Hellshade

I've had a chance to fly a little bit of the Battle of Britain campaign and I have to say that while the game certainly does NOT offer the kind of free roaming flexibility of Over Flanders Fields, it does a wonderful job of making you feel like you are right there in the thick of the action. The diary entries that are read between missions have good voice acting. The in game cut scenes that are played as the diaries are read give you the feeling of being in a bigger war than you actually are. Rain drops, oil, bullet holes and smoke on the canopes. Shredded wings with holes that literally let you see the ground below you through them. Excellent "chatter" between pilots and base sounds authentic. Beautifully rendered clouds, villages and countrysides. Flak that fills the sky and burning aircraft that impact and explode into the ground below. Harbors, different ships. Army bases filled with tanks and other military vehicles. You are indeed in a small "arena", but Wings of Prey makes that small area so life like and so intense that your focus hardly shifts away from what's happening on the screen long enough to see through the illusion. As has been said earlier, there are a number of historical inaccuracies in WoP. If you are looking for WoP to be an historical encylopedia of the battles it portrays then you will likely be dissappointed. Total accuracy was not the focus of these developers, but nor was mere eye candy. I can think of another flight sim that has great eye candy but it just didn't pull me into it at all. WoP sucks you in with a great sense of immersion. The irony is that besides being about air combat, Wings of Prey and OFF really have just one other thing in common. They are both incredibly immersive but literally for entirely different reasons. OFF uses great graphics, great gameplay, historical accuracy and a huge open world to fly in (not to mention incredible AI), while Wings of Prey uses photo realistic graphics, great game play and just enough accuracy to keep you believing in the small little world they set you in. Over Flanders Fields is still my favorite game but I'm not afraid to admit that I love Wings of Prey too. I heartily recommend it. Hellshade

My TrackIR worked fine with the version I downloaded from steam. OVS - I don't believe it's an entire live front like OFF has. At least on the single player missions, if you even take too long to complete it - you fail. As I said, you really can't compare the two. Both bring their respect wars alive in their own way. It probably isn't possible - yet - to have the kind of huge map and freedom that OFF has AND the photorealism of Wings of Prey. On the other hand, I didn't think anyone could squeeze the kind of incredible graphics that OBD has out of the CFS3 engine. So who knows? Maybe if OBD ever got their hands on the Wings of Prey engine, they could do the impossible yet again and make a photorealistic war that covers the entire western front. I really don't put anything past OBD. At any rate, I don't think WoP will steal any of OFF's thunder. The experiences are both excellent but entirely different. Hopefully there is no harm in giving it a thumbs up in my first impressions. Hellshade

Honestly Gentlemen, Your commitment to quality and customer satisfaction puts major software developers to shame. Thanks for doing everything you can - yet again - to make OFF the best WWI flight sim you possibly can. Hellshade

I've played the demo a few times. I will have to just echo most other peoples responses to it. It is very pretty and runs incredibly smooth. But I too prefer WWI air combat. That said, if OFF had this engine my career would probably suffer. Hellshade

Ha. It's amazing what you can find these days. I lost quite a few hours of my life in that game too, but I must say that for me, 5 minutes of looking at those graphics will cause the nostalgia to wear off fast. I loved RB 3D and for $9.99, you can't really go wrong but for myself I'm sure it would only cause me to fire up OFF anyways. Let me know how it is though. Hellshade

I am not speaking for the Devs, but I definately wouldn't assume anything about P4. The gentleman of OBD have been hard at work on Over Flanders Fields for a very long time. It took 4 years to develop Between Heaven and Hell (Phase 3) and nearly another year to get out it's first expansion. From past experience, I can say this: 1. They will ship a product when it is ready, and not before. 2. They won't give a time frame because they don't want to be bound by a schedule that could impact quality. 3. Whatever they do, it will be better than the hype that surrounds it. OBD isn't a typical money driven software developer company. It's passion driven, not profit driven. They get their money from their full time jobs, so things can take time. No matter if P4 continues to use the current engine or a new one, they will get more out of it than anyone has a right to expect. It's just how these guys are. And having said all of that, I'm sure I read somewhere that they are hard at work on P4. Hellshade

I bought it even with the DRM. Glad I did too, because it has made me appreciate OFF more than ever. :P That's just a personal preference. Hellshade

Just one download try for me. Did it on the day it came out. Don't give up if you're having troubles. It's money that is very well spent. Hellshade

It's always nice when just stating the facts are complimentary to your long, hard efforts. The review was great because it accurately describes the expansion, plain and simple. OBD has earned every positive word in that review and more. Hellshade

Well now that the 2 seaters can fight like scouts, more of them would indeed be a blast to see. Even so, I'd still love to have some of the heavy bombers present in the campaign just to flesh out even more the various types of encounters you can have. That said, the devs havn't let me down yet as far as the quality of what they have shipped so I'll happily leave it to their judgement as to what should be next. Besides, I'm kind of torn between if I want them working on another expansion for P3 or the long push for P4. Hellshade

