Hellshade

Well I don't know anything about if the plane would take off or not if it spent a little time on a treadmill. But I do know that if I spent a little time on a treadmill, the plane I flew in later would probably be able to fly a little faster! Hellshade

Give us an address to mail a check too, please. I'm sure you will find support coming in. Hellshade

I used to pay $15 a month to play MMOs and they weren't nearly as fun as Over Flanders Fields. I wouldn't expect everyone to pay monthly for a single player flight sim, but I know I would contribute something every month to help the development process. Even if it just bought beers for the Devs now and then. Hellshade

I take it then that obviously you won't be coming to visit me in Florida. Hellshade

I set the TAC to 1 mile and leave it there. That way I don't get much advance warning, but at least I get a little. It also helps during actual combat so I can see if anyone is taking up a position on my 6 o'clock. Again, it's usually not much warning at only 1 mile range with enemy planes traveling at 100 mph +, but at least it gives me some chance to notice them without having to whip my head around constantly using the TrackIR. I swear TrackIR rocks, but if you have to constantly scan the skies around you during the fury of combat every 3 seconds, I start to get motion sickness. Make no mistake, it's a cheat and I know it. But the one mile radar range seems to make the game more enjoyable for me personally. It's a trade off between fun and realism. I die in short order anyways, but it makes for some fast and furious turn fighting while still being able to focus (mostly) on the planes in front of me. Hellshade

50,000:1 contrast is good. What is the refresh rate? 5 ms is good. 3 ms is better. HDMI inputs are very good, presuming you have HDMI output on your video card. I didn't see a max resolution listed either. Hellshade

This flight sim never fails to suprise me with how many cool things you can do in it. During the course of trying out the Camel and asking questions about it, Dej mentioned that he loved the view in the Sopwith Triplane. I had previously flew the tripe a few times and felt it was a bit slow and unstable. Well I took what I learned in the Camel and decided to try to apply some of that to the tripe. Don't turn too hard. Use the rudder as an elevator to keep it from spinning. Watch the stall speeds and also take advantage of that HUGE forward view the tripe has. That plane is a BEAST against EA. Even though the plane data claims it was replaced by better models in 1917, I find that with the right tactics, I can keep almost anyone in my sights the vast majority of the time. When the Dr 1s zoom climb too high for me, rather than follow and stall out I just level out, look up and see which way they are going to fall back over and then turn and prepare to dive in that direction. I'm back on their tail in seconds! I don't know about campaign mode yet, but in QC mode I can do a pretty good job of shredding the bosche. With that huge view, if I respect the limitations of the Sopwith Tripes stall and turn rates, I am finding great success in testing myself against even 3 ACES as long as I make sure to check my 6 constantly and shake off pursuers before engaging. I may just have to hit the campaign with one of these 3 winged terrors soon. Thanks Dej, Hellshade

Twin vickers for a month in July? I doubt I'll live the full month but it'll at least be an exciting one. I tend to be one of those pilots who looks for every scrape I can get into. It's amazing to me how well the Sopwith Tripe holds up against enemy aircraft produced much later in the war than it was. Even a Fokker DVII appears to have it's hands full trying to dogfight it. He's faster, but has a hell of a time trying to get on my 6 for a kill. Hellshade

I'm really starting to get the hang of the twin gunned tripe in QC mode. It's relative quick turning and ability to pick up speed fast makes it an amazingly effective killing machine in the skies. It seems all of those wings give it some nice lift too. I've been able to turn at less than 45 mph without stalling, and all it takes is a quick dip and I can be back up to over 120 mph or more in seconds. Plus, it gives an excellent view of that beautiful high res scenery! In a way it's a strange bird. It's not the best plane at being the fastest, nor the sharpest at turns or the most stable, but the combination of being very good at all of those things in addition to a clear view and excellent firepower makes it a fantastic bird of prey! I'll have to try the single gun version and see if it's still capable of being so lethal with only 1/2 the firepower. Hellshade

Well I decided to make another go at learning to fly the Camel and when it isn't trying to kill you, it's a beautiful plane. Some of the oddities of it's FM just (about) kill me though. Like I'm turning / banking right, speed is still over 80 and suddenly the plane cartwheels to the left and goes into a spin. Is there a "Complete Idiots Guide to Combat in the Camel" somewhere that explains all of the strange behavior? The twin guns are nice. The forward view is excellent. The top view is blocked by the wings alot but the window slots help a bit. It seems to have pretty good power and turning ability, it's just bi-polar. One minute it's fine, and the next minute it's literally flipping out on you. Still, I've racked up a few kills in QC with it. It has the potential, I just need the skill. Hellshade

I'll give those bosche engineers credit for at least one thing. They figured out early that 2 guns side by side is better than 1 and they stuck to that for most of their fighters. The Allies had more than a few single gun planes. Apparently they had a great deal of faith in their pilots marksmanship. The germans on the other hand new the plane just got you to the fight. The guns actually win it. Hellshade

