von Baur

Usually two diffrent parties will have diametrically opposed views on excavating and both be 100% right. How can we learn about ancient...particularly prehistorical...history except by digging up the areas where those people lived and were buried? And yet how can you argue when the ancestors of those people complain that we're disturbing their final resting places just as a graverobber would, albeit in a more orderly manner. If a culture, such as ancient Egypt's, says that you need your material wealth with you in the afterlife then from the standpoint of that culture a person who removes that wealth to display in a museum is no different than one who removes it to sell for personal profit (and let's not forget the money paid to the archeologist/graverobber by the museum or the money the museum will make charging people to look at those items). None of King Tut's treasures has ever been returned to his tomb. For that matter, neither has King Tut. Is the sacrelige any less because the backdrop is marble halls instead of a circus tent? Whether P. T. Barnum or The Getty, a sideshow is still a sideshow. The ethical questions about digging at historical sites have no end...and, in some cases, no beginning, either, which can complicate matters even further. Before Lou and company's muck was examined that was just the edge of a bog. Two weeks later it was an official archeological dig site. Brea is Spanish for 'tar', which is how the La Brea Tar Pits got their name. For a long time, residents of El Pueblo de la Reyna de los Angeles used to go there to get tar to waterproof their roofs. In 1901 an oil company geologist finds a few bones and the tar pit becomes The Tar Pits. If a country can nationalize archeological items taken before that country gave a rat's 6 o'clock (aviation reference, for those who will complain that I'm getting too far from the purpose of this forum) about that sort of thing, other than the immediate cash offered by the museum, then Lou and his friends should have to return all the arrowheads etc. that they found to the Indian tribes from whence they came or face charges (overstating the case for effect, Lou...no need to worry about a late-night knock on your door). *eddited phour sppeling erurs*

Hasse Wind's caution reminds me of the piece of painted fabric I saw at the Van Nuys Air Show in the late 1990's. It was an authentic piece of Manfred von Richtofen's Fokker D-VII! AND it came with documentation of its authenticity. I just laughed and put it back. Didn't see any point in pushing the issue, because they would parobably just have shelved it until the next air show in the next town. Sometimes I wonder if some poor schmoe bought it. But I'm with Lou on this. You'd think that if she was faking it she would likely attach it to a particular pilot or at least unit. If she didn't (and Lou didn't say anywhere that she did) she was probably just putting it out at face value, usually the action of an honest person. Of course that helmet could have been manufactured in December of 1918 and never was worn in combat. But it's just as possible that it was made in 1915 and saw plenty of action. Dare to dream, Lou, and dream big. Beautiful find. (note font color...envy green)

That's what got me interested in WWI aviation. Snoopy's fantasy life was old hat and very funny, but when I found out that the Red Baron, Fokker Triplane and Sopwith Camel were all real I had to learn more. The rest is history...literally. *edit* And I'm sure that's tame compared to how our wives, et al, see us, Olham.

First of all, I wonder if stupid sh** accounted for as many pilots' deaths in real life as it seems to do for me in OFF. I've been trying to make it through the war from about as early as one can go on the German side. July 1, 1915, FA62 is my chosen starting point for about 8 pilots now. Hard to go wrong with folks like Immelmann and Boelcke as your comrades (although I've yet to have the pleasure). Probably four and maybe five times I've ended with a mid-air with a Bristol Scout while trying to scissor him (I say they all ran into me, but it does take two to Tango). Once I crashed while trying to spot what was drawing all the flak above my aerodrome just after takeoff. Kind of nodded off just after leaving the ground on another occassion and embedded my machine in someone's house in downtown Douai. And most recently I rear-ended an Eindekker that was in front of me as I started my takeoff roll...verdammt taildraggers. Several of my incarnations have done rather well, though, while they lasted. A good number of kills, never lost a flight member to enemy aircraft and only one to AAA. Oddly, I had one go missing even though I know he was present over the airfield after I had landed. I even won the Blue Max with one pilot...then died the next flight (one of the mid-airs). But that's not what prompted the title of this piece. I had completed eight missions and accumulated 9 hours of flight time with my most recent pilot. Again, I haven't lost a man (was it common for German pilots to have nicknames a la modern day pilots? If so, I'm thinking about 'Bring 'em Back Alive' von Baur. Olham, can you translate, please?) and 19 enemy aircraft (including one balloon) have fallen to my guns. Of course none of them had been confirmed. Mission number nine was a nice 90-minute recon flight about 30 miles south of Douai airfield. Small skirmish with some Bristols, I think I killed one enemy because right after my burst he started flying straight and losing height but he was not headed back toward British territory. I chose not to sacrifice 9,000 feet of altitude to watch him crash and he never caught fire, so no claim. I gathered up my gentlemen, finished the flight and we all returned to our aeordrome without further incident. Upon landing the CO called me over to the Officers' mess and when I walked through the door the champagne corks flew as thick as bullets during an infantry charge. It seems that during the one hour and forty minutes I'd spent in the air word came through that I'd gotten confirmation on...hold onto your flying helmets...16 kills (counting the balloon), and been awarded two Iron Crosses, and a Royal Hohenzollern House Order!!! So again I say...holy freaking CRAP!!!!!

