OFF P3 Current status

[+Winder 32]

Thought it time to do an update - we are now drawing to the end of Phase3 work.

 

There will be some minor tweaks to the claims and confirmation procedures released soon (V1.28a) - but remember if you don't like the claims - and I see here that many folks don't - then why not simply switch to easier claims, or no claim form at all, in workshops.

With no claim form enabled (bypassed) all kills are counted after one mission and all are confirmed - none are rejected.

 

To do this go to workshops and select in the top of the right hand column - Difficulty - Realism.

 

And yes there will be some historical database tweaks over the next few weeks as well as some cosmetic fixes - stuff that we have left til last.

 

Have fun guys!

 

WM

[Beanie 4]

Thought it time to do an update - we are now drawing to the end of Phase3 work.

 

Winder - Thank you, to you and the rest of the team for making this sim one of the best games that I have played for many years. I know that it has already been said a number of times, but the support you guys have shown could be use as a model for other developers should follow. It is the best money I have spent on a game! although I am still having problems convincing my wife!

 

Cheers

[Hellshade 110]

Winder,

 

Other than the database tweaks you talked about and maybe the ability to add "Random German fighter" or "Random Allied Fighter" to the Quick Combat enemy plane menu, and maybe beefed up AI an low altitudes, I can't imagine what else you would need to add to OFF P3 to make it flawless. It truly is an epic peice of work. It's so well done and the combat is so intense, it's the first game in about 5 years to pull me away from MMOs completely. Thanks a ton for all of your efforts at updating P3. It's a masterful flight sim and, in my opinion, hands down the best WWI flight sim ever produced. With all of the options you've put into it, it can handle anyones preferences from "Arcade" all the way up to Hardcore "Dead is Dead" realistic mode. I'd give it a 97%. You guys rock.

 

So, if you are coming to the end of the P3 patches, does that mean you guys are thinking about building something else? Or is it just time for a really well deserved and long overdue vacation?

 

Hellshade

[DanB24 0]

Thanks for all your hard work.

[Rickitycrate 10]

Winder, I don't know that it is a matter of not liking the claims system but rather just trying to come to terms with what to include in the report. There has now been a lot of good information shared and I found that it works to give a lot of details. For those that are not inclined to make that kind of report as you have said to select your personal prefernce in workshop. As always thanks for your hard work and consideration of our comments.

[Creaghorn 10]

i absolutely love the realistic way of claims. with my last pilot i got 21 for 21. you just write what you experienced and write like you want the kill to be yours. and if some claims are rejected, so what. somebody else has made a more conclusive claim. that system is absolutely great.

one thing imho, killing is too easy and arcadish. even at hard settings. i love all the spinnings and explosions and wings falling off. a great feature. but it should be harder to get there and quick kills only when i'm a good marksman and instantly hit the engine or pilot or struts. a thing wich most of us are not.

that's my opinion and i think i'm one of the very view, especially because we suddenly have 800% more aces around . how about a setting like in RB3d full canvas jacket control panel where you can set the bullet strength from 1-100? 1 means low impact, 100 hardest impact. similar to the already available setting, just adding more possibilities. very light, light, normal, strong and strongest.

just an addon for people like me who want to really earn a kill and not having 5 kills each sortie, thinking what great pilot i am, because i know i am not.

[aust3298 0]

Winder, I just wanted to add my thanks to you, Pol and the rest of the crew for an excellent Sim and for many many hours of fun, immersion and time travel. I have played the game since Phase 1 and have been impressed with each improvement/addition. There are no WWI Sims to compare with BHAH. However, I must agree with Creaghorn in his post above. I am blown away by the improvements to BHAH since its orginal form, but I think kills are too easy since 1.26 (player guns on normal, all others on realistic and hard, 130 realism). It certainly does not spoil the game at all and it is no easier (probably harder) to survive. Its just that my overall impression is that it is easy to down an E/A now whereas before (in 1.2 & 1.25) it was only occasionally easy interspaced with those enemy that I could hardly even follow much less get a hit. Again, I mean these comments to take nothing from the overall appreciation of such a work as BHAH. I think BHAH is a singularity in the gaming world, your Opus Magnum (at least so far).

[Aussie Pilot 0]

Thanks Winder/Pol and the OFF crew for all you have given us.

I'm with Rickitycrate when it comes to the claims, i think there was just not enough understanding on how it works or how to obtain the results we are all after.

 

Will you be looking into the warp/autotrim issue as well or is that further down the track if at all?

 

Thanks again guys.

[Jimko 0]

I'm a long way from worrying about how the claims process works. I'm just really getting into the sim while I'm still fine tuning and flying when I can, but at each turn I discover more incredible detail and great surprises. This is truly a masterwork, at least in my experience in the combat flight sim world.

 

Thanks for the great sim and the excellent support, and looking forward to your future endeavors!

[tttiger 0]

You guys have done a wonderful job with this sim and the frequent patches are certainly appreciated.

 

But...I gave up on the claims system. I just choose the claims to be automatically awarded.

