baffmeister

For SF-2 the AI data has been separated from the AIRCRAFTOBJECT.ini so there is now a separate AIRCRAFTAIDATA.INI. You can modify the game on a global basis by editing the AIRCRAFTAIDATA.INI and placing it in the OBJECTS folder. TO improve formation behavior at low altitude you can edit the Safe Altitude as per this example: [DogfightNovice] SafeAltitude=60//500 To get the AI to fly lower when in low level formation LookoutAngle=90 DefensiveAngle=60 ChanceDefensiveTurn=0 ChanceBreakTurn=10 ChanceHardTurn=50 ChanceTurnDirection=25 ChanceContinue=100 ChanceCheckNewTarget=5 ChanceUseVertical=0 FightWithoutAmmo=0 CannonFireAngle=2.5 RQIRMFireAngle=5.0 ASIRMFireAngle=10.0 RHMFireAngle=5.0 MaxPitchInput=0.6..........................Watch this number, you may want to increase it to avoid AI crashes MissileDetectChance=10 MaxCannonRange=3500 OptimalCannonRange=1000 MinCannonRange=500 MaxRollForGunAttack=45 CannonBurstLengthShort=1.0 CannonBurstLengthLong=1.5 MaxRudderForGunAttack=0.5 MaxRudderForManeuver=0.7 [DogfightGreen] SafeAltitude=60//400 LookoutAngle=120 DefensiveAngle=90 ChanceDefensiveTurn=0 ChanceBreakTurn=40 ChanceHardTurn=100 ChanceTurnDirection=50 ChanceContinue=100 ChanceCheckNewTarget=10 ChanceUseVertical=0 FightWithoutAmmo=0 CannonFireAngle=2.0 RQIRMFireAngle=7.0 ASIRMFireAngle=7.0 RHMFireAngle=10.0 MaxPitchInput=0.8 MissileDetectChance=40 MaxCannonRange=3000 OptimalCannonRange=800 MinCannonRange=250 MaxRollForGunAttack=60 CannonBurstLengthShort=1.0 CannonBurstLengthLong=1.5 MaxRudderForGunAttack=0.8 MaxRudderForManeuver=0.9 Here is the AIRCRAFTAIDATA.ini with some tweaks for low level. It is one I have been messing with and is by no means optimal:AIRCRAFTAIDATA.rar Just drop it into the OBJECTS folder. Something to keep in mind during low level formation, the AI will try and stay with you so will take evasive action when you do. This can lead to AI crashes if you get too carried away. More crashes are probably inevitable, however.

Tinkering with EzLead's staggered take off mod and noticed the wing man has to cross behind the lead aircraft to get into formation so was wondering, is there a military protocol that specifies which side of the runway the lead aircraft should be on during formation take offs? All I could find on the internet was the lead aircraft should be on the left hand side for left hand turn outs and on the right hand side for right hand turn outs. Great mod and the icing on the cake for Desert Target Zone!

Unexpected problem! When using a runway 18 departure the player aircraft will point in the correct direction but the AI aircraft continue to point north, but from the correct positions. Must be some hard coding going on. For Desert TZ I'm just going to set them up with the runway 36 departure and the wing man on the left.

Thanks guys, will try to make it work with lead on the far side of the runway by choosing the appropriate take off direction. [one way runways]

Something I just noticed on the "Buc", the control rate on the ailerons is only set to 2. If I set the control rate to 5 and leave the CLP numbers as they were, it improves the behavior quite a bit. Not quite what I would like so may try changing the CLP numbers a wee bit. Cheers.

I have found most of the existing WW-2 FMs have quite serious issues, with a few exceptions.

Thanks for the detailed info Fubar.

Roll fix works for me.

Thanks for that, I'm going to try it out. I find the rudder response a bit wonky as well so will try a few things. Cheers.

Excellent concept for the Euro terrain but "The Horror", the work involved for all those WW2 flight models! [Just ask Wrench!]

