OFFbase Update: An Ode to the OFF Community

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Hey folks. Finally got an update out for the OFFice suite, including the OFFramp mod manager, OFFset settings manager, and OFFbase role-playing game. The changelog tells the story: mostly updated support for recent releases by OFF modders and inclusion of new mods implementing the deep institutional wisdom of the OFF community, as well as fixes for reported bugs.

• Added a Journal Archive in the Memorial where you can view the journals of your squadron's dead and captured player pilots. Fixed bug handling log entries generated by accepted claims.
  
• With Bletchley's help, added introductory mission to fly into your airfield, initializing the squadron simulation.
  
• Includes Bletchley's new Historical Rate of Fire (ROF) mod for machine guns. (no updated sounds yet)
  
• OFFramp realism profiles for Siggi's Dead is Dead and British_eh's Realistic Survival Settings automatically manage settings in the OFF Workshops and CFS3Config for a more realistic, immersive experience.
  
• Support for version 2.2 of Buddy1998's DM and version 3.1 of HPW's FM and EW mod. Be sure to upgrade these mods if you have them installed as support for older versions has been discontinued!
  
• Support for Andy73's Sound Tweak III and Engine Sounds. Support for Lothar Maps.
  
• Rank boost for German observers. Fixed bug causing new roommates to be duplicated in roster. Fixed bug handling lone wolf missions. Fixed bug with missions canceled due to weather (thanks FreiherrWulff).
  
• Disabled username verification since now both Combat Ace and SimHQ block remote searches of their user lists.
  

 

Links to the supported mods are included on the OFFbase download page. Here are a few OFFramp screenshots showing off some of the new mods:

 

Version 0.8.4 is available now at Combat Ace. Hopefully this will breathe a little life into OFF while we wait for WOFF. And I suppose I should wait for the bug reports...

[Olham 164]

Lothar, you know that I don't use OFFbase yet, but I can see from your latest posts here,

that you must have built something great there. And when my school is over next year,

and WOFF still not in nearer sight, I may join the OFFbase users.

Right now, I keep everything as basic as can be - my time and energy are too limited for

learning and exploring anything new. I just don't have any power and not even interest

left for anything beyond the basic things which do already work as I know they should.

 

So I haven't voted, as my point doesn't seem to be among the selections.

Thumbs up for your OFFbase; the recently added maps make it even more attractive.

Together with Blechtley's data and Herr Prop-Wasche's FM and DM it should be a

great package for everyone who is not just as damn tired and slain as I am.

 

Edited December 11, 2012 by Olham

[Creaghorn 10]

definitely the best mod out there

[CaptSopwith 26]

Looks great Lothar! And you released this right as my semester ended - great timing! Just wanted to ask, as I can't seem to figure it out on my own. Is HPW's latest FM/DM files included with your OFFbase download or do I need to go in and manually update those? If so, how do I go about doing that? Thanks in advance!

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Just wanted to ask, as I can't seem to figure it out on my own. Is HPW's latest FM/DM files included with your OFFbase download or do I need to go in and manually update those? If so, how do I go about doing that? Thanks in advance!

 

Links to the supported mods are all included on the OFFbase download page. I know there's a lot of text there, but scroll down to the JSGME Mods section. HPW's new FM 3.1 is listed along with Buddy1998's new DM 2.2 (HPW's old DM is in Olpaint01's realism bundle I think and hasn't been updated).

 

Best practice to update a JSGME mod is to deactivate the old version in JSGME first, then install the update.

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

definitely the best mod out there

You're just saying that 'cause it's the only way to keep track of all these great mods:

• Creaghorn German News
  
• Creaghorn Homebrew News
  
• Creaghorn Homebrew Sounds
  
• Creaghorn News Photos
  
• Creaghorn Sound Tweak
  
• Creaghorn Sound Tweak II
  
• Creaghorn Sound Tweak II Patch
  
• Creaghorn Spandau Mod
  
• Creaghorn StartupBritish
  
• Creaghorn StartupGerman
  

And those are just the ones in my JSGME mods folder, never mind your updated names files that I've expanded further. What's the deal with your tracers and smoke mods? Are they compatible with all the other weapons mods? If so, we should make OFFice versions. It'd be easy to program so tracers only become available when historically accurate to the campaign, etc.

