SimHQ.com - The Simulation Community's = Headquarters

Community News for=20 September 8, 2006

Air Combat = News

News Contributor: = Doug "Uther"=20 Lawrence.

European Air War: =

Ground Object Preview: Oil storage tank.=20
Spitfire Mk.Vc (1U, Flt. Lt. = Denis=20 Barnham, Takali, 1942) skin.

Screenshots and Video = Gallery:=20

F-18 photos and video by = "Maya7".=20

F-22 Total = Air=20 War:=20

EF2000 V2.0 Win95 Key now = available in=20 PDF.

IL-2 = Series:=20 Forgotten Battles, AEP, Pacific Fighters:=20

New DGEN for 405 and 406.=20
FM-2 Wildcat ("Smokey's Lucky = Witch",=20 VC-10, USS Gambier Bay, 1944) skin.=20
B17D and Fortress Mk.I skins.=20
A new version of PlaneTable has = been=20 released.=20
MiG-3 skins.=20
Bf-109F-2 (5./JG54, = Hptm.Reinhard Seiler,=20 September 1941) skin.

Strike Fighters / Wings Over = Vietnam /=20 Wings Over Europe:=20

A-26C Skins at Combatace.=20
Mid-East Madness skin pack = preview.=20

Land Combat

News Contributor: = Chuck=20 "Magnum" Ankenbauer.

Game = News:

Worthplaying has news that Panzer Elite Action: Dunes of = War gets=20 delayed.
Gamershell has the Just Cause Trailer #9.
Blues News has the release date = set for Joint Task Force.
Blues News reports that EA = announces that=20 beta testing of Battlefield 2142 will open up to = another=20 10,000 testers.

Naval Combat = News

News Contributor: = Tom=20 "NightCrawler" Mauk.

Ship = Simulator 2006:

3dGamers=20 brings us news that Lighthouse Entertainment has = released an=20 upgrade patch that brings it up to version 1.4. For = more=20 information and to download this patch, sail over here.

Pacific Storm: = Allies:

Gamespot=20 has posted up 16 brand new screenshots for this = naval combat=20 expansion pack. You can view them here.

This Day in Naval History - = September=20 8

1923 - In disaster at = Point Honda,=20 Calif., seven destroyers run aground through faulty=20 navigation.=20
1939 - President Franklin = D.=20 Roosevelt proclaims a limited national emergency and = increases enlisted strength in the Navy and Marine = Corps;=20 also authorizes the recall to active duty of = officers, men=20 and nurses on the retired lists of the Navy and = Marine=20 Corps.=20
1954 - U.S. signs Manila = Treaty=20 forming SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization).=20
1958 - Lt. R. H. Tabor, = wearing a=20 Navy-developed pressure suit, completes a 72-hour = simulated=20 flight at altitudes as high a 139,000 feet. It was = another=20 step in the development of the Navy spacesuit, which = NASA=20 accepted in 1959 for use by Mercury astronauts.=20

USS = Texas:=20

Crew pays respect with a=20 wreath-laying ceremony aboard the retired Battleship = USS=20 Texas. You can read more here.

Pearl Harbor:

From Yahoo News: Survivor's Web site = offers=20 Pearl Harbor accounts.

Motorsports News

News Contributor: = Jens=20 "McGonigle" Lindblad.

Grand Prix = Legends:

Coming up to it's 8th birthday this year, Grand = Prix=20 Legends is still going strong. Just take a look at = this delicious Matra MS-80 whick = will be=20 included in the 1969 mod part 3.

Technology = News

News Contributor: = Bob=20 "KnightRyder" Nielsen.

Cooling:

Legion Hardware tests out the = ASUS Chilly=20 Vent & Chilly Vent Lux here.=20
Tweaknews tests out the Apack = Zerotherm=20 BTF80 Aluminum Heatpipe here.

Graphics Cards: =

Overclock3D tests out the = PowerColor=20 X1950XTX card here.=20
Hardware.Info tests the ATi = Radeon X1650=20 Pro here.

Motherboards: =

HEXUS.net checks out the ASUS = P5W64 WS=20 Professional board here.=20
Legit Reviews puts an ASRock = 775Dual-VSTA=20 Motherboard throught its paces here.

