Hauksbee

Aha! Another sharp-eyed Yank!

As Hellshade says: keep the FRAPS on 50% screen size. I do a lot of 3D modeling and animation. I had my computer guys hand-build a machine for me that can easily handle animation renders and video. Works great:OFF purrs as I fly. But turning on FRAPS at full-screen size causes massive jitter. 'Can scarcely keep my guns on target. And 50% is still really good if you're going to edit your clips together. There's always plenty of 'dead air' on both sides of the frame that needs cropped out.

Terrific! I'll print this out forthwith! And I'm doubly glad because the Hat Switch on my joystick isn't working. I'm getting my arse shredded! But...you've used SHIFT_KeyPad 8 twice. Once for AHEAD_RIGHT, and again for LOOK RIGHT. Shouldn't the latter be SHIFT_KeyPad 6?

In the event, you're probably right, though I think the original intent lies closer to 'griphos' take on things. Would I be hearing sirens on the ground when I'm at 10,000?

Years ago, [the 70's, probably] there was a poster in all the Poster Shops [of which there were many at the time] made from a WWI photograph. It shows an iconic battlefield that had once been a forest but now is all shell holes and stumps. There's one tree. It had proably been 100 feet tall, but now is about 30. Has about six major branches. No leaves. Wedged into this is a biplane [memory is dim, but I'd say a B.E.2, or something close] with the nose scrunched up, forming a 'V' with the fuselage and the wings neatly folded back. The caption [in large bold letters] says: "Aviation is not inherently dangerous, but even more than the sea, it is unforgiving of any carelessness or neglect." Anybody know where I can lay my hands on a copy? I've searched on-line poster sources repeatedly with no luck.

Got it in one! The exact photo. I would have sworn that it was a devastated battlefield. In fact, I'm pretty sure that there were no people in the poster. Which makes me wonder if the photo was Photoshopped...well, maybe not. This was pre-Photoshop days. Anyways, thanks a lot. Now I'll build my own poster. EDIT: Here's a re-constructed poster. The original was photo only [bleed on all four sides] with the text over. I could not duplicate the background tone, so I just arranged everything on black.

'Amen' to all of the above! Onw question though...when I'm up in a QC, after a bit, I keep hearing a siren. What is that about?

Every once in a while, I run across a some info that casts doubt on whether von Richtofen's triplane was all red. I just flew against a Richtofen-skinned triplane and there was a khaki green band on the fuselage, and, I think, on the middle wing. [couldn't stay close enough long enough to get a screen shot] What's the final word on this?

Only a week or so into OFF and already the immersion in 'total realism' is taking its toll. Friends say I've aged. My hands tremble, I have bad dreams, appetite is off and my vision is blurry from pullin' G's. Can heavy drinking be far behind? I was advised, early on, to get within 'rock-throwing' range or these planes won't go down. Tonight I'd like to get it settled: what is 'rock-throwing' range? Note the photo. I stalked that guy and peppered him with rounds until the blue damage notices nearly obscured the flying. I got him smokin'. I closed and held the trigger down. But he just wouldn't fold. I'm sure I could chuck a rock that far. Closer? Do I pull up alongside and lob the rock into the cockpit? Or, closer still, and just pass it to him? [i'll admit though, that they do, eventually, go down. After you've forgotten about them, a red "You destroyed a..." notice appears. Well and good, but lacks the satisfaction of a flammer.]

Absolutely! I'm in.

Nice engagement, TvO. Now, with accumulated practice, and the patch, and lashin's of good advice got here, I think I've got my rock calibrated. Boche beware! [ah...present company excepted.]

After a less-than-thorough survey, it seems that I'm the only person with five little blue boxes under my OFF Avatar....and the legend: "Warn: (0%)" What do these signify?

No. I'll be good. I promise!

And there it is. Thanks all.

I can only wish!

Looks terrific...until I checked the settings. The patch gave me the strongest gun setting with easiest aiming. Before, I had only checked "Pilot doesn't die' and 'tightest pattern' for the guns in QC. However, with my new confidence [and powerful guns] I've been spec'ing Ace level only for my opponents.

Here's what it does. I posted this last night [after installing the 1.28 patch] at the end of the "Rock-throwing range' thread, but it's such a satisfying moment, I beg your indulgence and repeat myself here. Having grumbled herein about the difficulty of getting a plane to go down even though you've put your weight in bullets into it, I can only repeat last nights comment: "It's as though my .30 Maxims became .50 Brownings."

Amen to that! Bloody Hell! The patch turned my Maxims into Browning .50's! EDIT: They awarded me both ears and the tail.

While we're on joysticks here, has anyone else out there experienced Hat Switch problems? [which tend to plague me, and not just in OFF] I've got a Siatek Cyborg EVO...no Hat Switch. I even tried my Namco-Bandai Ace Edge rig [with which I played X-Box360's Ace Combat 6] and it flew the planes [albeit badly. They wallowed slowly on all axes]...but no Hat Switch. I've settled on the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for the quickest, most responsive flying. But still...no Hat Switch. What is most frustrating is that in all my games, I've gone into the Control Settings and checked to see that I had control on all three axes and the Hat Switch responds to all eight directions. Without fail, the game assures me that it's reading the joystick, but when it comes to flying, there's no Hat Switch. Am I alone in this? [if so, I may need an exorcist.]

Well then, I guess I'll get the patch. Also, I think I'll stick to chucking rocks; these "creative collisions" are 'way above my skill level!

It seems that every time I go inverted with a D.VII, the engine starts to run rough and sounds like it wants to quit. Did the D.VII have carburator problems in real life?

Thanks Bletchley, and Catfish. I guess that's got it. Oh, and Cameljockey too. Lately I'd tried a quick dive and the D.VII spluttered so bad SE-5 got away. [Probably lost him in the ground clutter, but still...] I've found that the best way to deal with it is to do a sharp wing-over. The engine still coughes, but at least you have your nose pointed in the right direction, and gravity is now on your side. It also seems that the engine recovers a little faster. Also, I'm not seeing the famed ability to "hang on the prop". True, the D.VII is more stall-resistant than the E.III or the Pfaltz, but I was expecting more. Much more actually, seeing as so many writers comment on it.

Right. I think the blue text damage reports are misleading. "You damaged an unknown airman" can mean that you merely put a round through the tail fabric. In QC, for all the rounds shot, my hit percentage has been staying at around 8-10%. Partly this is because I squeeze off many single rounds to check the range and see where my shots are falling [and to avoid jams] If I get a blue text line, I'll fire a longer burst. But I wonder if others encounter the same scenario: You stalk and shoot for several minutes. You get several good bursts in and pieces fly off. Now, closing in, you pour a long burst into him. Rounds are falling dead center. Blue text is spewing out. Seems he should be gasping his last. But no! He just keeps flying. Could these planes really absorb that much punisnment? EDIT: I'm flying an un-patched version of OFF. Seeing as I spend all my time in QC, do you think the patch is necessary?

Talk about a "near-run thing!"

...and...and...did he go down?