------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Modifying RED BARON Aircraft Performance Data or "I'll hex you Red Baron!" by Joe "the Maverick" Scoleri, March 1995 AOL [ThMaverick] CIS [70671,1524] BBS [209-233-7835] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All original material Copyright (C) 1995 by Joe Scoleri ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Call The Maverick's QUODTEGITUR BBS for the latest RBHex files (209) 233-7835 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****************************** PLEASE NOTE ****************************** * * * Before modifying any program files, make backup copies!!! * * You utilize this information AT YOUR OWN RISK! I assume no responsibility * * for any modifications you make to the original RED BARON program data. * * * ******************************************************************************* I. RED BARON AIRCRAFT DATA FILES Although my primary concern is to describe the aircraft performance data files, here's what I discovered about other RED BARON files. These files all share the same names as the *.DAT files listed in Section III. These files may be removed from their respective VOLUME.* files for modification, as described in Section VI. *.DAT Aircraft performance data and historical instrument panel layout. Stored in VOLUME.005. *.TBL Aircraft graphic data. This file determines an aircraft's shape. Stored in VOLUME.007 (fighters) and VOLUME.005 (bombers/recon.) *.CLG Aircraft graphic data, FIGHTERS ONLY. Must be paired with its corresponding *.TBL file or a program lockup may result. Stored in VOLUME.008. NOTE: Because the *.CLG files are available for fighter aircraft only, I have not been able to successfully exchange bomber/recon *.TBL files for fighters. Therefore, as of now, I have not been able to make bombers into player flyable aircraft. If you try switching *.TBL files to a different aircraft name, switch the *.CLG files also to prevent RED BARON from crashing. *.TTM Aircraft graphic data, FIGHTERS ONLY. This file determines the view out of the cockpit (front/rear/sides.) Stored in VOLUME.007. The *.TTM files CAN be swapped individually to change the views. EXAMPLE: If you copy the file FOKD8.TTM to AIRCO.TTM, and then fly the Airco D.H. 2, your aircraft will look like a D.H. 2 externally, but from inside the plane it looks like you are flying a Fokker D. VIII. Simply erase the file AIRCO.TTM to return to the original D.H. 2 cockpit views. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. AIRCRAFT COLORS AND GRAPHICS SWAPPING Although I was searching for a way to change the default aircraft colors, this is not controlled by any of the aircraft data files. Therefore, if you swap aircraft graphic data files, the original aircraft color remains! EXAMPLE: The Fokker D. VIII is normally dark green. The Fokker E. III is normally all beige. If you copy the FOKD8.* files to FOKE3.*, you will wind up with a BEIGE Fokker D. VIII. All performance and aircraft appearance information will be as a Fokker D. VIII, but the color specified for the Eindecker is used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. WHERE'S THE PERFORMANCE DATA? Performance data for RED BARON aircraft is stored in the *.DAT files. If you have the Mission Builder expansion, then you will see the new aircraft files in your RED BARON directory. The performance data for the original aircraft is stored in the file VOLUME.005. New *.DAT files Original *.DAT files (stored in VOLUME.005) --------------- -------------------- FOKD8.DAT AIRCO.DAT CAMEL.DAT HANDLEY.DAT RUMPLER.DAT HALBD2.DAT ALBA_D2.DAT DH4.DAT JUNKER.DAT SE5.DAT NIEU11.DAT ALBA_D3.DAT FE2.DAT MORANE.DAT SNIPE.DAT NIEU28.DAT ALBA_D5.DAT FOKD7.DAT NIEUPORT.DAT SOPUP.DAT SIEMENS.DAT AVIATIK.DAT FOKDR1.DAT PFALZ.DAT SOPTRI.DAT BE2.DAT FOKE3.DAT RE8.DAT SPAD_13.DAT BRISTOL.DAT GOTHA.DAT ROLAND.DAT SPAD_7.DAT Because the mission builder provides new graphics files for the Fokker D. VII, I guessed correctly that the program would also access *.DAT files placed in the same directory as RED BARON. This means if you place a file with the same name as one of the original *.DAT files into your RED BARON directory, the program will access that file for the data instead of going to VOLUME.005. EXAMPLE: Copy the file SIEMENS.DAT to a file named FOKE3.DAT. Now try flying a Fokker E. III. It will have the same performance as the Siemens-Schuckert D. III. Got it! To restore the original Eindecker data, simply delete FOKE3.DAT. To avoid having to modify your original VOLUME.005 file, use UNPACK.BAT to extract all of the *.DAT files stored in VOLUME.005. See Section VI. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. RED BARON *.DAT FILES All fighter aircraft have 234 byte aircraft data files. The bomber/recon aircraft files are either 234, 250 or 266 bytes depending on the number of gun positions. The following list describes what I have discovered regarding the contents of the aircraft performance data files. Certain bytes are the same for ALL aircraft, and those ranges are marked SAME in the Description section. Where I have not determined the function served by the bytes they are marked UNKNOWN. Comments and clues are given where possible. Sample Fokker D. VII hex data is given along with decimal values in parentheses when appropriate. EXAMPLE: The Power rating for the Fokker D. VII is listed as 52 00 (82). "52 00" is the hex code from the *.DAT file, "82" is the decimal value of the hexadecimal. The hexadecimal data is stored in a low bit/high bit format. Don't worry if you aren't sure what this means, I didn't know either until a few weeks before I started this project! Low bit/high bit format means that the hexadecimal number 0ce4 would be stored in the data file as two bits: e4 0c. The low bit comes first, thus the name low bit/high bit format. CONTENTS OF FOKD7.DAT Offset Description Fokker D. VII example ------- ------------------- -------------------------------------------- 0-19 AIRCRAFT NAME.......HEX: 46 4f 4b 4b 45 52 20 44 2e 56 49 49 ASCII: F o k k e r D . V I I 20-23 Same.................... 04 00 0c 0c 24-25 Unknown................. bc 02 Clues: Highest value is e8 03 (1000) for Siemens-Schuckert D. III only. Lowest value is 8a 02 (650) for Nieuport 17, SPAD VII & XIII, Sopwith Pup, S.E. 5a, Albatros D. V & D. II, and Airco D.H. 2. Only other values used are 20 03 (800), bc 02 (700). All bomber/ recon aircraft rated bc 02 (700) except Bristol rated 8a 02 (650). 