OFFbase: The Barmy Automated Squadron Experience for Over Flanders Fields
By
Lothar of the Hill People, in WOFF UE/PE - File Announcements
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Similar Content
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By 76.IAP-Blackbird
Hello Pilots,
Stormbirds summed up the new updates for Cliffs of Dover.
A series of updates over the last several days have focused on the work that Team Fusion Simulations is busy doing turning IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover into a VR supported sim. That’s not all because they are also busy upgrading the visuals of the sim with higher resolution textures and TrueSky technology for new volumetric clouds. Here’s the latest!
Try and find the bombers in these clouds
Higher resolution textures, VR support, and volumetric clouds round out the headline features of a future visual update coming to IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz and Desert Wings – Tobruk. These veteran sims are getting one of the most significant updates in the series’ history when it comes to core technologies and the inclusion of the new cloud technology, on its own, will likely be as transformative as it has been for other sims that have employed it.
I couldn’t agree more with this statement from Team Fusion.
Have a look at some of the screenshots below or check out even more 4K resolution images here.
As of yet, no release date has been offered for this update and work appears to be ongoing on this project. Still, it seems like we’re getting closer to do the time when it will become available. It should be very interesting to check out when we get there. More to come!
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By Lothar of the Hill People
OFFice: Skin in the Game
View File ‘Skin in the Game’ is a custom skin pack for the OFFice incomparable campaign engine for Over Flanders Fields. It includes historically appropriate custom paint jobs for player aircraft in the OFFice campaign from the OFF community’s best skinners. Most of these are already available for download at Combat Ace, but this provides a single, easy-to-install package.
Installation:
The installer will automatically extract the mod into your OFF JSGME mods folder if OFF and JSGME are installed correctly. The ‘OFFice - Skin in the Game’ folder can be manually activated with JSGME if this pack is used without the rest of the OFFice suite.
OFFramp will activate the mod automatically for your OFFice campaigns, so when you next launch OFF from OFFbase any additional skins will selectable in-game for your aircraft type. If the Bletchley’s RSS Ammo mod is enabled in OFFramp, your Munitions Officer will let you know in the hangar if custom skins are acceptable.
Contributions:
Bullethead:
DFW C.V Realistic(?) Naval Hex
After a lot more research, I totally re-did the paintjob of my naval DFW skin. Now it looks (I THINK) about as realistic as possible, per Dan-San Abbott's information. Hand-painted, symmetrical hexes in hopefully the right colors, and the correct colors on the fuselage and rudder.
nbryant:
SPAD VII – Spa.26 1917
No. S 1042 (14) of Spa.26 crashed on nose at St. Pol. This plane was wrecked on 14 September 1917 by M.d.L. Quellec. The serial number indicates that the plane was constructed by Blériot but it appears that the upper wing had been previously replaced with one constructed by S.P.A.D. or Kellner as the cocardes are of a larger diameter than found on Blériot-built planes. Also note that the nose appears to be painted in a dark color. A darkish color extends over the fabric surfaces back to the fuselage band.
Olham:
Albatros DIII early Burgundy - Jasta 24 1917
Albatros DIII Red Yellow - Jasta 28w 1917
Albatros D.V "Windrose" - Jasta 17 1917
Inspired by the 3. Albatros D.Va built by THE VINTAGE AVIATOR, I made this skin. The plywood of the TVA craft was varnished with a clear laquer with a warm redbrownish tone added. It looks like a darker honey, or amber. Together with the mauve and green upper wing camo, it goes very nicely.
Albatros D.V Haifisch - Seefrosta 1 1917
Sopwith Triplane Blue & Silver - RNAS-8
Sopwith Triplane "Silver Bird" - RNAS-8
RAF_Louvert:
Bristol F2b – RAF 139
#D8084 flown by Capt Sydney Dalrymple of 139 Squadron RAF, based at Villavera aerodrome.
