eburger68

Charlie14: It's not a problem with your install or a missing object. That's just the way the game is when handling AI flights off carriers sometimes. I've seen the same thing in several different mods. If you cycle through the various aircraft in a campaign mission, for example, you're bound to see some aircraft apparently without a carrier getting ready to take off. I've never known it to affect game play. Eric Howes

malibu43: You might check out this free program: http://www.xnview.com/en/xnview.html It allows you to select multiple files within a directory and batch convert/resize them. Very easy and quick to use. Eric Howes

Dave: This was briefly discussed over on the ThirdWire forums. I believe the problem has to do with the prop TGAs not being "double-sided." No idea what the solution would be other than to make new prop TGAs. Eric Howes

Wrench: I've seen the exact behavior that Spectre8750 is describing -- dropped custom menu screens. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen on some occasions, and the result is jarring. One minute you're in a themed XYZ mod; next minute you're suddenly looking at the default SF2 screens. The screens I've seen it happen with are the Main screen and the Campaign screen. You're right that the \Menu folder in the Mod folder SHOULD take precedence over what's in the .CATs, but there are occasions when the \Menu folder gets ignored for some reason -- undoubtedly a bug. Eric Howes

File Name: Falklands Frigates (Working) v.1.1 File Submitter: eburger68 File Submitted: 07 November 2010 File Category: Frigates --------------------------------------------- Falklands Frigates - Working v. 1.1 --------------------------------------------- This package contains re-worked verions of five British frigates that saw action in the Falklands/Malvinas Conflict of 1982. All five models were released previously at CombatAce, but they suffered from non-functioning guns and/or surface-to-air missiles. All versions included in this release include working guns and missiles. Included are: - HMS Brilliant (Type 22 Class Frigate) - HMS Antelope (Type 21 Class Frigate) - HMS Argonaut (Type 12L/Leander Class Frigate) - HMS Plymouth (Type 12M/Rothesay Class Frigate) - HMS Yarmouth (Type 12M/Rothesay Class Frigate) The Brilliant is equipped with Sea Wolf SAMs. The Antelope, Argonaut, Plymouth, and Yarmouth are equipped with Sea Cat SAMs. Note that the Sea Cat SAM version included here for the Type 12M frigates uses tweaked data and is designed to be installed side-by-side with other Sea Cat versions you might already have installed for other ships. * Updated (11/19/2010): verion 1.1 of this package adds the Antelope and Argonaut. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Installation ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following installation process is designed for Strike Fighters 1 ("Gen 1") installs, but it can be easily adapted to Strike Fighters 2 ("Gen 2") installs. Step 1: Drop the \Objects folder included here in the installation folder for your SFP1 install (whether it be SF Gold, WOE, WOV, or WOI). Step 2: Add the data from ForWeaponData.txt to your WeaponData.INI file and save the changes using the Weapons Editor for SFP1. Step 3: Add the data from ForGunData.txt to your GunData.INI file and save the changes using the Guns Editor for SFP1. That's it. ~~~~~~~ Credits ~~~~~~~ I did not create these models. All I did was hack the DATA.INIs to get the weapons working properly. The original authors of these ships are as follows: HMS Brilliant ...... Banidos Team HMS Antelope ....... Banidos Team HMS Argonaut ....... Banidos Team HMS Plymouth ....... Hinchinbrooke HMS Yarmouth ....... Hinchinbrooke The destroyed model for the Brilliant is from the Banidos Team's Type 21 frigate. See the \_Docs folder for the original readme texts for all five ships. --------------- Eric Howes 19 November 2010 Click here to download this file

Folks: This package was updated today (11/19/2010). Version 1.1 adds the Antelope and Argonaut. Eric Howes

Suicidal: There really are no great changes for SF2, save for porting the Sea Wolf to the SF2 weapons format. Just about everything you need to get the ship to work in SF2 is included in the ZIP I attached to my earlier post. Eric Howes

Suicidal: I've reworked the DATA.INI a bit, and the Sea Wolf missiles now fire just fine. See the attached ZIP. Btw, I've renamed the ship Type_22, so adjust your DATA.INI name according to whatever you're using. Also, I made some small changes to the SeaWolf -- DATA.INI also included in the .ZIP. Eric Howes Type_22_data.zip

Suicidal: Thanks for this ship, which is most excellent. Just one problem: the ship will not fire its complement of Sea Wolf missiles from the forward launcher in Strike Fighters 2. Taking a close look at the launcher while circling the ship in a bait aircraft, I observe that the launcher doesn't appear to be tracking anything -- it's just spinning and spinning on its mount. The Sea Wolf mssiles show up, and they do work -- tested on another ship. They just won't fire from this ship. Any clue as to what the problem might be (the Type 21 that you uploaded around the same time last year works great -- no problems). Thanks, Eric Howes