Storage:

OCC checks out the Sandisk = Cruzer Titanium=20 2GB USB U3 Flash Drive here.=20
C.O.D. tests out the Western = Digital 500GB=20 HDD (WD5000KS) here.

Community News for September 7, = 2006

Air Combat = News

News Contributor: = Doug "Uther"=20 Lawrence.

After Action Reports: =

"Hawkx" has posted a TAW AAR - Strike San'a rev.1.=20
"The Nephilim" has posted = a TAW AAR.=20
"D-scythe" has posted a = LOMAC F-15C AAR.

Battle of Britain 2: Wings = of=20 Victory:=20

New ground object tweaks.=20
New Terrain update.=20
Speech Mod Fix version 3b = (Final) has been=20 released.

Combat=20 Flight Simulator 3:=20

AvH Version-4 of = HerbieG-Bravo/4 B-17G-80 Chow Hound has been = released.=20

European = Air=20 War:=20

Sandbagger's latest news has been posted.=20
HR Gladiators Latvia - Luftwaffe = have been=20 released.=20
EAW Documents now available in = PDF format.=20

Event=20 Photography:=20

"RSColonel_131st" has = posted a Mi-24 Hind photo.=20
"Pathfinder" has posted = Spitfire Anniversary Show = [Duxford]=20 photos.

Falcon 4.0:=20 Allied Force:=20

"Silverfox_bsog" has = released a new=20 video.

IL-2 Series: Forgotten = Battles, AEP,=20 Pacific Fighters:=20

"Cpt-Farrel" has released = Bf-109G-10 (East Front) skins.=20
"F19_Orheim" has released = a new movie - M=E4rkaj=E4rvi. =

Strike Fighters / Wings Over = Vietnam /=20 Wings Over Europe:=20

The Nakajima B5N1 'Kate' has been = released.=20

General = News:=20

The Virtual=20 Aircraft Website has been updated.

Land Combat

News Contributor: = Chuck=20 "Magnum" Ankenbauer.

Red = Orchestra:

Tripwire = Interactive has=20 announced the next update is due in mid-September. = Here is a=20 quick summary of what is included in this=20 update:

Addition of the Gewehr 41: the German semi = automatic=20 rifle which was used early in the war but phased out = with=20 the arrival of the much improved G43.
All new Russian voice commands. Recorded by = Russians, in=20 Russia. They sound good!
Updated jogging animations.
New custom death icons for Panzerfaust and = Sniper=20 kills.
Fire mode icon for weapons with selectable fire = modes=20 (STG44).
Weapon pickup enhancements: listening to the = feedback=20 from the free week, we have implemented a much more = simple=20 system for picking up/dropping your current weapon. = Weapons=20 can now be picked up by looking at the weapon you = want to=20 pick up and pressing the Use key. Your current = weapon will=20 then be dropped automatically.
Ammo pickup enhancements: when a player drops = ammo they=20 now drop a single ammo belt or ammo pouch instead of = multiple ammo clips or bullets. This makes the = process of=20 taking ammo from a dead enemy (or picking up your = ammo when=20 your weapon is shot out of your hand) much = easier.
Player ragdolls (i.e. dead bodies) are now = effected by=20 explosions from grenades and other = explosions.
As requested, we have added an option for = original role=20 names: the player can now choose to view the = original=20 untranslated role names in game.
A good number of bug fixes. Look for the full = list in=20 the final change log.

Naval Combat = News

News Contributor: = Tom=20 "NightCrawler" Mauk.

This Day = in Naval=20 History - September 7:

1776 - David Bushnell attempts to destroy = a=20 British ship-of-the-line, HMS Asia, in New York = Harbor with=20 his submarine Turtle.=20
1814 - USS Wasp captures HMS Avon.=20
1864 - USS Wachusett captures CSS Florida = at=20 Bahia, Brazil.=20
1942 - First air evacuation of casualties = to=20 hospital ships off shore occurs at Guadalcanal. =

Motorsports News

News Contributor: = Jens=20 "McGonigle" Lindblad.

rFactor:

Hudson Kerr = closes its'=20 doors. Until final closure on Sunday 10th, Hudson = offers=20 discounts and giveaways. All best wishes to Hudson = and good=20 luck with his new career.
Brianza v. 1.0 has been released by ISI, and = offers=20 several layouts, including the full banked Monza = circuit.=20 Get it here.

