baffmeister

CF-5's in Iceland. Credits to Paulopanz, Gerwin and Stary!

Regarding the collision points, I think the main areas to worry about are the nose, lower fuselage areas, lower tail area, and the leading edge of the wings, horizontal stabs, and vertical stabs. I usually give the wings and nose a quick check by taxiing into ground structures. The lower tail area can be checked on some planes with tricycle gear by over rotating on take off and see when the crash noise occurs.

Thanks for the comment, I have Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit . Still looking into the Dell specs for my rig but it may be limited to 8 GB maximum in four slots, according to the booklet that came with the computer. In the old days I would notice improved game performance when increasing the RAM but not sure if that still holds true today. Thanks Blaze95, I will play around with the other 340 series drivers a bit to check for improved performance.

Some progress with the GTX 750 at last. First thing to mention, my I3 Dell computer with Intel H57 chipset has never been updated. It's never been on the internet and I had SF-2 and some old DX9 games working so well with the old GT 240 card I just left things alone. After installing Windows 7 service pack one and a platform update called KB2670838 the "Mid Screen Shimmer" issue I had was no longer an issue. The general stability of the graphics was improved as well, things like flashing black bars when changing menu screens etc. The main issue that remained were "Jaggies" on the cockpit frame when panning across the cockpit view and a bit of a water ripple effect when viewing the ground. The oldest driver I could find was 335.23 and it was better than 353.62 and 353.30 but still annoying "Jaggies". Tried 340.52 and "Bingo", no more jaggies or ripples. I think with Service Pack 1 and the platform update my Win 7 install is about circa 2013. I doubt anyone else here has a computer that hasn't been updated but if so, the above steps might help. Still not real impressed with the performance improvement over the GT 240. Most testing has been done with the F-5E and Mirage F-1, both of which are quite resource intensive. Those are "must have" planes for me so the game settings I use have to accomodate then. All I seem to get with the new card is the view distance increased to VERY FAR [ not going back after seeing it] and the screen resolution increased to native which is only a small improvement over the GT 240. I guess it's possible I might have a bottleneck in the system somewhere, running a Pcie 3.0 card in a Pcie 2.0 system. Maybe running more RAM would help as well. Does anyone know if increasing the RAM from 4 to 8GB would help things at all? During all the driver changes I've been doing I came across this very handy and free driver removal tool. You can run it from the normal desk top and it will suggest restarting in "safe mode" and then, after you click yes, it will shut down the computer, restart in safe mode, and remove all the drivers associated with the selected graphics card. Then you can load the new drivers and restart manually. Here's a link: http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

Some comments I posted on another thread that may be more useful here: Well, for what it's worth, [not a computer guy] I recently replaced my GT 240 with a Zotac GTX 750 passive cooled [price was right, Canadian dollar sucks.] and have been totally underwhelmed by the results. The only game I've tried it with so far are the SF-2 titles and I had texture tearing with the included CD drivers as well as texture tearing with the newest drivers. Also, the newer drivers were stumbling sometimes to frame rates in the 5-10 range. I have been testing some very old drivers from 2014 and have had better results although I still get a "water ripple" effect when panning the view. The frame rate has stayed above 50 with the old drivers. Of course, I don't have a clue whats going on but maybe some of the newer cards don't work that well with older computers or maybe the newer drivers don't work that well with the ThirdWire games. If I find a driver "date range" that works OK for me I will pass along the info. New comments: Still underwhelmed but after trying some older drivers I've settled on the 353.62 for now. I don't get any texture tearing and the "water ripple" effect is almost non-existent. The main issue is what I would describe as "Mid Screen Shimmer" that is more noticeable at higher terrain texture settings. I'm stuck with terrain texture settings at MEDIUM to minimize the effect. That's the same setting I used with the GT 240 and it was far less obvious.

Well, for what it's worth, [not a computer guy] I recently replaced my GT 240 with a Zotac GTX 750 passive cooled [price was right, Canadian dollar sucks.] and have been totally underwhelmed by the results. The only game I've tried it with so far are the SF-2 titles and I had texture tearing with the included CD drivers as well as texture tearing with the newest drivers. Also, the newer drivers were stumbling sometimes to frame rates in the 5-10 range. I have been testing some very old drivers from 2014 and have had better results although I still get a "water ripple" effect when panning the view. The frame rate has stayed above 50 with the old drivers. Of course, I don't have a clue whats going on but maybe some of the newer cards don't work that well with older computers or maybe the newer drivers don't work that well with the ThirdWire games. If I find a driver "date range" that works OK for me I will pass along the info.

