Anyone flying full DiD Standard ?

[Launchbury 1]

no tac, no labels, no external views, no brackets, no targetcone, no visual aids at all.

only aid is my eysight and my constantly moving head, scanning the skies and grounds.

 

You and I are certainly of one mind in these factors. I want to ask how you handle your padlock, however. Once I have identified aircraft as hostile, I open the TAC so I can padlock them, then close it again. If, when in padlock, the enemy goes through a blind section of my aircraft (lower fuselage, etc.) I drop the lock and find someone else to pick on.

 

No joke, Launch? No attackers? Calls for the 17 hour mark there!

 

No joke at all. When I saw the briefing I thought HAH! Enemies at last! And then we took off (TAC check was clean, I do the same thing you do, check to see what direction as if spotters saw them) and climbed on warp and circled endlessly and then landed. The squadron is based south of the St. Quentin area and north of the Verdun area, in this sort of strange area where there are no German airbases at all. You can see it on the map, there's just a large space about 30 miles in either direction with no airfields. It's not really a bad way to spend a war, however, though it has gotten hot at some time. Had a few ground attack missions to make the hair stand up, got hammered in the wing and crashed on landing. Only doing 45 MPH, couldn't keep the wing up and ground-looped. I thought I was finished but I survived it, very pleased about that. Went balloon busting, caught a packet of flak in the other wing - same result, messy landing - poor aircraft a complete write off. I somehow walk away with a laugh and a smile. Funny how these things work out, you know. My very first pilot didn't even get in the air; killed on takeoff, poor man, doing only about 40 MPH, dug the nose in and died. But after that I had an Eindekker pilot lose a whole wing at 10,000 feet, spiral all the way down and survive (though only to be taken prisoner).

[Olham 164]

Hahaha!! You seem to have enough pleasure without enemies.

And if you should want some different flying, you could always enter more pilots in other areas or time.

I have five now, flying in different regions; 4 in 1917, and 1 in 1918. I pick the region I'd like to fly most

each time.

[Creaghorn 10]

You and I are certainly of one mind in these factors. I want to ask how you handle your padlock, however. Once I have identified aircraft as hostile, I open the TAC so I can padlock them, then close it again. If, when in padlock, the enemy goes through a blind section of my aircraft (lower fuselage, etc.) I drop the lock and find someone else to pick on.

 

yes, indeed.

 

i don't handle it at all. i'm using trackir and when i see enemies, i order attack. i don't pay attention at all about padlocking or somehting. don't even exactly know what it is, to be honest.

[Bandy 3]

The 'style' of gameplay flying without TAC and labels would really benefit if the archie smoke let you know where distant aircraft are. Without beating a dead, or at least tired horse see my thesis post number 23 I think HERE

 

Mr. Lucky, you say:

I sometimes use the TAC for navigation to a ground target, but I set it on ships only so all I see are the blue nav line and distance to the waypoint.

Have you thought about simply using the in game map (keystroke M) to navigate? Then you don't need the TAC line to know the direction to head. If you are leading the flight, then ignore the double and triple circling, it is a PITA anyways...

 

Just my 2 cents...

Edited July 8, 2009 by B Bandy RFC

[Olham 164]

I have just returned from my first campaign flight with "full DiD standard" - it was very different

to any flights with aids before! If you like, read about it in the "Reports from the front"-sticky.

It did feel much "larger" - very "real"! And confusing too.

 

Bandy - the Flak/Archie DOES let you know, when enemy craft are near. When you see dark puffs,

you must scan the skies intensively - you will find them!

 

The circling can be ignored, if you fly with 60 - 70 percent, and hit "R" for "return" several times.

They should come and stay with you then

[Creaghorn 10]

I have just returned from my first campaign flight with "full DiD standard" - it was very different

to any flights with aids before! If you like, read about it in the "Reports from the front"-sticky.

It did feel much "larger" - very "real"! And confusing too.

 

 

that's what i call DiD baptism of fire .

[Bandy 3]

Bandy - the Flak/Archie DOES let you know, when enemy craft are near. When you see dark puffs,

you must scan the skies intensively - you will find them!

I agree, it does to some extent, but not consistently at all. I've found that the AAA smoke has a very random pattern, and can be more confusing.

 

NOW, I've been flying mostly in the early part of the 1916 and 17, so maybe the archies/AAA is not as intense???

[Olham 164]

Thank you, Creaghorn!

 

Bandy, that may be one reason; plus: your actual location. It seems to me, that you find most

archie over cities and airfields, whereas there ain't so much in between - which would be right.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Evening All,

 

Here is just a short video showing life in the DiD cockpit of my Strutter B1. As has been discussed here, some of us stay "in cockpit" for the entire flight when flying DiD, and use no aids of any kind, apart from the in-game map, (which I will quit using as we continue to get more accurate and detailed maps that we can print out for all the AO's we fly in). My apologies for the white jaggies you'll see from time to time, I only have these when running FRAPS to do the moveis. By the way, I was practicing dead stick cross-field landings, and while I got the side slip nearly perfect, my turn to the hanger was less than tops. My mechanicians are going to read me the riot act about that aileron damage on the port side.

