SirMike1983

When gliding don't think yourself obligated to land at an airfield. Find the closest relatively flat, open space on the allied side and drop in on it. The lightweight aircraft like the Nieups and Pups have a very short roll to stop, so you only need a little field and you can land the plane. Heavier aircraft like Spads will be more difficult because you need a faster descent-- not only can you not glide as far, but you also need to save up more speed for the drop to ground because of the higher stall speed, and additionally the roll is longer because you're going faster, so you need a bigger field.

I would avoid a straight climbing match with an AI D.VII. From what I can tell in the game, the AI in the D.VII seems to be able to outclimb the Spad XIII. They also have the annoying habit of being able to hang vertically for a moment or so and shoot up at you. The other problem is that the climb+turn move isn't a viable option in the Spad XIII because it really likes to stall and flop the wing around. You'll pretty much be going up in a straight line. In some instances it is possible to turn fight against a D.VII- they key is that you start above him and operate turn that is pretty much a dive-turn. As long as the speed is up enough you can turn with him for a short time. Once speed slacks off, you have to run out on him or try to yo-yo a bit while he regroups. You're flying a V-8 motor with some wings attached, not so much an airplane.

Nieuports and Pups will glide for miles and miles. A quick and dirty rule is that the lower the wingloading, the better the glide you'll get out of it. That's not 100% true, but it does tell you to look for a lightweight airplane with a lot of wing area and acceptable drag. If I had to pick a plane to glide with-- I'd go with an early Nieuport (11 or maybe 17) or a Sopwith Pup. I've never tried gliding with any of the triplanes, but they probably aren't bad either.

I was going to say something earlier, but figured you would have this encounter naturally on your own. Fighting an Alb in the Spad is a different universe than trying to bring down a D.VII. You can hang and try to slug it out with Albs, you'll come out stronger. Do not try to directly slug it out with D.VIIs. Unless you have an altitude advantage do NOT attempt to engage D.VIIs. My method for doing this is to hang high and behind my flight in the "section and stinger" approach. Allow the D.VIIs to engage the flight a bit. Once they have come down enough, you'll be above the D.VIIs. Then go vertical with them-- down and up yo-yo type attacks all the way. Do NOT attempt to follow a D.VII in a turn or below the others. Attack the highest D.VII with the power on and get a lot of speed. Take your bursts, then full power climb away. If he dives hard, don't follow-- yo yo back up. Then restart the process with the highest remaining D.VII. If you find yourself level with a D.VII, full power away from him. Once he's a long ways out, turn back and make a head-on pass against him (or just leave). If he's close behind you-- full power dive and then suddenly come up for a loop. Do the FULL loop: if he's close enough he'll be inside your loop and you'll come up either behind him, or a little off to the side. In either event it's much better than having him behind you. If you are outnumbered, don't engage. If all else fails, dive powerfully VERY LOW. Go as low as you can without crashing-- full power all the way. When they try to follow you down, they'll get low enough eventually so that they start to wastefully flutter up and down (AI behavior). Run out on them and escape. If you feel lucky or favored-- turn back and make a head-on pass.

I like the Spad for what it is-- a tough, strong fighter overall. But I admit I'd rather have an N.24, N.28 or even an N.17 in many scenarios. I have the game on the way, but 2 planes is a bummer.

I've seen the N.28 described as "the most beautiful scout" of the war. I can see why-- it had very clean, smooth lines on the whole. It's a shame it had problems around the edges. I'm convinced if it was given a more reliable engine and better construction techniques right from the start, it could have been a first class dogfighter. I think it's one of those planes that never fully got to its potential. It would be nice to add this to the trifecta of v-strut Nieups. I think it suffered from relegation behind the Spad XIII from the start and was never given a real chance to live up to its potential. (In RB2 and 3d online this was the go-to plane for allied pilots, along with the Sopwith Camel/Snipe. We flew it almost exclusively in US94th under Maj. Clay, since the RB3d Spads could be real pigs in the air. I scored most of my RB3d online competition kills in an N.28.)

Some pilots also custom loaded their 24s with a fuselage Vickers and a wingtop Lewis similar to the SE5. It was not standard, as I recall, but was a custom field mod for some pilots. I believe Nungesser had an N.24bis and also a regular N.24 at some point or another with both guns on it. I'm not sure what the performance was like.

