VonS

Brief update to this thread - instead of opening a separate post, I thought that it would be best to bump this particular thread up with fresh(er) technical info. regarding WoFFing on AMD-vid cards. Those who are sometimes troubled by flashing and/or dark terrain tiles in WoFF on AMD video might wish to have a gander at this article located at the bottom of the WoFF FM and other mods. support thread, wherein I outline an X79 server build and a few tips/tricks that might help to resolve any oddities if WoFFing on AMD GPUs. Will also update regarding this under the relevant AMD thread on SimHQ if I have not already done so. EDIT: see top post of this thread for relevant download link(s), etc. Cheers all & good WoFFing to you,

Hello fellow WOFFers, Thought I’d open this separate thread for a future mods-compatibility list for the ver. of BH&H 2 (WOFF) that will be released soon. Becker is welcome to make use of this thread for his long mods-compatibility list that is currently hosted on the WOFF threads over on SimHQ. I will also use this thread to update regarding my FM mods., GPU Tuner Patch, etc., in the future and time-permitting. For convenience and simplicity, I encourage everyone who is a member/user of CombatAce to post mods-related questions for BH&H 2 WOFF under this thread, since it will be easier to find mod-compatibility info. that way. While most WOFF-related mods. are available via Sandbagger’s site for WOFF addons, this thread will hopefully prove helpful for compatibility questions, info. regarding release of new mods. not hosted on Sandbagger’s site, etc. - and ideally will become a centralized hub for mod-related topics since there are too many mod-related threads over on the SimHQ forums for WOFF and it becomes confusing/discouraging to navigate for new WOFF fliers who might wish to load up quickly on WOFF goodies and fly. OBD, feel free to delete this thread if you will be posting a separate stickied thread for mod-compatibility questions, etc. For those interested in downloading my FM tweaks packages for the Ultimate and Platinum Eds. of WOFF, as well as GPU Tuner Patches for the Platinum Ed., including for WOTR Phase One, and the small FM tweaks package for WOTR Phase One - please see the link included immediately below. Those WOFF-related packages are not compatible with the latest, BH&H 2 edition unless otherwise indicated in this thread. I am currently busy with work and other duties, so my limited modding time will be devoted only to First Eagles 2 for the foreseeable future. Tweaks Packages for Previous Eds. of WOFF, etc. EDIT: to find my previous and current mods packages for WoFF/WoTR, click on my propeller icon here on CombatAce to go to my main profile page. Once there, click on the "about me" tab to find all relevant info. and mod download link(s). Cheers all, Von S

Hi Alpenman, those files that begin with an underscore are Mac OS files that are sometimes arbitrarily generated in various folders of my mods packages as I work on them. I usually turn off the setting to view invisible files, in the Windows 10 partition on my Mac Pro, so I did not spot those files earlier (typically they show up as visible files so I delete them before uploading my mods packages; this time they remained invisible for some reason). Have now removed all Mac-related files and have re-uploaded the RoF mods package. While those Mac indexing files don't alter the way the AI/DM mods work - I recommend re-downloading the package (the link is in the first post of this thread) - for the sake of improved cosmetics. The PWCG "ModulationsVer3" file is fine by the way (doesn't contain any Mac-related files), so that one was not re-uploaded. Cheers,

Hi Alpenman, Recommended is to check over the following two posts on the IL2 forums, regarding AI takeoff fixes for RoF. As far as I know, the problem is present in PWCG 3.x.x but not in the older 16.3.1. I have included the takeoff fix tip in my AI mods, by the way. The only other thing that I can think of is that the AI doesn't like stronger winds so it might help to reduce wind speeds too in the PWCG menu, if all else fails to resolve that takeoff problem. https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/83819-possible-fix-for-squadron-mates-not-taking-off-during-career-missions/ https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/84205-ai-not-taking-off-and-acting-weird/ Cheers,

Always stuck with the venerable SuMo/DuMo before they packed it in, unfortunately, sometime in 2023. Then I switched to UCheck_portable64 (not bad at all for a quick listing of updates but not as thorough as was SuMo). I thank thee for the WinGet suggestion; will most likely move to that one or at least note it down as a supplementary update tool. Happy New Year,

