First Mission

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

Flew my first campaign mission today. Assignment was to guard some obversvation planes over the front. Had to fly from quite a ways back from the front to meet them, then go the 11 way points, circle for 17 mins and fly home. Sounds easy enough.

over the front we ran into some DR 1s from Jasta 23. I sent one down with a couple of quick bursts to his cockpit. Score 1 for the noob pilot! .... er... anyway, I'm all jazzed about that, circle around some more, fly with the observation planes, get lost as they are close but I cant see them (I'm at 4000ft and they are at 9000). 2 hours later, I think...sheesh this is taking a while, so I hit the X for warp and bing...we are into a flight of Pfalt's...not good. I'm in a turning war (I'm in a SE5a) and he's winning. I've got the throttle low to make tighter turns but he's gaining on me, he's at 5 oclock and I'm thinking, this is it! no altitude, no where to go, and then out of the blue comes one of our boys! He drops right on the tail of the Pfaltz, and nails him. Sweet!

We fly around for a bit, trying to limp home, it's now 2 1/2 hours into the flight. I figure, how about warping, cause the wife has been ignored all this time. I hit X and the next thing I know, it has cruised me out to the north sea! That's not the worst of it, I'm out of fuel and it's telling me to turn back. I turn around, but the map isnt any help, just a big blue splotch, and a big grey splotch. Great.

I fly to a flat spot, and land.

Turns out I was behind enemy lines... I end up in prison for the rest of the war.

pfft.

Lesson learned, DONT USE WARP! I have no clue why it sent me off in that direction. I guess it's not like auto pilot.

 

Four questions:

 

How come all the planes of the AI on my side are faster than me? They climb and pull away from me, but I cant climb to meet them. I can dive and kind of catch up, but then I'm too low.... I'm using the auto mixture.

 

 

What is the average time of missions in the campaigns, without using warp?

 

Is there anyway to see the skin you choose for your pilot, before you pick it and begin flying? there are so many skins to choose, but I dont know what they look like.

 

Is there a walkthru or manual for OFF? something that tells things like what warp is, what the campaign time frames are, how to start in different years, etc?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Broadside

 

ps--fun game :yes:

Edited July 13, 2009 by Broadside uda Barn

[Winston DoRight 3]

Use warp if you want on any missions EXCEPT escort.

[Duce Lewis 3]

Four questions:

 

How come all the planes of the AI on my side are faster than me? They climb and pull away from me, but I cant climb to meet them. I can dive and kind of catch up, but then I'm too low.... I'm using the auto mixture.

 

 

What is the average time of missions in the campaigns, without using warp?

 

Is there anyway to see the skin you choose for your pilot, before you pick it and begin flying? there are so many skins to choose, but I dont know what they look like.

 

Is there a walkthru or manual for OFF? something that tells things like what warp is, what the campaign time frames are, how to start in different years, etc?

BuB,

AI planes should not be generically faster than you

I fly Fok D7 and routinely outrun Camels - as it should be

Are you adjusting your fuel mixture for maximum performance?

 

Mission time is listed in the lower right hnd corner of the Briefing Room screen

I always check this and that my Crate has enough range to complete the mission

Sometimes Missions are assigned that are beyond the range of your crate - Just skip these

As a general rule, I want 50% extra fuel tankage for missions behind our lines

100% more when crossing the front

 

No skins can't be previewed

 

Not sue on the manual

 

HTH,

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

BuB,

AI planes should not be generically faster than you

I fly Fok D7 and routinely outrun Camels - as it should be

Are you adjusting your fuel mixture for maximum performance?

 

HTH,

 

Thanks Duce. I'll watch for the flight times next time.

No, I'm using the automatic mixture (one less thing to think about at this point as I'm getting used to the game itself)

 

Well, ROFL, my 2nd campaign didnt turn out so well. Flying from a different squadron, somehow I'm at late 1918 (havent figure how to set the dates for the pilots yet), and I'm flying a 57 minute patrol over the front. 7 minutes in, I'm flying along, keeping up with my wingmen, the scenery looks GREAT, it's a stormy day, headphones are turned up for realism, all is well when BAM, I'm in flames and spiraling to the earth. roll the death scene movie.

 

 

 

All I can figure was I was hit by AA? or lightning (is that in here too?)?

Seriously, there was nothing going on. I thought I heard a faint boom and I was looking under my right side to see if there was a battle below. Almost blew me out of my seat! Very startling.

 

 

 

there MUST be a spot somewhere with all the skins...otherwise, how do we know there are so many?

Edited July 13, 2009 by Broadside uda Barn

[Macklroy 2]

AI planes also dont have to worry about wind or its effects. So if you're running auto mixture with wind effects on. If you happen to be flying into a headwind you will be much slower than your m8s. It's for this reason alone that I have removed wind effects in 'workshops'.

[Duce Lewis 3]

there MUST be a spot somewhere with all the skins...otherwise, how do we know there are so many?

It's been requested before

But it's a pretty big task and not a top priority

As Pol says ...P84 ...........maybe

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

So you just have to choose one, fly your mission to take a look at it, then choose another, take a look at it in your next mission, etc?

 

 

Quick question about campaigns. I had a pilot who had survived a few missions, but then I used him for a quick combat to check something out (full realism except for the wind), I crashed, and my pilot is now shown as deceased....so here's the question: if I had gotten a kill or two in the quick mission, would that have counted toward his campaign stats? And would his flight time have counted as well?

If not, then never ever use a campaign pilot for quick combat!

