von Baur

So I had the ballgame on last night...not "watching" it, more for background noise. The analysts were talking about crappy minor-league parks they'd played at during their careers. One of them said he played at a park that was right next to a pig farm. One day a ball hit into the outfield rolled through the fence and into the farm and was eaten by a pig (I'm not making this up, he said it). But what was really strange about it was that instead of being called a ground-rule double they awarded the batter an inside-the-pork home run (not a typo).

I don't know that it's so much an age thing as it is an expectation thing. The very first time you experience something completely unlike anything you've ever experienced before you've nothing to compare it to. Revolution. Sudden and drastic change from what you're used to. OTOH, when the second and third generations of that same thing come out you have a frame of reference to which to compare it. You've also built up expectations that must be lived up to or surpassed to impress you and that's not easy. Example: The Godfather. When that movie was first released some of what they did was SO new and unexpected that it hit you like a baseball bat to the back of the head. The horse's head in the movie producer's bed: Sonny being ripped by the Thompsons: the mass executions juxtaposed over Michael's swearing off evil at his nephew's christening. These were powerful experiences and had never before been put on the screen. When Part 2 was released people knew what to expect, so it had less impact even though it wa probably more violent. The same (for me, at least) was true with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. The former was completely new and so everything that Brooks did was so unexpected that you found yourself saying "Did he really say/do that?" But you went to Young Frakenstein kowing what was coming and it wasn't as funny. Airplane and Airplane 2 the same way. I've heard many people say that RB3D wasn't as good as RBII. But 3D was my first WWI sim and so I had nothing to which to compare it. Therefore I felt it was amazing, even given the hexagonal fuselages and literally two-dimensional wings, struts and wheels (they would disappear when you got straight on with them), the lack of bracing wires, and the pathetic sounds of the stock game.

I was working as a cable installer in southern California (east San Fenando Valley, just north of Hollywood) one thursday back in 1997 or '98, I think, when I heard a roar unlike anything I'd heard live before, and I used to jump C-130's, too. I looked up just in time to see what I thought was a B-17 disappearing behind a building. Wasn't sure if that's what it was, the glimpse was so quick. A few minutes later I heard the roar again, getting louder this time, so I waited and watched as a B-24 appeared on the other side of the sky. Amazingly awesome, and I'd watched C-5's take off and land when I was in the Air Force. But I couldn't help feeling a little perplexed. Sure, I'd only gotten a fleeting glance at the plane earlier, but how in the world could I have mistaken a Liberator for a Flying Fortress? It didn't add up. A few minutes later the sound once again started getting louder and when I looked, lo and BE-hold (not just behold, but BE-hold), there was a B-17 coming around the same flight path. Turned out both planes were on display at the Burbank Airport through the weekend, courtesy the Confederate Air Force. I took my son out there that saturday and climbed trough them (rides were available but out of my price range at $300 for a ten- or twenty-minute flight). The experience was special for me because my dad piloted both in WWII.

If I recall correctly, Corsaire, the bounce was a by-product of the fact that the landing was more of a controlled crash. While this is true for most (if not all) carrier landings, never was it more so than in the case of your namesake. The Corsair's long nose would entirely block the pilot's vision of even an aircraft carrier from a reasonably long distance. This necessitated the pilots bringing in their planes on a turn almost until they were over the ship and then cutting power completely, causing them to slam down on the deck.

to Olham: In the words of Steve Miller, "Time keeps on slippin', slippin'...into the future." to Hellshade: I was wondering the same thing.

Olham, had I gone that far to begin with my response would have been, "I wouldn't like to insult the vampires."

I call mine "Susan". *edit* Olham nailed Camel. Pup came from the fact that it was a smaller version of the 1 1/2 Strutter. The story goes that someone saw it and told Sopwith that his airplane had "had a pup". 1 1/2 Strutter was also a nickname referencing the cabane struts. I can't recall the official designation but I believe the initials were LRT, the R standing for Rotary and the T for Tractor, indicating a front-mounted (tractor) rotary engine. The L may have been for land.

p.s. Every time I see this thread I can almost hear Peter, Paul and Mary. (anyone under 40, show this to your parents...they'll explain it to you) Where have all the AI gone? Long time pass-ing. Where have all the AI gone? Long time ago. Where have all the AI gone? Gone sight-seeing every one. When will they ever land? When will they e-ver land?

