Kelly Mo

Well, I haven't finished out a "full" career in Phase 2 (courtesy of friendly planes flying into me or unrealistic crashes landings), but I really like what I see... for the most part. But I have some issues with it, and I'm wondering what is fixed or changed in Phase 3. Just a note: I worship the ground that Knights of the Sky (MicroProse ~1992; not the new add-on that seems to be floating around) was coded upon and I base all opinions on that. Sadly, I never thought Red Baron even came close to appealing to me when it came down to the gameplay. (I still play text-based games. Graphics aren't going to impress me. Although, now that I'm mentioning it, it seems that the anti-aliasing doesn't seem to work in OFF... Talk about really hard to find foes when the terrain and clouds blink more than a casino in Vegas.) Also, I wanted to say that I really haven't played much CFS3, since I bought it with the intent of playing OFF. So, if an issue I mention is based on CFS3's engine and cannot be changed, feel free to point that out. And btw, I'm going to state my experiences with the Esc. 3, unless otherwise noted. 1 "Bullet issues") First thing I noticed is that I was set up with something like 146 bullets in my Nieuport 11. Who sent up a pilot with that few bullets? Seriously. After encountering numerous EIIIs, I could easily plow all 146 bullets into one plane (trust me, I carefully made sure I was less than 20m from these planes anytime I'd let a burst go) and it'd still fly away seemingly unharmed. Frustrated, I turned infinite ammo on, despite that I really hate using features like this. Now that I have played a bit more -- and started up a few pilots later in the war-- I see that some other planes go down a bit easier. But, those darned EIIIs still can hold hundreds of bullets without being affected. And on top of that, after I turned on infinite ammo, I've shot at least seven planes to a point where they caught on fire. So for the first few, I figured that was good enough and sought out other targets. But I soon learned that these flaming Fokkers were seemingly unaffected by their apparently unaffected condition... one of them even shot me down once. Talk about seriously frustrating. And, it's also frustrating since I seem to get a bullet to the gas can anytime I forget to check my six. But anyway, I've yet to see a plane break apart, except for the numerous times my teammates flew into me. I know this isn't a CFS3 issue; I shot apart planes constantly. Also, I've never had my guns jammed. I'm not trying to ask for a jinx, but I'm about realism. They did jam back then... but apparently someone forgot to include that in the game. 2 "Gas and bullet issues 2") And in regards to that gas can and bullets... my gas tank is constantly being punctured... I'd say out of five times I get strafed, four times result in gas loss, and two to three also in oil loss. Granted, I get hit maybe every third or fourth dogfight, but seriously. Why aren't the guys I'm pumping full of lead going down as quickly as I do? (I'm namely talking about the EIIIs and planes of '16). Is this "fixed", or at least, can I damage the enemy as well as they seem to get me? And don't they run out of ammo too? I can't say I've noticed a plane not shooting at me, but all the ones who managed to get into my six never seem to be deprived of bullets. Hello, let's keep the realism even? 3 "Ace planes") Now here's the only non-gameplay issue that bugs me. My squadron always seems to come with a few aces included. So, they get a fancy Spad 7, while I'm stuck with the Nieuport 11 or 16. That's all fine and dandy... until I've got more kills than the leading "ace". So where's my Spad? Does Phase 3 supply ace planes to all true aces, or just the ones with "ace files"? 4 "AI and a 'term of WWI flight tactics I cannot remember'") The enemy AI issue is mentioned in other posts around here, and it's supposedly phenomenally better. But I still need to know: do all the pilots still pull back on the stick to slip to the side when they stall? (You know, my KotS manual stated a whole lotta great flight tactics from WWI, including both the Immelmann turn and this "stall/slip" move, but it's at my parents' house and I cannot remember what it's called.) I thought it was just a clever tactic the EIIIs were using in my first few runs, but as soon as I joined Jasta 2 in late '16, the Allies were doing it as well. That also reminds me, do your teammates actually do anything? In Phase 2, they hang around, they do moderately shoot at enemies, but they're not pulling all the clever manoeuvres the enemy does... until you join the other team. >:( Actually, they tend to "hang around, moderately shoot at enemies, and die if you can't kill the opposition quickly enough". 5 "Balloon verification") 'Nuff said. I've seen posts regarding this, and they all say to make sure your wingman is close enough to verify the kill. Except... mine was listed at about 70m away when I made a kill, and I still didn't get credit. Does he need to be sitting in my plane to see it or what? I mean, let's be realistic. Are they claiming the kills as well? Otherwise, someone's gonna be in the area of the balloon (since they're pretty easy to spot from a distance) and can verify that it is no longer there. Is this fixed? 6 "Follow the leader") This is sort of related to #4. All the enemies seem to do the exact same things. Is this also fixed in the whole "enemy AI is definitely improved"? 7 "Futility") Mkay, you know it was possible to down planes (and in my case, be downed) without crashing and dying. Seriously, the landing in this game is erratic and retarded at best, unless you're at full health and your aeroplane is untouched. Being the hardcore sort of gamer, I turned on the "dead is dead" option, since I'm looking for a WWI flight simulator, not a WWI flying nanny. When my wing crumbles and I spin out of control into the ground, I ought to be dead and not resurrectable. But also, I realise that often pilots' crafts were damaged but not to the point of imminent death. Unfortunately, for both my squad and my valiant enemies, I've yet to see one land. Same with me; like I said, if I'm not fully healthy, I crash-land. With that "dead is dead" option, I was dying faster than Europeans during the Bubonic Plague. Does Phase 3 level the differences out a bit? Do pilots actually try to land their crafts when they cannot continue flying as expected? 