beachav8r

I think it looks pretty good over Vietnam too..! Those clouds are just superb Stary.. And Green Hell looks awesome too. This sim has aged quite well...

Alrighty..I think I'm there. Desaturated the files 31-38 at the same level, then brightened them at the same level. So no purple..and still a good look to them I think. Hope you don't mind Stary..just going for a bit more of a gritty and subdued look...

Hmm..I tried like desaturating them..but I'm not very good at this and I end up with a pretty visible seam between the tiles...

Oh..I think I found it (actually them..I think HORIZONCLOUD31 to 38 are the culprits..! Maybe I can fix something by myself for once..! (Oh dear..there goes my entire SF install I'm sure..!)

Sorry for the thread revival. I was going through my install tonight and wanted to tweak some of the settings from this awesome mod to remove a bit of the purple hue and go back to the more light blue sky color. I found most of the sky settings in the FLIGHT / ENVIRONMENTSYSTEM file and just went back to Stary's original 1.5 settings for things such as Ambient, Sky, Horizon, and Fog colors. This worked very well in returning most of the colors to a more subdued blue. Here is a before and after: My only problem is with BROKEN cloud settings there is a lingering purple hue to the some of the clouds..it looks like a specific type or layer - can anyone point me to the file I need to replace or alter? My assumption is that it is a cloud texture that can't be changed via the ENVIRONMENTSYSTEM.INI but rather is a TGA or something with specific color attributes. Any ideas? Regards, BeachAV8R

Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with..!

Sorry for the obviously dumb question - but what are the chances we could see a campaign built specifically for this map? I'd love to give the map a whirl..but have no idea how to make a campaign for it. Or can I just install it and make Quick Missions on it?

Strike Fighters is impossible to quit. Whenever one asks the question: Is there a sim that can do this? - Many times the answer is Strike Fighters..

Cool..I'd like to check this out for the Harrier - I always love seeing some dirty exhaust coming from those! BeachAV8R

I put up a light article on the awesome Kesselbrut / eburger68 Falklands Redux campaign (which I'm enjoying the heck out of!).. Now, on to win the war..or more likely, lose it..! http://www.mudspike.com/ (Mods - if this needs to be moved..feel free..) PS - Thanks PureBlue - I'm still using your smoke/particle effects for the AV-8B for the Sea Harrier as well. I love me some smoke! BeachAV8R

I'm getting a little pushback on referring to the mod as the Falklands/Malvinas mod. I can understand the emotion of it - but am a bit stuck in the middle from a "world view" perspective.

Out of curiosity - does anyone know the length of the runway as modeled in this mod? In reality - at the beginning of the war it was around 4,100' (deemed too short at the kickoff of hostilities to host a fast jet presence). After the British ejected Argentina from the islands, they lengthened the runway using aluminum matting to 6,100' I believe. Just curious what length is in the mod..I can't really ascertain a way to measure it. Fascinating reading by the way on the Port Stanley airfield here in three parts..really good stuff: Part I: http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2013/02/that-famous-runway-at-port-stanley-part-1-pre-conflict/ Part II: http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2013/02/that-famous-runway-at-stanley-part-2-conflict/ Part III: http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2013/02/that-famous-runway-at-stanley-part-3-post-conflict/ BeachAV8R

And if you guys don't mind a quick question - what setting would cause my wingman (seems like it is only in the Sea Harrier though) to fly so close that his wing actually comes into contact with mine? And he does not respond to certain commands like SPREAD and CLOSE UP..but he does respond to certain other commands (like BREAK and ATTACK MY TARGET). Is there a custom menu.ini command for each aircraft or something that I'm missing? A bit stumped on that one...fortunately it doesn't really affect gameplay..I just tell him to break a couple of times per mission and he gets some distance and it takes him awhile to get back to paint scraping distance... BeachAV8R

LOL..well, poor Eduardo my wingman up there at my high 4 o'clock had more than his eardrums burst by the looks of it..

