peter01

"2. You have clear doped fabric side panels on the nacelles. Photos show that they were probably painted PC10. Incidentally, it's a moot point as to whether the metal parts of the nacelle were painted PC10 or medium grey. It probably differed from plane to plane. But I'd go with the PC10. 3. You have all non striped struts in natural wood. They should all be battleship grey except the undercarriage struts which were usually (but not always) PC10." Looking good quack. As you have done some in dope and wood quack, whether or not you change them (Bucky is generally right), could you please keep them and make them available for download . I like them, they are good, and pretty reasonable for that time period. Are you doing the "DH 2 5964 of Maj Lanoe G Hawker, No 24 Sqn, Bertangles, November 1916" with the dope on the rudder and in PC10 (if your going to do some in PC10)? Everybody would want that one, wouldn't they ? It's a nice looker too.

Thanks quack.

The only setback to me in terms of FMs is that the ones I did were not designed for FE2 whiteknight. They work fine, not obsolete at all, seem good, but IF I designed them for FE2 they would be better . Already starting to improve them, which is the second point - it's easier doing FMs for FE2. But TK made some minor changes to the AI in the FE2 patch - doesn't make anything obsolete, in fact it is an improvement, so good. Unfortunately, my AI are very finely tuned and about as capable as you want them I think, yet the change makes 'em tougher! Minor issue really, but it just reconfirms that every time TK puts out a patch or expansion pack, it usually necessitates some FM rework. Even minor rework when there are 100 planes or so is not a trivial task .

It works differently to the FE1 one. Create a desktop shortcut for "CatPack", open folder with .cat file, and drag (select with mouse-hold right button down then drag)the .cat file onto the "Catpack" icon, then select "open with". If it states something like cannot create index file and aborts, delete any index files in the .cat file directory, and do again. Alternatively, maybe you have an older OS?

Hmm, sorta funny given I started this thread, but the campaigns in FE2 patch work fine for me. Just a question: do your add-on third party campaigns work? These are fine for me too. Similar specs - XP SP3 Home.

TK has made changes to the AI in the FE2 patch. Subtle, but very nice. They use throttle better. Good for the AI generally, but problem for mine - they zoom around quicker. But easily fixed. They are also better shots! The AI flying a long time with damaged engines isn't gone, but far far better and a nice balance, and some do nice forced landings, seems improved. They don't appear to fight back as previously without working engines, they either just concentrate on a forced landing or fly off and crash - but lose height quicker than before, hence crash faster. Minor improvements, but they make a difference. But my great AI experience? Well I have never had a good dogfight once you get to 300-400ft. The AI gives up. It seems TK has improved this. I started the dogfight against an Alb D2 in a Spad 7 at 3000ft, went down to 300ft over 5 mins (the Alb D2s tend to dive to get out of trouble), and as always, I thought it was over as it usually is. Not so. I peppered the Alb D2 at first thinking I would finish him off, but it then climbed to 600-700ft (never happened before to me, unless I left it alone or coerced it to go back up), I followed, and the Alb started attacking me again. This was repeated several times for 5 mins or more, and I was finally shot me by the Alb diving from 400ft at me at 200ft - unusual too, maybe never seen this either. It was great - partly because this has never happened before, and partly because it was a lot of fun having a tough dogfight at tree top level (well, tall tree top level). TK has made a number of improvements with FE2. Apart from the graphics, all subtle, but it is indeed a major improvement over FE1. If you like or play FE a lot, definitely get FE2.

Yeah, I know about the decals, but still great. Works very well with the various allied squadron insignia (US especially). Neat. Glad to hear about the Dh2 - it needs a new skin or two. The default is good, but ... I hope you do some other colours too like the Bristol Scout, I think the Dh2 would be a favourite of many. BTW, the N24Bis has a different tail to all the rest, and because it is different (slightly), I like it - maybe the nicest looking one too. But unfortunately your new camo doesn't cover the elevators completely, and the rudder numbering is too high.