[Creaghorn 10]

You're just saying that 'cause it's the only way to keep track of all these great mods:

• Creaghorn German News
  
• Creaghorn Homebrew News
  
• Creaghorn Homebrew Sounds
  
• Creaghorn News Photos
  
• Creaghorn Sound Tweak
  
• Creaghorn Sound Tweak II
  
• Creaghorn Sound Tweak II Patch
  
• Creaghorn Spandau Mod
  
• Creaghorn StartupBritish
  
• Creaghorn StartupGerman
  

And those are just the ones in my JSGME mods folder, never mind your updated names files that I've expanded further. What's the deal with your tracers and smoke mods? Are they compatible with all the other weapons mods? If so, we should make OFFice versions. It'd be easy to program so tracers only become available when historically accurate to the campaign, etc.

 

i rather meant the very immersive roleplay :-). it is astonishing how often the faces of the various people somehow fit to their names and their characters.

 

regarding the tracers and smoke mods. don't see a reason why they shouldn't work, so if you want to implement them, they're yours.

[Olham 164]

Guys, if you get that to work, I'll join "OFFbase" - promised!

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Very impressive work. Lothar. I'm off to download the update to OFFbase now. I am also getting the name pack.

 

BTW, I also have a news mod, but it is only in English. You are welcome to include it in your bundle if you wish.

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

BTW, I also have a news mod, but it is only in English. You are welcome to include it in your bundle if you wish.

It's already included in one of OlPaint01's bundles, and is activated automatically by OFFbase for British campaigns if installed. Should I activate it for American campaigns as well?

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Guys, if you get that to work, I'll join "OFFbase" - promised!

Gonna hold you to that, Olham! Gotta release an update soon anyway to fix a bug with it forgetting your wingman. I'll be in touch, Creaghorn.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

It's already included in one of OlPaint01's bundles, and is activated automatically by OFFbase for British campaigns if installed. Should I activate it for American campaigns as well?

 

Please do. It is meant for any campaign, but does emphasize American and English news.

[CaptSopwith 26]

Minor bug to report with the new version. When I head to the adjutant's office to change the reported front activity, I get an endless cycle of dialogs with the adjuntant when I click "Report Sector Activity." If this will help, I am a Hautmann in Jasta 17. The operational date is October 14, 1917.

 

Otherwise, pretty smooth sailing!

[Olham 164]

Lothar, I never was the man for activating additional mods and stuff - all the things you must remember -

but since WOFF may still have some miles to go 'till it's finished, I guess your OFFbase-bundle should

be the right package to add some new flavours to our great sim.

 

As far as I remember, Creaghorn had also made a set of news for the German side?

[Creaghorn 10]

well, yes. it's actually more than that. over 300 original Heeresbericht news with apropriate pics which appear at the same date as it appeared back then. news about the front, speeches of the kaiser, important events, obituaries (e.G. boelckes death is main even for couple days when it happened). you must see it. really different level. if you didn't try it, then you really missed something.

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Minor bug to report with the new version. When I head to the adjutant's office to change the reported front activity, I get an endless cycle of dialogs with the adjuntant when I click "Report Sector Activity." If this will help, I am a Hautmann in Jasta 17. The operational date is October 14, 1917.

Thanks Capt, just took a second to fix and will be in the next update.

 

As far as I remember, Creaghorn had also made a set of news for the German side?

Yep, it's in OlPaint01's bundle and automatically activated for German OFFbase campaigns. Americans will get HPW's English news in the next update. Anyone want to take a crack at the French? They've sadly been neglected in my expanded names mod as well. A look at your pilot maps, Olham, suggests OFF has a lot more virtual than real française pilots.

 

Lothar, I never was the man for activating additional mods and stuff - all the things you must remember - but since WOFF may still have some miles to go 'till it's finished, I guess your OFFbase-bundle should be the right package to add some new flavours to our great sim.

That's the idea, man. Think of it as an unofficial Phase 3.5. Sure it's all the best mods from the OFF community in one easy-to-use package with all the compatibility issues ironed out. But the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The in-flight experience is vastly more realistic and immersive (turn on RSS!), and the out-of-flight relationships from the role-playing game add tremendous weight to the consequences of what happens in the air, especially since you can actually track what happens to your squadmates on more historically-accurate missions. This is especially true now that Creaghorn's realistic smoke and tracer bullets will indeed feature in the next update!

 

Since CaptSopwith was looking for the supported additional mods earlier, here's the full list, current as of the date of this post. Download and install them all and OFFbase will take care of everything else.