Robert_Wiggins:
4 historically accurate skins for Captain William George Barker’s Camel B6313 while he flew with 28 Sqn RFC OC, C Flight, October 1917; 28 Sqn RFC OC, C Flight, March 1917; and Major William George Barker’s Camel B6313 while he flew with 139 Sqn RAF OC Summer 1918; 139 Sqn RAF OC September 1918.
http://combatace.com/files/file/13489-william-barkers-camel-b6313-4-personal-skins/
UK_Widowmaker:
Sopwith Pup – 66 sqd 1917
Flown by s/Lt W.C. Heathcote
Additional Credits:
Many thanks to the OBD Sofrware skinners--OvS/James Romano and Paarma/Arto Karttunen--who created the immense output of over 3,400 skins for OFF that serve as basis for all modders’ work.
Additional Contributions?
Made a historically-appropriate campaign aircraft skin you think should be included? Contact Lothar of the Hill People at Combat Ace.
Submitter Lothar of the Hill People Submitted 01/30/2013 Category Aircraft Skins
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By Lothar of the Hill People
View File OFFice: The incomparable campaign engine for Over Flanders Fields
OFFice: the incomparable campaign engine for Over Flanders Fields creates a dynamic campaign unlike any other combat flight simulator. Far more than just a collection of mods, OFFice deepens the historical accuracy, sensory immersion, and emotional terror of flight and combat in The Great War, while rooting the campaign in the day-to-day life of the officers and crew of an aerial squadron.
Note 1: For more information, latest news, additional screenshots, etc., visit the Official Website.
Note 2: If you're interested in joining and supporting OFFworld, the multiplayer version in development, send me a PM.
Major goals of enhancing and expanding OFF:HitR:
Persistence: Squadron-based campaigns continue when your pilot is captured/killed, so you can carry on the war as another pilot with the same mates. Living pilots can transfer between squadrons and continue their careers past the bounds of OFF aircraft availability. Start by flying two-seaters and transfer to a fighter squadron on promotion. Even take turns flying multiple pilots in a squadron, handy when one is out for injury. Track outcomes for your squadmates so their deeds in the air matter. Unleash the true power of OFF’s exemplary campaign engine!
Immersion: Steeped in historical detail, OFFice campaigns offer dynamic difficulty and realism over the course of the war with more appropriate squadron roles and access to technological developments as well as more dynamic and engaging missions. But persistence is only immersive if pilots are not disposable. The secret: “flying to live rather than flying to kill”. OFFice realizes this vision to a degree unparalleled in a combat flight simulator with:
OFFbase: the barmy automated squadron experience for OFF, an immersive role-playing simulation of life between flights! Turn your squad’s roster into a bunch of learning, thinking, interacting artificial intelligences, toss in a bunch of ground crew (and observers for two-seater campaigns), and drop yourself in among them with your pilot’s own unique personality. Emergent sandbox gameplay with unique, adaptive, goal-seeking characters harnesses fun to a purpose--the deeper investment in your pilot’s personal journey makes every trip up feel a matter of life and death, for your fellow flyers as well. Manage not just your career but help steer your squadron through years of war and loss. Lead through social encounters as well as your deeds in the air. Build deep, long-lasting friendships and social circles, while struggling bitterly with enemies--all affected by events in the skies. And vice versa; you’ll find it truly changes how, and why, you fly.
See the included OFFbase.readme.rtf for an expansive list of features and usage notes.
Ease: Take the headache out of configuring and customizing OFF. Finding, installing, and using mods correctly can be daunting, let alone setting up Workshopsp and CFS3Config. But OFFice is a coherent and customizable package that just works--in fact it makes OFF itself easier and safer to configure by imbuing the wisdom of the OFF community’s technical experts. Realizing settings for immersive simulation flying is a snap. There’s no better means for beginners and experts alike to get the most out of OFF, and no easier way to start.
See more on the OFFramp, OFFset, OFFput, and OFFfov components of the OFFice suite geared toward ease further below. First, more of the fun stuff...
OFFice features can be most easily organized around some of the personalities you’ll encounter regularly OFFbase:
Squadron Adjutant
Transfers between squadrons--voluntary and otherwise--so your persistent campaign doesn’t end until the war does. Begin your career flying bombers and transfer to a fighter squad when ready.
Smarter and more historically-accurate mission planning for your squad’s role in the war and in the face of inclement weather, with Dawn Patrol missions and optional historical Lone Wolf missions
More rational rank-based assignment of flight members and wingmen, and assignment of observer/gunners to pilots of two-seaters. Your German observer’s likely to outrank you, so remember who’s in charge!
