Brand new DM and FM now ready!

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Dear fellow OFFers and BOC members,

 

I am pleased to announce that pending approval from my "army" of testers, I am about ready to release BOTH a completely new DM AND a modified FM (for a selected few aeroplanes). Although either can be used separately, the DM and the FM are ideally designed to be used together to hopefully heighten and intensify the experience of WWI flying combat.

 

Briefly, the DM represents a totally new approach to the damage model, originally suggested independently by Hellshade and Creaghorn, two fine denizens and contributors to this forum and OFF BHaH. As you probably know from watching any of his videos, Hellshade is a crack shot and was interested in a somewhat "tougher," and more realistic, damage model. I humbly believe that this mod may help to accomplish this purpose. The main difference between this DM and my previous incarnations is that the hit points for the critical components on these planes (engines, wings, etc.) have been substantially increased, while the "failure level" or "break" values, have been proportionally reduced to roughly coincide with the 2.5 version of the DM. This results in longer and more intense dogfights in which minor damage to you or your opponent no longer causes you to become almost totally incapacitated, but hits to critical areas (UncleAl's "meat or metal") will almost certainly spell you, or your opponent's, doom. (Primary benefits of the new DM are engines that no longer lose significant power until nearly at failure level and wings and other components that retain maneuverability until nearly the breaking point).

 

The FM (which will come in an "Allied FM pack" and a "German FM pack"), consists of changes to the following aircraft: all Albatros versions, the Pfalz DIIIa, the Sopwith Pup, RAF Re8, and the Sopwith Triplane. With the FM, I attempted to adjust speed and drag factors so that each aircraft cruises and dives at speeds a little closer to the historical reality, while still retaining most of the OFF flying characteristics that are already there. Another main purpose of the FM is to attempt to fix the tendency of some aircraft--notably the Albs and the Pfalz--to perform swan dives, or stalls, right in front of your guns, making the AI easy prey, especially at low levels where they often drift tail first into the ground. By slightly adjusting the settings for center of gravity and center of lift on these planes, i think I have made significant steps toward solving this problem.

 

Both mods will be ready for release after I hear from my testers that they haven't had any problems with installation and I have written more detailed readme files to go with each of the mods. Until then, I will be more than happy to answer any questions people may have about any of these mods. After release, I hope to use this thread to continue to answer questions and listen to any comments and suggestions for further development of either the DM or FM mods.

 

As always, thank you to the developers of OFF and all of the reader's of this forum, to whom these mods are dedicated. Happy flying!

Edited July 6, 2011 by Herr Prop-Wasche

[Panama Red 22]

[Hellshade 110]

I'm not going to steal any of HPWs thunder by giving any of the details away, but I will say that since I began testing the latest versions of his campaign & QC capable FM / DMs I haven't been able to tear myself away from the OFF:BH&H campaign. It's so good that I haven't played Rift since I got it! I also just got the Witcher 2, which is awesome, and I still would rather be up the air hunting Huns. HPW and Creaghorn have truly come up with a wonderful - optional - FM & DM system that really changes the dynamic of the air to air combat in a very challenging but enjoyable way. If you have JGSME, don't hesitate to download and try them when they become available. I can't wait for P4, but this is one heck of a great update to try out in the meantime. Let's just say things are a little less predictable and the opponents can be a bit more tenacious.

 

Hellshade

[nbryant 8]

Well I just finished Witcher 2 and am ready........... bring ot on!

[+elephant 36]

This is Great!

I'd love to see the revised Albatros...

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Hasse Wind, I know you have been working long hours on this project and for quite some time now. These modified DM's and FM's have been a real labour of love for you Sir. Many thanks for sharing your fine work and your OFF passion with the rest of us, (some mignt even call it barmyness).

 

.

[Hasse Wind 46]

HPW, not me!

 

OFF P3 with HPW's, Creaghorn's and Bletchley's mods is simply the best WW1 sim available currently. Looking forward to this release.

[DukeIronHand 8]

Standing by to download.

 

Edit: Geesh...double post.

