Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: DmonSlyr on October 20, 2008, 12:30:20 PM
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I am looking for the best jet fighter game I can buy that is online. So far Falcon 4.0 looks about the best. Do any of you play it or recomend anything better that could help me out? I will still play aeshigh but I want to learn jets a little bit. So any advise would be great!
thanks,
Violater
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Bad
The view system isn't nearly as good as AH2. (improves drastically with TrackIR)
The learning curve is terrible.
The graphics are a bit antiquated by today's standards.
Good
The systems and flight model are great.
The campaign mode is well done and easy to edit.
The hardware support is the best of any game, even the MS Flight Sim series.
So-So
Decent multiplayer setup, but not a large player base.
PC hardware requirements are very reasonable.
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F4AF is the best representation of a true battlefield in modern warfare going and if you can find a good squad to join it will be even better but it takes a long time to master and thats because it is a game/sim that can be played over and over and it never gets old.
A few years ago one of the F4 boards had an influx of kids like AH has here in the Wishlist forum. Those kids were spanked pretty hard and coincidence or not shortly thereafter many of the BBS forums of many F4 sites were hacked introducing viruses and root kits to everyone visiting there. F4HQ shut down permanently as a result and so did many of the other sites and the IDFL disappeared also and what WAS a thriving dogfight ladder completely disappeared. Today you have to be a squadron insider to even know where the better forums are. I believe multiviper is the only public server(s) still running.
A shame too I know many guys that spent $30000 + on custom pits.
F4AF is still updated regularly and there are custom addons for improved graphics (HiTiles) searching for servers (Falcon Lobby) ramp start trainers and popup mission planners plus custom theaters like Iraq (Desert Storm) Israel and Iran (Panama too).
The first time you succeed at doing aerial refueling you will probably take the family out to dinner. :aok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4eIxV8NSeU
EDIT: And before I forget the addon TSNOISE for teamspeak radio communications (now part of teamspeak I believe).
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Strike Fighters project 1
Awesome game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQBC70ksBjI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQBC70ksBjI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffltVCyO5nA&feature=related
get it, TONS of add on aircraft and such for it too
WW1 WW2 korea vietnam .ect .ect
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Strike Fighters seems like a good game...
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Just no online features for SFP1, WOV, WOE, WOI.
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Word of caution...
Falcon 4.0 is one the most in depth and realistic games I have ever seen. The game maunal is something like 200 pages long. To do a simple hanger start takes over a page (from a pdf file) of commands. Aligning the NAV platform and firing up the electronics is another page. That process takes at least 7-8 minutes. The interactive commands (wingmen, AWACs, ground etc...) are indepth and numerous. Firing a radar guided missile BVR or midair refueling is a trial in skill and nerves. The learning curve is simply unreal. So much so that I think you could jump in the real thing and be right at home. If you want realism to the Nth degree this game is it! Just be careful what you wish for.
Race
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I bought Falcon 4.0 a couple years ago and like others have mentioned it's really hard to learn, just way to many things to remember to do, it's almost too realistic.
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Word of caution...
The game maunal is something like 200 pages long. To do a simple hanger start takes over a page (from a pdf file) of commands. Aligning the NAV platform and firing up the electronics is another page.
716 pages for the manual. I joined a squad two months after finding F4AF at CompUSA and the ramp start requirement of less then one minute took me forever to get past. The ramp start training program didnt come along until a long time after that!
When I came to AHII the radio chatter nearly made me crazy from the lack of discipline and 'auto takeoff?' :huh
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There are a ton of Falcon 4 add-ons, some official, some unofficial, so that's good. It probably isn't a waste of money.
On the other hand, LOMAC is newer. With LOMAC however, be careful which version you get since at least one LOMAC version had some destructive DRM that pretty much hacked your computer to replace the device drivers for all optical drives, and this can cause instability or even render your cd/dvd burners inoperable.
