beachav8r

..after too much SF2 Vietnam...all I see is targets! * From my flight(s) today - ..seems my CitationUltra.ini doesn't have entries for hardpoints! BeachAV8R Edited so the humorless NSA doesn't raid my house...<g>

<G> I don't see an "unlike" button... <G>

Thanks Stary - that is a high compliment and I'm glad I can help spread the word about the great work TK did, and that you guys continue to do with the series. The pulse pounding action when you are heading over the beach and the AAA starts to pound around you is comparable to the sims that take 50 switches to get started. I mean, I love the DCS planes because there is a huge feeling of accomplishment in just getting the systems nailed..but Strike Fighters has a great environmental quality to it that really shines. Re: fire and smoke - <G> - I don't know if we need less of it, or if I just need a few more cores and an i7 to take better advantage of it! Was thinking about presenting the next AAR as a Video AAR, but I'll have to post-process it because apparently SweetFX and FRAPS don't work well together. Looking forward to whatever else you guys push down the pipe. After Vietnam (which could take awhile), I'm probably shooting for the Operation Desert Storm campaign.. Looks right down my alley.. Thanks again for all the hard work you guys do creating the mods, tweaking them, and setting us moron end users on the right path to getting them all working <g>.. BeachAV8R PS - Sure wish TK would show some indications of where the series is heading. It would be really nice to see him get back to PC platform programming. IOS apps...meh...

I've heard of this rumored country...sort of like that country rumored to be south of us..

Anyone know how to turn OFF the saving of screenshots by SweetFX in the installed folder? I use the default TW screenshots and really don't need 6MB extra for each image being saved by SweetFX.. (?) BeachAV8R

So this weekend I'm going to (finally) map my Warthog to take more advantage of the commands available. I'm curious what other people are doing and have found useful. And I'm not looking for ultra-realism or anything - for instance, I'd imagine some people map a "padlock" command perhaps to one of their buttons. I figure I probably need to have some radar commands mapped (modes), probably target selector button, and weapons cycling. Right now I'm using the little lever on the HOTAS labeled INCR - DECR (it is an axis) as my thrust vector - but I probably should have it somewhere on the throttle that I don't have to take my hands off the throttle. I haven't even mapped flares or chaff yet simply because the A-6A I'm flying doesn't (or isn't supposed to) have them. So any TM Warthog users want to share their assignments? I'd be interested in what other non-TM users have mapped too.. BeachAV8R

Interesting - learned some things I never knew: - The airplane has it's own APU. I always figured it just used battery power to get the engine spinning to the point they could introduce fuel. - I didn't know they could control the MFD LSK with the stick. I mean, I know there are a ton of commands mapped to the HOTAS, but I didn't know they could actually mouse around on the displays.. - Did not know CF-18s had a spotlight... - I did not know there was a country located north of the United States. What is this "Canada" he so often speaks about? BeachAV8R

That's great. Sometime's it's tough to know what cumulatively has been wrapped up in these bigger mods (unless you read the entire changelog..which I usually skim, but didn't remember seeing it mentioned there..) Good to know.. And thanks eburger for the awesome flak! BeachAV8R

That'd be cool..! PS - all of the screen in AAR #6 I just posted are pretty much no post processing. The only thing I changed to the stock SweetFX captured images was that I'd crop them if I needed to and I added a 2% noise through PhotoShop to make them look slightly more weathered. Colors were done in-game with SweetFX. I found the setting to reduce the saturation to a bit more. It might not look as real and vivid as the real thing..but I think the images closely match the color photos of the era. And that mission was flown with overcast..so the sunny ones should be a fair bit brighter.. BeachAV8R

The F-105 is my other mistress... I might consider switching to one for one of the other phases of the campaign (B or C or something..).. The only Thirdwire title I haven't picked up thus far is NA. If I found some compelling reason to get it, I would..but I think after Rolling Thunder I'll end up doing some Desert Storm AARs because that is another of my favorite regions.. Would having NA add anything to SF: Europe with the Desert Storm mod? (Like - could I have those carrier task forces in the Gulf..?) BeachAV8R Tankers and multiplayer would really round out this sim nicely.. Kickstarter TK? C'mon..I'll be your PR guy! <g> BeachAV8R Good idea.. <files it away in the memory banks..>.. <G>

