toonces

Unknown, There is a version of that mod in the Strike Fighters 2 downloads section. It is absolutely amazing. Simply stunning- I cannot recommend it highly enough. @Nico, WoV2 means Strike Fighters 2: Wings over Vietnam. It will say on the opening screen either Strike Fighters 1 or Strike Fighters 2. It is important to note which version you have when seeking help as they're a bit different.

That's it- the HUD data .ini. I think if you browse around in there, there's a way to change the size of the info boxes. You can make it really small, change the font size and/or color, stuff like that to make it less intrusive or eliminate it altogether.

unknown, You can turn off that speed bar thing. I don't remember how, but it's not hard and someone will chime in with the way to do it. I just remember you have to open one of the config-type files with notepad and edit the font size- I think if you make the font size "0" then the box won't show up anymore. You can also do the same thing with the cone and targeting diamond. A long time ago I did this so I'd have a tiny little cone to help me keep oriented against the enemy without it looking too "gamey". Since my return to this game, I just fly with the hard settings and accept that I lose sight of the enemy a lot. I wish there were a way to increase the FoV to the rear; it seems far to restrictive too me.

I didn't last too long either. I had two campaigns going; one a F-8 pilot in Linebacker 1, the second an A-4E USMC pilot in Easter Offensive. The A-4 pilot got through 3 missions. On the fourth mission I took it down a bit too aggressively to dodge a SAM and drove the jet into the water. I just wasn't expected the controls to be as heavy as they were with all the ords on the wings. The F-8 pilot bought it on the 3rd mission. I was flying a strike mission against Kep airfield. Wow, what an absolute mess. I took the flight in at 14k until 10nm from feet dry. Dropped the flight down to 200' with SAMs just going off everywhere. It was just silly. Got through the coastal SAM belt, took the flight up to 500'. Hit the seconds SAM belt near Hanoi and dropped back down to 200'. Ran right over top of a AAA site that just lit me up completely. Plane caught fire, climbed to 1,000' and punched out. Spent the rest of the war in the Hanoi Hilton. The SAMs are just brutal in N. Vietnam. I don't want to derail the thread, but is stand-off jamming modeled at all in this sim? It's absolute suicide over N. Vietnam right now in an F-8. Anyway, going to start a new pilot, just not sure what I want to fly yet.

In the mission briefing portion of the flight, select one of the BARCAP waypoints and set the loiter time to 0 minutes. Then you can fly the BARCAP for as long as you wish and it will automatically be scored as a success. You could, alternatively, ensure you "check out" with AWACS before you go offstation; however, I don't know if it will prevent the mission failure score. I've always used the 0minute trick.

FWIW, I have a horrible time with the views in the sim as well. I use TrackIR exclusively (never tried padlock) and I play with max difficulty, no labels, etc. The rearward visibility in all of the jets is just ridiculous. I feel like I should be able to see at least 15-20 degrees further back than the sim lets me. I guarantee you that if I had a MiG on my 6 I'd find a way to lean and turn in the seat to look over my shoulder. Also, I agree that the jets are very hard to pick up visually because they are so small. However, from my reading, the MiG's were pretty hard to pick up more than 2-3 mile away, so perhaps this isn't too unrealistic. I haven't experienced an problems dominating in dogfights, however SAM avoidance over N. Vietnam has been tough.

Don't tease me Mav.

Total War series (especially stock M2TW and M2TW:Crusaders) War in the Pacific Aces High 2 Falcon 4.0 (specifically Freefalcon 4/5)

Well, I couldn't get my VPAF working, so I went with an A-4E pilot ('Wake Island Avengers') flying in the Easter Offensive 1972 campaign. First mission a success! w00t!