I already have all my settings at maximum realism, British_eh, and have recently decided to forego even my modified labels, except when I'm checking on the identities of my flight mates (I've not lost any yet, but I've lost track of one on two occassions). The only exception to full DiD standards I allow myself now is using the TAC to achieve my waypoints...and even that is minimal. First, it's set to the minimum range and to show only ships. Second, after hitting my first waypoint I advance it until it goes several miles out which would be the first actual navigational waypoint. Instead of the climbing triangle I gain altitude in a large clockwise circle around the airfield until I decide I've reached a good height, then I head out with my boys. Once the patrol is over and the waypoint again extends many miles away I turn it off and visually navigate home. If P4 comes with a map that accurately depicts the the ground features (roads, rail lines, rivers/lakes, towns and wooded areas at minimum; rail stations, airfields and lines of elevation to max it out) I'll probably eliminate it, too. I make no claims of being Boelcke's equal, but we have a few advantages that he and von Richtofen, Ball and McCudden, Fonck and Guynemer didn't have. First and foremost we know that, no matter what, we'll be alive tomorrow, so we don't have even the slightest real fear, allowing us to be highly aggressive. It also allows us to learn from our mistakes, a luxury the real pilots didn't have. Another is the fact that we can read and learn from the book that Boelcke and the rest wrote. They had to learn it all, or more accurately make it all up as they went. And not only can we draw on their experience but also that of the men who came after them. Some of the tactics we use weren't developed until the next war. But we can't unlearn these things and so we should do better than the men who had to learn them for the first time. Add to that the fact that we're playing against programmed enemies who can't learn and adapt (as SirMike pointed out in the "claims bummer" thread) and will behave in predictable patterns and you have the makings of some high scores.

Yes to visible and animated arms and legs. Many of these craft had yokes at the ends of the control columns and the pilots flew with both hands on the stick. And I believe the left side of the Fokker yokes were throttle controls. Could the left hand and arm be on the control stick and only move to the throttle/mixture levers when the game senses them being adjusted? My idea of the ultimate pilot animation, though, was inspired the first time I saw the pilot's head tracking his opponent in IL-2 (which, in itself, would be terrific, BTW, especially in open-cockpit planes). It really only applies to multiplayer, but to have the pilot's head slaved to wherever the player was looking. That way you could see if he knew where you were or if you had executed a successful stalk. Of course, that's undoubtedly a game engine thing and not an option in OFF.

Another argument for labels...so you can check who's left in your flight and not use a dead pilot as a witness. I actually used an observation balloon as a witness once and received confirmation. I included its location (if I recall, just west of Henin-Lietard) as well as a fairly detailed description of where it went down all based on Rabu's map, so that may have helped. I was also credited with a couple of planes shot down near my airfield after citing ground crews as my witnesses. However on my lastest pilot I tried using ground troops for a plane that went down near our lines and its companion that fell in nml and got the dreaded 'Claim is erroneous' warning. I switched it to my primary wingman even though he was nowhere to be seen and not only did the game accept my claims but both are now among my confirmed kills. Go figure. *edit* And, yes, keep those wingmen alive. Not just for confirmation, but for the feeling of knowing that you haven't lost anyone.