Edited July 4, 2011 by DukeIronHand

[vonOben 55]

This results in longer and more intense dogfights in which minor damage to you or your opponent no longer causes you to become almost totally incapacitated.

 

With the FM, I attempted to adjust speed and drag factors so that each aircraft cruises and dives at speeds a little closer to the historical reality, while still retaining most of the OFF flying characteristics that are already there. Another main purpose of the FM is to attempt to fix the tendency of some aircraft--notably the Albs and the Pfalz--to perform swan dives, or stalls, right in front of your guns, making the AI easy prey, especially at low levels where they often drift tail first into the ground. By slightly adjusting the settings for center of gravity and center of lift on these planes, i think I have made significant steps toward solving this problem.

 

 

Hi Herr Prop-Wasche

 

I’ve enjoyed your earlier DM’s and this sound really good!

 

Looking forward to the release!

 

Thanks a lot for doing these improvements!

 

S!

 

vonOben

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Well done Sir...looking forward to trying them out!!

 

I am especially looking forward to the Pfalz.... As this aircraft is almost unsurvivable in use in combat

Edited July 6, 2011 by UK_Widowmaker

[Shiloh 12]

I'm a bit of a noob here and to flight sims but I have used mods in other games and they can bring a whole new level of experience/immersion to an already great game. This sounds like a real good addition and I look forward to trying it out when released. Thanks Herr, Hellshade & Creaghorn for all your efforts.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Shiloh

[Hellshade 110]

Don't thank me. Creaghorn and Herr Prop Wasche deserve all of the credit. 99.9% of the discussion was between them and HPW put the ideas into practice with repeated different "test" DMs and FMs until the feedback said "yes, this feels very realistic".

 

But be warned, if you fly using DiD settings, this will go a long way towards limiting your score and perhaps your lifespan. It used to be you could put a few rounds in a plane and then they were effectively a flying target, unable to perform offensive combat manuevers. So you could just dump a few rounds into everybody and then kill planes off at your descretion once they were all damaged. Not a good strategy anymore. I've had "smokers" that I thought were done for show up on my six just moments later and give me the what for. You'll definately need to check your six often and make sure the job is done right. I've even seen some spiral down to the deck or drop in a flat spin and I thought they were toast, but lo and behold they pulled out at the last second and rejoined the furball. Exciting times my friends.

 

Hellshade

[cptroyce 0]

Prop - Really looking forward to this!

 

 

Royce

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

The day has arrived!

 

My friends, after many months of research, modding, and testing, I am pleased to report that I have just uploaded the Ultimate Damage Mod, as well as TWO FM mods: the HPW German FM Pack and the Allied FM Pack, for approval from the administrators. While we are waiting for the files to be approved (if they have not been already), here are snippets from the readme texts for each of these files. WARNING: some of the readme files are a bit long.

 

HPW Ultimate Damage Mod 1.0

 

Readme File 03/07/2011

------------

HPW Ultimate Damage Model for OFF BHaH HITR Full Campaign and QC Battles

v1.0

 

by Herr Prop Wasche

 

Zip file contents:

 

HPW_UltimateDM\aircraft folder with 477 individual aircraft folders, .xdp files and .bdp files

readme.txt

 

INSTALLATION: Important! This version of the damage mod is intended to be used only in conjunction with Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler and should not be installed UNLESS JSGME has already been installed into your CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields game folder. With JSGME, installation and use of this, or any mod, is very easy. Simply extract the contents of the zip file into the MODS folder which is created when you install JSGME into OFF. The mod is correctly installed if you see this readme.txt and the following folder structure inside the MODS folder: HPW_UltimateDM\aircraft\Alb_DIII_AC1, etc. To load the mod, simply run JSGME, highlight the mod you wish to use, click on the top button, and then start your game. That's it!

 

Initial release 1.0

 

------------

Thank you for downloading HPW's Ultimate DM, a totally new version of the damage model for Hat in the Ring, the official extension to Between Heaven and Hell, the WWI flight sim modification of CFS3 by OBD Software. In addition to the advances featured in my previous damage model modifications, this entirely new damage model brings additional realism to the stock damage model by significantly increasing the hit points of most aircraft components, but particularly the engine, wings, and tail assemblies, of virtually every aircraft currently available in HiTR. As a result of these changes, air combat has now become longer, more intense, and more unpredictable than ever!

