Olham

Tch! Quick scenarios! To fly a full mission without any TAC and Labels, and come back alive - that's hard. But seriously now: I never noticed that, cause I don't fly "quickies". (I don't say, I never did them. But not in a scout!)

There, there, Flyby PC - I am German, and I do know it was the British troops who stopped Rommel. That it was the Royal Air Force, who fended off the German Luftwaffe successfully. That it was the British Royal Navy, who sank the Bismark, the Tirpitz and the Scharnhorst. And I believe, they did the right thing. I hope that may comfort you a little.

Can't get the AOL one either. Then I watched Jarhead's video link instead. Dammit - Carlin's an American who speaks from my very heart. My philosophy. Good one, Jarhead!

Every now and then, we have to experience, how small we are; how fragile our health, our life. Carpe diem, everyone.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist. Good find, Parky - most of them are funny!

Situations you never wanted - and will never forget! My Jasta 5 pilot, Vizefeldwebel Harms, had a balloon defense mission southeast of Douai. Arriving, he sighted a flight of 8 F2b Bristol Fighters. He would have preferred to avoid them, as they were heading away from the balloon anyway. But flightleader Heinrich Bussing had different plans and came down on them with his Kette. What could I do but join in and help them - it was sheer madness. The "Dancing Pigs" were all over the place like yoyos, and soon we were in a dangerous furball, each at his own. Although - my wingman Heinz Staack stayed with me and kept my six clear. I had a wild fight with one Brisfit crew, and you can see, we really made it a helter skelter! My bird collected some rounds, but the engine did not fail me, before I had my opponent down in the dirt. Jeeze, what a breathtaking fight!

The virus jumped over from RAF_Louvert, who seems to be flying after paper maps rather than using the ingame map or even the TAC. It does work in parts - some of the rivers and roads seem to be more or less right. Some places though don't seem to be where they should be according to the maps. But I managed to at least fly after paper maps with occasional pop-ups of the ingame one. There, I mostly check, which airfield that is below me, and after some time (if I survive long enough), I know my area better and better. You don't need to be too afraid to get jumped by the enemy without TAC - it's rather that I seem to be missing many a fight, because I just don't know that there are enemies near. I recommend to start flying after maps on the German side - simply because you will have warnings about enemies by the black Flak puffs. You will hardly ever get totally surprised, although it can happen - like that flight of RNAS Triplanes, which suddenly were everywhere around and above me. It is happening very rarely though. Just concentrate on keeping your wingmen with you, and on the flight path, and you will be amazed, how much more realistic it will feel! If you print your maps out letter size and put them into thick, clear plastic sheets, you can draw your own flight path, following rivers or major roads. I bought me a water-resistent pen for that, which I can later wipe off with pure alcohol. I wonder, if anyone else does similar things, and how you like it. Highly recommended. PS: to the DEVS: for such navigating, but also for better general orientation, it is very much necessary to have roads and rivers according to the RL ones. Is there a chance this could be worked on?

JFM wrote in another thread, that it would be great, if one could come down on, or sneak up on a victim, who wouldn't notice him at all; but that he thought, it might be impossible to program an AI like that. Now I just thought of the old "random generators" I had in my synthesizers. They produced "random decisions", how the sound should be. Could it perhaps be programmed, that an opponent coming down on a plane, or sneaking up on it, wouldn't be noticed; by using the method of such a "random generator" - which would offer a 50% (or whatever) chance, that the attacker won't be noticed? Wouldn't that raise the level of immersion even more again?

No way - you can't place it in our hearts, as we are heartless! The only other place would be our stomachs - but they are already filled with Sauerkraut and Bratwurst. Mmuahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!!!

Of course you cannot say, what you are doing and changing in detail. I just post ideas every now and then, which I would really like to find in a future version a lot. Hoping, it might be worth to consider for you. Total object accuracy at airfields would not be needed, I think. Roucourt for example would just need a chateau, a wood, a church and a factory with a chimney, placed the right way, to make it distinctable. I just received the book "In the Footsteps of the Red Baron", which contains aerial photos today, plus drawings, how it looked then. I can recommend it for such purposes.

