posted 09-24- 08:20 AM               

I started flying sdoe 5 months ago, so I guess you can say that I am not an old meber of the community, but then again I am not totally inexperienced. At least, I got very familiar with the way SDOE is stored in my HDD.

The first very few months, I was very afraid to download and try the various new addons, because I didint want to mess my online compatibility, which is very easy to happen...

Then I realised something important ! Flying ONLINE & flying OFFLINE is totally 2 different things. It is different not only because in the first place you face human opponents and in the other the silly AI.

It is different because when online you must use SPECIFIC programms, AIRPLANES & MISSIONS ! Not all missions stroed in your hard disk can be played online.
Only missions that are structured with online standard airplanes, ground objects, squadrons etc can be played online....

Missions that included planes not in the plane packs, or a new sqquadron your best buddy made, or with some cool new ships etc can NOT be played online. If you try this , you will get online incompatible, get confused and probably if you are a newbie, like Pye said, install EAW, Janes WWII or whatever else than sdoe and play....

If you download all the new hot add ons and install them in your HDD, that is IF you install them correct, you will not be online incompatible as long as you keep the rules above...
All new add-ons? Well, ok you got me, not all add-ons.
Recently, some airplanes already included in the plane packs like the P51D, the P47,the Yak 3, soon the P-38 etc got new tricks, like new DM, new FM. If you download and install these new and updated versions of these planes, you will be online incompatible the next time you will try to join an online mission with these planes, because the other players will have the old - standard versions of the airplanes...
Also, if you try to change the loadout.ppf file of a planepack plane, in case you want to add a new weapon, like the torpedo, you will also be online not compatible.
Furthermore, If you have downloaded a new squadron dor sdoe and try to fire up a mission with it ( not planepack included, planepacks and nations1.0 have the same squads so they are compatible) then you will probably end up with an online incompatibility....

To sum it up, you can download and install in your sdoe folder whatever you want as long as :
1) It does not mess with the planepacks and the contest pack
2) You know which mission is intended for online and which is for offline flying
3) If you want to be online compatible better leave the new P51,P47,Yak3 and other planes without updating them....

I would be more than happy to answer any questions...

PS The Rhineland winter campaign I made requires 12 new addons. If you add them and install them correctly and follow the rules above you will have no problem, offline or online !

Thanks for your time !

posted 09-24- 12:03 PM               

In the other installation, start with the standard install, and then put the betas, new add-ons, new terrains, patches, etc in for offline experimentation. If you want to do any plane building, this is almost a must if you plan to also fly online.

As an alternative, you can have a separate folder for beta aircraft in your online standard installation, and just rename the folders for offline/online play.