CaptSopwith

Hey guys, Thanks for all of the advice. I've finally got a few days off and I've been working on the problem. I think I've got it sorted. If I boot the PC into safe mode I can easily unzip and install the file, no worries. It looks like safe mode in Win 7 has MSE turned off, so at this point, I'm ready to say that that's the cause of the problems. James, ironically enough, I went with MSE because it's such a lightweight, small anti-virus/anti-malware program. I had used AVAST until about two months ago when I upgraded to 7. I figured if Microsoft might be able to best protect their own operating system (that was probably not the smartest conclusion ever...). MSE so far has been great - light on resources (using a whole 4mb of ram) doesn't interfer with my games, etc. That is until I tried to unpack HitR. I've had no issues with zip files on this system so far, and I've been doing a lot of patching on some of my older racing sims lately so I've been unpacking plenty of files. When I reinstall a system, I go for light and efficient. Nothing runs in the background that doesn't need to. It has to be MSE, I have no other logical conclusion for the issue. I've ruled out just about everything else - including doing a fresh reformat and install on the HD just to rule out everything else. Whew... now I can actually do some flying. I'm looking forward to a patch for the AI, they seem a bit... laid back. But for now, I'm just glad the game is running at all.

Pol, I just did a fresh download on a fresh install of Windows 7. The file decompresses just fine until there is about 5 seconds remaining, and then the entire system locks up again. In the event it actually unzips the file, the exe locks up the system before I can even open it. Simply right-clicking on it to run it as an administrator is enough to crash my entire system. I've been able to get the install to start once - at which point my security software (Microsoft Security Essentials) turned off and Windows crashed yet again. I've done nothing to this system that would cause such an issue. I've run every diagnostic utility I can and I've even blanked the hard drive out and started all over, just to make absolutely sure there was nothing else on my end. Is it possible that MSE is causing this headache? If not, then I'm out of ideas. My only problem is that I can't seem to shut MSE off unless I boot in safe mode. I can only conclude that something about Microsoft Security Essentials does not like this file for whatever reason. I could get it to install in safe mode - but I wasn't sure if the install was complete. Is anyone else running MSE? If I install BitR in Safe Mode, will all of the files install correctly? Thanks for any help guys, I appreciate it.

Alright guys... I've run checkdisk on the hard drive, I've redownloaded the file in IE8, I've installed a new version of Winzip and I even tested the file in WinRAR. Everything came back clean. That said, I still cannot open the file and whenever I attempt to, the process gets to about 98%, the disk goes berserk, and I have to hard reboot. I'm fast running out of patience. I've also tried running the file from within the archive with the same results, no good. I've worked with plenty of zip files on this machine, so I know they work, but for some reason, this add on does not play nice with my computer. Any ideas?

Good idea Siggi, I'll give that a go as well. Fingers crossed!

Agreed Olham. It has to be incredibly difficult to adjust AI code on a sim you didn't program. Working with someone elses code, originally built for WWII planes, and then trying to get it to cope with a completely different breed of animal and get them to fight intelligently, that's quite a task. I think Siggi's right, in this instance 2+2 probably equals a bushel of potatoes. If any group can hammer it out, I know the OBD guys can.

I think you're right James. It looked like something went a bit wonky with the file as it decompressed. Every time it got to about 98% and the hard drive went berserk. I've used up 2 downloads out of my alotted 3 so far, so I'll give it one last go using a different browser (maybe it's Firefox doing something odd so I'll use the straight vanilla IE8). If it still goes wrong I'll shoot you an email with a copy of my sale and we'll go from there. Fingers crossed it won't come to that. You know me James, I don't normally complain about computer files, I spent many hours growing up fidgeting with various RB patches and zip files, half of which were never compatible with the others. It has to be something unusually frustrating before I start venting. I have a class to TA later this morning, but this evening I'll see if I can give the download another try.

Not me Unc, I like the carnage far too much.

I meant to ask at the end of the previous post - has anyone else had any similar experiences with the download? I can't seem to figure out what caused this install to go so pear shaped. I'm also having issues with the AI at this point as well. I've tried adjusting my sliders, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to get them to dogfight each other anymore. They circle each other rather calmly and never fire. Sorry guys, I'm just frustrated. I had a beautiful OFF install running and having a blast. I snagged the add on as an early x-mas present and I just can't seem to get good results...

Well after a nightmare installation process, I'm experiencing the same issues. In repeated tests in campaign and QC I'm seeing aircraft that no longer fight. 6 on 6 dogfight with N28s vs what should be the top line Fokker D7's and they couldn't seem less interested in engaging each other. The N28's waggle their wings and fire a few shots as they pass through, but then the AI just aimlessly circles gently around each other. I flew for that QC mission for another 15 minutes and none of the aircraft ever fought each other. I tried adjusting my terrain sliders both up and down. Down yielded AI which appeared to be in a coma. Up actually got them fighting, but then the frame rate was unplayable. Note: My sliders had been set at 5-3-3-5-1, so I've been enjoying great performance and beautiful graphics - at least until I installed HitR. They do know there's a war on, right? Very frustrated with this add on so far...