26-27 Unknown................. 78 00 Clues: ALL aircraft use 78 00 except Bristol F.2B which uses 8c 00. 28-31 Same.................... 00 00 00 00 32-33 POWER RATING............ 52 00 (82) Power ratings range from a low of 2b (43) in the Morane Bullet to a high of 52 (82) in the Fokker D. VII. The power rating seems to be used in conjunction with the weight/drag rating to determine top speed and climb. I am unsure of exactly how this relationship works. Higher values result in increased top speed, climb rate, and dive speed. 34-35 Same.................... 96 00 36-37 WEIGHT/DRAG RATING...... 38 00 (56) Drag ratings range from a low of 25 (37) in the Fokker Dr. I to a high of 38 (56) in the Fokker D. VII. This factor seems to work in conjunction with the power rating. Higher values decrease top speed and climb rate. 38-41 Same.................... 96 00 0a 00 42-43 CONTROL RESPONSE........ f4 01 (500) Settings: fa 00 = (250) Extremely slow and unresponsive aircraft controls e.g. Morane Bullet, Fokker E. III, most bombers/recon 2c 01 = (300) Slow control response e.g. Albatros D. II, SPAD VII 90 01 = (400) Good control response e.g. S.E. 5a, Halberstadt D. II, Bristol F.2B c2 01 = (450) Good control response e.g. Albatros D. V, SPAD XIII f4 01 = (500) Very good control response e.g. Fokker D. VII, Nieuport 11 58 02 = (600) Quick and light controls e.g. Sopwith Camel, Sopwith Snipe 8a 02 = (650) Extremely light and nimble controls e.g. Fokker Dr. I, Siemens-Schuckert D. III 44-45 Same.................... bc 02 46-53 Unknown................. e6 00 (230) Clues: High value is 90 01 (400) for Nieuport 11 and Sopwith Pup. Intermediate value is 2c 01 (300) for Halberstadt D. II, Nieuport 17, Sopwith Snipe & Camel, and Airco D.H. 2. Low value is e6 00 (230) for all other fighters and all bombers/recon. 48-49 Unknown................. 90 01 Clues: ALL aircraft 90 01 except Sopwith Snipe & Camel with f4 01. 50-51 Unknown................. 2c 06 (1580) Clues: Highest fighter value is f4 06 (1780) in Sopwith Camel & Snipe. Lowest fighter value is e8 03 (1000) in Albatros D. II, Fokker E. III, and Morane Bullet. All bombers/recon are bc 02 (700) except Bristol F.2B at b0 04 (1200). 52-53 Unknown................. 4c 04 (1100) Clues: All bombers/recon and about half the fighters are 84 03 (900). Most of the other fighters are 4c 04 (1100). Highest, and only other value, is 78 05 (1400) in Nieuport 11 and Sopwith Pup. 54-55 RUDDER YAW RATE......... b4 00 Clues: ALL aircraft b4 00 except Fokker Dr. I with 58 02. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Mav, June 1993 | | | | Offsets 54-55 look to be yaw rate for full rudder. Note the higher | | number for the Dr-I when compared to all the others. I did a 360^ | | yaw for the value of b4 and got 55 sec. in level flight (no movement | | of the altimeter needle). I then plugged in the value 58 02 and | | repeated the 360^ yaw turn. This time, the time taken was about | | 18 sec. Note the closeness of the ratios 18/55 = .327 and | | (b4/258) = .300. From this, I would be tempted to conclude that | | this pair of offsets represents the yaw rate with units of .03^/sec. | | at full rudder. BTW, I ran these tests on the N-17. | | | | J.W. "Jaybird" Johnson | | [74020,1734] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56-57 Unknown................. 00 00 Clues: All bombers/recon and about half the fighters rated 00 00. Highest value is ec ff in Halberstadt D. II. Lowest value is 7e ff in Sopwith Camel. Only other values are c4 ff, b0 ff, and 9c ff. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |The numbers you found for offsets 56-57 are all negative: | | ec ff = - 20 | | c4 ff = - 60 | | b0 ff = - 80 J.W. "Jaybird" Johnson| | 9c ff = -100 [74020,1734] | | 7e ff = -130 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58-59 Unknown................. 20 00 Clues: ALL aircraft 20 00 except 40 00 in Sopwith Triplane and Fokker Dr. I. 60-61 Unknown................. 00 04 Clues: ALL aircraft 00 04 except 58 02 in Fokker Dr. I and Sopwith Camel & Snipe. 62-63 Unknown................. 32 00 (50) Clues: Highest value is 64 00 (100) in Nieuport 28 and S.E. 5a. Lowest value is 14 00 (20) in Morane Bullet and Fokker E. III and all bombers/recon except Bristol F.2B. The Bristol and all other fighters are set at 32 00 (50) except for three. Fokker Dr. I, Sopwith Snipe & Camel are set at 00 00. 64-65 Same.................... 70 17 66-69 ROTARY ENGINE TORQUE.... 00 00 00 00 Certain rotary engine fighters will raise their nose in a left hand turn and drop their nose in a right hand turn. This is due to the torque of the spinning engine. Note that five rotary engine fighters show no torque effects (Fokker D. VIII, Nieuport 11, Nieuport 28, Sopwith Pup, and Airco D.H. 2.) The settings are listed from mildest torque effects to the worst (the dreaded Camel!) Settings: Nieu. 17, Bullet, E. III 9c ff 32 00 mild Sopwith Triplane 06 ff 64 00 SSW-D. III, Snipe, Dr. I 38 ff 64 00 Sopwith Camel 70 fe c8 00 very tricky ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |The numbers you found for offsets 66-67 are all negative: | | 9c ff = -100 | | 06 ff = -250 J.W. "Jaybird" Johnson| | 38 ff = -200 [74020,1734] | | 70 fe = -400 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70-71 Same.................... 01 00 72-73 SPIN CHARACTERISTICS.... 