33LIMA

Hi Scharmers and yeah it can be a bit easy to get multiple kills but IIRC it can be made harder by increasing campaign difficulty to the highest setting. IIRC (again) this works by increasing the skill levels of the enemy AI, but leaves your flight's AI where it was. So you get less kills but your flight mates get killed a lot more. In a stock campaign at this setting, you may be down to your squadron's last few pilots, before you are given any replacements. As I like doing the Mick Mannock mentoring thing, I spend proportionately more time looking after my flight compared to going for kills myself and I stick to the medium campaign difficulty so as not to incur excessive wingman casualties in doing so. Even if you're on the highest setting already, you could try spending more time watching out for your flight. In the essay 'Fighting [meaning 'in'] the SE, January 1918' in the RAF Museum's 1978 book 'Fighting in the Air' (uncredited, but I'm pretty certain it's by Jimmy McCudden, no less), the author says 'I consider it a patrol leader's work to pay more attention to the the main points affecting a fight than to do all the fighting himself.' My ideal would be a campaign optimised for the hardest setting which leveled up your wingies too. I think. Actually I prefer above all AI that seems human, and in particular which accurately reflects the variable levels of skill and experience that existed historically. Better that, than 'uber' AI, just for the sake of a challenge. As Armchair Aces creator Ojcar said, we're most of us the equivalent of highly experienced pilots (in purely sim terms) plus we have no real fear of death. As regards a good 1915-16 campaign experience, I'd definitely recommend Armchair Aces. I made some observations and posted some little after action reviews on Fokker Scourge era missions in pages 1 & 2 of this thread: http://combatace.com/topic/70858-armchair-aces-1915/ The later months of the Armchair Aces Flanders campaign set are equally good, if you prefer to be hacking down BE2c's in an Albatros DII or a Fokker DII, rather than in an Eindekker. If you prefer to fly for the RFC and not being hacked down, you might be as well to stick with your SE5 and 1917 :)

Wow, looking good already! A nice 1916-17 version with the round-topped fin, just the sort of thing that's needed. The observer has been going easy on the bacon and eggs I see, so he's not going to be blocking too much of the pilot's view. When textured, the gun mount will I think give the appearance of a 'goalpost' type mount between the rear centre-section struts and a 'candlestick' mount either side of the front cockpit. Neat! Let us offer thanks together, using the words of the Pilot's Psalm. The BE2c is my bus, therefore shall I want. He maketh me to come down in green pastures. He leadeth me where I do not wish to go. He maketh me to be sick; he leadeth me astray on all cross-country flights. Yea, tho I fly o'er No-man's Land, I do fear much evil, for Thou art with me. Thy joystick and Thy prop discomfort me. Thou prepareth a crash for me in the presence of mine enemies. Thine RAF annointeth my hair with oil, thy tank leaketh badly. Surely to goodness Thou shalt not follow me all the days of my life. Else I shall dwell in the House of Colney Hatch forever. A-men. [as quoted in 'No Parachute' by Arthur Gould Lee, ex-46 Squadron, June 1917]

Methinks that these are the two planes that FE/FE2 now needs most: This isn't a matter of personal preference. FE lacks a genuine later-war German general-purpose 2-seater like the LVG CVI above. It also lacks a 1916-17 configuration BE2, whether a later 2c with the skid-less undercarriage, shallower cockpits, upward exhausts, and sump cowl under the engine, or the unequal-span 2e type. Both were major types, for which neither the current 1914-15 configuration BE2c, nor the mainly 1917 DFW CV, are really adequate substitutes. The lack of these types leaves a significant gap in FE's core, Western front planeset. PLEASE can somebody with the necessary skills [you know who you are! :) ] consider making these great planes?

The A Team registration requirements are distinctive; I remember was rather confused looking at all those WW1 planes but no means to download, until I noticed that the real D/L page only became accessible after registration. With tact and patience it shouldn't be an issue. The need to email to register probably just means it's vulnerable to how busy Capun is at the time, like Panama Red says. It's a great resource and well worth the wait, just make sure to observe the 'one at a time' limits carefully; again, 'Patience, Grasshopper!'

