malibu43

Well, that is a good point. I've been using my 11" macbook for the last few years, and I WANT SOMETHING BIGGER! I'm not super concerned about portability or travel. I have my work laptop for work, and my wife will get my 11" MacBook which we could take somewhere if we needed to. The only reason I was looking at the 11" alienware initially was that I thought that was all that was in my price range. Now I'm seeing that that isn't the case. That being said, I can get the exact same configuration of that HP laptop in a 15" or 17". So, I will probably just head to Best Buy or something to look at sizes and see what I really want. The 15" sounds nice, since it claims to have up to 5 hours of battery life vs up to 3 with the 17". "Up to 3 hours" probably doesn't amount to a whole lot under normal usage. Also, since I haven't gotten a lot of feedback actually comparing the technical aspects of the Alienware and HP, I'm going to post an email response I got from a friend when I asked him about the two: I'm not claiming that the above is "the truth" and I'm not trying to start a flame war and piss off Alienware users. I just thought it seemed like good, data based feedback on my original question.

What graphics card does your MBP have in it? The newer ones come with the NVIDIA 310M, and if that's the case, it would probably be cheaper just to add more RAM to your MBP. I am also in the process of going from a MacBook (not pro) with intel graphics to a better "gaming" laptop. Here is the thread I've started. Some of the info may be helpful for you: http://combatace.com/topic/63108-getting-a-new-laptop/page__view__getnewpost__fromsearch__1 I've been looking at laptops for a while, and have concluded that anything with an integrated graphics card (which the 310M is) is not worth the money if I'm trying to improve gaming performance. That doesn't mean it won't run SF2 (my intel x3100 chipset runs SF2 just fine on a combination of low, med, and high settings). That's why it would be helpful to know what your switching from and how much of an improvement you want.

I would agree that I've never heard that either. But, just looking at the specs (and being someone who isn't an expert on the subject matter), the HP looks to be pretty powerul: i7 processor (vs i5 for the M11X) 1GB DDR5 ATI 6570 (according to notebookcheck.net, it performs better than the GT 335M) 6 GB DDR3 RAM (vs 4GB on the M11X) 17.3" display (vs 11" on the M11X) Again, as sort of a noob when it comes to this hardware stuff, the HP looks to be more powerful than the M11x. If I'm wrong, then by all means let me know (and if you can tell me why, that would be great too!). If i had to pick one at this point, I'd probably go with the M11x (based on the fact that folks here are very happy with it). It seems to be a very safe choice. However, I'd hate to realize after the fact that I could have gotten more bang for my $.

OK. Wow. This is totally in my price range and looks to be more powerful than the M11X. It's from HP. http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=High+performance&series_name=dv7tqe_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/High_performance/dv7tqe_series It's ATI instead of NVIDIA. Any thoughts there?

This is probably pushing my budget, but it looks quite a bit more powerful than the M11X: http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=488794

Looks like I mis-typed above. It comes with a 335M, not a 330M. Looks pretty good to me. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.notebookcheck.net%2FNVIDIA-GeForce-GT-335M.24060.0.html&ei=qNFrTcGWO4OC8gb4wuiJCw&usg=AFQjCNH3lKZ2fBHHzwUHkxDfdfR8RpvbIg But then again, I coming from a laptop with an intel integrated chip. So everything looks good!!!

Hey guys, It looks like I'll be able to get a new laptop for gaming once our tax return shows up. Here is my "criteria": ~ $1000 Run SF2 with all the bells and whistles Run DCS A-10 at reasonably high settings Nice to have: be able to run IL-2:CoD, Jet Thunder, and Combat Helo when they come out. Right now I'm looking at an Alienware M11X. I know Dave has one and he's said some positive stuff about it. Here is the specific configuration I've selected: https://ecomm2.dell.com/dellstore/basket.aspx?cart_id=1009523302412&toEmail=ecomm@dell.com (for those to lazy to click on the link: i5 processor, 4GB RAM, 1GB GT330M, 320 GB HD, Win7, external optical drive) Any thoughts or suggestions? Will this meet the needs I listed above? Can I get more bang for my buck with something else? The only things I'm questioning are the HD size (but i already have external drives I can use if I need to) and RAM. Upgrading to 8GB RAM is about $170... Thanks! Gregg

