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Hi All, Have been doing a bit of tinkering lately with my FlightGear install (see this thread for more info.) - and results are pleasing enough in what is a free, open-source flight sim. Managed eventually to get accurate photo-scenery working in FG, which is a noticeable improvement over the stock (dated) scenery that has been available in that sim for years on end (see pic. below for photo-scenery at work in FG, in this case in the Mesopotamian/s. Iraqi area; the Alb. D.I is a re-skin and FM-overhaul of a model done by Lester Boffo). On a hunch, I then converted a bunch of the photo-tiles from FG (stock format is DDS) to BMP format - so that they become visible in the FE2 terrains folder - and it does indeed work - but would require careful, aesthetic choices regarding what tiles to replace in the terrains folder, such as farms, cities, deserts, etc. - for best cohesion and not too many jarring disconnects between tiles. Nice to see that stock trees and buildings are populating over the satellite/ortho-terrains too, in FE2. Photo-scenery is simply an improved "satellite" carpet that covers the stock scenery and terrain framework in FlightGear - and by extension works the same way in the ThirdWire sims but requires manual conversion to BMP format and manual placement in the terrains folder (perhaps the DDS format would work too, but I didn't bother tinkering with the various settings/text files this time around in the terrains folder). The other good thing about FlightGear is that it is fully under the GNU GPL (General Public License; i.e., "copy-left" license) - so there are no copyright problems that I know of if one borrows such ortho-scenery for FE2 too (haven't bothered to test with SF2). And if working on such a terrain swap as a personal project - that is of course even simpler. A few representative pics. below with just a few ortho-scenery tiles placed over Stephen1918's upgrade of the Mesopotamian theater for FE2. Results look pretty good, particularly when flying higher up, and I haven't noticed any FPS drop with the photo-scenery tiles loaded. Some old tiles are still in place in the pics., for comparative purposes. Any empty areas are where I didn't bother to load tiles. Anyway - I hope you find this post interesting - it's perhaps the "cheapest" way of upgrading tiles across the various theaters available for FE2. If I find enough free time I might tinker further with this side-project; will post comments if the results prove particularly successful. Cheers & good flying,

Hi there can anyone point me at a possible solution to this problem. I have 2 installs of FE2 one which is vanilla standard, and the other is using the Desert/Palestine maps, on the weapons loadouts for CAS work perfectly well in vanilla FE, however, not on the Palestine install, all other loadouts work just fine though ie. Strike, and armed recon, however whenever CAS is inserted anywhere, it refuses to auto equip the appropriate loadouts for a CAS mission. Does anybody have a clue as to why this may be occurring at all ? the loadout files are identical for both Vanilla, and for the Palestine installs, aand as I say, if I specify an armed recon mission, it will install the correct weapons load, but not for CAS, this is bugging the hell out of me, so any assistance will be much appreciated.

Hello everyone, I am sharing what I am working on with the team. It is a slow project because we do it for the hobby. We are flowing along with it, and there is no ETA. Initially, I worked on Dhimar and Paran expansion pack without much research, which led me to do a project that made no sense. That was an opportunity for me to learn how to do it properly, especially in a semi-realistic way that makes sense. I decided to discontinue Dhimar and Paran expansion project because I didn't want to change the stories written by TW. Therefore, I want to honor his work. Thank the community and friends for inspiring me to work on an entirely new fictional nation that I can envision and bring into SF2. A friend of mine recommended I look into the Africa map, where the imaginary nations of Saad and Zafir come in. What took the longest time was actual research about the nations around the horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and the ancient civilization around that area. The research on the language, cultures, and history was also involved. It taught me many new things, which opened me to Africa and the Arab world. This is how Saad and Zafir get an enriched history and depths with the cultures, languages, and where they come from. This led me from just making SF2 mods into writing a book. I never thought I would do it, yet I am doing it as a hobby. Then it came to me; this book is not just for SF2; it can be used for any simulation. It taught me how to be creative with the stories, including the graphic designs (flags, insignia, roundel, pilot badges, and other materials). After finishing the short history series about Saad and Zafir's ancestors, I can start focusing on finding the right aircraft for Saad and Zafir. It is intended that Saad and Zafir are truly unique to each other and the world of SF2. It won't be another classic "USA aircraft vs. Soviets Aircraft." Instead, they use various aircraft tied to Saad and Zafir history with connections to certain nations from Europe to the Middle East to Asia. They will still use some of the United States and Soviets aircraft, though. My friend has been a great teacher who taught me a lot about the military system and how they do things. I can make Saad and Zafir military semi-realistic with it, especially when being fictional nations. I intend to bridge the alternative world (SFAW) with this world in balanced ways. By the way, here is the information about the SFAW project: I will give you the brief background about Saad and Zafir. NOTE: I am NOT an expert with the language of Tigrinya. I am still looking for someone who knows the Tigrinya languages. I find them to be very interesting. It is intended that the language of Tigrinya for Saad is one of the native languages. That way, Saad can be fully immersive in the book and SF2. ሳድ (Saad) - (1920 – Present) الظافر (Zafir) - (1930 – Present) FAQs Cheers!

