Javito1986

I haven't heard them talk about this one in particular, but the Devs like the mods our guys make. They just sometimes caution about changing some parameter that unknowingly alters another one entirely

It looks like an actual landscape. I want to land my plane down there and taxi around, seeing it all from ground level. This is going to be very, very nice, glad I'm upgrading my rig this summer. OFF really has the prettiest terrain and clouds of any sim I can think of. It all looks the way it should. I fly pretty often and hey, that's exactly what the ground looks like from 10,000 feet. Actually one of my fondest life memories is when I was two years old in 1988, I flew to Central America and saw the terrain from the aircraft. The landscape was wild, so many different colors arranged in rectangular patterns, looked like a giant quilt. I had no idea what the hell I was looking at or why the ground was so multicolored from up above. OFF reproduces that feeling in me

Could make it optional. Or better yet, random. 20% of drunks blow up EDIT: Meant trucks, but the typo is funny and Freudian so I'm leaving it

Germany actually had outstanding production capacity once it switched to total war mode. Remember how Me109 production reached an all time high in 1944 even with all that strategic bombing going on! None of the guys "in the know" (i.e. the career 'Prussian' officers who'd had command positions in WW1 and knew what they were talking about) wanted a war in 1939. They knew they weren't ready for it, they wanted to wait a few years for precisely the reasons you say. More U-Boats, more planes, etc. Germany is one hell of a strong country though, I can't fathom anyone else holding off seemingly the entire damn world on so many fronts for so long given the limited resources she was working with.

There's an excellent history novel about the Battle of Britain called 'The Most Dangerous Enemy' by Stephen Bungay. I read it in High School on the recommendation of the BDG, the group of modders who were working on Rowan's Battle of Britain back then (now I think they're all members of A2A Productions). Anyway, the main thesis is that Britain, not the USSR, not the US, was Hitler's most dangerous enemy specifically because of what you say JFM. Leaving Britain in his rear she was able to use her Navy to cause trouble in N. Africa, fight it out in the Atlantic, allow a base for U.S. bombers and eventually a launching point for the entire invasion of France. Also he posits that the most critical moment of the Battle of Britain wasn't the Battle itself, but in May/June 1940 when Winston Churchill out-argued members of his own government and convinced them to continue fighting and not make peace, essentially forcing Britain to make a "sacrificial" stand since the war certainly f'd up her economy and forced the dissolution of the Empire. I tend to agree with all that. There's good reason why Hitler didn't want to fight a war with Britain and he was pretty ticked off when Winnie refused to give up the fight. The USSR was certainly the most powerful of Nazi Germany's enemies overall, but I don't think things would have gone so badly for them there if they hadn't had to commit so many resources to the Western theater. I doubt they would have "won", but I certainly think they could have held on to the ground they took and not have been so summarily swept aside by the Barbarossa Offensive in '44. IMO we owe a lot to ol Winnie. If he hadn't stood up when he did Britain might well have made peace and things would have gone very, very differently. Frankly I don't know what the U.S. could have done. Yes Africa, but where in the world could they stage the invasion from? Just sail the invasion fleet from New York to the Ivory Coast? With U-Boats and Stukas all over? Nah. There just would not have been a "Western Front". We would have fought Japan and then fought the Third Reich at a later time... maybe. The U.S. would have been first to develop nukes, but Germany would have had plenty of those V2s and jet fighters... would have been an interesting show for sure. Glad it didn't happen

Yea see, VP's got it. IL2 > Rise of Flight is a very natural progression. Makes complete sense to me they'd be awaiting CoD. Hope they're not too pissed off right now, although I believe I read somewhere that the filter was removed (and I also believe I read that Oleg left 1C? Gulp). Doesn't affect me any though. I stick with OFF and if I want a World War II fix I'll install Wings of Victory.

It's impressive we've gone from C64 to Over Flanders Fields in thirty years. I'm hoping by the time I'm 50 or so we'll have put all this current craze about 3D, touch screens, and motion detection to work. You know, Flanders Fields Phase 20. You sit in your high tech force feedback gaming chair, the monitor wraps around your head, and you completely immerse yourself in virtual reality World War 1 flying. Or maybe you could use those headbands like in Caprica or Minority Report. That's what I'm waiting for

Huh. I've heard of those, wasn't born yet when they came and died though. First gaming system I remember is the original Nintendo. My first video game was either Mario or Zelda, not sure which.