00 00 Settings: 00 00 = Will not spin? Very stable aircraft e.g. Fokker D. VII, SPAD XIII 3c 00 = Will spin, only if provoked? e.g. Sopwith Snipe, Nieuport 28 32 00 = Will spin more easily e.g. Airco D.H. 2, Nieuport 11 1e 00 = Will spin very easily, tricky aircraft e.g. Fokker Dr. I, Sopwith Camel 74-75 Same.................... 68 10 76-77 Unknown................. 32 00 Clues: ALL aircraft set to 32 00 except Gotha and Handley Page set to 3c 00. 78-79 Unknown................. 34 08 Clues: ALL aircraft set to 34 08 except Sopwith Triplane, Fokker Dr. I and Airco D. H. 2 at fc 08, and Gotha & Handley Page at 00 08. 80-89 Same.................... 00 00 ce 04 b9 00 b8 0b a0 0f 90-97 Same.................... c0 f9 18 01 33 01 00 00 98-99 Unknown................. 55 00 (85) Clues: Most fighters set to 55 00 (85). Other fighter values are 7d 00 (125) in SPAD XIII, 75 00 (117) in Nieuport 28 and S.E. 5a, and 34 00 (52) in Morane Bullet. Most bombers/recon set to 28 00 (40). Other bomber/recon values are 32 00 (50) in Gotha and Handley Page, and 2d 00 (45) in Bristol F.2B. 100-103 Same.................... 00 00 00 00 104-105 WING STRENGTH........... 00 00 Settings: 00 00 = Indestructible, wings will not fail in a dive e.g. Fokker D. VII, SPAD XIII, Gotha, Handley Page e4 0c = (3300) Very strong, but may fail in prolonged dive e.g. Siemens-Schuckert D. III, Sopwith Camel 54 0b = (2900) Not so strong e.g. Morane Bullet, Fokker E. III, most bombers/recon c4 09 = (2500) Weak, high speed dives are dangerous e.g. Nieuport 11, Albatros D. II 98 08 = (2200) Ridiculously weak e.g. Fokker D. VIII only 106-107 Same.................... 01 00 108-111 CEILING................. 38 c1 01 (115,000) Stored in low/mid/high bit format (01c138 = 115,000.) Divide by 5 for ceiling in feet. 115,000 / 5 = 23,000 ft for Fokker D. VII. 112-115 Same.................... f4 01 b0 04 116-119 TURN PERFORMANCE RT/LFT. bc 02 / bc 02 (700/700) First two bytes are for right turns, second two bytes for left turns. All aircraft have identical right and left ratings except for the Sopwith Camel and Snipe. Higher values seem to indicate a better turning radius. Values range from a low of 4a 01 (330) for a Morane Bullet to a2 03 / bc 02 (930/700) for a Sopwith Camel. 120-127 Same.................... 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00 128-129 Unknown................. a0 00 Clues: ALL aircraft a0 00 except Bristol F.2B c8 00. 130-139 Same.................... 84 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 140-141 TARGET SIZE............. 78 00 (120) This value is 78 00 (120) for all fighters and bomber/recon aircraft except the Gotha and Handley Page which are rated 2c 01 (300). Larger values increase the area within which the aircraft is susceptible to damage (pilot/engine) and thus make an aircraft easier to hit and destroy. 142-145 ALTIMETER POSITION...... 67 00 3c 00 The first two bytes for each gauge determine the horizontal position of the gauge, with lower values resulting in a position further left. The second two bytes determine the vertical position, with lower values resulting a position higher up on the panel. If the bytes are set to ff ff ff ff then the gauge will not be present on the aircraft's historical instrument panel. 146-149 INCLINOMETER POSITION... 72 00 6f 00 See Altimeter comment. 150-153 AIRSPEED INDICATOR POS.. a2 00 3b 00 See Altimeter comment. 154-157 COMPASS POSITION........ 0d 01 58 00 See Altimeter comment. 158-161 OIL PRESSURE GAUGE POS.. 38 00 47 00 See Altimeter comment. 162-165 FUEL GAUGE POSITION..... 0b 00 57 00 See Altimeter comment. 166-169 TACHOMETER POSITION..... df 00 47 00 See Altimeter comment. 170-173 Unknown................. 01 01 Clues: Byte 170 is 00 in ALL aircraft except SPAD VII, SPAD XIII, Sopwith Triplane/Pup/Snipe/Camel, Morane Bullet, and Fokker D. VII which are set to 01. Byte 173 is 01 in all fighters, and 02 in all bombers/recon. 172-173 COLLISION SIZE.......... 64 00 (100) Clues: All fighters and Bristol F.2B are set to 64 00 (100). All other bombers/recon are set to b4 00 (180) except Gotha and Handley Page set to 2c 01 (300). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |#: 257125 S7/Historic Air Combat | | 23-Nov-93 01:03:54 | |Sb: Baron Hex Editor | |Fm: Ian Cooper/Lis Lang 72724,522 | |To: All | | | | If anyone is interested I have found the collision size bytes in the A/C| |performance data files. They are at offset 172 & 173 and are easily changed | |using Joe Scoleri's RBHEX-ED sector editor. I'm sure I'm not alone in | |hating Red Baron's annoying tendency of every airplane being bent on | |colliding with one's own, and, after playing at 100 percent a few times I | |dived into my Data files, frothing at the mouth, desperate to change them. | |My preferences are as follows:- | | Heavy bombers 2C,01 (300) | | | | Reconnaisance Aircraft 87,00 (135) | | | | Fighters 4B,00 (75) | | | | The above figures seem to reflect a more realistic collision area, | |although there is a space behind each fighter & reconnaisance aircraft which| |will not go away, even with the smallest collision area possible. | | I might even suggest a smaller area for the fighter planes since in a | |dogfight, other planes don't seem to care whether they take you out using | |bullets or their own aircraft. A good value seems to be 32,00 (50). This is | |definitely not an accurate reflection of the sizes of the aircraft but it's | |a darn sight better than yelling "No! No! No! How could my wingman be so | |bloody stupid!" as you plummet to your fiery death. | | | | Ian Cooper. