JohnGresham

Yes, but flak's too accurate and it's too loud, this thing is too difficult, I want a game not a sim, my pilot keeps on dying, this was better three patches ago, this board is too snobby, I won't be buying any more add ons unless I get some attention, I wnat this chnaging now. Wah! Wah! Waaaaaaaaaah! I'm throwing my toys out of the pram, don't try and stop me! Ok I apologize, but in light of recent events I couldn't resist it. Yes, it looks fantastic, another fine example of devs relentless efforts to refine and improve an already great title.

I was also taken aback at the way some chose to express their views after the superpatch (which I thought was magnificent), clearingly failing to realize that this was a sim not an aracde game and, you know what? Flying in WWI was hard and flak was both deadly and loud! I'm very tempted to let my annoyance get the better of me, but I'll leave it at that. Moving on. I'm really sorry that the tantrums of a few have resulted in this, but I just wanted to express my support. You've always provided fantastic support for your product and I just wanted to say how grateful and delighted I am with what you've done. OFF is a magnificent piece of work that you can be justifiably proud of. I'd urge you not to let the ill concieved temper tantrums of the unappreciative few dampen your passion and enthusiasm for what you've created.

Spot on Olham. I think the new archie really adds to the quality of the title and the experience. Archie is dangerous, why? Because it was.

The new 'archie' is deadly, but I really think it adds to the immersive nature and quality of the sim, it's not just window dressing. Read any memoirs from the war and you find that it was both feared and respected by pilots. Great work chaps!

I think your eyesight's on the blink old bean, looks like a Roland to me.

Do we really need to do RoF advertising for them on this forum?

In no particular order, my favourites are: Blue Max Aces High All Quiet on the western front The Big Parade King and Country Paths of Glory Regeneration

Yes, but the furthur away you are, when you opne fire, the less chance you have of hitting the target with any accuracy. At 800 feet you'll probably hit it, but how many rounds will you expend and how many of those rounds will be wasted? Dictae Boelcke - rule 3 - only fire at close range and only when your opponent is in your sights. From what I know, it seems Bolecke advocated closing to about 300-330 feet before opening fire.

Get in very close before opening fire. Your ammunition is precious; you have to make every shot count. In the numerous OFF videos on Youtube, I'm always surprised by how far away from their target many people are when they open fire.

Can't disagree with any of that. She is without doubt my crate of choice. Treat her right, know her limits, fly and fight to her strengths, and she's more than a match for anything the Hun can throw at you.

Ummm, I think Rene Fonck might take issue with that. He was 'pretty good' in the SPAD XIII too.

It's not a great start, but it should all get resolved fairly soon. I've got no plans to purchase it any time soon though. Much as I love WWI sims, the fact that the game ships with only two flyable planes and you have to pay extra for the rest, really strikes me as a rather shabby money grabbing ploy.

I'm with Rabu on this one, both are of value, both help us to understand the nature of the conflict from different pespectives and whatever promotes greater understanding is no bad thing. One offers the personal reflections and the immediacy of the impact of the conlict on the individual, the other offers a broader view that seeks to explain how and why events happened in the way they did.

Build your own, it's cheaper and you'll get much more bang for your buck!

Well, it looks great, but we already knew that. It's difficult to make any firm judgements about the quality of the AI and the flight models, but it did thorw up a couple of questions. On the evidence of the (now deleted) video, the AI seemed to make precious little attempt to take evasive action, I was also a little surprised by the SPADs ability to turn inside the DVII, I've no idea if this was just novice AI, or linked to issues concerning flight modelling, but I wouldn't want to get stuck in a turning doghfight with a DVII in a SPAD. In fact, I wouldn't want to get into a turning dogfight in a SPAD fullstop. Anyway, unless they plan to drop the online requirement and release it with more than two flyable aircraft, I'm still going to say no to this one; no matter how great it looks.

Oh yes, that was a real work of art. A great example of thoughtful and intelligent filmmaking.