In the spirit of Christmas, I watched Joyeux Noel which is an outstanding film about the spontaneous peace that broke out in certain places of the western front on Christmas Eve, 1914. While there are no aircraft at all featured in the film, I do consider it one of the better WWI films ever made. If you get the chance to see it, it would be time well spent. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424205/ Merry Christmas to all, regardless of which side of the Western Front you are serving on. Here's wishing that one day soon simulations of past wars will be the only wars we have. Hellshade

Although I have been a big fan of the alternate DMs, I think they Devs have gotten it pretty much spot on now. I enjoy flying "vanilla" HitR in Historical AI mode. The AI, DMs and FMs all feel top notch to me. Hellshade

Somehow, I feel strangely confident that they are working on it. I will readily give them the benefit of the doubt that it was taking longer to address the issue of fuel load than they wanted and decided to release the patch without the fuel fix so that AI and other issues were addressed in a very timely manner. I don't think they've let us down yet on quality. Some things just take time. Hellshade

And what a damn fine bonus it is. Christmas came early this year. Glad to hear you are hard at work on P4 too. Although I am sure it will be awhile, my credit card is ready. Great options for the AI. Thank you. Hellshade

I only have one question about the new patch: Why aren't you guys on the cover of PC Gamer magazine?!? Besides brilliant gameplay and incredible immersion, you also show an astounding ability to listen to all of your customers and make far more options available to please a broad spectrum of players that any other company I know of. Three modes of AI?!? Selectable in the already option filled Workshop??? The excellence never ends with you guys. Best money I've ever spent on entertainment software is with you guys. Thanks for your incredible dedication and willingness to be so flexible. You guys rock. Hellshade

While I will agree with you for certain that no AI yet created can match the skill of flying against a live opponent, I'll respectfully disagree that OFF AI snipe shots you from 1,000 yards to achieve it's skill. Far more often than not, they are within 50 - 100 yards when they open up on you. Next time you find yourself getting peppered by the AI, pause the game and start changing plane views until you see the fellow shooting at you. Turn on labels and check the distance in feet. That said, I've got some time off coming up in the next two weeks and a little multiplayer action might just be a blast to try. :) Hellshade

Red Baron 3D, Knights of the Sky (way back in the Amiga days) and Rise of Flight. Admittedly, I haven't tried First Eagles so I probably shouldn't speak in the broadest terms of "every" WWI sim out there. But for all the ones I have tried, I find OFF BHaH to be the best AI hands down. I've also flown a number of WWII flight sims - Aces Over the Pacific, Battle of Brittain, BoB II, CFS1, CFS2 & CFS3, Longbow, Falcon 4.0, MIG Alley and several more I'm sure but I can't think of the titles off the top of my head as it's been several years. You are certainly well within your rights to seriously disagree with my opinion, but I'm as entitled to my own opinion as you are to yours my friend. I guess what makes it all so good to me is not just the quality of the AI itself, but the sheer amount of historical detail that has gone into making every combat incident as accurate as possible. OFF just has more atmosphere and immersion than any other flight sim I've played and in it's own way, that adds to the realism and the intensity of the combat beyond just the superb AI itself. Hellshade

After running a bunch of 20 v 20, 12 v 12 Quick Scenerios and campaign flights with the new Hat in the Ring expansion installed, here is what I see to be, in a nut shell, good and bad about the "broken" AI in it. Ordinarily I wouldn't even bother to comment on it, since the Devs are aware that the AI changed unintentionally and have already fixed it in the upcoming patch. However so many people have posted that they like the new AI better because, despite it's flaws, it feels more realistic to them, that I thought an overall recap might be worth looking at so the devs have something (more) to think about when they undertake the AI in Phase 4. On the + side: 1. The fights don't almost immediately end up on the deck. The enemy AI tries to stay high and keep the fight out of the weeds. 2. The fights seem to last longer because the AI isn't as aggressive about going for the kill no matter what the odds which make the fights feel more like they did during the real war. 3. Odds of player pilot survival seem to have gone up, increasing a pilots lifespan because we are no longer flying against "terminator" mentality AI that aggressively fights to the finish no matter how much damage they have taken. 4. No more easy kills of enemy AI that is "yo yo"ing on the deck struggling for altitude because they refuse to go that low to begin with. 5. Friendly AI are just as happy to engage a target as you are, sometimes stealing a kill from you. I put this under the positives because I'm sure it happened often during the war, intentionally or not. 6. There are numerous reports, which I cannot personally confirm, that the AI doesn't always fight to the death anymore. Sometimes they just fly away, resulting in a more realistic 1 - 2 craft loss per side per battle instead of always fighting to the death. On the - side: 1. The AI doesn't perform nearly as many aggressive manuevers (such as spinning dives) in an attempt to shake a pursuer. For the most part, they just fly high and take the hits which can get repetative. 2. The AI ALWAYS fly higher than you can catch up to no matter which planes you fly. In 12 v 12 D VIIs vs SE5as, no matter which side I fly on, my opponents easily keep a height advantage which feels very artificial to me. A D VII should be easily able to outclimb an SE5a and erase that tactical advantage, considering it was known to be able to "hang on it's prop" for an extended period of time in a vertical climb. Regardless, having an opponent who is endlessly just out of range feels cheap. They no longer "out fly" you with aggressive manuevers. 3. Because the AI always stays high, you NEVER get to fight down in the weeds on the deck which takes away from some of the fun / fear of pursuing a fellow to down within AA and MG range in order to get the kill. 4. Too many instances of an enemy AI flying past you in perfect firing position, but his gun(s) remain silent. This can definately account for battles that last longer and fewer planes being shot down as listed above in the positive side of things, but feels overly passive. I know all in all, it seems most folks have vocalized that they prefer the less homocidal HitR AI to the pre-HitR AI. Despite listing more positives than negatives, I personally prefer the fast, furious combat that had a better chance of shooting me down because it made me feel the fear of entering the fray. It made me think harder about what tactical choices I was going to make because my opponent was more aggressive, less forgiving. That is just my opinion though and certainly everyone knows what makes them enjoy the game most. For the Devs who may read this, it's just something to think about for P4. I don't expect any changes to P3 AI as you have made clear that all major work on P3 is done, and God knows you certainly have put enough into it. In short, I think if it's possible, people would probably like to see the following changes made in P4 if you find it possible to do: 1. Keep most fights high, but have some guys dive for the deck. 2. When they do dive for the deck, reduce the amount of yo-yoing they do if possible so. I should note that this has already been improved upon and is greatly appreciated. 3. Don't let the AI keep the height advantage no matter what two planes are flying against each other. It should be possible, if your plane had better climbing rate, to eventually climb up to the enemy AIs plane and engage. 4. Make some pilots overly aggressive and some others passive so you never know what you will be getting yourself into until the fight has begun. 5. Give the enemy AI the ability to run for home if they sustain too much damage instead of nearly always fighting to the death. Tricky - since turning tail makes for an easier kill, unless of course they have a plane that can dive or climb faster than yours. Thanks for all the work you have already done. P3 and the new expansion are without a doubt the finest written air combat simulations I have ever flown. As always, I look forward to your next bit of brilliance while I enjoy what you have already crafted. Hellshade

