CVA-63 Kitty Hawk

Did you know that Wings Over Europe contains a carrier and you don't need a legal copy of WOV to use it!

If you use the cat-extractor to view the object cat file (\objects\objectdata.cat) you will find a list of files that start with CV-63 or CV63.

First extract all these file and drop them into a newly created directory CVA-63 (which you should create in \Objects\GroundObject\).

Then you need create a file in that directory which you call CVA-63.ini, this file is required to tell the game where it can find the different lod's and bmp's for the carrier.

In that CVA-63.ini you need to paste following data:
[BEGIN QUOTE COPY ALL TEXT AFTER THIS ENTRY]

[GroundObjectData]
ObjectName=CVA-63
ObjectFullName=CVA-63
ObjectDataFile=CVA-63_DATA.INI

[LOD001]
Filename=CV-63.LOD
Distance=600

[LOD002]
Filename=CV-63_LOD002.LOD
Distance=800

[LOD003]
Filename=CV-63_LOD003.LOD
Distance=1000

[LOD004]
Filename=CV-63_LOD004.LOD
Distance=2000

[LOD005]
Filename=CV-63_LOD005.LOD
Distance=15000

[LOD006]
Filename=CV-63_LOD006.LOD
Distance=30000

[Shadow]
CastShadow=FALSE
ShadowLOD=CV-63_SHADOW.SHD
ShadowType=1
ShadowCastDist=10000
MaxVisibleDistance=150

[END QUOTE COPY ALL TEXT BEFORE THIS ENTRY]

To install the carriers in a campaign or or single mission follow these instructions and now you can fly from carriers in WOE without needing a legal copy of WOV.

I won't use the Kitty Hawk class of carriers in my campaign. Instead I'll opt for the CVN-75 provided by Digital Overload. In my next post I will provide more background information on that carrier.

More information on the CVA-63 Kitty Hawk can be found here. Information on the Kitty Hawk class can be found here.

A tutorial for the cat extractor can be found here.

Happy Flying

WOE:BC Update 2

Today I finished the last aircraft for another NATO Ally: The Mirage 5B. Now the Belgian Air Force with its F-16A's and Mirage 5B is also included.

I downloaded several F-16 Models from Combat-Ace and Column5. They all flew around 1990 (the year the campaign is set) but I doubt that the different models flew alongside eachother. Anyhow I used the different models because together they contain the skins of all Belgian F-16 squadrons.

Below are some pics of the aircraft. These are shots that I will use as the loading screen for each appropriate model.

Current project

You might have noticed that I don't post that regulary anymore. That's because I am lately working on my latest project: a campain for Wings over Europe.

The campaign is set in an alternative history, where the Berlin Wall did not fall on november 9, 1989. Instead East-Germans trying to pass to the west were gunned down by East-German and Soviet border guards. In the following months the Soviets intervene to surpress a popular uprising in East-Germany. Unfortunetaly a small skirmish between US marines and Soviet/East-German troops in Berlin provide the spark for the third world war. The Soviets, in their effort to get rid of the pesky capitalist island in their midst, decide to capture west-berlin. Realizing that this will provoke a retaliation from NATO, the Soviets decide to attack West-Germany straight away.

The campaign will pit the player as a NATO pilot, fending off the Soviet invasion. Using Orders of Battle found on the internet, I have discovered which squadrons would fight on each side. Its my intention to allow the player to fly with each of these squadrons for all involved NATO nations.

Since the campaign takes place in 1990, I take great care in only showing the actual planes of that time. I did include some aircraft that did not appear on the original OOB, like F-4E's from the ANG, but I could imagine that NATO lines would be strenghten as the tension between west and east intensify.

The campaign itself only lasts 30 days, since it was believed that NATO troops should survive for about 3 weeks untill the first convoys from the US would arrive. I can imagine that if NATO would be in a dire position after 30 days without resupplies, nukes would become a viable option to decide the war, which I consider as the official end of the campaign.

While writing this campaign, I keep track of all the modifications I make, with the purpose of writing an extensinve instruction blog on the matter. Most campaign builders only provide a rudimentary readme, especially since they have to ask permission to each modder to use his or her aircraft or mods. By providing all the explenation in a blog (with detailled ini-edit instructions) I hope to circumvent the permission rule.

At this moment I have already included all the USAF forces for Europe and RAF Europe. The only aircraft I need to add is the Jaguar for RAF. In the OOB they are located in the United Kingdom, but I could imagine at least one squadron being relocated to the frontlines in West-Germany.

Below are some screenshots I took of the aircraft already in the campaign. These screenshots also act as the loading screens for the selected aircraft.

Back in Il-2

I have a lot to do for the moment. I am working on a Wings over Europe campaign, filming a machinima movie and at the same time I restarted flying in Il-2.

Today's AAR posted on this blog, shows that after weeks of inactivity, I have a hard time re-adapting to WW2-combat. In the coming weeks I'll post a trilogy of AAR's all dealing with me crashing or ditching my aircraft.

I am learning a painfull lesson that only constant practice guarantees my survival in the virtual skies.

You can read the full AAR at SimHQ or on this blog.

Happy Reading