The Nie 24-27s skins are superb . Beautifully done camo, masterfully done squadron and national insignia, an excellent job. I think the Silver skin that we had is nicely done and accurate, but unfortunately the colours in FE are muted and it just didn't come across as well as it could or should have. FE could look very gloomy too (before Jan's new terrain), and the silver scheme didn't help. I hardly flew these these planes before - but they now are one of my favourites, without a doubt, a complete transformation. Great skinning quack. And you are certainly making a huge difference to my enjoyment of game with all the skins - at least half of mine default to your skins. Many thanks. So, what's next? Just kidding .

Hi Wilches. Sorry, but I'm FM'd out, and taking a break. The Caproni would take some effort, it needs to be redone completely for the FE Expansion Pack sytle FMs. It is an original FE FM and they don't work anymore. FMs for either large bombers or earlier planes are harder - and this is an "and". Maybe down the track.

Getting better and better. The Aldis is nicer than before, and the spins are an improvement. TK is putting some time into this version.

Great stuff quack.

They are available here FE1 & FE2 FMs BristolM1C- FE8-FokD8-Schuckert

View File FE1 & FE2 FMs BristolM1C- FE8-FokD8-Schuckert FMs for either FE1 or FE2. I knew I had these somewhere, and found them on a backup drive. They were done last December. Just refined, tweaked and tested them a bit, and ... they are ready to fly. New FMs for the Bristol M1C, Fe8, Fokker D8, Schuckert D3. The Bristol M1C is very nice, has a new gun, and is equal in capability to my Albatros D3. The FE8 has a couple of issues - on takeoff, stalls - but still nice, and in capability about the equal to my Halberstadt D3. The Fokker D8 is the nicest FM I have done for this plane, it is very capable, about the equal to my Camels. Snipes vs Fokker D8s are fun. The Schuckert D3 is a little less capable than the Fokker D8. IMPORTANT ========= For FE1 you must have installed the FE1 game files from "108 FE1 and/or FE2 FMs March 2010" in the Flight Models download section here. 108 FE1 and/or FE2 FMs March 2010 For FE2 you must have installed the FE2 game files "REALLY FIXED FE2 Game Files and 4 FE2 FMs 2010" in the Flight Models download section here. REALLY FIXED FE2 Game Files and 4 FE2 FMs 2010 INSTALLATION ============ 1) I recommend you backup the folders of the above aircraft before installing. 2) Place all the files from this download into the corresponding aircraft directories. Have fun. Peter01 March 2010 Submitter peter01 Submitted 03/17/2010 Category Flight Models

View File REALLY FIXED FE2 Game Files and 4 FE2 FMs 2010 Ahh, the last "Fixed" FE2 game file download didn't actually fix the loadout guns, it actually didn't work at all - so here's a fix that does. Just noticed that FE2 creates a directory for GUNS and without that included the new guns (that don't jam) don't work! That directory is now included. March 16th ************************************************************************************************************************************ An update, mainly to fix gun jams on gunpod/loadout guns in FE2. Jams didn't happen much to me before, but do now for some planes. I *think* Thirdwire may have implemented this in a more complex manner than I first assumed, perhaps jams for loadout guns depend on rated mach limits for individual planes. Please install both gundata files and the entire "Weapons" folder in your "Objects" folder, as per the zip directory structure. This will give the loadout/gunpod guns 99% reliability - they will jam, but very rarely. Sorry about that, and as a bonus here are fours FMs solely for FE2. You will have a problem if you install in FE1! Se5a with gunsight. If you do not like, just delete the SE5A_LOADOUT file in the Se5a folder. It will revert back to the normal file that comes with the game with no added gunsight. I couldn't remove the second gunsight that comes with the model, it appears to be part of another graphic. MSLOL - Morane Two Seater with wing mounted Lewis - this one now comes with a gunsight too. Fokker DR1. Special FM for FE2, this one feels better in FE2. Nieuport16LateV. Similar to previous but this includes several more loadouts that were not possible in FE1 (last upload was for both games), including Dual Lewis on wings. Thanks to P10ppy for supplying the gunsights, as well as describing how to implement them. Peter01 March 2010. Submitter peter01 Submitted 03/16/2010 Category Flight Models

Ahh, the last "Fixed" FE2 game file download didn't actually fix the loadout guns, it actually didn't work at all - so this is a fix that does. Should be available here shortly REALLY FIXED FE2 Game Files and 4 FE2 FMs 2010 Just noticed that FE2 creates a directory for GUNS and without that included the new guns (that don't jam) don't work! In fact the one I did a couple of weeks ago wouldn't have worked either without that directory . The "REALLY FIXED ..." includes that GUNS directory. Live and learn, I guess .

