Some questions for this community

[Krank]

Hey guys first off let me say Hello to everyone my name is Tommy im from Scotland. I stumbled across your community after i dug my old copy of CFS3 out from my closet.

But ive got some questions to ask first.

1. Are there any High-res replacement textures for this game?
2. Is there much activity with IP games and the likes?
3. Should I download ETO?

Thanks very much ill probably be posting quite a lot now that ive found a fairly active community any replies would be great :)

Regards

Krank

[HouseHobbit]

First question Yes
Second question YES
Third question YES YES YES
There are several scenery add ons for CFS3 here at SOH, I use Winding Mans' scenery up grade in my set up but there are several to pick from Here is the link to wm's scenery upgrade:
http://sim-outhouse.com/downloads/download.php?lloc=downloads&FileID=2597
Pick whichever one you like follow the read me's and if there is any question there are several Masters here to help out..
Choose which ever scenery files you wish, all are in the scenery section dowloads
Yes there are several men that post IP games here watch the posts on the subject to find out the needed infomation
And ETO is a MUST for anyone to have..The men that have developed it Know thier stuff..I can recommend it without question..Ckeck the read me's and follow the instuctions..Here is the link for the ETO/PTO site:
http://aussiex.org/forum/index.php?app=downloads&showcat=9
Go to the ETO section to get ETO download
..
CFS3 ETO Expansion 1.0
CFS3 ETO Expansion Cumulative Update 1.20

The Oz site also Hosts several other downloads..You may want to have a look..
Also any of the men involved will be VERY welcome to help out as needed..
Welcome to the CFS world..There are wonderful people here that are always willing to help out..
Enjoy,
:ernae:

[Pat Pattle]

Hi Tommy, welcome aboard! :salute:

Mr Hobbit said it all, patch your stock install then get the ETO 1.0 and 1.2, you'll be amazed at whats been done to the old sim.

There's also the Med Air War, Pacific and Korean installs too, each one a gem.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, there's some great chaps around here who'll guide you through it.

Cheers, Pat:ernae:

[hairyspin]

Ah! Unfortunately, despite Pat's quite correct endorsement, Med Air War (a masterpiece of an add-on) is not currently available. All is not lost - send me a PM (private message via this site) with a postal address and I'll send you a DVD copy.

Welcome to the madhouse!

[Krank]

Guys first of all.

The quality of the ETO addon is AMAZING..absolutley fantastic kudos to the creators.

Secondly the instalation guide was fantastic step by step nice and easy made the whole job a breeze despite me arsing it up my first attempt lol.

Edit: 23.46: While I was playing earlier I was having a little trouble with the handling of some of the planes. And got me thinking that if its ok with you guys compile a set of data for the planes in CFS3 and ETO and post them here. Like Handling and other various things, like what the aircraft excells at and what it might not excell at. It would obviosly take me a while to compile all that data so I was wondering if anyone here would perhaps be interested in helping me out. It would just be a post that gave a bit of a detailed description about the planes ie. how to prevent the aircraft from stalling and the likes for the not so gifted flyers(myself included). Obviously you guys are a lot better at this sim than I am so your feedback and help would do this little project of mine a world of good. I know it may sound a little daft and there are probably other threads exactly like the one im describing but just thought it might help some new players work out their favourite aircraft a little better.

Regards

Krank

[JoeDunlap]

Hello Krank, and welcome to the community! Per your request for flight info, I guess I'll start it off and the others im sure will expand on/correct my thoughts, as it can be a bit subjective of course. I'll give a quick and dirty description on different A/C as I consider them. Be advised, that any thoughts I may have may differ from what others think, and remember that the flight model selected by the host will greatly affect the handling qualities of any A/C. Easy is just that, and not very realistic, while hard will make mush of even the best A/C set on easy.
Also, I will limit my comments to fighters and DP A/C. Ill leave the bombers for later.

UK Aircraft
1) Spitfires- easily the best handling in either version. Turns extremely well, good climb rate, good top speed. Ixe is undergunned with .303. Ixc has cannon, so better. Durability is average for both.
Stall onset very predictable, and happens only under extreme maneuvers.

2) Tempest- Good handling. Turns well, decent climb rate, good top speed. Hard hitter with cannons. Durability better than avg. Stall carachteristics similar to Spit.

Vampire- Avg. handling, difficult to learn to fly well, but can be very good in right hands. Avg. turn rate, tremendous top speed and ROC, but easy to overspeed. Hard hitter w/ cannons, but difficult to target due to tremedous acceleration and speed. Durability below avg. Engines easily damaged. Stall onset predictable, but not as good as above, but can be more easily overcome due to more powerful engines.

Typhoon- Flight caracteristics quite similar to the Tempest as are the cannons. Downfall is what appears to be a huge error in the damage model. A couple of .303 rounds or one 20mm usually results in a huge explosion. Dont know what M$ was thinking when they wrote the code on this one. Too bad too, as it should be an above average performer like the Temp.

Mosquito- Not much of a fighter, but can be deadly if used well. Good top speed, avg. ROC, below avg. turner, good firepower in MK VI (no guns at all in MK IV) 57mm cannon in MK XVIII for anti-shipping missions. Durability slightly above avg., at least against small caliber guns. Stall onset average, and controlable.