Olham: "Is" for them..."will be" for us. When? "Two weeks". I'm beginning to think the devs measure time the same way Griffin does in "Men in Black 3". Lothar: Was he joking? Hard to tell. No smiley faces anywhere in his post (except after mentioning how much better WOFF is...or will be, or...never mind), so maybe not. There are so many mods running around now that OFF is starting to look like RB3D, where there were a dozen or more different versions and each one had its supporters claiming that theirs' was the best. Probably a good thing that there's no real multiplayer capability, since there'd be more time spent sorting out mismatches than actually playing. And to the point of the thread: I've sat on the ground...as flight leader and after hitting all waypoints, and having had all pilots in my flight follow me all the way back to base...watching as the rest of my flight circled the airfield for quite some time (I think I waited twenty minutes one time before finally giving up) without having even one of them even try to land. That's been a while, though, as these days I simply land, come to a stop and exit. (real) Life is too short.

And the poor old ostrich died for nothing. I'll keep the same vein going and choose February 9th, 2014, the 112th Anniversary of the Battle of Mboto Gorge.

Tried this on the "General Help" forum with no luck. Maybe I'll have some here. I'm trying to run multiple monitors of different sizes, aspect ratios and resolutions (a 32-inch 16:9 1080p TV in the center flanked by two 19-inch 4:3 which will be stood on end portrait style). I understand that SoftTH will make that possible and I've downloded it. But the readme says that I'll need the WDDM file first. I've found various references to it but nowhere to download it for AMD video cards. Can anyone help?

I agree with Shiloh completely. I have no doubt I've experienced less than half of what OFF-3 has to offer. And the decision to build a computer for flying had at least as much to do with other factors as it did the pending(?) release of WOFF. As for patience, I'll put mine up against anyone else's in the world. So what has set me off? "Two weeks." "Two weeks." That's what we've been hearing for, what, more than three years? I know it's been over two because my wife was still alive when screenshots and videos of Phase 4 were being released and she's been dead more than two. I understand that "two weeks" is kind of an inside joke. But how long can one hear the same joke over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...I think you get my point. To me, "two weeks" isn't a joke any more, it's almost an insult. It's like we don't deserve a serious answer. You want to let us know that you're working on improvements, I get it. But do you have to show us bits and pieces of what we can't have every couple of months? Car manufacturers are probably designing the 2016 or 2017 models already. Hell, they're probably working on the retooling of assembly lines for them already. BUT THEY'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THEM ALREADY!!! And they won't until it's nearly time to let the driving public get our grubby little mitts on them. I, like Soppy, trust you. You're going to keep trying to inprove our experience until such time that's no longer feasible. And if and when that time comes I expect you'll have the decency to make the formal announcement, unlike the way it was mishandled at M9. I trust you, I do. But showing so much without giving any of it is like a politician describing the gourmet meals a homeless, unemployed person will enjoy once he gets a job but not providing a realistic solution to his getting one. How about this? When someone asks about the progress, instead of just throwing out "two weeks" you give us one of three time-frames: Not Soon=probably at least six months and up to infinity, don't hold your breath Soon=anywhere from a month or so to six months or more, prepare to salivate Very Soon=put it in your budget, it's been sent to the publisher Those are just preliminary ideas. You could add a time-frame, if you like, or rename/reassign values as you see fit. At the very least, it would prevent having to explain to the casual passers-by who always ask, after the "two weeks" comments, "Really? How much? How do I order it? Will it be in stores?" (almost) p.s. Another thought: how about a colored button to indicate progress? It can change from, say, red to yellow to green (again, specific colors/timeframes would be designated by the devs) as the time shifts closer. Make it the top sticky-topic. That way we wouldn't even have to ask. That's it. I'm done. I don't think I can make it any clearer than that. **editted for spelling**

Preorder? Preoder what? As Hellshade pointed out, If we had preordered when OFF4 was first being talked about, the devs might now be trying to scrape up the cash to refund some of that money three years later with nothing to show but promises, screenshots and the occassional video. Besides, I doubt the holdup is money. Rather, it seems to me to be a case of time. Possibly because, as I said earlier, they want to delay release until they are satisfied with it. I've never built a computer game, but I have built much of what's on my land, most of it with spit and baling wire. And I can tell you, there's precious little of it I don't wish I'd done a little differently**edit-(it all does what it's supposed to and everyone who sees it is impressed, but all I see is what could be better)**. IMO, if a builder is completely satisfied with a project, he's setting his sights too low. PERFECTION IS UNATTAINABLE!!! I wish I'd said that before (oh, yeah...I did). And if I'd not built any of it until I was completly certain I'd be completely happy with the results there'd be precious little of it...period! Anybodey else here remember Birds of Prey? Lots of impressive screenshots. Lots of discussion on the forum from the devs about how well the planes flew, how beautiful everything was, what an amazing simulation it would be. They even had a "museum" where you could take tours of some of the planes. Never materialized. Same thing with the Richtofen's Skies, nee Target Flanders, mod for M9, nee Target Ware. That even had a Beta release that was a lot of fun to fly. But after years of promises of a revision that never came interest dwindled and died. Bullethead invested in a new computer for this. I've recently done the same. His is now outdated (a year-and-a-half is an eternity in computer advancements). I have to wonder if mine will be by the time WOFF is released (or whatever it's called by then). How many others will spend money on new or upgraded rigs primarily, if not specifically, for WOFF only to have them become obsolete while waiting. What iis the holdup? Is it core functionality? Are you still wrestling with AI behavior and flight/damage models? Certainly those are central issues and deserve a high level of accuracy. If so, say so, that we might know release is still quite a ways off and we can stop holding our breath (I look good in blue, but not so much when I am blue). Or is it because there's an obscure squadron/staffel/escadrille that hasn't been nailed down yet? And if so, is that really worth the delay? I guarantee that unless you have EVERY outfit accurately equipped with EVERY plane it flew and all skinned properly you're going to hear about it from the .05% of the following who happen to know the history of that particular outfit because his great-grandfather had a friend whose cousin delivered eggs to them once and so has learned everything there is to know about it right down to how many times a day they fed their mascot, Bruce the one-winged ptarmigan (and the true story about that missing wing). Is it fair to starve the rest of us because that one person may not be happy with the flavor of the feast? With apologies to the brothers Maverick, as my pappy used to say "S**t or get off the pot." **disclaimer..no alcohol was used in the composition of this post.**

