Bletchley

Thanks for the update, Lothar, I will give it a spin :) Bletchley

Fine by me, you can do whatever you like with my mods :) Bletchley

1. I don't know anything about German wire, but here is some data on British wire. Not sure if cable wire differed in metal content from the flying and landing wires. The RAF wire was a flying wire shaped to reduced drag. 2. Inline engines were generally more vulnerable, I think, to bullet hits than rotary engines as they were mostly water cooled and had the addition of a vulnerable radiator and cooling system. 3. I think they were all more or less equally vulnerable, with the exception of some very late war trench-strafers that may have had some degree of armour protection for the pilot and observer (but from below). Pusher types had the engine placed behind the pilot and observer, and this could protect the pilot and observer from behind to some extent. If you search on the Aerodrome forum you will probably find more, but hope this helps. Bletchley Edit: I also have a table for "Bullivants airoplane cable" (same source), but for some reason it won't upload. Can PM if you want it. Source of wire data: Air Board data for structure and stability calculations of aircraft (August 1917): National Archives DSIR 36/4828

I believe there are also some disadvantages to having a geared engine, BirdDog - there is some loss from the gearing (but not much), some extra weight, but I think most important for these early aero engines there were often issues of reliability (as Pol mentioned with the HS). B.

That is very useful, thanks for letting us know Dej :) Bletchley

Yes, several WWI aero engines were geared: the RAF1a (BE2) and, I think, also the RAF4a (RE8)and Rolls Royce Eagle. And the German 8-cylinder Daimler Mercedes D.IV. Bletchley

Thank you for posting it here Shredward :) Olham, when asigned a balloon attack mission you can back-out back to the stage where you can access the workshop settings. When you return again, you will still have a balloon attack mission asigned (though it will ptobably be a different balloon now). OlPaint - no, you cannot use my flak mod with 33Lima's flak mod. They both change the same files/settings, so whichever one you activate last will overwrite the earlier one. Bletchley

File Name: Bletchley's AA MOD File Submitter: Bletchley File Submitted: 17 March 2012 File Category: Maps, Missions, and Campaigns A gradual progression in accuracy and density of AA bursts as you progress from 1915 through to 1918. When the campaign transitions from one date period to another just de-activate the current file and activate the next one. I use this mod by selecting 'Normal' in Workshop settings for an 'active' front, 'Easy' for a 'quiet' front and 'Hard' for balloon attack missions. But on each workshop setting there is a gradual progression in accuracy and density of AA bursts as you progress from 1915 through to 1918, so you can just stick to one workshop setting if you prefer to use it this way, or find your own combination of settings. This mod works well with my earlier mods, as it changes different files and settings, but. It will not work with any other AA mods that are installed via JGSME into the WWI Scenery folder. Bletchley Click here to download this file

A gradual progression in accuracy and density of AA bursts as you progress from 1915 through to 1918. Install JGSME into the OFF WWI Scenery folder - if you alreadyhave JGSME installed in the CFSWWI Over Flanders Fields folder this is OK (you can have JGSME installed in both at once, but to be on the safe side I rename the MODS folder MODSB to avoid any possible confusion). Drop the files into the JSGME MODSB folder, then use JSGME to 'activate' one or other of the files, depending on the date of your OFF campaign. When the campaign transitions from one date period to another just de-activate the current file and activate the next one. I use this mod by selecting 'Normal' in Workshop settings for an 'active' front, 'Easy' for a 'quiet' front and 'Hard' for balloon attack missions. But on each workshop setting there is a gradual progression in accuracy and density of AA bursts as you progress from 1915 through to 1918, so you can just stick to one workshop setting if you prefer to use it this way, or find your own combination of settings. This mod works well with my earlier mods, as it changes different files and settings, but. It will not work with any other AA mods that are installed via JGSME into the WWI Scenery folder. Bletchley

I haven't heard from Lothar for a several weeks, so he might be taking a break from this - but I have the latest version 0.6.6 that works on my machine, if the download has become corrupted. I can email it out to you as a zipped file if you PM your email address. There is a bug still (also in the earlier versions, I think) where the number of points for victories starts to accumulate after the third (i.e. the game keeps on congratulating you for a hatrick after each mission, following your third victory, and awards you points for 3 kills extra, so you have to be aware of this and manually edit the points total to remove the extra points each time). Otherwise, it seems fine on my PC. Bletchley

Welcome back Britisheh :) Bletchley

No problem, 33LIMA, I am happy for anyone to re-use or modify my mods, or parts thereof :) Bletchley Not sure why people are having problems PMing me - some glitch in my Combat Ace account I guess. Once I have PMed someone it seems OK (for them).

