Notes for ECA versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4.
Seven new flyable aircraft for European Air War:
* De Havilland Mosquito VI
* Martin B26B Marauder
* Messercchmitt Me-410 Hornisse
* Junkers Ju-88A
* Junkers Ju-88C
* Junkers Ju-87B Stuka
* Heinkel He-111 H
And a number of other things. This text file sets out the various changes
made to EAW by the files comprising "Enemy Coast Ahead".
INSTALLATION
Simply add the files in this zip file to your EAW directory (the directory
containing EAW.EXE, typically C:\PROGRAMS\MICROPROSE SOFTWARE\EUROPEAN AIR WAR).
To remove, just delete these files from that directory.
NEW AIRCRAFT
The De Havilland Mosquito is now flyable. It is the formidable Mark VI
fighter-bomber version, with 4x0.303 cal MG (1000 rounds per gun) and
4x20mm cannon (250 rpg) in the nose. It can carry 1000 lb of bombs,
and 8x60 lb rockets. The "Wooden Wonder" appears and can be flown
in the 1943 and 1944 British campaigns, in No 141 Sqn and No.140
Anzac Wing respectively.
The Martin B26 B Marauder is now flyable. It has 5x0.50 cal MGs
(900 rpg) firing forward (1 in the nose and 4 on the fuselage sides),
plus 5 other 0.50 cals in dorsal, tail and ventral positions, and can carry up to 3,000 lbs of bombs. The Marauder appears and can be flown in
the 1943 and 1944 U.S. campaigns, in the 323rd Bombardment Group.
The Messerschmitt Me-410A Hornisse is now flyable. It is the A-2
Zerstorer model, with 2x7.9mm MG (1000 rpg) and 4x20mm cannon
(300 rpg) in the nose, plus 2x13mm rear barbette MGs (500 rpg). It
appears and can be flown in the 1943 and 1944 German campaigns, in
I/JG 11 and I/KG 51, and (as a 1944 mid-campaign replacement) in
I/NJG 1.
The Junkers Ju-88A is now flyable. It is armed with 3x7.9mm MGs,
and can carry up to 2,000 kg of bombs. It appears and can be flown
in the 1940 German campaign, in I/KG 51. Note that there were no
pilot-operated guns in the standard 1940 Ju-88A model, so the "S"
key will only cycle through the crew-operated positions, which
cannot be fired by you.
The Junkers Ju-88C is now flyable. It is armed with 3x7.9mm MG
(1000 rpg) and 3x20mm cannon (200 rpg) in the nose, plus
3xrear flex MGs, and can carry bombs or rockets. It appears and
can be flown in the 1943 and 1944 German campaigns, in I/NJG 1.
The Junkers Ju-87B Stuka is now flyable. It is armed with 2x7.9mm
MGs (1000 rpg) in the wings, and 1 in the rear cockpit, and can carry
2x100 kg or 1x500 kg of bombs. It appears and can be flown in the
1940 German campaign, in the elite III/StG 2 "Immelmann".
The Heinkel He-111H is now flyable. It is armed with 6x7.9mm MGs,
and can carry up to 3,000 kg of bombs. It appears and can be flown
in the 1940 German campaign, in II/KG 53. As with the Ju-88A, there
were no pilot-operated guns in the standard 1940 He-111H model, so
the "S" key will only cycle through the crew-operated positions, which
cannot be fired by you. Note that there is a subtle difference to the
bomb-dropping patterns of these two aircraft, the He-111 being a
standard medium bomber with a lengthy pattern,and the Ju-88A being a
sometime dive-bomber, with a more compact pattern.
OTHER CHANGES
The Bf-110G is now the G-4 Zerstorer model that I think Microprose
intended, with the standard 4x7.92mm MG (1000 rpg) and 2x20mm
cannon (375 rpg) in the nose, plus an extra 2x30mm cannon (135 rpg) in
a ventral tray, and the 2x7.9mm rear flex MGs (750 rpg).
I have also added two wing-mounted 20mm cannon (80 rpg) to the
Bf-109G, with which the G-6 model was commonly fitted.
There are a number of other small weapons changes that have been
made. There is a much greater range of ordnance load options now
available for most aircraft. For example, the P-38H and P-38J can be
fitted with rockets as well as bombs. Bomber guns generally have been
slightly reduced in effectiveness, to accord more with reality (not
nearly as many fighters were shot down by bomber defensive gunfire
as Microprose suggests).
NEW WEAPONS
There 5 new air-to-ground weapons, namely the:
(a) Henschel Hs-293 anti-ship rocket-bomb (500 kg warhead),
(b) Ruhrstahl Fritz-X anti-ship missile (300 kg warhead),
(c) Rheinmetall Panzerschreck anti-tank rocket (54mm, 40 kg warhead).
