Stephen1918

A few weeks ago Mike Dora contacted me about a problem with the gunner in the RAF BE 2c. I looked into it and discovered some problems with the LODs and with model node names in the FM. I made some corrections, he did some testing and we worked out a solution. (His discussion about Aim Offset Parameters was related to that.) Since I was making changes anyway, Ii improved the skins a little and incorporated the hit box corrections that Nicholas Bell provided some time ago. Last night I uploaded new versions of the RAF BE 2c and 2e. The new versions have a much improved gunner, better skins and correct hit box coordinates. I replaced the old versions rather than make a new upload, so they're buried in the downloads section: http://combatace.com/files/file/14468-raf-be2c/ http://combatace.com/files/file/15111-raf-be2e/

Another project I had started some time ago and just finished - the Anatra D with a gun for the pilot. The stock Anatra D only had a gun for the observer. I have taken some liberties and made a version with a gun for the pilot, which I am calling a "field mod". This may be fictitious, but it's more fun to fly.

View File Anatra D - "Field Mod" The Anatra D was a predecessor to the Anatra DS. The stock plane was powered by a Gnome rotary engine and armed with a single machine gun for the observer. I have made a "field mod" version with a fuselage mounted machine gun for the pilot. Anades with additional machine guns are known to have existed, but I haven't found any photos of them. I added the gun for the pilot in what seemed to be a logical position. The Anatra D was used mostly for reconnaissance, but also as a fighter and light bomber. After overcoming some initial design problems, it entered service in May, 1916 and was produced in relatively large numbers. Many of them survived the war and were used in the fighting in Eastern Europe after the end of World War I. I have included three skins, two linen and a grey paint. A full set of number decals and a loadout for light bombs are included. I have also included my skinning templates for those who wish to make their own skins. Credits: My thanks to Ojcar for making the original data.ini for this plane. I have modified Ojcar's file to include the additional gun. Installation instructions: For FE1: Unzip the file and move the folder named "AnatraDMod" into the FirstEagles/Objects/Aircraft folder. For FE2: Unzip the file and move the folder named "AnatraDMod" into the FirstEagles/Objects/Aircraft folder. Then in the FirstEagles/Objects/Decals folder, create a new folder named "AnatraDMod". Move the folder named "D" from the Aircraft/AnatraDMod folder into the Decals/AnatraDMod folder you just made. Submitter Stephen1918 Submitted 05/09/2017 Category Other Entente Aircraft

I want to say that I consider Crawford one of my good friends here at Combat Ace. Although I admit there have been times when I simply didn't want to hear it, I must say that his comments have always been honest, accurate, and delivered with respect. I believe that nobody is above learning, so I try to welcome all comments. I don't approve of the "take it or leave it" attitude that some modders seem to have. Crawford and others here have helped me improve my contributions to FE. I hope that everyone here will feel free to suggest improvements to my projects, as long as you understand that I will decide if and when to make changes.

I agree that realism is important. There seems to have been quite a bit of improvisation during WWI, so I make a distinction between "Real" and "Realistic" This especially comes in to play when more detail starts impacting game performance, or when time becomes a factor (will a detail be worth the time I need to spend?) Also, I must admit that sometimes I do things just because it "feels' right, as long as it seems reasonably realistic. Of course, I have a much different attitude when I'm working professionally.

Ojcar - Good catch! I didn't even think of the SCW, but now that you pointed it out, I see the similarity. I'm adding it to my install of SCW. Crawford - Thanks for your comments. I did take some liberties for the sake of the game, and I added a spare tire to the side, just because I thought it looked good!

Thanks for the info Crawford. A good resource for me was the Wikipedia article - https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Руссо-Балт_тип_С- (No - I used Google Translate) Another resource (in English) is here - http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1/russia/Russo-Balt.php

I've been pretty busy for the last month or so, and haven't worked much on my big FE projects. But I did manage to get some little things finished. Today i uploaded two new armored cars. These were produced in pretty low numbers, but I'm adding them so we can get some variety in the ground forces. The Austro-Hungarian car was also used on the Italian Front.

View File Two Armored Cars for the Eastern Front Two new armored cars for the Eastern Front. Both cars were produced in relatively low numbers, I'm including them for the sake of variety. The Russo-Balt Type C was produced by the Russo-Baltique motor car company. About 15 were built. The armored car was built on a automobile chassis and had four gun ports, each with a Vickers machine gun. It had a crew of 4 or 5, had a top speed of 20 kph with a range of about 100km. The Russo-Balt Type C was used throughout the war and was used in the Civil War. The Junovicz P.A.1 was built on a truck chassis. There were different versions based on different trucks, about 5 were built. The armored car had six gun ports with 3 or 4 Schwartzlose machine guns. It had crew of 5, a top speed of 35 kph, and a range of 350km. The Junovicz P.A.1 was used on both the Galician and Italian Fronts. In First Eagles, the armored cars take the role of a tank, drop them into your ground object folder and First Eagles will randomly assign them to some of your Army Co-operation missions. Installation Instructions Unzip the file and open my "GroundObject" folder. Copy the folders named "AustrianArmoredCar" and "RussBaltCar" to your FirstEagles/Objects/GroundObject folder. Both armored cars use the same skin for damage as my other armored cars. If you have already installed any of my armored cars, you may already have the file. If not, copy the file named "DestroyedArmoredCar.bmp" into your GroundObject folder. Note that the "DestroyedArmoredCar.bmp" file should not be inside any other folder. Submitter Stephen1918 Submitted 05/05/2017 Category First Eagles - WWI and Early Years - Object Mods

I tried making a streamer as a pilot. No luck. The pilot does not have a built-in animation, the game engine controls his head motion, and it moves it 'way too much, about 180 degrees side-to-side. The streamer was swinging all over the place, not realistically at all. I think the answer will be a weapon/gun pod/fuel tank kind of attachment. Maybe Geezer will have more luck.

