RAF_Louvert

. I am offended by your last statement VP! NOT! People need to find a sense of humor and learn to lighten up, IMHO. Frankie says "Relax". .

. This talk of Phase 4 is all well and good and exciting, but I am curious. Who among us here has even scratched the surface of Phase 3 yet? I know I could spend the next several years worth of my free time flying what we now have in OFF before I'd even come close to experiencing everything it has to offer. .

. No other volunteers to give these Camel skins a try? I was hoping there might be a bit more interest in flying for Belgium. Ah well, c'est la guerre. .

. Parky wrote: My first WWI flight sim was more like this: The distressed look is because young "bravez le aviateur" had just realized he wasn't wearing his flight extenders. ...hee hee hee... .

. Check Six wrote: Just so you folks know, that happens to be the title that "Bomber Pilot" was re-issued under. They are one in the same book. Also Slarti, I love the little fiddly bits around the edges as well. .

. sitting_duck, here is the link to an earlier topic about the location of aerodromes. I mentioned in this thread how I get the dromes onto my out-of-sim map. Project Aerodromes Hope you find this useful. .

. sitting_duck, external map is how I've been flying the DID missions for quite some time now. I have a second computer and monitor sitting to my port side and I pull up the map of my AO and zoom in for good detail, (I am using the vintage map set posted by rabu also). I have the map displayed via my picture editor program, and I spend my first two or three campaign missions making a cook's tour of the AO, adding in features and notes and such right on my map in a separate layer, then save it. If you look for towns, rivers, main roads, and lakes you will have the best luck, and I have noticed that large wooded areas seem to stay constant so I draw those in on my map as well. .

. Outstanding bit of prose there Pappy! And now you've gone an inspired me as well Sir. We fly and fight, then lie and write About our prowess and our plight. We boast and brag to all who’ll hear, And tell the rookies, “Buy the beer!” We fly on wings of pixel’d war Where brave ones really went before, To emulate their deeds on high We each take to a virtual sky. Our sweethearts cannot comprehend, Our mothers know not why we tend To throw ourselves into the game That always seems to end the same. A battle high above the earth, With foes of simulated worth, Who’ll fight us to the bitter end Then come back new to fight again. If we could only be as they, To rise up bold in every fray, To live or die when all is through And come back endlessly anew. Then sit and share our boundless tales Amid the accolades and gales. But truth of this would be to tell, “Is such fate Heaven, or is it Hell?” . NEXT! .

. Slartibartfast, that is a good little read as I recall, (been many years though). He flew the Strutters and De Havilland's if memory serves. .

. appraiserfl, I didn't read that anyone is wishing for the company to fail, only that it may well be likely to given the current state of it's primary product. If they are in it for the money then they will drop a non-profitable, troublesome product without giving it another thought. We are really quite spoiled here at OFF because the devs seem to be in it more for the wish of just doing it than actually making money. That sort of approach creates a scenario whereby support and development will continue even though no profits are being generated. Not a smart business model but a super approach if you want to push a sim as far as it can go. Also, I am all for competition as it nearly always improves products in the marketplace. .

. It is really quite amazing, and horrific, just how devastated not only Fort Douaumont was during the fighting, but also all the other major sites of the longest running single battle of WWI: Fort de Vaux, Fort de Souville, Ouvrage de Froideterre, Bois des Caures, Fleury-Devant-Douaumont, and Verdun itself. The small town of Fleury, (which changed hands sixteen times during the course of the fighting), was literally blown off the face of the earth, and to this day is still uninhabitable due to the vast quanities of unexploded ordnance that still exists at and just below grade. Here is a map showing the locations of these various fortifications and towns, for those who are interested: .

. Creaghorn, here is a website that looks as though it could teach a person how to read Sütterlin: Sütterlin Handwriting Tutorial Don't know if this helps or not, but it might be worth a try. .

. It would be great if these could be translated and posted here for all of us to share in. These sorts of first-hand accounts give us the only real insight into what it was really like trying to survive through the "Great War". Thanks for the offering these Creaghorn, now I hope there is someone out there who can make sense of them. .

