OFF Tips and Cheats

[gimpyguy]

Explination of the TAC screen

We know that in 1917, Radar was not yet invented. Think of it as 'Superman's Eyes'. It will be visable or not, on your demand ( Shft+T )

There are many screens possible, for varied targets. In OFF we are only concerned with Aircraft. Cycle Screens ( T )

The Field of view for the TAC can be cycled 8/4/2/1 in Nautical Miles, the radius of the screen ( Ctrl+Shft+T )

The number at 12 O'clock is your Field of View

The number at 6 O'clock is the distance to your next waypoint in Nautical Miles.

As an 'unknown' aircraft approaches, it will appear as a 'White Blip, when it gets closer the Blip will change color. Red or Blue, enemy or friendly.
Also you'll know His direction. About the only thing it doesn't tell you, is His altitude. Sometimes he Will appear to be at the center of the screen, yet the skys are clear? . . He's above you . . You are the center.

The TAC as a navagation 'cheat'. In Campaign Only, there is a Blue Neon line, on screen. That's Your Direction of Travel. It will guide you, between waypoints, if YOU keep that line Vertical, You can't get lost PERIOD

As you get nearer to your waypoint, the line will become shorter, till it finally disappears. Only to reappear, full length, guiding you to your next waypoint.

One Cheat for the people with poor eyesight ( ME ) is to turn Labels Off (Ctrl+Shft+L ) soo the view isn't ruined by 6 British Trucks.
But leave the TAC on, as an early warning system.
When Enemy Aircraft appear on my TAC screen, Labels Hot, TAC off
Time To Party !!

[gimpyguy]

There are a complete set of WWII Gauges, they are usable but they obliterate the Immersion, with it is the printed HUD ( F5 )

( newer more useable gauges in Phase 3 )

Along with the gauges, the printed HUD contains some goodies
1) a more accurate digital fuel gauge, than the dial Gauge in your cockpit.
If before combat it shows 87%, but after combat, it shows 84%.
You've got a leak friend, nothing to get excited about, but I'd start looking for someplace to land. You could attack another enemy aircraft, and run dry at 9000 feet. YOUR CHOICE
2) The ONLY ammo counter in the game. Sometimes it's nice to know when you only have 23 bullets, Before you attack 2 aircraft

Those Gauges can be thrown over the side, they cycle as to function, then one by one vanish, and will stay vanished until You cycle them back
( control + shift + 1/2/3/4/5 )

( Z ) appears to be a mass of numbers, which shows up in the upper-left corner of your screen. That mass of numbers contain lots of information.
It yields much more than F. P. S. used for Tweaking the Running.
It's your Speedo, Altimeter, Rate of Climb in Degrees + or -
A Clock . . usefull when your mission is to Patrol an area 13 minutes

That's where the gauges GET their information, I leave it up all the time, but I 'cheat' alot. The only time it leaves my screen, is for a Dogfight

[gimpyguy]

Quick Combat is where you practice and 'Hone' your skills

You control all the variables, please remember 'everyone' is considered enemy. This shows what you 'should be doing'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYMZl...eature=related

In a P51 you flew at 400mph, and had six machine guns, whatever you hit, you destroyed. Now you fly at 110mph, with one machine gun, maybe two. Your target is mostly wood and canvas, if you fail to put a few bullets into the Pilot, the Fuel Tank, or the Engine. It could be a long day
It's a rather small aicraft, easily missed without the labels.

Your supply of ammo is limited, so get close, and only fire when you're sure you'll hit. Short Bursts Only

When you 'THINK' you're good, try Campaign. All missions are picked For You. You have a main purpose, Question is What is it?
Stay Alive
Do your Duty
Earn lots of Medals

The average Pilot in WWI, lasted 17 Hours . . CAN YOU ?