Great post Siggi. Is he any relation to Sir Frank Williams of F1 fame?

Such beautiful planes. I visit their website often. It's a shame their all the way over in NZ - a bit of along plane flight from the US. If you haven't seen it, here's their site. I've always been impressed with their work - and even their site shows it. http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/node

Awesome! I can't wait to try the new addon out! Great work as always guys - you never cease to impress!

Good Lord! Those are beautiful! :clapping:

Lately my pilots all die on their second mission. They seem to get through their first hop over the lines without a problem and then comes the second trip, quickly followed by death - usually by midair collision with a suicidal Nieuport pilot! My latest pilot was a throw-away; I knew he was likely going to buy it on his second trip and I wanted to try and "cleanse the palette" of these repeated failures. I figured I'd make a sacrificial German pilot, send him up, perform the most suicidal attacks I know, like diving into superior numbers, attacking when it's not wise to do so, flying through formations of Allied two seaters all with their guns trained on me, etc. I figured if I managed to get all of my stupid mistakes out of the way with one pilot, I'd be good to go with another DiD candidate. What happened? Well, see for yourself. Robert Ritter von Roth, who wasn't supposed to last his first two sorties, has completed damn near two full hours of flight time (my last few pilots averaged about 30-45 minutes before death) and has TEN, count them, TEN claims to his name! I've flown him into whole formations of BE2's with their guns firing at me and knocked every single one of them out of the sky. I've done the same with the FE2's we run into. I even went into the workshop and cranked up the AI gun accuracy to hard - up from normal because they weren't hitting him! Why can't this sim, who has fitted every namesake pilot of mine for a dirt shirt, kill this guy!? The closest he came was a crash landing after some BE2's put a hole in his engine. And yet, he survived his crash landing, near a river and a forest, no where near cleared level ground. He literally planted his Albatros on a berm, and managed not to flip the plane over. Remarkable... That said, he hasn't seen any fighters yet - so Roth is getting an easy pass preying on wounded antelopes so far. I predict his first tangle with a French fighter plane will end with a Le-Rhone rotary engine embedded in his brain. And look at his pilot photo! He's a creep! I don't even like this guy and he's out there racking them up! No matter how stupid I get, I can't seem to get this guy killed! Sometimes Pacman, you just never know!

Hear Hear Steve, couldn't have said it better myself. Salute!

Hear Hear! I have to admit Widow, when I clicked this thread I really thought you were going to say "It doesn't have a Snipe!"

I agree GwynO. A sim is only as strong as the community around it. TK's got a great group of fliers around him over at Thirdwire. The Strike Figthers group is very loyal to their product, and it shows. The same applies here. A lot of the OFF guys are folks many of us knew from our Red Baron days. OVS created Hell's Angels and his attention to detail carried over into OFF. So there is definitely an invested interest that we all have in seeing OFF do well. Winder, Pol, and the rest of the gang support their product in ways larger companies never have and never will. If someone noticed a slight bug in an early release, you'd better believe they'd have a fix within days, if not hours! We sim pilots are a much ignored sector of an ever more maligned PC gaming market. Thankfully, we've banded together, and those who created the past sims we know and love haven't lost their passion for making great experiences for us. While we may not have our shelf in the PC gaming store like we used to, we're still able to enjoy some amazing sims out there. I have several, but none of them - and I mean none of them - give me the satisfaction that OFF does. I think that's the joy of being a sim pilot, there are still enough options out there to find something we really enjoy, and with OFF, I think you're in for quite a treat.

Welcome to the squadron GwynO! You're in for quite a treat once you get OFF installed. I've flown several WWI sims in the past, including the venerable Red Baron II and this is, far and away the best World War I simulation ever made, period. I'm always left impressed after a mission. The sheer joy of flying these planes (they really nailed my perception of what they should feel like) combined with the feeling of being in an actual war is just amazing. And the best part of OFF, the more time you put into the sim, the more you'll get back on your return! Happy flying and enjoy the anticipation, that's half the fun!

I had a very eerie balloon busting mission last week with my namesake pilot flying a Sopwith Pup. I posted about this particular event in another thread, but since it was overlooked, I'll bump myself (I'm allowed to do that, right? ) Finally, well over the target balloon and with flak all around me, I blipped the rotary engine, rolled my Pup, and dived on the target. The gas bag went up in a sheet of flame after only a few rounds. I'm still not sure if I hit it or if there was so much shrapnel in the air from their own artillery that friendly fire did the balloon in. At any rate, I pulled up hard, cranked the engine back to full blast, and booked it West for our lines, my flight in tow. I had lost sight of the Albatros fighters and was bent on getting back over friendly territory as quickly as I could. The flak was still bursting all around us and, after glancing off the right of my tail, I could see a trail of smoke in the distance. Craning my neck around (or in my case, pushing the hat switch a little to the right to get a better look), I could see one of our own had been hit by flak, burning, and spiraling slowly to earth. I don't know how the OBD guys pulled this effect off, but the sickening look of smoking, trailing debris and burning wreckage slowly winding to earth in a trail of deathly black smoke is still one the eeriest things I've ever seen in a game, and it never fails to turn my stomach. Damn, I thought, who did we just lose? I watched him all the way down. This Sopwith Pup, mangled and broken, falling to earth silently in the distance, trailing smoke, burning embers, intermittently belching flame as it tumbled to earth. It was a sickening feeling, and knowing we had just lost one of our own made it worse. If you ever want to make this game very personal, go into your pilot dossier file and edit your fellow pilots so that they all have namesakes of people you know. The next time a wingman gets flamed over the lines, it becomes intensely personal.

