Its no fun unless its DID, are we masochists?

[appraiserfl 0]

So after loosing my flyboy that had over 24 hours of flying time, 21 confirmed, the blue max, and all of the broads and booze available within all of flanders... I decided to switch to easy and see how that went, and you know it actually sucks! It takes all of the tension and nerves out of playing, I was actually in a dogfight with a pup and he pissed me off so I said screw it and purposely rammed him cause I knew there would be no consequences...im actually bored with the game like this, so back to DID I go!

 

So what is our obsession with playing and investing hours and hours of time into something that is destined to die and die soon, lol? 24 hours and all I got is a shoe box full of medals that sometimes dissapear and fading memories as I continue to fill the DID graves next to Hornswagge Von DiamondWulf with his cousins of lessor glory!

[Olham 164]

Well, I think it's about the quality of what you do.

A sim set to "easy" is not a challenge. Many kids of today play things like that. They don't want

to work on anything, they don't like drawbacks, the want to be the star without the labour.

 

Full DiD - I just flew my first fighter mission in the "Krauts & Crumpets" with full DiD.

Boy, was I lost! It is okay with the bombers - high up and out of reach.

But this now, 300 meters above the mud, in a fight with Nupes, surrounded by a web of ground fire,

and a vision so poor as if it was doomsday - man, that was tough!

 

I want to see, how far I may last under these conditions.

Edited November 14, 2009 by Olham

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I tend to do the old 'Roll of the Dice' thing...suits my gameplay style...

[Slartibartfast 153]

I have only been flying for a week and I have mine set to DID at times frustrating but at others so rewarding... all round in the mess for coming back alive...

[+hgbn 91]

You OFF guys has inspirred me to do the same thing in my sim of choice. anything on hard and if my pilot dies he is out and I have to start with another one...

[Beanie 4]

Flying DiD may be frustrating at times, but look at the sense of achievement and satisfaction you get when it goes right.

 

I started flying DiD almost from the start, and there is not one flight that I have not felt that I have not been tested - even on routine patrols behing own lines - goes to show the depth of detail of this sim!

 

But regardless of the level that people play OFF - enjoying yourself in the main aim, and with the add-on being released shortly - there will have even more frustrating times ahead - GREAT!

[Slartibartfast 153]

Just to add insult my latest pilot bit the dust shot down a Halb II with the old not so perky Strutter... and the perisher decided to take me with him... damn unsporting old chap...

 

Oh well time to take a Nieup 11 up RNAS 1 I thinks damn things twitchier than a twitchy thing on a twitchy day... but hey adds to the fun...

[Dej 17]

Siggi's explanation of the birth of DiD highlights exactly those things that appraiserfl noted, that instant ressurection kills immersion and renders the sim ultimately boring if you have no real 'skin in the game'. Now, as Bullethead would rightly point out, OFF is NOT combat flying in WW1, and your real 'skin' is not at risk. But with DiD it kinda doesn't matter because you put in a lot of nerve-wracking hours (hopefully) and dry mouthed, sweaty hands on the j/s moments, which take something out of you and leave you proud of surviving... and that final, inevitable, loss really hurts.

Edited November 15, 2009 by Dej

[Siggi 10]

I still have the original DiD logo, made by Jetlag back in the year 2000. Bloody nora.

 

 

I think we started with SDoE. Or actually B17...?

Edited November 15, 2009 by Siggi

[Olham 164]

Couldn't say it any better, Dej.

 

Siggi, is your "Langnasen" in your mail address from the Focke-Wulf 190 D9 ?

One of my favourite WW2 fighters.

 

My very first "real feel" in air combat was with Microprose's "Pacific Air War" (or similar name).

My rig was linked to my companion's, and we had a dogfight.

He was among 4 American "Lightning", and I was flying one of four Japanese "Frank".

It was a big difference to know, that a human clever beast was among them, but soon we had

found each other, and I chased him about, giving him several good hit, until he darkly smoked.

He knew he was as good as lost like this.