Thanks Pol. I feel that OBD has already made OFF BHaH w/HitR expansion a tremendous value. The superpatch was an incredibly generous peek into the possibilities of what P4 may offer in the future. That said, it's easy for us folks not sitting in the programmers chair to want to see this added, that changed or whatever, but the truth is these things take time. I would love to see some of the tweaks to the AI that others have commented on and wished for, however when I step back and see that nobody else has a WWI AI nearly as developed as OFF, I know I really need to just be thankful for the great flight sim I have and have faith that in the future, OBD will release a P4 that will blow everyone away once again with it's features and qualities. Thanks for all of your support and please remember that your rabid fanbase nit picks so much because, in truth, we are all quite obssessed with the sim you have crafted. Hellshade

This is why I love OBD. They have the amazingly rare combinations of passion, dedication, honesty and integrity. They have the passion to create the best combat flight experience possible, down to the last detail. The dedication to not rush the job (despite intense pressure from the rabid fan base to release things as soon as possible) and they have the honesty and integrity to admit when things are flawed and go to work on those issues with the same passion they had when they started this project 4 years ago. Thanks for all of your had work guys. Over Flanders Fields is the finest software product I've ever purchased. Hellshade

In QC Germany Skill=3. I didn't fly any campaign missions yet. Hellshade

That is exactly what I noticed about the AI. No more diving for the deck with crazy twists and turns. They keep altitude and make wide circles. If they haven't changed the AI as Pol says, then I can't account for it. It's definately a different enemy in the air. The buffeting is awesome. Hellshade

Awesome!! It seems like only yesterday folks were saying HitR would be out in "two weeks". :P As for my first impressions, they are generally very good. The scenery looks better than ever. The new planes are incredible and it's going to take time to learn their flight characteristics. A great new challenge and even more variety in the skies to be sure. I will have to second the opinion that in QC the enemy AI seems to lack aggressive manuevers. I have tried several QC flights and it doesn't seem to matter which aircraft or on which side, even when set to Ace mode, they just aren't as aggressive as they once were. Not nearly as many evasive manuevers and they don't seem as keen to get on my tail. Having said that, this is OBD. If it turns out to be a fluke, it'll pass. If it turns out to have been an accidental "nerf" to the AI, I am quite sure they will fix it. I love the backdrop screens for each nation too. A nice immersion factor. I am a huge fan of OFF and I am definately pleased I downloaded the expansion pack. It's a wonderful pre-Christmas gift. If they correct the AI, I'd give it a 90% (I wish they could have added more than 1 bosche plane, but then again, it really is the American expansion so that probably isn't a fair request). Until they get the AI straightened out, it's 7 out of 10 since, let's face it...the AI combat is what makes the difference between a WWI flight sim and a WWI Combat flight sim. Given OBD's track record of making things the best and supporting their products, I have zero doubts about them lighting a fire under those enemy AI in short order. Hellshade

Incredible work as always gentleman. You should be very proud of your continuing efforts to bring the Great War to life. My credit card is ready when you are. Hellshade

Just unreal. Nothing can touch OBD for customer support or quality of product. Simply outstanding work as always. Hellshade