AAArrrgghh!!!

W

waco

Charter Member
As Charlie Brown says, "AAArrrgghh!!!." It's been a long time since I've fiddled with files in CFS3. I'm trying out the freeware BoB in CFS3 and it works fine until I try to add the update Boston A20. It'll show up on the British listing of available aircraftl, but when I click on scramble, CFS3 shuts down back to my desktop. I guess I'm missing something on the Boston's installation, but I ain't got a clue. Years ago I used to fiddle around trying different planes. HELP!
 
waco said:
As Charlie Brown says, "AAArrrgghh!!!." It's been a long time since I've fiddled with files in CFS3. I'm trying out the freeware BoB in CFS3 and it works fine until I try to add the update Boston A20. It'll show up on the British listing of available aircraftl, but when I click on scramble, CFS3 shuts down back to my desktop. I guess I'm missing something on the Boston's installation, but I ain't got a clue. Years ago I used to fiddle around trying different planes. HELP!
Click to expand...

Hi Waco, just a few questions for clarification:
1 Are we talking about Pat Pattle's BoB install? that is the latest and the best IMHO
2 If the A 20 is not part of his BoB package, you will have to check that the A20 is compatible with the BoB stand-alone install. By that I mean that
- the sound.cfg file points to the right set of sound files
- the weapons, pylons and guns specified in the gunstations and loadouts section of the A20's xdp file are all present and correct,
- the textures including shared textures specified in the m3d files are present either in the A20 folder or in the aircraft/shared folder. A missing texture (in .dds format) will not necessarily crash the game, but it will make things look funny.
3 any other files to check? Well the effects files called for in the A20's xdp file will need to be in the effects.xml file for the eye candy to work properly (damage effects, engine startup effects, etc etc)

I suppose the main thing to remember is that if the aircraft has not been prepared specificly for the BoB install, but for generic CFS3 or for ETO, then it will not be completely compatible with BoB. You will then need to be comfortable with editing the various files to ensure compatibility. (or ask around - someone may have already done the job).

By the way, good choice! I really like the A20, it seems to be a tough workhorse.

HTH,

David
 
The BoB addon came from here.
http://cfs3bob.wix.com/battle-of-britain#!aircraft
The Boston A20 was part of an update from the same site. Why the Boston didn't didn't load up even after being recognized, I don't know. I'll keep fiddling with it. Maybe I'll get lucky. Missed a trip down your way in the 70's when I worked for Uncle Sam. We were supposed to take a bunch of Canberras to Australia. Trip got cancelled. Thanx for your input.
Bob
 
waco said:
The BoB addon came from here.
http://cfs3bob.wix.com/battle-of-britain#!aircraft
The Boston A20 was part of an update from the same site. Why the Boston didn't didn't load up even after being recognized, I don't know. I'll keep fiddling with it. Maybe I'll get lucky. Missed a trip down your way in the 70's when I worked for Uncle Sam. We were supposed to take a bunch of Canberras to Australia. Trip got cancelled. Thanx for your input.
Bob
Click to expand...

Thats the first time I've looked at the new site, PatP has done a great job. Yes that is Pat Pattles BoB that I referred to.

But where did you find the A20? I don't see it on the BoB website. Was it on the aussiex download link? In that case, it may be for the ETO BoB era, the planes are set up slightly differently for the ETO BoB era.

Pat Pattles BoB is dsigned to be a complete stand-alone, so it has some differences from effects and weapons which an aircraft designed for the ETO upgrade of CFS3 would have.

Have you checked off that the sound.cfg points to a valid sound file, and all the other things mentioned in my previous post?

Thanks for mentioning the Canberras - what a great trip that would have been! What do you think of the early jets in CFS3? Such as the Vampire? Do you think they are not too wildly different from the real life flight characteristics?

'best,
D
 
I finally figured it out. After unzipping the download, drop the folders into BoB CFS3 and the files will be added or overwrite when necessary. Dumb me. That's what the instructions imply. Jets in flight sims don't really interest me. I guess I spent too many hours, days, week, years working on Uncle Sam's jets. Both fighters and bombers. F-89's to F-4's and B-47's to FB-111's. Altho it was a kick in the butt to launch on a catapult in a jet fighter from a virtual aircraft carrier in FS9. I grew up in WW2 on the US west coast and remember Pearl Harbor, and when I finally got a computer, I bought CFS2, becuz I wondered what it was like to takeoff and land a WW2 fighter on a aircraft carrier. I have to say, tho, WW1 and OFF is my personal passion. I've got every version since the beginning. I used to build balsa wood and tissue paper models of those planes when I was a young kid. I've got a 3 monitor landscape setup downstairs and, boy, what a panoramic view you get from the cockpit on one of those old crates in that setup. 'Course, WW2 doesn't look too bad either.:bump: Thanx, again
 
Ah, a multi-monitor setup!

