themightysrc

Very good - and brilliant graphics. For s**t graphics but one of the funniest flights of fantasy ever try this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muaAZE0M3LU And if you're a British OFFer, you might have seen this one already - and it's very, very funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYM_Jy20Fcg Cheers, Si

"My opinion to this is, that fighting, that war was always part of human evolution, and fighting is deeply rooted specifically in male genes. Men want to find out, if and how they would persist and survive a fight. To deny this is useless. That's why we have sport competitons. That's why we have computer sims and games." If we try to deny, that we have in us the ability of compassion and care, as well as aggression and rage - then we deny our real self. And I much prefer it, when we can take such genetic make-ups out in sports and computer games - instead of real battlefields. Maybe they are concerned about the way many young people vulgarise or even bestialise. That is not the result of playing comuter games. It is a result of the whole social ways of their raising and education" (my boldening). I think, to some extent, Herr Mahlo, you're arguing against yourself here. Either it is part of our DNA (lord know where it's located) or else it's a product of our social systems and how we educate people. It doesn't seem feasible that it's both at the same time, so an evidentially based argument is called for I think. If it's cards on the table time, and knowing an ex-SBS bloke who's crippled by PTSD, I would think it unlikely (although not impossible, given my wife's reaction to footage taken in 1945 of the Belsen and Auschwitz camps) that simply viewing something would cause PTSD, compared to having to experience cutting through a man's windpipe with a knife or shooting a fellow human being in the face and seeing the first hand effects - and knowing that it was your immediate actions that caused that - as my acquaintance would, I suspect, confirm. There is plenty of PTSD research out there, based upon events and people. There simply isn't enough concerning 'cyberwarfare' or long distance warfare to compare, unless you wish to add in the experience of every person who has killed another human being unseen and at far greater than arm's length. An interesting subject. Cheers, Si

Hi everyone, Sorry that I've been quiet of late, but things are moving apace with regard to work(or lack of it, rather). As some of you may know, I'm doing a Java course by correspondence, and although I'd planned to have it finished by now, it's taking forever, and in its infinite wisdom Her Majesty's government have deemed that I shouldn't be getting my "lifestyle choice" £67.50p a week Job Seeker's Allowance any longer, so I've been forced to think afresh to keep the wolf from the door. So, I've decided - given that I have about 20 years IT experience and a PGCE (teaching certificate), I've decided to, gulp, start my own business teaching others low to use their PCs in the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace. I'm hoping to get this going in the next week or three (before Xmas), but I'll need a new PC with Windows 7 and Office 2010 on it to be able to teach others how to use their PCs. Now I could nip down PC World or go to Dell's site to source a PC, but given that I'm skint, I really need to be able to get the new rig together as cheaply as possible - which is where you guys come in. I need this to be a workhorse, but I also, of course, want to be able to run OFF on it, including the forthcoming P4! I need suggestions from you chaps as to what mobo I should get, what video card, what memory (and how much). Once I've got these, then I'll either source all the bits and build it myself, or contact someone who can do a custom built machine for me (any suggestions for good builders/suppliers gratefully accepted). This is a big, big step for me, and I want to get it spot on, but without spending a prohibitive amount of cash along the way. Gents - the floor is yours, and you have my eternal thanks for your suggestions. Cheers, Si

Thank you all, gents. It's posts like the above that constantly remind me why I come here, and just how excellent you all are. I really wish I could buy you the many, many virtual beers I owe you by now. I look forward - one day - to meeting some or all of you. Cheers, Si

Cheers Parky - you're spot on.

Rugbyfan, Consider Gamebooster - it's free and when I was running OFF on an ageing XP machine with a puny processor it turned it from a sticky experience to a rather better one. I still have it on the new W7 machine, but I don't need it now with a better PC. Try it. You've nothing to lose.

Can't really disagree with anything above. I'm not happy that I started, gave up and then - stupidly - started again. But, I gave up on Xmas Eve last year, by the simple expedient of telling myself that I'd be an utter prick if I vever smoked again. It's working. VB's right. If you smoke, give up; if you don't, never consider starting. It's, literally, poison.

I must go and have a look to see if there's any decent footage of Japanese and Russian planes. There must be...

Hi peeps, Just a quick nte to say that not only have I submitted by business plan and it looks like it'll get approval, but also the rest of the arrangements are well in hand - all I need now are customers! On a slightly separate note, I ended up with Lenovo H420 with an i3 processor, 4gb of RAM, a whacking great HD and W7 on it (which I'm getting to like). I've finally loaded up OFF and all the other bits and thought I'd try a quick combat flight to see how the graphics look (not a specialist graphics card, sadly, but the whole box was only £330). Whizzing around in a Pup against an Alb DII, I thought I'd check the FPS. 59 FPS! f*** me! I've now ramped the graphics up and I'll let you know in due course how it all looks. Vic rides again! Cheers, Si

2000 pounds of bombs, 4 machine guns and 4 20mm cannon? No wonder the Luftwaffe hated Mosquitos. I wonder what they thought of the Westland Whirlwind?

