baffmeister

I thought it was possible to have INI only runways but have never actually tried it so it's probably about time to do so. I have made one formation take-off mod for the BoB terrain but it is associated with the airfield3. After messing about with the BoB terrain for awhile I can see that Gepard spent a lot of time on research. There are some height issues and some airfields need to be re-leveled or re-positioned a bit but from my perspective it is quite useable. I may do some work on it for myself and if things go OK will release an updated version. I suspect it may be awhile before a new replacement terrain is available. I do like having the historical buildings present so may lay down some of the stock TODS on the otherwise empty city-river tiles and railway tiles but leave enough space for the historical buildings.

In SF-2 I have shot down quite a few aircraft by sneaking up on their 6 o'clock low position but it's always after the initial merge. So maybe TK has some code thing going on were everyone sees everyone else at the initial merge and then after that the 6 o'clock sneak attack becomes possible?

I started looking into this a bit for BoB purposes and a lot of the British airfields were grass only. Some had very narrow and short concrete runways that were probably painted / textured in some way to camouflage them. Some of the grass fields had some kind of matting being used to keep them serviceable during wet conditions. The main sector airfields had lots of buildings hangars etc. but there were quite a few smaller airfields that were used on an "as required" basis and they had very few facilities. I recall reading somewhere that RAF Manston could launch 16 or maybe 24 aircraft at once in a line abreast formation . When the USAF moved into England many paved runways were built but figuring out which ones requires a whole bunch of research.

My hope is that the SF-2 series has reached a level that will insure continuing sales over the next few years with the occasional no charge update to keep it viable. Maybe a few more expansion packs and payware add-ons to generate some interest and revenue. Having gone through the SF-1 and SF-2 cycle I don't think I could handle SF-3 if it ever happened. I have yet to purchase SF-2 NA but when the time comes I think Wrench should get a commission on the sale because my main intent for that title is to get some WW2 naval action going. With that and maybe the purchase of SF-2 Vietnam I should have enough to stay entertained for the next decade!

Wow! Looks good! Would you be interested in sending me what you have for some further FM upgrades prior to release? I could probably get some more FM improvements done over the next week or two. If so, just send it by PM. Cheers.

I have seen this happen a number of times with the KAW install and when it does happen it looks very realistic . For SF-1 installs you may want to experiment with very high cruise speed for the various types of aircraft. There are some problems with this approach but also some work arounds. At one time I had a small SF-1 install with all the cruise speeds set at 600kts, 550kts or 500kts, in meters per second of course. The fast mover strike aircraft I set at 600kts, the typical mach 1 plus multi role aircraft I set at 550kts and the subsonic types I set at 500kts. This made things much more interesting when trying to chase down enemy aircraft. If you see a Su-7 go flashing past at low level going in the opposite direction and doing 600kts you may not even bother trying to chase it! From what I remember, with this set up the AI lead would try and go as fast as possible without using afterburner but the wingmen AI would use afterburner to try and get into formation. At the time I tested this approach I was using the quicker take off mod and the formations would still get strung out when playing in real time. With the formation take off edit this may be less of a problem. If you do the Alt-N thing the formations will put themselves together as per normal. Using the high cruise speeds may also screw up the synchronization / timing of any supporting aircraft but never looked into that to any extent. On the plus side, with SF-1 you can try whatever you like and never worry about it getting broken in a patch.

An updated BF-109 would be very nice. I don't know much about model building but would suggest setting up the slats so they work on their own. At present they seem to be combined with the flaps. I have Ini only slats on the new FM. Regarding the model center, TW places the center point on their prop fighters near the front of the wing. Ravens Hurricane is similar but lots of other WW2 models with the center point similar to the BF-109E.

