#4127245 - 06/01/15 01:33 AM
Questions for the experienced players
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 139
BKCason
Member
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Member
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 139
Maryland, USA
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Some background: Back in the day, I played flights sims with WW1, WW2, and jet aircraft. The Dynamix sim Red Baron was the one I remember the most fondly. I have not really played any flight simulations since then. I am a bit of a history buff and, given the WW1 centennial going on, I think I would like try another WWI sim and I am considering starting either WOFF or RoF but first I have some questions for the experienced players of OFF/WOFF and/or RoF: Where do I start? just go with OFF and see how I like it then upgrade to WOFF? Or, jump right into WOFF or RoF? Can I play with a fairly casual approach and take lots of time to reclaim my past experience with flight sims? or do I get thrown right into the deep water? I suspect the realism in modern flight sims is way beyond what I saw back in the day. I don't have any recent control devices. I have CH joystick that is pre-USB which I guess is useless now a days. From what I have read online the cost of controllers can run from $20-$30 at the low end to hundreds of dollars at the high end. I was partial to the CH Products and would like to know: are they are still a good product? What controllers would you recommend to get started? I would rather keep the cost down at first but I don't want to buy cheap stuff that will only frustrate me when I try to use it. If you play both RoF & WOFF, how would you rate them for the player who is not a die-hard flight sim guy? I am willing to learn and to be patient while I learn but I don't think I will enjoy a game that is only enjoyable if you are a dedicated player who is a real-life pilot. Oh yeah, I am no spring chicken so my reflexes are ordinary, at best, so I try to avoid twitch games. Sorry about all the questions but I would like some input before I make any decisions. Edit: My PC is an Intel I5 processor with 16GB of memory. The video card is an NVIDIA GTX 660 with 2GB of on-board ram. I use a 27" IPS monitor for my main monitor and a 19" monitor as the second display. I use 2 monitors when I work from home. From what I can tell, this is good enough for either WOFF or RoF right now. Hopefully I am right about this.
Last edited by BKCason; 06/01/15 01:45 AM. Reason: add PC info
Regards, Ben Cason "I shall endeavor to persevere" - Chief Dan George in "Outlaw Josey Wales"
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#4127251 - 06/01/15 02:22 AM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 862
OvStachel
Member
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Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 862
Long Island, NY
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Hello BK, Welcome to the WOFF forum and thanks for joining/having interest in WOFF. Before we get into WOFF and ROF for that matter, let's take a step back and think about what made RB3D so memorable for you and many of us that presently fly WOFF. For starters, the history and deep campaign engine that it offered... plus the ability to mod it to nearly anything possible with so many mods available. If you remember Hell's Angels, then you remember me. Like you, I love the history behind WWI and all the caveats that go with it. The time period, the essence of early flight and how each side developed into a war machine from 1914 through to 1918. RB3D was the first game of it's kind and had a strong community that backed it up with many mods, forums, websites and help to boot. Well, flash-forward to today and modern Flight Simming, and you get WOFF. Many of us on this forum came from that era and know what you mean. 3 of us on the Dev Team actually worked together in the past on other projects and RB3D stuff... plus many other sims. Winder, who heads the whole project and team is a scenery guru.. and I mean Grand Guru. For all the flight and combat sims I have flown (an I am talking about true sims, not the super-graphic canned world stuff), I've never seen such amazing and life-like scenery in front of me. So you have found the right place. It's all here... the history, the depth, the atmosphere, the discussions.. all of it. That is what makes WOFF as good as it is.. we all have the same expectations. We want to feel that castor oil smacking us in the face while we dance the game of death with the Aces of the past. As a team, we go out of our way to find every little detail, historic and design to bring out that life-like feel that gives our campaign engine so much atmosphere. We do this, because we're nuts about it. Moving into WOFF, you have the choice to approach it from any level you want. You can take-up a Be2c for flight training in lower England and take it one step at a time. You can fly German and begin with the Aviatik B.I which is unarmed and flies slow and easy. Or if you prefer, go head-on in a Camel in the spring of 1918 over Flanders duking it out with Jasta 11. WOFF is all what you make it.. there is something in it for all levels. The Campaign engine is unlike anything before, and will most likely never be matched again. It's deep with history, filled with information and never a dull moment exists with hundreds of live flights surrounding your ever mission. Nothing is scripted, ever mission you fly is unlike the one before... how long can you last. As far as flight controls.. I, like you, am not a big spender when it comes to joysticks and controls, but in the end, it was all worth it. For the longest time, I flew with a twist stick till I finally bought rudder pedals. I never looked back. They're great. I use Saitek products. I think they look ugly, but they work flawlessly and never have configuration or compatibility issues. Again, my personal opinion. So to sum it all up. WOFF is massive... but like any game, it's all what YOU as the user makes it. Jump in and take it up for a flight. I promise you not only will you be taken back to those good old RB3D days.. but once you see it in front of you and it's set up to handle your PC, you will never look at any other WWI Flight sim the same again. As for ROF... I have it. I am a campaign guy, graphics don't impress me, depth does. I deleted it 30 mins after I flew it. Again.. my opinion and of course I'm biased, let's be fair. I'm an old RB3D'er. All the best, OvS
Last edited by OvStachel; 06/01/15 02:29 AM.
