What sim should I buy?

[hurricane3 2]

I'am looking for a WW1 flight sim that will run on my system and also have all the planes avaible that you can fly.My computer specs are ,a Dell Demension 8250 ,Pentium 4@2.80 GHZ,I'5 GB rdram a128 mb ATI Radon pro graphic card ,two 200 GiG hard drives@ 7200 rpm, a DVD + R ,CD RW combo drive.

I can't afford a new compiter right now,and I never play online.As of now what I see are OFF ,a six hour download,(no way) the upcoming Knights of the Sky from Grennich ,which I don't think my graphics card will run.and First Eagles which only has three planes ,though I understand there are a lot of addons,but are these planes flyable?

I'am no computer wize though my computer can run CFS1,CFS2,CFS3 ,PF+AEP+IL2 ,FS9 and finally BOBII WOP,with little trouble.

It seems like First Eagles is good but you have to download the aircraft you want and I don't know if these are flyable or AI.

If the planes are avalble where can I get them ?I looked at CapunSkunkworks but tried twice to register but failed both times and I don't need the aggrativation of begging to get on this site.

So what would you recomend?Are there any I might have missed ?

Thanks if you managed to read through this ,but I need some expert advice.

[MOUNTAIN-MAN 0]

Hi Hurricane

I highly recommend F.E., its a great sim,LOTS of fun to fly and easy on the system. As for the the planes here at C.A. they're all flyable and well made...Lots of talented guys hang out here. Just go up to the top of the page and check out the downloads section, lots of good stuff. And remember this sim is only a few months old, theres a lot more coming!

There's Bortdafarms site where he makes a lot of the early aircraft and they are a real hoot to fly, don't have his address handy but a quick search will put you there in a hurry, and while your there check out his blog.

Again on this site there are skins, maps, accesories, etc., all well made stuff.... you can't go wrong, believe you'll really enjoy the game.

mountain-man

[hurricane3 2]

Does anyone know where I can buy the boxed version of First Eagles,in the U.S.?So far all I can find is the download version on Third Wires site.And thanks for replying to my first question.I find it impossable to get into Capun Skunkworks site

[MOUNTAIN-MAN 0]

Can't help you on the box version, never even seen one. But just to let you know, the D.L. version is not write protected,you can freely copy it to disk for backup. And don't forget the patch. If your on a dial up start the download when you go to bed, you'll have it waiting for you in the morning.

Trust me Hurricane any hassle you see to this is well worth the trouble!!!!!

mountain-man

[BUFF 8]

Gogamer carry it as an import afaik.

 

Just to let you know that in Europe at least there is a new value bundle coming out including 4 games:

Battle of Britain II Wings of Victory

F/A-18 Operation Desert Storm

First Eagles The Great War: 1918

Strike Fighters Gold

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Combat-Flight-Coll...9321&sr=8-1

 

http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/3250872/-/...;searchsource=0

 

http://www.startupsoftware.co.uk/cgi-bin/s...tml%23a406#a406 £14 ($27) incl. worldwide postage

[hurricane3 2]

Just order it fromStartup Software thank you.Are the plane downloads compatable wit the new patch?

[JediMaster 451]

Anytime TK patches one of his sims you're never sure if mods will work as is or not. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it's not.

 

As you say you have CFS3, another option is the (massive) OFF Phase 2 WWI mod for it. The amount of work that went into it is staggering.

I've seen some people say they love First Eagles and hate OFF, I've seen some say they love OFF and hate FE. I've also seen those who hate both, but they must be little whiners. One should get you what you're looking for, although it's safe to say neither are what RB3D was 10 years ago.

