[CzechTexan]

Fly with the RAF 607 Sqn MkVc Spitfires in the Battle for the Admin Box.

Newly arrived Spitfires help to turn the tide in Burma. Fight in the famous Battle for the Admin Box with the RAF against large numbers of Japanese fighters.

Not for weak computers. Some missions have up to 70 fighters in the air.

Made for AAA MODS and the cztx_BurmaLower map.

Includes 8 skins by SparrowThree with correct markings.

Download from my MediaFire.com page (link in signature below) or at M4T here:
http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... ils&id=301

[farang65]

Hi C. Texan,

Just downloaded this morning will start to play tonight.

The more Burma campaign's the merrier.

Cheers Kirby

Lamphun

[buckdanny]

Hi c.texan.
after loading the first mission the game crashed or - after restart - the message with the missing paratroopers was on the screen. The Burmalower-Map 1.4, the Bridge-Mod and the other mods are installed. So i made some tests with reduced mis-files (NStationary and Buildings objects). After reducing the objects the missions are playable. Perhaps computers with Windows XP and 2 GB Ram are to weak for playing the missions.
Nevertheless thank you for the great campaign in Burma. I hope, my experiences can help someone else.
Thanks
Buckdann

[CzechTexan]

BuckDanny,
Thank you for reporting. These missions are VERY memory-intensive with up to 70 planes in the air.
Some computers may not be able to handle it and get the error messages like you posted.

I wanted to make this realistic and that's why there are so many planes.
My source is Christopher Shores' book "Air War for Burma" and you can follow the missions as they are written in the book (except for the first mission was actually flown by a different squadron but it was interested so I added it to 607 sqn).

If your computer crashes and can't handle the missions then you can open the missions in the Full Mission Builder and delete some of the planes.

[larsen]

Hi C.T.
I have pretty much the same machine than buckdanny but I don't have any problem in loading and running missions. Unfortunately, i cannot save the missions while playing the campaign; i mean that if i exit the campaign after playing 2 or 3 missions, upon re-entering it, i have to restart from the beginning. Quite disappointing indeed!
I remember this kind of problem already happened with some campaign but i cannot remember the details. I guess this should be a consequence of the missions being very memory-intensive.
Anyway, the campaign is really great, a must-have.
Thanks for the work.
Larsen.

[CzechTexan]

larsen, I guess I overdid it too much. The map may already be too memory intensive for some computers because of its size and now these missions are adding to the memory intensive issue. In the future I'll try to avoid having so many planes in missions.
For this campaign, one thing you can do is to put these mission files into the "single" player folder and play them only as single player missions. It takes away the campaign feel but at least you'll be able to move to the next mission.

There's lots of dogfighting in these missions. Probably some of the most intensive I've ever made. Normally I'll include some ground attack in a campaign but this one is purely for air superiority. Hope you all enjoy it despite the memory-saving issues.

[larsen]

CzechTexan,
Thanks for your answer, I knew the tip and that's what i did.
Don't worry, i find your missions really very interesting, giving the taste of real action. The great number of planes causes the missions to be quite confused and totally unpredictable which indeed was most probably the case of most real WWII air actions (and of most air action of any time i think). Personnally, i prefer by far missions that sound realistic (and if possible with an historical basis if not strictly historical); i find missions with only 2 or 3 planes on each side quite boring (even if this kind of thing surely did happen). BTW i have the book of Chris Shores "Air War Over Burma" you used to make the campaign; a very goog basis for making missions like all his books.
As a conclusion, i found your missions near perfect (i just allowed myself to modifiy slightly the skil of aI pilots by using Quick Mission Tuner). To my mind, the problem is rather coming from the map which is really fantastic but quite huge as you said. I think that probably most campaigns and missions on this map will use only a small part of the map, the main part remaining completely unused. I wonder if this map could not be split in 2 or 3 smaller (and lighter) maps but this is beyond my skill!
Anyway, thanks again for your work.
Larsen

[larsen]

Hi CzechTexan,
Finally I found a solution to the problem : I simply replaced my static.ini by the so-called complete static.ini provided by zipzapp for testing new CanonUK Channel map. Obviously, i was lacking some objects. Strangely, these objects did not cause missions to crash at loading but prevented from saving the missions within the campaign.
Something good to know for people who have the same problem : this is not a memory problem but rather a static.ini problem!
Now I am able to fully enjoy the campaign.
Larsen

[CzechTexan]

larsen,
Nice read, thanks for the replies. Glad you posted your solution too because it may help others.
I thought about making a smaller map of the Arakan area but decided not to. I prefer large maps that allow a person to also fly long range bomber or escort missions deeper into enemy territory. And, as you know from Shores' book, there were missions from Arakan all the way to Rangoon (and even further with B-24s).
A large map keeps things simple. You don't have several smaller maps trying to make up the same area. And, it's better for campaigns where your base moves from place to place, say... from north in MAndalay all the way to the south to Toungoo.

I'm working on another map now. My skills are improving but I still need to learn an easier way to populate cities. Perhaps in the future I'll re-do Burma and make it look better. I know the texturing could be better.

[larsen]

Hi CzechTexan

No problem, i think Burma map is very fine as it is. I can understand making a big map is finally easier than making several small ones. Making new maps is such a big work that it would be really quite scandalous to critisize people who make their best for it.
You are right, this map offers a lot of possibilities for making missions and campaign, i may try to do some one of these day if i have enough time.
Glad to know you are working upon a new project, i am looking forward it, like many people i think.
Larsen

[Metatron]

Some very exciting and historical missions here. I have one small problem though-taking off. My game doesn't seem to treat the airfields as anything other than rough ground. Any idea why?

[CzechTexan]

Metatron,
Most airfields have invisible ground plates on the runways. Some areas of the runways may not have these plates which can make takeoffs bumpy. This can be used to simulate the naturally rough runways in real life. Also, Taxi and parking areas do not usually have invisible plates so it's more bumpier there. Just be careful not to nose-over and you'll be OK. Hope it's not too much of a problem but it shouldn't be. Glad you're enjoying the missions. Thanks for the post.

[Metatron]

My pleasure, I think the people involved in Il-2 have given us experiences beyond what we could have hoped for. Years ago I wanted a computer just so I could play a flight sim that hopefully included a small bunch of important WW2 aircraft, now we've got Spitfires fighting Hayabusas, and it's not even the most obscure theatre available. What a treat.

[Metatron]

Turns out you need to deploy landing flaps to take off safely on rough terrain!

[CzechTexan]

Which airfields are you having this problem with?
while making this map I tested them and some may be bumpy but I didn't notice any big problems. My planes could handle them OK.