Tribunus

Interesting articles Mate. Thank you for sharing them. I was intrigued to learn that there is a Full version and an Update version of Win 7. And that the Update version was considerable cheaper.

Thank you Mates, That’s the best news I’ve had all week. My rig appears to be basically sound and able to run CoD reasonably well using Win 7 64 bit. Then once SLI is supported, I may be satisfied with my dual GTX 8800s. If not, I can consider upgrading the graphics cards. Perhaps not the “latest and greatest”, but something like a dual GTX 470 SLI setup. I now officially have a new project. Thanks again for the help.

I met a fairy today who said that she could grant me one wish. I told her that “I wanted to live forever”. “Sorry,” she said, “I’m not allowed to grant wishes like that!” “Fine,” I said, “then I want to live until Congress gets their collective heads out of their asses!” After a long pause, the fairy said, “You crafty bastard.”

Aye, there's the rub. Email could be my Achilles Heel. My agencies IT people have my Outlook set up to mirror my official email. Since the U.S. Government is for the most part still running XP, that could be a problem. Especially since my IT folks are in Kuwait, while I’m in Egypt. As far as applications that might not work under Windows 7. The only thing I can think of is my 2007 vintage Micro Soft Office and the associated files that I’ve accumulated over the years. As far as exotic hardware, my old MS FFB2 stick is about as exotic as it gets and I’ve been assured that it will work using Windows 7 64 bit. I’m going to assume that my CH Pro Throttle, CH Rudder Pedals and TrackIR 5 will also work with Windows 7 64 bit. I do want to thank you both for letting me know that Windows 7 64 bit is not a problem with IL-2 ’46. After a bit of research, it would appear that if you have the U.S. version of the il2fb.exe or UltraPack2, it’s not an issue. Right now the switch to Windows 7 64 bit appears to be a viable solution. But I am going to have to do serious home work. The decision point will be if it’s worth the effort to squeeze a little more useful life out of my existing computer. I’ve got a Core 2 Extreme QX 6700 processor at 3.46 GHz. This was apparently the first Intel Quad Core chip. So if I’m running Windows 7 64 bit, I’m hoping that it will get me comfortably into the minimum range for CloD. I’ve also got two GTX 8800 - 768 MB graphics cards set up as SLI. These apparently were the world’s first graphics cards to support Direct X 10. Once the game supports SLI, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to achieve the game recommended 1GB. I already have the recommended 4 GB of RAM, even though I can’t access it all running XP. But that should solve itself once I have Windows 7 64 bit running. Could one of you Smart Dogz please tell me how viable will my rig is for CloD as it’s currently configured, if it’s running Windows 7 64 bit? Does it still have some life left in it or should I be concentration of buying a new computer? Thanks for the help guys.

That seems to be the consensus Jedi, it appears that Windows 7 is what you need if you want the game to run properly. And you are correct, upgrading to Windows 7 would be the cheapest solution. I’m assuming that I’ll need the 64 bit version of Windows 7, if I want to make use of the recommended 4 GB of RAM. Is this that correct? However, while you are right about Windows 7 being the cheapest upgrade, it does not appear to be an easy upgrade. Microsoft has page after page of instructions concerning an upgrade from XP to Windows 7, beginning with ascertaining if your computer is even capable of running 64 bit. For someone as computer illiterate as I am, it’s a daunting task. I’m sure that given enough time to thoroughly research the problem, that I would be able to successfully install Windows 7-64 bit. That is if my current rig is capable of running a 64 bit operating system. Unfortunately, time is not a commodity that I have a lot of presently. Working in Post Revolutionary Egypt, is demanding a lot of work on my part. Then there is this Dual Boot issue that you, Rog and several others have mentioned. My question is why? If Windows 7 is the future and XP a slowly dying anachronism, what benefit would you get from retaining XP? Is it because IL-2 ’46 will not run on Windows 7-64 bit? The information I’ve found is conflicting. Microsoft clearly states that IL-2 ’46 is not compatible with Windows 7-64 bit. But then I’ll read on other forums, where people are successfully running IL-2 ’46 on Windows 7. But they are not clear if they are running at 32 bit or 64 bit. If IL-2 ’46 will in fact run on Windows 7-64 bit, what advantage would you gain by retaining XP? I apologize for all the questions, I realize that you all have better things to do than provide me with free IT advice.

