Olham, I finally curbed my bloodthirstiness...

[Rick Rawlings]

So since 1.26 I have been flying as Rick Rawlings in #40 squadron trying to get through Bloody April in one piece but never really lasting longer than 20 missions or so. So just to blow off steam, I started up one of my goofy pilots, a Scot named Dirk McGurt. I placed him in Detached Naval Squadron #2 in the fall of 1916 stationed at Vert Galant.

 

I just finished his 40th mission! Apparently, a doofy name and a lighter approach are the key. Also, I think the winter of 1916 is a little lighter in the air than the spring of 1917. The fact that I am flying in an elite squad also seems to help. I started in November of 1916 and am flying on light mission frequency. It is now the end of January. I have flown 40 missions with 32 hours in the air and have 19 confirmed kills. He is at 100% realism and on dead is dead selection. For full disclosure, he did die once due to a graphic stutter that caught me on the take off roll and caused him to nose over, which seems to be always fatal, but that was his only re-start. He has seen the Neiuport give way to the Sopwith Pup, which, despite it's loving reputation, has me a flying wreck. That thing starts shuddering in a gentle dive and I am always worried that it will break up at any moment. As I approach April, I can only hope to survive till the camel.

 

If anybody else feels like they are in a rut, try getting out of your usual squadron/plane/timeframe and see if that makes anything happen! Report back here with your successes, or, as I am sure I will soon, the eventual failures!

 

 

 

RR

[Olham]

Hi, Rick

With the Pup, you shouldn't dive, but climb!

She is a beautiful light crate and climbs nicely; but she's fragile like a butterfly, maybe.

 

To get out of the usual rut, I also have various pilots. There are:

Guenther Mahlo: Jasta 2, Bertincourt, August 1916; Halberstadt DII - an ernest pilot, who wants to follow MvR

Juergen Mahlo: Jasta 2, Bertincourt, September 1916; Albatros DI - a light tempered guy, craving for kills

Detlev Mahlo: Jasta 11, Brayelles, April 1917; Albatros DIII - a gentleman officer and gambler, flying risky

Wolfram Mahlo: Jasta 6, Lieu-St.Amand, January 1918 - humorous hazardeur, takes on every fight

Wolf Mahlo: Jasta 15, Nesle/Le Mesnil, May 1918; Albatros D Va - good team leader, caring, flying with care

and

David Marlowe: RFC-65, La Lovie, October 1917; young firehead, needs to learn to integrate himself

 

So, however I feel, I have the right pilot for it (not for long, mostly, though... Lol !!!)

[Siggi]

I survived my second scramble late yesterday afternoon, with my oh-so-conservative pilot. I had considered running straight for a dugout, but I realised that would be the end of me with the other chaps so I stuck with it. Ended up without a single hole in my kite and three kills (claims, huh). So now I figure I'm most likely due to die from tripping out of bed and breaking my neck.

 

My first kill was also confirmed, the subsequent pair rejected. It'll be interesting to see if the three I just shot down right over the home field will go to me or be 'given to the gunners'.

 

Hey Rick, that graphics stutter was a gust of wind donchano.

[Olham]

That's why I have kept the blue message lines on, Siggi. May be a negative point for immersion,

but tells you on the spot, WHEN a plane crashed, that was destroyed by you (sometimes a lot later).

So, then I look up ingame time quickly, and that should raise chances.

 

Congrats to the scramble! They are often killer missions.

[Hasse Wind]

Regarding the Pup, I had my most successful career so far as a Pup pilot. It's a great scout and very easy to fly. And I didn't find it particularly weak either - I never had any kind of structural failures, even though I did some pretty hard manoeuvres with it. So I think you can dive quite safely with it, as long as you remember it's no Spad or Pfalz. Compared to the Nieuport, the Pup is a very tough machine. As a Nupe pilot, I must constantly be on alert so that I don't accidentally break it in a turn. Not so with the Pup.

 

Curbing your bloodthirstiness is the only way to make a pilot live long in this game, especially if you fly a plane that's inferior to its opponents.

[Hauksbee]

That's why I have kept the blue message lines on, Siggi. May be a negative point for immersion,but...

 

Now that I'm flying from the cockpit, I find that the blue-text damage messages aren't nearly as distracting as when I flew in tail-chase mode. In the latter, they cover the sky [frequently, my target too.] But when in the cockpit, they appear on the underside of the top wing and only rarely are extensive enough to cover the target. They're easier to ignore. Besides, when they get extensive you already know your guy is on the ropes.

Edited April 14, 2009 by Hauksbee

[Rick Rawlings]

Hey Rick, that graphics stutter was a gust of wind donchano.

 

 

I know! It's an ATI dust devil that unfortunately shows up the same time every mission! I've managed to manage it by taking a good look around before I start to roll, seems to allow every thing to load in memory and minimizes problems on takeoff!

 

RR