Well, I've finally got a more powerful PC, so I might download RoF again to see if it's worth running, but I'm still fairly dubious about the online necessity and the business model. File this one under 'maybe', particularly if P4 is as gorgeous as it promises to be. Why would it look less good in MP?

" until I see some form of committment on these forums or as a response to this thread, I'm afraid that experience has taught me not to expect anything from OBD in this respect." Vasco - bit of a tough judgement on people whose primary source of crust isn't game development, but the jobs they do elsewhere, I think. I would love to have a big functioning MP, but unless the OBD devs are even vaguely convinced that they're going to get support for looking at the network code, then why would they bother? I suspect you might be better off showing OFF P3 (or better still P4) vids to RoF fans and then asking them to purchase OFF P3 and to bombard OBD with the demand that they produce a better MP system. Cheers, Si

"Also there's the fact that you still need a genuine copy of CFS3 to install OFF?" If there's one move that the devs should consider (IMHO) for P4, above all others, it would be talking to Mickeysoft - who've clearly given up on CFS3 - in order to get their agreement to port whatever files are needed from CFS3(.1) to the base data for OFF P4, thereby obviating the need for the bloody thing. For too long, the stench of CFS3's reputation has clung quite unfairly to OFF P3, to the point where some simmers seem to be utterly unwilling to buy OFF because (a) it's based on CFS3 (and you need the disk) and (b) it's a product that is expected to be paid for, in a world where people are expected to produce top drawer sims for no reward whatsoever. Completely f***ing ludicrous. Devs - get the files you need. Even the rapacious Microsoft surely can't be arsed about 5-10,000 units of CFS3 that they'll never shift again (and which they probably stopped producing about 8 years ago). My 2d.

Hi Olham, I guess I was more than prepared to be enchanted by the Spitfire clip - after all it's a lovely noise and shape - but I wasn't expecting to be so impressed by the first authentic (ie, non Merlin engined) ME109 I've seen in flight. What a plane, what a noise. Beautiful! Cheers, Si

Pol - where should viewUI.xml live on a W7 machine? having finally bought a new PC (for work, natch), OFF's on it but I'm not sure where the working copy of the file should live. Cheers, Si

Aside from the saccharine nonsense that I expect Warhorse or indeed any Spielberg movie to be, I've recalled a couple of other war movies that I'd happily recommend, to wit, Paths of Glory - the best film that ol' hole in the chin ever made, and Tumbledown, a film about the Falklands, in fact one of the very few decent films made about that conflict. I believe that, with the 100th anniversary of Universal Studios, there's a good chance of All Quiet On The Western Front being remastered and rereleased. About f***ing time. The current release is gash, sound and visuals quality wise. BTW, does The Battleship Potemkin count as a WWI movie or not? If it does, it's something of a corker, particularly if you like symbolism.

Welcome AB! Yes, it's bloody hard - don't feel you have to dive into a campaign right away. Do a bit of reading, pick a plane and go and fly it in quick combat to enable you to acclimatise yourself. Then you'll be much better equipped for the meat grinder. Aside from that, consider starting a campaign early in the war so you can get some flying time in before you have to face hostile aircraft - believe me, it's a good idea. Welcome to OFF, and, as everyone here will tell you, the new guy buys the drinks: mine's a pint of Moorhouse's Pendle Witch, thankyouverymuch... Cheers, Si

Interesting thoughts, Jav. One of the problems nowadays is that directors are so keen to reach for CGI - the nonsense movie about Richtofen was simply very silly, as it allowed maximum "artistic" licence with an absolute minimum of realism or believability. When it comes down to it, the best war movies - in fact, the best movies - usually have nothing to do with the action or the effects; what makes them so exceptional is what they tell us about human beings in extraordinary circumstances, about the human condition. I had the 'pleasure' of catching The Cruel Sea on TV last week. Not an all time great, but certainly, and within the confines of the 1950s mindset, a fillum that explores the interior life of the protagonists, as opposed to simply celebrating action and/or success. I wonder if Warhorse will be the usual Spielberg s**te?

"Si, I wish you all the best in your quest to quit smoking. I did the same myself when I was 20, and even though I'd only been smoking for a year or so it was still gawd-awful stopping. But I've been glad for it ever since." Hi Lou Happy New Year. BTW. I actually gave up and was quite happy with the outcome, and was fearing that I'd be unable to do it this time, but it's proven not to be the case. My pardner went back to work today (she was off sick last week), and I was expecting the nicotine induced tap on the back of the head as I drove her to the tram station - my usual point of weakening - but I'm delighted to say that not only didn't it kick in, but that the usual bored and listless feeling I'd get on returning home (a sure trigger for buying dome papers and tobacco) was eminently ignorable. Looks like it's working. Just as well, for reasons that I might report in a couple of month's time! Cheers, Si

All a bit worrying as I was headed over here to proudly announce my purchase of a new PC which will be my workhorse and pleasureboat for the next few years.... a Lenovo H420 i3... Oops. Well, at least the spec's pretty good and for £330, it seems to me to be a bit of a steal. Ho hum.

