#4421120 - 05/16/18 10:33 PM
So, How To PLAY EAW?
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RIBob
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When playing "Instant Combat" in EAW V1.28E, I'm in my fighter plane joining a stream of bombers. I can control my plane well enough. I can toggle views with either the top hat on my joystick, or the keyboard. I can shoot.
My problem is toggling the various in-game "enemy" and "friendly" views. I've read the manual, of course. It seems like only one or the other views are available at one time. In addition, the various views are somewhat range-sensitive. I have a tendency to "drift' a bit from the bomber formation, and have difficulty finding it after having done so.
So, without aids and such, my in-mission tally of enemy planes shot down has never been above 3 per mission.
So, please explain how to use the various two-key enemy/friendly options available. I'm aware that I can re-map some of these views to unused buttons on my joystick. Depending on what I have "keyed", in desperation, sometimes I see an inverted "V" on the perimeter of the screen/cockpit (either red or green), and sometimes I see red or green "boxes" with text info, which turn out to be planes.
Playing the game, at least intuitively, is part of any game's appeal. It is discouraging for any newbie, like myself, to have to struggle with playing any game, and as one who has played many flight sims, EAW is not immediately user-friendly in this regard. At least as far as I can see. No doubt due to my ignorance of the fine points.
IMHO, the toggled "Spyglass" option on "Crimson Skies" might be the ultimate dog-fighting visual/positional aid. This rendering is a "window-within-a-window", and gives the pilot a view of a (toggled, selected) enemy plane within a circular window, showing the position of the plane, and it's attitude given one's own aircraft. Some might ay it's a cheat, others might say it's a compensation for the limitations of computer sim games. While Crimson skies is more-or less an Arcade game, it is a true 3D sim. It is not without its' good points, and has maintained something of a cult following, much like EAW, dare I say. I would add that the "Spyglass" option is very likely why I can shoot down multiple AI squadrons even though the enemies are set at "Ace" level. They do bob around a bit, but even so I can usually get on their tails and whack them.
So, aside from the above digression, any suggestions on how to understand the "Enemy/Friendly" multi-key views? What am I missing?
Your help would be appreciated!
Last edited by RIBob; 05/16/18 10:57 PM.
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#4421131 - 05/17/18 12:22 AM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: RIBob]
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VonBeerhofen
3DZ Master/Campaign Designer
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The creators of 1.28E put more weight on full real flight mode, in which padlock and external views can be disabled, after all these weren't present in WWII either. I think it can be switched on or off and there may be a few more differences with the original game, like perhaps viewdistances. In general and I think all versions, forward and rear views are the most important, but left and right views and combinations with the other two are pretty significant as well. The views can be assigned to your mouse, hat or pov switch or keyboard as there are two modes. One is an analogue scroll the other are called snapviews and are instantanious. Most other views in the game have no true function for the pilot other then perhaps chase mode, where you can switch to your enemy's plane view and see your self from his position. Trackview allows you to autopan the camera to the position of the padlocked enemy plane, but it's pretty hard to control the plane when the panning goes extreme.
Like in WWII pilots rely on positional information from the groundcontroller, but sometimes you're on your own when there's no radar coverage in your area. That's where the pilotmap becomes a very usefull tool, you will see where other planes are in relation to your position so you can always find your way back. The rest of the views are what I'd call movie mode. I believe 1.28E had a feature called auto climb and autofight, besides wingleveler and autopilot, which allows you to lean back in your cockpit and see the game devellop fully under AI control. The movie views allow autoswitching to exiting moments happening in real time.
I think that covers most of it really. Important is to setup your views in such a way so that you can quickly see what's important to you, an enemy on your 6 for instance. There isn't any help for finding the plane which calls out in emergency, he's probably nearby as far as I know my sourcecode, so you have to do the work to see who it is.
You need to experiment a bit with the view settings, mapping keys is usually a timeconsuming thing but for one I'd change all important keys to single key pressures and set the lesser ones to two keys but I think that's self explanatory.
BTW, instant mission uses your last flown single mission data to generate the quick mission, intercept is probably default untill you change it in a single mission you fly.
