It has been suggested before to create such a list. So I have taken the initiative to set up this thread. Consider it an opportunity to draw attention to your interest for features not currenly in WOFF, and not a forum to requesst fixes for features already there.
Any suggestions added here will only be suggestions. Devs will act on them at their discretion.
Also be reasonable - asking for a new game or engine does not belong here - this is about additions / changes to WOFF within its current context.
Features which I like from other sims: 1. Adjustable waypoints and altitudes 2. Selectable wingmen or lone wolf 3. Play back mission on map with text descriptions of events as they happened. At same time, able to hover mouse over airfields and cities to see their names.
1. Working cameras for recon missions. 2. System for directing artillery fire for arty cooperation missions. 3. Bombsights for aircraft that had them in real life.
Those would make two-seater careers more interesting and popular, I'm sure.
3. Play back mission on map with text descriptions of events as they happened. At same time, able to hover mouse over airfields and cities to see their names.
+1
1.Better (much better IŽd say)inflight map, (the one that toggles with key M). 2.Top 20 scoring aces list (Overall, Allied, German,...).
I fly fully zoomed out. This represents the most realistic view for me.
The problem, as most know, is that the enemy might not be drawn at this zoom level until rather close.
We all know that you may be looking at a section of clear sky at one zoom level and it becomes occupied when you zoom one level up.
Devs: Can we please draw aircraft as dots (not the visual aid "dots" but as grey dots) no matter what the zoom level please? I know that ROF was able to do something like this and it improved gameplay so much.
I want to remove system now of aircraft only being drawn if you are zoomed in.
1. Historically accurate aerodromes. I know this couldn't be for them all, but some of the most famous are well documented. Operating from bases we know so well and recognize visually would be awesome.
2. Parachutes for Germans in 1918.
3. Albatros D.I.
BTW, love the idea for expansion packs. Looking forward to The Fokker Scourge! IMO, Schlachtflieger and Independent Air Force expansions would be great.
1. I'd like more of a warning sound before the wings on my Sopwith Pup, Sopwith Triplane or Fokker DR1 snap off, if possible. They seem mighty fragile. There are some creaking sounds before hand, but then nothing for awhile and then all of a sudden - snap!
Definitely looking forward to the expansion packs. Can't wait for Gothas & Zeps!
1--It'd be great to have a different sound when a target's wings are ripping (ripping fabric sound), as opposed to my own (even perhaps just a fainter/more distant sound for the other plane) so that there's no confusion as to whose plane is being damaged. If I'm in a dive and I'm shooting and then I hear that sound I dont know if it's my wings or the targets that are ripping....
2--A one button view to zoom in on the gun sight, and one button view back to cockpit view.
3--Ability to use control F1 or shift F1/F2 to switch to enemy plane/enemy vehicle and friendly plane/friendly vehicle, with the option to continue pressing to continue cycling
WoFF's already terrific....and looking forward to released add-ons and mods!
1. I'd like more of a warning sound before the wings on my Sopwith Pup, Sopwith Triplane or Fokker DR1 snap off, if possible. They seem mighty fragile. There are some creaking sounds before hand, but then nothing for awhile and then all of a sudden - snap!
Yeah, some improvement here would be appreciated.
You should check out the Nieuport 28C. It's even more fragile than the earlier Nieuports and a moderate turn at 150mph can rip it without warning. I know it's top wing fabric would rip off in extended dives but even the short dives can be deadly in that thing.
Made me wonder if it has the same speed->wing damage modelling as the older Noops, despite not having the "half wing" twisting weakness that the earlier ones did. The higher cruise speeds make it approach that danger area faster, too, and it seems to be about the same danger speed as N24s and such.
1. Slower rate of promotions. It seems you can still get promoted extremely quickly, the same thing as in OFF P3. You can go from a lowly NCO to a captain within a couple of months game time.
2. Visible rank insignia, maybe a complete uniform or something. The new medal art is impressive, but promotions get only a very short mention in the debriefing. Obviously this is pure immersion stuff, and definitely not even close to high priority!
1--screen shot or complete plane viewer of plane skins. There are so many great skins, and an ingame viewer would be terrific! (you can view the planes separately with an external viewer, but only the plane parts can be viewed, not the finished product--very frustrating and mostly a waste of time.
1. In the intell screen (or even in the briefing screen) I would like to be able to click on enemy aerodromes and see what's there instead of having to click one squadron from a list not knowing where on the map it will show up. So the aerodromes would already be visible and just clicking on one would pull up the relevant info.
