Southside Bucky

I've never been able to get this to work! Can someone please tell me where I'm going wrong? I added the two Lewis gun entries into the 'Weapon Data ini'. The five other files all go in the 'Weapons' folder. Is that not right? Regards. Bucky.

Hi again Peter. This is not meant as criticism. Just thought it might be useful to you, to get the FM's as accurate as possible... :yes: I've tested the DH2 to literal destruction, against both the Fokker E.I and E.III. Flying the DH2, I've found the E.III to be virtually impossible to beat. The AI E.III out performs the DH2 in almost every way. In fact, I have more success dogfighting against the Albatros D.I and D.II, or Halberstadt D.III. I've had a smidgen more success against the E.I, but in terms of historical accuracy, it (the E.I) still Over performs almost as much as the E.III. I think the main problem is their turning circle. At the moment, the Eindekker's seem to be able to out-turn almost any plane in the game (certainly any available in 1916), which, when considering they didn't even have ailerons is obviously not as it really was. If that turning circle could be extended then it might even things up a little. Again, I want to stress, I'm pointing it out to try and help you improve the game. All the best. Bucky. PS. I've included a DH2 Vs E.III, 1 vs 1 mission as a tester. DH2_vs_FokkerEIII__1v1_.zip

Hi guys. Been doing a bit of experimenting with those *ahem*...Fokkers. After Tailspin's excellent observation that they never seem to stall, I decided to increase each of the over-performing Eindekker's stall speed in each plane's DATA ini file (Found at the top of the second column, under the heading 'Flight Control'). It makes a BIG difference! Here are the parameters I'm now using: Fokker E.I, E.Ia & E.II (I'm using the Fokker E.II with the E.I DATA ini. Renamed E.II, obviously) StallSpeed=25.75 Fokker E.III StallSpeed=25.85 Fokker E.IV StallSpeed=27.55 They'll still give you a very tough fight, but you should find that now that they stall at higher speeds, those AI Fokker pilots 'aint so cocky! Regards. Bucky. PS. Don't forget to make copies of those DATA ini's before editing 'em, in case you don't like the changes.

Yeah, I've done this a few times. If you want an accurate generic colour scheme for the Albatros D.I and D.II (Bortdafarm's versions), this is the way to do it: 1. Download Gambit168's Alb skin pack: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=5306 2. In the 'Albatros D.II' folder, open the folder 'AlbDIIBrown', then copy the file 'Eindeckerfuse'. 3. Open the '3 col PATTERN2' Folder, and paste the 'Eindeckerfuse' into it. (Either rename the original file or allow the new one to overwite it.) 4. Finally, in the '3 col PATTERN2' folder is a file named 'Eindeckercowl'. Copy this, rename it 'Eindeckerwood', then paste it over the existing file of the same name. This will give you nice accurate light grey struts (including the tail skid unfortunately, but that's barely noticable). 5. The Albatros D.I was the same colour as the D.II, so copy '3 col PATTERN2' from the Alb D.II folder, and paste it into the Albatros D.I. Don't forget to change both plane's 'Configuration Settings' files accordingly. Personally, I deleted all the other colour schemes, because nice as they are, they're not very accurate historically. Hope I've explained that clearly. Regards. Bucky PS. If you want to get really pedantic about it, you could change the insignia, to use the iron cross on white fields, which would be more accurate, especially for the D.I.

Well, to be fair to the Triplane, that chart does seem to be slightly loaded in the SE's favour...I think those max speed figures are meant to represent performance at 10,000ft. In which case: The 200hp Wolseley Viper SE5a's max speed was 134mph at sea level, and 126mph at 10,000ft...Still impressive figures for the time! In 'Fokker Aircraft Of W.W.I', by Paul Leaman, the Dr.I's performance is listed at 115mph at sea level, and 103mph at 10,000ft. On a related note: When talking about the performance figures of WW1 a/c, there's a general (and not unreasonable) perception that the war sped up the advancement of aircraft development. Yet the Royal Aircraft Factory produced the SE4 before the war started in 1914. Designed by Henry Folland to be the fastest aircraft in the world. In June 1914, the SE4 was test flown...It reached a top speed of over 135mph and climbed at 1,600ft per minute!

Hi Peter. Well, with your new FM installed, I've given the SE a thorough going over...I think I can definitely say; you have indeed nailed it! As you say, it just feels right: You've captured the intrinsic stabilty that famously made the SE such an excellent gun platform. It has to be flown properly though...That stability is only achieved with a bit of work. I've found that it's necessary to use both hands on the joystick to get a look through the aldis. But again, this only adds to the authenticity. It handles very well too, now that you've managed to stop that annoying tendency to side slip, inherent in all previous versions. Your new version also brilliantly captures the main SE5a performance characteristics: It feels sturdy, fast and agile. Although half decent in a turning dogfight, it's definitely not the SE's strongpoint (as in real life)...Boom 'n zoom tactics are the best way to stay alive. All in all Peter, The new SE5a FM is testament to the fantastic contribution you've made to this game. Well done, and thank you very much! Bucky. RE: The SE5a climb performance. Here's a comparison chart, copied from that excellent book 'Aeroplanes Of The Royal Aircraft Factory': SE5a (200hp)........Max speed: 134mph........Ceiling: 22,000ft........Climb (to 10,000ft): 10min 50sec. Sopwith Camel......Max speed: 113mph........Ceiling: 18,000ft........Climb (to 10,000ft): 11min 45sec. Albatros D.V.........Max speed: 116mph........Ceiling: 20,500ft........Climb (to 10,000ft): 13min 10sec. Fokker Dr.I...........Max speed: 103mph........Ceiling: 20,000ft........Climb (to 10,000ft): 10min 55sec. Fokker D.VII.........Max speed: 117mph........Ceiling: 22,500ft........Climb (to 10,000ft): 11min 20sec.