[Smosh 0]

Deleted

Edited June 21, 2007 by Smosh

[redwolf 19]

Ultimately depends upon what you value the most and what you are looking for. I've recently re-discovered RB3D with mods and graphics overhauls (RB4) and it deserves serious consideration, IMHO. I also have OFF and FE. Here's how I would rate them:

 

Graphics:

 

1 OFF

2 FE

3 RB4

 

Campaign:

 

1 RB4

2 OFF

3 FE

 

Flyables:

 

1 pretty much tied for now - RB4 (a la Western Front Patch) and FE (with 3rd party add-ons). Actually, I think RB4 may have more numerically at this point in time, but this may be surpassed by FE in the future.

3 OFF

 

Flight Modeling:

 

1 RB4

2 OFF (but perhaps a tie with RB4 here though)

3 FE

 

Damage Modeling:

 

1 OFF

2 FE

3 RB4

 

Ambience/Immersion:

 

1 tie RB4 & OFF

3 FE

 

Intangibles:

 

FE is continually being refined and upgraded with add-ons and tweaks by 3rd parties. However, even to this day RB4 is as well (though not to the same extent), as is OFF (work continues on phase 3).

 

Choose your poison. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. It ultimately depends upon what features are most important to you and what is "acceptable" and what isn't.

Edited June 22, 2007 by redwolf

[hurricane3 2]

Now that I've gotton on to FE ,thanks to you guys ,I kinda like it,although I wish it had more planes from the start because I hate addons,you have to back up everything to be safe ,an example is I'am now on my eighth reinstall of FS9 and because I've put so much in it ,I've been working for two weeks now to get everything back and I'd say I have another week to go.

Now FE doesn't have near what I've put into FS9 but I still hate the thoughts of a HD crash.

Also when the sim was just in it's beta stages I asked Third Wire if my system would be able to run it,(I gave them all the specs) and they said it should run great ,I had more than enough to run it full tilt.

Not so, I have to cut back on most of the settings to avoid the stutter's.

Still it looks good but I don't think the planes flight dynamics are what they could be,the planes are too easy to fly even in the hardest mode ,for WWI planes.

[catch 81]

Ultimately depends upon what you value the most and what you are looking for. I've recently re-discovered RB3D with mods and graphics overhauls (RB4) and it deserves serious consideration, IMHO. I also have OFF and FE. Here's how I would rate them:

 

Graphics:

 

1 OFF

2 FE

3 RB4

 

Campaign:

 

1 RB4

2 OFF

3 FE

 

Flyables:

 

1 pretty much tied for now - RB4 (a la Western Front Patch) and FE (with 3rd party add-ons). Actually, I think RB4 may have more numerically at this point in time, but this may be surpassed by FE in the future.

3 OFF

 

Flight Modeling:

 

1 RB4

2 OFF (but perhaps a tie with RB4 here though)

3 FE

 

Damage Modeling:

 

1 OFF

2 FE

3 RB4

 

Ambience/Immersion:

 

1 tie RB4 & OFF

3 FE

 

Intangibles:

 

FE is continually being refined and upgraded with add-ons and tweaks by 3rd parties. However, even to this day RB4 is as well (though not to the same extent), as is OFF (work continues on phase 3).

 

Choose your poison. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. It ultimately depends upon what features are most important to you and what is "acceptable" and what isn't.

 

I missed out on the RB series but from what I've been told it is the grand daddy of WW1 flight sims and rightfully deserves the pedastal on which it is placed so highly.

 

Having said that and with no experience of actually playing RB I essentially agree with Redwolf's synopsis of the remaining sim's with OFF a clear winner. I would recommend it to anybody and a few of the modders involved with various incarnations of RB now work for the OFF team. The current Phase2 is a free download but Phase3 will be payware and promises to suceed RB as the pre-eminent WW1 combat flight sim. These guys are very serious about getting it right. They are not "lite" by any means.

[Norman Prince 0]

I'am looking for a WW1 flight sim that will run on my system and also have all the planes avaible that you can fly.My computer specs are ,a Dell Demension 8250 ,Pentium 4@2.80 GHZ,I'5 GB rdram a128 mb ATI Radon pro graphic card ,two 200 GiG hard drives@ 7200 rpm, a DVD + R ,CD RW combo drive.