Updated Spitfire 1A and BF-109E-3 data inis attached. I decided to make separate Spitfire 1A early and late data inis so some editing will be required to get them both in game using the Wrench/TMF Spitfire 1A. Quite a few changes: 1. Trying to come up with a standardized approach for armor plate. The Spit 1A "early" has baseline entries for no armor plate. The baseline entries are to create some "structure" around the fuel tanks, cockpit and engine. Also, the engine is used to supply some protection to the fuel tanks and pilot. Wrench may have been the one to come up with this concept and it seems like a good idea. 2.] New but different AI entries for the Spit and BF-109. The browning machine guns are a bit light on the hitting power so the burst duration has been made longer on the Spitfire. The BF-109 gets shorter bursts and and a few other differences to encourage the AI to keep the speed up. The AI seems to do OK with the BF-109 but can't say the same for myself. 3.] BF-109E CofG has been moved forward quite a bit. The model center is quite far back so moving this forward improves the ground handling quite a bit and also reduces the nose down force when flying with the gear extended. Requires an edit to the cockpit position. [included] Some other FM changes as well. 4.] BF-109 Cockpit file and revised cockpit ini included. The cockpit has Crusaders Revi gun sight TGA as well as some of Crusaders ini edits. Also, some ini edits done by myself. The manifold pressure gauge will indicate 1.20 ata for climb power and 1.30 ata for WEP. The take off power was 1.40 ata but the engine table doesn't cover that. I thought the 5 minute limit was the more important one to model. 5.] The Spitfire gets a bit more elevator travel and a few other changes to try and induce a bit of a departure if you push it too hard at low speeds. It still remains quite departure resistant unless you get sloppy on the rudder. Some interesting reports of the Spitfire 1A being more prone to spinning out of turns after the guns had been fired. Apparently, the fabric covering over the gun ports reduced the tendency. A USAF Spitfire Vb flight test report didn't find any major issues during high G turns. 6.] The empty weights have been rounded quite a bit but hopefully the relative differences are reasonably accurate. Looking at the empty weights of the TW Spitfire and Mustang, which seem a bit heavy, I started wondering if TW adds in pilot weight and possibly oil and glycol. It would seem to make sense to do so. 7.] Using a tighter date range for the different aircraft. Probably no further updates for quite awhile, it's time to work on the Hurricane and BF-110. Cheers. Spit-BF109beta0.9.zip

There is a line in the stock campaign data that may be worth experimenting with: [CampaignData] StartDate=09/01/1959 StartDateDeviation=30 ForceWithInitiative=0 SurpriseAttack=FALSE MaxMissions=30 NormalMissionRate=180 NormalMissionRateDeviation=120 OffensiveMissionRate=15 OffensiveMissionRateDeviation=30 StartScreen=CampaignStart2.JPG CampaignEndWinScreen=CampaignEndWin1.JPG CampaignEndLoseScreen=CampaignEndLose1.JPG CampaignEndStallScreen=CampaignEndLose1.JPG CampaignEndKIAScreen=CampaignEndLose1.JPG CampaignEndWinText=Campaign1Win.txt CampaignEndLoseText=Campaign1Lose.txt CampaignEndStallText=Campaign1Stall.txt [Force001] Alignment=FRIENDLY Nation=Dhimar BaseArea=Muthala AirOffensive[001].Primary=WAREHOUSE AirOffensive[001].Secondary=FUEL_STORAGE AirOffensive[002].Primary=OIL_REFINERY,FUEL_STORAGE AirOffensive[002].Secondary=COMM_BUILDING AirOffensive[003].Primary=SMALL_RUNWAY AirOffensive[003].Secondary=WAREHOUSE,POWER_PLANT AirOffensive[004].Primary=COMM_BUILDING,POWER_PLANT AirOffensive[004].Secondary=OIL_REFINERY,FUEL_STORAGE AirOffensive[005].Primary=MEDIUM_RUNWAY AirOffensive[005].Secondary=HANGAR,AMMO_STORAGE AirOffensive[006].Primary=OIL_REFINERY,POWER_PLANT AirOffensive[006].Secondary=COMM_BUILDING AirOffensive[007].Primary=LARGE_RUNWAY AirOffensive[007].Secondary=MEDIUM_RUNWAY,SMALL_RUNWAY AirOffensive[008].Primary=CHEMICAL_WEAPONS_PLANT AirOffensive[008].Secondary=OIL_REFINERY,COMM_BUILDING,POWER_PLANT AirOffensive[009].Primary=COMMAND_BUILDING AirOffensive[009].Secondary=LARGE_RUNWAY,MEDIUM_RUNWAY,CHEMICAL_WEAPONS_PLANT AirOffensive[010].Primary=ANY AirOffensive[010].Secondary=ANY StartGroundOffensive=2 StartInterdiction=5.......................................................................................................................................................Whats This? Morale=70 Supply=25 NormalSupplyRate=20 OffensiveSupplyRate=-20 DefensiveSupplyRate=-5 SupplyForOffensive=90 AircraftReplacementTime=240 AircraftReplacement=60 GroundUnitReplacementTime=360 GroundUnitReplacement=100 RandomTransportType=ANY WeaponResupplyTime=180 AllowRandomAceCreation=TRUE The above data is from the first stock desert campaign. I had a quick look at the Germany campaigns and they all have StartInterdiction=0 Maybe has something to do with Armed Recon missions?

Sabres. The Fubared ones.