Track flight members’ in-air outcomes--report them as crashed or missing, and even witness their claims!
More post-mission options and consequences, including the ability to submit claims for non-target and Lone Wolf mission balloons--become a balloon-busting ace early in the war, if you have the guts and skill
Write optional post-mission reports even without claims; edit these and any other writings in a squadron Journal synced to the Flight Log
Choose your pilot’s photo--your squadmates will become familiar faces as you interact with them on the ground, many even look their traits
Dynamic historical medal system with more than twice as many awards
American, British, and German campaigns get expanded historical news and more diverse names for squadmates based on historical popularity
Expanded enlisted ranks for crew in American and British squadrons
Escadrille La Fayette gets American pilots alongside French crew
Towns named in missions, e.g. “Verdun” instead of “british town 153”
Munitions Officer
Recommends loadouts for the specific mission you’ve been assigned
Advanced ammo including smoke and tracers when historically available, as well as incendiary rounds for targeting more resistant balloons
Sneak incendiary rounds into a ‘dirty’ mix for deadlier firepower--if you can get away with it--but who would brazen and inhuman as to use it full bore against planes or ground targets?
Historically-accurate ammo capacities and machine-gun rates-of-fire
Set your own gun convergence distance to perfect your aim
Custom skins can optionally be earned as historically appropriate--easiest for German flyers (linked to ammo capacities)
Mask and upgraded goggles to keep your face from chapping!
Choice among more detailed, higher quality in-game maps to navigate
Refined, less obtrusive TAC and labels for those who use such aids
Improved flight and damage models with some historically-timed engine upgrades, and with AI planes carrying the weight of fuel and ammo
Damaged/destroyed aircraft can result in Leave while awaiting repairs
More realistic and historically appropriate anti-aircraft fire, with difficulty adjusting dynamically for each side over time
Better arcs-of-fire for rear guns on two-seaters
Complete audio overhaul for more immersive sounds: engines, explosions, bullet hits bomb drops, pilot screams, ground gunnery, flak, machine gun sounds synchronized with historical rates-of-fire, and more!
Medical Officer
Detailed injury system with a diverse set of healable wounds and permanent and potentially disabling maimings
Injuries, maimings, and death depend on the reported severity, location and timing of the crash, health and skill of the pilot, access to medical care, relationship with and skill of the Medic, and luck
Visit the Medic and injured squadmates at your local Infirmary--and influence respectively their bedside manner and recovery
The persistent squadron means you can even encounter and try to cheer up the AI of your own injured pilots to hasten their healing!
Access to medical care varies, but becomes more effective over the course of the war
Across the lines you’re at the mercy of enemy medics and facilities!
Mess Chief
The food may not be much to speak of, but the Mess Hall helps monitor and manage your squad’s morale
Quality and availability of food change over the course of the war, with better Mess Chiefs able to do more with less
Witness encounters between squadmates in addition to taking part
Musically-trained officers and crew form a squadron band in the Mess that influences the mood of those in attendance
Additional music options for OFF Manager, including period-appropriate piano scores for French and German campaigns
Chaplain
Funerals for your dead pilots, convalescent home for the disabled, care packages for captured pilots, and prayers for those who need them
Squadron memorial lists your ended pilots and archives their journals so you can trace the whole story of your squadron in the Great War
The influence of your dead/captured pilots can linger as their careers become part of the squad’s institutional memory, shaping its future
Interactions and social networks are dynamic, so events on the air and ground spill over to affect peoples’ behavior
So don’t underestimate the role of the Chaplain in providing stability to your squadron--assuming he’s stable himself!