I'm wondering if that mod isn't bundled into one of the components of my install. Since eburger and malibu have both worked on various aspects of part of my install A-6 Superpak and Ground War expansion..I'd bet it is. Seems like the flak does pretty good... In any case, it is damn scary when it comes out of nowhere and starts blasting all around! <g> BeachAV8R

[size:9pt]Note - In an effort to continuously improve the sim, starting with this AAR I've also enabled SweetFX, which basically does post-process work in realtime through DirectX (PFM if you ask me). This allows you to change HDR settings, colors, saturation, and add various effects that you see in realtime while playing the sim. A fantastic tool that can be used in all kinds of sims. More Strike Fighters 2 specific SweetFX details found HERE![/size] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's mission is to strike the enemy PT boat base at Loc Chau. At first I get excited thinking it was the PT boat base I had spotted on a previous mission, but I soon realize it is not the same (that one was on the coast, this one is on a river). Our pair of A-6As is tasked to take out the barracks buildings in a coordinated strike with other assets. The sense of being involved in a true "Alpha Strike" in this sim is very good. With a gleam in my eye, I hatch a little plan. So far in this campaign I've been a pretty good sailor, sticking to the script and the mantra of "one pass - haul ass". BUT, I'm pretty sure this target is going to be pretty juicy, so I plan for that eventuality. My target is the barracks building, so I equip myself with six 1,000 lb. bombs which should do the trick. I also equip my wingman with four 1,000 lb. bombs as a backup. I knock my fuel load down to 75% and decide to load up on Snakeyes for targets of opportunity. With fourteen of the 500 lb. retarded bombs loaded I'm a flying bomb truck! There is a high overcast at around sixteen thousand feet today, giving us a little bit of room to get some altitude for the initial bomb drop. Ahead of us, the Phantoms get to work on the MiGs that are converging over the target area... Alpha strike inbound! As we climb toward the coast I configure my bombs for release... We press toward the IP and I see some shapes go scooting down the right side of the aircraft. Fortunately the CAP flight is on top of things but the action gets uncomfortably close as black smoke puffs and trails mark the demise of MiGs and Crusaders... I offset the target area slightly to allow me to keep it in view out the front corner of the canopy. I've found this to be a good technique for keeping the target in sight while planning the pop-up and roll in maneuver. Of course, as we cross the coast every gun in North Vietnam opens up on us. To increase the odds of a successful mission I give my wingman the weapons free command. To my surprise, he must take a more direct line to the target and as I'm finishing my roll in I can see his bombs starting to ripple across the site. Wow! Other explosions are hitting the site, so there must have been another flight tasked with other portions of the facility... My DIANE reticle crosses the target and I press and hold the pickle button. It always seems to take an eternity for all the bombs to ripple off. The exploding flak illuminates the bottom of my aircraft... As tracers zoom behind me, I pull off hard to the left (south) fleeing toward the coast... As I climb away my bombs hit the southern shoreline... I have no idea if I've hit my target, but it looks pretty good! The smoke from multiple strikes is extremely heavy, so it is impossible to see much down there, but I can see a few PT boats moored in the river and tied up to the docks... I proceed offshore and perform a split-S to drop down to low altitude for the follow up (unauthorized) strike.. I setup for a low altitude, jinking flight down the river and zoom in on my HUD to see if I can spot the boats.. We are so low I think I can hear the guns firing at me. The flak is tremendous as the whole compound fires wildly into the air. I try to steady for a couple seconds and jab the pickle button... Whoosh! The explosions rip down the river... An enormous pull to the left blacks me out momentarily... I roll out heading for the beach and take a glance toward the site..all flames and smoke.. I query the TAC for a mission status and she reports the mission is indeed a success. I check in on my wingman and he is intact. I'm using a modified FORMATIONS.INI, but for some reason my selection #9 (RETURN TO BASE) does not seem to work. I had wanted to send him home prior to my second pass to make sure he stayed out of trouble. Fortunately, he was resetting out to the east anyway and wasn't even close to me on my second run. I need to look into why the RTB command isn't working... We cross offshore and my radar picks up the fleet about 50 miles offshore... While I'm on the wing-leveler autopilot I watch some more action with the F12 view. This cool little rapid firing gun is gonna get extra rice tonight for taking down this A-4..! Soon we are passing over carriers. I keep checking for numbers to make sure I get the right one.. There is the Oriskany - <S>..she is now an artificial reef off of Florida if memory serves me correctly.. Finally I see my carrier, the Independence, conveniently steaming west alongside the Coral Sea... As I line up for my approach I suddenly notice that I've taken a little damage to my tail feathers! Wow..didn't even know it..! No controllability issues, but scary nonetheless. I'm in a perfect groove and as I touchdown I'm actually a bit shocked when I bounce over the wires. Bolter! I jam the throttles forward and milk the aircraft off the angled deck... That was embarrassing. I roll around on a circling downwind and get back into the groove once more.. I *think* that distances in the SF world are compressed, so I think the distances to fly to targets and the overall size of the theaters are smaller than real life (I could be wrong about that). So fuel seems like it is never an issue. The sim would be even more immersive if fuel became more critical faster. Both Jane's F-15 and Jane's F-18 were pretty cool about that..fuel was really critical to monitor in those sims.. We come back in and catch a shallow, crappy one wire due to me not wanting to bolter again... The mission is a success. Turns out I was wounded on the sortie. At least I didn't kill Morgan! Looks like I was tagged by a pissed off PT boat. Fortunately my "rogue" secondary strike didn't cost us too much. The debrief states I destroyed eleven torpedo boats. That felt good... BeachAV8R

