eburger68

Malibu43: Will do. Attached is an updated set of campaign files for Easter Offensive -- as with the previous version, simply drop them in your \Campaigns\EasterOffensive directory. Eric L. Howes

Stingray77: I've never seen that problem before. Inspecting the Easter Offensive campaign files, I did spot a few errors related to the B-57G, which was misnamed. Attached are corrected campaign files for Easter Offensive. Just drop them into \Campaigns\EasterOffensive. Unfortunately, you'll need to start the campaign over, as these new files will corrupt your in-progress campaign (if it isn't already corrupted somehow). Eric L. Howes

Stingray77: We'll look into those issues. Biggus: That funny little dot is supposed to be an antenna, I believe -- part of the ER-142/ALR-53 ECM Set that the EF-4C carries. You'll see another one or two of 'em just off the tail as well. Best, Eric L. Howes

Biggus: If you install the "FixPack" that was releaed yessterday, it adds two J-6 skins. At that point your problem should most definitely be solved. Eric L. Howes

Dave: Thanks for the suggestions. We'll take a look at the serials for aircraft. Any particular ones that you noticed were lacking them? Eric Howes

Pureblue: You wrote: Yes, it does seem to improve the cloud clipping over mountains and such. The downside is that it often looks like there's snow on the ground -- at least on my system that's how it looks. We may include the settings above, but commented out so that folks can tune the DATA.INI to their preferences. Yeah, we've got those lines in ours, too. Truth be told, I don't know. But the stock DATA.INI has those lines -- that's why we included them. Best, Eric L. Howes

Hi All: As promised, a FixPack for the version 2.0 Expansion Pack Beta has been uploaded: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php/topic/46417-sf2v-air-and-ground-war-expansion-pack-v2-0-fixpack/ Please peruse the ReadMe before installing. This FixPack includes all the fixes posted previously in this thread plus a number of other minor corrections and add-ons. Best, Eric L. Howes

Stingray77: We'll be releasing a FixPack in a few hours that will address the A/C-130 problems. As for the RWR sounds, the best I can tell you is what I already said in the ReadMe: So, it's your call as to whether or not to continue using them. Eric L. Howes

Biggus: Yeah, just copy the VPAFSilver1 folder from the MiG-19S or MiG-19SF to your J-6 folder. That should work. Eric L. Howes

Biggus: You wrote: Looks like the game didn't create a \VPAFSilver1 texture folder with a TextureSet.ini in it for the J-6 -- don't know why. You could try temporarily re-naming your Mod Folder, then starting SF2V to let the game generate a new set of base files and folders. If it does create the proper J-6 texture folder, copy it over to your real Mod Folder, delete the new Mod Folder, and re-name your real Mod Folder back to its original name. Those are all the pilots. Two options for you: 1) Create a Pilots folder under \Objects and move all those to the new Pilots folder (don't forget the stray LOD files under \Aircraft, excepting the F-5_Destroyed.LOD), ...or... 2) Download the Pilots fix and simply drop that Pilots folder in your \Objects directory: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/sf2v/SF2V_Pilots.rar Either option will solve that F-4D Owl problem. Also, there's a fix for the weapon stations on the EA-6B (drop the DATA.INI file in your \EA-6B folder): http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=32329 Let us know how it turns out. Eric L. Howes

Hi All: This morning I discovered one problem with the EA-6B Prowler that was previously overlooked: the weapon stations are misnumbered. Attached is a new DATA.INI that corrects the problem. Simply drop it in your EA-6B folder, overwriting the existing one. Eric L. Howes

stingray77: You asked: All the saved campaign data for your pilot should be in the \PilotData directory. Unfortunately, if you attempt to restore it to your new Mod Folder's PilotData dir, you very well could run into problems because the expansion pack installs new campaign files -- ones that are different from those used by the game when you started the campaign. Safest course of action would be to start a fresh campaign with the expansion pack. Eric L. Howes

Biggus: You wrote: That's very odd, because we don't do anything with the J-6 texture (or the .INI that points to it). Could you list what files and folders are currently in your J-6 directory? Eric L. Howes

stingray77: See my reply in the File Announcements thread: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php/topic/46245-sf2v-air-and-ground-war-expansion-pack-v20-part-1-by-eburger68-malibu43/page__pid__332477__st__0entry332477 Eric Howes (aka eburger68)

Hi All: Thought I'd share some information about the two different terrains included in version 2.0: 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: 1. North Vietnam The North Vietnam terrain includes all the target areas that you are familiar with in the stock SF2V terrain. This terrain is designed primarily for Strike missions and the several mission types that support Strikes: Escort, Fighter Sweep (aka 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. 2. 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 (VC) and PAVN (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. One word about Anti-Ship missions: it appears that SF2V introduced a bug in the single mission engine whereby the game will select only one ship/boat type for Anti-Ship mission. This type is determined alphabetically -- whatever "Cargo_Ship" type comes first alphabetically in the GroundObject directory will always get the nod, with zero variation (unlike CAS or Armed Recon missions where the game does vary target types). We named our new "Cargo_Ship" types so that the motorized sampan (A_Sampan) will be selected. If you want to fly against different types of ships, you'll have to rename the type you want to be selected so that it is at the top of the list alphabetically. If you have any questions about the split North/South terrain scheme used in version 2.0, please let us know. Eric Howes

