RAF_Louvert

. Gauges ... HUD ... Z There are a complete set of gauges, including a compass that appears as it would have in WWI. They are usable but they obliterate the immersion. With them is the printed HUD ( F5 ). Along with the gauges, the printed HUD contains some goodies: 1) A more accurate digital fuel gauge than the dial gauge in your cockpit. If before combat it shows 87%, but after combat, it shows 84%, you've got a leak friend. Nothing to get excited about, but I'd start looking for someplace to land. You could attack another enemy aircraft, and run dry at 9000 feet: your choice. Some folks say it's cheating, but I say the WW1 pilot could smell a minor leak; you can't. 2) The ONLY ammo counter in the game. Sometimes it's nice to know when you only have 23 bullets BEFORE you attack two aircraft. The printed part CAN be dragged anywhere you want, (even off screen), but you need to attempt the drag by the left side edge, (anywhere else, it ain't gonna budge). Those Gauges can be thrown over the side, selectively, they cycle as to function, then one by one vanish, and will stay vanished until you cycle them back, (Control + Shift + 1/2/3/4/5). You can drag the gauges, one by one and place them wherever you want, and they'll remain there until you move them. ( Z ) appears to be a mass of numbers, which shows up in the upper-left corner of your screen. That mass of numbers contains lots of information. It yields much more than FPS used for tweaking the running. It's your Speedo, Altimeter, Rate of Climb in Degrees + or -, Latitude, Longitude, and Compass Bearing in Degrees, (if you consider the TAC as a cheat, perhaps you might favor this). A Timer; useful when your mission is to patrol an area for 13 minutes. That's where the gauges GET their information, I leave it up all the time, but I 'cheat' a lot. The only time it leaves my screen is for a dogfight. It can't be dragged anywhere, what you see is what you get. There's more than one way to sink a ship. Not so much for Archie damage, but definitely after an enemy encounter where shots were exchanged. There exists a highly accurate Digital Fuel Gauge, as part of the HUD, ( F5 ), once you have jettisoned those silly gauges so that only the printed part remains. Never mind constantly monitoring your fuel gauge for signs of a leak, above ¾, then below a ½. Chances are it's too late to do anything once the leak is discovered. With the digital gauge, you have 72.6% and two seconds later, you have 71.2%, you have a leak pal, nothing to get crazy over, but it ain't gonna get no better. Some pilots, (i.e. me), leave it up always. When it's tucked into a corner you'll never notice it. It also features the ONLY ammo counter in the sim. The rationale behind its use: The WWI pilot could smell a leak, we can't. .

. Different Ways of Killing Your Engine It really makes NO difference in the game, because if the enemy didn't set your aircraft on fire in the air, there's no way you're going to burst into flames on the ground. However, if in 1917 you stopped your prop from turning under power by retarding your magneto 3 times, your engine will indeed stop running, but now you will continue pumping a mixture of aviation fuel and air, or aviation fuel and Castor oil, to a red hot air-cooled engine without it running. NOT A GOOD IDEA. On a modern aircraft engine, when the engine stops running, the fuel pump stops pressurizing, and everything comes to a halt. But in 1917 with some aircraft there was NO fuel pump, air was pressurized by the pilot, via a bicycle pump deal atop the fuel in the tank. Which can explain why your engine just stopping, even without a fuel leak. An air leak, like from one bullet hole, means you can pump till you're blue in the face but that engine is gonna stop. The only SAFE way to stop that engine is via Mixture Idle Cutoff, the problem being that it's 3 keystrokes (Ctrl+Shft+F6). Which is a definite candidate for a little work in the Control Options. I'm just amazed at how many people recommend the Magneto method to newbies. Then rave about immersion. I guess it just comes easier to me, I've never flown a modern engined aircraft .