The Black Baron of Boistrancourt returns!!
I'd rather die fighting, than live for nothing. - Gen. G.S. Patton
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#4127267 - 06/01/15 03:45 AM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 7,993
Robert_Wiggins
BWOC Survivor!...So Far!!
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BWOC Survivor!...So Far!!
Hotshot
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 7,993
Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
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BK there is one feature of WOFF that has not yet been mentioned. That feature is called "QC" for "Quick Combat". When using the QC feature you can decide to fly free flight without confrontations with enemy craft, or you can decide to have combat in which you can select how many you want in your squadron and how many enemy craft you will confront. You also have the capability of setting the skill set of the pilots. WOFF is extremely tailorable to your experience needs and you can specify in the "Workshop" that you pilot never dies. This capability will allow you to hone your skills before you go to the WOFF "Campaign" mode in which your pilot will begin a career and his progress is logged.
It's a great sim in my estimation! I also honed my skills in RB3D back in the day and I feel WOFF is the best out there for single player immersion.
Last edited by Robert_Wiggins; 06/01/15 03:48 AM.
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper PSU: Ultra X3,1000-Watt MB: Asus Maximus VI Extreme Mem: Corsair Vengeance (2x 8GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, Unbuffered CPU: Intel i7-4770K, OC to 4.427Ghz CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 240M Liquid CPU Cooler Vid Card: ASUS GTX 980Ti STRIX 6GB OS and Games on separate: Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD Monitor: Primary ASUS PG27AQ 4k; Secondary Samsung SyncMaster BX2450L Periphs: MS Sidewinder FFB2 Pro, TrackIR 4
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#4127282 - 06/01/15 05:29 AM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,732
Rick_Rawlings
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,732
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BK, WOFF IS the spiritual successor to those Dynamix sims many of us loved! That said, you can easily give both a try for a very reasonable price, and if you're going to spend a lot of money for peripherals that are flight sim specific, you should get the most use out of them as possible, no? For my money, RoF still has a feeling-of-flight edge, while WOFF has a feeling-of-war edge. A pretty good summary is: If you want to know what it's like to fly WWI planes, fly RoF, if you want to know what it's like to fly planes in WWI, fly WOFF. Or, try both!
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...
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#4127319 - 06/01/15 10:55 AM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,428
corsaire31
Member
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Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,428
Toulouse, France
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I've been playing OFF then WOFF as well as ROF (with Pat Wilson's Campaign Generator for offline play) for the last four years. I've been a member of online ROF squadrons as well ( Hellequins and Jasta 5 ) I like them both equally and spend just as much time with one or the other. The single player campaign and the AI are better in WOFF, but the physics and feeling of flying is for me better in ROF (you will need some ROF practice to properly land a Nieuport 17 with some crosswind when in WOFF landings are a breeze) It is also more realistic on the engine handling (radiator control is important to keep the engine in the right temperature) This might be a bad point for you : looking at your post you seem to go for simple things. But there are "easy options" if you want. There are also many community mods to shape it to your taste, including better AI flying. I used to fly with a Logitech Extreme 3D, Saitek quadrant (the three axes are used for power, radiator and mixture) and Saitek Rudder pedals; I have now replaced the joystick with a Thrustmaster T16000M which I find a lot more precise. My advice is to have both. But the learning curve will be steeper with ROF and if you're not dedicated you might find it difficult. Since the basic ROF game is free, I would say you can always download it and give it a try. There is a 70% discount at the moment on all planes and field mods as well as Channel Map. Your PC can run both sims, no problem. I am 63, so no spring chicken either...
Last edited by corsaire31; 06/01/15 11:15 AM.
