Bandy

If you like historical fiction, and VERY dry humour, then a must read series are the "Bandy papers" by Donald Jack... LINK They will make you laugh out loud even if you are in public. The first 3 in the series are truly great and would make terrific movies. I've often thought about what actor would play Bartholomew Bandy, and I've settled on Brendan Fraser (from "The Mummy") a great Canadian actor with a wide range from serious roles to comedies.

On a campaign generated Lone Wolf mission, are you supposed to fly the game generated flight route? I guess I'm asking whether encounters occur randomly or scripted in campaign? I've noticed that one cannot anticipate where/when enemy encounters will occur in campaign as you fly the mission. (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, it is a wonderful change from other sims!!! ) In fact I've had massive furballs at the mission objective, then regrouped the flight and headed home along the mission path only to see other enemy A/C harrassing our kite balloons near our aerodrome (they paid dearly, I might add...). Anyways, if the campaign mission objectives are complete, and one has enough fuel, can you break from the mission path and simply fly along the lines and look for more trouble? Will trouble occur (ie: possible random enemy flight paths) or is toodling-about only going to add hours to the logbook (ie scripted enemy flights). I simply hate to waste time if nothing is going to happen, I'd rather start a new mission. Thanks for any responses.

Ah! That must be one of the contributing factors to why the game is processor intensive, rather than video card dependent (or so I've heard). But that is all relative... Thank you for the reply, and other comments as well.

Ah, where's the fun in that? It may be reality, of that I have no doubt, but I'm playing this game (and others very much like it...) to escape and be an intrepid hero. Foolish I have no doubt. But the scraps and escapes I could talk about would make me seem a blatant braggart, but what sweet personal memories. Playing it safe is not my style, at least in the virtual skies, perhaps that's why I gravitate towards the dashing RFC! OvS wrote: Hey, to a Canadian those are fighting words! Many years ago a Crown Commission cleared Bishop of those unfounded accusations. They stemmed from some upstart media type who wanted to make a name for themself by taking an icon down. Totally baseless accusation, but apparently the lies endure. You'd better apologize

Ah, Olham, that is if you are leading the flight. I start off all my pilots as junior officers, sometimes Sargent if RFC, and fly by rank. Then move up the chain of command by accomplishements. I have worked one pilot up to Flight Commander currently in RNAS 1 in 1916. I don't know if you can hit 'R' and have it work while you fly by rank... Let me know. Rickety, thank you for the full story. That was indeed a memorable mission. I know we all have quite a few of those! And you are right, it doesn't matter if it was Lone Wolf, the thread started out that way because I wanted to know if I had to follow the mission path set by the game for a Lone Wolf or whether I could stray from the path. SO the REAL underlying question was whether action only happened along or near the path... Griphos, yes, I've seen the AI attacking other AI ground units as well (mentioned the AI attacking a balloon above), and it was somewhat off the flight path but close. THIS BRINGS UP ANOTHER RELATED QUESTION, I wouldn't have seen them off the path unless I used the 'radar', the game/screen resolution won't allow eyeball visualization beyond about a mile or two, and this is not realistic. I keep the radar on at 4 miles, a pretty conservative range of what real WWI pilots reported able to see. Some say they could see much further... Your anecdote is most helpful. The mystery continues; ain't it great!!!

I disagree entirely. If the SE5a pilot were foolish enough to enter into a turn-fight with the DR1, then he would die, no doubt, but that doesn't compute to the conclusion you arrive at. The SE5a pilot must fight to the plane's strength, speed to extend and climb, then a great diving attack. The only chance the Dr1 and pilot have is to keep turning underneath and avoid snap shots as much as possible and hopefully get in a critical hit when the opportunity appears. Funny enough, this describes what happened to Voss. As mentioned, his only out would have been clouds, but even then, with 6 after you, they could cover all escapes. In OFF I think we've all been in tight spots, if not yer not having fun! A good tactic when outnumbered is to try to get over a friendly aerodrome and let the AA machine guns even it up a bit (the last few patches have made the AAA now useless at any altitude, and that sucks). Or just land with yer tail (or other parts) between yer legs.