Thanks for the flying lessons Heck, it does help quite a bit! I have made a few changes to the FM that make things a bit easier as well. Should have some updated FM's ready in a few days.

Thanks for the comments Heck. I have been doing a bit of work on the Bf-109-E3 and Spitfire 1A FM's and expect to post the latest versions soon. At some point I plan to add a separate Spitfire 1A [early] but not just yet. I have done some work on the A.I. for the BF-109 and the landings are much better now. For a quick fix try reducing the BF-109 stall speed to 36 meters/sec. Something I haven't had much success with is getting the BF-109 to do an easier take off when player flown. I have a few more things to try but the problem may be related to the angled landing gear. The Spitfire can be quite tricky as well but at least I can keep it on the runway most of the time. It just requires a very gradual application of power while keeping the tail down until about 50kts. Regarding Ravens Hurricane 1, I do plan on doing my own FM for that one as well as a drop in FM for the A-team BF-110 but haven't started either one yet. Cheers.

I would like to include all of them if they are ready in a week or so. If you need more time, I would like to at least include the Euro skin, you could upload the North Africa skins as a separate package later.

Wrench, can you send me any updated Ju-87 skins you have for inclusion in the new package?

JU-87B beta-0.9 data.ini attached. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the dive bombing A.I. but don't have anything good to report. The JU-87 is set up as an "attack" aircraft and the default altitude for that appears to be 500 meters, which is the "Low" altitude contained in the missioncontrol.ini. My usual "research light" indicates the JU-87 would usually dive bomb from about 14,000ft. I could set up the dive bomb A.I. to work from 14,000ft but it seems it would only work when the player is part of the formation, he climbs the formation above 14,000ft and uses the "attack my target" or "engage ground" command. With no player present, they just level bomb. As suggested by one old dive bomb thread, I tried forcing the A.I. to dive bomb by entering zeros in the level bomb A.I. data but, with a player present, and below the dive bomb altitude, all it produced was some confused JU-87's circling the target. With no player present, they just seem to level bomb anyway, totally ignoring the zeros in the level bomb A.I data. Another issue is the WW2 formation ini. The elements are set up with 3 aircraft so when you tell your wingman to "attack my target", both the wingman and number 3 will commence attack. If you tell "flight one" to attack my target, then only the number 4 aircraft will attack. The number 5 and 6 aircraft of flight 1 will do nothing and there is no way to command them. I would be very interested to hear if anyone with a WW2 install has actually seen an A.I. dive bomber, with no player commanding them, doing a dive bomber attack. The attached beta 0.9 FM has the dive bombing altitude set at about 5400ft. Procedure is to climb to about 6000ft when approaching the target then issue the attack my target command if you want to watch some dive bombing. Final package in a week or two. Ju 87B_DATAbeta0.9.zip P.S. The center bomb station works in a normal fashion now, just select and drop.

This is VERY COOL! Since it will be a couple of weeks before I can get a package together you may want to give this a try. Set up the JU-87 siren like this: [sound] EngineSoundName=PropLoop DamagedEngineSound=TruckEngine FlapsSoundName=Flaps AirbrakesSoundName=Airbrakes WindsoundName=Ju87Siren//.................................Do This! The Ju-87 is so slow the Windsound doesn't even activate under most conditions, even at full power in level flight. Once you go into a dive it starts wailing quite nicely! Wrench, I am still sorting through the various Ju-87 versions you pointed out. Hopefully I can capture any improvements that were done with the various uploads, as well as adding the stuff Crusader uploaded. I think for the first package I will include the JU-87B with export/userlist entries and skin for WW2 Italy. Will probably include the longer range JU-87 as well but have to look into it a bit. Will include the SC bombs also. The D and G would probably be reasonably easy follow ups, with a few edits and revised engine tables.

Well, the window in the cockpit floor works in SF-1 but not in SF-2.................no idea whats going on. Edit: Easy fix. For the Fuselage section of the data.ini, just change the entry ShowFromCockpit=TRUE to FALSE.

That's another thing that's holding me up a bit. I have got the JU-87B to dive bomb at a 60deg angle but its quite dependent on the starting altitude. Will post some AI entries here when I get it working better.

Understood regarding Wolf's SBD. I think I may just upload the JU-87B first but include the Italian stuff as well. Probably another "Two Weeks" for that to happen. I was planning to include some German bombs [sC series] as well but I can't even get that figured out. Should I include Italy in the bomb attachment type? Also, to make things even more complicated, I want a window in the cockpit floor! Anyone know how to do that! Anyway, I think at this point I should concentrate on the FM and maybe get a 0.9 beta test FM uploaded here in a few days. Perhaps, Mr. GoodWrench, you would be interested in uploading a JU-87 package when I get the FM figured out? Shoot me a PM if your interested.

