ShrikeHawk

Wo! Dave, what is that terrain?

On many occasions I've spent the entire combat shooting Migs off my wingman's tail. I thought it was his job to cover "my" butt! I suppose I shouldn't complain. At least he kept them distracted!

I am considering wiping out my current WinXP 64 OS and replacing it with Win7. Given what I have/want (listed below), would this be a wise move? Currently have: - SFG - WoE - WoI - Korean and Falkland install based on SFG I want to have: - SF2, SF2:V, SF2:E (with the new whizbang .dll everybody's talking about) - WoV (with CA_Stary's Green Hell 2 and Orsin's recent tweaks) - WoE (various ww2 installs - apparently need the 06 patch only?) If the Gen2 sims aren't significantly better (Graphic/FPS) than the upgraded/modded Gen1 sims, I might stay with my current setup. If the Gen1 sims don't run well on Win7 - I'll definitely stay with WinXP. But I hear so many good things about Win7, I wonder if it would be smart to upgrade now before I add any more thirdwire sims to my machine. Does anybody have any thoughts or opinions about this?

Hey Kowalski - thanks for the reply. I've looked for this thread that compares them all, but I'm not finding it. I've seen threads that make it clear that Vista is not in the running at all, but not one comparing all three. It's obvious to me that Win7 is very very good for running the second gen sims. But would it Win7 run the Gen1 sims equally as well as XP? If it does, then I think I might convert to Win7 and get the eventual conversion over with. What do you think?

My god, that looks fantastic! Like a completely different sim. The only 1st gen sim I don't have yet is WoV. I've been thinking it'd be a waste since I plan to get the gen 2 WoV. But this is quickly changing my mind. Still, I wonder what your framerates are like. In WoE, with the seasons mod installed, I get about 15 FPS when flying near a city. Would this get even lower framerates?

The multi-colored sky surprised me here...

Very very cool. Personally, I'd be happy with your basic Chinese invasion force scenario vs NZ ans AUS. Could be much fun! I know I'd just enjoy flying over that terrain.

ooohhh...ooohhh! Looks terrific. Will it included a campaign? When do you think it will be ready?

Okay - I guess I can't use this. My frame rates drop to about 6.0 in the cockpit. I have the latest version from April 19 2009 and it's the MSFS one. i have the same settings posted earlier. Bummer!

Hmmm...I got a performance hit. It halved my FPS. I'm trying this in WoI OS: WinXP 64 VCard: nVidea GTX 260 I placed the .dll and the .ini in the Wings over Israel root directory. I ran it once, then went to put a copy in the Flight folder when I saw a copy was already there. Did I do something terribly wrong to get such an opposite effect?

NeverEnough just mentioned two really good tactics I forgot to mention...( all are great actually, but I'll focus on two of them ). Lag-Pursuit: I first heard it mentioned in use by Eddie Richenbacker in WW1 (probably invented by Udet or Boelke) and used regularly until Vietnam to help Ritchie Cunningham bag four migs in a single mission. It works like a charm when you're in an energy fighter taking on a turn 'n burner like the Mig-17. It involves rolling "away" from the turn which seems counter-intuitive, but it works because it drops your nose down out of the roll in a direction you couldn't manage in a flat turn. Use the Clouds: I've dumped more than a few migs by screeching into a turn through a cloud and reversing the turn coming out the other side. I haven't gotten the zoom climb to work well for me in a Mirage (perhaps I'm not watching my energy state closely enough), but it works great in an F4. The Phantom is like a bloody brick mounted on top of an Atlas rocket. It's speed will get you out of trouble just as fast as anything. Oh, and don't expect the Mirage to turn much at all over 500Kts. It's optimal turn envelope is very tight, so you have to watch your speed at all times.

Oh bugger! Don't tell me I've made TWO bad mistakes! I just bought a machine with quad cores but a lower CPU speed and a very good vid card. Then I learned The Thirdwire games need a high CPU speed more than anything. That's mistake one. I also insisted on WinXP 64 bit because I thought the Thirdwire games run best on XP. Is that mistake number two? EDIT: I haven't bought any of the SF2 versions but totally plan to.

