Menrva

I repeat it once again: that is NOT Wrench's terrain, it was made by me from scratch! And it's a very old version, please download this one: https://combatace.com/files/file/16395-iraq-western-asia-1980-2003/ It's the same terrain, a much bug fixed version, all airbases are properly flattened, and it's overall better (more target areas, greater quality of the heightmap, etc.). In it Iran and other countries (but Iraq) are Friendly. You won't have to touch it as it's fine on its own. You can always set Neutral countries for campaigns, without touching the terrain files.

Yeah, I noticed it. What a shame on their part, much despicable. At least they could have bothered to ask for permission, nada instead.

I just noticed from your attached image, you are using an outdated version of my terrain, included in an old mod by Spudknocker. You'd better re-download the terrain package I linked above, that one has a lot of issues fixed. It can be changed in campaigns by setting the terrain's coordinates (those can be read from TFDtool) of the fleet, inside the campaign _data.ini file. For single missions, it's mostly random, it depends mostly on a _water bitmap file. I set NavalMap=FALSE because my terrain is not Real World size but is 60% or so just like stock SF2 terrains, and you always get fleets spawn over land as there is not enough room for water. You have better chances to have fleets spawn in water during single missions in Gepard's terrain, by editing the water bitmap (just have a look at the stock IcelandNA _water bitmap). My suggestion; do not touch terrain files at all, leave those as they are (there's a reason if we terrain modders disable certain features, like Naval Map statements). You can obtain what you want by creating a Naval Campaign instead, just like the one of SF2NA. Inside the campaign _data.ini there's a parameter you can change for the position of the fleet, IIRC. If you will use the latest terrain package I released, beware that Spudknocker's campaigns won't work with it. Most target areas have different names, and there's a lot of other changes here and there for the better. You're on your own as for editing such campaigns. https://combatace.com/forums/topic/68667-alternate-tfd-terrain-tilemap-editorviewer/

They re-used the Persian Gulf terrain by Gepard (AFAIK, the re-release by Wrench is much better). The bug showed by Richo has nothing to do with the HFD, it's caused by wrong TFD tag values of the tiles; it can be fixed easily for all airfields by TFDtool, thanks to a feature I had requested to gerwin time ago. TW's Terrain Editor flattens airports horribly by creating huge circular flat shapes on the HFD. Nowadays, gerwin's TFDtool is much more accurate at doing the job, it would be a waste not to use it. It's also quicker to use than the TE. TW's Terrain Editor is only useful for creating the HFD and an autotiled TFD, nothing more. As said previously, the original terrain was made by Gepard, so credits go to him. If you're talking about this Iraq-Iran terrain instead (https://combatace.com/files/file/16395-iraq-western-asia-1980-2003/) I made this from scratch.

Those shaders are nothing new. Those are stock files extracted from the game's .CAT archives. You do not need to install anything.

Sad news: https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-africa-49226128

Pretty inspiring story, I think. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-48773018/south-african-teens-how-we-built-a-plane-in-10-days

You can simply edit the INSIGNIA001.tga file in order to have your own Mercenary decal in place of the original. There's no need to add an additional nation, as that would require more work to get it properly working. I have released a mod package with new nations, some fixes to the countries' services and a new, generic Mercenary insignia. Feel free to edit the one included in it: https://combatace.com/files/file/16986-nations-medals-expansion/

There's none available. The one in the YouTube videos is an illegally converted 3d model asset from Ace Combat Assault Horizon, AFAIK. We do not allow such material to be posted in the downloads section. So, you'd better wait for russouk2004 model to be completed. He knows his stuff!

@warthog64 Thank you for the kind words. That terrain had been in development for years, after periods of hiatus due to RL issues and so on. It was built to be used in a future ODS update, with numerous features, realistic river, farm and city placement that were missing in the original terrain. As for the help, I am actually waiting for additional aircraft updates (some amazing Mirages are still in the works!) and eventually some new ground objects as well. Nothing prevents me to actually update the old ODS campaign to be used with my terrain, but we want to upgrade it with better aircraft and objects as well. Check your PM.

That's what I thought too. But it seems Nightshade is having problems even with stock aircraft. All services, stock and additional ones, should appear on the single missions drop down menu (except for Mercenary=TRUE services, those are hidden and show up in campaigns only).

You misunderstood my post. If he wants to test your nations.ini, he has to make sure to remove all my mod files or test it in another mod folder. I didn't tweak just the nations.ini file, but also the alias.lst file. Mixing that file with another nations.ini causes other kinds of issues, like the one I described above. Last but not least, with due respect, I too know what to look for. It's not like I have started modding SF2 yesterday. Since Nightshade is having issues with a tweaked version of my mod, I'd like to know if the original mod files work on his machine.

