FYI, I was wrong about the Anthology version being a different version then everyone else. Evidently the 2.09E patch once followed by the DDU update brings you to 2.09F. This is the same version I am running. All patched and updated LB2s are 2.09F. If I got really motivated I could install onto my old XP rig and see if the over-torque values are altitude adjusted as much as they are on my Vista machine. But I don't know if I have the energy for that. I just wanted to know if it was a bug or if it was an intentional thing. back in Windows98 it seemed to me that altitude wasn't as much of a factor -- the effect was very minimal. In any event it makes my chopper sluggish at higher elevations -- which is more realistic, but might be an exagerated effect on these faster machines. Hard to know if it is by design or a bug.


Oh yeah, it's definitely a lot of fun. First time ever that I played the campaign this far. My piloting skills have improved a great deal -- enough that I just might feel good enough to fly with Recluse soon. I certainly don't want to be a noob and crash right after starting a MP mission...lol

The truth is, that I am too successful at the Azer2000 campaign. I just finished my 11th mission, and the damn Azer forces surrendered! I hadn't even pushed the front lines beyond the High Azer (3,0) map! So I just went back a mission (I backup the campaign .SGM file after each mission) and made sure most of the other flights failed at their objectives so I could continue playing the campaign and at least get to the other maps. It's fun to fly in different areas as you push the enemy eastward.

Good thing I did this because I discovered another cause of the debrief crash. I agree with you Flyboy that the USB joystick is mostly to blame for this, but I have now documented other ways it happens if the Pilot#.dat file is corrupted in any way as in this old post by Shadow=ASP=:
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1727999/1.html

As I mentioned if the 'Replace' flag is set to true for any of the other pilots, I get the debrief crash. Also in the '[Pilot00:Mission]'section of the .dat file, if 'Mission=0x00000000' is something other then zero I get a crash. This was happening after the Azer forces surrendered and I was still trying to fly the campaign. Throughout the entire campaign the 'Mission' and 'CurrentMissionType' were both zero, but after they surrendered those changed and I kept getting debrief crashes until I went in and reset them to zero manually. Now no more debrief crashes and I can continue the campaign which I've now completed another 2 missions and the map has been pushed eastward.


I almost never used the rockets even back in the day, unless I absolutely had to because it was such a pain to have to get so close to the enemy for the rockets to hit. I too found it suicide and mostly stuck to Hellfires to do the job -- and still do now! Let's hope we don't have to use rockets if we do try a MP mission!

IT has been so long since I have taken the old girl for a spin that I would be more likely to be the noob who crashes immediately!! Your new skills are probably much better polished than my rusty old ones.



That's interesting! I recall back in the day doing an Azer2000 campaign, many many missions in and there was not a SINGLE red icon left on the map, and at the end of the mission, it declared the enemy victorious... SAY WHAAAAAT??? Eugene and I did a complete MP campaign (non-AZER2000, IIRC) and there was an odd bug where I as the client could NEVER see troops, for example being dropped off or picked up in an Insertion/Extraction. Despite the fact that he as HOST saw SUCCESS+, I saw a FAILED mission, because, for some reason, my machine didn't see any troops surviving. At the end of the campaign, and while he saw a VICTORY, I did not and didn't even get a ribbon!! Never got to the bottom of that one.





There was nothing I liked better than hovering just outside the range of a ZSU-23 and getting a rocket kill. Their range was something like 2.3 Km and I could get rocket kills out to the max 3 Km. Using MPSM to take out tanks was fun too, though they would NOT generally work on stationary tanks in revetments, despite the fact that the bomblets SHOULD have been dispersing down onto the turret.

<smug face>

Seriously, you've found some great things out. And I hope that all goes well if you do ever get to try multiplayer.

OK, so I had some free time yesterday, and installed on my old XP rig. Sure enough the altitude effect on over-torque is the same as on my Vista machine. So that means it is not technically a design bug. That of course does not mean however, that it is not an exaggerated effect on todays faster machines just as Recluse has pointed out in other posts about say 'Turbulance' being ridiculously exagerated because of the game running too fast.

I installed on my XP rig not only to check the torque issue, but also because today I am going to install Hamachi on both and see if I can get MP to work using TCP/IP mode. This of course is in preparation for an eventual MP mission or two down the road.




OMG, that is crazy! I think I would be irritated if the enemy was victorious after their complete obliteration! If you are truly interested in ribbons/stats/mission completions, all that can be adjusted in the .dat file so that even if some bugs in MP didn't net you the reward, you can still get it. If honestly earned, I don't see a problem with adjusting the .dat file accordingly.