Wow - I love the updated environmental effects Stary - really nicely done. Poked around a bit to see what's been up and combined with Mue's distance and shimmering fixes..things are looking better than ever! BeachAV8R

Fantastic story. You did what I've always wanted to do - take a demo flight and see just how much of my sim flying translates to an actual flight. Being that one of the books in my Top 5 books of all time is Chickenhawk, I've always been fascinated with helicopters. Oddly enough, I've worked for an air ambulance company for 16 years that has five helicopters flying right alongside the fixed wing fleet, and I've never been in one. How messed up is that??! I kick myself too because a few years back we replaced our Bell 430s with EC-135s - I really should have grabbed a ride in those 430s. Dang..great story and should put the fire in my butt to go down and give it a shot. We have a guy with a Schweizer 300C at the little airport in my town - I should sign up... Thanks for sharing the story... BeachAV8R

Reality is getting almost as good looking as a modded SF2! I wonder if Stary gave them permission to use his clouds? http://theaviationist.com/2015/04/17/vmaqt-1-prowlers-at-dusk/ BeachAV8R

The digital communists are having their way with me...LOL... BeachAV8R

Did I miss something in the rules? I thought it just said to post your progress for the day, not necessarily that you had to fly a mission per day. I might have missed the implication though...

Agree with both Zoltan and PFunk's last posts. While it is probably a fruitless endeavor to try to get inside TK's mind, I think it is probably a fair assumption that he wants to provide the best user experience and still put a roof over his head simultaneously. I have yet to meet a developer that is a sim enthusiasts that doesn't want to put every bell and whistle into a sim to put their stamp of awesomeness on it. Those that have been in the business for a decade + (like TK) temper that enthusiasm with the reality of raw monetary flow. Who wouldn't? Razorworks was awesome - where are they? Jane's was awesome - where are they (please don't answer that..it hurts to know). Microprose was awesome - where are they? So we have to live with the fact that longevity and concessions go hand in hand. That said...LOL..the bottle of wine is talking now..forgive me. I can give you a couple insights. Developers DO care what we banter about here. You might think that we represent the vocal minority (and statistically we do), but devs are no different than us. We want feedback, affirmation, and measured (read: polite) critical commentary. Where else are you going to get feedback than online forums? The people that play 10 hours and shelve a title aren't going to be expansive in their lists of pros and cons. But you also have to throw out the outliers - the guys that have flown 20 minutes and the guys that have spent their entire lives flying the same sim - neither represents your target audience which is (usually) the solid middle. Does TK read this stuff? Probably. Some birdie probably taps him on the shoulder and points him in this direction whether it is praise or infuriating criticism. Hopefully, the ratio of good to bad is equivalent to what his product represents. The reality of the situation (unfortunately) is that often the squeaky wheels are the shrillest and if a developer isn't smart enough to take that into consideration, they might get a warped sense of the reception their product is getting. It's always been my aim to represent proportionally what is good and bad in a sim. Getting back around to it (sorry, I'm wandering - casualty of cheap wine I suppose) - Zoltan - I agree...TK isn't greedy. I can't imagine anyone even putting forth that argument. Greedy how?? The series has advanced (both in graphics and features) and represents a solid place between the ridiculous (Hawx) and the obscene (DCS - albeit obscenely fun in my opinion..lol..). SF2 hits the target nearly perfectly in regards to what it shoots for. Personally, I see no need to revamp anything graphically with SF2..it looks great, plays great, and is a pretty solid platform to mod on. I truly hope TK comes back to roost and that when (if) he does we can throw the full weight of our support behind him. This isn't meant as a shot toward anyone other than myself...I simply didn't have the time available to recognize the great fit that the SF series has in our community. I recognize the error of my ways now. PFunk - agreed, the Desert Storm mod is really, really good. The beauty of the situation is that the era between Korea and Iraqi Freedom (is that what it's called?) is probably the most requested period out there. WW2..ugh..so, so not interested (personally). Korea - again..cool..but not my cup-o'-tea.. Vietnam. Bam. I'm there. Falklands? Yeah. Right on. Middle East? Timeless..you can run a plausible conflict there from the 50s to the 2080s (edit: ETERNITY, or at least until the oil runs out) probably. So mobile sims - eh..I've reviewed some, enjoyed some, but they are flash-in-the-pans. I think developers will find a point of diminishing returns on them. When they do, hopefully we will receive the developers back with open arms rather than a cold shoulder. At the risk of using a "corporate" term..it is a symbiotic relationship. So TK - SF3? BeachAV8R (all sics caused by this horrific $9 a liter wine..really? $9???)

