Sixgun

So I am wondering which way to go as well. I have been playing ARMA3 and SF2 but miss pure multiplayer air combat. Which way do I go? I have DCS and IL2, and a bunch of others...DCS is sooo expensive in $ and time, but I'd be willing as long as there is a real community. I'd prefer golden age jets as in SF, 2nd/3rd generation, but would do 4th too. I should look at BMS before I buy more DCS modules.

Pretty sure I'm patched to the latest and greatest...october 08. Flying with Nato IV installed. WOE1 of course.

I am similarly trying to figure out a way to make the A-10 flight model more realistic. At low gross weights, the Hog turns on a dime IRL, but having just started a Hog campaign, I find that strafing runs are almost impossible due to a ridiculously low pitch rate and low AOA tolerances. I can do better CAS in an F-4 in terms of re-attacking! Any ideas?

OK all you SF, WOV, and WOE people...lets get together and fly one night per week. We can take a vote and decide which night and time is do-able for the largest number of us. There is even "talk" of establishing a unified library of mods to play with, since I know all of us here love the addons. Read the thread here: Sandstorm

Please do expound, Admiral Gillcrist is one of my favorite authors.

Until the latest patch, a tactic of mine versus the 21 or 19 (or another F-8) was to drop the droops (pop the wing) when I got below 260kias in a turning fight. I have not tried the new patch yet. This would give me a great rate and no high speed stall at full stick deflection as long as you kept the knots below 270. When you get below 200 or so, the "air data computer" (I guess) lets the wing come up, and when you get fast again, it comes back down. The downside? Poor acceleration (ok for a rolling scissors or sustained high-G flat fight) and a rather wicked roll instability coupled with a reduced negative pitch authority (read almost zero), so that you have to be careful not to lead pursue too much at low speed. In other words, trying to bunt to get off a shot on a reversing target frequently finds you in a rather un-commanded outside barrel roll...not good. You might be able to tell, the F-8 is my ACM mount of choice. It does nearly everything well. As a mercenary for Dhimar, I recently made over a million dollars in one campaign with it (full realism, uber AI). Record 22 kills in one mission Another trick? load a couple of LAU-61 pods on the wings for every mission. Low weight penalty and only really draggy after the first shot. Got Beagles? Sit back at half a mile and plink with rockets... you will eventually get good with them. Fighters? hose a whole pod at high deflection. Going home and still got em? Lob some at the nearest enemy fuel tank or flight line.

I guess he did. Told Creature that there was no support and no budget, and also that opening MP up would allow "cheating." I thought all he needed to do was add the ability to fly scripted missions in MP, and start on the ground, and he would just about have it made. That's assuming we're talking about pre-SP4 MP.

Hey, I don't want to let this degenerate into SP versus MP, but I have to chime in in defense of us multiplayers. I have had the sim (SFP1) since it came out. For all it's "lightness" it has been the best dogfighting sim I've played since Janes FA. It has never made sense to me why the MP functions were not improved. You have not lived until you have encountered Doghouse in a MiG-17 over the Desert, and if you have done so, you probably got shot for your trouble. You know it's a good fight when running out of fuel ends it. Nothing will make you sweat more than trying to get a strike in while a human pilot or group thereof tries to stop you...or calling for help (for real) over teamspeak to your real wingman or TarCap. I have had some great times and made some great friends since 2002. It saddens me that more people will not experience this.

I too am a proponent of the CH products. I have re-potted my Flightstick Pro recently (it was easy, CH uses friction connectors, no solder). I have a box of hangar queen CH peripherals to cannibalize from. Also running pro pedals and pro throttle. I am still in the dark ages of the gameport connectors. Guess I'll have to upgrade to USB when I build my new machine. I am intrigued by the hall effect hardware (CH makes some too). Also itching to get one of CH's MFPs to.

Way back when I was modding for Janes FA, I made an ACMI pod that fired 4 AIM-9's which had all the characteristics of the real missile, but did no damage. Also did a gun pod that fired harmless 20mm. In this way, a couple of guys could go practice without blowing each other up but still see the results in the stats as to hits, etc.

I'll start checking in more, too. Mature people who just like to fly are the only ones I care to play with. Relative skill is irrelevant. If you can fly without hitting the ground every 30 seconds, it's all good. Believe it or not, the old heads like Doghouse and myself like to teach, given someone actually wants to learn!

Hi All, It has been a long time since I have even checked this topic, much less flown online. Guess I kinda dropped off the face of the Earth for a little while. Storm, No I have not worked on establishing a MP approved mod list. Since WOI landed, I have been waiting for TK to patch the other games in the family up to it's standards (actually dreading it, I didn't like the new FM's) before getting committed to a set of planes. Let's hear from those still interested in multiplayer Third Wire flight simming....

As I am returning to somewhat "regular" online play, I have been thinking about ways to re-invigorate our community's interest in online flying. Okay, maybe the community was never "vigorated" in the first place. What I am proposing is the creation of a list of mods that can be compiled into a library that the multiplayer community can use to spice up our online play. This library would consist of not only addon aircraft, but the latest Weps Pack, and other useful and pleasing enhancements that have been offered here at CA. The library would be decided on by popular vote by CA members who play online, on a mod per mod basis. For starters, I'd like to promote the idea of a library for Strike Fighters, and call it something like "Sandstorm". My first nominations for inclusion might be some things like all of the current Mirage Factory aircraft (universally liked), my own "formations" mod, and that great "Comm" mod. If this takes off, we can do a WOV/WOE Library and a FE lib. Feel free to burn me down if you think this is a stupid idear...

Saw you on last night...were you having trouble connecting?

Seriously, I'd take an F-100 to fight MiG-17F's before I'd take the Mirage IIICJ to fight Fresco A's! Whattup wid dat?

PM sent, and I am on Hamancheese now.

We are playing using Streakeagle's Hamachi server. Streak and I are both on the east coast (well, actually I'm Central, but who cares) We meet up usually in Hamachi or on the CA TeamSpeak server.

Streaky and I have successfully Co-Oped in WOI....

Does anyone other than myself find the F-16 flight model as pessimistic as I do? I guess I am used to the Mirage Factory's FM, but I am able to flatplate the Viper. That ain't right. There's this thing called a flight control computer in the Viper that is supposed to prevent that kind of thing. It's amazing to me how well the AI flies the Flogger when it is completely uncontrollable for me. I echo the sentiment that the Kfir should turn (a little) better too. Has TK downgraded the A-4's turn performance as well?

Buzzard, Unfortunately, Hamachi is the only way we are able to reliably play co-op games online. Hyperlobby works pretty well for dogfights, but that's it.

Absolutely! Actually, the crowd that has been flying the most lately are really laid back. I personally like to help people out with their flying...nothing quite so rewarding as seeing someone you have worked with steadily improve.

Well, first, you need to load WOV instead of SF. Lettuce know more info, like Ghost says...I buy used CH stuff off Ebay constantly and pretty cheap.

Streaky is Eastern, and I am Central. Seems like 8-10pm EST works well for people.

1. F-14 2. F-4 3. F-8