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 174-183 Same.................... 00 00 c4 ff bf ff 00 00 3e 01 184-187 Unknown................. 00 00 Clues: Most fighters set to 00 00 except SPAD VII & XIII set to 15 00, Nieuport 17, S.E. 5a, Pfalz D. III, Albatros D. II/III/V set to 10 00. Fokker Dr. I and all bombers/recon set to 05 00. 186-187 Unknown................. 8b 00 (139) Clues: Highest value 9f 00 (159) in Airco D.H. 2. Lowest value 6f 00 (111) in Fokker Dr. I and all bombers/recon. Only other fighter values are 9e 00 (158), 9d 00 (157), 8d 00 (141), 8c 00 (140), 8b 00 (139). 188-197 Same.................... 00 00 3f 01 00 00 a0 00 00 00 198-205 Unknown................. 3f 00 29 00 51 00 20 d1 Clues: ALL bombers/recon are: 28 00 28 00 55 00 f0 d8 Fighter values for byte 202 range from a high of 5b (Airco D.H. 2 only) to a low of 4e (Morane only.) Only other fighter values for byte 202 are 51, 52, and 57. Fighter values for bytes 204-205 range from 20 d1 to e8 ef. 206-207 GUN EFFECTIVENESS/DAMAGE 14 05 (1300) All bombers/recon are 20 03 except Gotha 00 04 (1028), Handley Page 14 05, Bristol F.2B 14 05. Fighter values are 20 03 (800), 84 03 (900), 00 04, and 14 05. As a general rule, twin gun fighters are rated 14 05 (1300) and single gun fighters are 20 03 (800). Exceptions are noted below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Date: 31-Dec-94 21:48 PST | |From: Scott E. Mobley [73562,44] | |Subj: 1 Gun Zeppelin Kills | | | |While lurking in FSFORUM, I came across the following message from | |Bill Cameron to "Jaybird" Johnson: | | | |<< Go figure? I just shot down a zepp in a Sopwith Pup. Plunty of ammo | |<< to spare! I checked my Baron Directory to see if I had any patches for | |<< a dual gun, but I didn't see any? Oh ya, I went solo on this one two. | |<< I tried it in a tripe and guess what, no go. I saved the tape of | |<< course but I remember trying this many times in all the 1 gun A/C with | |<< no success. | | | | Since seeing the above message on the 12th of Dec., I played around with | |all of the Allied fighters against a Zepp. Made a custom mission and as | |time permitted flew all of them against the Zepp in the same environment. | |Cameron is right! The Pup and the SE5a are the only 1 gun fighters that can | |knock down the Zepp. | | There are nine 1 gun fighters in RBMB, the N11, N17, N28, Morane Bullet, | |Airco DH2, Sopwith Triplane, SPAD 7, Sopwith Pup and SE5a. I flew each of | |them at least 3 times in the same custom mission and could not down the | |Zepp with any of them. All else being equal, the Pup and SE5a could down | |the Zepp in 5 or 6 passes with plenty of ammo to spare. All three of the | |2 gun fighters could also down the Zepp in a few passes on the first try. | | Well, you're probably saying, "so what, this isn't big news"! The point | |of this whole thing is, it prompted me to make use of Joe "Maverick" | |Scoleri's RBHEX-ED that has been laying around my hard drive since June. | |Poring over the "unknowns" I found that all of the Allied fighters that | |can shoot down a Zepp have an offset 207 value of 05. All of those that | |can't shoot down a Zepp have an offset 207 value of 03 (except for the | |N11 which has a value of 04). | | Thinking it worth a try, I changed the value for the SPAD 7 to 05 and | |flew the same custom mission. Bingo! first try the Zepp was down in 5 | |passes and the Spad still lots of ammo left over. Same thing with the | |N28, DH2 and other 1 gun fighters with a 207 offset of 03 or 04. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Date: 02-Jan-95 10:46 PST | |From: Scott E. Mobley [73562,44] | |Subj: RB Firepower | | | |Re: offset 206-207 | | | |All 2 gun scouts (Allied and German) have what I'll call a "Gun | |effectiveness factor" of 1300, MOST (6) 1 gun scouts have a factor of 800. | |The oddball 1 gun aircraft are: | | | | Plane "Factor" Comments | | | | Sopwith Pup 1300 (don't have any idea why!!) | | SE5a.........1300.....(maybe the flexible Lewis gun is also counted?) | | Nieuport 17 900 (either 1 Vickers or 1 Lewis, RB has Vickers) | | Fokker EIII..1028.....(maybe 1 Spandau is better than 1 Vickers/1 Lewis) | | | |I was wrong about the "factor" in regard to trains (and planes too). Further| |tests showed a real difference in effectiveness when the "factor" was | |changed from 800 to 1300. | | | |Of course after accounting for the High bit/Low bit storage format in the RB| |*.dat files, when I changed the value in offset 207 from 03 to 05, it | |changed the factor from 800 to 1312 (if offset 206 is 20). This is slightly | |higher than the 2 gun scouts and makes a tiger out of a pussy cat. | | | |So now I'll label offset 206-207 in RBHEX-ED.DAT "gun effectiveness factor".| | | | Scott | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 208-209 AMMUNITION LOAD......... c8 00 (200) Controls the amount of ammunition and also effects the rate at which the guns jam. Refer to the following explanation: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Date: 01-Feb-95 15:23 PST | |From: Scott E. Mobley [73562,44] | |Subj: RBMB guns again | | | | I have been poking around in the *.dat files for data that controls the | |ammunition loads for each aircraft because Joerg Strodthoff wants his | |Spandaus to have what he says is the historically accurate 500 rounds, | |(or maybe he wants to win the war). | | As you probably know, all of the scouts have approx. 300 rounds of ammo. | |I found that at offsets 208-209, changing the value of from C8 00 (200d) | |to 64 00 (100d) gives the plane affected approx. 