The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List

(Note: I am not posting this in the stickied Wish List for WOFF thread as I think the size and scope of my message far exceeds that original thread. I apologize if I have violated any forum etiquette in doing so.)

Wings Over Flanders Fields is inevitably compared to Rise of Flight, which is the only other fairly current and comparable World War I flying sim available. In this comparison there is a common theme repeated over and over again. Wings Over Flanders Fields has superior immersion and single player, which absolutely blows not only Rise of Flight out of the water but pretty much any other similar simulation. However, to this point is always quickly added this: Rise of Flight has a vastly superior flight model and overall simulation realism. This is clearly debatable, but this really is the way Wings Over Flanders Fields is perceived.

I believe that Wings Over Flanders Fields has a potential which it hasn't quite reached yet. It is oh, so close to this potential - within reaching distance, in fact - but it really needs to stretch just a tiny bit farther. Having reached this potential I absolutely believe that the above mentioned qualifications will vanish, and Wings Over Flanders Fields will truly be the greatest World War I aircraft simulation in history.

I'm a little worried, though, that the team at OBD is moving all their focus to Wings Over The Reich, and that Wings Over Flanders Fields - with its Ultimate Edition release - might not see any more significant updates. Before Wings Over The Reich takes all precedence, though, I'd like to strongly suggests these revisions and additions.

As such I have compiled an exhaustive list of improvements that can be made to this simulation. I've been reading through every forum post since the beginning of these forums looking at all the comments and complaints we users have made. In addition to these, I have added my own impressions and wishes. Almost all of these suggestions pertain to improving the realism of Wings Over Flanders Fields as a flight simulator.

I'm dividing these suggestions and wishes into three categories:

1. High Priority - These are the suggestions that I think will carry Wings Over Flanders Fields over the finish line as far as reaching its full potential goes. I also think these are all possible changes to make.

2. Medium Priority - These are things I think can feasibly be added to the simulation, but without these things it can still be an amazing sim.

3. Dream Non-Priority - These are things that are unlikely ever to be added, but - man, oh man - I'd love them to be in the sim!

Without further ado, let me begin.

High Priority

1. Limited Ammo and Reloading

As I play Wings Over Flanders Fields, the number one immersion destroying moment time and time again for me is the fact that my ammo does not run out and I never have to reload.

There are many suggestions on the forums for ways to pretend to do this, but I do not think we should have to pretend such an essential quality.

Wings Over Flanders Fields strives so hard toward realism, but how can this be overlooked? Running out of ammo during an aerial battle happened constantly and consistently in World War I. Having to disengage and then struggle to reload was a daily occurrence.

Within the confines of the simulation, this kind of experience is fantastically exciting and thrilling! This adds infinite dimensions to every aerial encounter. I am crestfallen that this isn't included in the sim.

Possible Implementation:

I believe this absolutely could be added to the sim. I do not think this is an impossible request at all.

We don't need to have any extra animations for this (initially, at least). There could just be an empty drum model that could appear when ammo has run out. (I'd be willing not to have even this if it's too challenging.)

There could be a limit set on total ammo, and then after this limit is met, the guns stop (like when they jam). Then a button could activate the reload which would reset the ammo limit. (It could even be the same button as the unjam button.) This could be limited to two reloads to simulate only having a total of three drums of ammunition in the plane.

I cannot stress enough how much this needs to be added to fulfill Wings Over Flanders Fields' potential!

2. Realistic Mixture Control

I'm a hardcore flight simmer. While not everyone using Wings Over Flanders Fields is similar to me, I'm sure that many are. In all the other flight sims I'm currently using (FSX, Rise of Flight, and Cliffs of Dover) you have realistic and subtle mixture controls in all the planes.

One of the greatest thrills in flying planes for me is the meticulous control of the fuel mixture. In all of the other sims I mentioned you can make very tiny adjustments to the fuel mixture and carefully find the perfect balance to have the engine run at peak efficiency at its given altitude. By slowly altering the mixture in these sims, you instantly see an effect on rpms. You continue to adjust the mixture watching the rpm dial moving slowly reacting to every adjustment you make until you reach the point where the mixture is too much and the engine begins to cough and lose power. At this point you then move the mixture slightly back before this threshold and the engine runs at peak efficiency.

By taking the time to do this in flight you can gain a significant advantage over other planes in aerial fights. It's also thrilling (for me, at least) to fly successfully and skillfully always mindful of peak engine efficiency.

However, in Wings Over Flanders Fields this is the only scenario: I move the mixture lever to full and start the engine. I then slowly decrease the mixture. Nothing happens. I decrease more and more. Nothing. Rpms do not change. I continue to decrease the mixture until the lever is halfway down. Up to that point rpms do not change. Then suddenly past the halfway point the engine cuts out and eventually dies.

