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#4334403 - 02/03/17 05:21 PM Optional Cloud Mod (with Historical Weather files)  
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BuckeyeBob Offline
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Hello, all!

After several months work, I have created a weather mod to replace the existing WOFF Historical Weather files for the period 1915 - 1918. While the developers' legendary devotion to historical accuracy is well-known--and deservedly so, the existing files have a few problems, which this mod is designed to correct. The mod currently consists of several simple text files for each year from 1915 through 1918, which control the type of weather (clouds, precipitation, etc.) that you may encounter in the game. While these do replace the original WOFF weather files, they are meant to maintain the current fidelity to historical accuracy which is a trademark of the OBD team.

Some of the corrections are purely technical. For example, one or two dates are either missing or duplicated in some of the existing files. There is also a database error (which probably doesn't effect game-play, but you never know). However, there are also a few long strings of "repeat weather" (the same cloud type for days upon end or consecutive days either with or without precipitation) that I would like to reduce. Overall, what I am trying to do is simulate the passing of weather fronts in a more realistic fashion, with clouds building up, followed by precipitation, then clearing, and so on and so forth, while still maintaining historical accuracy along with some degree of unpredictability. I have also reworked the snow cover in the game from January through March, to more realistically reflect the buildup and loss of snow cover over time. There are a lot of other changes, as well, but generally speaking, the weather you will see in the mod will be very similar, if not identical in every respect, to the weather as it appears now.

The mod will be released in two parts. The first one simply consists of replacements to the WOFFHistoricalWeather19xx.txt files, located in the campaigns\campaignData\weather folder. Part two of the mod will include some optional additional cloud types that I am working on, with the assistance of Panama Red (thank you, PR for graciously allowing me to use your additional cloud types mod as a template) as well as a few others.

The mod is JSGME compatible, just unzip the contents into your MODS folder. Of course, the mod is not an official product of OBD, and any use of the mod is at your own risk. As always, if you have any problems with WOFF, uninstall ALL mods before contacting OBD support.

If you have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to let me know. Finally, thanks again to OBD, without whom none of this would, of course, be possible.

Link to latest version of Optional Clouds Mod: WOFF Optional Cloud Mod 5.0 Pack Updated 30 September, 2022

Link to latest version of historical weather mod: WOFF Historical Weather Mod versions 2.1 and 1.5 Updated 12 June, 2022


Last edited by BuckeyeBob; 09/30/22 09:17 PM. Reason: Updated link to OCM 5.0

“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4334408 - 02/03/17 05:33 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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KodiakJac Offline
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Great mod, BuckeyeBob! thumbsup


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#4334409 - 02/03/17 05:38 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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BuckeyeBob Offline
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I hope so! Cross your fingers!


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4334418 - 02/03/17 06:27 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Thx Sir! thumbsup

#4334428 - 02/03/17 07:00 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Originally Posted By: BuckeyeBob
I have also reworked the snow cover in the game from January through March, to more realistically reflect the buildup and loss of snow cover over time.


I will look forward to seeing this in the game. Sounds great all around!

#4334457 - 02/03/17 07:49 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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You're welcome. I hope you like it. Hopefully, the differences will be more subtle than obvious, with more snow in some cases and less in others.


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4334505 - 02/03/17 10:56 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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BuckeyeBob,

I highly applaud this mod! Thank you!

I too noticed that weather wasn't quite as historical as it could be, and I was toying with suggesting a few changes. (Unfortunately, unlike you, I do not have the skills to actively change these kinds of things.)

I'd like to offer two links which you probably already know of, but just in case let me lead you to them. I used these sites when I was making missions for Rise of Flight. I wanted to have absolutely accurate weather.

1. Great War Weather

2. Weerstation Losser

That second site is a Dutch site, but it's the only site I've ever found that has records of the weather from the war years. It contains wind speed (in the Beaufort Scale), atmospheric pressure, temperature and much more. It's really quite a find. (It's in Dutch, of course, but you can easily translate it using online tools.)

I hope these can be of some use to you and your mod.

#4334513 - 02/03/17 11:25 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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BuckeyeBob Offline
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Wow, thanks, 3rd! That is exactly the information I am looking for. This will help tremendously.


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4334531 - 02/04/17 12:16 AM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Careful about adding more wind to WOFF weather, it severely disrupts the formation flying, that is why it is limited in the game now.


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#4334617 - 02/04/17 01:22 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Originally Posted By: BuckeyeBob
Wow, thanks, 3rd! That is exactly the information I am looking for. This will help tremendously.


Great! I'm really glad that I could help you even if it is a small thing.

I look forward to your completed mod.

#4334619 - 02/04/17 01:26 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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WOFF's weather is also dynamic and changes as you fly over different areas. The weather you are altering is possbily just the base weather. Historical weather may not have been available for some regions.


Regards,

Polovski,
OBD Software, developers of immersive flight sims;
Wings Over Flanders Fields and Wings Over The Reich
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#4335096 - 02/06/17 04:57 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Uploaded to the user mods page:

http://www.sandbagger.uk.com/indexWOFF.html


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#4338342 - 02/17/17 04:19 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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An updated version of my weather mod is now available at the bottom of the first post in this thread. I hope that more than a few people have actually tried this mod, since the stock WOFF UE version is actually a lot more random than many of you think it is, particularly for the years 1915 and 1916. For example, in WOFF, the entire year 1915 is composed almost entirely of "heavy" weather clouds. The only variation in the cloud patterns and precipitation for 1915 is solely determined by the CFS3 engine.

