How do you fly campaigns? (workshop option)

[Macklroy 2]

I was currious how other OFF'ers played their campaigns. When Hat In The Ring was released with the ability to fly with a personal ace skin I was very excited. But flying with that option ment you could no longer adjust fuel lvls. Now

I never messed with that much when I was first starting out. But the difference between an albatros at 50% fuel and one with the tanks topped off is like night and day. Now I will only fly with managed fuel levels, in an attempt to level

the playing field against the "physics impaired AI" and just to get every little bit of performance from my bird as I can.

 

To the point. I was just currious about other pilots opinions. How do you fly the campaigns? Individual Ace skin or fuel and ammo management. And what is your experience between the two.

[+elephant 36]

I do fly the same way, with fuel management, only in attempt to level somehow the disadvantage to the AI, even I think it's not so historical...

 

[TaillyHo 2]

Mack, I've been flying my Albatros campaigns using the personal skin option, but then switching it off for my entente pilot campaigns. Yes, you lose the fuel management, but if you select longer distance missions, and do 2 laps of your field first it's not so bad. I'm dreading a scramble mission on full tanks (!)

Hopefully it's a trade-off we won't have to make in P4.

[Wayfarer 5]

Flying a British bomber campaign, I haven't concerned myself with personal skins. I always check the fuel level, however. Firstly to make sure I can get there and back on long reconnaissance flights and secondly to give me some reserve when the fuel tank is hit and the stuff starts draining away at an alarming rate!

I have only been shot down out of control once, so far (and then ended up hospitalised). All my pilots have actually been lost making forced landings. One was forced down right on the lines and landed nicely, but then ran into some object that killed him, so I like to give myself some chance of reaching a clearer spot.

I usually calculate 1.5 times the flight length - then add a load more on for luck! As I mostly don't shoot at anything I suppose really ought to start reducing the ammmunition as well.

[Slartibartfast 153]

I am currently flying personal skins on as I like the fact that I always have full tanks on take off as it is probably more historical yes the AI gets an advantage but it adds to the thrill of the fight...

[Olham 164]

I used to be one of the most furious defenders of "fuel management".

But then the devs couldn't easily solve the problem with the personalised skins.

So I had to make a choice.

I decided to fly with personal skin for a while, to see how it would work.

And I must say, I have improved my piloting so much, that I can now get behind

any craft even with full tanks.

 

Another setting I find important to think about, is "Pilot never dies - Die roll on death - Dead is dead".

I used to think, it must be "Dead is dead" for full realism and toughest job.

But then I sometimes had minor accidents, which resulted in my pilot getting killed.

These accidents did look stupid and not at all dangerous for my life.

Also, you are getting shot up far more often in OFF that they were in RL.

 

The choice "Die roll on death" seems now to be the more accurat one - OFF Manager will now

decide, if your accident killed you or not. And it's doing that quite fair, I'd say.

[Wayfarer 5]

Flying a British bomber campaign, I haven't concerned myself with personal skins. I always check the fuel level, however. Firstly to make sure I can get there and back on long reconnaissance flights and secondly to give me some reserve when the fuel tank is hit and the stuff starts draining away at an alarming rate!

I have only been shot down out of control once, so far (and then ended up hospitalised). All my pilots have actually been lost making forced landings. One was forced down right on the lines and landed nicely, but then ran into some object that killed him, so I like to give myself some chance of reaching a clearer spot.

I usually calculate 1.5 times the flight length - then add a load more on for luck! As I mostly don't shoot at anything I suppose really ought to start reducing the ammmunition as well.

 

Of course engine coolant is another matter ... like the leak which caused my engine to seize up and my latest pilot to be killed in a crash landing not 10 minutes ago. I'd have probably been better off at work! (Day off for nephew's wedding).

Edited August 8, 2011 by Wayfarer

[RAF_Louvert 101]

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Macklroy, I have come to the same place on this as Olham. I went back and forth on the fuel management too, but now start every mission with full tanks, (which appears to be historically accurate as well). Perhaps it is just the amount of stick time I've now had in this fantastic sim, but as long as I don't do something really stupid I can usually engage the enemy and win the fight, or set up the AI so that I can run away and live to fight another day, if the situation so dictates. Here are my current workshop settings:

 

 

 

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[33LIMA 972]

As I fly mostly German scout campaigns, choose short missions and fly silly ones like (for German scouts) railyard attacks as Line Patrols instead, at the moment I'm flying with fuel management rather than unique skin. I find the lightweight AI a big irritation, whether I can catch them or not. I just find it annoyingly unrealistic, and an unsatisfactory way of compensating for other AI limitations. For me, it spoiled CFS3 as a dogfighting (tho not as a fighterbombing!) sim so I guess it's just a pet hate. I can still choose a 'flight skin' and I don't see my flight mates so closely that it's really noticeable they're identical, so no big deal losing the unique skin. Besides which, unique skins are really needed only for German and to a lesser extent French squadrons.

 

If the AI flew with fuel and ammo loads I would probably fly with unique skins and full fuel. I have no information as to what is realistic. From various sources it is obvious that Jastas were quite often scrambled to intercept enemy incursions reported by observers and am inclined to wonder whether tanks would have been filled up every time, unless a longer-range mission was specifically planned or expected for that day. Except at those times and places where flying 'barrage patrols' was the favoured tactic. Three-quarters full might have been more realistic, perhaps varying from unit to unit, location to location, period to period; does anyone have any sources, I wonder? Anyway, regardless of what the practice was, until the AI start flying with fuel and ammo loads, it's fuel management and flight skins for me.

 

Flying RFC/RAF campaigns, or German 2-seater campaigns, is a different kettle of fish, I tend to top 'em up because of the longer missions involved, but don't bother switching to 'unique skin', PC10 is PC10, and a flight skin is good enough.

[Olham 164]

Lou, you have mostly the same settings as I have. I guess you know about screen ratio and FoV?

Otherwise I offer you my calculation, if you give me your screen res.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

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Yes Olham, I have played around with those some in the past and I would give it another go to see if I've changed my mind on them. My current screen res is 1920x1080 32bit color. Thanks Sir.

 

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[Olham 164]

Okay, Lou, that means you have a ratio (width to height) of 16 : 9; so you should select 16:10 on the left side in "Workshops".

Possible FOV variants are:

 

25 : 14

 

27 : 15

 

28 : 16

 

30 : 17

 

Perhaps you try them all, to see how they make you more remote to everything, or how they zoom in.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

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Danke, mein Freund, I'll give 'em a go!

 

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