Hello fellow FE2-ers, Just a quick note for those running FE2 on Intel-based Macs (either in a WINE program or directly in Win7, 8.1, 10, etc. in Bootcamp) -- that you might find the info. in the following post (regarding WOFF/WOTR and the latest M1, ARM-based Macs) helpful. In short, for now - recommended is to keep flying FE2 only on Intel-based Macs, in versions of Windows no later than Win10. No guarantees at this point that Win11 can be effectively "shoehorned" onto Intel-Mac hardware, nor any guarantees as to how well FE2 may run in Win11, if at all. Furthermore, the latest ARM-based Macs only support ARM-based vers. (not the x64 branch) of Win11, and only via virtualization (no direct bare-metal Win11/ARM installs available for latest Macs so far -- the point is ultimately an irrelevant one I suppose since FE2 will never be "translated" to run as an ARM-based application anyway -- and I doubt that it would run stably using the x86/x64 virtualization layer that is found inside ARM-based Win11 installs anyway). Happy flying all, Von S

Hi All, Have now posted my ReShade preset file for FE2 (and SF2) in the following post located under the FM Tweaks Package thread: https://combatace.com/forums/topic/87403-tweaked-flight-models-and-realism-pack-for-fe2/?page=8&tab=comments#comment-783977 See below for examples of before/after pics. with stock shaders and improved shaders loaded in FE2 (the preset was tested in ver. 4.9.1 of ReShade). Was never able to get the ENB Series shaders files working in FE2, or even SweetFX for that matter - but this (later) version of ReShade works great. More details/info. included in the "Read Me" file that comes with the zipped download package. I think that the sun/color effects are now a little bit closer to the (realistic) tweaks that Geezer mentioned, a few yrs. back, in one of the threads here - regarding improved lighting and various color effects in FE2. Loading a preset file via ReShade is of course simpler than manually tweaking the environsys.ini file in FE2. The other good thing about these improved shaders is slightly smoother anti-aliasing effects too than in stock configuration. Also, no negative effect on FPS with these shaders loaded and that I was able to observe. Happy flying all, Von S Example One - Stock Shaders in FE2 Example One - Improved Shaders Loaded in FE2 Example Two - Stock Shaders in FE2 Example Two - Improved Shaders Loaded in FE2

Have been tinkering over the last several days with settings inside the terrain data ini files for various theaters - and I think I've managed to get rid of remaining town/building flickering that I've been experiencing in FE2 occasionally. While the towns never looked psychedelic on my rig., the flickering at times ruined immersion. The trick, on AMD vid. cards apparently, is to toggle several settings in the "AlphaObjectTexture" section. Have also gone through various object types and will upload the files under my thread for the FE2 FM package once I'm done with some more tweaks. Those who are running AMD vid. cards will notice that the towns/buildings look a bit more see-through (holographic) with the tweaks, but tree intersection with buildings looks more natural now from a distance - and the important thing is that the flickering is gone. Some representative pics. below - also take note that with "AlphaTestEnabled" set to FALSE, under the "AlphaObjectTexture" entry - there is even further overlap/intersection of different tree types that way - makes for more depth and also camouflage as seen in one of the pics. with the lower wings of the Alby hidden with foliage (also second-last pic.). Will also look at some of the MassFraction entries in the data inis for the Alb. D.I, D.II, also the D.III and D.V variants since they are rather difficult to shoot down although there is no armor on them and structural strength numbers look normal. Perhaps a leftover oddity from the days of the stock Albies - but will look into it and will upload any modifications under the post where I've included the tweaked FM for Stephen's Tripe - and what a beautiful model that is - have been flying it for a few days already. Von S

Hello fellow FE2 fliers, Instead of posting under the stickied "ini tweaks" thread - that hasn't seen fresh posts in a couple of yrs., I thought I'd open a separate (small) post here for something I stumbled upon only yesterday while tinkering with my rudder setups in WOFF and IL2-BoM installs - and I realized that it might work well for FE2/SF2 too. Those of you flying with "twist" joystick and/or rudder pedal setups might still find this helpful - but it is especially intended for those of you who are still flying with older/cheapish sticks (such as the Logitech Attack 3 in my case, with no twist capability) - you most likely have left/right rudder mapped to the top left/right buttons on the joystick. In WOFF, and other sims, it's usually a question of (manually) clicking several times left or right to get desired rudder input, and then clicking the center button on your stick to center the rudder. For a few yrs., I've really only been frustrated by one thing in the TW sims., and that was the "snappish" response of the auto-rudder setup - until I dug further into some of the more obscure entries of the Default.ini file located under "C:\Users\Yourusername\Saved Games\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2\Controls" (same directory path for SF2, except substitute StrikeFighters2 for FirstEagles2). The relevant entries to tamper with are the following three: ----- [RangedControl001] AxisControl=PITCH_CONTROL MaxValue=1000.000000 MinValue=-1000.000000 DeadZone=0.000000 Saturation=115.000000 ReverseJoystick=TRUE MouseScale=1.000000 UseMouseRate=FALSE ReverseMouse=FALSE LimitValue=TRUE SelfCenterRate=1.000000 -----> I recommend setting this to 1.0 for FE2, to slow down the elevator self-centering rate for WWI 'crates with their wires and cables (leave at the default value of 2.0 for WW2 and Cold War installs in SF2 with "faster" hydraulic setups) //2.000000 KeyControlRate=1.000000 AllowKeyControl=TRUE IncreaseControl=PITCH_DOWN DecreaseControl=PITCH_UP CenterControl= [RangedControl002] AxisControl=YAW_CONTROL MaxValue=1000.000000 MinValue=-1000.000000 DeadZone=0.000000 Saturation=115.000000 ReverseJoystick=FALSE MouseScale=1.000000 UseMouseRate=FALSE ReverseMouse=FALSE LimitValue=TRUE SelfCenterRate=0.100000 -----> recommended, for those using left/right joystick buttons to control rudder, is to reduce to a value of about 0.1 for WWI 'crates, again to simulate cable/wire control, but also in order to allow for lots of manual left/right rudder correction that, once you stop controlling rudder, allows it to return back to center position somewhat slowly (takes about 10 seconds to return to center); for WW2 and Cold War SF2 installs, a better value to use is something like 0.25 for the self-center rate, again to mimic the extra force of hydraulic controls //2.000000 KeyControlRate=1.000000 AllowKeyControl=TRUE IncreaseControl=YAW_RIGHT DecreaseControl=YAW_LEFT CenterControl= -----> have not bothered to use this since I like the 0.1 value for self-centering, for FE2, but, for those lacking twisty rudders or pedals, the most logical choice here is the top center button on the joystick, sandwiched between the left/right buttons for left/right rudder input [RangedControl003] AxisControl=ROLL_CONTROL MaxValue=1000.000000 MinValue=-1000.000000 DeadZone=0.000000 Saturation=115.000000 ReverseJoystick=FALSE MouseScale=1.000000 UseMouseRate=FALSE ReverseMouse=FALSE LimitValue=TRUE SelfCenterRate=1.000000 -----> I recommend setting this to 1.0 for FE2, to slow down the aileron self-centering rate for WWI 'crates with their wires and cables and generally sloppy ailerons (leave at default value of 2.0 for WW2 and Cold War installs in SF2 with "faster" hydraulic setups, as with the elevator setup in the relevant entry in this post) //2.000000 KeyControlRate=1.000000 AllowKeyControl=TRUE IncreaseControl=ROLL_RIGHT DecreaseControl=ROLL_LEFT CenterControl= ----- Von S

