pcpilot

I find it somewhat bemusing to see the question asked in the first place. But I think its another indication of the caliber of guy Carl is. His support and communication has been nothing less than outstanding. To me its a no-brainer.

This is a report by the International Chamber of Commerce... Intl Chmbr of Cmmc Notice that 21 seafarers have lost their lives last year and 71 others are missing. Below is the ICC's weekly piracy report. Read about some of the abortive piracy attempt descriptions. I suspect these are mere local amatuers. Bonafide terrorists would have not likely stopped with mere lights being turned on. Keep in mind too this is only ONE week. Weekly Piracy Report

Lol! Your busted GD... :D Thanks for the heads up. I visit the lock on forums continually too and you always seem to get the jump on me, hehe. Glad to hear its finally going to happen. Lock on is an outstanding sim.

I found this article concerning piracy at sea and its links to terrorists groups. Facsinating reading and a good heads up to a growing problem. Piracy in itself is a serious issue, one in which I had first hand experiance as a sailor back in the early '80's sailing the Western Pacific. The article expands however on the growing links between piracy at sea and terror groups like Al-queda. Take particular note to the NUMBER of attacks just last year which is something like 50% more than the previous year. Note also the intelligence reports concerning a growing "terror fleet" that could be used in an attack against ports, cruise ships, or oil derricks. And while the bulk of attacks have been in Indonesian waters, pirate attacks are now routinely reported in ALL waters, espesially the Caribean. Notice also the comment which made me take notice, of recent plans by a terror group to attack a British Man of War, the HMS Ark Royal! Take a look... WorldNet Daily.

I didnt always agree with the Gipper like when he fired all the union ATC people. But I always LIKED him. I felt he was sincere and honest and he always had a good word to say and seemed to know what was needed in America at the time after 'Nam. He got us back on our feet, lifted our morale and our spirits. He built a Navy second to none I was mighty proud to be a part of. I honestly beleive it was his policies and focus that brought down finally the iron Curtain and the fear of Nucleur holocaust that up till then always seemed to hover over us. And who can ever forget his voice as he quoted "High Flight" in memorial to the Challenger 7. He was true to his wife, to us, and to the country. A fine American whom I was proud to call my CIC. Rest in Peace compadre... Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds -- and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. www.presidentreagan.info

PM sent MJ. Mark, who is picking me up said we will be taking I-90 in and out of Spokane, so any directions should take that into account. Todd, if we have the time, Id love to visit an smokejumper base. I thought about doing that when I was 20. I had already qualified as a chutist as a civilian, was a cocky jarhead, and didnt have a lot of sense... :D Somehow, jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft into a raging inferno wasnt a natural act. ;)

Yeah Dutchy, that Pike was 28 lbs and 46 inches long, taken out of the Noxin resevior this last winter by Dean, a local guide and freind, who is in the pic there. MJ, Ill be flyin into Spokane as it was $150 cheaper than Missoula even though Missoula is closer by an hour...go figure... If your nearby, maybe we can setup a visit eh? Take a few pics and start a Biohaz "members meeting members" page, give the website a "homey" touch, hehe. ...homey...get it? homey as in bro...compadre...pal... ...Im so witty... B) :D

Leavin' Saturday morning for a week of fishin' and gamin' with me amigo in Thompson Falls, Montana's so-called "Banana Belt". I hear the Pike and Trout are doing exceptional right now. They may not feel quite so well on the end of my line, hehe. So try and keep the Naval forums chatty ok? ;)

Found THIS on the Subsim.com forums. Neal naturally cant say what was in the article so guess Ill be looking for a copy of this. I didnt realize the July issue was already out though at the end of May.