The rate of fire entry is the one labeled "ROF" in the various gun data ini files. So, for example, "Vickers_Mk1" has a rate of 400, "Vickers_Mk1_1mod" a rate of 500, "Vickers_Mk2" a rate of 600, and "Vickers_MK2boost" a rate of 850. The muzzle booster used on some of the Mk.II's noticeably increased rate of fire, but somewhat decreased reliability (i.e., more gun jams possibly). A good post on the topic is available over here, on The Aerodrome website. Cheers all & happy flying,

The stock Albatros D.III and D.V/Va are rather difficult to take down easily in FE2. I've toned down the "DefaultArmorThickness" and "MassFraction" nos. on those mid-war/late-war Alby. types (among many other FM changes) -- but they still require either a good hit on the engine, or pilot, most of the time -- to take down (or the occasional lucky flamer -- lucky for you; not for them). Recommended, for those who like to tweak manually, and if you are still vexed by late Alby. types -- is to change the DefaultArmorThickness value in the aircraft data ini file from 25 to 24 (or from 24 to 23, depending on the sub-variant of Alby.). The alternative is to increase "AmmoWT" and "Accuracy" values in the various gun data ini files -- or to use a different gun type such as "Mk2boost" instead of the standard "Mk2" Vickers, etc. (Accuracy varies among the different M.G. types and different interrupter gears used per M.G., in my FM/realism pack, by the way.) Cheers all,

@Rooster, As far as I know, for incendiary choices, the best one is the Le Prieur rocket option available for some of the Nieups., such as the 11, 16, 17 and 23. In terms of the Vickers, there is the Mark I, one or two improvements for the Mark I (designated "I_I"), also the Mk. II, and others, available in a stock install of FE2 under Saved Games/ThirdWire/FirstEagles2/Objects/Guns. If you are using the guns modifications available in my FM/realism pack for FE2, you will find other variants in there as well, such as a "Mk2boost" (Mk. II Vickers with booster on one of the guns, etc.). However, none of those are necessarily incendiary. The aircraft data inis, by the way, that are included in my FM mods pack(s), are linked to the modified gun variant data inis also included in the FM mod pack -- so there's no need to tinker with such details if my FM pack(s) are installed in full (aircraft mods, gun mods, etc.). To experiment further, regarding incendiary ammo, once you go into any aircraft data ini file of choice, search for the "Internal Guns" section. Once there, change the gun listed under the "GunTypeName=" to something other than what is currently listed. For example, in the late Albatros D.II data ini I've tweaked, the GunTypeName entry (for both the left and right M.G.s) is: 7.92MM_SPANDAU_LMG08/15 For Entente aircraft, on the other hand, there will be a Lewis or Vickers sub-type listed there. Then, change out the Vickers, or Lewis that is listed, for some other higher-caliber option that is by default included under Saved Games/ThirdWire/FirstEagles2/Objects/Guns. I recommend trying the "1PDR_VICKERS_MK3" or "11mm_VICKERS_BALLOON_GUN" option, without quotation marks, to see if one of those gives more satisfactory results. So, in short, while I don't think there are any incendiary options beyond the Le Prieur rockets available in FE2 (and while I haven't tweaked any higher-caliber options for my FM mods packages, beyond standard Spandau, Parebellum, Lewis, Hotchkiss, and Vickers variants, to change rate of fire and reliability across different periods of WWI, etc.) -- a higher-caliber option for any of the M.G.s might be worth trying out -- with results somewhat similar to those of incendiary rounds, I suppose. Have never used the gun editor program that Julio has kindly linked to above (I tweak the data ini files by opening them in text-edit programs) -- so I can't offer any comments on those various editors that are available. Happy flying (and flaming),

Permit me to recommend the “New in FE2” thread located here. You’ll find that it answers many questions relating to mod installation, as well as other issues and topics in the wonderful (but obscure) sim world of First Eagles 2. Good FE2 modding to you,

