Todt Von Oben

A little nightime aerobatics.... Prost! TvO

I watched it with the sound off, so if there was an explanation of how this pedalplane came to be, I missed it. That said, my first reaction was that some lucky kid, somewhere, has a very loving father who is also very handy with tools. My wife (the practical one in the family) opined that the DR1 pedalplane would be something that someone could make a good deal of money producing and selling. I just think it's really neat. Thanks for sharing! Prost! TvO

My last flight would have had a Kodak moment, IF I'd had the presence of mind to pause the game, and IF I'd known how to grab a screen shot. Is there a tutorial thread that explains how to grab screen shots like I see you guys doing? If so, where? Thanks! Prost! TvO

If a pilot's log entries have been accidentally deleted, can they be restored? Prost! TvO

Yeah, I went to read my Claims, and when I went back I mis-clicked and wiped the flight log entries describing the flight, and the claims page entries too. I kinda doubt those will be recoverable. The game is on a separate computer. I'll check the recycle bin tomorrow but I don't expect any success. But no biggy. Only three missions and one kill. I'll start over and not make that mistake again. Thanks for the info, ski. Prost! TvO

Hauksbee, I think you've gotten reliable G2 about the Auto Mixture, and starting QC from an altitude of your choice. For other problems: one thing to make sure of is that you have the latest patch correctly uploaded and installed. I and others were experiencing ineffective bullets at close and moderate ranges, even though the game said we were scoring hits. Getting the patch installed and working properly solved that for me. Deflection shooting is an art; it will come with practice. Fly QC; learn to visualize how far and at what angle to lead your target in a turn through experimentation: the game will give you a written notice in blue when you score. After a while you become able to "see it instinctively" and it becomes much easier to hit the mark. The last plane I downed with my Eindekker was a Be2c in a turn with almost 1200 feet separating us. Two bursts of about 20 rounds from his 3 O:clock and I'd killed his gunner and smoked his engine. Down he went. I was engaging similar planes from almost on top of them before I got the patch installed properly, and although my marksmanship was as good as it ever was, they weren't going down. But as soon as I got the patch working, the problem vanished. So, from my experience here I'd say (1) make sure you have the latest patch installed and working correctly; and (2) develop your deflection shooting skills. But also, realize the best way to down a foe is from his 6 O:clock at VERY close range. Welcome to the group, and I hope this helps. Prost! TvO

Got one of a night time bailout. Will try to get it posted this weekend.

Hmmmmm...strangely similar... Just started a new campaign on first day with Jasta 1 as Flg. Fritz Einflieger flying an E-III in 1915. Goal: make it from start of flying ops to Armistace day alive. First mission: escort recce almost to the Coast and back. Warp took me so far out over the North Sea I was out of the combat area before I knew it. Had to ESC to get home. Second Mission: same escort, afternoon of same day . This time Warp got us to the objective and almost back to Bertincourt. Then Warp carried me almost to Lille!!!! AAARRRGGGHHH! I don't have time for this! I've gotta go to work this afternoon!!!! Went back to flying manually and made it back to base when it was darn near night time. Not an enemy aircraft anywhere in sight yet. Prost! TvO

As it was in RB3D, so it is in OFF/BHAH: variety is the spice of life. Sometimes I've started out on the earliest possible date and the lowest possible rank and tried to survive till the Armistace, rising in the ranks meritoriously, and seeing how many kills I can amass. But it's often hard to last long enough to get leadership experience that way, so sometimes I start off as the boss. Sometimes I pick the time and place that will give me the hottest action and airplane. Sometimes I fly to survive. Othertimes I just want to see how much I can get away with. (I think it's like windsurfing: you can't get good by playing it safe and trying to stay dry. You've got to hang it out on the ragged edge and crash a lot before you really get nimble.) I've had the bad habit of throwing the mission aside if I see a target of opportunity. That's gotten me killed quite a few times. Lately I've been setting myself up to get flamed, just so I could screen-grab the action. Still finding new ways to enjoy the game. Prost! TvO

I'm happy with the way the game works with the 1.28 patch. Always wary of the "if it works, don't fix it" thing, but then again, wonder if I might be missing something by not loading 1.28a. Briefly, what will 1.28a do that 1.28 does not already accomplish? Thanks! TvO

Cool. Thanks.

Thanks Siggi. Is that the only difference?

I was experimenting with QC, pausing the game to get some good screen grabs. Went through a sequence at night where a plane got flamed and the pilot jumped. What he did seemed to be very authentic: he leaped vertically from the plane, tucked up in a ball as he went past his pursuer, and then rolled over onto his belly spread out pretty much like a skydiver in a laid-out "frog" position. I was using a "stop motion" method to screengrab various phases of this action, and I noticed something interesting. Right at the end, as his burning plane fell away and the enemy continued off below him, I saw the hapless pilot bring his right arm in toward his chest, and I believe his hand was closed. Now, if this was CFS3, I'd expect him to be pulling a ripcord; and maybe that action is what I was seeing. But then again, since this guy wasn't wearing a chute, it occurs to me there might be another possibility. So here's one more crazy question. Was that motion a leftover ripcord grab from CFS3; or did you guys configure the jumper so he reaches in and blesses himself by making the sign of the cross over his chest before falling to his death? I think it would be kinda cool if it was the latter, but I have virtually no experience with CFS3 so I'm not sure what the intent here was. What's going on there? Prost! TvO

