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Some questions about a new problem

A

Archive1

Charter Member
I’ve been updating my older CFS2 with new versions (mostly Rami’s great work) and have found strange things now occurring. No criticism of Rami is intended.

Although I have edited the QUICKCOM/ qc_planes to include only those I want, almost all the aircraft listed in the root AIRCRAFT file show up….but not all. And not all the planes in the root AIRCRAFT file that should fly in Free Flight appear for selection on the Free Flight list. (see comment below re: Sound and Panel files)

Also, when I try to select either Free Flight or Quick Combat (to test newly installed aircraft for example) I get that dreaded “Failure to Initialize the databases. You might need to reinstall this product. Some files are missing or corrupted.” message. When I hit OK and clear the message I can then immediately select Free Flight or Quick Combat and they work perfectly as if the message never appeared.

I have checked all aircraft panels and sound folders and they are correct with proven panels and proper sound aliases. And I have thoroughly checked the INFO/airbases file for numbering errors. I also went back and deleted all added Scenery files installed into the Scenery Library from the SCENEDB file.

These are new phenomena. Previously QC displayed only those aircraft in the qc_planes folder and the Free Flight selection worked smoothly.

I have no idea which database has been screwed up by me (Scenedb, Objects_DP, what?) Any way to tell?

One other query: In some of Achim’s airfields Lindsay Watt’s trees do not appear and you get a “Missing ldw_willow_2_med” or some such message. (See UK- Steeple Morden) I presume that a typo occurred and Achim entered LDW when he meant LWD. Anyone have a list of these so one can go back and edit the objects_dp files?
 
There are 2 separate tree libraries. Some are, in fact, LWD and some are LDW. So, that error is correct. You need both.

The error on free flight and QC is common when you have more than 80 aircraft in any install of CFS2. Though I have found the number to vary. Sometimes I am okay up to 90 aircraft, sometimes it gives me the message at 80, sometimes I get 90+ without the message. Who knows??

Realize that CFS2 MB does not like more than one texture in an aircraft file. I think CFS2 is just as picky sometimes and have made single-stand-alone aircraft instead of multiple skins in one aircraft folder. It just works better for me that way. Example: instead of km_P-40F "10-10" with Ace of Pearls and Mona skins, I took the aircraft folder, made copies renamed to km_p-40F "AoP" and km_P-40F "Mona" and changed all of the related files to the same name to give me 2 separate aircraft and discarded the "10-10". I have no aircraft with multiple skins.

I use only AI bombers for missions, unless I am flying a bomber. In fact, I use the AI package aircraft as much as possible to cut down on aircraft in my AIRCRAFT folder. Historical accuracy of those AIs is really not as important to me as FPS. After all, unless you are right in the mix of bomber formations, CFS2 does not allow you a good view of them anyway. Anything I can do to keep from breaking that 80 aircraft limit......again, as you, not dissing on Rami, but he likes to use the real meal deal aircraft and generally stays away from the AI bombers and such for historical accuracy. I have gotten to where I have separate installs just for his campaigns because he is aircraft heavy for accuracy sake. To have enough aircraft to mix his campaigns into one install breaks 100 aircraft easily.
 
Reply...

Good morning,

As long as you're not running Vista, you can rectify this without a reinstall. The way you do it is to delete all of your .cdp files in your aircraft and objects_dp folders, (you can use Windows Search for that) do the same for the filelist.dat files in the scenery folders, and finally, replace your quick combat file with a backup, either from a clean install, or you can rip it off the install disk.

I'm not 100% sure this works for Windows 7 though.

Before firing up your sim again, use Martin Wright's AcMan to check how many aircraft you have installed, the second tab will do a count of both aircraft AND skins.

Location: http://www.btinternet.com/~mnwright/download/acman.zip
 
the other thing I just thought of is that if you have any aircraft that is without sound or panel folders and proper config files, you will continue to get the errors. Also, SdC did an overload patch with 2 dll files into the modules folder. It will solve a lot of those issues.

These work arounds do work in WIN7. They work best in WIN7 if you do NOT install to the default; C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 2, and you set it up to always run as administrator.
 
Reply...

Archive1 said:
No criticism of Rami is intended.
Click to expand...

Aw, schucks...:rolleyes:

Archive1,

I'm a high-school history teacher, happily married, and have four kids under the age of five, so my skin is pretty thick. No need to worry, I don't live in an ivory tower or anything. If you come across a problem, let me know, and I'll answer it as best I can.
 
Reply...

p14u2nv said:
Rami is this to mean that if we run Vista, as I do (64) the only recourse is a reinstall?
Click to expand...

p14u2nv,

Unfortunately, yes. I have Windows Vista 64-bit on my laptop, and I've run into this problem a couple of times. I've not found a way around it yet.
 
p14u2nv said:
I use only AI bombers for missions, unless I am flying a bomber. In fact, I use the AI package aircraft as much as possible to cut down on aircraft in my AIRCRAFT folder. Historical accuracy of those AIs is really not as important to me as FPS. .
Click to expand...

Devildog,

I'm interested in increasing my FPS. I use the FDG2 B-17's for my missions but they are frame rate killers, especially if you have 16 flying around. Even when they're beyond the nametag distance if you pan or fly in thier direction your FR goes to hell. Do you know of any other good B-17's that are MLOD texture and not FR heavy?
 
WAIT !!!!!!

It's always easier to change the name of the PLANE rather than re-name the entire campaign / mission.

Re-name the AIR, DP, and _CHK to whatever you have installed at he moment; change the name in the Aircraft CFG file to match; and do the same to the MDL name and MDL CFG file info, and you're done.

If you need help w/ this, email me and I'll show you how !