Count me in Peter...It certainly sounds as though you finally nailed it! Regards. Bucky

Hi Peter. Thanks very much for the detailed reply. You're right, I was using the standard Aircraftobject.ini, available in your last FM download. I've now "upgraded" to "Very Hard", but not had a great deal of time to do much testing. I'm off work next week, so hopefully, I'll be able to spend a bit of quality time on the game. If you need a second opinion on any updates, I'd be happy to help. Regards. Bucky

Hi Guys Using the FE+EP+Peter01's version, I noticed in 'Quick Mission' that the game's random choice of adversary often chose aircraft out of their historical service time. For example; flying the Sopwith Pup would often mean taking on the Fokker or Pfalz Eindekkers...A very unlikely scenario over the western front in late 1916. I could give other examples, but you get the picture. So, because I like to make things as historically accurate as possible, I set about editing all the service start and end dates in the relevant A/C DATA ini files. The result is that whatever A/C I choose to fly in a 'Quick Mission', the AI planes will always be of a type that's historically correct for the time period. I'd be willing to upload all those date changes if there's any interest. There's 82 aircraft, so it would mean quite a lot of cutting and pasting or number editing (both for me preparing it, and for you editing all your DATA ini's ), which is why I'd like to gauge interest before I start. Anyone interested? Regards. Bucky

Oh yeah, almost forgot...In the Elephant's DATA ini, just under the service date entries. Change the plane's role from 'ATTACK' to 'BOMBER'.

Hi guys. Noticed another anomaly: It concerns the Martinsyde G100. This plane began arriving at the front in February 1916, mainly being issued in one's and two's to Bomber and recce squadrons as an escort machine. But because of its large size and poor view from the cockpit, it wasn't very successful in this semi-fighter role. At this time, it used a 120hp Beardmore engine. However, It proved itself to be much better suited to the Bomber and reconnaissance role due to its strength and sturdiness. With an uprated 160hp Beardmore engine it was redesignated; 'Martinsyde G102', and unofficially became known as the 'Elephant'. It was used in this new role from about August '16 until November 1917, when it was replaced by the Airco DH4. There are two ways to rectify the service dates on this aircraft. You can either just alter the service dates of the G100 DATA ini to: ServiceStartDate=02/1916 ServiceEndDate=07/1916 Then also change its role to: PrimaryRoles=ARMED_RECON,ESCORT, SecondaryRoles=CAP, Or you could do as I did: 1. Make a copy of the 'Martinsyde G100' A/C folder and rename it: 'Martinsyde_Elephant' 2. Rename the DATA ini file to: 'MartinsydeElephant'. 3. Change the service dates to: ServiceStartDate=08/1916 ServiceEndDate=11/1917 4. Change the A/C role to: PrimaryRoles=STRIKE,RECON,ARMED_RECON, SecondaryRoles=ESCORT, 5. Rename the 'MartinsydeG100_COCKPIT to: MartinsydeElephant_COCKPIT 6.Rename the 'MartinsydeG100 Configuration Settings' file to: 'Martinsyde_Elephant'. 7. Open that file, and cut and paste the following into it: AircraftFullName=Martinsyde Elephant AircraftShortName=Martinsyde Elephant AircraftDataFile=MartinsydeElephant_data.ini CockpitDataFile=MartinsydeElephant_cockpit.ini HangarScreen=SE5a_hangar.bmp LoadoutImage=SE5a_loadout.bmp LoadingScreen=MartinsydeG100_Loading.bmp LoadoutFile=SALMSON2A_loadout.ini Yeah, I know! ...It took me three bloody hours to get the new plane to show in the menu! Worth it though, I think. The Elephant was quite an important aircraft for the RFC, so it's nice to have it in the game. Cheers! PS. Although, with the uprated engine, the G102 was around 12-13 mph faster than the G100, I'm so inept at converting imperial to metric, I've left the engine speed alone. Maybe someone else could help out here?

Nice one Mike! Yeah, the Harleyford's always were expensive! I can still remember the excitement I felt when I FINALLY got my copy of 'Marine Aircraft of the 14-18 War'! The Harleyford's are still excellent references, even now. Actually, speaking of old references, I used J.M Bruce's 'British Aeroplanes 1914-18' extensively for the service date research I did. That was published in 1957, and it's still THE reference on the subject. One book that was surprisingly disappointing as a reference was 'German Aircraft of the First World War'...Very little on service dates in there. All the best. Bucky

Just noticed that the DH2's service end date is a little premature: Its down as 03/17...Although they started to be withdrawn at this time, they didn't disappear overnight, so you might want to extend its end date by a month or two. I've set mine to 04/17. Sorry 'bout that!