 

Thanks to a suggestion by Creaghorn (thank you, Creaghorn), unlike in previous DM versions, in which the hit points for a given aircraft component might have been adjusted by only 5 or 10 percent, hit points in the new version have been increased, in some cases, by more than 500 percent! On the other hand, special effect "triggers," such as fuel leaks, oil leaks, fires, explosions, amd "break" or failure levels for all components have also been reduced by a proportionate amount so the total failure of a particular aircraft component still occurs almost as easily as it did in the stock and previous damage model mods. This helps to avoid the dreaded "flying tank" situation that some of the developers have sometimes mentioned in referring to previous test versions of the stock DM. The overall goal of this new DM, therefore, is to make dogfighting both more challenging for the experienced OFF gamer, but also enjoyable for the more casual, or less experienced, flight simulation fan.

 

To give you an idea of what I am trying to accomplish with this mod, hit points for most aircraft engines in the stock game average around a total of 110 points. Therefore, under the stock DM, the average engine that receives just 11 points of damage loses 10% of its power; and an engine that receives 55 points of damage loses 50% of its power, etc. The result, too frequently in the stock game and in previous versions of my DM, have been enemy aircraft that seem to stop maneuvering and glide into the ground due to the lack of engine power. By substantially increasing the engine hit points, but also reducing the failure point by a proportionate amount, I have been able to recreate a situation where the engine still functions at close to full power, virtually up to the moment when it catches fire or fails completely! As a result, enemy aircraft will continue to turn, climb, dive, and remain able to fight you, up to almost the last minute. All aircraft (including your own) should no longer suffer from an immediate (and quite noticeable) loss in engine performance after only a very short burst into the front of the plane. The same principle applies to the wings of all aircraft. No longer will you or your opponent experience an immediate and major loss of maneuverability after having your wing or aileron get hit by just a couple of bullets.

 

As mentioned above, other improvements to the damage model from my previous damage model mods have also been incorporated into this new version. For example, time period of service, overall aircraft reputation for durability or weakness, notable structural problems in various aircraft (weaker lower wings in Albs, for example), and overall game balance have also been considered in the development of this damage model.

 

For the ultimate in realism, I also recommend that you download Creaghorn's bullet strength modification (available shortly), which substantially lowers the "impact" or damage each individual bullet causes when fired by you or your opponent. If you feel you are no longer being challenged by the ease with which you can shoot down your AI opponents, the combination of this mod and Creaghorn's bullet strength mod should help to cure you of this belief!

 

Again, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to OBD Software for their help and encouragement in the making of this and previous versions of the damage mod. I would also like especially to thank Creaghorn and Hellshade for their comments, suggestions, and help in the development and testing of this mod. I would not have been able to complete it without all of their valuable help and encouragement! Thanks also goes out to all of the members of the Over Flanders' Fields forum to which this mod is dedicated. With the exception of the tweaks contained in this damage model, all work remains the sole work and property of OBD software. If you have any questions or experience any problems with the installation of this mod, you can reach me at www.combatace.com at the Over Flanders Field forum. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the mod. Happy flying!

 

HPW

 

 

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Readme File 04/07/2011

 

HPW_GermanFM_Pack1.0 for OFF BHaH HITR Full Campaign and QC Battles

 

v1.0

 

by Herr Prop Wasche

 

Zip file contents:

 

HPW_GermanFM_Pack1.0\aircraft folder with aircraft.cfg and .air files for all Albatros scouts and Pfalz DIIIa scout.

 

readme.txt file

 

INSTALLATION: Important! This flight model mod is intended ONLY to be used along with Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler and should not be installed UNLESS JSGME has already been installed into your CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields game folder. With JSGME, installation and use of this, or any mod, is very easy. Simply extract the contents of the zip file into the MODS folder which is created when you install JSGME into OFF. The mod is correctly installed if you see this readme.txt and the following folder structure inside the MODS folder: HPW_GermanFMPack1.0\aircraft\Alb_DIII_AC1, etc. To load the mod, simply run JSGME, highlight HPW_GermanFMPack1.0, click on the top button, and then start your game. That's it!