Force Feedback support. Wonderful. They are definitely making progress. They also say that SLI support is on the horizon, which is also good news. If this level of effort aimed at improving the game continues, I might just be able to coax my rig into running it, once it is released in the U.S. I still have one big question. Has anyone been able to get the game to play running on XP?

Wow And as an added bonus, this will run well on my current gaming rig. (Once I find the time to set it up again) My rig seems to be hopeless for CloD, as I am running XP and have a host of components that are now apparently museum pieces. Long Live Ultrapack.

This should be easy for you gentlemen, as I know that you are all very knowledgeable about aircraft. Question: What is the main advantage of a Rotor Wing Aircraft over a Fixed Wing Aircraft? The answer is:

It is very scary. The U.S. Government uses accounting practices that would get the Corporate Officers of a normal business thrown in prison. The debt that the U.S. Government will admit to is over 14 Trillion dollars. Then there is Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and a host of other debt. However, the U.S. Government does not count that debt toward the National Debt, because they don’t categorize it as a debt. They call it a Unfunded Obligation. You can call it whatever you wish, but at the end of the day it is still a debt. And if you add everything up it is indeed over 55 Trillion dollars. So we have a real dilemma. It’s impossible to raise taxes enough to eliminate a 55 Trillion dollar debt in a dozen lifetimes. The only solution is to cut spending. For over 60 years, politicians from both parties have been giving their various constituencies handouts of one form of another, which they blissfully call “Entitlements”. But they have never made an effort to pay for them via higher taxes. Now all of those entitlements are threatened with coming to an end. The end can come in a controlled manner by making cuts using the legislative process. Or the end can come suddenly and abruptly, when the Chinese and Saudis tell us that they are not only NOT going to loan us any more money, and that they now want to be paid back all of the money that they have already loaned us. Either way it’s going to be a painful and nasty situation. Which is why BadAim and I, like so many Americans are so heavily armed.

A Mod? It’s been cracked already?

I totally agree Mate. I’m going to take it slow and easy. I can see that this is going to be a long term project for me. Mostly because my work is going to be keeping me pretty busy for the foreseeable future. Things are still up in the air here. There is next to no Security Police or Regular Police out on the streets. This place is still pretty Wild West. I’m hearing that there is supposed to be a big protest of some sort Thursday (the end of the work week here) in Maadi where I live. It’s supposed to be about two blocks from my apartment. Hopefully the protest will stay peaceful. I can also tell that I’m going to have to do a lot of research.

That’s a relief. Thank you Jedi. So my FFB2 will work with Windows 7, it’s just the lack of Force Feedback in CloD that is the problem. I’m so used to being able to feel when the aircraft is at the edge of stall, that not having it is going to be difficult for me to get used to. Now I just need to educate myself on how to install Windows 7. I've got a Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX6700 at 3.46 GHz with QuadCore and I’m almost certain that it will support 64 bit. Which everyone seems to think is the way to go. That plus the little matter of buying two GTX 470s for the promised SLI support.

You can't map the buttons on the FFB2? Some buttons work fine by default, but I've mapped others using the Contol menu in IL-2. Are you saying that is no longer possible?

Actually, this what you need and you can buy it brand new.