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15 Pages of why the Strike Fighters series is a great buy.
http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=32541
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I fly F4AF with the 16th ACCW. Great bunch of flyers. We have a training structure in place to teach all combat phases of the Falcon. They do require you to film a checkride before you can join and will help you get it right along the way. You are assigned an IP after that to get you familiar with the jet. Once out of that training you move to your squad of choice and learn everything else you want.
http://missionserver.16thaccw.org/
Login as a guest and have a look around. I am a member of 163rd MadBoomers.
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aight thanks I will check that out. thanks for the info guys I appreciate it. I love a game that takes a long time to learn cause then it never gets boring. But will I be fighting against other pilots? or does the multiplayer only fight againts computers?
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aight thanks I will check that out. thanks for the info guys I appreciate it. I love a game that takes a long time to learn cause then it never gets boring. But will I be fighting against other pilots? or does the multiplayer only fight againts computers?
Your choice of squadron versus AI or 4v4v4v4 or worse. :devil Dont even think the AI is tame though. You will be 'lucky' to survive most missions until you have a lot more experience.
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so you think its the best fighter jet game for the money?
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F4AF alows multiplay against AI and your choice of friends. The AI can be wicked in ace settings.
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so they would be just as good as normal people can get? I just still want to be hard in a year. whats the point of a squad if you just play against AI?
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so you think its the best fighter jet game for the money?
I bought F4AF for $19.95 during a store special and Amazon has it today for a little more then $27. Aside from the CH joysticks I bought (and those were a lot more money) I cant think of a better buy I have ever made and I believe I will still be flying F4AF ten years from now if I can still find a computer to run it on and I am still physically able to fly on a computer... even longer then that unless game makers change their focus.
I bought FSX for (I think it was) $80 but as soon as FS11 comes out I will hardly ever fly FSX again. FSX has a lot more planes to fly includes all kinds of missions realistic plugins for weather textures radio comms (I have spent a LOT more on plugins/airplanes then I will admit) and its just beautiful but there is no comparing the two. F4AF was the better buy.
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I have falcon 4.0. If your'r willing to take the time and sit down and go through everything and learn everything then this is probably the most realistic flight sim on the market
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alright! thanks guys I think im going to buy it then!
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Falcon 4.. coupla notes.
I had a chat with 'Pete' ..the guy who was their tech rep ..when he flew F-16's for the Guard.
I had seen the Falcon for real doin scramble takeoffs,with and without bags and iron-mongery hangin, and watched the T-birds when they switched to Falcons.
Have spent a little time with the sim they have at Nellis.
Umm .. point I brought up to Pete was ..the game doesn't perform anywhere near what the real airplane can do.
It's more akin to flyin an F-105... the Falcon is tuned down so much it's a dog compared to the real plane.
Pete smiled and said 'well .. we cant have classified performance data available to the general public'
..and that's the name of that tune.
I was lead artist on Falcon 5 .. for a little while .. until G2 Interactive went tits up.
We were set to rock hard :(
-sigh-
-GE aka Frank
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GE its not about that to me I mean yes it would be great if we could really have reality in a simulator but I realize that will never happen. F4AF is about the campaign engine and in that area it shines like no other game ever has. The actions and choices of the pilot in the campaign makes a difference in the direction the war goes across tens of thousands of war elements and yes it is like a living environment of war. I almost feel guilty turning off the campaign or shutting down the game like your letting down the team (almost).
I dont think 'Pete' was part of Lead-Pursuit but I could be wrong there. They made a deal for rights to the game and made changes to bring things more in line with reality (just in case you didnt keep up on it). I am sure there is still a lot of fantasy involved especially concerning future theaters but I bet its not too far off and respectively the aircraft respond relative to one another regardless whether the data is precise. I know DoD said the fidelity didnt cross the line of 'Classified' data but I always felt it was in the details of the electronics after talking to guys on F4HQ (dont think my memory is good enough to drop names or handles but one for sure used to fly AH).
I remember early on in a training dogfight I was dropping straight down on a Su-27 and fired a IRM that went joker (I was pointed down the missile went to the sun) and after I made two turns hit me instead of 'him.' I was laughing at the time but also thinking that seemed too real for a game.
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so i fi buy the game. will i have to download all these new patches that come out?
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You only need the latest patch.