This is not realistic, and this is infinitely frustrating for me.

I honestly believe the mixture control is broken in this sim.

Cannot this be fixed? I passionately beg the developers to fix this as it is seriously holding back my enjoyment and fulfillment in this sim as a flight simulator.

(By the way, I loaded up the original Combat Flight Simulator 3 and experimented within it. I noticed that it has accurate and subtle mixture controls, so this must be possible in Wings Over Flanders Fields as well!)

3. Cold Engine Starts

Another thrill for a flight simmer like me is manually starting the engine. I've seen other similar posts throughout these forums, and again these players are pretending to manually start their engines as Wings Over Flanders Fields doesn't allow for this.

Although there are keys that can be mapped to magnetos and such and they actually animate in the cockpit when pressed, it seems impossible to start your engine manually from a cold start.

This is extremely disappointing as it feels like you can just almost do this.

I believe the mixture controls need to be fixed first before cold engine starts, but I really, really think this needs to be added to the sim in order to reach the before mentioned potential.

4. More Realistic Wind

The wind seems to be really off in the sim. This is a bit intangible and so it is hard to explain exactly, but the wind, even when activated in the workshop, doesn't seem to affect your flying much. Planes are unrealistically stable in the air, and I've only ever really encountered very gentle wind effects.

Also, it doesn't seem to really affect your aircraft whether you land or take off into the wind or not. You never seem to have to account for the wind when you land which really takes immersion and realism away from everything.

With these old planes, a pilot needed to be very mindful of the direction of the wind when landing; otherwise, they would be in for a very treacherous experience. But this just doesn't seemed to be modeled with any accuracy in the sim.

In other sims I have developed the habit of flying near the aerodrome, looking at the direction of the windsock or else smoke from the surrounding area and using this to determine how to make my approach. I continued to do this when I first started flying in Wings Over Flanders Fields, but I soon realized it really didn't seem to matter.

Also, wind of course increases in speed and changes direction at higher altitudes, but again this doesn't seem to be modeled very well in the sim.

I would love for this to be made much more realistic. I'm dying for an increased level of realism that is missing from the sim.

Medium Priority

1. Plane Specific Control Schemes

As the sim is set up now you have universal controls which means your control setup is the same for every plane you fly. With the sheer number of planes in the sim and each having its own unique cockpit arrangement it is frustrating that I have to change my control setup each time I want to fly a different plane.

Here's an example: When I fly the B.E.2, the mixture control is on the far left and the throttle is inside this on the right. However, when switching to a Nieuport 10C1, these controls are reversed. I have to manual reset the axes on my throttle as I switch in and out of these planes.

This seems tediously annoying. It would be wonderful to be able to set specific control schemes for each plane.

2. Moving Windsocks

The windsocks at all the aerodromes are completely static. They look like they are frozen in space and time.

Cannot they be animated to move slightly as if the wind were blowing past them? This is one of those immersion breaking experiences for me.

I honestly have no idea, but it seems like some kind of basic movement could be implemented.

3. Refueling and Rearming at Friendly Aerodromes

Many World War I pilots on big sorties might sometimes land at an allied aerodrome, reload on fuel and ammo, and then take off again to continue their fight.

I really, really, really want to be able to do this! I think it would be fantastically immersive to go out on a mission until your fuel and ammo were nearing depletion and then find another nearby aerodrome to land at where you could refuel, take off again, and continue your flight and mission.

This would also make possible more detailed and exciting missions.

Possible Implementation:

This doesn't need to be anything fancy. Perhaps landing in any friendly aerodrome there could be a state activated where a certain key press would give the aircraft full fuel and ammo. Landing in an enemy aerodrome (if this is even possible) would not trigger this state.

4. Improved Force Feedback

Force Feedback seems to be an afterthought in Wings Over Flanders Fields. This is a shame, I think, as force feedback adds so much to the immersion of flight sims. Like TrackIR, I just can't imagine not having this in my sims.

When I first started playing this sim, I had negligible forces as I flew. I had to manually edit each plane's files in order to increase these to a point where they were clear and effective.

Can we not have adjustable forces in the workshop menus? It would be so, so much more convenient to be able to alter each force within the sim itself instead of clumsily altering the game files outside the sim.

And this brings me to the biggest frustration with force feedback in Wings Over Flanders Fields. The forces for taxiing and firing guns are way, way too strong. I've seen this mentioned many times on these forums. Why are these forces so strong and all the other forces weak? I've scoured the files of the sim looking for a way to lower these forces (as have others who have posted in these forums) and there seems to be no solution. Surely these can be adjusted, right?

