VonS

Hello Gents', as a follow-up to my previous post regarding tips for low-end hardware and good frame rates in FE2, I've done some more experimenting and noticed the following. The Panama Red clouds numbered 21 through 28 can also be installed with no major impact on frame rates, and they give nice, high cloud effects. While I still recommend the Laton effects instead of the Starry ones for lower-end systems, you can substitute the Particle System ini file from the Starry folder to get nice engine exhaust effects going since engine exhaust emitter entries are missing from the Laton Particle System file - engine exhaust effects also don't seem to impact frame rates from what I've been able to test. Good entries to use in the Starry Particle System ini are: [ParticleSystem] MaxParticlesPerEmitter=1024 MaxEmitters=512 MaxEffects=512 MaxFields=16 AdditionalEffectsFolder=Effects Also, I've tinkered with the AircraftSmokeEffect and BalloonFireEfffect inis for the Laton effects install since I wasn't too happy with the huge balloon explosion and some of the color contrast in the SmokeEffect. The smoke is a little bit more subtle now for the aircraft smoke trails (after tinkering with smoke transparency), also a little more dynamic looking. The balloon explosion is now smaller and I think more realistic, with a smaller fireball and a smaller ball of black smoke following after - at any rate this explosion effect doesn't affect my frame rates and I can fly smoothly through it - the previous big explosion would hit my frame rates very obviously. The two tinkered files, for your "Effects" folder, are included below and might help with FE2 on mid and lower-powered hardware. Von S Edit: Removed link since the files are now hosted in the posts under the main thread for the FE2 FM and Realism Pack updates.

Well this is a very stimulating post. It reminds me of some of the detailed discussions over on the Aerodrome website from a few years back. I usually tend to fly the single missions, of different kinds, intercept, offensive, army coop, lots of other types, and noticed a variety of AI behaviors if the enemy AI is set to "normal." My observations are that it seems that normal setting allows for more variety than the hard or easy settings for enemy AI, although this probably requires more experimenting with. I was flying some more of the Middle Eastern theatre a few days ago and noticed that a pair of RFC-flown Morane Bullets did eventually break off their pursuit when we were at an altitude of about 1300 meters. I was in a Pfalz E.I. They simply turned around and went back to their base. I'm assuming that they ran out of ammo. and turned back. A stubborn Sopwith Schneider on the other hand still kept following me, while two other Schneiders that were also pursuing me finally turned around. The persistent Schneider still kept following and closing in on me slowly, while I was out of ammo. myself, having shot down a couple of Schneiders earlier on and a Morane Bullet. Thinking what to do, and being about 100 meters above and 300 or 400 meters in front of him - and noticing that he was still firing short bursts at me, a couple of which were hitting my wings - I turned on him (which was crazy at that point since I had no ammo.) and dived. He also went into a tight turn and dive, and we then circled about two or three times so that I got about 30 meters behind his tail - stayed there for about 10 seconds in that position and then ascended, doing a wide turn this time in the direction of my base again. I checked over to see what the Schneider was doing - and it was still racing towards its base, not bothering to attack me or follow me again. It was an interesting engagement. It looked almost as if the AI was fooled or changed its level of aggression based on my unexpected move and decided to run, after I got on its six. I don't think that he was out of ammo., this fellow in the Schneider, but he just "decided" to leave (or run away) when I managed to get behind him. This was all experienced with enemy AI set to "normal." Regarding the DH.2 FM, that's an interesting one - it is nimble with the ailerons, as historically noted of the type, but loses altitude easily in tight turns. I've found that turns are "safer" in it if the rudder is not used too much, and the ailerons gently. It gains speed best in a dive and has a top speed of close to 150 (148kph). There was some discussion of the DH.2 over on the ROF forums a couple of years ago I think - was it or was it not better than a Fokker Eindecker. I've set up some "homemade" single missions for myself where I go one-on-one in a Fokker E.IIa with a DH.2 - usually it's not difficult to take the DH.2 down. In another mission where I go up against two DH.2s, in one Fokker E.IIa - I might get hit some if I'm not careful, but usually you can take out both of them if you stay above and use altitude to your advantage. The DH.2s can get away slowly if they decide to, but otherwise they don't seem as impressive as is often mentioned of the type. I did notice however that when flying a Fokker E.III, I have a more difficult time of it with biplane-types, often barely getting in a kill or being shot down quickly. At any rate, FE2 provides a fun simulator-like experience where some of the myths and truths of these aircraft can be tested. That Lanoe Hawker survived for 5 or 10 minutes in his famous dogfight with Von Richthofen in such a crate then becomes even more impressive, considering that, at least in FE2, the DH.2 does not put an end to the "Fokker Scourge." Also significant is that the E.II variant of the Fokker Eindecker is the best of those types in FE2 - and may have been in real life too for the seasoned pilot. The E.II had slightly shorter wings than the E.III version, and was more maneuverable than the E.III, also a bit more maneuverable than the E.I version. Handling of the E.II was considered difficult, but flown well it is more deadly than the E.III, and also better than the E.I. It's also pretty much impossible to do a modern "Immelmann" turn in the Fokker Eindeckers in FE2 (of any version of Eindecker), but old style Immelmanns, with a stalled vertical turn, sort of like a hammerhead, is no problem at all, and looping, if done carefully, is also possible in them - but be careful of the inverted flat spins. While they occur less in my tweaked FMs for the Fokker and Pfalz Eindeckers, they're still a real problem to get out of. Happy flying, Von S

