Fjordmonkey

The good thing about a set of USB Headphones is that you can direct the voicecomms from the apps to it because it has it's own built-in audio-processor. Which frees up your main speaker system to handle game-sounds :) I've got a set of cheap-ass Trust-headphones that run on USB that I use when playing, and they work pretty much flawlessly. They do what they're supposed to do, and that's it.

Yes and no. Yes, in the case that a single-threaded application won't fully load-balance itself over multiple cores, but no, in the case that the overall system performance won't take such a massive hit if more CPU-hungry tasks (Lock On, System Processes, drivers and other services/applications etc) gets spread over multiple cores. In this regard you have a system that, in theory, will be able to somewhat load-balance itself without bottoming out available resources. Note that I say in theory, as overall system performance is due to more than just free CPU-cycles :) But is a multi/Quad-core CPU worth the price that those CPU's currently fly at? That's open for debate. I'd say that if you want the maximum amount of overall system performace (not to be confused by maximum performance in one specific game/application) at any given time, then yes, the price of a multi/quad-core CPU is worth it. The tech behind multicore CPU's on the desktop is still somewhat young, though, which is probably why so few games/apps truly utilize both/all cores on a multicore CPU. When it comes to system performance, there is a HUGE jump from my old P-IV to my E6300, even though each core run on a lower frequency than the old CPU. Going to Vista as well gained me a little more performance, but not a whole lot when compared to XP. But then again, every little bit counts.

Newest drivers for the 8800's: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_158.24.html

Which flavor of the X-Fi do you have? I might just have a solution for you, as the drivers you download from Creative only gives you the most rudimentary of support (2-channel audio only, none of the Creative-apps working), which you've no doubtedly already found out. If you have the X-Fi ExtremeAudio like I do, what you want to do is to whip out the CD that came with the card and install those drivers. They actually work, even though they're for XP, and you also get access to all the different modes (XMSS, 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel sound etc). But whatever you do, do NOT run Creative's Autoupdate after this, as that will put you back to square 1 (2ch sound only). For some utterly and completely idiotic reason, Creative has decided to NOT give out any complete drivers for the X-Fi ExtremeAudio-card (which, I might add, isn't a full-on X-Fi, but rather a slightly souped up Audigy4 LS-card). If this procedure works for the other cards in the X-Fi-series is unknown at this point. I know that there are 3rd-party drivers/apps for the ExtremeGamer and above cards out that can possibly help, but just how good those are is something that I don't know as of yet.

I DEFINATELY want one. Think about playing LOBS on this type of screen :D Of course, there's probably much cheaper ways of doing just that, but still :P

Or the ATI Radeon 2900.

There is no DirectX10 redistributable, so the only way to get DX10 is to buy and install Vista.

Happy Birthday, Pilotasso! And remember, now that you've joined the rest of us on the other side of the Big Three-Oh, there's only one thing you can say: Old age and treachery will beat youthful enthusiasm every single time

Omgz Stealth-squirrels! err... nevermind, as you were..

hehe Awesome :D

It depends on the type of jet. The F-16, for one, can be started without any outside input at all through the Jet Fuel Starter (JFS). The JFS is simply put a small, one-stage jet engine with about 220hp that is started before the main engine. The JFS itself is started through a hydraulic starter-system which is fed by two large reservoirs between the ventral fins. It uses 3000psi hyd-pressure straigh from the two bottles. Can also mention that the two bottles will be the first to be replenished when the engine is up and running. They're also used in the event of a flameout and airstart in the air, although I think at that point that Start1 is used just so that you have two tries to relight. If that doesn't work, you're in trouble :P Here's a quick and very basic breakdown of the startup-procedure that's used for the Norwegian F-16's. Mind you, it's been 7 years since I worked on the Vipers, so I MIGHT remember things somewhat wrong. 1: Pilot sets main power to BATT through switch in the cockpit, throttle is checked and set to CUTOFF. Groundcrew signal that they're go for startup. 2: JFS-switch is pulled into START 2 (Uses both bottles to start, even though the TCTO states that Start 1 can be used. Due to Norways rather harsh temps at times, START2 is always used, winter as summer. Trust me, it's a bitch to manually pump the JFS bottle-pressure up to 3000psi, and Start2 lessens the possibility of a miss-start) 3: 2 small doors on the left side of the aircraft open up. The forward one is the intake for the JFS, the second one is the exhaust. JFS spins up within a few seconds. 4: Approximately 7 to 10 seconds after Start 2 has been flipped, the JFS is at full RPM and is turning the Airframe-mounted gearbox (generators, hydpumps etch is attached to this, if memory serves me). Through that gearbox, the engine-mounted gearbox start to turn, and thus also the engine itself. 5: At approximately 20 to 25% indicated engine RPM, the throttle is advanced to IDLE which also triggers ignition. Main engine is spooling up (with a deep, almost cow-like sound that will make everything vibrate). JFS Shutdown occures at around 40% rpm, the JFS-doors close, at around 45% engine RPM, the engine is lit and will sustain itself, stabilizing between 65 and 68% RPM (IDLE). At that point, external lights will come on, and the ground-crew is clear to move in. After that there's a ton of tests, alignments and checks that will be done, EXCEPT when the aircraft is at RS15 (Ready Station 15). At that point all we did was pretty much crank it up, yank the pins, run out of the shelter so that the pilot could do an EPU Bleed-air test (you don't want to be anywhere near the aircraft if the EPU fires, since it runs on Hydrazine H70, which again is highly toxic). The aircraft taxis out, we pull the weapon-pins and the Chaff/Flare-pin, hold them up so that the pilot can see them, and off he goes. I sat on RS15 when Kursk sank, and let's just say that it's an insane adrenaline-rush to get woken up at 2am by a claxon and then having to run like a madmad down into the shelter. Just wish it wasn't because of such tragic events :/ I also recommend you watching this vid, since it deals with the startup of an F16 seen from the cockpit. It's from a Greek viper, so there are some small differences in procedures. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3995150967736597998&q=%22f-16%22 Older aircraft, for example the F104 and F5, used a small cart that contain a one-stage jet-engine that supplied high-pressure air into the engines to turn them over and start them. The F16 has this option, but it's rarely, if ever, used due to it being time-consuming and can be dangerous due to the proximity to the air-intake. If you get sucked into the intake of an F16, it's byebye-time. You WILL not survive, unlike the guy that got sucked into the intake of an A6 aboard a carrier.