No need to uninstall such a fine sim as FE2 - keep at it when you find some free time and eventually, once you've tuned your install to your liking, you'll have one of the best single-player WWI flight sims that are currently available -- with good flight models, excellent AI, and solid scenery too. In terms of the continuing skin/camo problem for the Spad VII -- double-check the file organization indicated in the two pics. provided in this post. Couple of important things to note, so that skins show up on aircraft properly, are as follows: a) the skin files need to be in a separate folder, not thrown directly into the main level of the aircraft folder (e.g., my skins for aircraft "SPAD7_150_Brit" are located in "RAFTAN1," not directly placed into the 150_Brit folder) b) continuing with the example mentioned above, both the "TEXTURESET" file located within "RAFTAN1" and the general "SPAD7_150_Brit" initialization file (the latter is located in the main aircraft folder itself) need to contain correct info. that corresponds with the actual folder that houses the skin files (with the "RAFTAN1" folder in this case) In "TEXTURESET," there is the following entry: [TextureSet] Name=RAF Tan Nation=RAF Squadron= StartDefaultDate=1916 Specular=0.400000 Glossiness=0.150000 Reflection=0.200000 In "SPAD7_150_Brit," there is the following entry: [TextureSet001] Directory=RAFTan1 Name=RAF Tan Nation=RAF Squadron= StartDefaultDate=1916 Specular=0.400000 Glossiness=0.150000 Reflection=0.200000 Particularly important is to make sure that "SPAD7_150_Brit," to continue with the same example, contains the "texture set" section listed immediately above. Same rules apply for all other aircraft too that have custom skins, or extracted stock skins, installed. So, in short, missing "texture set" entries in the general initialization file for any given aircraft, as well as skin files not being placed into a separate folder within an aircraft folder, etc. - will create the kinds of problems (such as aircraft missing skins) that you've mentioned in this thread. Anyway, I hope that some of this info. proves helpful. I might not be logging into the FE2 forums over the summer but hope to drop in again semi-regularly sometime by Sept. or so. Cheers & happy flying in FE2,

When the cat extractor opens, there should be a split window arrangement present. The top half should show a few (compressed) files, but in order to display all of the contents of each cat file within the second window (located below the main one), make sure to check the small box that is to the left of whatever compressed cat file is visible in the top window - might take about 10 or 20 seconds after that, but a long list of files should then become visible in the lower window. Also make sure, in the first place, that you are navigating to the correct install directory with the cat extractor, to view the relevant cat files. The correct path is ThirdWire/First Eagles 2/Objects/ - once you navigate into "Objects," you'll find the relevant cat files there: ObjectData001.CAT, ObjectData002.CAT, ObjectData003.CAT, and ObjectData004.CAT. Cheers,

For any aircraft that were originally AI-flown in FE2, and then later made flyable via tweaks, mods, etc. -- best is to extract skins for said aircraft using the excellent program called "Mue's Cat Extractor" -- see this link for instructions and other important info. regarding the cat file(s) extractor. I also recommend, when you find time, going over the entire "New in FE2" thread since it's a good intro. to modding in FE2 -- the link to that thread is over here. By the way, stock skins for the Spad VII (150 and 180 hp variants) are found in "ObjectData003.CAT" -- see the cat extractor link above for more info. on where those various cat files are located (in short, they are found in the actual FE2 game install folder, not in the FE2 user folder located under "Saved Games"). For illustrative purposes, see the pics. below that show extracted Spad VII skins and that I have then loaded into my middle eastern theater install, for a British-built 150 hp Spad VII. Pics. below point to the ThirdWire folder in "Saved Games," by the way (where all mods. and/or extracted files from the stock sim should be placed, etc.) -- not to the actual game install folder for FE2. Happy flying,

Might be possible to solve that video effects/artifacts problem by using a third-party dx9 DLL (driver) solution. It's worth an attempt at any rate. See the details in this post to try the custom solution (disregard any references to WineSkin in that post). The attempt involves downloading a third-party dx9 driver and placing that driver into the main folder directory of your First Eagles 2 install (where the game is actually installed -- not into the user's FE2 folder located under "Saved Games"). If that doesn't solve the problem, one other attempt involves opening the "Options.ini" file that is located in the Saved Games/ThirdWire/FirstEagles2 directory and setting the entries indicated below (located under [GraphicsOptions]) as follows: AntiAliasing=2 UseAdvancedShaders=0 ForceDX9=TRUE ForceVSyncOff=TRUE Cheers,

