fng2k

Hiya Wrench- Just happened to swing by here for the first time in many years and saw your post. Keith Bedford and I did that original EAWEuro map in 2005 or so. Charles et. al. from EAW did an improved version later. (The initial project was a quid pro quo of sorts with TK: He gave us use of his terrain editor to make new maps for Gunship! and for EAW, and in return we converted the original EAW map for SF players use.) Fun project. Keith's a genius, and built cool conversion utilities to make it happen. Anyway, a few days ago I finally put all my mod development files on line for Gunship/EAW/SF folks to sort through, but I know the original files related to the EAWEuro terrain are also in there somewhere, too. (And HFD/TFDs for other SF maps, too.) I've been out of modding for several years now and have no idea how the current version of SF is put together. Just thought I'd mention this in case you (or anyone) found any of it useful for updating the EAWEuro map. Four CD's worth, roughly 350MB zipped each. If it is too elderly to be of use, I certainly understand. So am I. ;) See this SimHQ thread: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3691140/Gunship_Helipad_is_back_And_mo.html#Post3691140 HTH. Best to all- fng2k

I'll never finish it, and I doubt PSYKLIK will ever have time to merge his incredible parallel developments into it either. But maybe someone will be inspired... This is the only beta released. Fully functional, but follow the install instructions. Use at your own risk, no support implied, not for sale, yada yada. Sorry I couldn't bring this one home. Have fun. http://www.simwarrior.com/gunship/GSTOS_beta.html fng

I forgot to mention a couple of things: IIRC, I *think* this version is free-standing- just in case you can't find that old Gunship CD ... I'll rummage around and see if there are any updated bits that can be uploaded as easy patches. Many thanks to all the folks who contributed, especially Keith Bedford, Polak, PSYKLIK, Stratos and the good folks at 1st Bear Hunter Squadron. WB also came up with many great enhancements since this beta was done. He posted a lot of them that can probably be manually added to this version. Try here: Wills Gunship page: http://members.fortunecity.com/whb11/GunshipTool/Gunship.htm PSYKLIKs Waypoint site has compendious info abou the internals of GS: http://www.waypoint.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ (He also has more great stuff that I'll link to if he says ok...) And of course samovar6 has lots of cool new bits, too: http://samovar6.fortunecity.com/ This was an incredibly fun project, right up until it wasn't... But so much more is now known and so many more tools are now available, it could be carried on to amazing places if there is the passion for it. Be well- fng

Hi Kevin- I did a web page a couple of years ago with the airfiled info, and included all the INI file text for each for copying/pasting: http://www.simwarrior.com/sfp1/airfields.html FWIW... Hi Charles - all's well, I hope? m

If you guys just need to do some spot editing on terrain files, don't forget to check out Keith Bedford's tools. His SFmap tool may be just the ticket. They are on his webpage, along with several other cool SFP1 bits: http://members.lycos.co.uk/keithb77/strikef/strikef.html cheers m

Well I'll be dipped. Glad to hear it worked! Nice job! The only reason we originally did this mod with separate season folders and batch files to copy stuff around, was because at the time each terrain folder needed to have it's own copy of desert.cat. This way saved everybody a ton of HD space. TK later added the pointer in the INI to where the basic cat file location is, which makes our old approach unnecessary now. I don't really have a problem with you updating this mod and uploading it here, Allen. Nice of you to offer to do that. Might be good to incorporate the bug fix Kevin mentioned, too. Or even just lose that jetty. Never really liked the way it came out, anyway. The only thing I'd ask you to do if you have time. is to ask around to see if there are other later mods based on this map that might be affected by a new version of the base EAWEuro terrain. I know Charles and Edward spent a lot of time on a WW2 version, but I've been out of the loop so long, I can't even see it from here. So as long as it doesn't cause too much trouble elsewhere, and the rest of the team doesn't mind, (especially Keith Bedford: I hope folks still appreciate the incredible conversion software he wrote to make this mod possible), go for it with my thanks. Please keep the Tools subdirectory in there, too. That's very useful stuff for making new terrains using the EAW tiles. And be sure to add yourself to the credits, too. (I seem to recall somebody was working on adding support for the new-style water, too. Did that happen? Are there any season/weather/sun angle changes that should be made? I feel like frikkin Rip van Winkle here...) One last thing: it might be possible to do this upgrade as a patch, instead. I suspect a batch file could be written that would convert the old-style install to your new version without too much trouble, packaged with a couple of new INI files. That way folks with existing installs wouldn't need to start from scratch. Just a thought. I'll try to keep an eye on this thread if you get stuck on why we did some bizarre thing or another. Cheers fng