I surely would like to do that sometime. Apparently CFS3 does it really well, you've got to have some benefits from running a MS product I suppose :icon_lol:
 
The BoB install is based on the stock folders and files. A/C designed for the ETO install for example will work ok if they come with any special weapons supplied but not if they rely on them already being installed. Other than that anything should work fine.

Glad you got it sorted waco.

Sounds like you had a very interesting service life!
 
In retrospect, Pat, yeah, interesting. At the time, not so interesting. Like sitting on the wing of a FB-111 at Fairbanks, Alaska, in January when the temperature is 38 degrees below zero, while trying to figure out which limit switch is not working to allow the leading edge flap to descend. Could've sung tenor in a quartet. BBBrrr!!! Or changing the top fuselage anticollision light on a B-52 from the inside (you had to do it that way) in August in New Mexico when the temperature was 100 degrees outside. This was when they were still shiny aluminum on the outside. And last but not least was being up the engine inlet of an F-4 hooking up the wires to the alternator that's bolted to the front of the engine and hearing the aircart being fired up outside. They use that to crank the engine over when starting it. It's a wonder I didn't have to leave the job and go change my underwear. I skooted out like I was greased and chewed the crew chief out. He was only blowing the air hose out in case there was fod in it. He could've told me. Talk about pucker factor.
 
waco said:
In retrospect, Pat, yeah, interesting. At the time, not so interesting. Like sitting on the wing of a FB-111 at Fairbanks, Alaska, in January when the temperature is 38 degrees below zero, while trying to figure out which limit switch is not working to allow the leading edge flap to descend. Could've sung tenor in a quartet. BBBrrr!!! Or changing the top fuselage anticollision light on a B-52 from the inside (you had to do it that way) in August in New Mexico when the temperature was 100 degrees outside. This was when they were still shiny aluminum on the outside. And last but not least was being up the engine inlet of an F-4 hooking up the wires to the alternator that's bolted to the front of the engine and hearing the aircart being fired up outside. They use that to crank the engine over when starting it. It's a wonder I didn't have to leave the job and go change my underwear. I skooted out like I was greased and chewed the crew chief out. He was only blowing the air hose out in case there was fod in it. He could've told me. Talk about pucker factor.
Click to expand...

!! LOL :icon_eek:
 
What I did find interesting, David, was the monsoon season when I was SEA during the tail end of the war. I live up in the mountains and we have real down pours during a thunder storm, bit it don't fill 6 foot drainage ditches. I could hardly believe rain could pour down that fast. And yeah, 3 monitors is a delight. It works great if you're into virtual motor sports. Flight sims are pretty good, too. If you ever decide to go that way, get 3 identical monitors. I bought Dells, which have narrow bezels. I bought a stand which'll hold all 3 in landscape mode. I run a higher end computer, not cutting edge, which has 2 higher end video cards. I run a 64 bit Windows system with 16 Gb of memory. AMD's Eyefinity will run 3 monitors as one long desktop. So will nVidia's Surround. I tried them but settled upon a Matrox TripleHead2Go. Sort of a router. I like it best. I'd estimate I have close to $2000 invested. Check out the Wide Screen Gaming Forums.
 
Thanks for the tip on the gaming forum! I've heard good things about Matrox gear for multiple monitors.

I was just in a computer store today drooling over some monitors (usually do this online, just happened to be passing a real bricks n mortar establishment, I think they are called "shops" or "stores").

How do you go setting up your config settings, Waco? There is an enormous amount of tweaking available in the config.exe, but precious little guidance on how to do it well. With your rig and multiple monitors, I would have thought having a good config setup would be even more important.

David
 
Configuring is easy with Matrox TripleHead2Go compared to AMD Eyefinity or nVidia Surround. I consider Eyefinity's PDF manual too obtuse. I didn't like Surround's manual much better, especially setting bezel compensation (lining up straight lines on the 3 monitor landscape to eliminate the jaggies) I'm running 4320 X 900 resolution across three 23 inch monitors. Without bezel compensation it would be 4800 X 900. I set this resolution within the flight sim, plus the usual flight sim settings. My triple monitor setup computer uses 2 nVidia 550 graphic cards and hence I configure the nVidia Control Panel (anti-alias at 8X). I use XP becuz the flight sims I virtually fly work wonderfully in XP. I use MSI motherboards, the NF750-G55 or 790XT-G45 in SLI mode. I've found them very reliable altho old. I refuse to be a beta tester for the cutting edge and buggy newer motherboards. Presently I have OFF, BoB2, Rising Sun, & FS9 installed on this setup. I had RoF with it's wonderful eye candy but it hasn't the depth of WW1 air battles like OFF. Hope this helps explain things.
Bob

PS: How do you send an IM here and can you send an attachment?
 
Thanks, Waco, I'm sure plenty of people will find this info about multiple monitors interesting. One of these days I'll try for such a setup. Why don't you upload some piccies to this thread?
cheers
D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top