I hope you don't mind a bit of hard work, ColStafford. The Sabre and MiG-15 FM's done by Fubar512 require careful handling to get the most out of them but are proving to be great fun to fly and AI friendly as well. They also demonstrate a remarkable sensation of "feel" which is kind of amazing considering I don't have a force feedback stick!

Here are some example MERC entries from a campaign I made for Desert Target Zone. I suspect you have a typo or missing entry. For this particular campaign the money feature for the Mercs wasn't used and I was calling them the Dhimari Foreign Air Legion. [DFAL] Hope this helps, Cheers. FROM CAMPAIGN INI: [CampaignData] CampaignName=DesertTZ65B DataFile=DesertTZ65B_data.ini CampaignMap=DesertTZ Service001=USMC Service002=MERC [uSMCUnit001] UnitName=VMFA-531 ForceID=1 UnitID=1 StartDate=06/20/1965 DescFile=531Desc.txt StartText=DesertTZ65Start.txt AircraftType=F-4B [uSMCUnit002] UnitName=VMA-121 ForceID=1 UnitID=3 StartDate=06/20/1965 DescFile=121Desc.txt StartText=DesertTZ65Start.txt AircraftType=A-4C [MERCUnit001] UnitName=DFAL 1 Squadron ForceID=1 UnitID=2 StartDate=06/20/1965 DescFile=F-100dDesc.txt StartText=DesertTZ65MercStart.txt AircraftType=F-100D [MERCUnit002] UnitName=DFAL 2 Squadron ForceID=1 UnitID=6 StartDate=06/20/1965 DescFile=A-4BDesc.txt StartText=DesertTZ65MercStart.txt AircraftType=A-4B FROM CAMPAIGN DATA INI: [AirUnit001] AircraftType=F-4B Squadron=VMFA531 StartDate=06/20/1965 ForceID=1 Nation=USMC DefaultTexture=USMCGrey1 BaseArea=King Husani Airbase [auxiliary runway] RandomChance=100 MaxAircraft=20 StartAircraft=20 MaxPilots=20 StartPilots=20 Experience=100 Morale=100 Supply=100 Intelligence=100 UpgradeType=NEVER MissionChance[sWEEP]=90 MissionChance[CAP]=90 MissionChance[iNTERCEPT]=70 MissionChance[ESCORT]=90 MissionChance=0 MissionChance[CAS]=0 MissionChance[sEAD]=0 MissionChance[ARMED_RECON]=0 MissionChance[ANTI_SHIP]=0 MissionChance[RECON]=0 Supply[001].WeaponType=Mk81 Supply[001].Quantity=20 Supply[002].WeaponType=Mk82 Supply[002].Quantity=20 Supply[003].WeaponType=Mk83 Supply[003].Quantity=20 Supply[004].WeaponType=Tank370_F4 Supply[004].Quantity=80 Supply[005].WeaponType=Tank600_F4 Supply[005].Quantity=20 Supply[006].WeaponType=AIM-9B Supply[006].Quantity=60 Supply[007].WeaponType=AIM-7D Supply[007].Quantity=60 Supply[008].WeaponType=SUU23 Supply[008].Quantity=30 [AirUnit002] AircraftType=F-100D UnitName=DFAL 1 Squadron StartDate=06/20/1965 ForceID=1 Nation=MERC MercenaryUnit=FALSE.........................No Money For this Campaign PlayerOnly=FALSE StartingFunds= DefaultTexture=USAFSilver1 BaseArea=King Husani Airbase RandomChance=100 MaxAircraft=20 StartAircraft=20 MaxPilots=20 StartPilots=20 Experience=100 Morale=100 Supply=100 Intelligence=100 UpgradeType=NEVER MissionChance[sWEEP]=80 MissionChance[CAP]=80 MissionChance[iNTERCEPT]=80 MissionChance[ESCORT]=20 MissionChance=90 MissionChance[CAS]=90 MissionChance[sEAD]=80 MissionChance[ARMED_RECON]=90 MissionChance[ANTI_SHIP]=70 MissionChance[RECON]=50 Supply[001].WeaponType=Mk81 Supply[001].Quantity=40 Supply[002].WeaponType=Mk82 Supply[002].Quantity=40 Supply[003].WeaponType=Mk83 Supply[003].Quantity=20 Supply[004].WeaponType=Mk84 Supply[004].Quantity=10 Supply[005].WeaponType=LAU-3A Supply[005].Quantity=40 Supply[006].WeaponType=LAU-10A Supply[006].Quantity=20 Supply[007].WeaponType=AIM-9B Supply[007].Quantity=80 Supply[008].WeaponType=Tank335_F100 Supply[008].Quantity=80

