Menrva

The most comprehensive Gulf War package has been updated to version 0.9.5! Be sure to read the official announcement here: Operation Desert Storm: 30th Anniversary Edition - v0.9.5 Announcement NOTE: If you have the previous 0.9.0 version installed, please use the uninstaller to remove it completely. Clean installation is mandatory for version 0.9.5. You might want to make a backup of the Controls folder, so that you can easily restore your controller settings afterwards.

I'm proud to announce the second official release of Operation Desert Storm: 30th Anniversary Edition, now reaching version 0.9.5. Six months have passed since the first release (v0.9.0) of January 16th 2021, six months in which the development team did not rest, producing a wealth of tweaks, bug fixes and exclusive, brand new additions to this comprehensive package. Unwanted bugs found their way in the January release, due to time constraints and the team wanting to meet the deadline in time for the 30th anniversary of this historic operation. Now we offer a much more refined and expanded experience, with quality of life improvements and welcome bonuses. Be sure to read the massive (albeit summarized) change log (Operation Desert Storm: 30th Anniversary Edition - Early Access) to learn more about all of the efforts that went into this new release. The package is free for download to all official Modders and Subscribers of the site. Those whose 2021 6-month subscription plans expired have been granted access to the package at no extra cost. Users who acquired the mod via a 1-month subscription plan will have to renew it for access to this brand new release. CombatACE.com admins thank you for your support towards the monthly costs of the site.

I've heard there are bad fires in some parts of Turkey. I hope you're safe and away from them. It's great to see your interest on the M-84 tank I requested for the ODS 30AE total conversion mod. Kuwait only had a handful of them back then, still they are a worthy addition for this Gulf War anthology we've been working on for some 15 months. This Autumn I'm sure the ODS team will work on even greater things. It's my pleasure and privilege to be working with you, guys!

Over the Persian Gulf...

Helicopters are going to be removed with the upcoming re-release of ODS 30AE. The previous release included them with countless bugs. A helo add-on is currently worked on for a future release, @guuruu has developed numerous work-arounds/formulas in order to get very decent flight models. That being said, the Strike Fighters 2 game engine does not support helicopters at all, they are treated as fixed-wing aircraft, so they take-off from runways and so on. Helicopter fans should look elsewhere for a helo game or simulator. Helo add-ons can be enjoyable within SF2 to an extent, but I would never recommend Strike Fighters for helicopters.

S!

@Icarus999 My answer to your question posted here: https://combatace.com/forums/topic/91363-strike-fighters-2-screenshots-thread/?page=117&tab=comments#comment-787626 Those NL terrains are just like common Strike Fighter terrains, they use the same tile based system. In theory, one could create custom TODs for each tileset, thus adding trees and buildings. However, given the lack of a proper tool for TOD creation (TW's Terrain Editor is a mess to work with) and due to these terrains featuring hundreds of custom tiles (maybe a thousand or more in total), TODs for them are out of question at this stage.

@GKABS Enjoy the vacation, you deserve it! Thank you so much for this last addition, it will be added soon in time for the next release of ODS.

Correction; those terrains were converted by gerwin, I just took design decisions on matters such as target areas, terrain surroundings, water maps, etc. Mandatory screen;

@Wrench I'm so sorry to hear that. No worries, health comes first. Wish your family a full recovery and brighter days ahead.

Just for fun, someone suggested Boeing sold the data of the X-32 to Russia. I find it so amusing if only it were true. Indeed the front intake gives smiley X-32 vibes.

As far as I know, formation types for ships are only meant for cargo ships (ShipConvoy) and patrol boats, both types are used as random target objects during anti-ship missions. Warships such as Frigates have no formation type assigned, it's the game that automatically creates naval fleets depending on the terrain's nature (NavalMap=TRUE) and on the terrain's nations list. If you use the Mission Editor, you must go to the other tab which lets you create a naval fleet instead (it's that button with an aircraft carrier and other ships around).