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I'm astonished no one has mentioned this yet - but here goes. If you get your hands on the Original Falcon 4, you can get the Open Falcon 4.5 patch which IMO blows away the current Falcon 4 Allied Force for SP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOD5FSgrAV8
You can get the Open Falcon patch at http://files.filefront.com/Open+Falcon+45+OCI/;9751773;/fileinfo.html
I am playing with it at the moment after a few years away from F4. Currently tooling around with the F-14B and masafuking SU-27s with the AIM-54.
I'd get this before I would get Allied Force.
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I have both and I have the original installed in about three different configurations on an XP computer but I play F4AF more often because it has about one bug for every twenty of the original which is to say MUCH MORE STABLE. :aok
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Not only that, F4AF has some amazing hardware support that I don't think Open Falcon has. If you have the extra monitors and video card, you can already export your MFDs to the extra screens. No more having to fiddle with views to glance back at your radar. You can put together a control panel that will get you everything important for under $500, instead of having to drop tens of thousands on a full-blown simpit.
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Chalenge, I have Falcon 4: Allied Force, whats the latest patch for it and a reputable place to download it from?
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Go to
http://www.lead-pursuit.com/downloads.htm
Its at the top... version 1.0.13
You can also see links to other utilities there and the HiTiles texture addon (Korea in winter is amazing)!
EDIT: Im wrong again! Seems the HiTiles link was taken down or moved somewhere else. Sorry about that!
http://www.hitiles.com/indexF4AF.htm
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your talking about $500 in real life? or in the game. whats the difference between the openfalcon and F4AF? i have rudder peddels and a siatex x52 and maybe in the future will get trackir. So im thinking i have a pretty good setup right?
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Open Falcon was intended to be a 'private' version of Falcon 4.0 but someone leaked it and it got popular. There isnt any real support for it and as unstable as F4 was its worse with OF installed. Until F4AF came along it (OF) was the best going because of modifications throughout the game. F4AF pumped up the AI the weapons and made things very very stable.
One thing you need to watch is how many addons you put the game through because every addon (with the possible exception of HiTilesAF) adds more instability and thats why LP is slow to add people to their approved addons list.
There is no money in the game. You join as a Cadet and move up through the ranks as you succeed in missions but I wouldnt worry about the campaign until you have covered a lot more territory in the manual. Start from the beginning and go through all the training many many many times until you can do it blindfolded with 100% realism (no icons) and you will be fine. I love this game and you have to screw up every way possible to understand certain inside jokes about tower jerks and... well you should learn that on your own I guess. :D
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Open Falcon tries to be even more realistic using the old Falcon code. It is much harder to learn than AF and the multiplay suffers from the old problems. I can fly Tactical engagements designed by some of the 16th guys with huge amounts of goings on and not get booted. We have some missions that last 3 hours or better.
What a ton of fun. If you modify a couple files you can fly any plane in the sim. You can have guys on both sides of the engagemants if you choose. Check out the site I posted and ask you question on the BBS Demon.
Most of those guys would be happy to help you out.
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your talking about $500 in real life? or in the game. whats the difference between the openfalcon and F4AF? i have rudder peddels and a siatex x52 and maybe in the future will get trackir. So im thinking i have a pretty good setup right?
$500 in real life. Your setup is fine. It's the ability to expand on that setup which makes the game pretty damn spiffy. For the $500, you can add another video card and 2 car headrest sized LCD screens to function as your F-16s MFDs, along with a "Phidgetts" usb input card that would let you wire up all the buttons for those displays.
I don't often say that gaming toys make a difference... it never really does... except for this game. It's still not even necessary, at all... but it's quite the addiction.
www.viperpits.org has some cool stuff on it.
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I hate to think of how many hours I've spent blasting through the virtual sky in that F-16, at least a thousand hrs, not something to brag about :lol
If you're looking to fly Falcon 4.0 - I'd highly reccomend flying the Open Falcon v4.5 -it's much more involved regarding the avionics/weapons systems/radios - steep learning curve, but more fun once you get it. It works very nicely online as well once you get it configured properly. The flight model of Open Falcon is a bit more realistic as well from what I remember, most notably the pitch rate at various angles of attack/speeds is vastly improved over the original Falcon 4.0 and AF - where it felt like a damn C-130 in terms of snapping the nose around.
