themightysrc

" There is a vast difference between actual religious intolerance and shooting a rabid dog, although todays moral relativists would try to convince you otherwise. Islam, as it is practiced on its home turf, is a rabid dog and needs to be shot." Sorry BH, you've jumped over a line here "9/11 was forgotten a couple days after it happened, when the political correctness goons erased the above from public consciousness. And even today, they're promoting building a friggin' MOSQUE around the corner from Ground Zero" 9/11 was forgotten after a few days. Really? So it' all PC gorn mahd? Really? Muslims can't be Americans? Really? "All I needed to know about Islam I learned on 9/'11. We died, they rejoiced. End of friggin story. Or course, I knew that already, having been fighting them since the 1980s. But surely everybody else in the world should have seen it by then, if not at the Munich Olympics, Locherby, and all the other atrocities committed in the name of Islam. I"m just glad I killed several hundred of those bastards when I had the chance. I wished I'd killed more of them." BH, I've read and enjoyed much of what you've written here on the CA forums, and I know that you're not thick, but I'm having a problem justifying your condemnation of a billion people here. I will not dive in at the deep end of all this, but I would suggest that you are simply wrong. I know and work with muslims, and they are just like everyone else: normal people who worry about making ends meet, getting their kids through school and all the other things that afflict us all. Why on earth would you want to demonise a mass of people in such a manner? I cannot believe that is what you really mean. Demonise and revile people who commit acts of terrorism - I will stand by your side and do the same; do not condemn people because of their association through faith. Bear in mind I am an atheist. Right, that's enough piety. Was anyone taking about WWI recently?

I can't remember if I've already posted this, and, naturally, I'm far too lazy to check back, so here goes: Please can we have a full screen or windowed editor to enter details of claims? The single line editor we currently have is really not what's needed, and it makes the entering of details rather more onerous than it should be.

"In fact I was at work when the planes hit the WTC and my first words after the woman opposite me had repeated what her son had just told her were "At least now they know what we have been putting up with for years"." Without wishing to minimise the events of the 9th of September, 2001, this is a lesson for us all. You can lionise or demonise more or less anyone. I think that I prefer to listen, and then talk. Reaching for arms seems to me to be the last, rather than the first, resort. Peace. And there's a word I don't bandy about.

What BH said essentially. If P4 sees expansion in the right areas - and we all know what they should be - then it will be interesting to repeat the poll six months after P4 comes out. <on edit/reflection> The 1915/16 careers are only unsatisfactory, IMO, due to the variety of opponents and the slightly weird BE2. They're essentially slow burners, and I've found the career of a BE pilot to be more than satisfactory, if you're happy to invest. I know that some prefer to jump into 1917/18 for very obvious reasons, but one shouldn't forget that this is a sim that lends itself beautifully to immersion in any period of WWI, and that, to my mind, is very visible in 1915/16, as you have to project more. There's more subtlety and less immediacy than 1917/18, but I appreciate that this is probably a very minority view.

Hi RD, I'll do just that - I'm certainly looking forward to the sound mods... cheers, Si

I severely heart the business end of that Brisfit - Major Timm, I'm sure, will be very happy when - if - he ever gets to clock one of those...

Scouse is a strange Liverpool concoction that's effectively the leftovers from a Sunday lunch. Good point about sticking with Northern grub, thobut. A proper full English breakfast simply has to have black pudding as part of it, and you'll only get good black puds around where I live. Having said that, some years spent at university in the North Staffordshire area did rather open my eyes to the beauty of oatcakes, grilled, buttered, with melted cheddar and black pepper. Yum.

Brilliant Winder! You said he'd fall for it hook, line and sinker - I owe you a fiver. I can't wait to see his face when P4 comes and and he suddenly realises - well, it doesn't bear thinking about, does it? My guess is he'll be found floating face down in the Tyne.

"As the shark neared the surface, Mr Bernard shot him several times in the head. “We tied the rope around his tail fin, and pulled him towards the boat." and... "We were going to cut the hook out of his mouth and let him go when he regurgitated a human foot — intact from the knee down. It was now about 10am.” I'm not a shark expert, but doesn't this sound a bit f***ing iffy? You shoot a shark in the head several times, and then you're preparing to let him go when he barfs up a leg? Is shooting sharks in the head and letting them go really believable?

Vasco, I love it! I'm very touched that you've gone to that trouble - thank you very much indeed. I will confess, if you'd shown me a screen shot of a Tripehound stood on its nose, with the CO beating the pilot about the head with court martial papers for sheer incompetence, then I would have instantly made the connection! Top stuff, either way; much impressed. Cheers! Si <on edit> - I think Black Head might sound better...