There could be a variety of things wrong with the campaign you created. ie - mission rates, supply levels, placement of ground forces, strategic node placement, etc... At least one of these aren't set up correctly and as a result the enemy is ending the campaign after one mission. If you post your campaign files, we may be able to help... But, my real suggestion, since you're very new to the series, is to start by making adjustments to existing campaigns and seeing the effects the changes have. Campaign creation from scratch is difficult, takes a lot of time, and can be challenging even for those very experienced with this series. It may be a bit advance for someone who is newer.

You are patched to the '08 patch level, right? I think with that weapons pack you may need to run the weapons data throught the weapons editor once to get the weapons to work in game. That should be covered in either the readme for the weapons pack or in the knowledge base.

The French MirageIIIC isn't flyable with the stock games (the Israeli version is). You need to install NF4+ to get flyable MirageIIIC. And then in NF4+, the MirageIIIC is already added to the campagin!

Try: CAMPAIGNS/campaigne1

Again - what exactly were the changes you made and where did you put the files afterward? Campaign edits work just fine in SF2. I have done several.

SF2 has better graphics, a mission editor, a different file/folder structure for mods, and other stuff. SF2 will continue to be patched and supported by Thirdwire, where SF1 will not. Also 99.9% of new mods that made are by modders and available here at CA will be for SF2 only as we move forward. SF2 is definitely the way to go. If it isn't too late, I would cancel your WoV order and order SF2V. In either series, you can merge all the titles together, but you can't merged titles from one series with the other. ie - SF2, SF2V, SF2E, SF2I can all be merged. SF1, WoV, WoE, WoI can all be merged. But you can't merge SF2 with WoV. Also it's much easier to merge the games with the SF2 series. Hopefully this information isn't coming too late!

Well, that depends on what plane you're flying and you're radar settings (again, I'm not sure if easy settings change the shape and appearance of the radar, I think it might). But in most aircraft after the late '60s or early '70s, there is an RWR wich is the round "radar looking thingy" that has lines or symbols on it representing other radars that are looking at your plane. If a radar is tracking you they flash and beep. If they have a lock on you, they flash more quickly and beep more quickly. Your wingman is saying "I've got a spike". "Spike" means that his RWR is indicating that he is being tracked by another radar. Could be friendly (yours) or enemy.

Boresight mode will automatically lock on to any aircraft directly off the nose of your plane, within a certain range ( ~ 10mi I think...?). If it locks onto someone you don't want to be locked onto, you need use the "unlock radar target" key, point your plane at the bad guy you're trying to lock onto, and try again. It's best for use during dogfights when you don't have time to mess with the radar and you know where your oponent is. The air-to-ground radar in ground map mode, will show you anything on the ground that radar waves reflect off of (tanks, building, bridges, etc...) and surface-to-air radars may show up as well, but they won't be distinguishable from anything else. In real life, you could lock onto these to aid you in dropping dumb bombs, laser guided bombs, and firing mavericks, but that isn't simulated in this game. A/G radar is mostly just there for show. In this game, you lock onto ground objects by simply pressing the 'E' key. Whether or not that helps you get your weapons on target depends on the weapon your using and how you deliver the weapon. In real life there are other systems that can be used to detect radars, but those systems aren't modeled in this game. Some newer ARM's (AGM-88) use these systems to fire at locked targets. The AGM-45 and AGM-78 modeled in Strike Fighters can't be locked onto targets by the pilot (in real life and in the game). They automatically home in on any radar emitting source they see and go after that. In game, your best bet is to point the nose of your plane at a surface-to-air radar, fire, and hope the missile goes after the target you want it to. If you're flying an aircraft equipped with a RWR (Radar warning receiver), it may give you some idication of the direction that the radar is in so you know you're pointed in the right direction before you fire.

Just keep practicing and refering the manual as much as you can. You'll get there eventually. Most people here play with settings on radar settings on Hard, and that's why it's hard for us to walk you through some of this. You might want to give hard settings a try - at least it will make it easier for us to help you out.

