I need a copy of Key Commands for OFF...

[Hauksbee 103]

I just re-installed OFF with the intention of flying to Amiens/Corbie as von Baur did. However; I  need my instruments, most noticeably the compass. I looked in the Workshop, but didn't see a link. Can someone point it out to me?

[von Baur 54]

Not sure what key commands you'd need, Hauksbee. If you enlist in 24 RFC you'll be assigned to Bertangles in a DH2, which has a lovely compass at your feet. Take off, turn south and follow the road just east of the airfield. There's usually a convoy of lorries headed that way...you can buzz them and give them a show. (Hmmm, just had a wierd thought. I wonder of the devs could add some kind of cheer to go up whenever we fly over friendly ground troops?)

 

As a side note, don't try driving or riding the bicycle there. I tried it with the intention of driving among the buildings and maybe tryng to go over some bridges. But no matter how slowly I went down the hill I always crashed at the bottom. 

[Hauksbee 103]

Not sure what key commands you'd need, Hauksbee. If you enlist in 24 RFC you'll be assigned to Bertangles in a DH2, which has a lovely compass at your feet.

 

As a side note, don't try driving or riding the bicycle there. I tried it with the intention of driving among the buildings and maybe tryng to go over some bridges. But no matter how slowly I went down the hill I always crashed at the bottom. 

I've enlisted with RNAS No.9 (RAF No.204) out of Bertangles in April 1918. I've got a Camel which saves me from the DH.2 deathtrap. The instruments I need are the OFF instruments, not the ones on the model's instrument panel (which I can't read...especially the compass) Just as you can press 'T' to bring up the TAC, there's another command for the other instruments. Gotta be something like CTRL_I, or some such. I just haven't found it yet.

 

You crashed your bike going downhill? There's hills in Picardy? Everything I've seen shows Picardy flat as a board. It's the tail end of Flanders: the Low Countries.

.

 

Edited March 4, 2014 by Hauksbee

[von Baur 54]

Well, F5 brings up the HUD instruments. Totally unrealistic but you're doing this for a joyride, so why the heck not? I think it's something like Shift_1, Shift_2, etc to cycle through the different instruments for each display. (Something)_Z  brings up your info in the upper left corner, I just cant remember if it's Shift_ or CTRL_. That's got a line for heading. Bertangles West has an east-west takeoff and landing pattern (mostly taking off headed east), so if you want you can always select morning, clear skies and as long as the sun is behind you just turn right.

 

Yes, crashed at the bottom of the hill. OFF slopes aren't gentle, rolling things they're flat plates at harsh angles to the equally flat and level terrains at their tops and bottoms, as I'm sure you've noticed. If you're driving the Model T or riding the bicycle the program registers that as an impact. Seriously! When you take your flight look around, some of the wrecks may still be there.  

[Olham 164]

The Command KeyChart is - and always was - here:

 

http://combatace.com/topic/39122-command-key-card-for-off/?do=findComment&comment=268281

[Hauksbee 103]

Well, F5 brings up the HUD instruments. Totally unrealistic but you're doing this for a joyride,

 

Bertangles West has an east-west takeoff and landing pattern (mostly taking off headed east), so if you want you can always select morning, clear skies and as long as the sun is behind you just turn right.

 

Yes, crashed at the bottom of the hill. OFF slopes aren't gentle...as I'm sure you've noticed.

Thanks von Baur, F5 did it. Check Olham's reply above. It's a very comprehensive listing of all Key Commands. The instruments, as you say, are totally non-realistic, but this, indeed, a joyride. I just gave it a go. I crossed a pretty big city which I figured must be Amiens. (10 min. flying time due south) But I did not see the river. After passing over the city I did see a flat gray meandering country road (?) or could that have been the river? When you flew it, was the river blue? This road (?) was a muted gray/brown/beige.

 

You mention Bertangles having an east/west runway. If one takes off to the east as you mention, then definitely you'll need to turn right to head for Amiens. But if the sun's behind you, you're facing west. You'll have to turn left.

 

As far as OFF slopes not being gentle, this is all new to me. Ever since I bought P3, in, what, 2008 (?)  I've been a QC flier. The landscapes in QC are all perfectly flat. Many a time I'd take a plane out and just cruise around and shoot touch-and-go landings in the fields. There were no rivers, creeks or houses. Just trees here and there to break up the fields. No rocks. No bumps.