550 rounds of ammo. | |This is NOT a direct ratio or even an inverse ratio but a threshold. | |I found that increasing 208-209 to 09 01 (400d) did not appear to change | |the rounds of ammo at all. Working from below and above 100d, the ammo | |loads are 300 rounds at 65 00 (010d) and 550 rounds at 64 00 (100d) or | |below. I tried 150d, 75d and 50d before zeroing in on the 100d threshold. | | So far I have found you can have 300 rounds by leaving the numbers | |at 208-209 at C8 00 (or any number of 101d or greater) or 550 rounds by | |changing the numbers to 64 00 or less. As I said, the number of rounds is | |approximate as my manual method of counting yields a slightly different | |number each time but I think these figures are at least 90% accurate. | | You can give the planes unlimited ammo by using 00 00 at offsets 208-209.| |Curiously, when you use 0 decimal you get unlimited ammo AND no jams! It | |goes like this: | | approximate approximate | |offsets decimal rounds of seconds of fire | |208 - 209 number ammunition before guns jam Remarks | |--------- ------- ----------- --------------- ------------------- | | 10 27 10,000 300 5-6 | | C8 00 200 300 5-6 system default | | 65 00 101 300 5-6 | | 64 00 100 550 5-6 | | 50 00 80 550 10-12 | | 31 00 49 550 18-20 | | 10 00 16 1300? 30-50 rounds/jams erratic | | 0A 00 10 Unlimited? 60-80 jams erratic | | 00 00 0 unlimited no jams | | 9C FF -100 unlimited no jams | | | | You will notice that between +100 and +10 decimal the rounds and time | |between jams increase but not at the same rate. | | I did not find a way to give the planes no ammo (or as they used to say | |in the Recce business "Alone, unarmed and unafraid" ). If you wish to | |simulate an "early war" observation plane, I suppose you could disable your | |trigger button . | | | |Have fun! Scott | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 210-215 Same.................... 28 00 14 00 1e 00 216-217 GUN POSITIONS........... 01 00 (1) This value is identical for all fighters since they only have a single gun position (fixed forward firing.) Note that a single gun position can have one OR two guns, so this value is 1 regardless of whether the fighter has one or two guns. Bombers/recon aircraft have from 1 to 3 gun positions. Following the Gun Positions bytes are sixteen bytes of data for each gun position, each set of data beginning with 00 00. This accounts for the different *.DAT file lengths. INDIVIDUAL GUN DATA: 218-219 TRACER ORIGIN, L/R...... 00 00 Each set of gun data starts with 00 00. This would be for gun position 1. ALL bombers and most fighters are 00 00. Exceptions are Nieu. 17 and Sop. Pup at 23 00, Halb. D II and Nieu. 28 at ec ff, and Nieu. 11 at 14 00. As you will read below, we now know these bytes control the left/right position of the tracer bullet stream from the aircraft. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Mav, June 1993 | | | | Here's what I have found out about the bytes at offsets 218, 220, | | and 222. They all specify where the origin of the tracer stream | | is located. Here are the specifics: | | | | Byte 218 - the origin of the tracer stream measured Left or Right | | from the A/C centerline (C/L); + number is to the right | | of the C/L and - number (e.g. EC FF for the Halb D-II | | and N-28) is to the left of the C/L. BTW, that EC FF | | is -20 decimal. | | | | Byte 220 - this is the origin of the tracer stream in front of | | the A/C. The value 00 will cause the tracers to start | | at about a distance of 1/3 of the screen in front (when | | viewed from outside the A/C). | | | | Byte 222 - the origin of the tracer stream above the A/C C/L; | | a + number indicates above and a - number indicates | | below. | | J.W. "Jaybird" Johnson | | [74020,1734] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 220-223 TRACER ORIGIN, F/B & U/D 4f 00 28 00 Clues: These bytes represent unknown gun data, maybe indicating where tracers come from on the aircraft when the guns are fired. *** See Addendum Above *** We now know that these bytes control the forward/back location (220-221) and up/down location of the tracer stream origin. 224-225 TRACERS/COWL POSITION... 00 01 NEW: Hey, I dig into Red Baron for five minutes getting this ready and even I found something new! The three different single gun settings indicate where the gun is located on the cowling... These bytes represent the number of tracers shown when the aircraft fires. They may also represent the damage done by an aircraft's gun because I can't otherwise understand the need for so many different settings. I also don't believe a decimal value is relevant here. Settings: 00 01 = Two sets of tracers, guns centered on cowling 02 03 = One set of tracers, gun on left side of cowling 04 05 = One set of tracers, gun on right side of cowling 06 07 = One set of tracers, gun on center of cowling 226-233 FIELD OF FIRE VER/HOR... 0c fe f4 01 0c fe f4 01 These are the values used by all fighters, and by the bomber/recon aircraft which have fixed forward firing guns (Bristol F.2B, Junkers J. I, R.E. 8, Roland C. II, and Rumpler C. IV.) The single exception is the Albatros D. V with 72 fc 8e 03 72 fc 8e 03...giving it a slightly wider field of fire! Other fields of fire include: Rear flex gun in B.E.2/Aviatik a0 0f 10 27 a8 61 58 9e Rear flex gun in F.E.2b 70 17 e0 2e a8 61 58 9e Front flex gun in F.E.2b 60 f0 a0 0f c0 e0 40 1f Upper rear flex gun in Gotha/HP c4 09 40 1f c0 5d 40 a2 Lower rear flex gun in Gotha/HP c0 e0 3c f6 c0 5d 40 a2 Front flex gun in Gotha/HP 78 ec 88 13 60 f0 a0 0f Rear flex gun in all others b8 0b 28 23 c0 5d 40 a2 Ok, it's time for a geometry lesson. And I'm no geometry teacher. So if you aren't concerned with creating custom flexible gunner fields of fire, skip down to the heading CONTENTS OF GOTHA.DAT. To avoid confusion, when I used the word PLANE in reference to a geometric PLANE, I will use all capitals. That way you know if I'm talking about the PLANE or the airplane. It's a bit complicated to explain exactly how these work, but here goes. The first four bytes define the field of fire in the vertical PLANE, the second four bytes define the field of fire in the horizontal PLANE. In each group of four bytes, the first pair defines the start of the arc, and the second pair defines the end of the arc. Let's tackle the horizontal PLANE first. Imagine viewing an aircraft from overhead. Now imagine a circle around the aircraft. We will mark this circle into 65,536 parts, much like a compass is divided into 360 degrees. 