Stratos, Have a look through this thread for a way to make Dhimar and Paran flyable in campaigns by modifying the nations ini. However, I'm not sure if the Dhimar and Paran insignia are included in the other games. Desert Campaign - No Foreign Powers

I was thinking of using one of the Cuba terrains to do a "Cuba Libre" concept with half the island occupied by Communist Cuba and the other half by a new Democratic Cuba. No other countries involved. Thought it would be a fun place to run some "Third Worldish" aircraft and missions. No time though and too many other things on the go so maybe by mentioning it I can get someone else interested?

I transferred Streakeagle's Thirdwire FM threads into notepad format, with some editing. I find them quite handy to use. ThirdWire FM Notes.rar ThirdWire Stall Notes.rar

I have noticed some frame rate issues on my modest but less than one year old Win7 rig. I have SF-2 with the Sept/11 patch but first noticed the frame rate reduction on the previous patch. I only have dial-up internet so the drivers don't get updated very often which may be the problem.

I should have explained my helicopter campaign concept better. I was thinking that it would be interesting to have them working out of "Helicopter Only" forward operating areas. The concept I had was to make land based helicopter carriers that would be just flat Lods that would fit in with the terrain and could be placed near the front lines. Unfortunatly, game engine won't allow it. I tried placing an unpowered version of the Ark Royal on land and it shows up OK but the test planes I used blew up as soon as they showed up. Not sure why. A different approach, and the one I think I will try is to have forward operating helicopter pads [small airports], near the front lines. Next step would be to reduce the range of the helicopters to a couple hundred kilometers. Any aircraft that aren't helicopters would have their airbase size set to medium, to keep them away from the helicopter pads. I think with the range limitation the helicopters would be confined to the forward helo pads during game generated quick missions. Campaign use would be as per normal. The recent staggered take off mod by EzLead would probably be a nice feature for the helicopter pads as well. Anyway, I downloaded a helicopter to experiment with. Cheers.

Gepard, have you tried using the AI entry LandingSpeed=xxx. From playing around with that entry a bit I get the impression it actually changes the approach speed, not the landing speed. Maybe with a higher approach speed the helos will stay under control? I don't have any helos installed but might download one, I have an idea to get them into campaigns but have to do some testing first. Actually, before doing any testing I will first ask: Has anyone figured out a good way to get helicopters into campaigns? Cheers.

Good News!

I don't have the Super Entendard installed but from past experience with some other carrier planes the AI seems to require very slow and stable nose up approaches to trap successfully. Some things you could try doing are reducing the StallSpeed=xxx and/or the LandingSpeed=xxx in the flight control section of the aircraft data.ini. If the aircraft is unstable in pitch when approaching under AI control there are a few AI entries you could experiment with. These particular entries seem to become "active" after the aircraft passes waypoint #8 and enters the approach phase. LandingPitchForSpeed=-0.07 LandingThrottleForAltitude=0.05 LandingThrottleForVerticalSpeed=0.08 A lot of experimenting may be required when adjusting these entries. Also, pitch oscillations on approach can vary depending on weight. I try to set them up with about 25% fuel and no ammo or external stores.

A very desired target!