[Hauksbee 103]

The Command KeyChart is - and always was - here:

http://combatace.com/topic/39122-command-key-card-for-off/?do=findComment&comment=268281

Thanks for the link Olham. The first few times I tried, I kept getting a message "This Page Cannot Be Displayed". Suddenly, it worked. So now I have it saved to an OFF folder for future reference. As for your comment that the page 'is...and always was" at that place, as I told von Baur, I've always have been a QC pilot. All I needed was a stick and throttle and guns that work. Not much need for additional Key Commands. Now, as I try campaigns, I feel the need.

[Olham 164]

Hey, great to hear you will fly a campaign now, Hauksbee!

Don't let any misfortunes demoralise you - you may lose some pilots,

but then others may do longer ( the more careful, the longer, maybe...)

[von Baur 54]

Hmmm, I guess I got a bit disoriented again, Hauksbee, sorry.

 

Yes, that was the river. Water is, of course, clear not blue (unless there are significant mineral deposits in it) so you'll see a muddy gray or brown from directly above most of the time. It only looks blue on a clear day when viewed from a suffciently shallow angle as to reflect the sky. While OFF/WOFF lakes are blue, they've done the rivers as you saw it. Did you fly along it very far? I seem to remember at least one bridge crossing it, which would be something of a give-away.

 

The hill is there, I promise you. Fly over the road close to the ground and you'll see it. It's not terribly steep and, if I remember, the slope is wooded, which might make it less noticeable from even a few hundred feet. And especially with the Camel's wings and huge nose in the way. Another reason I like the DH2 for sightseeing...excellent forward visibility.

[Hauksbee 103]

von Baur: Thanks for all your help, but I fear my "von Richtofen" project is dead on several counts. There is no way that I will get to see RAF No.204 clash with Jasta 11 over Amiens/Corbie in WOFF. Not least of which is that Corbie and Cappy (Jasta 11's home base) aren't even on the map in WOFF, and Amiens lies miles south of the Somme. But it turns out that I had a much inflated take on the nature of 'other historical missions' taking place along the Western Front simultaneously with one's own. They're out there allright, but they may not be where they were on your WOFF date. For example, on April 21, 1918, both RAF No.204 and Jasta 11 will be up somewhere, but need not meet simply because they did in 1918. Pol said that some time in the future we may see significant historical encounters happen, but not now.

 

I was pleased to see that Amiens was where it should be in OFF. When I was at 8000 ft. But the Brown/May/von Richtofen fight took place down in the weeds and when you get there, there's nothing there. The Somme is indistinguishable from a cow path, and Amiens is just daubs of color mapped to a flat plane. A complete 'immersion' breaker. So I'll have to fly missions that don't require a too-close look at the ground. Thanks again.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Hauksbee

[Olham 164]

Cappy airfield is definitely there in WOFF, Hauksbee.

Just use the manual enlistment button to assign a new pilot with Jasta 11 in April 1918,

and use the time forth- and back arrows, until you see their homefield is Cappy.

Then you can fly from there and enjoy the "Red Baron's Final Flight".

You could even do that in QC, select Cappy, thake some more Fokker Dr.I with you;

select soandso-many Camels as opponents, and off you go!

[Hauksbee 103]

Thanks Olham. I must confess, I have not checked Cappy for myself, but was relying on RAF_Lou's initial reconnaissance for his upcoming Flanders map.

 

[von Baur 54]

Yes, WOFF's map doesn't line up well with the real-world. After your report about Amiens I decided to try a QC from Douai, my most-frequented field in OFF and one whose surrounding countryside I am as familiar with as I am my own hometown's, and I may as well have been flying over somewhere in Africa or China. The city is missing, as is the city immediately to its northeast, and the double river flowing through Douai itself so accurately depicted in OFF is a single stream. This will make Lou's contributions even more valuable for those of us who would like to fly with printed maps.   

[Olham 164]

After my own experience in OFF, the waterways and lakes were quite reliable.

Same for railway lines - I made a long transfer flight following them per real map, and it worked.

The cities though seem to be quite misplaced (by CFS 3, not by OBD) - they are often sewveral

miles off their real positions. You can even see, where the roads' spiderweb centers, and you

know: that's where Metz SHOULD be - but instead it is 5 miles southeast of that place.

Not OBD's fault - I guess it is more or less impossible to "repair".