Bugger! I'm in Greece between the 14th and 30th September! Arrgh! Save me a seat for when I get back please...

You're a pair of heathens. Crumpets are eaten thus: they are smothered in butter - not unsalted, Herr Mahlo, lest you ask - having been grilled for about three to four minutes per side. They are then hungrily consumed by onlookers, unable to further contain themselves having been tortured by one of the most beguiling sense sensations available to mankind. Trust me, this is all true. I sometimes wonder where the erroneous reputation comes from - that is, the one that says that Briddish cuisine is s**te. It's manifestly bollocks - check out the number of Michelin starred restaurants in the UK (if you trust that as a guide!). More to the point, look at the sumptuous riches available in the UK. I'll start you off from Bury - black puddings. Your call!

Hi Creaghorn, No offence intended old chap! If you're happy that the tracers are historically accurate, then I've no reason not to use them, assuming Winston or whoever can confirm their suitability for MP. Thanks, Simon

Lordy! With a combat record like that, I'm surprised you only have five victories! I break out the Moet if I manage to not shoot down members of my own flight. This probably explains why I now have, as an RFC pilot, more Hun decorations than Entente ones...

Whilst I've already had my say, here's a little more to be going on with. I would very much appreciate a claim form that is in full screen editor format. It drives me mad inputting the details onto a single line - surely this is doable? Appropos of another recent thread here, spotting missions for two seaters with a real spotting mechanism and feedback from the ground guns would be marvellous, as would some way of doing photo reconaissance, although I guess the latter is a step too far. Can we have more detailed and meaningful maps (yes, I know...)? "Orders from on high" - ie, forced transfers, either to other units or back to Paris/London/Berlin should be considered - they make up what I consider to be an essential element of the game. Let's face it: if you fly DiD in campaign, you will (unrealistically) fly 2-3-4 missions per day, practically every day, in a sky swarming (unrealistically) with vast numbers of enemy aircraft. That's not knocking OFF or the devs, let me emphasise - what I'm saying is that, for most pilots in most periods of the war, intense and intensive activity was very much the exception, rather than the rule. If it's Operation Michael or the Battle of Cambrai, well, yes, unleash the dogs of war as the missions, losses and kills rack up, but outside of those, no, let's have more realistic lives for our pilots - perhaps with the option in Workshop to knock the levels up to kamikaze for those people who want the 'zing!' factor of skies full of enemy aircraft on every flight. And, let us not forget, pilots actually did get rostered home on a regular basis to prevent the very burnout that is - falsely - axiomatic from writings about the air war. Transfers, I guess, are a well known 'would like', so I won't dwell on that I'd be delighted to see a screen that told you that ops were scrubbed before you get to the weather information screen, allowing my alter ego more time in his little digital bed, and tying loosely into that, I'd love the mission briefing map to be detailed for the areas overflown - but I guess that would come with better, ie, non-CFS3, maps. It's odd really. The more I think about what I'd like to see, the more I can find, and yet the more I appreciate the depth of devotion and effort that Pol, Winder, Shred and everyone else has put into OFF. A couple of years ago, I resurrected RB3D, simply because it filled such a need in me, and I toyed with FE and found it wanting. I came to OFF with trepidation, and the sense that nothing, but nothing, could be better than RB3D, patched to the hilt. And, here I am now, in absolute awe of what OBD have done with the red haired child of combat flight sims, and yet wishing, urging, them on to do more. I've read elsewhere that combat flight sim gamers are probably the most hypercritical and ungrateful audience in all of gamerdom: I can believe it. But as I look at OFF, I see something that is a work of unparalleled historic beauty and authenticity; genuinely a work of devotion, love and dedication. Whatever P4 brings, I will be waiting to purchase, install, fly and appreciate it. Cheers, Si PS - just don't pork the DR1...

Hi, I have two questions to which I need answers before I plumb both this and the sound modification file from Creaghorn into my OFF rig - first, are both historically accurate? Second, if I put them into my OFF, will it cause any problems with multiplayer? If it's 100% OK on both these, then I'll have 'em. If not, I'm afraid I'll have to decline.

Well done, old bean! Of course, it should actually be the Military Cross, but let's not nitpick! How many hours does that pilot have?