Glad you fixed the green smoke problem! To thin out the black smoke, try experimenting with the entries called "AmbientColor" and "DiffuseColor" that are under the "SmokeTrailMaterial" and "AnimatedSmokeMaterial" headings of the AircraftSmokeEffect ini file. Values of 1.0 are for fully opaque smoke, values of 0.0 are fully transparent: some values in between might do the trick to lighten the smoke trail effect. It's worth a try anyway. Von S

Thanks for these quick uploads Nicholas. I've just submitted Ver 7.0 of my FM tweaks for approval - and they include the previous relevant hit box tweaks you posted, among several other additions. The latest ones for the B.e. types, Salmson, 1A2 and 110/130 Strutters I will include in a Ver 8.0 update down the road, later in the summer, that will include another 6 or 7 plane types for the Western theatre. Happy flying, Von S

Hi Mike, I would agree with Wrench that if no effects are present when you delete your effects folder, there is probably a conflict with the install itself. One approach is to slowly "rebuild" your custom Effects and Flight folders - to see what brings about the green smoke effect. Also, I noticed in your options ini info. that you have antialiasing set to 0 - it's worth testing the effects with antialiasing set to the default value of 4, also 2 is a sensible choice - to see if this is somehow related to the green smoke problem. Hope you sort out the problem soon. Von S

Wonderful stuff, thank you for your continued devotion to FE2! Von S

Hi Mike, That is strange indeed. I see in the pic., judging from the smoke, that those are the Laton effects. I just did a test on my setup, with AdvancedShaders set to the default 0, then to 1, and it made no difference. I was able to reduplicate the "green smoke" however by placing the 2009 version of the Starry AircraftEngineDamageEffect ini file in my Effects folder. Placing the 2007 version of that same file there, that I posted a couple of posts above, then solved the problem - as did the same file from the Laton effects pack that is also from 2009, but earlier in that year. Here's an attachment of the Laton AircraftEngineDamageEffect file. Maybe this one will do the trick if the older Starry file didn't. Von S

On a somewhat related note, here are some more observations for everyone regarding what effects work well for good frame rates in FE2, especially on mid-range or lower hardware (this is what I have running in my setup in WineSkin on a quad-core Mac Mini): Step One - Install the latest Laton effects tweaks (Ver.3) http://combatace.com/files/file/8462-effects-3-first-eagles/ Step Two - Install the older more thorough Laton Tweaks (Ver.2), overriding the Ver.3 stuff http://combatace.com/files/file/3765-smoke-effects-pack-v2/ Counterintuitive, yes, but it's good for healthy frame rates. I avoid the newer effects by Starry since, while they look good, they are harder on frame rates than the Laton tweaks. If using the Laton effects tweaks, keep the AircraftEngineDamageEffect from the Laton install (I think it's from 2009) - don't use the older DamageEffect file I've posted in my previous post above - that's for the Starry tweaks. Step Three - This is optional but works well if you like nicer-looking skies Download Panama Red's sky tweaks http://combatace.com/files/file/13454-realistic-sky-mod-first-eagles-2/ Important: once the sky tweaks are installed into your "Flight" folder, delete the cloud TGAs that are numbered 19 and above, leaving the other ones in place (this still allows for a seamless 360 degree view but doesn't hit frame rates as much). Another tip is to replace CLOUD1 from the Panama Red install with CLOUD1 from Gumpy's Ilyushin sky mod for FE/FE2 (http://combatace.com/files/file/10070-il2-clouds-for-first-eagles/). This gives added "fluff" to the Panama Red clouds, especially on a rainy day - but doesn't hit frame rates, especially if you delete clouds number 19 and higher. The only other thing to play around with here is the top info in your particle system ini file. I usually use the following settings and it works well for smooth frame rates: [ParticleSystem] MaxParticlesPerEmitter=512 MaxEmitters=1024 MaxEffects=512 MaxFields=64 AdditionalEffectsFolder=Effects Happy flying, Von S