Mast: See the ReadMes for the D/N model included in that aircraft's directory. You can switch seats with the "Gunsight Mode Toggle" Key (Caged mode is the back seat). As for the Rafale, no plans to add it because it's beyond the scope of the NF4+ project as I understand it (which ends roughly around the end of the Cold War, circa 1989). Eric Howes

ace888: Dave is correct. The Mirage F-1s, SEPECAT Jaguars, and Mirage 2000s in this update are the old models that have been around for some time. All have had considerable work done to them to make them more "SF2-friendly" -- and by that I mean work beyond mere conversion to SF2 standards (e.g., adding Userlist.INIs, moving decals to the \Decals folder, etc.). But they are in the end the old models. You can consider these overhauled versions to be placeholders until the new models are released, whenever that might be. Eric Howes

File Name: WOV Air & Ground War Expansion Pack Gold - Part 1 File Submitter: eburger68 File Submitted: 24 November 2009 File Category: User Made Campaigns "Wings Over Vietnam: Air and Ground Expansion Pack - GOLD" Wings Over Vietnam Game Enhancement Package. Works with Wings Over Vietnam 2006/2008. by eburger68 and malibu43 V1.1 Final (Gold - Updated) 03.01.10 ------------------------------------------------------------------ What's in this readme: 1. What's Inside 2. Installation 3. Optional Installs 4. Known Issues 5. New Terrain Targets & Targets Areas 6. New Terrain Items 7. Terrain Notes 8. Environment Notes 9. Colors of AAA/Flak Tracers 10. Legal Stuff 11. A Note on Old Diego's Items 12. A Note on the KC-135A Tanker 13. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. What's Inside: This is intended to be an overall enhancement to the "Wings Over Vietnam" (WOV) experience without having to hunt for, download, and install some of the "must have" mods for the game. We've also made some great changes and additions to the terrain and campaigns to give users a wider variety of missions types to fly. At the same time we've also made changes to help the user control where they fly. Here's a brief summary of what's new and changed: -Terrain is split into North and South vietnam, with unique target areas for each. -Terrain include dozens of new targets and target areas, using numerous new terrain items. -Three stock WOV campaigns overhauled and expanded with new units, aircraft, and textures. -Two new campaigns that are centered around fighting in South Vietnam -CA_Stary's "Green Hell 2" Terrain Mod -Brain32's "Re-painted VietnamSEA Tiles" -Bananimal's "Re-scaled Trees for Green Hell 2" -Pappa Goat's re-painted versions of the GH2/Brain32 tiles -Cellinksy's "Widesky" Environment Mod -Deadlier and more varied flak, AAA, and SAMs -New ground objects, weapons, and effects -New (or newly flyable) aircraft: -A-1H Skyraider -A-4B Skyhawk (Late) -A-4C Skyhawk (Late) -A-4E Skyhawk (Late) -A-6B Intruder -A-7C Corsair II -A-7D Corsair II -A-7E Corsair II -AC-119G Shadow -AC-119K Stinger -AC-123K Black Spot -AC-130A Spectre -AC-130A Surpise Package -An-2 Colt -B-52F Stratofortess -B-52G Stratofortess -B-57B Canberra (flyable) -B-57G Canberra -C-123K Provider -C-130A Hercules -C-130E Hercules -Canberra B.mk20 (RAAF) -Cessna 180 -EA-6A Electric Intruder -EA-6B Prowler -EB-66C Destroyer -EF-4C Wild Weasel IV -F-4B Phantom II (Late) -F-4C Phantom II (Late) -F-4D Phantom II (Late) -F-4D Night OWL -F-4E-35-MC Phantom II -F-4E-35-MC Phantom II (Long Gun) -F-4E Rivet Haste -F-5A Freedom Fighter -F-5B Tandem Tiger -F-5C Tiger -F-8C Crusader -F-8D Crusader -F-8E Crusader (Late) -F-8H Crusader -F-8J Crusader -F-100D (Late) -F-100D Wild Weasel -F-102A Delta Dagger -F-104C Starfighter -F-105D Thunderchief (Late) -F-105F Wild Weasel -F-105G Wild Weasel -F-111A Aardvark -IL-28 Beagle -J-6 Farmer-C -KA-3B Tanker -KA-6D Tanker -KC-130F Tanker -KC-135A Stratotanker -MiG-17PF Fresco-E -OV-10A Bronco -RA-5C Vigilante -RB-66C Destroyer -RF-4B Phantom II -RF-4C Phantom II -RF-8A Crusader -RF-8G Crusader -RF-101C Voodoo -SP-2H Neptune ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Installation: A. PRELIMINARY NOTES The WOV Air & Ground Expansion Pack can be installed to a standalone install of WOV patched to either the 8.30.2006 or 10.20.2008 level. Patch installers to bring your WOV installation to either of these patch levels are available from ThirdWire: http://www.thirdwire.com/downloads.htm All ThirdWire patches and updates should be applied BEFORE installing the Expansion Pack. For help with installing patches for Wings Over Vietnam, see this page at CombatAce.com: http://forum.combatace.com/topic/25880-official-game-patches-and-services-packs/ This expansion pack should not be installed to "Strike Fighters 2: Vietnam" (SF2V). A separate expansion pack designed specifically for SF2V is available in the CombatAce.com Downloads section: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showcat=407 We strongly recommend installing this expansion pack to a "clean," unmodded WOV Installation Directory. Installing to a WOV Install Dir that contains other mods (e.g., new aircraft, weapons, ground objects, etc.) could result in a partially or completely broken installation. Likewise, we do advise against installing any of the several "weapons packs" available at CombatAce.com following installation, as doing so could very well break weapons and loadouts. If you want to add additional weapons, install them individually. B. THE MAIN INSTALLATION To install this expansion pack properly: a) Ensure that "Wings Over Vietnam" is already installed and patched to either the 8.30.2006 or 10.20.2008 level. b) If you have a prior installation