Hello all. I hate to start a new topic on this as I'm sure I'm not the first one to have this problem. I recently purchased the SF2 combo pack. I installed the SF2WoV complete mod as per the directions. I am flying on an XP computer with an Nvidia GE Go 7600 card. The first problem I am having is a wierd white line that appears about halfway between the aircraft and the horizon. It is very noticable over water, but it is on land as well. It moves with the plane. It is almost as if it is finding a seam in the terrain, for lack of a better description. I tried flying in my unmodded SFWoI install and I have the exact same problem. My second problem is the trees showing through the clouds in WoV. Also, the clouds look very jagged, especially when they are low/close to the ground. I found a solution to the trees through clouds problem in the intermediate terrain modding knowledge base, but the SF1 cat extractor tool is giving me an error when I run it... So, I'm having a lot of trouble here. I've tried searching for a while, but I'm just not getting hits on the search terms I'm using. Thanks for any help. Toonces

Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you again for your help. I've been gaming on this laptop for about 4 years now but believe it or not, I never really knew about the advanced settings on my nvidia card. What a neat little utility that is! Anyway, I found that there is a setting there where you can override the game's settings. I'm going to be experimenting with it and see what happens, but I'm betting that it will fix my issues. A bit embarrassed, but I suppose it was worth it in the long run. See ya, Toonces

I'm in. Pilot will be Toonces von Cat. Campaign will be a Vietnam one, likely Rolling Thunder. I plan on flying the NVA side, probably a MiG-19 pilot. If I can't get the VPAF campaign to work, then I'll go with a USN F-8 squadron.

Ok, you guys have given me some great tips. Let me tinker with my card settings and see what I can get to happen. I will post results when I get them. Thanks!

Hi guys. Ok, a bit more info: the Nvidia card is indeed in a laptop. This laptop is about 4 years old. I updated the drivers last night (didn't fix it) and I checked that I have my dx version up to date. I'm using the SF2 combo pack. I installed the comprehensive mod into the Vietnam mod folder. I haven't done anything at all to the Israel install (SF2 Israel from the combo pack). Here are some screenshots: WoV: Note the jagged clouds. Note the trees shining through the clouds near the canopy bow: WoI: The white line I'm referring to is on the water. Now, if I need to change something in my 3d settings, do I do it in the graphics properties in windows (ie. right clicking on the desktop and then altering the properties), or is there a setting I can access in sim? Perhaps I need to change a graphics detail setting? Finally, yes, it was the skypat extractor I was trying to use. However, if the changes are already incorporated into the mod, then I don't see the point of goofing with the .cat files. Sorry, I'm a noob at this sim.

Wow, that is so touching to hear. There are so few people with which I can chat about my dad, and...well, I sort of thought I'd have forever to chat him up about all his experiences, you know? Anyway, I don't want to get too emotional and stuff, so I'll just stop there. You may or may not have realized it, but my dad was prior enlisted. He enlisted as a Private, went to Parris Island, and was a radar tech. He had two years of college before he enlisted and I guess they had a program back then that allowed enlisted guys with some college to go to OCS and get commissioned. He was a Marine through and through, and a seriously motivated fighter RIO. I had several relatives that were enlisted in the Marines, although they were probably too young to have run across you- I'll PM you about them. Anyway, I'll shoot you a PM with my email address and if you come up with any pics, you can post them here if you'd like. I am 95% positive that I have a model of that exact jet hanging on my son's ceiling now- built when I was a kid myself. See ya, Toonces

No worries on the PM, my dad's name is "Iron Mike" Loomis. He did a cruise with 333 from 76-77 with the Nimitz. I'm not sure the exact dates he reported or left. If you were there in early '77, chances are you two crossed paths. Semper Fi.