Some problems with the weapons in FE2. When I'm flying on Anatra DS in "Bomb target" mission, I cant't select "bombs" and I can't even see the bombs. In FE1 is "All Correct". The same problem in FE2 is with "bomb target" mission on Camel F1 (150). In FE1 is "All Correct". Then - a problem with SPAD XII. FE2 can't detect 37mm SAMC Moteur cannon. In FE1 is "All Correct". BUT... When I replace in "SPAD XII_data" 37mm SAMC Moteur cannon to 37mm Hotchkiss M1902 - FE2 can detect this one. In FE1 is "All Correct". Is it any way to fix this problems ?

Hello gents', Thought I'd post some speculations and observations on the FM aspects of some things in FE2 and SF2 that I've recently been tinkering with. This might be an interesting post for those who like to follow these technical threads. I was recently installing more aircraft into my small SF2 install - something I wanted to get to last year but had no time - and I decided to install a couple of the late prop aircraft too, particularly the SeaFury and F4U-5 variant of the Corsair. Overall pleased with the handling of the types, I tweaked a few things such as desensitizing the rudder on them, and also giving them slightly heavier aileron feel - since those late model prop aircraft were fairly heavy, about 4500 kg on average. Further testing involved flying and inspection of the [FlightControl] and [Engine] sections...couldn't get much beyond about 500 kph near sea level or at alt. in the types...so I commented out the MaxSpeedSL entry for the FlightControl, and tweaked prop speeds to close to historical, within the 2000 to 3000 rpm range, also pushed up the value for the SLPowerDry entry for the Engine, usually by a noticeable amount, and then tested further. Some of the things I've noticed, in terms of SF2 specifically (but this post is relevant to FE2 too): a) WEP power is not modelled realistically, since you can keep running it without engine damage b) WEP power doesn't give much of a boost, if at all (although I've only tinkered with the SeaFury and Corsair so far) c) a better way of simulating, however simplistic it is, the potential of WEP power, is to manipulate the AltitudeTableData numbers instead (for example, I plugged in values ranging from about 1.05 to 1.35 around the 6000 m alt. band, which should be where the Corsairs benefitted the most from max. throttle) d) after manipulation of the AltitudeTableData, it's best to get rid of the WEP entries entirely, and set up "throttle gradients" instead under the engine sections, such as: ThrottleRate=0.65 IdleThrottle=0.12 CruiseThrottle=0.45 MilThrottle=0.70 MaxThrottle=1.00 The numbers above I've plugged in, for example, for the Corsair. The space between Military throttle and Max throttle would be where "WEP power" would theoretically in this case be engaged, somewhere around the 0.85 mark for the band I've selected above. For this to work somewhat realistically, the player should restrict themselves to about 85% throttle max. except in extreme situations, depending of course on where military and max throttle are set. Also important for this to work is to make sure that the max SL speed under the FlightControl section is left uncapped (commented out) - otherwise artificial barriers are set up that cannot be bypassed by more than about 20-30 kph. Speed caps work beautifully in SF2 for the jet engines, but, at least from my experience, don't work that well with the late prop planes since you can then never hit top max. recorded historical speeds, not even at alt. - and not at SL either. Also noticeable in the example above is that I've increased the throttle rate from the default of about 0.25. Historically, late prop aircraft would have had better acceleration than early jet planes (not better top speeds, but faster acceleration to their own max speed). By the 1960s/70s, jet engines should surpass the props even in acceleration. I then re-tested by dumping the modified Corsair into my FE2 install. In SF2 it can get into the 760s kph, as historical, using the engine and throttle values I've included in my graded throttle settings above, while in FE2 the same tweaks push the top speed into the 880s kph - a difference of about 120 kph for top speeds, across FE2/SF2. This is why it's not a good idea simply to transfer data inis from one of the sims to the other. I'm assuming that the discrepancy in top speeds means that TK went with calculations to give less air resistance in FE2 (maybe FE as well?) - to fit better with the more fragile and maneuverable WWI aircraft types. One thing that remains constant between FE2 and SF2 is that, at least from my observations, the WEP modelling is not very realistic - there was no high alt. band where I could push the top speed beyond, for example, a reasonable top speed that may have been possible at near sea level (such as 500 or 600 kph). Some preliminary conclusions, to be tested further: a) speed caps at sea level should be kept in place in FE2, as done in the data inis in my FM packs, since they fit better with the lower top speeds of the early aircraft anyway, and mach limits should also be kept fairly low (I have them set at 120% of the "top speed" of the WW1 aircraft....this allows for realistic dive speeds that I haven't been able to push beyond about the 460 kph mark even on the late war types such as the SE5a) b) flying late WW2 and early Cold War prop aircraft in FE2 is not recommended, but FE2 may be good for "Golden Age" stuff, as Geezer speculated upon in another thread (can't remember the link for that now), in other words for aircraft that don't have a top speed higher than about 350 or 400 kph c) the difference between top speeds at alt and at sea level are modelled just fine for the jet engines in SF2, since caps on SL speeds, and Alt speeds, work fine for those (have seen this in some Flogger tweaks that I did for my mini-SF2 install); in other words, SF2 respects the wet/dry mach values and alt table entries beautifully for jet-age stuff d) I think that the MaxThrottle value in SF2, for the prop aircraft, could use some more tinkering/testing...I've set it at 1.00, but will try other values of 1.20, 1.50 etc., to see if this creates more realistic differences between regular power and WEP, or some kind of "accordion" effect e) as it stands, I'm enjoying the SeaFuries and Corsairs but only with SL speed uncapped and giving historical top speeds not at alt. but near sea level (this is a compromise of sorts since, at alt, they still make about 600 kph and sometimes a bit more - so I'm not terribly irritated by not attaining 740 kph at 7000 m alt or so, for example, in the SeaFury, as recorded for that plane) f) a couple of pics included below of the AI in SF2 now losing control of their F4U-5 Corsair during a scrap, and doing several back flips (too much throttle applied perhaps?); he then bails out of the otherwise undamaged plane; so, overall, I'm liking the realism of some of the haphazard maneuvers they now make, and also the increased speed at which these late prop fights now happen, even on the deck g) anything that I find of further use in the SF2 data inis, and if relevant to FE2, I will tinker with more to bring even more realism into FE2 (the lockout speed trick implemented for control surfaces in the alternative Morane-Saulnier type N data ini posted under the FM thread for FE2 is an example of things discovered while combing through the SF2 files) Happy flying, Von S

