Found the game on sale for $5 (CFS3) The only reason i bought it was to play this.

Getting late so i'll set it up later, but i'll be posting screenies probably.

I just installed Phase 2 and I cannot run the game on a Core2 any more.

I get "cannot load mission" every time.

I installed only OFF 1.0, OFF Videos and OFF 1.9 + 1.9 hotfix. XP is a virgin, SP3 is installed. I did not install the skins which I dont have anymore. I though they were optional?

Other details: German XP, SP3, Regional set to English (USA). I already installed msstdfm.dll.

Pretty frightening if installation doesnt run at all, though for a freeware mod it's acceptable. But this must get 10x better for the pay addon or the makers will be in deep trouble. I will wait until I have positive report that the installation process is working differently next time.

EDIT: It seems to run now, maybe because I hadnt rebooted often enough or because I had to create a new pilot after the change of language, who knows ..

It seems that CFS3 has an issue with dual core CPUs. Have you tried the dual core optimizer? (that's what AMD calls it) There is a similar fix for Intel dual cores also. I'll see if I can find it and get back to you.

CJ

Thank you but that was not the problem. I might run into problems later but the game runs on C2. It was just that I got "could not load mission" every time because some language / pilot setting was not working. Thanks!

EDIT: It seems the problem was definitely related to the language setting again. On a non-english OS you must have it set to English (USA), reboot, create a new pilot (?). From my experience in programming it could have to do with decimal numbers (english use dot, many eruopeans use comma), or some other sign. In some ways this is Microsofts fault, but in the end it must be handled by the programmer, that's actually why my programs are always internally set to either English or Locale Free, we had a lot of trouble with decimal points before that.

The Official Over Flanders Fields Forum has moved temporarily to:

http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showforum=206

...or you could stay here and talk about the same thing

OFF members do visit these boards also.

Salut all,
I'm happy to report I flew my first campaign mission last night after a marathon session with my dad trying to figure out how the various cfs3 commands work and how to "put them together" to be able to fly with some semblance of the skill set I learned in Red Baron 3d.

It took quite a while to figure out that I could use the tab key and then tilde key to padlock a bogie and snap from the padlock to guns view (and back). That's how I do it in RB, where numpad slash momentarily helps me orient without breaking padlock, which I find essential to keeping track of a bogie. That CFS3 targeting cone stinks - it's like a bird dog pointing where the bogie is without knowing what the bogie is up to so you can anticipate his next move.

I'm sure trackIR will be great but I'm upgrading a PC (GPU, RAM & CPU) and buying USB CH gear, so cash flow is an issue for a while. Happily I got my gameport CH pedals to work via a USB converter, saving myself about $70 bucks.

Has anyone written a primer on how to use the commands in OFF (or CFS3, I suppose)? I haven't figured out how to find wingmen the way <tab> finds bogies and I don't want to use invisible cockpit. Formation flying is a real challenge without some way to keep them in view. I can deal with sight obstruction caused by my own plane - in fact it helps me stay oriented some. The problem is the lack of a way to readily find what I'm looking for and (again) padlock it if needed. Snap view is fine for routine flying and landing, but scroll view is awkward without TrackIR.

FWIW, I have found what may be the bare minimum system requirements:
Celeron D 2.53
2 Mb RAM
GeForce 9400 GT PCI video card

Frame rates are low even with sliders at 1 or 2, but it's still prettier than Red Baron. I have a Northwood Pentium 4 3.2 on the the way, which I hope will improve things considerably with both a clock speed increase and an 800 fsb instead of the Celeron's 533 fsb. I realize it would easier and maybe even cheaper to just buy a new PC but that's not really an option and it has been fun learning to rebuild my PC. Much easier than I thought.

Hex

Hello LeHeureux, S!
good to see you, i take it you are the Heureux from the RB3d forums ? :-).

The pre-programmed keys from MS's CFS3 are a chore, you have to be an octopus at least to decrease engine mixture via 3 keys in the middle of a dogfight lol.