 

And if you are in a mission, and use the warp, does the time you warped not count toward your flight time total?

 

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just so curious about so many things.

Gotta find a manual.

[DukeIronHand 8]

AI planes also dont have to worry about wind or its effects. So if you're running auto mixture with wind effects on. If you happen to be flying into a headwind you will be much slower than your m8s. It's for this reason alone that I have removed wind effects in 'workshops'.

 

Very interesting! I shall make the change also.

[Dej 17]

BuB,

 

OFF manuals are in your [OFF Installation Folder]\manuals\.

 

There is no way of previewing skins on the aircraft model. You can look in the skins directory [OFF Installation Folder]\campaigns\campaign data\skins\ and get a good idea of what they will look like. you'll need a .DDS file format viewer. There's one here that integrates with Windows Explorer DDS Thumbnail Viewer

 

Mission time in QC counts on your pilot log but not kills. NEVER, EVER, EVER USE A CAMPAIGN PILOT FOR QC. Create separate pilots for this, named in a way you can recognise - I use film directors/producers, e.g. Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, Francois Truffaut etc. To avoid having to recreate them I also switch to 'Pilot Never Dies' in Workshop. It's a bit of a bind having to remember to switch back to 'Dead Is Dead' for a campaign but once you get into the routine of doing so you won't lose any more campaign pilots in QC nor accidentally undermine your DiD campaign pilots' scores.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Dej

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

Thanks Dej. It stinks that I lost that pilot. I just had made a new pilot for total realism (110%) in Quick Combat, and ended up downing 5 planes (I just happened to catch a few that were already shot up, and made a few quick moves (and it doesnt hurt to have them start in "unfavorable" situation). I took the time to write out my claims, but it didnt stick...waste of time. thanks for the information.

 

I'd checked out the manuals in the directory, but they dont really tell you much of anything at all regarding how to play OFF, or anything about the campaign. As far as I can tell, it's a matter of trial and error and these forums.

 

I'll check out the skins.

Thank you very much!

Broadside

[Olham 164]

Hey. Broadside

Great, you made your first 'real' sortie. A pity it ended like that, and was a bit long, eyh?

 

If you want to please the wife, fly German side - missions are much shorter mostly, cause they did

not cross the lines so often; and you can always click "optional flight", until you get a shorter distance.

To avoid, your comrades fly away faster, you can probably only become the lead - then they will stick with you, and you can command them.

The skins could be checked with "DXTBmp", a prog you must google for - it's free. You can browse through the skins in '(gamefolder) > campaigns > campaign data > skins

 

I think there is no such manual. In the beginning you think "Oh my god, so much to know and find out!" but it will soon get more and more clear.

If you want to choose a different time and craft:

1. go to pilot dossiers

2. enlist a new pilot (there you choose nationality, fighter or bomber, Squadron/Jasta)

3. in the new window, on the upper right, your choice of squad is shown.

Below that is the date - click towards the right, to change date forwards. Click several times to proceed, until it's right

4. Also, below that it shows, which aircraft your squadron will get throughout the whole war. So, if your desired craft isn't among them,

better change Squadron.

5. If you want to delete a pilot, click on "retire" in the pilot dossier. You can have more than 10 pilots though.

 

To find out, where a Squadron will be based through the war, go here:

http://patriot.net/~townsend/WW1AirMap2/

Click 'display type' - 'by squadron', then click off the nations you do NOT want (they go pale);

then click the squad you'd like to see. You will get a zigzag line with dots. Move cursor over the dots to read place name, and dates (from - to).

Unfortunately, it does not show the French.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Olham

[JimAttrill 24]

So to fly QC you have to be a lawyer then? (If British, that is)

 

Of course, in WWI times they would have been a KC...

Edited July 13, 2009 by JimAttrill

[Check Six 2]

BuB,

 

Keep an eye on your TAC. If you're warping, you are just basically "along for the ride" until (or if) you get dragged out of warp due to enemy action or proximity or arriving at your aerodrome...So you've got plenty of time to do this. Look at the figure at the TOP of your TAC. This figure shows you how far to go until you reach your next waypoint (the lower figure 8NM, 4NM, 2NM or 1NM is the range of your TAC radar). If this figure is over 20NM, be suspicious, as they rarely are in a normal patrol, taking several waypoints on the way to the target. Exit warp (CTRL + X???) and pause.

 

Look at your map ("M"). Zoom in or out with the Square brackets ([) or (]). You'll see a graphical representation of the orientation of your aircraft. That will tell you if you are heading home, to the next waypoint etc. If you can't see any "waypoint" lines on the map, zoom out and see where you are. You'll find that you're nowhere near your assigned waypoints, the TAC is showing you 50NM to your next waypoint, and you're in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

 

If this is the case, keep the Sim paused, Map present on screen and try "SHIFT + W", next waypoint command. See if that points back towards your base. If it does, you should first CHECK YOUR FUEL LEVEL (using the HUD) to make sure you have enough fuel to make it home. Then you can warp back, keeping a careful eye on your map, TAC range to waypoint etc. If you don't have enough fuel, look at your map, and check the orientation of your aircraft, and which way to your side of the lines. When you get close to your side, keep pressing "T" (which cycles through your different targets on the TAC radar) until you see "Airfields", look for a blue one, and head for it. Turn your labels on too if you need to, look for Blue "AirBase" and head for that. Land at a friendly air base and you can end your mission, and you can exit back to the duty room.

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

Great tips! That should save me some headaches. Taking notes now ;)