File Name: Desert Target Zone File Submitter: baffmeister File Submitted: 17 February 2007 File Category: Terrains For Strike Fighters Project 1 / Gold. Built for real time game generated strike missions. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to do a round trip strike mission. Paran and Dhimar get 4 airports each and the front line is relocated to what used to be central Dhimar. Main Features: 1. 141 target areas including 10 SAM sites for Paran. 2. Easy install. 3. Many "Freeware" building objects being used. 4. Quicker Take Off mod pre-installed, with customized parking spots and parking for C-5A sized aircraft. 5. Contains Ground Attack, Truck, and Ship routes so you can fly CAS, Armed Recon and anti-ship missions. 6. Has a 3X zoom map from an older version of SF that shows desert and green spaces better. 7. Installation won't affect your stock "Desert" terrain. 8. Negative points awarded if you cause collateral damage. CREDITS: Thanks to these folks for creating and allowing freeware use of their building objects: 1. This project uses some objects from MITCH's "Factory Place" project. There seems to be a consensus within the Strike Fighters community that it's OK to use these objects for FreeWare projects. 3. WRENCH, for hosting the "Factory Place" objects at his website. And for the cool "Shipwrecks!" 2. GEPARD, for some objects I lifted from his DRV terrain. 4. PASKO, for the round tents, now used by the Bedouins. 5. GRUMPOTAMUS, for the Radar Dome. 6. WINGWHINER, for the new Factories, Headquarters Building, Gas Station, Tactical Control Center, and Control Tower H1. 7. STARY, for the new Hangars. 8. FUBAR512, for the Pecco Crane. New for this version: 9. WINGWHINER again for some buildings from his epic 43 buildings pack. 10.JULHELM for some industrial silo's/buildings 11.RussoUK and Gepard for the Oil Rig. 12.EZLead for the formation take off mod. 13. TK and ThirdWire for creating such an interesting flight sim / hobby. Changes for the final version: Mostly some new objects with a few other minor changes. EZleads formation take off mod is a perfect fit for this terrain, give it a try! Click here to download this file

Hotfix for a CTD issue when doing anti-ship missions:DESERTTZ_MOVEMENTfix.rar Also, regarding the WOE version I mentioned back in 2007[!], it's still on the hard drive and waiting for some inspiration. [ New building objects inspire me sometimes!]

File Name: Desert Target Zone - SF2 File Submitter: baffmeister File Submitted: 03 February 2009 File Updated: 07 June 2012 File Category: SF2 Series Add On Terrains For Strike Fighters 2. Built for real time game generated strike missions. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to do a round trip strike mission. Paran and Dhimar get 4 airports each and the front line is relocated to what used to be central Dhimar. Main Features: 1. 141 target areas including 10 SAM sites for Paran. 2. Easy install. 3. Many "Freeware" objects being used. 4. Quicker Take Off mod included with customized parking spots. Large aircraft parking will accept C-5A sized aircraft. 5. Contains Ground Attack, Truck, and Ship routes so you can fly CAS, Armed Recon and anti-ship missions. 6. Has a 3X zoom map from an older version of SF that shows desert and green spaces better. 7. Installation won't affect your stock "Desert" terrain. 8. Negative points awarded if you cause collateral damage. CREDITS: Thanks to these folks for creating and allowing freeware use of their building objects: 1. This project uses some objects from MITCH's "Factory Place" project. There seems to be a consensus within the Strike Fighters community that it's OK to use these objects for FreeWare projects. 3. WRENCH, for hosting the "Factory Place" objects at his website. And for the cool "Shipwrecks!" 2. GEPARD, for some objects I lifted from his DRV terrain. 4. PASKO, for the round tents, now used by the Bedouins. 5. GRUMPOTAMUS, for the Radar Dome. 6. WINGWHINER, for the some Factories, Headquarters Building, Gas Station, Tactical Control Center, and Control Tower H1. 7. STARY, for the his hangar pack. 8. FUBAR512, for the Pecco Crane. New for this version: 9. WINGWHINER again for some buildings from his epic 43 city buildings pack. 10.JULHELM for some industrial silo's/buildings 11.RussoUK and Gepard for the Oil Rig. 12.EZLead for the formation take off mod. 13. TK and ThirdWire for creating such an interesting flight sim / hobby. Changes for this version: Unless a patch does something really bad to this terrain, it is the final version. Using some buildings from WingWhiners 43 city building pack finally gave me the variety I was looking for. Check out EZleads included formation take off mod, it's a perfect fit for this terrain! Click here to download this file