Hellshade

For any other single player fantasy RPG fans out there, Skyrim - the next in line from the Elder Scrolls series from Bethesda - is probably already on your radar, but just in case it isn't here's a great new interview with Todd Howard that releases all kinds of new and exciting information about the game. It's a multi-part interview so you can either watch the segments on the other games or fast forward to the next part involving Skyrim. There is LOTS of in-game video time shown during the interview and all of it is pretty much jaw dropping, IMHO. Especially the parts where it shows two dragons fighting each other. You'll just have to watch the interview to find out why... http://www.gametrail...ers-tv/137?ch=1 From everything I've seen, according to this interview and the ones I've seen before, it looks like Bethesda is putting the same kind of attention to detail into every aspect of Skyrim that OBD is putting into P4. Just in case you haven't seen some of the latest screenshots of this totally open world, here's a few to show you what's in store.

With the haze, the scenery could almost be a photograph. As I said before, I'd probably pay full price just for the scenery, cockpit and plane upgrades. OFF 2 is going to be a revolution for flight sims in many ways. The fact that it will look so beautiful, too is stunning. Thank you Devs for all of your hard work and for sharing bits of it here and there with us. OFF 2 is certainly on my "Must Have" list. Hellshade

The 1.4 Patch is out for PC and consoles now. Lots of good stuff. And PC users, Bethesda released a high resolution texture upgrade for free. I got mine off Steam. Great work. Make sure your PC has the specs to run it though. Hellshade

How good is the AI? Do they put up a good fight? Do you think I could play it ok on my system specs? (listed in my sig) Hellshade

A good enough holiday seasons for me. Basically just waiting on P4. Until that comes out, I'm, watching for new screenshots or Preview Movies. The only other game on my "radar" is Guild Wars 2 and I have some doubts about that one. I hear there is an effort to get Dark Souls released on the PC. Currently only a PS3 title. If that happens, I'm sure I'll give it a go. Hellshade

Yes, I drilled a few eyehooks into various places on my desk to keep the wires in place. Works wonderfully. Cost, about $1.50 Hellshade

I'm impressed. I didn't think any series could go backwards that far, that fast. That explains the free to play model though. Hellshade

That was my exact thought too sir. Hellshade

So does this mean you're going to start a Skyrim "Dead is Dead" character too? On a serious note, how cool are Devs that allow an open compare / contrast thread between their sim and a competing one regarding strengths and weaknesses and their comment on it essentially is "Whats important to you is important to us...so we are interested in how you feel about each sim?" Seriously the best Devs ever. Hellshade

Don't want to turn this into a us vs them type thread, but RoF has made a nice stride forward with it's beta career mode. It doesn't have anywhere near the scope of OFF P3's campaign though and at best, with so few planes in the sky at one time it always feels like you are on the quiet part of the front. So yes, OFF is stil far ahead of RoF in campaign, however there are currently some small details where RoF has pulled ahead. Arty spotting / directing fire missions actually allow you to change where the fire is being sent, which is a very nice touch. What kills the immersion there is how bare the front actually is unfortunately. For the most part, you re-direct your artillary rounds from one patch of empty ground to another patch of empty ground. Few if any tanks or men can be seen so you kind of feel like "what's the point?" In my humble opinion, each sim holds it's strongpoint on opposite ends of the flight sim spectrum, one for single player campaign and one for multiplayer. Both seem to be making an effort to start covering the other end better. In the end, we all win. OFF 2 will be released when the devs feel comfortable it's the experience they want to deliver. I "can't wait" to see what they put together because I'm sure it'll be fantastic as always...but between P3, Skyrim, RoF MP and being back to Rift, I don't have time for all the games I have now. Not to mention my wife got me BF3 for Christmas so I need to work my way through that. In Skyrim I created a Dead is Dead character who so far has made it to level 17. In Rift I have leveled up a Cleric using what is called a "Duracell" build so he can just mow down mobs endlessly 3 to 7 at a time and never stop. In RoF I've been doing quite well on the MP side of things and in OFF I've been trying my hand on the german side in an Alb DII. Hellshade