I know it's currently possible to equip some planes with flares and then the player can fire them, although probably with no actual purpose in the current game. So maybe it could be possible to have AI flights regularly use flares to issue commands like rejoin, assist or rtb. I think it would be very cool and add to the immersion and situational awareness of the player, besides being historically correct.
Please make a legible tactical map in the briefing room that would reflect the layout of the terrain in 3D in your area of operations. It will greatly increase the immersion for those flying with the paper/on-screen maps.
1. Ability to advance time more than 1 day at a time in campaigns. Maybe a pop-up that allows you to pick 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month. There are times when I would like to move forward in time a month or two.
2. Tie transfer waiting period to calendar days, not number of missions or hours flown (not sure which it is now).
1--Ability to jump out of a plane (with a small chance of surviving the fall...which is historical) 2--A plane skin viewer that shows the entire complete plane. The skins in the game are excellent, but without a viewer, only a very few will ever be seen (looking at the skins in parts--i.e. wings, rudder, etc is entirely lackluster).
I'd pay for these two options alone.
--EDIT-- and why is this thread in the Technical forum? Shouldnt it be in the main forum?
1--Ability to jump out of a plane (with a small chance of surviving the fall...which is historical) 2--A plane skin viewer that shows the entire complete plane. The skins in the game are excellent, but without a viewer, only a very few will ever be seen (looking at the skins in parts--i.e. wings, rudder, etc is entirely lackluster).
I'd pay for these two options alone.
--EDIT-- and why is this thread in the Technical forum? Shouldnt it be in the main forum?
I think it should be made a sticky and moved to the main forum as well. It was my mistake to put it here but I don't know how to move it.
I don't think any of you guys asking for multiplayer options have any idea how impossible that is within a mod of CFS3...
Anyways, I came here to ask for the option to transfer squadrons if my squad "ends" before the end of the war. IRL doesn't seem reasonable to end my career this way. I'm sure that pilots would have been reassigned if the squadron disbanded.
Anyways, I came here to ask for the option to transfer squadrons if my squad "ends" before the end of the war. IRL doesn't seem reasonable to end my career this way. I'm sure that pilots would have been reassigned if the squadron disbanded.
1. Ability to advance time more than 1 day at a time in campaigns. Maybe a pop-up that allows you to pick 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month. There are times when I would like to move forward in time a month or two.
2. Tie transfer waiting period to calendar days, not number of missions or hours flown (not sure which it is now).
This would great! Pilots often were taken off the front lines for extended periods if they were able to survive for more than a few weeks.
Anyways, I came here to ask for the option to transfer squadrons if my squad "ends" before the end of the war. IRL doesn't seem reasonable to end my career this way. I'm sure that pilots would have been reassigned if the squadron disbanded.
That's a really cool idea, Xitax. +1 from me.
You should be able to request transfer or something like that
When downing a historical ace, after confirmation your claimreport automatically shows afterwards whom you have shot down and from which Squadron he was. Would be cool not only to have historical aces names, but also fictional names, using the names text file. At least if crashing on your side. That simulates to have checked their papers etc. So after downing a brit on own soil after confirmation it might say e.G Ltn. James Mortimer, RFC 29, or something like that. Same as with historical aces, just with fictional ones.
If you've downed a historical ace who cant die, have a message (pair of boots and a note dropped on your airfield) that you downed this ace, but he lives (since he cant die) and he's looking to repay the favor (and some kind of AI behavior that makes said ace target you if he sees you in a fight).
Since squadrons square off vs. each other all the time in the same area, the likely hood of seeing the same ace is quite probable.
Real Spring Terrain tiles. That is, Spring tiles that show green, growing wheat, not Summer ripe wheat ready to harvest. That way, the Spring and Summer Season tiles are realistically different from each other.
Real Spring Terrain tiles. That is, Spring tiles that show green, growing wheat, not Summer ripe wheat ready to harvest. That way, the Spring and Summer Season tiles are realistically different from each other.
With NO labels used, an aircraft of fighter size should be drawn as a single pixel (grey...hard to see) at a distance of 4 to 5 miles WHEN FULLY ZOOMED OUT
With NO labels used, an aircraft of fighter size should be drawn as a single pixel (grey...hard to see) at a distance of 4 to 5 miles WHEN FULLY ZOOMED OUT
+2
I fly zoomed out a bit also. Long as I am here how about bringing back the FOV to the Workshop?