Wrong. Angles means "thousands of feet above sea level". So, "bogies/contacts/friendlies/whatever at angels 10" means "bogies/contacts/friendlies/whatever at 10,000' MSL"

Not sure about not having been shot down by a SAM. They're out there... What time period are you flying in? ARM (anit-radiation missile) are air-to-ground only and will only lock against a ground target that is emitting some sort of radar signal. So, no, they can't be used against other aircraft. The radar on your aircraft is for finding other aircraft. In real life, there are some additional sensors that can be used to find surface-to-air radars, but those are not modeled in this game. Also in real life, air-to-ground radar modes would allow you to find things such as tanks using the radar on your aircraft. However, that feature is not modeled in this game either. Some aircraft in game do have a ground mapping radar mode or terrain avoidance mode, but you can't identify or lock any targets. So, in short, the radar in this game is used pretty much for only finding other aircraft.

All Stary's new tiles are looking SWEET!

Yes, it will install into the SF2 folder by default, and you will have the content for both. You can install SF2E into a separate folder, and then they *should* behave as two separate games, needed to patched and updated separately. No content will be shared between the two.

It looks like groundoffensiveallowed= is set to TRUE for the friendly forces in both the Steel Tiger and Easter Offensive campaigns, where it should be set to FALSE. This was an oversight/error on our part. ... [Force001] Alignment=FRIENDLY Nation=USAF BaseArea=Saigon AirOffensive[001].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[001].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[002].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[002].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[003].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[003].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[004].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[004].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[005].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[005].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[006].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[006].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[007].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[007].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[008].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[008].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[009].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[009].Secondary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[010].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[010].Secondary=WAREHOUSE GroundOffensiveAllowed=TRUE <------- should be FALSE StartGroundOffensive=0 StartInterdiction=100 ... Try these updated files (make sure to put them in the corresponding folders). Back up the existing ones just in case: SF2V Ground Offensive Fix 2-23-11.zip Just a word of caution - the enemy will still go on the offensive and capture target areas if you fail to perform your missions. So, it is historically accurate in the sense that the US will not advance or try to "capture" Hanoi, but it is not historically accurate in the sense that if you perform poorly, South Vietnam will be overrun. It's a limitation of the campaign engine.

? Taking a look right now...

Hi all, I enjoyed a nice weekend in Tahoe over the last 3 days, so as I was sitting on the couch last night letting my body recover, I fired up FS9 to explore the area "from the air". The first flight I set up out of Lake Tahoe airport was set to noon, winter, and fair weather. As I took off, I noticed that the color of Lake Tahoe in game is a nasty "lake green", not a brilliant blue like the real-life lake. Because I was playing using my keyboard, I promptly crashed and had to restart the flight. Same settings, but this time the lake was blue. After I crashed again (why didn't I get my joystick out?), I restarted and the lake was green again. On a couple following the flights, the lake remained green. There is a resivour right near my house (Crystal Springs) that is always a nice dark blue, and I remember it appearing blue in FS9 before. However, last night, I set up a flight and it was that nasty lake-green. Now that I think about it, since I've had FS9 over the last year, I think I've seen lakes show up as both blue and green. Over that time, I've also experiemented with different addons. Does anyone know what determines weather a lake shows up as blue or green? Is it dictated by landclass? Weather? Season? Here are the addons I have installed: Ground Environment Pro Real Environment Pro Active Sky 6 Ultimate Terrain USA FS Genesis USA Landclass (above UT in my scenery library) Megascenery San Francisco (does cover Crystal Springs, but haven't had an issue in the past) Megascenery Nor Cal (does not cover lake tahoe) Thanks!

You're the man. Thanks!

Thanks. Looks like I've been lucky with FAT32 so far and I probably want to chang my strategy moving forward. I'll probably just split the hard drive into HFS and NTFS and write to those partitions from their respective OS's. I know Mac's can read (but not write) NTFS and it looks like there are free drivers to allow winXP to read HFS, so I can still transfer stuff from one OS to the other easily using those two partitions. Plus I can look around for programs that allow the OS's to write the other format if I really need to. Thanks!