 

Automatic installers:

JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler

Great Bundle Realism Mods JSGME Enabled 1.6

Grand Bundle Sounds Mods JSGME Enabled 1.6

Ultimate Bundle Damage Models JSGME Enabled 1.0

Lothar Names 1.2

Lothar Maps

Lothar Classical Piano Germany

 

Manual installs to JSGME mods folder:

HPW FM and EW Campaign Mod 3.1

Buddy1998 Modified DM 2.2

Andy73 Sound Tweak 3 + Engines

[Creaghorn 10]

@olham

 

one thing that might keep you turned away from offbase is, that you think that automatically all mods are activated when you use it. this is not the case. you can tick and untick those mods which you want have, and those mods you don't want. only those mods are then loaded which you want to. that is one of the great features.

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Forgot to list RAF_Louvert's New Medals mod, JSGME installer version over at simhq.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

well, yes. it's actually more than that. over 300 original Heeresbericht news with apropriate pics which appear at the same date as it appeared back then. news about the front, speeches of the kaiser, important events, obituaries (e.G. boelckes death is main even for couple days when it happened). you must see it. really different level. if you didn't try it, then you really missed something.

 

I know this is probably asking too much, but is there any chance of an English translation (for a non-German speaking American with Swiss-German ancestors) of your news service? Maybe I could collaborate with you in some way? We could start with a rough translation tool like Google and work from there, I suppose. We could start with your translation of the German text and then I could work on the grammar and idioms.

 

I think many other non-German speakers might be interested in being able to read the news reports coming from "the other side" during the war. It might also help those of us who like to fly German campaigns to feel a little more connected with the political and strategic events going on on "our" side of the lines.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Herr Prop-Wasche

[HumanDrone 4]

I have to say my response is similar to Olham's - I haven't been able to fly for a while. But this is starting to make my mouth water. Like Herr Olham, managing the mods is an issue; I've never flown in campaign mode, etc, and to be quite honest, the role playing between flights... well, what flights in my case! Still, if I go with this I'll give it a whirl. But even in real life, the "office politics" are of little interest to me; I have a job to do. And with OFF, well, I'd be happy just to get airborne again for something more than a quick spin around the aerodrome! But it seems, as you have noted, that you are close to defining an "OFF 3.5", as it were, and that is where I could jump in - a well-defined and manageable group of compatible mods.

 

Now I don't know if it matters as much to us guys flying fabric-covered planes, but a fellow over at sim-outhouse has apparently managed to solve the specular/reflective shine issue with Windows 7. A lot of WWII CFS3'ers have stayed with Windows XP just because of that. I'd post a linky, but it's easy to find, and anyway, if there is interest, it probably needs it's own thread.

 

I'm appreciative and amazed at what you all manage to accomplish - thanks for all you do to make this what it is. It is unquestionably the best group of people I've ever joined up with.

 

Best,

 

Tom

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

HumanDrone--

 

I haven't played with the new version of OFFbase yet, but you can spend as much or as little time as you wish "interacting" with the NPC's in OFFbase. The encounters themselves take only the click of a button to resolve. The interactions with NPC's is actually only a small part of the OFFbase experience, and the way that OFFbase handles mods and such tricky things as transfers are really the icing on the cake! It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you find you don't care for it, you can uninstall it easily. I don't believe that uninstalling OFFbase has any effect on your existing pilots or careers.

[HumanDrone 4]

Well now wait a minute - if we can't have any all-out drunken brawls in the officer's mess, what's the point?

 

Anyway, thanks for that. I wonder how much of this stuff you guys keep coming up with will be sucked up into WOFF? These poor devs are trying to get out something demonstrably better than HiTR and you guys keep improving THAT! What a horse race! It still amazes me how much can be done with ancient computer code; could you imagine what they could do if the core code was optimized for modern hardware?

 

And speaking of all-out brawls, and Christmas cheer, and all that, I wonder when the BOC Christmas Party will start? It seems a bit early yet, but I'm looking for a good video link to "Snoopy's Christmas" to get it started...

[CaptSopwith 26]

For those of you who are curious about OFFice and the way it can add some more life to an already great flight sim, I wrote what became a two-part piece on my impressions back in June, and Lothar's work has progressed quite a bit since there.

 

Here's what I had to say six months ago, hope you enjoy!:

 

Fellow OFF'ers.

 

It gives me great pleasure to give you some of my initial experiences flying the newly combined mods of OFFice, HPW's flight and empty weight mods, and OlPaint01's Damage modifications - as well as a whole slew of other mods that he included in his Ultimate Bundle.

