Check Six

Jack72, Before you take off, write down the names of the pilots in flight 1 and flight 2 for potential witnesses in case you down an enemy aircraft. If you're successful, pause the sim, press "z" to toggle info, note the time and altitude, maybe the Lat and Long. Call up the map and note your position (5 miles SE of Arras will suffice [the map scale is on the left top corner saying something like "map is 80NM across"]). If you destroy an enemy, and your other flight members do not make it home, you may not get a confirmed kill, or even get presented with a claim form. Also, if you have just sent half a drum into your enemy, he flips over on his back and starts the plummet towards earth, so you go to finish off his mate(s) or to save one of yours, one of your wingmen may follow the crippled craft and plant one or two rounds in him, and therefore they will get presented with the claim form. It's really all dependant on the setting for claims you have chosen in Workshop. Type "Claims" into this Forum's search engine, and look at some of the claims that are being filled out by some here. Perhaps a bit "wordy" and too descriptive for a valid claim, but they look good in your log book, and bring back memories of a difficult combat etc.

Bub, Have you been reading Pips' "Flying the old planes" threads? theyre pretty good at describing how the planes fly. If you're looking for the strengths and weaknesses...try "Homeboy's OFF Planes Page" http://snomhf.exofire.net/OFFaircraft.html A work in progress at the moment, but it will eventually list the strengths and weaknesses of the aircraft as they are modelled in OFF (whether or not that is exactly as they flew), with the intention of users being able to use this guide to work out how best to down a particular opponent with a particular aircraft, or how to escape from a particular aircraft. For instance...how fast can my aircraft climb? Will it outclimb the Fokker D.VII on my tail? Can I escape by turning tightly? If I get into a fight with a Albatross D.III, how best can I escape in my XXXX aircraft? Sounds just like what you're looking for. Speed at altitude tables, Climb rates, dive rates, turn rates etc. Not historical data removed from "Jane's book of WW1 fighters", but actually flying OFF aircraft with a stopwatch and instruments on screen. DAMN! You do good work Mark. Kudos to you Homeboy.

I tend to use the "Spot View" on occasions to check position of my wingmen or opponents, and do not wish to use virtual cockpit TrackIR view (ie if your wingman/flight leader/opponent is directly under you). I see Homeboy's great command key card has a command for "Float View". but this is not the same. I want to put the key combination on the my joystick hat switch (I've got virtual cockpit/TrackIR in the "up" position, Chase View on the "down" position, player/target view on the "left", and want to add this to the right. Anyone know what the key command to call up "Spot View" is? Is there any way of calling it up with one command (as opposed to cycling through F4 commands)?

Thanks Olham, will do.

Bevington, I just want to make sure you're attempting to install correctly. First of all, insert the OFF DVD into your hard drive. When it starts up, it will interrogate you about how you wish to provide the NECESSARY files from M$ CFS3. If you have that flight sim on your hard drive (ie already installed) you can choose to copy the needed files from your hard drive. If CFS3 is NOT installed on your hard drive, it asks you to insert disc 1 into the drive. Are you certain that it is the OFF disk that the computer is asking you to insert, and not CFS3? If it asks you to insert CFS3 into the drive, and you are inserting OFF DVD, it will read an error. Check that your procedure is correct, and get back to here if you're still having trouble

I was SO going to post the same as Bullethead and Waldemar Kurtz. Lawrence of Arabia is my favourite WW1 movie. His book "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is an extraordinary work...even more so as the original draft and notes was left on a train, and he re-wrote it hurriedly from memory. Unbelievable. I like the individual stories in war too, hence the charm of Sgt York, and my fondness for it. I haven't seen it YET (soon..next month), but Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson has made a short film with lots of replica Se5a's etc that is used as background for the Australian War Memorial's "Over The Front" exhibition. I've heard it's "gobsmackingly brilliant". Peter is a member of our society, and an avid WW1 aviation enthusiast. He commissions replicas to be built, and donates them to flying museums etc like Omaka Warbirds. But they're ON LOAN. I'm sure he will ask for them back to make THE definitive WW1 aviation film. He is a complete stickler for detail in every way, and everything he does is historically correct. I can't wait!

Jimgad, I'm sure you're blown away by OFF. Prepare to be gobsmacked. Save up your Pounds Sterling, and get yourself a TrackIR5. If you haven't heard or seen of it, look up YouTube, type in TrackIR, watch some of the clips there, and be amazed! This will put you in the pilot's seat LITERALLY! Well worth every penny. Welcome to OFF. Enjoy.

I've seen some old footage of Udet flying at an airshow, doing stuff like sideslipping WAYYY too close to the ground, coming in to land at bizarre angles, 45 degrees to the landing strip, picking up cloths with a notch cut in the bamboo hoops under his wingtips. Extraordinarily gifted pilot. Superb to see. I also recall the description of the lion leaping at him. How could that POSSIBLY not be burned into your memory? Fascinating stuff.