Hi Dagaith. The 'Pfalz E.III' is a misnomer. It should actually be called 'Pfalz A I', or 'Pfalz Parasol'. Basically a licensed built Morane Type L. It was the first military aeroplane built by the Pfalz company.

Thanks very much fella's. Sinbad. Thanks for the PM. I'll get back to you as soon as...I've been on this since I got home from work today. Mike. Finding that information back in '72 must've been an absolute mare! What did you use? My guess would be; mainly the old Harleyford books? Hi Dagaith. I got the August delivery date for the Alb D.I & D.II from the relevant Windsock Datafile, written by the late, great P. M Grosz, in which he states: "Surviving documents show both fighters (D.I & D.II) reached the front at the same time in August 1916" HOWEVER,...Something I didn't notice was that by August 31st, the number of Albs delivered was precisely TWO! consisting of; One D.I and one D.II. Jasta 2 actually started receiving theirs on September 1st...Well spotted man, you know yer stuff!! I had conflicting info regarding the Fokker D.II: P. Leaman, in 'Fokker Aircraft of W.W.I' states that it disappeared from frontline use with the arrival of the Halberstadt and Albatros. P.M Grosz says it reached a high during December '16, but it was being used for home defence or as a trainer. Therefore, I compromised at 08/16...Feel free to legitimately extend it a by month or two! Can we call it a draw? Thanks again for your kind comments Bucky

Right! It's done...I've uploaded it to the "INI Tweaks and Changes" thread: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showt...20&start=20 Hope it meets with everyone's approval. All the best. Bucky

Hi guys. Further to the discussion in this thread: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=30978 Here it is: Regards. Bucky FE_Aircraft_service_dates.txt

Hi Peter. Well, maybe it's had some kinda placebo effect on me, Here's another example: Using the Fokker Triplane in 'Single Mission' and selecting '1917', put me up against the Sopwith Triplane, on more than one ocassion...Not very accurate historically. The Dr.I's DATA ini had a service start date of; 09/17, but in reality there were only three triplane's in use at that time, so I altered it to 10/17, which is the month it arrived in numbers. I altered the Sopwith Triplane DATA ini from; service end 10/17, to 09/17 (again, more accurate historically), and the two planes haven't met since! I thought I'd tested it pretty thoroughly, but Maybe more testing will prove that all this has been a colossal waste of time? :blush2: Regards. Bucky

Hi Dagaith. You're right, there was a brief cross over period during mid to late September 1916, when a few Pups were being used for evaluation, and the Eindekkers were slowly being replaced by Albatros D.I's and II's, Halberstadts and Fokker D types. But I've not come across a single report or reference of any encounters involving the Pup and Eindekker's...If you know of any, I'd be really interested to hear about them. :yes: As you probably know, the Pup didn't arrive in quantity until November '16 Regarding the editing of the 'in service' dates in the DATA ini's...All I can say is, changing the month that an aircraft appears and disappears seems to work for me. Cheers. Bucky

Hi Peter. First off, gonna say it again: Many thanks for all your quite brilliant work with the new FM's. Out of the three FE install's on my PC, your's is the only one I'm playing now...What you've done with the AI is absolutely amazing! The only slight (and I do mean slight) niggle concerns one of my favourite planes; the DH2...Have you noticed the two windscreens in the cockpit view? I've had a go at tracing the cause, and it's definitely a change in the DATA ini file that's doing it. Trouble is, there are so many changes to the DH2 in your July 17th version, I haven't got the first clue which line(s) to edit to lose that double windscreen effect. Any chance you could have a quick look at it if/when you get a moment, please? Thanks again, and all the best. Bucky.

Thanks very much for that Peter. Nice to have the windscreen back to normal. Regards. Bucky

Hi guys. Can someone please tell me how to extend the view distance at which both the AI pilot figure and national insignia appear from the player cockpit view? (Is it called the LOD distance?) ATM both disappear at about 50 feet away, and it's been kinda bugging me for a while now... Thanks in advance. Bucky

Thanks for the quick reply P10ppy. I actually set each of those 'wwiPilotNewXX' LOD's at '150' about a week ago, but I noticed it only seems to affect the outside (F6) view. When viewing AI planes from the cockpit view, the pilots still vanish at too near a distance. I'll have to investigate further I s'pose... Haven't had time to try the decal LOD's yet, but I'm sure that one'll work. Thanks very much for the advice. All the best. Bucky

Tempted as I was to install the whole shebang, I've gotta admit, I'm just too attached to my 'Rainy day' Windows 95 theme, which I've used on all my machines since, er,...1995 I'm sure someone'll be along soon to tell you it all works just fine though. Thanks again, and all the best. Bucky

Congratulations Laton! All the very best for the future. Bucky