Wow, Hellshade - now you're not an "unsung hero" anymore, after Shredward's ode. Let a German "hun" with a lesser education ask a question, showing how little he is touched by culture yet: Is that Shakespeare? Wayfarer, home for tea & crumpets is understandable after the cold up there. If you have no fighter experience yet, I would recommend to you to start in a scout easier to fly and survive in: the Albatros D.II, Sept. 1916, Jasta 2. The "Eini" is something for experienced pilots - or for the very patient learners. Pol, great to hear you do have these thoughts and intentions. I wish you luck with getting it to work that way. And yes: Rex Hannover surely has already done a GREAT job! He must in fact be the one with the least foreseeable work, with all that interaction.

In late June 1917, Jagdgeschwader I was formed, and named "Richthofen" after it's most successful nominated leader. It consisted of Jasta 4, 6, 10 and 11. A pity this map didn't also reach down to the field of Jasta 11 and Jasta 4 at Marckebeke, which was south of the Jasta 6 field at Bisseghem - just across the river Lys. Right of the name "Bisseghem" on the map are the grey letters "Ch au", which must stand for "Chateau". Richthofen's headquarter was at the Chateau at Marckebeke. Below left, we see some blue handdrawn barracks, which I believe are the north-easter edge of the aerodrome. A bridge was built across the river Lys, to ensure good contact between the Jastas. Jasta 10 was based at Heule. Note the number of Hospitals at Courtrai. Also the modifications and extensions of the railway lines, for better supply.

Great; thank you, JFM. I have just today received the book "In the Footsteps of the Red Baron". It contains all his other airfields - something I always wanted to see. Now I have a good traveller's guide.

Okay, now we know what you want - reality is a different matter. So, we Germans are not so very easily impressed by such performance. Well, maybe a little bit - but we wouldn't admit it. When I see and read your way of fighting - may I ask: did you ever cross the 17 hour mark? I guess, your fighting style can only be done in a twin-guns Triplane?

Okay, Hellshade, okay! If you are one of those guys, who'd paint their fighter red... But sometimes, some may want to fly like Albert Ball? Or Guynemer - out of the sun!

I believe to have noticed, that their vision and attention depends on their tasks. So they don't seem to be very aware, when they do a strafing or bombing run on a given target. But right now, some minutes ago, I saw a patrol of Nieuport 24bis crossing high overhead. Their Labels were still white, which means very often, that they may pass me without notice. But these guys were on a patrol, and they spotted us and came down to attack. As for clouds, 77Scout, they do not see through clouds - at least, when the cloud setting is on "5" (which doesn't eat that much resources, by the way).

Bullethead, it's a shame, but I have discovered your Gnome engine only now. It looks amazing! What would you recommend to study as a starter/guidance? I guess, I have to get GMax first; but which tutorial is a good one to begin with?

I see, thanks for that, CaptSopwith - I will go for Win7 too then. I thought I detected a difference between your and my graphics - you have NVidea, and I have ATI. NVidea seems to look even better (the smoke for example).

That was a most ignorant answer (to avoid the word "stupid") to give to a WW1 air combat enthusiast, I'd say. If you prefer 1917, like I also do, then I recommend the Jastas 5, 10 and 28w in summer. But there is no need to survive until 1918 - you could just enlist a pilot, who wasn't old enough for 1916 or 1917. I always have one 1918 pilot, just to have the difference. (And it's most tough in an Albatros by then!) It would be great, if the AI would not notice an attacker, if he a) came out of the sun, or b) sneaks up from underneath the six. I'm sure, the devs are quite aware of that it would raise the level a lot - and that they are working on the AI for such reasons. It must be tough to get that right though. Maybe it would be possible to use a "random generator" for their awareness, like 50 % chance they don't notice you?

It's like with cars - you want to drive the f*****g thing, not repair the f******g programmable wiper delay control switch, which is combined with the remote door opener, which is unfortunately installed quite tricky behind the sunroof control!

JFM, have you ever tried this? Set regional air activity on "high", and select a squadron in a "hot zone" of the war in 1918. You should see plenty of planes (and your biggest worry shall be, not to collide with friend or foe). It is amazing, what OFF can create (if your rig is capable, of course). See also some of Hellshade's videos for such action.

Oh, really? But seriously now: your graphics quality looks very good. You may have all sliders on 5? What card do you use? It is always nice to see, when someone finds the perfect settings and enjoys the sim like that.

Searching for "Chateau de Bethune" or "Marckebeke Chateau" (wanted to know how MvR's headquarter looked), I came across this book, which was said to contain a photo of that place. I haven't found a picture in the web so far. Does anyone have a picture of the place? And can anyone recommend this book?

Will do, vschoell! Thanks for the info. Book is already ordered.

Widowmaker, old chap - you are not alone!