VonBeerhofen
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#4421157 - 05/17/18 07:09 AM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: RIBob]
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MrJelly
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The other important keys are the Tab" sequences In flight click the "Tab" key but do not hold it down. A menu appears at the top left for a short time Hit one of the keys listed and another menu appears, hit one of the keys and you get a result. Example hit Tab 7 1 in quick succession and you will get a radio message directing you to the nearest enemy planes, both in sound and on screen text. If you are escorting bombers and you lose them Tab 7 2 directs you to the nearest friendly bombers. Here is the Tab 7 menu : The various Tab 6 ... sequences give you several flight commands, including "target bombers", "cover me", and "drop tanks" Check them out and note what they do. You need to hit the keys very quickly, before the menus disappear
Last edited by MrJelly; 05/18/18 03:48 AM. Reason: Typo corrected
Fly EAW online at GameRanger: GameRanger SiteFaceBook Pages UAW 160 downloadsEAW ClubMark Twain: I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.I am now of an age at which I no longer need to suffer fools gladly
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#4421287 - 05/17/18 09:19 PM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: MrJelly]
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RIBob
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The other important keys are the "Alt" sequences In flight click the "Alt" key but do not hold it down. A menu appears at the top left for a short time Hit one of the keys listed and another menu appears, hit one of the keys and you get a result. Example hit Alt 7 1 in quick succession and you will get a radio message directing you to the nearest enemy planes, both in sound and on screen text. If you are escorting bombers and you lose them Alt 7 2 directs you to the nearest friendly bombers. Here is the Alt 7 menu : The various Alt 6 ... sequences give you several flight commands, including "target bombers", "cover me", and "drop tanks" Check them out and note what they do. You need to hit the keys very quickly, before the menus disappear Do you mean the "Tab" key? I can find these menus not with "Alt" key, as you mention above, but with the "Tab" key--at least on my version of the game. Looks like I have some work to do in jotting down the sub menus and finding out which menus are most useful. This is great information, and, I believe, not explicitly mentioned in the game manual
Last edited by RIBob; 05/18/18 12:13 AM.
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#4421474 - 05/18/18 10:06 PM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: MrJelly]
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RIBob
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Thanks for the clarification, MrJelly! I've lost count of my typos; probably can't count that high, anyway.
OK, have downloaded and printed the keyboard sheets linked above. Those are helpful. I also printed out my config folder, which tells me what I actually have, such as re-mapped keys, and so forth, as opposed to the defaults. I think I will buy some various colors of highlighters, and, using the color code on MarkEAW's keyboard layout, color-code parts of my personal configuration. Naturally, I'll have to memorize quite a few of them, but it will help in the interim.
After reading the manual (yet again) I am a bit surprised that such scant attention was paid, in the document. to what is termed "CockpitRadio"; Pg. 37. Personally, I think some of the vectoring (Bandit/Friendly) commands are incredibly useful, and serve to reduce a huge amount of time wasted trying to find Friendlies/Bandits.
In conjunction with the Map, the Tab commands, as I think of them, really reduce the frustration level due to more-or-less blind searching.
Now, how to increase size of icons in the in-flight map? After adding the D3W wrapper, the weird colors are gone, but the various icons in the in-flight map could stand enlarging, as well as the lower left-hand corner HUD. Another issue I have is that the gauges on the dashboard of the cockpit are quite blurry, and for all practical purposes, unreadable. I mention this last because I am somewhat familiar with using in-flight instruments in sims, and have come to value being able to do so. Any suggestions?
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#4421641 - 05/19/18 08:06 PM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: MarkEAW]
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RIBob
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Those are 3 complaints dating back to 1999, little has been able to improve them. Need a hardware programmer to fix them and new game data. But:
The pilot map has no zoom, this has been a problem since higher res was allowed in the game back in v1.1 or 1.2, However I think Jel uses the larger map icons on the 160 version.
The HUD text again should be adjustable in the eaw.ini in the latest versions. You might have to add the entry in manualy. (I dont have time to look it up right now)
the gauges are crap in EAW above the default res, even so in the default low res. But I think Jel and company already added the sharpened dials into the game data, maybe not all planes have them....
