Broadside uda Barn 0 Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) Background: I started flying with Red Baron back in the day, and after RB3D, moved on to Descent (1,2,3), and from there on to RTS games. I've searched from time to time for WW1 sims, but never found anything....until 2 days ago when I saw a blurb for Rise of Flight. I bought it last night ... RoF is being shipped and I'm looking forward to playing it. Reading as much as I could about RoF, I saw a post about OFF, and it appears I've found a whole community that I wish I'd found a long time ago. I have a fast rig: i7 920, 3 GB RAM (actually 6gb, but XP doesnt see the other 3), Nvidia GeForce GTX 260, running WinXP My questions: I'm interested in single player, but MOSTLY interested in multi player. I doubt RoF will have much of a mp community for a while... How big is the OOF community? Are there many online at any given time? I'm concerned about such an old engine (2002 for MSCS3) being used for OOF. I've read that it looks great with all the mods, but it's still an old engine, right? or is this one of those engines that has huge potential, and thus the growth of OOF seems to be gaining and growing even now? Seems from my experience that old games tend to have a diminishing community, down to a hardcore few... Is the MSCS3 base program buggy? ( I dont own it, so getting OOF means getting MSCS3 and OOF). I read about an expansion coming out. Is this an all inclusive patch of everything up to this point, or is there a compilation of all the mods people are using now? And, what's in the works for the future? --I'm pretty sure I want to get OOF...I guess some of this depends on the state of the mp community and it's future, as well as: is there a particular version of MSCS3 that I should look for? Will my Sidewinder 3dpro and/or Sidewinder FF2 be sufficient? (I read about the TrackIR...do many fly with this in OOF?) Final note: I liked RB3D because it wasnt *too* hard to fly. Some sims are very difficult and from my standpoint, this detracts from the fun...is OOF like that? Thank you for any input! Broadside Edited July 2, 2009 by Broadside uda Barn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UK_Widowmaker 571 Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) Hi Broadside. My goodness...where shall we begin?..... If you are an ex- RB fan..you have come to the right place! First off...Forget all you have heard about CFS3..yes, it's not the best Simulator in the world.... But OFF is the best simulator in the world (our opinion of course)...and it will look and play brilliantly on your rig! (you need both CFS3 and OFF in order to play) MP has had a slightly shaky start if I am honest...but some of the guys on here have made massive leaps forward with it, and the future of MP is looking very exciting!...and there are regular MP missions played on this (the definative OFF forum)...and games are announced well in advance! The expansion pack will be a seperate thing from the original Phase 3. The sheer diversity of OFF, the incredible scenery, number of different aircraft, the moving front lines, the Forum..the Mods and Skins and indeed every damn thing about this Simulator never fails to enthral, excite and blow me away! TrackIR is highly recommended, Sidewinder FF2...absolutely fine! You can make OFF as easy or as hard as you like...there are loads of settings you can change...you can immerse yourself in a campaign, or jump into dozens of different aircraft..with thousands of historicaly accurate skins for a quick blast. The work these guys have done on this Simulator will leave your jaw firmly resting on the floor!...This is a Time Machine, that takes you back to a period of history you only dreamed about. My advice?..Forget Red Baron....have a look at ROF (if the need takes you)...but LIVE OFF!!! It isn't a Simulator...... It's an Experience!..... Grab it with both hands!...enjoy the Sim..and welcome to the community!! Oh..and one more thing.. The OFF developers are members of this great forum...the wonderful thing is...THEY LISTEN TO YOU! They ask us for our input...they want our input...and they act on our input! Try getting that with EA Games!!...hahahaha Edited July 2, 2009 by UK_Widowmaker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hellshade 110 Posted July 2, 2009 Hello Broadside, If you have any worries about the CFS3 engine, please check out what the Devs of OFF have done with it. It's beyond amazing. You will quickly see that the Devs have completely reworked it to provide an immersive, fluid, exciting and complete WWI combat experience. With no disrespect ment to other WWI flights sims, there really is nothing that compares to Over Flanders Fields: Between Heaven and Hell. Here is the link to the perview movies page. http://www.overflandersfields.com/Movies.