfect a workable high altitude bombsight. Have you heard how that project is progressing? Sanbad@ I noticed that you might have come off sabbadical and are posting again. Could you share a status for your Heavy Bomber Campaign? Inquiring Minds Want to Know. OlPaint01

Thanks Shredder for your reply. Pol gave me a h/u about the "borrowing" of our OFF intellectual property which I had not realized. I gave him my assurance that I would not publish any of my research summarys without permission. My intent is to build a graphic similar to the one the Pol had released for Phase One, UncleAl referenced that one above, with a generalized relationship showing when each aircraft type was placed in the field. But of course I am a long way for even seeing the end to this project. OlPaint01

Hello British_eh My intension is to completely revise the AAA spreadsheet to the latest HitR standards and the revise the graphical spreadsheet posted above. All it takes is time... I have discovered several breaks in the date continueum in HitR which I am now documenting. I wish Shredward had a complete aircraft/date/squad list he would publish for reference. OlPaint01

Hello Peter01 Thanks for the latest compilation of 'FE1 and FE2 FMs and Essential Files Mod' you have posted. It is great to have them all finally collected in one location. I have a question about the Soundlist.ini File in your Flight Folder and the the .wav files in the Sounds Folder you have or have not included. I find several sounds like "37mm", "Vickers1", "Vickers2", "hotchkiss", "BMW IIIa", etc. that are referred to in your Soundlist.ini that are not included in TK's FEG or FE2 original game releases. I know that several folks, like Firecage, of one, have posted new sound .wav files in the past and I am using them by just dropping the new sounds into the Sounds Folder and making sure that the sound name is spelled correctly when called out. But... 1) Where can I go to get these missing sound files that you reference? 2) and Do I need to edit the soundlist.ini file each time I include all the new sounds files that I use in my games? I have in the past just put added a new sound in the Sounds Folder for the FEG game and the .wav file seems to play OK when the _Data.ini file calls for that particular sound to be heard. OlPaint01

Thanks Peter01 The CatPack Utility pulls everything out at one fell swoop. We don't have to pick one file at a time as in SFP1e Utility. Neat! OlPaint01

Hello Peter01 I have found the new FE2 Weapons and Guns Editors but have failed to locate the new FE2 Cat Extractor Utility. I cannot find it on TK's site. Can you point us in the right direction? Thanks OlPaint01

I upgraded to FE2 as soon as it was released. I installed it on my WinXPx32 machine. The game runs quite well as plain vanilla out of the box. But I want to install the neat FE2 Mods that are starting to appear. So far all my attempts to place the mod files in the game are failing and I can't get FE2 to start. It hangs at a dark screen every time. I must use Task Master to recover. What am I doing wrong? Will a modded FE2 even run under Windows XP? OlPaint01

Hey British_eh I found it! This has got to be the Excel SS you remember. Again, I found it my OFF archive. I think Pol is the author...maybe Shreadward provided the info... OlPaint01

Hey British_eh I think Olham may have published this one graphic. I had it in my OFF Archive. See if this is the one you remembered. It just has German Jastas... If I ever get my job situation straighten out, I want to update the Ace, Aerodromes, and Aircraft SSs for HitR. All it takes is time... OlPaint01

Bandy I believe you just gave me the 'key' information I needed. The Options.ini file in my FE2 documents directory points to the Mods directory in [Mods] section. My "Mods" directory is C:\Documents and Settings\*Username*\My Documents\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2\. If the new FE2 Mod has files to be copied into the Terrains folder, I must have a Terrains folder in that "Mods" directory that contain those files for the Mod. I am about to give it a try. Ich verstehe! Danke schön! OlPaint01

Hello Peter01 I can't seem to get anyone to answer my question about installing FE2 "Mods". I have installed FE2 on my WinXPx32 machine. The 'plain vanilla' version is great! I have collected an extensive set of FE1/FEG mods over the last several years and they are running in my FEG game just fine. I even have JanTuma's new terrains now running in my FEG install. I just downloaded your excellent FE2 Mods pack. Your ReadMe file says to backup my Mods folders before I try to install the new Mods. My question is "Where are the Mods Folders in the FE2 install?" There is a already a FirstEagles2 game directory in my 'Program Files' and I have discovered another FirstEagles2 directory in 'Documents and Settings'. I have tryed to install your new mods into the FE2 game in both these directories and the game won't even launch. I know that TK wrote FE2 to work in Windows7 but FE2 installs and runs quite well on my WinXP machine. I just need some insite how to make the new crop of FE2 mods work in my FE2 game, that is all. OlPaint01

Hello Peter01 or Anyone, Help Please... Peter01 has released his neat FE2 Mods V.2 pack. Where do his set of Mods folders get put? We now have in the FE2 install, in addition to the Main game directory C:\Program Files\ThirdWire\First Eagles 2\ folder, a new directory C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\ThirdWire\First Eagles 2\. So I ask again, where do we load these neat mods onto a FE2 install for a WinXPx32 machine? OlPaint01

Hello Peter01 I grabbed onto your new Camel and Dr1 FMs that you put up for Whiteknight as soon as I discovered them in this thread and over-wrote my old FEG FMs. But to my amazement, the new FMs have disabled my engine sounds for both the Camel the Dr1. I had to restore the _data.ini files from my backup copies to finally get the engine sounds back. What am I doing wrong? OlPaint01

