Hasse Wind

Sounds fascinating. I've always been interested in battlefield archaelogy (don't have any academic training as an archaelogist), but sadly have never visited any WW1 battlefield of the Western front. But I've been to the old East Prussian battlefields where Russian armies were wiped out in the fall of 1914. There used to be some Nazi-built memorials there (and all that pompous Speer architecture of huge stone blocks they loved), but not anymore.

I was browsing through the Jastas of late 1916 in search of a squadron that receives the Alb. D.II's early when I noticed Halberstadt D.III's mentioned in some plane lists. I suppose it uses the same model as the D.II in OFF. And isn't it the same with Alb. D.I's, which use D.II models? Historically speaking the Halberstadt is an interesting crate. I remember having read from some book or website that the first ever German air to air rockets were fired from the Halb, but can't remember the model. And when the Halberstadt became too obsolete for Western front use, many planes were sold to Turkey. I don't much about the Ottoman air force though.

Is that Albatros pornography? Haven't seen anything like that in OFF before!

Another interesting and educational thread. Those aircraft look slow, clumsy and ugly as hell, but they seem to pack a terrible punch in that 37mm gun! Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end in any Hun crate... if they can hit anything, that is.

I've come to like the Alb D.V a lot in my newest campaign in Jasta 9, mid 1917. I was used to flying very carefully and defensively in the Pfalz, but now I feel like I have a fighting chance against all Entente scouts and that I don't have to run away so much from the fights. But based on my experience in QC, the Alb D.III is my favourite Albatros. They must be excellent scouts in early 1917! Good for shooting down those ugly flying abominations the crumpets call Fees! The only bad thing about the Alb is her weak lower wings, though D.I's and D.II's shouldn't have that problem with their tougher wings. But they aren't as manoeuvrable as the D.III.

Paarma, those look absolutely great! Can't wait to see them in-game! And of course the award system isn't the most important part of this sim - I understand very well there's only so many things you can do with your limited resources, but having a nice award system adds greatly to the atmosphere of the game and probably won't hurt sales either.

Yes, the view is good! But I've so used to the excellent Vickers gunsight in Nieuport 17 that flying without one in a scout with only one MG feels strange somehow.

I don't think there are any written warnings displayed when you have a collision, so if it's not fatal and you don't see the plane you collided with, it would be natural to suspect that there must something wrong with the wings of your Albatros. And the most likely part of an aircraft to get hit in mid air collision must be the wings! But glad to know you're once again enjoying the Alb! It's a wonderful scout to fly in campaign - I don't have to be so ridiculously careful and defensive with her as with the Pfalz. (Which leads to me playing more aggressively and getting my pilots killed far too quickly...)

The medal system is probably the weakest link in pilot dossiers. Now I don't have much experience with it, because usually my pilots won't live long enough to get any medals, or if they do, it's because I've been very careful and don't have enough kills to earn many awards. But I've read some posts on the subject and it does seem strange if German pilots are able to get the same award (and same class) multiple times before getting a new medal. And I don't think there were any British pilots who had 12 DFCs, even though the British award system differs from the German one in that they could give the same medal again. The award system in Red Baron seems to have been more realistic. Maybe something can be done in P4, or if we won't get it, in some add-on pack?

Hmm, do I detect some antipathy toward Dicker Hermann in this thread! I remember shooting him down at least once in Red Baron 3D. I seem to recall he was already included in the original MS-DOS Red Baron back in 1990...

The Halberstadt must feel like a gift from God when you get one in a campaign game after the Eindecker! I tried the Halb once in QC against DH2's and found it to be a surprisingly effective fighter. The "gunsight" was terrible though...

It's weekend and for once I don't have any work shifts, so I'm able to spend a lot of time playing OFF and testing things in this latest version. I've concentrated all of my attention to my Jasta 9 pilot flying in his Albatros in summer 1917 and just had his tenth mission. I've encountered and attacked enemy aircraft in six missions, scoring 4 victories. At this rate he won't live long, but the point of all this was to see for myself whether there's something wrong with the Albatros wings, or not. So far I haven't seen anything that contradicts my experience in QC or Pol's thorough testing. The wings of my Alb haven't broken in any battle, and I've fought against Nupes and turned quite hard with them. I can see the yellow text and hear creaking sounds, but haven't actually had any wing failures, probably because I've successfully slowed down or eased my turns and dives when I see and hear the warning signs. The Alb seems to be made of stronger stuff than the Nupes. The only time I was able break one wing was when I intentionally entered into a steep dive like a Spad. Not soon after I lost my left lower wing and the Alb spun out of control. I didn't want to kill my pilot, so I hit Esc and ended the mission over my home airfield. This loss of wing happened exactly like I expected it to happen - the Albatros shouldn't try to dive like the Spad. I haven't had any problems in easy turns or dives. And I haven't had any trouble with take-offs either - no wings breaking when turning on the engine. Olham, my experience with the Alb is obviously much more limited than yours, but I haven't come across any of the problems you seem to have had. (But what a wonderful scout she is, especially in those cool black and white Jasta 9 skins! :yes: )