I’ve got to agree with Rog and FT on this. I’m going to buy it pretty much on blind faith. Over the years, we’ve all been the recipients of patch after patch, that included a virtual cornucopia of FREE new content. Aircraft, missions, maps and flight models , anything and everything and all for free. So, I’m willing to invest in what everyone seems to agree is a game with tremendous potential. And it’s also not like 1C threw the game out the door and then walk away from it. Oleg has been on the 1C forum telling folks that a quick patch was on the way and a bigger patch was planned in a month or so. At the same time, Luther has posted about the BETA Patch that is being released, and he goes out of his way to emphasize that it is a BETA. I sense that I’m going to be treated in a honest and forthright fashion. And to be brutally honest, the price of the game itself is peanuts compared to the expense of bringing my gaming rig up to CloD requirements. I’m not a computer whiz, so I have a Dell XPS 720. I’ve heard many times that Dells are difficult to upgrade, but it appears that I can swap my two GTX 8800s out for two GTX 470s, because Dell will sell them to me. But until the game supports SLI, that does me very little good. This operating system problem is another matter. I’m currently running XP, which the game allegedly supports. Now I suppose I could purchase Win 7, and I might even figure out how to install it. But that is a pretty daunting task for a computer illiterate like me. Plus what happens to your old files? Do you have to download and save them to an external drive? Is it then difficult to load them back into Win 7? Will I have to reload every game and peripheral device from scratch? Then there is the Force Feedback issue (which really P!sses me off). Right now the game does not support it and I have heard nothing from 1C that indicates they are even working on it. I’m also not sure if my M$ FF2 will even work with Win 7. Then there is the 32 bit vs. the 64 bit. I don’t even know enough about this to ask the right questions. Is this just a software issue or is it a software/hardware issue?

I’m at work, helping to fight the War on Terror (or whatever we are calling it this week). I am using a U.S. Government computer which runs on XP. Are you seriously suggesting that the U.S. Government would equip me with anything but the finest possible product available?

Excellent point Jedi. Additional research is definitely required.

I'm certainly going to wait. My rig is on the lower end of the spectrum to begin with. I'm running XP, so apparently a lot of the Eye Candy will not run. I was hoping that having dual 8800 GTXs in SLI would help, but now I see that SLI is not supported. Force Feedback has been out more than a decade. SLI has been out since 2006. Neither are supported by what was supposed to be the Ultimate in Flight Simulators. I'm with Friar, Long Live UltraPak

I think Sweper's heart could take it. But another part of his body would be worn down to a nub by the end of the Therapy Session.

I for one will definitely be flying ’46 for some time to come. My oldest daughter is in college working on becoming a Registered Nurse, and my youngest daughter just turned 16 and I bought her a car. Good Old Dad’s discretionary funds are pretty limited right now. So a new gaming rig for me is not high on my list of priorities.

~S~ Sweper, Mate, you are already getting enough free drugs from the Swedish Health Care System. You really shouldn’t be trying to “Self Medicate” yourself. Seriously, how is your recovery coming?

Amen, Jim. I think you are absolutely correct.

Turn off the grass? Does that mean you get no grass at all? Or do you get old IL-2 style grass? I've got an older rig, so I'm still running XP. So I guess that once I get the game, I'll have to turn off the grass. I don't foresee that being too much of a hardship. Grass is not that big of an issue for me.

It just doesn't sound like Clod was ready for release. I hate to be negative about this, but it's almost like we are having to pay for the privilege of being Beta Testers.

I hope you are wrong about that, Mate. Amazon is saying that CloD will be available on or about the 26th of April. But to answer your question, No not yet. I'm still trapped in Kuwait. I've been trying to get out for the last few days, but were having sever sandstorms here. And I mean sever sand sandstorms. You literally can't see 5 meters in this stuff. Now the sandstorms do die down at night, but Cairo is under a military curfew at night, so it does me no good to fly in at night. I did read that 1C tread, but all I saw were a lot of people wishing for FFB. I didn't see anything that indicated that 1C is even thinking about working on it. So I'm not sure why so many of the posts made it sound like a FFB patch would be released soon. It's frustrating, because I felt that FFB was a given in a Sim that prides itself on realism and immersion.