I would like to request the following changes to the debriefing/claims process. Right now, you get too much information, and it takes away the uncertainty and immersion to see that you did shoot that guy down in the debriefing even though you didn't see him crash.
1. Claims should not automatically be "assigned" to the player, if that makes sense. Instead, every debriefing should ask "Do you want to submit a claim", or have somewhere to indicate that you have claims that you would like to make. This should be after every mission, no matter what happened during it or if the game detected a victory by the player or not. The player then fills out his claim for whatever they believed they accomplished during the mission. If the player files a claim but the game did not register a kill, the probability of confirmation is very very low. As it is now, the "claims" page tells you exactly how many kills you really have, when it should really be left up to the player to decide if they scored a kill or not.
2. Claims should not be so specific in the aircraft types. Without labels, it's pretty much impossible to tell if you shot down an Se5a or an Se5a Viper. The claims possible should be based on what it is possible to visually ascertain during combat, such as "one seater", "two seater", "Albatros", "SPAD", "Nieuport", "Pfalz", "Camel", "Se5", "Strutter", etc. Then, after confirmation, the game would sometimes fill in the aircraft type details like it currently does with the pilot name and enemy squadron.
3. You should not be able to see the exact number of bullet hits you have. That is information that would be unavailable to the real pilots. You should be able to see your number of bullets expended, and maybe the ratio of bullets per kill, but not overall hit accuracy.
I hope these changes wouldn't be too difficult to implement and that they are worth consideration. In my recent campaign I've had to "stop myself" from filling out a claim form because I didn't really see the enemy crash, or know he crashed until the debriefing told me I had X number of claims to fill out.
1. Claims should not automatically be "assigned" to the player, if that makes sense. Instead, every debriefing should ask "Do you want to submit a claim", or have somewhere to indicate that you have claims that you would like to make. This should be after every mission, no matter what happened during it or if the game detected a victory by the player or not. The player then fills out his claim for whatever they believed they accomplished during the mission. If the player files a claim but the game did not register a kill, the probability of confirmation is very very low. As it is now, the "claims" page tells you exactly how many kills you really have, when it should really be left up to the player to decide if they scored a kill or not.
2. Claims should not be so specific in the aircraft types. Without labels, it's pretty much impossible to tell if you shot down an Se5a or an Se5a Viper. The claims possible should be based on what it is possible to visually ascertain during combat, such as "one seater", "two seater", "Albatros", "SPAD", "Nieuport", "Pfalz", "Camel", "Se5", "Strutter", etc. Then, after confirmation, the game would sometimes fill in the aircraft type details like it currently does with the pilot name and enemy squadron.
3. You should not be able to see the exact number of bullet hits you have. That is information that would be unavailable to the real pilots. You should be able to see your number of bullets expended, and maybe the ratio of bullets per kill, but not overall hit accuracy...
+1 I really like these suggestions.
#1- I'd also like if the details didn't tell me my actual number. Sometimes I shoot a plane and it crashes but a friend gets the kill, but I'd prefer that show up as a rejected claim for me than knowing exactly how many claim forms to fill out.
#2- I wonder if it really matters to the sim how exact we are. I'd like it to be realistic, but I don't know that pilots were expected to positively identify the difference between a DV and a DVa.
#3- I could do without the accuracy details as well, or have them tied to the workshop setting 'pilot stats'. I thought the "pilot stats" in Workshop covered that, but I have mine set to 'off' and I still see stats I wouldn't expect to know.
Polovski mentioned the many differing opinions... so I wonder if these are things that could be optional?
I will officially add modelling "Leave" to the wishlist.
AI pilots in your squadron periodically ask for/are granted leave. It would be great to model this for the player pilot as well - would add to the immersion factor by giving you an idea of how long pilots typically stayed "on the line" during the war.
You could get pretty wild with this - leave being more or less likely as the war itself ebbs and flows (e.g. unlikely to be granted leave during a major offensive; more likely to be granted along a "quiet" sector of front). You could either make this random - i.e. sim advances one day and you are greeted with a prompt saying "you have been granted leave!" (with an accompanying historical photo of course of maybe a dashing young pilot posing with some ladies back home ) ... OR, you could make an in-game device that allows you to request leave and then you would find out the answer a few days later (depending on how the war is going, how long it's been since your last leave, how many other pilots are competing for leave, etc).
Well, reading this thread it looks like OBD could keep busy until the year 2021. Or until the money or their patience runs out - whichever comes first!
I would like to request the following changes to the debriefing/claims process. Right now, you get too much information, and it takes away the uncertainty and immersion to see that you did shoot that guy down in the debriefing even though you didn't see him crash.