Check out some videos of it here,
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Open+Falcon+&search_type=&aq=f
Here's the forum to download it from,
http://www.f4forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9840
Open Falcon certainly looks better than AF, and it makes AF feel somewhat arcadey once you've flown them both.
You can always do a dual install of AF and OF or RedViper if you want, easy to do and that way you can pick which one you want to fly. AF is more stable than OF, but Open Falcon isn't nearly as bad as it used to be in the "olden" days. I started flying it in Dec. of '98 and the multiplayer / the game itself was full of bugs, I'm amazed at how far it's progressed since then, it's quite a sim.
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Do you already have to have the payware Falcon 4.0 before you can use open falcon?
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yeah thats what i was about to ask. can i just go the store and buy it and then download open falcon or what do i have to buy do inorder to get open falcon to run?
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You are going to need this.
http://www.amazon.com/Falcon-4-0-Pc/dp/B00000K4KF/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1224697152&sr=8-13
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so get that then download open falcon and i should be good to go?
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I have long since forgotten if thats it or not. I have several downloads archived such as F4108us and F4SP4 and FFCockpitAddon... Im not even sure you can get all these anymore which is why I point everyone at F4AF (and its a lot easier to get along with).
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I just bought falcon 4.0 allied force a month ago, I like it but I don't like the fact that the F-16 is the only plane available to fly. Anyone know any ways to unlock or download other flyable aircraft?
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It's been awhile, but I think I found something on Frugals (could have been viperpits or F4HQ) that you could fly different flight models, but you're still stuck in the F-16 cockpit. Which, imho, kind of defeats the purpose.
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It was brought up briefly on F4HQ but squelched because the moderator wanted to keep the F4AF guys at LP happy and F4HQ isnt around anymore now. You can still find videos of dogfights on youtube between Mig29s and F16s where the Mig has the F16 cockpit.
I think OFv4.5 will install on top of a fresh install of F4 without any other patches. I have theaters for:
Bosnia
Israel
Desert Storm
Europe
Vietnam
If anyone knows of another theater I would like to know where to get it.
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Ok thanks guys.. I figured that but just wanted to check! Also any patches out there for Allied forces?
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Check out page 2 of this topic.
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Brad go into all your campaign folders and change the name on the validac.bin files. My files are named xvalidAC.bin. That will allow you to fly any fixed wing aircraft except the Strike Eagle. That requires a change to the cockpits files. My squadron knows how to do that. You will be stuck with the F-16 cockpit on them all and your internal views will be goofy. Externally you will see the plane you choose. The flight model will be from the chosen aircraft also.
I have Open Falcon installed with my AF installation. Works well offline so far. There is also RedViper somewhere on the net and some of the 16th guys like it.
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A shame too I know many guys that spent $30000 + on custom pits.
:O
Seriously?
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:O
Seriously?
People take the game very seriously. The upside is, you can get the same functionality, minus the realistic looks for much much cheaper. Especially nowadays with Phidgetts and all the other really cool hobbyist electronics and servo/motor controllers.
You'd see the exact same thing in Aces High 2 if HTC would ever give us a damn data output file or real multi-monitor support. :furious
(http://www.viperpits.org/smf/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_549_award.jpg)
(http://www.viperpits.org/smf/gallery/albums/userpics/11015/normal_cpfull1.JPG)
(http://www.viperpits.org/smf/gallery/albums/userpics/10619/normal_FullPit_l%7E1.JPG)
(http://www.viperpits.org/smf/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Pit_55a.jpg)
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Wow. Wish I had someone with that kind of money in somewhere in my family tree. Maybe they'd help pay for college instead of dropping the same amount for a fake video game cockpit.
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Or you could just work your way through college and buy the toys later instead of praying for a rich uncle. That route usually ends up quite a bit better in the long run.
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Aren't you witty. [/sarcasm]
I'm already paying off most of my loans. Worked hard for a few scholarships and grants too!