Wow!! 19-24 September (assuming that's inclusive) is exactly the same number of days as mine...2-7 July, inclusive. Six days, in each case.

Thanx, Olham, for the translation. And thanx, too, for picking up on the focus of the post. While I appreciate the congrats from everyone, my main point wasn't self-promotion...I'll leave that to two gentlemen more prominent in the next war than in this, Mssrs. Patton and Montgomery. I was really aiming at the fact that all the confirmations (as well as the formal rejections of the other three claims, which I didn't mention in the initial post) came in at the same time. It's almost as if they were saving them for something special, but Christmas is months away, yet, and my birthday has passed. Well, technically speaking, it won't occur for another 39 years, but my point remains. Has anyone else experienced this mass-recognition? Is the confirmation/rejection delay sufficently random as to make this kind of 'perfect storm' potentially repeatable? By all means fly the E-III. It's a lovely plane with the best all-round visibility of any in this game. Slow and under-powered, sure, but that doesn't mean it's not suitable for combat...just that you can't treat it like an F-16. And if you enlist prior the arrival of the Nieuport and DH2 you'll have little trouble contending with the Bristol Scouts, BE's and FE's. We have an advantage that the men we respect so much and try to emulate didn't...the ability to fly practice (quick combat) missions and learn the limits and peculiarities of our aircraft before taking them out 'for real'. Carrick, I wouldn't put too much stock in the legitimacy of orders from commanders. While a squadron CO probably should have had enough personal experience to know what he was talking about, a large number of high-ranking officers in the air services didn't. I once read of a general in one country's air service who, upon over-hearing (and misunderstanding) pilots discussing how unsuitable wing-warping was, issued an order that "aeroplanes will not be left out in weather which might cause their wings to warp."

Excellent examples of the best of their calss. Sleek lines, things of absolute beauty. Dangerous, even deadly, to those who don't know how to properly handle them. But for those who've developed the finesse required to get the most out of them able to deliver a ride unequalled and make you the envy of everyone else in the ready room. And the Camels are nice, too. To quote Squdron Leader Lord Flasheart, "Treat your kite like your woman. Get in her at least five times a day and take her to heaven and back!"

Winder, yes, I get hit sounds but I believe in a loud engine. My riding lawmower's 12.5 hp single cylinder engine is only slightly closer and less sound-buffered than the nine-cylinder 90+ hp monsters that powered these birds and I'm nearly deaf to everything around me on it. I doubt I'd notice the sound of a bullet passing through fabric at all and wood only if it was uncomfortably close to my head. In combat I don't notice it at all. I only know that I can hear them from being hit during ground attacks.

Fortiesboy, if OFF (CFS3, actually, since I would imagine it's a holdover from that) would provide a tactile response through my joystick to taking damage I would gladly turn all those lines off. Unfortunately it's the only way I know when I'm being hit. As I said, the message lines are rendered the same colors and opacity as the labels, so with the settings I use they're almost invisible but not gone completely. The external view was strictly to take the screenshots for this topic. Unless I'm skydiving I like to stay inside the plane. 77scout, trust me (or better still give it a shot), using the modified labels is no picnic. While they're pretty easy to see in my screenshot, when they're moving around that's not the case. And while I'm on the subject, they're not all that easy to see in the static shot. For instance, the Alb at the far left is labeled but you have to look closely to even see it, let alone read it...and he's close enough to clearly id the type visually. The same is true to a slightly lesser extent for the three DH2's on the right, particularly the uppermost and lowermost. And there are three labels on the airfield: two 'Bogeys' in the area of the hangars and the 'Airfield' label right smack in the middle of it. I'd wager that most haven't noticed anything but the airplane labels that are set against the dark green of the trees. Add movement to the mix and the difficulty increases dramatically. Trying to find those labels against light clouds or blue sky is almost impossible and in the hazy area several degrees either side of the horizon they can't be seen at all. I agree with SirMike's feelings that labels can help compensate for those of us not blessed with the wherewithall to have three good-sized widescreen monitors and the graphics cards to keep them supplied with information at a framerate higher than a slideshow at an old folk's home. I can attest from my skydiving days that a small airplane (Cessna 4-6 passenger class, or about the size of a scout) can be identified from a distance of two miles, and larger craft at three or more. That would translate to ranges of about 3400 for the scouts and 5100 for the two-seaters. Does this game even display more than a dot from those distances? Olham, it's not your fault. I understand your purpose. BTW, get yourself a good force feedback stick and you won't need the game's stall warning. I can feel a stall approaching before the warning light comes on. NOT WHITE!!! White stands out too much against too many different backgrounds. As the color chart provided by Olham shows it's a light gray. This blends in better in general and when made mostly transparent adds to the difficulty in seeing them. The purpose of the modified labels is to aid in identifying specific flight members under noncombat conditions, not locating the enemy and highlighting them in combat. As I've said before, if you look for these labels in combat istead of looking for planes you're going to get a lot of practice enlisting new pilots.