1. Claims should not automatically be "assigned" to the player, if that makes sense. Instead, every debriefing should ask "Do you want to submit a claim", or have somewhere to indicate that you have claims that you would like to make. This should be after every mission, no matter what happened during it or if the game detected a victory by the player or not. The player then fills out his claim for whatever they believed they accomplished during the mission. If the player files a claim but the game did not register a kill, the probability of confirmation is very very low. As it is now, the "claims" page tells you exactly how many kills you really have, when it should really be left up to the player to decide if they scored a kill or not.
2. Claims should not be so specific in the aircraft types. Without labels, it's pretty much impossible to tell if you shot down an Se5a or an Se5a Viper. The claims possible should be based on what it is possible to visually ascertain during combat, such as "one seater", "two seater", "Albatros", "SPAD", "Nieuport", "Pfalz", "Camel", "Se5", "Strutter", etc. Then, after confirmation, the game would sometimes fill in the aircraft type details like it currently does with the pilot name and enemy squadron.
3. You should not be able to see the exact number of bullet hits you have. That is information that would be unavailable to the real pilots. You should be able to see your number of bullets expended, and maybe the ratio of bullets per kill, but not overall hit accuracy.
I hope these changes wouldn't be too difficult to implement and that they are worth consideration. In my recent campaign I've had to "stop myself" from filling out a claim form because I didn't really see the enemy crash, or know he crashed until the debriefing told me I had X number of claims to fill out.
Regarding 2. it is already like that. As I have mentioned several times in the past one can often get victories confirmed although wrong AC. I never care if that was a Alb DV-200hp or Alb DVa or whatever. I just choose Alb DV and that's it. Also I received confirmation for downing a Camel once, but since it wasn't in the dropdown I chose Sopwith Pup because I considered the Camel being too new at the front to be well known at that time. Often enough I was credited with victories although not exactly the right aircraft, as it was in real. So point 2 is no problem but already in actually. If the description is good enough and the witness and circumstances explained well enough, chances are high to be credited with "wrong" ac.
Regarding 2. it is already like that. As I have mentioned several times in the past one can often get victories confirmed although wrong AC. I never care if that was a Alb DV-200hp or Alb DVa or whatever. I just choose Alb DV and that's it. Also I received confirmation for downing a Camel once, but since it wasn't in the dropdown I chose Sopwith Pup because I considered the Camel being too new at the front to be well known at that time. Often enough I was credited with victories although not exactly the right aircraft, as it was in real. So point 2 is no problem but already in actually. If the description is good enough and the witness and circumstances explained well enough, chances are high to be credited with "wrong" ac.
Regarding 2. it is already like that. As I have mentioned several times in the past one can often get victories confirmed although wrong AC. I never care if that was a Alb DV-200hp or Alb DVa or whatever. I just choose Alb DV and that's it. Also I received confirmation for downing a Camel once, but since it wasn't in the dropdown I chose Sopwith Pup because I considered the Camel being too new at the front to be well known at that time. Often enough I was credited with victories although not exactly the right aircraft, as it was in real. So point 2 is no problem but already in actually. If the description is good enough and the witness and circumstances explained well enough, chances are high to be credited with "wrong" ac.
True, but it is a bit distracting, as there is no real point in all the subvariants being there. I don't think a British pilot would ever put DVa or DV instead of just "Albatros" on their claim form- it's not really possible to identify subvariants in fast combat, especially if pilots were probably not aware of the subvariants in the first place.
Would it be possible to convert some of the French MS units to Recce/Art.Obs./Bomber units for 1915?
At the moment, you cannot enlist for a French bomber career until 1916, although historically the MS Parasol was used by the French as well as the British for recon and Art.Obs. duties, and the MS units were therefore sort of transitional I think, with a mix of fighter and recon duties? Maybe they could be mixed Fighter/Recon units in WOFF, and could transition to fully fighter units when they get the single seat scouts like the N11?
Just seems a pity to have so many French Parasol units in 1915 for WOFF, and all of them fighter units
Being able to reduce the ammunition load to 0% as in OFF - in WOFF 20% seems to be the lowest you can go.
B.
In QC you can go to 0.
You cannot and never will be able to go below 20% in campaign because the AI (includes player craft when in autopilot) will sense the low ammo and RTB - never engage - etc.
Would it be possible to convert some of the French MS units to Recce/Art.Obs./Bomber units for 1915?