AFAIK there's no simple, single balloon object available, apart from the stock ones included with First Eagles. In the FE download section you'll find airships and Zeppelins by Stephen1918, they are much bigger than common balloons. It would be cool to have a simple balloon object for use as a target in training, or as observation balloons. Gepard's 3d model is good for the environment, but you cannot destroy each single balloon in it, as they are all part of the same 3d model. @Wrench We have a discussion on the matter in the restricted ODS forum, namely about FE2's stock balloon objects. I'd like to hear from you about it, see you there!

@GKABS That issue also seems to exist on the latest Bradleys by guuruu coming with the next ODS 30AE update. I have no idea why it happens, but if we find out, we can solve it on these other models as well.

Oh man, why don't they bring the disco music of the 70s back? Bee Gees, The Trammps, Tavares... Granted I'm a weirdo, I'm 26 so I should be liking nowadays' mainstream crap, or at least that's what majority of my generation listens to; trap which rhymes with crap, they just got the first letter wrong.

The tragic irony is that variants of the virus were all born in countries which did not take the situation seriously at the beginning or even forever, England, South Africa, Brazil and lastly India, where they were using omeopathy against the virus, now they've got themselves a tragedy. If this was the Chinese's fault, the rest of the world would be in a better shape by now. Instead no, short-sighted politics brought the West to its knees. We all have a responsibility towards one another. Be safe out there, people. Even two shots of vaccines provide less protection against the Delta variant, especially for elders. Vaccines do not stop transmission in any case; common sense, masks and distancing should be continued or this nightmare will never end in years (and I'm currently pessimistic).

LOL! It reminded me of this show by Trevor Noah. The difference between European and American sports commentators...

Mod package has been updated to Version 1.5; read the change log for further details.

View File NovaLogic Terrains NovaLogic Terrains July 13th, 2021 (1st Release) by Menrva and gerwin >For Strike Fighters 2, Recommended Full-5 Merged This package was born after the discovery of similarities between the terrain engine of Strike Fighters and that of NovaLogic's flight sims from the late nineties. Upon my initial idea, gerwin helped make it true with his incredible programming skills; without him, these terrains wouldn't even exist for use on Strike Fighters. This package features not one, not two, but all thirteen terrains converted from all NovaLogic's flight sims. Due to differences between game engines, these terrains are smaller in scale in Strike Fighters compared to how they are in NovaLogic's games. Here below a summary of what's included: NL01_IslandGreen (Region: Meadow) from F-22 Lightning II NL02_IslandSnowy (Region: Tundra) from F-22 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor NL03_Desert1 (Region: Arid) from F-22 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor NL04_Jungle1 (Region: Forest) from F-22 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor NL04_Jungle2 (Region: Jungle) from F-16 Multirole Fighter and MiG-29 Fulcrum NL05_Savannah1 (Region: Woodland) from F-22 Raptor NL05_Savannah2 (Region: Savanna) from F-16 Multirole Fighter, MiG-29 Fulcrum and F-22 Lightning 3 NL06_Desert2A (Region: Brush) from F-22 Raptor NL06_Desert2B (Region: Desert) from F-16 Multirole Fighter and MiG-29 Fulcrum NL07_Steppe (Region: Steppe) from F-16 Multirole Fighter and MiG-29 Fulcrum NL08_Scrub (Region: Scrub) from F-16 Multirole Fighter, MiG-29 Fulcrum and F-22 Lightning 3 NL09_Glacial (Region: Glacial) from F-16 Multirole Fighter, MiG-29 Fulcrum and F-22 Lightning 3 NL10_IslandJungle (Region: Tropical) from F-22 Lightning 3 These terrains feature 500m resolution heightmaps and original low-res tilesets (tweaked for the Strike Fighters engine). Each terrain is meant to represent a generic region of the world. Nations are properly limited to ones coherent with each setting, and island terrains enable the use of naval fleets and aircraft carriers. As such, these terrains are meant to be used in a full-5 merged mod folder of all SF2 titles. At this stage very few target areas have been added to each terrain, providing basic support for all mission types, so just enjoy quick missions against the enemy; hopefully these terrains will be completed with more details one day. About development, gerwin took care of reverse engineering NovaLogic's files and converting them to SF2 format, plus writing the tools for that. Me and him manually fixed most water alpha channels and adjusted colors in few tiles. Design choices such as target areas, routes, terrain height and surroundings, are mine; if you have any suggestions about this package, contact me. >Credits (in no particular order): -gerwin, for converting these terrains to the Strike Fighters game engine and for expanding his awesome tools with new features. I included his very nice Airfield 7+8 Addon Pack, too. -Wrench, for permission to upload this package which is based on outdated assets from old games. >Disclaimer: This is a freeware; yet it can be redistributed ONLY in other CombatACE mods/mod packages. Any changes to the package's files and/or any copy-and-paste attempts of their contents are NOT authorized if you plan to release them in other mods. But permission might be granted to those who request it to me at CombatACE. This mod may NOT in any way, shape or form be used in any payware additions. Submitter Menrva Submitted 07/13/2021 Category Full Terrains