of WOV that is already modded, then you will need to create a second install of WOV for use with the Expansion Pack. For help creating and managing multiple installs, see this discussion at CombatAce: http://forum.combatace.com/topic/39622-multiple-installs/ c) Unpack all three .7z files (WOV_AG-XP_Part1.7z, WOV_AG-XP_Part2.7z, WOV_AG-XP_Part3.7z) to a safe location on your drive. d) Simply drop the contents of the "To_Install_Dir" folder into your Wings Over Vietnam Installation Directory, overwriting existing files as prompted. By default your WOV Install Dir should be located here: \Program Files\ThirdWire\Wings Over Vietnam\ If you have installed WOV to another location, then drop the contents of "To_Install_Dir" in that location. If you are running WOV at the Oct. 2008 patch level, then your installation process is finished. If you are running at the Aug. 2006 patch level, then you have one last step. e) If you are installing the expansion pack to Wings Over Vietnam patched to the 8.30.2006 level, then you have an additional installation step. (If you are installing to WOV patched to the 8.20.2008 level, skip to the next step.) If your WOV is patched to the 8.30.2006 level, find the \2006 folder in the location where you unpacked the Expansion Pack files. Then drag and drop the contents of the \2006 folder into your Wings Over Vietnam Install Dir, overwriting existing files as prompted. That's it. You should be good to go. C. OPTIONAL INSTALLATIONS Optionally, install the items included in the \Optional directory (see the "Optional Installs" section below for more information). You may also install the extra items and other bonus mods included in the \Extras folder. Please see the ReadMes included in those directories for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Optional Installs Depending on your system and preferences, you may want to install some of the items included in the \Optional directory. Please note that for some of these optional items we have included versions for both WOV 2006 and WOV 2008. You can find these alternate versions in sub-folder labeled \WOV2006 or \WOV2008 respectively. You should always install the version appropriate for the patch level of your installation of WOV. A. Alternate Terrain Tiles By default this expansion pack installs Pappa Goat's re-painted versions of the Brain32/Green Hell 2 tiles. If you would prefer to use the original tiles by Brain32 and CA_Stary (Green Hell 2) -- which are characterized by a lighter, more blue-ish tint -- you can install those original tiles from the \Optional\GH2_Alt directory. To install, simply copy all the .BMP and .TGA files from top level of the \Optional\GH2_Alt directory to the following locations, overwriting files as prompted: [WOV Install Dir]\Terrain\VietnamSEA [WOV Install Dir]\Terrain\SouthVietnam The sub-directories of \Optional\GH2_Alt contain alternate air base tiles and differently sized trees that you can also use to tweak the terrains' appearance to your liking. The \_wov200x sub-dirs contain alternate terrain DATA.INIs for WOV 2006 and 2008 that advanced users can mine for alternate terrain graphic settings. B. Alternate Exhaust Emitters On some systems the custom exhaust emitters used on for the B-52s, F-4s, and the F-104C may cause slowdowns. If you experience severe frame rate drops whenever these aircraft are visible, you might consider switching to versions of the aircraft that use the standard DirtyExhaustEmitter. To install aircraft versions that use the DirtyExhaustEmitter in lieu of custom exhaust emitters, simply copy the folders from the appropriate \DirtyExhaust\WO200x folder (excluding \_CustomExhaust) to the \Objects\Aircraft directory of your WOV Install Dir, overwriting as prompted. A copy of the original DATA.INIs with the custom exhaust effects is included in the \_CustomExhaust sub-directory, in case you wish to revert back to the originals. C. Mobile SAM Launchers If you wish to increase the SAM threat in North Vietnam, you can use mobile SAM launchers to boost the number of active SAMs. To install the mobile SAM launchers, simply copy all folders from the \Mobile_SAMs\WOV200x folder to the \Objects\GroundObject directory of your WOV Install Dir. Note any mobile SAMs that exist in \Objects\GroundObject will show up in CAS missions in the "Easter Offensive" Campaign. D. Alternate Flak Effects On some lower-end systems the custom flak effects used in this expansion pack may cause severe slowdowns, esp. in large strikes with lots of flak guns opening up on multiple flights of aircraft. If you see large drop in frame rate performance during intense flak bursts, then you may want to use the alternate flak effects available in the \Flak_Effects directory. To install, simply drag and drop the four .INI files from the \LOW sub-directory of \Flak_Effects to the \Effects directory in your WOV Install Dir, overwriting as prompted. If you wish to restore the original flak effects, copy over the .INI files from the \HIGH sub-drectory to the \Effects directory in your WOV Install Dir. Note that using the alternate flak effects does NOT reduce the effectiveness of flak guns. E. Smoke-Marking Infantry Squads By default most friendly infantry squads (but not individual soldiers) will have their positions marked by red smoke. (The smoke-marking is performed by ENEMY squads -- a key point to remember.) There are several ways to customize this effect: 1) If you would prefer not to have friendly squads's positions marked with red smoke, then you can turn that effect off. Copy the \NVA_Squad & \VC_Squad folders from \Optional\PopSmoke\Non-Smokers to the Objects\GroundObject directory in your WOV Install Dir, over-writing as prompted. 