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#4027702 - 10/26/14 11:39 PM I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy.  
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DukeIronHand Offline
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High over the Front
As I mentioned previously I got tired of restarting careers upon my untimely death almost always because of my own stupidity. So I changed my style to the "5 gallon theory", i.e., flying like I am sitting on 5 gallons of gas.

The old me would attack superior numbers of fighters that were above me or continuing combat after my craft was damaged and not flying right, etc, etc. Many times this would result in a silly death.

Now if I am damaged, in a bad situation, or just don't like the odds I try to refuse combat, dive or turn out, or better yet, put myself in a better position so I am engaging with a advantage however slight. No more engaging enemy fighters that have a height advantage. Mick Mannock knew this now I do too.

When I first started I thought I would not have as much fun in my careers but quite the contrary! Flying like my life is really on the line adds quite a bit of enjoyment for me and a sense of "realism."
And I find as I get some victories, medals, and mission time, the sense of "fight smart - not stupid" becomes more natural as you become personally invested in your computer alter ego.

So if you are looking for a change of pace fight like your real life is on the line- quite fun.

#4027717 - 10/27/14 12:31 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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77_Scout Offline
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Originally Posted By: DukeIronHand
Flying like my life is really on the line adds quite a bit of enjoyment for me and a sense of "realism."


Absolutely right Duke. Other things that I find boost my enjoyment and sense of realism are all the various aspects of doing things 'full real': turning off all the visual aids, navigating with paper maps, no time compression, etc.

#4027719 - 10/27/14 12:37 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Yes, but try not to emulate Mannock too closely! exitstageleft


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4027721 - 10/27/14 12:42 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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DukeIronHand Offline
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High over the Front
Yes indeed!
But a good lesson for all. Don't fly low over the front

#4027752 - 10/27/14 02:09 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: 77_Scout]  
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MFair Offline
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Originally Posted By: 77_Scout
Originally Posted By: DukeIronHand
Flying like my life is really on the line adds quite a bit of enjoyment for me and a sense of "realism."


Absolutely right Duke. Other things that I find boost my enjoyment and sense of realism are all the various aspects of doing things 'full real': turning off all the visual aids, navigating with paper maps, no time compression, etc.


I will second what Scout says. After all, it was Scout and Lou who "nudged" me in that direction, wether they know it or not. You just cannot imagine how much more immersive it is. The four things that come out of my mouth most now are: "Where are they?" "Where did they go?" "Where the hell am I?" And "Where did he come from!"


Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear or a fool from either end.
BOC Member since....I can't remember!
#4027755 - 10/27/14 02:20 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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CCIP Offline
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Great biggrin I need to get better at this, but I'm gradually learning the same thing!

The main lesson I learned so far is that there's only a small number of scout types for which there's no good option except to stand and fight once engaged. For the majority of types, there's always a way to slip out - the question is knowing what your 5 gallon can of gas can do better. Some can dive away, others are better off making their opponent bleed off a bit of energy then climbing away. I no longer engage large flights of scouts, probing them instead and then, if engaged, dragging the determined ones into a pursuit to my lines and engaging only when I know for sure I'm not outnumbered. And as much as long, tense, maneuvering knife fights are romanticized, the only dogfight actually worth dragging out is a pure duel with no other fighters around. For everything else, it's better to spot, gain energy advantage, make the best pass you can then break off and reassess the situation. Repeat if necessary.

And finally after all the years of flight simming, I'm learning proper energy management and how much it counts here. One thing that's universally true is that the fighter with more speed and/or altitude is always in a better position. The biggest temptation in a dogfight is to get yourself attached to the enemy's tail and pump him full of bullets, but in most cases the WOFF AI knows that and will take advantage of that tendency. It all looks good until your victim's wingman dives on you out of the sun and it's all over. Lesson learned: I no longer follow diving and turning enemies. The moment he breaks and starts expending energy, I straighten out, nose up a little and watch him turning from above. It feels like a wasted opportunity, but usually it's not - you're keeping your energy, he's using it up, which means you can re-engage and he can't (unless you let him).

