New Battle of Britain Campaign for EAW  V1.1 (28.06.2003)
**************************************
                                            by Andy


This is a complete campaign package to let you relive the famous 'Battle of Britain' with the flight simulation European Air War. Although I did the campaign programming and quite a lot of additional work this package would not have been possible without the help and contribution of many other guys who did the fundamental research on EAW editing, made the included planes, skins and cockpits, flight- and damage models, gave advice, did the Beta tests and helped me to find and remove the bugs. I'll try to list them all by name on the end of this readme.

I gave my best to make the campaign as historically accurate as possible, I tried to get all dates, plane appearences, bases and even some single missions right. Nevertheless this is not always possible in detail (see the 'Bug or Feature?' section). 
The campaign includes features that have never been included in any EAW campaign before. It uses our most recent knowledge on EAW editing to make it as enjoyable, challanging and diversified as it can be.
Feel free to send your comments and/or questions to andy@wiesel-network.de. You can also contact me at www.simhq.com. I check the European Air War Forum dayly. Please inform me also when you find bugs. In this case please make note of as many circumstances as possible (what exe version was used, what type of plane was flown, what types of additinal planes appeared and so on...). Thanks in advance.
Andy.



Installation:
=============

Make a plain installation of EAW patched to V1.2.
Add all graphical add ons you like and want to use (groundobjects, terrain, sky ...).
I recommend using Saggin B's Euroblend terrain, because I used it for placing all these additional groundobjects that are included. So they will fit to the landscape.

Download the campaign files. In the end you should have: 


essential campaign files 	essential.zip
				
additional campaign files	additional.zip

flight models			fltrp31.zip 
    	   OR Knegels version	fltrp31b.zip
			
skin files			germanskins.zip
				britskins.zip
				
menue graphics			graphics.zip
				
hangar screens			hangars.zip

2d cockpits			2dcockpits.zip

adapted speech files		speech.zip

modified exe files		eaw11.zip
				eaw11p.zip
				eaw12.zip
				eaw12a.zip


The only package that is not needed is the additional campaign files zip. It includes some ground objects (Pz III and Matilda II that replace the Sherman and Tiger tanks and HR navy vessels). Although they might produce the 'garbled cockpit' bug on your computer I recommend to download and install this package as well. As far as I know (and I tested it) you can avoid the problem by switching the ground object's detail to medium (select 'Configure Game' in main menue and select the 'Graphics' section). You will not recognize a difference in game but the garbled cockpits disappear, at least for me... ;o) 

You can choose what exe to use. They all are updated to V1.*C but also contain additional changes that are needed for this campaign. I'd recommend getting at least one 1.1 and one 1.2 version. BTW: V1.2a is not needed anymore, but nevertheless I modified it too.

eaw11 is EAW V1.1 (good AI, no extra squads)
eaw11p is Paulo's version of EAW V1.1 (AI uses realistic flight models)
eaw12 is EAW V1.2 (Bad AI but extrasquads)
eaw12a is EAW V1.2a (agressive AI, but has a bug that often makes 2 enigined AIs stall/crash)

Further more you have two different sets of flight models to choose. They both are based on Knegels Realism Patch 3.1 and use the same flight and damage models. The differences are:
Knegel (fltrp31b) moved the wing guns closer to the center line to 'simulate' gun convergence. The disadvantage is, it doesn't look right. He also modified the AI bomber gunners. In his opinion they shoot more realistic now. Further more did Knegel use other 'render mod' settings. All in all I think the campaign gets a bit easier with his package when you are flying a fighter career and more difficult when flying a bomber, cause fighters are better able to hit something and the bomber gunners are much less effective. BTW: his package was not tested very much.

Ok, you got all zips you need. Now unzip all these files into your EAW BoB directory.

Check the directory for _hangar-install.bat and _2dcpt-install.bat. They should be on the top of your file list.
Execute them both. They will now copy all 2d-cockpits and hangar screens that are used more than once to the right places. I made the installation this way to keep the zip-files smaller for download.

Set the the extrasquad option to 1 (see also below).

Okay, that's it, run one of your downloaded exe files to see if all is working properly. Please do not use the original eaw.exe, use my versions only or the campaign will not work as it should!
As far as know you have to rename the downloaded exe to eaw.exe if you're using Win XP.

You can also download a main screen to make the immersion perfect. Von Oben, Steve T and Dancho have created soem nice ones. You can get them at the following pages:

http://vonoben.free.fr
http://www.eawsss.com/home.html 



**********
*Gameplay*
**********

The campaign will replace all standard EAW aircraft with types that flew during Battle of Britain. So your new BoB-EAW will only cover this period of time, namely autumn and summer 1940. Nevertheless you can use EAW as usual, you can fly single missions and careers. To fly a career
select 'Pilot Career' from the main menue. Now select 'Battle of Britain' by clicking on it. The letters must highlight red. Now select the side you want to fly for, british or german, and choose a squad of your choice. As I told above, the other careers (1943 and 1944) will not work.