At the moment, you cannot enlist for a French bomber career until 1916, although historically the MS Parasol was used by the French as well as the British for recon and Art.Obs. duties, and the MS units were therefore sort of transitional I think, with a mix of fighter and recon duties? Maybe they could be mixed Fighter/Recon units in WOFF, and could transition to fully fighter units when they get the single seat scouts like the N11?
Just seems a pity to have so many French Parasol units in 1915 for WOFF, and all of them fighter units
B.
We have plans for the French Squads in upcoming packs.
When flying the early BE2c our gunner with the enfield rifle SHOULD be able to aim the rifle in other directions besides a small cone to the aft (like the mounted MG). It is a hand held rifle.
I am sure this is tied to the coding for the MG equipped BE2c and may be a programming limitation but I thought I would bring it up.
It is great to have so many historical aces in. One disadvantage of that is that often they are so complete that they take almost all spots of a squadron, just leaving space for 2-3 or so fictional fellows. It is a hughe part of the immersion to follow your mates, see their morale and tallies grow, see them fall etc. If you fly 90% with HA's then you know they can't die, their victories will not grow unless historically correct, can't get seriously wounded and go POW etc. and this is sometimes not the quite same like flying with AI comrades who can die. All that is great and a history lesson with apropriate aces skins etc., but sometimes on squadrons with interesting aircraft I would like to fly with, i would like to have less HA and more fictional ones with whom I can grow together. Of course I don't mean cliche Jasta 11 whatever squadrons but often enough even mediocre squadrons are filled with many HA so there is just little space for fictional pilots. Maybe an option to have reduced number of HA, or maybe just having those in who have complete biographies and victorylists yet. Those with missing bios and victory lists optional leaving out, making space for more AI comrades.
This is probably already listed 15 times, but I haven't had time to read through the whole thread. Copied from another thread.
I went chasing after a few dots several missions ago and after quite a while of no progress on gaining on them I flipped on labels to see that they were over 24Km away!
If we could get an option to set the distance on the dots I think the game would be perfect. I have an eye condition that makes seeing little things pretty hard and the dots work perfectly for me. Just need to make it so they only appear closer.. Fingers crossed...
I was referring to the dots setting. You can see reallllyyyyyy far away with the dot setting. The labels I concur don't show until closer range. I'd prefer not to use labels. Also the activity labels show very far away as well.
Sorry should have been more clear considering I work for a software company and know how annoying it is to get partial requirements.
Maybe to be able to keep some sort of diary. It is cool when we get a claim and then go back and re-read the notes from that sortie, to say to be able to do that without shooting down an opponent would be great.
I was referring to the dots setting. You can see reallllyyyyyy far away with the dot setting. The labels I concur don't show until closer range. I'd prefer not to use labels. Also the activity labels show very far away as well.
Sorry should have been more clear considering I work for a software company and know how annoying it is to get partial requirements.
Check out the link yaan98 gave but check out the top of page 4 (post 3899168). I am trying to make those black dots harder to spot.
I was referring to the dots setting. You can see reallllyyyyyy far away with the dot setting. The labels I concur don't show until closer range. I'd prefer not to use labels. Also the activity labels show very far away as well.
Sorry should have been more clear considering I work for a software company and know how annoying it is to get partial requirements.
Check out the link yaan98 gave but check out the top of page 4 (post 3899168). I am trying to make those black dots harder to spot.
Interesting, I'm going to play around with that as I have some ideas. It will probably end in my crashing the game, but oh well.
*Edit* I'll post in the other thread as to not derail, but it appears my simple experiment works.
I'm always happy to accept whatever priority the Devs assign to further enhancements.
That said, I do agree with the Claims points. Maybe, if it can be done without compromising WM's confirmation algorithm, just extend the list to include increasingly generic terms, such as 'C', 'Sopwith', 'Two-seater', 'Triplane', 'Albatros', 'HA', 'Unknown Type' etc. That way we can be true to the immersion and pick a generic term especially when new, previously unknown machines appear in the enemy's ranks.
Apologies if any of those are in there already, I haven't played enough to down anyone yet!
One addition for a future version I'd like to see:
the ingame map is of course rather a guide to lead you to strategicaly important points; but since it already shows the lakes - wouldn't it help navigation a lot, if the rivers were also in there, in the same light blue?
if the rivers were also in there, in the same light blue?
You read my mind (or my emails?), that's exactly what I had asked for!
A map of the entire game's landscape of things which most probably did not change much during the course of the war like rivers, forests and probably roads, too +/- railtracks.