But I'm sure all of us could find a better use for 30,000+ grand worth of toys. I know I'd never drop that kind of money on what amounts to a big toy to play video games in.
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Meh, I've dropped more over time playing paintball, and have a hell of a lot less to show for it other than some old scars.
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You put more than 30,000 into paintball? Did you build your own sup-air field?
Even if you were silly and dropped 1,500 on a top of the line electronic marker, 250 on air supply, 250 on kneepads, jersey, pack with pods, and where did the other 28,000 go?
I certainly went on the cheap buying up used gear that was in good shape and playing on my local field's tournament team to get free air/paint/field usage. I guess I should ask, did the 30,000 make you any better of player? :lol
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I know someone that bought 100 acres for paintball so it could be done easily. I have several areas of interest that exceed that investment like books and guns and wood-working and radio control so why not a pit?
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You put more than 30,000 into paintball? Did you build your own sup-air field?
Even if you were silly and dropped 1,500 on a top of the line electronic marker, 250 on air supply, 250 on kneepads, jersey, pack with pods, and where did the other 28,000 go?
I certainly went on the cheap buying up used gear that was in good shape and playing on my local field's tournament team to get free air/paint/field usage. I guess I should ask, did the 30,000 make you any better of player? :lol
I played upwards of 75 scenario games all over the country, hundreds of weekends of rec-play, and some tournaments. Air plane tickets, gas money, hotels, rental cars, event entry, and multiple cases per weekend over a span of 6 years. I probably spent more than 30k now that I think about, even with comp'd entry and cheaper paint for helping produce many of the events.
Did it make me a better player? Yeah, I'd say so. I've played with and against the very best scenario players all over the country. I commanded a side at the largest game in Texas history (500 vs 500, 24 hours) before I turned 21. I've won a bunch of sportsmanship, MVP, and MVT awards. I'm pretty damn good at it, but for the last 3 years I've been on hiatus. It's time to evolve the game, and I'm spending 10k more on the weapon system to do it with, something that can't even be comprehended on a recreational or tournament field.
I really get into my hobbies. If I had loans & debt in general, it wouldn't be possible, but I'm not silly enough to get in trouble with those.
edit: Kind of in the same boat as Challenge. None of my hobbies are cheap. Flight sims, robotics, brazilian jiu jitsu, paintball, etc. So when I see a pretty sweet SimPit, I don't wonder what else I could do with the money. I wonder how the hell I can build my own :)
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I ordered the Track IR system today. Will see how it goes.
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I was just coming back to comment that I remembered the pm you sent with your paintball toys and whatnot.
Lots of cool stuff but we've already been through what I think of scenario play.
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You put more than 30,000 into paintball? Did you build your own sup-air field?
Even if you were silly and dropped 1,500 on a top of the line electronic marker, 250 on air supply, 250 on kneepads, jersey, pack with pods, and where did the other 28,000 go?
I certainly went on the cheap buying up used gear that was in good shape and playing on my local field's tournament team to get free air/paint/field usage. I guess I should ask, did the 30,000 make you any better of player? :lol
BEER!
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I ordered the Track IR system today. Will see how it goes.
Did you go with the new LED clip on for headsets, or the silly looking hat reflectors? Used the hat reflectors. Interested in how well the LED set works before I order it.
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In case anyone decides F4AF is worth building their own pit:
http://www.viperpit.org/smf/index.php
Concerning TrackIR I got the reflectors and the laser clip and I use the reflectors mostly. I get better performance for some reason with the reflectors.
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I ordered the Track IR system today. Will see how it goes.
You won’t regret it Bodhi. Takes about a week to get your gunnery back but after that it’s all gravy. Really changed the game for me, made it more realistic and exciting.
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If only my system ran lock-on fc with a good frame rate :(
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You won’t regret it Bodhi. Takes about a week to get your gunnery back but after that it’s all gravy. Really changed the game for me, made it more realistic and exciting.
What do you use for a headset?
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Igot that game 10 yr ago. i thought it was the greatest game until AH. BTY, stiket x45 dosent work well with it
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What do you use for a headset?
