Olham

Yeah, I used the Esc.48 emblem for a SPAD today - see "Screenshots".

Ooooohhhh, you can be nasty, Widow! But indeed, Hasse Wind, sometimes the word wars are as nerve wrecking as the ones with bullets.

Sorry to hear that - just write "World War 1 Blood in the air" into the YouTube search frame, you should get the same from other users.

Started a campaign with Escadrille 48 (simply because I like their emblem a lot). I made me a skin with a number, that wasn't amongst the aces from the sim, which was the "5" - and flew it will "personalised skin" (no fuel management). First we met Albatros D Va from Jasta 9 and engaged them from high above. Then, other Albatros appeared out of nowhere. But my Escadrille managed to fight them all quite well, and I shot down German ace Walter Blume. Short after that fight, we spotted Hannovers high, and climbed after them. We might not have reached them, if they hadn't come down to attack an army camp. We engaged, but they were very aggressively defending their skins! I couldn't down mine, cause my ammo ran out. The SPAD is a wonderful fighter with a lot of power. I feel very confident in her.

nbryant, like all designing and creative things, it may take a while to get a good result, and the process will continue and you'll get better and learn more tricks with time. It depends on how much time you are willing to invest. Me, I did many, many skins by now, and (hopefully) am still learning.

AS GOOD AS A SAVE GAME BUTTON: tofke: ... if i die in the sky i woud like to redo my mission... ...in OFF if you die you continue to the next mission (whith "never die" setting) 1.) You CAN fly the same mission again, tofke. After a crash you will get back into the "briefing manager" window. In the briefing is a line at the bottom "Fly last mission". So if you still live, you can click on that line, and you will get the same mission, same aircraft and situations - all like before. 2.) "Die roll on death" (a die is the little gambling cube with numbers 1 - 6 on). The sim will roll a die, that decides if you live or if you are dead. "Pilot never dies" is the safest of course. 3.) It's absolutely okay for me or UncleAl and many others, when you ask the questions of a newbie. UncleAl often says: The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. (But this time, I was faster!)

Duce: I've rarely flown the Spad VII but I found aiming difficult in the S. XIII Offset Sight, Low Upper Wing, and a Windshield Post straight ahead But I've been thinking of a S. XIII or Se5 career in the near future. Try the SPAD XIII - a very sturdy, strong and fast craft. You can climb or fly away from any trouble, and the two guns give you devastating fire power. After a while, you will find it easier to hit something, and if only for the defensive part, you will feel almost invincible. A great fighter to enjoy even the dangerous 1918!

I use a very simple but effective method. I copy the parts I want to change, insert them into a new file, change the mode to "greyscale", and then to "RGB" again. It will still look greyscale. Now I adjust "brightness and contrast" in a way, that would suit my colour idea. Then I use "variations" or "colour balance", to change it into the colour I want. Then I copy and insert it into the former skin file, make fine colour adjustments, and cut it the way I want it to be. All weathering is still the original that way; no need to add it. See also the skinning tutorial of Gous here in the skinner's section of our Forum: http://forum.combatace.com/forum/212-off-photoshop-and-paint-shop-help-for-skinning-and-3d-modeling/

Duce: Having fought against each other many times... I'm not fighting against Widowmaker, we fight together, for more humour on this forum! And of course we are exchanging typical polite banter between Kraut and Crumpet. Great, when you like it. I wouldn't want to miss him!

Hihi, yeah, UncleAl - we know each other quite a bit by now! I cannot tell you, what the pivot is, but did you notice the dark long bags hanging from the wing left and right of the pilot? Yes, if RAF_Louvert would still be here, he would know. Miss him.

tofke, you obviously fly under very realistic/hard conditions. I am very, very glad that we have the opportunity to fly it so realistic, cause I hate arcade sims. It maybe boring to die very often, but then I can only recommend: fly safer! Either you can change the setup in "Workshop" to get it easier for the beginning, as Winder said. Or you begin to fly the sim, as if it could really cost your life, and fly it much more careful. Me, I was a real hotspur for a long time, and never got old. But now, since I have calmed down a bit, I am flying more realistic. Even aces like Manfred von Richthofen had only one kill per 5 - 6 sorties. And he would never attack, if he wasn't certain, that he could win the fight. Take less risks - or set it up for more arcadish flying. And maybe become more serious later. I assure you, that the real life pilots - at least the good ones; the aces - were even more dangerous than the AI in this sim. So it is not the sim treating you too hard. You are doing that. I hope you find your way into it - it is so rewarding; and definitely a long-time-sim to fly! Don't give up! Cheers! Olhamtje

Widowmaker: They really ought to get out more and see the world...even try sleeping with a woman! Idiots

Widowmaker: Now I have finished decimating those silly Albatros things! So you are that Crumpet who's always crashing into everyone?!?!?

