DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN CONTROLS #15
up OFF > Go directly to Workshop > along the bottom is CFS3 QC ( clic on it) > Go to Field > clic on HANGER ( Menu Drops Down ) > clic on CONTROLS

You never played Phase 1 or 2. . . . I see said the Blind Man. . .
Start you're looking at the OFF Control Listing, in it's Stock Form, it's identical to CFS3
When things start coming up, and they come at you quickly. You don't want to mess around with 3 keystrokes
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The first 3 are mixture (Auto Mixture in Workshop) . . Takes care of them
Then is . . Mixture Idle Cutoff ( Kills Engine Dead) Problem is it's 3 Keys, and you ain't got any brakes
Soooo Scroll down to . . Mixture Idle Cutoff and Highlite it
Clic on Delete Assignment
The 3 Keystrokes vanish. . Mixture Cutoff Remains. . .It remains Highlited
Clic on ADD assignment
A small Window will appear, asking you to enter command, . . .'B' no need for a capital, just plain old 'b'
Then it'll hand ya some Stuff about B is for brakes..... Just OK it
From Now on . . Mixture Idle Cutoff . . is. . B
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Next is . . Aircraft Labels . . . . L . . .that's dashboard lights
TAC screen is 2 strokes. . . give that an 'F'
Virtual Cockpit . . . V . . .it sits you in the cockpit looking foreward ( unassigned at installation )
Float View . . . is 2 strokes . . give a . . G . . . exterior view of your aircraft
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When you're done changing Stuff around, go to the. . . Officers Mess ...that will eventually bring you back to Desktop, and you're done
With the Multi/strokes gone, you have the CHOICE of putting them on the stick, or not
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TALKING TO YOUR WINGMAN #16

There was NO radios in these little birds, all communication with fellow pilots, was via hand signals, so the closer to you he was, the better of a chance of seeing your signals

Unfortunately, there's also a better chance of him running into you, when dogfighting

There's 2 choices of Formation: Normal and Tightest

You want him to be especially able to witness your shooting down the Balloon, in the Balloon Mission. So there it's a good idea to repeatedly even feverishly

Press ( R ) . . Rejoin to get his attention

NOTE: Any Balloon you just saw it, so you shot it. Is only thought of as a ground target. You'll get no medal for it . And even after you shot down the proper balloon head straight home avoid any enemy contact

whenever possible, as you might fight your way clear, but your Wingman Must. Dead Wingmen make terrible witnesses

Clouds #17

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 the Hell 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
Aircraft Skins . . . Norm = Default
High Looks Great But = NO visable Damage, not even a bullethole
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


A little tidbit your Flight Leader is AI, he can climb without slowing, his mixture is always perfect, he's not affected by Head Winds.

Here's another reason to be the flight leader; As you follow your flight leader, he disappears into a cloud, you follow him and get your wing's torn out ?

Ya All Keep in Formation

Assorted facts about the settings in Workshops #18

Workshop LR corner, is the Ground Gunner Accuracy. On Normal ( Default ) = do you feel lucky today
Hard = Everybody in the valley wants you dead, and that includes the soldier with a rifle
Easy = Machine Guns ONLY

Workshop. . . . . .Ground Object Density . . Medium = Default
High = High Powered Machines
Low = Guess !!! ( the trees will always look better on High, but there are no trees at 9000 )

Workshop . . . . Aircraft Skins . . . Norm = Default, fine for the High Powered Machines
Low = When you have too, you have too
High = NO visable Damage of Any Kind EVER, not even bullet holes. But the aircraft look GREAT, with a low-end machines the FPS suffer
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Sopwith Camel the Widowmaker #19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6PnKUEFX8g

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 climbs, a sharp turn to the right, it dives. If it turns too long, to the left, it stalls.
When you turn quickly to the right, 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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch7Z4UurPSk

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.. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . This one is for NO Reason it's fun to watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88p2xSOrEK8&feature=related

Same story for this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHRuEkvO8E&feature=related

The Finer Points of WARP #20





Assuming, you're already cheating with the TAC, it'll tell you how many miles to your Next Waypoint. It's your call, but below 20 miles, I'll fly it. However it's a great way to reach mission altitude quickly.