RyanH, Glad to hear you're doing so well, and even more pleased to hear you're loving this sim like the rest of us. You should be patched up to 1.3L version (the latest). Keep up the good work.

Sweet. Now all I gotta do is stay alive long enough to earn an award.

As a fighter pilot enthusiast, I have used this nick in various types of Forums and games, some not even associated with aviation. I'm actually quite used to many people in other non-aviation type forums asking me what "check six" means. Very apt here. PS. Olham...I saw a few times where you had enlisted pilots with the name Mahlo, and never once saw that it was your name backwards...or that your nick was your family name backwards. Can't see the forest for the trees.

Paul, Yes, those are the only patches you need to get patched up to the latest version. Read the stickies to learn how to apply the patches. Really simple. There are user-modified patches that (for example) adjust the damage model (perhaps the modifier thought that the visible damage to his craft was inconsistent with what had befallen him or that he had emptied a whold drum into an enemy at 100 feet to no effect, something like that). These are optional, and you're more than welcome to download those as well. There are many, many skins being added all the time by users, you may like to fly with one of those, or to download as many as you can fit on your hard drive. The mission building is always going on, and you may choose to download these and mess about in those missions. As I said, these are optional add-ons. I recommend you fly OFF as updated to Ver 1.3L first, then see if you wish to try these other "packages". Hope to see some of your Combats In The Air Reports soon (and hopefully successful). I had to wait a WHOLE SIX DAYS to get my copy of OFF BHaH to Oz, so I'm sure the Royal Mail will be knocking on your door soon.

Olham, Bub, You can type all that into one line without getting lost by placing your cursor inside the text, then taking it back to the start of the narrative with your arrow keys, then slowly proressing it right as you read it like a story. BuB, that is correct..80NM = 80 Nautical Miles (1 Nautical Mile = 2026 Yards, a bit longer than a statute mile, 1786 yards IIRC). I haven't been all that "wordy" in my claims, (I don't get many) but I still get some claims accepted. I must admit though, having read MANY CITARS (Combat In The Air Report) from all of the research I've done on Aces, that the pilot's log looks much better in it's descriptive form like you posted. I know that recording the Lat and Long IS tedious, especially after a protracted combat, but if you downed an opponent after a long hard fight, I think you deserve the rocognition. Try hitting "Z" to toggle your in flgiht information (which includes Lat and Long) immediately after a successful combat, and then taking a screenshot (Ctrl + ; [ctrl + semicolon]). I have this on one of my throttle buttons. quite useful for claims. Something like 5 miles SE of Arras will probably do, and much more realistic than Lat and Long for your CITAR.

DerMo, There are many very learned experts here who may be able to supply one or more names from your great photo. Sorry I can't help you out except for advice. Have you tried at "The Aerodrome" Forum? Those guys are also expert at all things related to WW1 aviation. You'll get some action there too, I'm sure.

Welcome RNAS_Flyer, I'm also a RNAS fanatic here too. Flying all their Sopwith machines from 1 1/2 Strutters through to Pup, Tripes, and Camels. Just single player campaigns so far, but I'll get online for some multiplay soon. For the complete experience, fly the other planes as well...even German aircraft...bombers. You can even choose to man the rear gun to defend yourself while your AI pilot attempts to get to the target. There is so much depth here. In the meantime while you're waiting RNAS_Flyer, read all the sticky posts at the top of this General Discussion Forum and also the General Help forum stickies too. You will learn many things so that you will have no difficulty at all installing and running this great sim. If you do have any trouble, come to this forum and there are many people here willing to help you any way they can...from setting up to tweaking to get the best performance, to answering those tricky little questions that to veteran users are second nature, but sometimes are quite foreign to newbies. Save up your money for TrackIR 5. You will never regret it. By far the most useful tool EVER for combat flight sims. Beg, borrow, sell a kidney. It's well worth it. I don't know how I ever achieved any victories in any gun sims without it (missiles are, of course, a different matter). Just do it. And lastly...enjoy yourself. This can be a very frustrating sim if you fly DiD (Dead is Dead) campaign. Then there is no capture and escape, or crawling out of the wreckage after ploughing in from 10,000 feet. Your pilot, who you've grown very close to, will die. But it is so worth it. You are going to LOVE this.

I installed OFF on my new computer, and am now tweaking it to my liking. Some scoff and call it cheating, but those people have been flying OFF since Phase 1. I'm a newbie, and am easing myself into this. (I'm actally flying at 110% realism now, so I feel pretty good about that - I still get killed an awful lot though). There are two things that are missing in action. There is the stall warning and engine start commands at the top right of the screen. I don't think the engine start messages are necessary, but I think they're tied in with the Stall warnings, and without a FF joystick, I need the Stall warning. The second thing that I can't find is the damage messages (top middle of screen telling you that you have hit an enemy, or describing the damage being caused to you as you're being hit). I'm not sure if I need this either, and sometimes it's even obtrusive, but I'd like to ba able to toggle it on or off if necessary. Can anyone help me on this?

