It's done!The map is finished, the installer is completed, and final checking is happening today. We anticipate a release later today or tomorrow. More information will be posted here later today, as the installer is finalized and approved.
Webmasters, and others interested in hosting the installer, please drop me a PM. We welcome others hosting the map but do request that you obtain permission first.
Community, this map is a work of love from hobbyists, not a business venture done for profit. None of us are programmers or experts in map making; most of us do not live or have ever been to the UK or the Continent and consequently are unfamiliar with what the geography "across the pond" looks like. None of us participated in WWII and none have first hand knowledge of what the airfields and area actually looked like. Hundreds and hundreds of hours and most of the squad member's efforts went into this endeavor, but we know that the map is NOT perfect and will not please everyone. Nonetheless, we hope you enjoy it.
Can it be made better? Yessiree. We'll continue to improve it and encourage others to do the same. Constructive ideas are always welcome. Many of you probably have more talent in areas helpful to making the map better; graphic artists, Photoshop experts, come on down!
Some rambling thoughts -- We completely changed the ground textures on the continent from our earlier efforts; because our use of the map puts us at high altitude over France and the Low Countries, the repetitive ground textures we used looked awful. Consequently we changed to something that isn't quite so bad, but also is rather visually boring. The change was made "last minute", so to speak, and the result is far from optimal. The continent is
huge in area and many, many more hours could be spent making the ground look better. We will expend some of that effort but if others want to do so, we welcome your contribution.
The list of contributors to this map is very long. The concept started with Clockwatcher and 352nd Booze, expanded to include most of the members of the 352nd VFG, all of whom participated in map testing. Dozens and dozens of you from the community assisted with airfield information, far too many to individually acknowledge. To each of you, and to all who waited for the map's release so patiently, our profound thanks are gratefully given. If we can be so bold, may we thank you all on behalf of the entire community as well. There is no map available in the game quite like this one -- and there are many really fine maps in the game.
On behalf the entire 352nd Virtual Fighter Group, we hope the wait was worth it, and you enjoy flying this map as much as we do.
The link to the map download:The map files:
1. (an .exe installer) is
here. The file has been
updated again (5-28-2010 at 7:37 PDT) to add the corrected actors.static file and mission locations. If your installation, if from yesterday, continues to give you grief, try this one. The file hashes are:
MD5: d563f358da64440622a29f0630f7a1d8
SHA1: 083936c79f8ae4a32c4355f4fb0f49a46f622ff5
If you have already downloaded and installed the map and everything is working correctly, there is no need to download this newer version. If things are not working correctly (i.e., you can't save a mission, try the corrected actors.static patch linked further below in the message -- it's a much smaller download.
2. (an Installation txt file) is
here.
3. (Courtesy of Wheels) --the .exe installer is mirrored
here. Wheels just recently updated the mirror to the latest installer version, including the readme and the .pdf file. Thanks, Wheels!
4. (Courtesy of Wheels) --the installation text file is mirrored
here.
5. (Courtesy of Killerwatt) --the installation file, both text and .exe, is mirrored
here (
updated May 29, 2010). This download has the installer, the readme, and the .pdf file enclosed.
I gave up on the torrent; the file itself isn't terribly large anyway, and for the life of me I can't get my system's UDP outgoing connection to work ........
After the initial release, we have a few extras that will be available also.
Correction update ......Thanks to FA_Bong for pointing out that our installer contains an error that prevents saving a mission. The source of the problem has been isolated to an incorrect actors.static file.
The fix has been made and is available, for you those of you have already downloaded the installer, right
here.
To install the fix, please download the file, unzip it, and copy the enclosed actors.static to your 352nd_Cross_Channel map folder (normally located in <Game Folder>/Mods/mapmods/, but your game may be different), overwriting the existing actors.static file (the source of the problem).
Coster has edited the installer to include the change and to correct some mission locations ....... for those of you who may not have Zuti's mod installed some of the missions, in the dogfight folder, won't have home bases. Coster has fixed that issue, moving those missions to a coop folder.
Updated .PDF file -- May 28, 2010, 1:30 PDT
Oscar has updated the .pdf file that was released with the map. Get the latest version
here.
Registration is not required to download from this site although registration
is required to post in the related forums (because of the need to keep spammers away).
Announcement!Boomer over at UP has offered some invaluable assistance in optimizing the CCM. His efforts will result in faster loading times, fewer system resources being used, and some appearance glitches fixed. With fewer system resources used to load the map, mission and campaign makers can no doubt be more creative. The changes are being implemented and tested for compatibility; hopefully a map update will be available in a week or so.
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