As it stands right now in FE, when I see NME bombers as the primary target I usually send my flight home, and try to attack by myself so I don't loose too many of my wingmates. This sounds terrific, and thank you for the explanation. Looking forward to the improved game balance, and more 'random' formations.

I TOTALLY agree and why I started this thread! I WANT to be able to fuel up 100% (when you don't need to) and spend that extra time after completing the mission objective by flying around looking for trains being shelled (that is amazing!), or a single enemy recce machine that I could surprise, or an enemy flight taking off, or... etc. Those are the random moments I truly hope exist after/off the planned misison flight path, but I would love to get some solid confirmation that they do exist. So far the few times I've tried to toodle around after the mission have been empty of action. If that IS the case, then I just want to know, I'll simply start another mission (but I HATE circling 3 times around the bloody field!!!). I suspect that the shelled train you saw was scripted along the mission flight path (for ambient/aesthetic purposes), but correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe I'm asking too much, but if one doesn't ask, one never knows. Olham you wrote: It doesn't matter if you're alone and shoot an enemy down, just put in "Ground Observer" for the witness name. Credit is about 33% for claims as far as I can tell, so it is random what gets accepted -- there is no "formula" for claim success, and this has been verified by others.

Funny you should ask about witnesses, though it really doesn't matter a hill'o'beans. Generally in dogfights I get well separated from the rest, so lately I have been entering "Ground Observer" as my witness, and some claims have been accepted. No names required... On the weekend I just finished off an opponent when I saw another airplane nearly overhead. I immediately climbed and tried to get underneath him in case he was enemy, and low-and-behold it was a solo RE8 coming back from a recce! I entered "Observer RE8" as witness, but so far it is pending... Back to the original question: Are these apparently random encounters (such as with the RE8 heading home) scripted or random? I do NOT want to 'take-away' any of the 'magic' of those moments, just would like to understand what I'm seeing and why. I have in fact flown about for 15-20 minutes or so along the lines after a mission, but have not encountered anything... took out a balloon or two just to make it worthwhile though.

Hi, This is not a complete list, but only from what I remember over the weekend. I do not see pilots in the Camels, DR1, Alb DIII, SE5a, etc. BUT my memory is not serving well (I alternate between OFF and FE all the time, so which mission and AC I was flying in which game is a bit scrambled...). Can't right now, but will edit the ini and go to an old backup and pull the old pilot files out and see if that resolves it. OH, PS Peter01: As mentioned, loving the DR1 and the rudder characteristics, but with more time in her, I noticed that hard rudder also initiates a strong roll unless you use ailerons to compensate. Is this intentional behaviour? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that behaviour is only seen in jets, particularly delta wings. Again, I make no illusions to deep aerodynamic knowledge, so correct me please.

My tactics involve trying to barrel-roll into some firing position in order to sty ahead of the rear gunners pitch and yaw angle rate, then just keep on jinking and getting snap shots in, hopefully one will hit and be critical. Then I get shot down... pretty consistently. If there are blind spots, I haven't found them. In reality, if the Brisfit were making tight high(er) G turns, then the rear gunner wouldn't be able to move the gun to get a firing solution on you. However, I've heard some people say that WWI AC couldn't turn to generate those kind of g's, but according to McCudden's autobiography he witnessed this very phenomena happening where the rear gunner was helpless as the pilot made violent defensive maneuvers. Where do you stand?