. OFF Tips and Cheats Explanation of the TAC screen: We know that in 1917, Radar was not yet invented. Think of it as 'Superman's Eyes'. It will be visible or not, on your demand ( Shft+T ). There are many screens possible, for varied targets. In OFF we are only concerned with Aircraft. Cycle Screens ( T ). The Field of view for the TAC can be cycled 8/4/2/1 in Nautical Miles, the radius of the screen ( Ctrl+Shft+T ). The number at 6 O'clock is your Field of View. The number at 12 O'clock is the distance to your next waypoint in Nautical Miles. As an 'unknown' aircraft approaches, it will appear as a White blip, when it gets closer the blip will change color: Red or Blue, enemy or friendly. Also you'll know his direction. About the only thing it doesn't tell you is his altitude. Sometimes he will appear to be at the center of the screen, yet the skies are clear? He's above you. You are the center. The TAC as navigation 'cheat'. In Campaign Only, there is a blue neon line on screen. That's your Direction of Travel. It will guide you, between waypoints, if YOU keep that line vertical, you can't get lost…period. As you get nearer to your waypoint, the line will become shorter, till it finally disappears. Only to reappear, full length, guiding you to your next waypoint. One ‘cheat’ for the people with poor eyesight, (i.e. me), is to turn Labels Off (Ctrl+Shft+L) so the view isn't ruined by six British Trucks. But leave the TAC on as an early warning system. When Enemy Aircraft appear on my TAC screen, Labels Hot, TAC off, it’s time to Party!! NOTE: If you drag that TAC screen, to the lower left corner of your screen you just might be inclined to leave it up. In the stock location it IS an immersion killer. BAD. .

. This might seem incredibly basic to some, but it's a revelation to others. Please don't forget the American Educational System rarely looks any further back than Viet Nam. So anything, or anybody, prior to 1965 just didn't exist, WWII included. Now WWI, that's ancient history to most. The pilot having the ability to fire his machine gun forward, without shooting his own propeller off, wasn't always the case. Fly our Bristol Scout, with the angled Lewis Gun; or the Nieuport 11 with the Lewis on the top wing; not the easiest to reload. A French pilot in 1915 name of Roland Garros, fitted heavy steel deflector wedges on his propeller where the bullet might contact, then fired his Hotchkiss machine gun, at the surprised Germans. He scored 5 victories, before he was shot down and was captured before he could burn his ship. Then his secret was known by both sides. The next advancement was by the Germans, the interrupter gear, which mechanically stopped the gun from firing when the propeller was in the way. The Fokker EIII was a very poor aircraft, it was slow, a terrible climber, not very agile, it was a wing-warper, hard to fly. But it had an interrupter gear, which made it a deadly weapon. But in war, aircraft get shot down, it was a secret no longer. And the race was on. .

. Keyboard Use in OFF Those functions marked with an *** should be converted to single keystroke in Controls, because at a moments notice you don't want to be messing around with 3 keys. Also it's one heck of a lot easier for your joystick to accept a single command than a macro. There are many single key commands, not used in OFF that can be utilized this way: Flaps Up & Down .............. F & V Gear ................................ G Brakes ..............................B (That's 4, right there, I believe there's 9 total.) Mixture Full Rich . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+F7 *** Mixture Increase . . . . . . . . Ctrl = Mixture Decrease. . . . . . . . Ctrl - Mixture Idle Cut-off . . . . . . .Ctrl+Shft+F6 *** Kills that engine dead, with one press (what a fitting use for 'B') Aircraft Labels . . . . . . . . . .Ctrl+Shft+L *** Virtual Cockpit . . . . . . . . . .Unassigned *** Float View . . . . . . . . . . . . Shft+F6 (personal choice, for exterior view) Disappearing Cockpit . . . . . F3 Place yourself in the V.C, first, want ‘Gun site’, hit F5 Start Engine . . . . . . . . . . . E TAC Screen. . . . . . . . . . . Shft+T (drag to lower left corner, it's an immersion killer up there) TAC Targets . . . . . . . . . . . T TAC View Range . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+T *** Fly-By View . . . . . . . . . . . Shft+F9 Auto Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . Ctrl+A (Australian Autopilot) Select Weapon . . . . . . . . . Back Fire Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . Enter Machine Guns . . . . . . . . . . Spacebar Bomb/Rocket View . . . . . . . F9 *** (TrackIR conflict) WARP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .X Cancel WARP . . . . . . . . . . .Ctrl+X HUD w/Gauges . . . . . . . . . .F5 Gauges Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+1/2/3/4/5 Emergency Brake . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+B Dive Brakes Strutter . . . . . . D Bomb Bay Doors Strutter . . . Shft+B Windshield on N17 . . . . . . . .Shft+C Reload Lewis Gun N17 . . . . . Shft+C (also for the SE5a; doesn't actually reload anything, it’s just for show) Advance 1 Waypoint . . . . . .Shft+W FPS and lots of info . . . . . . .Z (red jumble of numbers in upper left of screen, that's where the gauges get all their data from) Maps in Cockpit . . . . . . . . . F7 Bombsite in Short . . . . . . . F7 (Phase 3 doesn't feature a Short) Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M (very crude, gives general idea of direction, check out OFF Downloads for some excellent maps) Pilot & Iron Sights . . . . . . . .F6 Rear Gunner . . . . . . . . . . . .F8 Zoom IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] Zoom OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . .[ Bail Out - Got NO Chute so why bail out WINGMAN COMMANDS Attack . . . A Rejoin . . . .R Help . . . . .H Split . . . . .S .