(d) SD-2 "Butterfly Bomb" cannister (250 kg, containing 96 x 2 kg
fragmentation bomblets), and
(e) 50 gallon (500 lb) napalm bomb.
The Hs-293 and the Fritz-X can be carried by the Ju-88C, the Fritz-X
and the Panzerschreck by the Me-410, the Panzerschreck by the Fw-190A,
and the SD-2 by the Bf-109G, Fw-190A, Bf-110G, Me-410 and Ju-88C. The
50 gallon napalm bomb can be carried by the P38J, P47C, P47D, and P51D.
The Hs-293 and Fritz-X are heavy weapons for any bombing mission,
but especially useful for anti-ship missions. If you want to go looking for
ships, there is usually a convoy of 1-3 DD's and 2-8 merchant/troop ships
near Southampton or Portsmouth (for Allied ships) or Emden (for German
ships). In June 1944 there are also Allied ships off the coast of Normandy.
The Panzerschreck is a light anti-armour weapon, carried in banks
of 6 under each wing, like the Allied HVAR or 60 lb rocket.
The SD-2 is a timed-release cannister with 96 small 2 kg fragmentation
bomblets, which disperse over a wide area. It is very useful for soft
targets like trucks, and aircraft on the ground, more so than a simple
high-explosive bomb. Napalm, like the SD-2, is a useful weapon for soft
targets, and has a wide area of effect. It is less useful against hard targets.
Both napalm and the SD-2 will cause a small amount of blast damage but
over a large area (both horizontal and vertical), so beware. They are best
deployed from above 400 feet, otherwise your aircraft will suffer damage.
SOME NOTES
1. "Enemy Coast Ahead" is a substantial re-working of my earlier EAW
add-on "Planes N More" (PNM11.EXE), which was released
in March 1999. A number of glitches in "Planes N More" have
been fixed. For example, the lack of engine sound on takeoff in
the new flyable twin-engined aircraft has been fixed, and the
ordnance loadout/lockup problem has been fixed. Two new aircraft
(the Ju-88A and He-111H) and five new weapons have been added.
2. The new aircraft can only be flown in Campaigns, not on
Single Missions. If I can work out how to change the selection screen
for Single Missions to fix this, I will post an update.
3 Ordnance loadout options have been increased for most aircraft, so
you will have to make a choice before each mission about the optimum
load to achieve your objectives. The default load will not always be the
optimum load.
4. Because of the greater number of ordnance loadout options it is
probably better to fly with "Limited Supply" switched off, if you want
all of the options to choose from for each mission (did you join up to be
a fighter pilot or a supply clerk anyway?).
5. The out-of-cockpit views are not all perfect, but all of the Virtual
Cockpits of the new machines now have gauges.
6. The Mosquito can now be selected as a fighter opponent in
Single Missions.
7. A large number of small fixes have been made to flight models, gun
flash and rocket launch position details, ordnance (the WGr 21 rockets
now work properly, for example) and ammo loads, and also to some of the
text strings such as pilot names, mission texts, and squadron
descriptions.
8. If you have a non-English version of EAW, the amended text string
files (*.STR) will be used instead of your language versions. You
can simply delete the files BRIEFING.STR and MSNNAME.STR, as well
as TARTYPES.STR from this patch, to use your original versions.
9. Taking off in the B-26 seems to be much harder for a human pilot
that it does for the computer pilots. For a human pilot, liftoff speed
is about 200 mph, and quite hard to achieve, whereas on autopilot it is
about 135 mph! In other words, I think EAW's AI "cheats". If you are
flying the B-26 and are having trouble taking off, try using the
autopilot until you are clear of the ground.
9. The Ju-87B Stuka has no dive brakes, and thinks that it has
retractable wheels (you must "lower" the wheels to land) but
otherwise it works fine.
10. When flying bombers you will occasionally be given an
"Armed Sweep" or "Escort" mission. Try to fulfil that mission if you
feel like it (do you feel lucky, punk?), but otherwise consider it as
an "Intruder Mission", and feel free to select and attack a target of
opportunity.
11. The rocket selections do not show up on the Arming Board
picture of some of the aircraft for some reason (the pictures must
be coded somewhere else), but if you select them they will be
there when you take off.
12. There are no bomb-sights, so (even in the B26 and He-111) the
best shot is to bomb low, from a shallow dive. There is a useful
delayed sequence bomb-pattern for the heavier bombers, which will
help you straddle any target.
