Track IR/Snap View Trouble & General Difficulty

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

Hi, I haven't played OFF in a few months & figured I'd get back into it.

 

I'm having a problem with my Track IR & snap views. I seem to remember that the last time I played, I couldn't use Track IR with the snap views & I had my joystick set up to toggle the Track IR on & off. Well, for some reason it isn't working now.

 

I have a Saitek X45. When I start the game, the Track IR is working fine but after I emerge from warp, no Track IR. I think the padlock view might have something to do with it too.

 

I've spent a good hour trying to figure it out, but to no avail. I just flew the rest of the mission with no Track IR, but I did have padlock & snap views. Old school.

 

Also, the reason I quit playing the first time around was that the game was just too difficult. I don't really want an arcade style game . . . but I'm tired of NEVER making ace and usually being killed within my first five missions or so. Yeah, I know that's probably historically accurate, but it isn't much fun. Is there a way to scale back the enemy AI to make it so that they aren't quite so deadly? I don't want to make myself "invincible" because that's no fun either . . . but, I'm sick and tired of getting nowhere.

 

Just tonight, after wresting with getting the game working for a half hour . . . I died within a minute or two of my first dogfight. That was all I had time for. Very frustrating.

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

I do prefer the Track IR, but there are times when I like to use the padlock and snap views as well. I simply would like to know how to set up my game to make this possible.

 

Look, I realize that everyone here probably plays the game while wearing a flying cap and scarf, but I'm not quite that serious. I just want to play the game without dying so quickly. No, I don't want "every possible advantage". Yes, I use "cheats". I use auto-mixture and auto-trim(?), padlock, the radar, the HUD and the dials on the screen so . . . I guess you could say I was a pretty crappy pilot. Compared to most on here, I'm sure I am.

 

Good for you.

 

I only have about a half-hour every night to play a game or two. I'd like to make it OFF for the next few weeks.

 

I made it about a month after buying the game before I got burned out. Or, crashed and burned . . . out.

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

Hmmm, now that you mention it . . . I think every campaign I've played has been 1917 - 1918. I suppose that could have something to do with it.

 

I also know that I tend to get fixated on the plane I'm chasing & that's usually when I find someone on my tail. Gotta stop that. Look around more often.

 

Not interested in QC. The campaign play is what I bought OFF for. I really enjoy this aspect of the game. I just wish I could get far enough into a campaign to really feel like I was getting my money's worth.

 

I'll try an earlier date & see how that works. I don't enjoy flying the older planes as much, but I guess some give & take is necessary.

 

About to fire it up and see if I can work out this Track IR thing again.

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

Alright, I think I figured out my Track IR problem. I was starting the game (in VISTA) via "run as administrator". The Track IR wasn't working when I did that. I started it straight off the desktop shortcut and, viola! It works. Padlock works in conjunction with the Track IR and I flew two missions without ever needing to use the snap views.

 

I also began a 1915 campaign with Escadrille 3, flying the Nieuport. Ran into some EIII's, no kill, but didn't get killed either. The next mission was uneventful, but fun.

 

I also just discovered something I completely missed the last time I played. I used to have my graphics via the "Workshop" on the highest possible settings. However, I just found the "sliders" in the CFS Config. Maxxed them all out and WOW! MUCH better graphics. Jeez, I thought it was great before, but this is fantastic.

[Barkhorn1x 14]

This sim rewards time and effort. There is just no getting away from that.

 

Don't stop asking questions either. There is a lot to digest here.

 

Regarding graphics - not only are the sliders important but so are the custom settings hidden away in the config menue. What kind of card do you have? Tell us and we can provide the correct link on the OFF site

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

Well, I've started three, four, or five new campaigns/pilots since my last post. All in 1916. I die alot. I don't think I'll EVER see a medal . . . and I've only made ace once or twice. I died soon after. The last pilot started out REALLY well. I was at four victories in six missions. I was captured on the seventh mission.

 

Curses, foiled again.

 

Gotta say, I bought the mod for the campaign . . . but I'm really not getting much out of it. I can hardly make ten missions without getting killed or captured. Ace? Hah! Medals? Forget it.

 

Bleh.

 

Fun, at first, for a short time.

 

Getting burned out (again).

 

Is there a way to replay the last mission flown? That way I could at least experience a lengthy campaign. Sure, it would be cheating, but it wouldn't feel as bad as if I checked "invincible".

 

If not, I guess I'm just not good enough to get my $$'s worth out of this mod.

 

I'll start the next pilot with "invincible" checked and just play the damn thing . . .

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

Well, you know what Napolean said about bits of colored ribbon.

 

I guess I should put those wild ideas right out of my head and start thinkin' "you're already dead".

 

Usually, I am.