I can't afford a new compiter right now,and I never play online.As of now what I see are OFF ,a six hour download,(no way) the upcoming Knights of the Sky from Grennich ,which I don't think my graphics card will run.and First Eagles which only has three planes ,though I understand there are a lot of addons,but are these planes flyable?

I'am no computer wize though my computer can run CFS1,CFS2,CFS3 ,PF+AEP+IL2 ,FS9 and finally BOBII WOP,with little trouble.

It seems like First Eagles is good but you have to download the aircraft you want and I don't know if these are flyable or AI.

If the planes are avalble where can I get them ?I looked at CapunSkunkworks but tried twice to register but failed both times and I don't need the aggrativation of begging to get on this site.

So what would you recomend?Are there any I might have missed ?

Thanks if you managed to read through this ,but I need some expert advice.

[scandal 0]

What I read here is that none of the newer flightsims have a campaign as good as RB3D, is that correct?

I love(d) the campaign in RB3D and i hunger for a replacement.

 

I've just ordred First Eagles - but I'm affraid I'll be dissapointed.

 

Someone mentioned addons to RB3D, to make it run on newer systems and even updating the graphics - Ive searched a little bit, but I'm confused...

Can someone help me.

I assume I need the original RB3D (?)

What else do I need, to have en wellrunning-welllooking-almost-up-to-date-game ?

 

Thank you :-)

[JediMaster 451]

Pretty much no flight sim created in THIS century has a campaign as good as those in the ones that came out LAST century. Graphics are better, flight/damage modeling better, even the experience of fighting can be better, but not the campaigns themselves. Odd isn't it?

[Gr.Viper 131]

IMHO, campaign in OFF Phase 2 is pretty close. Unconfirmed kills, lethal AAMG, long patrols with enemy sometimes flying too fast or too high to intercept, lively front line... I like it there. Flying slow E.III through campaign is pretty awesome too but your arms might hurt afterwards.

[jayo 0]

Ive been hooked on OFF P2 since release,the developement truly is staggering,the skins file alone is around a gigs' worth in size.

Great level of support from the developers and everyone over on their forum.

 

There are some great add-ons for cfs3 but IMHO OFF takes it to another level.....

 

....and Phase 3 isnt too far away.

[ArgonV 2]

I know a lot has been offered and said up to this point, and I agree with many of the suggestions. I am enjoying OFF Phase 2 immensely! It has great atmosphere and terrain detail.

 

I would like to offer, if you have enough time one more sim: FS-WWI. It's a full conversion mod to the WW2 sim Fighter Squadron - Screamin' Demons Over Europe. While it is older in appearance than OFF or FE, it still has much to offer if terms of fun, realism and uniqueness. :) If you would like more info, please visit www.fsww1.com

[Foxendown 0]

It's always interesting how people's views vary. I tried OFF and there's no doubt about the devotion and hard work that has gone into it. But I just didn't like it. Apart from the fact that it ran a lot slower on my rig than even LOMAC with high detail settings, I just couldn't get along with it. I find the MS CFS-based terrain ugly and FE's cockpits look a lot nicer to me. But I can readily accept that OFF has strengths that FE lacks. Certainly at the moment I am having problems with FE's flight models.

 

Since there aren't many WW1 flightsims out there, it seems like a good idea to try them all if you have the time and money. I only stopped playing RB3D because my updated video card could no longer deliver emulated 3DFX. I had the Full Canvas Jacket Supermod (a really excellent mod). I've even thought of reviving an old machine and trying to find some Voodoo cards to get it going again, but at the moment I'm reasonably pleased with FE which seems to have potential and in several important respects feels right for a WW1 sim, the close up dogfights being the main one. FE also looks great IMHO and runs well on my now out of date machine. I think another good thing about RB3D was (?is) the strong, friendly community and the multiplayer. To be honest Red Baron (the original one for IBM 386), RB3D and FE are the WW1 sims that haven't disappointed me. I didn't like the Rowan ones (Flying Corps and Dawn Patrol) despite enjoying other Rowan sims-they too had an enthusiastic following. As for Knights of the Sky, just a brief look at the Gennadich site suggests Quad Core might be a good idea!