While we are on the subject of 'Interesting things I have seen flying Armchair Aces', here's one from me. Seeing this really made me sit up and take notice. I described this mission in some detail in one of my comparative campaign mission reports over on SimHQ (the FE ones all 'showcase' Armchair Aces) but this part of the story is worth repeating here. I was making my way home in my trusty Harry Tate, somewhat the worse for wear after an encounter with some rather nasty people in Albatrosses. I had managed to elude the Huns by drawing them over into the clutches of some friendly scouts, who sorted them out for me. Homeward bound and safely on my own side of the Lines, I was slightly surprised to see a light blue Hun two-seater, crossing left to right ahead and just above. A Rumpler, by the look of it, and heading back into Hunland. I thought I'd have a crack at him with my Vickers but could not close the range. He paid no particular attention to some long-range bursts, which I hoped might spook him into evasive action and give me a chance to gain some ground. This particular Hun was obviously made of sterner stuff, and not easily spooked. He next came under some tracer fire from the ground, then our Archies decided to see if they could get him, too. At this point, the Hun suddenly dived straight down at the gun who was firing at him. I think he was shooting with his front gun but it was certainly an attack of some sort. After that, the Hun just zoomed right back up, and carried on his way, as if nothing in particular had happened. It was as if he had taken exception to being shot at from the ground, and had decided to do something about it. He then proceeded to fly home, ignoring my final attempt to cut him off. I got close enough this time to trade some rounds with his observer but my ammo then ran out and that was that. I'm sure he got home. He deserved to get back. I hope he got a medal, too. The Kaiser needs more like him. I don't know to what extent any of this is attributable to Armchair Aces but it was a nice little example of First Eagle's ability, given a good campaign setting, to make the AI seem like they're human, not just mindless 'bots'. Marvelous!

The great Jimmy McCudden - my hero. Drummer Boy to VC and air hero. Every time I read his verdict on the Voss fight, it brings a lump to my throat...'As long as I live...'...how poignant. What a man. "As long as I live I shall never forget my admiration for that German pilot, who single-handed fought seven of us for ten minutes, and also put some bullets through all of our machines. His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent, and in my opinion he is the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight."

PM sent. Second to follow. Edit - second one sent just now.

Bump - now that we may not be too far off from Stephen's unrivalled modding talents returning to Terra Firma, can I suggest that the the Most Needed Planes for First Eagles are as follows - based on filling significant gaps in the 1916-18 planeset, which is a more profitable field than forays into the era of carbines and automatic pistols - would be the following: British - BE2 (need a 1916-17 configuration with no skid undercart and a sump cowl - can be a 2c as well as a 2e as none of the A team variants cover a 1916-17 configuration) - AW FK8 French - Farman F40 (need a 1916 2-seater to complement the less common Nieu.12) - Dorand AR (need a 1917 2-seater to complement the Strutter and the later Br.14) German - some type of general-purpose 2-seater that is a genuine 1918 type like the LVG CVI or Halberstadt CV; my ideal would be two - a Rumpler CIV (spinner-less version so as not to be a DFW look-alike) which could be given mainly recce duties and cover the 1917-19 period nicely; and the LVG CVI (as in the beautiful Shuttleworth rebuild, the CV served from an earlier date but looks a bit too like the DFW) as a more general-purpose, true 1918 type. Will have a dig about for drawings and sources. And yes it's be nice to have Albatros B types and all the rest but for various cogent reasons there's just less mileage in the 1914-15 air war. There's a reason somebody on the RoF forums suggested recently and with commendable logic that the RoF planeset should aim to cover the air war from about Autumn 1916. FE can already do better but there wasn't really an air war until mid-1915 and it only really took on the form FE suits best with the appearance of the Jastas or thereabouts.

Hi Quack. No I didn't do anything to to Nations.ini file as I was following the proffered 'bypass' alternative and just installing the skins, for fear of messing up something. Happy with things as they are now; but good to know there's not a conflict with Nations18.ini.