 

I'm well aware that the average life of a pilot in the Great War wasn't very long. If I wasn't, this mod has certainly apprised me of that fact. I get it. Dying isn't very much fun.

 

Not being able to land sounds about as much fun as not being able to survive long enough to enjoy a campaign. Believe it or not, I LIKE landing my plane. I LIKE to fly my missions all the way to the end. Sure, I use the warp feature, but if I don't hit all the waypoints/golas and land the aircraft myself, I don't feel like I've really completed the mission. I LIKE to play the game at realistic levels . . . I guess I just suck at it. I have no interest in Quick Combat. I enjoy the role-playing aspect of the campaign game. That is why I bought this mod over Rise of Flight.

 

I try to enjoy the campaign play anyway. Haven't had much luck (because, I guess I don't have the skills). I fly alright. I rarely stall when maneuvering, I just get shot down alot. My tactical sense is probably not the greatest.

 

What I need is an enemy skill slider, or the ability to re-fly my last mission. Yeah, I need a lot more practice. No, I don't have a lot more time for that.

[Winston DoRight 3]

1. Don't dive head first into every single engagement.

2. Pick your fight on your terms. If you're terribly outnumbered, run away to fight another day.

3. Fly as flight leader, and use you wingmen, that's what they're there for. Designate targets for your wingmen using the TAC and the "a" key.

4. Look behind you often, that's what Track IR does best. Don't get fixated on your target, if you're closing and it looks too good to be true.... it probably is. Check six.

5. Gain altitude whenever you can. If you think you're high enough.... go higher. That's where the enemy will usually be.

6. Stay away from the 2 seaters rear guns until you get some advanced skills.

7. If you have the time, plan your attack. Instead of just charging straight at the enemy, send half your wingmen to attack while you fly in from another angle (pincer attack)

8. Get close before shooting. If you think you're close enough... get closer. If you have labels on, you should be within 125 ft.

9. Press the "h" key if you need your wingman to help you out.

10. Practice, practice, practice.

11. More practice.

 

You'll develop the skills, you just have to put time into it, to get results out of it.

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

Aha! I will use the wingmen commands. I haven't used them thus far. I wasn't even sure if there were wingman commands & I didn't investigate it because it was sort of a cheat that I thought I might try playing without. No radios in those old planes . . . but no radar either so . . . depriving myself of the commands while using the radar is rather silly.

 

I'll just pretend I have fantastic hand-signalling skills.

 

I also don't/won't use the labels. I prefer to be forced to get close for IFF and make judgements about range. I have a pretty good system so I'm able to do that, graphics-wise.

 

I do try to pick & choose my engagements and running away from a fight is part of the experience. I enjoy it. Having to scrape a beat up machine over the border and search for a friendly airfield. Sure, I could put it down in any old field, but the CO wouldn't be too happy with that.

 

I just hate getting shot down and losing everything I've worked so hard for, over and over and over and over again. Always just before I'm about to make ace. It's just supremely frustrating.

 

I think I've gotten one medal the whole time I've played. Sure, laugh if you want, but I DO want to win some medals . . . and feel like I've worked for them. I realize that I'll need to cheat in order to make this happen, but I wish I could pick and choose my cheats to make my game FEEL as though I'm still playing on some semblance of realism.

 

An AI slider or a replay function would do this (for me).

[Winston DoRight 3]

12. Fly with the mindset of just staying alive vs. trying for 5 kills on every mission. Don't take unnecessary risks. If you have the choice of going home or taking on 2 more enemy when you're low on ammo.... just go home.

13. Start a campaign as early in the war as you can and still get a good a/c (Nieuport 17/bis, SE5a, Sopwith Pup..... Albatros DIII and above, DR1). Remember all a/c have realistic abilities and require that you fly them according to their capabilities.

14. Getting shot from the rear a lot? Try flying as a fighter/bomber (Sopwith Strutter flys well and has a rear gunner)

 

This is a hard game, but there's a setting in the workshop for a less aggressive AI. Use it. The skills will come to you eventually, and the medals and promotions too, as you increase your flight time.

[Jiggs_Casey 0]

uncleal, those "Tips and Cheats" are excellent. Thanks!!

 

That'll answer a lot of questions.

 

Yep, I'm trying not to take unnecessary risks. Last night I had one kill in the bag and about 60 rounds left. In order not to lose the kill (and my life) I steered clear of a large gaggle of EIII's. I did go after a couple of 2-seaters, but that wasn't working out so well. I bugged out after getting holed pretty badly.

 

I'm now playing with a pilot that never dies . . . but it's not changing the way I play. I'm trying to fly as if I could die.

 

I'm playing in 1916, as a Frenchie flying a Nieuport 11.

 

So far, so good. I've never flown these planes before. Love the paint jobs!