Stephen1918

These are great resources, Quack. I am not going to incorporate these into Vogesen, yet. But perhaps I (or someone else) will make an updated version later.

I only use the LODViewer. I just made a "Utilities" folder on my hard drive and unpacked everything there. I don't know what .dll;s go with each .exe, but if they're all there it seems to work OK. After you launch the exe, you will have to use "File Open" to navigate to where your mods are installed - similar to the old CAT extractor.

I have had this problem before. The terrain has the wrong tga file for the alpha objects. Go into the terrain data ini and it will list which tga and bmp is used for each tile. If you have multiple tga's with the same name, you may need to do some trial and error.

Nicholas, for me, the data files are one of the tedious things that have to be done to finish the plane. It's easy to make mistakes, like forgetting to flip the signs, like you mentioned. If I make a mistake, I can fix it. It's only a mistake after all, everyone makes them. So, if you happen to spot something I did wrong, I'll fix it if I can. I've been trying to put revision dates into the data files I have revised. I have multiple FMs for some older planes and I really don't know which one is the most recent. I think we owe it to future FE users to keep things as correct as possible. If you send me corrections, I'll add them to the most recent version of my (ojcar's) FM and replace the file here. That way future downloaders will have the best available package.

Nicholas - Let me know if you find anything that needs correcting with my planes. I try to be accurate, but mistakes happen. I'll be happy to upload a revision with your corrections. Thanks Geezer, I'll keep that in mind. It's tempting to start a new project, but I really need to grind my way through Vogesen before I get serious about anything else.

The Vogesen terrain is very close to being finished, but I'm not able to work on it as much as I'd like. I still have a few cities to populate, and a few locations in the mountains to level, and then a lot of double checking. I have to make a few seasonal tiles, then get everything together and write the installation instructions. Not a lot left to do, but at this rate it will be few more weeks, maybe a month...

It's been awful quiet around here lately. Is everyone too busy, too shy, or have you lost interest in First Eagles? How about a quick post to let everyone know what you've been up to... The real world is keeping me busy, but I try to get here every few days. I'm still working on Vogesen, I have a few planes in the works, and I'm starting to look at Spanish Civil War planes. I've been playing the campaigns for the Eastern and Western Fronts...

I installed this in FE1 and was flying a mission in less than five minutes. This utility is extremely easy to install and use. Thanks for making such a great addition to First Eagles!

Congratulations on your birthday, Geezer! The models you have made for First Eagles have been great. I'll miss not having the Spanish Civil War. Best of luck in your new endeavor.

My real world obligations have been keeping me busy, and I haven't had a lot of time to work on Vogesen lately, but I have made some progress. The basic terrain and height map are finished, there may be some tweaking, but it's basically finished. Now I'm populating the terrain with objects, mostly eye candy stuff. All of Gepard's castles are still there. I've brought over the trains and bridges I made for Palestine, and some of the vehicles and buildings I made for Galicia. I also brought in the infantry lines and cavalry patrols I made for Palestine and Galicia. I've just started to think about the Movement.ini, and at some point I'll need to sort out all the elements necessary for the upload. Still a lot to do.

A few years ago, several people were making new effects for FE. Stary posted some nice effects back in 2009 (under WWI and Early Years - Object Mods) I learned a lot about making effects by studying those.

Thanks for the feedback, gentlemen. I will wait until it's completely done before I upload it.

I tracked down the Target Area Editor that Wrench recommended (It's part of Mues Toolbox - http://combatace.com/topic/87780-mues-toolbox/ ) but I haven't got it running yet. Meanwhile, I'm still placing targets using Notepad. Currently, I'm working on the trench line through the mountains. I'm trying to get the trenches to follow the terrain, with most of the devastation in the valleys, and with bunkers and AA guns on the ridges. I'm adjusting the tiles, adjusting the height map, and placing the targets simultaneously. It's slow work, but I'm making progress. I'm using some of Geezer's bunkers, and I made some new bunkers and AA guns for the mountains. From a game-play standpoint, the terrain is playable - all the airfields and military targets are placed. I need to do a lot of eye candy work - putting more buildings in the cities, adding ground objects to the airfields and bases, and making sure all the mountain targets are reasonably level (there are still some AA guns sitting at a 45 degrees angle.) And I need to make the seasonal tiles for the 5 new tiles I made. I'm expecting my real world workload to pick up next week, so I may not get this polished off until May. Shall I upload what I have so far? (It's use-able, but not perfect.)