Every 5 Kills ( confirmed claims) they give you a medal.
Claims don't become Kills until Home Office says so PERIOD

Sometimes they will reject the victory, you will be informed, what they say GOES

[gimpyguy]

In the proper hands, it was a great weapon, if the pilot lived long-enough to learn it. In 1917 she killed so-many pilots, she was called the widowmaker. If you can get it up in the air, too steep a climb, it stalls. A tight turn at low speed, it stalls. A sharp turn to the left it dives, a sharp turn to the right, it climbs. If it turns too long, to the right, it stalls.
When you turn quickly to the left, if you're not expecting the dive, it's a killer.
High Rudder must be used in turns, when the aircraft is sideways, the rudder is used as a huge elevator.
It'll then turn tighter then anybody.
It then becomes a very dangerous weapon, with the twin guns, and the great sight.
IF you're still alive that is

I'm a fan of the Sopwith Triplane, excellent visability, great low speed manuverability, but it's single gun, but that's enough if you hit your target

[gimpyguy]

Now some people will disagree with this way of thinking, different opinions make the world go around. I don't see how in the name of all that's holy, you can fly an F18 Hornet, and a SE5 with the same Joystick. The Hornet can't vibrate at 585 MPH, it would self destruct. While the SE5 firing it's weapon, shakes like a washing machine on steroids. The only way to simutate it is with a Force Feedback Joystick. You'll feel the instant you're flying, instead of everything getting smaller. And most importantly you'll feel the stall coming, 1/2 second before it arrives, giving the pilot ample time to alter his activities, thus avoiding the stall. It could be a lifesaver.

Especially with WWI Birds, many times after take-off, you can attempt to gain altitude too quickly and stall. It's very easy, to change, just level out and build some speed, when you feel the 'Death Rattle'. Without Force Feedback, just stall and die.

In a Dogfight you might make one turn too many. You can maintain the attack and stall, and the Hunter becomes the Hunted. Or you can break off the attack, rebuild speed, and attack again. Without Force Feedback you don't have a choice.

The stall itself is just the lack of Flying, below a certain speed, it just stalls. The only way to recover with these low power engines, is to dive inorder to gain speed of air, over your wings and control surfaces. Not enough altitude . . you die.

The market is a bit limited in the Force Feedback Dept

New: The Saitek Cyclone EVO FFB
http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-Cyborg-...913137&sr=1-18
Which I like, very comfortable, just looks strange
OR
The Logitech Force 3D
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Force...913531&sr=1-28
OR
Used Microsoft Sidewinder FFB II ( without software )

I

[gimpyguy]

It's a rather subdued red stripe, about 2 inches wide, that will appear across the bottom of your screen, when you are close to your home field, and you have completed all your mission objectives ( campaign )

There are two selections for you to choose from on the banner.

DEBRIEF . . ( Poof ) you'll find yourself back at the Briefing Room, ready for your next mission

CLOSE . . The Banner disappears. . . you fly to your airfield, and attempt to land your wounded bird, perhaps you were lucky and recieved no battle damage, perhaps you did. After your roll out, your pilot will get out, and walk away, maybe limping. he might kiss the ground, he might drop to a knee and pray, or he might run away, as the aircraft explodes.

If you see the Banner at any other time, you're DEAD :d

[gimpyguy]

It certainly ain't new, as it was written in 2005

The Game was originaly written for XP, Vista was brand New, Vista 64 Bit wasn't even thought of

But it can answer alot of questions

Remember you CAN NOT DOWNLOAD Phase 2, any longer

http://www.polovski.com/OFFFAQ.htm

[gimpyguy]

http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/ New York active museum

http://capphotography.fotopic.net/c1313799.html Great Pictures

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...3/m/9741007085 Knock you sox off Pictures

http://richthofen.com/rickenbacker/ On Line Book

http://www.patrickwilson.com/annals/book.html On Line Book

http://richthofen.com/ On Line Book

http://www.raindesert.com/great_war/great_war_index.htm U tube WWI
in the AIR

http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-color.html Very informative of the period

http://www.wwiaviation.com/toc.shtml Illustrated History of WWI

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/av...-training.html Pilot Training RFC

http://www.earlyaviator.com/archive1.htm B&W Photos of old Birds

http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/node Great Site if you speak German

http://www.aviastar.org/index2.html Lots of Aircraft all Era's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYMZl...eature=related Rules for Air Engagements

[gimpyguy]

http://trackir.info/instruction.htm How to set up Trackir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AO0F5sLdVM What is Trackir

[gimpyguy]

I'm providing this information only because After it happens to Somebody they'll be swearing, and asking: 'What Happened?'