New aircrafts always provide an incentive and variety in the progression of a career.
So it would be cool to introduce a number of minor aircraft variants with different gunsights (various kinds of iron sights, and telescopic sights if and when applicable) and/or marginally better performance (representing a more finely tuned engine, for example).
Introducing quite a few variants should be relatively straightforward, with only minor modifications of the 3D or FM models. It would be cool if the different variants could be made available to the player according to his proficiency as a fighter (i.e. number of kills, decorations, etc.)
A minor detail {might not even be possible}. What about an area for remarks on missions list page of the flight log. That way you can have a personal log of each mission as well as the kills.
Possible increase to immersion? Possibly make players more attached to their pilots?
Or would it increase player workload too much?
Or just not be worth the programing effort. I figured it might be a nice to have detail.
1) When your observer spots an unidentified or enemy plane it would be most realistic if you got an on screen message like "Observer: enemy aircraft 5 o'clock high!" In life the observer would slap you on the shoulder and point to impart this rather urgent news. I know he will track enemy aircraft with his Mg but you have to look back, often from external view to see it. This is vital stuff which your observer would not keep to himself!!
2) I was given lead of a flight of fellow sergeants, I had only 2 hours flying time but some of them had 10+ hours under their belt, which goes against common-sense. I propose that leadership of a flight should not only sorted by rank but also by flying hours if the highest ranks are equal.
3) The aircraft description screen which gives history & specifications would be even more useful if it were to include a brief description of handling characteristics, things to look out for, tips ect - the sort of thing any flyer would share with another. The idea was prompted when I crashed a Dr1 on take off due to its hard pull to the right - surely the my comrades would have warned me about this! I appreciate this would be a lot of copy to write, maybe the old hands in this forum could contribute?
I would support the idea of being able to un-assign the POV and assign it to other tasks.
That aside the only thing that I can think of that might not have already been mentioned, when I start a mission I set my mouse pointer in the centre of the screen before take off, this way when using TrackIR I look down at my dials I can automatically centre my mouse pointer on them which brings up the label for dial info (rpm/psi/temp etc). I wonder if this can be something that can be implemented for aircrafts and ground information for people who fly with labels turned off, if they look at it in my case or hover the mouse pointer over the aircraft or airfield whatever it will show the label.
I would support the idea of being able to un-assign the POV and assign it to other tasks.
+1.
It's a bit frustrating to know that your POV hats are useless if you use TrackIR. I realize that those of us using CH Products sticks & throttles can use their utility to assign each POV hat axis as a button, but it would be much simpler if we could do it within the workshop.
1) When your observer spots an unidentified or enemy plane it would be most realistic if you got an on screen message like "Observer: enemy aircraft 5 o'clock high!" In life the observer would slap you on the shoulder and point to impart this rather urgent news. I know he will track enemy aircraft with his Mg but you have to look back, often from external view to see it. This is vital stuff which your observer would not keep to himself!!
Great idea..thought about this myself. Think i may have mentioned it aswell somewhere. Just needs to come up the same way as the instructor messages come up. You could even have "pull left\right" etc etc. Do it bold with exclamation marks if urgent!
In my last mission I suffered some bad engine problems. But afterwards my aircraft was not listed as 'in repair.' I think mechanical problems should put a machine out of action for a day or two while the mechanics work on it. ((unless of course this is actually already in & my engine problem could've be fixed in an hour.))
I'm sure it must have already been done before. But I can't help thinking & dreaming every time I fly a mission "what impact (however small) did my successful (or unsuccessful) mission have?"
Plan a grand strategy, then choose what objectives you want to accomplish. Give each airfield their mission orders for the day. Take control of one of those missions and let the computer randomly determine the outcome of the other missions.
So, it would be nice to be able to actually see supply lines disrupted, low production of planes, airfields destroyed for days/weeks with no crafts flying from them until repaired, ballon busting & artillery spotting outcomes. Then read a report that shows this.
So, overall you are a small nut within the enormous war machine.
One of my game design ideas is for a grand tactical WW1 air warfare game..combat along the lines of a Wings of War tabletop game but using a physics engine if anyone had played DarkWind then something like that Car Combat but in the air and a z axis, another great point about that system is that the actual pilot skill will really count on how well the plane performs over how good you are at choosing the right move for them. I'd then have a large RPG element managing squadrons (even just concentrate on one Squadron) deal with moral issues, replacements, Corps Orders, awards, burials, Visits by Trenchard or the kaiser, assign aircraft, manage ground crew, send out laison to the Infantry, choose who to be a front line observer, see squadron Doctors reports to keep an eye out on your pilots and their mind state, arrange leave, move airfields manage airfield condition esp if after a bomb raid you'd have to get the repair teams out which could then mean that one of the plane sin the next flight was serviced good enough and has a higher risk of developing a fault etc etc.