Hmmm. Much has been made of the evils of drinking and driving and of driving while texting. Let me be the first to extoll the dangers of posting while "under the influence". That said, I would add, "In vino veritas". Now, where in hell did I leave that bottle of aspirin???

Gentlemen! Your desire to provide your loyal public with nothing short of the best final product possible is noted, understood, and deeply appreciated. However, to keep us waiting unil you feel that perfection is achieved is unrealistic because perfection is unachievable, if for no other reason than the fact that every new day presents a new possibility not considered earlier thus rendering whatever has been achieved, regardless how amazing, imperfect. I thiink we're all here mature enough to understand, and I think we've shown a willingness to accept, that "there's something even better being worked on". We've come to expect that you've always got something bigger and better on the drawing board. I would even go so far as to say that, with our acceptance of BHAH and HITR, we have no problem with a major upgrade being followed fairly closely by a significant update. As one who, having had my wife pass away two years ago at age 50, every day sees things for which it's too late I say, "NEVER 'wait until the time is right', because the time is right right now". Or, two sum it up in two words: RELEASE, ALREADY!!

I'm trying to run multiple monitors of different sizes, aspect ratios and resolutions (a 32-inch 16:9 1080p TV in the center flanked by two 19-inch 4:3 which will be stood on end portrait style). I understand that SoftTH will make that possible and I've downloded it. But the readme says that I'll need the WDDM file first. I've found various references to it but nowhere to download it for AMD video cards. Can anyone help?

If that plane gets any more decoration on it it'll look like a NASCAR racer, Welcome back, Stump.

Loss of fuel pressure means no more engine. There is no "fight it out" at that point.

And Gary Cooper's first role. A bit part with one scene. Good film. Personally, I like it more than "Hell's Angels". Wouldn't mind adding it to my library.

Putting the coat on, without question. Note, the left collar (right side, as we look at it) is between his shoulder and the assistant's open hand. But it could be a flying coat, since the assistant doesn't seem to be wearing any cold-weather gear, not even gloves.

Twenty-two years ago today (also a saturday), the most beautiful, most wonderful woman who ever lived became my wife. After a small church wedding and only slightly larger reception at our apartment, we went to one of the bars we frequented, her still in her wedding gown and blue bonnet and me in my black tails and spit-shined cowboy boots and we danced until they closed the place. Please hold the congratulations, though. Because twenty years was all we were allowed. On the 14th I will mark the second anniversary of losing her to a severe stroke, which went untreated for two days because I thought it was just another multiple sclerosis attack. Don't mourn...rejoice for the time we had. And heed this advice. Never...NEVER...miss a chance to show your loved ones how much they mean to you. I promise you that even if you do it every minute of every day, if you lose that person you'll regret not showing it more.

Looks like my gaming computer will be just in the nick of time. Please tell me my gaming computer will be just in the nick of time.

Do they? Yes, some do, but what I mean is: There's a country song "I'd Be Lookin' for a Woman Like You". In it the singer's wife asks the dreaded question, "What would you be doing if we hadn't met?" I, of course, started wondering the same thing. And I came to the conclusion that I would have been perfectly happy had I never met Nancie. In the same way that a water glass is perfectly full while holding 12 ounces of water. And a gallon pitcher is perfectly full with one gallon of water. Neither of them has any idea what it's like to hold more than the amount for which each was designed. I believe that on February 9th, 1991, I became all the oceans in the world. And thanx for the kind words, Olham.

to angles1100: LOL!! to Olham: 5 eurokids = 10 American kids? I knew the US dollar was devalued, but come on!!!

Am I the only one counting only ten responses?