Technology = News

News Contributor: = Bob=20 "KnightRyder" Nielsen.

Cases:

MODTHEBOX=20 checks out the I-Star S-9000 Server Tower Case = Review here.

Cooling:

DH=20 checks out the Aquagate Mini R120 here.=20
XSReviews.co.uk checks out the = OCZ Tempest=20 CPU Cooler here.

Graphics Cards: =

HEXUS.net=20 tests out the eVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS Superclocked = Video Card=20 here.=20
HotHardware tests out the = GeForce 7900 GS=20 480M Extreme here.

Motherboards: =

Phoronix=20 tests out the ASUS WL-500g Premium Motherboard here.=20
Hardware.Info checks out the = ASUS=20 Crosshair motherboard here.

Community News for = September=20 6, 2006

Air Combat = News

News Contributor: = Doug "Uther"=20 Lawrence.

EAW:

Sandbagger has updated his news page here.
Pathfinder has posted images from the Duxford = air show=20 here.

Flyboys (the movie):

FlyRetired has posted two links to pdfs about = the new=20 WWI movie. Download them here and here.

Jet Thunder:

A possible Xbox360 version somewhere in the = future? Read=20 here.

Jane's F/A-18:

A new mission set is in-the-works. Read here.

Land Combat

News Contributor: = Chuck=20 "Magnum" Ankenbauer.

America's = Army:

Serious Games Source interviews = Frank=20 Blackwell. Read here.

Naval Combat = News

News Contributor: = Tom=20 "NightCrawler" Mauk.

Ship = Simulator=20 2006:

Word from 3dGamers is that the = German=20 retail patch is now online, bringing that language = edition=20 of the civilian naval and harbor simulation by = VStep to version 1.3, in = sync with=20 the recent international update. You can download = that=20 version here.=20

This Day in = Naval History=20 - September 6:

1918 - Sailors fire first of the five = railroad=20 batteries at Tergnier, a German rail head in the = Comeigne=20 Forest. These 14-inch, 50-caliber guns were = originally=20 designed for battleships.=20
1939 - Navy begins formation of = neutrality patrol=20 for Atlantic Ocean.=20
1940 - First destroyers transferred to = Great=20 Britain at Halifax, Nova Scotia, under "Destroyers = for=20 Bases" agreement.=20
1944 - USS Independence (CVL 22) begins = use of=20 specially trained air group for night work. First = time a=20 fully-equipped night carrier operates with fast = carrier task=20 force.=20
1945 - U.S. troops begin returning home = when Task=20 Force 11 left Tokyo Bay for the United States.=20
1953 - Exchange of prisoners of war from = Korean=20 War (Operation Big Switch) ends.

USS Texas:

SUBSIM=20 has some September 4th, Galveston, Texas arrival = photos of=20 the US Navy's latest Fast Attack Submarine. The=20 commissioning ceremony is scheduled for Sept 9th. = You can=20 view the images here.=20

Motorsports News

News Contributor: = Jens=20 "McGonigle" Lindblad.

Motorsports=20 Community:

The September issue of Autosimsport is now out. = Get your=20 copy here.

RACE: The ETCC Game:

According to Blackhole Motorsports, = RACE,=20 SimBin's ETCC simulation, is targeted for a November = release.

SimHQnet Motorsports:

Thomas has posted a first-class video of = Sunday's event=20 here. Well done!

Test Drive Unlimited:

Test Drive Unlimited for the Xbox 360 has = shipped. The=20 official web site is here.

Technology = News

News Contributor: = Bob=20 "KnightRyder" Nielsen.

Cases:

MetkuMods checks out the Zalman = HD135 HTPC=20 Case here.
Tweaknews peeks into the Spire = Pininfarina=20 Silver Case here.

Cooling:

XSReviews tests the OCZ Tempest = CPU Cooler=20 here.
DragonSteelMods checks out the = Nmedia=20 IceCone CPU Cooler here.