The "other" sim was designed with MP as the primary focus of it. Notice it didn't have any form of a proper single player campaign until 2 years after it shipped and even now it's still considered beta. OFF P3 was designed primarily around the single player campaign. Since CFS3 was designed with dedicated microsoft servers in mind for its MP support and those had been turned off, the Devs of OBD decided to focus on making the best possible single player experience they could. Each sim has it's strengths. Skyrim is an outstanding (IMHO) single player game...but it has zero MP support. The Devs focus there was to make the best possible single player experience they could. OBD had the same philosophy. I personally love the on-line dogfighting in the other sim. I have a blast at it and have even posted a new series of MP dogfight videos on my youtube site (Hellshade68) to show just how exciting it can be. But when I want a good single player campaign experience, I boot up OFF. The other sims experience is a nice start, but doesn't stand up to P3, let alone what P4 should bring to the table. Anything is possible, but my guess is the MP support on P4 will also be a nice start, but I doubt it'll match that of a sim that was developed with MP as it's primary focus. I could be completely wrong since I have no idea what OBD has cooked up for us, but the fact that "Host Mission" is in the menu seems to me like it would mean the devs probably have all the planes showing up properly now without any fuss on the users part. Time will tell sir. Hellshade

Wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Hellshade

There is a HOST MISSION option in the OFF P4 Manager that you can see briefly in the movie. It's not letting me upload attachments anymore for some reason. But if you go to page 2 of this forum link you can see my post of a pic of the OFF 4 Manager showing the HOST MISSION option. Exciting times indeed! http://combatace.com/topic/69306-phase-4-preview-movie-1/page__st__20 Hellshade

Yes sir, but what specific setting in OFF Manager are you guys talking about changing? Sorry, I should have been more clear. Hellshade

which Manager settings are you guys talking about? Hellshade

Welcome Abbay! Hellshade

I got Battlefield 3 for Christmas. In the Campaign, at the very begining, you crash through a window in a subway train, grab a handgun from a terrorist you just face kicked and then knock off 3 or 4 terrorists. Done. No problem. Then I get to the end of railcar and there's a shotgun being used to wedge a door shut with a clear icon of the shotgun suggesting that you take it. No matter which "Interact" key I map it too, I can't grab it. Not with a mouse, a keyboard or a joystick. There's no other way in or out of the rail car and the icon of the shotgun is the ONLY thing I see in the entire car that suggests I can do something with it. You can't shoot the door open with the pistol either. Anyone who owns BF3 can give me a heads up on WTF I am supposed to do here?

Thanks Pol. Silly me didn't think to hold the key designated for RELOADING on a weapon I didn't actually possess yet. Ha. Anyways it works and the game plays awesome. Stunning realism in terms of video fidelity. The rest, of course, is over the top "Michael Bay" stay craziness..but fun. :) Merry Christmas to all. Hellshade

Use at your own risk. http://www.geforce.com/Drivers Hellshade

EVGA GTX 580 factory overclocked. Runs everything pretty great. I have no complaints with it at all. I just got Battlefield 3 for Christmas and I can play it at 1920 x 1200 with all ULTRA settings and it's always between 55 - 60 FPS. Usually 60. Even a certain other WWI flight sim that is very resource intensive runs extremely well on it. I posted some new multiplayer vids on my Hellshade68 youtube account if you want to see how well it performs. I have added a few mods to Skyrim too. As great as it looks out of the box, the mods make some great improvements. Realistic Water, Natural Faces and an ENB series light mod. Looks amazing. Until OFF 2 comes out, I think Skyrim will be my main "go to" game for awhile. Even BF3, which looks hyper realistic, just doesn't have the gameplay (IMHO) to hook me like Skyrim has. By the way, I reinstalled 290.53 and for some reason this time I don't get any of the artifacting issues in RoF. Maybe a bad install first time? They just patched that game though and there have been some issue showing up so maybe they need a hot patch to resolve any graphical issues too. Hellshade

I bought it but never played through it. Word is it's like the campaign that comes with it, just for the german side.

It's updated to patch 1.0.4.5 or so and that has done a lot to take care of the 'arcade' feel. New FMs and such. The lack of dedicated servers is still an issue though. Hellshade

I hoping Santa brings me one of these for Christmas... Hellshade

I personally love that game, especially since all of the patches and updates have added a lot of options for scaling the realism, not to mention some updated flight models. The campaign is ok but the scenery and models are amazing and...most importantly...the AI can be very crafty and deadly. If you like a challenge, be prepared to have your split second reflexes tested. Things change fast at 350+ MPH so you don't get a lot of time to line up your targets. Here's a couple of videos I made of Wings of Prey action. Search my Hellshade68 youtube site to find more. Wings of Prey Tactics (5:02) 1080HD Wings of Prey 8 Spitfire MKIIs vs 1 BF 109E (8:21) 1080HD Hellshade

The "Ha" was self mockery. I wouldn't expect any such thing. But you are right that they are pulled in too many directions. I wouldn't be suprised if they wear name tags at home so their families will know who they are. Hellshade