Works just fine, Lothar, thank you :) Bletchley

Hello Lothar, yes, I have now successfully managed a transfer using a new pilot name as above - and it worked just fine this time! There must have been a glitch in my pilot dossier the first time. I am sorry if this is causing any confusion amongst others. Being captured now also triggers the correct response in OFFbase, although I did notice that the new dialogue box has a 'funeral' header :) Bletchley

The only thing I use dice for now, Lothar, is for determining player-pilot leave, so including this in some future version would complete it for me :) The OFF Manager lets NPC pilots go off on leave, but never the player-pilot. I have noticed that when I damage my aircraft beyond repair and I have to wait a day or two for a new one (or a major repair of the old one) my pilot status changes to 'On Leave' in OFFbase, so I guess it might be possible to implement other types of leave in Offbase (?). The manual way that I do it: at the start of every new day I throw a dice - a "6" and my player-pilot is 'On Leave', but the duration is determined by a second throw of the dice - another "6" and he is on leave for 10 days (I just forward time for 10 days in the OFF Manager, a bit tedious), "1-5" and it is just 24 hours (forward time again). I add an extra wrinkle to it by making the 10 day period just 48 hours if the sector is 'active' (not sure how easy it would be to include this last part, as I am not sure how the OFF Manager handles the distinction between 'active' and 'quiet' sectors other than in the text briefings). This system gives the player-pilot approx. 1 day off a week (he might not be on leave, but might just be asigned the duty of Orderly Officer, which all RFC pilots had to do in rotation), and more substantial leave (a 48 hour pass or a 10 day home leave) approx. once a month. Thanks for the latest version. I will download as soon as I can :) Bletchley

I will try it again, Lothar, to see if I can reproduce it - maybe the pilot dossier was corrupted due to some unrelated glitch, or some peculiarity of my setup. I have started to use version 5.7, and I like the differentiation in outcomes. No problems so far, but I have not played it long enough yet to see what effect it has over a longer period. Bletchley Just read your post, Lothar (crossed with mine): it is looking really interesting, moving away from random outcomes towards long-term relationships and game play. Look forward to using 0.58 when it becomes available :)

Thanks for the new version, Lothar, your changes sound fascinating and a real improvement :) Yes, when captured the status in OFFbase changes to 'Captured' One thing I have noticed about the Offbase transfer process - when creating a new pilot in the squadron that you wish to transfer into, it has to be ths same name as the transferring pilot (not sure about the rank, but having the same name is important). The first time I tried it I didn't think this would be important, as I assumed the new pilot details would be overwritten (I called him 2nd Lt. Stolen Identity), but ended up with both this new pilot and the transferred pilot on the roster (transferred pilot flagged as Player). This created problems for the OFF Manager, as i guess it enlarged the roster, which periodically threw up error messages saying it was unable to update pilot roster, and no pilots from that point on were killed or injured or went on leave. It might be worth including in the Transfer instructions that the newly created pilot must have the same name as the transferred pilot :) Bletchley

Tips for OFFBase Interactions These will be familiar to those who have played the old paper version, but are offered as guidance to those approaching the game for the first time. One word of caution, however, these notes are based on the paper version and Lothar has already made some changes to this that may change things substantially - so take it with a pinch of salt :) 1. An important feature to bear in mind is that interactions between mis-matched ranks are inherently risky - if you are a Sergeant Pilot and you have an encounter with a senior officer (Captain, or Major, say) the prestige oints that you gain from making a friend of them (and those that you would lose from making an enemy of them) are going to be very much higher than those gained or lost from an encounter with another Sergeant Pilot - and the effect is cumulative, as the prestige points will be added or taken away at the start of every day that this officer is still on the duty roster. Generally speaking, lower rankers have a hard time of it - the attitude of almost every pilot will matter to them, whereas higher-rankers can generally afford to be more distant and less friendly towards the lower ranks (a Captain or Major is not going to be hurt too much by being brusque or curt towards an NCO or junior officer, but the reverse is certainly not the case). As a lower-ranker, therefore, a catious approach to all encounters is advisable, at least until you have enough prestige points to be safe from an enforced transfer to another squadron (this will happen if your prestige falls below zero, when you will be called in to see the Adjutant and told that you are no longer a valued member of the squadron). It is better to choose encounters with those of a similar rank, when you get the choice, or with those who already like you, if you want to avoid large and possibly damaging fluctuations in prestige - on the other hand, consorting with the higher ranking officers might lead to faster promotion prospects.... 2. When offered the choice to make an encounter riskier or safer - taking the 'risky' option will give you an immediate small boost to your overall prestige (just one or two points, and non-cumulative, but this might be important if you are close to zero), but will mean that the encounter is more likely to end unfavourably for you - the cumulative loss of prestige points from turning someone into an enemy will soon outweigh the temporary points benefit (unless your 'enemy' dies soon after the event). The option of 'playing it safe,, however, is even more dangerouse - although you might make a new friend this way (giving a cumulative points benefit) there is a very heavy immediate prestige loss - very unwise for any pilot at the start of their career! Generally speaking, the higher rankers are better off than the lower rankers when taking the 'risky' option (being curt or unfriendly) in encounters with lower-ranking pilots, and lower ranking pilots might sometimes feel it is worthwhile to 'play it safe' (i.e. polish their boots, bring them a nice cup of tea, tell them how fabulous they look in their new uniform) when encountering a high ranking officer that is likely to be around for a long time (some OFF pilots hang around for a long time, particularly the aces, but most are here today and gone tomorrow). 3. Check out your 'Personality' tab before your first encounter - this will tell you which personality types tyou should avoid, or be particularly cautious with, and which to seek out or play the 'risky' option with. 4. Whatever you do, fate can be unkind. If you have the misfortune to be asigned to a squadron with rotten morale, a bad landing field and abysmal accomodation, or you unintentionally make some high ranking enemies, just keep your bags packed and be prepared for that exit interview with the Adjutant :) Bletchley

