VonS

Hi Nick, I'm assuming that you're using the Starry effects for FE2 since it's difficult to get flamers going in those. Check out the older Laton effects that are here on CombatAce, they are more flamer-friendly. Install using these links: http://combatace.com/files/file/8462-effects-3-first-eagles/ http://combatace.com/files/file/3765-smoke-effects-pack-v2/ I usually install in reverse order since it works good for the effects I want, but experiment with it. Also, check out my post number 23 here: http://combatace.com/topic/88700-fe2-bad-framerates/page-2 It gives some more info. on how the Starry particle system ini can be swapped into the Laton install for a good balance of effects, including engine emitter smoke on some models plus the greater chance of flamers. Von S

Excellent work as always, very impressive! Von S

Indeed, these are superb updates. I look forward to rolling many of them into the 7.5 update for my FM tweaks. Thank you for doing these hitbox revisions. Von S

Hi Nick - thank you for the thorough comments. I'm impressed by the developments on this. I've added in the meantime ChanceContinue and ChanceCheckNewTarget commands to the general aircraft ai data ini file and will test the modifications soon. I've also tinkered with the two-seater bombing commands but noticed they were beginning to crash more when attacking ground targets so I removed the two-seater commands entirely from the file and will rely on the game's AI for that. You're correct that I was testing with the early war planes - largely with the Pfalz and Fokker Eindeckers, also the Morane Bullets - the Tabloids and Schneiders are some of the earliest planes to contain dogfight skill levels in their data ini files so this general file is bypassed by those planes - this particular file is largely a stop-gap measure for the early monoplanes so that I don't have to plug in dogfight skill info. into each of those data inis for the earlier planes. On a related note, I will take your excellent advice regarding MaxCombatRoll and MaxPitch Combat and will increase the values for some of the late war (mid-1917 and later) planes like the Alb. D.3 and the Nieuport 17/23 - maybe using those as a starting point to tweak the relevant values higher - and will test the changes. If successful I will give the later planes these higher values and roll it into a later upload of my FM tweaks. To the wider audience out there, I'm currently revisiting the Martinsyde G.100 and G.102 data inis - there is a small "bug" in the game where, in a bombing mission (in the single mission mode), if you drop your bombs, the plane's weight is not dynamically reduced but stays as if there's a full bomb load present for the rest of the mission - I had initially tested the G.100 in such a setting, dropping all bombs, then testing the speed, thinking that its 158 kph was with the bombs gone - this proved to be a mistake because when flying the G.100 in offensive mode, the top speed would shoot beyond 175kph. That problem has now been resolved, with the G.100 having a top speed of 158kph with no bombs, a top speed of about 135kph when on a bombing mission, and the G.102 having a top speed of 171kph with no bombs, and about 150kph with a bomb load. Will roll those updates into a "Version 7.5" in a week or two. Also revisited was the Dh.2 - for a long time I was unhappy with the rudder input/effect on that one - now it is solved - it had the wrong (inverted) input and orientation for the rudder (a longstanding error) which required two settings to be reset to false. Will roll that into the 7.5 version of the FM tweaks, and will also include the latest hitbox modifications done by NBell. Happy flying, Von S

Hello friend, considering that you are a CFS3 fan, you'd probably feel most at home in WOFF since it is based on CFS3 code. I usually categorize the WWI sims as follows: ROF - if you're into multiplayer WOFF - if you enjoyed CFS3 and enjoy heavily immersive campaigns FE2 - if you like to customize and mod your flight sim heavily and enjoy single missions as much as campaign mode (I like the flexibility of FE2, realism is fine on top settings, and with the many mods that have come out, and the flight model tweaks too, it's no longer a "lite" sim but comes closer to simulator territory) Also think about the price points before purchasing: WOFF I think has several expansion packs that should be purchased to fully expand the game (haven't checked into how much it all costs) - ROF is free but gives you only a couple of planes for multiplayer, then you purchase planes separately (again check the prices of planes since they vary) - FE2 is about 20 bucks, a one-time purchase, and then you can add mods freely by visiting the CombatAce site. Happy flying, Von S