In ( campaign ) when are flying as a part of squadron, when the type of aircraft Historically flown was changed, you recieve it. Like it on not

Theoretically: Within the game your Pilot can't transfer between squadrons.

However: If the type of Aircraft Demanded by History, is NOT avialable in OFF, your Pilots flying days are over PERIOD. Makes no difference if he has 16 Hours, and 13 Kills, He Retires

There is only two ways to prevent this from happening. Being Lucky, or having the List showing which aircraft is assigned to which squadron, when. You might go for years, and never have a problem.
RFC 60 from Sept 16 till EOW
Esc 83 from Jan 17 to March 17

A method to get this information, will be integrated into Phase 3

I have the List, sadly it's no-longer available

However: If you want it, send me a PM with Email addy

[gimpyguy]

Those functions marked with an ******* should be converted to single keystoke in Control Options on the Hanger Page. Because at a moments notice, you don't want to be messing around with 3 keys, also it's one heck of lot easier for your joystick to accept a single command, than a macro.

There are many single key commands, not used in OFF that can be utilized this way
Flaps Up & Down .............. F & V
Gear ................................ G
Brakes ..............................B
That's 4, right there, I believe there's 9
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mixture Full Rich . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+F7 **************
Mixture Increase . . . . . . . . Ctrl =
Mixture Decrease. . . . . . . . Ctrl -
Mixture Idle Cutoff . . . . . . .Ctrl+Shft+F6 ************
Aircraft Labels . . . . . . . . . .Ctrl+Shft+L ************
Virtual Cockpit . . . . . . . . . .Unassigned ****************
Float View . . . . . . . . . . . . Shft+F6
Disappearing Cockpit . . . . . F3
Start Engine . . . . . . . . . . . E
TAC Screen. . . . . . . . . . . Shft+T
TAC Targets . . . . . . . . . . . T
TAC View Range . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+T ************
Fly-By View . . . . . . . . . . . Shft+F9
Auto Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . Ctrl+A ( Austrailian Autopilot )
Select Weapon . . . . . . . . . Back
Fire Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . Enter
Machine Guns . . . . . . . . . . Spacebar
Bomb/Rocket View . . . . . . . F9 *****Trackir Conflict
WARP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .X
Cancel WARP . . . . . . . . . . .Ctrl+X
HUD w/Gauges . . . . . . . . . .F5
Gauges Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+1/2/3/4/5
Emergency Brake . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+B
Dive Brakes Strutter . . . . . . D
Bomb Bay Doors Strutter . . . Shft+B
Windshield on N17 . . . . . . . .Shft+C
Reload Lewis Gun N17 . . . . . Shft+C
Advance 1 Waypoint . . . . . .Shft+W
FPS and lots of info . . . . . . .Z
Maps in Cockpit . . . . . . . . . F7
Bombsite in SHORT . . . . . . . F7
Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M
Pilot & Iron Sights . . . . . . . .F6
Rear Gunner . . . . . . . . . . . .F8
Zoom IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]
Zoom OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[
Why Bail Out - Got NO Chute
WINGMAN COMMANDS
Attack . . . A
Rejoin . . . .R
Help . . . . .H
Split . . . . .S

Make a Blip Switch from F10 & F11. . 10% & 100% Throttle

[gimpyguy]

In 1917 the radios of the period, were big, bulky, and heavy. Aside from that these aircraft had no electrical system to speak of.
Rumor has it that late in the war, some of the British aircraft were equipped with small battery powered map reading lights

But when you issued commands to your wingmen it was via hand signals.

The closer he was to you, the more often he would see your hand movements, unfortunately the closer he was to you, the more of a chance he would collide with you when in a dogfight

OFF Gives you two choices: Tight and Tightest

I found out after many Balloon missions, that if you want credit, your wingman has to be your witness, at the instant you shoot that balloon.
In theory if you hit ( R ) repeatedly. . prior to shooting. He should notice.

But then you MUST head directly home, he must be alive to be your witness. Your REWARD: In your Pilots log might be
'1 Balloon claimed Destroyed'

This is as good a place as any to put it.
Clic on Credits, actual interviews with 4 WWI Pilots

[cpirrmann]

If you want tips to fly as close to the original WWI environment, here are a few tips.