8 "Claim timing") I know there've been at least 10 claims I should have had, except that my plane went down and I ended the mission. So suddenly, I get no credits for claims, just because I've exited my plane. A few times I'd be quite sure that eventually the planes I'd hit earlier would down, so I would land and let the game keep running... and get the credits when they crashed. And then, once upon a time, I was forced to land, and I had a few bullets in a few planes. So, I left the game running but I shut the engine down and as a result, I added three more kills to my original one that I obtained before I was downed. Then I exited to the mess hall (after seeing four downed planes in my summary) and read that I only had one claim. I didn't realise that claims only counted when your engine is on... >:( Ummm... I was under the impression that if I shoot an enemy and he eventually falls courtesy of my bullets, I should get the credit. (Whether or not the claim is accepted isn't the issue. And by the way, I LOVE how not all my claims are verified! I think that's a great realism issue that hasn't been addressed in any of the prior WWI games I've played.) 9 "The weather sucks") What is up with the snow wall? I'm highly irritated when it's snowing because it looks like there's a sheet of snow falling about two centimetres into my screen (when I'm stationary). If I could look past that, it seems that the rest of the "world" is un-snowy at all. And seriously, I've had encounters with both snow and rain where I flew up to a point where there were no clouds above me. And it kept snowing/raining. You know, when you travel about 50km, the weather often changes, especially in Europe. Is the weather doohickey changed at all? 10 "Controller elevator cable") Okay, I realise the wings are a very real and large part of the aeroplane's structure. But seriously, I get pounded like crazy in them. Yet, *I* have never actually been shot. I don't know, I've only seen WWI flying in movies (okay, in movie... "Flyboys"), but it'd seem a bit more realistic if pilots were actually hit by bullets. And maybe the tail. I really hate losing agility in any part of the plane, but I don't think I've ever lost anything except the turning ability (ailerons/flaps or "controller elevator"). And, cables are quite thin... I'd think that the chances of hitting them would be minute in comparison to having your wing's cloth covering torn up, or like I mentioned before, being shot yourself. I know that regarding those EIIIs I first became aquainted with from behind, I'd put at least 20 bullets at the pilot from a distance so close that I thought I'd be colliding with the enemy plane before I could pull away. (And once, I did collide.) Yet, the pilot never slumped, the plane never righted into a default flight due to operator failure, or anything of the sort. I know this isn't a CFS3 thing, because I never had an issue with limited ammo. I've left numerous dogfights in WWII because I was out of ammo, but it was after wasting numerous enemies and after watching their crafts crumble or plunge in firey flames. 11 "Time warp") I'm not talking about Rocky Horror . I know that it's been set up a bit more properly in Phase 3, but I was wondering if it's offered to go places other than just the next waypoint. Seriously, that'd be a nice addition. And, it'd also be nice to just accelerate the time, instead of taking over complete control of the plane. Once again, I think the acceleration was an *EXCELLENT* feature of KotS. 12 "Where's the party?") And now, to my last and most important complaint: I think this may have to do with CFS3's engine and not OFF... but I'm going to mention it anyway. I think the #1 reason I loved Knights of the Sky over any other WWI flight sim I've encountered is because I can randomly fly around and encounter the enemy. That was my biggest peeve of Red Baron; Dynamix flight sims always had pre-programmed encounters set up (I'd previously played Aces Over The Pacific and Aces Over Europe and noticed the exact same setup). If you ran into a squadron that was going to kick your backside back to last week, you simply flew around the area you discovered that area to be, and you were kosher afterwards. But KotS allowed you to encounter numerous enemies; granted, I will admit that it was a bit gaudy with how many enemies you'd find -- especially when you hung around an enemy aerodrome. But I can't really understand how after I've completed a mission in OFF and decide to fly around on the enemy side a bit, I never find anyone (because they haven't been "programmed" to be there). I'm trying to wean myself off of the radar and have already removed the little labels that show bogies and how far away they are. I really want a realistic sim. And while I understand that often there were missions that offered no encounters with the enemy, if you go off looking for them in enemy territory, I'd kind of expect them to show up once in a while. Well, these are the questions I have come up with after playing OFF Phase 2 for the past two weeks off and on. (Mostly off the first week, and a lot of on the second.) I do like the game, but I would not want to pay $40 for what I currently have. The graphics are really the only thing it has a 1-up on the Knights of the Sky, and like I said, I still play text-based games. So, KotS wins. Actually, I'd gladly pay the $29.99 that KotS is costing on Amazon and have the manual again, then pay for OFF Phase 3 right now. I'm not trying to disrespect OFF, but to me these issues aren't negotiable. Anyway, if anyone can answer or rectify the questions/issues I've asked about, I will be greatly appreciative. Thanks in advance! Btw Sitting Duck... thank you SO MUCH for sending me a copy of Phase 2. :D