Hi Ravenclaw. I mentioned in your other thread when you posted this skin that my dad flew this Phantom, and I'd post some pics when I found them. Well, I found them finally and scanned them in. The first picture is of four of the Shamrocks flying in formation. My dad had this on his wall for as long as I can remember- at least 25 years. When my I took the above picture off the wall and out of the frame, I found this picture underneath. if you closely, dash-2 is the same buno as the skin you made and, although it is hard to read in this picture, the ship name on the Phantoms is "USS America"; this is the exact jet you skinned, shot in formation by my dad in, probably, 1975 or 1976, before their Nimitz cruise. Like I said, the amazing thing is that this picture was sitting behind the other one all these years, and I never knew it was there. I found this picture in a photo album with a handful of other pictures. I know my dad took this picture, but the Phantom escorting the Bear is from a different squadron. I don't know if it was standard procedure to launch Phantoms from different squadrons on intercepts, or if my dad was backseating with another squadron or what. Even though it's not a VMFA-333 Phantom, I thought you'd enjoy the picture of the Bear intercept. Finally, this is a pic of my dad who, sadly, passed away about 10 days after I earned my own wings in the Navy, almost 12 year ago now. There is no way I can describe the influence he had on me, and how much I still miss him everyday. Somehow, I think he would have gotten an absolute joy out of flying around with me in your skin. Well, that's it. Again, thanks for the skin, and I hope you liked the pictures. See ya, Toonces

My dad flew that VMFA-333 Phantom, but with USS Nimitz on the fuselage, not USS America. I'll try and find some pics and post them when I head home next month. Thanks for making that skin and posting it! It will reside on my HD very happily.

Hey gents. I assume that if you're reading this thread, you have a) an interest in air combat, and b) an interest in boardgaming. I have a couple of recent, in print games I'd like to suggest. 1. Downtown: The Air War Over Hanoi by GMT Games. This game simulates the air battles over Vietnam on a 'raid' scale of a few planes to a full-on Alpha Strike. The big campaign game plays out several raids a day over a week or so. It isn't as tactical as, say, Air War, but it does allow for alot of tight tactical decision making. Game turns are 1 minute of 'real' time I believe. There is a set of solo rules available for download which greatly enhance the playability for the gamer who has no partner... 2. Burning Blue by GMT Games. Same designer, same concept, but encompasses the Battle of Britain. No solo rules that I'm aware of. 3. Whistling Death. By the guy that did Speed of Heat (I think), a tactical game of WW2 air combat in the Pacific. 20 second turns. Very highly regarded, but too much time/reward for me compared to a regular ole flight sim on the PC. Finally, boardgamegeek.com has everything you could ever want to know about boardgaming. If nothing else, I'd head there and check out the Downtown page- it is probably the most interesting game to folks who are on this site and also have even a passing interest in boardgaming.

Great post Storm. I finished that book a few months ago. If you like the part about the Fresco, wait till you start reading about the Flogger. Man, that plane sounds like a total death-trap. I really enjoyed the intro too, where they talk about "buck fever" and how pilots would be so mesmerized by the sight of the MiG-21 coming at them that they'd lose the first 30 degrees of turn before they realized they needed to stop looking and start fighting...

Oh man, that was an awesome story!

Wagsled, I've been working on some tactics stuff with the Phantom, especially in later scenarios- say hypothetical early 80's. The tactics you described work very well against the MiG 17/19/21. However, I'm curious what your thoughts are when flying the Phantom against the MiG-23, and, especially, the MiG-29A? I realize that by the early 80's the Phantom was being phased out by the USN/USMC and USAF, however in the event of a cold war conflict that broke out in '82, I'm curious how Phantom tactics were evolving against these more maneuverable threats. For example, going vertical in a Phantom against a MiG-17 may work well, but if you go vert with a MiG-29A, he's just as likely to follow you up, dance around you, and then hit you when you're nice and bled out, right?