These are based on P2 and hopefully some won't be necessary in P3. These are also for campaign mode; the only way to enjoy OFF.

ALL IMHO


Mission Selection:
Don't hesitate to use the optional flight button. There are times when the mission generator produces missions that are out of the question. It was extremely unlikely that a squadron based in bruges would be sent to bomb Paris. They usually had assigned sectors or areas of operations, so feel free to select optional flight until one comes up that looks more realistic based on your sector. Also, they rarely flew in adverse weather such as rain or snow. You won't know the precipitation , though, until you start the mission, so you may have to abort if you choose not to fly in rain or snow or zero visibility.

Pre Flight:
Since you start already in the cockpit, you cant do a walk around, but you can do some checks as they did and we still do IRL. Look behind you and check the operation of your rudder and elevators. Look left and check aileron operation both directions and do the same for the right wing. Look in the cockpit and check the throttle movement, mixture as well if it's modelled. You may think that this is just fluff but it does have application in OFF. Like an airplane, we use equipment that might not work correctly such as joystick, throttle, rudder pedals and TrackIr. You may not know that these aren't working until you're in the cockpit, and, like a real airplane, you're usually forced to abort.


Engine Start:
I use the full procedure: Battery on (yes we know they didn't use a battery, but it's necessary in CFS). Mags (or mag) on, mixture full rich , if modelled, then hit the start key. Unfortunately, the mechanic doesn't come out to swing the prop, but it's nice to see the flames from the exhaust and/or smoke when they start.

Unfortunately, these procedures, leave you on the ground long after your wingmen have taken off and greatly increases the chance of them going stupid and flying circles around the base ad infinitum or crashing into the ground.

Climbing Out:
You can choose to circle the base a few times to gain altitude before you embark on your heading or you can go right out in a cruise climb. Assuming your wingmen haven't augured in, and you're plane is so equipped, you can throttle back a few hundred RPM's to help let your wingmen catch up.

Navigation:
The early aviators didn't have pop-upmaps or GPS do help guide them. They only had ded reckoning and landmarks to help. Most carried maps either folded up or on a scroll that they could use. Of course, after flying over an area long enough, they learned the landmarks and views so that they didn't need them so much. Fortunately, WM's scenery is so good, you can do the same.

To navigate, you need maps. Forget the in-game map. It's too vague and mis-guided. There are several posts about maps here. Plovski's site has the two maps that you can download. They are rather large, but clear and easy to read. Drawbacks: They're not very accurate and you don't get enough of the Vosge/ Alsace region if flying Lafayette Escadrille or some French or German squadrons.
I have downloaded others I've found around the internet but those are small in scope so not all areas of the front are covered.
The best I've found are screen captures from MS Encarta. You can focus in and zoom on any area that you fly over in WWI. I like these, because they are the most accurate to WM's scenery that are available. Over the entire front, I have found only 3 roads on the maps that are not in the game. The rivers, roads, railroads, and some exisiting airfields are spot on.
Drawbacks: Perhaps too accurate to replicate WWI navigation, features are hard to read at a distance and require going over with markers (I use green for rivers, orange or red for roads and black or RR's), at different levels of zoom the smaller towns names may or may not appear.

I mention the city names because I think it adds to the game when you can see the village or town, after which, your airfield is named and see where it is in relation to your field. To use MS Encarta, I max zoom over the area I want, take a screenshot (ALT + Print Screen) and use Irfanview to view (new blank image, go to edit and paste). I then print it our and go back to the web site, then move it to cover the area next to where I just printed. This gives me 8 1/2 X 11 sheets that I put in plastic page protectors where I can use a grease pencil to make notes and mark targets, such as ballons, army bases, camps, airfields, etc. This comes in handy on lone wolf missions. The sector you fly in rarely uses more than 4 pages so with two to a protector (back to back) you only have two maps to fumble with as you fly, and many times just the one. Again, though, after flying over the area, you will learn it by rote and just a quick review at mission briefing is enough consultation.

This can also be done with the other maps, printing them in sections, getting a commercial printer to print a large map and cutting it up or folding it. The question of accuracy comes into play, as, I believe and am open to correction), the maps in WWI were not very accurate. So, that is up to you. There was another map posted recently, and I wll try to find it that looks very good and might be just off enough to be more realistic. It covers part of the Vosges, but not enough as Luxeil is just off map.