Stick is right. Speed, and thus Energy or "E" is your friend in a delta-winged fighter. Delta's have the advantage of manuevering best at high speed. So if you're flying the Mirage IIICJ, for instance, you turn best at around 400Kts. Keep in mind that at that speed your turn radiius is larger. Always use your rudders. It makes a HUGE difference. If you're turning to port (left), and your nose is above or even with the horizon, use right rudder. If your nose is below the horizon use left rudder. This is contradictory to flying a conventional planform (wings+stabs). In the F8 Crusader in a left turn I use the opposite, left rudder above the horizon, right rudder below it. Don't try to turn with the Mig-17 below 300 Kts. They'll eat you for lunch. If one gets on your tail (they do this incredibly easily) the only manuever that seems to work is to barrell roll. Only do this when they're reeaalll close (inside 0.4 miles). They'll drift off to one side or the other. Kick in afterburners and either run for it or turn inside him while he's meandering and lost visual lock on you. Mig-21's are FAR easier. You can turn with them. Just be sure to use your rudder. Go to max afterburner if you are not gaining and run for it. They'll give up on you if you put 4+ miles of distance from them. When they do, turn out about and don't bleed all your speed away. Come back at the target when YOU have the advantage of speed and altitude. With either one, always be sure to point your nose ahead of the target whether you have a gun solution or not. If they're below me, I always stay up high and make them come up to me (they always do). That way they burn up all their energy "E" and I have the advantage of a higher E state and can turn faster.

File Name: CloudScape v1 File Submitter: ShrikeHawk File Submitted: 28 Jun 2009 File Category: Environmental Mods CloudScape Mod for Strike Fighters Gold, Wings over Europe, and Wings over Israel This mod has been tested in all the above listed sims. I have every reason to believe it will work in Wings over Vietnam and Strike Fighters Project 1 as well. For me, an essential part of the immersion in a flight sim is just watching the clouds go by. In real life, I watch clouds often and commonly photograph them. I like clouds that form into interesting and complex shapes. My intent here was to create cloudscapes that are appealing to the eye and thus increase the immersion into the game. In 2007, I created a cloud mod for First Eagles with the same idea in mind. When I placed the same mod into WoI and SFG, I felt the image didn't fit with the bluer skies of the modern era sims. Tweaking the colors didn't work well enough. So I kept the same alpha channel (mask), modded it a lot, and created a completely new image with it. I think this one works better. This new image, on first glance, doesn't look nearly as nice as the default. Don't be put off. Most of the cloud's appearance is managed by the alpha channel embedded into the image. NOTES Of the over 60 different clouds I tried, I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I am including just two and letting you decide which you like best. If you already have an edited environmentsystem.ini file or a cloud1.tga file you can opt to use just the cloud1.tga file. Always be sure to BACK UP YOUR ORIGINALS! I have tested the image alone with the Widesky mod and it works just fine. --More information available in the README.txt Happy Flying! Eric Wicklund aka ShrikeHawk Click here to download this file

After purchasing WoI and SFG I immediately put my old cloud mod from FE into them. But I thought the grayish lowlights didn't fit well with the bluer skies I see in the modern skies. So, cloud enthusiast that I am, I set about making a new cloud1.tga. Here's the result... Took these shots in SFG. I think this new version blends well with the horizon clouds.

Finally got these clouds finished. Posted the mod just now and it's in review. Here's a screenshot : And also the screenshot from the mod:

Yikers! That's as risky as being shot at...but I'll give it a try.

Ah! Thanks for asking that, jlav. I finally got the canopy to close on my Lightning mk6.

Thanks Baltika - I'll try that. I overlooked that avenue. And thanks cocas, I'll look into your suggestion as well.

Thanks guys. I have no trouble if I have Mavs. With a Harrier and rockets, I worked out a good attack profile that was reasonably safe if I attacked from Angels 4. Thing is my mood for missions changes at the drop of a hat. So commonly, after a fighter sweep and a couple mig kills, I'm in the mood to go after some AAA. But in such a situation, I'm not armed for flak suppression (no Mavericks and no Rockeyes). So I'm hoping for a technique to get them with guns that's survivable. So far, it seems too risky without the proper tools. I'll keep trying.

What's not to love about the last gunfighter? When I got WoE, the FIRST plane I added was the F-8.

I saw a Philippines campaign available here. But then I saw that many of the aircraft are only available at Capun's site which requires a login. And now it appears he is...unavailable. Are replacement aircraft (or some alternative) out there that I could use instead?

Oh yeah, I loooove the Mavericks. Cluster bombs are fun too.

Hmmm...I was hoping for method to use when nukes weren't available, hehe. My most successful strafing method so far has been to approach the gun obliquely (with the gun in a 2 o'clock position from me) then I pop up, roll over and dive in a steep angle. My idea for this is that my vector is changing for two angles at once which should make it hard to get a sight picture for the gun. Trouble is, I need a couple moments to line the gun up too. Sometimes I take too long and the gun fires just as I do. Bummer!