Skyviper

CombatACE Spotlight: Interview With Pcpilot By Skyviper In today’s CombatACE Spotlight we’ll focus on Pcpilot. He’s a veteran of the United States Navy, a mod developer and has been here at CombatACE since 2002. He was also among the first group members to arrive here when CombatACE was first started. Thank you, Pcpilot, for taking the time to do this interview. So, Pcpilot, can you tell us a little about yourself? I was born in Jacksonville, Fla. in 1957. My family moved west to Arizona when I was 6. Eventually I joined the Marines on my 18th birthday in '75 with a high school buddy and went to San Diego for boot camp. On graduation we were sent to Camp Pendleton. But humping hills on frosty, foggy mornings wasn’t my idea of fun. I had always loved ships and wanted to see the world so the equation was easy for me; I shipped over to the Navy late in '77. I had originally thought to be an AW, (anti-sub warfare) but wound up in deck department as a boatswains mate. Loved it; I was finally a real seaman. 6 years, 2 ships, 3 deployments and a marriage later I found myself re-entering the civilian world with an able seaman unlimited license. Now nearly 30 years later I am living free in Montana, with a good job and a sweet wife who is the love of my life. That is awesome. Do have any fond memories of being in the Navy that would like share? I'll never forget my shipmates, some of whom I still stay in touch with. We shared long mid watches and flight quarters, cold refuelings and replenishments at sea, rainy sea and anchor details, and many a fun night in port; can you say Subic Bay? I was commended by an admiral for my small boat handling and seamanship taking a sick sailor off the submarine USS Thomas Jefferson with the motor whaleboat after a typhoon in the Sea of Japan. We chased Russian subs and warned away Iranian F-4 phantoms in the gulf. Got to see the Parthenon and visited Austrailia. Walked the streets of Pompei, Tel Aviv, and Yokosuka. Watched B-52s do the dumbo walk over an island off Guam. Felt the heat from the blasts a mile away. These and a hundred other memories I'll carry with me till the day I die. You have certainly visited some truly amazing places. So, what interest you about aviation? I’ve always wanted to fly, to get my license, and never have. May still yet God willing. Just the thought of being in flight has a romantic twinge to it doesn’t it. The poem High flight by John Magee has always been special to me. What is your favorite aircraft and why? Well, there are 3 if I may...The F-14 Tomcat, power incarnate, maneuverable, just plain awesome. The F4U Corsair, no more rugged, dependable Marine aircraft ever flew. Just the sound of that engine sends chills down my spine. And, lastly, the piper cub. Simplicity and the suggestion of man putting on a small machine to actually fly, like the birds, seat of the pants. Totally cool. What got you interested in flight simulation? If I don’t have a license, this seemed the natural alternative. A natural alternative indeed. Do you remember the first flight sim you ever played? A good friend introduced me to computers back in '94. On his computer he had secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe. I didn’t stop learning and working on computers and building them until I could play that sim on my computer. I’ve that you’ve been a member here since 2002. What motivated you to arrive at CombatAce and stay over the years? I was member number 66 so yeah, I’ve been here awhile I guess. Honestly, guys like Madjeff, Dave, Eric, Wrench, Nesher, Mannie, Fates, and a hundred others. Guys like these are salt of the earth as far as I’m concerned. And we all share a common interest; flight simming. I know CombatACE used to be called BioHaz years ago. How did you feel when BioHaz changed into CombatACE? Honestly, I was glad to see it. A little sad Biohaz couldn’t continue, but it was taken over by a top flight team who has lovingly carried Biohaz' legacy to ever greater heights. I still actually have an old Biohaz beer stein I bought back when madjeff started selling swag to help keep things afloat. When did you start modding? I realized how easy it was to make my own hangar screens for Strike Fighters, and then decided to share them. Gee, I think that was sometime early on, around 2004 or 5 I think. What does modding do for you? Is it something that is relaxing, is it a neat hobby etc? It’s like when I was a kid and building models. It’s like a grownups toy you can play with and change around. It can be frustrating at times but I get a lot from it, especially when I research what I am doing. So you could say it’s a learning tool also. And the feeling of seeing a skin you made on a plane in game is just plain cool. You released a file in 2005 called the Pcpilot’s photo pack. It’s your most downloaded file with 1,357 downloads to date. What inspired you to make that mod? I wanted to have more choices for pilot pics. We needed some opfor pilots too since we had learned to make the Migs flyable in SF. How long did it take you to make it? Not that long. I looked online for pilot pics, re-sized them to the games' dimensions, put it all in a pack with a readme, and VIOLA! What modding tools do you use and why? The internet for research and PaintShop Pro 7 for editing images or painting skins. PSP7 is pretty simple, flexible, and powerful. What is your favorite mod that you have created? I was really pleased I actually got a campaign functioning with the Solomon’s Campaign. It actually seems to work pretty well and I still play it. What is your favorite mod that you did not create? Two old favorites actually, green Hell and Wrench's WW2 pacific terrain updates. Provided you have the time and resources. What mod would you like to make? It’s been awhile since I’ve done some skins and wouldn’t mind doing a few for the TMF corsair. Who is a Modder, or Modders, you admire or has inspired you to start modding? Honestly, Wrench. That guy has bent over backwards to keep SF2 still viable. With all the updates and patches from TK over the years constantly causing us to redo mods, especially terrain, he has been absolutely awesome. He has kept our game alive with all his efforts. Hats off to Wrench. I’m sure Wrench would be glad to read that. Do you have any favorite quotes or thoughts about being here at CombatACE you’d like to share? There have been some pretty pithy comments over the years. One of the things that keep it interesting around here I think. Some of those are unrepeatable, lol. Just visit the forums over time and you'll pick up something sooner or later, lol. Thank you, Pcpilot, for taking the time to tell us your story. Below are some photos that Pcpilot is kind enough to share with us, from his Naval Days. That’s all for today’s CombatACE Spotlight, have a good day and happy landings.