Gigabyte Z87P-D3 - CPU I5 4670 Haswell @ 3.6Ghz - 8 Go Ram - GPU HD 7850 2Go OC - SSD Samsung 128Go - HD 2 x WD Black 1 To - 27" Iiyama Pro Lite - Logitech Extreme 3D Pro - Saitek Pro Flight Yoke - Rudder Pedals - Quadrant - Cessna Trim Wheel - Track IR 5 - Logitech G35 headset ... and a big coffee maker ! Flying in FSX/Air Hauler, Wings over Flanders Fields, Rise of Flight, IL2 1946 Hsfx, Condor soaring.
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#4127340 - 06/01/15 12:11 PM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 740
Cavaliere57
Member
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Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 740
Tuscany coast,Italy
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Couple of advices,your machine is pretty fit to run the simulator,about controller,with a Logitech extreme 3D you'll have a very good controller (with rudder feature as well) for some 30€/$ About what sim,well let alone OFF,it's the past,and unless you want to fly online with friends,WOFF is the way to go,it's much more immersive than RoF,no match there!AI it's pretty good,graphics are on high level and the campaign is very entertaining,lots of planes to fly,and lots of mission types and tasks to go for. Last but not least the community and Support,for WOFF are top notch,and that cannot be said about RoF. Just take a look at the various threads and you'll have an idea of what we are talking about.Eye candies are good,but to enjoy a game,you need depth a working community and support,and WOFF has it all. P.S. don let you be fooled,because graphics in WOFF are wonderfull,just look at the screenshots thread!
" In vino veritas "
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#4127364 - 06/01/15 01:12 PM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,448
Hellshade
Hellshade
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Hellshade
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,448
Florida
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I don't know anyone who loves single player campaigns for sims that doesn't love WOFF. Additionally, WOFF is OBDs sole focus, so it gets regular patches, add-ons and expansions. See the news section for the upcoming 2.06 patch and 6 new planes (complete with historical squadrons for the campaign)for the Balance of Power add-on. It also has tons of options to customize how you like to fly. If there's a downside to WOFF, it's that there is currently no multiplayer and it doesn't have multicore support but with such active developer support, anything is possible in the future. Just check out the complete list of patch notes to see how well WOFF is supported. History of Changes for WOFF V2.xx Expansion http://www.wingsoverflandersfields.com/ExpHistoryofChanges.htmlHistory of Changes for WOFF V1.xx http://www.wingsoverflandersfields.com/HistoryofChanges.htmlRoF on the other hand has a great feeling of flight, multiplayer capability and a newer graphics engine with multicore support, plus the PWCG user made single player campaign mod is very good. The downsides are that the developer is now focused on making WW2 flight sims and so the updates for RoF are not nearly as frequent as WOFF. Mostly a single new plane every 6 months or so. Also, the AI is not challenging at all (continual split S to just above ground level then long, wide circles until shot down) and the developers have flat out stated that they have no current plans to update the AI. On the plus side though, you can download RoF for free to try it and just buy the planes that you want to fly. I own them both. I fly them both, but being a single player guy, I spend the vast majority of my time in WOFF. If I was a multiplayer guy, I'd be in RoF.
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#4127398 - 06/01/15 02:08 PM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 139
BKCason
Member
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Member
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 139
Maryland, USA
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I just want to say Thanks! to everyone that responded so promptly. All your advice and suggestions reinforced the feeling that I already had but needed a little nudge to push me into action. I have ordered MSFS3 from Amazon along with a Thrustmaster T16000M [on backorder]. I downloaded WOFF V1.0 and Add-on #1 [gotta have the Eindecker esp. for a sale price]. I will probably go ahead and get the WOFF V2.0 so I have the best experience right from the start. It now becomes a waiting game while all the pieces arrive and I can spend a weekend installing things. I also need to tidy up my computer desk. It is too cluttered right now for flight operations. That will make my wife happier too. In the meantime, I have plenty of reading to keep me entertained. I am about 75% through "The First Air War, 1914-1918" by Lee Kennett. This is a good read [re-read actually] and covers a wide area at higher level [no pun intended]. Next I will start into reading/re-reading some of the biographies/autobiographies of the pilots. McCudden, Rickenbacker, Guynemer, Boelcke are all on the reading list. There is a vast amount of books on WW1 so I will also delve into action on the ground & at sea. Did I mention I am a bit of history buff & read a lot?