0 is straight ahead and the values increase clockwise forming an imaginary circle around the aircraft. Therefore a value of 32,768 would be straight back, 16,384 would be 90 degrees right, and 49,152 would be 90 degrees to the left. See the diagram below (in which our imaginary circle turned into a diamond shape.) Thus, the field of fire for standard fighter guns in the horizontal PLANE runs from 0c fe (65,036) TO f4 01 (500). Since the values increase clockwise, you pass across 0 to get to 500. The field of fire is the arc between point-a and point-b on the diagram below. As you know, fighters can only fire at targets directly in front of them, so the arc is narrow. Next consider the typical rear gunner field of fire in the horizontal PLANE, c0 5d (24,000) to 40 a2 (41,536). On the diagram below point c is at approximately 24,000 on our imaginary circle, and point d is at about 41,536. As you can see, the field of fire for a rear gunner in the horizontal plane is a wide arc to the rear of the plane, from point-c to point-d. For an even clearer picture, see page S-10 of the RED BARON manual. The shaded arc on the right half of page S-10 shows the arc described by the *.DAT file. HORIZONTAL PLANE (AIRCRAFT VIEWED FROM TOP) front 0 or 65,536 II a/ \b / \ / \ / ---- \ / /\ \ / ---------- \ 49,152 - ---------- - 16,384 left - || - right \ || / \ ==== / \ / d\ /c \ / \ / II 32,768 back Now for the vertical PLANE. It is important to remember that the front/back reference has already been made in the horizontal PLANE. The values for the arc in the vertical PLANE will strictly relate to up and down, NOT forward and back per se. Imagine another circle, but this time around an aircraft being viewed from the side. We will place 0 to the left of the aircraft and on the same level. Number the circle clockwise so that 16,384 is straight up, 32,768 is level with the aircraft opposite from point 0, and 49,152 is directly below the aircraft. Take the example of a fighter's field of fire, which has the same values as in the horizontal PLANE- from 0c fe (65,036) to f4 01 (500). The diagram below shows that the arc runs from point-a at 65,036, slightly below the aircraft, to point-b at 500, slightly above the aircraft. Next consider the typical rear gunner field of fire in the vertical PLANE, b8 0b (3,000) to 28 23 (9,000). On the diagram below we see the arc from point-c at 3,000 to point-d at 9,000 is ONLY above the aircraft, because the rear gunner's field of fire is blocked by the fuselage of the aircraft. If you look at page S-10 of the RED BARON manual again, the shaded arc on the left side of the page illustrates this. You might be wondering why the rear gunner's arc in the diagram below looks like it fires in the same direction as the front guns of the fighter. Both arc a-b and arc c-d are facing the same direction! WRONG. Remember, the direction relative to the aircraft (whether front or back) is determined by the data for the arc in the horizontal PLANE. In the horizontal PLANE, the fighter's guns are defined as facing forward, and the rear gunner is defined as facing backwards. If you've worked with polar coordinates, then you probably have a handle on this already. If not, you may need to think about it for a while before you get it. Remember, the data for the vertical PLANE only shows at what angle UP or DOWN the gunner can fire. VERTICAL PLANE (AIRCRAFT VIEWED FROM SIDE) above 16,384 II d/ \ / \ / \ c/ \ b/ \ 0 / ---------- \ level or - -side--of- - 32,768 level 65,536 - -aircraft- - \ ---------- / a\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / II 49,152 below CONTENTS OF GOTHA.DAT The first set of gun position and field of fire values constitutes the last bytes of a fighter *.DAT file, so I will conclude by examining the second and third gun positions as defined for the Gotha G. IV. Essentially, these mirror the data for the first gun position. Offset Description Gotha G. IV example ------- ------------------- -------------------------------------------- 234-239 Gun position 2 data..... 00 00 14 ff d0 ff Same function as bytes 218-223. Determines the origin of the tracer stream for gun position 3. Thanks to J.W. "Jaybird" Johnson. 240-241 TRACERS for gun 2....... 06 07 242-249 FIELD OF FIRE for gun 2. c0 e0 3c f6 c0 5d 40 a2 250-255 Gun position 3 data..... 00 00 65 01 54 00 Same function as bytes 218-223 and 234-239. Thanks again Jaybird! 256-257 TRACERS for gun 3....... 06 07 258-265 FIELD OF FIRE for gun 3. 