2) If you would prefer to change the color of the smoke used to mark friendly squads, then drill down to the \Objects\GroundObject directory in your WOV Install Dir. You need to edit the VC_Squad_DATA.INI and NVA_Squad_DATA.INI. At the bottom of each file you will find the data for GunBarrel5: [GunBarrel5] SystemType=GUN GunTypeName=M18_Red_Smoke // GunTypeName=M18_Green_Smoke // GunTypeName=M18_Yellow_Smoke // GunTypeName=M18_Violet_Smoke The commented ( // ) GunTypeNames are disabled. Simply comment out the M18_Red_Smoke line and un-comment the line for the color you'd prefer to use. 3) If you would like friendly squads to mark enemy squads with smoke, then drill down to the \Objects\GroundObject directory in your WOV Install Dir. You will need to edit the following files: ARVN_Squad_DATA.INI US_Squad_early_DATA.INI US_Squad_DATA.INI VNMC_Squad_DATA.INI At the bottom of each file you will find the data for GunBarrel5: [GunBarrel5] SystemType=GUN GunTypeName=DUMMY_GUN // GunTypeName=M18_Yellow_Smoke // GunTypeName=M18_Red_Smoke // GunTypeName=M18_Green_Smoke // GunTypeName=M18_Violet_Smoke By default GunBarrel5 for friendly squads uses the "Dummy_Gun," which does not pop smoke. Comment out the Dummy_Gun line and un-comment the line for the color of smoke you'd prefer friendly sqauds to mark enemy troops with. F. BUFF-less Campaigns On some systems B-52 strikes can degrade performance to the point where the game is almost unplayable. If you would like to fly campaigns that include no strikes by B-52s, copy the DATA.INIs included in the \NoBUFFs\WOV2000x folder to the appropriate sub-directory in the \Campaigns directory of yur WOV Install Dir. For example, WOVCAMPRT_DATA.INI would go to \Campaigns\Rolling Thunder, and so on. G. Old Diego's Optional Items Old Diego has generously allowed us to use a number of his terrain and ground object models. Most of these are installed by default with the expansion pack. A few ground object items, however, have been left as "optional" installs. Most of these "optional" are additional soldiers. We made them "optional" because we thought not all users would like the way the game will use them for Single Missions (esp. Armed Recon and CAS missions). For example, if you install the USArmyMortar item, you could see entire squads consisting only of mortar-equipped soldiers slugging it out with NVA regulars in CAS missions. These "optional" items from Old Diego could be useful for those building single missions for use with this expansion pack. If you would like to install these other items from Old Diego, simply copy all the folders from the \OldDiego directory to the \Objects\GroundObject directory in your WOV Install Dir. Please note that none of Old Diego's items may be re-used or re-distributed outside of this expansion pack without Old Diego's explicit permission. For a complete listing of the items from Old Diego included in this mod, see the section titled "Note on Old Diego's Items" towards the end of this ReadMe. H. Check-Six for WoV 2006 Wings Over Vietnam 2008 introduced a new and very useful view: the ability to "check-six" (view straight back from the cockpit to check for bandits). If you would like to add this view to WoV 2006, open the \Optional\Check6_2006 directory and follow the directions in the ReadMe.txt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Known Issues - Default CAS loadout for the A-1H should include CBU-25's on the outer wing stations, but the AI doesn't know how to use that weapon. So, load them onto your own aircraft, but don't load them on AI! The same holds true for CBU-14's, which are similar to the CBU-25's. - The A-1H Attack loadout (used for CAS and Armed Recon missions) specifies LAU-32 rocket pods on the outer wing stations. These will not show in the Loadout screen even though they will be loaded for the mission. Likewise, the Strike Loadout specifies M117s on alternating wing stations, though not all will show up in the Loadout screen. - Similarly, in the Loadout screen some USAF F-4 loadouts may show either nothing loaded on the forward AIM-7 Sparrow missile wells or one (possibly two) ECM pods. In the mission itself those weapon stations will carry an ECM pod and a Sparrow respectively. In the same vein, Sidewinder loadouts on the F-4D (Late) and F-4Es in 1972 will show four AIM-9-E2s, though you will actually be carrying 2 AIM-9-E2s and 2 AIM-9Js. - The F-100D Wild Weasel aircraft is not historically accurate. The first Wild Weasels actually used two-seater F-100F Super Sabres fitted out with special electronic equipment to locate and track the radars associated with the SA-2 Guideline. In mid-1966 they began upgrading to F-105Ds. As there is no F-100F model that we are allowed to re-distribute, we elected to cobble together a single-seat F-100D Wild Weasel to stand in its place. