LOL..actually, the best tip I saw in another thread on how to die when I'm supposed to and still progress through the war is to re-enlist as my replacement with a different name. Right now I'm Gerald Smith...if he dies then I'll re-enlist as his replacement in the same squad a few days later as Richard White or whatever I come up with

I enjoy the historical intent/immersion of WOFF.
I would prefer to not be able to have an HA shot down before their allotted date at all..not even have the a/c go down. On the historical date if an Ace is flying it can get shot down or removed from the sim and announced in the "news section".

However an option button for this would be a great compromise.

Would be great if the Devs could say us if such an option is possible to make or not. Otherwise we need a new thread and a good modder who is willing to look at this

But the best would be a patch with workshop option... that would be great and i had everething i need for WOFF

The ability for Historical Aces to be shot down before their official, historically correct kill date does open up another very interesting problem: The potential for the skies to be devoid of Aces.

Remember, in WOFF missions are going on all over the front, no matter if you are there to see them or not. Every mission is a chance for a HA to be shot down and killed without the player ever having seen them. I understand why people think it's frustrating to shoot down an Ace and then see them up and flying the next day, but I prefer that to the alternative.

Imagine coming up against the Flying Circus and there is no Voss, no Red Baron?

What a let down that would be. The skies would feel empty without them. If the Aces can be killed by the player before their "due date" then they are going to be able to be killed by other AI as well. Given the number of missions that are flown every day, I think you will find the skies to be devoid of many great personalities without you ever having had the chance to meet them. And who can you replace them with? Nobody. They are just gone and you have no chance to ever meet them, or anyone of their skill and fame.

Perhaps a good compromise would simply be that when you shoot down an Ace, you get a newspaper headline that says "Player rank and name - has defeated the great (German, British, American, etc) Ace, (HA Ace's name). (HA name) lives to fly again!"

Then a big deal has been made over your victory, as it should be, but we all expect to see that Ace up in the skies again. Of course it is not perfect, but at least you get the chance to meet the Aces, test your skills against them and if you succeed, there is a bit of a celebration and acknowledgement of your victory. It's not just another kill. It's something notable. Maybe even have that automatically recorded in your Flight Log too.

Nothing is perfect, of course, but it's an idea. I would just hate to meet B Flight of 56 squadron and among them there is no James McCudden. He died 6 months ago to a nameless AI, having never lived long enough to achieve the victory tally that he had earned in real life.

I understand that Hellshade but for this reason it should be only as option. You can fly as always if you wish but for the others who would like to see this feature there would be that option. So everyone can have what he wants. I know there are many who loves it like it is and i dont want to take that away but i would love to see that option for us others.

I'm not interested in killing an ace before his historical demise... However, I'm happy to be credited with a 'kill' for shooting one down. Let's be clear, aces were shot down in real life and survived, it happened.
People were still given credit for downing them regardless of whether they died, were wounded, or walked away from a crash.

Full German Translation! The english-german language mix is no fun to read for me as a german pilot of Jasta 11!

True some Historical Aces will be killed before you could meet them - but some due to their superior skill against generally lesser skilled opponents will survive...which ones do would be quite interesting! And don't forgot that there would also be new aces from the lucky and successful unknown pilots who over time will have increased their scores and skills to rival the existing HA's. It's an alternative time line diverging from a strict predetermined historical path.

((Plus you wont get Aces who cant die until their allotted time which is a real emersion killer...especially if their in your own squadron!))

Predetermined or Dynamic Aces - it would be grand if both camps were satisfied with an OPTION to choose weather HA's could die in your game or not....

These wish list items are great and have the potential to considerably improve on an already awesome game.

BUT, eventually, this is what's going to end up happening ---->

(remember the multiplayer discussion?)
THEN ----> LOCK THREAD

entertaining, but NOT productive at all!!

HOWEVER, to make it more effective, I believe there needs to be some kind of change.


Part of my job involves surveying and collecting data then analyzing the results. So, using this principal, the devs can pick say 10 or so REASONABLE and POSSIBLE wish list items (planes, new features, others??) because they are the only ones to know what is possible/profitable/time consuming to change in this game and what is not.

Then they send out a survey (email). Then the results can be analyzed and.... PRESTO we get something!!!

Yeah, I like this.

And since this is a wish list thread, I think it would be cool if every now and then you could pick up a paper and read a generic blurb about a new famous ace if some unknown pilot happens to get over 20 kills or something. It would be making new history with different names, assuming many of the HAs don't survive.

The Devs obviously figure out what they wish to do and I don't have any more input than anyone else. All I can say is that I know their primary objective was to make the most historically accurate WWI flight sim possible. I'm not sure I'd count on alternate history and famous non-historical aces making it into the sim. But hey...I've been wrong before and it never hurts to put it out on the Wish List!

Yeah, I hear you Hellshade. However, I think there's less actual wishing for an alternate history so much as wishing for realistic plausibility. Fighting someone you shot down five times already isn't very plausible.

