RAF_Louvert

LOL! Fair question JohnGresham, fair question.

Alrighty then, The second point for the additional info on #25 is all that's left to claim in this photo set. Also, zoomzoom, I don't know that it's all that simple Sir. Cheers! Lou

zoomzoom, it is the Alb DIII Sir. You get one point for correctly ID'ing the plane. However, you are not allowed to post further info again for 36 hours on the same photo set, so your second post won't count. You would need to include your guess and all info in your first post. Well done though on correctly identifying the kite. Cheers! Lou

cptroyce, The Vintage Aviator is indeed a great site though not a new one. But it should be noted that everyone who has found it of their own accord has the same reaction, and nearly all post it as a link to share, hoping they might have been the first to come across the gem. I know I did the same thing myself when I happened upon it the first time. Cheers! Lou

Outstanding answers Rickitycrate, Olham, and Red-Dog! Two points to each of you Sirs. That only leaves our smashed aeroplane in this group to sort out. Cheers! Lou

Firecage, you are in for a treat Sir. I came from RB3D directly to OFF myself a while back and it was like making the move from your trusty, rusty old '72 Ford Galaxie to a brand new Mercedes SL600. You will love it. And have fun painting too. You'll soon discover you have a much bigger and more detailed canvas to work with than you ever had in RB3D. Enjoy. Cheers! Lou

Not to worry Duce, and since you asked to keep them coming... Here we go folks, the seventh set of photos is set. Remember the rules, (found in the first post of this thread), and to write that 150-word, (minimum), description about features shown in the photo and/or about the plane itself when going for that second point. Also, in photo #27, identify the power plant shown and at least one WW1 plane it was fitted to as the standard engine. And just as a refresher, this is the prize you are playing for: Good luck all. Round 7 begins now. Let's play What's My Plane! Cheers! Lou

Well then, we have something else in common Olham. I gave up the ways of the grain and the grape about 25 years ago at this point. I missed it a bit at first, but soon found out I could have just as much fun without it, (and wake up the next morning without the headache and with a lot more money left in my wallet). I'll still take a taster's sip of wine or beer every now and then when someone is raving about one they just discovered, otherwise it's an iced tea or an "Arnold Palmer" for me. I joke about drinking a fair bit, and I do have many personal experiences from the past to fall back on for that humor, some of which I remember better than others. Cheers! Lou

You are more than welcome Olham. I think what makes such distortions a reality is the combination of a 3d model that we are then attempting to wrap with a "flat" electronic sheet of images. Depending on the placement of a particular "part" on the sheet and how that part lays onto the model will determine what type and how much distortion you will have. And, as you have already discovered, the distortion will not always stay constant but can actually change exponentially as you move along the model. That is why working in many layers is an absolute necessity. That and a fair amount of patience...and possibly alcoholic beverages. Cheers! Lou

I feel your pain guys. I have spent many hours trying to sort out the odd distortions and weird wraps on some of these models. I cut my teeth in the OFF venue on the Strutter, and that one was quite the learning experience as well. Here is the image of the bmp file for that plane in the post over at the paint fourm: Some Skins Are Really Hard Olham, you are very right about being sure to work in many layers. And stick with it until you succeed, or until you just can't take it any more and then get creative with your personal markings as BH suggested. Wouldn't be the first time for me on that tactic. Cheers! Lou

BTW, here is a brief excerpt about the woods which I just transcribed from "An Airman's Outing". Cheers! Lou

Mossy-Face woods gets mentioned on a not too infrequent basis in the contemporary writings of the day. I recently ran across it again myself in Captain Alan "Contact" Bott's "An Airman's Outing". The same author also referred to it in "Cavalry of the Clouds" which I read a few years back, and I think it might be in that text where he mentions that it was called that due to it's appearance from a certain direction, as Dej surmised. You should definitely be able to find it in our OFF landscape. Just fly southwest from Cambrai a few miles, or straight north from Metz. Cheers! Lou

I'm pretty sure Olham meant feet Roger55. SirMike said he gets within 20 to 30 yards before he opens up on the engine and pilot, and that's about as close as I get before I fire as well. Olham's point about not attempting to get this close during a furball is wise as you will likely get shredded by your prey's wingman if you dilly-dally too long for the shot. A good number of the accounts written by WW1 pilots indicate they tried to get as close as well before firing on an enemy plane, to increase their chances of a kill and not waste ammo. Cheers! Lou