The tugboat and barge are all one piece, centered on the boat's funnel. I'm placing the targets the old fashioned way, using Notepad. In the cities it's the only way I can see how things fit between the TOD buildings.

I know what you mean about how a project gets bigger and bigger. And it seems like every good idea leads to a lot more work. Right now I'm putting buildings into the cities - which for me is very tedious, a lot of trial and error. I'm starting to prioritize - some things will have to wait for a future version, or I will never get done. Maybe you could get Verdun good enough for now and plan on an upgrade later? I noticed in the stock Verdun Terrain, there are some target locations without any actual targets in them. I wonder if they ran into the same problem you have - trying to lower the frame rate without having to renumber everything in the target ini. Send me what you have for the IAF Campaign. If you made it for the Verdun Terrain, it may not fit Vogesen very well, but I'm sure it will be helpful. I'm am not going to fill the parts of Vogesen that overlap Verdun (not in this version anyway) so your campaign probably has a lot of places that are not on my map. I'm trying hard not to break Ojcar's Armchair Aces Campaigns. Adding new locations to the target.ini shouldn't be a problem, but I'm trying not to rename or re-position any of Gepard's or Ojcar's targets. My biggest problem at the moment is that I keep getting ideas for new ground objects, which are fun to make and become a welcome distraction. But then I have to add them to the targets in the target ini and the amount of work grows. I did make some new boats for the Rhine River, because it seemed like a good idea, but I have to limit that or I will never finish. (Thanks for the offer Geezer.)

Thanks Quack, I'll check it out. Until now, I've been using some maps I found online. Most of them just deal with the first year of the war, when there were major campaigns being fought in the area. After that, activity on the Vogesen Front seems to have slowed down and I haven't found much, but I know the air war continued. Are you planning to upload the IAF campaign and the Verdun Terrain? You mentioned them some time ago, but I haven't seen anything recently. Are you still working on them?

Jan Tuma's tiles do work in it. Except, I did make one new tile, I can make one to match Jan Tuma's tiles and include it in the upload. I am also placing AA guns in some of the farms and forests, I don't know if they will be intersecting trees when Jan's tiles are used.

I've been placing targets and roads in the Vogesen terrain. It overlaps the Verdun Map quite a bit - I'm concentrating on areas along the front line that were missing before. I'm using the Cambrai tile set so we can have a more-or-less uniform look for the entire Western Front, from the North Sea all the way to the Swiss border. I have the military targets (airfields, supply depots, balloon and AA stations, and trench lines) pretty much done - but I still have a lot of work to do in the mountains. Next I want to add more civilian targets - villages, train stations, factories and warehouses in the towns, etc. I'm thinking it will be a few more weeks before it's ready.

Thank you for this Ojcar! I appreciate all the continued improvements you've made to Armchair Aces.

AS you can see, I'm incorporating some of your forts and airfield objects into the terrain.

To clarify - it was actually my third or fourth mission of the campaign. But it was the first time I ever earned a medal. I was very proud. Capitaine, I think your solution is a good one for the game; and thank you for doing the many hours of work to help extend First Eagles beyond the Western Front.

I have contacted Gepard, and he gave me permission to make a revision of his Vogesen Terrain. Gepard did a beautiful job on the Alsace Valley and the Rhine Valley in the north. I will keep all his targets as they are. I will also keep all the targets Ojcar added - so Armchair Aces will still work. I am adding targets to the Lorraine plateau and the north-west part of the map. I will make some changes to the tiles, but not many. Mostly I will add a lot of the ground and terrain objects that have become available since Gepard first made the terrain eight years ago.

Nice looking plane Geezer!

It may take a while, but I usually get it eventually. Thanks for your help.