Had promised to write something on this about 2 years ago, so ... I'm doing this now though because having finished the FMs, which is very intensive, and now just enjoying it by flying/fighting I can see that I have overdone some AI. It takes some work to get them right, quite difficult, lots of time testing, and to do them for say 50 aircraft with testing can take a month of doing nothing but that. The best way to tweak them is to just play over time and fix individually, but I don't want to upload mods as I do them, I'd rather wait until I finished the whole lot - but that could be weeks or months really, and I tend to fly allied more too so I probably wouldn't get around to trying them all. I know some AI can drive you crazy so this is not only a guide to fixing some that you don't think are quite right (usually too good), especially common planes like Albs and Fokker Es, but mainly some info generally on AI parameters that may be useful. General ======= The AI parameters for my planes are in the individual FMs - the ***_data.inis. Make changes here. Never make changes to the default ones in the Aircraftobject.ini. My AI are pretty close to right. The difference between being just right and not right is very small in terms of parameter changes, so don't get excessive in changes. TK uses standard AI parameters for all planes including his 2-seaters/bombers, except the Camel and Dr1. Because his FMs are basically the same in terms of rudder, pitch and climb capability. Mine are not, in fact there is a huge difference in mine for those, plus throttle speeds (in the Engine Section, ThrottleRate=, mine vary from 0.3 to 0.6, TKs are all 0.5) and of course engine sizes vary more with some having 80hp engines. In addition, I spent a lot of time on the early AI, they just need to be done differently both as FMs and AI. So as a consequence there is a lot of variety in my AI parameters, basically each AI section is tailored for each specific plane. The AI parameters are a bit complex or obscure in many ways - lack of documentation, obscure parameter names, and some parameters effect formation flying and takeoff and dogfighting so changing those say for dogfighting will effect the other two, and over time through experience I learnt where to be careful and where it didn't matter too much. But it is always a compromise. So I'm just going to go through some of the main things, but if you have SPECIFIC queries or thoughts, happy to respond, but not general stuff or things that will take me some time to do - it is hard to explain. A thing to remember in understanding the AI parameters is that they often come in pairs, eg, ThrottleDeltaSpeed= ThrottleVelocity= These relate to how the AI speed up and slow down the plane. The first uses the engine FM data (size of engine, how quickly it accelerates etc in the Engine Section) just like the player, but modified by the value of the parameter. The second in this case is the speed that the AI uses its throttle control slider on its "virtual joystick", if you like. And AI parameters are there for their "virtual joystick" for rudder, pitch and roll speed too. That the AI have a "virtual joystick" helps not only in modding AI parameters of course, but understanding some of the somewhat obscure parameter names too. When modifying AI, keep in mind that you probably have set Enemy AI to Hard in your options. What this means is your squadron mates are at a disadvantage in missions/campaigns - they rely on you to put on a good show downing a few planes as I think non-Enemy AI are set to Normal not Hard. If you reduce the AI's capability to offset this you will find they are too easy for you individually as AI. Changing the AI should be based on how capable they are against you in a one on one dogfight, not squadron vs squadron. Be very careful with early plane AI changes. They were difficult to do, and easily stuffed, changes can have significant side impacts on the AI's ability to takeoff and on formation flying . So, the following covers the main things - stall speed/mach limit, sideslip, strength, rolling, speed of reactions, climbing, turning, and using a couple of examples of changes I have already made to my own game, and why - Albatros Dva is too capable and quite hyper, the Phonix D1 uses too much sideslip, rolls a bit too quickly. Starting with the easier parameters first .... [FlightControl] AI Parameters ===================== All the parameters in the [AIData] section, and most of the parameters in the [FlightControl] section ONLY affect the AI, not the player. The ones in the [FlightControl] section that only affect the AI are: StallSpeed= CruiseSpeed= ClimbSpeed= CornerSpeed= LandingSpeed= MaxG= (affects stress damage if implemented for player, also determines when you hear straining sounds) MaxSpeedSL= MachLimit= GunBoresightAngle= So you can trial changes to those for the AI. Just quickly, the more important ones ... StallSpeed= .... if you increase this the AI will not climb as high or say outclimb you, if that is the AI behavior you are trying to modify. Values here are generally in range 16-21 (in metres per second or around 40-45 mph). Keep in mind that the AI starts anti-stall actions like reducing speed or levelling out about 5-10 mph above that AI defined stall speed. MachLimit= ..... limits speed AI plane will fly. Defined as 0.1 etc in Mach and that is about 75 mph. If a plane has a higher number, say 0.150 - 0.200 or more they will dive FAR more as a defensive move and fly around generally at higher speeds - good for the BnZ'ers and later planes, not good for early planes. If you want them to stay dogfighting like TnB'ers or because they are not-so-robust early planes setting a value around 100mph or less keeps them fighting at the same altitude, slower speeds and not diving away so much, eg 0.110 - 0.140, about 80-105 mph. GunBoresightAngle= ..... is interesting and I might write more on this some other time, because you can make the AI a better shot I think in non-deflection shooting and less so in deflection shooting. At the moment it tends to favour the deflection shooting ... the safest place to be currently in the FE skies is right in front of an EA, flying straight and level! Sideslip ======== The Phonix sideslips too much when