I'm actually surprised how slow and methodical WWI dogfighting can be if you're not barreling in head-first - you get a lot of time to think about your moves and it becomes a battle of wits, which is a lot more rewarding when it works out than just flying by pure reflexes. smile

Last edited by CCIP; 10/27/14 02:22 AM.

If you're having trim problems, I feel bad for you son
I got ninety-nine problems, but my pitch ain't one...
#4027765 - 10/27/14 02:57 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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CCIP Offline
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Oh, and I've also found the new worst enemy to my survival - my AI wingmen! And no, I don't mean the collisions. Even without aids, I often spot these fools in trouble once a fight is engaged, and if I've mostly learned to tame my instinct to reach for that extra kill, then resisting that instinct to save a buddy in dire need is still often impossible. Too many times now I've thrown out all caution, rushed to the hapless AI pilot's aid, and followed him to his doom. Don't know about you, but I can't just cruise out of the furball while they tear apart my wingman in plain sight 2000 feet below, so I go and get myself shot up by 50 of his pursuers too... no wonder the German side calls them "Rotten"fliegers! goodnight

Last edited by CCIP; 10/27/14 03:02 AM.

If you're having trim problems, I feel bad for you son
I got ninety-nine problems, but my pitch ain't one...
#4027767 - 10/27/14 03:00 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: CCIP]  
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Robert_Wiggins Offline
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Originally Posted By: CCIP
Great biggrin I need to get better at this, but I'm gradually learning the same thing!

The main lesson I learned so far is that there's only a small number of scout types for which there's no good option except to stand and fight once engaged. For the majority of types, there's always a way to slip out - the question is knowing what your 5 gallon can of gas can do better. Some can dive away, others are better off making their opponent bleed off a bit of energy then climbing away. I no longer engage large flights of scouts, probing them instead and then, if engaged, dragging the determined ones into a pursuit to my lines and engaging only when I know for sure I'm not outnumbered. And as much as long, tense, maneuvering knife fights are romanticized, the only dogfight actually worth dragging out is a pure duel with no other fighters around. For everything else, it's better to spot, gain energy advantage, make the best pass you can then break off and reassess the situation. Repeat if necessary.

And finally after all the years of flight simming, I'm learning proper energy management and how much it counts here. One thing that's universally true is that the fighter with more speed and/or altitude is always in a better position. The biggest temptation in a dogfight is to get yourself attached to the enemy's tail and pump him full of bullets, but in most cases the WOFF AI knows that and will take advantage of that tendency. It all looks good until your victim's wingman dives on you out of the sun and it's all over. Lesson learned: I no longer follow diving and turning enemies. The moment he breaks and starts expending energy, I straighten out, nose up a little and watch him turning from above. It feels like a wasted opportunity, but usually it's not - you're keeping your energy, he's using it up, which means you can re-engage and he can't (unless you let him).

I'm actually surprised how slow and methodical WWI dogfighting can be if you're not barreling in head-first - you get a lot of time to think about your moves and it becomes a battle of wits, which is a lot more rewarding when it works out than just flying by pure reflexes. smile


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#4027790 - 10/27/14 06:43 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Over the past few months, I have found that I can no longer devote 1.5 to 2 hrs playing a single mission (and extending up to 3 hrs if I'm writing in my diary) in WOFF because of real life issues. This is a real shame, because I enjoy every minute of game time.

But, alas, I needed to find a way to cut corners, but still enjoy the challenge. I have only 20 to 30 minutes to play WOFF every few days, so I manage my play time using a combination of time compression, pause, ingame map, etc.. to keep it short and deadly.

