nbryant

No SPAD.............

Thanks Olham. Will load that..... Am also looking at reducing my ammo (was mentioned in another thread) by maybe 50% to increase the challenge.

Appreciate the c&c. RAF had already commented in another thread about it, something to do with retinal burn! Have toned it down some....... trying to finish my SPAD VII template as that was on a XIII.

.....a nudist colony on the shoreline???????

Interesting........ I wasn't that lucky.

"Mellow Yellow" was a variant of a SPA 48 scheme on a Spad XIII. I haven't completed my VII skin yet. Included here is a freelance skin of a fictional Esc 103 aircraft. Original skin was not camo, added it later and like the effect.

Trying a new skin against some pesky Alb DIII's......

At least you didn't mention "Inception" and tell us it is a dream...... .......really though, I am so consumed with P3 that P4 is not even much of a thought.

I have made recent discoveries in Photoshop 7 that have me excited about creating easily modified skins. Problem I have though are finding basic aircraft without any squadron markings, i.e. I am currently investing a lot of time on a Spad XIII template and have made a number of inroads in upgrading panels and adding some accessories not in the original. But while trying to remove squadron insignia to create a base to which I can add different ones later I am having some difficulty. I have come close to getting it done but being the perfectionist I am I am not happy with some shading issues. I know there are a few aircraft within the game that don't have insignia and I have to invest some time in finding them but I was hoping that the dev's, or anyone that may have them, may be able to provide basic unmarked skins for all of the aircraft that we can work off of. I realize the templates are golden so am only looking for a basic skin that I can develop templates from. An additional question for the dev's. Will the skins roll over into P4 without any issues making it worthwhile to continue or will that portion of the sim also change? Thanks, Nolan

So if any of you magicians can offer any advice on how to either lessen or prevent the bleed through while maintaining the shading please let me know as I am at a loss at how to do it without ruining the effect.

Here is one attempt and you can see the squadron logo bleeding through....... Here is one I have been rebuilding from scratch trying to ensure the overlays align with the dev's model.......

You don't think the dev's would have enough of a sense of humor to add the snipe but make it an unflyable addition........... oh, that would just be plain evil.

Morane-Saulnier Type N French Air Force RFC Russian Air Service Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun While the Type N was a graceful-looking aircraft and utilised an advanced, aerodynamic design, it was not easy to fly due to its stiff controls (using wing warping instead of ailerons) and high landing speed. The Type N mounted a single unsynchronized forward-firing machine gun (either a .303-in Vickers or 7.9 mm Hotchkiss) which used the deflector wedges, first demonstrated on the Morane-Saulnier Type L, in order to fire through the propeller arc. A large metal spinner designed to streamline the aircraft caused the engines to overheat because the spinner deflected air away from the engine. In 1915, the spinner was removed from the design and no more overheating problems were found. The removal of the spinner caused very little loss in performance. The Type N was not particularly successful. Only 49 aircraft were built and it was quickly rendered obsolete by the pace of aircraft development.

If this has been previously posted I apologize. Stumbled across this and had to share..... Olham will find one reconstruction project most interesting. http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/node

I have been searching for a reasonable set of maps to use that I can navigate from in place of the in-game ones. Those posted here are fine but don't cover the entire front. Anyone find any good links? I found this: http://www.maps.com/map.aspx?pid=15709 You cant DL it, but it is very much the type I was looking for.

Lou, you have gone above and beyond and passing on my appreciation does not reflect my appreciation for your taking the time to complete this. Thanks you sir..... Nolan

Well Rabu thanks go out to you for having played a role in saving a piece of history.

20 years in the US Marine Corps Olham...... and that was a lifetime ago. Thanks for the additional link, will check it out. I also agree with the detail of the map. I have been wanting to take a page from RAF and use an external map to navigate with to add another layer of immersion. I have been searching trying to find sectionals that would cover all of the front so that no matter what unit I signed on with I could continue playing the same way. I have founds bits and pieces here and there, some detailed, most not. What would be amazing would be to incorporate a map like that into the games map option with the same zoom and scroll capability, just with the addition of the floating front and waypoints.

My twist on getting the most of my OFF experience. I only have a 23" LCD and wingman j-stick. No TrackIR, though that is a future need. What I do is fly lead with TAC and gauges off using the game map to nav to my destination. Depending on the mission I will set the TAC to reflect on that visual, i.e. if I am attacking an airfield I set it to airfields, as I am orbiting my field gaining altitude then turn it off. As I approach my target I will open the TAC (and because I have it set to only show my mission objective type I see nothing else) and select my target so that I can signal the flight to attack. Once they roll in I close the TAC. The rest of the time I do bounce between cockpit and external view using it as my version of TrackIR. I look for other aircraft or signs of flak. If I see aircraft I will either wait or engage depending upon mission and location and once I am close will try to zoom in to verify who they belong to. If I.D.'d as the enemy I will engage and once close enough will pause, open the TAC, and assign aircraft for my flight to engage, then I roll into the melee. I have found that this does limit my engagments but does keep me on my toes, and when I do encounter another flight I am selective about choosing to attack or not based upon mission objectives, aircraft condition or advantage. One last thing I do to add my own layer of realism. Should I not make it home and land my crate in one piece I will approximate my distance from my own airfield and apply a one half day rule for every ten miles I am from home. This is the time I apply to advancing time until my next flight. I consider it recovery and travel time trying to make my way home. Should I come down hard but sustain no indicated injuries I add a day to the above. If I do sustain an injury in which the game doesn't impose any R&R I will add another day. Here though I maintain some flexibility. As an example on an earlier flight my SPAD burst into flames around 3000 ft and I was able to bring her down comfortably. The game brought me home and I was scheduled to fly the next sortie 3 hours later. Doesn't seem right to me. So I imposed a 7 day time advance, in addition to 3 days for being close to 60 miles from home, to simulate have recieved first and second degree burns being treated. Just a rough idea and as I keep playing I will keep looking for additional homegrown ideas to try and add to the realism and immersion level.

You just have to love those beautiful SPAD's

SPAD VII 91a Squadriglia Francesco Baracca Damn you Olham.............

Jarhead.... new museum? Or the old Quantico museum? I spent a lot of my career at HMX (11 yrs out of 20) and used to frequent the old museum up by OCS, as well as digging through the old crates and aircraft when they were stashed in Larson gym .......new Marine Museum. Figured it out.

Don't think it will make you feel any better but I have been playing this game for some time now and have NEVER had a claim verified....... and I didn't use semi colons or anything else I think that was wrong other then combining some kills into one entry. Usually....... I didn't live long enough. I have had a few pilots though that I nursed through 15 or more missions with 20+ hours and a number of claims but never received any verifications, or medals, or anything. Still, despite the lack of recognition I am compelled to fly over and over as OFF keeps calling me back. One day I shall learn to survive and look forward to taking down those funky Alb's of Olham's...... ;)

Thanks guys, you are such an amazing wealth of information. Lou, appreciate the copy of the American cert you provided. Funny story, for me anyway, was the text on the one I used as a sample was difficult to read and at the end of the verbage is the word brevetted...... could not read or make that out for nothing so I settled for certified on mine. Yours is clear and distinct, much thanks.

An attempt at an American certificate and fictional pilot using RAF's post following and hour or so of photoshop layering. Attempted to create an embossed seal instead of a stamp, but think I am going to have to work on it some.