Lol, good pic NC. Im not a huge cat fan but Ive a cat I found as a tiny kitten wimpering in the bushes at school several years ago that I didnt have the heart to leave for the coyotes. Of course, I couldnt pawn him off on anyone at school, youd think at least ONE of thoase women teachers would have a soft spot, but despite all my best heartstring pulls they refused. Sooooo, I brought the little blabbermouth home. Wasnt thrilled at first, I never heard a cat talk so much. Then there was the dishes in the drainer one night... But at a year old, he was still alive and well so I named him Isaiah because he came out of the wilderness like an old Bible prophet and had a LOT to say, hehe. Now about 6 years later, Ive actually grown fond of the rascal now. My plans to put a perch colored sweater on him, thread a large hook thru the sweater, and use him as Pike bait in Montana have been put on hold... ;) :D :P

BITE your tongue Firehawk... :P :D

Deployments can be pretty exciting, and more than a little confusing. Did a few myself so some advice...Make sure your weapon is clean, your gear squared away and ready to move at a moments notice, keep your eyes open, shut your mouth, and listen to every bit of detail and info from your sgt. Sounds simple doesnt it, but youd be surprised how many DONT get it. ...oh, and good luck pal. Keep us posted and if you need anything at all drop me an email at pcpilot@nethere.com, or PM me here at Biohaz, Ill get it for you. :o ;) Semper Fi...

I used to listen to the good Dr. on occasion when he was aired on KGB-FM here in San Diego back in the early '80's. Ill hafta check out the link... ;)

Gamespot has reported that SH3 has won "Best of Show" simulation at the E3 convention! Read their article below... Silent Hunter III (PC) Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft The decline of the simulation genre was hard not to notice at E3; only a handful of simulations were at the show. But the few simulations that were there all looked impressive. Ace Combat 5 for the PlayStation 2 is a lightweight, action-oriented sim with gorgeous graphics. And on the other side of the spectrum is Pacific Fighters, the next big realistic PC combat flight simulation from famed designer Oleg Maddox. But the simulation that impressed us the most didn't involve flying at all. Instead, the action in Silent Hunter III takes place under the sea. Watch the official trailer of this exciting submarine sim. The third game in this submarine series is visually amazing. In Silent Hunter III, you'll command a series of German U-boats from 1939 to 1945, and the designers have re-created the interiors--and the crews--of various U-boats in stunning 3D. You can stand on the bridge and interact with your crew, or you can climb up to the tower and look out over the beautifully rendered 3D ocean. They've even captured the view out of the periscope perfectly; waves wash over the periscope and temporarily blur the scene. Fortunately, Ubisoft is making Silent Hunter III as accessible as it is beautiful. The game will feature an action-heavy mode that will allow newcomers to simply lock onto enemy ships and launch torpedoes at them without having to fuss with all the details. Meanwhile, hardcore submarine fans will be able to ramp up the realism settings and enjoy a complex and rewarding simulation. The game has a very easy-to-use user interface that allows you to do everything from dispatching damage control teams to certain sections of the sub to calling up ship recognition photos to identify what you're looking at through the scope. Yet at the heart of Silent Hunter III is the thin line between the hunter and the hunted that existed during World War II's naval engagements. During our demonstration, we watched as the U-boat engaged the mighty Royal Navy battleship King George V at close range. The U-boat managed to land torpedoes in the battleship's engine section, and secondary explosions tore through the other half of the battleship. But before the U-boat could celebrate, a British destroyer rapidly closed the distance, firing its canon and nearly ramming the U-boat before dropping depth charges into the ocean. It was a scene that mixed exhilaration with nail-biting tension, and that is why Silent Hunter III is the best simulation of the show. The other Best Simulation Game finalists: Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (PS2) Heroes of the Pacific (PC, Xbox, PS2) Pacific Fighters (PC) PT Boats: Knights of the Sea (PC)

