Lock-On Flaming Cliffs

[Flying Officer Jevans]

I was looking to buy lock-on, and have worked out that lock-on gold is better than just straight Lock-On: Modern air combat, but what about Lock On flaming cliffs? Is this a distinct addon for either? Or is it the same as gold(It seems very similar.)

[mavrocket]

I've done a lot of research on Flaming Cliffs so here it goes:

1. Flaming Cliffs is an "add-on" that was created independently from Lock-On: Modern Air Combat (LOMAC). It serves as an extension of LOMAC in that it adds a high-poly aircraft (a different model of the already included SU-25) and new scenery and texture sets (Most notably seasonal textures that were missing from the original LOMAC).

2. Flaming Cliffs is included in the Gold Edition of LOMAC, it is in fact the second CD that comes in the jewel case. When installing LOMAC Gold you install the 1.02 Version of LOMAC located on the first CD, and then independently install Flaming Cliffs with the second CD.

3. There has been conflict between the distributor of LOMAC Gold and the Flaming Cliffs creator, in the fact that the distributor, Evolved Games, was not supposed to sell Flaming Cliffs with the Gold Edition of LOMAC. Eagle Dynamics, the creators of Flaming Cliffs (and LOMAC), do support the copies of the product that were shipped with the Gold Edition however, and if you have any problems you can head over to;

http://lockon.co.uk/

(This is also a website where you can purchase copies of LOMAC and Flaming Cliffs. I recommend purchasing through Amazon.com though, as it is cheaper.)

4. STARFORCE. This is the end-all deal that busted my support of Flaming Cliffs as a product one should purchase and use. Starforce is a copy-protection program that is required by Flaming Cliffs. It is not merely a program that checks for the CD, it does many other things that have landed some companies in trouble, most notably Sony.

a) Starforce is actually installed into your Windows system and constantly runs searching for emulated CD/DVD drives. This has classified it as SPYWARE.

b) Many users have experienced problems with their CD/DVD drives as a result of installing Starforce. The most extreme cases lead to Windows unable to use CD/DVD drives until Starforce is removed (thus rendering Flaming Cliffs unplayable...).

c) Is there a way to defeat Starforce so people (including myself) who have the above mentioned problem can play Flaming Cliffs? Yes, there is, but I will not include it here as it would be against forum rules and enable the hordes of pirating playboys easier access to another gaming title.

All in all, Flaming Cliffs is a good addition to LOMAC, if you can stand Starforce. Even if I didn't have the problems I had, I wouldn't use Flaming Cliffs out of my beliefs that the best way to stop copy-protection is to teach our children that STEALING IS BAD, not installing a program in the back of the Windows shell to spy on users.

If you want to add seasonal textures and better models/cockpits to LOMAC, your best bet is to head-on-over to;

http://www.lockonfiles.com/

This site has everything a LOMAC fan could ever want, from new textures and aircraft to joystick profiles.

Hope that helps, happy simming!

[Flying Officer Jevans]

Thanks very much for clearing this up!

There is one very simple way to stop these programs running, but whether it would work in this case, I don't know.:confused::mad:

Is it worth getting Gold/Flaming cliffs, in view of Starforce?

Or should I just stick with LOMAC? :)

[mavrocket]

Like I suggested above, LOMAC can gain all the benefits of Flaming Cliffs without actually installing and using it. Go to the website listed in my last post called Lockonfiles.com. They have scenery and texture enhancements for the stock LOMAC, and many flyable mods that enable you to replace some flyable aircraft with previously unflyable ones (i.e. Replace A-10 or MIG-29 with a flyable F-16, or replace the MIG-29 with a flyable F-18).

Ensure you download ModMan from the site. It is an excellent mod-management program for LOMAC. Be sure that you are careful with what you download, as some versions of ModMan and certain add-ons require Flaming Cliffs.

Good luck, and I hope you find LOMAC even better after installing some of the excellent mods available.