Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I need?

Battle of Britain "Wings of Victory"
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Bsmooth1234
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Joined: 24 Oct 2016, 09:02

Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I need?

Post by Bsmooth1234 »

I remember trying to use this it seems ages ago, probably at least 10 years, and it just wouldn't work correctly, so the sim got put away. Well just recently I saw a thread I think it was over at SimHQ and it said there were new patches making this better .
So I was actually thinking of trying it again, and was wondering what I need to do to install this again with the latest patch or patches.

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PV
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Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by PV »

At the moment, the patched version will only work
reliably on win7-64, and 4GB CPU RAM or more, unfortunately.
And a gamer-level vidcard of vintage 2010 or better
is also recommended, with 1GB or more of RAM.

This isn't too onerous, if you have a W7 install disc
lying about and some spare disc space for a multiboot,
if necessary. BoB2 will simply not work at all with
win8, and results reported for win10 are all over the map,
from "no problem" to "doesn't work at all". Most typical
is that the instant action works, but crashes on exiting
3D, making campaign play impossible as progress cannot
be saved.

If you get past that, then all that is required is to install
the sim, and update with the latest patch, which is v2.13,
available via the sticky post at the top of this forum.

Oh, and be sure you are starting with a BoB2 install, not
Rowan's original BoB1.

Bsmooth1234
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Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by Bsmooth1234 »

Well the system I have is certainly not real new, built in 2011: AsRock P67 Extreme,I5 2500K 3.3, 8 GB RAM running a ASUS TX560TI video card, so I'm not sure it will run it or not.
Anyone running it with a system similar to this ?

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Lofty Anstruther
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Location: Rayleigh, Essex, England

Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by Lofty Anstruther »

Well I have a creaking old system with an AMD Phenom II (3.2ghz) NVidea GTX275 video card and 4 Meg of RAM and I'm having a load of fun!

So my advice is "Don't just stand there. Get one up!!!!!"

Enjoy!
"Home and tea. For once you deserve it, well done everybody"

Bsmooth1234
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Joined: 24 Oct 2016, 09:02

Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by Bsmooth1234 »

Think I'll give it a go so to speak, and hope for the best. I suppose I can just lower the landscape a bit to help If it doesn't have enough FPS. I still can't believe it doesn't really chug when you get those large raids over London.

Bsmooth1234
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Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by Bsmooth1234 »

Well so far its working OK. when I start a large battle sometime though everything just stops on the screen, as If something is loading, then after anywhere from 5 seconds to 15 seconds it starts right up again. I wouldn't call it a stutter, more like a stop and go If anything, very strange. After that everything seems OK..

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stickman
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Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by stickman »

Well so far its working OK. when I start a large battle sometime though everything just stops on the screen, as If something is loading, then after anywhere from 5 seconds to 15 seconds it starts right up again. I wouldn't call it a stutter, more like a stop and go If anything, very strange. After that everything seems OK..
I have seen that too, in engagements where there are hundreds of aircraft meeting each other close by. Especially when using MultiSkin.
A few seconds small freeze, while all the files get loaded into game.
I call it "The Loading Freeze".

I don't mind it as long as the game don't Crash To Desktop, and can carry on.
I only fly in Campaign as a player, and I often mount some HUGE Raids as the LW Commander when attacking England. :twisted:

To eliminate it completely you will need to turn off some, or down some, Options.
MultiSkin is the biggest thing that is bloated with many, many, many files, that are pretty, but that you don't need to fight.

Bsmooth1234
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Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by Bsmooth1234 »

Appreciate the help on all my questions, which I'm sure you've answered over and over again. I appreciate your patience, and this fantastic work to a segment of the war which is soo overlooked here in the States, probably even more in Hawaii.
Now I know what they meant in the BOB Movie when they said "I used to blast away and never hit a sausage"
All those .303 rounds going what looks like right at a target and missing, although last night I nailed a 3 second burst into a 109 and it just blew up.
More than once I hit an aircraft and thought it went down, only to see it pop up smoking badly, I never know whether to pursue it or just move on to another aircraft. That ammo sure doesn't last long, at least with the old Lewis guns you could put another drum on, If you could mange and fly the aircraft at the same time.
One other thing is the constant moving back and forth in the cockpit, which I didn't really notice last night.

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stickman
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Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by stickman »

All those .303 rounds going what looks like right at a target and missing
There are some things happening to the bullets after they are fired, which I should explain.
Also how the bullets behave, can be changed by all Players.

Back to the bdg text file, where all the Switches, and Analog values can be changed. There are these lines, which i highlite in yellow:

Bullet_DragGravity=ON............#Stickman recomends this setting be ON
Bullet_Dispersion=ON..........#This is the primary switch for Bullet Dispersion ON= apply Dispersion or OFF= No dispersion


Bullet_DragGravity=ON
I recommended that this be ON by default to reflect realism. We BoBII guys are big on offering reality.
What this does is model the ballistics of a bullet. It will lose energy and gravity will cause it to drop, after a certain amount of yards from launch.
I don't recall how many yards it will fly straight. 150, 200 yards? I forgot what the coder (no longer with us) wrote about that.