There were some minor glitches in the 9.5 installer that became IMMEDIATELY apparent. The team stayed up late last nite fixing it and VIOLA! there is a NEW installer out NOW called version 9.51. So make sure you get the right one. I played a game lastnite, the Iowas against the Yamatos, yes, you heard right. It was an ugly, brutal fight...The Japs...wait, I aint gonna tell you. you'll just have to read my AAR...hehe. :D Here's what William Miller had to say... Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 17:37:41 -0000 From: "wmiller144" <w-miller@sbcglobal.net> Subject: FSP 9.5 -- update on status..please read... Hello, We have fixed the installer issues, and have fixed the error with the ship count that caused the error messages that some players reported. We are currently working on fixing the Random Battle Generator issue, which at this point appears to be due to data corruption in the campaign file. When the randon battle generator issue is resolved, we will post a new installer. In order to avoid confusion, this new version will be named FSP v9.51 -- this way you will know for certain (by checking the splash screen) that you have downloaded and installed the fixed verision. We do thank you for your patience and understanding on this unfortunate delay in the release. William Miller Assistant Director\ Projects Developer NWS and later on... Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 19:06:08 -0000 From: "wmiller144" <w-miller@sbcglobal.net> Subject: *** FSP 9.51 now uploaded *** Helllo, FSP v9.51 has been uploaded and will be ready for download by the time this message is posted (this is both the English and German installers). To the best of our knowledge all reported v9.5 issues have been resolved -- both installer and game issues. Thank you for your patience, and we hope you enjoy the (now properly working!) game. William Miller Assistant Director\ Projects Developer NWS Allright...time for a big group hug...Im so haaaaaaaappy! :D

Congratualations grads, youve passed a MAJOR milestone. keep at school though and get that college degree, it REALLY helps. One chapters ended and another is about to begin, make your book a good one... ;) By the way chief, I graduated in '75... AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! That means Ima CODGER TOO!!! Well, at least YOUR the older fart, the picture proves it, lol... :P