78 ec 88 13 60 f0 a0 0f ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. SPECIFIC AIRCRAFT DATA To save you the time, here's the performance data for RED BARON aircraft. Most of the columns list the decimal value first, followed by the hexadecimal value. The `Spin' characteristics column a yes/no indication as to whether the aircraft will spin or not. The Rotary `Torque' column gives only the hex values for aircraft which have a torque effect. The decimal value given for ceiling is in feet (the hex value divided by 5.) The `Guns' column lists the number of gun positions on the aircraft. The `Field of Fire' columns state the field of fire type and tracer/gun strength value (see `Types of Fields of Fire' chart below.) Data Types and Byte Locations Power Drag Response Torque Spin Wing Str. Ceiling Aircraft 32-33 36-37 42-43 66-69 72-73 104-105 108-111 --------- ----- ----- --------- -------- ---- ---------- -------------- Airco DH2 45/2d 40/28 400/90 01 Y/32 2900/54 0b 14.5k/34 16 01 " DH4 58/3a 50/32 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 16.0k/80 38 01 Alb. D2 56/38 43/2b 300/2c 01 N 2500/c4 09 17.0k/08 4c 01 ............................................................................... Alb. D3 56/38 42/2a 400/90 01 N 2500/c4 09 18.0k/90 5f 01 Alb. D5 64/40 45/2d 450/c2 01 N 2900/54 0b 20.0k/a0 86 01 Aviatik 54/36 50/32 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 11.5k/9c e0 00 ............................................................................... BE 2c 54/36 50/32 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 10.0k/50 c3 00 Bristol 67/43 45/2d 400/90 01 N ind./00 00 20.0k/a0 86 01 FE 2b 54/36 50/32 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 11.0k/d8 d6 00 ............................................................................... Fokker E3 49/31 44/2c 250/fa 00 9c ff 32 N 2900/54 0b 11.5k/9c e0 00 Fokk. Dr1 49/31 37/25 650/8a 02 38 ff 64 Y/1e 2900/54 0b 20.0k/a0 86 01 Fokker D7 82/52 56/38 500/f4 01 N ind./00 00 23.0k/38 c1 01 ............................................................................... Fokker D8 75/4b 49/31 500/f4 01 N 2200/98 08 19.7k/60 80 01 Gotha 58/3a 50/32 250/fa 00 N ind./00 00 21.3k/04 a0 01 Halb. D2 56/38 33/51 400/90 01 Y/32 3300/e4 0c 19.6k/d0 7e 01 ............................................................................... Handley 58/3a 50/32 250/fa 00 N ind./00 00 7.0k/b8 88 00 Junkers 58/3a 50/32 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 20.0k/a0 86 01 Morane 43/2b 40/28 250/fa 00 9c ff 32 N 2900/54 0b 13.0k/e8 fd 00 ............................................................................... Nieu. 11 44/2c 37/25 500/f4 01 Y/32 2500/c4 09 15.1k/ba 26 01 Nieu. 17 54/36 40/28 400/90 01 9c ff 32 Y/32 2500/c4 09 17.4k/d8 53 01 Nieu. 28 72/48 48/30 450/c2 01 Y/3c 2900/54 0b 17.0k/08 4c 01 ............................................................................... Pfalz D3 60/3c 47/2f 400/90 01 N 3300/e4 0c 17.0k/08 4c 01 RE 8 55/37 45/2d 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 13.5k/ac 07 01 Roland 55/37 45/2d 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 20.0k/a0 86 01 ............................................................................... Rumpler 57/39 45/2d 250/fa 00 N 2900/54 0b 21.0k/28 9a 01 SE 5a 72/48 44/2c 400/90 01 N ind./00 00 19.5k/dc 7c 01 Siem. D3 72/48 52/34 650/8a 02 38 ff 64 Y/1e 3300/e4 0c 26.2k/80 00 02 ............................................................................... Sop Camel 56/38 40/28 600/58 02 70 fe c8 Y/1e 3300/e4 0c 19.0k/18 73 01 Sop Pup 44/2c 35/23 400/90 01 N 3300/e4 0c 17.5k/cc 55 01 Sop Snipe 72/48 47/2f 600/58 02 38 ff 64 Y/3c 3300/e4 0c 20.5k/64 90 01 ............................................................................... Sop Tripe 52/34 38/26 500/f4 01 06 ff 64 Y/1e 3300/e4 0c 20.5k/64 90 01 SPAD 7 55/37 38/26 300/2c 01 N 3300/e4 0c 18.0k/90 5f 01 SPAD 13 77/4d 48/30 450/c2 01 N ind./00 00 21.8k/c8 a9 01 Data Types and Byte Locations Turn Perf. Guns Field of Fire 1 Field of Fire 2 Field of Fire 3 Aircraft 116-119 216 224-233 240-249 256-265 --------- --------- ---- --------------- --------------- --------------- Airco DH2 400/90 01 01 Fighter/06 07 Airco DH4 450/c2 01 02 Obs gun/00 01 Fighter/06 07 Alb. D2 430/ae 01 01 Fighter/00 01 ............................................................................... Alb. D3 600/58 02 01 Fighter/00 01 Alb. D5 630/76 02 01 D 5 ftr/00 01 Aviatik 450/c2 01 01 FS obs/06 07 ............................................................................... BE 2c 450/c2 01 01 FS obs/06 07 Bristol 500/f4 01 02 Obs gun/00 01 Fighter/06 07 FE 2b 450/c2 01 02 FE2 obs/06 07 FE2 fwd/06 07 ............................................................................... Fokker E3 360/68 01 01 Fighter/04 05 Fokk. Dr1 780/0c 03 01 Fighter/00 01 Fokker D7 700/bc 02 01 Fighter/00 01 ............................................................................... Fokker D8 720/d0 02 01 Fighter/00 01 Gotha 400/90 01 03 Hvy obs/06 07 Hvy low/06 07 Hvy fwd/06 07 Halb. D2 430/ae 01 01 Fighter/02 03 ............................................................................... Handley 400/90 01 03 Hvy obs/00 01 Hvy low/06 07 Hvy fwd/00 01 Junkers 450/c2 01 02 Obs gun/06 07 Fighter/00 01 Morane 330/4a 01 01 Fighter/06 07 ............................................................................... Nieu. 11 600/58 02 01 Fighter/04 05 Nieu. 17 600/58 02 01 Fighter/06 07 Nieu. 28 700/bc 02 01 Fighter/02 03 ............................................................................... Pfalz D3 540/1c 02 01 Fighter/00 01 RE 8 450/c2 01 02 Obs gun/00 01 Fighter/00 01 Roland 450/c2 01 02 Obs gun/06 07 Fighter/06 07 ............................................................................... Rumpler 450/c2 01 02 Obs gun/06 07 Fighter/06 07 SE 5a 610/62 02 01 Fighter/02 03 SSW D3 750/ee 02 01 Fighter/00 01 ............................................................................... Sop Camel * see note 01 Fighter/00 01 Sop Pup 500/f4 01 01 Fighter/06 07 Sop Snipe * see note 01 Fighter/00 01 ............................................................................... Sop