Good idea. The gunning with two-gun-fighters is easier, cause after a while you know, where the two axis of the gun barrels meet - no need of crosshairs. But with the SPAD VII, I find it tough - only one gun. I am learning now (thanks TrackIR!) to crouch behind it, so that the crosshair and the little ball on a pin center together. I have already shot down Albs. (Which makes my heart bleed, still!)

I have today started a campaign with Jasta 11, the Staffel of the Red Battleflyer. I started with the introductin of the stronger version of the Albatros D.III, in April 1917. And I have never before met so many aircraft in early 1917 as today. I had warped the airfield-circles part, so I was patroling 2000 feet lower than the 1. Gruppe, led by Otto Brauneck. First we saw 5 R.E.8 bombers, but Brauneck let them pass, and so did we. Then I saw two flights of Nieuport 17, 5 or 6 craft in each flight, one probably British. But they passed us, and Brauneck proceeded to the patrol area east of Arras. When another flight of 10 British Nieuports appeared and approached us mid level between Brauneck's and my flight, he engaged with his only 3 Albatros, forcing us to join in. Now it showed, that we were an elite untit. Together with my 5 craft, we had 8 fighters against 10 British, and since I had activated labels for a check, I saw at least 4 ace names! They fought really well, but in the end, no Nieuport returned home, whilst we had only lost 5 aircraft, and only one pilot was missing in action after all. Personally, I have shot down the RFC ace Tom Falcon Hazell. On our return flight, more and more of our Albatros re-united - a picture, that can touch your heart! Now I spotted Flak again, and saw a single Sopwith Pup approaching from our heartland. I turned left to meet the suicidal pilot. But suddenly it was raining Albatros D.III from high above: Jasta 18 had also seen the easy meat and jumped the poor Crumpet, before I got there. Proceeding on our way home, we then saw 6 DFW C.V and 5 Roland "Walfisch" circling over a town. When we had almost reached our field, I saw 8 more Albatros D.III passing over high. As I said: never before have I seen so many craft so early in 1917. PS: I had shot down or at least badly damaged two or three craft in our fight, but claimed only one, according to my DiD Rule: only one claim per group of aircraft I fight.

Widowmaker: A Pfaltz DIII that flew and fought properly would be most welcome!!! Hey, the Pfalz (no "t" in there) is not a bad plane really. Although not quite as hot as an Albatros, she is better in steep dives though, and a sturdy, reliable gun platform. The only field modification needed there: you must learn to fly her better.

Wow! Thank you very much, von Paulus, for the links to Albert Kahn. I see those pictures for the first time, except for the WW1 pictures, which I always had believed to be coloured by retouche. Beautiful! A window in time indeed!

Did the devs build in some head movements in the new craft we got with HitR ? My Fokker E.V pilot is definitely looking to the forward right, or his 2 o'clock!

This map shows, how well spun the railway web was already back in 1910. For our historians.

I don't need any improvements on my "twin Spandaus gunship", the Albatros, as long as it shredders my opponents as nicely as it does! Mmuahahahahahaaaa!!!!!!!! Well, seriously now: the only thing I would change on the Albatros D III and D V would be a wing with two spars, plus wingstruts other than "V-struts" - but I think that would be far beyond anything a mechanic could do. By the way, Duce: On some Nieuports I think you can remove the windshield by pressing the key for opening the canopy of the CFS3 WW2 aircraft.

Yeah, whilst "Jester 12" is roaring overhead, leaving you in a smoking pile of firewood! Mmuahahahahahahahaaaaa!!!!

Hmmmm - that feels strange for me to be your nightmare.

Cripes! Another "Dark Knight" who will spread that sinister image of us "Huns". Good one, Widow!

Update 05/05/10 16:05 Berlin summertime (= GMT + 2) Pike Bishop, England, added. All the maps are in post 1 of this thread