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hasse Wind 46 Posted July 2, 2009 I haven't tried the multiplay in OFF yet, but I can say with absolute certainty that you won't find a better single player campaign system in any other WW1 sim ever made. When you start a career in OFF (for France, USA, Britain or Germany, either fighter or bomber pilot) you quickly become so immersed in the world of this sim that I've had comparable experience only in RB3D. It's a living world out there in OFF, you never know what will happen when you take off from your home field. I had similar suspicions about the CFS3 engine when I first heard about OFF, but all my suspicions and fears have been proven totally wrong. It's not CFS3 anymore, but something very much better and more immersive. OFF is also very customisable to your liking - you can made it extremely hard and challenging with all the hardcore settings, but if that's not to your liking, difficulty can be toned down considerably. And this is far from a dying old game or community - on the contrary, new content (planes, squadrons etc.) are currently under development. So my advice is, buy OFF as soon as possible! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creaghorn 10 Posted July 2, 2009 very well written, wid exactly what the great majority here is feeling, put into the right words. broadside, you won't regret it one bit. especially if you have historical knowledge or want to learn something. this sim takes you in a time machine and gives you the experience and depth you've never had before in a sim. and there is still no sim around wich is as accurate and with so much life like OFF. my experience was always in simulators, you are the bellybutton of the world. the scenerie and everything around you is only made for you, beeing the main actor. in this sim you are not. you are one piece of a whole enviroment. there is a war raging, on the ground and in the air. there is life everywhere around you. and you are just a small, unimportant part of it. if you loved Rb3d, you will even more love OFF. there is no better WW1 sim (RoF is not worth to compare because you can't compare a sonnyboy in a small daylie soap with robert deNiro either) around and probably won't be for many years. especially with the future addons and phases. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRUMPYBEAR 1 Posted July 2, 2009 Braodside If your concerned about P3 you could put in a request in the P2 forum and maybe someone will send you Phase2 to try. GB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cameljockey 3 Posted July 2, 2009 Broadside, I'd be more than happy to send you a copy of Phase 2. It's got a few unfixed bugs (eternal flamers comes to mind) but it is a great sim in it's own right. I played it for well over a year and never tired of it, at least, that is until I got BH&H. Send me a PM with your address. Do it soon as I have to send a couple more out today as well. Welcome, CJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OvS 8 Posted July 2, 2009 Broadside, Welcome to the OFF Community. We always enjoy a new face and a new player to the ranks. :) I'm one of the Devs, and have been with the team for almost 4 years now. I can say with great confidence, that this is the best WWI sim since RB3D, and in many aspects, surpases it beyond anything anyone thought it could. I play OFF much like you do, since we are all spread out all over the globe, most of us on the Dev team had no idea what the game was going to look like other than seeing our completed skins in screenshots. So when we were all sent the beta to test, it blew us away. With that in mind, I also played RB3D MMP for a while. OFF does not offer the Massive MP player campaigns that RB3D could run, BUT the missions that we fly are a lot of fun. What I didn't like about RB3D was the fact that you were flying against a lot of very good players, and for a newbies, it was very difficult to build any confidence, or experience if you were constantly shot down. OFF's MP is fun as most of the time we fly together, and the AI is comperable. If you make mistakes, they'll get you, but if you keep tight, and aware, most of the time you'll do fine. Now and then we fly against each other, and then you can test your skills. Which brings me to this point. Yes, OFF is harder than you might expect at first. The AI in Single Player is VERY good and looks for advantages all the time. They fly like WWI pilots should, not like many other games have in the past. They fly as if you are really flying against another human. So at first, you will die a lot... we all do... us included. BUT... what's great about OFF is that you actually can learn and apply the very tactics that WWI pilots did to survive.. and they work! It's a deep game that has a tremendous amount of history, and atmosphere. If you've ever want to learn about WWI, OFF will actually help you in some aspects. We have battle maps with detailed information based on actual historic fact. We have named all units correctly from the British, to the French, to the Germans. All are using the proper verbage as they did in WWI. I can go on... but truthfully, for $29.99... you are getting a oneway ticket into the world of WWI. I say oneway because once you start playing, and getting to know the guys on the forum, I don't think you'll want to walk away. So come join us, get on board, we'll be here for you and happy to get you going! All the best, OvS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OvS 8 Posted July 2, 2009 Advise you send a PM to . . 