THE FILES
EAW has its data in a series of compressed data files (*.CDF in your
EAW directory), but it reads relevant individual files that it finds in
the same directory first, before looking in one of the CDF files (sort
of like you looking for something on your desk before looking in your filing
cabinet - if you find it on your desk you look no further). The files in
"Enemy Coast Ahead" will make no changes to your EAW files, and the patch
is thus completely reversible. To undo this patch, simply delete all of
the 84 files that comprise "Enemy Coast Ahead", namely:
ECA.TXT (this file)
109G.FLT
AMRLNAME.STR
BRIEFING.STR
BRTLNAME.STR
GERLNAME.STR
HNGR08.MPC
HNGR15.MPC
HNGR21.MPC
HNGR25.MPC
HNGR26.MPC
HNGR27.MPC
HNGR28.MPC
LOADOUT.DAT
J88C.FLT
JU87.FLT
P38H.FLT
P38J.FLT
M410.FLT
MOSQ.FLT
MSNNAME.STR
P081VIEW.CPT
P151VIEW.CPT
P211VIEW.CPT
P251VIEW.CPT
P261VIEW.CPT
P271VIEW.CPT
P281VIEW.CPT
PB26AV.3DZ
PB26AW.3DZ
PB26AX.3DZ
PB26AY.3DZ
PB26AZ.3DZ
PH111V.3DZ
PH111W.3DZ
PH111X.3DZ
PH111Y.3DZ
PJ88AV.3DZ
PJ88AW.3DZ
PJ88AX.3DZ
PJ88AY.3DZ
PJ88CV.3DZ
PJ88CW.3DZ
PJ88CX.3DZ
PJ88CY.3DZ
PJU87U.3DZ
PJU87V.3DZ
PJU87W.3DZ
PJU87X.3DZ
PM410V.3DZ
PM410W.3DZ
PM410X.3DZ
PM410Y.3DZ
PM410Z.3DZ
PMOSQU.3DZ
PMOSQV.3DZ
PMOSQW.3DZ
PMOSQX.3DZ
PMOSQZ.3DZ
PNAMES.STR
PLANES.DAT
SQDESCGR.STR
SQDESCUK.STR
SQDESCUS.STR
SQGR40.DAT
SQGR43.DAT
SQGR44.DAT
SQUK43.DAT
SQUK44.DAT
SQUS43.DAT
SQUS44.DAT
SQNAMEGR.STR
SQNAMEUK.STR
SQNAMEUS.STR
TARTYPES.STR
VCG_B26A.DAT
VCG_J88C.DAT
VCG_JU87.DAT
VCG_M410.DAT
VCG_MOSQ.DAT
VCG_H111.DAT
VCG_J88A.DAT
WEAPONS.DAT
WEAPONS.STR
ENEMY COAST AHEAD
Version 1.1 Update files
The following records the various changes made to "Enemy Coast Ahead"
by the Version 1.1 files.
1. The Mosquito and Me410 maximum speeds have been corrected (formerly they were both 414 mph, now they are 380 and 385 mph respectively).
2. Some small historical changes have been made to the ZG1 and JG11 squadron descriptions, and to the aircraft assigned to them in 1943 and 1944. ZG1 has Me-410's, and JG11 reverts to Fw-190A's. Thanks to Bruno Weiss and the others from the JG11 online squadron for their input on this.
3.The SD-2 bomblet cannister is now the SD-10 cannister, and individual SD-2 bomblets have been added as a weapon to the Bf-109G and Me-410. These each have a small release charge. This weapon was Paulo Morais' suggestion.
4. The 20 lb Incendiary bomb has been added as a weapon, and can be carried by the Mosquito and B26.
5. The 10 KG Incendiary bomb has been added as a weapon, and can be carried by the Ju-88A and He-111.
6. The new weapons each have a nice-looking effect when dropped. Because of the greater number of ordnance loadout options it is still better to fly with "Limited Supply" switched off, if you want the maximum options to choose from for each mission.
7. The Panzerschreck rockets now appear correctly under the wings of both the Fw190a and Me410.
8. A much-requested reduction in the effectiveness of the Bf-110G's rear guns has been made, in line with the previous reduction in the larger bombers' defensive armament.