. Game Play Quick Combat is where you practice and 'hone' your skills. You control all the variables, please remember that every airfield is considered enemy. Two minutes after you take off don't be surprised if they shoot at you when you attempt to land. In a P51 you flew at 400mph and had six machine guns, whatever you hit you destroyed. Now you fly at 110mph with one machine gun, maybe two. Your target is mostly wood and canvas, if you fail to put a few bullets into the pilot, the fuel tank, or the engine, it could be a long day. It's a rather small aircraft, easily missed without the labels, roughly half the size of a Spitfire both in wingspan and overall length. There is NO way to load more bullets. Your supply of ammo is limited, but you've got more than enough to shoot down six aircraft. So get close, and only fire when you're sure you'll hit. Short bursts only. Also new for Phase 3 are gun jams, just like the real thing. You have the choice to not use them in Workshop, and you can also opt for unlimited ammo. They were installed basically because that's the way it really was, in that time period. 5 shots for a single gun is a good size burst, 10 you're living dangerously. I've had my gun jam up, and I was being a Good Boy. Perhaps a bent bullet, or a flattened case, things happen. And I had a German pilot in my sights, ready to send him to his maker, and my gun jammed. As it turned out, I died. Sometimes the jam will clear by itself, sometimes it won't. Some members have claimed success with performing high-G manoeuvres. The same kind of manoeuvres as you might make, with an aircraft shooting at you, while your guns are jammed. Anybody that played RB3D looks for the "U" Key, as it unjammed your guns. You can press it as much you want, it ain't gonna help here. When you 'THINK' you're good, try Campaign. All missions are picked for you. All missions begin on the runway. You have a main purpose, the question is, “What is it?” Stay Alive Do your Duty Earn lots of Medals The average pilot in WWI, lasted 17 Hours. CAN YOU? Every 5 Kills (confirmed claims) they give you a medal. You could drop an enemy aircraft at your CO's feet; the claim report must still go to Home Office where it's at the mercy of the pencil pushers. How long? A week, maybe two; just hope they didn't lose the report, it has happened. As it stands now, you've got to provide a lot of information on that claim report. If you want life to go a lot smoother, write down the names of your flying mates now on some scrap paper, for possible use later. Sometimes they will reject the victory, you will be informed, and what they say GOES. The only time you can earn a kill off a balloon is when it's your assigned target. ANY other balloon is treated as a ground target Be prepared: You're gonna kill a bunch of pilots. When your pilot gets himself killed in Quick Combat he's dead in Campaign also. Do yourself a favor, Put QC as his first name. So then there's nobody else to blame Now, it depends on what you call cheating death, because there's cheating, and then there's cheating. I play with a pilot that can Never Die, which is fine if you follow some self-imposed rules. OFF has nothing to do with it, you'll live forever as far as the Manager is concerned. Anytime you’re hospital stay EXCEEDS 24 days, you face a mandatory permanent retirement. It won't be mentioned, however you've worn the goggles for the final time. Example: Go down in a ball of flames from 8000, get 27 days in hospital, time to retire. It has its rewards as well. A crash-landing deep behind enemy lines; you spend 21 days with the nurses, sleeping on clean linen. Upon your release, you become a P.O.W., but you always escape within a few days, to fly again. You can survive quite a while, or cheat and last forever. .

. Some Settings INVINCIBLE: Sounds good, but it ain't. You can't even land, the instant you wheels hit the dirt “Poof “ you're at 2000 feet AUTO RUDDER: To be avoided at all costs. It'll make the most nimble aircraft into a dog, that's the purpose of the twist function on your Joystick. If your joystick doesn't feature it, throw away that hunk of junk AUTO MIXTURE: The Newbie's Friend. By turning it ON you're letting the computer take care of the mixture adjustment duties. If your aircraft barely has enough power to remain aloft at 7000, mixture adjustment is likely why. AIRCRAFT STRESS: Some aircraft have a weak lower wing, they're ok when new, but with age and or battle damage, you can dive and lose a wing. .

