Wayfarer

I sympathise Pappy, our hard drive just packed in yesterday. At least with that, all the family want to see it remedied as soon as possible - I don't have to justify the expense to anyone!

'Such as absent-mindedly observing to one's spouse as one passes the intended motorway junction that one is approaching the blimp over Halfords from the East to avoid the archie ...'

'Gawd! It's good to know I'm not the only one who does those sorts of things Dej. The other afternoon I made note of the fact that the clouds rolling in from the northwest would provide perfect cover for a dusk raid on the railyards at Roubaix and that I should ring up the field and have them ready the buses. My wife looked at me as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears ...'

Likewise, I am relieved it is not just me. Anyway, from certain angles, flying magpies do look like eindeckers - especially when there's a flight of them - and evasive action would have been prudent!

Thanks for another lunchhour chortle!

Be2c is done, with a bonus

 

Anyway some Be2c pics ...

I meant to say before that I noticed a compass peeping out from under the seat of the BE2c, although the compass HUD is also also on the screen. Would that compass in the cockpit be useable? In my attempts to wean myself of using the HUDs, it's the one instrument that I haven't been able to bring myself to dispense with yet. If there was a useable compass in the cockpit though, I'd have a go.

This was a good point that I hadn't realised. Although I appreciate that there were numbers of Americans serving in RFC squadrons, I have changed a couple of of 'Kalebs', which sounds more American to me - although I have usually seen it spelt Caleb - to more British sounding names (I now expect someone to tell me of one or more genuine British pilots called Kaleb!)

Nothing beats the music though - one of the best tunes in any game and it fits so well.

I'd just like to second that. It has a wonderful elegaic feel that particularly seems to suit WW1.

I must be having a brain tremor!

 

I was flying a patrol, in my Red and Black DVII just now....when I spotted two SE5a's flying parallel with me..but at least 2,000 feet below....and with a maniacal disregard for my campaign pilot...I dove on them at full speed......my wires were whistling...and the airframe creaking terribly....my speed increasing all the time...I had the fixed grin of a killer on my face....as I screamed upon the hapless Doves with my black-hawk!

 

Their direction never faltered...they hadn't even seen me coming...but I saw them alright!...growing larger and larger in my gunsight...the first now easily within range...I let my Spandaus do their grisly work!...at suicidaly point blank range!...I could'nt of had more than 1.5 seconds of fire....but as I swooped past him, still almost vertical..I heard him scream....I pulled back on my joystick so f*cking hard....I yanked it clean off the table!!! ............pulling up just before buying the farm..I smacked it hard back onto the desk...applied full right rudder....and to my astonishment....his wingman was square in my sights.....I instinctively fired....and heard him scream too, as I swooped past!....I swear, at that moment...I felt I had killed two REAL people!...I was sweating like hell.......god almighty....There is nothing in the world like OFF on a good day....I headed straight back to base...trembling like a noob!.....I even saw a British Recon patrol...but my nerves were shot to sh*t.....I let them be!...Damn..I need a coffee!....bye for now

A coffee? I should think something from the mess drinks cabinet would be called for!

I remember the first time I saw a pilot's parachute fail in the old 'Battle of Britain' game. He started wildly flailing his arms, and I literally stood up at he horror of it and knocked my chair over!

From serenely admiring the scenery on a long reconnaissance flight to the horrors of combat, OFF certainly runs the gamut of emotions.

It occurs at places across the front, you can often see it right into the distance in areas lighting up. Also you should see more around major battles /offensives. Also maybe bump up the effects sliders to make sure you see all things.

I certainly noticed the density go up once the Battle of the Somme started. That's what prompted the query really.

Just out of interest really, does anyone know if occurrences of ground shelling are all predetermined, like AI aircraft missions? They seem to me to mostly become visible once I am within a certain distance from the front. I didn't know if this was essentially similar to the terrain detail increasing as you get closer, and that shelling is effectively 'occurring' whether I can see it or not, or whether the actual occurrence is linked to player aircraft proximity.

Only heard this morning that Clarence Clemons had died. As a child I wanted to learn to play the sax, and I loved his work with Bruce Springsteen. That music always reminds me of travelling across the USA by Greyhound bus in 1979. They are great memories and it's sad he's gone.

Just heard today. My wife commented that he may not have been able to play again after a stroke and, for such a musician, it might have been a mercy in a way. Still sad though.

I had an idea which I thought might be a chuckle. OFF in the workplace.

 

 

Picture says it all chaps. Here is a picture of two stone columns I've been working on.....

That's funny, and very interesting. What are you working on and where?

Of course, once the they become more than an anonymous back of a head, and my survival starts depending so much on them, I am going to have to start naming my observers. Then I 'll have a double feeling of virtual guilt when I get them both killed!

Rugbyfan1972[/b]' timestamp='1308387585' post='504457']

I can't wait to find out how Wayfarer does fighting the einie's in P4.

I just saw the pics! The sheer atmosphere of them, apart from anything else, is an inspiration.