From Cinemaware: FUNDING 98% / $1,500 remaining!! JOIN THE 56TH AND LET'S TAKE OFF! Greetings everyone! This is a short, flash-update! Updated PC demo for Wings: Remastered Edition now available! Go to www.cinemawarewings.com to download! These are the enhancements & changes we have included: - New plane model with better textures in the cockpit - Camera has been positioned closer to the pilot for viewing angle more like in the original! - New, green ground environment in some missions - Some improved particle effects - Better, more readable font on the title screens - Improved take-off scene We wish we could do more with the small team we have while running this campaign, but these are the improvements we were able to squeeze in, so please enjoy! And, like always, please send us feedback - we do LISTEN! Heroes Live Forever! The Cinemaware Team

Okay so far so good thank you everyone keep on letting me know what you think. So far some of you are willing to learn how to paint ... Most of you are willing to learn if naked women are involved Though the naked women thing was there for giggles you can bring your own beer or wine Some of you have stated that you'd like to learn but time and money are preventing you from learning.

I bet they involve naked women and blowing something up *checks votes* Yep I was right.

I'm not going to give away a lot of details right now but I will say it would involve painting. But first I'd like to know what your thoughts are about painting and if you're willing to get your Bob Ross or your Picaso on ... or let your children (for those that have children) have fun making a mess with water colors. I'm working on something and right now I'm at a stage that requires a little input from you. So please feel free to leave me your thoughts and fill out poll. Thank you.

nothing. But I didn't the super hornet pack for SF2:NA and I also drove by a Holiday Inn Express.

I had this game I played a long time ago called Super Power really really old. But that game taught me about every last freaking country in the world. How? Because as my empire grew I needed to know where all my men were and I learned all of those little countries in a heart beat. Now I couldn't tell you what they are now I don't play the game anymore. I cotinue to ramble off topic ... more about the game so I placed in a spoiler.

CombatACE Spotlight: Interview With Wingwiner By Skyviper Today we shine the light on Wingwiner. He hails from Poland and has been a member here since 2006. He released a number of flies over the years and just recently he's a released a helpful mod that we'll cover later on. Thank you Wingwiner for taking the time to do an interview with us. So, please tell us, what interests you about aviation? I’m interested in old airplanes (cold war era) and aircraft combat advantage over ground-based vehicles. What is your favorite aircraft and why? My favorite aircraft is Mig21 and A7 Corsair. But in the past I loved the A-10 thunderbolt also. Why? Because every two years, in my city Radom, (Poland), there is an Airshow. So I can see many Migs in the air! I also like the A7 because it can take a lot of bombs and missiles. What got you interested in flight simulation? I love the freedom of flight over miles, I like virtual reality where I can create everything myself. Indeed flying milies and miles over virtual landscapes is neat. Do you remember the first flight sim you ever played? The first flight sim I played was the Novalogic F-16 game. It was not possible to make changes or mods. What motivated you to arrive at CombatACE and stay over the years? It has been many years, so I don`t remember when and how I found CombatACE forum. I don`t play any another flight sim, Strike Fighters is immortal [awesome or really good] software. I like to share my mods, because I use hundreds of other people’s mods. You’ve just released a mod the Experimental Cockpit for Any Aircraft. What inspired you to make that mod? I wanted to have a cockpit which uses different units of flight parameters. It is necessary for me for testing aircrafts values, and when I want to build some terrain map mods. How long did it take for you make it? This cockpit is very old mod, but [recently] I added many useful indicators, so I don’t know how long I worked on it. When did you start modding? Many years ago. About 10 years ago (for Strike Fighters), I suppose. But I created mods since 2001 for other games. What does modding do for you? Is it something that is relaxing or a neat hobby etc? Modding is my hobby, and I like to overcome difficulties when I want to do something new. What modding tools do you use and why? I use Autodesk 3d max and Photoshop. I know this software for many years and I like them. Thank you Wingwiner for taking the time to do an interview with us. If you'd like to check out Wingwiner's experimental cockpit tool you can download it here. Please read the download instructions as well as any associated readme files to get the most out of the download. Enjoy your holidays and football games!