being chased (yaws dramatically sideways back and forth when being chased) ... RudderForSideslip=2.8 Changed this to ... RudderForSideslip=1.4 You can make significant changes here, halving or doubling numbers. Strength ======== Some planes are too hard or too easy to bring down. This is made more complex for a couple of reasons. Firstly the strength of various bits such as (elevators and rudders, eg Nieuports) especially are pretty well determined by the 3-D model rather than the FM (why some planes lose rudder etc easier than others), the size of the plane (the bigger, the tougher to bring down), and how damage modelling is done by the modeller. So I use the .... DefaultArmorThickness=(usually 25) (in the [AircraftData] section hence effects both the AI and you as player in that plane). to offset that. Eg, make Nieuports a little higher @ 29, Albs a little lower @ 24. Keep changes within the 24-29 range, and a difference of plus or minus 1 makes a significant difference. One complication is Borts planes. You can hit parts with bullets continuously and cause no damage, yet they have weak rudders/elevators. So it is impossible to get a good balance, unless you redo the damage modelling (difficult without a 3-D package, and still lots of work). So with these planes be careful changing this value - you just need to aim for and hit the pilot or the engine. Roll ==== An simple one. There are a number of parameters that effect this, but easily the most important is ... RollForHeadingRate=-0.05 (TK's standard value) The PhonixD1 rolled too quickly so changed it ... RollForHeadingRate=-0.05 (it was 0.07) The range you should use would be in the -0.02 to -0.07 range, usually in the the lower range, -0.03 or -0.04 is good for many planes. Ok, now getting into the more important and more complex parameters ... Speed of Reaction ================= Very important. If the AI planes seem to react too quickly, or zoom around too fast/seem too hyper, change ... ThrottleDeltaSpeed=0.080 (value in my Dva) ThrottleVelocity=-0.080 (value in my Dva) These define how quickly the AI's engine picks up speed, and how quickly the AI uses its throttle. BUT it also effects how fast the AI acts or reacts in EVERY manouvre. The Dva is too hyper so I changed it from the above values to ... ThrottleDeltaSpeed=0.070 ThrottleVelocity=-0.070 And it is a big difference. If you change them for other aircraft, do it in 10% increments, it will make a biggish difference. Too much reduction and the AI will seem to stop sometimes as if "thinking" what to do next. It considerably affects the AIs ability to attack and to jink around when you are his tail. Note: The Throttle values here are not absolute values. Values of 0.070 will be different for a 160Hp engine compared to a 100Hp engine, the latter would need a higher value to get a similar result, bigger engines can accelerate better. The first value is also modified for the AI (and player) by the ThrottleRate= in the Engine Section, which again modifies how quickly the engine accelerates, so depending on that throttle rate two different planes with 160Hp engines could accelerate differently. Climbing ======== A lot of things affect the AIs ability to climb, and they need to be in balance. These also have side effects and so it is important to not go overboard here, eg, AI's ability to takeoff and stay in formation, and that odd "porpoising" or oscillating of elevators effect. For my planes and AI, I don't think you need to mod anything but this value, because they are not that far off ... PitchForAltitude=0.00017 (value in my Dva) This value determines how quickly the AI will use elevators to increase/decrease altitude. A good way of knowing if it is excessive is on takeoff - if the AI pitch upwards on takeoff excessively, it is this number (converse if they can't take off). If they "porpoise" a lot, it is likely this number. But in dogfighting, in attack, the AI will use altitude effectively (good, generally), but will oscillate sometimes wildly when being chased - it makes the dogfight quite hyper. So this value is a balance between AI using altitude for postioning (good), oscillating when being chased (too much, bad), climbing almost vertically after takeoff (bad), staying in formation (good). Ok, for the Alb Dva it was oscillating too much when being chased so reduced it to ... PitchForAltitude=0.00010 The changes you can make to mine are to double or halve the value. Small increments won't make much difference. The range should never be outside 0.00010 to maybe 0.00087. TK uses 0.00087 for all planes, it is far to excessive for mine generally, an average value would be 0.00027 for mine. Turning ======= The following effect turning, the AI use both elevators and rudder, so sometimes it is difficult to know which to reduce. The standard ones TK uses are as follows, but do not work that well for mine, and I use some quite different variations (to simulate BnZ and for early planes) : ElevatorDeltaPitch=3.0 ElevatorPitchRate=-0.05 RudderForHeading=0.5 RudderForYawRate=-0.1 I guess a rule of thumb to reduce the AI's capability in turning is to look at the values I have for the above for that particular plane and compare to TKs default. If my Elevator numbers are close to TKs standard then reduce those numbers to reduce turning ability. EG, the Fokker E3 and Alb Dva turned too quickly so changed: For E3, from .. ElevatorDeltaPitch=3.0 ElevatorPitchRate=-0.05 to ... ElevatorDeltaPitch=2.8 ElevatorPitchRate=-0.046 For Alb Dva, from ... ElevatorDeltaPitch=3.2 ElevatorPitchRate=-0.053 to ... ElevatorDeltaPitch=3.0 ElevatorPitchRate=-0.050 10% amounts are probably all you should to do for mine. 20% may result in difficulties. OR alternatively instead of the elevators change the rudder settings if those elevator numbers are low say around 1.5 and -0.02 or lower (otherwise the AI WILL have trouble turning). eg, from say RudderForHeading=0.5 RudderForYawRate=-0.1 RudderForHeading=0.25 RudderForYawRate=-0.05 Change both rudder numbers by same percentage and by significant amounts to make a difference eg by large 25-50% increments. Of course you can do both rudder and elevator changes at the same time, and if so, keep incremental changes outlined above smaller for each. Hope this helps .