. A Little Clarification About the Functions of Autopilot and Trim World War One; there was an existing form of Autopilot that depended on magnets and pulleys, as most of these birds had NO electrical system outside of a switch for the engine magnetos. But if not set-up right you'd find yourself in an unfriendly country if your petrol lasted that long. And it was much too expensive to install in an aircraft bound for battle. Which explains why Autopilot just refuses to work properly in OFF. It was never there. PS: Some British pilots, late in the war, had battery powered map-reading lights. Auto-trim: While some find these birds difficult to fly, it was their very unstableness that separated each one from the next. There was NO Auto-trim on any aircraft. But there have been conflicting reports of pilot-controlled elevator trim on the SE5a in 1918. Some aircraft had Ground Crew adjustable trim, on reports of flight manners, from the pilot. Some had no adjustability…period. Judgement call on its use. In real life pilots would take her up for a short flight, just so they could give instructions to the Grounds Crew. It might take 2 or 3 such short flights to get everything dialled in. That picture of the young officer reporting for duty on the Flight Line…pure Hollywood. To be fair, I'd say trim once at the start of the flight, then hands off. Some use Auto-trim as a sort of Autopilot. You still need to be there, but you can read a book, glancing at the monitor now and then, not holding the joystick. Best done at 17,000 where chances of being 'disturbed' are less. .

. The Story Behind the Force Feedback Joystick Now some people will disagree with this way of thinking, different opinions make the world go around. I don't see how in the name of all that's holy, you can fly an F18 Hornet, and a SE5 with the same Joystick. The Hornet can't vibrate at 585 MPH, it would self-destruct; while the SE5 firing it's weapon, shakes like a washing machine on steroids. The only way to simulate it is with a Force Feedback Joystick. You'll feel the instant you're flying, instead of everything getting smaller. And most importantly you'll feel the stall coming half a second before it arrives, giving the pilot ample time to alter his activities, thus avoiding the stall. It could be a lifesaver. Especially with WWI birds, many times after take-off, you can attempt to gain altitude too quickly and stall. It's very easy, to change, just level out and build some speed, when you feel the 'Death Rattle'. Without Force Feedback, just stall and die. In a dogfight you might make one turn too many. You can maintain the attack and stall, and the Hunter becomes the Hunted. Or you can break off the attack, rebuild speed, and attack again. Without Force Feedback you don't have a choice. The stall itself is just the lack of physical ability to fly; below a certain speed, it just stalls. The only way to recover with these low power engines is to dive in order to gain speed of air over your wings and control surfaces. Not enough altitude…you die. If it feels unnatural to you to bring your left hand across your body in order to work the throttle, (throttle on EVO is bad), there are ways around such a predicament. I'm rather fond of the Saitek Throttle Quadrant, and if you use the massive clamp deal it comes with for a boat anchor and just secure the quadrant itself to your desktop it works great. Use adhesive back Velcro and you can put it wherever you want. It features 3 stalks, of which you can only use one, the other two vanish, and the slots are neatly covered with black tape. It also features 3 Rocker Switches, which function like 6 Buttons, programmable of course. That Micky$oft Sidewinder II is a great FFB Joystick, but it's painfully short of buttons. My personal opinion as far as OFF is concerned: any HOTAS would be a bit of overkill. The WWI pilot never had all those controls at his fingertips. About the only positive is the left hand throttle, which I simulate with the Saitek. That leaves you free to use a Force Feedback joystick, then add your choice of pedals and TrackIR to round things out. That's just the way I did it. I'm sure there are other versions of the OFF experience. .

. How to Continue to Fall Until You Hit the Ground: Taking a Dirt Nap (This may or may not apply if you're already dead.) On the left side of the Workshop: Set ‘Auto Exit CFS3’ to ‘ON’ Set ‘Auto Exit Mission’ to ’OFF’ Any other way, the instant your aircraft is considered unflyable by the Manager the mission just ends…NEXT! It's enough to piss off the Pope. NOTE: You must have ‘Hat in the Ring’ installed as without it those controls don't even exist. .

. TrackIR Goodies TrackIR is a bit of a vampire in that it strongly dislikes bright lights, especially sunlight. That includes reflected light, so if you're folically challenged, (i.e bald), cover that chrome dome as it has been known to cause problems. If you're just starting to use TrackIR, you'll feel a bit woosie. Not to worry, it happens to everyone, you'll quickly become used to it. But I'd advise in the beginning that you keep a pail handy, just in case. There was a guy who bought TrackIR for use in Phase 1. He had flown every sim since CFS1, he used TrackIR and lost his lunch all over his keyboard. Turns out he would get violently airsick. Who knew? The following day he took out an eBay ad. People have actually asked here where they can buy Dramamine wholesale, so there must be a need. I've heard of many temporary cures, from pills to wristbands. I'd say see an MD if you are so afflicted. Then use TrackIR One common problem the beginner complains of is their inability to get the exact sight alignment to head position during a dogfight. Just get it close, and then hit the ‘F12’ key. The sights will center themselves to match your head position. Beginners will get real familiar with ‘F12’. PS: It's always good to ‘F12’ it when the mission starts. What is TrackIR: How to Build a Free Track, for those who can't stretch their budgets or sneak TrackIR past the Wing Commander: Build a Free Track Video .

