This is an answer to questions in your email.
Let us imagine that you have used the utility I sent to convert a Hurri folder to 140.
Its name is "HurriIIb_ColGBoB" and as a user I have downloaded it and extracted your folder.

The first thing I need to do is to put it in the "Aircraft_Inventory":

The path displayed shows where I have put it.

Then I run the Planeset Maker.
Rather than make a complete new planeset I will replace an existing Hurri skin in ETO140 Planeset1 with yours.
I show the read and save panel navigate to the the "ETO140" folder and load the two files in ETO140 Planeset1:

With "Readcell" checked I have clicked on the skin in Slot09 to make sure it is the one I want to replace.
The full text is displayed after the checkbox.

Then I click on the read and save panel to hide it, and navigate to the new Hurri folder.
I single click on it so it is highlighted in blue:


I did several things to get this next PIC
1. I unchecked "Readcell"
2. I clicked in the skin column for Slot09. This replaced the text
3. I checked "Readcell" again
4. I clicked in the skin column for Slot09. This displayed the new text to confirm that I had done it correctly:


Then I reactivated the "Read and Save" panel, but rather than overwrite Planeset1 I created a new "Planeset9" and saved the FMDir.set and PDir.set files in it:


When I ran 140 PS9 was available.


My "HurriIIb_ColGBoB" folder was a renamed copy of another Hurri folder made for this demo.
Here it is on the runway:

OK Tony.

What your showing me is how to make a set, and put a set into the game.

All lovely jubbly, if I want to use a set, but you can't download a full set of skins/models, just to add one model. Do you see my point?

When I was using OAW, you could load what you like. Now, I'm trying to set up something for the Fw200, I'm beginning to wonder how the Fw200 will ever be used outside of one mod.

I've been examining the files in the Default PP38H and P38H_FM folders, and I see nothing in there that can't be replicated for the Fw200, as long as the tools are available, and post a pair of folders in a zip, but there seems no way for the player to use them.

Now, your going to tell me I'm wrong.

In 140 you have no choice.
You must use a planeset folder with a "FMDir.set" and a "PDir.set" file in it
Your original question was about converting your 1.2 folders to 1.40 folders so that people could download them.
My post shows the sort of thing that a user would have to do in order to fly your plane after downloading your folder.

OAW put files in the root folder, and that was OK for 1.2 up to 1.29.

I have just put the Korean140 Sabre skin and FM files in the root folder.
This is what you get:



Henry Ford would have been pleased

So, in effect there is no point in having any sites supporting 1.40, or posting skins, if there is no way of using them in 1.40, without the need to make cumbersome sets of planes?

That is correct, at the present time we don't have a planeset directory or better yet a full inventory of planes in a central location that a user can pick and chose from to build their own planeset.

I'm still willing to work through the various problems associated with a central plane inventory but it will require Jel to do some modifications to the way the picker program works for it all to come together.

He's stated that he doesn't see the interest from other users so unless he can be convinced otherwise the idea remains just an idea.

The only recourse for modders in that case is to learn to build planesets themselves. It's a bit hairy at first but with perseverance it is doable. I've built about 6 planesets for the Mediterranean package.

Actually, it's fun using your imagination to come up with different sets of planes depending on a time frame or the parameters you are trying to meet. Like the mid -30's biplane set or the ground attack planeset.

I was having an exchange with Tony.

Please leave this thread.

Not your forum, not your thread. Free speech still reigns.

If you don't want to see my responses, respectfully, just put me on "ignore".

The rest of the community might be very interested in what I have to add to the conversation.

OK join VBH!

Bye Bye

OK, now he's gone, back to a serious question.

What is the point on having a system in 1.40, which does not allow players to add content, as they wish?

OAW and earlier file handlers allowed the freedom to play the Default game, and add what ever they liked to customize the game.

It was just this feature that hooked me 16 years ago, and I guess lots of players and modders.

We have a 1.29 exe, which still supports a lot of the old features, and I suggest 1.29 becomes the Default exe.

If the 1.40 exe becomes the Default exe, everyone's content is locked out, unless we go through the process of making complete model sets.

You guys need to chip in on this topic, as it directly effects the future direction of EAW.

Bellyaching is counter productive.

1.4 is the default now. For good or bad but mostly for good. In fact the only downside is some loss of flexibility due to the planeset feature. However with time and the application of some mental elbow grease anyone who wants to make planesets can do it.

Both Jel and I are willing and able to assist any member who would like to get involved.

Plus, I can't say enough good things about Jel's patience when attempting to get people up and running with everything from a simple installation or, as in my case, getting dirty under the hood.

Without him, there would be no 18 year celebration of EAW. As opposed to others who we're better off without.

I am angry at all this. I waste my time doing things for ColG.

In my post I went through the steps.
Cumbersome- he has an opinion but has never tried it
So I timed it
In the tutorial one plane was put in a slot.
Not taking screenies for a tutorial I timed how long it took me to put a Russian Hurri in that slot.
50 seconds from double clicking on the exe to run the planeset maker!

Here it is on the runway:


I will continue to develop the game for the guys at GameRanger, and people with enough flexibility to actually try things.

That is it

Don't let the bastards get you down.

Ever onward.




Speaking of onward, when the hell can you guys test my biplanes???????

Hi Tony.

I wanted to know how to setup the Condor, but your subsequent replies made it totally clear that there is no current way of loading any of the thousands of skins and models without adding one to a full set. That would go for the Condor too.

Don't you see, the common player has no idea on how to put any content into the game.

There is little point in having any public downloads, as they can't be used with your series of exe's.

Going back to 1.29 seems the only real option, as it supports the easy replacement of models.

Is this factually correct Tony?

Yes, but as I wrote it takes 50 seconds to do that. It is a matter of getting the software and trying it

What you are mixing up are two situations.
One is a modder who wants to test their stuff.
The other is a user who downloads 140 versions of skins.
I wrote the tutorial for the latter.

I could make a test theatre/planeset.

No I'm not Tony.

Cast you mind back to the old days. loads of mods were released, and posted on web sites.

Players would download the models they liked, and install them using Skins & More, or latter with OAW.

Because of 1.40, we are now in a situation where the player can no longer mod the game, and so there is no reason to post stuff on web sites, as everything for the 1.2 generation of exe's is effectively obsolete.

Even the new skins Iron Mike posted on his site a week or so ago, can't be used, unless someone makes a set with them included.

This is a major problem. I don't know how we have sleep walked into this situation, but your reply to me yesterday, came as a shock, and goes some way to explaining why hits on private websites have almost stopped.


EAW used to be a player/modder friendly game, which 1.40 is not. Can you see my point?

First off.

The resistance to this new system is understandable in that no one wants to change what they are comfortable with.

However the disinformation is rather stunning and once again I must use facts to refute the claims.

The game is a moddable as ever. I know because I mod it all the time.

I started the target upgrade project using 1.28, then stopped for a bit as it was a pretty large project. When I got back to it Jel had introduced the 1.4 system.

With a bit if help from him I was able to switch over to the new system and then continue with the project.

Then the finished project was easily incorporated into the 1.4 download.

In addition to that, I added about 100 planes to the Med upgrade pack. Using the new system probably saved me 10 - 20 % manhours since it freeed me from a bunch of boring slot renaming.





However, this thread does emphasis the need for further investigation of a central inventory system and corresponding changes to some software to allow the players to select their own planes.

The funny thing is, I doubt the naysayers will lift a finger to help develop it.

Try the new utility in the 140 folder download as posted in my new thread

OAW is a file manager
The new one is also a filemanager and not a file maker