Wrench

One can find 'Terrains' (aka maps) in the Terrains downloads section. We've done a fairly good job (well, for 1stGens at least) in catagorizing download items: Skins are broken down by aircraft type, Aircraft are broken down by era (WW2, Cold War, Modern, and broken down again to subtypes: fighter, bombers, transorts, ect) Object Mods are things NOT aircraft (ships, vehicles, Air Defense units, etc) Terrains are the various part of the world and so forth I'd reccomend spending some time just browsing the different categories, to gain some familiaray. Also -- and this is important -- spend several weeks (as you're doing) getting familiar with how the game works IN IT'S OUT-OF-THE-BOX STOCK FORMAT; without any mods And -even MORE IMPORTANT!!! - spend a LOT of time in the Knowledge Base. Start at the beginning are read every single post/thread in there. 98.6% of all the questions you're askin -and WILL be asking!!!- are already anwered there. Like was said above, the SF series dosen't have a steep learing curve, but self-education is a great help in increasing the 'enjoyment factor'. It also has the side effect of 'historical knowledge gained' of the "how we got here" kinda thing. Time well spent, I'd say! wrench kevin stein

Moved to the Correct Forum Just a reminder, folks, do try and watch where you're posting ... you'll get more and consistent answers if you ask the questions in the right place!! =-----------=

I've seen it for as little as $1500 SHD can only be made from the source aircraft file (3ds), as I understand it (which, admittidly, is an incomplete understanding....) Looks like it's an 'oh well, we'll live without' kinda thing wrench kevin stein

I've run into that before ... can't remember on which aircraft; there are some where it just plane don't work! Either the 'new' 08/SF2 statement, or the older pre-06 style with a SHD file try renaming the shd lod to *nameofplane_SHADOW.SHD, and see what happens wrench kevin stein

That's actually the port at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And a new 'special' port tile massively editated from one of the IS Canal tiles, with a custom TOD. Left too much empty space, however. I will NEVER work with the IME tileset again!!! (it totally blows!!) Sticking with Germany, Vietnam and the Desert. At least on thsoe, everything is 'square' (set to cardinal points) EDIT: wasn't actualy gonna show this one, as the 'item in question is still under construction'...but, here's a sneak peak wrench kevin stein

Extract the HUDData.ini from the /Flight cat, place in /Flight folder. Open and edit the following line (or just copy/paste the text below OVER it) [Debug] //DisplayDebug=FALSE DisplayDebug=TRUE that'll bring up the coordinate display. You'll need to note the 2 six digit numbers (123456, 789123). Those are the map coordinates. It'll also show/tell you the "NearestTargetArea=", which helps too then, it can be retiled or moved or whatever (you can turn OFF the displa by hitting Alt/H 3 times) wrench kevin stein

shadows can only be done in MAX; it's a seperate LOD created just for that How about trying the MirageIII.SHD from TMFs, well...Mirage3!! use this statement: [shadow] CastShadow=TRUE ShadowLOD=MirageIII.SHD ShadowType=1 ShadowCastDist=10000 MaxVisibleDistance=400 worth a shot! wrench kevin stein

I'd originally placed it with a river-side view, but thats where one of the train stations wound up, and that just won't do. So, I created a nice, simi-pastoral scene (ie: added the trees) and sice one shouldn't post with a screenie.... "the wheels of train go round and round, round and round....." wrench kevin stein

in other words, crappy mapping. you can a cut/paste/reverse of the effected section on the skin map, and try to 'nudge' it to match the panel/rivet lines. Or create a partial template of the skin, redrawing the panel & rivet lines, THEN doing the cut/paste/flip thingy, merging the new layer down, and hoping for the best wrench kevin stein

you mean changing the mil? All the stock one 'drop' when selecting air-ground weapons. Simple text edit of the aircraft's cockpit ini...extract a few and look them over. This is the area in question:

a lot of the AI birds didn't get remapped; it's worth a few minutes to try, eh?? Or... Have you looked inside ObjectData006.cat??? Sure, they're lo-rez, but a good starting point of decaling! wrench kevin stein

Actually, you convert all the Sea Sea/Land transition tiles (that's the correct term for "those tiles that butt up against the sea") to BMP, THEN place those bmp INTO the Terrain Editor. This allows the TE to actually have something to place there, when "View Texture Tiles" is selected. The TGAs you leave alone, as those are needed for the game to give the wave effects and other such pelagic things. If you're changing the saturation of the transition tiles, you can work "under the layer" as they say (using the Channels selection panel -this is Photoshop; other may/will be called differently- , leaving the Alpha channel intact, and just re-working the RGB sections The LODS you see in the extracted desert cat are the terrain objects (runways, hangars, warhousee, various and sundry buildings) The TODs are the files 'linked' to the various tiles that create those little buildings and trees. Unfortunately, without the TOD inis supplied from TK, you will NOT be able to open them and "Edit Object Placement". You can open them but then you're into several dozen hours work REBUILDING them scratch -- re-adding all the buildings and trees, as when saved, ALL original placement data will be erased by the creation of a NEW TOD for that tile. Not something I'd advise for non-experienced TE users. (or experienced ones, for that matter!) wrench kevin stein