Creaghorn Your OFF tweaks are fantastic!!! Please keep them coming. The sounds of the different engine types that you included with this mod are quite noticeable and really enhance play. I definitely can tell the difference between the engine sound of an aircraft close to me and one that is farther away. I hear a very noticeable attenuation with distance. I am still awaiting an experience in which I can notice the doppler effect, however. I do have a question concerning the balance between the AI aircraft sounds and my own aircraft sounds. I am having issues with the close-in aircraft engine sounds. For example, when my wingman is flying in formation with me, his engine noise practically drowns out the in-cockpit sound of my own engine and guns firing. In effect, the neighboring aircraft sound swamps out mine. Also, in the exterior view of my own aircraft, shouldn't I hear my engine volume as high as the same type AI craft in its exterior view at the same viewing distance? So, How can I drop the exterior view volume of my wingman's close-in engine sound to be more in balance with sound that mine makes? Or conversely, how can I boost my engine sound to match my wingman's at the same apparent viewing distance? OlPaint01

Hello Sitting_Duck I copied this how-to but I cannot remember who wrote it: UncleAl has a great explanation of the TAC display in the 'OFF Tips and Cheats' sticky indicating what the "blips" on the TAC screen represent. -White indicates unidentified Bogies on-screen - usually targets beyond visible range. -Red and Blue blips indicate Enemies and Friendlies respectively within visible range. -Purple indicates Goal targets like enemy two-seaters within intercept range - usually seen in Quick Combat intercept missions. -Yellow indicates a designated target. You can designate focus on specific target by scrolling through the on-screen targets using TAB or Ctrl-TAB key combinations respectively for Enemies or Friendlies. Ok. I don't like the default pale Yellow color of the designated target "Blip" in the TAC display. It is too light and too close in color to the White Bogie "Blip" and it difficult to descern in a quick glance at the TAC display during a heated furball. So I have edited the color code in ViewUI.XML file to give it a highly visible bright Yellow color. The ViewUI.XML file is found in the C:\Documents and Settings\Users_Name\Application Data\Microsoft\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields folder. Be sure to backup the original file. We need to edit the value of TargetColor in the .XML code line <Colors FriendColor="0xFF0000FF" EnemyColor="0xFFFF0000" TargetColor="0xFFFFFF00" BogieColor="0xFFFFFFFF" GoalColor="0xFFAF00AF" HumanFriendColor="0XFF00FFFF" HumanEnemyColor="0xFFFF00FF" /> to be as follows <Colors FriendColor="0xFF0000FF" EnemyColor="0xFFFF0000" TargetColor="0xFFFAFA00" BogieColor="0xFFFFFFFF" GoalColor="0xFFAF00AF" HumanFriendColor="0XFF00FFFF" HumanEnemyColor="0xFFFF00FF" /> Notice that the TargetColor="0xFFFFFF00" is changed to TargetColor="0xFFFAFA00". For your information the Hexdecimal color codes are as follows: FriendColor="0xFF0000FF" is Blue EnemyColor="oxFFFF0000" is Red TargetColor="0xFFFFFF00" is pale Yellow TargetColor="0xFF00FF00" is green TargetColor="0xFFFAFA00" is bright Yellow BogieColor="0xFFFFFFFF" is White GoalColor="0xFFAF00AF" is Purple HumanFriendColor="0xFF00FFFF" is Cyan (neon Blue) HumanEnemyColor="0xFFFF00FF" is Magenta OlPaint01

Hello Waldemar Kurtz and Sitting_Duck WK@ My second attempt following your instructions to swap out the maps worked like a charm. I converted a fresh copy of alt_low.bmp from the .jpg file as you suggested just to be sure I had no errors in the file. After I make a backup for each, I copied the new alt_low.bmp file into all the Map folders in the WW1Scenery\Period\"Year" directories. SD@ I discovered that I did not require a forced over ride date change to set the new alt_low.bmp into CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\UIRES\Map directory. Just switching from one to another of the campaigns I am currently flying did the trick. I am still puzzled how to made a forced over ride date change that you describe. I am looking forward to the next version of the map graphic. OlPaint01

Hello Waldemar Kurtz If I understand you correctly...a copy of your new alt_low.bmp map file goes into the Map folder for each of the year folders inside each of the C:\OBDSoftware\WW1Secenery\Period\"Year"\Map folders, where the "Year" item is all the year folder names found in the Period folder. I tryed that, following your instructions, but could not get the game to overwrite the alt_low.bmp that is already in the C:\OBDSoftware\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\uires\map folder. So, as a consequence, I get no new alternate map displayed on the Briefing page. I see that there is another thread that Red-Dog started in the Multiplayer section - "Map idea" topic http://forum.combatace.com/topic/50268-map-idea/ - about inserting alternate maps into the game. I like the idea working with a grid imposed over the map. This seems more 'military' referencing grid coordinates for navigating on a map. Rabu has put up the Western Front map with a grid arrangement in the download section http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=8400 . It seems to me that we might combine efforts here to use a low resolution version of that map that Rabu and Chrispdm1 have already drawn up and insert it into the alt_low.bmp map file locations using the techniques described above. OlPaint01

Hello VonGuber Check out this link in the knowledgebase http://forum.combatace.com/topic/43129-aces-aerodromes-and-aircraft/ There are three spreadsheets so far for the fighters - one each for the British Squadrons, French Escadrilles, and the German Jastas. I am currently working on the bombers groups. OlPaint01