toonces

I have to say that that server sure sounds like fun. I've held off on the F-86 because I am not sure I would get any use out of it. I'm definitely considering it a bit more after SE's OP. Nice post!

Sorry for the extremely long delay replying to this thread- I don't frequent these forums all that often. Very cool seeing that picture. My dad also has/had that picture on his wall. Like I said earlier, he passed away as well in 1998. All of his memorabilia is still hanging up on our basement wall downstairs in my mom's house and that picture is still hanging up. That is just too cool.

Does your SF2:Vietnam A-6 have a cockpit? I just noticed last night that while my SF1:WoV A-6's had pits, none of my SF2:V A-6s/EA-6Bs have cockpits. I think I read on another thread hyperlinked in someone's sig, in the SF2 unofficial manual, that the A-6s in SF2 don't come with pits. If yours has them, I'd like to know what you did to get them....I miss my A-6s.

Hello all. I've been playing WoV/SF2:V for a while, but just recently am I making a serious study of it. Tonight I was flying the first mission of a Linebacker 1 campaign. This is with the Vietnam Air/Ground War expansion installed (which totally rocks). I was flying as an F-4J bubba. Mission was to escort a flight on a bombing mission. It doesn't really matter though, because no matter what plane I fly I always seem to run into the same issues... Namely, I am just getting absolutely clobbered by SAMs. Now, I know that it wasn't unusual for these guys to get shot at, but I feel totally and completely overwhelmed. I'm talking like 13, 17+ SAMs at my aircraft alone. Does the campaign schedule AI SEAD missions? Am I getting jamming assistance from anyone? I'm just curious how much support the computer schedules the AI to fly in these missions. I'm not really familiar with how the Strike Fighters series campaign engine works.

Wrench- You actually explained it perfectly. The problem was I was using Gerwin's CAT extractor; TK's tool is extremely easy to use and is what I should have been using all along. Once I downloaded it, it took me about 30 seconds to make the edit I wanted to make. I am now a satisfied customer. Thanks, Toonces

I read your post, and it worked to adjust the cockpit pitch and yaw. But when I repack the cat file, it doesn't appear to repack the skin folders into the .cat file. You said that you can't repack SF2 files. So, that's the problem I'm trying to overcome. I'm not trying to be difficult, but I'm just not seeing how to unpack and repack the ObjectDetail007.cat file from my SF2:WoV folder. Edit- we're talking past each other with the edits. You answered my question above...I'll try again and post back later. Thanks!

Is there any way to adjust the cockpit FOV (the pitch and yaw values) in SF2? That was my original question.

Ok, I'm messing up something with the catpack.exe. I create a new folder. I copy the ObjectDetail007.cat file into it. It is 408mb. I drag it onto catpack.exe and get a new extracted folder. Inside the folder are all of the skin folders and .ini files. I open the F-8D_Cockpit.ini file. Edit with notepad. Save. Copy catpack.ece into the ObjectDetail007 extracted folder. Click catpack.exe. It packs everything into a catpack.cat file. However, that file is only 187mb big. I cut it out, paste it into the SF2/objects folder; rename to ObjectDetail007.cat When I start SF2, my cockpit works but my skins are missing. I think what is happening is that catpack is packing all of the "files" but not the "folders" in the objectdetail007 folder. The folders are all the skins. I'm not sure what procedure I should be following to get everything in the objectdetail007 folder to pack into the .cat file. It's for Strike Fighters 2: Vietnam.

Hey guys, thanks for the help! I've finally gotten around to this again, and I managed to get it to work. Edit- almost...when I pack it and put it back into the main objects folder, my F-8s are completely black- no paint, decals, etc. The cockpit FOV works, though :) Any idea why the skin isn't showing up?

The only mods I have are the Nato fighters 4 and the Vietnam air-ground war expansion. I don't spend enough time modding to remember how to do it everytime I see something I like, so the complete one-click mods are the ones I tend to go with. IMHO, the Vietnam air-ground war expansion is the best expansion ever. With the green-hell, new campaigns, and all the aircraft, it makes the Vietnam campaign a completely new experience. If I could recommend only one, that is the one that would get my vote!