Dream Non-Priorities a.k.a. A Boy Can Dream, Can't He?

Everything listed below is purely wishful thinking. I doubt these can or will ever be implemented, but I'd love to see them in Wings Over Flanders Fields nonetheless. Who knows? One or two of them might be possible, and by mentioning them I might facilitate their inclusion.

1. Animated Oil Pressure Gauges and Ammo Drums

The oil pressure gauges (in the glass bubbles) are completely static as well as the ammo drums. It would be awesome to have the oil bounce and bubble around in the glass. And I'd dearly love to see the Lewis gun's ammo drum turn around while firing, visually losing the number of bullets inside as it does so. (And then removed and reloaded!)

Rise of Flight, of course, has all of these details, and it's always with a bit of sadness that I look upon these in Wings Over Flanders Fields and see them constantly remain unchanged. (My Avro 504K in FSX also has these kinds of small animated details.)

Perhaps, though, the Combat Flight Simulator 3 engine doesn't allow for this.

2. Clickable Cockpits

It would be wonderful to be able to use the mouse to click on the magnetos and adjust the mixture and fuel levers and so on inside the cockpits. Sadly, I'm pretty sure this is impossible in the Combat Flight Simulator 3 engine.

It would add much more immersion together with the cold engine starts that I mentioned in my high priority wishes.

3. Cloud Popping Fix

Now this is something that goes back to Wings Over Flanders Fields origins in Combat Flight Simulator 3 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002, I believe. Even my copy of FSX with Active Sky 2016 sometimes (albeit rarely) has cloud popping. But Wings Over Flanders Fields seems to have it to extremes. Clouds pop in and out of existence constantly as you are flying. It's really annoying and pulls you out of the immersion.

I have no expectations of this being completely cured, but is there any way to lessen these cloud pops? (Of course, if this were possible and easy, it would have already been fixed!)

4. Extended Map into Germany

This has mainly to do with my love of all things Lafayette Escadrille.

Since the conception of World War I flight sims, I have always dreamed of being able to duplicate the Oberndorf raid. I can imagine this massive mission where many bombers and fighters go off toward Oberndorf over German lines, and I defend them in my Nieuport until nearly running out of fuel. They then fly on toward Oberndorf through much German danger, and I land at a friendly aerodrome to refuel (see my medium priority wish above). After taking off again I meet up with them on their way back and I continue the fight.

I could also see myself taking control of one of the bombers on this mission flying all the way to Oberndorf to drop my incendiaries. God! I'd love to be able to do this!

However, the map in Wings Over Flanders Fields ends far before Oberndorf making all of this just a pipe dream.

I highly doubt if the map will ever be extended by the developers, though. (Perhaps the modding community could do so?)

5. External Walking Mechanic

This is one of my biggest dreams. And I'm positive it would really excite everyone who uses Wings Over Flanders Fields.

Wouldn’t it be incredible to be able to walk around outside your plane around the aerodrome or other places and then walk up to your plane and enter the cockpit?! Damn! I'd love, love, love to do this! Just think of the incredible immersion!

You could do a pre-flight check of your plane. You could walk around the hangars. After having an emergency landing, you could get out of your plane (assuming you survived) and walk away toward a friendly aerodrome.

A lot of complications exist, though. If you went down behind friendly lines, everything would be fine, of course. But if you went down behind enemy lines, the complications would arise. While it would be awesome to be able to run away from your plane toward friendly lines (or even set your plane on fire before running!), I highly, highly doubt this could be done in the sim. Perhaps coming down behind enemy lines could instantly trigger the capture mechanic that already exists in the sim, but coming down behind friendly lines would allow you to exit your craft.

(I do think all of this is impossible, though.)

Possible Implementation:

The sim's free camera could be activated and somehow its vertical component could be locked. This way using the arrow keys, or better yet, the WASD controls, we could "walk around" by moving the camera.

Somehow, too, this camera would have to follow the contours of the ground so that we would rise and fall with hills and such. The camera would also have to stop at walls, fences, buildings, and trees.

I could imagine that when near a plane, another key press would switch you to the virtual cockpit mode thus simulating entering the aircraft.

- - -

So . . . there you have it. These are all my suggestions and wishes. At the very least, I urge the developers to consider my high priority suggestions for inclusion in future patches or add ons. (I've spent an incredible amount of money into this sim already, but I would be more than willing to pay for a total realism add on incorporating the high priority fixes.)

Wings Over Flanders Fields is oh, so close to being truly the ultimate World War I flight sim that has ever existed. Let's push it over that final hurdle! It can be done!