All the same color makes friend/enemy distinction less automatic, but the transparency setting is the key to looking for the plane and not the label. I'm thinking of darkening mine to 29, as I still have to really focus to read pilots' names (of course new glasses might help in that respect, too ). My TAC is .20 and at the bottom center. At that size and in that position the bottom quarter of it is off the screen entirely and it's in about as unobtrusive a place possible for combat (unless I'm looking upward to at least some extent it's inside my cockpit). All I use it for is waypoints anyway, so I keep is set to the shortest range and showing ships only. And if anyone ever creates a set of printable maps that matches OFF's terrain properly (including the in-game map for the briefing...hint for P-4) I'll stop using it completely.

That's why I posted the entire code string, RC. And why I itemized the changes to make. Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V.

Don't forget to make the labels more transparent, too, Olham. That reduces your reliance on using them to find distant aircraft, whether friend or foe.

A with/without comparison, a la Olham.

I like to be able to ID the aces as well as my flight mates (I count noses on the way home to know who, if anyone, I lost). About 1/3 of the way down the ViewUI file (XP users, BOOTDRIVE:\Documents and Settings\your user folder\Application Data[a hidden folder]\Microsoft\CFSWWI Over Flanders Fields) you'll find the color settings for the labels. I use 0x2FCCCCCC for the Friend, Enemy, Bogie and Goal colors. That renders all AI labels the same from any distance. The two numbers after the 0X are the level of transparency, 00 being invisible and FF being 100% opaque. 2F makes them clear enough to be read without having to pause the game but at the same time they're not overwhelming in a dogfight (i.e. you'll usually see the plane before the label...and if you're looking for the labels I hope you've filled out your will before taking off). I find this a good compromise between the full DiD standard and a playable game. It's also a good middle ground for those wishing to work their way up to full DiD without having to go off labels cold turkey. Of course, you may want to modify the specifics to suit you, should you even choose to try this at all. Another side of this is that it makes the information lines ("you hit enemy aircraft", "structure damage",etc.) the same as the labels, so they're not gone but they're not in your face. The waypoint advisory lines are still a solid red.

I've been keeping and eye on head-mounted displays (pun not originally intended but kept) for three years or so. And back as far as 1998, when I bought my first computer and first started playing Red Baron 3D, I realized a hmd keeping the center of the monitor directly in front of your face, coupled with a 1-1 head-tracking system, would provide the closest feeling to 'being there' possible. Here's a link to a site that's been on my favorites list for a lo-o-o-ong time. I've even posted this before (in one of the multi-monitor threads, I believe). The resolution and field of view has increased dramatically since I fist started looking at them and this one is absolutely insane. Too bad it probably costs as much as my house and car combined...keep buying those Powerball tickets, I guess. I think some of them come with or can interface with inertial tracking systems, which might provide the 1-1 movement ratio that Track IR's reflector system can't, which would really seal the deal.

Recently lost my hard drive and apparently when I found the drivers online a couple of years ago I chose to 'run' rather than 'save', so now I'm without the ability to program my stick beyond what's available in a given game. I realize that most things can be found and set there, but one thing I miss is using my hat for mixture control, as my primary sim recognizes it as ony one button, not a multi-positional switch. Does anybody know where I can currently find them online?

Moderator, please delete this topic. At this point it's just taking up space.

Anybody know where I can find some. My hd crashed a week ago and I can't seem to find anything to get it programmable again.