I'll happily shoulder what both Vasco and Bullethead posted - their suggestions are excellent. I'd like to chuck in support for not just rounding out the missing craft from P3 - which I assume is more a less a given - but also the expansion of sectors. Is there a reason why the Belgian air force doesn't pop up? Only one I can think of - the Hanriot. If the missing French two/multiseaters is addressed, there's your Belgians. I'd love to see expansion into the Italian/Austrian sectors, although I appreciate that it would again mean new aircraft, and, I assume, new scenery and most importantly new maps. I suspect that that won't be easy. For my part, I'd dearly like to see Palestine as an option, but I appreciate that this is so niche as to be more or less pointless. Aside from the above, I've already posted elsewhere that two seaters should be able to do spotting or photography in a meaningful way - particularly the former - and I'd like to see that evolve. It's actually fun flying two seaters (once you discard the Biggles mentality), but more to do than the occasional bomb run, would be much appreciated. Hell, when it comes down to it, I'll take whatever's offered, and probably be very chuffed, but knowing that the fine folk who've crafted this game read comments and sometimes act upon them, this is my input - no doubt with more to come tomorrow when I've slept on it...

hi Winder, Further to my earlier email - can the transparent/opaque labels be added in as a configurable standard to Workshop in P4? If I send you a crate of vodka, perhaps? cheers, Si

I'd say, in answer to the OP - don't fly scrambles unless you're feeling very brave indeed. I've done it a couple of times in a BE2c, but it's either been through madness or overconfidence, given that Fokker Eindeckers, as modelled in OFF, don't seem to attack two seaters with the gusto that they do single seaters. Also, EIIIs are absolute rubbish at low altitude, so if you can get a few mates to take off, then you might just be able to slot one or two of them...! Any road up; it's a dirty and uncertain business. The very best advice is to sit there and watch your Archie and/or AA machine guns decimate your attackers, and then decide it you fancy giving chase. Yes, it's cowardly, but how on Earth do you think you'll be able to achieve 50+ kills unless you pick upon the wounded and defenceless.....? Cheers, Si

"And it's definitely true that in some ways the full DiD experience is even harder than what real life pilots had to face, because the visibility from our "cockpit" is not at all comparable to what you can actually see from a real airplane. Everybody who's ever been in a real aircraft and looked around knows that you can see much better in reality than in the best of flight sims." Precisely. And that's why I feel it's such a good mod to OFF. "Does anybody have a colour code or something for experimenting with the label colours settings?" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Leave them all white!!!

"sheesh, a bit arcade isn't it?" Well, no, not if you think about it. IRL, pilots had much better vision than can be reproduced in the game, and, equally, they had little giveaways such as sun glints from a distance and a much sharper outline than is possible on any but the most outstanding (and expensive) graphics cards/computers. For example, many people here have reproduced pictures of emblems they've seen on enemy aircraft: I can't, because my AGP graphics setup can't provide me with the oomph to get this detail, and hence, I get to miss mcuh of what a real pilot would have seen. This is very much a way of evening up the balance. It's probably not to everyone's tastes, and if you prefer the rigours of DiD and flying without any aids whatsoever - BTW, try that in the BE2c some time; you'll find you haven't got a compass - then that's fine, but to deride it as 'arcade' is to misunderstand the effect that it gives. You're simply compensating what would have been visible and obvious to real pilots with a contrivance that performs the same overall effect. Cheers, Si

I've been using this mod for quite some time, and I'm fairly sure that it was VB that provided the full file to me, with all the changes in situ. Having only white dots on the TAC, and largely opaque white labels for all aircraft provides you with just enough information to operate - rather than the paucity of DiD settings - and goes some way to letting you have the sort of vision and visibility of real WWI pilots. Plus, you don't have to muck about turning labels off and on just to see who's there - the information is present, and you simply have to look more carefully to pick it up. And woe betide you if you forget which white dot on the TAC is an enemy aircraft, rather than one of your own! I'd very much like to see this mod as an option in P4, if it's possible, and I thoroughly recommend it to everyone; even mad DiDers!

I suspect that I'm on the low side - I now have about 20% hit accuracy of late, and therefore I should be able to dive into more fights with increased confidence. But I don't. I avoid trouble unless there is no other option, and then I get out as fast as possible. I fly the mission as best I can, and never assume that the group I can see on the TAC are the only enemy aircraft around. So i hang off and hang off - and usually this is vindicated by the arrival of more enemy planes. But the point is, I don't seek out trouble, and that is probably the mindset of 99% of real life WWI flyers. Hence, my most recent pilot has about 50 hours and 60 missions over about 15 months, but a mere 8 or so kills - hardly the stuff of derring do, eh? However, that would have been a very respectable performance in the war. If your aim is survival, I suspect you'll end up with vaguely similar methods and statistics.

Hi Vasco, Sign me up! And many congratulations on landing the gig - nice one! Cheers, Si