It was not long before we caught up with the Strutters, who seemed bound for a railway yard on a main line I could see below us, heading off the the east. I passed them and came around in a wide circle, determined not to let any more Huns slip past us, unseen. As I completed my orbit, I noticed that where there had been three Strutters, there were now at least four, and as I watched, their formation broke up in all directions. How odd... It didn't take me too long to realise that these were in fact more Huns. And whereas their compatriots in the silver Pfalzes were not particularly dangerous foes, this bunch of hoodlums were flying black-striped Albatri and seemed to be an altogether nastier lot. I managed to get a crack at one of these Huns but at that point I got the OFF version of 'the dead man's click' as my ammo ran out. Incidentally, in OFF I fly with gun stoppages turned off. They cannot be cleared in flight, stop both guns simultaneously, and therefore are better left turned off, IMHO. Anyway, at that point I decided honour was satisfied and there was nothing to be gained from giving one of the Huns an easy kill. Casting aside stories of Nieuport 28s shedding wing fabric in a prolonged dive, I put her nose right down to pick up speed and fled for the Lines, gaining some satisfaction on seeing that the Strutters, though surrounded by AA bursts, were unmolested by enemy aircraft and headed resolutely for the target. For a while, I thought I had made it and concentrated on steering for the closest point on the Lines, without losing too much more height. A look behind me told me I was not alone, however,. Two of the Huns had decided that I was not to escape so easily. They had evidently set aside stories of V-strutters shedding their lower wings in a dive and were right behind me. I heaved my plane to one side but it was too late...much too late. So that was the end of my campaign! It was a fairly interesting mission overall, with plenty to do. I fly OFF set always to lead, as the patrol leader role adds a whole layer of tactical decision-making that you otherwise miss, along with the chore of formation-keeping. I could have re-flown the mission as I play 'pilot never dies' - I find OFF is inclined to kill me off too readily otherwise, for example after a minor crash. Instead the mission debrief panel told me I'd been captured and hospitalised, but escaped, imposing a 17-day time penalty. But my crash would have been fatal, barring a miracle, so I'll call it a day. I checked out the RB3d-style OFF map replay feature but units are referred to with a pretty cryptic notation not used in the briefing or the game so it's hard to tell what went on. I'm fairly sure I got two of the Pfalzes in the first combat, but I'm not sure how the second fight ended up for my flight. I have turned off the OFF claim form feature as its novelty has worn off, so my kills get credited correctly, after a time gap for verification which is a neat touch. Still, as I'm dead, it's pretty irrelevant. Next up will be similar campaign mission reports in Rise of Flight and First Eagles 2. Watch this space!

The new arrivals were this bunch, in silver Pfalzes with red-striped black tails. They shot right past us, as if we weren't there. I whipped around after them in the tightest turn i could manage, giving the 'attack' command repeatedly as I did so. If they were after our charges, it was up to me to stop them in their tracks. As I got behind them, I turned on the 'radar', padlocked one of the Huns, then turned the radar off again. Too intent on what they were doing, the enemy held their formation until I started shooting. My Hun broke left, with me after him. I was making good shooting by now and I got at least one good burst into him, sending shards of debris flying from his airframe. This had the desired effect. The Hun got into an odd tailslide and slipped away below, recovering briefly only to get into another tail-first descent, finally crashing into the ground several thousand feet below. Looking around I padlocked one of a pair of Huns that were flitting past, left and slightly low. Taking a chance, I went for the first Hun, signalling the call for help and relying on the response from a flight-mate to keep his companion distracted. After a few bursts, the Hun flipped over and went straight down, to crash amongst some trees. At that point the skies seemed to have emptied, and as usual after a combat which has tailed off, I climbed cautiously in a spiral at full power, looking around to take stock of the situation. The Huns seemed to have disappeared, except that Archie now seemed to be taking an interest. I climbed up, giving the recall signal, and led my flight - all but one, who was evidently now missing in action - off after the Strutters, which seemed to have escaped. I was conscious we were now low on ammunition, but they might still need our help. ...to be continued!

