Survival In the Air Series - Discussion Board

[themightysrc]

"Mightysrc you are right about the paranoia. I developed a growing apprehension as June 1915 got nearer, when I understood I was likely to see the first enemy aircraft. When they first came stooping down on us I was like a cat in headlights for a moment. I finally remembered to turn into them and, as you have pointed out, they seemed to go for the wingmen."

 

I'm glad that you've been able to put the guide to good use (by the sound of it).

 

There's a lot of talk been had round these parts about making OFF the authentic experience, much of which has been thoroughly undermined by the simple fact that you can always enlist yet another pilot as and when your current one snuffs it. used to get through, literally, dozens of pilots - the pile of dead aviators under my desk was formidable. I finally came to realise that this happens simply because I wasn't paranoid enough in the air, and the BE2c is a wonderful, if slightly unnerving, way of getting into the frame of mind where one will do practically anything to avoid a fight, partly because it gets in the way of your mission, but mostly because you don't really stand much chance in a fight, particularly if you don't know the early war ropes, so to speak.

 

So I run at all opportunities - like Lou - or dodge, or hide, or whatever else is necessary to avoid trouble. It's amazing how quickly you get to loathe bright sunny days, yearning instead for cloud, rain and snow, and how you learn to curse Hun archie, who points out your existence to everyone within 4 miles, damn it.

 

You'll get into the mindset - sounds in fact as though you're pretty well there! - and you'll end up a snivelling nervous wreck like the rest of us BE2 jockeys. It's coming to something when one looks forward to the day that you get onto the infamous RE8 as a form of release from the torture...

[Wayfarer]

It always seems extraordinary to me how just making up a name immediately makes me far more careful than if I was just flying an anonymous mission in CFS3 or IL2. It was one of the reasons I chose OFF, rather than Rise of Flight. The whole atmosphere it creates makes me concentrate on trying to 'doing the job' and survive. I have a great deal of admiration for those crews, of all nationalities, whose job was flying reconnaissance and spotting missions, with far less opportunity to engineer situations to their advantage than the fighter pilots. This is why I chose to start with the BE2. You might be doomed, but it seemed to represent the experience of so many aircrew in that war.

[RAF_Louvert]

.

 

I agree Wayfarer. I do fully enjoy flying and fighting in the scouts, but my heart still lies with the B/R's. Sometime in the future I intend to again start a two-seater campaign as early as possible in the war and stick with it until the bitter end, (which, given the death rates in those kites, will likely come much too soon).

 

.

[themightysrc]

Ah well, there you go. I can't think of a better reason for the OFF team to go balls out and do us the AK8 and some Albatros two seaters, and perhaps Voisins, etc.

 

I've devolved. I used to expect to fly scouts: now I expect to fly a two seater. What's peculiar is that I don't mind it at all.

[Javito1986]

This thread rocks! Gave me great ideas. In addition to rolling a die to determine when I get leave, I'm also rolling a die to determine:

 

A) Whether or not air operations are grounded on a rainy day (have to roll a 6 to fly, 4-6 if in an active sector during a battle)

B) Which air activity setting to use (Light is default. 5-6 I switch to medium in a quiet sector, and in an active sector 4-5 give medium and 6 gives heavy)

C) How many missions I fly in a day (max 2 in a quiet sector)

 

I didn't get a real die or anything, I just use an online one. Takes the user's choice out of the equation. I'm so biased and hoping I survive the campaign I'd just advance time at every feasible opportunity if you'd let me. The rules discussed in 3P and the ones I threw in keep me disciplined :)

Edited November 16, 2010 by Javito1986

[Javito1986]

I love those manuals for the different planes. I've flown the Sopwith Camel for some 45 missions now and can attest to how accurate its manual is!

 

Request: A future manual for the Dr.I would be amazing ;-)

[Guest British_eh]

Hi there Javito1986,

 

Although we are looking at rewriting the German Primers;Dej and Olham are putting the final touches on the Guides, I will post the Dr.I Primer now.

 

Cheers,

 

British_eh

[Guest British_eh]

PREAMBLE TO SIA-RSS AND REVISED BULLET LOADOUT

 

Hi there, please note, there are new SIA-RSS which we noted earlier would be updated as new information becomes available. There are a few minor changes in Realism, Missions, and a few others. Thusly, the other DL has been replaced by this one. Thanks for your patience.

 

If you're here it's to take advantage of flying made as realistic as the settings can provide. Please download the files, and pic if you like and give it a go.

 

If you have comments please PM me. We would be happy to supply you with our resources to back up these RSS. The next time frame for the last time frame will be out soon.

 

Good luck and happy flying.

 

Cheers,

 

British_eh and Bletchley

 

 

 

[Guest British_eh]

SIA - RSS

 

Here is the new and improved W.S. settings for the different time frames. We are still working on the dates from February till the end of the war. Ta.

 

Cheers,

 

British_eh, with special thanks to Bletchley, also 77Scout and RAF_Louvert.

 

SIA-RSS 1915 to June 1916.pdf

 

 

[Guest British_eh]

SIA - RSS

 

Here is the new and improved W.S. settings for the different time frames. We are still working on the dates from February till the end of the war. Ta.

 

Cheers,

 

British_eh, with special thanks to Bletchley, also 77Scout and RAF_Louvert.

 

SIA-RSS July 1916 March 1917.pdf

 

[Guest British_eh]

SIA - RSS

 

Here is the new and improved W.S. settings for the different time frames. We are still working on the dates from February till the end of the war. Ta.

 

Cheers,

 

British_eh, with special thanks to Bletchley, also 77Scout and RAF_Louvert.