Some flyers use warp or autopilot as they don't have the time to fly the whole mission manually. This is understandable as they rarely go under an hour. I never do, but that's a personal choice. If I don't have the time to fly a full mission, I fly quick flight. I won't denegrate anyone who uses those aids, because if they fly OFF , they can't be all bad. There are a lot of interesting and stirring things to see flying across WM's scenery and you can miss a lot.

Be aware that in the mission briefing, when trying to locate the postion of your objective, the location on screen is usually about 4 or 5 miles to the southwest of it's position in the game. It's best, until you learn the area, to use the position relative to nearby airfields as they will be off on screen too, so you can better judge where it will be in the game.


Situational Awarenes:
I fly with no aids in this regard with very few exceptions. I fly with labels off and tac display off. I know I miss MANY dogfights this way, but I am forced to keep my head on a swivel and when other planes are spotted, it makes the chase quite exciting and sometimes disappointing when you dive on them from advantage and find them to be friendly. The only time I use the aids is when looking for the RR yard I'm supposed to attack. I will use the tac display (front 180 deg. and buildings only) and the labels to sopt the target. After I spot it, all goes back off. I don't do this for other targets. This way, I will sometimes fly a whole mission and never see an enemy AC. Not too often though. Sometimes, I get in so many dogfights, I pray for a boring milk run just as many pilots did in WWI ,I'm sure.

End Mission:
Whenever possible, I try to gather up my wingmen before heading back. Also, I strive to always return to my home base. Usually, there are nice landmarks such as a group of trees, river or rr track that make it easy to line up with the field to help with a good landing. After landing, I also taxi as close to the empty hangars a s possible. This usually means knowing when to judge shutting off the engine so you coast to the right spot as you have no brakes. Stick always full back to help the tail skid dig in. If you shut off the engine on final as many pilots did, then you can't do this. Shut off the engin on the ground with either mixture or mags and shutoff the battery. Then I sit for a bit and gather my wits and listen to the sounds of the airfield. Hit ESC and end the mission.

A note about pilot settings in workshop. I use death on die roll because the other two are too absolute. Dead is dead will leave your pilot dead at the least little thing. CFS doean't allow for much detail in pilot resolution. Never dies is not realistic either. Death on die roll seems better as you can survive small crashes but it seems a catastrophic event will almost always leave you dead as you might expect. There is no resolution for being captured, so whenever I go down behind enemy lines, I retire my pilot. It's a very rare circumstance that I let him get back but it has to be very close to the lines and in a less active area. I think I've only done this once.

Hope this helps everyone get the most out of OFF. Just be aware it takes a lot of dedication and discipline but the rewards in terms of immersion are unlimited. If you let it, OFF will draw you in and you will be scared, nervous, frustrated, angry, cocky, etc. You will be shocked and horrified when you see your wingman blown to bits by a well placed AA shell. You'll take it personally when you hear the bullets hitting your machine and know fear wondering if your fuel line was hit and you're miles behind the lines. You'll feel real relief when you shut your engind down at the base and hear the quiet, while you relaize that you're actually sweating. Your neck and shoulders get sore from constantly looking around you.:ernae:

[gimpyguy]

The often neglected control: If you're cruising along at 12,000, 3 enemy aircraft decide to play tag, and you're it. If you stay calm, you still win the day, not saying it's easy . . but it can be done ( unless one of'em is an ace) :d

After you've shot down two, chances are good the third, won't want to continue playing that game. Sooo he decides to dive and find a new game.
Problem being, if you dive too far down, say to 4,000, you're way to lean and you'll stall. And since you can't restart, your adventure is over.