I've been flying Nieups for a long time now, and I didn't know that! Thanks Deuce, I'm going to have to go try that out! I love this game, it just keeps surprising!

Wow Pol, she looks beautiful! Keep up the great work! I really like the gritty, worn and beaten look to the cockpit. The wood looks like it's been used, the guns aren't fresh from the factory. It looks like a real warbird, and I mean that in the best possible way! :) Can't wait for the Gold Pack Winder, I'll be the first to line up to buy it, even on a grad student's budget!

Thank you Lou. I had never even heard of these books. I'm snagging the zip file now and I greatly look forward to reading these in my spare time. Thanks again!

Fantastic write-up Siggi. This sim continues to impress and re-impress me everytime I fly. There are a very few PC games that have given me true "wow" moments. Some of them were racing sims that showed spectacular AI (Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix Series), the rest have, by and large, been flight sims. I started with Wings of Glory back in 1994 and that was the sim that planted the bug in me. Red Baron II had lots of wow moments and even now, some ten years removed from the first missions I flew on the old gal, I can still remember details. But nothing I've seen yet gives me the consistent feeling of actually being in a war when I sit down to fly a mission. The immersion is just phenomenal; from the vehicles moving on the ground to the constant booming of artillery in a heavy sector, to the buzzing of other craft around you, it's not a game or even a sim, it's an experience. My previous flight was with 8-RNAS, flying some Sopwith Pups in December 1916. Our flight was tasked with bringing down a German observation balloon near our sector. There were, I believe, four of us, including myself and I was tasked with leading the flight. The skies were dreary and oppressive; heavy cloud cover blanketed the land and a thick pea-soup fog made the flight feel disorienting and claustrophobic. We headed towards the lines and while in route, spotted a flight of three or four Albatros scouts moving due East of us, running parallel of our flight path towards the balloon. I was half a mile out from the target, watching the Albs, wondering when they were going to cut right and bounce us, and watching for my target; all while artillery was blasting around us. The level of stress at that moment was tangible and I felt my hand sweating around my ancient Sidewinder 2 joystick. Finally, well over the target balloon and with flak all around me, I blipped the rotary engine, rolled my Pup, and dived on the target. The gas bag went up in a sheet of flame after only a few rounds. I'm still not sure if I hit it or if there was so much shrapnel in the air from their own artillery that friendly fire did the balloon in. At any rate, I pulled up hard, cranked the engine back to full blast, and booked it West for our lines, my flight in tow. I had lost sight of the Albatros fighters and was bent on getting back over friendly territory as quickly as I could. The flak was still bursting all around us and, after glancing off the right of my tail, I could see a trail of smoke in the distance. Craning my neck around (or in my case, pushing the hat switch a little to the right to get a better look), I could see one of our own had been hit by flak, burning, and spiraling slowly to earth. I don't know how the OBD guys pulled this effect off, but the sickening look of smoking, trailing debris and burning wreckage slowly winding to earth in a trail of deathly black smoke is still one the eeriest things I've ever seen in a game, and it never fails to turn my stomach. Damn, I thought, who did we just lose? Never once was I thinking about lines of code or impressive AI. "Who did we just lose?" was my only thought. Who? As if the computer controlled lines of code piloting that 3d rendered Pup was real. And that's when you know the OBD guys hit on something special. Who? When your sense of immersion is so great that you're worried about your fictional wingmen, you've got a classic "wow" game. But then again, knowing half of the guys that developed this amazing sim, I really shouldn't be surprised. This band of coders, painters, modelers, and programmers have been giving me wow moments since I flew Red Baron 3D back in the 1990s. Well done guys. And just to wrap up the story... no, we never were attacked by those Albatros fighters. I can only assume that they didn't see us through the pea soup - or simply weren't in the mood to tangle. Cheers guys!

Let me second this question RC. Unfortunately, in the midst of very busy RL issues, I cannot fly real time in the way I'd like to, that said, I've started an RFC24 campaign and know that I will have to "transfer" to another unit when the time comes. Any advice on how to do this within the data files in OFF? Many thanks in advance! Keep up the flying guys, I'm really enjoying reading the flight logs.

Hey guys, I'm noticing some nicely customized pilot photos in some screenshots posted for your campaigns. I wanted to find out how you edit your pilot details to customize his photo, the names of his fellow squad mates, and other goodies. If you have any pointers and how-to's, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm looking forward to finally getting in some flying this weekend, and I wanted to set up my campaigns in style. Thanks in advance!