Wally world special… $9.99 or so that i hang around my neck. I have the TrackIR 4 with the hat-clip and pro-clip but honestly have never taken the pro-clip out of the package. You don’t need it, just attach the hat-clip to your favorite flying cap and off you go. Make sure you cut out as much glare from windows and overhead lights as possible so it won’t interfere with the hat-clip reflectors.
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Yesterday I read that Aerosoft had released the F16 for FSX so today I went there and bought it. It comes in 61 different liveries and 21 different flight models and even though you cant shoot anything (without modding it yourself) it does work a lot like F4AF. Not everything is live on it but its one of the most beautiful models I have flown in FSX. Plug this in with the AeroSoft ProFLight Emulator and Exp pack (like I did) and it makes FSX very nice! :aok
No I dont work for aerosoft I just like good work and this hits the spot!
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learning the radar system is a pain in the butt. That and the comm. Wish I had a damn manual as Falcon AF flight training missions don't tell ya crap.
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learning the radar system is a pain in the butt. That and the comm. Wish I had a damn manual as Falcon AF flight training missions don't tell ya crap.
The manual is installed with the game at "C:\Program Files\Lead Pursuit\Battlefield Operations\docs\F4AFManual.pdf" but it is over 700 pages like I said before.
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I am going to take it and get it printed out... put it in a three ring binder for cripes sake!
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I am going to take it and get it printed out... put it in a three ring binder for cripes sake!
Been there. Done that! :aok
(http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq197/Chalenge08/AerosoftF16.jpg)
(http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq197/Chalenge08/F86Headon.jpg)
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Chalenge, what game is that bottom screenshot from?
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Its FSX and so is the other one. Why?
(http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq197/Chalenge08/F86Profile.jpg)
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I ordered the Track IR system today. Will see how it goes.
Bohdi..you won't regret it.
It takes abit to get used to (or did for me) but once you do, you love it.
I have the TrakIR 3 (a BIG thank you to Curval for sending his to me) with the vector hat clip and am going to get the TrakIR 4 with their new LED headset tracking deal.
I use it in IL2 with the 6DOF mode and it is AWESOME! Gonna try it with America's Army next...Rude keeps bugging to get back into America's Army.
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Did they stop the rampant cheating in America's Army?
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Hehe..probably not..I haven't been on it in a lonnngg time...had lunch with Rude a while back and his powers of arm twisting are starting to work....
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I think I should clarify that the F-86 is a freeware item (just released last Friday) intended for FS 2004 (FS9) but with just a little modification I got it working fully in FSX (including a canopy that displays rain). The guns fire and the plane acts just like a real F-86E/F. You can download it at Avsim. Now if someone gets creative and creates the effects/lights file for the gunsight let me know please!
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The guns fire but it does act a ittle bit strange. By default FSX maps the brakes to the trigger and now my toe brakes fire the guns. Ha!
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v16380266xDyJEqkF
Oh I forgot to say... that little coffee shop off of parking just lost its walk-in freezer. :D
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Hehe..probably not..I haven't been on it in a lonnngg time...had lunch with Rude a while back and his powers of arm twisting are starting to work....
Stringer, check your PM's
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Bohdi,
Reply sent!
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Any of you know what you need to do to get Track IR to move in the cockpit of FalconAF smoothly instead of delayed padlock views?
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I just found a Falcon 4.0 binder in a box in my storage room while looking for some Tom Clancy books to re-read in the upcoming dead time at work. Now I have to find the disks and install that sucker and all the mods. I have to get my Falcon fix for a while.
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Don't use the Trackir in the 2d cockpit Bodhi. Should be a check box in the options page for controlers.
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Don't use the Trackir in the 2d cockpit Bodhi. Should be a check box in the options page for controlers.
I unchecked it and the track ir would not work.
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Well now that you un-checked it you need to use the 3d cockpit to use trackir. Sorry I didnt put that in the post.
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Is that a mod?
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Incoming PM :aok
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I sent new PM but the response I got from the BB was odd so let me know if you got it.