The latest installment of Fighting Steel project, ie; version 9.5 has been released. Here's what Christopher Dean, NWS Team Director / Projects Designer, has to say about it... FIGHTING STEEL PROJECT V9.5 IS NOW RELEASED! *** DOWNLOAD THE PLAYERS MANUAL FIRST BEFORE INSTALLING V9.5 TO READ UP ON ALL THE LATEST UPDATES AND DETAILS! **** http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/NWS-FSP/files Go here to download the update; http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/NWS-FSP/links FSP V9.5 CD FOR DONATIONS START SHIPPING TOMMOROW AND MONDAY! To order your CD go here; http://www.navalwarfare.org/~content/fs.html NOW GO KICK SOME NAVAL ASS ALREADY!! ;-) Thanks for everyones support and patience and we hope you enjoy this major update to the FSP series! Take care Christopher Dean NWS Team Director / Projects Designer This is what the updated manual says for updates, note the new ship classes at the bottom! FIGHTING STEEL PROJECT UPDATE HISTORY FSP v9.5 UPDATES 1) Royal Sovereign class main gun changed to 20-degree-elevation version of 15"/42. 2) Horizontal (deck) penetration values shown for some guns were too low, this has been corrected. 3) Deck armor value on Scharnhorst (and Scharnhorst_15) changed to 5.1". 4) Front turret armor for IJN Takao and Agano corrected to 1.5" from the old 3" value. 5) Deck armor values for Mogami, Takao, and Nachi corrected (wrong modifier was applied in their calculations). 6) Ammo loads for IJN Furutaka and Aoba altered, they normally carried about 100rpg + illumination rounds. 7) IJN Yamato secondary turret armor reduced to 1.3", and only AP rounds now carried for its 6.1" gun. 8) Missing names on ship viewer for RM 'Doria' class added. 9) 2D Graphic for RM 'Abruzzi' (used for ship viewer) corrected. 10) Hit-chances shown in gunnery log now rounded to 2 decimal places, makes gunnery log easier to read. 11) New display system for structure damage, that more accurately demonstrates the way structure loss affects the ship. The structure damage display on the ship data tag will now show either a green, yellow, orange, or red superstructure 'icon', depending upon how badly damaged the structure is. Green is light or no damage (<=25% structure loss), yellow is moderate damage (26-50%), orange is serious damage (51-75%), and red is critical damage (76% + damage). There is a switch added in the 'DbzLib.ini' file that allows you to switch back to the original structure damage (with the squares showing 2% damage each): Change the line that reads 'TAGS= 1' to 'TAGS= 0' to show the original game structure-loss tag. 12) Progressive flooding. Ships can now sustain damage that causes progressive flooding, which like ship fires in the game can grow worse or be contained by the crew. Flooding levels are from level 1 (minor flooding) to level 5 (critical flooding). Nationality does affect the ability to control flooding, much like for controlling fires. Flooding will generally be worse the faster you go and the worse the sea state is. 13) Ships are now limited as to what speed they can safely sustain without causing additional flooding (assuming they have suffered any flooding damage). The ships new max speed will automatically be set to this maximum safe speed if you sustain flooding. 14) AI changes for AI 'fishtailing' in single-ship combat. This should also give more sensible AI ship courses while firing. 15) Fixed CTD at end of campaign (January 1943 date). 16) Searchlight on/off commands should work more logically. The AI will still not use searchlights at present; this will be added in a near-future update. 17) System hit modifier based on ship class and shell size added. 18) New punch thru routine added -- the odds of a punch-thru is now more in line with previous research done by Nathan Okun, and more recent research and calculations by the NWS staff. 19) Penetration values for HE shells now based on shell diameter and type of armor struck. This will give much more accurate penetration values for HE shells. 20) System hits now possible with dud/punch thru shells -- The odds of the dud/pass-through shell causing system damage depends upon a comparison between shell size and the size of the ship area hit: for example, a 14" shell dud/pass-through shell striking an unarmored 5" gun mount is very likely to knock the mount out, while a 5" shell hitting an 11" gun mount is much less likely to knock it out. 21) Flotation damage chance modified with range for hull hits -- at very close ranges the odds of obtaining a hull hit that causes flooding is decreased, while at longer ranges the odds of a hull hit causing flooding will increase. 22) Bombardment scores should now work correctly in bombardment missions. 23) The brief flash of ships name & icon in some situations (when it should not be seen) has been fixed, at least for most occurrences. 24) Obscure torpedo firing CTD fixed. 25) Shell splashes will now show up based on how accurate the salvo was: if the salvo is a straddle, the salvo will appear in a pattern around the ship, while if the salvo did not straddle it will appear in a pattern away from the ship, the less accurate the salvo the farther from the target the salvo lands. Please note that in very rare cases a "missed" salvo may appear near or around another ship (other than the target), but this has no affect at this point. 26) Scharnhorst 15 (15" variant) -- an error in the model caused only one gun per main turret to fire -- this has been fixed. 27) KM light cruisers (K-Class, Leipzig, Nurnberg) main battery ammo load out corrected. 28) New ship classes for FSP 9.5: RM Cavour BB, RM Soldati I DD, RM Soldati II DD, SU Sovetskii Soyuz BB, SU Gangut BB, SU Kronstadt BC, SU Kirov CA, SU Gnevnyi DD Note that the Soldati classes can be used to represent other RM DDs, as some other classes were very similar. The Russians are here! The RM navy is "Regia Marina", the Italians, who already have ships in the game, so these are icing on the cake gents. I'll post some screens as soon as I get the update, I ordered the CD, but Im gonna go ahead and download it today. The file is about 45MB so not too huge. Nice thing about older games, eh? cant wait! ;) :o

Your right, the Arrrrrrrrmy has Chinooks, the Navy has an updated version with a different landing gear arrangement called CH-46 SeaKnights. I was an Landing Signalman Enlisted, LSE, on the USS David R. Ray, a Spruance class destroyer and we would LAND them on our dinky little flight deck. I remember always looking up and watching the blades whapping the air right over my head 2 feet away from the closed hangar doors. Kinda made me wish the navy still had onship bars for use after flight quarters... Yeah Nick, thats about right. I flew in one several times, as a Marine and the last time as a LSE trainee at the Imperial Beach naval air station. The pilot took us all up for a "familiarzation" ride. You know, I shoulda know better being prior service. He gets about a 1000 feet up over the strip, cuts collective, and while one of the aircrewmen screams his fool head off saying we are all gonna die, down we plummet, pulling to an abrupt halt not very far off the pavement of the landing strip. I can triple guarentee that that bird STILL has about 20 pairs of hand prints in its seating framework and at least one vomit stain on its flooring...(wasnt me by the way, hehe)

I grew up reading about these guys. Manys an hour spent at the library or home or school reading about Ploesti, or Swienfurt, or Midway, Coral Sea, Guadalcanal, or the Marianas turkey shoot. Being a vet, I naturally appreciate all of us, but that generation of vets are and always will be my heros. I wish there was a way to write his family and give our condolences as a group here at Biohaz.