 

It seems to make no difference whether you just put in the name of a witness or write some long overblown novel. The acceptance or rejection appears to be based solely on statistics and probability. The kills with witnesses everywhere can be rejected. The kills with no one in sight can be accepted.

 

What I do find annoying is the "realism" rating (and the role of the claims choice in it).

 

The definition of "realism" or 'normal" or easy' is highly subjective and are based on criteria that I often don't agree with.

 

Is it "normal' or "realistic" to play without labels when I can't make out details on a plane only a quarter mile away (due to computer graphics limitations, not the design of the sim). Or is it more realistic to have a label to identify a plane that I could easy identify in real life? We can argue about that all day.

 

Is it 'normal' that enemy MG fire from more than a quarter mile away hits my plane with a very high percentage (like three hits in a row on a skinny control cable)? I think not but my rating drops if I don't choose "harder" gunnery. It isn't harder and it isn't more realistic. It's the fantasy of someone who, I would bet, never has even fired an automatic weapon in real life.

 

Is it "realistic" to be awarded a kill when there is no witness in sight or denied a kill when my whole flight witnessed it? So, why give those choices a numerical "realism" rating?

 

The branding and numerical rating of those choices disparages those who don't agree with your definitions.

 

I'd recommend losing those realism ratings and easy-versus-hard labels. Great (Very great!) to have the choices but I don't want my game to "rate' my choices when I make them.

 

I'll play the game the way I believe it to be the most realistic and my choices definitely do not always agree with your ratings.

 

Just a suggestion. Quibbles, really.

 

Still a brilliant sim!

 

ttt

Edited March 15, 2009 by tttiger

[Over50 0]

Thought it time to do an update - we are now drawing to the end of Phase3 work.

 

There will be some minor tweaks to the claims and confirmation procedures released soon (V1.28a) - but remember if you don't like the claims - and I see here that many folks don't - then why not simply switch to easier claims, or no claim form at all, in workshops.

With no claim form enabled (bypassed) all kills are counted after one mission and all are confirmed - none are rejected.

 

To do this go to workshops and select in the top of the right hand column - Difficulty - Realism.

 

And yes there will be some historical database tweaks over the next few weeks as well as some cosmetic fixes - stuff that we have left til last.

 

Have fun guys!

 

WM

 

I wondered when you guys would finally put a finished sticker on your effort with OFF 3 - and what a great accomplishment it has become. The last series of patches to incorporate easy to full realism options were outstanding whereby anyone from novice simmer to the realism fanatic can enjoy the game to their liking (well...except that 1 percent who will find fault because they can't see fabric seams or glue lines, wires flexing in the wind etc..). Great move as well with the special/limited lower price offer, which hopefully will bring more folks to the fold.

[Hoghead 0]

Thought it time to do an update - we are now drawing to the end of Phase3 work.

 

There will be some minor tweaks to the claims and confirmation procedures released soon (V1.28a) - but remember if you don't like the claims - and I see here that many folks don't - then why not simply switch to easier claims, or no claim form at all, in workshops.

With no claim form enabled (bypassed) all kills are counted after one mission and all are confirmed - none are rejected.

 

To do this go to workshops and select in the top of the right hand column - Difficulty - Realism.

 

And yes there will be some historical database tweaks over the next few weeks as well as some cosmetic fixes - stuff that we have left til last.

 

Have fun guys!

 

WM

 

Winder,

 

I think it's incorrect to say that many folks don't like the claim system. I think most do, it just they are not sure of the mechanics and so are not sure why the game does some of the things it does. See my post http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=38202 I think if you could make a few small tweeks (although I'm not sure what is possible given the limitations of CFS3) everyone that wants to take the time to fill out the full claim form would be very happy with it. Sure some just don't want to take the time and that's fine, you've made arrangements for them in the workshop. I think you guys have done a wonderful job with OFF and I can understand if you've decided that you've spent as much time on it as your willing to. There are a couple of more small things I'd like to see fixed, for instance, if we could just get the cities in the ingame map to match their actual locations in the game, that would be great. Again I understand if you've had enough, I get the same way with my R/C airplanes, at some point I say enough is enough I just want to go out and fly it.

 

Thanks for all your hard work, you guys have indeed turned a pig's ear into a silk purse, I'd love to see what you guys could do with your own engine without the limitations of CFS3.

 

Thanks,

Scott

[griphos 0]

Seems pretty much done to me. Amazing sim! I can't think of anything in it that can't be adjusted to suit people's preferences and it's the best money I've EVER spent on entertainment. The nice thing is that in addition to entertainment, there's enough careful historical detail here to make it a learning experience as well. I wish I could get my darned TrackIR to work in MP mode, but I think that's perhaps a VISTA issue. And with TrackIR working in campaign, it's as an immersive experience as is possible, I think. Coming back to the 21st century after flying a campaign mission is jarring!

 

Could the AI be better, at low altitude in particular? Sure. How not? It's code! Not actual cyborgs! It's the best AI I've ever seen (but I'm no combat sim pro like many here). But I haven't lived past 10 hours yet, so they're doing fine, thank you.

 

Anyway, BRAVO! Well done, mates! Stunning work!