Hi Mike, I think that the green engine smoke for engine damage can be fixed with the slightly older AircraftEngineDamageEffect file (from 2007) that I'm attaching below since I can't now find the link where I initially located the file on CombatAce (probably somewhere in the forums for FE/FE2). Von S

Excellent, thank you for posting these so quickly. Von S

I'd also like to chime in by adding that I'd be happy to include the hit box improvements down the road in my own FM tweaks of the Ojcar/Peter and Laton FMs - this shouldn't be too much of a problem beyond cut-and-paste since it doesn't change my other physics tweaks for the FMs - perhaps in a Version 9 or 10 upload. Happy flying, Von S

That sounds great Nicholas. I remember the hit boxes being big in RB3D before the Greybeard/Zantack mods reduced the damage boxes to something more realistic - I look forward to the improvements. Speaking of DM models, would it be possible to modify the plane crashes so that tails, wings, etc., come off - with some crumpling of the fuselage (more historical for WWI) - than having the big disintegrating explosions on impact? (Not that I'm seriously bothered by that lack of realism but thought I'd ask anyway...I suppose this would apply for balloon busting too...to have a nice simmering fire with the balloon slowly deflating and descending faster, instead of the big explosion that happens currently in the game.) Happy flying, Von S

I'm busy with Ver7.0 of my flight model tweaks and flying the Palestinian theatre (now into February of 1916 flying Fokker E.Ia, IIa, and Pfalz types, racking up some medals using Cap'n Vengeur's mods and having fun with the game), but I check in from time to time here to see what the latest developments are. Ver7.0 of the FM tweaks will feature a separate Pfalz E.II folder (the 100HP one), also several modifications to the ceilings for early monoplane and parasol types, plus a separate folder for the Russian Morane-Saulnier "I" so that it shows up in game and in menu alongside the earlier N variant. I also want to add a Tabloid and early Martinsyde flown by the Australians into the Palestinian theatre, plus the 375HP DH.4 for late war engagements in the Western theatre - with a top speed of 230kph it'll be hard to catch with the German scouts. I hope to get working on the Tabloid, Martinsyde, and 375HP DH.4 data ini tweaks soon. The other modifications for Ver7.0 have already been done. Ver8.0 will be another big update adding another six or seven FM tweaks to new plane types for the Western theatre specifically. After that I will tweak FMs on a slower basis as I see new ones that catch my attention here on the site. The next experiment will be seeing how to bring multiplayer back into FE2 since I noticed that there is some latent code for multiplayer still lying around in the game - with multiplayer back this will be a game that should nicely fill the spot held previously by RB3D. FE2 is a great-flying game even on lower-end computers (mine is running just fine in WineSkin on a 2012 Mac Mini). Von S

I would also recommend FE2. With the great mods available at CombatAce you will have a very thorough WWI flight sim in no time, and there are lots of planes available for FE2 that neither OFF/WOFF nor ROF have, particularly for the early war period. The only thing we don't have yet is multiplayer but maybe it's possible to re-activate multiplayer in it (I noticed that some of the latent code in the game is for multiplayer, which was available in FE and FE Gold) - I hope to tinker with the multiplayer component once I finish tweaking another dozen or so flight models for the aircraft. In short, you can't go wrong with FE2 - very customizable and open-ended (sort of like a Linux version of a WWI flight-sim but in a very good way and done right). Happy flying, Von S

Superb modifications! These are very beautiful skins and mods, and the inter-war biplanes are very classy. I look forward to trying out some of these late 1930s/early 40s mods once I go through another several tweaks of aircraft FMs for the '14-'18 period. Von S