Took this movie ingame using an old version of FRAPS. Be aware that the resolution just plain SUCKS. Im still using WinME so my older version of FRAPS requires that I have to use 640X480 res ingame. The conversion process from avi to wmv is the other main problem working against the movie resolution. You cant even read the small text after converting the HUGE avi's to wmv files. However the movie still gives you an idea of the realism and sounds with the Pacific Aces addon for SH2. It also still shows ever so slightly things like the water effect which is real nice. The sounds are excellent and almost feel sometimes like your in a real boat or a movie. Im calling this movie "part one" as Id like to do another short movie showing a successful attack. All I have to do is, well, a successful attack, hehe. So be patient... :D You'll find the movie in a zip file posted along with this thread down below here. The movie file is called "DiveDive". Just unzip it to your desktop and click on it. Windows Media Player should open and start the movie. It is about 1.8MB and 46 seconds long. dive.zip

The mods I listed can be found on the Subsim.com website on their Downloads page. All I think are free with the exception of the Pacific Aces addon which can be had for as little as a $5 donation. You can pay thru paypal and get a email from subsim in less than an hour which opens a page with the link for PA and all the other mods I mentioned in the review. The webpage with the links is good for 48 hours. I have 56K and was able to download everything including the 144MB PA file in less than 10 hours. I did it at nite, starting the download before I went to bed. I use Getright to download my files when on 56K as it will redial and reestablish connections, it will disconnect and turn off the computer after its done downloading, and it starts my virusscanner to scan all downloaded files. The program is shareware that request you pay for it after a certain time of using it. I guess I shoulda mentioned where I got the mods, sorry. I also neglected to mention the game is still available for sale from Subsim and from Naval Warfare Simulations in their online Store. Cost $12. It was writers block...or was it a cramp?

Guess what! I found the problem...When I installed one of the service packs MS puts out to repair this crappy WinME product and try to fill the security holes, it changed one of the oleo32.dll files. This newer file was causing all my problems. I discovered this on trying to install the patch for Silent hunter 2 and it wouldnt go past the initialization of the install engine without an error message...cant think what the message was at the moment. I had had the same error message doing something else before so remembered it vaguely. On asking in the SH2 forum at Subsim.com about this issue, another member reminded me of the fix located on the MS website. I still had their executable fix file nessesary to replace the newer file with the original older one. VIOLA! Problem solved! Now all my links work, the patch installed like it should, and roses started growing outside my window again... :D Thanks for trying PG, appreciate it pal... ;)

The story of Troy is a cool story, but I havent seen any previews, dont watch TV but rarely. Dont mind a good movie though once in awhile. Loved Gladiator and Private Ryan. Any good battle scenes? Hope they minimized the romance crap... <_< ;)

Took challenge one and...well...Im ashamed... :( It doesnt give you a number score per se. You keep track of how many you missed yourself. The page said that If you got them all right, you are AMAZING! If you missed 1, you are ALMOST amazing, hehe. If you mis 2 or more, try to be amazing NEXT TIME, lol. Me? I guess Im a wannabe... <_< Cool link bhern... ;)

By the way Zagnut, if you havent already become aware of this, a fellow on the Ubi IL2 forums called Extreme_one has done a real nice US and British campaign. They include the appropriate voices, medals, and campaign folder added to the game. Ive been enjoying the US campaign he did of late. With the addition of the folder and medals, you can do your own US and Brit campaigns now too. These campaigns are installed via their own installer so everything is pretty easy. You can find them here...Netwings.org If THIS addon doesnt have a US campaign, something is most definately amiss. The Pacific war was mainly an American show. For all you about ready to complain, note I said "mainly". That doesnt preclude all the other countries and their significant contributions. China, Austrailia, New Zealand, Phillipines, and Britian come to mind without even trying.