Moderator, please delete this topic. It's clear at this point that it's just taking up space.

So far I've only taken down BE2's, which are pretty much sitting ducks, and I always took my time and got very close (probably not much more than 50-60 yards, maybe less). The main thing is that I'm not shooting without using the machine gun's sights.

Are you ready for this? I'm flying a 1915 E-III campaign with FA 62 so I decided to use the 'notracer' mod. My accuracy rate has more than doubled. I used to get about 15-20%, 25% or so on a good day. My first mission I was at 48% and the second 69%!!! I can only guess that knowing I don't have tracers to guide me I'm taking my time and aiming more carefully.

Welcome, Kilo. I'm with you, start at the beginning. Unfortunately, I've never made it past about 14 or 15 missions. Personally I find the E-III well-suited against the BE2 and even the Bristol Scout. I've run across the odd Sopwith Strutter, but my experience is they are one of the more deadly two-seaters with a rear gunner who could put Annie Oakley to shame, so I tend to steer clear of them. Tips: First and foremost, never fly alone. The enemy doesn't so you shouldn't. Doing so is an invitation to disaster. Second (and this goes directly to what you've noted), maintain your energy. As Olham said, the Eindekker is possibly the most underpowered plane in OFF. Always remember to stay inside the envelope, especially down low..enemy bullets may miss but gravity never does. If the choice is evasive maneuvers or maintaining airspeed, choose airspeed. If you're on the deck already and in friendly territory, set it down and exit out of the mission as quickly as possible..these guys will straffe you. As far as going into an unintentional sideslip, I have no idea. You might check your controller calibration. You could also be making inputs unconsciously, pressing harder on one rudder pedal or twisting your wrist just enough without realizing due to the stress of the situation. A big help IMO is a forcefeedback joystick. You'll get used to the backpressure and learn to use it to help you gauge how your plane is behaving. It will also give you a tactile warning moments before you stall which will allow you to correct and not enter the stall. Third (and this is kind of dovetails into the first tip), know what your flight mates will do in a given situation and fly accordingly. I've set flight lead to 'by rank' but always end up as the leader even though I'm a leutnant and there are other officers, and even oberleutnants, in the flight. My fellow FA members always seem to takle and outfly the Scouts (I've only managed to keep them from poaching a very few in several incarnations) but I can't even bribe them to attack a BE. Therefore I rarely take a significant role in dogfights, since I'll just blow a lot of ammo setting a Scout up for someone else to finish off. Sure, I'll throw the odd burst at an enemy who may be gaining the upper hand against one of my friends, and I'll even keep someone occupied to give my partners a chance to team up against his, but I don't anticipate filling out claim forms for downed Bristols. OTOH, even though I constantly stab the 'attack' key when we have a flight of nice fat BE2's in front of us I plan my approach in such a way that I can efficiently move through them without assistance. As far as specific tactics, it's pretty basic. The Eindekker is a flying machine, not an aerobatics platform. Don't expect to do a lot of fancy maneuvering. Gentle turns will allow you to keep your energy up, radical ones and it will bleed away faster than a severed femoral artery. The same is true with climbs. Gain altutude with the wings, not the engine. The Bristol Scout has one fixed gun which fires obliquely to the left. So if you maintain the tightest safe right turn you can he can't bring it to bear on you. Throw in the occassional turn to the left and then back to the right and he will follow. This will sap some of his energy and you can slowly gain an advantage over him. Of course, if you're taking on more than one by yourself his buddies can separate and position themselves to get you (see tip number one). And if you're scissoring collision avoidance is 100% up to you. Every time I've expected the AI to take some responsibility for it has resulted in a mid-air. For BE2's it's very easy. They don't take evasive action and they don't shoot back. Be patient and, as Boelcke told von Richtofen, fly close to your man, aim well, fire and he will fall down. I've lit up BE's with as few as 25 rounds (I always shoot just behind the engine) and it rarely takes more than 50. Of course I just installed Creaghorn's 'no tracer' mod, so I expect that to go up somewhat. And the first time I see a Nieuport I'm going on leave until September of 1916. *edit* BTW, you forgot the "Hoo-rah!!"