I'm fine with not altering the outcome of the war, and of course I'm still going to love this sim madly if it doesn't change, but it would be cool to be able to down anybody and give them the same chances as anyone else (depending on skill, of course). And as far as non-historical aces, I just thought it would just be a generic headline like"(fill in blank with a pilot name with over 20 kills), a pilot flying in (fill in blank) squadron has become a leading ace, blah blah." Then if said pilot dies, a template obituary.

I'm sure it would just take them a few minutes to implement it as an option.

edit- (The last line, however bad it may be, is a joke. I've been on enough forums to know that the addition of a wink and grin smiley won't deter some from taking it seriously)

First off, major kudos for the fine work the devs did with this wonderful world of WOFF they created! I've been OFF/WOFFing since 2010 and have loved it. What we have going with WOFF is truly special. Now my personal situation is that I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to each session, so if a mission runs long or if I want to go chasing after somebody I run out of time. Now if I'm over enemy lines, , , well, I'd be captured and career over. Therefore I don't play DiD much to my chagrin. What I wish WOFF had is the choice you get in IL2. When a mission is over you can select ACCEPT or RE-FLY. Gives me the option I can really use if I just get hung out without time to finish Any chance?

Fear the Pup!

Glubber - You got it in two simple words!

Yann - I'm not out to row with anybody, essentially both views of predetermined vs dynamic HA fate are right. The OPTION for a player to choose which would suit him best would make this brilliant sim even better!

Well, this lively debate has been raging since page 9! Any thoughts devs?

I guess I started this debate on wishing for an option to allow historical aces to be mortal. Please lets not turn the Wish List section into a debate thread as it will just get locked at some point and ruin the concept of a Wish List thread.

My thought is the Wish List thread should be a place to propose ideas without an expected response from OBD. They will likely be looking at the thread from time to time for future improvement ideas and will implement what they deem appropriate. I think it would be fine to add a +1 comment and why you like the idea (or how to expand the idea) to give OBD some idea of the popularity of the wish, but no need for contra arguments which starts a full blown debate unless the wish limits current game features which an option does not.

For instance, if I had wished for a change where Historical Aces must be mortal, then I'm asking for a change to a game feature that some players may like and they will feel the need to defend the current state. That's why I asked for the "Option" so as not to affect the game play of those who like the current state.

Hopefully if we ask for "Options" or extra features we can avoid arguments and debates as we are asking for something elective that won't affect current play for those who like things "as is" and would choose not to use the new option if it were implemented.

Just my two cents and peace offering...

Unless I missed it somewhere, perhaps a Mission Editor could be added. Those with the inclination and knowledge, could produce historical and creative scenarios.

In place of the historical aces that are now shot down, there would be other guys who are aces out there who shot them down. The names are different but the battle is the same; and so you avoid fighting the same guy you shot down 3 times before. Mark the new aces as aces instead of the HA mechanic. Is the problem that the game grinds every AI down to a pulp so there is no real way to have a superior AI whom managed to be an ace?

I wont add any more to the debate in this thread. Sorry

It's an interesting question, for sure. I gather most of the HAs are set to highest skill, so I assume the pilots that did become aces would trend toward higher skill levels. But, of course, every engagement is another chance to get killed, so it would be interesting to see how long they tend to last. Statistically, I'm sure a few would last a good long time. And of course, in historically accurate fashion, many wouldn't.

Provide support for DX-supported resolutions, rather than just desktop resolutions. That would allow SoftTH to provide support for mixed multiple monitor configurations.

My personal configuration is: 1600x1200 left, 1920x1200 center, 1600x1200 right
Other multiple monitor support (Surround, Eyefinity, TH2GO, etc.) all assume identical resolution monitors.

Ahh but therein lies the rub, sir. I certainly appreciate your desire. Makes perfect sense to me. Once you see them go down in flames with no wings from 5,000 feet...that should be the end of it. No argument there from me.

Unfortunately you can't introduce a non-fictional persona (the player), into a historically correct time line, give them the ability to make permanent changes (kill people) in order to create realistic plausibility without simultaneously creating an alternate history. Once you start killing off historically accurate Aces before their time, the alternate history has been made. You pretty much can't get one without the other.

And I would even be okay with that, but the problem (in my personal opinion) is you end up with skies in 1917 and 1918 that are quite empty of historical Aces, because most of them have probably been shot down by enemy AI fighters, blown up by flak, crashed due to mechanical failures, etc. They die long before you get the chance to meet them. I'm not sure which would be more frustrating...killing the same Ace several times and he keeps coming back or never getting to meet any in the skies at all because they all died due to AI fights you were never a part of.

If the Devs can find a way to make them killed only by player bullets, well now that might be something. You are still on an alternate history, of course, but at least now you still get a good chance to face them. The next hypothetical question would be, if they can die before their due date, do you let them live on after they should have died? Do you make it possible for Richtofen, Voss, Bishop, Mannock and others to survive the war?