Excellent tales gents - happy to pop into the DiD IV thread occasionally to see the latest reports. I was particularly immersed in the last two entries from Bell-Gordon’s journal, Raine (right up there in quality with the Capt. Collins adventures from DiD III). Nice to see Bosta 2’s old haunt at Ghistelles in that pic - a good reminder that I should one of these days revisit my casual campaigns in WoFF that have been in storage for a couple of years. And that Huntington fellow - very entertaining indeed, the airman’s version of Kenneth Grahame’s Mr. Toad. I’m sure he will enjoy corresponding with Apollonia Willing. Cheers all.

Thought I'd pop in here with my own two (three?) cents on the topic gents - it seems that the function of that download button is being interpreted differently. In other words, when you hover over the download button with your mouse, and that grey dropdown window appears that reads "WOFF Between Heaven & Hell II" -- make sure to scroll down with your pointer to that window, and then to click on the dropdown window itself. Clicking on the main button that says "Downloads" does nothing and may look, in some browsers, like a JavaScript error or broken link. Edit: @BB, only saw now that your post explains the confusion but I'll leave my post up too. By the way, the "Downloads" button was probably less confusing before, when there were three dropdown options present, one for the latest patch to BH&H2, another for the latest patch for WoFF UE, and a third for the latest patch for the WoFF PE addon - the latter two patches have now gone into the annals of WoFF history. Cheers all & happy clicking,

Quick bump to this thread -- the "Consolidated Mods. New" Package has now been released for RoF United. Among other things, the package includes the latest, "Special Edition" AI mod. (ver. 1.4) for RoF, as well as my various mods. that were previously offered as separate downloads (such as the "M-S Type H Campaigning Tweak," etc.). See the info. and pic. in the top post of this thread for more details. Cheers all,

@C.Pascal, Recommended is to try one of the following three variant entries for the [SolidObjectTextureMaterial] entry of your terrain data ini file: and older variant that I used several yrs. ago [SolidObjectTextureMaterial] EffectShaderName= //terSolidObject.fx DepthBufferCheck=TRUE DepthBufferWrite=TRUE RenderedInOrder=FALSE AlphaTestEnabled=TRUE //FALSE CullMode=NO_CULL //CLOCKWISE LightEnabled=TRUE SpecularEnabled=FALSE EmissiveEnabled=FALSE FogEnabled=TRUE AmbientColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 DiffuseColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 ZBufferOffset=5.000000 BlendOp=BLEND_SRC_ALPHA //ONE NumTextureStages=1 TextureStage[01].TextureName= TextureStage[01].MipMap=TRUE TextureStage[01].FilterEnabled=TRUE TextureStage[01].StageColorOp=TEXTURE_MODULATE_DIFFUSE TextureStage[01].StageAlphaOp=TEXTURE //NO_OP a modified variant that works well if you are not using an AMD video card with older vid. DLLs (best suited probably for team green, i.e., nVidia) [SolidObjectTextureMaterial] DepthBufferCheck=TRUE DepthBufferWrite=TRUE RenderedInOrder=TRUE AlphaTestEnabled=TRUE CullMode=CLOCKWISE //NO_CULL LightEnabled=TRUE SpecularEnabled=FALSE EmissiveEnabled=FALSE FogEnabled=TRUE AmbientColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 DiffuseColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 ZBufferOffset=5.000000 BlendOp=BLEND_SRC_ALPHA NumTextureStages=1 TextureStage[01].TextureName= TextureStage[01].MipMap=TRUE TextureStage[01].FilterEnabled=TRUE TextureStage[01].StageColorOp=TEXTURE_MODULATE_DIFFUSE TextureStage[01].StageAlphaOp=NO_OP //TEXTURE AMD-video-card-friendly variant that I currently use (will give a ghost/hologram city effect when flying close to alpha buildings - looks fine when further away and no shimmering) [SolidObjectTextureMaterial] DepthBufferCheck=TRUE DepthBufferWrite=FALSE RenderedInOrder=TRUE AlphaTestEnabled=FALSE CullMode=NO_CULL LightEnabled=TRUE SpecularEnabled=FALSE EmissiveEnabled=FALSE FogEnabled=TRUE AmbientColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 DiffuseColor=1.000000,1.000000,1.000000,1.000000 ZBufferOffset=5.000000 BlendOp=BLEND_SRC_ALPHA NumTextureStages=1 TextureStage[01].TextureName= TextureStage[01].MipMap=TRUE TextureStage[01].FilterEnabled=TRUE TextureStage[01].StageColorOp=TEXTURE_MODULATE_DIFFUSE TextureStage[01].StageAlphaOp=TEXTURE Also recommended is to download/install Mue's tweaked FE2 terrain shaders since they work with the modified ZBufferOffset value indicated in the entries above -- click on the top link in my post over here to get to Mue's modified shaders (make sure to download the FE2 shaders when looking over Mue's post, not the ones for SF2). If all else fails, try out my AMD-vid-friendly terrain data inis located inside my large FM/realism pack (ver. 10.0) for FE2. For a more organized, step-by-step variant of what I've posted here in this lengthy post -- see this compressed one that's under the FE2 help thread. Happy flying,