 

---

 

Initial release 1.0

 

 

Thank you for downloading HPW's German FM Pack 1.0, the revised flight model for all Albatros scouts and the Pfalz DIIIa scout, used in Hat in the Ring, the official extension to Between Heaven and Hell, the WWI flight sim modification of CFS3 by OBD Software. This revised interpretation of the flight model, at this point, is for the Albatros and Pfalz DIIIa scouts ONLY (additional aircraft may be added in subsequent FM packs). The most significant changes to the FM of these planes involve changes to the top speed, ceiling, and dive speed in order to more closely comply with my understanding of the historical performance of these planes in WWI combat. Please refer to the following chart for a summary of these changes.

 

Aircraft    Speed @ 500 ft.     Speed @ 3281 ft.    Speed @ 10,000 ft.    Ceiling    Max Dive Speed*
D II       105.75 mph (3.25)    110.0 mph (4.0)      103.25 mph (2.75)    16,500 ft. 204 mph (-10.0)
D III early 106.5                110.0               103.5                18,000      237.0
D III      107.25                111.0               105.0                 18,000      240.0 (15.0)
D III OAW   106.5                 110.75             105.25                18,000      237.0 (15.0)
D V        110.0 (3.0)             114.5 (3.0)       108.25 (3.25)        18,250       244.0 (-7.0)
D V later  110.25                 114.5              108.25               18,250      247.0 (-10.0)
D Va       112.5 (4.0)             116.5 (4.0)       112.25 (5.75)         18,250     238.0
D Va 200   113.5 (2.5)            118.75 (2.75)      115.25 (3.25)          19,500     242.0 (-15.0)
Pfalz DIIIa 105.75 (3.25)        109.75 (3.0)        106.75 (3.25)          18,750     245.0 (22.0)

 

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate speeds compared to measured OFF speed readings, with a positive number indicating a faster speed using the new FM and a negative number indicating a slower speed using the new FM. Differences of less than two mph are not noted.

 

* From 10,000 feet

 

The most noticeable differences are the slight increases in speeds for the Albatros DII, DV, DVa, and DVa200, as well as the Pfalz DIIIa. At the same time, the ceiling for the DII has been reduced by about 2,000 feet to reflect its somewhat poorer performance at high altitude. Dive speeds have also been increased in a few cases, and decreased in most other cases, in order to reflect the relatively slow dive speeds of most WWI airplanes, and to better reflect their comparative dive performance. For instance, the dive speed of the Pfalz has been increased to reflect its superior dive performance compared to most other German scouts in WWI.

 

Another major change to the Albatros series of planes from the DIII early to the DVa involves an increase in their maximum G's so that these planes should no longer lose a wing in a tight turn, except in very exceptional circumstances. On the other hand, Albatros DIII's and DV's are now more susceptible to losing a lower wing in a steep dive, due to excessive wing twisting caused by the effects of high speed on the lower wing spar of these so-called "V-strutters." For the ultimate in realism, I recommend when you first start flying with the new FM enabled, that you temporarily enable advisor messages and simulation warnings in Workshop in order to give you an idea for when you might be overstressing a wing in a dive. Then, after one or two flights, disable the messages--but don't make a habit of exceeding 170 mph or so in a dive for more than 1,000 to 2,000 meters or you may be sorry!

 

Finally, perhaps the most significant change to the FM of all of the planes in this mod involves a few slight adjustments to the center of gravity and center of lift settings in order to try and solve a problem that seems to effect the Albatros' and a few other planes in the stock game: the dreaded "hanging stall" or tail-first slide into the dirt which makes kills against AI pilots flying these planes very easy in most cases. With this FM mod, the AI seem to do a better job of avoiding this poor flying behavior at both high and low altitudes, making dogfights against these opponents much more challenging. Of course, no mod is perfect, and I cannot claim that I have completely solved this problem. Still, I think the flying behavior of most of the planes in this mod has been significantly improved.