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. New Terrain Targets & Targets Areas This expansion pack adds dozens of new targets and target areas to the North & South Vietnam terrains. In addition to adding a dozen new bridges to the NVN terrain, we've added the following target areas: - Thai Nguyen Thermal Power Plant - Hanoi Thermal Power Plant - Uong Bi Thermal Power Plant - Phu Tho Electric Power Plant - Ben Thuy Thermal Power Plant - Nam Dinh Thermal Power Plant - Lang Chi Electric Power Plant - Haiphong Thermal Power Plant (East) - Haiphong Thermal Power Plant (West) - Haiphong POL Storage (North) - Haiphong POL Storage (South) - Duong Nham POL Storage - Ha Gia POL Storage - Viet Tri POL Storage - Bac Giang POL Storage - Phuc Yen POL Storage - Gia Thuong POL Storage - Ben Thuy POL Storage - Hanoi Air Defense Command & Control Center - Thai Nguyen Steel & Iron Works - Haiphong Cement Plant - Van Dien SAM Support & Vehicle Depot - Gia Lam Machine Tools Facility - Yen Vien Industrial Complex - Kinh No Motor Vehicle Repair Facility - Vinh Yen Industrial Complex - Phu Tho Chemical Plant - Quang Khe - Ha Dong Barracks - Xom Bong Munitions Depot - Hanoi RADCOM Transmitter Facilities - Hanoi Radio - Thai Nguyen Munitions Depot - Trai Ca SAM Storage Facility - Le Pap Electrical Transformer Station - Cat Bi Munitions Dump - Haiphong Electrical Transformer Station - Hai Duong Barracks West - Xuan Mai Insurgency School - Hong Gai PT Boat Base - Hong Gai Electric Power Plant - Loc Chau PT Boat Base - Vinh PT Boat Base - Yen Bai Arsenal - Phu Qui Munitions Depot - Phu Van Munitions Depot & POL Storage - Vinh Son Radar Facility - Vinh Son Army Supply Depot - Vu Con Barracks & Supply Depot - Vinh Linh Radar Station - Bac Long Radar Station - Ta Xa POL Storage - Kep Air Defense Command & Control Center - Yen Son Ordnance & Ammunition Depot - Quang Suoi Barracks - Son Tay Barracks & Supply Depot - Chanh Hoa Barracks & Division HQ - Chap Le Barracks - Dao Quan POL Storage - Hai Duong Warehouse Complex & Marshalling Yard - Phu Ly Transshipment Point - Ai Mo Warehouse Complex - Can Thon POL Storage - Ninh Binh Transshipment Point - Thanh Hoa Transshipment Point - Co Trai - Dong Phong Thong - Kien Trung - Ham Rong - Nam Phong RTAFB - An Bo POL Storage Depot - Xuan Bo Supply Depot - Mu Gia Transshipment Point - Ban Karai Transshipment Point - Ban Raving Transshipment Point - Lang Mo Transshipment Point - Haiphong Rail Yard - Hanoi Rail Yard - Thai Nguyen Rail Yard - Yen Bai Rail Yard - Thach Son Xa We also spent some time working on the dock areas at Vinh, Hong Gai, and Haiphong, adding cranes, ships, and other structures to give the sense of an active port bristling with activity. We do plan to add still more target areas to the two terrains after the Gold release of this Expansion Pack, however, those will be released as separate terrain update packages. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. New Terrain Items To support and populate all the new target areas, we have added several dozen new terrain objects. These new objects have been drawn mainly from the following third-party add-on terrains for the Strike Fighters series: - DRV Terrain (by Gepard) - Black Sea Terrain (by PFunkWorks) - Libya Terrain (by Wrench) - Norway Terrain (by S.Ansons) Templates for some Target Areas have been adapted from: - Operation Desert Storm (by ODS Group) The new terrain objects that we've added should be familiar to those who have used other third-party add-on terrains, as these objects tend to show up in many different terrains. The majority of objects were originally drawn from these sources: - CA_Stary's Forests & Farms Mod - Polak's Hi-Rise Mod & ObjectsPak1 - JSF_Aggie's Enhanced Runways - RadarDome by Grumpapotamus - HeadQuarters, Control Center, Gas station, & Factory Area by Wingwiner - RailwayStation by Armourdave If you are a modder and we've used one of your terrain items but neglected to give you credit here, please let us know. We would be more than happy to add you to the credits list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Terrain Notes This expansion pack splits the standard VietnamSEA terrain into two different terrains: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. We decided to go with a split North/South scheme in order to impose more control over the different operations in North and South Vietnam. To that end, there are some key differences between the terrains: A. North Vietnam The North Vietnam terrain includes all the target areas that you are familiar with in the stock WOV terrain. This terrain is designed primarily for Strike missions and the several mission types that support Strikes: Escort, Fighter Sweep (aka MiG CAP or MiG Sweep), and SEAD (Air Defense Suppression) -- in other words, the core mission types for the several air campaigns conducted against North Vietnam. You can also fly Armed Recon and Anti-Ship missions. B. South Vietnam The South Vietnam terrain includes new target areas and target items in South Vietnam, eastern Laos, eastern Cambodia, and the DMZ area. It also includes target areas in North Vietnam up through Route Pack II -- roughly speaking, the Vinh area. This terrain is primarily designed for CAS, Armed Recon, and Anti-Ship missions, though you can also fly Strike and SEAD missions in the lower Route Packs. If you are unfamiliar with the Route Package system used during the air war in Vietnam, see these discussions: http://www.airbattle.co.uk/d_history.html http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1394 Put simply, where the focus in the North terrain is air operations against North Vietnam, the focus in the South terrain is air operations in support of the ground war against the NLF (Viet Cong, or VC) and PAVN (North Vietnamese Army, or NVA) units. Here's another way to think of the differences between the two terrains when you're flying Single Missions: 1. If you want to fly Strike missions against the big targets in North Vietnam, select the North Vietnam terrain in the Single Mission screen. 2. If you want to tangle with MiGs as part of Escort or Sweep missions, select the North Vietnam terrain. 3. If you want to do battle against North Vietnam's formidable air defense network, fly Air Defense Suppression missions with the North Vietnam terrain. 