If it states say: 23 miles, you may elect to Warp the first 18, and fly the rest. You achieved 15,000 the easy way, now you want control.
Easily Done . .with the Cancel Warp Command ( Control+X ). By the way, the EIII is not known for it's climbing ability

Sometimes you are awakened Mid-Warp because of enemy activity in the area ( you're Not getting penalized, for using Warp ) they would've been there anyway, but you might've missed seeing them.

In 1915 and early 1916, there weren't all that many aircraft in the skys to begin with, plus you might have pulled duty in a quiet sector. Relax and enjoy the lack of activity while you can, see how your controls work, and get a window seat

Mid 1916 and later, still quiet. Use those Labels and the TAC, they're probably there, but you don't see them. As they're rather small,

This video will show just How Small ( Sopwith Camel flys in formation with a Spitfire )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro9be9ceRtk



By 1917, you can pretty much bet on enemy contact, every mission. By 1918 you'll wish your Father, never met your Mother

Auto Trim ( Aussie Autopilot ) #21

Technically there is NO autopilot, because there is No electrical system.

Autopilot Devices Did Exist in 1917, however they were much too expensive, to take to WAR

NO 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

I've heard talk of late in the War, SE5a's could adjust their elevator trim while in flight

Who said flying these crates was easy

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

There was a way to alter time, but that was in Phase II. Not recommended now, because you'll piss-off the Manager

Screen Resolution #22



I know this doesn't make any 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 ran in the past

I can't afford a new rig ( Faster ) soo I recently picked up a 27" LCD, which runs at 1920 X 1080, I could scarcely believe the results. I picked up 7 FPS and the scenery looks outstanding.

However I must admit, I'm lucky I only run OFF. Because anything else would look pitiful at that high a resolution

I gave this answer about a month ago, to a rather angry chap, who just had his ace pilot, interned for the duration. You might like it. #23

You can eliminate that bit of nastiness, and always escape the POW camp. By selecting Pilot NEVER Dies, in Workshop. However you MUST volutarily Retire your pilot when the time in Hospital exceeds 24 Days

Example: Make a forced landing over enemy territory, 17 Days between the sheets, then escape the camp over the weekend.

However, you get shot down in a ball of flame, from 9,000. That's 27 Days in Hospital . . . . . .Instant RETIREMENT. You know he died, I know he died, but according to the manager he just went to the hospital

'Die Roll on Death' is just as the name suggests, life or death is a matter of luck. Sometimes your number comes up and you are killed in a minor mishap, the same type of mishap, you would normally walk away from with a severe limp. I like to think, I banged my coconut really Hard. Yet other times you'll make an attempt at landing, crash badly, and survive with just 3 weeks in hospital. Knowing full well nobaby should live, but you do. Good place to be if you have an angel on your shoulder.

'Dead is Dead' The choice for excellent pilots, or the schitthead who thinks he's an excellent pilot. There is NO margin for error. Come in a little hot and snap a tailskid, even a bullet weakened tailskid, you Die.
If you desire to proove something, the only thing you're going to proove, is you're good at making pilots

What can cause a bit of confusion, are the keyboard commands to use your SECONDARY WEAPON ( No aircraft from Hun land has one )( except the Bombers ) #24
OFF features two Keys: Select Weapon = Backspace, and Fire/Drop = Enter
This is a leftover from CFS3, as the P51 could load out with 8 rockets, and two 500 pound all at the same time
That particular problem doesn't happen in OFF

Since you only need to Select Weapon ONCE, I think of it as Arm Weapon. And while it's on my joystick, it occupies one of the lower keys

Another function that could proove interesting is Rocket/Bomb View = F9. It allows you to view the weapons impact, or miss the target.
However you must learn how use the function, you'll kill a few pilots, so don't use your most senior, first time out

It seems to be normal, as everybody seems to think that their rig is the most powerfull thing on earth. Consequently they 'Max' out the settings, identical to the CFS3 settings, run for awhile CRASH and 'Throw the Baby out with the Bath Water'.

I was running CFS3 on straight '5's', Two machines ago, with my 5700 in AGP

OFF desires SPEED, it doesn't give a damn about power

I'm running a QUAD right now, but at only 2.4Ghtz. . .It's marginal for OFF

I've my Graphic Sliders at 4-3-3-4-1 I average high 30's FPS and smooth

I recently tried 4-4-4-4-1, it looked great, first two missions, then I repeatedly CRASHED into the Briefing Room

Slid back to my old settings 'No More Crashes', Never Looked Back, and that was the end of May. 09