View File Outer Space Terrains Outer Space Terrains July 13th, 2021 (1st Release) by Menrva and nuni >For Strike Fighters 2, Recommended Full-5 Merged This package was born out of fun while working on the realSKY Environment enhancement mod. It features two experimental terrains, Moon and Mars, each with own environment data files which allow different gravity acceleration values and custom skies. Due to various hardcoded factors of the stock game, the Moon terrain shows contrail effects at very high altitude like any other terrain, as well as overcast/inclement weather layers which cannot be disabled in any way; enjoy these custom environments by taking such and other game engine limitations into account. It is suggested to install the realSKY Environment mod, since the custom environment data references extra details from that package. Both terrains feature fresh new 250m resolution heightmaps (instead of the stock 500m resolution), allowing for greater details and precision in elevation changes; overall they provide each terrain with a better look. Given that these are extraterrestrial terrains, different types of source data had to be used in their creation; for this and other limitations, altitudes of geographical features are inaccurate. The Moon terrain spans from 2040 to 2070, while Mars is available from 2060 to 2090; both are designed for fictional clashes between Red forces (Russian Space Forces and People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force) and Blue forces (United States Space Force and French Space Force). Both terrains contain only two bases, one for Friendly forces and one for Enemy forces, fully populated with custom objects created by nuni. Few target areas have been added so that users can easily discover features such as craters, plateaus and valleys. At this stage, only the Recon mission type is available, so just have fun by flying over these barren terrains. Off Map bases have been added to both terrains and long range AI flights could be generated from them. An Orion MPCV created by nuni in three different variants has been added as a flyable aircraft as well as a terrain object in points of interest. In addition, custom skins have been created for it so that all AI-only space forces spawn with at least one terrain-specific aircraft; I would have liked to include other feasible and realistic spacecraft, but none are available at this stage. If you wish to contribute to this end, just contact me. The idea is to create plausible space warfare and exploration scenarios, so alien and sci-fi stuff should not be involved. Of course, you're free to alter the original scenario for your own personal use. >Credits (in no particular order): -nuni, for creating the Orion MPCV and all featured space terrain objects. -gerwin, whose TFDtool has proved to be essential in today's terrain making. -mue, for the improved shaders he made and for the tools he made for SF2 modding. >Disclaimer: This is a freeware; yet it can be redistributed ONLY in other CombatACE mods/mod packages. Any changes to the package's files and/or any copy-and-paste attempts of their contents are NOT authorized if you plan to release them in other mods. But permission might be granted to those who request it to me at CombatACE. This mod may NOT in any way, shape or form be used in any payware additions. Submitter Menrva Submitted 07/13/2021 Category Full Terrains

Never been a huge fan of what ifs, but this plane is so unique and rare, it would be a great addition to the amazing roster of aircraft in Strike Fighters. The Wiki page says that 7 such aircraft were built; I'm not sure if that's reliable info, but it wouldn't even be a big what if in that case.