I'd noticed a few times before that while I was playing I'd hit the 'm' to pull up my map, and the game would "crash" straight to the campaign menu. I ignored it, making an effort to just not hit the map key. But now it's happening again. I've been assigned a scramble, and the map button always kicks me out of my flight, as though I never even visited the briefing room (I'm only mentioning it now because I've kicked myself out three times. The first time I actually did intend to look at the map and see which way my home was, but the other two were accidentals while trying to hit another key ). I'm thinking maybe it's just something related to scrambles, since it's happened before and I *think* it was also a scramble. Another note: when I'm kicked out and I go back to the briefing room, I get the scramble again, just like nothing had ever happened. Is anyone else experiencing this "feature"? I guess it could be a godsend; with all the collisions and accidental stalls, I *could* just hit the button and undo everything when it all goes to Hades... :blush2: But really. Is something fubar'd?

I've hit a stumbling block in Photoshop that none of the online tutorials seem to solve. I'm having serious issues with the "replace colour" feature. My problem is that all the tutorials simply show how to change a selected colour to a different, yet ambiguous colour. I'm trying to change a Nieup 11's tail to just one colour - the standard khaki tone. I can get the red/blue/white to change to various other hues (like magenta! Yay! ) with no problem. But that khaki colour? Not a chance... since there's only Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. And the problem just lies in the fact that I want the ribs to show through, but I want to lose all of the colour scheme. So my question is this: is there a way to truly replace one colour with another? If so, where's the blasted command? This is driving me looney... haha Thanks in advance!

I'm going to try to find a new driver for my card I guess. I had another scramble with my four planes (including myself) with graphics settings changed to the lowest settings and it still fubar'd. Yet two missions later my flight (of four) was accompanied by four other friendlies, and there was another flight of four friendlies over us, with six enemies flying in and at full graphics settings, the map popped up just dandy. Hopefully this'll fix it.

Ohhh, there they are! I'm going to try those out on my next round. I've finished up the Bebe (both with and without khaki tail) and will probably move on to the E.III. For reference: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=9278 (khaki tail) And: http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=9279 (standard tail) I'll probably have to wait a few weeks to get back in to skinning. The Mister comes home on Wednesday and about a week after we're flying back to the States for about a month. If he's particularly intolerable before then though, I'm sure I'll be back in PS trying to get another plane done.

File Name: off_NieuportN11_t_Esc 3 1916_w-Tail.zip File Submitter: Kelly Mo File Submitted: 29 Jun 2009 File Category: Aircraft Skins So, I've redone a N11 with no roundels. This is one with the normal blue/white/red tail. (Sorry the screenshot isn't the greatest... it's just the N11 with no roundels or weird birds on the fuselage. Click here to download this file

File Name: off_NieuportN11_t_Esc 3 1916_no Tail.zip File Submitter: Kelly Mo File Submitted: 29 Jun 2009 File Category: Aircraft Skins So, I've redone a N11 with no roundels. This is one with a khaki tail. Click here to download this file