An SE5a with Fokker DVII struts and wheels from god knows where. You missed a bit of sky round the pilot and between the wings of the DrI

Rene Fonck...now that could be a fascinating and challenging character study.

The mythology that's grown up around Luke is certainly interesting. Probably partly driven by the USA's need to find heroes in a war that was entered relatively late, but it's also interesting that it seems to hark back to the mythology of the old west and the cowboy, the idea of individual action and the final 'gunfight'. Luke was in many ways an ideal figure to elevate to 'heroic' status for the USA. The flying equivelant of a cowboy. Figures like Francis Gillet have always interested me, but while their tally may exceed Luke's their histories lack the immediate sensationlism of Luke's expliots, so they're unlikely to ever get the same degree of recognition. What drove Luke to behave in the reckless manner that he did, strikes me as a much more interesting debate and topic for research than the apparent 'mystery' that surrounds his death.

I don't know; it's all speculation, but that's the fun I suppose. I think Voss was almost certainly a better pilot than MVR, but he was much more reckless, instinctive and less cautious than MVR. He was also more of lone hunter than a team player. Given all these characteristics I think it was exceptional he managed to survive as long as he did. His stlye and method of dogfighting was always eventually going to catch up with him.

Fine work, any plans to use this as a study for a painting?

I can sympathize. I had a similar condition about twenty years ago, it wasn't fully though, so was told to wait. Boy did it hurt when it finally fully popped! On the plus side, surgery now is less invasive than it used to be and it can be done very quickly now, so if it ever goes, I'm sure you won't be in hospital for more than a couple of days.

I wouldn't compare him with Fonck. Fonck was, as far as I understand, extremely calculating and methodical about what he did. I doubt the same could be said of Luke. However, I do agree that there is at least a good deal of controversy and ambiguity about Luke's achievements. Personally, I've always ascribed the mythology around Frank Luke as partly driven by America's need to find heroes in a war they entered relatively late. I'm certainly not going to call into question the bravery of anyone prepared to clamber into a cockpit at any point during WWI, but I have to agree with Ovs, this seems like the creation of a mystery where one simply didn't exist and at that price they do seem to be pricing themselves out of the market.

And that's the whole point of the film. There is no cohesion in the Jasta once Stachel arrives. He disrupts their world with his class background, his ambition, his desire and his ungentlemanly condusct. This is not a film about social cohesion, and comradeship. Social prejudices run deeper than any shared goal, comradeship or common enemy in the drama of the Blue Max. As I said before, bedding Katie is all about proving he's Willie's equal and better, the tensions in the Jasta are such that Willie, or another Jasta member is just as likely to be responsible for his death as the allies. This is not a drama about forming bonds and friendships, you may think his actions stupid, but his actions are fueled by the sense of resentment he feels about the way he is treated by the rest of the Jasta. While you might feel the film never moves beyond the depiction of social tensions, the obvious answer is that it can't move beyond this, because the characters are so entrenched in their social prejudices and class divisons that they won't allow it. Clearly you want it to be a different sort of film and a different sort of drama, but then it wouldn't be The Blue Max. Stachel's pursuit of the medal is not about glory, heroism or patriotism, the medal proves that he's just as good as Heidermann, as Willie and all the other social snobs in the Jasta. That's one of the reasons I prefer it over something like Flyboys. The Blue Max is essentially a deeply personal drama and tragedy played out against an epic backdrop. The enemy is not the allies, the enemy (for Stachel) is the aristocratic, manipulative, hypocritical, German officer class. There are no cartoon villians and no clear cut heroes in the film, just a bunch of deeply flawed characters, thrown together, who are all mired in their own social prejudices and struggles. As I said in my previous post, it's worth remembeirng that those social divisions did really run that deep - see the McCudden example. Anyway, I get the feeling that rather like Stachel and Willie we're going round in circles on this one, so that's me done with it, but it's been fun.