Had a good chuckle at this one last night. This F-4 was pursuing this MiG-19 over a heavily defended port area. The flak was intense. As I was watching, the F-4 was easing into position behind the MiG when suddenly the MiG was hit by a piece of flak intended for the F-4.. Doh! Pretty cool that that randomness of flak is modeled and that there is no magic formula buried in the code that protects friendlies.. BeachAV8R

That's good to know. So far I've been pretty good at hitting my targets..but then again they have been very BIG targets (buildings, oil containers..) so it doesn't take much accuracy to take them out. Thanks for the reply.. BeachAV8R

I put a copy of all the zip contents in \ProgramFiles\Thirdwire\StrikeFighters2\ and then also copies in the MOD folders (looks like you were putting it in the game install FLIGHT folder): user/savedgames/StrikeFighters2 Vietnam/Flight and user/savedgames/StrikeFighters2 Vietnam/Menu Give that a whirl... BeachAV8R

Yeah - I'm not too interested in any of those (yet)..just want a more subdued color for Vietnam... South China sea.. BeachAV8R

Couple more unedited screens showing the output from SweetFX - still a touch too dark for me, but I can change some settings to lighten up or desaturate the colors a bit I think.. BeachAV8R

<wink> Maybe! I dunno. In doing some research (searching the forums) I saw several posts talking about water color - is there some relationship with water color and where ships are able to sail or something? I haven't actually tried my new water in the campaign..but if it screws up some sort of setting identifying water as water then obviously that wouldn't be good. So does just changing the color/saturation of the water cause some other undesirable consequences? I'm good at fixing one thing and breaking three others.. But I'm pretty damn happy with my install right now - (that means..back that *hit up right now right..?!) Regards, BeachAV8R