Some tips on flying:
This campaign uses Knegels Realism Patch V3.1. That means it is difficult to hit an aircraft but if you hit you do lot of damage (especially with cannons). Further more the aircraft feel more realistic to fly and have their accurate flight characteristics (at least as accurate as Knegel and me were able to achieve). Make use of the advantages of every plane. Flying under these conditions may be very difficult at the beginning, but if you had a bit of training you will love it. You can be proud if you get one victory per mission, keep this in mind. ;o) 

The campaign is designed to be used with the extrasquad option set to 1. You can use one of the various EAW Tools (e.g. EAW Control) to enable the extrasquad option or edit the eaw.ini. So there will mostly be 2 RAF squads around to fight the Germans. If you use a V1.1 exe you will nevertheless get extra squads from time to time, but in general the campaign will be too easy for the german side when using this version.
There maybe one mission type, that makes switching off the extra squads necessary. These will be the escort missions for the RAF. Yes, you read right. I included some unusual stuff. If you get an escort for RAF leave the campaign, switch extra squads off and run EAW again. If not you will be dead... ;o)

You will recognize, number and size of the enemy formations will vary. You will also get missions with no interceptors at all. These are new features I was able to include with some tricks and should make the campaign more interesting. For full immersion I recommend not to use the Alt-N option to proceed to the next waypoint but using autopilot and time-acceleration. When using Alt-N you might encounter invisible planes. These are the planes that in fact appear if no planes appear. They will not attack you but your wingman 'see' them and call for them. This will take some immersion, but will only happen when using Alt-N.



General note for flying bombers:
================================

This campaign is designed to allow real bomber/ground attack careers. I think, it's the first EAW campaign that makes this possible without having to fly sweep or escort missions with your bomber...
Some general tips:
You can influence the target for your wingman by selecting a ground object with the 'E' key and give order to attack ground targets afterwards. Your wingies will attack this selected target. :o)

To make ground attacks more diversified you have a wide choice of bombs available for the german side.
These are:

SC 50, 250 & 500: 	50, 250 & 500 kg general purpose bomb
SD 50, 250 & 500 	50, 250 & 500 kg fragmentation bomb 
BC 50			50 kg incendiary bomb

In comparision to the SC series the SD series' bombs do relatively little damage but affect a much greater area. That means you don't need to aim that accurately with SD bombs. The BC bomb is only added because it looks nice. It has only little effect. Unfortunately EAW does not simulate incendiary bombs.

What about the escorts? I tried to make sure that your bomber squad will get escorts. Unfortunately this is not always possible (although I don't know why). If you recognize your squad is not escorted you have two choices: Abort the mission and head home or try your luck. If you wanna have a go be prepared for an 'interesting' mission. Keep your flight close together if you are the leader, fly low and at high speed, or gain much altitute right on the beginning of your mission and proceed to your target area in a shallow dive. You might be able to outrun your interceptors this way. You can also lookout for another flight nearby and join it. If you don't lead your flight try evasive maneuvers and keep your wingmen with you to combine the defensive guns if you are attacked. You can also try to protect the other flights of your squad. This can be done in a defensive and in an offensive way. Keep in mind, you also have two offensive guns. Make use of them if you are in a good position. One more hint: In most cases the interceptors turn home after the mission target was destroyed... 



The planes
==========

I don't want to explain tactics for all aircraft included, I will only pick the new ones:


Blenheim IVF:
I think it has no advantage, it is slow, it is big. 
Only good thing are the 2 defensive guns...


Defiant:
I made her like the real Defiant, so you will have no offensive guns. You have to let your AI gunner shoot. I didn't test this much with the new damage models introduced with Knegels Realism Patch, but I hope it will not be too difficult for the AI gunner to hit something. I can only give you some advice:
Keep your wingmen with you. Fly straight behind and below the bombers, maybe shifted slightly to one side, give full throttle, fly below the bomber formation, don't care about the bombers gunners and let your gunner do his work. If you are lucky he gets one.
This approach is dangerous, so if you see damaged bombers that are separated from their formation attack these with the same tactics. The Defiant career is by far the most difficult, but your AI gunner will get better when you have accumulated some kills. Maybe you should do some training first with unlimited ammo.


Spitfire Ib:
The first trials with cannon armed Spitfires were made by No. 19 Squadron during BoB. Their Spitfires had two 20 mm cannons only. The trials were not very successful because the cannons suffered from jamming, and so it will be in EAW. Fire short bursts only, aim carefully you have very few ammo. Go for the bombers if you can, aim for their engines or the cockpit.


Ju 87 B-2 'Stuka':
Yes, it's the first time that you can fly the famous Stuka in an EAW campaign. But it will not be easy. It is slow and it is quite big and an easy target. Don't count much on your tail gunner. Just fly like a hero. ;o)
Dive bombing, that's your designation and you will love it with Knegels flight model:
Align with the target but you will need at least 1000 to 2000 meters altitude, arm your bombs. Fly somewhere over the target and reduce power to slow down to 300 km/h, drop your landing gear (it will work as dive brake), reduce the engine power completely and begin your dive. You can and have to use attack angles of about 70 to 80 degrees to bomb accurately. Fly straight into the target, drop your bombs at about 600 meters and pull out giving full power, retract the landing gear/dive brake. With little training you will achieve a deadly bombing accuracy.