Biggest change from RB is the panning exterior view with the coolie hat, instead of pressing a joystick button, and then move the stick. There was a mod from LaserGabi (?) to use the mouse in RB3d, but unfortunately THIS does not work in OFF - yet.
From within the plane the coolie hat lets you see in all directions (like the arrow keys at the number pad), with instant coming back to forward when releasing the "hat". If you want a view to stay, press "scroll" so that the light on your keyboard (scroll lock) is on, that way the view you chose stays when releasing the hat. You can accelerate the speed of panning from the cockpit, in changing the number in a file - don't know which it was now - anyone ?
As well you can move up, down, forward and backward in the cockpit, and sideways with the appropriate key commands. Then there is Track-IR, so if you move your head the tracker will display the part of your plane you look at, so no need for the Arrows or coolie hat any more.

The key commands:
Press "Esc" when in Quick flight, mission or campaign screen, and a menu will appear - click at controls and a new window with the key commands will appear. Here you can look for each command and what it does, and as well edit it to your liking - indeed every key command can be programmed to what you like - i switched all this to the RedBaron commands/controls since i am used to it

All control commands are stored in the "mine.xca" file, residing in the main OFF directory or so i think. You can change anything you like, BUT: Do NOT - NEVER change the following key commands: "Ctrl-Shift-E and Ctrl-Shift-R" !! Those commands accelerate and decelerate the time in game, and once changed to something else you will not be able to get this time functions back, without a complete new install of the sim.

As an example: I use F1 for cockpit forward view, F2 for exterior view, F3 for following/chase view, F8 for observer station, F12 for bomb view and so on. As well i changed the cutting-off for the fuel mixture, from the standard "Ctrl-Shift-F6" to a simple "^". As well i use magnetoes on with "Shift-M", and off with "Ctrl-M", engaging the starter is "Ctrl-S" and so on.

Pressing "T" or "Shift-T" will open the target radar screen - you will unfortunately need this. Take it as a compensation for the lacking view on your computer screen compared to what you have in reality. When there are some dots representing planes in your vicinity , you can mark a dot, and cycle the mark along the other dots, and then switch to a view at that dot, and vice versa looking at your plane from the marked one. I guess it was F4 with RB ? But you can program it as you like.

Greetings,
Narsinha









Hex



[/quote]

Yes, I'm the same Heureux - I'm gratified you've heard of me. Real life has kept me out of the air since last Fall. I appreciate your tips - sounds like a great idea to change the keystrokes to the RB3d keys. The more I can play in the manner I am accustomed to the better I'll do. I had no idea I could mark an aircraft contact on the TAC screen to padlock it. I also like the tip on accessing the commands control panel in game.
Thanks,
Hex

I've studied the game and think I've figured out which commands I want to use and how to program them into my CH Fighterstick.

I decided to pretty much keep the commands used by CFS3 the same, since the CH software really doesn't care what you map to the buttons. It will be easier than figuring out what new single keystroke to assign to each function, especially when communicating to someone what I've used. This way all we have to do is figure out which commands we want to use.

I decided to keep the 8 way hat switch the way it is by default. It's too tough to discriminate between adjacent positions when there are eight. Right-left-up-down are about all I can reliably select. Here are the commands I think we need most:

Thumb Hat (#3)
up Shft+T TAC Display (toggle on/off)
down Ctrl+Shft+T Cycle TAC Display (range displayed)
left T Cycle TAC Display (objects displayed)
right Ctrl+Shft+L Aircraft Labels (toggle on/off)


Left Hat (#1)
up Tab Next Target (TAC dot changes color, padlock keys on that contact)
down Shft+Tab Prior target
left Ctrl+Shft+F4 Toggle Player/Target View*
right Ctrl+Tab Next Friend**

(*not sure - have to try it but hopefilly goes back & forth between own view and closeup of selected contact. **not sure - have to try but hopefully works like "F" key in RB3d))

Right Hat (#2)
up F6 Go to Pilot Seat (cockpit views ahead, sights, down & up)
down F4 Next View (cycles available views*
left [ Zoom In (also works in views other than cockpit)
right ] Zoom out (also works in views other than cockpit)

(*- not completely sure how they get selected but can learn by flying I think)


Pinkey button

B "`" (Accent) Padlock View (Toggle)

Thumb Button

B 1,0 (repeating list) 10% power, 100% power "Blip" switch