One of my game design ideas is for a grand tactical WW1 air warfare game..combat along the lines of a Wings of War tabletop game but using a physics engine if anyone had played DarkWind then something like that Car Combat but in the air and a z axis, another great point about that system is that the actual pilot skill will really count on how well the plane performs over how good you are at choosing the right move for them. I'd then have a large RPG element managing squadrons (even just concentrate on one Squadron) deal with moral issues, replacements, Corps Orders, awards, burials, Visits by Trenchard or the kaiser, assign aircraft, manage ground crew, send out laison to the Infantry, choose who to be a front line observer, see squadron Doctors reports to keep an eye out on your pilots and their mind state, arrange leave, move airfields manage airfield condition esp if after a bomb raid you'd have to get the repair teams out which could then mean that one of the plane sin the next flight was serviced good enough and has a higher risk of developing a fault etc etc.
Dark Wind was a lot of fun. I had what was probably one of my best gut-wrenching laughs in a multiplayer game when I did some crazy quadruple-flip airborne crash in one of the death races, which ended up creating a massive car pileup. Such a fun turn-based game and I would love to see something similar for air combat done.
I wasn't terribly happy with the browser-based side of gang mangement. The interface there was rather clunky and I recall having a helluva time trying to figure out how to loot weapons & equipment off of the raiders we killed in a wasteland patrol. Still, it's better for having the persistent MMO style stuff even if the interface could be a pain.
I shot down Kurt Wintgens (wings came off and he went down in flames from about 2000 ft alt) and a month or two later I'm fighting him again. Shot him down again decisively and a month or two later I'm fighting him again.
Ha Bucksnort, i realy want to write down the same now. I also want to have such a button in workshop so everyone can choose what he likes more. I prefer Aces can die Also you care more about your Aces for now its not interessting if one goes down or not.
I agree that this could be made an option, if possible, but I'd choose "HA cannot die"
I've always liked how OFF and WOFF tried to maintain their close-to-historical roots as much as possible. So, maybe other options like:
1) Newspaper report that a HA was shot down but managed to survive the crash to live to fight another day. He may need a few days of recovery time, but will bounce back (cats may have 9 lives, but HA can have 10 )
2) Extra ribbon or recognition (or other reward) for shooting down an ace, who happened to survive the crash.
3) Reduce the frequency of missions that an HA can fly to lessen the odds of encounters. Side effect - May offest the historical accuracy of the actual number of mission that he flew during the war.
EDIT: 4) Imagine that the HA who was shot down...... survived the crash
I totally agree with having the Historical Ace Death option. I tend to avoid joining ace heavy squadrons because I actually find the generated pilots by far more realistic & immersive - right down to those wonderfully lucid 2 line descriptions in their dossiers! The fact that historical aces cannot die until a predetermined date does spoil the reality/immersion factor for me. For example in my current campaign I have flown 4 missions with the squadron's only HA Grassmann - in 3 of those missions he's been listed as crashed/shot down slightly injured with a written off machine, once behind enemy lines - but next day he's always ready for the next mission, even his moral hasn't changed! As a result Grassmann has become an unreal drone like figure to me while paradoxically the generated pilots are living entity's!
I really do think it would be better if Historical Ace's were allowed to follow a new timeline from the date you join the squadron not a predetermined one. He should have his current score (estimated by date if records are scarce) up on the duty roster & dossier not N/A and with the lucid description of skill/moral from same source as the generated pilots not the stock 3 or 4 which they get now. If the HA hasn't yet achieved his status you may not recognise him yet - if he has then his high score would make him a prominent figure in the squadron whose fate is of real importance.
I can only take Grassmann's example from experience as I haven't survived long enough to see it but I hope Historical Aces do have periods low moral - many were plagued by their fears(ie Mannock) and flew with a skilled caution which allowed them to survive long enough to compile their scores. They were not indestructible supermen.
As a result Grassmann has become an unreal drone like figure to me while paradoxically the generated pilots are living entity's!
They were not indestructible supermen.
I didn't think about this and now I see your point.
Moral, leave, time for recovery from injuries would all definately add to the immersion factor. But I still would perfer historical accuracy of death, so is there any possibility to accomplish both???