 

So, simply stated first: So far, very good! OFFice appears to do a fine job of managing the various mods and the potential conflicts that they create. After dropping all of my desired mods into the appropriate JSGME folder, OFFice took care of the rest.

 

To fully test this set of mods, and to start some full DiD campaigns, I created two pilots. My namesake is flying for 24 RFC in February of 1916 and my German namesake is starting in Jasta 4 at its earliest start date. OFFice introduces some nice RPG style enhancements to OFF and integrates well with the OFF Manager. Start OFFice first, run through your pilot and his interactions with his other squad mates - all pulled from OFF's data to seamlessly integrate it with the in-game campaign, and then you can head to the airfield and start your mission.

 

OFFice previously served as a nice RPG handler - it now serves in more of a capacity that those of us who played Red Baron 3D will remember - Campaign Manager 1.1. OFFice loads all of the appropriate mods based on the year your pilot serves, the level of activity at his part of the front, and the relative quality of his squad mates.

 

From there, you fly as always.

 

As for the flight and damage modeling. I have to say, my DH2 feels nicer than any other version I've ever flown. The controls feel nice - the plane still exhibits its usual spin and stall quirks, but the lead weight feeling of the plane from its stock OFF configuration is now a thing of the past. This plane feels light - which, given that it's made out of canvas and wood, seems like it would be accurate. The plane also turns well, climbs with less of a struggle, and fights pretty well - based on the QC's I've staged with it and other period aircraft.

 

The damage model is interesting. I loaded the HPW Ultimate Damage model option (OFFice, btw, gives you a choice here during setup which is quite handy). It's too early to tell, but in my QC's with some Halberstadt DII's I noticed some odd behavior. The Halberstadt's only seemed to go down once you set them on fire - which I did to every one of them - 5 in total. Various hits here and there damaged control surfaces, but only fire finally took them out. Also, the hovering flamer bug from older OFF incarnations seems to be present - at least with my combination of mods as installed by OFFice. Each Halberstadt more or less flew in circles at near level altitude while on fire. The pilots never left their planes and the aircraft never crashed.

 

As a comparison, I'll have to try the alternate damage model next and see how it compares.

 

Over all, between HPW's massive work on the FM, along with the damage model, sound files, realism files, and the litany of other small tweaks - my DiD campaigns should be fantastic to experience!

 

I highly recommend this package to anyone looking to stretch some more life or add some more variety to OFF before the inevitable release of its successor. This is good stuff.

 

I'll offer more reports as time allows.

 

----------

 

Okay, it's after midnight, I haven't gotten any work done, and I'm still fighting the urge to go up for another mission...

 

Further thoughts on this collection of mods for OFF.

 

Wow! Is all I really have to say. Having swapped out the damage model from the HPW to Buddy's version, the improvements were noticeable from the outset. At least with my configuration - everyone's machine handles things a little differently - the difficulty and immersion of OFF has skyrocketed.

 

I have created 10 new pilots - all with back stories, desires, and aspirations for their time at the front. Some seek to serve King and Country. Others are there because life in the cavalry grew tedious and dull in a war that no longer needed them. Still more joined because they sought glory - and found chaos and death instead.

 

With OFFice, I suddenly remember my squad mates names. I feel I know them a bit better - having interacted with them. I only wish we could create some sort of visual representation of them - even if it was on the level of Wings of Glory, it would still be fantastic. As it stands - the simple interactions, the ability to move time in the campaign (IE: I get to fly real dawn patrols now, which are my absolute favorite). The improvement in the variety of weather - I know that the war was typically a mud and rain filled quagmire - but it's nice to fly in some clear weather for a change! The additions of the new sound files - I've used Creaghorn's sound mods for a while but these introduce some new ones I've not heard before. The engines really sound alive now! Even the light powered rotaries have a full, metallic, heavy sound to them - it's fantastic. It all comes together so beautifully. OFF was already the most immersive WWI flight sim I had ever played. This is just dumping icing on an already delicious cake.

 

Did I mention that I like the new loading screen sounds as well? I like that there's a clear difference between the Allied and German side now - feels better. Oh, and during the German briefings - am I right in guessing that the briefing voice over work is taken from the German version of Red Baron II's German Intelligence Briefings? Sounds just like them - I really like it!