It strikes me that this is a case of releasing something when you're not totally ready. Perhaps they fell into the trap of setting a release date that was too soon, then having to delay it, then getting the "we really can't delay more" problem and forcing the release. I work on an HL2 mod dev team and over the years we've moved well away from announcing release dates much in advance because problems like this come up. We did have some tech problems of our own awhile back, not unlike NeoQb now is having. I know what it's like to be on both ends of the equation: I've had games I received not work, but I've also worked on a dev team where release problems came up a couple of times and people start sending angry messages. While people are pretty pissed off, I would urge patience. You do pay for it, but it's still just a game, and will be up and running properly soon. Yelling at people works only to a point, and once the initial point is gotten across, I wouldn't continue to flog them. I'm pretty sure most people have other flightsims they can play for the intervening hours or a even the day or two it takes to straighten it out, or heaven forbid, go outside or read a book. It's a far better state of things than having a machine melt down and being the ONLY guy who can't play. With enough people having problems, they'll get it up and running. I guess my view of it is "whatever". I have other things in my life so that I don't have to sit at the desk for hours pounding my fist and saying "where is this damnable thing!". What disturbs a bit more is the "give two planes and charge 'em for the rest" system. In single player, maybe you can live without a couple of airplanes. But with multiplayer, I'd imagine everyone has to have every plane everyone else in the server is using. Basically it means you have to buy all of the planes full freight. That's a nice little racket if your a for-profit seller, but the players will feel like they're getting taken a bit. Anyway, I have the game on order and it's coming via snail mail from Florida up here to Maryland. If I get it and the registration problems are solved, great. If not, well I have OFF to enjoy and other things to do in life. They know about the problem and will fix it. I'm a bit disconcerted that I'm not quite getting what I paid for, but it's just a game. I can fly OFF instead, or do something else entirely if I want.

Exactly-- they were the exception rather than the rule from all I've read. THat said, I would like to see a degree of additional visible damage. But regular flamers and the like, I'm not so sure.

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Maybe sooner than that-- all you'd really need is the N.29 and the Snipe to face off against the D.VII and D.VIII. The D.VIII and D.VII will be featured in the game from what I can tell, I'm not sure about the Snipe, and a 3rd party might be able to do the N29. So really it's only 1-2 aircraft away from being a reality, since the game itself already has many of the 1918 era planes you could fly after November 11, 1918. As an aside, the N.29 in early form clocked in with a top speed over 140 mph, and approaching 150 mph (over 10 mph faster than a maxed out Spad 13), but also possessed excellent turning capabilities. (a stripped version in 1920 reached around 170 mph, winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy). It also packed a pair of machine guns, a 300hp engine and was very sturdy. I've never seen an N.29 in any sim, but it would appear to be the penultimate WW1 scout development, missing service by only a few days (the first batch was in transport to French squadrons when the war ended). I've long believed that had the war gone on another couple of months, that the N.29 would have outclassed the D.VII. But we'll never know for sure. "What if" would sure be fun to see.

Is it going to get the upgraded internal tail skid, or keep the 17-type? Many of the N.24s that got the upgraded tail structures also had a 27-type internal tail skid, whereas the bis old-tail 24s had the 17-type tail. It's probably peripheral and minor in nature, but I am curious about it is all. This plane is a quality work, from what I can see.

I'd love to see a Nieuport 29 someday-- do some "what if" battles against the Flying Razor and the D.VII. It's peripheral, I know, but it would very unique. Maybe someone will do some of that someday-- they've done it with numerous WWII 1945-46 "what if" scenarios. I'm not sure anyone has ever done a real "what if" winter of 1918 scenario before. I like the D.VIII. They used to have a nice one over at Rhinebeck Aerodrome, if I recall. It is a VERY interest aircraft from the standpoint that it is a "full circle" development from monoplane to biplane to triplane, back to biplane and finally back to monoplane (albeit with many improvements). I plan on trying a German campaign with the D.VIII once it's out (GASP). The old source books I have around state that the aircraft exists but is still classified as of 1918-1919, along with the specs for the Spad XIII, Nieuport 29, Sopwith Snipe, and Fokker D.VII.

I'm waiting for my copy of RoF-- I'll try it since I'm a WWI buff and couldn't pass up a chance to try it out. But the number of planes in RoF is disappointing to say the least if it's just 4. Didn't they have a variety of planes up on their site in screenshots and in the videos? Anyway I like OFF. It really is like the girl you've known a long time and have gotten to like because of the depth. Beware though-- like many of those girls, in OFF if you screw up or think you know more than you actually do know, she'll let you know about it fast.

It looks wonderful-- what are the instruments in the cockpit? I take it it will be an upgraded 17-- better instrumentation, but same basic flavor. Once I get my hands on that, not a German at the front will stand a chance! It should be an excellent turning platform with some nice all-around upgrades compared to the N.17. It also is a real looker-- very much streamlined and cleaned up lines compared to some of the earlier planes in the series. For the first time since RB3d, we'll have a nicely completed set of v-strut Nieups.

Pips-- that's the coventional numbers I've seen: the Se5a is very fast, but the Spad XIII is marginally faster. The difference is in the handling, where the Se5a is a much more forgiving and solid platform. The Spad XIII was known as a high-strung, tricky aircraft to fly. Cole Palen often would remark on the poor ground handling and low speed handling of the XIII. What I'd love to see in OFF (but will never happen) is the Nieuport 29: the fight on the way to the front to replace the Spads when the war ended. It was considered to be a very fine aircraft all around-- possessing greater speed than the Spad, but also having much better turning ability and climb. It's a shame the aircraft never saw service. I'd love to see a Nieuport 29 vs Fokker D.VII and D.VIII match up in some "what if" missions.