Then the original is a lot less "twitchy" than the Fokker Dr 1. I always found the Dr 1 to be highly sensitive to any stick adjustments at all. The Sopwith Tripe appears to be have built with more stability in mind. It's a pretty stable gun platform (not quite as good as an SE5a), but with excellent turn fighting skills and the best view. I wonder why they abandoned the tripe after only making 6. Hellshade

That is a great video Olham. Where do you guys find all of this information? sheesh Hellshade

The Sopwith Tripe does have an excellent view indeed and good firepower to boot. Too bad she doesn't have a little more speed and perhaps a slightly more stable turning ability. I find, like the Camel, she needs a lot of rudder control to make tight turns safely. Push her too hard and she loves to drop into a spin. I think the Camel turns better though. Too bad because she really does give one of the best views in the game, especially for keeping locked on a target EA. No forward obstructions at all. Hellshade

Not just yet. We just got married only two weeks ago. Give it a few years and she probably won't even wait until I crash before she tasers me. But for now, as long as the games I play have a 'pause' button for when she needs me, it all goes quite smoothly. Hellshade

Pips, I am putting your good words to use and mastering that tempermental beast called the Camel. I try to keep in mind the things you have said about not forcing the A/C to turn faster than it wants to and to use the rudder as an elevator as I'm leaned far over during a turn. A little throttle control seems to help now and then too. It hasn't taken as long as I thought it would now that I know some of the rules and I can stick behind Voss or Richtofen in their DR 1s on ACE mode during Quick Combat flights pretty well. I still occassionally spin out but not nearly as often. I think in time the Camel may well replace the SE5a viper as my favorite aircraft. If I can turn with a DR 1 piloted by an Ace most of the time, then I should be able to put and keep just about anything in the skies within my sights long enough to take it out. A few more days of QC practice and I might just be brave enough to try a campaign pilot in one. Thanks to you and everyone else for the strategies. Hellshade

Any chance at all you ran out of petrol? If you warp and are at full throttle, it has a tendancy to use fuel at a disproportially fast rate. Hellshade

It's already in OFF, but the profantity filter blocked out everything he said to you. Hellshade

No worries CJ. Everybody here is a good person. We just sometimes let our passion for the Devs work get the best of us and it doesn't always take us to the most positive places. Soooo....Have you heard about that new Sopwith Camel? I hear it makes more widows out of pilots than the bosche do. Hellshade

I've been thinking about putting a box fan on my desk for wind effects and then have my wife taser me in the neck every time I crash, just to raise the stakes a bit... Hellshade

I believe you are correct, SirMike. But I got into one heated exchange with someone on here and I probably was guilty of bringing a bazooka to a knife fight. I still disagree with the comments and tone of that persons remarks, but I could have handled it with a lot less steam. Anyways, so did you hear about the "Fokker Scourge"? I hear if you so much as even see one, your dead! Hellshade

I can't fly the Spads either. I'm an SE5a kinda guy myself. That stable gun platform, good turning ability and relatively clear forward view is nice. But I took the advice and am learning the Camel and it is quite impressive. To practice, I setup a QC between myself and a DR 1 on ACE mode, usually in Voss's paint scheme. Then I try to get behind him and STAY behind him, without shooting, as long as possible. Voss does every kind of turn, dive and evasive manuever possible. The longer I can stay directly on his tail without losing control and going into a spin, the better I get at mastering the "Widowmaker". That sure does make for some exciting and intense flying. Forget shooting the guy. Just try to say with him on his 6! I can see why folks love the Camel. Someday I'll try to master the spads again but I probably have at least 100 more pilots to sacrifice in order to become proficient with the Sopwith Camel. Hellshade

One by one the Devs knock down what few issues BHaH has. I can't wait to chase EA into the clouds or to look for a place to hide in there when things get too hot out in the open skies. User scaleable would be the icing on the already sweet cake. Hellshade

I agree. Some of those posts must have been shot down faster than me in a EIII flying against Billy Bishop. At any rate, I'll try to keep my posts about OFF 99% of the time from now on. If I feel I have to say anything about another FS, I'll keep it brief and balanced. OFF doesn't have an advertising budget, so this forum is about the best advertising the game has. If we make a poor showing of ourselves here as being "unsportsman-like" then all we do is turn off new people from trying a great game. That really doesn't help anyone. They miss out on an incredible WWI air combat experience. The Devs miss out on some extra cash to keep them going and we (forum posters) will miss out on new people who might just have some great ideas or just plain be a lot of fun to chat with. My apologies for the times I got over-heated. From now on I'll save my rounds for enemy planes. Hellshade

Isn't that a J. Geils Band song? Anyways, Happy 4th to all of my fellow Americans, especially those still serving in uniform. A special thank you to my British friends who prove that no matter how great the differences may be, it is still possible to find common ground and become strong friends. Hellshade