Well, I'm still not seeing any suggestions put forward that don't lead to a ruinous war that no-one can afford, and I don't see very much other than the mocking of neighbouring states on the basis that they can't stand up to Iran. Does anyone have any working, sane, and non nuclear fantasies inspired suggestions that tops selling Iran nuclear fuel with strict conditions? I appreciate that there are a lot of American ex-service people who probably feel very strongly about the current impasse, but I would very much appreciate if the level of conversation could be lifted beyond a waspish precis of what's wrong with the people who live in the Middle East. An intelligent solution is required and some more (sensible) suggestions would be much appreciated.

A heartening thread - good luck to everyone in their personal quests. Thankfully, I don't need to lose weight as I conquered a slight overweightness problem years ago by simply realising that I had to eat a little less and a little healthier. Took about 6 months to shed the stone that I shouldn't have been carrying, and it's stayed off ever since. A far, far harder task was quitting smoking. I managed it (after several attempts) in 1997 after gentle encouragement from my wife ("Do you think you'll ever give up smoking....?" - very clever), only to recommence (like a complete fool) at the end of 2006 whilst I was doing my PGCE in fairly stressful circumstances. Having been brooding about it for most of 2011, I finally had my last cigarette on Xmas Eve, expecting to be back on by now. Not only have I managed to stay off the weed, but I don't even feel the urge to smoke any longer. I went to my local to watch some football the other evening - which would otherwise have seen me rolling up X number of fags and smoking them - but I didn't even get a vague yearning. I can smell other people's smoke, but that's all it is: other people's left over smoke. So, I'm getting healthier, saving money and feeling smug!

I'm only vaguely interested in RoF, mainly because of the online thing and the pricing structure (and my rig's rubbish). I fly because of campaigns - which is why I played RB3D and quickly gave up on FE (despite some lovely planes and graphics). A crap campaign system, where I have to pay for every plane I wish to fly and have my activity monitored online, whilst enduring updates that I can't control and which will wolf down my monthly download limit? No thanks.

"I do not think we need to go to war with Iran but if we had a choice in 02-03 between Iran and Iraq, Iran was the only one that provided a viable threat to the USA. Saddam was horrible but as we "Mercuns" fail to realise he was not a sponsor of international terrorism like Iran was and is. The way to defeat the Ayatollahs is from the inside but we have fu**ed up the region so bad now that Iraq is now a Shia sattellite of the Ayatollahs." Possibly the most intelligent comment on this thread. I opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq as it was quite apparent that it would lead to Iranian hegemony in the region and also ensure that the Shias would prevail. Knowing this, it was hardly the most intelligent course of action to actively bring this about, particularly when Iran is about the most populous country in the Middle East. But, hey, Bush and Blair knew better, even though I'm still waiting for evidence of the WMD. Both sides will bluster about war - rather like some of the posters on here. Glass plain? Very nice - let's drop nukes on Iran; what can possibly go wrong there? There'll be bluster and a few idiots on either side will get stiffies about another war, but the truth is that neither America nor Iran (nor the rest of the world) can afford a war there. The economies of both countries (and TROTW) are thoroughly screwed and I hardly see how the closure of the Straits of Hormuz is going to enhance anyone's economies. And before some idiot leaps on here to accuse me of being a godless pacifist commie, I'll point out to them that not only am I a godless pacifist commie (well socialist, but most people on here couldn't tell the difference), but I'm also quite well informed, read widely and, as per above, have a pretty much 100% hit rate on outcomes when it comes to conflicts like this. Of course the Iranians have come out with this statement to big themselves up with their population. If America's leaders fall for this, then they play into the hands of the demagogues running Iran (who, frankly, I loathe) who will immediately appeal to Iranian patriotism to bolster their own (weakening) position, both politically and economically. Look at many of the posts here - uber patriotism, simply because someone dared wave a stick at your navy. If it works (in an admittedly tangential manner) with so many US posters here, why wouldn't it work in binding the Iranian people closer to a government that they otherwise dislike for the most part? A much more careful response is required, particularly in mind of not only the effects of sanctions on the Iranian economy (and people), but also in terms of the wider regional and world economy (which you might have noticed tends to depend on oil). I say call the Iranian government's bluff by offering to sell them nuclear fuel for their 'power stations' but also insisting that all fuel must be accounted for and their reprocessing plants decommissioned. That way, if Iran is being genuine, then they'll accept and the bellicose nonsense is put away. If they cavil - and surely Iran's government has publicly stated that all they're after is nuclear power - then the position changes completely and the amount of leverage that this available not just with Iran but with nations that might support them is greatly increased, whilst diminishing the amount of sympathy and leverage available to Iran's government. I dare say that I'll be flayed alive for bringing such views to this thread, but I thought an alternative viewpoint might be appreciated by some. Cheers, Si

I noticed that the human flyer wasn't making the most of the Camel's quick turning characteristics, and the AI pilot just seemed to chuck the DR1 about almost at random! I'm not actually surprised that it took him a while to do the job, I'm just surprised that the AI was quite so random... YMMV!