Andrew_McP

Thanks Caretaker. I guess there's always a period of adjustment with new versions when you realise the sim-world you're used to no longer exists. I now have to find some more soft targets and simple weapons to get my cheap thrills from. :-) Andrew McP

Well, in 1.02 it definitely had radar, and the model definitely has a little radar-style dish on it, that's all I know. Maybe it's for satellite TV... you know how the US forces like their home comforts when abroad ;-) The only references I can find mention radar rangefinding and optical targeting. Andrew McP

Ok, thanks for that. I only recently started flying the 25 in anticipation of 1.1's release. I guess I should stick to flying airshow routines in the 27. I never was cut out for all this complicated combat stuff. While I'm on the subject though, Vulcans (M-163 AA) appear to have gone stealth on me in 1.1. They don't show up on the RWR and can't be attacked with SEAD kit. Maybe the rangefinding radar's too weak to be detected now? Andrew McP

I've got my copy of 1.02 installed on my dekstop machine and my laptop. In theory there's no reason why I can't do that as long as I never run them at the same time... at which point I (legally) ought to have two copies. Of course I *have* run both at the same time to mess about with networking and some silly attempts to fly no-lag formation with myself <note to self: must get a friend :-> With 1.1 it looks like we need to buy two copies to network at home. I'm happy to do that actually (particularly as the money goes straight to ED now, not Ubi), but not until this activation mess has calmed down. The prospect of buying two copies again when I screw up isn't very attractive :-) Andrew McP

I've just been trying to recreate the mission I used in my recent Su-25 movie. In that I was using Kh-25MP anti-radiation missiles, which had a very simple attack mode that was perfect for low level, close range, pop-up attacks... point nose in general direction of radar threat, TAB, fire, RUN AWAY!!! In 1.1 the Su-25 only has the Kh-25ML, which isn't anti-radar as such, and certainly isn't very useful in a close range pop-up.... well, not unless you have lightning fast reactions, perfect eyesight, and superb flying skills. If I had all of those I'd have been piloting a *real* plane, not a desk. :-) To make matters worse (for me), the 25T's SEAD weaponry uses the Fantasmagonorrhea pod, which requires slewing the cursor directly over the threat for both Kh-25MPU and Kh-58. That's fine if you're hanging around at the edge of detection range with a little time to play with, but if you're belting down a valley at 500Kph and suddenly discover a radar threat up ahead you haven't really got time to be slewing cursors around. That's what made the 1.02 Kh-25MP so much <warning, he's about to use the "F" word> fun to fly with. Of course if it was a totally unrealistic method of deployment, and shouldn't really have been in the Su-25's loadout, then I guess I just have to grin & bear it. Of course if someone would just let me fly a Tornado with ALARMs I'd be perfectly happy. Now *that* is what I call a proper SEAD missile :-) Andrew McP

Just remember that in most cases pipes are disabled for a reason... the other pipelines don't work properly. Just like CPUs, some chips come off the production line perfect, and become top of the range products. But many have random defects which mean parts of the chip don't work properly. Some of these have to go in the trash, others can be used at slower speeds or with sections disabled. I have a 9800se with 4 pipelines which can be unlocked to 8 (9800Pro), but I then get lots of nasty patterns on the screen caused by defects in the other 4 pipelines. On the other hand I have an X800Pro which unlocked perfectly from 12 to 16 pipelines, but I did research the card I bought to give myself a good chance of success. It came from a good batch at a particular supplier I was keeping an eye on. However (as chp warns above) even if you get lucky, it's important to remember that lower end vid cards often come with lower end cooling solutions, due to the lack of speed and relative lack of heat. Unlocking pipelines could kill your card if you're unlucky. At the very least it will pump more heat into your case and possible mean other things overheat. So make sure you have good cooling. As ever, playing with hardware is good fun, but not without its risks. Just thought I'd throw that in before folk get too over-excited :-) Andrew McP

The 25T eats CPU cycles for breakfast though (understandably given the AFM). My 2.2GHz AMD setup isn't very impressed :-) But it's nice to have a good reason to start saving for an upgrade. Andrew McP

But that would be no fun at all! ;-) Design a mission with an Su-27 and go to the failures page in the editor. Select an ACS failure at the start of the mission, then try to fly as you normally do. There's a sick bag down the side of the ejection seat. Make sure you use it, the ground crew hate cleaning vomit off their instruments. Andrew McP