Version 1.1 Files:
The files added or amended by ECA Version 1.1 are:
ECA11.TXT
B26A.FLT
LOADOUT.DAT
M410.FLT
MOSQ.FLT
PLANES.DAT
SQDESCGR.STR
SQGR43.DAT
SQGR44.DAT
SQNAMEGR.STR
WEAPONS.DAT
WEAPONS.STR
ENEMY COAST AHEAD
Version 1.2 Update files
The following records the various changes made to the European Air War add-on "Enemy Coast Ahead" by the Version 1.2 files. ECA Version 1.2 includes all of the changes previously made by Version 1.1
1. The Fw-190A8 is now the less-armoured but far more manoeuvrable A4 model, with 2x7.9mm MG 17 in the nose, and 4x20mm cannon (2x MG FF and 2x MG 151) in the wings. This is the superb dogfighting aircraft that dominated the Channel skies in 1942-44 and could out-roll most things in the sky.
2. By popular demand, the Bf-109K is now the K6 model, with an extra
2xMk 108 30mm cannon in the wings. I had resisted putting this aircraft in, because it was not as common as the K4 model previously modelled, but as has been pointed out it will not actually make much difference to missions, since the EAW AI pilots do not use their cannon anyway.
3. Weapons stockpiles in the campaigns now work correctly, so Limited Supply can be selected (if you want to be a supply clerk).
4. Bombers are now more likely to complete their mission when attacked, but there is still a problem on escort missions with the flyable bombers turning back. If you are flying an escort mission it is better to use autopilot and time acceleration rather than ALT-N, or you may find yourself back at base without seeing any action.
5. A much-requested reduction in the durability of the Bf-110C has been made.
6. Two-seater rear guns, and the larger bomber guns, have been reduced in effectiveness to accord more with reality.
7. Extensive changes have been made to weapons characteristics. EAW had a number of significant errors in this regard. The EAW weapons figures were generally too low, both as to muzzle velocity and rate of fire. All muzzle velocities were too low -this made for exaggerated trajectories (i.e. rounds falling away too early) . The rates of fire of the 0.50 cal MG and 20mm MG151 and Hispano MkII cannon were high (which gave a pro-Allied bias in hitting power, but also exhausted ammunition loads too soon), while the ROFs of the MG81 7.92mm, MK108 30mm and Hispano MkV 20mm were low (this made for low hitting power - not enough rounds per second hitting the target). The comparitive data is as follows (the muzzle velocities are in feet per second, the rates of fire in rounds per second):
German weapons Muzzle velocity Rate of Fire
Weapon Calibre Real EAW Real EAW
MG17 7.92 mm 2477 1981.6 20 20
MG81 7.92 mm 2395 1981.6 25 10
MG131 13 mm 2395 1896 15 15
MG/FF 20 mm 1870 1520 6.667 8.67
MGFF/M 20mm 2263 1520 8.667 8.67
MG151 20 mm 2427 1840 12.5 13.3
MK108 30 mm 1656 1320 10 8.33
MK103 30 mm 2820 N/A 7 N/A
Allied weapons Muzzle velocity Rate of Fire
Weapon Calibre Real EAW Real EAW
Browning .303 inch 2600 1920 20 19.167
Browning .50 inch 2850 2200 12.5 13.3
Hispano MkII 20 mm 2887.1 2256 10 13.3
Hispano MkV 20 mm 2755 2256 12.5 11.667
8. The muzzle velocities and rates of fire of all fighter aircraft now correspond with the actual data. Different weapons of the same calibre (e.g. the 20mm MG FF and MG 151) now have quite different firing abilities. With most weapons the lead required to hit a target is now significantly less. Thanks to Daniel Haeni for the extensive research on this.
9. The full list of flyable aircraft guns and their ammunition loads is as follows (*=computer controlled). Also given is the actual duration of the pilot-operable guns with the correct rates of fire:
P38H&J 1x20mm Hispano II cannon (nose) 150 rpg (10 secs)
4x.50 cal MG (nose) 500 rpg (40 secs)
P47C&D 8x.50 cal MG (wings) 425 rpg (34 secs)
P51B 2x.50 cal MG (wings) 350 rpg (28 secs)
2x.50 cal MG (wings) 270 rpg (21.6 secs)
P51D 2x.50 cal MG (wings) 400 rpg (32 secs)
4x.50 cal MG (wings) 270 rpg (21.6 secs)
B26B 2x.50 cal MG (fuselage sides) 1000 rpg (80 secs)
The complete list of the files added or amended by ECA Version 1.2 is as follows:
ECA12.TXT
109E.FLT
109G.FLT
109K.FLT
110C.FLT
110G.FLT
190A.FLT
190D.FLT
262A.FLT
B26A.FLT
HURR.FLT
J88C.FLT
JU87.FLT
M410.FLT
MOSQ.FLT
P38H.FLT
P38J.FLT
P47C.FLT
P47D.FLT
P51B.FLT
P51D.FLT
SP09.FLT
SP14.FLT
SP2A.FLT
TEMP.FLT
TYPH.FLT
LOADOUT.DAT
PLANES.DAT
PNAMES.STR
SQDESCGR.DAT
SQGRNAME.STR
SQGR40.DAT
SQGR43.DAT
SQGR44.DAT
SQUK43.DAT
SQUK44.DAT
SQUS43.DAT
SQUS44.DAT
WEAPONS.DAT
WEAPONS.STR
Version 1.3 Update files
The following records the various changes made to the European Air War add-on "Enemy Coast Ahead" by the Version 1.3 files. ECA Version 1.3 includes all of the changes previously made by Versions 1.1 and 1.2 (see above for these changes).
