Condor44

I have a suggestion. Place a single sticky at the beginning of the General Discussion and Help Forums tittled something like "Newcomers, Please Read this First". That sticky could suggest they check the Knowledge Base forum, or whatever it ends up being called for answersto their questions before posting. That could save Uncleal from having to redirect as he would otherwise. Some won't do it but then some don't bother with the stickies now.

Your right and I was just joking. My kid, who is now 32, has exceeded me in many ways. I couldn't be happier about that. I just did't like being shot down by him. He was new to Aces High and I was the veteran.

This is a little off track but kind of interesting (to me anyway). My son is left handed and is a pretty good baseball player. But he plays right handed. I never could convince him to switch since baseball is one activity where lefties have a definite advantage. He just didn't want to seem different from the other kids I guess. He flies right handed also and does it better than me. It's humiliating when your kid shoots you down.

Good for you All of us lefties need to learn to do a lot of things right handed in this world. Flying just didn't work well for me. I've never learned to cut well with a scissors using my right hand either. I just put up with the slight discomfort from using them in the left hand. Other than that they work fine.

As has been stated. If you have CFS3 V3.1 you do not need to install it. Install OFF an dit will prompt you when to insert the CFS3 CD so it can copy the files it needs. I just did my install that way and it came out fine. You've got it right. Trust us, we are your friends.

Why the surprise?; we make up about 10% of the population. Unfortunatley, the only joystick than can be purchased for left hand use is the Saitek Evo. The head is configurable for use with either hand. But it's too limited and the throttle position is akward. If you want a HOTAS and lots of buttons it's either adapt to right handed flying (didn't work for me) or customize. You probably noticed not only that Homeboy and I have Lefty sticks but that our sticks and throttles are virtually identical. I had Honmeboy do the conversion for me because it's not a simple task. There's a lot of wiring and soldering as well as reconfiguration of the handles involved. If you zoom in you may be able to tell that his finish work is outstanding. There has been a lot of reworking of both the throttle and stick handles but they looked like they came from the CH factory when I got them. I've used them for at least two years and they are not falling apart. He's a class act when it comes to this. I recommend him to any other lefties who are tired of struggling with a right handed stick. Now I'm waiting for someone to say that we shouldn't use left handed sticks with right hadled throttles because it's not realistic. I've run into that in every other forum at some time. My squad commander in Aces high told me it wasn't right. I always just laugh it off because complete realism in a computer flight sim is unatainable anyway and I would hate to have my wife be required to bury me the first time I got shot down in a game.

That's why I fly a variety of airplanes; to learn the handling characteristics and capabilities of each.

I flew mutipayer IL2 a few yaers ago and I recall that getting teamspeak set up and working was a major headache. Is it easier now?

Regarding the twist stick. I started with one (a Saitek Evo) but found that I often twisted the stick when I didn't intend to when moving it in the X and Y directions in the heat of battle. I find the completely independent control using foot peddals to be much better,

Yes, I made the desk using 1.5" PVC schedule 40 pipe with a plywood top. I wantedd something that would be light and easily moved or knocked down in the event of having to use the room as a spare bedroom when the grandkids visit. It was also a lot cheaper than buying a desk. It's hard to make out in the picture but the stick and throttle are on platforms that project out from the desk at each side in line with the arm rests. The stick platform is actually below desktop level to compensate for the height of the CH Frankenforce stick (A Homeboy creation). I can rest my elbows on the chair arms and my hands fall in perfect position on the htrottle and stick. Very comfortable for long flights. Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know

Well, I guess I was wrong. Her'e another view. The DVII actually flies quite well. That was my old hobby until someone I won't name seduced me with Aces High and now OFF.

I forgot to downsize the files. They are now well under 1Mb so we'll se if Bob's my uncle. Well, it doesn'rt seem to have worked. I actually had an uncle named Bob but he died years ago. Maybe that's why this won't work. The only option I am seeing is to upload an attachment. I uploaded the photo and the dialog box said I had one attachment. It appears to be lost in hyperspace.

LOL I do this a bout as well as I fly.

Here's mine. Nothing fancy. Well it uploaded. I guess I'll post and see if there's a picture. I don't see it in the preview.

I have some photos but don't know how to post them. I tried help but it wasn't much........help. wouldsomeone pleaseexplain or point me in the right direction? Thanks

Go here http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n199/sn...diaSettings.png for Homeby's nVidia settings and here http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n199/sn...figSettings.png for his in game graphics settings. Note that in the nvidia settings you should set your resolution to the max supported by your monitor. He and I use 19200 x 1200 becuase we both have 24" LCDs that support that resolution. You mayl need to set a different resolution depending on your monitor. Homeby and I both have nVidia GT8800 cards. Mine has 512Mb of memory. His as 640. The graphics are outstanding with his settings. He started with the settings in the homepage an they did not work well for his card. I was fortunate to be able to get his settings and not go through a whole lot of work. As he would say, there is no guarantee, becuase every machine is different, but the settings have worked very well for me.

I now live in Indiana but was born and raised in Minnesota. Go there to fish whenver I can.

Oh, no! Time to get out the credit card again.