Hello all. Gepard proposed an interesting thread in another part of the forum in which he asked if members tended to fly for a specific country in flight sims. A question like this begs a further question to me- if you don't fly for a certain country, why not? So, rather than explore this question in his thread, I'll open it up here. Stiglr has taken the torch with this discussion in the other thread, and it is with him at the tip of the spear that I direct my response here. I posted this at another forum a while back, and I quote here: "Hi all. I'm reading book 3 in Toonces' Book Club ™: Endgame, 1945. I'm about 85 pages in. The book is basically about the end of the European theater in WW2 and its immediate aftermath. I read, last night, about the time towards the end of the war where, as the Russians closed on Berlin from the east, the Nazis began clearing out their concentration camps to prevent the Allies from 'finding out'; or, in many cases, the camps were overrun by the Allies. The author quotes interviews with survivors, soldiers who liberated the camps, journalists, Patton, Eisenhower, and others to graphically describe the horror of the camps like Buchenwald (sp) for example. None of this is exactly a surprise to me- I've read...not alot, but some on the European theater of WW2, and I'm aware of the Holocaust and the horrors of the concentration camps. I had the opportunity to visit Dachau back in 98. But, this really hit me in the gut. The absolute cruelty and inhumanity of the Nazis, it defies my comprehension. I almost feel like I can't continue reading the book. I put the book down last night and I sort of contemplated what I had read. And I started thinking about my gaming. I don't necessarily think one way or the other with respect to which side I game- I enjoy the intellectual challenge of playing both sides of a conflict. I don't game Europe WW2 much, I'm more of a Pacific theater guy. But, for example, I play Aces High and don't really dwell on what it means to fly a Bf-109 or drive a Panzer IV. I push counters on a board, but don't dwell on what the SS means for a particular unit. I find myself questioning that decision today. As wargamers, I think we can all appreciate the thought process of gaming a particular conflict from its tactical or strategic warfare perspective. We're pitting force against force. But how can I, in good conscience, game a conflict from the German side of WW2 with the goal of winning the war? How can I play a GAME that trivializes what 'really' happened to these people? By GAMING as a German, aren't I somehow, in some mental way, ....not advocating exactly, but...by winning, I'm essentially gaming a scenario that would have led to the utterly cruelty inflicted on other humans- or perhaps the extermination of an aspect of civilization. It's hard to put into words exactly. I just don't know if I can continue to game from the German side in this conflict. It just doesn't feel right. But then again, I'm sure this is just a visceral reaction to reading something so horrible, and that I'll get over it eventually. But today I feel kind of bad for having gamed this conflict. It's hard to articulate exactly. I realize it's almost impossible to bring up something like the Holocaust without going right to R and P, but I guess I gave it a try. I'll probably start another thread in R and P that is far more controversial. I just had to get this off my chest this morning. " ***************** Since writing that post about a year ago, I've more or less "recovered" from that feeling. I no longer have some moral objection to flying an Me-109 in Aces High, or taking up a MiG-21 in Falcon 4. My current Il-2 campaign has me flying a Japanese Ki-61. But, on the same note, if my father (a Vietnam era F-4 RIO) had died or become a POW in Vietnam, I might have ALOT of problems with taking up a MiG. If half my family had been exterminated in the holocaust, I might have alot of trouble taking up a German plane today. And if my legs get blown off in Iraq, I might have trouble flying for the Arab nations in an IAF campaign. Having said that, I don't have a problem with YOU flying those planes. And I don't have a problem with sims with those sides available. And...just like I don't condone stealing cars and banging hookers, I think GTA: Vice City is a hoot. I have gaming lines. I'm not precisely sure where they lie. But, from a flight simming perspective, I don't really have alot of limits on who I fly for- I fly the plane I'm in the mood to fly. But, I don't join "German-only" squadrons, and I don't get TOO immersed in that side....there is a line there that I choose not to cross. I DO think it's ok to bring your personal limits into video gaming and flight simming. Yes, they are games, but they simulate an experience, and it's my opinion that it is ok to find some aspects of that experience...not gamable for personal reasons. Stiglr disagrees, and I look forward to his rebuttal; and the rest of your comments. With respect, Toonces

I've been following this thread since you started it. I hope you're taking good notes; and I hope you can share what you did so even a caveman could do it! I'm totally stoked for you....and I'd like to copy this idea someday. See ya, Toonces

Two strong thumbs up here. It was a book that I literally could not put down. I really, really enjoyed the insights into flying the various MiGs. The MiG-23 in particular was a real surprise- sounded like a real handful of jet. Definately pick it up. It's fairly inexpensive on Amazon.