 

SIA - RSS April 1917 - February 1918.pdf

 

[Javito1986]

I'm having a bear of a time flying the SE5 in my new RFC campaign. It's nothing like my old Camel at all! Though she's definitely more stable, and god bless her for that because the way I slip and slide haplessly in the sky the Camel would've spun out and been done with me in a heartbeat.

 

I've been reading through the manual posted here over and over. The trouble is I just can't keep her steady. She slips left or right too far and I correct with rudder in the opposite but then she just goes too far that way. She doesn't just stay bloody still. Finding the right mixture setting is difficult and she tends to feel very, very underpowered. Extremely underpowered. She's fast but it feels like something's missing. I know the Hispano-Suiza engine wasn't so good (it's April '17), could that have something to do with it?

 

Last mission I just could -not- line up a shot on any Hun. Fired some 450 rounds and only 13 hit home... 3% accuracy! My Camel pilot had a 17% average accuracy, and by the end of his career he'd routinely come home with 28 - 30% accuracy. I don't like to fire until I get a good position and am -very- close, but I can't get in that close to any Hun right now and I wouldn't trust myself to be able to avoid a collision if I did.

 

Tips welcome because at this point I feel like a complete noob in the air and am staying as far away from the Huns as I can. Going to fly again this evening after work and I'm worried some damn Jasta pilot who's been in this thing since the Fokker Scourge will have me for dinner.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Javito1986

[Herr Prop-Wasche]

I'm the first to admit I am not an expert, but this sounds historically accurate to me if you are flying the Se5 and not the Se5a. The "a" version has the Hispano-Suiza engine, not the Se5. Pilots were initially unimpressed by the Se5--particularly those that were used to flying the Camel, I'd imagine!

[+elephant]

Javito, about the gunnery, consider that the Camel has it's vickers very close together and your fire is easier concentered to a certain spot.

In the SE5 the guns are firing from different positions and their convergation point must be calculated to achieve better results through concentrated fire...

(But I'm still not flying in OFF so don't take it for granted)

Edited November 21, 2010 by elephant

[Javito1986]

Things've gotten better. I toasted two Huns last mission by diving on them then zooming away as fast as I could. SE5's not much of a turn fighter like my old Camel was though. Had a really good read through of the RSS manual before flying and kept better control of my mixture settings, didn't stall out this time and was able to keep her steady. Bit of a learning curve but it's gotten better!

 

The RSS manual is indispensable. If I didn't have it as a resource I'd still be a tumbling mess in the air.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Javito1986

[Javito1986]

No don't worry, it wasn't my install. I was just flying the SE5 really, really badly I'm getting the hang of her now though!

[themightysrc]

"I toasted two Huns last mission by diving on them then zooming away as fast as I could."

 

You've cracked it!

[UK_Widowmaker]

You should try flying the Pfalz...that sorts the men from the boys!..jeez!

[ChickenGeorge]

Hi there..did the W.S settings for February to the end of the war ever get done? Also where did the file for SIA-RSS AND REVISED BULLET LOADOUT goto please?

 

Great work by the way

 

SIA - RSS

 

Here is the new and improved W.S. settings for the different time frames. We are still working on the dates from February till the end of the war. Ta.

 

Cheers,

 

British_eh, with special thanks to Bletchley, also 77Scout and RAF_Louvert.

 

SIA-RSS 1915 to June 1916.pdf

 

 

[+Lothar of the Hill People]

Something that would be really nice is a computer program that could tally and keep track of pilot classes, events, goodwill, and campaign points. That would be a pretty large project, though, I'm afraid.

Hey HPW, you've done so much good mod work to make OFF more immersive it's only fair I return the favor. I've been working on such a project on and off for the past year, integrated with some other useful features. I'll post an initial alpha version of the program for testing in the mods section of the forum maybe as soon as the end of the week if I get transfers working.

 

Bletchley, I've ended up making a few minor changes to your PPP system for the software program. Automating encounters makes it easier to play through a lot of them, and I found relationships were a bit too capricious. I've given more inertia to outlooks so it may take a few encounters to lose a long-term friend or turn things around with an enemy. Basically relationships can take any positive or negative value, with [-1, 0 ,1] all treated as neutral, +/- [2,3,4] treated as like/dislike, and +/- 5 and above/below for friendship/enemy. Furthermore, if friendship is at 6 or higher, it takes a +2 outcome to increase it by 1 deeper, same on the other end for enemies. This would be a pain to have to deal with manually, but in software it's transparent to the user and makes changes in relationships more dependent on the history between pilots.

 

Also, since the software does all the work of tracking personality classes this is something players have to learn from experience, can't just lookup in a table. Conversations with the adjutant are the only thing that reveal NPC pilots types, since this is more important I've made it that you can visit him as often as you want, with a cumulative -1 to your roll for each visit in a day, so he'll reveal less and less if you keep pestering him. To make this more useful I've expanded the player type bonuses for the adjutant: +2 for CL, CB, +1 for CO, SY, -1 for EG, MV, and -2 for IV, LN.

 

Let me know what you think about these adjustments.

 

No interactions with CO or Aces yet, as I can't figure out how OFF stores which aces are in which squadron when. Any ideas?

[+Lothar of the Hill People]

Okay, the initial alpha version of my software has been posted over in the mods section of the forum.

 

Check it out!

[Bletchley]

Okay, the initial alpha version of my software has been posted over in the mods section of the forum.

 

Check it out!

 

Looks really interesting, Lothar, and must have taken a lot of work - I will download this evening it and try it out! Thank you :)

 

Bletchley