Looks very good Olham, nice effect and it does blend well into the background. But I thought you were doing camo for the seaplanes? Cheers! Lou

Like many of you I have wonderful memories of RB3D, the SP campaigns, and the friends I flew it with online. I still have my Red Baron computer that I built with a Voodoo 5500 strictly to push the old sim to the max, and I must admit I did fire it up about two months ago and jumped in for a few bombing runs on some Hun aerodromes and bridges. However, OFF BHaH has shown me the new vistas of fairer fields, and I believe I'll let the old pioneer WW1 combat sim rest in peace. Cheers! Lou

We have the complete answer! Well done Red-Dog, you even named his gunner. Both Guynemer and Guerder were corporals at the time of this photo, flying with Esc 3. And since you cited the Médaille Militaire I will mention an interesting feature of this award. Normally presented only to non-commissioned officers or enlisted personnel who distinguish themselves by acts of bravery in action against an enemy force, it can also be presented as the supreme leadership award to generals and admirals who have been commanders-in-chief. Here are the current standings after the last Wild Card photo: Dej, 13 points Olham, 13 points Red-Dog, 8 points Rickitycrate, 6 points Bullethead, 5 points Luftace, 4 points Duce Lewis, 3 points Burning Beard, 2 points rhythalion, 2 points JohnGresham, 1 point Shrikehawk, 1 point TonyO, 1 point The seventh set of photos will be coming along soon folks. Cheers! Lou

zoomzoom, that's the great thing about OFF, you can pick and choose as you like. To each their own. You say potato, and I say vodka. Cheers! Lou

zoomzoom, several of the first-hand accounts I've read do describe it as a string of fireballs all coming up in rapid succession and appearing to be tied together somehow. It was also noted at least once as resembling a Roman Candle. But stumpjumper only has so much to work with in terms of the weapons available to him in the CFS3 game engine. I'd say he's given us a pretty darned good compromise at this point considering the limitations. Cheers! Lou

TKS Stump. No real FPS drop at all Sir. Was sitting at about 45 to 55 the whole 15 minutes I was flying, with FRAPS doing its movie capture thing the entire time. And let me say again that your new weapon is B - E - A - U - tiful !, and plenty scary to fly through. Cheers! Lou

BH, if I remember right, when you are flying and hit esc the game will pause and the "Hanger" tab appears in the upper right coner of your screen. You can click on that and get a drop-down menu to exit. Might be the "Go To Officer's Club" tab at the bottom. Cheers! Lou

Glad you like it stumpjumper, thanks for providing us with the model in the first place. Olham, I am including a link in this post to the bpm file of the basic Alb W4 so that you and anyone else who wants to try their hand at painting this bird can do so with a lot less initial prep. I reworked the flying surfaces so they now offer a uniform color to lay your camo layers onto. Then I fitted and adjusted a high quality generic fuselage so that things line up better around the cockpit, engine, cabane struts, and wing fairings. And I lowered the upper-most seam along the rear of the fuselage so that it aligns with the contour of the 3-D model stumpjumper created, which gives you an accurate guide as to where to stop the camo on the top of the body. I also increased the file size to 1024 x 1024 pixels to make it easier to see what you are doing, (this is the size most of the OFF plane texture files are anyway). Here is the link to the file, click it and allow it to display, then right-click and save it. Albatros W.4 bmp Paint File A few other pointers on this plane. It does not have left and right sides to the fuselage or separate tops and bottoms to the wings and elevator, so you will have to work around the mirror issues. Also, the finish and color of the floats and rear float supports are not adjustable as these are generic plane parts located elsewhere in the game files. I think that's about it. Have fun. Cheers! Lou

Great pics Creaghorn, thanks for sharing. I want to go to there. Cheers! Lou

Sorry Olham, as I outlined in the original post, to claim the points you must identify the plane, the pilot, and state the importance of this particular photo, (it was taken for a rather noteworthy reason). You are not entirely correct Sir, but you were closer than Duce and Rickitycrate. Cheers! Lou

Rickitycrate, you also are not entirely correct Sir. But you're not entirely correct in a different way than Duce is not. Cheers! Lou

It does indeed Duce, and I did say you weren't entirely correct.