The other great thing about SF2 is that you can also create mini-WWII theaters for yourself and there's a good selection of WWII aircraft as well. If on the other hand you are still stuck in WWI but are enjoying SF2, might I recommend also checking out FE2, that other flight sim. by ThirdWire. The main FE2 forum is located at this link, by the way. Happy flying with props, turbines, and other forms of propulsion too,

Quick update to this thread. Those who have installed Phase Two (BoF) of WoTR, and if interested in running my small FM tweaks package and/or various GPU Tuners for WoTR (that were tweaked in a Phase One install of WoTR) -- are highly recommended first to check this post (regarding the FM tweaks), and this post (regarding the GPU Tuners). Also relevant is this post (and this follow-up post). Cheers all & happy flying,

Thank you Julio -- yes I like the fire effect too (it is present in the ver. 10.5 FM update addon for the Strutters, but the fire effect disappears in the 10.6 "proof of concept" addon, by the way, which gives limited rpm control for some of the Strutter sub-types). Speaking of limited rpm control on the rotaries, I have in the meantime experimented further with that -- so far I have enabled limited rpm control from about 1000 to 1200 rpms on the Fokk. Eindeckers series I through III -- I will consider also including such tweaks to the Morane Bullet, also the Nieups. 11 through 27 or 28, and the early and "gaskammered" variants of the Fokk. Dr.1. Other types, such as very early ones and/or types with poorer reputations (M-S Type H, M-S Parasols, the Pfalz Eindeckers and Parasols, etc.), I will leave at default (fully on or off), for the sake of variety. Limited rpm control will also be applied to the early Camel and Clerget Camel, as well as to the early and later one-gun Tripe variants (the two-gun Tripe variant, also any other higher HP rotaries and Siemens-Halske types, such as later Pfalzes -- will be left with full throttle capabilities as previously tweaked). If interested, click on the pic. below to see a 10 min. clip of testing with the Fokk. E.III, and other relevant details. One of the changes I particularly like with limited rpm control implementation present is that there is nice wing bobbing now present just before the engine goes into the blip switch "on" spectrum -- nice representation of gyroscopic effects from the rotaries that way. Once you push further towards full throttle, within the limited rpm control band, the effects become smoother and wing bobbing less noticeable. The AI also takes advantage of the limited rpm control band for smoother landings. Bit busy with work currently but I hope to cover all of the changes in a few months -- and will release them as FM update pack version 11. [EDIT: removed clip of limited RPM control - all latest tweaks now available in the ver. 11 FM/Realism package for First Eagles 2.] Cheers all & happy flying in FE2,