Everyone
Other pilots and squadmates pursue their own goals, building their own careers and social networks
Engage in and witness nearly 150 different kinds of encounters, some more personalized, and more rare, than others
Build friendships whose impact lingers even after death, and make enemies that transcend sides in the war
Build friendships whose impact lingers even after death, and make enemies that transcend sides in the war
Develop your character to expand their skills and capabilities as they gain ranks: advance your career, pursue a hobby, or change your approach to relationships
With 88 distinct personality Traits in billions of combinations, summarized by eight dimensions of Attributes, every character is unique
Tell your own personal story of life as a pilot in a historic squadron in The Great War
Much of this highly configurable and/or optional, configurable with:
OFFramp: rule all mods & plugins for OFF - More than just a mod manager, this dynamic scripting engine makes OFFice possible. Beneath the graphical interface where you customize your campaign and control OFFice features, ModRule plugins imbue the OFF Workshops and previously-standalone OFF mods with the intelligence, historical knowledge, and cooperative spirit of the OFF community. At the same time, powerful new ModRule plugins can tailor almost every aspect of the OFF campaign experience to heighten realism, immersion, and joy. Play OFF your way!
OFFfov: the OFF field-of-view optical vanguard – This ModRule plugin helps set aspect-ratio-correct FOV settings by projecting a 3D model of your screen into the gameworld. Fly OFF close to a big screen as a true visual simulation, preserving perspective so objects are as close as they appear--or just make it look right for gaming. Your optimized FOV is applied to all OFFbase campaign aircraft seamlessly and automatically in all positions, including forward gunsights and rear gunner, as well as correctly integrating modded aircraft.
OFFset: the OFF settings manager - Backup and Restore all your painfully-crafted OFF settings (Workshops and CFS3 Config), in full or in part. Handy if you need to reinstall the game or update graphics drivers, but also use settings profiles to switch between different play styles, or pre-configure hardware with settings recommendations from the experts. An OFFramp ModRule archives your settings on first run, so you can safely experiment. See the included OFFset.readme.rtf.
OFFput: the OFF Pilot UnderTaker – Cares for your dead and broken pilot files by rebuilding corrupted XML files (frequently caused by retiring multiple pilots in OFF Manager). It automatically protects against some common problems and gives you a panic button that works when OFF Manager goes haywire and tells you to delete your pilots! Won’t back up your pilots for you, but makes restoration a snap.
Realism profiles manage degrees of Dead Is Dead (DID) and Realistic Survival Strategies (RSS) community standards in OFF Workshops and CFS3Config, for a well-designed experience at any difficulty level.
Requirements:
OFFice is of no use and will not install without Over Flanders Fields: Hat in the Ring (OFF), OBD Software's breathtakingly deep WW1 combat flight simulator. The official Hat in the Ring expansion pack is recommended: Make sure you patch both to the latest version:
http://overflandersfields.com
NaturalPoint’s TrackIR is essential for included realism profiles and simulation field-of-view settings:
http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
OFFice uses Microsoft WordPad (included with Windows) to view documentation.
The full OFFice suite requires 3GB free hard drive space on your OFF partition. OFFice installs itself alongside OFF.
Credits:
Producer - Lothar of the Hill People
Exec. Producer - OlPaint01
Research - Bletchley, British_eh, Hasse Wind, RAF_Louvert
AA, Balloons - Bletchley, Herr Prop-Wasche, Lothar of the Hill People
Ammunition - Bletchley, Creaghorn, Lothar of the Hill People
Damage Modeling - Herr Prop-Wasche, Buddy1998
Dead is Dead Rules - Siggi
Documentation - Lothar of the Hill People
Encounters - Lothar of the Hill People, Bletchley, JamesL
Game Design - Bletchley, Lothar of the Hill People, Creaghorn
Maps - Lothar of the Hill People
Medal System - RAF_Louvert, Lothar of the Hill People
Mask, TAC & Labels - Olham
Missions - Bletchley, Buddy1998, Lothar of the Hill People
Music Production - Andy73, Lothar of the Hill People
News & Photos - Creaghorn, Herr Prop-Wasche
Rear Arc of Fire - 33Lima
RSS Rules - British_eh
Skins - Bullethead, nbryant, Olham, RAF_Louvert, Robert_Wiggins, UK_Widowmaker
Software Engineer - Lothar of the Hill People
Sound Design - Andy73
Weather & Skies - Herr Prop-Wasche
Weapons & Loadouts - Bletchley, OlPaint01
Additional Testing - CaptSopwith, Cavaliere57, cptroyce, FreiherrWulff,
JamesL, Robert_Wiggins
Third-Party Sources and Included Tools:
Audio Compression - FLAC: Free Lossless Audio Codec
http://flac.sourceforge.net
Bloom/HDR Shaders - ENBSeries
http://enbdev.com
Icons - Simon Child, The Noun Project
http://thenounprojec...om/Simon Child/
Installers - Nullsoft Scriptable Install System
http://nsis.sourceforge.net
Maps and Topography – Google
Mod Management - JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler 2.6.0
Music Sources - Piano Society http://pianosociety.com
- fair use clips (see included documentation)
Runtime Environment – REBOL 3 Alpha
http://www.rebol.com/rebol3/
License:
This software is free to use and benevolently modify via the ModRules interface, but not free to redistribute or otherwise misappropriate. Simple rule: don't be a jerk. Seriously. By agreeing to use this software, if you're a jerk about it you forfeit all your personal property to the program authors. So just don't be a jerk.