Although the real Stuka didn't have a retractable landing gear you have to retract it after takeoff and extend it before landing. Unfortunately this takes a bit from the immersion.


Ju 88A:
You can compare it a bit with the Blenheim, but it is a bit faster, behaves a bit better and has a better defensive armament. Further more it can carry more than 2 tons of bombs. Pay attention with the SC & SD 500. Don't drop them below 100 meters or your plane will be damaged by the blast. 
I added two player controlled guns to give you a bit offensive power to get some hits on an unlucky Hurri or Blenheim, to suppress some flak or smoke some trucks. This is not unrealistic. In real the pilot operated one forward firing gun in the cockpit, so my version is just a compromise. I had to use two guns for this purpose because a single MG has nearly no effect. Simply imagine you gave order to your front gunner to aim for the same target... btw: You don't loose the defensive front AI gunner, he only shares the ammo with your offensive gun.
Another advantage of this plane is the good diving acceleration, it should enable you to dive away from following Hurris.


Do 17Z:
nearly the same as the Ju 88A, a bit smaller but also more vulnerable. The KG 76 version also uses the two offensive guns, the KG 2 version is a pure level bomber with no offensive armament.
To level bomb align with the target and drop the bombs when your comrades drop theirs... ;o)



Bug or feature?
===============

As I told you already I tried to make this campaign as historically accurate as possible. In some cases this is not possible with my knowledge on EAW editing in some cases it is not (yet) possible at all.

Some squads are not located at the right airbases, but I tried to get them as close to their accurate base as possible. Some bomber squads will move closer to the Channel coast after some missions to ensure they get escorts. Although this is not historically correct it will make these campaigns much more enjoyable.

The bomber squads don't always get escorts. This is a 'real' bug, but I still don't know how the escorts can be controlled. 

Some bombers have pilot controlled forward firing guns. See the Planes section.

The Ju 87B 'Stuka' has a retractable landing gear. See the Planes section.

The bomber pilots of your squad have lots of victories right from the beginning. Unfortunatley I cannot control this without changing the experience of your AI fellows.

Ju 88A, Do 17Z and Blenheim IVF use a wrong cockpit. Unfortunately we don't have accurate cockpiits for these aircraft types (yet).

The dates of some historically important events are not right. Unfortuantely I'm not able to control the campaign-timeline on the dot. So we have to live with an inaccuracy of +/- one day. 

You can encounter invisible planes. Your wingman will 'see' them (because they know that they are there) and call for them. This is no bug. See Gameplay section.

There are some Sherman and Tiger tanks on the terrain. See Installation section.



Acknowledgements
================

camapign files by myself with help from Emil

aircraft/cockpit 3dz and skins by Varonh, Julio Junqueira, Captain Kurt, GhostBoy, Steve T, Claudio Wilches, Sagginb, FlyingSheep, Karel, Standley99, Stag, P. Alfaro, Redeyes, Woolfman, Migge, E, Paulo Morais, Captain Manduca, Mosi, Serb, Alessandro Borges, Moggy and by myself of course ;o)

stock EAW world modifications by myself with help from Moggy

new realistic flight- and damage models by Knegel and myself

new in game screens by myself (except main screen) 

Pz III & Matilda 3dz & skin by Pobs

HR destroyer & transport ship by GhostBoy

additional german bombs by myself

additional speech files by Odgens & myself 

new frontline by Dominique 'DOM' Legrand

german ranks, authentic german and english pilot names by myself

Further thanks go to Alessandro Borges for 3dz Studio, to Jeroen van Soest, Charles & Paulo Morais for Aircraft Edit and all these little tools to edit the EAW files, to Charles again for his EAW Notes, to Christopher Coons for giving insight into all these EAW file structures, to Butch2k for lot of historical info provided and to my beta testers Geg, Sidewinder, Junkersmazzo & Varonh of course.

If I forgot somebody please let me know and I'll add his name.

                                        *****

I'd like to dedicate this campaign to my grandfather Paul Herrmann who flew FW 189s over Finland. You can see him together with his crew after their 100th mission in one of the screens. :o)
S!


                                        *****



V1.0 (04.06.2003)
====

original release



Changes in V1.1 (28.06.2003)
===============

* exe files brought to V1.*C standard (no-CD-fix included)
* single mission bug that made the V1 appear is fixed
* little graphic problems with the Do 17 skins & 3dz are fixed
* 110C-4/B cockpit fixed (thanks to Steve T)
* added the enhanced rearview for the 110 (thanks to Steve T)
* added the new Stuka cockpit (thanks to Steve T)
* 109 underwings corrected (thanks to Varonh)
* replaced the camoflaged destroyer by the all grey version (thanks to Ghostboy)
* added two additional skins for III./KG76 (Do 17 Z-2) and II./StG77 (Ju 87B-2) (thanks to Varonh and Ghostboy). These skins are located in subfolders of the additional packet. To use them simply copy the included files to your EAW BoB directory and overwrite the existing ones.