Very interesting developments Nick. I haven't tried reducing morale for pilots yet but for those who want to give it a try, here's a modified version of the AircraftAIData ini file to install into your "Objects" folder. I went through a couple of versions of the file, this is a second attempt at it - and from limited testing I've had good results, only one collision between one from my flight and an enemy plane, as they were firing at each other in a head-on pass. Otherwise from what I could see from my vantage point flying above the furball, planes generally seem more careful and methodical in dogfights, with a good variety of skills. Novices tend to avoid the vertical, aces like to swoop down or up underneath you. Some of the better pilots are now tough to shake off. In one flight with two wingmen (we were in Fokker E.IIa types), trying to attack a balloon in the Mid East theatre, four Bullets intercepted us. The really interesting part was that two of the Bullets headed directly at us, while the other two broke off and did a wide ascending turn, out of our reach, and tried to get behind us. That kind of variety I hadn't seen before tweaking the pilot skill levels. The file seems to work well in conjunction with data ini files that are missing pilot skill level info. - I looked at the pilot skill data that is in the data ini file for the Halb. D.V done by Geezer and modified it for the file posted here (since the Halb. is a good mid-powered, mid-war plane that works well as a benchmark of sorts). What's good about the skill set info from the Halb. D.V is that it gives some important parameters but isn't excessive and doesn't nail down everything, leaving some stuff up to variety and the game's default AI code. I've tried to provide for a spectrum of behaviors by tinkering with the "Dogfight" entries in the file. The "AIData" at the top of the file is a subtle modification on the default entry provided in the AircraftAIData ini when it's extracted from the relevant CAT file from the game. I haven't touched any of the "bombing" data info yet but that might be something to work with to improve two-seater behavior in the game. I'll tinker more with this file and include it in a Ver 8.0 upload of the FM tweaks, but in the meantime here's the file as it is. Von S

Hi Nicholas, I haven't noticed the problem too much with mid- and late-war scenarios and aircraft, but on occasion when flying early-war missions I do see or get into these crashes with AI. Usually the early monoplanes are involved in this, Pfalzes, Fokkers, Morane monoplane types - but it doesn't happen excessively, and usually involves a head-on collision between enemy pilots, or if a wingman and I are attacking the same plane and are too close this may happen. I'm currently tinkering with the AircraftAIData.ini file to fill the "gaps" for data ini files where there are no settings for AI pilot experience/training (since this is more efficient than plugging the info. individually into each relevant data ini file) - have already tested this a couple of times in the Palestinian early-war scenarios and noticed more varied and challenging dogfighting, with some enemy pilots obviously unexperienced, and others being difficult to shake off and using good maneuvers to avoid my shots - this may also help with collision avoidance. Will post the file here when done testing it (it should be installed into the "Objects" folder of the user folder for FE2). Von S

An interesting discussion. Here are also a couple of links to older posts for FE/FE2 that discuss similar problems and ways of tweaking AI accuracy, might be of some help. One discusses bomb target accuracy and the other has some comments from Peter01 regarding AI tweaking, its benefits and complications. Keep in mind that the AI stuff, by the way, is not located in the Aircraftobject ini file as Peter01 refers to it but in the Aircraftdataai file that needs to be extracted first from I think the first objectdata cat file for the game, and placed in the "Objects" folder of your user game folder to work. It's probably the case that the generic AI settings were located directly in Aircraftobject for FE1 and FEgold. A lot of the AI data is now located directly in the data ini files for planes in FE2, overriding the info. present in Aircraftdataai anyway, but some fiddling with Aircraftdataai might help improve two-seater behavior, especially when commands are given out. http://combatace.com/topic/25803-this-was-pretty-cool/ http://combatace.com/topic/20585-aircraftobjectini-changes-a-warning/ Von S

Yes, it seems to be the case that the code needed to "make" the multiplayer part of FE work is missing from FE2. But the single player aspect of the game is excellent and more than makes up for lack of multiplayer. Thanks Streakeagle for the detailed info. I hadn't thought about the hook/reverting back to DX9 that's needed - but it makes sense, as does the absence of a lot of necessary code to enable the multiplayer part. Speaking of old games that are still good for multiplayer, I still have my dozen or so theatre installs of RB3D handy, also the MMP patches - I'm pleasantly surprised that there are still three or four servers up in MMP RB3D and ready for action. Another great one was the F/A-18 Hornet 3.x and Korea series by GraphicSim that I have from the Mac OS 8/9 days - very good multiplayer in that one and it still plays well. Just visited the GraphicSim site today but it seems they're now only supporting an iPad and iPhone version of the game. Oh well, not much point in tinkering with multiplayer in FE2 then considering that it was never the main focus of the FE/SF series. Happy flying, Von S