Hi Allen- Well, it's been quite a while since we built that mod, but I'm very happy it's still getting some use. I don't have SF loaded anymore, life pretty much excludes simming these days. I just stopped by on a whim to vicariously enjoy the fun. (A bit like a eunuch in a brothel, I suppose...) FastCargo is basically correct. (Are you guys sure no one has sorted this issue out yet? Maybe over at SimHQ?) Here is what I *think* will work for you: Make a backup copy of the whole EAWEuro folder because I'm probably going to be at least partly wrong in the following. ;) Go into the top level EAWEuro folder, and copy all the files (but not the seasonal subdirectories or tools folder), to the clipboard Open each season's subfolder, and paste in all those files. If there is a warning about "Do you want to replace this file with that file..", click "No". I think. Go to the next season's folder and paste again. Rinse and repeat. I think at this point, each season subfolder should be a self contained terrain, and you can move them up to the Terrain folder, I think. Not sure about any refernces to the .CAT files. I don't know what else is needed to make them appear in your current SF menu structure, or what affect later patches to this terrain and/or SF will have, but hopefully someone else here can advise you better on that. If it all turns out to be a Charlie Foxtrot of biblical proportions, accept my apologies, delete all the modified folders, and return to your backup copy. You did make a backup, right? ;) Have fun. Hello to all. Back to Azkabhan I must go... fng

Slowly but surely, we're still moving forward with Gunship! The Times of Sand expansion pack A fantastic new hires Cobra skin by Polak: See the GS:TOS website for more details and many more pics: http://www.simwarrior.com/gunship/GSTOS.html

This should go Beta in a few days, so some folks can start making new missions for it. Here's some new pics: seeya fng

Gunfiire kills woman helicopter pilot from South Carolina in Iraq Associated Press EASLEY, S.C. - An Easley High School graduate has become the first woman pilot killed in Iraq. The parents of Capt. Kimberley Hampton, 27, say the military has confirmed that their daughter was killed in enemy fire on a helicopter near Fallujah in Iraq. Hampton is also the first woman from South Carolina killed in combat in Iraq. The other pilot on the OH-58 Kiowa helicopter was injured in the crash. Hampton was an only child who wanted to be a pilot since the third grade, her parents told WYFF-TV in Greenville. She attended Presbyterian College, where she played tennis. Hampton was stationed in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. She left for Iraq on Aug. 31. Witnesses said the OH-58 Kiowa helicopter was brought down by ground fire. The Kiowa is designed for reconnaissance and observation missions and is often used to spot targets for Apache attack helicopters.

I was so inspired by Janet Jackson's performance, that I've decided to reveal all my Gunship dev resources, tools, and expansion pack plans. Thread links: Here, Here, Here. There. I feel so liberated. ;) fng

LOL! Dontcha hate when that happens? :D

Hi sambo- Glad to hear you're having fun with it. But I'm a little confused by your question about the tail rotor. Are you saying that when you twist your joystick (or hit a rudder pedal), the nose of the helo doesn't point in a new direction? Or does it seem like there is a rubber band attached to the tail, and and it snaps into a new position when you turn? If you have the first problem, it's probably an issue with your controller. If it's the second problem, you may not have the patched version of GS. Does your CD actually say "Infogrames" on it? Or "Hasbro"? If it is Hasbro, you need to load the patch. Sorry if I miissed your point. Also: have a look at the FAQ linked in my sig below. Maybe something there will ring a bell with you. cheers fng

Well, it's been a while, so I thought I'd just let folks know what's percolating... Keith Bedford and I have been off working on a new Strike Fighter:Project 1 Europe map, adapted from the EAW map. Almost done... Many thanks to Darryl (TurboDT), for hooking us up with that sim's designer (TK), who generously let us work with his snazzy automated terrain editor application. And after months of work and some Clever Bedford Code, we now can use this utility to make new Gunship and EAW maps. I'm still refining the process, but so far, here's what I'm working on for Gunship: This is the first of (I hope) 4 or 5 Iraq maps. Its the Kuwait/Iraq/Iran delta area, (shown with temporary Euro tiles): We also still hope to do Gunship Vietnam someday, so I was experimenting with this map of the the southern Central Highlands: Nice country, when people aren't shooting at you... I'd like to line up folks who want to start bulding missions for these maps while I finish tweaking them. Sound off if you're interested, or drop me an e. bedtime... ;) cheers to all fng (btw: There is a bundle pack out in US stores of European Air Wars, Gunship and B-17 2 for $9.95!)