I read that a few days ago and had the same initial thought, but honestly then considered it was more a reference to Cliffs of Dover.

Didn't you know? Flanders Fields is the perfect aphrodisiac. My own missus is on record as stating that her favorite things to watch me do are either yard work without a shirt, or strafing German ground troops at Passchendaele. Without a shirt.

That's cool you're going to be all set up when it gets there. Took me a few hours to get OFF configured the way I wanted it... then another year to learn how to not die constantly

Just a question because I don't know: are you running vanilla BH&H or have you superpatched and minipatched too? I wasn't aware that the Claims setting in the Workshop was introduced in HitR... but then again I've always had HitR, I specifically wanted to fly with the Yanks when I got OFF so I have no idea what OFF is like without it.

I'm sorry I just can't stop laughing at the typo 'Old Ham'

They're pretty good about helping you, I've had many a Boche shot off my tail by my wingmen. The sad part is when another Boche latches onto your wingman's tail at the same time and he goes down trying to help you. Once we had a genuine five-wayer going on, with me on the tail of a Boche chasing my wingman, another Boche on my tail, and another 'Georgie' Hoidge from 56 Sqdrn on that Boche's tail.

I avoid fights unless I have the advantage, so about 50 - 60% of encounters with enemy air I avoid. And when we do engage I'm very selfish with my altitude and won't pursue the bad guys if they dive, or let my guys pursue them either. Also I tend to leave enemy planes alone after I cripple them, so I'm sure a lot make it home. Not out of any particular compassion, it's just to conserve ammo / avoid becoming fixated. Most times I never see enemy aircraft really. The tough missions are escorts, because those damn R.E.8s are flak magnets and that attracts all the Boches like fireflies but we only ever fight just enough to keep them away from the two-seaters. I've had several close shaves but all in all I'm doing good. If I can survive about three more in-game weeks I might even get pulled off the line since it'll mark my 6-months of war anniversary.

Yea, just set to Easy claims in the workshop and you'll be good to go. I'm in the habit of making taking a screencap of my flight before every mission. I do it so I know who didn't come back, but on the rare occasions when I can make a claim (only 14 confirmed kills in 85 sorties so far) the screencap comes in handy too.

So many offensives and last-ditch attacks. Can't say the Germans didn't get close to winning it all for a while there. Too many mistakes down on the tactical level though. Thank you, I can't wait to try this one out!

I need to finish DA:O before I get to DA2. I mean, I did finish it but never did Leliana's Song or Witch Hunt, never got the two extra characters, and didn't play Awakenings. Plenty more to do in DA:O for me still when I get to it.

Good to hear. I only ask because, as I've said before, I consider balloon busting the fastest way to an early grave I look forward to trying this out when I reach 1918! For now I'm still flying in August '17 with your last date-mod enabled and having a great time with it all.

Good show Adger. I'm not one to comment on HitR, I purchased it back when I first acquired Phase 3 because I specifically wanted to fly with the Americans. Here's the feature list of HitR so you can see what it brings to the table and decide http://www.overflandersfields.com/Addon1.htm.

Amazing to think it's been out over a decade now. Really hasn't been topped at all. It seems like today the higher the production values get the more narrative fidelity is pushed to the wayside. There's a few exceptions but not many!

Basically yes. As far as the specific mods you can find them if you hit up the GoG forums for sure, that's where I got mine. I played BG1 with BG2's ending and with the marvelous NPC mod that breathed life into your otherwise mostly silent party members. Amazing experience, lovely game. Modern games definitely end too damn soon and moreover have no sense of closure. It seems like they all just end, or have a dumb cliffhanger if you're lucky. Very few have satisfying endings that make you feel it was all worth it. Look at something like Bioshock, what the hell is the point of all that brilliance if they just end the game and send you off on your way on a whim? Designers need to incorporate some narrative principles dammit, I need closure and satisfaction in my endings, just as I do with any film or novel.

Bought! Thanks for the tip Lou, sorry to anyone else who wanted it

And you found High In The Empty Blue a few weeks ago. What do you have these books on some kind of an RSS feed that notifies you every time they appear on Ebay??? If so I want to sign up too, I'd love to be the first one in on the next High in the Empty Blue auction.

How often did RFC pilots typically get assigned to balloon busts? That's the most terrifying mission you can get if you ask me.