[catch 81]

Yes some very interesting comments. Foxendown, you may need a better PC to fully appreciate OFF .... it does need a fair bit of grunt to run well .... but the results are worth it. And the scenery/terrain is the best there is imo if you can afford to have the graphic sliders on 3 or above. WM has done some magnificent work in this area. All aircraft in P3 will be 2048 textures but a lot are already in P2. Set the aircraft slider to 5 (always) and the cockpit detail is there.

 

And the all important flight model .... well it's pretty damn good all things considered ..... there are limitations imposed by CFS3 but hopefully the devs can crack the code and get around some minor (but important to us WW1 nuts) quibbles. At the end of the day .... all WW1 flight sims rule the skies. 2008 should be interesting.

[sparkomatic 7]

- there was an older game...Wings of Glory...I liked it a lot...if you can not find it in "print" let me know

[Gr.Viper 131]

Hmmm this one?

http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=2966

Looks like good training for DOSBox joystick support

And if you follow links to similar games you might also strike something gold-ish.

[Dagger 21]

I know a lot has been offered and said up to this point, and I agree with many of the suggestions. I am enjoying OFF Phase 2 immensely! It has great atmosphere and terrain detail.

 

I would like to offer, if you have enough time one more sim: FS-WWI. It's a full conversion mod to the WW2 sim Fighter Squadron - Screamin' Demons Over Europe. While it is older in appearance than OFF or FE, it still has much to offer if terms of fun, realism and uniqueness. :) If you would like more info, please visit www.fsww1.com

This is a great sim, and the aircraft are top shelf. I still enjoy it. You can turn the settings all the way up and it doesn't bring even a mid range system to it's knees. I cut my on-line flying teeth in RB3D and I have ot say with FE, FS:SDOE and RB3D with a glide emulator I can get all the fun I want. I tried OFF and while i twas nice something just didn't set right with me, it is a great mod, and you can see that alot of work went into it and still is, but I just didn't get into it.

Oh hey ArgonV I am still looking for my N28 with US 95th markings

[Guest Saganuay82]

Lots of good stuff in Falcon 4. Not many pits from what I can tell right now. But then this sim was built for the player to fly the F-16 Falcon.

 

[rotagen 0]

If you're a ww1 aircraft fanatic like me you buy all of them, as soon as they come out (not very often). But RB3D is a must buy. Because none of the others ever got the knuckle-bending adrenaline-rushing dogfighting right. The ai is just too weak, and there aren't enough planes in the air, this is always the problem with the real sims. And the arcade ones are too unrealistic.

 

Also, why can't anyone write a decent "mission builder"? It is important if you want an addictive game.

 

I find myself playing IL-2 and Jane's ww2fighters (that ancient game); because ww2f has a great simple mission builder that works, and you can randomize things.

 

Life can be frustrating. For ww2, cfs2 is almost the perfect sim. You can even download any place in the world to fight, and add-on planes are unlimited. Too bad the friendly ai is so crappy and the mission builder so buggy. If you could combine the unlimited add-ons of cfs2 with the ai and mission builder of IL-2, now this would be the perfect sim. IL-2 is very "closed", you get only what they give you, in terms of planes, terrain, etc.

 

avoid cfs3 like the plague, and I didnt like OFF when I played it last spring, looks pretty but the ai is crummy and VERY little action.

Edited February 22, 2008 by rotagen

[JediMaster 451]

The AI in OFF is dependent on how you play it. It only seems to work in the campaign properly. In single missions and such it's just lame.