Now whenever I get P4 I am going to have to start my BE2 campaign all over again!

Dej, you are right, that particular shot is so evocative.

As for the rifle, if anyone wanted to provide a Taube for me to take pointless pot shots at, that would be an entertainment in itself.

My wife and several daughters are still doing courses at present, and this takes up a great deal of computer time. Our rule has always been 'work first', so I try and fit into the quiet gaps when they occur. This means I usually get in a mission a week, sometimes two.

I have a quick look at the OFF and Aerodrome forums most days though.

I do occasionally get into 'figure frenzy'. As a wargamer and figure painter in my youth I am still get captivated by the by the variety, quality and painting standard of many wargames figures displayed on websites, and have sometimes shocked myself at how long I have spent following links from one figure site to another.

Away from the computer, I still persist in trying to teach myself to play the fiddle and try to get in an hours playing (if you can call it that) on as many evenings as possible.

I would spend more time with my daughters, honest, but their ages range from 17 to 22 next month so they have more exciting things to do nowadays!

One of my main reasons for getting OFF, rather than RoF, was that the campaign enabled you to experience in detail how the war gradually developed and changed over its course. Doing some background reading beforehand, I developed a great admiration for those two seater crews, of all nations, who carried out reconnaissance and spotting duties. It seemed to me that their job often required that they stay in vulnerable situations with less opportunities than scout pilots to improve the odds.

Couple that with an empathy for other awkward creatures and I have, therefore, solely flown BE2s with 2 squadron RFC since I got OFF. Starting in February 1915 I have now reached July 1916 (using Bletchley's 1916 mods).

There is something about seeing the old Quirk, with it's 'chimneystacks' smoking, heading determinedly towards the enemies lines. Trying to keep as far away as possible from the allied AA - signalling enemy scouts to the left and right, dodging Archie, and knowing that at some point you are going to to have to give up all attempts at evasion and spend that endless minute keeping your eyes glued to the instruments, to fly as straight and level as you can to get those photographs that could be so valuable to the troops on the ground.

That said, I also really want to experience the point of view of a German scout pilot. After reaching armistice with my BE2s I intend to start again with Eindeckers (despite the sage advice of wiser pilots to start with something more amenable).

And the only reason I haven't mentioned the French is because OFF will be up to Phase 11 by then and I haven't thought that far ahead!

Just flying to and from the Lines in OFF, and drinking in the experience of the lovely planes, the tremendous scenery and cloudscapes, and the roar of your engine almost drowning out the drum-fire you can see going on in the desolate, shell-swept landscape below, is an experience which can fill the senses all on its own; marvellous and not to be missed ... would not have believed I could have got so much enjoyment from a sortie in a combat flightsim where not a shot was fired in anger, apart from some Archie. What can I say, but 'wow!

33Lima, you've summed it up very nicely. After over a year (real time) flying BE2s, it's what I think of as 'OFF therapy'!

Looking at the OOB its clear that many battles are depicted as starting when the gun barrages started as opposed to the first infantry attacks...

 

HTH

 

WM

Well that certainly fits. There is a lot more ordnance going off since the start of the battle was announced.

I reached June 1916 in my British two seater campaign and the update announced that the Battle of the Somme had started. I wasn't expecting this until July, but I thought this might have been to take into account increased reconnaissance activity prior to the attack. On 1st of July the newssheet came up announcing the start of the Battle of the Somme.

Now I am wondering if the campaign timing can have got mucked up a little, or whether OFF actually does start things ahead of the historical commencement.

I think I may have done it properly this time. Ended up below 500', everyone shot at me, engine got damaged, landed at an enemy airfield, took two days to escape and get back to the squadron.

Thanks Hasse Wind and RAF_Louvert. It's that getting back bit that was of immediate concern to me!

I have reached June 1916 and, for the first time, got a Troop Contact Patrol mission (flying a two seater campaign using Bletchley's 1916 (1) mod). As I usually spend some time attaining a reasonable altitude before crossing enemy lines, this caused some mild unsettlement on my part (though some of that was probably a result of RAF Louvert's 4000th post Amiens bash).

I noticed that the average flight altitude given in the mission description was over 9000' and a guilty part of me wanted to go over at that height, but I felt that wasn't in the spirit of the thing.

I ended up circling the mission objective for a while at between 3000' to 3500' and then made a pass at about 1500'.

Checking through 'Sagittarius Rising' afterward, I noticed Cecil Lewis talking about circling at 1000' over the Somme. So I'm thinking I ducked out rather.

At what height do other people fly these missions (if you have them) and how long do you spend over the objective area?

I'm impressed that you've already racked up another 20 posts since yesterday!

I had never seen these photographs before. There are some wonderful details in them. Thanks for posting the link Carrick. Pity about it closing.

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Une idée magnifique! Si, let's see how big a crew we can gather for the outing and we can steal...err...requisition a brace of lorries form the motor sergeant.

 

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Literally just returned from a photorecce over Festubert, I'll come along if I may.