FastCargo, I understand that the other OFF3 thread was heating up, and that is too damn bad. BUT this is a WWI Flight Sim sub-forum, you shouldn't stop this topic from being discussed in a mature manner. So if you don't mind I'm starting a new thread since there is still much to discuss about the topic, and I'm sure other people want to track other opinions separate from forums dedicated to the sim itself. Hopefully people will be more civilized in this thread, and provide objective opinions. JUST MY 2 cents worth A little background. As far as WWI flight sims go, my first was the original Red Baron in the 80's. I missed out on RB3D while in grad school and postdoc , but got back in with FE in late Nov 2006 (bought all 3rdWire sims since), have flown in OFF2, and now have purchased OFF3 and have been running it for 2 weeks or so. So take the following as you will... BTW, I haven't drunk the CoolAid My aging, but no slouch, system specs: WinXP 2.66 GHz quad core Intel Xeon (2006 "vintage") nVidia Quadro 4500 512 MB vRAM (basically equivalent to nVidia GeForce 7800 GTX 512 MB) 4 GB RAM 667 TIR4, CH pedals, Logitech Wingman ForceFeedback stick Right up front. Was OFF3 worth $59??? At this point I'm both satisfied and disappointed for the following reasons (not in any order): 1) OFF3 looks and flies great down low, something I find is sorely missing in FE. You actually can crash into trees, have your wing tips and undercarriage ripped off by branches, etc. You can hedge-hop and enjoy it! Use trees to evade and enemy or ground fire. 2) OFF3 has a better damage model. When your engine is hit, it isn't all or nothing, there can be a gradual decline in power, or immediate effects. When your ailerons, rudder, elevator get hit, they don't immediately fall off like leaves in the fall, but there is a more gradual progression of damage effect affecting the handling. I have been hit in the gas tank by a near miss AAA shrapnel and lost all my fuel. I have been hit in the gas tank by bullets and went down in flames... 3) The terrain is a matter of taste. I find OFF3 more hilly and random than the repeating tiles of FE, but in other ways less realistic, more "postcard". BUT I cannot run OFF3 at max settings, or even high settings --this is a disappointment given that my system specs ain't all that bad. I can run FE pretty much maxed out and only occasionally drop below 30 fps, never below 20. OFF3 the fps jumps all over the place, from 40's to 20's to teens just while looking around. There is no apparent reason why fps drop, such as multiple a/c in furball. 4) While OFF3 has some really nice realism, the Lewis does not reload. Certain a/c have an animation for it to pivot down to the cockpit, like the N17, but you don't need to do it. It keeps firing till your out of ammo. I understand gun jams are introduced, but I haven't had one, and not sure if you can unjam them once it happens. 5) The cockpits are basically equivalent, or up for grabs. FE has better 3rdwire cockpits, OFF3 for the most part has better cockpits than the 3rd party a/c (with some notable exceptions). 6) In OFF3 YOU CAN BE THE REAR GUNNER!!! However, as far as I can tell, when you switch out the stick for the gun, the AI doesn't fly your plane all that well. Hopefully they'll work on that. 7) OFF3 has more seasonal variety, and has more weather variety including wind!!! as stock (there have been good 3rd party advancements for 3rdwire sims). 8) OFF3 missions are less predictable. I've been jumped unexpectedly a few times while taking off on a long range mission with bombs and full fuel tank. Waypoint 4 to 5 isn't always where the action is... 9) OFF3 you can reduce the amount of fuel you carry, and it affects the handling significantly. Short range missions in the N11 are a lot of fun, long range not so much with a full tank. 10) The FE flight model gives more feel to the aircraft, I agree with Peter01 on that, but I am unsure what is more true to the era. Stalls are better in Fe. 11) The AI are quite aggressive in both games once in combat, but the FE AI are more "slippery" and pull some amazing manuevres on you, though I've fought aces in OFF3 and they are a challenge. HOWEVER, for some damn reason, the OFF3 enemy can act more "real" in other situations. For instance, while approaching our ground objective (4 N11's), a group of 6 EIII's approached us at equal altitude, and turned away to avoid the confrontation. I have no idea why, but it was a very "real" moment. 12) The FE targeting is better, though you can only target one object at a time, which I don't like. I prefer a box than a text label, just less distracting. In OFF3 it is all or nothing, you text label all aircraft and ground objects (even smoke from houses gets a label, sheez!). 13) The clincher for me though, and why I shelled out the 59 sheckles, is that the OFF3 campaign beats FE hands down. More choices, more squadrons, better filled out rosters, etc. You have to fill out a simple flight report to TRY to get credit for kills, it ain't guaranteed. 14) However, OFF3 has some bugs. In a flight of 3 I knew the names of my wingies (you have to to fill out the report--see above). One of them crashed in the ocean off Dunkirk for no apparent reason, but when the mission ended and I started a new one, he was still there and was flying the next day. Guess he was rescued??? 14) OFF3 has some bugs, did I mention that? It ain't perfect, but neither was FE out of the blocks. The developers appear willing to provide patches, AND IN FACT A PATCH WAS POSTED BEFORE THE GAME GOT TO PEOPLE. Bottom line. From the last thread I mentioned I like to support peoples efforts and hard work. I am able to do this without hardship, and I felt this was a noble effort on the part of the OFF3 team. I was expecting a smoother operating game for $59 than what I got, but perhaps my install isn't as free of problems as others' experiences. Given my mature but still strong system specs, I should have better fps on higher settings than I get. THIS IS VERY DISAPPOINTING. OFF3 may be based on a dead game engine, but you don't get a sense of that. many aspects of the game are easily adjusted within the interface or config file. FE is almost infinitely moddable, if you know what your doing. One of the game developers mentioned to me that if enough money is generated, they are considering upgrading to a new engine. So it appears they will re-invest at least some of the earnings. Time will tell. FE will appeal to some for other reasons, and OFF3 will for others. I like them both for different reasons. The perfect WWI sim would combine the best of FE and OFF3, of that I have no doubt.