4. If you want to fly CAS missions, choose the South Vietnam terrain. You will be tasked with supporting friendly forces throughout South Vietnam right up to the DMZ area. 5. If you want to fly Armed Recon missions, you can go with either the North or South terrain. With the North terrain, you get armed recon missions along the Northeast and Northwest rail lines down through the lower Route Packs as well as the northern third of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in eastern Laos. The South terrain will give you armed recon missions in the lower Route Packs and the complete length of the Ho Chi Minh Trail from the Mu Gia Pass in the north all the way down through southeast Laos and northeast Cambodia. 6. Anti-Ship missions are similar: you can fly them in both terrains. Northern shipping routes extend from Haiphong down to Dong Hoi; Southern shipping routes extend from Dong Hoi in North Vietnam down to the Go Cong area near the Mekong Delta in South Vietnam. Also, for historical accuracy, we have also imposed limits on the MiG bases that are operational and available to host VPAF squadrons. Early on in Operation Rolling Thunder, MiGs operated from a small handful of bases: Noi Bai, Kep, Gia Lam, Bac Mai, and Hoa Loc, though other airfields in the Haiphong area and the northwest existed. After the end of Rolling Thunder the North Vietnamese began building or renovating other airfields, including those in the southern panhandle of the country. These included: Ben Loi, Bai Thuong, Dong Hoi, Dong Suong, Khe Phat, Quang To, Quon Lang, Vinh. Both terrains impose start dates on this list of airfields that became operational only after Rolling Thunder. Until the start date for each airfield, the runways will not appear. All the other buildings in those target areas, however, will appear, being labeled "barracks areas." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Environment Notes For this expansion pack we have implemented several well known terrain and environment mods: - Brain32's SEA Tile Repaint - CA_Stary's Green Hell 2 - Pappa Goats re-painted versions of the SEA tiles from Brain32/CA_Stary - Cellinsky's WideSky (with alternate cloud layer BMPs) Given that players may have different needs and preferences, depending on their systems and aesthetic inclinations, we have have included a number of files that can be used to tweak the look and performance of these mods. A. Terrains - Trees You will notice several sub-directories in each of the main terrain directories in your WOV Install Dir. These contain alternate files that can be used to control the size and complexity of the trees used in the terrains. Tree Complexity/Detail The three "Detail" folders contain files to control the complexity and detail level of the trees. From the ReadMe for "Green Hell 2": Now you'll notice three folders: High Detail, Medium detail and Low Detail. These contain, well, three versions of the mod. Level of detail corresponds to "tree cluster" mesh complexity, NOT the number of trees! - High detail are the "X-type with base" and "X-type" trees, which look best from high angles, - Medium detail are the "X-type" trees, more cartoonish from top view - Low detail are the "fence-type" trees, less buildings in cities Generally try the Medium first, if you have low framerates, try Low, if you have decent system go ahead and try High, there isn't much difference between high and medium in performance hit. And read the section 5 about tips to control draw distance! By default both terrains use "High Detail." To switch to a lower level of detail, simply copy of the files from the appropriate "Detail" sub-directory to the main terrain directory that you wish to modify, overwriting as prompted. Tree Size By default both terrains use the standard "Green Hell 2" trees. Some users may prefer to use Bananimal's "Re-scaled Trees for Green Hell 2," which are smaller and more realistically sized than the original, larger trees, however. You can find copies of both tree sets (large and small) in the last two sub-directories in each terrain. Again, to install, simply copy the files from the appropriate sub-directory to the main terrain directory that you wish to change, overwriting as prompted. B. Terrains - Air Bases We were dissatisfied with the default air base tiles used by WOV -- those neat, nicely mown squares of green -- not only because they stood out like sore thumbs on the terrain, but also because they took up so much real estate (a precious commodity around Hanoi, which is surround by five air bases). So we developed alternate air base tiles by tweaking several of the default tiles from Brain32 and CA_Stary. These tiles are installed by default with the Expansion Pack. Although we think the new air base tiles look much better (and more realistic), we understand that some users may prefer the original air base tiles from Brain32 and CA_Stary. If you would like to restore the "old" air base tiles, copy the two .BMP files from the \ABs_Old sub-directory in each terrain folder to the main terrain folder for North and South Vietnam, overwriting as prompted. To restore the "new" air base tiles, simply copy the .BMP files from the \ABs_New sub-directory in each terrain to the main terrain folder. C. Terrains - Alternate Tiles By default this expansion pack installs Pappa Goat's re-painted versions of the Brain32/Green Hell 2 tiles. If you would prefer to use the original tiles by Brain32 and CA_Stary (Green Hell 2) -- which are characterized by a lighter, more blue-ish tint -- you can install those original tiles from the \Optional\GH2_Alt directory. To install, simply copy all the .BMP and .TGA files from top level of the \Optional\GH2_Alt directory to the following locations, overwriting files