@C.Pascal, as far as I am aware, the only mods. from the FE1/FEgold generation that are compatible with FE2 are older aircraft models (for example I run several FE1-era aircraft in FE2). Other mods., such as objects, terrains, etc., are best run in the generation of FE for which they were built. For terrain and other mods. that are suitable for FE2, have a look under this link. Good terrain mods. that are compatible with FE2 include Caporetto and Caporetto Ver.2, Galicia and Galicia Ver.2, Vosges and Vogesen2, also Italian Terrain. As well compatible are Palestine Terrain (by Stephen1918, not the older Palestine terrain that is available), and North Sea Terrain. As well compatible is the package called First Eagles Seasonal Tiles (by Jan Tuma). As far as I know, of those custom terrains -- only the package by Jan Tuma includes terrains for several seasons. Obviously, stock terrains in FE2 always include seasonal changes. If you prefer running stock terrains in FE2 to some of the modded terrains, recommended also is the First Eagles Stock Terrains Visual Upgrade (by Stary) -- the upgrade may have been intended for FE1/FEgold but works just as well in FE2. In terms of visual anomalies such as black terrain tiles, missing tiles, shimmering objects, buildings, etc., recommended is to check over the info. and links in the top half of this post. Cheers & happy new year, Von S

Excellent news -- and if you ever find that mainstream Firefox is starting to slow down and/or use too much memory on your Windows 7 rig -- permit me to recommend a variety of Firefox "forks" that are usually lean and fast, and remind one of Firefoxes and Netscapes of yore (some representative ones to check out include Palemoon, Seamonkey, as well as the little-known ArcticFox that comes with a WinXP build but should be compatible with Win7 too). In the worst case scenario -- if you find yourself unimpressed by those various browsers, fire up a small VirtualBox install of a simpler Linux distro like LinuxMint, and run an updated Firefox, Opera, or anything else -- from within the virtual OS system itself -- but go down the VirtualBox route only if you have enough RAM on your rig -- recommended min. of 10-12 GB RAM if you want to juggle a virtualized OS install smoothly. Cheers all & happy browsing in lesser-known browsers, Von S

Quick bump to this thread -- good news: Swambast has managed to retrieve all of the Bleriot XI files after a hard drive crash of last fall. Next up are some final additions to the model, and then proper mesh splitting, pivot point adjustments, and other related features. After that comes the ini file crunching phase and FM testing. This will all of course take several more months -- ideally, I hope to have a working beta model, and that flies, by sometime next spring -- but it all depends on how the project develops further since both Swambast and I are also busy with other duties and real work. Will post again under this thread when important developmental milestones are reached with the Bleriot. Pic. below is one of the latest Bleriot renders done by Swambast. Cheers all, Von S

Most of the code in SF2/FE2 (for multiplayer) is still there. The problem is that the Microsoft service (DirectPlay) that was necessary for MP to work disappeared sometime around Windows 7 and/or Windows Vista. Hamachi as far as I know does not work with SF2/FE2 so, theoretically, you would have to re-install and/or re-enable DirectPlay in Win7/8/8.1/10/11 in order to get MP working in SF2. DirectPlay, by the way, is required both for MP over the internet and for LAN. So, without DirectPlay, there is no LAN capability either. Here is a lengthy thread detailing a long (and failed) attempt to get DirectPlay working again in SF2 (as far as I could tell from the thread, it requires an awful lot of DLL editing and whatnot). If you wish to experiment using some of the info. in that lengthy thread, recommended is to download the "dplay.dll" (DirectPlay driver that's missing from later vers. of Windows), unzip it, and pop it directly into the game folder for SF2 (not into the user mods folder) -- and then continue experimenting. (No guarantees however that any of that tinkering will work.) The missing DLL is available here (at dll-files.com), if you want to experiment with a possible, working LAN in SF2 -- unfortunately I can't offer any more info. since I abandoned bothering to tinker with MP in FE2 (in my case) yrs. ago -- it just wasn't worth the hassle. Cheers, Von S

While the multiplayer "components" are still a part of the SF2 (and FE2) code, the connection service that made everything work is long gone (was a part of older versions of Windows). See this helpful post for more info. Cheers (and happy flying in single-player mode in the TW sims.), Von S