Now he acted real clever: he pulled throttle and stick full back!

I was suddenly without sight - all black smoke around me.

Then he pushed down the stick, and there I was, right in front of him! A Frank isn't made to survive

a good burst from a Lightning, I learnt. I was dead!

 

He never flew it with me again - I'm pretty sure he wanted to keep it as it was - 1:0

Edited November 15, 2009 by Olham

[Hasse Wind 46]

DiD can be extremely frustrating and sometimes makes me want to throw heavy objects around the room and out of the window, but nothing in any sim beats the great satisfaction you feel when you achieve something without any 'crutches'. No pain, no gain.

[Siggi 10]

Couldn't say it any better, Dej.

 

Siggi, is your "Langnasen" in your mail address from the Focke-Wulf 190 D9 ?

One of my favourite WW2 fighters.

 

My very first "real feel" in air combat was with Microprose's "Pacific Air War" (or similar name).

My rig was linked to my companion's, and we had a dogfight.

He was among 4 American "Lightning", and I was flying one of four Japanese "Frank".

It was a big difference to know, that a human clever beast was among them, but soon we had

found each other, and I chased him about, giving him several good hit, until he darkly smoked.

He knew he was as good as lost like this.

Now he acted real clever: he pulled throttle and stick full back!

I was suddenly without sight - all black smoke around me.

Then he pushed down the stick, and there I was, right in front of him! A Frank isn't made to survive

a good burst from a Lightning, I learnt. I was dead!

 

He never flew it with me again - I'm pretty sure he wanted to keep it as it was - 1:0

 

Langnasen from the 190 Dora, yes. And I have a long nose for real too.

 

Nice description of your first live dogfight, sounds like a classic experience.

[Olham 164]

Good to know, you're not SUPER cool - I know that "I'll throw the rig out of the window" rage!!!

[Fortiesboy 3]

Interesting thread this! Like UK, I use Roll of the Dice, really because i just don't want to be continually making new pilots! As I would be.

 

But, not flying DID is not the same thing as flying easy, is it? You could still be DID but fly with all labels, external views, no cockpit view etc etc, can you not?

 

I fly full real, ( for want of a better term ), using none of the above, as I'm pretty sure UK does, and i don't find this an easy game in which to win.

Do a QC with you versus three enemy, on full real, and I wouldn't bet on you surviving. And from the limited campaign I've played, it seems those odds regularly turn up -lol

 

Sure, in Roll on Dice, or never dies, it's easy or certain for my pilot to survive in, but not to win.

 

You could make it pretty easy to win , yet be DID when your luck runs out.

 

That's one of the greats about this sim - Play it as YOU wish to- so many options.

[Olham 164]

What exactly does "Roll on dice" mean, Fortiesboy?

 

That DiD with Labels, Instruments and TAC switched off, was called "Full DiD rules" by Siggi recently.

That's what we are supposed to use in "Krauts vs Crumpets".

 

I find it very hard in a relatively fast fighter like my 1916 Albatros D II, to even spot the enemy,

and to find them again, cause you always loose them without helps.

I downed a Nieuport, but that was sand coloured. No idea, how one should see a British dark green

or dark brown craft against the ground. It is extremely stressful - and I like it!

Edited November 15, 2009 by Olham

[Dej 17]

Flying DiD means as a minimum flying 'full real' in terms of flight model, engine management (mixture control optional), gunnery, cockpit only view, weather and other effects... PLUS having 'Dead is Dead' turned on in the Workshop. The aids (for want of a better word) such as TAC, Labels and Warp give rise to the variations DiD/T, DiD/L and DiD/W or combinations thereof.

 

'Krauts vs. Crumpets' is pure DiD, no aids.

 

The only difference between how Fortiesboy flies and DiD is the Death on Dice Roll setting instead of Dead is Dead, but it's the significant difference from the point of view of the rules. Not playing DiD doesn't mean playing easy, no. OTOH, playing DiD does mean not easy.