Well, due to the excellent advice (to everyone... none of the specifics mentioned worked, but I was able to actually combine all three of your suggestions and get it to work), I have my tails somewhat realistic looking. Sandbagger's method almost worked, but it still retained a funky off-colour (especially when I didn't level the blue/white/red to one shade. That fucia, white and St. Patty green was quite an eye-opener). OvS actually confused me. I don't know what hard/soft light is (couldn't find it), but searching for it led me to discover something new. (By the way, I'm using PS 5.0... so maybe those commands hadn't been invented yet?) For those interested in what I did: I copied the tails to a new layer, desaturated, and then stamped/cut-n-pasted the red-and-blue-turned-grey to cover the white area so it was all one basic level of grey. Then I cut and pasted the darker ribs as Olham suggested to cover most of the missing rib areas. Then, completely by accident, I found a new command while trying to figure what OvS meant... image -> adjust -> variations. From there, since I had a tail that was all one shade (with ribs, albeit grey), I mucked around with that until it was almost the colour of the fuselage. Now, one last question: How do I go about uploading the skin so others can download it from here?

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'll try to fiddle with it out tonight and see if I get anything to work.

OFF has been quite an addictive source of fun lately. Since I lack both rudder pedals and TrackIR, which would you suggest I invest in first? I probably won't buy the other until at least September... so, what would YOU recommend for the next three months of fun time? (Further notes: 1) I'm actually going to be spending about 4 weeks in July/August with family and inlaws, and that will negate any gaming time. 2) I am running the game with "Flight Log (Realism: 40)", which I'm sure is tragic to see, and all because I must use "auto-rudder".) Of course, I could just buy a lotta beer instead... Feel free to explain your reasoning. :drinks_drunk:

Thanks all for the opinions and suggestions. I'm definitely going to be getting TrackIR... and perhaps a twisty stick. Thanks, British_eh, for mentioning your issues with TrackIR. I hadn't even thought of the whole site-line-up bit, but now that I know how to fix that issue, even better! So I'm off to scout eBay for now... otherwise I'll get it new. And I'll go get some beers to celebrate once it's arrived.

Nope, not your problem. I'm just blind.

So I began a flight on my newest pilot, as I do almost every other time I boot up OFF, and I received a Lone Wolf mission. So up I went. As soon as my map keyed me in to what I'd be flying, I began having curious doubts about my fuel situation. But, I figure the powers that be knew what they were doing when they assigned me this mission (read: coded the game. Note that this is not a slam against the coding... but apparently something slipped through perhaps?). So I flew out. I flew for a long time. A looooong time. Long story short: I ran out of fuel way behind enemy lines while on my third loop of a huge shape resembling a kindergartener's attempt at drawing a star. So um, how do I avoid this? I mean, I can't see where these lone wolf missions go beforehand (and as far as I know, I cannot change or alter or decline them), and I feel absolutely shoddy when I do not complete a mission (even if I'm missing large chunks of plane and am lucky to make it to the hospital). Has anyone else had this issue? Can it be avoided? Or am I an idiot and should have just flown home? Short story long: Anything by Dickens.

Once again, thanks for the input. I guess I was dead-set that I MUST visit all the waypoints for the mission to be a "success". I've been assigned one since then, and I just flew around and enjoyed the scenery until six SPAD VIIs decided to enjoy it with me. It seemed about time for a new pilot anyway. My final consensus is this: my in-game superiors just hate me and wanted to get rid of me. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I referenced that page a number of times before I actually bought BHH. The only thing it mentions regarding time acceleration is "Note: Using WARP or time acceleration can mess up times too.". Not exactly informative, nor something that would actually imply that warping and time acceleration were two very different things.

Graphics do not impress me, I still enjoy MUDs and playing "Knights of the Sky"... So I downloaded it and I finally got around to testing it out. But, due to lack of any instructions or any clue as to what any key does... I'm about to scrap it. I first tried to fly a bit, but the F keys confused me so much (and the fact that I started in the air), that I just quit. So then I tried a training mission. Nothing was accomplished except to get me confused on the various views. I saw my teammate in a Moraine start his engine and begin to take off. The tragic part was that I thought it was a view of my plane and my button-mashing was successful. Not.

Thanks for the input. I'd originally started out letting my plane fly to the first waypoint without warping. Then I was like... wow, this is deathly boring (I couldn't find an enemy to save my life... I'd actually grabbed a magazine and started perusing). So I set warp up. That was my downfall... I guess warp does guzzle like a '67 Impala. I was kicked out of warp for low fuel and I was caught wayyyyy over enemy lines. Not quite sure what you mean? Are you simply saying that lone wolf missions are a waste of time? I know it was my own stupidity to rely so heavily on warp, but I still do think it's a bit ludicrous that there'd be a mission that would require more fuel than I could carry when I simply flew the route with no diversions (whether warping or not). I remember thinking... dang, I've been zooming about for quite a while. So I popped up the map window and watched me zoom back and forth. And back and forth. And... no fuel. I'm just gonna take off and land for those assignments from now on.

