Herr Prop-Wasche

A bump just in case some users of the FM mods have not seen this already.

We here at Combatace prefer to "run mild."

I understand, Olham, my friend. I was just pointing out for others that I hadn't done anything to make the engines even easier to damage. It would be nice if the devs could cause the engine damaged sound to trigger after the engine had been damaged by a certain amount instead of just one bullet, but I think that is hard coded into the sim. Pol also said that P4 is different in many respects, which makes me think they have re-thought the entire damage model.

THIS is the key point. ANY damage (even a single bullet) triggers the engine damaged sound. However, the clanking, damaged engine sound does not mean that your engine is going to fail. It's just an indication that you have been hit there. The real indication your engine is going to fail is a substantial loss of RPM's at full throttle. Here's a test: Disable the mod and fly a mission against a two-seater. Allow them to hit your engine in two bursts. Disengage and then fly around and time how long it takes for your engine to die. Now, enable my mod and fly the same mission. Measure how long your engine lasts after you get hit. The time should be longer because the Alb engine in my mod has roughly 7 times more hit points than the OFF version. For those of you debating on whether to try my mod or not. Note that just because the engine in my mod has more hit points does NOT mean that it takes 7 times as many hits to destroy it. I have also adjusted the values that control bad events such as oil leaks and fires so that these events happen LONG before your engine has lost all of its hit points.

The more hit points, the "tougher" the component, so I don't think he means he wants me to reduce the hit points. Without expertise in GMax, I can't do anything with the size of the hitboxes, so that is up to the devs for now. I'm also not sure about reducing the hit probability, because that risks making it too hard to get hits on the engine and making the aircraft hard to destroy. I do know that my DM has done nothing to make the engines less sturdy or easier to hit--in fact, it should be the opposite, so I'm not sure why Olham seems to be having such difficulty against the two-seaters. Perhaps because the two-seaters are also tougher to shoot down means that you have to remain in their line of fire longer, so a greater chance of them hitting you?

I did not increase the engine hit points, although I did some adjustments to the threshold values so the engines may be a tiny bit tougher than before. I also prefer to use my reduced accuracy rear-gunner mod to make two-seater attacks a little less risky, though still very difficult. If you wish to use my rear gunner mod, you will have to install a second version of JSGME in your OBDSoftware folder in addition to the one already in your OBDSoftware\CFSWWI Over Flanders Fields folder. A second copy will not interfere with your installation of OFF. You just have to remember where to put the appropriate mods!

Update 1.1 to the HPW Ultimate Damage Model has been submitted to the administrators for approval and should be available soon for download. Here is a list of some of the major changes to version 1.1: --Forever flying flamers bug squashed (mostly). --Hit probabilities for aileron, elevator, and rudder cables reduced substantially so that hits to cables should be much less frequent than before. Hit points for all cables also increased slightly. --Hit probabilities to pilot and center fuel tank adjusted slightly. --Hit points for ailerons increased by approximately 150% and threshold values adjusted. --Minor increase in wing tip strength. --Hit probability to landing gear reduced by 50%. --Minor adjustments to threshold values for engine, oil reservoir, and center fuel tank. --For DH5 only, chance of fire and explosion to auxillary fuel tank removed and replaced with fuel leaks. --For Spad VII and Spad XIII only, increased wing hit points by approximately 5% to reflect sturdy reputation of Spad series. The most important changes are the fix for the flamers bug and the increase in aileron strength. Installation with JSGME is the same as before. You may wish to disable and delete the original version of the damage mod after you have installed this new version. Please let me know if you have any questions or problems. Happy flying!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Stay tuned for a special announcement involving an addition to the FM involving the Spad series that Panama Red and I have been working on. Many of you will remember Panama Red from his fantastic work on the FM for Red Baron 3D. He has agreed to help me out in developing and testing several more additions to the FM. Our first project involves the Spad VII and XIII, which currently only have two FM models. I won't say anything more about that until a little later. :wink:

Hello, gang! I'm almost finished tweaking and testing an update for the DM and hope to have it released on Sunday. Most of my work has been spent working on a fix for the "perpetual flying flamers bug." While I have not been able to completely stomp out the bug, I feel I have made good progress reducing it and making it less noticeable. While not guaranteed, aircraft that catch on fire seem more likely to go out of control now. Other changes involve an increase to the hit points for the ailerons and wing-tips, along with adjustment to the threshold values so that damage effects and the final "break" command are roughly the same as in version 1.0. Cable hit probabilities have been reduced so that hits to rudder, elevator, and aileron cables should be much rarer now. Hit probabilities to the landing gear have also been reduced. The overall result should be both AI and human controlled planes that remain almost as maneuverable just before total failure as they are when they are undamaged, making for longer and more intense dogfights. Aircraft that have been hit only a couple of times and totally stop maneuvering should now be much rarer unless the pilot has been disabled. Finally, one miscellaneous change involving the Spad VII and XIII to increase the wing hit points so they are not so easy prey anymore. I hope that this will be the last of my DM updates for awhile. With the fix to the flamers problem, I think the DM is absolutely my best effort yet. I hope you will enjoy flying with it.

I finally had a chance to listen to your narration and liked the video even more. Really adds to the atmosphere of the piece. The words of a professional doing his job, but still with his humanity intact. Bravo!

Who are you calling a dirty wore?

There are too many flamers in my latest Damage Mod. However, I am working on an update which should reduce them substantially and reduce the number of "ghost" flamers.

My heart goes out to the people of Norway and anyone else who has been directly or indirectly affected by the actions of this obviously unbalanced individual. Although I am personally opposed to the death penalty, I can't imagine that according to one source (unconfirmed) the maximum sentence he can receive is just 26 years! This person should never be allowed to live in freedom ever again.

All is not lost. Jobs are out there--somewhere! Congratulations on your job, Widowmaker, even if it does cut back on your fishing. Just as long as you don't carp about it!

I don't know, Olham. Do you care to volunteer to try it?

I think you will get credit for a kill if the airplane crashes, the problem is that some flamers take a long time to crash! Actually, all flamers eventually crash, but it can take a very long time unless you shoot off a wing. As Elephant said, I am working on a fix, but with the new Ultimate DM, it is proving to be difficult. Looks like the only solution will be to significantly reduce the chances of an aircraft catching on fire. Pity, because it adds a certain gut-clenching feeling to the game to see a wingmate or an opponent going down in flames.

Thank you Panama Red. I can confirm that this solution does, in fact, work. Elephant, are you sure you have to exit the game for every mission after the first to get both the skins and the FM? I have not tested this yet, so it still may be possible to fly a second mission in the same campaign without exiting the game. Of course, it only takes a couple of minutes to do so, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Ah, the mysteries of the computer and computer programs!

Sure. Show 'em if you got 'em.

What were your two error messages? Were they from JSGME or OFF?

Same version as mine.

With or without the work-around?

I agree that trees are nice, but the first picture of the town is simply brilliant! There are many towns in France that would love to use that as a postcard.

Thank you, Spyros, sir.

Don't get your hopes up yet, Elephant! I was as surprised as anyone when he told me he had a possible work-around. I tried it and it seemed to work, but before I wrote back to him to confirm it, he wrote to me to say he couldn't get it to work! So, we still have a little mystery to sort out.