'Sitting Duck' as he appears to be our MP Guru As far as I'm concerned, MP has been spotty at best, since Mickysoft shut down the CFS3 server, as a cost cutter, over a year ago I don't agree... it's a blast! In fact, I enjoy it more than I did RB3D MMP. That to me was more stress and aggravation. All I do is laugh my balls off with these guys... and I rack up some pretty nice kills to boot. It's all about fun, not how much hair I pull out... OvS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted July 2, 2009 I have a fast rig: i7 920, 3 GB RAM (actually 6gb, but XP doesnt see the other 3), Nvidia GeForce GTX 260, running WinXP Final note: I liked RB3D because it wasnt *too* hard to fly. Some sims are very difficult and from my standpoint, this detracts from the fun...is OOF like that? I'm running Vista 64 with 8 Gb RAM. If you upgrade to Vista 64, it will see those other 3 Gb. Are they hard to fly? Yes. Because they were in 1916. No glory without the grief. You'll get used to it. As I mentioned in another thread recently, I spent the first coupl'a weeks "stalling and falling". Start with the SE-5 and/or the Fokker D.VII; they're probably the most stable, most forgiving planes. Then add on others from there. One day, you'll suddenly realize you're actually keeping a E.III under control...and doing turns, yet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phantomjoker 0 Posted July 2, 2009 I don't agree... it's a blast! In fact, I enjoy it more than I did RB3D MMP. That to me was more stress and aggravation. All I do is laugh my balls off with these guys... and I rack up some pretty nice kills to boot. It's all about fun, not how much hair I pull out... OvS OVS, I am with you on this. For me, the multiplayer experience playing with and against real thinking individuals is unmatched. The multiplayer engine is really not all that buggy. It has a few issues but for the most part, it runs really smoothly and we can fly a one hour cooperative mission with no lockups or crashes, and then return to base and land at our originating airfield. Very nice indeed. Also the folks that have taken the reigns of the multiplayer games are very patient and helpful. I have even joined a 6 player game 5 minutes late and they actually shut down the game and restarted it so I could join..Now I don't expect that they do this all the time but it was a nice gesture. (Not to mention our British cousins who are joining in the fun more and more. Hearing those authentic accents makes it all the more realistic) Great fun. More of you should give it a go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rickitycrate 10 Posted July 2, 2009 I'm a complete knucklehead and I was able to join in on the MP fun and had a great time. If I can do it.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) I'm a complete knucklehead and I was able to join in on the MP fun and had a great time. If I can do it.... I hear that! I did my first 'real' MP session [as opposed to Set-Up excercises] last night. It was raining on me in Massachusetts, and it was raining on me in France! Try staying with a gaggle of white Nieuports thru white clouds! Wind forces blowing me off course. Full rudder control [which I turn off in QC] so my Nieup. is all over the sky because I'm accidently twisting the stick as I bank, Got lost. Found my way. Got lost again. TrackIR panning all over the sky because I'm still turning my head when I should be just moving my eyes. Crashed. Got re-spawned back as the rear gunner on a Brisfit. All-in-all, a right bloody mess. 'Can't wait to get back. ps: ...and flammed my first Zeppelin. Edited July 3, 2009 by Hauksbee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Winston DoRight 3 Posted July 2, 2009 Multiplayer is alive and well on OFF with sessions almost every day. Check the calendar for info and topics in the multiplayer section for the required files and setup instructions. If you don't see a session posted, just log onto teamspeak and see if anything is going on. Often there's some players just waiting to fly. The majority of flights are co-op missions and plenty of help to get new MP flyers up and running. We have regular flyers in the USA on the west coast, central, east coast, and in the UK, so it would be easy to set up a training or intro session for you. Just get Teamspeak and the overlay installed and tested on your system and log in. Info to do that at this topic: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=43258 We don't seem to miss the old CFS3 servers. We fly with one of our own members who hosts the game, and anyone of us can host if they want. I cannot say multiplayer is without some small problems, but they are minor and perhaps one day the developers will spend some time on some problems within this aspect of their product? ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Polovski 424 Posted July 2, 2009 and I'll just add from the website features page... "Although BH&H is designed to be a realistic experience by default we have added many options so it can be made easier should you wish - so you can tailor more to your taste! Also as always in-game visual aids can be on or off depending on your preferences..." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broadside uda Barn 0 Posted July 3, 2009 OK, I'm sold I'm not interested in trying phase 2. I want to see the current product, and I can already tell that it's worthwhile just from the praise that it's getting from all of you. I live in Hawaii, so my time frame (6 hours behind NY) may be a bit behind all of you, depending on when you play, but that shouldnt be much of a problem. I have a good net connection (ADSL, and I ping to the west coast pretty well (110ms or so)...how ping intensive is OOF? I'm ready to fly! "someone get me in a plane!" I guess all I need now is CFS3 and BH&H... Is there a particular version of CFS3 to look for? I read somewhere about a DVD version...cant find that, but here's two I did find: http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Flight-Simula...2516&sr=8-1 and http://cgi.ebay.com/MICROSOFT-COMBAT-FLIGH...