Figured I'd post this in case anyone was interested in dorking around with this stuff. While searching for some ocean color palette tweaking I came across the great thread by ArturR about SweetFX and how it could be used in SF2. Discussion is HERE! SweetFX is sort of an ingame DirectX filter system that works like post-processing, except in real time (is generally how I understand it). I followed the instructions in that thread and had it up and working in no time. I put the files in my main SF2 directory (c:/thirdwire/strikefighters2/) and also put them in my MOD folder in the FLIGHT and MENU directories. As Stary indicates I think later in that thread - when tweaking the settings, you really only need to mess with the SweetFX_settings.txt file that is located in your MOD/FLIGHT directory to see the results. Allegedly you can even tweak the .txt file on the fly, but I've never been able to ALT-TAB out of SF2 without losing the ability to get back into the sim (I get a brown screen where the sim sounds like it is still running but I can't see anything unless I hit ESC and exit the mission - can anyone else successfully task switch when running SF2?) Link to most recent version of SweetFX: LINK! It is quite fun to mess around with the settings and get some image changes that suit you. I personally set mine to do some mild vignetting and slightly adjusted things like the saturation, HDR, bloom, and some other factors. These will allow me to basically (almost) just take my screens right out of the screenshot directory without having to post process them in PhotoShop for the AARs I write. Your mileage may vary of course. Separately, I also changed the waternormal.bmp file a bit and dropped the levels down a bit and decreased the saturation to give a bit of a darker tint to the ocean off Vietnam. Messing with the .bmp file in PhotoShop and running the sim can give some odd effects..so it was a bit of trial and error before I decided on the following color. The left side is the modified color and the right was the original from the Green Hell 3.5 install (I think tile was part of that mod?).. The new color gives an interesting reflective band according to where the sun is hitting the water - so it may or may not look good through all time phases of the sim (I'm still evaluating it), but overall I like the sunlight on the water look (sort of dramatic).. These two screens are with the new water tile and with SweetFX running and include all the running SweetFX effects that I have selected - this is what it looks like in game and these images are not altered: They look pretty good IMO - but I might tweak SweetFX to lighten them up just a smidge... I've attached my SweetFX configuration file and the water file just in case anyone wants to mess with them. Back up your originals of course before throwing that bmp in your mod folder.. BeachAV8R WATERNORMAL.zip SweetFX_settings.txt

