How is Falcon 4 today

[ranger822]

OK - talking to the wind perhaps -

Quick guide is needed on editing the texture.bin

[Sherlock]

Ranger,
DO you have Dr. Freds (BaldEagle) Pathmaker? The instructions are in the users guide, but here they are again for your enjoyment!

Building a New Texture.bin file
This feature is for used to build a new Texture.bin from a folder of tile images (pcx files). Use the Add Tiles or Add Sets features to add new tiles to an existing Texture.bin file.

Setup
- Unzip the Texture.zip file into an empty folder. Delete all the files except those starting with “H” (h*.pcx).
- Open up a MSDOS window and change to the folder where the H*.pcx files are located.
- Type and execute this command: dir /B /ON > tiles.txt This command creates a list of the new tiles in alphabetical order. The file must be named tiles.txt.
- To stay with the convention of making the shared tile (an ocean tile ‘shared” by all the L2 ocean tiles) have the Offset number of zero, cut and paste the shared tile name to the top of the list and rename it to match the other tiles in the first Set. If there are already 16 tiles in the first Set, move a Set with fewer tiles to the top and place the shared tile in this Set. The Set are distinguished by the first 2 Hex digits in the last 3 digits (e.g., FARMD34 is the 4th tile in the D3 Set. Originally the Set number was actually the number of the Set, but that convention was abandoned sometime during the development of Falcon 4). The “shared” tiles “Water” Cover Type is defined by placing an area circle around the tile.
- The builder function takes the Sets as they appear in the list and numbers them sequentially. The order of the tile Sets is not important until the tiling of the theater begins, at which time the tile that goes at X,Y is identified by the Tile ID (Offset) in the Texture.bin file.

Building the File
- When the above Setup procedure is completed, select Generate New Texture.bin file from the File menu.
- Point to the folder with the H*.pcx and the tiles.txt files.
- After the Texture.bin is built in memory, you will enter the texture.bin file name and location.
- The function gives all Sets the Terrain Type of “Water”. You need to select a tile from each Set and use the Change Set Terrain Type function to change the Set’s type to a Cover Type that best describes the tile in that Set.


On the other hand, if you don't need to build a NEW texture.bin and only want to edit a little bit in an existing texture.bin file, then here are a few threads that should help:

(BTW, you will need activeperl installed for windows and the terrainscripts.zip from the download area):
Find the tbin2txt.pl and the txt2tbin.pl perl scripts from the zip download. These are the scripts you will be using. See these threads for details on how:
http://www.pmctactical.org/f4/cgi-bin/u ... 5&t=000045
http://www.pmctactical.org/f4/cgi-bin/u ... 1&t=000059

OH, but do not exceed a total of 4,096 tiles listed in the texture.bin.

Hope this helps!
Sherlock

[Snake Man]

quote:does it mean the restoration of download section.. or a revival of theater making?

No for both counts. We didn't even have the old stuff at our download page if I recall correctly (ie ODS v512), so nothings changed on that regard. And with this information/scene action, I'm not going to return to active editing, same stuff going on why I left in the first place... Like the Falcon Allied Force teams attitude just doesn't appeal at all. Its quite sad in fact.

quote:FalklandSP V0.1 beta zip. 8 mb. dated Dec 31, 2002. according to readme.txt, this one is 128 theater for dev use only, not in installer form. let me know if you need it.

Sure I would like to have it. If you got download link for me, that would be great.

Also I was thinking of making a torrent files for all of these releases, but I dont have static ip's and my link is very very poor, I'd need some help on that regard.

[ccc]

ok here's the Falkland 128 zip you did in 2002, 8mb,
http://download.yousendit.com/CAD67C1757592BDC

if you cannot DL it, maybe get somebody near you to help.

[Snake Man]

quote:Originally posted by ccc:
ok here's the Falkland 128 zip you did in 2002, 8mb,
http://download.yousendit.com/CAD67C1757592BDC

Oh so sorry man, I was away few days and missed this, now it says: The file associated with this link has expired.

Any chance you could re-upload it, please?

[ranger822]

I will let CCC upload Falklands again . . .