as prompted: [WOV Install Dir]\Terrain\VetnamSEA [WOV Install Dir]\Terrain\SouthVietnam The sub-directories of \Optional\GH2_Alt contain alternate air base tiles and differently sized trees that you can also use to tweak the terrains' appearance to your liking. The \_wov200x sub-dirs contain alternate terrain DATA.INIs for WOV 2006 and 2008 that advanced users can mine for alternate terrain graphic settings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Colors of AAA/Flak Tracers This update makes changes to the colors of tracers used with AAA/flak guns. As the new default colors may not suit some players, the table below can be used to adjust the colored tracers to personal preferences: Gun TGA File Color --- -------- ----- 12MM_DSHK tracer6.tga orange 14MM_KPV tracer6.tga orange 23MM_ZU23/T tracer2.tga green 23MM_AZP23 tracer2.tga green 37MM_ZP39T tracer4.tga red (solid) 57MM_S68T tracer7.tga purple (solid) n/a tracer.tga orange/yellow n/a tracer3.tga yellow n/a tracer5.tga green (solid) n/a tracer6.tga orange/red The easiest way to adjust the color of tracers for AAA/flak guns is to modify the tracer TGAs in the \Objects directory of your WoV install directory (as opposed to editing the guns themselves). To change the color of particular tracer, simply rename the existing TGA file to something else, then copy the tracer TGA for the color you want and rename the copy to match the original name of the tracer TGA that you renamed. For example, if you wanted to change the color of the purple tracer used with the 57MM_S68T gun to red, you would: 1. Rename TRACER7.TGA to TRACER7-OLD.TGA 2. Make a copy of TRACER4.TGA 3. Rename the copy of TRACER4.TGA to TRACER7.TGA It's that simple. Note that in some cases two guns use the same tracer TGA, so changing the tracer color using the method outlined above will affect both guns that use that TGA. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Legal Stuff We have signed onto the freeware "list" on combatace.com. As such, the work here can be included or used in other mods as along as they aren't payware and credit is given to the creator(s). Thanks, Malibu43 & eburger68 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. A Note on Old Diego's Ground Objects & Terrain Items Old Diego has generously allowed us to use a number of his models for Ground Objects and Terrain Items. Those items (some of which are located in the \Optional folder) include: Ground Objects: - 51CalPit - NVA - NVAgren - NVASA-7 - NVASmlArms - sampan01 - sampan02 - SampanSail01 - SampanSail02 - SAMsite01 - Sapper - SForces - SForcesLaw - USArmy - USArmyBzka - USArmygren - USArmyM79 - USArmymortar - USMC - USMCm60 - USMCm60up - USMCm79 - VC_bike - VC_bike_2 - VC_bike_3 - VC_hoe - VC_rake - VCmortar - VCrpg - VCSmlArms - VietCong - waterbuffalo - WB_plowTM Terrain Items: - Boxcar - CoalTender - connex20a - connex20b - connex40a - crate rotor - crate01 - crate02 - cratesStk01 - cratesStk02 - DJBridge (mod of RRBridge01) - FlatCarNV - Hut01 - Hut02 - Hut03 - HutS01 - HutS02 - HutS03 - LocomotiveNV - pallet - Rail100 - Rail50 - Rail_45L - Rail_45R - Rail_sweep_100L - Rail_sweep_100R - Rail_sweep_200L - Rail_sweep_200R - Rail_sweep_90 - RDBridge01 - RRBridge01 - SAM_Site - Slum01 - Slum02 - TankCarNV - Train - WaterBuffalo None of Old Diego's models may be freely re-used or re-distributed outside of this Expansion Pack. Those wishing to re-use or re-distribute any of Old Diego's models listed above must contact him to get explicit permission to do so. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12. A Note on the KC-135A Tanker Dave at CombatAce.com has generously allowed us to include bpao's KC-135A Stratotanker, which originally appeared in the NATO Fighters 4+ mod package for SF2. Bpao was the heart of The Mirage Factory, and we are very fortunate to have been given permission to ship this high quality aircraft as part of the Expansion Pack. Needless to say, bpao's KC-135A may not be re-distributed outside of NF4+ or the SF2V/WOV Expansion Pack without Dave's explicit permission. The NF4+ all-inclusive mod for SF2V may be downloaded at CombatAce: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showcat=407 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13. Credits This Expansion Pack is effectively a sub-set of the original, larger SF2V Air & Ground Expansion Pack created for "Strike Fighters 2: Vietnam." Neither the original nor this derivative for WOV would have been possible without the hard work of many modders over the years. We've used the work of the following individuals in creating these Expansion Packs for SF2V and WOV: ajunaidr Anthony Beardmore ArmourDave Bananimal bpao Brain32 Buggerstein Bunyap Canadair CA_Stary Cellinsky ChampionsVA56 Column5 comrad Coyote David Zurawski Dels Diego Dueces Erikgen FastCargo Fracture Fubar512 gbreuder Gepard Gerald14 Gocad Gramps Grumpapotamus Hawker HrntFixr InSky/Orsin Jat81500 JSF_Aggie Kesselbrut KillerBee krfrge MigBuster Mirage Factory MJ Monty CZ mppd Nicholas Bell NormanKnight Old Diego (see "Note" section above) Ordway Pappa Goat pappychksix Pasko Paul Nortress (Fist of the Fleet) PauloPanz pcpilot PFunkWorks Polak rebel ryder Rhugouvi S.Ansons Signum Spillone104 Starfighter STORM suicidal Sundowner Syrinx Tannethal TeTeT Torno Tracker USAFMTL (Dave) Veltro2K Wingwiner Wpnssgt Wrench Thanks also to the several beta testers who helpfully supplied fixes for various issues, including ravenclaw_007, ericj, and DrArrow. Hopefully we didn't miss anyone. If we did, let us know! -------------------- malibu43 & eburger68 15 December 2009 1 March 2010 (updated) Click here to download this file