Folks: If anyone else has problems with the F-4D Owl and the files and folders listed in my previous email are in your \Aircraft folder, then download the following: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/sf2v/SF2V_Pilots.rar Unpack the Pilots folder inside and drop it in the \Objects directory of your SF2 Mod Folder. That should solve the problem. Eric L. Howes

verde13: That oddity occurs when all the files needed for special features of the LORAN Owl are not in the proper place. Check to make sure that the following folders are in your \Aircraft directory: DRHAW LORAN LORAN_dtls Also make sure that the following files are in the \Aircraft folder: CRHAW.LOD C_details.LOD D_details.LOD NoseECM.LOD Please let us know what you find. Eric L. Howes

Hi All: Three questions for the terrain gurus regarding Green Hell 2 in SF2V: First, is it recommended to use the "Black VietnamSEA Repainted HM BMPs" by Wrench with Green Hell 2 in SF2V, or are they unnecessary? That package is from here: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=9206 Second, I'm assuming that Green Hell 2 was built on the WoV August 2006 version of the VietnamSEA terrain. That version uses a VietnamSEA.HFD that is the exact same size as the SF2V version (8,000,016 bytes), but a binary comparison I made of the two file versions reveals that they are actually very different. What the nature of those differences is, I do not know. The question: is it safe to simply let an SF2V install of Green Hell 2 use the SF2V version of the HFD file or would it be safer to use the WoV version? (FWIW, I'm currently using the WoV version in my SF2V install and it is rock solid with no issues). Third, regarding Effect Shaders VietnamSEA_DATA.INI -- one of the SF2V .CATs includes DX9 specific versions of three effect shaders: TerTerrainEffectDX9.FX TerWaterEffectDX9.FX TerFarTerrainEffectDX9.FX When running SF2V on a WinXP SP3 system with the latest DX9 version, is it recommended to specify these DX9-specific shaders in lieu of the default shaders -- e.g. EffectShaderName=terTerrainEffectDX9.FX ...or does the terrain engine determine which version is appropriate for the system if one simply specifies the default? EffectShaderName=terTerrainEffect.fx Thanks, Eric L. Howes

Brain32: Thanks. You wrote: You've got a custom HFD for the VietnamSEA terrain? I'm not finding it in your VietnamSEA Tile Repaint package. There's a TFD file in there, but no HFD. And no HFD in Green Hell 2 either. Eric L. Howes

331KillerBee: Thanks for the info -- most helpful. One question about custom effects classes in the Weapons and Guns DATA.INI files. Earlier in this thread you advised simply adding them in using the same names as used in the BulletObject.INI or MisileObject.INI -- for example: EffectClassName=40MMGrenadeEffects . . . [40MMGrenadeEffects] Yet in the KB article on custom effects in SF2, the advice given is to drop the S from the effects class name -- see: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showt...20&start=20 Example: EffectClassName=40MMGrenadeEffect ... [40MMGrenadeEffect] What's the final word on this? Or is the advice different for Guns vs Weapons? Thanks, Eric L. Howes

Jomni: Try the latest version that was uploaded late this afternoon. It should unpack just fine with no errors. Eric L. Howes

Malibu43: This latest upload works fine -- no corruption issues on unpacking. Eric L. Howes

Folks: The updated file that was uploaded appears to be partially corrupt. I've downloaded twice with different browsers and hit the same error on unpacking each time. Also, there are several minor content errors that need to be corrected (most in the stuff that I contributed, unfortunately). I've contacted Malibu43 about these issues. I expect there will be an updated/corrected version out soon. Eric L. Howes

Storm: There are some other docs on that page that might be of interest to readers here: AWNVN Glossary: A glossary of key terms & acronyms associated with the air war over Vietnam. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/fa/Glossary.pdf AWNVN Timeline: A time line of key events in the air war over Vietnam. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/fa/Timeline.htm AWNVN Bibliography: A bibliography of key info sources for the air war over Vietnam. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/fa/Bibliography.pdf Best, Eric L. Howes

Mike: Saw this thread and decided to install this package of Phantoms -- great stuff, really. I did encounter a few issues, though. First, I noticed that the rudders on all aircraft included in the package were not functional -- meaning that they had no effect on the flight performance of the aircraft (though I could see the rudders moving in the external view). Looking through the ControlSurfaces section of the DATA.INI, I noticed that the CldcAlphaTableData and CndcAlphaTableData lines for the rudders and ailerons had line breaks in the middle of the data. You'll need to turn word wrap off in whatever text editor you use to see these line breaks, which occur in the DATA.INIs for every aircraft included in the package. Once I removed the line breaks, the rudders magically became functional. The aircraft also began rolling better. Second, the AttachmentType lines for many of the weapon stations specify either Italy or Brazil, not USAF/NATO, which prevents the usual ordnance from being loaded on those hardpoints. Third, the WeaponStations for the IR-guided missiles use LoadLimits that are low, preventing Sidewinders from being loaded on the Sidewinder stations and AIM-4D Falcons being loaded on the two dedicated Falcon stations. Aside from the above, the aircraft look and perform beautifully. I also went ahead and installed your F-4E-35-MC long gun mod -- no issues whatsover with that one. Best, Eric L. Howes