I'm sure I'm the only one that moves plane files from FE2 to FE1 , but don't do it, you will have problems. Moving from FE1 to FE2 seems okay however. The plane .ini file or the loadout.ini files are the problems, and if you have flown them in FE2 they then don't work in FE1. The files appear corrupted after starting FE1 with these moved plane files. If the .ini file is corrupted you won't see the plane in your flyable plane list. If the loadout file gets corrupted you can't use any loadouts. It can be both or either, but not for every plane . I can understand it for TKs planes - the lods are different for FE2 - but it happens to addon planes too.

Should be available here shortly. I have kept this seperate. It just effects jams in some planes for FE2. FIXED FE2 Game Files and 4 FE2 FMs March 2010 An update, mainly to fix gun jams on gunpod/loadout guns in FE2. Jams didn't happen much to me before, but do now for some planes. I *think* Thirdwire may have implemented this in a more complex manner than I first assumed, perhaps jams for loadout guns depend on rated mach limits for individual planes as it happens at higher speeds but only for certain planes. Please install both gundata files and the entire "Weapons" folder in your "Objects" folder, as per the zip directory structure. This will give the loadout/gunpod guns 99% reliability - they will jam, but very rarely. Sorry about that, and as a bonus here are fours FMs solely for FE2. You will have a problem if you install in FE1! Se5a with gunsight. If you do not like, just delete the SE5A_LOADOUT file in the Se5a folder. It will revert back to the normal file that comes with the game with no added gunsight. I couldn't remove the second gunsight that comes with the model, it appears to be part of another graphic. MSLOL - Morane Two Seater with wing mounted Lewis - this one now comes with a gunsight too. Fokker DR1. Special FM for FE2, this one feels considerably better for FE2. Nieuport16LateV. Similar to previous but this includes several more loadouts that were not possible in FE1 (last upload was for both games), including Dual Lewis on wings. Thanks to P10ppy for supplying the gunsights, as well as describing how to implement them.