OK, I have a confession to make. After testing out on my XP rig, I also discovered that although using Turbo to slow down my CPU does prevent the 'Low Rotor RPM' or 'Blade Stall' issue, it does not stop the exagerated 'Turbulence' effect or fix the HE rockets landing short of their target. Just as you have discovered in other posts about this bug Recluse, I have also discovered that I CAN get the rockets to hit their target if I slow the CPU down to some insane number -- but it comes at a very steep price. Just as you explained, my framerate is just lunacy when I do this, and I have all kinds of problems with my USB joystick constantly freezing up at these low CPU levels. It's simply not worth it. So I never did find that 'balance' between framerate and rockets working. I just have to settle for some in-between workaround. I can still use rockets and make kills, but I have to forego using them over say about 1.3 KM. At close range I can still get a kill, but not over longer distances. Killing a ZSU at 3 KM is quite an accomplishment and it's a shame it is not possible on today's machines. I was somewhat dissapointed by this when I was testing yesterday, but then who am I to complain when I am after all having loads of fun on a sim that is 14 years old!

I always turn the TURBULENCE OFF because the insane rocking back and forth is just too annoying. I don't believe the TURBULENCE setting does much more than make you rock from side to side anyway, though, MAYBE there are some wind effects that I never noticed.

I decided that the tradeoff of framerate for rocket accuracy at 1.2 KM wasn't worth it, as the chain gun works pretty well at this range for pretty much any target that you would use HE rockets for. I should probably investigate preventing the LOW ROTOR RPM, though. That would save me the long lazy spiraling pattern I have to use to land at a FARP, especially when it is deep in a valley that you have to descent into after flying cross the mountain crest.

Of course there are wind effects! I thought you would have had more faith in the authenticity of LB2 than that! I believe the turbulence actually rocks you from side-to-side, not back-and-forth. Have you really never noticed smoke from destroyed units blowing in a certain direction on a 'windy' mission? And in the 3D cockpit view, have you never launched a Hellfire and had the ignition exhaust smoke blow all over your canopy?

Hmmm in the QUOTE above, I believe I said "Side to Side" after I said Back and Forth. I was looking over my Left Wing Pylon when I said Back and Forth, and straight ahead when I said Side to Side... OK???


What I meant about wind effects was whether or not there were ADDITIONAL WIND EFFECTS with the Turbulence option turned on vs. Turbulence turned OFF. While I have noticed the wind effects you mention, I don't recall encountering any wind induced buffeting or noticing speed changes due to flying downwind vs. upwind. I believe the briefings DO give you a wind speed and direction.

The Turbulence problem I was refering to was the sudden and extreme YAWing that happens at low speeds, especially at lower altitude -- as in resuming flight from a hover and having the helo YAWing around a lot before enough forward momentum stops this.

I was looking at Flyboy's post about Multiplayer, and this was discussed here:
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3128906/Re_Multiplayer.html#Post3128906

The gentle rocking back and forth is not much of an irritation to me, but having the helo swinging around sometimes make me feel like I am a newbie pilot all over again.



Plus you get the added benefit of being able to duck behind a mountain fast when bobbing-up to check out a SAM sight and they launch on you, or evading a enemy air-to-air missle by quickly ducking out of sight. My 'Blade Stall' problems meant I could hardly perform any defensive aerobatics. Usually I would just fall right out of the sky. Now that is no fun at all!

Another interesting MP Thread:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3187849/1.html

I am trying to remember how we did Hamachi. Hamachi has d(evolved) over time. Below are my recollections. Probably there are threads here that will document it better.

EARLY ON, we could join someone's virtual Hamachi Network and use the IPX LAN browser (clicking on the FOLDER in the Comm Shack) to find each other. This method had the advantage that the HOST could fly CP/G if they wanted. With regular TCP/IP connections, the HOST must be a Pilot, though it doesn't matter what slot he is in.

Next Hamachi iteration, we had to go TCP/IP, with the Clients entering the 5.x.x.x Hamachi address of the Host after clicking the KEYBOARD (HOST/MASTER clicks the MONITOR and waits).

Last time, if I recall correctly, even when connected with Hamachi, the clients entered the REAL Public IP address of the Host to make the connection.

Haven't tried it for awhile, hope it still works at all!!

Ahh this seems pretty well documented:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3178215/1.html



Looking (again) at a Gaming VPN solution called Tunngle . It is supposed to work better than Hamachi for any LAN capable game AND works on Windows 7. Most of the games listed are fairly recent, so we can't know how it will work for LB2, but it is worth a try.

EDIT: I downloaded and installed TUNNGLE. It is as complicated and gaudy an interface as Hamachi is spare and simple. Similar to KALI but more cluttered, IMHO. Geared toward the teenage gamer, I think. I haven't figured out how to MAKE a network inside the GENRE browser, but there are already networks for things like Allied Force, BMS, Apache Air Assault etc.. not to mention many shooters and other games. There is also the possibility to create pw protected Private Networks, but, I think, in practice, as long as 2 people are in the same 'network room' it doesn't matter what it says. The groupings are only to facilitate gamers finding others playing the same game and getting into the same space, but ANY LAN Game launched in one of those rooms should connect with a similar game.

Be interesting to try with LB2

crap. So after I finally get these isos downloaded (my discs are in storage accidentally), I'll have broken torque like Gunship!, not just broken rockets?