Thank you for this Ojcar: will test those alternative FMs for the Pfalzes and will see if I can integrate some of the code into the FMs I use, to "unstick" my Pfalzes from the ground. Von S

Hello gents, Thought I'd post my question here since there's no specific thread for it and lots of people seem to be reading this one. The mid-wing monoplane Pfalzes (E.I, E.IV, and E.V), when they land, or if they are initially on the ground, can't take off - it's almost as if their tail skids get "stuck" in the ground and no amount of power will release them. I've fiddled with the data ini settings several times regarding this problem but it is still there - and was also present even before I started tweaking the data inis. Everything else about the planes is fine, but they still seem to get "stuck" to the ground upon landing - very odd. The parasol-type fighters, such as the Pfalz E.III - do not have this problem by the way - and neither do any other planes in the game (the Fokker Eindeckers are free of this problem too, as are the Morane Saulnier monoplanes). If anybody has any thoughts on this let me know here or PM me on the site - maybe there's a data oddity in the date ini files for the Pfalz E.I, IV, and V, regarding tail skids, that I've overlooked. (I'm running First Eagles 2 by the way.) Happy flying, Von S

A great idea. I'd like to see such a utility for FE2 (but I'm sure the SF2 version would work fine for FE2), maybe also that it allow for tweaking/modification of different aspects of the flight model - and with the ability to "save" the modifications. It would certainly simplify the process of editing flight models (currently a time-consuming process that requires direct tampering with the data ini files, several times over, before going on to the next data ini file). Happy flying, Von S P.S. Thanks Do335 for the links above - will check them out.

Thank you for this Capitaine. It works beautifully even in FE2, and even with the single missions across my different theatre installs. Really fine stuff. Von S

A quick follow-up that the Saulnier H data file (for Aug. 1914) works fine in the Eastern (Galician) front theatre and also in the Italian front folder, and in the Western front theatres. It's then likely that something in the Palestinian install limits dates of action to no earlier than Jan. 1915 - historically that's when an Ottoman attempt to raid the Suez Canal began and kicked off the Palestine campaign of WWI. Nice to see historical dates being incorporated into the game. Von S

Thank you once again Ojcar and Stephen for the helpful feedback. Have now found out where the problem was. I was testing the MS H in my Palestinian front install, where for some reason nothing before Jan. 1915 is recognized. Once I placed the Morane Saulnier H in my Western front install, everything was fine and I can start at Aug. 1914. The only code needed for it to show up at the chosen date is "ServiceStartDate" in the plane's data ini file (there was no need for me to tweak the Options.ini file). Very interesting stuff. Probably the files in the Palestinian theatre install limit things to aircraft start dates of no earlier than Jan. of '15. Happy flying, Von S

Thank you Ojcar and Stephen for the feedback. Yes, I toggled the date slide/choices in the game, and also the dates in the Options.ini file, as well as the start date in the data ini file for the Morane Saulnier H. Still doesn't show anything earlier than January 1915 in the in-game "create mission" panel. I'm thinking that it's probably a limitation in FE2? Perhaps FE1 and FEgold don't have that minor problem. Happy flying, Von S

A great idea, but even if I set the date earlier than Jan. 1st of 1915 in the data ini files, for service start dates - the game itself (FE2) shows nothing earlier than Jan. 1915 in its menu - so this might be something to keep in mind in terms of historical realism (then again, most of the planes flying in August of '14 were still around for the first half of '15 too, at least). There may be a hack to let the game menu itself show dates earlier than Jan. of '15 - but I'm not aware of one. I noticed the problem (a small one really) while tweaking the data ini for the Morane Saulnier H (and what a fun little plane that is, will post soon). Even though I set its start date as August of 1914, it shows up as Jan. of '15 in the in-game menu. Happy flying, Von S

Hello gents, While I think the selection of planes for FE2 is already great, a few of my favorites that are missing: 1. The triplane variant of the Caproni bomber 2. The Fokker D.I (with the inline engine) 3. The Ago/Otto C.I German "twin-tail" pusher reconnaissance aircraft (some were produced as triple bay) 4. The P variant of the Morane Parasol (with the spinner), used well into 1916 Happy flying, Von S

Superb modelling and great work here - look forward to trying it out. Gave the old Halbs. (2 and 3) from 2007 a test in FE2 a few days ago but the textures look strange and the FM is a bit odd. This one is obviously superior. Well done. Happy flying!, Von S