 

So overall - would I recommend this set of addons to the community? I give it a resounding YES! This pack really breathes some new life into a sim that I feel like I'm still learning. They are small improvements - but the cumulative effect is massive. From the new sense of immersion in interacting with my squadmates through a simple, old-school, but effective text-based RPG element to the immersion of flying with new sounds and dealing with a whole new FM and DM to learn... it all comes together to make for an utterly gripping experience.

 

I thought I was addicted before... but nothing like this!

 

Fantastic work guys! I cannot commend you enough. I love it!

 

PS: The mods are so good - esp with OFFice, that I have started my first round of 2-seater campaigns. First up was Fritz Morgens - who served as the observer of the Roland CII below.

 

I got Fritz settled into the new barracks and he introduced himself to his new squadron members and had a meeting with the Adjutant. The first mission was a lone patrol - a chance to take Fritz up over the lines and let him get a look at the Front. The weather, as you can see, was terrible. I realized that I have never actually flown any of the 2-seaters in OFF since buying the sim in 2009! Well, it was a long overdue treat. We got up in the air and from that point on I let the AI do the flying while I panned the skies for trouble. I do wish that my TrackIR system would work from the observer's seat - is there a trick to make it work?At any rate - we went up and down the lines and finally up to the coast - all on our side of the front. As we turned for home, I got a strange feeling in my gut. Coming through a thick wall of cloud cover were three Nieuports and they had us caught low and slow, heading for home.

 

The result was as terrifying as it was sickening to experience. The Nieuports - painted in French markings - smelled blood and came right for us. I've never seen fighters attack me while sitting in the back of a plane - and I don't want to see it again anytime soon! All three opened fire and, try as I might with my rear gun, I could do little to fend them off. The first burst from the three French planes was also exceedingly lucky - putting our engine on half of its cylinders right away. We were belching smoke as my pilot tired to get me steady for a clear shot. Then - I felt it - another barrage of bullets hit us and wounded the pilot. Our plane lurched, side slipped, and headed for the trees. The impact turned my stomach.

 

Fritz is dead - on his first mission, and a training sortie at that. But, never fear, a new man, Kristof Maybach - a family man from Prussia, has just arrived as a replacement.

 

Life in the squadron now goes on. Fritz's name is still on the board - listed as deceased. The rest of the squad barely remembers him - they had so little time to even learn his name. As Maybach learns his new surroundings - the fellow pilots that Fritz knew (ever so briefly) remain - the same personalities and traits, the same quirks, the same temperaments. These fellow pilots no longer vanish into the ether of history. Life goes on and the sense of institutional memory is now a part of OFF. What will become of these men, as well as my own, remains to be seen.

 

This is really great stuff! If you haven't had a chance to try this out - it's a snap to install, and once you start messing with it, you quickly see how addictive this form of OFFing suddenly becomes.

 

Oh - and if you really want the hardcore heroin version of this - fly DiD. I'm finally giving it a real go (now that I have TrackIR) and I have to say - it's terrifying. Without time compression and without warp and without a tactical aid screen - I really feel uneasy and vulnerable from the time I get to my cruising altitude until I cut the engine and land safely at home. There are simply no safegards and the feeling of emminant danger is tangible through the monitor. Hats off to Siggi for those rules. If you see this post Sig, thanks again!

 

Whew! I'm typed out. As you can see - I'm in love with this sim all over again. What a great sim and what a fantastic community!

 

Cheers all around!

[HumanDrone 4]

Man, CaptSopwith, if these guys were getting paid for all this, they could hire you for a marketing director! Okay, I'm thinking even MORE seriously about this now... and I don't even know when I'll be able to "fly" again!

[Creaghorn 10]

I know this is probably asking too much, but is there any chance of an English translation (for a non-German speaking American with Swiss-German ancestors) of your news service? Maybe I could collaborate with you in some way? We could start with a rough translation tool like Google and work from there, I suppose. We could start with your translation of the German text and then I could work on the grammar and idioms.

 

I think many other non-German speakers might be interested in being able to read the news reports coming from "the other side" during the war. It might also help those of us who like to fly German campaigns to feel a little more connected with the political and strategic events going on on "our" side of the lines.

 

i would love to, but can't since unfortunately i have no time. have a 2 year old son and a babygirl and quite busy. this little sparetime i have here and there i have to use for new stuff.

but honestly, i think it's enough to copy it and translate it via google translator or something like that while using this version, just to get an idea what it's about. and woff will be something completely different anyways.