Finally: while much of OFFice is geared toward making your OFF experience easier, safer, and more reliable, your mileage may vary. OFFice is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the use of this software.
The Fine Print:
OFFice will edit your pilots and OFF Workshop and CFS3Config settings! That's the entire point. You should BACKUP your pilots frequently anyway:
campaigns\CampaignData\Pilots\ in your OFF install
The OFFset plugin in OFFramp will archive your OFF Workshop and CFS3Config settings on first run, and can easily backup and restore them whenever. See OFFset.readme.txt.
The OFFput plugin in OFFramp can rebuild your XML files should they become corrupted or lost. With OFFice, there’s no longer any need to backup or worry about the UIsel.xml or UnlimitedPilots.xml files in your Windows user profile, and restoring pilots from backup is a snap.
Persistent squadrons mean you will no longer be able to jump between the same squad during different periods of the war. OFFbase will synchronize multiple squadron pilots automatically--those at an earlier date put on leave until caught up with the most recent pilot in that squadron. So don’t be surprised!
OFFbase handles the outcome of missions itself--a key ingredient to tracking your squadmates’ outcomes too. It sets ‘Dead Is Dead’ in the OFF Workshops merely so all crashes that destroy your aircraft are treated the same and do not advance time. So don’t despair at the message from OFF that your pilot is dead--this just tells OFFbase your plane is done--your pilot may yet live. Rate the severity of the crash and trust the mercy of the simulated combat medics. You may be Injured, Hospitalized, Disabled, or Deceased, but in all cases you can continue your squadron’s campaign with a replacement pilot.
JSGME requires Administrator privileges to modify your OFF install, and so OFFice will ask for elevation to install and run. OFFice can launch OFF Manager and CFS3Config as Admin, but you'll need to set CFS3.exe (and TrackIR if you use it) to run as Administrator manually (right click, Properties).
OFFice uses JSGME to customize your OFF installation to create a more unique and historically accurate experience for each individual campaign. When it runs, do not interfere, and please wait patiently--it will take several minutes sometimes, especially on first run. Don’t worry if it says “Not Responding”, it’s just working really hard to customize the game.
READ THE INCLUDED DOCUMENTATION – ESPECTIALLY THE FAQ IN THE OFFBASE MANUAL
See also the OFFice/OFFbase Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
Submitter Lothar of the Hill People Submitted 01/19/2013 Category OFFice / OFFbase / OFFworld
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By Lothar of the Hill People
Hey folks, version 1.1.1 of OFFice, OFFbase, and OFFworld is now available for download at the official website and Combat Ace. Here's the change-log:
Injured pilots can access their journals and read their squadron's daily status reports from in the infirmary. Counts missions flown by your AI squadmates, reporting the tally in the Duty Room. Reduced frequency of Congressional Medal of Honor being awarded in American campaigns. Adjusted Goodwill scaling so missions are relatively more important. Optional Goudy Bookletter 1911 for American campaigns and Croissant One font for French campaigns, while clarity of the German Behrensschrift and British Railway Sans have been improved. Fixed bugs transferring between squadrons, handling gunner/observers in multiplayer squadrons, encounter partner selection, and elsewhere. Some edits to encounters and internal code refactoring as well. If you're interested in membership in OFFworld, the kick-ass multiplayer version, send me a PM.
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