Bullet_Dispersion=ON
What this does is model the reality that a short machine gun burst will not lay bullets all at the same exact spot, especially on a moving aircraft.
Again, I think that this was coded to be depending on range from firing gun in it's effect.
Not a problem 50 to 100 yards. Some bullets will hit, if your aim is true.

If this is switched =OFF then your guns will have no bullet dispersion.
However, all the Artificial Intelligence aircraft will no bullet dispersion either.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are also these lines which determine Bullet Dispersion. For all types of guns and the Player, too.
NOTE! These are my settings. They may not be the default settings as originally coded.
If Bullet_Dispersion=ON is switched to OFF, then these lines will not be in effect, in game.

Dispersion_Bomber_Gunner_Player = 250...............#For Dispersion Beta Testers and customer tuners
Dispersion_Bomber_Gunner_AI = 200
Dispersion_Flyable_Planes_Player = 100
Dispersion_Front_Cannons_AI = 100
Dispersion_Def_JU87_Front_Guns_AI = 100
Dispersion_Heavy_Fighters_Front_Guns_AI = 100
Dispersion_Def_Rear_Gunner_AI = 150
Dispersion_JU87_Rear_Gunner_AI = 200
Dispersion_ME110_Rear_Gunner_AI = 200
Dispersion_Veteran_Regular_Skill_Increment = 10
Dispersion_Poor_Novice_Skill_Increment = 20

I believe that a lower number will result in less dispersion. I forgot. Been a long time since this was made, more than 10 years ago.
I assume that if you change Dispersion_Flyable_Planes_Player = 100 to Dispersion_Flyable_Planes_Player = 50, then you will have 50% less bullet dispersion.
I do know that I changed Dispersion_Bomber_Gunner_Player = 450 to 250. Now I can actually hit something while shooting in a bomber.

From the Manual:
The dispersion is 4 meters at 400 yards (max) for fighters and 16 meters for hand operated guns (Max).
The dispersion radius decreases as the range to the target decreases at the same rate (100 meters = 1 meter, 200 meters = 2 meters, 300 meters = 3 meters).

I also assume that if you set Dispersion_Flyable_Planes_Player = 0 then you, the Player will have no bullet dispersion.

So... you can make your bullets more accurate than the AI aircraft have, if you feel the need to be better than them.
There is nothing wrong with doing so, especially if you are a real poor pilot like me, and new to game.
Once you get better, then you can be more realistic.

Ye may have noticed that the Regular, Veteran, and Ace skilled AI pilots are very deadly!
Mostly because they have (gradually) better AI flying skills. A Veteran will fly better than a Regular. A Regular flies better than a Poor (newly trained) skilled pilot, etc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All serious Combat Flight Sim players always advise to "get in close, use short bursts when firing, and make every shot count".
To do so takes some flying skills, and situational awareness.

I tend only to CHEAT about the situational awareness. I need to know where the enemy is, as the fighter aircraft all look the same to me beyond 100 yards in game.
One other thing is the constant moving back and forth in the cockpit, which I didn't really notice last night.
This is called Head Bobbing. It was more pronounced with Rowan's original game.
Most players thought it was too excessive long ago, so it was toned down quite a bit, by popular demand. I never liked it, either.
Currently we have no coder to make it more pronounced.

You can switch it off completely with this line in the bdg text file:

HEAD_BOBBING=ON

Bsmooth1234
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Joined: 24 Oct 2016, 09:02

Re: Getting back in after it seems like forever,What do I ne

Post by Bsmooth1234 »

I knew coding was difficult, but for the info you just laid out to me I still can't grasp how much detail really goes into all the little details. I think thats where a lot of sims and games just miss the mark, and sometimes it is definately worth revisiting a sim a few times to straighten things out that maybe weren't wrong by definition, but have to have adjustments made.
I've done quite a bit of reading as far as the historical aspects of different battles and the aircraft as well. I'm also big into auto racing as well, and in a lot of ways fighter aircraft and sports cars seem to have many similiarities.
The guns make a big difference though, and as you've said .303 rounds do a lot of damage If concentrated, which is something I need to practice as far as range goes.
Very interesting details.
I also had a go at manualling starting the engine, which according to what I got for a message after doing it must have taken waay too long. Worst part was I couldn't find the starter switch, and once primed started right up, and died at least twice before staying running. I figured once it fired it was running and stopped the starter motor which I didn't want to damage.
I'd have one of those Merlins in the backyard just to start up and listen to If I could !

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