%3A1%7C294%3A50 The amazon one looks good. Will this do? Also, regarding TrackIR, I probably wont purchase this just yet, till I get OOF up and running, but is there a better version/model to look for? There's about a $50 variation on the different models. The wife isnt going to be very pleased with all this WW1 flight sim purchasing, but I dont see that I have a choice (maybe the trackIR is an option...but it sure seems like it really adds to the experience). Thank you for all the replies and insight! Can't wait to join you boys over the front. Broadside uda Barn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Winston DoRight 3 Posted July 3, 2009 A good ping is VERY important in OFF. We do have some flyers here in California, so you should get a good connection when one of us is hosting. High latency marks cause the other players to warp a bit and jump around. It's the only thing I dislike about multiplayer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rickitycrate 10 Posted July 3, 2009 Hey Broadside, Hawaii my man I envy you. Mahalo! Maybe living there is old hat for you or whatever but I love it there and miss Maui terribly. Maui No Ka Oi! I realize there are other OFF peeps from Hawaii but it made my day to think of you joining the OFF family in paradise. Welcome aboard and have some fresh Ono for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
themightysrc 5 Posted July 3, 2009 "(Not to mention our British cousins who are joining in the fun more and more. Hearing those authentic accents makes it all the more realistic)" Jolly good show, what! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted July 3, 2009 I'm ready to fly! "someone get me in a plane!" We did it! We snagged another one! Welcome aboard, Broadside. Sooner or later, you will want TrackIR. Go for the combo package with TrackIR and the Track Clip Pro that goes on your headset & mic. Once you have it, it's a whole new world to fly in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broadside uda Barn 0 Posted July 3, 2009 Cant wait to get in the air! Does this version of CFS3 look ok? http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Flight-Simula...2516&sr=8-1 Thank you all for the warm welcome! BSUB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Winder 32 Posted July 3, 2009 Cant wait to get in the air! Does this version of CFS3 look ok? http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Flight-Simula...2516&sr=8-1 Thank you all for the warm welcome! BSUB It looks fine.... Note: if its not a 3.1 version you will have to install CFS3 and patch it to 3.1 using the patch from MS. Then Run CFS3 once and then install OFF. If it is a 3.1 version you can install OFF without installing CFS3. And yes the installer will tell you what version your CFS3 CD is! HTH WM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broadside uda Barn 0 Posted July 3, 2009 Thanks Winder! Ordering it now, and BH&H as well. I'd read of some newer systems not being able to get CFS3 running for some reason, but I'm confident that I'll figure it out, since others have basically the same system that I have. I've been tweaking games since dos to get things running...and I know who and where to ask if I cant! Rickity, Mahalo! I'm on Oahu...heading off to Waiamea as soon as I purchase CFS3 and BH&H...it's flat today there, but it's perfect for snorkelling :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Winder 32 Posted July 3, 2009 Thanks Winder! Ordering it now, and BH&H as well. I'd read of some newer systems not being able to get CFS3 running for some reason, but I'm confident that I'll figure it out, since others have basically the same system that I have. I've been tweaking games since dos to get things running...and I know who and where to ask if I cant! Rickity, Mahalo! I'm on Oahu...heading off to Waiamea as soon as I purchase CFS3 and BH&H...it's flat today there, but it's perfect for snorkelling :) I am sure we will get you up and running - if you need fast support contact us directly on: support@overflandersfields.com quote your order number and you will be helped. Best WM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rickitycrate 10 Posted July 3, 2009 Thanks Winder! Ordering it now, and BH&H as well. I'd read of some newer systems not being able to get CFS3 running for some reason, but I'm confident that I'll figure it out, since others have basically the same system that I have. I've been tweaking games since dos to get things running...and I know who and where to ask if I cant! Rickity, Mahalo! I'm on Oahu...heading off to Waiamea as soon as I purchase CFS3 and BH&H...it's flat today there, but it's perfect for snorkelling :) Oahu very nice indeed. Flat for snorkling... very good, I love to snorkel. For those that don't know the Hawaii t.v. news weather segment is usually 2 minutes long and covers the surf not actually the weather. After all it's 82-84 F almost everyday brah. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
