imma check this out

Mod update to patch version 1.8
- The mod has been expanded to 32 aces. That should be enough ;-)
- 2 new aces (Herman Göring, Arthur Roy Brown).
- Some historical portraits have been replaced by better ones.

brilliant work thanks again for keeping this game interesting

Update 1.7 Aces Expansion Pack. Now 30 aces instead of 12. Historical portraits + new star system based on historical victories (see description).

What's new in the next update?
18 aces will soon be integrated by number of victories and historical portraits. It will take some time but I'm sure you'll like it. This expands the game to 30 aces with different stars and abilities. Vanilla has 12 aces. I hope you will like the result!

TEST new ace "Lothar von Richthofen".
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/2452864431195529299/348597503F7B52C1383440EFC167C20945513F08/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false
New aces are planned: german, french, british.
The 5 star system is being changed soon. In the next update more aces will be mod integrated and I need a clear star classification. Everyone will be integrated with historical portraits. The aces will have different stars from 2-5.

The paint jobs for aces (planes) are vanilla and have not been changed. From what I've seen paint jobs for aces are not available for bombers. Sure, aces don't fly bombers ;-) but theoretically this could be changed but that doesn't make much sense he,he.
Pilots/-emblems from other nations are not planned. Maybe I'll make a few more aces. There are other good historical flying aces that I would like to have in the game.

the paint jobs in your mod for aces are they historically correct....just would add to immersion.
will you be adding american ,Canadian and Belgian pilots to your mod fore the allies along with squadron stroke emblem paint jobs?

@Yoi, thanks, I tested the game again and again because of the mod. At the moment everything seems to be ok and it fits quite well. The newspaper doesn't seem to work quite as well as it should but that's not the fault of the mod. I noticed this even without the mod. Because of the 5 star aces you can regulate the difficulty of the game. Combat experience has much more value than theoretical training. That was important to me!
Offering a mod allows players to enjoy a change. In the end, everyone can delete or change my mod files, so that it is the way he wants it to be ;-)

Top thk's a lot

i want to do som but i just incapable to understant how to do ^^

Thanks! The result shows me that I shouldn't change the training. Doubling the practice has a positive effect, especially because pilots gain more experience in combat. In addition, there is always the risk of being killed. The mod will get an update soon.

Appreciate all the work you putting into this mod

I have tested everything under the same conditions that has to do with training.

VANILLA "pilot_praxis_larning_speed" : 0.01, "pilot_training_speed" : 0.01,
- 8x speed, instuctor 5 aces, 5 recruits, 5 minutes
Result: Pilot improvement of 1-2 stars.
Ok, you can't become an ace only through training

MODDED (part 1) "pilot_praxis_larning_speed" : 0.02, "pilot_training_speed" : 0.02,
- 8x speed, instuctor 5 aces, 5 recruits, 5 minutes
Result: Pilot improvement of 2-4 stars.
NOT Ok, that's almost an ace and not realistic

MODDED (part 2) "pilot_praxis_larning_speed" : 0.02, "pilot_training_speed" : 0.01,
- 8x speed, instuctor 5 aces, 5 recruits, 5 minutes
Result: Pilot improvement of 1-2 stars.
GOOD, the theory "pilot_training_speed" remains the same and
"pilot_praxis_larning_speed" more effective

Personally I think the pilots are promoted or improved too slowly and killed too quickly. So the progress of the stars could be changed but I have to test it. The theory by instructors "pilot_training_speed" and practice through dogfights "pilot_praxis_larning_speed" should be different. That's one of all the things I think about....let's wait and see :)

There is still the option to change parameters but I haven't currently done that in the mod.
VANILLA game_values.json
- "pilot_praxis_larning_speed" : 0.01,
- "pilot_training_speed" : 0.01,

As far as I can see, the only way to promote pilots is to use the flying aces as instructors. Since all aces have 5 stars, beginners are promoted more quickly. Of course the aces are missing at the front then ;-) This applies to both sides. If the opponent do this, you have stronger enemy pilots. This makes the game more interesting because stars have an effect on the AI ​​skills. The same goes for your pilots.

The files I was able to mod don't offer the maximum possibilities. It won't be possible to do much more from now on than simply change numbers and parameters, but there are still a few interesting things that could be modded. This must be tested by own playing first. If everything fits, I'll put it in the mod. I always do it like that ;-)

is there any way you can add a pilot promotion system into the game for more immersion similar to say western front ace boardgame?

thanks for updating new british and french emblems to the mod

Version 1.6 Emblem Expansion Pack (German, British, France)

Version 1.5.1
- All aces are present at the start of the war with historical kills, medals and five stars.
- All aces are present at the historical ranking.
- The aces have now influence on the course of the war, whether as pilots or instructors.
- The aces become visible heroes and makes the ranking more interesting.

The probability is high that the emblems will be expanded for all nations. First I test a lot of things by playing. The mod will continue to be expanded.

yes was wondering about the emblems?

@ stewy.bush, what do you mean by plan? The emblems.

do you plan to do the same for the british and french factions,,btw love this mod

Version 1.5 New title 'German Empire' Flying Aces

Flying Aces
- The most successful 'Flying Aces' start with historical Kills, medals and five stars. New aces are not affected by this.
- Germany: Manfred von Richthofen (80 victories), Erwin Böhme (24 victories), Oswald Bölke (40 victories), Erich Löwenhardt (54 victories), Ernst Udet (62 victories), Werner Voss (48 victories).
- British: William Bishop (72 victories), James McCudden (57 victories), Edward Mannock (73 victories).
- France: René Fonck (75 victories), Georges Guynemer (53 victories), Charles Nungesser (43 victories).

- Disabled the game skill calculates during the creation of 'Flying Aces'.
- Flying and fighting skill of 'Flying Aces' have been set to five stars.
- Start victories of 'Flying Aces' were added historically. Flying Aces have medals

Version 1.4
- Added 'Emblem Extended Pack' for airfields and aircraft (only for Germany).
- Added 'New Rudder Emblems' for aircraft (only for Germany).
- New Screenshots

Version 1.2 Added 'Original Pilot Portrait' mod, Reduce DR1, new screenshots

Thank you gentlemen ...

@vK63, I will probably reduce the Fokker Dr1 to 2-3 (6 or 9 planes in total) but since the mod is based on a secret weapon I won't take them out completely. But everyone has permission to change the mod or use individual files for their own mods. Everyone has their preferences so I'm looking forward to other mods and ideas
@Puntigames, that's exactly what @vK63 needs. Thanks for the comment and instructions.

You can easily build your own module where you can set those values to your likings.

An abstract of the modding instructions in the game directory:


All you have to do is create a new folder in "Skies above\ExternalData\Modules", which creates a new module that is recognised by the game at startup automatically.
You can then copy everything you want to make changes into this folder. Everything that the game does not find in this folder will be loaded from the "Default" module. For example, if you only want to create new starting conditions, copy the file "starting_conditions.json" into your new module and change the values as you wish.

What you are looking for is the "time_speed_factor" in the game_values.json. It "1.0" by default. When you set it to "0.5" the war will last twice as long without influencing the production or research times. There are separate variables for this.

I'll giver a try but ... is it possible to make the mod without the DR1's in the beginning of the war and just have the length of the war extended ?