I might be able to help out with the file sharing - - let me get back with you in a few days . . .

[Snake Man]

Okay guys, so whats the latest on hunt for the missing theaters?

[Sherlock]

Okay guys, so whats the latest on hunt for the missing theaters?

Well, I thought where we left it was some of the guys had identified links where they could be download while some of the other guys said they could make their stuff available for you to download. I identified guys at Frugals who are willing to host the theaters up for download. What else do you need? Weren't source for all the known theaters already identified by CCC, myself, 87th Striker, etc?

[Snake Man]

Yeah Sherlock and others, thanks for the list of links, appreciated. This is the clear list of where we stand right now.


Theaters that we got, the one and only PMC originals:

Afghanistan.SP.BETA.v0.1.exe
Original Afghanistan v0.1 beta

Europe.SP.BETA.v0.4.exe
Europe.BETA.v0.4.fix.01.zip
Original Europe theater for SP v0.4 beta + Europe fix

DesertStormTheater.v0.512.rar
DesStorm_Activation_V2.zip
Original ODS v0.512 for SP with activation file

Dogfight.Theater.V1.0a.exe
Widowmakers crazy dogfight high res terrain (if I recall correctly)

Nevada.SP.BETA.v0.2.exe
Original Nevada SP v0.2 beta

Vietnam.SP.BETA.v0.8.exe
Original Vietnam SP v0.8 beta


Theaters that are missing:

Korea128.Theater.SP3.v0.1.BETA.zip
Original Korea 128 Theater (EKT) for SP3 v0.1 beta (however I do have the SOURCE files on my hd right now, not the original zip however).

FalklandSP V0.1 beta zip
Falklands 128


Theater REPACK's, those filthy repacks yuck:

VIETNAMSPBETAV08.zip
Repacked Vietnam by whoever.


Misc stuff not related to PMC TFW downloads, but theater work also:

kto-sp42-campaigns.zip
Scoob's new campaigns for the Korean theater of Falcon 4.0. For SuperPAK 4.2 version of Falcon 4.0 only. frugals topic

PanamaSP4Campaigns.zip
Update for the Panama theater v2 of Falcon 4.0. Makes the campaigns of the theater compatible with SuperPAK v4.

PanamaBMS2SP42.exe
Update for the Panama theater to make it compatible with SuperPAK4.2 and BMS 2.0 paches of Falcon 4.0.

PanamaBMS.exe
Update for the Panama theater to make it compatible with BMS 1.03.

f4panama_v2.zip
Panama theater for Falcon 4.0.

kto-ff31-campaigns.zip
Scoob's new campaigns for the Korean theater of Falcon 4.0. For FreeFalcon 3.1 version of Falcon 4.0 only. frugals topic.

BaZT_-_SRTM_Korea_v1.5.rar
BaZT terrain modification for Korean theater . This mod alters the elevation of the terrain to more realistic one. Installation instructions included. For SuperPAK v3 version (and up) of Falcon 4.0.

SP42_OCI.zip
SuperPAK 4.2 One-Click-Installer (OCI) for Falcon 4.0. This upgrade patches the simulator directly to SuperPAK v4.2, and it requires nothing more than a basic install of Falcon 4.0 from a CD.

F4-BMS1.03-Setup.zip
BMS1.03 modification (patch) for Falcon 4.0.

FalconSP_MP5-1v.3.zip
SP_MP51 Enhanced multiplay exe v0.3 - 02/14/05

SP42_ODS.512_Cust444_v0.7b.rar
SP4.2 Custom 444th Campaigns; SP4.2 Desert Storm 512 Custom 444th v0.7b Includes SP3->SP4x converter & 2 updated campaigns

SP42_ISRAEL_Cust444_v0.7b.zip
SP4.2 Custom 444th Campaigns; SP4.2 ISRAEL Custom 444th v0.7b Includes SP3->SP4x converter & updated campaign

SP42_AFGHAN_Cust444_v0.3b.zip
SP4.2 Custom 444th Campaigns; SP4.2 Afghanistan Custom 444th v0.3b Includes SP3->SP4x converter & updated campaign


So in a quick overview, I am currently missing files:
Korea128.Theater.SP3.v0.1.BETA.zip

And the releases which I'm not sure of filenames: FalklandSP V0.1 beta zip

Also if anyone can recommend any other theater items what this list is missing, please let me know. Oh btw I left out Israel few versions that I noticed around the world, so who ever is up to date of it feel free to post correct release/filenames/links.