How much do you tip cows? 10%? 15%?

Bullethead, Thanks for the thread you posted. It gave a lot of insight as to why tracers were loved by some, hated by others. Outstanding work indeed. Tailspin was also very informative.

Olham, You spelt it correctly...well done. The Kookaburra is a member of the Kingfisher family of birds. There are many strange things about Australia. The picture above is a platypus. Probably the strangest creature about. Bill like a duck, swims like an otter. A mammal that lays eggs (a monotreme). And the only venomous mammal on the planet.

Broadside, I posted them earlier in this thread... Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 CPU. Kingston 4GB DDR2 800 RAM. 3300GB 10KRPM SATA Hard Disk. Nvidia 1.792GB GTX295 PCI Express Card. Apparently, it's similar in spec's to Homeboy's machine. There have been a few threads recently about tweaking graphics and such to get a higher frame rate, like Homeboy's successful attempts to get his frame rate up (with a good deal of help from rabu). So I cut and pasted them all to a document, took it home, read it. I did try Nvidia settings first, then adjusting OFF workshop settings. Please, don't get me wrong...this is completely flyable, and not stuttering or jumping about or looking like it's under a strobe light. My frame rate is VERY acceptable. I just thought, with my new computer, that it'd be remarkably better, but it's just...better. Homeboy posted screenies of his set up, and I adjusted mine to reflect his, it's just not up there in the 50's or 60's. I'll read the threads on tweaking stuff a few more times until I get a bit of understanding what all the acronyms mean, and what they do, and see if I can understand it better. Then I'll reattack it, one tweak at a time. All you guys have been very helpful, and I'm extremely grateful. Quote from Homeboy: "Sorry, I know I'm not being much help here. Maybe you'll get lucky as I did and have someone step forward that has a machine similar to yours that is running well." Are you kidding me?? You have been not only the best help anyone has provided for me in setting up OFF and fine tuning it with your TrackIR set up guide, your Command Key Card, your assistance here with the graphics...probably MOST people on this Forum could say the exact same things about you. Thanks Mark.

An Australian, Sir Arthur Murray Longmore was a pioneer Naval Flyer, one of the first four. He incurred Their Lordship's displeasure and reverted to sea duties, and served on HMS TIGER in the Battle of Jutland. His biography title "From Sea to Sky" says it all. He had a most remarkable career. "They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning... WE WILL REMEMBER THEM Lest we forget Rest In Peace Digger

"Steve, go to Workshop > graphics conig button > file > custom settings > window > overrides There, in the above right, are three boxes clicked: disable chat, disable advisor messages, disable simulation warnings Unclick those and you should be fine. See also: targetting cone and others to your likes. Have fun!" Olham, I just DISABLED those! LOL! Homeboy made a few suggestions as to how to improve my frame rate, and they were mentioned, so I disabled them. I really suppose I could learn to fly without any of them. What a shame. "There is NO stall Warning, get a FFB stick or Develop a sixth sense, which will go nicely with the rearward looking eyeball" uncleal, There IS a written warning to tell you you're about to stall. Yes, I know I'm going to cop your hotkeyed message "I don't see how you can fly a WW1 aircraft and an F-18 with the same joystick blah blah blah" but I don't have a force feedback stick. Woe is me! I suppose I'll just have to save up my money and buy one, if you haven't cornered the market on them. "Don't forget Homeboys great Key Command Card that can be printed very easy reference. It's a sticky." Rickitycrate, This is a very useful guide, and I use it almost every time I fly. I have many keys programmed to my joystick or throttle, and now I have a programmable keyboard, so I can program the rest of the hotkeys used in this sim.

Al, Opinions is like assholes. Everyone's got one, and they all stink. Now would you please get off my case? I'm afraid it's YOU who is being an asshole. I just changed my nick and you're all over me like a rash. Let it be. Oh, and I list my "title" for one reason, and one reason only. And that is to hopefully generate some interest, and maybe gain a few members. The webmaster of our site has informed me that we have a 70% increase in hits, and most of them are coming from here. So thanks everyone. Vanity has nothing to do with it at all.

uncleal, An alter ego is "another personality". I used my real name Steve Drew when I first joined here. This nickname I'm using is an alter ego. ergo....ONE alter ego. Sheesh. Is that OK with you? I'm not hiding or anything. If I was, I'd probably remove my name from my signature block. That's a dead giveaway. It seemed like I was out of place, the only one using my real name. Is it ok with you if I try to blend in, or do I have to change it back to please you? There IS another Vice President of the Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians, but he is Vice President (Administration)...John Goble, son of WW1 ace and Sqn Leader Stanley James Goble.

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning... WE WILL REMEMBER THEM LEST WE FORGET Rest in peace, digger