Sky High

The lack of a skin only reinforces the beauty of the model itself. Perhaps we should just accept the original glitch as a cigarette scorch-mark? That black patch was the original problem, wasn't it-otherwise I'm too blind to see it?

I know this is an answer to a different question, but varied reports seem to indicate that, unsurprisingly, Windows 10 is not as welcoming to certain older flight sims as Windows 7. BoBII and EAW are prime examples. On the other hand, it is more likely to be conducive to newer ones. The TK ones seem to be in the neutral camp.

It's in the Download section here, under European Air War. If you're logged in and click on the 'View File' link above, it will take you directly to the afore-mentioned section.

The new 'graphics extender' mod, extending the view-distance so much further and improving the high-altitude views, should make the game more suitable for modern jets.

What I want to know: where the hell do I keep my matches?

Thanks for another comprehensive, and accurate, pair of reviews. The CloD and WotR people have a lot of work to do before they can approach the quality of what are three venerable simulations. At least there are standards that have been set. It is great to have the choice of them all. In fairness, WotR is also venerable, but unlike the other three mentioned, it is very technology-demanding. Although I thought it reasonably-priced, I didn't go for it for this reason but went back to EAW, instead and I've never stopped messing about with BoBII. I think it very unlikely that the latter will ever be equalled as a simulation of the Battle of Britain.

A beauty.

CLOD does not have good combat AI and the comms system appears not to be working. That's my impression, having bought it for a tenner some years back. My version of EAW is run at 1920x1080 resolution through DGVoodoo (via the D3D setting gives Horizon Fog for nVidia cards in Win 7), using Mr Jelly and friends' EAW Version 1.60 (a complete install-no game version required). The terrain is Saggin B's 512x512 HR Autumn terrain, the sky is Keibin's version 4, both of which I added myself and do not come with the 1.6 package (mods are available from SimHQ Tally Ho and MarkEAW's EAW helpsite). I run the game at 4x MSAA and 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling, in my GTX 660ti, which greatly eliminates terrain shimmering (I also have superimposed a third-party 'farm' mod on the terrain which removes the shimmering stock terrain fence). All in-game graphics settings are maxed out. There are three Saggin B HR terrains which can be installed to work seasonally. The JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler is very useful for adding things. I have also added various sets of speech files which I can enable via the JSGME, as the mood takes me. TrackIR, utilising mouse-emulation works quite well, even though a TrackClip (I use the Delan Clip) is preferable to the old 'dot' method. With 1.60, one can fly in the Western ETO, the desert, Malta, Iraq, the Spanish Civil War (with Spanish speech!), Russia and the Pacific. There are many appropriate speech files in the game, with the possibility of downloading Russian, Italian, French and Finnish speech packs. I note that, like myself, you prefer off-line, but multi-player is still an option. Since these fellows got the game code, the AI and flight models have been honed considerably. It seems to fly very well, although I speak from a position of complete ignorance, really. I crash, bail out and get shot down a lot, but the game is not impossibly difficult, by any means and there is, as you probably remember, a broad choice of difficulty settings to suit all tastes (I know you'll be aiming for the harder ones). I don't like the gunsights in 1.60, so I made a Historic Gunsights mod and I've uploaded it here.

What a great AI is built into this game.

Ah, the days before smoking bans!

Good thread this, even if I'm a little late to the party. Lima makes a great case for BoB2 and demonstrates why it deserves its reputation as by far the most accurate and comprehensive simulator of the Battle of Britain. I simply offer my case for European Air War as a credible contender for the silver medal:

Lima, you have a great knack for telling a story. Carry on...

I wouldn't have the knowledge to even guess whether this might be possible. Other regular visitors would know better. Modred is in the process of developing an updated Aces Over Europe addon. Would your purported scenario, if doable, have any application with it?

This game has morphed into something very wonderful. To me, it always had great, and quickly accessible, gameplay. Now, it has developed a graphic beauty that rivals any of its competitors. People that know these things better than me suggest that the flight models rival much more modern attempts and that the AI is second to none. It's a great cooperative achievement between its original developer and its users. Untalented people like me can only say thanks.

Just as well I wasn't involved in making these planes-I've now realised that I got the orientation of the pilot wrong by a whole 180 degrees. He could still make the tea, however.

With that hot water cylinder beside the pilot's right shoulder, one could always depend on having a mug of tea.

I think I could nearly build one of those myself with some junk lying around in the garage! Imagine flying in one?

VBH, I'd say you're right. So, I'm only wasting resources. It's interesting to hear about 'ambient lighting'-what potential might it have?

Of course. We are very lucky in such a relatively small community to have so many who are so talented. And generous.

Looks well worth the wait! Do what you have to do, and thank you. At this rate, I don't know whether we need to rename our game FE3 or First Eagles, Geezer Super Edition!

History is being rewritten!

From someone who couldn't do a mod to save his life, a request for a new Sopwith Tripe .

I would expect the effects, such as Bloom, fake-HDR and ambient lighting, to have an effect on the environment more than on the planes themselves. Frankly, I'm becoming increasingly sceptical whether there are any effects. There's nothing revolutionary going on, that's for sure. Still, anyone unfamiliar with European Air War, or who has lost contact with it since its heyday, should be pleasantly surprised at the graphical quality achievable in its present iteration, as demonstrated by various screenshots in this thread. Maybe, we might catch a new player or two. To be borne in mind is that, in this game, gameplay has always taken precedence over outward appearance and this remains so, but it is a major bonus to have it looking well.