In the shot below I have turned on the OFF 'radar' and labels. I don't tend to use either, except that the 'radar' had to be active before you can padlock a target for the first time. Before takeoff I cycle thru radar target types to 'planes' (only) and reduce its range from the default 8 miles to one. i fly with it off but this prevents it revealing too much when I turn it on to padlock enemies whom I have already identified by the 'Mark 1 eyeball'. I use a subdued-colour 'radar' and labels mod (forgot to mention that one earlier) by Olham which I find much better. With OFF LoD models being what they are, planes are generally invisible at some point beyond a mile and a half, which I think is not far enough. Even closer, they can be very hard to see without labels, like the Strutters in the screenie below. By this point, to save time, I used the time-honoured CFS 'warp' function to get to the Lines, which had brought us up to about 10,000 feet and out ahead of the Strutters. So as not to lose them I started slowly zig-zagging, to let them close up without throttling back too far while giving me a good view all round. OFF's formation-keeping isn't great, and my flight-mates tended to skid wide on every turn, so we ended up doing a sort of scissors manoeuvre At this point, things started to heat up, quite suddenly. Without any warning, a group of lean grey shapes flashed past, between me and my 'scissoring' flight-mates. ...to be continued!

After taking off, I orbited the field at least once as OFF recommends. This I think is to ensure either that your flight-mates 'imprint' on you, or that your waypoints 'register' for the 'tactical display' aka radar, or both. By the time I'd done this, and settled down on a course to my next waypoint over the Lines, I could see the three Strutters we had to escort, up ahead of us. I slowed a little so my flight could close up and then closed with the Strutters at full throttle, climbing gently. My flight-mates caught up slowly but steadily, perhaps helped by the fact that in OFF as in CFS3, AI-flown planes fly without the weight of fuel and ammo, giving them an inbuilt advantage. There are mods which reduce this but the AI can't fly many planes at close to full military load without struggling, crashing on takeoff for example. Here's the view from the cockpit. The Nieu.28 is one of the few OFF planes that has animated arms and hands for your pilot in this view. It's unfortunate that OFF aircrew animation is otherwise very limited. The Nieu.28 has some really nice touches like the maker's markings on the struts. We gradually overhauled our charges and began to pull above them. Unlike some OFF planes, the OFF Nieuport 28's undercart is visible at a reasonable distance; with others like the Albatros or Pfalz, the wheels and their struts only appear at about 250 yards. Some improvements to LoD (level of detail) models - or the ranges they cut in - would help in such cases, but I believe this is hard-coded into the 3d files and not mod-able. Here's one of the Strutters we were escorting. The French were bigger users of the Strutter than the British but they arrived by the time they were obsolescent, tho they served from September 1916 on a small scale for some months, picking up in spring 1917 and continuing in large-scale service until phased out between January and April 1918. The Strutter is the only French 2-seater in OFF (I exclude the AI-only user-made Breguet 14 which isn't integrated with campaigns). Only First Eagles (modded) has a decent French 2-seater planeset. RoF's is destined to improve with the Br.14 soon to be joined by...yes the Stutter (assuming the RoF devs do the sensible thing and provide a French version). Somebody should have told the Strutter crews that a horseshoe marking should have the open end uppermost, otherwise the luck will run out (as U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer was supposedly told by the escort Captain who sank U-99). ...to be continued!

Incredible! The turret-like gun mounts give the RN destroyer a WW2 look but it still doesn't look particularly out of place and the other ships really look suitably Victorian, especially the 3-stack armoured cruiser. The ensigns are a neat touch, too. Brilliant! Now, where did I leave my life jacket?

Got it, thanks! Great job. And these naval schemes are adding a note of new colour to FE - that shadow shading scheme on the Hanriot is really...well, funky, for want of a better word - looks great!