Assuming I'm not the flight leader, I do a manual takoff, then pull up the ingame map, compress time 16x and follow my craft with my finger on the pause button. 9 out of 10 times, I can zip through the first couple of waypoints until I get to the front where I reduce the time compression. I fly at 4x compression from just before NML until I reach my objective. Usually, my AI squadmates will spot an enemy before I do, and when that happens, I immediately press pause. While paused, I remove the time compression then unpause to remove autopilot and fight the dogfight myself. After everyting is over and my AI squadmates regroup, I resume 4x to 8x time compression back to base (with finger on pause) until I manually land without autopilot/time compression.

During this time, I scan the skies for any archie when flying over my side of the mud.

If I am the flight leader or I loose my squadmates during a dogfight, then I use 4x time compression with ingame map (and finger on pause) while scanning the skies for enemies and/or archie.

I fly DiD and with this technique, so, I'm able to complete a mission in 1/3 time of a normal mission and still feel that I've gone through the major challenges.

#4027819 - 10/27/14 11:27 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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MFair Offline
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Oldhat in full disclosure, I cannot sit that long either. I fly early in the morning and at night. Being half assed retired I have plenty time. On long missions I usually fly to the front, pause, get up and walk around, stretch a bit, go back and finish the mission. Being a product of a misspent youth if I sat for 2 hours, I would not be able to get back up! We all do what we have to do.


Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear or a fool from either end.
BOC Member since....I can't remember!
#4027822 - 10/27/14 11:51 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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High over the Front
I certainly don't fly as much as I would like. It is difficult to get 60 or 90 minutes of uninterrupted and undistracted time at this stage of my life.

I would give my left jewel for a in- flight save game feature.

#4028150 - 10/28/14 07:09 AM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Originally Posted By: DukeIronHand

I would give my left jewel for a in- flight save game feature.


Me too. I have sometimes paused for too long, come back and found a BSOD - something funny with my pooter but I don't know what it is. A save feature would be handy, with the caveat that the sim would have to be restored before carrying on. Otherwise, you could save, carry on, get killed and then restore the saved game and carry on. I used to do this all the time with WOG back in the dark ages so I never got killed.


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#4028307 - 10/28/14 02:40 PM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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I use the "Alternative Target Button" in the Mission Room quite often. I really don't like Missions with Round Trips of more than 50 miles. I even choose "Air Start", if I suspect the Trip to the Target being boring ;-)

#4028349 - 10/28/14 04:07 PM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: Nietzsche]  
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CCIP Offline
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Originally Posted By: Nietzsche
I use the "Alternative Target Button" in the Mission Room quite often. I really don't like Missions with Round Trips of more than 50 miles. I even choose "Air Start", if I suspect the Trip to the Target being boring ;-)


On that point, it's also good to follow house rules on realistic mission profiles - for the vast majority of my missions, especially when playing German scouts, I only fly as far as the front line, regardless of what the mission says. The nice thing about WOFF is that it doesn't actually enforce mission destinations and you won't fail or be penalized if you decide to go somewhere else. For me, since I don't use the in-game map or TAC, it makes for far more interesting patrols and I highly recommend it - the WOFF world is definitely dynamic and very lively, regardless of whether you follow waypoints or not!


If you're having trim problems, I feel bad for you son
I got ninety-nine problems, but my pitch ain't one...
#4028942 - 10/29/14 04:53 PM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Yes, an in flight safe feature would be handy. What I do sometimes is alt tabbing out of a paused game, thereafter I use the energysafe/sleep mode (Ruhezustand) of windows. When reawakening the computer one can use an other account to work with the computer. After logging in with the account previously used for gaming it is possible to reenter the flying session.

Normally this works out nicely.

#4028961 - 10/29/14 05:42 PM Re: I am really enjoying my new WOFF philosophy. [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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CCIP Offline
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Yup, it should work fine that way! As a general advice, if you're pausing WOFF for a long time in full-screen mode, it's a good idea to minimize it, alt+tab away or go to desktop, otherwise you might have your system and particularly video card running hot for a long time, which is not good for it.


If you're having trim problems, I feel bad for you son
I got ninety-nine problems, but my pitch ain't one...

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