Regards, Ben Cason "I shall endeavor to persevere" - Chief Dan George in "Outlaw Josey Wales"
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#4127478 - 06/01/15 04:38 PM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 740
Cavaliere57
Member
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Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 740
Tuscany coast,Italy
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I just want to say Thanks! to everyone that responded so promptly. All your advice and suggestions reinforced the feeling that I already had but needed a little nudge to push me into action. I have ordered MSFS3 from Amazon along with a Thrustmaster T16000M [on backorder]. I downloaded WOFF V1.0 and Add-on #1 [gotta have the Eindecker esp. for a sale price]. I will probably go ahead and get the WOFF V2.0 so I have the best experience right from the start. It now becomes a waiting game while all the pieces arrive and I can spend a weekend installing things. I also need to tidy up my computer desk. It is too cluttered right now for flight operations. That will make my wife happier too. In the meantime, I have plenty of reading to keep me entertained. I am about 75% through "The First Air War, 1914-1918" by Lee Kennett. This is a good read [re-read actually] and covers a wide area at higher level [no pun intended]. Next I will start into reading/re-reading some of the biographies/autobiographies of the pilots. McCudden, Rickenbacker, Guynemer, Boelcke are all on the reading list. There is a vast amount of books on WW1 so I will also delve into action on the ground & at sea. Did I mention I am a bit of history buff & read a lot? I warmly advise you to upgrade to WOFF 2.5,there are a lot of new things in there,and the upcoming patch and relative add-on will increase the value a bit more,it's a must! Believe me...
" In vino veritas "
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#4127504 - 06/01/15 05:27 PM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: BKCason]
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,428
corsaire31
Member
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Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,428
Toulouse, France
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Of course asking the question on the WOFF forum the answers are no surprise. If you ask the same question on the ROF forum, you will get the opposite answers... ( Out of the 50 guys playing ROF regularly on the french Check Six forum these last years, I think we are only two playing WOFF and posting here ( Action Joe and myself ) ) As I said before, we are happy guys to have the possibility of flying these two fine sims which have both complementary gameplay.
Last edited by corsaire31; 06/01/15 05:32 PM.
Gigabyte Z87P-D3 - CPU I5 4670 Haswell @ 3.6Ghz - 8 Go Ram - GPU HD 7850 2Go OC - SSD Samsung 128Go - HD 2 x WD Black 1 To - 27" Iiyama Pro Lite - Logitech Extreme 3D Pro - Saitek Pro Flight Yoke - Rudder Pedals - Quadrant - Cessna Trim Wheel - Track IR 5 - Logitech G35 headset ... and a big coffee maker ! Flying in FSX/Air Hauler, Wings over Flanders Fields, Rise of Flight, IL2 1946 Hsfx, Condor soaring.
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#4127509 - 06/01/15 05:43 PM
Re: Questions for the experienced players
[Re: corsaire31]
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,910
dutch
Member
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Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,910
EURO-zone
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I've been playing OFF then WOFF as well as ROF (with Pat Wilson's Campaign Generator for offline play) for the last four years. I've been a member of online ROF squadrons as well ( Hellequins and Jasta 5 ) I like them both equally and spend just as much time with one or the other. The single player campaign and the AI are better in WOFF, but the physics and feeling of flying is for me better in ROF (you will need some ROF practice to properly land a Nieuport 17 with some crosswind when in WOFF landings are a breeze) It is also more realistic on the engine handling (radiator control is important to keep the engine in the right temperature) This might be a bad point for you : looking at your post you seem to go for simple things. But there are "easy options" if you want. There are also many community mods to shape it to your taste, including better AI flying. I used to fly with a Logitech Extreme 3D, Saitek quadrant (the three axes are used for power, radiator and mixture) and Saitek Rudder pedals; I have now replaced the joystick with a Thrustmaster T16000M which I find a lot more precise. My advice is to have both. But the learning curve will be steeper with ROF and if you're not dedicated you might find it difficult. Since the basic ROF game is free, I would say you can always download it and give it a try. There is a 70% discount at the moment on all planes and field mods as well as Channel Map. Your PC can run both sims, no problem. I am 63, so no spring chicken either... I can say nothing more old man LOL, only that the RoF planes are much better looking. A good alternative for the RoF campaign is the PW-CG. But I have also noticed that the campaign in rof [=career] has been much improved. The point to a better AI in WoFF from Corsaire, so what, will you say, is this so important. Let me explain the importance of the AI, like in the RoF career the AI mostly making circles when the plane has been hit, while the AI in WoFF is trying to get home. I do the same running away, when I do not see any change to go further. Another point my Fee in RoF is attacking a single EIII the others will not help, because they are programed for balloon busting. Or Flying a Roland just below planes from the elite N3, I could see the Stock emblem, but they are just flying on, gues no time for an easy claim. I could be wrong but I never saw this happen in WoFF, think this brings you much a more immerse flight, when the AI is not doing always the same trick but is acting like a real human. That is the a strong point from WoFF.
Last edited by dutch; 06/01/15 05:48 PM.
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Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
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