Last night I uploaded a new version of the Lloyd C.II. This was one of my first planes and I have learned a lot over the years. This version has better details around the nose, and better component structure. I have made all new LODs and all new skins. Ojcar has also revised the FM. http://combatace.com/files/file/12079-lloyd-cii/

Making something to attach as a loadout shouldn't be too hard (like the Le Prieur tubes) but I don't know how you would get the game to run the animation. Does anyone know how to make a weapon animate?

CrazyhorseB34 - have you tried Nippy's Dogfight editor for FE1 and FE2? It lets you select the types of planes (up to 4 types for each side) - but you cannot set targets or waypoints. I have used it for making simple missions.

Trotski00 - I have an M7/B.I in the download section. It's very similar to the M10E/B.II (with single bay wings) and it is unarmed. Bortdafarm has a B.I with two bay wings, so it's similar to the M10Z/B.II. Maybe those will work for you? Gterl - The "remove component trick" does work in FE1/Gold. I learned about it in the SF forums (which uses the same game engine as FE.) Search on Combat Ace for "remove component trick" and you'll find several threads that mention it.

I like this terrain! A great addition to the Eastern Front. Are you planning to upload it someday soon?

I only have two unarmed 2 seaters - the Fokker M.7/B.1 and the recent Farman HF.20 - there may be others that I don't know about. I know that other modders (such as Whiteknight) have modified the Data.ini of some planes to make unarmed 2 seaters, maybe they will upload their mods for us...

I made two 2 seater SPADs a little more than a year ago. They're available in the download area.

In another thread, Whiteknight06604 suggested an "eye-candy" observer carrying a gun. I uploaded some today. I made the skins using the stock FE pilot skins, so their uniforms should match. I also made versions with helmets to go with the helmeted pilots I made before. We don't have many unarmed planes, but I enjoy flying an unarmed recon mission occasionally. Dodging and weaving your way back to base must have been something a lot of pilots did in the early years of the war. My thanks to Whiteknight for making the suggestion and for beta-testing the observers.

View File Armed Observers for First Eagles When World War I began, airplanes were designed strictly for reconnaissance. They were unarmed and built for stable flight rather than maneuverability. Within a very short time air crews began to carry weapons. Observers with pistols or rifles became common until armed aircraft were produced. I have made a set of armed observers for First Eagles. The observer carries a rifle "at the ready." He moves his head, but does not shoot the gun. There is one for each stock pilot color, and one for each of the helmeted pilots I made before. A total of six observers. You will need to install the observers into the game, then make a change to the data.ini for each plane to make them appear in the game. The center point matches the center point of the FE Gold and FE2 stock pilot, so they should swap into your plane without any adjustment. If the plane uses the old style FE1 pilot, some minor tweaking may be required. Note that this only replaces the stock pilot and will not replace a gunner built into the 3D model. My thanks to Whiteknight06604 for suggesting the idea and for beta-testing the observers. Installing the observers into the game: For FE1 - Open my folder named "FE1" and copy all twelve files into your "Aircraft" folder. Don't put them into any of the other folder. The LOD names are the names of the new "pilot." The numbers match the FE pilot numbers so uniform colors will match. For FE2 - Open my folder named "FE2" and copy all six folders into your Objects/Pilots folder. The folder names are the names of the new "pilot." The numbers match the FE pilot numbers so uniform colors will match. Putting the observers into a plane: For both FE1 and FE2 - Open the plane's data.ini file. Find the section for crew (about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down). The Observer should be in SeatID=2. Change the PilotModelName to the name of one of the new observer. Save the file and fly. (You might want to comment out the original name and type in a new line, like in my example, in case you want to change back.) Example: // Crew --------------------------------------------------------- [Pilot] SystemType=PILOT_COCKPIT SeatID=1 PilotModelName=WWIpilotNew2 PilotHeadNodeName=head Position=0.0,-0.2,0.70 MinExtentPosition=-0.32,-0.41,-0.26 MaxExtentPosition= 0.32,0.36, 0.82 [Observer] SystemType=PILOT_COCKPIT SeatID=2 //PilotModelName=WWIpilotNew2 <--old pilot name PilotModelName=WWIObserver2 <--new pilot name PilotHeadNodeName=head Position=0.0,-1.0,0.70 MinExtentPosition=-0.32,-1.28,-0.26 MaxExtentPosition= 0.32,-0.50, 0.82 Submitter Stephen1918 Submitted 03/14/2017 Category First Eagles - WWI and Early Years - Add On Cockpits

I've been working on an early plane in which the observer shoots a rifle. Getting him to move and shoot wasn't any more complicated than making a conventional gunner move and shoot. (You were right, he pivots from the hips.) But he is part of the plane, I haven't figured out how to make an add-on gunner for existing planes. I like your idea of an "eye candy only" observer with a gun. I could make one holding a rifle "at the ready" (port arms) and moving his head. The pilot moves his head quite a bit, I don't think an observer would look good if he moved that much from the hip. I'll play with your idea and see what I can come up with.