Herr Prop-Wasche

Welcome to BHaH, George! I'm sure you will find a fun and friendly community here. Lots of good questions. Let me see if I can answer them, in reverse order: 1. What happens with my DM and Hat in the Ring? Answer: I will have to check once I have downloaded the expansion pack, which I can't do right now because my credit card is screwed up for some reason at the moment. Arrghhhh! However, I assume that it will work fine. All you are doing is replacing one .xml file with another. 2. Gun accuracy: I believe that changing this setting increases the spread of your bullet stream. I don't think it has anything to do with the size of hit boxes. If you have comments or suggestions to OBD about the size of the hit boxes, I would recommend you post in the OFF General Help forum. They are very quick to respond there. 3. My DM: My DM was set up to correct some of the problems with the "hardcore" and "normal" DM that used to exist before patch 1.32g. IMO, "hardcore" was too hard, and "normal" was too easy. With 1.32g, OBD changed direction a little and eliminated the choice between two DM's. The current DM is somewhat of a compromise between the hardcore and normal DM that used to exist. However, I believe they made the wings a little too easy to shoot off with the new DM. There are actually two versions of my DM. The latest version is a "combined DM" which is a mixture of my DM along with OBD's and the DM of another member, Fortiesboy. Some planes will have my DM, others may have OBD's, and still others may have Fortiesboy's. I made this DM in order to give the player some variety in the types of damage he might see. If you don't like the idea of different planes having different damage models, you can try the previous version of my DM, which gives the same DM to all of the aircraft. This "evens out the score," so to speak, so that no one gets an unfair advantage. Perhaps you are most interested in whether my DM does anything to the hit boxes of the various airplanes. The short answer is "No." I'm not that skilled at that type of modding, I'm afraid. However, if you want to give it a go, go right ahead! As far as MP, the best people to ask are Stumpjumper, Axegrinder, and a few others. They have used my DM on occasion without any problem. The main thing you have to be aware of, however, is that everyone who plays a MP mission MUST have the identical aircraft folder, including DM, or it will not work. I think they solve that problem using Teamspeak, where they can talk to each other, live. As far as "best" DM discussion, you should be able to find that using the search function. Look for topics started either by me or Fortiesboy. Here is the link to one: http://forum.combata...__fromsearch__1 and another http://forum.combata...__fromsearch__1 Good luck!

Good to hear. Let us know how you get on, Siggi.

When are you getting the error message? I assume you were able to go into the pilots dossier and find your pilot and make sure he is active?

Sig, When i had to reinstall OFF a while back, I simply copied and pasted my old pilot's folder from OBDSoftware\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\campaigns\CampaignData\Pilots into the new install and everything was peachy! However, I was not installing an expansion pack, so your mileage may vary.

Found this link while viewing the links provided by WM and RAF_Louvert. WARNING: contains graphic images of dead airmen, but also extremely moving.

Also an owner (and fan) of SH3 with GWX, although I haven't played very much since getting BHaH. Looking forward to SH5, though. Looks nice, but we all know that looks aren't everything!

Are you locked on to another aircraft? Press the "next enemy" key or joystick button to see if your view shifts out of the bottom of the cockpit. Alternatively, press the key that has the tilde symbol (~). That will unlock your view and allow you to look around again.

Happy Birthday, old sod! Old Speckled Hen!? That's not a very nice name for the wifey who is treating you to a night out! Question is: will she have any other "gifts" for you? Woof, woof!

Cats--ya just can't trust 'em!

Congratulations, Mr. Bagger! I am expecting my first grandchild in late June.

GET IN THE HOLE!

Ditto!

Thank you everyone for the kind words. I am planning a small update to make the Allied flak somewhat more "dirty," but not by much. I'm still tinkering but should have something within a few days. Also, would anyone be interested in a slightly brighter sun to hide the infamous "Hun in the sun" on bright, relatively cloudless days? On clear days, I think the stock sun is a bit wimpy. This would not effect the sun on cloudy or rainy days.

Shameless bump!

Thanks, WM and Catfish! Yes, getting the color right is the trickiest part. What you see when looking at the palette versus what you get in the game can be quite different. Although the color palette appears to be light gray, the flak tends to be much lighter inside the game. I have a feeling this may have something to do with alpha channels, but I am just a duffer when it comes to the artwork part. I'll probably experiment some more, at least until OBD comes out with the "official" version.

Actually, it shows up fairly well, even against clouds. Each "puff" starts out relatively bright (some even with a brief yellow flash), then gradually fades to a dusty gray-white color.

Fellow OFFers. Awhile back, someone mentioned they wished Allied flak was white, as it was historically. Well, now you have your wish! I have been able to successfully create white Allied flak with just a couple of tweaks to the effects.xml file, which is located in your main OBD Software/CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields folder. Note that this mod has NO effect on German flak, so it will remain as black and scary as ever. Here are a couple of screen shots. I apologize for the quality, as I am not much into artistic composition, but I think it effectively illustrates the effect. BTW, my mod does not decrease the lethality of the flak at all. If you look closely in the pictures you can see that my aeroplane has a dead prop, courtesy of Mr. Flak: To get the new flak, simply right click on the following file, save it, and copy it into your OBD Software/CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields folder. Be sure to rename the original effects.xml file first. Finally, I should tell you that a very highly (P)laced (O)fficial source, (L)ol, has informed me that white Allied smoke will also be included in the upcoming OBD plane pack. So, if you would rather wait and get the "official" version, that is fine by me. But, the plane pack will be ready "when it's ready." My little mod is available now! Enjoy!

Nope. Just open the Fe2B_sqd.xdp file in a text editor. About 4 or 5 lines from the top look for "Category="tactical_bomber" and switch to "fighter_bomber," and you will be good to go. BTW, I taught BH this little trick, but whose counting?

Heh, heh, that's a little hint of something I've been working on regarding Allied flak. Here's another screen tease:

Bloody flak!

I believe you can hover or click your mouse over the aerodrome crosses on the in-game map and they will display a pop-up name of the aerodrome. This will assist some in locating kills for claims.

Glad you are sorted. Now, back to the skies!

Catfish, You can find your mine.xca file in your C:\Documents and Settings\***\Application Data\Microsoft\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields directory. Note that this is a separate directory from your game installation folder. One of those CFS3 quirks, I guess.

I'd also go with checking your power supply and upping your RAM. What is the wattage of your PS? Try upping your RAM another MB or two. After that, you can increase your virtual memory settings.

I look forward to more pics of your flying adventures and epic battles, Ras! One tip: try remapping your photo snapping command to one button instead of two. I use the "p" key myself.