 

Mind you, I found DoDR to be sometimes more frustrating than DiD, because it seemed to kill erratically. I've survived slightly less than perfect landings with DiD set that I'm sure DoDR would randomly have rolled my number on. I doubt that it is actually the case, but DoDR seemed more 'bloodthirsty' playing in Campaign mode than it did in QC.

[Fortiesboy 3]

What exactly does "Roll on dice" mean, Fortiesboy?

 

Hello Olham and dej -- S!

 

Roll on Dice means the setting in workshops where, when you meet your fate in the sim, the next stage is decided by the computer as to whether you are dead, or injured or captured etc- invariably you finish up able to carry on with the pilot, instead of having a dead pilot and having to make a new one. -lol

 

I was not aware of the DID conditions as required by Krauts v crumpets nor indeed of Siggi's DID -

 

As I only fly Campaign infrequently, I was going by the sim's DID parameters, which are that you only need to set the DID in workshops- all other settings would still apply, so you could fly arcade with DID still in force, or full real - or anything inbetween.

 

As you guys fly full real as described by dej - my hat is off (!) to you - BTW, how the hell do you fly to your destination without TAC's blue line? I'd be really lost without that.

 

I just had a campaign sortie to attack ground troops. I was really disciplined and ignored the bandits we could have attacked en route, so that we arrived at the target.

One pass only, to fire at them and as i was getting the hell out I had the plane shot up (to crash), by the ground troops, despite a weaving exit.

 

Oh well, no danger of reaching 17 hrs for me!!

[Olham 164]

No, you are not lost, cause you have the map. And in there is a little plane flying along the

route (or not - depending on you. But you see, if to go further left or right).

That's a point where we aren't yet full realistic. But some of us, like RAF_Louvert, are

flying after real paper printed maps, which are files made available by Rabu, I believe.

 

Once I get to grips with all the reality I will try even that.

 

And ground attacks are indeed very dangerous against airfields or railyards - I recommend

to advance time, to get another mission. Cause I don't think, fighters without bombs did

really attack such targets. Ballons, yes, but airfields?

[Bullethead 12]

So what is our obsession with playing and investing hours and hours of time into something that is destined to die and die soon, lol?

 

Why does anybody play or watch baseball when even the best hitters fail 2 out of every 3 trips to the plate? Why do people always pull for the underdog? IMHO, it's because we all think, deep down and whether we admit it or not, that life sucks. Even if you kiss all the right asses, don't beat your wife too often, and otherwise do all that's expected of you, you really don't expect anthing to work out close to how you want, because you've seen countless examples of friends and family members getting totally shafted over the years so know you're turn's coming soon (even if you've had a turn or 2 already).

 

So, you want to beat the system. This being a forlorn hope, the next best thing is to have one of your virtual alter egoes beat the system. And to make it even more satisfying, you want him to beat the system against even harder odds than you've got in your miserable real life.

 

At least that's how I look at it

[Ras 0]

In Did or as a matter of fact any set up in BhaH, I have often wondered about what can be seen. I think it was Olham who said in a post that once you lose sight of your enemy it is very, very difficult to spot him again. And I think it was many weeks ago, it was UncleAl and others that said when one gets older; or has a small screen; poorer graphics card, it is so difficult to spot an enemy.

 

I don't know how I have survived with my 2nd pilot in Krauts vs. Crumpets as long as I have. Last night, I had my 4 1/2 year old grandson at the joystick controls. I had everything set so he could shoot as long as he wanted. And believe me it was fun. He was pulling the trigger on anything in sight. Trees, buildings, the moon, and the rare aircraft. Speaking of which I sat back and it was unbelievable how small they appear at 1 or 2 miles. I am not a real pilot, but I have quite a few hours as a passenger/copilot in small aircraft . Having seen my share of aircraft at a distance, I unfortunately have to say that we are very, very handicapped in this sim when it comes to spotting the enemy. I love it all as we have enumerated hundreds of times, but we must keep that in to consideration.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Ras

[Siggi 10]

I'm finding it just as the real chaps often reported it, the longer I've flown this sim the easier it's become to spot a/c at long range

[Olham 164]

Good answer, Bullethead.

