Herr Prop-Wasche

Should be doable, since there is a "grunt" sound when you are wounded, or wound another pilot, in the game .

I am working on what I believe to be at least a partial solution to this problem. I have found that there are at least two situations which govern wing failures in OFF. The first situation is damage from overspeeding in a dive and is controlled by the max_mach variable in the .cfg file (technically, wings did not shed their fabric from overspeed, but from pulling up too quickly during a fast dive, but OFF does not currently model this well so we are left with overspeed damage). Multiply the value you find in this variable by 936 and you will get the speed in mph that the plane must exceed to eventually get overspeed damage. How fast a plane can dive is governed by several factors, but primarily by its drag factor, with lower drag meaning generally faster overall speed as well as dive speed. Drag, in turn, is controlled by a variable found in the .air file. Note that the .air file can only be read by a program developed for CFS2 called AirEdit. You can find this program on the web. I have been able to succesfully get an Alb DIII (in addition to other aircraft) to shed its bottom wing tip in a steep dive by altering these values. The second situation is damage caused by pulling excess g's in a turn or manuever. This is also controlled by a variable in the .air file. There is a setting for positive and negative g limits in the .cfg file, but I have found that changing the .cfg file has no effect on the ability of the aircraft to take high g turns. You have to change the g setting in the .air file to do this. IMO, the g settings that allow planes to make tight turns in OFF is set too low for several aircraft, primarily the Albs. Again, I have been able to increase the g settings on the Albs so they do not crack up from excessive g's in a turn, so there is at least a partial remedy for BH's complaint. Furthermore, I did not have to increase this value very much in order to get the desired effect, so the plane will not necessarily become a "turn-demon" if you alter this value. I am still working on tweaking the FM's of the Alb DIII and Nieuport series to reflect these and other changes, but if anyone is interested in sampling what I have come up with so far, just send me a PM.

File Name: OFFUserBackupFiles program File Submitter: Herr Prop-Wasche File Submitted: 30 Apr 2010 File Updated: 24 May 2010 File Category: Modding Tools and Add-on Software README File INSTALLATION AND OVERVIEW: Simply extract the OFFUserBackupFiles.zip file to the OBDSoftware\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields folder where the OFFManager.exe file is located. I recommend that you immediately run the program and then rerun the program every time you make a major change to your OFF installation or just before you have to uninstall and reinstall OFF on your computer. To run the program, simply left click the program name and follow the instructions. Please note that in order to locate and copy some files, the program requires you to input the name of your operating system. When prompted, simply type either "XP, Vista, or Win7" and press the Enter key. The files will then be copied and placed in a new directory on your C: drive named MyOFFSetupFiles. When you wish to restore your saved files to your new OFF installation, simply navigate to the C:\MyOFFSetupFiles folder to select and copy the files you wish to restore. IMPORTANT: Note that your files do NOT all go to the same location in your OFF installation. The files should be placed in OFF as follows: In the \OBD Software\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields folder ViewUI.xml In the \OBD Software\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\campaigns\CampaignData\Pilots folder Pilot[]Log.txt Pilot[]Dossier.txt Pilot[]Claims.txt The following five files should be placed as follows: IF XP: C:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields folder IF Vista or Win7: C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields folder ViewUI.xml mine.xca CFS3.xca UnlimitedPilots.xml ConfigOverrides.xml --------------- REVISION HISTORY v 1.2 Added Pilot[]Claims.txt to backup program Click here to download this file

You guys are very welcome. Glad to be of assistance.

Welcome back, Olham! It's nice to clear the lungs with some good sea air so that you are better prepared to breath engine oil and petrol!

Hello, trupp. Reason I haven't posted in almost a week is because of a partial computer crash I had. The crash was almost entirely user error, as I was attempting to get a few more Hz out of my box via some O/C tweaks. A Windows file apparently became corrupted, and I had to reinstall Windows and eventually OFF, as well. However, things seem to be back and running and I hope to be back in the skies again, tonight. Fortunately, before I uninstalled OFF, I made a backup of several important files such as ViewUI, Mine.xca, and CSF3.xca. Unfortunately, I forgot to save my Pilots folder so I lost all of my pilots. Nevertheless, after re-installing OFF and replacing the view, mine, and CFS3 files with the ones I had backed-up, a very tiny light went on and I wondered about the feasibility of creating a batch program that would automatically backup essential user files that could then be copied back to their correct locations after re-installing OFF. To that end, I soon began work on just such a program (just call me .bat-man)!! To this point, the program copies the ViewUI.xml file located in the main CFSWW1 OFF Folder and places it into a folder I created called MyOFFVPFiles. This folder is then placed into the root directory where OFF is installed. The program also makes a copy of all of the Pilot?Dossier and Pilot?Log files located in your \CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields\campaigns\CampaignData\Pilots folder and also places them into the MyOFFVPFiles folder. Hopefully, this will let you keep your active pilots in case you need to uninstall and then re-install OFF. Finally, the batch program copies the Mine.xca, CFS3.xca, and ViewUI.xml files located in your C:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\CFSWW1 Over Flanders Fields Folder to another folder named MyOFFSetupFiles which is then placed in the root directory of your C: drive. These files preserve your joystick and rudder settings and key/button assignments we have all spent precious time setting to our personal satisfaction, but then too easily forgotten when we need to uninstall OFF. A couple of questions: 1) Is anyone interested in using such a program? 2) Are there any files that I have missed that you feel I should include in a small backup program? 3) Should I go the extra step of writing a restore program which will (hopefully) automatically place the backup files into their correct locations, or do you think most people are capable of copying the files themselves? Note: I can preserve the directory trees inside each folder and write a brief readme file so that you know exactly where each backup file should go after you reinstall OFF. 4) Any other thoughts or suggestions? Unless there are some additional files that need to be included in the backup the program is basically finished. If you think there are some critical files I have missed, be sure to let me know. I am especially interested in the experiences of anyone who has had to re-install more than once, because they are the ones most likely to know what the important files are.