At the end of my DiD article I tried to send some business TK's way with a bit of encouragement to readers to make it known to ThirdWire that they like their products. *shrug* Can't hurt I suppose..(now watch, TK will shut down the PC purchasing page tomorrow..lol..) http://www.mudspike.com/sf2-war-for-israel-did/ BeachAV8R

My new DiD attempt is going... http://www.mudspike.com/sf2-war-for-israel-did/ I've made an offering of chicken wings to the Gods for good luck. BeachAV8R

Yeah - that is the old adage of "We've seen the enemy, and he is us.." with regards to how we pit one sim against another. I'm always baffled at how people want, want, want..then when you give it to them, they either point out you a) Did it wrong. b) Did it too slowly. or c) Someone else did it better. <g> To me - there is no real comparison between DCS and Thirdwire sims. I think of DCS as a platform where I can play pretend fighter pilot in a deep way. I can spend 20 minutes getting the cockpit ready for takeoff and shooting an instrument approach in DCS and get an enormous sense of satisfaction out of going through those procedures successfully. As a real life pilot, it is really cool that I can get the same depth in a Ka-50 or A-10C or UH-1H that I I do in my own real cockpits. The depth and accuracy of the systems modeling is simply jaw dropping for a consumer product. I mean..the Ka-50 ABRIS alone is probably worth several hundred dollars if you were looking at buying an avionics trainer on the open market. People under-appreciate the amount of VALUE you get for DCS modules. Thirdwire (to me) - is all about fun and accessibility. The flight models are great, weapons work, the graphics are actually quite good, and the march through the campaign is relatively quick and immersive. It is a great simulation/game that has the added bonus of an enormous mod community that can pretty much come up with any platform you want to fly (cough: F-35B?).. Why anyone would slag the other when they aren't even in the same category really is baffling to me. Even sims that ARE in the same category (say DCS and BMS) - why bother throwing stones at each sim and community? It totally makes no sense. I can understand requesting features and comparing them to other sims..but the whole rah-rah flag waving of each camp is silly. I have a dozen sims loaded on my PC and each of them have their high and low points. I can't think of one that I don't enjoy playing though... BeachAV8R

Regarding mobile though - at the risk of sounding like an old, crotchety Luddite, I wonder what the depth and longevity of that user base is? I mean, once you publish a game or two for mobile, that crowd has a really short attention span. I mean, I bought an iPad a few years ago, and initially I went app buying crazy. But now - not so much. I just don't "play" much on that platform near as much as I did. It was novel..but I'm over it. This big bubble of iPad/iUsers that has come down the pipe has got a huge app selection menu now..and the dilution of that market is probably only going to increase. Whereas most of us PC flight simmers (well..many of us) probably buy nearly everything that comes down the pipe with the exception (perhaps) of some of the very, very light sim titles (like those air action/simulation games you see that have the 3rd person view where you are shooting down planes with health bars and stuff..blech..). Obviously there is, again, a crossover point. On one line of the graph you have a fairly steady base of users that will buy pretty much anything you put out, and on the other you have a huge number of app type users that is an enormous pool, but how many are you going to keep and retain? If money is the issue for TK - I have a really easy suggestion for him to rake in some cash and that is to unify all his titles under a "Gold" install because I would buy that for $50 in a heartbeat. I'm tired of having SF2:Vietnam, SF2:Israel, SF2:Europe, + DLC, +Editor, etc... We are through the individual sales period for each of those titles. Bundle them together, and sell them as a "merged" title. Then there is the possibility of DLC for SF2 that I don't think TK has even scratched the surface of. Personally, I would have no problem with an ala-carte system of in-game purchases. I mean, why hasn't TK put out a payware quality Harrier? The ones that are out there by the community are fantastic - hell, buy one of them, mod it up a bit more, and release it for $10. Anyway - I hope TK does read all this and knows he has huge fans here and elsewhere. Personally, I don't think it's all that helpful to disparage the man because it might just reinforce his attitude of being happy to be away from the rigorous expectations of the PC sim community. He has to hear the message that we are pretty darn happy with what he's created so far, and we are supportive of continued development even if it is in small steps. In this day and age of Kickstarters and other crowd funding - if money were the issue I'd be surprised that TK wouldn't explore some trial balloon type of DLC Kickstarter to gauge the interest. I can think of a dozen aircraft or theaters or features that I'd throw Kickstarter money at. Fun little round-table - hope TK has a seat at it. BeachAV8R