Tripe 580/44 02 01 Fighter/04 05 SPAD 7 430/ae 01 01 Fighter/04 05 SPAD 13 650/8a 02 01 Fighter/00 01 * Right and left the same for all aircraft except Sopwith Camel and Snipe. Camel values are: 930/a2 03 (right), 700/bc 02 (left) Snipe values are: 840/48 03 (right), 780/0c 03 (left) Types of Fields of Fire Fighter - one or two fixed forward firing guns mounted on the cowling D5 ftr - same configuration as Fighter Obs gun - rear seat observer with rearward firing flexible machine gun FS obs - front seat observer firing rearward flex gun over pilot's head FE2 fwd - front seat observer with forward firing flexible machine gun FE2 obs - front seat observer firing rearward flex gun over wing of pusher Hvy obs - rearward firing flexible machine gun in heavy bomber Hvy low - rearward firing flex gun down through heavy bomber fuselage Hvy fwd - forward firing flexible machine gun in heavy bomber FOF Type Horizontal arc Hex values Vertical arc Hex values -------- -------------- -------------- ------------ -------------- Fighter 3ø L to 3ø R 0c fe to f4 01 -3ø to 3ø 0c fe to f4 01 D 5 ftr 5ø L to 5ø R 72 fc to 8e 03 -5ø to 5ø 72 fc to 8e 03 Obs gun 132ø to 228ø c0 5d to 40 a2 17ø to 50ø b8 0b to 28 23 ............................................................................... FS obs 137ø to 223ø a8 61 to 58 9e 22ø to 55ø a0 0f to 10 27 FE2 fwd 49øL to 44øR c0 e0 to 40 1f -22ø to 22ø 60 f0 to a0 0f FE2 obs 137ø to 223ø a8 61 to 58 93 33ø to 66ø 70 17 to e0 2e ............................................................................... Hvy obs 132ø to 228ø c0 5d to 40 a2 14ø to 44ø c4 09 to 40 1f Hvy low 132ø to 228ø c0 5d to 40 a2 -44ø to -14ø c0 e0 to 3c f6 Hvy fwd 22øL to 22øR 60 f0 to a0 0f -27ø to 28ø 78 ec to 88 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. UNPACKING PLANE DATA FROM VOLUME.005 To avoid having to modify your original VOLUME.005 file, I have provided a program (UNPACK.EXE) to extract all of the *.DAT files stored in VOLUME.005. ******************************** IMPORTANT ******************************** * * * Any *.DAT files matching those unpacked will be overwritten and LOST * * so back up any previously modified files (patched files, etc.) * * * *************************************************************************** Because RED BARON looks for *.DAT files in the default directory before going to VOLUME.005, you may modify these extracted *.DAT files instead of having to hunt them down in VOLUME.005. Any *.DAT files you do not wish to modify may be deleted. DON'T accidently delete the Mission Builder *.DAT files! I have not included a file to extract the graphics data from the VOLUME files. Because there is no way to modify the appearance data, there is no reason to extract the graphics data. Extracting this data also seems to result in slightly longer RED BARON loading times. You can manually extract the data with a hex editing program. One that allows you to mark a block of data and write it to a file should be sufficient to extract the *.TBL, *.CLG, and *.TTM files. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. VCR FILES One side effect of modifying the *.DAT files is that VCR files will not play back properly if any performance related modifications were made to the aircraft (speed, maneuverability, etc.) Therefore, you will probably have trouble playing back old tapes after making modifications (i.e. an aircraft will shoot at a target that's not there.) Also, you must have the modified *.DAT files installed if you plan on replaying a VCR tape made with a modified aircraft. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Bill "Mac" McNeal for providing information on the "alternate" 256 color version of Red Baron (see READ.ME for the details.) Thanks to J.W. "Jaybird" Johnson who unwittingly got me started on this mad project by suggesting it in the .DOC file to his Fokker D. VIII wing patch. Added thanks for finding the tracer origin and rudder yaw rate bytes! Thanks to Keith Heitmann who originally discovered the wing strength byte locations. Thanks to Ben Krauskopf, Jim Burton, and all the other SWOTL hex code hackers who also served to inspire this project. Their breakdown of the SWOTL data gave me a handle on what to look for when I started to strip down the RED BARON files. And a NEW thanks to Ian Cooper who shared the frustration with mid-airs that irks many a Red Baron fan. Fortunately he put all of us at ease by locating the collision size bytes! More NEW thanks going out to Scott Mobley for helping us bring you more historically accurate firepower by locating the gun effectiveness bytes (with the help of Glen Bolderson) and the ammunition load bytes!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IX. THAT'S ALL FOLKS! Ok, there you have it. A pretty good start for modifying your RED BARON aircraft. I hope my clues will get you on the right track to figuring out the `Unknowns' and completing this documentation. You are given permission to distribute this document freely with no modifications. Please upload it to other on-line services or bulletin boards where RED BARON enthusiasts hang out! Your assistance is needed! Swap values. Test, test, test, because I'm ready to puke if I edit one more byte! Send any new findings to me, Joe Scoleri, at any of the following locations (in order of preference): My BBS system: (209) 233-7835 (The Maverick) AOL address: ThMaverick CIS address: 70671,1524 The Maverick All contributors will be acknowledged. Thanks in advance! Now go soup up that old Fokker... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All original material Copyright (C) 1995 by Joe Scoleri -------------------------------------------------------------------------------