Man alive you guys rock. I am specifically looking to mod Strike Fighters 2: Vietnam, the whole enchilada version that was for sale about a month ago bundled with the whole SF2 series. I have that catpack utility and have used it to resize the text windows and all; it's figuring out WHERE that cockpit.ini file is (for example, the cockpit.ini for the F-8 and F-4 versions) that is kicking my butt. Everything else you guys said makes perfect sense. Once I know how to find the cockpit.ini I am looking for (ie. F-8), I can use that info to mod other pits as required. Thanks!!! edit- also, if any of you guys have modded your own pits and have some values you really like personally, please share if you don't mind. Like I said, the F-8 and F-4 are the two jets I'm flying a lot of right now, and the view limitations are tough in a dogfight.

Hello all. I've been searching all over, but I just can't figure this out. First, can I increase the rearward fov in a cockpit, for example the F-8, somehow? The fov seems too restrictive; I want to be able to look further to the rear and further upward. Second, where is the cockpit.ini located? I have the catpack extractor thingy, but I can't find the file to open to extract the cockpit.ini file. I realize this is modding 101 to you guys, but I just can't seem to search out the answer; even google is letting me down! Thanks, Toonces

I've crash landed the MiG-17 with the nose gear up before. I don't think I've ever done a full gear up landing before though.

Wow, great interview guys! Thanks for sharing your story!

I compiled a tactics manual for the Phantom for Freefalcon 5 a while back. I got the info from some references I have; much of it is taken directly from the references- I didn't write original material. Some of the info that is applicable to the discussion is below: ***** The F-4 needs to have performance (read: airspeed) before entering a fight. Furthermore, energy management is critical; lost airspeed requires pre-planning to recover. The Phantom is a fast, powerful jet, but if you’re relying on your throttle to pull you out of a bad situation you are already way behind in a fight. We have three measures of performance available to us in the cockpit: Mach Number, True Airspeed (TAS) and Indicated Airspeed (IAS). In a tactical engagement the only measure with is important to us is IAS. At a specific IAS, whether we are high or low, the aircraft is capable of virtually the same performance. As a rule of thumb, you should always strive to maintain 450 KIAS minimum on the F-4 in a combat environment. At 450 KIAS it becomes aerodynamically possible for the F-4 to pull 6 ½ G. At this speed the F-4 can match the G availability of the MiG-21/19/17 and most other fighters. Below 420 KIAS the F-4 becomes G limited; anything below 420 KIAS is essentially unusable airspeed. In contrast, an aircraft like the MiG-17 is turning best at about 350 KIAS. While the F-4 is thrust limited compared to later generation fighters, it still has tremendous thrust availability and excellent performance in the vertical plane. Provided you have 250 KIAS when pointing straight up, the aircraft will fall through the top of a loop without any problems. If you have 450 KIAS on your aircraft, consider using the vertical plane. Trade airspeed in excess of 450 KIAS for altitude and avoid the huge radius turns that will result from flying at 500 KIAS or more. Along with the airspeed indicator, you will become intimately familiar with the angle of attack (AoA) gauge in the F-4 Phantom. Fortunately for us, the AoA is displayed in the top left of the HUD in FreeFalcon 5; this partially compensates for the lack of physical cues (like buffeting) that indicate units of AoA in the real jet. In the real jet, 11 Units AoA is buffet onset. Because buffet isn’t modeled physically, perhaps the best use of this number is as a gauge of your opponent’s performance in an F-4 v F-4 engagement. Proper AoA use in the F-4 is vital. Two numbers to commit to memory are: 16 Units = Max sustained turn performance – Hard Turn 20 Units = Max instantaneous performance – Break Turn At 16 units the aircraft is turning best and sustaining performance. At 20 units the aircraft has very high induced drag. The aircraft’s performance washes off at the alarming rate of 100 knots in 7 seconds! There are, therefore, only two occasions when the aircraft should be pulled into 20 units: 1. If an opponent is inside of your lethal cone, with his nose pointing toward you, and you have no option but to BREAK into him. 2. You are attacked without having fighting performance on your aircraft. It is no good trying to turn with another aircraft when your speed is down in the 350 KIAS region. This might be the one occasion when you have no option but to break into your opponent using 20 units and pull the throttles to idle. One advantage the F-4 has is that with a high angle of attack and idle power it will slow down quicker than most other aircraft. In this method it may be possible to force your adversary into an overshoot situation, and perhaps out ahead of you. Now think about escaping, before his wingman comes into the picture with you at less than 200 KIAS.