Panama Red: Was the aircraft on which you saw this mismapping the MiG-17F with the VPAFdCamo? Eric Howes

Wrench: The Spoonrest and Flatface are updated in the latest NF4+ update package. I will be including an updated SquarePair in a further forthcoming update. Eric Howes

xclusiv8: The latest update for NF4+ does include an updated avionics.ini with an updated HUD: http://combatace.com/files/file/11300-nato-fighters-iv-post-dec2009-update-pack-2/ Eric Howes

xclusiv8: The latest NF4+ update does distinguish between the MiG-29 & Su-27: http://combatace.com/files/file/11300-nato-fighters-iv-post-dec2009-update-pack-2/ Eric Howes

Coop: For the NF4+ version, make sure you grab the updated files from both the first and second update pack: http://combatace.com/files/file/11099-nato-fighters-4-patch-post-dec-2009-patch-level/ http://combatace.com/files/file/11300-nato-fighters-iv-post-dec2009-update-pack-2/ The NF4+ version of the MiG-25PD does have a working radar as well as the ability to carry the centerline PTB5500 tank. Eric Howes

Folks: Those who are familiar with the story of Lima Site 85 will appreciate this bit of news: Air Force hero's actions in Laos finally recognized after 42 years http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/03/medal.of.honor/index.html?hpt=C1 If you're not familiar with the fate of Lima Site 85, start reading here: http://limasite85.us/ Eric Howes

Tomb: Simply remove the 20mmFireEffect.ini from the \Effects directory. That should revert the 20mm fire effect to stock. Eric Howes

Folks: Attached is a small collection of updates for the version of this mod uploaded by Dave on July 26. Included are a corrected F-84F DATA.INI that allows for the manual deployment of flaps on landing and a few customized guns that I forgot to include in the previous update. Edit: Attached file removed. All the bugs fixed in that hotfix collection are fixed in the most recent update to the main mod download. Eric Howes

Tomb: No changes were made to to the F-84F flaps in this update. I now see that you can't manually deploy them (they work on take-off), but that was not a change introduced by this update. I'll look into uploading a fixed version. Seahawks: you are free to use your own SeaHawk DATA.INIs. As for the 20mm gun flash, I don't see what you're seeing -- just tested. These are the same 20mm effects used in several other mods with thousands of downloads and installs. No one has reported that problem. If worse comes to worse, you could simply remove the new effects. Eric Howes

Javigato: Sounds like it wasn't installed correctly. Best thing to do is to start from scratch and reinstall. If you're installing the SF2 version, make sure you're dropping the new files in the mod directory not the game's installation directory. Eric Howes

Jefferson: Not all aircraft from that era had radar. The RF-101C is one of those aircraft. There are other aircraft in the Expansion Pack that lack radar -- many of the VPAF MiGs, for example. Some U.S. aircraft have only gun-ranging radar, such as the F-100D. Still others have only ground-mapping radar, such as the A-4 and A-6. The primary U.S. fighters, though, have air intercept radar: the F-4s and F-8s. There's a tutorial at the 3rdWire forums on using the F-4's radar in conjunction with AIM-7 Sparrows: http://bbs.thirdwire.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2343 Eric Howes