Hello gents', A quick heads up for those running FE2 in WineSkin on a Mac - keep in mind that FE2 is a 32-bit program. MacOS 10.15 and later will not be supporting 32-bit programs anymore (only 64-bit). This of course is a problem considering that WineSkin (and other Wine programs for Macs) are currently 32-bit. While WineSkin may eventually go 64-bit (this is a slim possibility), there is no guarantee that 32-bit programs like FE/FE2 will be able to run in it even if it is 64-bit, considering that MacOS 10.15 and later are stripping out most if not all of the 32-bit code from their OS. This leaves Mac fliers of FE2 in a precarious position. Options are eventually to go over to Windows and drop fiddling with WineSkin, or to keep running your older Intel Macs (like my 2012 quad-core Mini), or grab another Mac and sort of future-proof yourself, with something like a Mac Pro or the newer Mac Mini (2018), providing you don't upgrade past MacOS 10.14 (last one to support 32-bit). SF2 by the way is 64-bit, and so is WOFFue - so those are good to go into the future of 64-bit OSes, on the Windows side. No guarantees that you will be able to fly WOFF/SF2 in future Mac OSes however because WineSkin may remain 32-bit only (no telling what's going to happen with Wine on a Mac at this point). Have been reading some forums that the Wine folks may move over to Linux entirely if the Mac world drops 32-bit...not good news for legacy simming/gaming. Anyway, I'll probably future-proof myself in some way with an extra Mac or two since I like running FE2 in WineSkin and there's no dropping FE2 once you get the modding bug. Happy flying, Von S UPDATE: The CodeWeaver folks working on CrossOver (a fork of Wine) may be developing a way for 32-bit code/libraries to be loaded into a 64-bit version of Wine - something that may eventually be ported to the general branch of Wine too - but again this is work in progress and no telling what will happen until the dust settles down over the next couple of years, in terms of 32-bit gaming on a Mac, in Wine. Linux has a 64-bit version of Wine that can load 32-bit code for older games, and it seems to have had this for several years already - but this is not relevant to gaming on a Mac. Will update this post further if any (good) news emerges.

