Shiloh

We had a similar incident here in the states when members of the New York Mets were denied permission by MLB to wear NYPD (New York Police Department) and New York firefighter hats on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Bud Selig (the d-bag commissioner of baseball) was thrown under the bus in a big way and it turned into a public relations nightmare for the MLB. There is a human element that transcends sports and I don't see the harm in teams wanting to pay tribute to good causes. The question many ask is where do you draw the line?

http://espn.go.com/n...-hats-9-11-game

I fly OFF in an IKEA chair so I'm guessing I'm not authentic?

I played a few of the Rainbow 6 titles on XBox - can't remember which but great fun!

That would be a very bad choice. Because once 11.11.11 hits I'm going to have almost no interaction with the outside world for at least 5 days (vacation time specifically to game!) except perhaps to order the occassional pizza. After that, we'll see.

Hellshade

Vacation time to game - now that's dedication!

Really nice Olham. I like the subtle 'W' on the tail to tie-in with the fuselage. The zig-zags are almost like flames on a 1950's American hot rod. What are those rainbow things under your pilots cockpit on the right side?

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You should give it a try some day. The SPAD XIII with it's twin guns, it's engine-powerful speed

and climb, and the stable dive of a rugged airframe make it possible for the pilot to always

dominate the situation, or to leave it.

Well I took your advice Olham and started up a Spad XII campaign with the American 13th starting in July, 1918. They are at Toul near Verdun and I thought I would benefit from the quieter region with a new craft I haven't flown before. I mixed it up with some Fok.D.VII's from Jasta 19 with a couple of aces and survived so not a bad first flight. The sights on my guns seemed way off otherwise I might have had a victory or two. Like you said I was able to escape trouble when I became outnumbered by hitting the throttle and running toward my lines.

I utilized Lothar's mod as well for the between-missions immersion and that was pretty interesting.

I think Spad XIII had 400 rounds per gun...

 

Here is a rare example of victory markings in WWI:

 

 

Thanks Elephant. I often wondered when that started and think it's one of the coolest things on WWII craft. This way you can just look at a guys plane and tell how badass he is.

I haven't really played too many of these types of games but this one looks simply amazing. I think I'll give it a shot at some point. Apple has some of the most intuitive menus - nice move to emulate. And if I were on the Elder Scrolls team I would hire Hellshade to do my marketing.

Thanks for clarifying Beard and Olham. I knew the victory decals were prominent in WWII but thought maybe someone had adopted it earlier on. Nice site by the way.

I did start a campaign with a Spad VII pilot and flew some missions but the one thing that really turned me off was the less than 500 rounds (472 I believe) that I started a mission with. At the time my accuracy wasn't good and I was chewing through ammo before I could get a good chance at a victory. What you said about the speed, diving ability and durability reminds me of the SE5a Viper. Does the Spad XIII carry more rounds?

I'm looking at the center bottom photo. Are those just vents?

Nice paint scheme Olham. Is that the number of kills for that pilot on the nose of that Spad?

Very nice. Are those Ace bandages for puttees?

 

I also had to get in costume for a parade, but it was the high school homecoming a week before Halloween. The problem was, we were playing a team called the Pirates so the fire department decided to do the parade as a "scalp dance". You know, 1 warrior dresses up like the enemy and is symbolically killed by the others, to get some good mojo working for the upcoming battle. So, I had to dress up as a pirate and get beaten up by other firemen dressed as such, all the while getting jeered and pelted by the crowd. For 3 miles.... Damn good work-out, though

Those are in fact ace bandages - good eye Bullethead! That sounds like a pretty brutal beat-down there buddy. Way to take one for the team.

Shiloh man...you'll be wearing that flying OFF....mark my words!

It's funny you said that Widow as I was thinking of setting up a big fan blowing in my face with my dollar-store goggles and cap to protect me. Talk about immersion.

Here was my costume for this years' Halloween festivities in my town. Adults and children get dressed up and march in a parade then go trick-or-treating in some of the best-decorated neighborhoods I have encountered in my life. This cost me all of $20. (I had the leather jacket) and although it's not anywhere near authentic, it was a lot of fun and the kids really liked it. I couldn't get my goggles to stop fogging up.

I once shot a caterpillar off in my Big Bertha rocket in 4th grade rocket club and sadly he didn't survive the flight. It was my teacher's idea though so I suppose it's his fault.

HPW was right about the roll.

A good friend of mine gave me advice just a few months after my daughter was born. He told me to always be their parent first, and friend second. They won't always like the discipline, lessons, etc. and as a parent you may feel the same about giving it especially when it's a hard lesson. But you have to show them the way and sometimes it requires 'less than delicate' means and in the end (as adults) if you raise them right, they'll understand why you did the things you did.

I'll say miss. The angle makes it look like a potential hit but actually you have enough room to sneak by.

When I reached 17 and was big and tough enough, I went toe-to-toe with my dad who was a very physically strong and domineering man and not to be taken lightly. I challenged him physically and he more-or-less backed down. I don't believe he did it because he was afraid of me but more because he realized I needed to establish myself as a man and he told me later that he respected that. It can be a coming of age of sorts for a boy to establish himself as a physical equal to his dad, and I think many at that age need to take that step for one reason or the other. But as Hellshade mentioned, every child is different and it's the job of a parent to adapt until they find what works.

No worries Widow. Every kid needs that at some point and you make a strong statement when you react that way as long as it's not the norm. They're tough to get through to at times and a good old-fashioned lesson is exactly what they need. My kids are only 4 and 2 so I'm not anywhere near that phase but I'm sure I'll get there with my son at some point.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' written by author Washington Irving - who owned a home in the next town over - is taught in the schools here and is deeply woven into American lore. Tim Burton's version is "hollywoodized' in my opinion and he certainly deviates from the original story. Here is a link to the Wiki page and you really should give it a read if you're interested. It's actually a pretty short book.

Logitech still make a Trackball, which you move by thumb. But it's not cheap.

 

Can one fight with two swords?

I would olve to fight like the headless Hess in "Sleepy Hollow"!!! (Well, with my head on, of course...)

For 7 years I lived in Sleepy Hollow, NY right next to the "Old Dutch Church' and cemetery where this story took place. I used to take walks at night through the woods next to the cemetery until I freaked myself out then I would walk 'briskly' home.

We're all anxious for the release I'd say Duke. I've seen too many releases get rushed and fall short due to outside pressure to meet a deadline. If that happened here a lot of people would be crushed so I'd rather let the developers do their thing on their timeframe, and deliver us something they can be proud of - that we can all be proud of and enjoy.

Good idea Hauksbee. I used to travel a lot going back 8-10 years and I never went on a long business trip without my XBox. I had a metal case for it with foam padding and that thing went all over the country. But today if I was traveling and I had a budget I might go with something subtle like this 18'' beast.

That was an inspiring speech I must admit. I didn't know much about the battle they were about to fight but then I looked it up and this is what I found. Thanks for posting Widow.

End of November is quite a long stretch from now Lou. What I do when I can't fly is look up in the sky and imagine I'm up there jumping from cloud to cloud and it helps fill the gaps. May your return to the skies and the OFF forums come soon.

I'm with Wayfarer - it comes crashing down on you after you hit it a few more times.