Yes, but I guess it's there because they could "easily" model the A2A versions, given the overlap with F15 A2A weaponry. I doubt we'll see anything with A2G radar this side of LOMAC2 (or 3). I may be wrong (and would be pleased to be!), but I doubt it. Andrew McP

If you don't know, you shouldn't be messing with it ;-) Andrew McP

It's a 1.1 trk. Select 'show replays' and click on the Demo folder. Andrew McP

Thank you for alerting me to the existence of this trk. Great flying! (And nice to see the dust kicked up by the engines, I'd managed to miss that addition so far). The Su-27 now seems to handle very differently with ACS disabled. Ok, the non-AFM limits of the flight model are still there, but the aircraft seems a lot more responsive towards the edges of the flight envelope, and recovers more easily... either that or my memory's failing me :-) Either way, I'm having an embarrassing amount of fun with a half-fuel payload and the RCVR button :-> Andrew McP

That's a very kind offer. The last guy who offered me some space had it sucked dry very quickly though, and had none left for himself! One of these days Pipex are going to realise just how much bandwidth I use and send me a big bill :-) I suppose I could always use your offer to store low quality versions of older movies. That way those late to the party could still see what they'd missed without eating too much bandwidth. But I'd also planned to start rotating older movies on my site, which has the advantage that nobody else has to worry about issues like music copyright. Technically speaking these movies are illegal, and although most people say don't worry about it, I do, and I'm not really comfortable with asking other people to share the risks associated with my bad habits. Still, I appreciate the offer :-) Andrew McP PS Thanks again to everyone for the comments. It's nice to be able to make folk smile occasionally without having to blow something up :-)

In order for "T" to work now you have to load smoke canisters onto any pylon that'll take "pods". The 27 will take lots and they come in several colours. It's an excellent addition. Andrew McP

:-) Very good. I'll happily pay for the helicopter as well. But unlike the Su-27 it'll have to stand up to comparison with the Hokum in EECH, which came as close as any sim I can think of to striking the perfect balance between simulation and gameplay. If only Razorworks had been able to produce a third in the series. A few more tweaks and... And this isn't about EECH. I'll stop drifting off topic :-) Andrew McP

I may not have the AFM for my beloved Flanker yet, but loaded up with a full rack of smoke canisters I'm *very* happy impersonating Anatoli Kvotchur. The way the smoke hangs in the air for realistic times now is simply superb. And it doesn't kill the frame rate. Excellent work. Right, can't stop. I have a contract fumigating the tower blocks in Novorossijsk. ;-) Andrew "Ratcatcher" McP

Well, Igor has always had admirably high hopes for his project, but that's not the same as having the time and resources to deliver them. Still, I like optimism in people, even though experience teaches me to be very reserved in my expectations. However... > Is planned the full translation of all existing in the game > aircraft into the new physical model Igor can have another $35 right here, right now if the Su-27 can be upgraded to the AFM. I'd be happy paying just for that. Not sure anyone else would be though. :-) Andrew McP

:-) The original idea was to have the doors open and my su-25 "T" formation fly out via a little editing trickery. But I ran into limitations because my editor has only 3 vdeo layers, and I was using them all. I can now think of a way round it, but that's life! Just edit it in your head instead, it's quicker. While you're at it, imagine I released the movie a few days earlier so it didn't look so inappropriate ;-) Andrew McP PS Thanks for the comments everyone.

When my ISP shuts me down for using half England's bandwidth I'll send you the bill ;-) Andrew McP

It would have been a lot funnier if ED had released 1.1 a week later. Now I have to edit the darned thing! Damned developers, they can't do *anything* right :-) :-) Of course I'm not going to be doing any editing now unless it's footage shot from inside a 25T. 29% and counting. I just wish I'd gone to bed today instead of editing a stupid movie :-> Andrew McP

LOL! I have a very strange sense of timing :-) Andrew McP

Well done guys. Hope it sells really well <fingers crossed>. Looks like I timed my little satirical movie perfectly. Perfectly *wrongly* :-) Andrew McP

http://www.andrew.mcp.dsl.pipex.com/lomac.htm 4 mins, 37Mb You'll either love it or hate it, I'm sure. But it's my take on the events of the last week or so. Hope it makes you think, and smile a little. Andrew McP

Ah, I wondered why the place was starting to look like a kids' comic. Glad there's a way to turn that junk off. Andrew McP

Bump for those of you without broadband. Andrew McP