OFFice/OFFbase/OFFworld 1.1.0 now available!

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Think this next update is something many will really enjoy. Along with a complete font overhaul to make spending time OFFbase and OFFworld more pleasant, version 1.1.0 includes CaptSopwith's mix of the soundtrack to Red Baron 3D, along with a mix of the soundtrack from the old Amiga classic Wings as suggested by Creaghorn ages ago. These make for amazing retro experiences that will take you right back to those glory days of the 1990's.

FYI: Wings, the major inspiration behind OFFbase, is graciously available as a free download for the Amiga by Cinemaware, who reserve all rights. AmigaForever is an officially licensed Amiga emulator that will let you play Wings on your PC. Digital joystick recommended.

Look at all these music options to suit any mood. Try them all!

 

 

Additionally, the installer can now extract music & sound files at different levels of quality, providing low-def versions for old, slow computers with crummy onboard sound that suffer FPS hits under all the fancy high-quality stereo sounds.

So get OFFice 1.1.0 today! And as always, if you're interested in joining and contributing to OFFworld, the kick-ass multiplayer version, send me a PM.

[CaptSopwith 26]

Looks fantastic Lothar! And thanks for taking the time to work in the RB3D soundtrack - I think it makes for a fun retro experience. Tossing in Wings, too, is a great idea! I'm looking forward to seeing what the new version does.

 

I do have a technical question for you, however. Whenever I run OFFice, I have noticeably lower frame rates and a lot of intermittent stutters in my gameplay when flying. When I unload Andy's sound mod, it's a little bit better but my FPS are down a good 25% from the stock game when I run OFFice. I don't think it's the software... is it possible that my rig is just too old to run the mods? I'll list my system specs below to see if you have any suggestions. The stock game runs between 20-60 FPS depending on how busy things are on screen. I usually run with regional activity set to medium as high can also cause a degradation in performance.

 

Here are my specs - try not to laugh too hard

Gateway FX7024

2 x 500 GB HD (Games installed on one disk, OS on the other).

Windows 7 SP1

3GB RAM

nVidia GeForce 9800 GT

Intel Core 2 Duo Quad Q6600 at 2.40GhZ

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

The OFFbase software itself shouldn't have a noticeable impact on performance. As for the mods... Can you try something for me?

 

Open OFFramp from the main squadron HQ window. Starting at the "In-Game Maps" page and working down through the "Guns & Ammo" page, disable ALL of the mods--music, sound, FM, DM, everything. Then let me know if it still has the performance issue. Maybe we can pin it to specific mods.

[HumanDrone 4]

Just another quick note of encouragement, and to say thanks for doing all this.  When the sun starts dropping over the horizon sooner, I fully intend to get this installed and get back into the air.  Meanwhile, with all the rain we've had, I will dutifully man my mowers (And weed-whackers, and the tractor, and the sprayers, and the loppers, and the pole pruner, and the compost dump, and the chain saw, and the splitter,... ).

 

Just curious, is the 1.1.0 a more significant difference than, say, 1.0.10?

 

Best,

 

Tom

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Just curious, is the 1.1.0 a more significant difference than, say, 1.0.10?

 

Given that it now looks a lot different with the complete font overhaul, and sounds a lot different with two entirely new soundtracks (from Wings and RB3D), along with a bunch of under-the-hood changes for future development, figured the version bump to 1.1.x was earned.

 

Good luck in your battle against plants, Tom!

[HumanDrone 4]

Given that it now looks a lot different with the complete font overhaul, and sounds a lot different with two entirely new soundtracks (from Wings and RB3D), along with a bunch of under-the-hood changes for future development, figured the version bump to 1.1.x was earned.

 

Good luck in your battle against plants, Tom!

 

Probably way more than earned, I'd say!  I wonder if OFF/OFFice/OFFbase/OFFworld will be able to co-exist with WOFF on the same machine?  If I get into this, I may not want to give it up right away!

[rjw 48]

Probably way more than earned, I'd say!  I wonder if OFF/OFFice/OFFbase/OFFworld will be able to co-exist with WOFF on the same machine?  If I get into this, I may not want to give it up right away!

I asked the same question some time ago and was informed that they would not co-exist. Things sometimes change so it might be a good question to ask again. Hopefully "Pol" will see your post and reply.

 

Best Regards;

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

Shared registry entries is what would prevent OFF and WOFF from both working on the same machine (just like P2 vs P3). But since OFFice fully controls these registry entries through its OFFset settings manager, it shouldn't be difficult to make OFF+OFFice/OFFbase/OFFworld coexist on the same machine as WOFF, provided you install WOFF in a separate folder.

 

Then you'd be able to play either, or both, while I transition my software to support WOFF as well. So no worries!

[HumanDrone 4]

Ah, yes, the "good old" Windows Registry...   Ok, I am a long way from the most advanced programmer in the world - I only write mainly mathematical or data processing stuff when I need to for engineering work.  But still, that registry seems like a royal pain in the patootey to me.  I avoid it at all costs, which is what I think Microsoft had in mind, to be able to lock you out of your own computer.  My experience with it has been that it is merely an overly complicated, and no less error-prone way to make .ini files.  Ok, Rant over...

 

Yessir, if you can manage to keep'em separate whilst we transition to WOFF, then whoppee!  it may be a busy winter over France for me!

[MudWasp48 3]

Yeah HumanDrone, they sure can be a PITA, especially with Microsoft flight sims.

 

One thing I really like about X-plane is the lack of all that. That being said, I still prefer FSX over it for other reasons.

 

I have an old CFS3 addon, "Fire Power",  which I'd like to install, but haven't due to fears of messing up OFF

[+Lothar of the Hill People 6]

CFS3 is from a weird time in Microsoft history: doesn't use the system registry and config is stored in XML files. Not the ideal solution, as for example it has the habit of deleting the CFS3Config XML file when you update your graphics driver (use my OFFset program to backup and restore your settings!).

 

But it does mean it's easy to have multiple copies of CFS3 installed (OFF takes advantage of this as it installs its own copy). Thus you should have no trouble installing and playing CFS3 and add-ons such as "Fire Power" elsewhere on your drive.

 

Only reason I appreciate OFF using the system registry is I can look up the location it's installed on your machine in order to install my mods in the right directory automatically.