Well, I picked up a copy today, and I am to be blunt and totally honest: F**ing disappointed. Here's what I've found out so far. Remember, though, these are my personal views on it. First things first: If you're running Vista, forget about playing it without removing the movie-files in the movie-folder. For some reason, Vista does not want to play the mpegs within the game (can be viewed through mediaplayer/winamp etc) and locks up bigtime when it tries. Nothing I tried (compatability-modes, running as admin etc) worked, so I removed the files entirely. Graphics: Well, not even remotely CLOSE to what Lock On looks like today, or what Black Shark will look like. Even with all options set to max. Trees seem to have gotten either warpdrives or cloaking-devices, since they have a tendency to pop up right below/in front of you (severly annoying when you're doing NoE-flying. I don't think the squirrels appreciate me chopping down the trees with my rotors, either). Fairly bland textures on the ground, and the helicopter-skins doesn't look all that good either. Ambient lighting etc. is fairly good, though, but exploding vehicles look more arcade'ish than anything else. All in all I get more of a Quake-mod-feeling than a helicoptersim-feeling when playing. Flight-models: Have so-far only played the Comanche. And, of course, since I'm not a heli-pilot and have only had one tactical (NoE) flight in a Bell 412 during my airforce-days, I can't say anything about how it stands up to anything from the real world. I can, however, say this: The Comanche feels more like the standard heli's in Microsoft's FlightSim 2004 than anything else. This might, of course, just be me and my rather poor flying-skills flying a heli. Will try the Ka-52 later just to see if there's any difference in the two. Sound: Overall somewhat bland sounds, with a split-second lagtime (noticeable when firing the cannon, for instance) before the sound actually plays. Speech is somewhat annoying as well, as the announcer-woman at ATC must somehow have gotten it into her head that it's a smart thing to have a half-second pause between every word (wish someone would talk to her about that, as it's damn annoying). Not convinced when it comes to engine/rotor-sounds, weapons-fire or explosions. Overall feeling: Disappointed and the game does neither live up to the hype nor live up to the legacy of the original game. Has a certain rushed quality to it. I have not had the CTD-problems that other people elsewhere has mentioned, though. That might change when I get deeper into the game. If I bother to do just that. One other severely annoying thing: Escape-key does nada, and I have not found a way to remap controls other than possibly edit an INI-file (think I saw keystrokes in one of the files I peeked in to fix the startup-problems).

Good explanation to something I've always wondered about, GGtharos =) Even this rather dumb Norwegian fjordmonkey understood it :D

*installs overflow-pipes and bilgepumps to deal with the drooling*

Remove both. On some systems, AGP-cards with two ports will be displayed as the Primary port being on an AGP-bus, but the Secondary being on a PCI-bus.

Between working my butt off at a regular basis (techsupport), unpacking stuff from boxes since I've recently moved and sleeping, I spend my time doing really really stupid stuff in IL2 (getting into a turning-fight with Spitfires when I'm flying a BF109-F4, for example, or attacking a B17-formation from the stern) and/or getting the bejesus scared out of me in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Does this happen when you're in a multiplayer-game, or does it also happen in singleplayer? The ALchemy-project is said to be developed for the Audigy-series of cards as well, but rumor on the street is that it will only be payware.

Have you tried updating the StarForce-drivers? *feels silly for asking*

Awesome! I just found my new standard-skin :D

Very good news indeed :D Thanks for the heads up!

Well, if you have one of the top-range models of the Creative X-Fi-soundcards (only one I know that DOESN'T work is the X-Fi Xtreme Audio-board), you CAN use the ALchemy-software (currently in beta) from Creative. It will emulate EAX under OpenAL (Vista's new sound-format). Link: http://preview.creativelabs.com/alchemy/default.aspx

I'd personally go with the P180 but do as Bratpfanne and swap the fans for something a bit better than what's stock (can recommend the Noctua 120mm fans), OR if you really want to go massive: http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/Kandalf_lcs/vd4000swa.asp Problem with the last one is price. Here in Norway it's at around 350USD. Cheapest I've found on the web is around $265, which is a tad pricey.

I'm just glad I'll never have to fly into the teeth of a NASAMS-battery, regardless if it's the NASAMS I or II :P

Nice! Would be fun to have both that and the NASAMS I/II-systems in the game =)

Currently running a Powercolor X1950pro, which features a factory-installed Arctic Cooling Accellero X2 cooler (http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=90) on it. Currently the temps are at a nice 35c, and I've never seen it go above 60 even after hours of hard use. As Blaze says, I'd RMA the card if it gets that hot. Just out of idle curiosity, Rammstein: How's the airflow in your case, and what type of case is it?