Thank you WhiteKnight for the helpful info. - have now PM-ed JonathanRL and will see if he has any comments on this interesting topic. Happy flying, Von S

Hello Gents', I have been investigating the core string and ini files that make up FE2 - primarily to see if multiplayer can be reintroduced. The relevant files can be found in the MenuData.cat and MenuText.cat files of the "Menu" folder of the actual game (not in the user folder for the game). I managed to restore the "multiplayer" button to the main screen of the game, but it leads nowhere. Also possible to restore was the "network" button under the options settings - but again this led nowhere when you click on it. It seems that each STR (string?) file requires a corresponding INI (initialization) file to work at all. Most of the files have both components, such as is the case with OPTIONSSCREEN.INI and OPTIONSSCREEN.STR - the ini file contains the relevant buttons, lists, codes, placements, lots of other things too, and the str component file contains the relevant data calls that correspond with what is called for in the ini file. I was however stumped to find that most of the network sub-option files have the STR component files in place - but ini files for those are all missing, perhaps having been removed by the game designer - or perhaps there is a more obscure way of calling up those string files that I am not aware of with my very limited knowledge of program/app coding. As an example, the NETWORKCONNECTIONSCREEN.STR file and the NETWORK.STR file - obviously important ones (and it's obvious what they are for) - cannot be called up in game, likely because corresponding ini files for those are missing. Looking through some of those network option str files shows, in some cases, more than 30 or 40 different data calls. I can only imagine then how much time it would take to create corresponding ini files for all of those different data calls in the str files, with all of the relevant buttons, menus, submenus, toggles created in the corresponding ini files - to get mutliplayer up and fully functional in FE2 - a daunting task that while theoretically possible would probably take a good month at least of full-time work on it (and then there is the risk of how stable the setup would be when done). Those who are inclined to tinker further with multiplayer possibilities in FE2 are advised to look at the main Options.ini file first that's in the user folder for FE2. The multiplayer settings should read as follows to be enabled: [MultiplayerOptions] LobbyLaunched=TRUE The following should also be toggled but I didn't experiment with correct values: [Multiplayer] Connection=0 PlayerColor=0 SessionType=0 GameType=0 Password=MyPassword MaxPlayers=8 IPAddress=127.0.0.1 In the OPTIONSCREEN.INI file that should be extracted to your "Menu" folder, the following should be toggled: [NetworkOptionsButton] StickySelection=TRUE Active=TRUE In MAINSCREEN.INI, also to be placed in the "Menu" folder, the following should be toggled: [MultiplayerHotspot] Active=TRUE Enabled=TRUE Also, the following should be modified to look as you see here, from the same file indicated above: [MissionControl] SingleMission=SingleMission InstantAction=InstantAction Campaign=Campaign Multiplayer=Multiplayer And finally, the relevant STR files that are missing corresponding INI files - or maybe requiring some other kind of call that I'm not aware of, are: NETWORK.STR NETWORKCONNECTIONSCREEN.STR MPDOGFIGHTSCREEN.STR MPHANGARSCREEN.STR MPMISSIONSCREEN.STR MULTIPLAYERSTATUS.STR PILOTRECORDSCREEN.STR (this one is to enable flight recording in multiplayer) As far as I can see, it's more feasible to continue improving the single-player side of the game, such as improvements in AI, scenery, also the great plane and skin mods that often come out for FE2. And thanks to all who contribute to this game and make it great. Those interested in pursuing the multiplayer aspect further will hopefully find my post useful. I will not be pursuing this topic further since I don't consider the project to be worthwhile. Happy flying, Von S

I've noticed this too on occasion even in the single missions, or that I'm attacking a balloon and my wingmen don't bother attacking it but merrily fly around me and the balloon while I have to do all the work. Perhaps there is an option to toggle the "fixation" or lack of interest that the AI has on some targets and class of targets in the game? Von S

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