Also I'll add: Be sure to chop your throttle prior to diving the Sopwith Triplane. At 160mph your elevators become useless. All you do then is smile and wave, next stop: Dirt Nap

I know this doesn't make and sense whatsoever, but it's true, OFF runs smoother at higher resilutions.
Don't take my word for it, leave( Z ) up, your FPS gauge

Normaly what Limits you is your monitor, because today's Video Cards can go way up there

My 22" LCD can support 1680 X 1050 sooo that's what I run

[gimpyguy]

Rather Interesting Read, put it here before it gets buried

http://www.historynet.com/lawrence-s...vator.htm#hide

You can leave the compass gauge of ( F5 ) up, and drag it into the center of the TAC screen, both still work, just make believe the blue neon line don't exist. :d

[gimpyguy]

Makes No difference if you're running a Pentium 4 in AGP, or a Quad in Vista 64. The maximum slider setting for Terrian and Scenery is 4, some of the newest most powerful can run maxed out, but it'll look just as good on 4, plus you won't encounter any unexplainable problems down the road.
Also if you check your FPS ( Z ), it'll be higher on 4

A bit of troubleshooting you can do yourself. Firstly if things start looking strange, back off on all your sliders

If you can play Quick Flight, but NOT Campaign
Your Computer MUST think in English, however it also must be USA, UK, or South Africa. Take Heed you guys in OZ

Forget the MISSIONS Tab, make believe it doesn't exist, Some Work, Some Don't. They were used by the Developers to test aircraft within the game.
Quick Combat is where you practice and "Hone" your skills, as you control everthing.
Campaign is meant to be real.
But it's yours, do as you wish

The Configuration accesable from desktop is CFS3 not OFF
My Computer>Drive'C'>Program Files>Microsoft Games>CFSWWI OFF> The file w/ Wrench

[gimpyguy]

The Clouds in OFF are like No Clouds you've experienced in any other sim.
Wispy, Misty Clouds are OK.
But stay out of those thick, excellent to seek safety in, take a shortcut through the cloud, Clouds.

The Big Pillowy ones contain some violent up drafts, down drafts, and crosswinds.
747s experience turbulance in these clouds.
P51s get buffited
You in your canvas and wood aircraft, stay out of Clouds

If you're running to save your butt, being chased by six aircraft, duck into the first heavy cloud you see, but when you do, hold your crucifix in your free hand. If you have a better rate of climb than they do, I'd try that first.

Some people Disable the Clouds in Config. Overides, even that doesn't help sometimes

To my eye, those Clouds LOOK the same, with that slider on 1 or 5. Some think there's a difference, and run on 3
But unless you have computer power to spare, there's no good reason to run it up on 5

[gimpyguy]

Warp ( X ) covers the distance beween waypoints in seconds, but you only get credit for seconds. Plus if there are any enemy aircraft in the area, you will be pulled out of warp. Likewise if there are any enemy aircraft in the area, you will not be allowed to Warp out of the area.

Normally Warp is engaged at 123mph@1000 Feet. F5 Gauges, Z, or very good judgement. None of the OFF Aircraft can do 123 in Level Flight. So climb to 1700 feet, full power shallow dive, the instant you hit the 123mph Engage Warp.
The DH2 climb to 2500 feet, and dive a little deeper
Fokker EIII, 3000 feet

Warpzap is a patch, that can be added to Phase 2, allowing you to engage Warp at 66mph at any altitude. Which CAN be a Killer, if you're not careful. We don't have any mountains to speak of, but there are hills.
Aircraft Warping have been known to hit houses, trees, and experience non-winning arguments with hills. However if you voluntarily gain a minimum of 500 feet . . No Problem.

Some aircraft could adjust their trim in flight, some could only be adjusted by the aircraft mechanic on the ground, some didn't feature the ability to adjust the trim PERIOD

If you can spend the time, but you don't wish the stick time, it ain't legit but it works SOMEWHAT, SOMETIMES
Point the aircraft in the proper direction, nose high, in a slight climb.
Then repeatedly press Ctrl+A, until you get the desired results
Sometimes it dives
Sometimes it climbs
Sometimes it Flys in circles
Sometimes it Flys straight, all by itself
Guess it's all in the touch . . Practice makes Perfect :costumes:

[James "Taffy" Jones]

GG,
What is your opinion of using CFS3's trim control options? For example, should I map elevator trim, etc. to my joystick, or is that unrealistic, especially for the early war birds?