I ought to have stated that my observations were based on V1.28E version of the game, and naturally, that makes a great difference. Sorry to have forgotten to provide that essential info. As I gain experience with the other versions, I have no doubt that I'll have similar questions about those versions, as well. I believe I'll try the "Fontchoices" with respect to V1.28E, and see how it goes. I tried another font-enlarging program, and it didn't do anything. As my experience with the game progresses, I find certain things, with respect to V1.28E, to be distinctly objectionable; the blurred gauges being one of the important ones. OTOH, I am learning some tricks, like the more-or-less hidden "Radiocockpit" commands that also change things for the better.
Last edited by RIBob; 05/19/18 08:16 PM.
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#4422384 - 05/24/18 06:45 AM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: RIBob]
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MrJelly
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The EAW fonts are not fonts at all in the usual sense. Each character in a font file is a sprite, and it can be edited by the sprite editor. Because of their stucture they are not able to be scaled. The "newmap" system from 1.29 onward uses larger maps which only contain the tile area, and gives a slight zoom effect. We find it works very well for MP games at GameRanger. The gauges problem is one that needs to be worn by the skin maker. We have done what we can to improve them, including making extra gauges possible, but we are not intending to fix graphics problems caused by skinners.
Last edited by MrJelly; 05/24/18 06:58 AM.
Fly EAW online at GameRanger: GameRanger SiteFaceBook Pages UAW 160 downloadsEAW ClubMark Twain: I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.I am now of an age at which I no longer need to suffer fools gladly
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#4422535 - 05/24/18 11:43 PM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: MrJelly]
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RIBob
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Please allow me to make a request which I believe will benefit the entire EAW community, of which I hope to be considered a very junior member.
Let me preface my request by saying I am NO stranger to all sorts of flight sims, going way back to 2000 or so (doubling back to older sims), and advancing to the most modern sims. Every damn one of them, including the so-called Arcade game "Crimson Skies" had a useable set of gauges visible to the game player.
I think that such essential piloting information is a prerequisite for full immersion/enjoyment of any game. The lack of such is, in my opinion, a definite impediment to the increased use/enjoyment of EAW, since many versions include a blurred dashboard, and miniscule HUD displays.
In short, how can one fly a sim lacking essential info? Answer is, truth, be told, is that one cannot, and the prospective game player will go elsewhere.
EAW has terrible flyer interface. Let's admit it. We're all friends here, and want the best for the game itself, AND for the various versions that many have created.
Now, MrJelly has pointed out that the dashboard gauges are the responsibility of the skinners, and I take him at his word. I have come to trust him.
Well, how about an overlay, if that is the word, of essential gauges, that would suit most cockpits, and which was an independent module, and which could be inserted into any version of the game? which independent module could be used by any "skinner' for his version of his aircraft?
IOW, take the blurred portion of most plane dashboards, and overlay meaningful gauges onto the blurred space. Is that not possible? Put another way, is that not desirable?
As a newbie, one of the most troublesome parts of actually flying the game, and consequently one of the aspects of the game, as-is, is the lack of gauges/info that would normally be available to ANY pilot during flight. Info that is immediately available even on early flight sims, even the old "Red Baron" game. Such gauges as there are at least readable...….
There is a TON of talent here, from many different sources. Far above my level, to be sure. I'm a simple user.
May I ask that some of that talent be devoted to constructing an modular gauge package/display that would be consonant with most cockpits? Which module could be made available to all other programmers/designers, and easily installed by existing EAW game players?
Can there be a single player, current or future, that would not benefit from such an improvement to the game?
I ask not only for myself, but for every EAW player now playing, and hopefully, for many future players, may they be legion.
Respectfully submitted.
Last edited by RIBob; 05/25/18 12:18 AM.
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#4422972 - 05/27/18 07:32 PM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: MarkEAW]
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RIBob
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Those font "programs" / replacement fonts. I'm not sure if EAW will look to the outside, meaning, I'm not sure if the exe needs to be modified to look in the main game folder or what for the FONTS. Most files (I think every other file) EAW looks outside of the CDF files first for replacements, but these fonts maybe different.
