B-17: The Mighty Eighth

Valantine · 08-09-11, 05:45 AM

The forums went down about 12-18 months ago, when they finally came back online the forums have limited functionality, they'd lost their layout, graphics etc.

It doesn't help that it's a very old and dying board over there with the site owner Darren being seen only sporadically since 2006.

I presume they closed registrations due to the amount of spam they started to get back in Dec 2010 / January 2011.

The best bet if you wanted to fire up this old thing is to visit Doc's mod page:

http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/bombardier/help_links.htm

As for discussing things with people you'll be hard pressed since it is rarely posted in anymore and has an active membership that only just scrapes into double digits now. Which is a shame as it was once a very bustling and popular site.
V

Fish40 · 08-09-11, 07:47 AM

Thanks Valantine. It is a shame that the site drifted away like that. I did manage to visit Doc's Modpage

. Lots of good stuff there! I already D/L some stuff, plus the OMF Mod Utility (Hope I could get that thing to work

). We'll see how it goes.

Valantine · 08-09-11, 08:04 PM

The manual for the OMF was pretty comprehensive, the downlaod for that shoudl be over at Doc's site somewhere too.
I'd love to help you out more but it's been a long time since I last messed about with the mighty eighth, I occasionally get nostalgic and want to fire it up again then I think of what it would look like now compared to more modern titles and think better of it.
If I may ask, what is it that is drawing you to B17:TME? There are other options for certain attractions although for some others there are not.
V

Kptlt. Neuerburg · 08-09-11, 10:36 PM

I still have this game and still play it now and then, it was my second combat flight sim that I bought(the first happend to be Red Baron 3D

). The things that I liked about the game was the fact that you could pick what squadron to fly in, what bomber you be assigned to, and what part of the crew you would be.

Normally I would alway be the bombadier of the lead bomber so I could pick the targets, bomb loads, ect. Other things that I liked about the game where things such as crew management, raido chatter between the bomber crew members and to other bombers in the group, the ablity to switch postions with-in the bomber(both physiclly and just clicking on a crew member to play as them while still in the mission), gun jamming, running out of ammo, giving basic medial treatment to a wounded crew member, the list goes on and on.

I think my best and worst memory that I gave of this game was during a fighter attack my rear gunner was badly wounded so-much-so that basic medical treatment was ineffective so I had to spend 4-5 hours in real time listening to a dying crewmen moaning and groaning in the back of my B-17. I couldn't play the game for a week afterwards becasue of this.

Fish40 · 08-10-11, 08:35 AM

Yes, the game could get very immersive like that! I guess the main reason I would like to reinstall it is because to my knowlege it is the only true bomber sim around. I also have IL2 1946 with the U.P. mod installed, and have D/L some player developed bomber campaigns to make use of the flyable B17 and B24, and they're good, but these are after thoughts. The game wasn't developed to be a bomber sim. Yes, the graphics are dated (I don't think they're that bad) when compared to newer programs, especially COD. I also play BOB2WOV. Those are dated graphics as well, but those guys have done wonders with that sim. From mid to high altitudes, (that's where you're fighting anyway) the landscape looks great IMO. For offline campaign playing this sim can't be beat for it's representation of the massive air battles over England in 1940.

Valantine · 08-10-11, 09:02 AM

I have to say, I do agree with you both there. I was just intrigued that all

I found myself going back to it quite a bit a few years back for the very same reasons: more the crew and Squadron management stuff than the actual flying of it, it's something that has been sorely lacking in flight sims of late.

I know it's a bit of a plug but here it goes:

At JG53 we have recently started up a bomber section flying the JU88 in an Online CO-OP campaign and to be frank, we need some bomber pilots to flesh it out as at present we only have a couple of chaps flying the bombers, normally flying in the lead aircraft with two AI "ketten" mates since the AI doa better job when led by a human pilot, however with limited numbers in our bomber section our bomber streams tend to be quite small strategic affairs at present.
Whilst not in the same vein as B17:TME we do have a squadron structure, medals and awards and each pilots statistics are fully tracked throughout the war. So please, have a poke around the website: www.iijg53.com and consider if that's something that appeals to you.

Now, plug over and back onto B17:

Over on Doc's site there are a few graphical tweaks, there was another website by GT that was more focused on this area but I can't seem to find it at the moment it was possibly on geocities if so it would be lost. However if you can find it there was an attempt to improve the graphics substantially.