Well, call me crazy, but I've just started a new campaign in Jasta 9, mid 1917 just to see how those Alb wings behave in combat. I will try to be as reckless as possible, and I'll also post my observations here. I wanted to give the Alb a try in DiD in any case, so might as well do it like this. And I haven't ever played Phase 2, so I can't really compare the Alb's behaviour to that...

Brilliant news! For a moment I was afraid you'd stop working on OFF. Phew! Looking forward to new planes and stuff...

Welcome! And good luck with your DH2, it's not the best of fighters against anything but Eindeckers... but if you live long enough, you get to fly some really great British scouts! PS. Say auf Wiedersehen to your free time, OFF is going to consume it. :yes:

Are there really differences between QC and campaign when testing the durability of aircraft? It seems to me the Nupe, which I know very well, is equally fragile in QC and campaign. And I just can't break those Albatros wings in QC with my normal fighting methods. The Alb feels to me like a very much tougher scout than the Nupe. Olham, it may well be that you're being too rough and ungentlemanly with your lady.

DiD is hard, often frustrating, but it's also VERY rewarding. Every achievement feels so much better when you know you have to be careful with your pilot - no second chances! I've never thought about being somehow macho or better than people who don't play with DiD, I think everybody is entitled to enjoy this great sim any way they like, DiD or no DiD. And using TAC is very understandable before combat, because players don't have the same advantages as AI pilots when it comes to spotting enemy AC. Just don't rely too much on the TAC, then it hurts the immersion...

Olham, how often does it happen that you lose wings in combat when flying the Alb? I've yet to try her in campaign mode, but in QC I've been very careful with her wings and haven't yet broken anything, although the wings do make nasty sounds when I turn and dive quickly - sounds that you won't hear from the Pfalz at those speeds. It probably helps that I have experience from flying the Nupe, which is very fragile and forces you to be careful. But campaign situations can be so much more dramatic and demanding than QC when your DiD pilot is on the line. I've broken a couple of Nupes in campaign just because I became careless in the heat of battle. Maybe you've had similar experiences?

I must say I really like the changes this new patch made! I've now flown a few quick missions, mostly against two seaters, and now I can finally attack them like the real pilots did and not fear a single short burst from an observer's gun will wreck my plane half a mile away. (Well I guess that can still happen if one is extremely unlucky!) I shot down a few R.E.8's and got badly hit myself only when being intentionally careless and flying straight into the gunner's sight at much closer range than is healthy for any fighter. Now attacks against two seaters feel much more realistic and support everything I've read from the history books and pilots' memoirs. Good work! Bullethead, I have a funny feeling your life as a Fee pilot just became a lot more exciting... say hello to the Devil from me when you get there!

Nice pics! Though this makes me wonder whether I should just stick to my tough old Pfalz D.IIIa and forget about the Albatros, as her wings don't seem to stay attached to the plane even on ground!

Yes, this new site looks much better and more professional than the old. It has a nice WW1 atmosphere, too. Should help with marketing OFF...

Again, great support! Can't wait to get home from work...

My opinion is the same as Creaghorn's. Even if the Germans didn't have to fly as offensively as the Entente squadrons, the longer the war went on, the more telling the Entente superiority in numbers and logistics became and before the D.VII's became available in adequate numbers, the German's had the weaker scouts. Of course Germans had also some periods of superiority when they were the to first to have synchronized MG's and dual guns in their planes. (And one mustn't forget the excellent German tactics, training and Jasta/JG organizations!) The Alb. D.V, while a good plane, is no match for Camels and other excellent later war Entente scouts. The Pfalz D.III's really sucked compared to most Entente fighters, and a quarter of German scouts in service were Pfalzes at one point of the war. I think MvR would have been a great ace in any air force. He had the best qualities of a patient hunter and knew exactly what he was doing.

Thanks for posting this, really made me smile (can't laugh out loud, would sound suspicious 'cause I'm at work!). Hilarious!

The more I play with these tracers the more I like them. Yesterday I was on patrol mission, it was raining and the sky was very dark. My flight attacked a few English R.E.8's, and the bright tracers looked really beautiful against that murky background. Really great for immersion. Good to know they'll be included in the next patch for all those players who aren't aware of this modification.