Swordsman422

A little preview of one of the generic skins I'm working on. Did this squadron first because they deserve it above all others.

File Name: KittyHawk/Nimitz Class Carriers Names File Submitter: Swordsman422 File Submitted: 17 March 2012 File Category: SF2 Series Add On Objects This file contains names for the entire class for the Thirdwire Kitty Hawk and Nimitz aircraft carriers. Installation 1. Drop CVA-63_Names into the CVA-63 folder in your Thirdwire/Strike Fighters 2/Objects/Groundobjects folder. Put CVN-68_Names into the CVN-68 folder. 2. Enjoy how you will. Known issues 1. CV-67 is not a member of the Kitty Hawk-class. However, there is no existing model for the JFK, nor is there going to be one in the foreseeable future. However, she is a historically significant vessel and was closely based on the Kitty Hawk carriers, so I have chosen to place her with them. Thanks for downloading! Any questions, issues, or requests please contact me through my profile Swordsman422 at Combatace.com Click here to download this file

Stuntman, I'm currently working on fixing all the missing decals, including VF-103.

Dave, I haven't had a look at it, but I assume certain aspects such as MTT are triggered by selecting Fox 3. I assumed (because I haven't looked at the .ini yet) that there is some kinda entry that limits the maximum number of MTT targets, but I don't know. MAN, is it 5:00 YET?!

+1x10^50 NA would probably not had so many issues without which TK went forward without beta testers. Avionics changes, I dunno. If the F.1 had a functioning AG radar, MAYBE we'll see that. But this isn't a title, it's an expansion pack. Definately no new terrains, no new weapons that aren't specific to the F.1, no major avionics overhauls, and no new voice packs (though I'd LOVE it if he ever coded the game so that we could choose what countries use what voice packs just by editing the Nations.ini). Bear, I forgot to ask you. When you were in the Kimberly in Australia and you had to drink your pee and you were complaining about how bad it tasted... um... why'd you drink the canteen dry?

I was going to replace the e-seats with MF F-14 seats. Oli (or whoever did it) got the GRU-7A dead on. I'll probably post the locates for those and the stock F-4 seats (they're closer than the TW F-14 seats at least) for people who don't have/won't get (because of insanity?) the MF cat. Though that won't until this weekend. Here's how you add it (and please forgive me, I'm at work). Open the data.ini and search for the Pilots section. There should be a seatmodelname= entry or something like that. Copy the seat name you want into this entry. If that line doesn't exist, copy the whole line. You may need to adjust the location coordinates of the pilots and seats to get it seated (no pun) just right, and that can be done with the locators on that same data block. You probably won't need to, though. Edit: I wonder if that VDI can be added to the A-6 cockpit? That is superficially similar to the DIANE attack display, though not at all similar in function.

Huh. There really is a first time for everything. Then again, VF-111 is one of those squadrons I've never paid a lot of attention to. Same for VF-84 and VF-21. I don't posess quite the level of knowledge on them that I do on, say, VF-143, VF-41, or VF-154. I tended to focus on squadrons that were not disestablished, probably because my awareness of the F-14 rose above the normal static in around the late '90s. 160690 was delivered to VF-111 in '85, and the only pics of them from that time that I have seen so far were with the sunburst on the rudder only. I'm already working on doing corrections and additions to the stock decal sets, so when I get some time to monkey around with it I will. I was just speaking from my experience with the MF tomcat and trying to get the black anti-glare on my VF-103 skin just right. That was... not easy.

If you paint it on it won't be bad. But I'm talking about decals here. I haven't had a whole lot of time to experiment with the radome just yet for the TW F-14, but I HAVE done it on the MF cat and have been having trouble. I know they wore a sunburst as the most famous scheme, but most of the time VF-111 line jets didn't get more flamboyant than this And when they first transitioned, they all looked like this As a matter of fact, I have never seen the full color, full tail sunburst on any F-14 other than Sundowner 200.

Heck, after VF-111 transitioned to the tomcat, they didn't even have the sunburst on the tail. Just the air wing code in red letters. The sunburst appeared only on the ventral fins (which is a bastard to get lined up, I'll tell you). That shark mouth on the nose? That is one hell of a hard decal to get laid right without deforming. And I'm working with the MF Tomcat. The radome of the TW model will probably be just as bad.

Got a CVBG working in the desert campaigns after making the proper edits. Now, though, I can't get the enemy interested in attacking the ships at all. Usually before NA the first mission I got as a Navy fighter pilot was to CAP over the carrier station or intercept bombers coming in to lay smack on the ships I had added as scenery objects. I tried adding the new mission line for naval strike for the bombers but no luck just yet. The existing 3rd party ships need to be upgraded now with whatever code will make them show up in single missions. After the CGN-35 retire date, all we get is Spruance-class DDs for escorts. I'm working on fixing the stock decal issues i.e. innacurate tail codes or markings, absent decals, etc. I'll release those when finshed and then start working on some generic transitional skins and alternate or low-viz decals for those as well. AT work now, but I've got the weekend to do this and it shouldn't take me long.

That one took me a second. At first I thought you were referencing the fact that the USS Saipan was blown up in Red Storm Rising. Silly me, guess this man doesn't think to much... HA! I kill me!