Btw that list doesn't contain my 2004 DVD-R backup of the raw theater editing directories I had. One item not mentioned in the above list, but can be found on my raw dirs is Iceland theater.

[Snake Man]

After I put together that well searched list, I just hit google with few names... and boy do I feel dumb about right now.

From filefront:
Afghanistan.SP.BETA.v0.1.exe

Nevada.SP.BETA.v0.2.zip

Vietnam.SP.BETA.v0.8.exe

DesertStormTheater.v0.512.rar

ODS.SP.v0.3.exe and ODS.v0.3.update.zip

And as they say in the internet "Downloading now! ", uhm yeah. Hmm come to think about it, why nobody else discovered these before me? Hmm heh.

Anyways from google there is no matches for the korea 128 sp beta or CCC's Falklands sp beta theaters.

[Snake Man]

On frugalsworld forums DarthDavis guy posted a Falcon Files Repository. The original FW link is here and the address is as follows.

http
http://aoba.zapto.org/falcon/

ftp
ftp://aoba.zapto.org
uploader/uploader or nugget/nugget

I browsed (and downloaded) the dirs, wow good stuff. Found some items I got from there like older ODS SP3 version etc. Small nice things. Definitely worth checking this place out.

[Ermes]

Hi, nice to see this is going on

I'm a member of the Spanish Theatre Team, and I wanted just to tell you that our project is going on, and we are still alive. Our proyect status is Spainbeta v0.3 and by the moment no public release has been done.

We are going to begin tiling correction after this christmas

More detail about our proyect can be found at http://f4spain.g-sims.com/

[Sherlock]

Hi, nice to see this is going on

I'm a member of the Spanish Theatre Team, and I wanted just to tell you that our project is going on, and we are still alive. Our proyect status is Spainbeta v0.3 and by the moment no public release has been done.

We are going to begin tiling correction after this christmas

More detail about our proyect can be found at http://f4spain.g-sims.com/

Ermes,
Nice to hear from you guys! Glad to hear the Spain theater is still rolling along. Post some Pics if you can, when you can...we love to see pics of new theaters!

Cheers!
Sherlock

[Snake Man]

Malcolm Hutcheon has Panama to download in the F4 Panama - Downloads page.

Quote from the page:
F4-BMS version 1.03 - The version which includes everything required for BMS 1.03 compatibility.

F4-BMS version BMS2SP42 This version includes everything for BMS2 and SP4.2 compatibility.

Open Falcon This version is for use with the recently leaked Open Falcon package, which includes executable 3.4.2.1 NOTE The first posted one had a dodgy L2 file, so if yours isn't dated 19 Sept 2006 and isn't 10268491 bytes in size, then you need this one.

[Snake Man]

I found the Falklands theater development directory from my backup DVD-R from 2004. There is no zip, oh why haven't i saved those, dumb move man... anyways I have the dev dir so I could re-create the release packet again.

Here is the readme

Code: Select all

	Falklands Theater

   	     v0.1beta

This is very beta version of falklands 128 segment theater, this release
is aimed for the developer types, thats why the instructions are so "dry".

Install Instructions

1) Unzip Falklands.SP.v0.1.BETA.zip into your falcon directory.
2) Add terrdata\theaterdefinition\falklands.tdf, line to theater.lst file.
3) Copy terrdata\korea\texture and weather dirs into terrdata\falklands dir.
4) Run SPTinstall.exe and browse to terrdata\falklands dir and click Create.

More details from our forum at
http://www.pmctactical.org/f4/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000007


December 31th, 2002.
PMC TFW
Snake Man

Hehe 2002

[Couby]

Sounds cool .