I appreciate the help from russouk2004, but please do not mix my mod with his nations.ini. It would create a lot of issues decal wise. As I explained earlier, as long as the mod is fully installed, nations' numbers match the numbers of the additional decals listed in the reworked alias.lst file (included with the mod). If Ireland is Nation219 instead of 230, the game will spawn planes with Russian decals instead! (or whatever 219 is). My mod does work. Please, first try it on a clean mod folder. Last but not least, are you on the latest patch level (Jul 2013)? This nations.ini is meant to work with the latest patch. Anything earlier, and some stock nations were even missing (some Oman decals and others were added at a later date, don't know exactly when). If even after such tests, it doesn't work, attach your own nations.ini. There's no magic to it. If something's wrong with the file, I would notice.

That's kind of strange. Make sure that whatever you add is Nation233 and later. Everything up to 232 is already used for something else, and the order is of absolute importance. Those numbers match the ones used for the decals listed in the alias.lst file, which is very sensitive to any _nations.ini changes. Irish Air Corps should be listed among the flyable services, if you use stock aircraft. Choose a stock aircraft of the SF2 game and see if the new services appear with stock aircraft. If it works, then the issue is on the custom plane and its skin decals.ini file. Little note: some new services from my mod only appear after certain years.

New blood in the SF2 series should trust Wrench. He's a veteran of this game series, among many others. There used to be a bug/exploit which allowed to press a key combination in order to refuel the plane. However, that bug existed on SF1 games. It was addressed in the SF2 series of games, and it no longer works. Other workarounds have been sought, but nothing worked. Strike Fighters is another kind of game (and I am a huge Ace Combat fan). We modders long for additional features and bug fixes, but without a source code you cannot change how the game works and its routines. So, we have to deal with it.

I do not see the "following" you posted. I'm using my smartphone, maybe it's that. I created a mod which adds various nations with year correct decals. I advise you to try it. It's a lot of work (not just the decal creation) to get additional insignias and finflashes to show up automatically like stock ones on planes, especially when they are meant to be reversed on left-right wing etc. I did not add Army Aviation services on my mod, though. I'll probably do it in the future.

Just set the difficulty level of the game (flight model, fuel consumption etc.) to Easy in the options. The maneuvering is very much simplified ala Ace Combat then.

It makes sense after all. This X-02 is the top experimental fighter from the Erusean Air and Space Administration, as introduced in Ace Combat 04. I wish we had other Ace Combat aircraft available, such as the FALKEN and the Morgan. We have a Fenrir in the downloads section, though.

What the hell did I just saw? That's not the way to treat that beauty!

I knew about the Battle of Takur Ghar. The Medal of Honor (2010) FPS videogame's storyline is loosely based on those events. The ending of it is so sad and moving at the same time; it really made me realize the sacrifice and bravery of these men. S!

Guys, speaking of source code (not going to happen), do not think that it is easy to add new features or even fix bugs. You need a team of expert people to work on it with lots of time and dedication. Not to mention that what you add can break something; it's a difficult process. We do not even know if the code is commented, and easily understandable. Actually, it's questionable that the source code even exists at this point. Who knows? Maybe TK threw it all in the recycle bin. I am always hoping to see a more refined SF2 game, with bugs fixed and with the few features that TK had originally envisioned since SF1. But it's just a wish. Nothing we can do about it. You cannot change TK's mind and his reasons for moving on.

I strongly agree with what @streakeagle said. I do not blame TK for moving on with other kinds of products, but at the same time I wished he would understand that SF2 is unique in its kind, and that with better marketing he could probably have had more success. SF2:NA was a total failure at launch in my view, probably the result of poor planning. As for the repackaging, I have mixed feelings about the cost; had he done it before, let's say in 2015 (SF2 was last patched in 2013), the price would be fine. But it's 2019, those games have not aged really well, so $100 is a bit too much for today's market, and it's not going to be competitive with today's flight sims. That being said, I have to recognize the value of the SF series; seriously, he and his small team had to put a lot of effort into it, to reproduce so many flyable Cold War jets (the expansion packs include the most "exotic" ones, with fantastic and detailed 3d cockpits). Not to mention the research that went into the making of campaigns with correct units; a modular decals system which proved to be effective for his style of doing things and so on. So, I do not know, $100 is somewhat justified by the effort that went into it during the years (minus the broken patches and removed features).

I have to save some money, then. This is exactly what I was hoping for! Finally TK has made a decision that will bring value to his games.

Time to hunt down some Blackjacks! Thank you @Veltro2k and team! Chaff, chaff, b*tches!

So true. But even an arcade videogame like Ace Combat gets this right. Flying over 40,000ft or so with a MiG-31 shows quite a difference in top speed.