For FE/FE2 Flyers interested in little oddities of WW1 flight, Thought I'd open a small mini-post with some interesting info. on cartridge ejection on WW1 machine guns, as related to my tweaked data inis. I usually like to keep the ejection-of-cartridges call set to True on single-seaters, including top-wing mounted Lewis guns, or Vickers or Spandaus that are in front of the cockpit. Toggle that setting under the Internal Gun section of your data inis to preference, either to True or False, if you're distracted by empty flying cartridges while flying. On two-seater and multi-seater types, especially for observers/gunners, I usually have that setting at False, since many observers had setups with cloth or leather bags attached to the guns to catch spent cartridges. One exception to the rule is of course the one-seater pusher type, such as the DH.2 - you don't want spent cartridges from those flying back into the engine or propeller (as historical). A good post on the topic is here: http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/150528.aspx?page=1 Also good is the opening, lengthy post on that forum. Happy flying, Von S

Hello fellow FE/FE2 flyers, As a continuation of my experiment to include over-compression tendencies in the 200hp Daimler engine for Geezer's Junkers J.1 model, I did some (successful) tweaking of the previously tweaked data inis for the the BMW-powered Fokk. D.7 and late, 200hp Alb. D.5a. Tinkering with the following values in the data inis is required to get things working well, under the Engine section: AltitudeTableNumData AltitudeTableDeltaX AltitudeTableData The NumData should reflect how many values are present under the AltitudeTableData section. The DeltaX number is finicky, the general rule being that a higher number gives more powerful engine results across wider alt. bands but is perhaps less historically realistic, while in some cases a lower number is required, for example to "unglue" the AI from the ground in case the AI has trouble handling a particular plane, and also to create more subtle and gradual performance drops across smaller/thinner alt. bands. [Edited this section to include more accurate info.] TheAltitudeTableData entry begins with a value of 1.000 - ground level number, and then gradually falls off to 0.000. Correct over-compression of an engine requires that a number higher than 1.0, usually a few entries that are higher than 1.0, are included at the start of the AltitudeTableData entry - to generate the correct effect if an over-compressed engine is at full throttle near sea level. Values under the FlightControl section, particularly top speed values, then become a reflection of top speed at altitudes between about 1000 and 1500m - typical heights at which Idflieg would have over-compressed engines tested. (This also depends on the DeltaX number and where the AltitudeTableData value of 1.000 begins: for example, values of 1.200, 1.050, 1.000, etc., with a DeltaX no. of 500, would mean that 100% performance is at 1000 m alt.) It's no wonder that there is some confusion therefore regarding top speeds of the BMW-powered Fokk. D.7, and if its numbers are reflections of what happens near sea level or at 1 km alt. approximately. [Added important info. here too.] Here is a snippet from TheAerodrome.com for the 180hp Mercedes (au) installed in many Fokk. D.7s: "Climb rate is 5 m/s at sea level, falling linearly to 0 m/s at 6 km, marked as the "theoretical ceiling". Climb rpm begins at 1400 rpm at sea level, falling to 1310 rpm at 5600m." "Level speed: 0 km: 190 km/h @ 1570 rpm 1 km: 188 km/h @ 1580 rpm 2 km: 182 km/h @ 1530 rpm 3 km: 177 km/h @ 1490 rpm 4 km: 167 km/h @ 1430 rpm 5 km: 152 km/h @ 1360 rpm 6 km: 124 km/h @ 1280 rpm" Here are the results for the newly tweaked BMW-powered Fokk. D.7: near sea level: 210-211 kph @ 100% throttle near sea level: 176-177 kph @ 70% throttle (cruise, not using high alt. throttle) 1000 m: 201 kph @ 100% throttle (this is the top speed usually cited for the BMW-powered D.7, but probably refers to at alt., not at sea level) 1500 m: 198 kph @ 100% throttle 3000 m: 187 kph @ 100% throttle 4000 m: 176 kph @ 100% throttle climb rate to about 1000 m, at 70% throttle, is around 3.5 m/s; climb rate remains fairly consistent beyond 1000 m, at 100% throttle, if speeds in 120s and 130s kph are maintained Results are a noticeable improvement over the Mercedes-powered D.7 (no wonder pilots wanted this type). Here are results for the newly tweaked 200hp Mercedes-powered Alb. D.5a: near sea level: 206 kph @ 100% throttle near sea level: 183 kph @ 70% throttle (cruise, not using high alt. throttle) 1000 m: 202-203 kph @ 100% throttle (Goering supposedly reported maintaining over 200 kph in level flight in an Alb. D.5a...perhaps the 200hp variant?) 1500 m: 198-199 kph @ 100% throttle (this is the top speed sometimes cited for the late variant Alb. D.5a, again perhaps referring to at alt. and not sea level) 3000 m: 187-188 kph @ 100% throttle 4000 m: 177 kph @ 100% throttle 5000 m: 165 kph @ 100% throttle 6000 m: 110-112 kph @ 100% throttle (noticeable drop, since exceeding its ceiling here of about 5900 meters) 6025 m: 90-95 kph @ 100% throttle (begins to shudder and stall) climb rate to about 1000 m, at 70% throttle, is around 4 m/s; climb rate is around 3 m/s at 100% throttle beyond 1000 m, in 120s and 130s kph (slamming the throttle to 100% below 1000 m would not have been recommended historically, but gives a climb rate of about 5-6 m/s, similar for the Fokk. D.7...probably used in emergency scenarios) Results for the late Alby. are a noticeable improvement over the 180 hp Mercedes (au) Albies, and similar to results for the Fokk. D.7 - watch the wings though in dives on the Alb., especially with the now excess power. Also interesting is the historical realism of how the speed advantage at alt. for the high-compression engines remains fairly consistent across the altitudes (dropping off in small steps of about 5-10 kph per 1000 m), and then severely drops off close to the ceiling for the type. A gradual, more "curved" drop of speed for high-alt. engines should be seen for WW2 types - but is usually, mistakenly assumed of WW1, over-compressed types too, which would remain fairly consistent in power until close to their ceiling (see relevant discussions on TheAerodrome.com for more info.). Attached are the two tweaked data inis (will roll this eventually into a ver. 9.0 of the FM update pack). I'm still debating if I will tinker with the 180hp (au) Mercedes-powered types...the benefit of over-compression on those types would be small, probably too small to make any noticeable difference in FE/FE2. Happy flying, Von S [Files included in ver. 9.0 and later of my FM updates pack.]