. BTW, for those who may have missed it, the download link and install instructions are five posts back in this thread. .

. Quite right DT59, which is why I have the file noted as "Belgium 1ère 9ème Camels". As to the Hanriots, since they are not available in the campaigns at this time you will have to stick with the trusty Camels all the way through. Hope you enjoy the planes DT59. Let me know if you notice anything that might need correcting. Cheers! Lou .

. Stiffy, those pants also topped the 100 euro mark just like the others did, so the search continues. Still looking for an affordable WWI-style sous-lieutenant's kepi as well and they seem to command high money too. None-the-less, progress continues and here are a few more photos of the project at this point. The tunic so far, complete with the collar flashes. The gold bullion thread "combat tours" stripes on the right sleeve. Here is a close-up of the collar flashes, (the camera flash didn't do them justice in the previous photos). I am rather proud of these as I managed to put them together using two different old French bullion badges with the final cost being less than $10 total, (rather than the $60 each that Hand and Lock wanted to reproduce them). My super WWI vintage aviator boots sporting a fresh coat of mink oil and polish. And a close-up of the medals, awards, ribbons, and pins. Cheers! Lou .

. TKS Morris. But my job was made much easier by the stock skins I started with, and those were built by Winder and Rabu, so many many thanks to them as well. .

. Give one of the SE5 squadrons a go. That's a nice British fighter to work with. Also, any of the Pup squadrons will offer you the nicest flying scout around, IMHO. Cheers! Lou . . Of course, if you want THE best, try the Camel. But be ready for a twitchy kite. .

. OK folks, for those interested in testing these out, here is the link to download the zip file: Belgium 1ère 9ème Camels Unzip the folder to somewhere convenient and then open the main folder. Inside you will see two more folders; one with the new Belgium skins and the other with the original RNAS-4 skins. Open the Belgium folder and copy and paste all the files from there into the "skins" folder in your OFF sim, allowing them to overwrite the existing files. If you have the sim installed in the default location the path should look like this: C:\OBDSoftware\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\campaigns\CampaignData\skins Now start up your sim and create a new pilot to fly as a fighter with RNAS-4 on June 15, 1917 and try it out. When you wish to switch back to the original skins simply go to the RNAS-4 folder I provided and copy and paste those files into the "skins" folder, again allowing them to overwrite. Let me know how it all works for you, and If everyone likes it I will place these in the download section of the website. I did include Jan Olieslager's plane as well as several other generic "ace" skins, just so there is a bit of variety on the flightline. Cheers! Lou .

. That is great new Winder. I will look forward with much interest to that feature. Dej, it did stall out a bit due to time constraints as well as a lack of early planes to really make the Dardanelles campaign what it was. However, I am sending along my files for the fort to stumpjumper and he may be able to make use of it in one of his mission packs as well. If I do say so myself it is quite neat and has functioning big guns that are lethal to shipping if not knocked out quickly. Cheers! Lou .

. What do you like to fly Morris? .

. Super! I agree with Mr. Lucky, scan and upload if you can Siggi. I'd love to read through that manual. You have a rare one there Sir. .

. I do not believe they are in the sim as they are not to be found in the buildings folder. You could use the "lego" approach to fort construction that I've developed for the Dardanelles campaign project: This method makes use of four existing OFF buildings that I simply repainted and then arrange to form the forts as needed. .

. Outstanding screenshots RC, and I'm glad you're enjoying the Belgian Camel. Also, I see you got close enough to read the Thistle Squadron's logo, "Nemo me impune lacessit" (No man provokes me with impunity). BTW, you didn't have a slight collision there now did you? .

. Very neat Stiffy. I have a large stack of 78's that came from my father-in-law. Some are the very old thick variety while others are a bit newer like the one you are showing. I have had success doing a temporary repair by simply taping the pieces together from the back side with narrow strips of duct tape, (after carefully cleaning the record surfaces). If you then are mindful of getting the record placed just right on the turntable so the crack is forced tight, which may take a paper shim or two under the record, you can then play it through and record onto a different medium. The plus of doing it this way is you will have no risk of glue residue gumming up the grooves. Good Luck. .