Yea, that angle really seems to have alienated alot of people. But in light of what they were trying to accomplish, I've come to understand why they designed it that way. I think air starts had more to do with technical issues related to having so many tree objects around, and the fact that the original plan was to build a shared battle space for the Tank Platoon! half of things. (GS/TP needed a smaller map for gameplay reasons, so with the action taking place on a 16x16km map, I can see why airstarts were a reasonable option). I really don't get the sense that they did airstarts to make it "easier" and more arcadeish, alhough I can see how it looks that way. Hasbro made them take out alot of stuff at the last minute including an elaborate aircraft maintainance/repair module, but I haven't seen any clues that indicate it had a start-up sequence, though. I doubt we could ever insert a true start-up sequence, but I have an idea how the spawn altitude is handled. Haven't got it nailed down yet, though. We discussed this last week over at SimHQ. Have a look here if you're interested in more detail. Anyway, don't let that one aspect put you off. The whole environment is so immersive and demanding, you forget where you started pretty quickly. ;) It's definately worth $9.95, imho. cheers fng

And let's welcome our next contestant... (click to enlarge)

:D

Hello all- I've been tinkering with this upgrade for a while, and the time has come to release it. :D This edited gunship.exe file includes the earlier version 2.0 changes listed below, plus these additional new modifications: PLATOON: 109 This platoon now contains 3 Blackhawks, and no Apaches. The AI Gunner will now engage targets automatically with the 7.62 MG, which makes hot LZ's pretty interesting. (You must switch into the CP/G role (F2/3) or external (F9) for troops to mount/dismount at an LZ.) PLATOON: 142 This platoon is now a single OH-58D Kiowa Scout helo w/.50 AP MG. It replaces the single AH-64D Longbow used in the training missions. RWR indicates on your MFD, but no active targetting radar,. Just your Mark 1 Eyeball, and hopefully some backup... (Platoon: 21 still contains a Kiowa and 2 Apaches.) The AI Gunner will now engage targets automatically with the .50MG, but accuracy is dicey as it apperently is in RL. Some of the Red infantry units are now equipped with RPG-16 grenade launchers. (These were never activated in the original exe for some reason...) Files included: gunship_nocd_editbeta23.exe readmeGSv23.txt (2) new missions: HILL4312.txt - Fly Blackhawk insertions to take and hold a ridgeline which is vital to BOTH sides ScoutAssault.txt - Solo recon support and artillery spotting for an assault on an airfield. Be sure to call in the Blackhawks to land troopers to secure the area after it is cleared. Brush up on how to call in Support... To use: Save this new "gunship_nocd_editbeta23.zip" file into your Gunship folder, right next to your old gunship.exe file. Unzip it, then move the two new missions (HILL4312.txt and ScoutAssault.txt) into your Gunship!\Data\Battles\Player folder. That's it. To fly it, run "Gunship!\gunship_nocd_editbeta23.exe" via double-click or make a shortcut. To run the old version, just run gunship.exe instead. They don't conflict. Known issue: Trying to enter the "arming' screen when flying the Kiowa or Blackhawk will cause a CTD. There are no hardpoints on those aircraft for additional weps. More in the readme. http://www.simwarrior.com/gunship/utilitie...hip_v23beta.zip (about 450kb) There is also some very cool terrain stuff happening. More if/when I get some clearances... Have fun! fng Gunship ver. 2.0 enhancements included in ver 2.3: Platoon_Desc___________________________________________Side______Role 21 OH-58D w/50 cal MG (1), AH-64A (2) Blue Air Cav *Kiowa has invisible .50APHE as if on a turret. *No external stores or door gunner graphics. Missions: "Hornets' Nest", "Streets of Fire" 30 HMMWV M-2 (1), HEMTTs(2): M978 fuel/M985 cargo, M939 Truck w/inf (1), M577 TOC w/inf(1) Blue FARP UNIT *Modified logistics section 62 Ka-50 Hokum (2), Mi-28 Havoc (2) Red Attack Helo *No weps visible on Hokum racks Mission: Various Red 67 SRBM TEL FROG (3) Red SRBM BTY *Still doesn't launch (dammit...) Mission: "Frogger" 73 BRDM-2 (1), Zil Truck cargo/fuel (2), ZSU-23-4 ADV (1), BTR-80 (1) Red FARP unit *BTR w/infantry Missions: "Hornets' Nest" 109 UH-60 Blackhawks (3) w/ M-60 7.62 MG, AH-64D AH64 Apache (1) Blue Transport Helo *Blackhawk has invisible MG as if on a turret. *No door gunner graphics. Mission: "A Good Hammer" (as opfor) 120 Infantry in house - Red (1) Red Infantry 121 Infantry in house - Blue (1) Blue Infantry *Emplacements use house objects instead of fortified position. *Red and Blue use different houses. Missions: "Frogger", and numerous campaigns 128 Mi-24F Hind (w/inf) (2), Mi-28 Havoc (2) Red Attack Helo *Apache cockpits (I have NO idea why...) Mission: Various Red 131 AH-1W Super Cobra (2) Blue Attack Helo *no weps visible on racks *(This replaces rarely used UK WAH-64D unit) Missions: 3 UK campaign missions