"Kites with a Vengeance"?

1. Forget that there's a crosshair. 2. Get really close (I generally wait until I can see the supporting struts on his plane, or if I really need to hit him, the support wires). This will take fun manoeuvring unless you're absolutely sure there's no one else around to occupy your six. If you're in a faster plane, you're going to have to fiddle with the throttle as well, or you'll probably zoom past him before you'll ever get a chance to "aim". 3. Fire a quick shot to gauge where the bullets go. Notice where these bullets fly in comparison to other parts of your cockpit (you're shooting him from the cockpit, right?), then aim your plane so your target flies in front of that piece of cockpit. (I notice that in Phase 3, my Fokker E.III shoots just under/around the top metal piece of the windscreen.) That's what I do. Wha, there's time acceleration?!?!

<idiot>Is there a way to incorporate that into the map in-game? Or do I gotta print it out and ... wait, </idiot> that sounds kinda fun. Nevermind. Edit: Sorry, forgot to include some important stuff: Awesome maps, and thank you.

I've noticed that if I go directly from one cockpit view to the next (without releasing a key and looking forward in between), it often lags. Granted, I don't think that I've ever waited more than two or three seconds for it to switch, but when the enemy's on your six, that's rather heart-pounding. Maybe that's the problem? Just briefly release the view button til it snaps back to the forward view and then try the next? Edit: See my previous posts for what I think are good view key binds. :D

No, sadly no twisty stick. I'm saddened that I didn't know about that option when I bought my joystick. F1 - Virtual cockpit. F2 - Spot view. F3 - Chase view. F4 - Player/target view. How could you not use the virtual cockpit?

Yay, here's a whole agglomeration of previous quotes, suggestions, and personal preferences... My personal requests: * Moraines?!?! I was wondering where all the shooting enemies were in late 1915, playing as a German. All I find are Strutters and RE2c's that float around until you can bring them down. (Or do I have a setting out of whack?) I also tried joining a French legion in early 1916, but the Moraines were listed as unavailable. (Could ya fix that? Like... either don't show me a squad at a specified time if the plane isn't availble, or make that plane available?) I think that's the only plane I actually miss. * I've read that it's actually a CFS3 issue, but can we get the balloon claims adjusted? As far as I know, shooting down a balloon (with some sort of verification, of course) was a kill. Surely there's got to be something Microsoft did that can be fubar'd... ? * Enemy planes landing after being shot (maybe just in visual aspect). I've shot down a number of various enemies throughout my various lifetimes. I've often noticed some drift downwards as though to land (and one even actually "landed" for a short while, which was very odd and concerned me, causing me to swoop back around), but eventually end up esploding. I know I can sometimes pull my damaged craft down to land, but I've yet to see an enemy do the same. (From what I have noticed as well, these 'downings' count as kill claims, so I don't know if they just blow up because I can then count them as a tally mark?) Or maybe better yet... allow for "downing" of pilots, both friendly and enemy? Just a bit of graphics tweaking, I'd think... but honestly, I don't know jack about it. Yeah, that. But 2) concerns me a bit - should not be that way - can we get some consensus on this?You're right. AA was a joke for a majority of the war. Later on (and waaaaay later on... in a not-so-distant future I still haven't reached) it was apparently more "realistic" (e.g. threatening) at lower altitudes. Can we purchase this for download? I'm not into the whole patience-while-waiting-for-mail thing. :DAnd perhaps can P4 perhaps be an upgradeable feature if someone previously owned P3? I second that. Could we possibly have a "personal" plane, if we perhaps reach a certain level (either through rank or kill or whatever)? Also the few request for personal paintings... that'd be really awesome too, although I have no idea how to even paint your own squad. I'm so going to be stalking my flight mates now! I'm dreading my first jam... so yeah, that sounds great! (Reminds me of my roadbiking forums... they say those with the clip/clipless pedals fall into one of two categories: those who have fallen, and those who will. I'm not looking forward to my first humiliation.)... That's a righteous amen. Get them boys to shoot forward. <grammar nazi>And, get them peoples to understand that "each other" is two separate words...</grammar nazi> Honestly, I just came from playing Phase 2, so this version is currently still awesome, aside from slight weird oddities.