Firecage, If I may ask, and if it is easily identifiable, what sections of the ini are you tinkering with to tame the 'horizon band'? I like what you're doing with the horizon, but some of the other atmospherics I've seen since trying out your mod I don't prefer, such as the burnt orange sky at dawn. I prefer the dawn sky from my old envirosys.ini (and I'm embarrassed to say I'm not sure which mod I'm using, ahhh!). If you can point to certain section(s) where you've tweaked, please let me know so I can try to blend the two together to get the best of both mods. Thank you.

Yes, I think the formation is just a bit too tight and impenetrable. I flew against a flight of 6 Gothas last night and the Blue Angles would have been jealous of that formation!!! We didn't stand a chance against that collective cross-firepower. I came in high and fast, dropped down and barrel rolled in for a quick strike, and tried to get my a$$ out of there; successful tactics I learned flying against the Luftwaffe bombers in Baltika's BoB (keep ahead of the pitchangle and yawangle of the gunners). But they nailed me smartly and in very short order. I know they weren't easy, and shouldn't be in game either, but currently the formation.ini does not allow stragglers that can be picked off just that little bit easier.

Peter01, I haven't sat in the DR1 for quite a while, so I'm not sure when you mastered that FM, but it is now SUBLIME! A big thank you! You've really worked in the finless rudder behaviour and flat turn perfectly; I feel like I can take on 6 SE5a's now Haven't seen the AI do a flat turn though But a question: ALL my pilots have disappeared, every one of them, German and Allied. Searching within the ini's revealed that the code is pointing to pilot files that I DO already have in the main aircraft folder, so I'm at a loss to explain.

Geez, here I was excited to here it finally made it, and then this. I agree, no freaking way.

Probably should have experience and thus be able to compare to other WWI sims as well: old titles (there has been a resurgence in RB3D I understand) and the more recent. Also multiplayer (something I wish I could find time to do myself). OFF is truly great, but not the only stick and canvas game in town

OC'ing is not something to rush into, nor is it easy to accomplish well, at least not if you want your hardware to last... There are a lot of good tutorials on the web that will say much the same thing. Several shareware utilities will assist in increasing fan speeds, etc. and you must increase clock speeds S-L-O-W-L-Y in increments to monitor and maintain stability.

Hi Peter, As I mentioned (and hope it was never taken for blame!) I simply had a hunch because I remembered that period of time when altered cannonfireangles were an important part to your tweaking the AI... And BTW, thanks for keeping up with the FM mods for FE, and for being so approachable to constructive critique. Wish half that sentiment were true of the -other- community.