Geez, I think this plane is going to drag me kicking and screaming out of the seventies and into the nineties, at least with my "thirdworldish" fictional install. Here is a link that gives a general idea of the performance improvements over the MiG-21. http://urbanpk.com/pakdef/pakmilitary/airforce/ac/f7pg.htm

Nooooo! Keep the promo videos coming! Really quite interesting watching this project unfold and the amount of testing going into it. Maybe show more of the various types in action?

Thanks for posting the vids Caeser, really enjoyed them. The second F-1 vs MiG-21 video reminds me of one I got into against a Soviet ace. Lot's of good defensive maneuvers by the MiG-21 pilot but also complicated by low light conditions while flying over water. I had to be very wary of the surface while trying to get a gun kill. My missiles were expended at that point. Like your experience, once the engagement started I was able to stay on top of the MiG-21.

I did release a beta test version of the new Mirage F-1 flight model back in March. It should be very similar to the one included in the next "official" releases. If you or anyone wants to try it out go here: http://combatace.com/topic/85698-mirage-f-1-flight-model-test/

Just another day in Korea, cleaning windscreens. [ catch a wire.............PLEASE!]

Took my Tu-2 FM out for a test flight and it needs more work for sure. Personally, I think the model is OK for an AI only bomber but then, I'm not too fussy. It does need lots of ini edits for crew positions, gun elevation angles, min/max work, etc, etc. On the plus side the bomb bay, landing gear and control surfaces work although the ailerons have an oddly placed pivot node. Do335 and Wrench, would you like me to PM what I have? I would like to finish this FM but don't have much spare time this summer so if you gents can get some of the ini issues and min/max damage modeling done and maybe a basic skin I may be able to put together an FM in a couple of weeks.

I started an FM for the Cocas TU-2 a long time ago but never got very far. Will take another look.

Ooops, opened my mouth without checking. As Wrench said, autopilot doesn't turn the engine back on. My plane didn't keep flying with the engine off. Spinner issues are probably related to the prop/spinner nodes but I'm never quite sure whats going on in that regard. Maybe someone that knows models can have a look? All I can do is experiment a bit. Maybe set the constant speed entry to false for better identifying prop / spinner visuals.

Paulo, If you are having issues with the spinner it probably has something to do with the way the spinner and prop nodes have been set up in the data ini. I'm going to have a look at it. Regarding the other issue, isn't that just the autopilot turning the engine back on, after you turned it off?

After working on the Battle of Britain FM's for over a year it is time for the RAF to get offensive! The attached package contains some simple FM updates that allow the Mk2 Spits and Hurris to conduct missions across the English Channel. Also included are the BF-109E-7 with the "N" engine and the BF-109E-4B[Late]. My original plan for the E-7 was to use the Wrench/RussoUK Jabo package with my E-7 FM but there are some considerable differences between the E-3/E-4 models I've been using and the E-7 model in the Jabo package so to save a lot of time I am still using the E-4 model. On the plus side, I found the ETC50 MER in the Wrench/Russo package and the Jabo skin works with the E-4 lod so I am making use of those items. The Jabo skin required some edits to the decal ini due to some differences in the model centers so I have included that. To get the ETC50 and Jabo skin go here: http://combatace.com/files/file/13997-sf2-ww2-eto-bf-109e-7-jabo-by-russouk/ Attached is the " ETO_Flight Models-1941-Beta 0.95 Pack1." ETO_FM-1941-0.95P1.zip The installation instructions are based on having the BoB beta 0.95 package installed.

Well, thanks for the BF-109E's! And lets not forget all the included skins which is a big bonus!

Here are the updated 1941 ETO FM's beta 0.97 after a trip through Mue's LodViewer. The Westland Whirlwind will get updated later. I want to see if I can find some better engine data for it. ETO1941-0.97.zip Installation instructions assume the aircraft are already installed.

Two machine guns versus eight. This took a lot of rounds!