ECA Version 1.3 changes:
1. The Bf-109E now has a 20mm MGFF cannon (150 rpg) in the propellor spinner.
2. The Me-262 can now carry 2x250 kg bombs as an alternative to rockets.
3. Extensive changes have been made to the dispersion rate of gunfire. There extensive anomalies in the original Microprose data here which made (mostly U.S.) gunfire (both fighter and bomber) much more concentrated and therefore more deadly than for equivalent (and sometimes even identical) weapons. The Bf-109E was especially disadvantaged, but the Bf110s, Hurricane, and Spitfire I and IX suffered also. Paulo Morais did the research that established the importance of this variable.
4. Some small corrections have been made to the Ju87 and Fw190A ordnance loads.
5. The full list of flyable aircraft guns and their ammunition loads is now as follows (*=computer controlled). Also given is the actual duration of the pilot-operable guns with the correct rates of fire:
P38H&J 1x20mm Hispano II cannon (nose) 150 rpg (10 secs)
4x.50 cal MG (nose) 500 rpg (40 secs)
P47C&D 8x.50 cal MG (wings) 425 rpg (34 secs)
P51B 2x.50 cal MG (wings) 350 rpg (28 secs)
2x.50 cal MG (wings) 270 rpg (21.6 secs)
P51D 2x.50 cal MG (wings) 400 rpg (32 secs)
4x.50 cal MG (wings) 270 rpg (21.6 secs)
B26B 2x.50 cal MG (fuselage sides) 1000 rpg (80 secs)
The complete list of the files aded or amended by ECA Version 1.3 is as follows:
ECA13.TXT
109E.FLT
109G.FLT
109K.FLT
110C.FLT
110G.FLT
190A.FLT
190D.FLT
262A.FLT
B24A.FLT
B26A.FLT
BB17.FLT
HURR.FLT
J88C.FLT
JU87.FLT
M410.FLT
MOSQ.FLT
P38H.FLT
P38J.FLT
P47C.FLT
P47D.FLT
P51B.FLT
P51D.FLT
SP09.FLT
SP14.FLT
SP2A.FLT
TEMP.FLT
TYPH.FLT
LOADOUT.DAT
PLANES.DAT
PNAMES.STR
SQDESCGR.DAT
SQGRNAME.STR
SQGR40.DAT
SQGR43.DAT
SQGR44.DAT
SQUK43.DAT
SQUK44.DAT
SQUS43.DAT
SQUS44.DAT
WEAPONS.DAT
WEAPONS.STR
ECA Version 1.4
Version 1.4 makes a substantial change to aircraft damage levels, increasing them all by 50%. This is to reduce the greatly increased lethality of guns caused by the official Microprose EAW v1.2 patch. All of the changes made by Versions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 are maintained by Version 1.4. No further files are added to ECA by Version 1.4.
ECA Version History:
Version 1.0: (ECA10.EXE):1 April 1999 First release (8.85 Mb)
Version 1.1: (ECA11.ZIP):10 April 1999 Update (12.0 Kb)
Version 1.2: (ECA12.ZIP):25 April 1999 Update, including Version 1.1 (34.8 Kb)
Version 1.3: (ECA13.ZIP): 1 June 1999 Update, incl. Versions 1.1 and 1.2
Version 1.4: October 1999 update, incl. versions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3
WARNING
MICROPROSE DOES NOT OFFICIALLY SUPPORT THE HEX EDITING OF ITS
SOFTWARE. IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH EAW USING THIS PATCH,
DO NOT CONTACT MICROPROSE. DELETE ALL FILES WHICH CAME WITH THIS PATCH AND SEE IF THE PROBLEM IS STILL THERE. CONTACT MICROPROSE IF IT IS. IF THE PROBLEM IS ONLY THERE WHEN YOU ARE USING THIS PATCH, PLEASE CONTACT ME.
The files in "Enemy Coast Ahead" are freeware and can be freely
distributed. I hope you enjoy them. Any comments, suggestions