Hey Olham, You'll definitely have to change you energy management habits, no more boom'n'zoom, it's turn'n'burn with this kite. Don't follow the enemy down, you'll be playing into their sneaky hands, but instead stay high and try to bounce them when they zoom up. This works to advantage with the Tripehound's climbing and turn ability. ALSO this is the best tactic when outnumbered (if you want to stay in RNAS character, you just HAVE to go it against the odds...). Just watch out for the occasionally 'magic-bullet' shot from below... The accuracy of the AI at long range is frustrating. Huaksbee, if the little cabane prop is the same as for the Camel (which appears not to have one in OFF?), then I've heard it widely stated it was for a generator, but I've also read from a reliable source it was for the fuel pressure pump. AND OH, I fought that B&W Alb before, but never caught the name... Nice paint job!

Hi, Not sure if the corruption of my cfs3config.exe is related to nVidia driver update, but it happened immediately after... I updated GPU driver (after setting restore point), restarted, and immediately went into OFF to see any benefits. On start up I got an error message saying that OFF couldn't find configoverrides.xml and prompted me to reinstall the whole game. Sure enough the file was gone from the directory path indicated. I have a short cut to cfs3config.exe on my desktop, so I clicked on that, it opened and created a new configoverrides.xml file for me in OFF. I started to set sliders etc, but had to sleep the computer because my attention was required by family. When I woke the computer and entered OFF the game let me go so far as initialization screen, then kicked me back to briefing screen for both QC and Campaign, over and over. NOW when I click on cfs3config.exe I get the message that it is corrupt. I opened up CFS3 directory, and tried to copy/paste that version of cfs3config.exe into OFF (why not? it has same properties/date, and it opens no problem from CFS3...) but each time it is copied/pasted into the OFF directory, it becomes corrupt... Is there any way to get around this? Something else missing in OFF such as a dll? If I need a complete reinstall, can I save the pilot files and reinsert them? OFF is so huge, advice on uninstall would be appreciated, such as cleaning up pesky residual files/folders, and defragmentation, etc. Thank you for any assistance.

Thanks again, Sorry to get back a bit late, but everyone at home has been sick all weekend, except me. No it ain't the swine flu, but my 5-year old had a 104+ fever between doses of ibuprofen. Kinda cuts into the flyin' time... Anyways, I installed the config.exe, and to my amazment, it worked!!! Back in the cockpit without complete re-install!!! (Got jumped by MvR, Boelke, and Immelman in Jasta 2 and was doing well till I rammed Boelke's tail. Oh well. I didn't know they all flew together in Sept 1916...) Did I say Thank You?!? All this drama for a driver update, and it really hasn't added any performance benefit that I can see... I would recommend to anyone to backup your config.xml and .exe files before driver updates. Forgive me, but I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere...

I noticed the "ramming" issue immediately after installing Peter01 last FM's a few months ago. I suspect others don't see it as much because they don't call for attacks in a head on situation (?), I try not to, there is no advantage. I suspect (and will look later to confirm...) that Peter01 significantly lowered the minimum distance that the various experience levels of pilots will fire right up to, so that they will continue with head on approaches to the point of no recovery. This is also likely exacerbated by decreased cannonfireangle, so that the planes are heading almost aways directly at each other when the context of battle allows. Just a hunch, but my, the fireworks are lovely!

Where do I enlist!?! I'm thinking they better supply the gunners with a wacking great harness, but still... Would love to live near that airfield, just to hear them buzzing around every now and then.

Thank you Firecage, giving it a go right now. Glad you had a start on it, I don't get much time anymore, so when I do, I like to fly high and drop the hammer!!! Tailspin, isn't there a mod that puts 3D clouds out to the horizon? I use it in my SFP-1 WWII installs... As far as flying in the crummy weather, I've just eliminated those percentages. It seriously gives me a headache. Also, historically they really didn't do much of that unless there was a big push on and the brass needed to know where the lines were. Great to see folks coming together to get it done!