Hello Gents, Here are the steps to take if interested in installing FE2 on a Mac. The procedure is similar to "bottling" of CFS3.1, the ETO and PTO expansion packs, also WOFF ue for the Mac, and of course RB3D, but a little "simpler" with FE2 (and RB3D) since less winetricks are required...the process is at any rate a slow one and requires patience, but is convenient if you want to have everything running on the same operating system. STEP ONE: go to https://sourceforge.net/projects/wineskin/ and download the latest wineskin winery (ver. 1.7 as of this writing) via the green "download" button there (for Mac OS vers. 10.6 to 10.12) [EDIT: if running Mac OS 10.13 or later, recommended instead is to install the "unofficial" WineSkin-for-Mac located at https://github.com/Gcenx/WineskinServer] STEP TWO: double-click on the program; in the menu that opens click on the plus sign to the left of "new engines available," and in the list that then opens choose WS8Wine1.5.1, download it, and then - when you're back in the main menu - choose "create new blank wrapper" (now wait about 3-4 minutes for your Mac to make the custom wrapper; once finished, the wrapper will be placed in an Applications folder that has been made inside your user folder on OS X and/or macOS) STEP THREE: go to the WineSkin wrapper that's just been made and double-click on it; in the window that opens, choose "set screen options"; in the window that then opens choose "override" instead of automatic, and choose "rootless (windowed)," then "virtual desktop at" (whatever resolution suits you), then "use these settings" instead of force normal windows; once happy with your choices, click on "done" at the bottom of that window STEP FOUR: back on the main menu, choose "advanced"; in the window that opens click on "tools"; this will then open another window in which you should click on "winetricks"; in the window that then opens, type in d3d in the search window at the top, then click to expand the "dlls" menu that shows up in the list below your search, and look for d3dx11_43, and click in the box to the left of it, to select it; now click on "run" located towards the bottom of that top screen of the window you're currently in, and let it install the winetrick; once the process finishes it will say "done" in the text window that is visible in the bottom half of that same window; finally, click on the "close" button at the very bottom of the window, and you're taken back to the "wineskin advanced" menu (close that advanced menu by clicking on the close button in its menubar) STEP FIVE: double-click on the wrapper once again and choose "install software" in the main menu; then "choose setup executable" in the next window that opens and locate your exe file for FE2 that you bought (usually called setup.exe or install.exe); now let the wrapper do its thing to install the game STEP SIX: once installed, the wrapper will go back to the main menu and you can click "quit" (it may also prompt you to locate the program before it drops to the main menu, the program in this case being the exe file of the game that was just installed - best thing at this point is just to leave this alone and close that window, if it doesn't drop to the main menu automatically) STEP SEVEN: once the wrapper has quit, don't double-click on it but "right-click" it and choose the option in the popup menu on OS X and/or macOS that says "show package contents" (this will open the wrapper's folder and should list something like a contents folder, the alias to its c drive, and an app/icon called WineSkin); double-click on the app named WineSkin and you will open the main menu window again, of the wrapper, and choose "advanced" STEP EIGHT: under the advanced menu, to the right of the box called Windows EXE (that contains a file path), click on "Browse"; this will open up your finder on OS X and/or macOS, and then you can scroll into the "c drive" of the wrapper into which you've just installed FE2; in "c drive," look for "Program Files," scroll into there and look for "ThirdWire," scroll into "ThirdWire" and look for "First Eagles 2," scroll into there and look for "FirstEagles2.exe" and choose that (click "choose"); then you're back in the WineSkin advanced menu with the proper file path for the game's exe now listed in the box near the top of the window (while you're there you might want to give a name for your freshly created Mac program in the "menubar name" box, something like First Eagles 2 or FE2, and also, later, don't forget to rename your wrapper/app to First Eagles 2, for consistency, if you haven't done so already) STEP NINE: now close that advanced menu window, and double-click the program you just created (not the WineSkin icon in the window that popped open when you right-clicked and chose "show package contents," but the actual, main wrapper that is in the custom Applications folder that was created in your user folder on OS X and/or macOS) - see if the game works, and if all is well, then double-click the WineSkin logo that is visible in the window once you right-click the main app wrapper to "show package contents"; once you're in the WineSkin menu again, click on "screen options" one more time and choose "fullscreen" instead of "rootless (windowed)," also choose your desired resolution in the box below that and leave the other options at 24 bit for color depth and 0 sec. for switch pause; all the other options there should be left as they are STEP TEN: since you've now run the game successfully (in windowed mode), you will find a ThirdWire/First Eagles 2 folder located in your Documents folder (of your user folder under OS X and/or macOS); in that folder you can find, under "ThirdWire/First Eagles 2/Controls," a Default.INI file that contains the keyboard and joystick controls for the game; open this ini file in TextEdit and modify the keys to your liking (also, don't forget to tweak the joystick sensitivity slider within the game's menu too, to get the joystick to behave as you like); and one more thing - it's best to set the game resolution, within the game's menu, to the same resolution that you have set within the "screen options" of your wineskin wrapper - for everything to behave as smoothly as possible STEP ELEVEN: all user mods from CombatAce should be installed into the relevant folders of user/Documents/ThirdWire/First Eagles 2 on your Mac - not into the First Eagles 2 folder that is buried in the c drive of the WineSkin wrapper into which you installed the game's exe and the related files NOTE: Von S makes no guarantee that following such steps will recreate the magic of First Eagles 2 on your Mac, but careful following of the directions listed above should work in 99% of cases NOTE 2: the game can of course be run in windowed mode, as indicated in the earlier steps above....at say 1600 x 900...but why keep such a lovely game windowed - full screen is better for it, but you might want to keep the resolution at 1600 x 900 on lower-end systems, for better frame rates (Red Baron 3D on the other hand is better windowed at something like 1280 x 1024 - full screen is hit-and-miss with RB3D in WineSkin, but the situation may improve since WINE is always being improved) Happy flying, Von S