Update - putting the supplied pilot files into the Pilots folder worked a treat. She's a real beaut!

hi Quack! Slight suspected problem with installation to report. I decided to take the option (quoting from the main Readme) to 'bypass all the other files and just add the new skin folder and Decal folders'. So I didn't use the supplied NATIONS.ini file. Mainly because I have two such files, Nations.ini and Nations18.ini, which IIRC are needed for Armchair Aces (IIRC its to get the RNAS to show as a separate service/'nation' or something like that). I didn't want to risk messing this up, by replacing just one of my nations files, when I suspected I would need a replacement for NATIONS18.ini, as well (or instead, 1918 being when the USAS showed up). The problem is that the 'bypass' option SEEMS to mean French planes use USAS roundels. The first two screenies below are from an Armchair Aces September 1917 Verdun front campaign mission, well before the USAS appeared in action. I temporarily renamed the N.28 insignia and tail tga's that were added to the Decals folder, to disable them. Then I flew another campaign mission. The second pair of screenies show the markings back to normal, in another campaign mission I flew immediately after disabling the USAS .tga's. It may be that an extra modified nations.ini file is needed, for those of us using the extra, 1918 one. Possibly it's not too hard to work out for ourselves what the changes need to be, from the one supplied. It may be that without the above, anyone using the 'bypass' option should NOT install the four .tga's that otherwise end up in the Decals folder (INSIGNIA001.tga, INSIGNIA002.tga, TAIL001.tga, and TAIL002.tga. Re the N.28 itself, the pilot figure does not show up. Looking at the new Ndata.ini file, I see PilotModelName=narrowpltA.lod. I'm going to try putting the narrowpilot files into the Objects/Pilots folder, and see if that makes any difference.

Drat, there goes the BE2 for another few weeks! Seriously, that looks pretty good, actually (not the huge torp under the DH4 which I appreciate is just a lash-up for trials purposes, but the ability to do torp runs for the modest price of having the 'fish' visible. Pity there weren't more than a handful of torpedo bombers in WW1...or maybe it's not a pity, otherwise we might never see Stephen's BE2...or LVG...or Dorand (hint!).

Great - can't wait to see these in the First Eagles air, where they belong!

Off topic I know but if you're open to considering variations, Stephen, as with the Nieu.10 and 12 and indeed the Rumpler CI and seaplane....how about a BE12 as a variant of the BE2c? Main difference is the nose, bigger engine with slightly different cowl contours, more cylinders and modified exhausts, plus an RE8-style Vickers, plus of course jus one cockpit. FM should be similar, just add a bit of 'ooomph' :) A BE12 or 12a (latter had with BE2e-style wings IIRC) would be best as the 12b was really a home defense version. A BE2c/BE12 package would be a great addition. https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSvmOmfRC3PtBZE3u1epec2skLS_jJ_zHG1-2ux2Sd7poE44eN5NQ http://www.aviastar.org/pictures/england/raf_be-12a.gif

The purists may revile and/or condemn such heresies, and you may well be aware of this already. But if you don't find this behaviour to your liking and do not want to be distracted by having to manage your engine so much, you can turn this off via the RoF options menu; I can't recall what the setting descriptions are but it's fairly easy to find them and to understand what box or boxes to tick.

I can see a lot of USAS campaigns starting when these appear. I'm really a 1916-17 type of guy but I can't wait to start my next Nieu.28 campaign, once these are uploaded. I expect to get shot down a lot, tho, as I'll be spending far too long in the external view admiring my kite or taking screenies like the ones above.

Yes it's TK's quote but he was probably talking about a patch along the lines of other SF2 patches (what else would he be talking about?). We're talking about something different. Whether 'something different' would ALSO break mods is a moot point, about which we have no particular grounds for making any assumptions, one way or another. It's also a bit of a leap to infer from his quote, as you do, that 'there is NO QUESTION [my emphasis] that if he patches it that this will happen'. Anyway, whatever. it's not likely to happen, so I'm not sweating it.

It'll be worth the wait, to have these works of aviation art adorning our FE N.28's. Great stuff, even down to the ones with the original French tail markings, before the white-blue-red repaint obliterated the factory markings - nice touch.