Note - In our last mission - I stated that I had switched to CrazyhorseB34's VA-75 skin, but in fact the campaign defaulted to the nice looking skin included in Homefries' and malibu's A-6 Superpak. In order to correct that, I moved the Crazyhorse VA-75 skin into the default folder so that it will load until I'm able to select my own skins (apparently you can do that once you reach a certain rank in the sim.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our mission for today is one of the more iconic ones. The Thanh Hóa Bridge spanned the Song Ma river and was a frequent target for frustrated U.S. war planners for seven long years between 1965 and 1972. Despite having damage inflicted on it multiple times, it wasn't until 1972 that a "smart" weapon was finally able to destroy the bridge. The Vietnamese nicknamed the bridge The Dragon's Jaw... The mission is originally tasked to have just a flight of two A-6As. Knowing the history of the bridge, I elected to add another two wingmen to improve our odds and perhaps divide the enemy fire... All members of the flight will carry four 2,000 lb. bombs each... CrazyhorseB34's awesome VA-75 skin - appropriate to 1965 and it has the correct carrier (CVA-62 Independence) on the side. I particularly like the humor of the "Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club" - gotta love attack pilot humor! The second element is ready on the waist catapults... What is really cool about SF2 missions is the amount of other stuff going on. Two other carriers are nearby launching their own aircraft in support of the strike. These F-8 Crusaders will be our CAP flight launching from the Bon Homme Richard (CV-31)... Soon all our aircraft are launched... The Oriskany feeds some airframes into the battle as well - A4s I believe? F-4s launch from another carrier... Further inland, a pair of F-100s is on another mission.. As we get closer to the coast, I radio my flight to spread out... I have the throttle eased back hoping that the CAP flights will pull out in front of us to clear the airspace. I glance at the map (yes - a cheat I know) and see some MiGs awaiting us. I slow down further.. The F-4s start shooting, but they aren't engaging the targets I'm most worried about... The MiGs continue to head south and I have no option but to break off the planned flight path and I try dragging them to the east toward more blue air power. The A-6A isn't the speediest demon in the world even when it doesn't have four tons of ordnance hanging off it, so we have to trade some altitude for airspeed and we drop quickly from 20,000'... The MiGs have taken an interest in the second element and they are closing the distance. I swing us back around to the northwest, continuing to drag them like a train into some blue CAP flights. I beg on the radio for assistance... Our continued quest for speed drives us ever lower until we can go no further.. Lion flight comes to our rescue and takes on the MiGs - that was close! We retreat back to the safety zone between the MiGs and the coast... We complete another course reversal and I pick up another flight (Chevy) that we can duck under which should provide us some cover... Sure enough, they cross over the top of us and start engaging the remaining MiGs.. We take the opportunity to climb back up to 15,000' to give us room to release our bombs.. A quick glance with labels confirms the primary target location and it looks like we are lined up right down the axis.. As I roll in I give a quick command to my wingman and the element to engage the target – hoping that at least one of us can get bombs on the target… The flak is murderous and shells zip by my canopy and explode behind me as I press downward waiting for the ‘DIANE’ bomb fall reticle to pass over the bridge. I don’t know how those guys did this in real life..it is unnerving waiting for that shell that will take your wing off. Guess I can’t buy a JDAM kit in 1965 huh? As soon as my bombs release I yank hard to the left. I complete nearly a 180 before my bombs hit sending up an enormous plume of debris – wow those 2,000 pounders really put on a show! A span drops into the river – guess the Dragon’s Jaw isn’t quite as impervious in SF2… I jink my way back to the coast and hit the wing leveler autopilot and take a glance at how my wingmen are doing. The element (#3 and #4) have pulled off dry with weapons still hanging from their wings. I give them the order to rejoin since I don’t want them doing anything stupid over the target area. I query the Tactical Air Controller and she verifies that the mission is accomplished, so I then order the element to drop their tanks which makes them dump their ordnance into the ocean. The flight is spread out a bit as we come offshore but everyone is clear and there are no MiGs in the immediate vicinity. Each mission where my guys all come off the target feels like a victory unto itself.. With the wing leveler on I’m free to do some sightseeing with the F12. I watch a fascinating engagement between an F-4 and a MiG. This screen isn’t all that remarkable until you realize that isn’t the MiG launching a missile..it is a missile missing the MiG! I don’t get a chance to revisit the engagement, but I like to believe that lucky bastard got away clean and made it back to Hanoi… I find my carrier and drop into the groove. I’m surprised to see a gaggle of F-4s on final recovering too and things get a little bit tense as I trap then have to goose the throttle to get out of the landing zone. It is really cool to see all the other flight returning to their ships. I hope everyone made it home safely, but I know that is wishful thinking… The mission is a success, to my great surprise. The flak was impressive but our exposure was minimal. It was historically inaccurate to have dropped the span on this mission. An interesting historical note is that C-130s actually attacked this bridge using unique 5,000 lb. “mass focus” bombs in a failed attempt to destroy the bridge in May of 1966. There is a great article about it at AirForceMag.com… Of interest in the debrief is the 14-second bomb fall time. It begs the question whether wind affects ordnance in SF2..because I would have bet on a miss with such a high altitude drop… Another exciting mission in the books and again, continued thanks to Homefries, malibu, Crazyhorse, Stary, and all of the other guys that made these missions possible. TK must be pretty amazed at how you guys ramped up his sim! <S> BeachAV8R

That's good to know. I must have been pretty close to the minimum release altitude on that Snakeye pass. Good to know that it is possible to frag yourself.. Thanks! BeachAV8R

I gave it a shot - I initially thought I got it..but it has some annoying shimmering effects and is better at lower sun angles than high ones.. I'll experiment with it a bit more later tonight.. BeachAV8R

A little mea culpa..I thought I was using Crazyhorse's A-6A skin, but in fact it was the one from the package malibu and Homefries had put together. Seems that I'm not able to alter my skin selection until I reach a certain rank. I remedied that by making the Crazyhorse A-6A VA-75 skin the default one... BeachAV8R

Hey Stary - do you know of any darker color water textures that I can use? The ones I'm using now seem a little too "cyan"-ish..so I'm desaturating the cyan a bit when I post-process the screens to make the water a bit less brilliant. Just curious if there is a darker water color available I could experiment with? Before and after post process editing.. BeachAV8R

Indeed - I always liked the ability in Jane's F-15 of renaming your squadron mates. I always enjoyed making them my best friends...and..uh..sending ex-girlfriends out on SEAD.. BeachAV8R