The other thing I;d say is grab the Hex editor as a LOT of the files can be tweaked and editted with that giving you a little mroe control over how exactly you want thigns to perform.
V

08-09-11, 05:45 AM	#1
Valantine Planesman Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 193 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	The forums went down about 12-18 months ago, when they finally came back online the forums have limited functionality, they'd lost their layout, graphics etc. It doesn't help that it's a very old and dying board over there with the site owner Darren being seen only sporadically since 2006. I presume they closed registrations due to the amount of spam they started to get back in Dec 2010 / January 2011. The best bet if you wanted to fire up this old thing is to visit Doc's mod page: http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/bombardier/help_links.htm As for discussing things with people you'll be hard pressed since it is rarely posted in anymore and has an active membership that only just scrapes into double digits now. Which is a shame as it was once a very bustling and popular site. V __________________ ARMA 3 Co-Op Battalion Recruiting Worldwide http://www.iijg53.com

08-09-11, 07:47 AM	#2
Fish40 The Old Man Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Yonkers, NY U.S.A. Posts: 1,507 Downloads: 154 Uploads: 0	Thanks Valantine. It is a shame that the site drifted away like that. I did manage to visit Doc's Modpage. Lots of good stuff there! I already D/L some stuff, plus the OMF Mod Utility (Hope I could get that thing to work). We'll see how it goes.

08-09-11, 08:04 PM	#3
Valantine Planesman Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 193 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	The manual for the OMF was pretty comprehensive, the downlaod for that shoudl be over at Doc's site somewhere too. I'd love to help you out more but it's been a long time since I last messed about with the mighty eighth, I occasionally get nostalgic and want to fire it up again then I think of what it would look like now compared to more modern titles and think better of it. If I may ask, what is it that is drawing you to B17:TME? There are other options for certain attractions although for some others there are not. V __________________ ARMA 3 Co-Op Battalion Recruiting Worldwide http://www.iijg53.com

08-09-11, 10:36 PM	#4
Kptlt. Neuerburg Admiral Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 2,279 Downloads: 54 Uploads: 0	I still have this game and still play it now and then, it was my second combat flight sim that I bought(the first happend to be Red Baron 3D). The things that I liked about the game was the fact that you could pick what squadron to fly in, what bomber you be assigned to, and what part of the crew you would be. Normally I would alway be the bombadier of the lead bomber so I could pick the targets, bomb loads, ect. Other things that I liked about the game where things such as crew management, raido chatter between the bomber crew members and to other bombers in the group, the ablity to switch postions with-in the bomber(both physiclly and just clicking on a crew member to play as them while still in the mission), gun jamming, running out of ammo, giving basic medial treatment to a wounded crew member, the list goes on and on. I think my best and worst memory that I gave of this game was during a fighter attack my rear gunner was badly wounded so-much-so that basic medical treatment was ineffective so I had to spend 4-5 hours in real time listening to a dying crewmen moaning and groaning in the back of my B-17. I couldn't play the game for a week afterwards becasue of this. __________________ "When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat." - George Carlin

08-10-11, 09:02 AM	#6
Valantine Planesman Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 193 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	I have to say, I do agree with you both there. I was just intrigued that all I found myself going back to it quite a bit a few years back for the very same reasons: more the crew and Squadron management stuff than the actual flying of it, it's something that has been sorely lacking in flight sims of late. I know it's a bit of a plug but here it goes: At JG53 we have recently started up a bomber section flying the JU88 in an Online CO-OP campaign and to be frank, we need some bomber pilots to flesh it out as at present we only have a couple of chaps flying the bombers, normally flying in the lead aircraft with two AI "ketten" mates since the AI doa better job when led by a human pilot, however with limited numbers in our bomber section our bomber streams tend to be quite small strategic affairs at present. Whilst not in the same vein as B17:TME we do have a squadron structure, medals and awards and each pilots statistics are fully tracked throughout the war. So please, have a poke around the website: www.iijg53.com and consider if that's something that appeals to you. Now, plug over and back onto B17: Over on Doc's site there are a few graphical tweaks, there was another website by GT that was more focused on this area but I can't seem to find it at the moment it was possibly on geocities if so it would be lost. However if you can find it there was an attempt to improve the graphics substantially. The other thing I;d say is grab the Hex editor as a LOT of the files can be tweaked and editted with that giving you a little mroe control over how exactly you want thigns to perform. V __________________ ARMA 3 Co-Op Battalion Recruiting Worldwide http://www.iijg53.com

08-10-11, 08:35 AM	#5
Fish40 The Old Man Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Yonkers, NY U.S.A. Posts: 1,507 Downloads: 154 Uploads: 0	Yes, the game could get very immersive like that! I guess the main reason I would like to reinstall it is because to my knowlege it is the only true bomber sim around. I also have IL2 1946 with the U.P. mod installed, and have D/L some player developed bomber campaigns to make use of the flyable B17 and B24, and they're good, but these are after thoughts. The game wasn't developed to be a bomber sim. Yes, the graphics are dated (I don't think they're that bad) when compared to newer programs, especially COD. I also play BOB2WOV. Those are dated graphics as well, but those guys have done wonders with that sim. From mid to high altitudes, (that's where you're fighting anyway) the landscape looks great IMO. For offline campaign playing this sim can't be beat for it's representation of the massive air battles over England in 1940.