In general, the mod attempts to simulate somewhat more realistic transitions from weather front to weather front. I also reduced the snow cover in early 1915 somewhat so you see some more variation in snow cover, instead of the present continuous snow on the ground from 1 January until the end of March that currently exists. 1916 was also made just slightly less wet than stock, with 1917 a bit wetter. Long stretches of "no-fly" weather are also broken up just a bit in some cases, while the overall number of "no-fly" days is increased just a bit, in order to simulate the lack of flying during periods of really bad weather.

Overall, I aimed to make the weather feel more "real" while still maintaining fidelity to the overall historical weather patterns already found in WOFF; so this mod should not be considered to be a "fantasy" weather pattern in any respect. The mod should work even better after I have included an optional "additional cloud type mod" that will add approximately 28 new cloud types and variations to several of the existing cloud types that currently exist in WOFF. The new clouds will be designed to fit better within the six currently existing weather categories in WOFF: Good, Light, Medium, Variable, Heavy, and Winter and Spring precipitation. Generally speaking, you should see a greater variety of fair weather clouds, including more cirrus clouds, along with a few "heavier" foul weather cloud types. The optional cloud type mod is currently in final beta testing and should be available within a few days two weeks! or so.


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4338357 - 02/17/17 05:20 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Bb

Glad to see new modders active in the WOFF sim.
In particular I personally love to use mods that enhance the historical perspectives.

I look forward to your mods.

Best Regards.


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#4338371 - 02/17/17 06:50 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Sounds great. Downloading now. thumbsup

#4338378 - 02/17/17 07:28 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Bb -

Looking forward to d/l your latest iteration tonight.

Weather adds a lot to the immersive and graphic aspects of WOFF IMHO.

#4338448 - 02/17/17 10:35 PM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Thanks, guys. I hope you enjoy the mod.

I have a question. As many of you know, the cloud files also contain a setting for wind speed. Through testing, I have determined that the wind speed value is in meters per second, which translates into 1 m/sec = 2.24 mph. Unmodded, values for windspeed varies in the game from 0 to 5 m/sec, or 0 to 11.2 mph. Relatively mild winds, as has been noted elsewhere on the forum.

Also through testing, I have determined that prevailing wind in the game does have an impact on air speed. Flying directly into a headwind will slow your groundspeed roughly by the speed of the wind, with the opposite effect if you have a tailwind. So far so good. Unfortunately, in addition to pushing your aeroplane in a direction opposite the direction of the wind, the wind also causes severe buffeting of the aircraft, particularly affecting pitch and especially on lighter aircraft. Turns also become much more difficult. Never having flown a real-life aircraft myself, I'm not sure how realistic the buffeting really is. We also know that the AI seems to have particular problems dealing with higher wind speeds.

So, finally my question. In my mod, do you want me to adjust the wind speed in each of these files or leave them alone? As I see it, there are a couple of options. In one, I can make two versions of the clouds: one with lower wind speeds, for early war aeroplanes, and another for later war aeroplanes. Another alternative is asking if Oldhat can adapt his high wind mod to my new clouds. Lastly, since the cloud files are .xml files, maybe JJJ or some other intrepid coder could write a program that could read and randomize the wind speed setting for each cloud file -- say a random number between 0 to 16 m/sec -- that would change each time you loaded the program? The last option would be the best one, of course, since it would vary the wind speed each time you ran the program.

Thoughts?


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4338481 - 02/18/17 01:32 AM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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I don't mind, however there are a few points to consider.

Changing the individual cloud wind value does not show up inside the dynamic xml file during the mission. So, I assume that it takes those numbers from the code.

The only wind speed values that work well were between 6-8. I found it to be perfect for all aircraft weights. From my limited tests, I've noticed that it does not affect AI takeoff, formation flying (as much), or landing. While still adding a nice feeling of flight.

I use the custom Weather txt File from Bletchley's MOD for OFF over at combatace.com for 1915. I had made my own 1916 and 1917 ones a while back and I use those as well. It seems to be very well researched.

#4338508 - 02/18/17 04:26 AM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Wind speed in the cloud file or wind speed in the dynamic weather file?

I found changing the speed in the cloud file showed up inside the game, at least when I chose auto weather. Perhaps it works differently in the default campaign.

I too, based my weather mod for 1915 primarily on Bletcheley's work. Like you, I also tweaked 1916 and 1917, as well. I made the fewest changes in 1918, mainly because the WOFF files for that year are pretty well detailed.


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4338519 - 02/18/17 05:56 AM Re: Weather Mod -- Part One [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Hi Buckeye and OldHat,

I love this mod, Buckeye! The more I fly, the more I appreciate the variation and consistency it creates. For instance, I'm seeing a lot more broken snow covered fields and trends in the winter weather, etc. Very well done!

As you work on wind speed and variation for a better feeling of flight, Google "Max Demonstrated Crosswind Performance" on a couple of planes like the Cessna 150 (about 1000 lbs) and a Cessna 172 (about 1500 lbs). At ground level 16 m/s (36 mph) would probably be too fast for WWI planes in this weight class, in particular for landings.

Probably more like 15 mph to 20 mph max. In real life, I doubt they were rolling with crosswinds above 20 -25 mph knowing they would likely have to land in the same. Although we've all read stories of flying in much worse weather, I'm guessing a max cap of 25 mph would be pretty aggressive for WWI (maybe more like 20 mph).

Just thought I would toss in some real world comparables.

And I'm curious, have you determined if wind is present during take offs and landings, or is it just low wind speeds in place at ground level? If wind at ground level, do we always get a headwind for take offs, or is the direction variable. I would love to see you guys put wind into play during take offs and landings.

Does wind vary by altitude, or location. I know there is variation in wind within a single mission, but I was never sure if it was because I was changing altitude or moving into the next weather region.

Good luck with this!


Dogfighting is what you do "after" you drop your bombs and blow something up!
Can you say "JABO!" thumbsup
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