Graphics Cards: =

Overclockers Online tests out = the Albatron=20 7300GT 256MB Video Card here.
Technibble has an article titled = "How to=20 Replace a Video Card Fan" here.
Guru of 3D checks out the = Sparkle Calibre=20 P790+512MB (SLI - GeForce 7900 GTs) cards here.

Community News for = September=20 5, 2006

Air Combat = News

News Contributor: = Doug "Uther"=20 Lawrence.

IL-2 = Series:=20 Forgotten Battles, AEP, Pacific Fighters:

Ian Boys links to = new RRG=20 screenshots here.

Jet = Thunder:

New screenshots on the official site here.

Land Combat

News Contributor: = Chuck=20 "Magnum" Ankenbauer.

1C Company's = Games=20 Convention:

Worthplaying has posted Theatre = of War=20 screens from 1C Company's Games Convention 2006 here.

Naval Combat = News

News Contributor: = Tom=20 "NightCrawler" Mauk.

PT Boats: = Knights of the=20 Sea:

Worthplaying has new screenshots = here.

Swashbucklers: Blue=20 vs. Grey:

This is a Naval Action/RPG game set in time of = the=20 American Civil War, the time of the last pirate = renaissance=20 on the Caribbean, for which the Union fleet = blockaded the=20 Southern ports, rupturing all the trading = connections of the=20 Confederacy. For more 3dGamers has some = interesting=20 screenshots and movies here.=20

Technology sets sub apart = from=20 others:

Read here.

This Day in Naval History - = September=20 5:

1775 - Adoption of first uniforms for = Navy=20 officers.=20
1813 - USS Enterprise captures HM brig = Boxer off=20 Portland, Maine.=20
1918 - USS Mount Vernon torpedoed by = German=20 submarine off France.=20
1923 - U.S. Asiatic Fleet arrives at = Yokohama,=20 Japan, to provide medical assistance and supplies = after=20 Kondo Plain earthquake.=20
1939 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt = orders=20 Navy to form a neutrality patrol to report the = presence of=20 foreign warships within 300 miles of eastern United = States.=20
1946 - USS Franklin Delano Roosevelt (CVB = 42) and=20 four escorts visit Greece to underscore U.S. support = for the=20 Greek government, which faced a communist = insurgency.=20
1990 - USS Acadia (AD 42) departs San = Diego for=20 first war-time deployment of mixed gender crew on = combat=20 vessel.

Motorsports News

News Contributor: = Jens=20 "McGonigle" Lindblad.

rFactor:

rstockcars are = ready with=20 version 0.97 of the Stock Cat Evolution mod.
Ever thought about trackmaking for rFactor? A = new tool=20 has been released. It is still in beta and can be = downloaded=20 from here.

Technology = News

News Contributor: = Bob=20 "KnightRyder" Nielsen.

Cases:

MADSHRIMPS checks into the = Coolermaster=20 Mystique ATX Case here.

Graphics Cards: =

Technic3D checks out the Galaxy = GeForce=20 7300 GT Passive here.
Driverheaven tests out the Palit = 7900GT=20 Sonic 512MB card here.

Motherboards: =

T-Break checks out the DFI = nForce 590-SLI=20 board here.
Techgage tests out the ASUS = M2N32-SLI=20 Deluxe WiFi Edition here.

PPU's:

GotFrag tests out the Asus PhysX = PPU here.

Community News for = September=20 4, 2006

Air Combat = News

News Contributor: = Doug "Uther"=20 Lawrence.

FS2002 / = FS2004:

Press announcement from AVHistory about their = new=20 "MOLLY II" Boeing Flying Fortress:

Gregory Pierson's v4.0 first released in August = 2006=20 represents a complete update of the AvHistory=20 1% Assembly Line Process (1%ALP). Compared to = our=20 previous efforts, 4.0 is an order of magnitude = improvement=20 and a closer step towards our goal of producing = aircraft=20 that perform within 1% of the real = aircraft.

Land Combat

News Contributor: = Chuck=20 "Magnum" Ankenbauer.

Armed = Assault:

Jammydodger has posted news of some new screens = here.