Version 1.2 of the backup program is now available at the download forum here: http://forum.combatace.com/files/file/10890-offuserbackupfiles-program/ This version adds Pilot[]Claims.txt to the list of files that are backed up when you run the program, thus saving a record of all of your pilots' claims. Remember to run the backup program on a regular basis in order to backup any claims you made since you first ran the program. Please report any questions or problems with the program to me on this thread. Thank you.

Ahhh, wern't nuthin'! Actually, it was very simple to write, once I got the DOS terminology down. The update should now be available on the downloads forum.

Clerks!!!

Eureka! Well, not really eureka, but I have found you can backup your claims file after all. Each pilot should have a file called Pilot[x]Claims.txt in the same place as the other pilot files. I will have a revised version of my backup program with this addition available for download on Monday.

Ouch. Sorry to hear about your knee, Typhoon. I have two creaky knees that sometimes bark at me if I sit in front of the computer too much, but nothing that requires surgery (yet). Get well soon.

Greetings, gents and lasses. Anyone interested in a flight model tweaking tutorial? I have been messing around in the files (again) and have a few thoughts about the FM and the various tweaks that are available. For instance, Olham mentioned that he thought the Alb III was somewhat of an underperformer. I created an Excel spreadsheet and made some interesting discoveries about the comparative performance of all of the scouts in OFF. In general, I agreed with almost all of the FM settings, but there were a few "anomalies." I have also noted some oddness while flying some aircraft. For instance, has anyone else noticed that the Sopwith Triplane can dive in speeds in excess of 260 mph? Actually, I wonder if almost all of the aircraft in OFF dive a little too fast for what are basically motorized kites. There is a setting (or two) that can help adjust this, but you have to be careful changing it because changing one variable can have an effect on other variables. I don't claim to be an expert in all (or even most) things FM, but I have played around with some of the settings and found that you can (successfully) alter a few parameters such as max speed, climb rate, and turn radius, among others. I know that messing around with the FM is likely to be a controversial matter and is not likely to be popular among some folks such as people who like to fly in multi-player because they need to have identical FM's. But, since OFF is primarily a single player game, I thought there might be a few folks who might be interested in this topic. If not, I can shut my yap and quietly back out of the room! Besides, it seems to have gotten a little too quiet in here recently. Nothing like an FM discussion to warm things up a bit!

No problem and take your time, Duce. It's nice what you and your Dad are doing and puts in perspective the real meaning of "Memorial Day." Olham is also helping with the FM and he is, of course, on vacation until the end of the month. I've checked into the CFS3 SDK and although it's helpful in some areas, it only mentions a few critical files and variables. Most are left for us to guess at. I don't have a current copy of CFS3 on my computer. If you do, you might look at the cfg files for a few of the WWII airplanes to see how they differ from OFF's WWI planes. Might be interesting to look at.

Ah, I didn't test whether the pilot claims get saved or not. My guess is that my program does not currently save your claims. I'll check and see if I can remedy that or not, but don't get your hopes up.

Thanks for your feedback, Duce. The wing failures can probably be cured by adjusting the maximum_g value. I will try that tonight and get back to you. Keep in mind differences in "stick handling" of course. Although I put the N28 through some turns, I did not go out of my way to stress the airframe in combat conditions. On the other hand, I don't want the plane to become indestructible. Roll was set pretty low in the original FM. I didn't increase the floor, but instead increased the range of values. I can probably increase the base roll rate a little to see what effect it has on performance. I agree about the testing. In general, I try to find the maximum ceiling and the cruising speed at 500 feet. Climb, turns, and dive are done pretty much by "feel' as I don't have a decent stopwatch right now. (I have just recently discovered a complicating factor in setting the drag in the air file. Turns out that in addition to adjusting the climb rate, ceiling, and dive speed, it also has a major impact on the cruising speed. This leads to strange results, such as a Triplanes with high cruising speeds and very high dive speeds. In fact, all "fast" planes have relatively low drag compared to slower planes. The only way to adjust the cruising speed independent of the drag factor is to adjust either a value called "power_scaler" in the engine performance section or "thrust_scaler" in the propeller section. However, I don't think these variables have anything to do with real world physics and are instead "cheat" values used in CFS3 to control for unrealistic performance specifications--if that makes any sense. I'll have to test changes to both of these variables to be more sure.)