 

Again, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to OBD Software for their help in the making of this revised version of the flight model. As always, with the exception of the tweaks contained in this mod, all work on the original flight model remains the sole work and property of OBD software. Finally, I would also like to especially thank the following OFF fanatics who helped me in the research, development, and testing of this mod: Creaghorn, Hellshade, Olham, RAF_Louvert, Bletchley, Lewie, and anyone else whose name I have accidently forgotten. Thanks, guys! If you have any questions or experience any problems with the installation of this mod, you can reach me at www.combatace.com, then look for the Over Flanders Field forum. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the mod. Happy flying!

 

HPW

Edited July 8, 2011 by Herr Prop-Wasche

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Readme File 04/07/2011

 

HPW_AlliedFM_Pack1.0 for OFF BHaH HITR Full Campaign and QC Battles

 

v1.0

 

by Herr Prop Wasche

 

Zip file contents:

 

HPW_AlliedFM_Pack1.0\aircraft folder with aircraft.cfg and .air files for Re8, Sopwith Pup, and Sopwith Triplane.

readme.txt

 

INSTALLATION: Important! This flight model mod is intended ONLY to be used along with Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler and should not be installed UNLESS JSGME has already been installed into your CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields game folder. With JSGME, installation and use of this, or any mod, is very easy. Simply extract the contents of the zip file into the MODS folder which is created when you install JSGME into OFF. The mod is correctly installed if you see this readme.txt and the following folder structure inside the MODS folder: HPW_AlliedFM_Pack1.0\aircraft\Re_QC1, etc. To load the mod, simply run JSGME, highlight HPW_AlliedFMPack_1.0, click on the top button, and then start your game. That's it!

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Initial release 1.0

 

Thank you for downloading HPW's Allied FM Pack 1.0, the revised flight model for selected Allied scouts used in Hat in the Ring, the official extension to Between Heaven and Hell, the WWI flight sim modification of CFS3 by OBD Software. This revised interpretation of the flight model, at this point, is for the Re8, Sopwith Pup, and Sopwith Triplane ONLY (additional aircraft may be added insubsequent FM packs). The most significant changes to the FM of these planes involve changes to the top speed, ceiling, and dive speed in order to more closely comply with my understanding of the historical performance of these planes in WWI combat. Please refer to the following chart for a summary of these changes. (Maximize window if chart is difficult to read).

 

Aircraft      Speed @ 10,000 ft.           Speed @ 3281 ft.         Speed @ 500 ft.         Ceiling        Max Dive Speed*
Pup             103.75 mph  (5.75)          98.25 mph  (-6.25)      94.50 mph (-12.50)      19,000 ft.     216 mph (-36.0)
Triplane         101.50 (-11.50)           108.75 (-9.25)           111.75 (-10.25)         18,500         226 (-50.0)
Re8              98.75 (-5.00)              99.00** (-12.50)         94.75 (-12.75)         16,000         216 (-8.0)

 

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate speeds compared to measured OFF speed readings, with a positive number indicating a faster speed using the new FM and a negative number indicating a slower speed using the new FM. Differences of less than two mph are not noted.

 

* From 10,000 feet

** 102.25 @ 6500 ft.

 

The most noticeable differences are the decreases in speed for all of these aircraft. For instance, the Re8 was reported to have had a top speed of 102 mph at 6500 ft. However, in the unmodified game, its top speed was measured to be 111.5 mph at 3281 ft. Therefore, I reduced its speed to more accurately reflect its historical performance. Similarly, the Sopwith Triplane was reported to have had a top speed of 112 mph, but in the game, its top speed was measured to be 122.5 mph. The other major change in the FM of these planes was to reduce the maximum dive speed to more historical levels. Again, in the unmodified game, the Sopwith Triplane has the highest dive speed in the game at more than 275 mph! With the new FM, the Tripe now has a dive speed that, in my view, corresponds more closely to the historical record. Please note that in most other respects, such as ceiling, climb, and turning radius, these planes perform just as well, and in some cases even better, than they do under the stock game. If you are a German pilot, you are still likely to get shot down if you try to engage either the Pup or the Tripe in a turning dogfight.