Hi, I'm new to OFF and really like the game. Thanks to those who put the effort into the development. I don't have too much flight time in and have been experimenting with a few planes. I come to this from Aces High. It's a different world. So far I've been the shot downee a lot more than the shot downer (LOL). I expected that. I love the great graphics. It's a big jump from Red Baron. I am puzzled by one thing. The planes seem much too durable to stress. I have my settings at full realism but can't seem to get planes to shed wings or other parts at max stress. Here are some examples. I started in a Spad XIII at 15,000 ft and took it in a full throttle vertical dive. It reached 200 mph at which point I pulled the stick back all the way. I expected something to come off in the dive and especially when I pulled out. The plane survived it fine. I took a Spad to 150mph in a 45 degree dive and then went level and did a hard left turn with full aileron deflection and lots of rudder. Again the airplane held together. Well, I thought, the Spad had retty rugged airframe compared to many WWI aircraft, so I tried the same maneuvers with a Newport 11. In the case of the Newport max speed in both maneuvers was 150mph. (It wouldn't exceed 150mph in a vert dive.) Again the aircraft held together. I looked for what had to be the least stress tolerant allied aircraft and selected the RAF F. E 2b (It just looks flimsy). It also survived the same stress tests. I forget what my max speeds were but they were around 150mph. I then tried a high speed outside loop in a Newport 11. I was sure it would shed a wing but it didn't. I didn't experience any blackouts either although I did experience some redouts if I transitioned quickly from level flight to vertical dives. I assume the g forces and stress are modeled in the game but I don't see it except for the occasional redout. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but don't know what. Here are my settings because I know it will be the first question. Invincible is off. G effects and aircraft stress are both on. Flight model is realistic. The only point where I cut back on realism was pilot death. I have it at pilot never dies because I found myself having to create new pilots too frequently in the initial learning period. I wouldn't think that should matter. I was starting from quick combat. Do others have there planes come apart at high stress or am I mistaken about this being modeled accurately in the game? This is not intended as a complaint. I like the game. I, like many, have been waiting for a new WWI combat flight sim and I'm very pleased with OFF.

I just did exactly the same thing with an N17 twice and sustained no damage. And my top speed in the dive was 200mph as compared to Homeboy's 190mph. I don't get it. We are using identical graphics and realism settings and have very simillar computers. I guess I should be pleased that my planes are strongerthan his. It will give me an edge if we do multi-player.

The logitech system looks interesting but you can get a CH fighterstik, throttle, and pedals for the same price if you shop around and CH products are known to be quite reliable and long lasting. I know a lot of people here like the logitech force feedback stick but for the most part, logitech sticks have a reputation for being short lived. (That's why they are generally called Logicrap in the Aces High forums.) For OFF you could get the combat stick which has fewer buttons than the fighter stick and is a little cheaper. The fighter stick, pro-throttle, and pedals combo have more buttons than you will ever use in OFF. If you fly IL2, Aces High, or a jet sim, however, you will want all those buttons on the fighterstick. Provantage had the best pricing on CH gear last time I checked. I have the best of all worlds, a custom force feedback CH fighterstick with CH throttle and pedals thanks to Homeboy's enginuity and skills. It's even customized for my left handedness. Thank you Homeboy. Unfortunately CH discontinued force feedback sticks years ago so you can't buy one.

Of course it would take off. That it would not is based on the assumption that the treadmill would prevent the plane from moving forward and accelerating to takeoff speed. What are the forces to stop it from doing so?; only the rolling resistance of the tires and wheel bearings (part of which would be a function of the weight of the airplane.) Those resistances would increase on a rolling treadmill since the wheels would need to spin much faster than normal but I doubt that there is an airplane that does not generate sufficient thrust to overcome those forces. Especially since most generate enough thrust to fly much faster than takeoff speed and the drag from the airframe moving through the air as speed increases is much greater than the rolling resistance of the wheels. Probably the best example of an airplane overcoming tremendous resistance to forward motion when taking off is a flying boat or float plane (Think Pan Am clipper). Anyone who has driven a boat appreciates the resistance of a hull through water. Yet the Pan Am clipper and spruce goose took off. I know the resistance to forward motion of a hull or float through water is much greater than the rolling resistance of wheels. If you don't beleive me take a boat up to 30mph and cut the throttle and see how long it coasts as compared to a wheeled vehicle.

Homeboy, You're such a nice guy. I don't think you have anything to apologize for. You didn't critcize anyone. You just noted what you observed and asked about it. You've contributed a lot to help others here and in Aces High and I and many others appreciate your efforts. (Where would we lefties be without the Lefty HOTAS.) I've gone back and done the tests the way you did them and still can't get the Nup17s or the Albatross DIII to shed their wings. The Nups 11 and 16 shed their wings as soon as I pull out of the dive. They still seem tougher than they should be but then much of my experience is based on Red Baron and I don't know that stress was modeleld properly there. It still is intersting that there are significsnt inconsistencies between what you and I are experiencing and also between what we are experiencing as compared to some others. From some reports on this thread it appears that Nups lose wings frequently under much less stress than we are applying. I don't want to stress realism too much though or I will need to shoot myself next time I get shot down. In that case you will never hear from me again becuase that may be in the next hour. There's a reason why my realism settings do not include pilot death. What would my wife do with a lefty HOTAS?

I have the effects sliders at max. I have pretty good machine and vid card. I know from checking Homeboy's web page that he has his at max also. As I said at the beginning, I have stress and g forces on. I'm at full realism except for pilot death. It's puzzeling that we are seeing such differences. Perhaps I should drop this and just enjoy the flying but it's really got my curiosity going so I may continue to tilt at this windmill. In the meaantime, I still congratulate the developers. I'm wondering about the stress modeling but everything else about the game is right on I guess I should be happy the my wings don't come off too easily.

What effects slider are you reffereing to and where is it found?