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B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th! - 1.05 Patch
by Len "Viking1" HjalmarsonProduct Name: B-17 Flying Fortress The Mighty 8th!
Category: WWII Bomber & Fighter Simulation
Version: 1.05
Developed By: Wayward Design, Ltd.
Published By: Microprose/Hasbro Interactive
Release Date: Released
Minimum Spec: Windows 95/98/Millenium; Intel Pentium II 300 or faster; 128MB RAM; Voodoo3 or higher; 8MB VRAM; DirectX Compatible Joystick.
Recommended Spec: Intel Pentium II 400 or faster; 256MB RAM; 16MB VRAM; Supports Hardware T&L; A3d Compatible Sound card; 400MB Swap file or larger.
Demo: None
Files: | v1.05 PATCH | Paint Utility |
Links: | Viking1's B-17 Tweaks | Iain Howe's B-17 Tweaks | B-17 Review (Viking 1) | B-17 Review (Impaler) | B-17 Custom Art |
Article Type: Feature
Article Date: February 16th, 2001
Recently Hasbro and Wayward released the first patch for B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th!, dramatically changing the feel and flow of the game. Not only did the patch solve the game crashing for some players, it advanced game play significantly.
The best news, perhaps, is that this was the first patch for the game only, and that the focus for the first patch was game stability and frame rates. Hasbro announced that a following patch would address more gameplay and AI issues.
What might those additional issues be?
Though the details have not been spelled out, monitoring the posts of Wayward representatives over the following few months, I have a short list of likely issues to be addressed in the next patch.
- Flight modeling for all aircraft (currently they have too much power)
- Missing L marking on the wing and tail of the Fortress
- Most players are hoping to see complete engine management as was promised pre-release
- The addition of a simple auto pilot feature
The First Patch
The first patch was released on February 1st, followed immediately by the OMFMod utility, allowing players to paint their own aircraft and customize markings. Let's have a look over the two main areas of change wrought by the first patch; namely, Graphics, AI, Sound, Systems, and ATC.
1. Graphical Fixes and Improvements:
Mission markings now appear on the nose of the Fortress. With every mission you fly where you actually drop bombs on a target, you will notch up another yellow bomb on the nose of your B-17.
The missing gunsight in the P-38 has appeared. This makes aiming the guns a great deal more accurate.
Texture drawing has greatly improved. This is most noticeable when panning guns, or when in an external view panning around the aircraft. Where most players experienced some pausing when panning views, some players no longer experience any pause at all! Switching between stations is also much faster.
Improvement in texture drawing is also obvious when explosions occur. Previously the game would pause on my 1 GHz, 256MB system. Now the flames and explosions occur smoothly.
2. AI Improvements:
Luftwaffe pilots have increased their skill level. They appear to be thinking strategically, targeting engines and the pilots. Flying through two campaign missions I lost two B-17's to engine failure in the first mission, and three in the second. Normally, with the default R&R database file, I have lost none or one.
Experiencing engine failure has also become a much more intense event than previously. I have heard the engineer inform the pilot of an engine failure, and the pilot then proceeded to feather the prop! This never occurred previously, in all my hours flying the Fort.
Then again, I have had trouble hearing ANY speech when inside the Fortress, and even in the external view it was difficult. I had to rely on subtitles when in any crew position.
3. Sound Improvements:
The patch reworked sound balance greatly, and I can now hear crew speech whether I am inside the Fort or out. The increase in the variety of chatter improves the immersion of the game. I've heard the co-pilot inform the pilot of changes to engine RPM, as well as other speech I had never heard before. During engine startup I reliably hear "Cowl flaps, open left, open right," and "Turbos off." Previously I had never heard the latter line, and only sometimes would hear the former.
The improved ability of pilots to manage aircraft systems means that while you might take more damage from improved enemy pilots, you also have a greater chance of limping home with a wounded Fortress. Pilots who feather an engine can maintain their position in the formation on three engines.
I've also seen pilots now use the engine fire extinguisher system. This means fewer Forts exploding, and more surviving Forts mean more bombs on the target, more Forts to fend off enemy fighters, and fewer novice crewmen on your next flight.
4. Systems Improvements:
Carb heat and oil pressure gauges are now working! This isn't engine management, but it's a step toward it.
5. ATC Improvements:
Finally, ATC has improved. Previously there would occasionally be chaos on the ground as more than one Fort would attempt to land at the same time. Forts will now received clearance only when the previous machine has landed and proceeded onto the taxi way.
I haven't noticed whether takeoff AI has also improved, but there were fewer problems with take off in the original release.
On the whole the first patch was a great improvement, increasing our ability to enjoy what is otherwise a fabulous combat experience. We have reason to hope that the second patch will further increase the value of B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th!
The above image was designed by a B-17 fanatic. We really don’t know what it means!
Incidentally, Wayward has also released the original artwork for the olive drab skin. The files needed some small touching up, which was accomplished by “Kipper.” You can download the original or weathered version. In order to use this olive drab skin you must download and install the OMFMod Utility. See my other article on Creating Custom Art in B-17 in order to install the new skin files.
Finally, if you are interested in a more intense B17 combat experience, see my previous article on Tweaking The RiverandRoadsDB File. You can download the file that will increase fighter activity and improve crew initiative from this site.
Download the first v1.05 patch from HERE
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