Battlefield = 2142:

PC.IGN reports=20 on the game's multiplayer here.

Theatre of War:

Sim has posted a link to a new video of ToW here at YouTube.

Naval Combat = News

News Contributor: = Tom=20 "NightCrawler" Mauk.

PT Boats: = Knights of=20 the Sea:

3dGamers=20 is host to a new batch of screenshots for this World = War II=20 naval combat simulation being developed at Akella. You can browse the = images here.=20

Pacific = Storm:=20

Frogster Interactive=20 Pictures has announced that it has hit = trader's=20 shelves all over Germany. You can read more here.=20

Pacific = Storm:=20 Allies:

Buka = Entertainment has=20 released a new movie trailer which shows off the 3D=20 real-time World War II action strategy expansion = pack being=20 created at Lesta = Studio.=20 3DGamers has provided the = download for you=20 here.=20

War in the = Pacific:=20

Gamespot=20 brings us news of a Scenario Editor v6 Update for = this naval=20 combat game. Here is=20 where you can read about the changes and download = the 2.1 Mb=20 Editor.

Tortuga - Two=20 Treasures:

Set in the Caribbean of the early 18th century = this=20 naval pirate game is an action adventure brimming = with=20 Caribbean myth, legendary treasures and fearsome = pirates.=20 For more information on this upcoming release = proceed here. Hooked=20 Gamers has also provided some recent=20 screenshots here.=20

This Day in = Naval History=20 - September 4:

1804 - USS Intrepid (Lt. Richard Somers) = blew up=20 in failed attack on Tripoli.=20
1941 - A German submarine, U-652, attacks = USS=20 Greer (DD 145), which was tracking the submarine = southeast=20 of Iceland. Greer is not damaged, but drops depth = charges,=20 damaging U-652.=20
1954 - Icebreakers, USS Burton Island = (AGB 1) and=20 USCG Northwind (WAG 282), complete first transit of=20 Northwest passage through McClure Strait.=20
1960 - USS Bushnell (AS 15) and USS = Penguin (ASR=20 12) begin relief operations in Marathon, Fla., after = Hurricane Donna.

May I wish a=20 Happy and Safe Labor Day Holiday to all members, = visitors, and=20 staff here at SimHQ. "The NightCrawler" sends = his=20 BEST!=20

Motorsports News

News Contributor: = Jens=20 "McGonigle" Lindblad.

rFactor:

This Porsche biturbo mod was found on = rTracker.
In case you missed it; Nordschleife v1.0 has been = released and=20 this is a "must" download.

SimHQ Motorsports:

The third week of = competition in=20 the SimHQ Series 1 events brought the points chase closer. The = "Zetallun"=20 juggernaut continued, but shared the podium with = "Chunx" who=20 had a strong weekend with the other two of four = possible=20 wins. In the rF3 group, the points have closed to = seven=20 points covering first through third place. "LazyC" = continued=20 his winning ways but is being chased by "Thomas" and = "goon".=20 The Lupo race Saturday was perhaps the craziest of = all Lupo=20 Madness races yet. Take a look here and see an example of the = mayhem=20 (3MB, wmv file). Ironically, the race was won by = "Chunx" as=20 he complained about "crazy front wheel drive" = cars.=20 The circus next moves to Laguna Seca with it's infamous = corkscrew=20 and negative camber turns.

Technology = News

News Contributor: = Bob=20 "KnightRyder" Nielsen.

Cases:

Phoronix=20 looks into the Enermax Chakra ATX Case here.

MADSHRIMPS checks out the Zalman = HD135=20 HTPC Case here.

Cooling:

Technic3D=20 checks out the Titan TTC-NK34TZ CPU Cooler here.

Graphics Cards: =

Neoseeker=20 tests out the ATi Radeon X1950 XTX here.

HEXUS.net=20 tests out the MSI NX7300GS-TD256E GeForce 7300 GS = 256MB=20 Video Card here.

Motherboards: =

Legit=20 Reviews checks out the ASRock 775Dual-VSTA = Motherboard=20 here.

HotHardware tests the Asus = P5NSLI NVIDIA=20 nForce 570 Intel Edition Motherboard here.