. Navigation The early aviators didn't have pop-up maps or GPS do help guide them. They only had dead reckoning and landmarks to help. Most carried maps either folded up or on a scroll that they could use. Of course, after flying over an area long enough, they learned the landmarks and views so that they didn't need them so much. Fortunately, Winder's scenery is so good you can do the same. To navigate, you need maps. Forget the in-game map. It's too vague and misguided. There are several posts about maps here. Look in the Knowledge Base stickies, it’s a good place to start your search, as is the OFF Downloads section. By the way, part of the F5 HUD is a perfectly working compass. With good maps and a functional compass, who needs the 'M' key? TRICK: If you drag the compass into the center of your TAC, both still work perfectly (assuming the screen is cycled to aircraft). If you use Padlocking and Brackets the compass gets rather hard to read. .

. Send 'em to me Pol, I'll take a look and see just how much work is involved, and if I can I'll take care of it for you. .

. Bloody April meets Black Friday, eh Hellshade? .

. Coming soon to a theatre near you ... Barmy OFFers and the Holy Grail (of WWI Aviation Artifacts) Thrill to the epic saga of one intrepid group's quest for the most highly-prized aviation treasures of the First World War. Wonder in amazement at the discovery of Baron Manfred von Richthofen's DR1, found intact in a barn in Shropshire. Look on in awe at the unearthing of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's actual pilot log book in which he detailed how he single-handedly brought down the entire German Air Service. Gasp at the finding of Major Billy Bishop's complete ego hiding in plain sight in Kanye West. If you see only one movie this year, make it this one! this film is not yet rated, though it's already assumed it's intended for less-than-mature audiences ....

. This weekend I ran across a unique offering on eBay: the original combat report for American ace Elliott White Springs, in which he claimed his very first kill. The item did not sell as the asking price was $7,500, but I did save all the images the seller had posted of the document and have reassembled them here for those who might be interested in this wonderful bit of Great War aviation history. I find it interesting that CO Billy Bishop is giving support of Springs claim while Spring in turn provides support for one of Bishop's claims. Don't you wonder how many eyebrows might have been raised over this up at HQ? Cheers! Lou .

. Olham, if you are going where I think you are, don't forget I made the following file available about two years ago: .

. Perhaps they just need some professional counselling. They have been though a lot after all. .

. I wonder if they're hiring mechanincs at 'The Vintage Aviator'. I can bring my own tools, although I don't know how I'll get 'em past customs when I board Air New Zealand. .

. Danke, mein Freund, I'll give 'em a go! .

. Ummm...yeah...sure I do Javito...and if you give me an hour or so I'll have full documentation to go along with them. Would you also be interested in Lanoe Hawker's Victoria Cross and mustache scissors, or how about George Guynemer's Legion d'Honneur and suspenders, because I have those around here somewhere too. Now let me think, where did I put all that stuff when I cleaned the place this spring... .

. I agree as well Gents, such items should be kept in places where all can enjoy. But here is an interesting, (and sad), aside to this. Over the years museums have actually been known to turn away such items if they have no room to display them. Now there's the pity. .

. Yes Olham, I have played around with those some in the past and I would give it another go to see if I've changed my mind on them. My current screen res is 1920x1080 32bit color. Thanks Sir. .

. OK folks, now this is just ridiculously cool. Earlier today I finished getting the new bus ready for my current campaign pilot, 2nd Lt. Havard Anderson of 4 RFC, and went out on the next assigned sortie to check it over and grab a few screenshots, after which I rolled it into the hanger. And there, standing in the corner of the shed, was a mechanic with a replacement rudder for a Quirk. Not just any old Quirk mind you, but Havard's brand new Quirk! Look at the custom tail number I put on the Lieutenant's plane and then look at the portion of the tail number showing on the rudder being placed in the corner by the mechanic. Our wonderous and beloved devs actually set the sim code to grab the piece in question from the custom paint scheme chosen. Just makes a bloke go all giddy it does. .

. That's what your ground crew is for Olham. .