Rick, I had a thought: I still suspect you may have a problem with your actual CD, but if you want to at least rule out any other hardware or OS issue, you could try installing one of the demo versions. (Links in the Library area on my site.) That should behave the same way, even if it wasn't installed from a CD. So if there are any conflicts, you may well see it in the demo install, too. Or if you want to get fancy, burn the demo onto a CD then install from there. Jes grabiing at straws here... Good luck fng

Great idea, Mr. Mudd! Here are my favorite places for real-world helo news: http://www.rotorhub.com/detail.htm http://www.helis.com/default/ For general helo sim info, Lionpride's site of course: http://www.helosim.com/ And the SimHQ helo forum, of course. Also: a poster named Hardtack offered his great list of sites at SimHQ a while back. Haven't checked every link for current availablity: +++++++++ For anyone who may be building helicopters in X-Plane and Flight Simulator or who simply has an interest in specifications: Aircraft Armament and Small Arms Product Center (weapon systems, brief history, rotor sounds, cutaways, photos) MILITARY Army Technology - Current Projects (brief history, specifications, cutaways, cockpits, photos) MILITARY All The World's Rotorcraft (cockpits) MILITARY Helispot (photos) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL Aviation Enthusiast Corner (specifications) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL Flug Revue: Helicopters (specifications) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL update 5-13-2001 Regulatory & Guidance Library (specifications) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL Sky Corner Aviation Reference (three view drawings) MILITARY Aircraft3-view (three view drawings) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL update 7-14-2001 Thomas Suurland homepage (three view drawings) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL Real Cockpits from Russian Aviation (cockpits) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL Military Analysis Network |USA| Other| (brief history, specifications, three view drawings, photos) MILITARY update 10-15-2001 The Rotorhead (brief history, specifications, cutaways, photos) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL Aircraft Walk Around Center |Walk around| Walk around links| (photographic detail) MILITARY/COMMERCIAL +++++++ cheers fng

Way ahead of ya, Cowboy! :D Actually, there are already some ground targets defined for a Fulda Gap type CAS missions, but for some reason SFP1 is only offering us the first of each type of target listed in EAWEuro_movement.ini . So they're in there, but they don't get "picked". Not sure why this is. I moved them around and they all work, but only the first of each type gets made into a CAS or Armed recon mission. (You can re-order them yourself, btw if you want to play with it) I've reported the bug to Third Wire, so hopefully it can be addressed in the SP2 patch. There is also at least one campaign under development for this map at the moment, so I bet you'll get this sort of mission one way or another! cheers fng

