If you feel bored, try something NEW

[Olham 164]

If you feel you are getting bored by the sim: has it ever occured to you, that it might be your own fault?

Here are some proposals how to cure such a disease.

 

Q: Are you mostly flying in Flanders?

A: Fly in the Alsace region for a change of landscape!

 

Q: You always pick rotary planes?

A: Try a campaign in an inline engine! And the other way round.

 

Q: Are you always flying with the British?

A: Fly the Germans, or if you can't really do that - the French, or the Americans!

 

Q: Are you always flying as a flight leader?

A: Try flying by rank, and learn to follow orders!

 

Q: You only fly scouts?

A: Start a two-seater campaign, to learn how tough their job is.

You may even change to the rear gunner position in air combat!

 

Q: Your favourite time is 1917, and so you always fly then?

A: Start a very early campaign in 1915 or 16; or jump into the hell of 1918 furballs!

 

Q: You always follow the blue line in the TAC to find your waypoints?

A: Switch all that off, and fly like a real man - with a prepared paper map.

Draw in your course, and try to find it then. You'll see - it's easier than you thought,

and you won't be so fixated on clashes and combat only.

 

You got the idea. Try something NEW for you, that is already there in OFF P3.

 

Me for example, I'm almost only ever flying Albatros scouts, as the flight leader.

I will now join a British squadron, that has the Pup.

Only one gun, and a rotary engine - that should be a new experience.

[Hasse Wind 46]

Bored? With OFF? What nonsense!

[Lewie 7]

Can you edit campaign's? One fun thing to try would be to recreate the bomber flight from Luxiel to Obendorf with a heavily loaded BE2c or Fee. Trying to fly over the Vosges with a reluctant to climb old chicken coop would be challenging enough, add some Eindekkers stirrred up by your overflight on the return trip.

[Wayfarer 5]

A: Switch all that off, and fly like a real man - with a prepared paper map.

 

I tried flying like a real man with a map. I got lost after about half an hour and flew round and round in circles absolutely refusing to land at an airfield and ask the way. Eventually we were forced to land and refuel. My observer, making an excuse of needing the latrine, asked directions of a kindly office orderly and we were back on course in five minutes. We got there and back safely, but we weren't talking all evening.

[Olham 164]

No, I can't build missions, Lewie, but there are downloadable ones,

created by other users, in the download section.

Wayfarer, I understand you landed on an own airfield?

As a two-seater crew, it would of course be far more difficult trying to fly after paper maps.

It cannot be achieved at once; you must study the ground details on several sorties,

before you know your area.

[Wayfarer 5]

Wayfarer, I understand you landed on an own airfield?

As a two-seater crew, it would of course be far more difficult trying to fly after paper maps.

It cannot be achieved at once; you must study the ground details on several sorties,

before you know your area.

 

It is something I definitely intend to do as part of trying to fly without any screen aids. I Just keep forgetting to get hold of some heavy duty plastic wallets.

[Lewie 7]

Surely Wayfarer there are some shops nearby that do document sealing using this stuff?

 

27" roll of Doculam

[TaillyHo 2]

Wayfarer is doubly cursed. Not only can his observer not follow the map - but his big head makes it near impossible for his pilot to see where he's going either!!

[TaillyHo 2]

. . . and a note on how even a small change can make a big difference:

I lost my Bristol Scout pilot last night (after 15 missions; 11 hours; 10 kills confirmed; 25% accuracy).

A mid-air collision with EA (the usual story) - always a greater risk with the cross-eyed flying/firing situation for this particular plane.

 

I had just increased the challenge (admittedly with my more experienced, straight-shooting pilots in mind – ie Pup & D.II) by switching gun accuracy to ‘least’ (ie harder to hit/ be hit) - and was very conscious of needing to get in closer when attacking so as to minimise the wider spray of bullets.

Seems my learning curve in the Bristol has gone from being able to line up a single shot – to building an attack on a moving target – to sustaining an attack (long enough, or with enough accuracy) to actually put an EA down(!). Seems I'm now able to mostly gain the upper hand in a 1-on-1 with an EIII (heck, I even shot Boelcke down in this crate a couple of days ago) but I've still to refine my positioning so that in pressing home a close® attack, I also need to think about an ‘exit route’ that avoids potentially fatal contact with the EA. This 'skill' obviously applies to all craft - Hellshade being an obvious master - but warrants special mention in the (as yet unwritten) SiA pilot's guide for the Bristol Scout.

 

 

BTW, great tips in your op, Olham.

[Wayfarer 5]

Surely Wayfarer there are some shops nearby that do document sealing using this stuff?

 

27" roll of Doculam

 

There is surely a stationers near to where I work that sells some suitable stuff. The problem with me is not the actual availabilty of things, but me remembering that I wanted them! I would like to ascribe this purely to age but, whilst I am sure it gets worse with age, I have always been like it. Fortunately, however, I read your email just before going out and remembered long enough to come back with some wallets that I think will do the trick. So thanks for the reminder!

 

Tailly Ho, it's true the view is lamentably limited. There may be some use of Spot View I'm afraid (no TrackIR yet).

[TaillyHo 2]

or F3

sure you might be losing a moment's 'full immersion' by changing the view, but if you're only doing so to add the greater immersion factor of flying by a map, it would seem a reasonable trade-off. IMHO

[carrick58 23]

Bored with OFF ? I fly Dead is Dead and last 3-4 missions then its crash and burn so switch back to less demanding settings and its Fun Time.

[TaillyHo 2]

Me for example, I'm almost only ever flying Albatros scouts, as the flight leader.

I will now join a British squadron, that has the Pup.

Only one gun, and a rotary engine - that should be a new experience.

 

Missed this little bit of news at the end of your op, Olham. I will be interested to see where you pick up your Pup ride!

RNAS-3 gets em first, but you would probably consider life to easy in mid 1916 with only EIIIs to beat up. If you wait until late 1916 (RFC-54) or ealy 1917 (RNAS-4) you would have to psych yourself up for battles with your beloved Albatros!

[Olham 164]

Thanks for the tips, TaillyHo. Late 1916 it will be. I will join an RNAS squadron, that will later receive the Tripe.

That may compensate for the struggle against the Albatros D.II - if I survive long enough.

Edited March 19, 2011 by Olham