Actually, my reference was only common terminology for a skydiving body position back in the 60's and 70's. There was the "Hard Arch" which was a relatively rigid spread eagle position; and the more-relaxed "Frog" position where the arms and legs were loosely bent to trail more naturally in the relative wind of freefall, allowing greater lateral stability and improved control during Relative Work. Back then, some jumpers said the name was attirbutable to the resemblance of the body position to that of a frog; and others said it came about because the body position had been discovered and developed primarily by French skydivers. The French were major innovators during the early years of skydiving; and French people in general have been referred to by the less-than-polite slang term "frog" for quite a long time. No offense intended to anyone here; that's just what people were saying way back then. Interesting correlation with Udet, though. Thanks! Prost! TvO

Yep! BTW: IMOHO it's a GREAT bailout animation. Thanks! TvO

Siggi, It happens, bro. Check the Ace on my six, barrel rolling as he steals my lunch money. Prost! TvO

I'll co-sign that. :yes: Like you, I was an avid RB3D player, and was really down when advances in computers made it obsolete. I've hoped and prayed for a new (and better) WWI flight sim to come along. OFF/BHAH is what I've been looking for. The graphics and the game are so superior to RB3D that I can't imagine anyone who liked the old game not loving this one. And the group is very helpful. Considering the price of everything these days; and also taking into consideration the fact that this isn't a game produced by a huge company; I think the price is reasonable. And after I got it, the game was so much of everything I was looking for that the price didn't matter. Like you, I have games gathering dust on my shelf, too. OFF/BHAH is the one I use all the time. I think if you buy it you won't be sorry. I know I wasn't. Prost! TvO

In RB3D, I could hit the E key and it would help locate enemy planes. The T key enabled me to find the nearest threat. I wouldn't want that in this game, because I think it's more realistic without it. But the E and T keys had another function. I could hit, say, E to see the enemy; and then hit F7 (I think it was; would have to go back to check for sure but it was something like that) and I'd get the enemy's view of me. That was pretty cool when I was shooting him down. I could pause it, switch to his viewpoint, and get a great view of myself at work. Is there anyway to get the enemy's viewpoint in OFF/BHAH? As always, thanks for the help. TVO

Beats me. Only medal I've gotten so far is the Royal Order of the Lead Enema. Prost! TvO P.S. That's "lead" as in the heavy metal bullets are made of.

Okay! I get that! I did it once while experimenting with the controls, and I think I can find it again. So, when I select the target and it's indicated by a yellow dot; then hitting Target View will show me the area from his point of view. Cool! That's what I'm looking for. I used to fly either to stay alive or devil may care to rack up a score. Now, with these improved graphics, it's almost like I have a new art form available. I'm set up to get that best "Kodak Moment" as a Screen Grab. Looking back at the agressor from the victim's point of view might make for an interesting graphic. I know I could always simplify things by letting somebody flame me from close on my six, pausing the game, going to the Spot View, circling around to the front looking back, and clicking the shutter. But I'd like to do it as an actual kill that I got myself. Thanks for the help, guys! Prost! TvO

"Target the EA from the tactical view" I'm going to go research and experiment with this. Don't believe I know how to do that. Thanks for the lead, and I'll get back to you about this... Prost! TvO

Well, I experimented with the Controls and made assignments to my ol' Sidewinder joystick. So far... Got my gun on the Number One (trigger) button, and the hat switch does all the views, as usual. Made the Number Two button PAUSE the game. Number Three button FIRES ORDINANCE (rockets and bombs). Number Seven button does quick SCREEN GRABS. And Number Eight button kills the engine: for times when the landing area is short, or (hopefully) to avoid a fire when my engine gets hit. I've found the keyboard selectors for FLOAT and FLYBY, which I used a bit in RB3D, and might assign them to buttons on the stick. Tried PLAYER / TARGET view, but it seems a lot like the SPOT view. Not sure if I understand the intent there. In any event, if there's a method of seeing myself from the Target's point of view, I haven't discovered it yet. But what the hey! I'm having a great time and the game is working SOOOO much better than RB3D I'm just really happy with it. For those who think the price is a lot: considering what things cost these days; how hard it is to find a good WWI flight sim; and how much work obviously went into OFF/BHAH, I think it's a bargain. If you're on the fence about purchasing, I say GO FOR IT. Prost! TvO

It's been said: "Don't fly with Warp if you want to get the odd realistic surprise from above ;)" Yup. Just warped into a furball in my 10th campaign mission and that was all she wrote. Back to the Topic: I'm happy with the game as it is after the 1.28 patch. I think Workshops gives you the option to set difficulty and damage where you like. It's not too predictable, though. The AI can be fiendishly unexpected: like what just happened on my tenth (and last) mission. Some times I score a quick shot to the pilot and down he goes. Or I might shoot the plane to pieces with good bursts in the right places. But some times it's still a lot of bullets through canvas without much effect, and I'd expect all of those situations would occasionally be the case in reality. So I think it's about right. Great Game, Guys! Prost! TvO