 

Another change to the FM I made in the case of the Sopwith Pup involved the same adjustments to the center of gravity and center of lift settings I made on the Albatros series and the Pfalz in the German FM pack in order to try and reduce the dreaded "hanging stall" or tail-first slide into the dirt that the AI tends to do on occasion. However, the problem is much less severe with the Pup, so my changes here were comparatively minor. As additional planes that have this problem are identified, I will issue further FM mods to try and deal with this problem. Of course, no mod is perfect, and I cannot claim that I have completely solved this problem. Still, I think the flying behavior of the Pup, Albatros, and Pfalz has been significantly improved with these FM mods.

 

Again, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to OBD Software for their help in the making of this revised version of the flight model. As always, with the exception of the tweaks contained in this mod, all work on the original flight model remains the sole work and property of OBD software. Finally, I would also like to especially thank the following OFF fanatics who helped me in the research, development, and testing of this mod: Creaghorn, Hellshade, Olham, RAF_Louvert, Bletchley, Lewie, and anyone else whose name I have accidently forgotten. Thanks, guys! If you have any questions or experience any problems with the installation of this mod, you can reach me at www.combatace.com then look for the Over Flanders Field forum. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the mod. Happy

flying!

 

HPW

Edited July 6, 2011 by Herr Prop-Wasche

[Hasse Wind 46]

Great work!

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

My pleasure!

 

Now I would like everyone to stroke my ego by reporting back on how much they like the new mods.

 

Heck, even if you don't like one or more of the mods, I like the feedback.

 

Fire away!

[Olham 164]

I cannot report much yet. I have made one sortie with an Albatros D.Va (see: "Reports from the Front");

and I did not trace any noticable difference to the FM before.

I had recently reported, that I was amazed by your new D.Va FM, although it seems I had only flown

the OFF version, as yours was yet only for QC. If that is true, I flew the original FM then, and today I

flew yours. Maybe I need to test it more (we were only as high as 10.000 feet), but as I said - couldn't

trace any difference yet.

But I beat those Camels - huh!

 

PS: I will carry on during the next days. Want to try the other Albs too.

[Cody Coyote 1]

The readme indicates that this mod is for HITR aricraft. Is it only for use with HITR or will it in with the basic P3, without HITR installed?

[gaw 5]

very cool...THANK YOU....testing Friday when I'm unemployed..............thanks again for your work!

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

The readme indicates that this mod is for HITR aricraft. Is it only for use with HITR or will it in with the basic P3, without HITR installed?

 

The current FM mods may be used in either BHaH or with the HITR extension. The DM, however, contains planes that are in HITR that are not in BHaH, so if you want to use the DM, you will probably have to delete the extra planes added by HITR (although you can try it without deleting the planes and see if you don't get any error messages).

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Hmm, no changes with the D. Va, you say? There should be some differences, especially in speed and ceiling, along with turns without breaking a wing. You should be able to dive longer in the "new" D. Va than with the D III's, but the wings WILL break if you dive long enough and fast enough.

 

I'll check the files to make sure I loaded the right ones, just to be sure.

 

Gaw,

 

Sorry to hear about your pending unemployment. I hope you are back on your feet and not enjoying my mods as soon as possible.

[Olham 164]

HPW, don't worry yet - I had only made one flight.

And I didn't test with that campaign pilot, how long it would take until the wings would rip off;

in other words: I flew the kite like I was used to do.

 

Now I have a question, which may be stupid, but that's me:

 

If I have moved the "German FM" file from the left to the right in the Jones mod enabler,

and then try to move the "Allied FM" pack to the right too, I get contradictions/warnings.

I guess I must throw the contect of both the Allied folder and German folder into the old

"aircraft" folder? Not sure...

Edited July 7, 2011 by Olham

[Hasse Wind 46]

I didn't get any warnings like that, Olham. Maybe there's something wrong with your installation?