The Pup's roll rate is better than the Nieuports'. But I like the cockpit layout and instrumentation of the Nieuport 17 better than the pup. I just find it easier to look around in the cockpit. I guess if I had to choose I still like the N.17 better than the Pup. But they both use the same sorts of tactics. The Pup is the single most efficient use of horse power in the game. It's hard to believe that such a dangerous little plane was powered by a mere 80hp rotary engine. The Spads are on the other end of the spectrum: they use sheer power as their greatest advantage. The high wingloading of the Spads also makes them mediocre to poor gliders, in case you have an engine failure or run out of gas. You can deadstick them, but I wouldn't advise it. Deadstick in a Nieuport or Pup is almost as easy as landing with power on in OFF. Think of every tactic that one would define as being "unsporting" or a "jackass" and that's what you want to do in the Spad. Shoot them up and runaway is the norm there. It's a lot of work, but it can certainly be done. I can't wait for the Nieuport 24-- I've been wanting to take a Nieuport up against some later fighting aircraft. I don't particularly like battling Dr.1s because they are very dangerous in a turn. I'd be willing to take my odds in an N.24 against D.VIIs though (maybe even in an N.17 too, given equal numbers).

Using the methods I've described I have an American Spad 13 ace on 120 realism in the DiD style. He has 7 confirmed kills and 11 claims total. I ditched behind enemy lines one mission but escaped a couple weeks later. I've had better luck with my traditional Nieuports on DiD 120. I've got a guy with 19 kills on 25 claims in 16 missions. I'm much more familiar with the N.11/N.17 aircraft, and it shows. I'll use sparse hit and run tactics with the Spad against the D.VIIs. I'll leave if things get even remotely hot. With the Nieuport I feel more confident. Eindeckers, Halbs, and Alb. D.IIs are all quick prey. The Albs can be a problem if you don't spot them right away. They're reasonably quick and have high firepower. If he starts to turn with you, he should stand no chance though. In the British service, the Sopwith Pup is a joy to fly and also quite deadly. I would take an N.17 or a Pup over an Alb D.II any day of the week. I'm willing to give away the second gun in order to turn right in and get close. The Spad doesn't afford that because it's a high speed hit and run attack. I'm not a champion marksman with the machine guns-- my method is to get fearfully close and open up a few strategic bursts-- which is probably why I'm doing better in the Nieuports and Pups than the Spads. On the other hand nothing is better for balloon busting and ground attack than a Spad.

If all else fails, peg the throttle and go in LOW-- just avoiding the tree tops. It will give you some space and AI D.VIIs are unable or unwilling to follow you that low. They'll flutter up and down and fall behind you. You then have the option of running or coming back up for a head-on hit and run pass.

I paid the full freight when it came out. I don't feel swindled-- with computer stuff it almost always that decline with time price effect because of the nature of the market and the technology aspects. It makes sense-- the people who are willing to pay the most are also the ones who want the item the most. Later people are in that "take it or leave it" category and you can only hook them by lowering the price later on. I suppose it's just the free market at work. Was OFF a bit high to start with? I think so. But was it unreasonable? Not at all, considering the tech support for OFF has been so good (and free). I've paid almost as much in the past for games that turned out to be poor quality in retrospect. I don't have any quality regrets with OFF. The is true especially considering there has been very good tech support for OFF-- free patches that actually are responsive to community concerns (not a single "fix" patch that really doesn't fix much). There's always that feeling of "I wish I'd paid less!", but how many of the hardcore players here really would've waited that long to get $20 off the original price? I couldn't wait for that-- I wanted to play the game. Which is why we're here in the first place.

While Agincourt is mentioned here along with feats of technology in war-- it should also be remembered that Henry V was one of the most talented siege gunners of his age. He was actually quite ahead of his time in arranging cannon for siege. While he is forever linked to longbowmen, he actually was more remarkable in his time for the ability to use cannons. People tend to think of him as a great medieval king in the sense of the way a medieval knight would fight. On the contrary he had a much more modern and wide-reaching vision than popular memory suggests.

I believe there is a kill shot of some kind-- I've gotten kills where I'll hear the pilot yell and suddenly the plane loses control and crashes quickly. I'm not sure if that's a headshot or just a general kill shot.

I think you're right in large part. Though in theory you could get "lucky" with a shot (as MvR was wounded by a lucky shot), to bring a plane down you really should have to put a solid burst into at least one vital component of the aircraft. In the alternative you'd have to really chew the hell out of controls or the like to damage the structure. But really if you want an economical kill, the DM require a solid hit to something vital. After all, most of these planes are just hardened fabric or wood box kites. If you shoot a hole in it-- it's just a hole. But if you hit the fuel tank or the oil or pilot, now you're talking. I tend to think this was what made Fonck so deadly-- he really took his time to line up shots on the vitals rather than just "filling with shot".

Exactly: I was getting a number of "accidental" kills on normal-- I'd fire off a burst at the edge of range and happen to get lucky. But that burst would often be enough to bring a plane down. With hardcore, I have to work in close and fire a series of careful bursts to get a kill. The guys back in the day had to work, so should I.

Hardcore-- I think hardcore is just about perfect in terms of bringing planes down. On normal they're too easy to shoot down.