TTYS
SC
:kilroy:
 
No need SC. I just went into MB and swapped the old B-17's I was using for the new ones in the 15 out of the 29 missions using B-17's in that campaign. Only took about 15 minutes. Thanks again!
 
Holy Robin Olds!!
What a response. Have not yet absorbed all the advice. But want to immediately respond with thanks. Will dig into it and see what transpires.

Oh just for clarification: running good old stable XP not either Vista or Win7.

I will check on the aircraft # but I don't believe I am up to the max.

sc7500 - I have many times just changed the aircraft name, but have not done so for the other files (*.air, *.dp, *.mdl, *.cfg...etc) for each aircraft. Will do. Also am interested in your LoRes_b17ai.zip if that will improve fps. Does that file exist in the SOH files somewhere?

Devildog73: I thought I had downloaded all of Lindsay's files a few years ago. Where are his LDW files? Some of his stuff has disappeared it seems. Will look at the aircraft textures. Now that you mention it I did not count a variety of textures as individual aircraft, but of course they are.

Rami: Thanks, have downloaded the acman file. Have pretty carefully deleted *.cpd and *.filelist files as I have made changes, but will do a global delete.

Appreciation to all.
 
Archive1 said:
Holy Robin Olds!!
What a response. Have not yet absorbed all the advice. But want to immediately respond with thanks. Will dig into it and see what transpires.

Oh just for clarification: running good old stable XP not either Vista or Win7.

I will check on the aircraft # but I don't believe I am up to the max.

sc7500 - I have many times just changed the aircraft name, but have not done so for the other files (*.air, *.dp, *.mdl, *.cfg...etc) for each aircraft. Will do. Also am interested in your LoRes_b17ai.zip if that will improve fps. Does that file exist in the SOH files somewhere?

Devildog73: I thought I had downloaded all of Lindsay's files a few years ago. Where are his LDW files? Some of his stuff has disappeared it seems. Will look at the aircraft textures. Now that you mention it I did not count a variety of textures as individual aircraft, but of course they are.

Rami: Thanks, have downloaded the acman file. Have pretty carefully deleted *.cpd and *.filelist files as I have made changes, but will do a global delete.

Appreciation to all.
Click to expand...

archive1, Lindsay now has his own website: http://forum.lwdesigns.com.au/
You will have to sign up and await confirmation via email, but all of his stuff is there with a bit more.

Those ai bombers that SC7500 sent you are most likely the same that I use, if they also included several other ai aircraft. I have AI- B-17, B-24 green, B-24 pink, B-26, Beaufighter, C-47, Electra, & Hudson. There is also a towed glider for the C-47, but so far I have not used it. They all have ai bombs and their gunners shoot pretty accurately. The only mod I have done is to beef up their .50 cals to 18.4 power in the aircraft dp to match the 1% guy's more accurate hitting power of an M2 .50 cal. I have seen what a real .50 cal in combat does. They are much more potent than M$ made them in the sim. They will rip apart most things made out of metal or lesser materials, and I have shot a .50 cal tracer round into diesel fuel or gasoline tanks on vehicles. It is an amazing sight indeed, especially the gasoline. I can only imagine what it did to aviation grade fuel tanks in the wings of enemy aircraft. So, my advice to you is that on the ai bombers that were equiped with .50 cals, go into the aircraft's dp and raise the power ratio of the guns from 14 to 18 or 18.4.

With the coding in CFS2, the bomber formations will eat up enemy fighters that seem to always attack directly from 6:00. Not to say that some fighters won't get your bombers, they will. But, those that venture too close from 6:00 all alone will bite the bullets from all of the formation aircraft within range. If you are where you can see the fight, it is amazing to see all of those tracers flying around.

The lesson I have learned from this: always attack enemy bombers from deflection angles, NEVER from 6:00. I prefer to dive through them from about 3-5 o'clock or 7-9 o'clock. I have a shorter firing window, but I live longer in the sim. And, I have crashed into bombers doing it this way because I tend to hold fire until I am close, sometimes too close for the damage box in the aircraft's air file.
 
Reply...

_486_Col_Wolf said:
Devildog,

I'm interested in increasing my FPS. I use the FDG2 B-17's for my missions but they are frame rate killers, especially if you have 16 flying around. Even when they're beyond the nametag distance if you pan or fly in thier direction your FR goes to hell. Do you know of any other good B-17's that are MLOD texture and not FR heavy?
Click to expand...

486_Col_Wolf and Archive1,

Actually, there is another solution. When I was working on Operation Frantic last year, I had asked Kelticheart if he could modify the FDG B-17 payload so that you could drop crates with it, for a mission over Warsaw. When he did this, and created prop textures, he added Tango Romeo's AI bombs as an option to the .dp file. This has had a dramatic effect on improving the FPS performance of the FDG B-17s. It turns out that it was the bombs, not the aircraft itself, that was causing the problems with framerates.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=47&id=2391

Pen32Win's revised air and .cfg files also stopped the severe oscillation of the bombers at altitude.
 
FYI...

I just uploaded that Low-res B-17 pack of Bismark's for general use.

As I recall, they were posted in a thread a year or so back, and were not in general circulation - unless there's a challenge, Everyone gets an early Christmas Present !!!!!

Enjoy :wavey:
SC
:kilroy:
 
sc7500 - have downloaded the low res file. Appreciate it. And the one from Rami.

Devildog: Have picked up your suggestions and file references...thanks. Did not know Lindsay was still out there...have registered. And yeah, flew in F-100 and F-105s back in the day (yep I am that old) and know about .50 cal effects. Especially nasty to the human body.

In answer to an earlier point: I counted the aircraft last night, and yor're right, there were 116 in the root AIRCRAFT file.
 
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