Howdy- Not sure where you're from, but if you're in the US you should be able to find Gunship many software shops, either alone or in the bundle pack mentioned above. All the current retail versions now include the patch. More details in the FAQ. The version currently in stores is based on the MicroProse tank sim M1 Tank Platoon 2. In fact, you are actually flying above this ground warfare sim, so the action is very dynamic. (GS models 87 ground vehicles, 10 infantry types, 5 fixed wing AC and 15 helos. All using 86 different types of ordinance. And anything with a weapon will try to kill you with it.) The graphics are stunning, but the system resources required by such highly detailed terrain means the battles each take place on a smallish map about 16x16 km, so the action is tactical rather than strategic. (A good custom mission builder is included.) The avionics are simplified compared to LB2/EECH, but the flight model and weapon modeling in the current patched version are generally quite good. Very immersive, imo. The biggest complaints seem to be: -Waypoint use is odd, but manageable -All missions start in the air -Helos bump off of trees below about 40 knots. (I *think* the last two are related to the fact that the AI-controlled aircraft tend to bump into things sometimes, as in most sims. Although many helo sims don't even have trees to bump into... ;) ) GS is stable and smooth on any operating system without tweaking, and multiplayer is very solid, too. As far as far as flying Blackhawks, the stock version has them as AI piloted only. However I made a modified EXE which does allow you to fly many other helos, including the H-60's. Unfortunately, we don't have an accurate cockpit for it yet, but performance/weps are accurate. you can do troop insertions/extractions with my new exe, but with some limitations. Hopefully I can improve on this as I learn more about the EXE. See the other thread about GSv2 here at biohaz for details. Oh yeah: Irecently stumbled over this new review of Gunship over at Amazon.com. I thought it was an interesting perspective... Hope this helps! cheers fng (btw, I just went back through all my GS posts and fixed the images, so look around if you want more screenies.)

Hi guys- Well, I can tell you where all the pieces seem to be, so that's a start, right? ;) The medal graphics (.bmp) themselves are within \menu\menudata.cat, along with ini files which control general aspects of how each screen is laid out. btw: if you don't have SkyPat's .CAT file extractor, get it here: http://skunkworks.free.fr/pafiledb/pafiled...tion=file&id=25 (And forget MSpaint, btw. Try either Paint Shop pro or Irfanview (free) for basic graphic work.) Now the tricky bit: I *think* our records of medals (and maybe kills, etc.) are stored in a file named \PilotData\Pilot001.plt (or 002, 003 etc.). This is a data file, so you'd need to use a hex editor to view the contents. (A.X.E. is my personal fav, but there are many.) Now this is where you're on your own. I can't offer any analysis of this file because well,... I've never actually gotten a medal. (Hey, I'm geek, not a fly boy! ) But the real problem is: even if we parsed out how the plt file is setup, how would we display the info in it? It's a good idea for a mod, though. Hope some of this lights bulbs above your heads. cheers fng oh: as far a screenshots go, when you press the PrintScreen button, it also copies the current screen to the Windows clipboard. (As it does throughout Windows). The next time you do viwe the medals screen, press PrintScreen, then exit and open your graphics program. Go to Edit>Paste, save it as anything you like, and you should have your screenie.

Keith Bedford and I are very pleased to announce that the Europe map we've been adapting from European Air wars is now available. This map includes about 120 cities and 30 airbases, covering an area of roughly 1280 x 640 kilometers as shown here: It includes detailed briefing maps by Keith Bedford: This package also includes five different seasonal tile sets made by some of the most talented EAW fans. Any season can be easily selected by the user via desktop shortcuts. This map can be used for instant and single missions. We hope that some of the many talented SF:P1 missioneers will be inspired to create new campaigns for this very complex time and place. More info and pictures can be found here: http://www.simwarrior.com/sfp1/terrain.html This project was made possible by the skill of TK's original MicroProse EAW team, his new SF:P1 Terrain Editor, talented EAW fans, and some very clever conversion utilities by Keith. It is a beautifully detailed map, and we hope that your enjoyment of it is equal only to the amount of sleep we lost bringing to you... ;) Honor those who serve. fng2k Keith Bedford

Hi Porcupine- Look in your Strike Fighters\terrain\EAWEuro folder for a file named EAWEuro_ColdWar_cities.ini. This contains all the cities and airbases, and their coords. But even better: Watch this link for a snazzy zoomable waypoint plotter that Deuces is making using Sal's source code and Keith's maps. All the cities/airfields are shown there, too. http://www.sfmods.com/clips/euromp.html All known bugs will be resolved by this weekend. B) cheers fng