 

Ras, not sure if you know this: you need to set your FOV (field of view) right for your desktop, so nothing is getting distorted.

My monitor's max. resolution so far is 1280 x 1024, which is a field of view relationship of 25 : 20.

 

But you can say, I want it a bit closer/zoomed in. The enemy aircraft will appear slightly larger then.

If you don't want to change your FOV in workshop, you can still press the + key in the sim, and will get zoomed

in one notch. If you press it again, all comes closer another notch, and so on.

That will, of course, loose FOV at the sides, top and bottom, but therefor, all will also appear closer/larger.

Just try it out.

 

I think, the real fighter pilots had that problem too, especially in nasty wheather, that they lost their opponent's

sight for seconds or even longer. A descending craft in dark green or brown might even escape you, cause you fail

to trace it again.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Olham

[Ras 0]

Good answer, Bullethead.

 

Ras, not sure if you know this: you need to set your FOV (field of view) right for your desktop, so nothing is getting distorted.

My monitor's max. resolution so far is 1280 x 1024, which is a field of view relationship of 25 : 20.

 

But you can say, I want it a bit closer/zoomed in. The enemy aircraft will appear slightly larger then.

If you don't want to change your FOV in workshop, you can still press the + key in the sim, and will get zoomed

in one notch. If you press it again, all comes closer another notch, and so on.

That will, of course, loose FOV at the sides, top and bottom, but therefor, all will also appear closer/larger.

Just try it out.

 

I think, the real fighter pilots had that problem too, especially in nasty wheather, that they lost their opponent's

sight for seconds or even longer. A descending craft in dark green or brown might even escape you, cause you fail

to trace it again.

 

Yes, I do use the zoom in and out feature. I find it difficult to look at the keyboard and find those keys without losing my concentration. And have no more buttons on joystick to use...the zoom in/out is a feature that I probably don't use enough. As far as FOV I would have no idea how to set that up. Is it something in the workshop area or from the computer desktop? I might have one of the smaller monitors around in that it is a 15", but at least it is a flatscreen. Maybe next year I can get a 19 or 21" , but I am not sure if that is something that helps either. Thanks for your help

[Olham 164]

Yes, I do use the zoom in and out feature. I find it difficult to look at the keyboard and find those keys without losing my concentration. And have no more buttons on joystick to use...the zoom in/out is a feature that I probably don't use enough.

 

You can use the + key at the right, in the numbers part of your keyboard.

After a while, you'll find it blind, and don't have to look.

 

As far as FOV I would have no idea how to set that up. Is it something in the workshop area or from the computer desktop?

 

The FOV is set up in "workshop". You just take your screen's best resolution, and then find the

right relationship between horizontal and vertical value.

The smaller the numbers, the closer you zoom. I use 25 : 20, but I could also use 24 : 19, or 23 : 18.

But that's for my 4:3 screen. You must do your math for yours. Or send me your values here.

[Baldric 42]

I've been intrigued by the theory of DiD for quite some time, so when I noticed it was an accepted idea here, for OFF, I jumped in. An old friend of mine first mentioned DiD to me back in 2002 where he was just finishing playing Bioware's 'NeverWinter Nights' where he was playing on a 'persistent world' server that was set for DiD. When his character finally died, he had the notoriety of having the longest surviving active player-character on that server.

 

To me that showed a lot of skill, and he really had enjoyed his playtime there because of all the extras most people take for granted/don't seem to care about in MMOs or CRPGs (extras like the absolute need for care, for tactics and strategy, for actually thinking, preparation, and not just button mashing et al.) where insta-spawn is king. I found all of that very interesting, and a unique way of enjoying a game. I'm currently enjoying Bioware's newest CRPG, Dragon Age: Origins using basic DiD ideals, and I'm on my fifth player-character with the death ratio falling as I push away the arcade-style FRP play and remind myself that, yes, friendly fire is BAD...