Hello fellow flyers, Thought I'd open a new thread for this topic...was studying the environmentsys.ini file further this weekend and stumbled upon a few interesting discoveries that help with realism in FE/FE2. Weather speed and patterns for custom missions and campaigns should be tweaked in the relevant MSN files for missions/campaigns, but for single missions here are some good values to use to increase challenges and realism in game. It also gives slowly moving clouds/cloud patterns - set the time factor to x8 while parked at an airfield to notice this, although at windy settings it is noticeable at normal time factor (x1) too. I'm including four zipped environmentsys.ini files, for no wind, light wind, moderate wind, and strong wind patterns. Make a backup of your default environmentsys.ini file before installing. These files can be used with the weather/cloud mods I included with the ver. 8.6 update of the FM pack (to improve frame rates on low-end graphics cards). If you are using the Panama Red environmentsys.ini, make a backup of the original, then make four copies of the file and paste in the following settings. For no wind, include under [Weather]: WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=1.39 And under [baseWindSection]: BaseWindSpeed=0.0 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=3.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=18.06 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=36.12 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=6.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=22.22 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=44.44 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=12.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=26.39 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=52.78 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=20.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=21.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=30.56 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=61.12 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=15.0 For light wind, use: [Weather] WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=11.11 [baseWindSection] BaseWindSpeed=4.17 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=3.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=25.00 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=50.00 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=6.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=27.78 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=55.56 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=12.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=33.33 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=66.66 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=20.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=21.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=38.89 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=77.78 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=15.0 For moderate wind, use: [Weather] WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=16.67 [baseWindSection] BaseWindSpeed=6.94 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=5.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=30.56 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=61.12 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=50.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=8.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=33.33 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=66.66 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=15.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=41.67 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=83.34 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=26.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=45.83 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=91.66 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=25.0 For strong wind, use: [Weather] WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=22.22 [baseWindSection] BaseWindSpeed=11.11 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=5.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=36.11 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=72.22 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=50.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=8.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=40.28 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=80.56 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=15.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=47.22 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=94.44 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=26.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=51.39 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=102.78 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=25.0 The weather alt. value is typical of max. height of weather kites (2000-3000 meters) and weather balloons (3000-4500 meters) of the WWI period. 500 hPa (of modern weather forecasts) is at 5500 meters, 1000 hPa is at sea-level or slightly below ground depending on terrain. Typical WWI measurements would be to about 400 or 420 hPa if you look at the ceilings of the kites and balloons, which is about 4600 m alt. Weather "thickness" (a confusing entry that took me a while to figure out) is thus distance between 420 hPa and 1000 hPa, with the last zero removed from the value, giving 460. (For WWII and jet-age, use higher values for thickness, basically the weather alt. value with the final zero taken off, such as 1000 thickness for 10000 meters alt., 600 for 6000 meters alt. and so on.) Some of the effects of the modded environmentsys files are subtle, but improve realism. I did a few more ground loops than usual in a Fokk. E.IIa while trying to take off, with the moderate wind settings, especially if blipping the rotary engine off too frequently or not frequently enough - perhaps the result of wind gusts. Also, at moderate and strong wind settings, I found it more difficult to hit anything in a dogfight. You'll also notice that at higher wind settings, archie bursts and smoke trails, also engine exhausts tend to drift from time to time, or have zig-zag patterns. Will include these mods with a ver. 8.9 update of the FM pack. Happy flying, Von S

Hello FE/FE2 flyers, Thought I'd start a new post for this topic since it's something I was thinking of for several months in FE2 - how to make dives and recovery from dives more dangerous/realistic (reminiscent of RB3D). The tweak is a fairly simple one but requires patience. A MaxG value should be included for upperright, upperleft, bottomright, and bottomleft wing values in the data ini files. I stumbled on this while tweaking the Nieu 12 today - there is a general MaxG value under FlightControl in the data inis that I've modified for previous updates of the FM packs - but the trick is to include such values for the wings as well, and to modify those values further - I am assuming that this would work for wing tip entries as well but I have so far tested only with main wing panels - the results are very good. (I will roll these modifications into a future version of the FM updates, once I am happy with the results.) In the meantime, here are a couple of pics of quick (unsuccessful) recovery from power dives. 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