Thank you Lothar, the user-scalable addition is going to be useful for me. I fly to British_eh's RSS rather than DiD, so I have scaled it back a bit - I will let you know how it works out :) One recent observation/bit of feedback - I was shot down by ground fire whilst attacking a balloon, and captured, but OFFbase continued to regard me as ready for duty (as I was not dead). Not a big issue, as OFFbase permits only a very limited amount of interaction until a new mission is flown, but a little routine that is triggered by capture would be a good addition perhaps ? You could have a dialogue box triggered by the event, where the squadron is informed of your capture and a friend (if you have one) collects your possesions and drops them over the enemy airfield. My current pilot hasn't died yet, so I have not had a chance to see what happens then :) But this pilot did start by joining a rather depressed and disfunctional squadron (RCF 19) in the spring of 1917, and after crashing a Spad on landing the Adjutant told him that he was no longer wanted and should transfer to another squadron. The transfer process worked well. Bletchley

"Thank you for 3P in the first place, Bletchley" I just adapted it for OFF, it was created by Bluevoss and Jeff Dillman (JG1Beck) for RB3D :) "How 'bout people with longer names have a higher threshold, blame it on the paper pushers."Thank you for 3P in the first place, Bletchley" Or by personality type? "Still can't find it. The latest mod I see is the weight mod." It isn't there at the moment, Wodin - every time Lothar adds a new updated version the old one will vanish, and it takes a day or so for the new version to appear - so just keep on checking :) Bletchley

Or combine the total with the the date? So that earlier in the war more points are needed for a promotion than later in the war. The survival rate, in my OFF experience, is much better in 1916 than 1918 and high pilot attrition rates would, historically, help to push you up the promotion ladder :) "I'm worried the encounter class bias I introduced in 0.5.4 will improve squadmate relations too much, leading to prestige accumulating too rapidly. If you could let me know if it feels to fast to you after several days and missions of flying, I'd appreciate it." Would it be acceptable to make the points-value of the various events/actions user adjustable, to suit different types of play? As it stands, those who fly with all aids available and with easy workshop settings might find that they gain prestige points very quickly for fast promotion, but those who don't will find they accumulate very slowly for very slow promotion rates. Those who navigate by paper maps, for example, rarely hit all the mission waypoints and therefore only rarely get a Mission Successfull outcome. Being able to adjust the point-value for each action would be a way of balancing the promotion rate for the different types of play. I am having great fun with this, Lothar, and will download your latest version this evening. Thanks again :) Bletchley

Amazing, Lothar! I love it! It installed and works brilliantly, even on an offline PC :) Just one observation - I don't think pilot's would have been able to request a promotion! I wonder if this might become an automatic feature of reaching a certain prestige level (maybe slightly randomised, so that the number of prstige points required is not allways exactly the same)? Not sure if this would be easy to impliment, though ? I think this has huge potential to develop further, and I appreciate all the hard work that must have gone into creating it. Thank you :) Bletchley

"You're in luck, Bletchley, I just posted a new version, 0.5.2, which only needs internet connectivity to verify your Combat Ace username when you first run it. You can now play OFFbase offline. If you're offline when you first run the program and it asks you to verify your Combat Ace username, just hit cancel." Thanks Lothar, I have downloaded the latest version and will give ut a go :) Bletchley

Hello Lothar, I would love to try this but my OFF PC is not connected to the internet :( "The online requirement is to load the user interface code for the programing language I used, Rebol/alpha. If it's an issue for some people I might try to include the gui code in the install" This would be good, if it is possible :) Bletchley