Well OlPaint, not sure I'm the right person to reply on sound files, I hardly use add-on sound files. Perhaps someone else can answer your general questions. The only ones I use in this FM package are Thirdwire's Proploop, the A-Teams RotaryEngine for engines and the "37mm" cannon sound. For myself I use Bucky's gun sounds and his very excellent windloop sound. The "37mm" sound is used for the Spad 12 cannon, and is needed for this package if you install the Spad 12. The "hotchkiss", "BMW IIIa" were sound files I tried in the past, but not anymore, or in the package - just didn't remove them from list. The "Vickers1", "Vickers2" were additions by me to test different gun sounds for different planes whilst keeping my standard Vickers sound for other planes, but again don't use these myself now, or in the package. I have no idea anymore which files I used for these sounds in the past anymore, some of these may have been 2-3 years ago - try the download section maybe?

View File 108 FE1 and/or FE2 FMs March 2010 Update 31st march: If you are using these FMs for FE2, the gun loadouts won't work. I didn't realize that FE2 does some things differently to FE1, and didn't include a new folder that Fe2 creates. To fix, just download and install the updated game files here REALLY FIXED FE2 Game Files and 4 FE2 FMs 2010 . *********************************************************** 108 new FMs for the October or November 2008 patch of FE1 or for the FE2 game. Too many to list! Just about every plane model, and then some, with conversions. These are solely flight model and game files. You need to install the 3-D plane models first to use the FMs. The FMs are designed for Hard FM mode ONLY. AI Skill Level and Weapons should also be set to Hard. Other gameplay options can be set to whatever you wish. You must install the game files included for everything to work. There are a seperate set of game files for FE1 and FE2. A Readme is included, with the following sections: 1) General 2) Folders and Files in the Pack - The game files are in the "ESSENTIAL FE1 Game Files" and "ESSENTIAL FE2 Game Files" folders - The "FE1 and FE2 FMs" folder contains all the FMs - Lastly, the "FE Optional Game Files" folder contains optional files for both FE1 and FE2 3) Installation 4) Known Issues 5) Worth Knowing 6) Experiencing Problems? 7) Acknowledgements and Caveats Have fun. peter01 March 2010. Submitter peter01 Submitted 03/14/2010 Category Flight Models

Big day today, and uploaded, so should be ready some time soon. 108 FMs! FE1 and FE2 FMs and Game Files 2010 Although I knew an awful lot less about FE FMs 3 years ago, the FE1 original FMs were a breeze compared to the Expansion Pack FMs. The latter were enormously difficult, almost impossible to do. FE2 FMs seem much simpler to do, more like the FE1 Original ones in terms of effort. I'm pleased to have done these for the EP, I like many of them a lot and it was a great challenge, but I'm even more pleased to think that these are the last ones I'll ever do for that version.

Ah good. But if you just move everything, you won't need to extract/set/define anything in FE2 - it will be how you have it in FE1.