Anyhow 1.28e should have that HUD setting I've mentioned before, You add it to the eaw.ini file under the [EAW] section. then set the value to 1 for ON. this will enlarge the text/HUD and make it easier to read. The following is the entry to add:
HudFontSize=1
- 0/1 - (for version 1.28 and above) Toggles the HUD's font from stock to Large Font Bold, a value of 1 improves legibility at high resolutions. I made that change long ago, at your suggestion, to no avail. I am running V1.28E in a wrapper, and perhaps I should tinker with screen sizes/resolution further. I confess that flying "in the cockpit", I believe it best to have the cockpit fill the 1024X1080 screen of my decent LED digital monitor. That is most realistic, but perhaps I should tinker more. Still, this is quite a bother, and a needless one, I think. There ought to be a way for a simple person, such as myself, to download a "Good-To-Go" version of the game that would be a simple, "push the Download button ONCE, and have the game up and going". Sure there might be some fine points omitted, but many people will omit such. Most people want a "Good enough" version of the game, and a one-button install. Those are the facts, ladies and gentlemen. Let's put it another way: The EAW game is being slowly perfected by very bright, talented, people for a rapidly diminishing audience. What good, in the end does all that effort accomplish? It's like a majestic oak, hundreds of years old, toppling onto the forest floor. Nobody's around to hear it, or remark on its' passage. Like it never happened. Now, I'm the village idiot, so to speak. I'm a simple user, not a programmer/developer. Invariably, folks here have bent over backwards to help me on many different aspects of EAW. Point is, that ought not have been necessary! You developers/programmers ought NOT to have to answer the same questions from a succession of newbies over and over again. Is this resonating with you yet? What needs to be done is that the internal bickering be brought under control, and the good people here focus on modifying the game so that any idiot, like myself (or most likely even more ignorant) can download a runnable, stable version of the game on their Win 10 computer with a single download. The somewhat simplified single-download, single button game should be able to compete in the current marketplace of games. By that I mean that the game, and all its' user interfaces should be easily configurable, and most importantly, intuitive for the prospective players. I understand that there are various versions of EAW, and various, competing programmers/developers. I get it. Unless you all get together, you will fall separately. The internet is FULL of forums devoted to very nice flight sims that failed, for one reason or another. EAW is better than most of the failed sims, and has a well-developed Modding community, albeit severely at odds with itself, and, at the same time, not addressing the needs of the users which they are supposed to support. Now, I am new here, and have no "favorites". Being new, I have nothing to lose, so I speak my mind, carefully considering my words. I never intend to insult or attack another member here. That said, I consider it a tragic waste of time for members here to engage in personal, public arguments. I'm told that this has happened, repeatedly, in this forum, over the years. What a Waste of Time and Talent!Has it occurred to anyone that two people going down the same path towards a similar goal will reach the same goal at more-or-less the same time, and while using the same tools? Witness the Wright Brothers Vs. Prof. Langley. Similar approach, same tools, different outcomes. Or Edison Vs Tesla. I certainly DO understand pride of ownership, and pride of creation. That's entirely human. What is [I[sublime[/I] is accepting that a competitor just [I]might have arrived at one's goal first. Enough. I am exhausted. I am troubled by the dissent amongst people who should, against their own best interests, and the best interests of the EAW gaming community (what is left of it--think about that!) continue to not only argue amongst themselves, but ignore simple requests to make the basic game more accessible to the general public.
Last edited by RIBob; 05/27/18 08:49 PM.
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#4423057 - 05/28/18 07:11 AM
Re: So, How To PLAY EAW?
[Re: RIBob]
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 12,497
MrJelly
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All the 1.28 and later versions still use the EAW fonts. Depending on the version the files are either in the "FONTS.CDF" file or as individual files in "GameData" (160) /"Savedata" (150) I added some extra characters some time ago using the font/wsp editor to allow a better display of text on the mainscreen. Many of the EAW fonts do not have a "full" set of characters- they only have letters and numbers and no things like brackets which might also be displayed in on-screen text.
Fly EAW online at GameRanger: GameRanger SiteFaceBook Pages UAW 160 downloadsEAW ClubMark Twain: I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.I am now of an age at which I no longer need to suffer fools gladly
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