~S~

[gimpyguy]

You can clic on the medal ribbon on the Hanger Page and clic on Fly, off you go with the choices you made on the first screen

HOWEVER: To Customize your flight to any option
Clic ON the term FLIGHT TYPE
You'll get your choice of: The Type of Action

Clic on AIRCRAFT
You can choose the Aircraft you Fly
Also the Possible Loadout
All the German Aircraft ONLY have twin MGs, except the Fokker EIII with a single gun
British and French aircraft all have rockets or bombs, some you have a choice, plus the short seaplane has a Torpedo
There's also a Model 'T' Ford and a Moped if you get bored

Clic ON . . . LOCATION you can then choose
country of flight
area of country
airfield in area
Time of Day
Where you start
Weather
Season

Clic ON . . SKILL
skill of the enemy pilot
can the ground gunner hit an elefant or not
How will you initialy confront the enemy

Clic ON . . FIGHTER
You get to choose the type of aircraft that trys to Kill You

On the right side is HANGER . .a drop down menu, that speaks for itself

PS . . Those Rockets belong on a P47 both in accuracy and destuctive power, but they're alot of Fun

[gimpyguy]

While this video is very informative in itself, it demonstrates just how small these aircraft really were .. or are in the game.

Showing the possible NEED for reprograming in Control Options, the command for LABELS to a single keystroke.

As 7 british trucks all in a row, can mess up the view
However you can miss an aircraft or two, which could ruin your day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtprTL66-FY

[gimpyguy]

Whilst attempting to create a 'Neatness' out of a pile of printed Garbage, I came upon these, They're the tweeks suggested by Winding Man, when Phase 2 was brand new. If the guy that wrote the game doesn't know, who would ???

TWEEKS in OFF Configs ( File with Wrench )

Overrides settings:

Disable Intro Movie ( after a few views, it gets tired ) Personal Opinion of mine
High Resolution Z Buffer ( deselect Dual Pass Render )
Terrian Detail Texture
Disable Validate Device
Disable Write-Only Vertex Buffers
Disable Write-Only Index Buffers

Texture Info:

Composite Terrian Texture Usage ....... Render Target
Composite Terrian Texture Pool .......... Managed

Composite Aircraft Texture Usage ....... Render Target
Composite Aircraft Texture Pool .......... Managed

[gimpyguy]

I feel it's only fair to say . .OFF was originally written for the XP Operating System, for a very good reason . . . there was No Vista . . not even on the planning boards at Microsoft.
That said . . it will run on Vista, and Vista 64, however in the case of Vista Operating Systems, it is NOT a straightforward installation.

On this forum there were many attempts, some sucessful, some not.
There were some fairly bulletproof methods developed to run OFF on Vista

We had over 200 pages of threads, then around September, 2008 .. SOH had a massive crash, all data was lost forever, and it wasn't just us, All the forums of SOH, Lost All their Data

Sooo now everybody is starting at square one, STICKY Threads have been posted asking, if anyone knows How-To install on Vista to please post, sharring the wealth

It has been said that Phase 3, will install
And While I can't swear to it, it only makes sense that if you have problems, it will be supported

[gimpyguy]

Some missions Require aircraft or searchliights, not featured in Phase 2 . . . example: the Zepplin, the Gotha, the Bristol Fighter, the Hanriot.
Those aircraft are normaly, not included in the mission
When a special object is needed for the mission, there is no guarenntee that it is still available
When all else fails read the instructions
Make sure it's for Phase 2

When Downloading, Download to CFSWWI Over Flanders Fields > Missions > What-if. . or . .Training

You access the missions by playing Campaign in OFF

Going to the Hanger Page, Clic on missions

Then you must Highlight the mission you're looking for

What If = Quick Combat

Training = Mission Packs

You will start like it's a Campaign. . . FLY

[gimpyguy]

If you are so inclined, or if you fancy yourself a bit of Barnstormer, or just wish to fly around with a window seat. All are possible within OFF.

A completely detailed LONDON Exists, with tower bridge, Big Ben, St. Paul's, the Naval Observetory, Bittersea Power Plant. Everything that was on the Thames in 1916 is at your disposal. So if you just wish to observe, or like a disrespecting Yank, fly under the roadway of Tower Bridge, shooting rockets at Big Ben. Who's to know ?

Fly in Quick Combat> Free Flight> Great Britian> London> Kenley airfield

Fly north to the Thames, and hang a left

There also exists a detailed Paris, complete with a Effil Tower, arch de Triumph, and Notre Dame