[Snake Man]

I have now found the originals for

Korea128.Theater.SP3.v0.1.BETA.zip
NordicTheaterBETA1-preview6.exe
ODS.256.zip
ODS.SP3.v0.4.BETA.preview.13.zip
ODS.v0.512b.rar
PanamaTheaterBETA1-preview11.exe
Quebec.Theater.BETA.v0.1.preview4.exe
railkorea.zip
IcelandTheaterBETA1-preview8.exe

List is pretty much complete, only thing missing is the Falklands, but like I said I already got the source files so making a new package would be okay.

[Sherlock]

What is "RailKorea.zip" ?

[Snake Man]

What is "RailKorea.zip" ?

Uhm, heh yeah I guess thats not any searched theater. Its some railroad experimental theater with Codec.

[87th_striker]

A pity that the space shuttle mission laserscanning the earth didn't go further north. The digital elevation terrain model is just to lousy for a modern theater on the far north and south parts of the hemispheres.

Many projects, many good ideas, many hard working people, but not so many successful projects. Focus is needed for future projects.

[Fafa]

Hi Folks, maybe I can help you

http://fafa.griffons.free.fr/Falcon4/Ca ... h%e9atres/

Enjoy !

[Sherlock]

Hi Folks, maybe I can help you

http://fafa.griffons.free.fr/Falcon4/Ca ... h%e9atres/

Enjoy !

Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!

He's got the whole list there with all the updates! Good going Fafa!

[phoenix]

Hi Folks, maybe I can help you

http://fafa.griffons.free.fr/Falcon4/Ca ... h%e9atres/

Enjoy !

Thanks

[Fafa]

At your service...

Lots of skins, and so much things available. However since my HD crashed last year I lost so much things...

[Sherlock]

However since my HD crashed last year I lost so much things...

ahh..bummer dude!

[Peled]

Good stuff fafa , Thanks !

i looked at the Israeli Folder , saw my TE packages created 2 years ago maybe , nice to see someone got them...


ooooh , and nxt time the first rule is BackUp....from my HD Experience also.....

[Snake Man]

Hi Folks, maybe I can help you http://fafa.griffons.free.fr/Falcon4/Ca ... h%e9atres/
Enjoy !

Thanks, that is excellent and straight forward site, very nice and much appreciated. Any idea how stable can you keep that site online?

[Fafa]

Till I leave my provider but I got a copy on my HD.

[Sherlock]

Till I leave my provider but I got a copy on my HD.

How long before you leave your provider?

[Fafa]

Duno, maybe 3-4 years if all is Ok. I'll post if i decide to leave before.

[T_Rex]

Heya Striker - was that you who worked out how to get the Russian data into F4?

This would've been YEARS ago, not even sure if that's still a problem.

[Fafa]

No sorry ...I am an Elder Falconeer who followed all Falcon Developpment since 1999 and I am a collector as you can see.

I also make some little jobs, in fact I play With F4browse, Tacedit, Lodeditor, plane and weapon DAT sometimes but I am not as good as lots of Falcon People.

For Peled, thank you for your amazing job, beautiful colors for UI, interesting Campaigns and TE'S.

For T-Rex, FF4 seems to be also amazing, I visit your site everyday for the new "holy shit" toys. Will the Rafale Lod will be better (lateral canopy animation, gear animation, AASM lod...) ?

[T_Rex]

For T-Rex, FF4 seems to be also amazing, I visit your site everyday for the new "holy shit" toys. Will the Rafale Lod will be better (lateral canopy animation, gear animation, AASM lod...) ?

You must be following ccc's Toys thread? He does have some neat stuff. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of that will be in FF4. I think the Rafale has had some upgrades, but only minor. Not sure about a lateral canopy animation. That is one sweet little plane, though.

I hope people like FF4. It has flaws, no doubt. But, I hope the good outweighs the bad.

[Snake Man]

So many people have asked for Nordic theater from me and I have already twice uploaded it and removed from the server after successful downloads, and again I'm asked. So here it is for everyone to download and I'll keep it online for some time now. Hopefully this satisfies everyone now

Notice that this is for SP3 or SP4, I'm not quite sure.

NordicTheaterBETA1-preview6.exe - 11.9mb

[phoenix]

Thanks