The F-14's elevators convert to tailerons and serve as the primary roll surface with the wings fully swept. I am certain that the FMs now have surface compressability at high speeds.

Had an epiphany about the high speed roll-rate "bug" that we're seeing on the TW Tomcat. What if it's intentional? What if this is a model of control surface compressability? I know that the hydraulics on jets aided a lot in combating this issue, but I remember at NAS Oceana before the DFCS that you could always pick out the Tomcat guys by their huge biceps. You had to be a real gorilla to fly that jet before the digital flight controls. Then it became an aircraft that you could control at all speeds with your finger tips. Anyway, I was thinking this: the MiG-17 was known to suffer from serious compressability issues at speeds higher than 350 knots because of its cable-and-pully flight controls. The thing that's always bugged me about the TW MiG-17 is that its roll rate remains the same whether its at 200 knots or 400. At 400 knots, the pilot would not be able to roll the jet at all. Later on in the Vietnam War, Phantom pilots would try to bait the MiGs into hgih-speed fights where the Phantom had better maneuvering. Also, the evasion maneuver for the F-4 against the MiG-17 was to use high-speed roll control as a way to walk away from a pursuing Fresco. The F-4 would go into afterburner, roll, pull a few degrees. The pilot would then wait for the Mig to establish it's turn at a slower roll rate and reverse, forcing the MiG to make another delaying roll. If compressability is now possible in the FM, we could rewrite the MiG-17 FM to relect this change.

Another thing I'll do is early low-vis versions of each stock skin. Basically grey belly versions of everything already there.

Hell yes it is! I pooched an intercept and one bomber got an AS-6 off. I was on direct line to intercept it, but I only had my 'winders left. The missile blew by me at Mach 4.5! I was never closer than 5 miles out from it. I can't imagine trying to get a whole swarm of them. Fortunately it lookes like ship SAMs and CWS can intercept missiles that leak through. The vampire finally got had by a salvo of Sea Sparrows. I think (but I can't remember, being so shocked at the time) that I hit the R key with the vampire call and got the missile visually. You gota hit them soon, because once they accelerate your missiles will never catch them in any aspect except dead ahead.

Just be careful with a lot of the stuff in the flight folder. A modded Nations.ini will take your AEW away and you'll be talking to the Red Crown lady again.

Another BuNo that shows up is 160899 on the cockpit plate. This aircraft was a 105-GR delivered in probably 81 or so. It served with VF-102 as AB110 in the mid 1990s. Like 160406, she never received the digital flight control upgrade and was stricken in 1995 when the Diamondbacks traded in their F-14As for Bs.

Another thing I'm gonna do when I can get a hold of the campaign files is change the carrier and CVW. VF-41 is cool, but I can't stand VF-84. I'll probably change it to the Ike with CVW-7 and fly with my beloved Pukin' Dogs of VF-143.

Fist thing I'm going to do when the extractor is available is correct several of the squadron decals that are reflecting later markings(VF-14 and VF-211 specifically) or add a squadron decal where missing (VF-103's Slugger arrow.). Next, I'm going to make a generic early 80's gull grey low-vis skin and modify decals where necessary to create a low-viz set. VF-41 in this skin would use their Sukhoi Killers markings and VF-143 would not have the blue field on the tail for example. Just some quick, non-work-intensive stuff for starters while the game is new and I want to enjoy it. I'll go crazy later.

Bit of Trivia: If you look at all the F-14 default skins, the BuNo of the aircraft is 160406. Not much known about this jet other than she entered service as an F-14A-95-GR probably around 1980, was AMARCed on 11/27/1997, before the advent of the DFCS, and was officially stricken from the active jet list on 7/06/1999. You've probably shaved with or drank out of her by now. Sad to contemplate. Not that it matters, but I almost wish TK had used a more famous example like 160390, 160403, or 161159.

NA includes the Tarawa-class LHA as an object. It comes in during the campaign to deliver the marines. I suspect there may be conflicts between the TW and 3rd party ships. There are also conflicts between the 3rd party Spruance and OHP, as the use the same folder and data file names.

TU-95 damage model is pretty incredible. I intercepted one and went to guns on it. It's outer port engine took damage and spun to a stop. What really blew my mind was another engine started winding down, but the pilot feathered it and got it started again. Wow! And then I hosed him to death. I did run into the Backwards Buffalo issue. I followed a Phoenix all the way to its target. It missed, but instead of self-destructing it made a wide turn and went back after the target. When it missed the second time, it suddenly flipped backwards before crashing.

Really liking the MTT mode available for the Buffalo. You can lock up 6 targets and ripple-fire your AIM-54s with hardly any trouble. Some of the decals are pretty generic, one squadron has none, and some are just incorrect. As soon as we can extract stuff again, I'm going to pull them all out and tinker a bit. It's a little disconcerting seeing VF-211 using the CVW-1 tail code or VF-14 and VF-32, sister squadrons until 1994, using separate airwing markers. I think I'm going to make low-viz versions of the squadron decals where appropriate and modify the Overall Grey skin to utilize them. Once I'm happy with those, I'll probably post them here for everyone.

Yes. It's specific to the Iceland terrain for right now, but once we figure out how battlegroups work, we may be able to modify ALL the terrains to allow it.