decal fix (maybe?) Reverse=TRUE (unless the FARA is NOT a decal, and mapped to the skin; that can only be fixed by painting it out, and creating a NEW decal to replace it, then locating it via the decals ini) as to aircraft shadows, have you trired REPLACING the entire shadow statement with something like this: [shadow] CastShadow=TRUE ShadowCastDist=10000 MaxVisibleDistance=2000 be advised, however, if there are any 'issues' with the lod itself (like ANY open meshes anywhere), you may experience the 'tractor beam' black line reaching down to the ground. the weapons main inis may also need the addition of the shadow statment above wrench kevin stein

Yup, as I thought! Boy Howdy did I leave "some" out!! Taliban, of course, will need adding to the NATION.INI as a 'new' enemy nations the start year is just a guess, adjust to fit 'real world' wrench kevin stein

it works MUCH better, expecially in Vista/7, if you DO NOT have the extrator exe (and the folder it resides in) in any of /Program Files folder. Mine is actually on the Desktop, in it's own folder (this is obviously for Skypat's original extractor, and not Gerwin's) Place them at the ROOT of the C/, and as I mentioned, in it's own seperate folder. Also, it's really advisable NOT to install the ANY of the 1stGen games to the default /Program Files or Program Files (x86) folders, but also to the root of C/. If installed in the Program Files folder, you'll probably find you can't make any edits to any of the inis (this is covered somwhere in the Knowledge Base, I just don't remember where!) Done this way, you needn't worry about permissions issues wrench kevin stein

This should make up for spelling Wisconsin wrong... To Zur!! Bet that dish gets hella-good reception!!! (10000 channels, and nothing to watch!!) wrench kevin stein

the statements for the effects shaders may need upgrading to sf2 style (wasn't that done already?? ) and/or added to the weapons' data inis. wrench kevin stein

Good thing I added KI Sawyer, Kent County/Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Selfridge, & Detroit Metro to the map then!! wrench kevin stein

*emphasis added by me* In reality, that statement is only 75% correct --- in 1stGens you can ONLY merge WoE & WoV. All the others (SF, WoI) are completly self-contained, stand-alone products. However, the 'can't merge SF/Wo* with SF2 series IS correct. By default, when you get them in order, and INSTALL them in order, (SF2, SF2V, SF2E, SF2I, expansion 1 and expanson 2), they ALL merge into the 'default' SF2. ALL items for ALL the titles will be/are available from the main SF2 install. Then, if wished, you can create full game installs by running the executable ***.exe for EACH of the seperate titles, thereby creating 6 seperate game install folders. Also, as mis-stated above, the file and folder structures are 100% IDENTICAL -- it's just that the core game files; the ones you don't need to ever mess with, are located on/in the 'protected' regions of you machine. The 'modable' sections (herinafter refered to as the 'mods folder') are located in 'non-protected' regions of the machine, to wit; the "Saved Games" folder (if Vista/Win7) 1stGens also are no longer being supported in any way, shape or form by the manufacturer (3W); the last 'upgrade' was the WoI Expansion Pak, adding the items seen the SF2I Expansion Pak 1. And, as also stated, with the exception of some 'behind the curve' users, 98.6% of all modding will only be done for the SF2 series. Darwinism in action folks! wrench kevin stein

or 'Duke Nukem Forever'!!!!!! wrench kevin stein

Some more, basic information is included in the pdf file in the, oddly enough, folder named "Manual". Give 99.9% of the basic information you'll need to get started Of course, spending some time in our Knowledge Base is reccomended, too! wrench kevin stein

THAT is where you went wrong. ALL the SF2 series aircraft have the drop tank 'built in' to the aircraft lod. You cannot use 'aftermarket' tanks without deleting or rewriting the entries in the aircraft data ini AND the loadout ini. Best thing to do ... --get rid of the aftermarket Hunters-- (assuming you're using AD's Hunter from 6 years ago), and you might have to uninstall the game, REinstall the game and start fresh. They work just right out of the box. Most, if not all, the other HUnter mods for SF2 are skin/decal paks, and reference STOCK lods wrench kevin stein

have you looked in the terrains' _targets.ini? Or the planning maps?? Planning Maps show all the airbases. Also, if I;ve read the opening statement right, you ONLY have WoV? Without WoE (and the associated GErmanyCE terrain) ... well.... that's gonna cause some serious difficulties. wrench kevin stein

it'll automatically 'merge' with SF2. IF you want a seperate SF2E mods folder, run the sf2e.exe, and it'll create one. Don't forget to create a new shortcut to the SF2e.exe. In essence, you create 2 sepeate game installs. The REAL Beauty of the SF2 Series wrench kevin stein

(screenshot of open nose bay) is that where Joe Snuffy hides his stash??? looking GREAT!! wrench kevin stein