US Aircraft

P-38- Difficult to fly well. Avg. to above avg. ROC, turn and roll rate below average as is top speed. Like the Vampire, can be easy to overspeed resulting in loss of elevator control with predictable results. Speed brake use is a must in a dive. Not sure if the J model is so equipped.
Good firepower on both J and L with cannon and guns. Rockets avail. on L. Stall onset is average and controllable. Give good response to use of flaps in a turn under WOT. Durability sketchy. Will absorb a lot of punishment, unless hit in a tail boom near the elevator.

P-47- Not a good performer, but not the worst. Speed, ROC, turn and roll rate below avg. Stall onset fairly early, but controllable. Good firepower in both models, and good durability. Fast in a dive, but slow to recover altitude. Not a good choice unless others are flying the same or similar A/C.

P-51- Probably the biggest disappointment in the game. The D model especially. Speed, ROC, and roll rate all below avg.. Stall onset about the time you think about pulling on the stick, even in easy flight mode. Firepower is good and durability average to above average. Suffers from poorly written flight model, I suspect. IMHO the flight model of the C is better, but I dont know if it is written any differently than the D. With practice, both A/C can be made to perform some unusual handling stunts due to strong rudder influence. (read, crossed controls) All that said, its not the A/C one would have expected given it reputation. Its just broken.

P-55- This would be the ringer in the mix. As a "what might have been" A/C, no one knows for sure how it should perform, so the flight model is perhaps based on available specs and speculation itself:-). In this game, its quirky as one might expect. Speed is well above avg., as is ROC. Handling however is a knife edge. There is a very small window of speed where turn and roll is very good, but above or below that speed it become very mushy, making it very difficult to fly well. A few here in the community have mastered it, but it takes a lot of time to learn, and laser beam focus to execute in game. It also requires dedication to specific tactics. Firepower is good with its cannons, and durability is above average.

Last but not least is another "what if" A/C, although the flight model is well known as the P-80 became a servicable A/C after the war ended. Flight model is similar to the Vampire. Great top speed and ROC, roll and turn avg. Firepower avg. with only guns. Stall onset about avg. and controllable. Difficult to fly well for same reasons as Vampire.

German Aircraft

Bf-109- Good performer, but not easy to fly. Speed is below avg. to avg., but great ROC. Stall onset late and predictable, but tends to spin easily if you get too deep into a stall. Can be made to do tricks like the P-51 with liberal application of the rudder. Firepower is good with guns and cannon on both models. Mk-10 is the better A/C. Seems to have a slightly better flight model and more power. Can be deadly in the right hands. Durability is avg.

FW-190- Another inexplicable dissappointment. Fastest of the single engine (and faster than the P-38) fighters in the game, yet the ROC is well below average. Roll rate is very good, yet it takes miles to execute a 180 deg. turn. Appears to suffer from a flawed flight model IMO. Also, flaps seem to be completely inoperable, at least in my game. Ive reloaded several times with no apparent change in this respect. Difficult to fly as a result. Easy to overspeed with REVERSAL of controls when oversped. No speed brakes available, but kicking the rudder back and forth can sometimes keep you from augering in. Stall onset is early, and like the 109 will fall into a spin if the stall gets too deep. Armament in the MK5 is (should be) good with guns and cannon, and the MK8 even better with its extra cannon pack. However, it appears that the cannons shoot blanks as far as I can tell. Settling in behind a helpless B-25 and hammering away with both 20 and 30mm cannons seems to take forever to bring it down. Just my own observation. Others may disagree. Durability is above average. Can take a lot of .303 from a spit to bring one down.

Do-335- Another of the "what if" A/C. Flight model and handling are similar to the P-55. Great speed and ROC, but better overall handling than the P-55. Firepower is good with cannon and guns, and durability is average. Requires specific tactics to be successful.

Me-262- Same as the other jets, tremendous speed, ROC. Handling is good overall, roll rate above avg. turn rate avg. Needs to be in the "sweet speed" for optimum performance. Firepower is good with cannons, except for the model 1a/U4 equipped with the ship killer howitzer. Will kill anything with one shot if you manage to hit the target though:-).

Last but not least is the Go-229.
Another "what iffer". Flight model is similar to the rest of the jets in speed, ROC, etc. Durability is below avg. Very difficult to fly and bring on target, hence few ever choose to use it except in games where it may be one of the only choices available.

So, there you have my quick and dirty descriptions. I encourage others to add their thoughts as mine are just that. Mine. Im sure others here will have a lot more and different opinions, so, have at gentlemen!

Joe Dunlap
aka Maj_LeMay

[JoeDunlap]

One thing I did not address was stress damage. This can be turned on/off by the host. When it is on, stress damage can take out any of the A/C, and as you might expect, the faster of them are more seceptible to it. Within a speed potential though, the German A/C seem to be the strongest of the bunch, meaning they will absorb more G's over a longer period of time than the allied A/C. I havent studied it closely, so im sure there are exceptions to the rule.

Joe

[JoeDunlap]

Also, be sure to look at the descriptions/specs of all the aircraft. Most of what I covered is addressed there with some of the subjective material quantified. I.E., firepower is given a number.

Joe