Bumped in effort to restore thread.

My FM tweaking thread appears to have been deleted or is missing? Was it something I said? Upon further investigation, it appears the FM tweaking thread has been moved to the OFF Knoweldge Base forum. Don't forget to stop by and say hello!

If in the process of re-installing windows you need to reformat your hard drive, be sure to first save the MyOFFBackupFiles folder to an external storage device.

I will be looking forward to your reports! Don't be shy about sharing the bad as well as the good. Here is a question for everyone to ponder: do you think the planes in OFF are, in general, easier to fly than in real life, about the same as in real life, harder to fly in real life, or easier or harder depending on the particular airplane? Regardless of whether you think the planes are too easy to fly or too difficult to fly, what aspect, in general for most planes, is most out of line with your expectations: speed, turning ability, climb, stall, etc.? I am curious about others opinions for guidance about what direction to take with my FM tweaking.

Have you ruled out a virus? I have heard that certain viruses can cause random reboots.

Duce and Crossbones, Thanks for the input. I have just uploaded a quick tweak of the FM for the N28 in the FM thread, which I hope helps to address some of your concerns. Please be sure to let me know about what you like and dislike about the changes. You should find the N28 a little faster, a little easier to turn, and not as prone to weird stall behavior. Watch your speed in a prolonged dive, however!

Finally, the FM tweaks are done! Attached, please find two zip files. One is for FM tweaks to the Albatross DII, DIII early, and DIII late; and the other for the N28. The Albatross files are in reply to a request from Olham and others that there is not much of a difference or improvement from the DII to the DIII series of aircraft. I tend to agree, since the Alb DIII series, with the exception of its wing shedding problems (represented in the FM tweak!), was recognized as one of the best aeroplanes of the mid-war period. Likewise, the N28 files are an effort to somewhat improve the performance of the N28. Although there are many changes to the FM's of each aircraft, the main ones have to do with parasitic drag. Parasitic drag affects the performance of each aircraft in many ways, including climb rate, cruise speed, stall, and aircraft ceiling. IMO, the parasitic drag of many of the aircraft in OFF is not quite correct. For example, the Bristol Fighter, with the heaviest weight and greatest wing area of any plane in OFF, has one of the lightest drag settings. In contrast, the Nieuports have drag settings that are sometimes two or even three times the drag of the F2b. As a consequence, other settings have had to be changed in OFF to get the aircraft to perform according to historical patterns. I have tried, with my first FM tweaking attempt, to remedy some of these problems with a few aircraft. I will leave it to you to decide if I have been successful. So far, the tweaks are only to be used in QC or CFS3 QC. If most of you approve of the changes, I will make another update available for the campaign. Here are the instructions for installing the FM mod: 1) Open your aircraft\AlbDII_QC1, Alb_DIII_QC1, Alb_DIII_early, and Nieuport_N28_QC1 folders. 2) BACKUP OR RENAME THE *.AIR AND *.CFG FILES IN EACH OF THESE FOLDERS. 3) Unzip the zip file(s) into your OBD Software\aircraft folder. If the program asks to overwrite files, click NO, and make sure you have renamed or backed-up the correct files. 4) Play a QC battle. Enjoy! Please be sure to inform me of what you like and dislike about each of these changes. FM tweaking is hard work (my sympathies to OFF), and if I do not hear from anyone, I won't be able to continue making FM tweaks to the aircraft that may need some adjustments. I hope you enjoy the files, and recognize the labor of love that these changes represent. Thank you!

Still experiencing internet access problems, so my access to the forum is limited. Still, I have some news to report. I have finished making some FM tweaks to the Albatross DII and DIII series and to the N28 and plan to upload the files later tonight or tomorrow. Look for them in this thread or in the download section.

It is the heaviest of all of the Nieuport's, isn't it? Most later Albatross had engines with at least 170 hp and were overcompressed and run lean, to boot, so I'm not sure if the N28 would catch up or not. One thing i can look at is the drag. Lowering it a tad may allow the plane to accelerate a little better.

Tell me what you don't like about the FM of the N28. There may be a way to fix it. More details the better. For instance, I am fairly sure I can reduce its tendency for its wings to break up in a sharp turn while still allowing for damage from a too fast dive. I am currently working on the Albatross series and have had some success with them, although I am still not quite finished. See my FM tweaking thread for details.