Here's the entries I'm using for the JU-87 bomb release mechanism if anyone wants to try it out. Edit the fuselage section like this: SystemName[001]=Pilot SystemName[002]=CoPilot SystemName[003]=Gunner SystemName[004]=RearGun SystemName[005]=TailGear SystemName[006]=CenterlineStation SystemName[007]=CockpitLight Then edit the weapon stations like this: // Weapon Stations --------------------------------------------------------- [CenterlineStation] SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=1 StationGroupID=1 StationType=INTERNAL AttachmentPosition=0.00, 0.17,-0.60 AttachmentAngles=0.0,0.0,0.0 LoadLimit=650 AllowedWeaponClass=BOMB AttachmentType=W_Germany ModelNodeName=BombPylon MovingPylon=TRUE DiameterLimit= LengthLimit= BombBayAnimationID=7 BombBayOpenTime=0.60//0.30 BombBayCloseTime=1.20 AutomaticDoors=TRUE MinExtentPosition=-0.65, 4.95,-0.75 MaxExtentPosition= 0.65, 2.40, 0.00 [LeftWingStation01] SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=2 StationGroupID=2 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition=-4.16, 0.05,-0.35 AttachmentAngles=0.0,0.0,0.0 LoadLimit=150 AllowedWeaponClass=BOMB AttachmentType=W_Germany ModelNodeName=LeftPylon01 PylonMass=10.9 PylondragArea=0.03 [RightWingStation01] SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=3 StationGroupID=2 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition= 4.16, 0.05,-0.35 AttachmentAngles=0.0,0.0,0.0 LoadLimit=150 AllowedWeaponClass=BOMB AttachmentType=W_Germany ModelNodeName=RightPylon01 PylonMass=10.9 PylondragArea=0.03 [LeftWingStation02] SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=4 StationGroupID=2 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition=-3.93, 0.05,-0.39 AttachmentAngles=0.0,0.0,0.0 LoadLimit=150 AllowedWeaponClass=BOMB AttachmentType=W_Germany ModelNodeName=LeftPylon02 PylonMass=10.9 PylondragArea=0.03 [RightWingStation02] SystemType=WEAPON_STATION StationID=5 StationGroupID=2 StationType=EXTERNAL AttachmentPosition= 3.93, 0.05,-0.39 AttachmentAngles=0.0,0.0,0.0 LoadLimit=150 AllowedWeaponClass=BOMB AttachmentType=W_Germany ModelNodeName=RightPylon02 PylonMass=10.9 PylondragArea=0.03

Thanks Wrench, I will check out the other JU-87's and see what kind of a package I can put together. Will check out the SBD as well to see how the bomb release is set up for it. I had a look on YouTube for some video and found one sequence showing the deflection fork in action but it was quite brief but seemed to show a quick deployment and retraction. Cheers.

Did I say 2 weeks for this project?...........................Anyway, it's coming along but there are always new things [for me] to try and figure out. One new thing is the operation of the bomb trapeze [for lack of a better word] under the center line. On the original version you would hit control-O to open the "bomb bay doors" which would extend the "Trapeze" then you would release the bomb. I think in RL this would happen in one fluid motion with the trapeze retracting automatically after bomb release. [maybe retracting by airflow forces or spring loaded.] I can get it to work in one fluid motion but not 100% sure that's how it worked. Anyone know for sure? Also, I see an entry in the data.ini for a Siren sound to activate when the dive brakes are extended but it wasn't included in the SF-1 upload. Anyone have the Siren sound?

I think a fix by TK would be the best solution. It may be better to live with the problem instead of spending time on a work-around that may not be possible. Hopefully, TK will get it fixed at some point.

I can level the desired areas quite quickly Piecemeal, send me a PM if you're interested. The new Desert 4 looks very good!

I like the idea of having some fictional campaigns in different parts of the world but about all I can come up with are "Colonial Problems" for France and/or Britain for fifties and early sixties time frames. One map that has some potential in that regard is the Ethiopia terrain with a French base in Djibouti and maybe a British base in Aden, although Aden is quite near the "Wall" if I remember correctly. I have a "Colonial Desert" terrain installed for personal use but it just uses the northern quarter of the stock desert terrain and at this point is just an excuse to check out some new building objects and maybe make some target areas that could be used for my never ending new fictional terrain. Something I have noticed is the inability to get Paran to work properly when using limited nations statements with real nations such as the RAF. In this case I am just using the Soviets as the enemy nation but plan to look into the problem more closely.