After scattering BoB FM's all over the WW2 forum, here are the latest updates all in one place! The install instructions are a bit convoluted and may not be the best way to do it but for experienced SF-2 players it shouldn't be that difficult to get things working. Some aircraft are "A Team" models so you will require access to that site to install the entire package. Required files available at CombatAce: http://combatace.com/files/file/13646-sf2-ww2-hawker-hurricane-ia-etobob-by-raven/ http://combatace.com/files/file/13510-sf2-ww2-spitfire-mk1a-by-mod-mafiatmf/ http://combatace.com/files/file/13826-pasko-ju-87b-r-sf2-update-eto/ http://combatace.com/files/file/13938-sf2-ww2-eto-boulton-paul-defiant-remod-pak/ http://combatace.com/files/file/13795-sf2-ww2-raf-bombers-pak/ http://combatace.com/files/file/14020-bf109e-3/ http://combatace.com/files/file/14035-bf109e-47z/ http://combatace.com/files/file/13952-sf2-ww2-eto-bristol-blenheim-mkiv-skin-pak/ Required aircraft from the "A Team" site: Do-17Z He-111H6 Ju-88A4 Blenhiem IV BF-110C OVERVIEW: This project was started so I could develop a standardized approach to building WW2 FM's. It has taken much longer than expected but I like the results so plan to put together some other WW2 FM Packs in the future. Next projects will be some post BoB FM's covering the 1941 time frame and some Battle of France FM's. This package is intended for experienced SF-2 users. The installation instructions are contained in the assorted parts folders. NOTES: After a year and a half in developement, this project remains a bit of an experiment. Most of the time has been spent on the fighter aircraft flight models, trying to get realistic speeds, roll rates and turn rates. They aren't Hi-Fi but hopefully are somewhat representative. Details below: FIGHTER FLIGHT MODELS: The Spitfire and BF-109 FMs are ThirdWire based but, besides new engine tables, have had lots of adjustments to get the desired performance of the early versions. The Hurricane and BF-110 FM's are updates of the original freeware versions but with new engine tables, CDL tables, and some assorted ThirdWire tables. The fighter aircraft, including the Defiant, can be belly landed. BOMBER FLIGHT MODELS: The bomber FM's are a bit "Generic" using some elements of ThirdWires C-47 FM. They do get dedicated engine tables and drag adjustments to generate realistic speeds. Most of the time spent on them was adjusting collision points and min/max extents for fuel tanks etc. [important for damage modeling.] DAMAGE MODELING: Quite a bit of time spent on this subject. Guns: The Browning machine guns are a bit light on hitting power compared to the Luftwaffe cannon so I have increased the accuracy and burst length [pilot AI data] to compensate. I think this is a realistic approach and will be used for any future machine gun only WW2 aircraft FMs I do. Armor Protection: For pilot protection I am just following general practice for the time period and is not aircraft specific. Even the early Spits and Hurris with no armor get some to represent structure and equipment that was sometimes placed to protect the pilots. Also, all aircraft get some armor as structure to offer some protection to engine, fuel tanks etc. Radial engined aircraft get a little more armor around the engine to represent their capacity to run with more damage. Component Damage Rating: With a few exceptions, the DAMAGERATING= entry for the various components has been set to DISABLED. This can lead to some very long but interesting crash sequences as the AI will continue to try and fly the aircraft even with fatal damage. Keep this in mind when reviewing the de-brief screen. Bomber Gunners: To compensate for the AI's lack of imagination when attacking bombers, I have considerably reduced the accuracy of the bomber gunners. Also, where one gunner is operating more than one gun position, [common on some Luftwaffe bombers] the chance of firing has been reduced accordingly. A.I. DATA: Some changes from previous versions to reduce crashes and improve both offensive and defensive capabilities. Other Changes: On previous uploads I used the [early] designation for the Spitfire 1a and Hurricane 1a versions with 6lb boost but that is no longer the case. The previous early versions are now just called Spit_Mk1A and Hurricane1A. The previously released N powered BF-109E7 will be included in a future post BoB pack. Raven has an updated Hurricane 1A model available but I haven't had a chance to introduce it into this package yet. It will get done at some point. Here's the package: BoB FM Pack0.95.zip

Thanks Baltika, a new SF-2 BoB campaign would be excellent! For a warm up, would you consider making a much simpler Dunkirk campaign? I have a relatively simple one started but don't have much time to work on it at the moment. If you want to have a look I could send it to you with some info on what I had in mind.

A picture speaks a thousand words. Personally, I don't believe "Group Think" will ever work. To arrange some kind of licencing agreement with TW would probably require one very smart and driven individual who knows lot's about programming, marketing, airplanes etc. Would probably require a not inconsiderable amount of up front money as well. It may be possible to get some totally new and original content by using some of the very talented individuals at this site but they would require payment in some way. Maybe payment up front or by some kind of percentage of sales but it would still cost money. Plus TW would be getting a percentage of sales as well so it could be a very high risk endeavor with modest potential return.

That site and those documents have been useful!

Maybe TK would be interested in a licencing type arrangement for the continuation of the PC games. Who's got the money, time and brains to take them over? Not I . Maybe some crowd funding potential for the right person.

Thanks Geezer!