 

DiD Cockpit Flying

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Launchbury 1]

My mechanicians are going to read me the riot act about that aileron damage on the port side.

 

And then you shall stand up tall to your full height, look him in the eyes, yank off your flying gauntlets, poke that Blighter in the chest and say "Don't you bloody ever even dare consider speaking to an Officer in that insolent tone again!"

 

And then after they've fixed your kite back up, go and prang* it right on their tea room, just to show them.

*Yanks take note: Prang is a rather clever British term for a crash.

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

I'm glad to read about all the various setups people are using.

I've been flying with full everything, except for the tac and the wind, but afte 20 or so pilots, none of them reaching more than 2 missions, I'm ready for a change.

I think I'm going to go with the middle option for crashes. I fly well, I shoot down planes, I nurse them home, I play defensively, then I tilt a wing at 6 mph on landing and die (most frustratingly, after an hour of nursing a plane back over the front..meh).

I understand not surviving a crash from 1000 ft (anyone tried the option for bailout "o" ? cant get it to work....but that would be awesome), but comon! Death from a crash while landing at 10 or less mph?? that's not realistic...a piston thru the right eye might happen every 20 times, but hey! I can fly with one eye! Prop shards thru the heart? Yeah, I can buy that, but you have to be going fast enough to shatter the prop. If 120mph winds cant do it, why would a crash at 8 mph?

heh :scout:

 

Warp is important too. Tried my first 10 or so pilots to not use warp, but warp to the first way point is fair, as is labels (I JUST started using them yesterday...wow that makes a difference) for a brief moment to get the info of the plane you are downing. TAC at 4mile distance...very fair.

 

Maybe we should petition for a DiD for the time challenged people (add warp to first way point, etc)...?

[RAF_Louvert 101]

BuB, warp is allowed and you would then use the DiD/W designation to indicate so. If you read through Siggi's DiD standards post the allowed configurations are listed. BTW, I have used warp for several of my DiD pilots, it's just that I have found a bit more time in the early AM to fly now, plus I was missing a lot of beautiful scenery by warpping.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Olham 164]

BuB, warp is allowed in Siggi's DiD standards. You can use 'warp', 'labels' and 'TAC', and then name

your settings DiD/TWL in his killboard. But I think, you should first get into it more.

 

You should set your pilot to "easy: die roll at death" - that is no cheat and doesn't make anything easier

(correct me if I'm wrong), but your pilot doesn't have to be written in again and again. Only his credits

will be erased.

[Launchbury 1]

Is your engine on when you land? If so it's no wonder you're dying. Best way to land is to be nice and high, shut off the engine, side-slip heavily until you're just 10 or 20 feet off the field, then straighten out and wait for your speed to bleed off before you touch down, which should be made at about 40 MPH. If you land fast it causes you to bounce, and if your wing is damaged and you bounce, that side of the plane will fall rapidly and that's how you get your kidneys all mixed up with your knees.

[Olham 164]

May depend on the craft - I always did and do land my Albatros with engine on.

Coming in, I level out in the last moment. When I'm good, she doesn't jump at all.

But for a Nupe, that might be a different story?

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Generally speaking, I also land with engine on but throttled all the way down, and fuel mixture leaned well back. I side-slip, as mentioned by Launchbury, to bleed off speed and then straighten out and touch the ground just about the time I am stalling out. After that I use the rudder and throttle to turn to my hanger, stopping just before rolling inside, although you can pull into the hanger as well if you like, as I demonstrated quite some time ago with my Strutter. In fact, here is that little video:

 

Putting Your Kite in the Hanger

 

Mind you this was when I had first started flying OFF and does not show the side slip or turn I now employ, but then I've gotten a bit better over the last few months.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Olham 164]

Yes, Lou - I remember your "hangar stunt" still, as if it was last month.

Meanwhile, we sure have both become a lot better - and so has OFF.

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

Thanks for the suggestions. If I get a pilot to actually live past 3 missions, then I'll be ready for Siggi's board.

 

Great hanger video! LOL, I always just leave the blasted crate where it stops (last night, it stopped at the edge of the field, about 1 foot from a tree) and let the mechanics and field crews do their jobs.....tho it's a longer walk to the pub.

Gonn have to try getting it closer

[Waldemar Kurtz 1]

Yeah, warp should be okay. I often choose "optional Flight", when the first one is too long.

 

I always ALWAYS A-L-W-A-Y-S cherry pick my flights.

 

why? because the mission planner loves to assign my flights to ridiculous sorties. I think my favorite is where I was based near Calais and I get sent to fly a mission all the way down near Cambrai and St. Quentin! I just can't believe that would ever happen.

 

obviously a carry-over of the CFS3 game engine!

[Olham 164]

Waldemar, Calais - St.Quentin is not too bad. What about Calais - Verdun?

I think the program would just go through the available mission type sorties for that time,

and we should really make good use of "optional flight".