View File Tweaked Flight Models and Realism Pack for FE2 Hello Fellow Fliers of First Eagles 2, Version 11.0 of the FM/Realism Package for FE2 contains approximately 220 WWI aircraft types and sub-types, for your (virtual) flying enjoyment. For detailed installation instructions, please check over the main "Read Me First" file that is included, as well as several older (pdf) files and that cover aircraft performance info., tips, etc., across all previous versions of the FM update package. A great many thanks go out to Peter01 and Ojcar, also TexMurphy, for making most of those flight model files to begin with. Also a great thanks goes out to Stephen1918, MontyCZ and Laton for providing lots of beautiful planes and skins that go with those great flight models, to NBell for the many hitbox improvements provided for the planes, also to VonOben, Mike Dora and Crawford for many helpful suggestions, and to the A-Team by SkunkWorks for allowing me to tweak a few of the FMs for their models too. And of course a very big thanks goes out to Geezer for several fantastic, high-quality models that were produced for FE2. What I've done is tinkered with the data files further. Modifications in all cases, to a greater or lesser extent, include data under the following sections: (a) MissionData (b) FlightControl (c) AIData (d) Sound (e) AircraftData (f) Engine (g) Crew (h) Internal Guns (i) Control Surfaces (j) Landing Gears (k) Fuselage, Nose, Tail, Vertical Tail, LeftStab, RightStab, Rudder, Left/Right/Inner/Middle/Outer/Tip Wing components Enjoy and happy flying!, Von S NOTES: For several of Geezer's latest aircraft and my FMs for those aircraft (Nieuports, Pfalzes, etc.), which are not included in this package, please see the relevant post located towards the bottom of page 25 of the "New Aircraft" thread for FE2, on CombatAce. Also see relevant posts on pages 26, 27, and 28 of that same thread for Geezer's "early beta" collection that contains the Breguet XIV, Junkers J.I, and other updates, including performance info. for some of those aircraft types. DISCLAIMER: All Von S mods., for FE2, SF2, also WOFFue/pe/bh&h2, as well as for RoF (United Ed.), are subject to the CombatAce "freeware" terms of agreement. Mods. may be shared with others, included on other media devices, also modded further, providing that original documentation and/or credit is included, and providing that the mods. remain free to use. Von S mods. shall not be sold, resold, etc., and Von S takes no responsibility for injuries or fixations that may result from flying heavily tweaked FMs or from attempts to enjoy real flying without aid or instruction from a qualified flight instructor. Submitter VonS Submitted 10/16/2015 Category Flight Models  

File Name: FE2 "Aces Over North Africa" PhotoShop 1024x768 Menu Templates File Submitter: viper63a File Submitted: 07 April 2015 File Category: First Eagles Hanger, Menu Screens FE2 "Aces Over North Africa" PhotoShop 1024x768 Menu Templates By Viper A set of "Aces Over North Africa" Flight and Menu Templates for First Eagles2. Requirement: Photoshop or other graphics program that can edit Photoshop PSD files. You can created your own FE2 "Aces Over North Africa" menus. Load the Photoshop Menu Template you want to customize. Load the picture you want to use into Photoshop. Edit/Change/Resize the picture you want to use and copy it over the Red Background layer of the Photoshop Menu Template. Merge all the layers and save the file as a jpeg (jpg) image. Copy the new menu screen to the FE2 Menu folder. Done... Also included: 2 minute Prop plane wav sound file in the Flight Folder. Use these however you want, just give me some credit...Thanks and Enjoy! =Viper= Click here to download this file

File Name: FE2 First Eagles2 1024x768 PhotoShop Menu Templates File Submitter: viper63a File Submitted: 05 April 2015 File Category: First Eagles Hanger, Menu Screens FE2 First Eagles2 PhotoShop 1024x768 Menu Templates By Viper A set of "Aces of the Great War" Flight and Menu Templates for First Eagles2. Requirement: Photoshop or other graphics program that can edit Photoshop PSD files. You can created your own FE2 menus. Load the Menu Template you want to customize into Photoshop. Load the picture you want into Photoshop. Copy the picture and place it over the Red Background layer. Merge all layers and save as a jpeg (jpg). Copy the new menu screen to the FE2 Menu folder. Done... Also included: 2 minute Prop plane wave in the Flight Folder. A collection of WWI Pilot photos in the Pilotdata folder. Enjoy! Viper Click here to download this file

File Name: SF2 FirstEagles2 Silver Series Hi-Res 1024x768 Menu Screens File Submitter: viper63a File Submitted: 12 March 2015 File Category: First Eagles Hanger, Menu Screens SF2 FirstEagles2 Hi-Res Silver Series 1024x768 Menu Screens By Viper This package contains a new version of my 1024x768 FE2 menus that are in the new Silver Border format like my 1920x1080 menus. This mod includes custom WWI Air War themed menu, campaign and pilot screens. No other (Hangar, Loading) screens or INI files are changed. You should unzip the file and preview the new screens before installing them. I recommend doing this as there are MANY alternate screens (Inlcuding some vintage black/white version) I have in there that you might like better. If you choose to install these screens, I recommend that you back up your MENU, FLIGHT, CAMPAIGNS and PILOTDATA folders in the SF2 Mod folder you're installing this mod into. Just in case you want to go back to your original setup. To install, simply unzip and copy the uncompressed MENU, FLIGHT, CAMPAIGNS and PILOTDATA folders into your FirstEagles2 mod folder. Recommendation: I recommend that you RENAME your original MENU folder. The new copy from my package will then install cleanly and not conflict with any other mod you may have installed into the MENU folder. My Win97 folder was..(yours may be different)... C:\Users\<your_id>\Saved Games\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2\ Enjoy! Click here to download this file