I think the workshop button would be great so everyone can choose what he wants. I hope it dont end up with longer injurie times because at least for me i realy want the choice that Aces can die like anybody else. The only difference from Ace to regular Airman should be their skill. My opinion.
One addition for a future version I'd like to see:
the ingame map is of course rather a guide to lead you to strategicaly important points; but since it already shows the lakes - wouldn't it help navigation a lot, if the rivers were also in there, in the same light blue?
One more desire fullfilled - thank you, Devs!
(I love to quote myself - adds the right seasoning to my conversations. )
[quote=JamesL]But I still would perfer historical accuracy of death, so is there any possibility to accomplish both???
That's why I wished for a Yes/No button to let each player decide. If its more realistic for some players that Aces live then they can choose "No" but when I saw Wintgens go down with no wings and on fire the following fights became "make believe" for me. And I hadn't thought about it, but I wouldn't want to join Jasta 11 now as it would be a squad full of Terminators that can't die and the fights wouldn't matter. Also, wouldn't want to fly against them for the same reason (it would be Wintgens x 10). Like Karnak said, for me Aces should be highly skilled, not superhuman androids.
[quote=JamesL]But I still would perfer historical accuracy of death, so is there any possibility to accomplish both???
That's why I wished for a Yes/No button to let each player decide. If its more realistic for some players that Aces live then they can choose "No" but when I saw Wintgens go down with no wings and on fire the following fights became "make believe" for me. And I hadn't thought about it, but I wouldn't want to join Jasta 11 now as it would be a squad full of Terminators that can't die and the fights wouldn't matter. Also, wouldn't want to fly against them for the same reason (it would be Wintgens x 10). Like Karnak said, for me Aces should be highly skilled, not superhuman androids.
I don't see how you can have what you ask for and have historical accuracy too. It's either one or the other. The Devs focus is on historical accuracy. I think we are expected to keep in mind that the aces die only when it is time for them. It is after all a sim and not he realy world. I for one enjhy the opportunity to encounter them again. It's not realistic but it is fun for me. If I had a button to choose they die when I down them, I'm afraid I would probably wipe out all the aces in a Jasta over a short time and then the fun would stop(at least for me).
I'm not against your suggestion, just expressing that it wouldn't impact me.
My suggestion would be to fix it that when ever an ace is shot down before his time he always goes down safely.
If the player lands at a different airbase, or is shot down and lands in a field, would it be possible to time-advance for a day or so to account for the time it would take for the pilot to fly or get a ride back?
As a log time WW1 Airwar buff I first have to say that this program is a dream comethru. The strategy of the developer to make WOFF historical correct is very much appriciated. I do have several shelfmeters with WW1 magasines( C&C UK, C&C US and OTF) and books and often find myself digging into a book or magasine just to check if squadrons, planes, aces , aerodromes etc are correct. Most of the time I find WOFF accurate.
Thanks to all developers.
My wish list:
1. Make gunners in two-seaters able to seat down when no enemy is in sight. 2. Spot view of enemy and friendly airplanes in order to view paintings and markings. 3. In Intel room make a clikable view of deployed squadrons showing squadron aces/members and their plane/paintings/markings 4. More accurate layout of the 10 most famous aerodromes
I don't see how you can have what you ask for and have historical accuracy too. It's either one or the other. The Devs focus is on historical accuracy. I think we are expected to keep in mind that the aces die only when it is time for them.
A lot depends on your view of historical accuracy....Is it historically accurate for an HA to be brought down 3 missions a row with destroyed aircraft + injuries ect only to fly again unaffected in moral or health the next day? Is it historically accurate to shoot down a HA in a flaming disintegrating wreak and have him miraculously survive? Is it historically accurate to know that a HA will only die on a predetermined day in the future? You can kill any number of regular enemy flyers which would result in a diversion from Historical Accuracy because their loss would affect the course of the air war in your sector. So even with invincible HA's you are still altering historical events anyway!
Philosophical arguments aside some of us would just like the extra immersion factor of having living & mortal Historical Aces in their squadrons. And some of us would prefer things to be strictly historical. So to please Devs - it would brilliant if we could have the OPTION to choose!
Id love the option to have aces make their own way in the war instead of historicle. Just use the same advanced AI brains in random guys and do it that way.
Like Karnak said, for me Aces should be highly skilled, not superhuman androids.
I wonder if that isn't how the AI pilots feel about you, every time they shoot you down.
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.
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.
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!!!
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...
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?
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.
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
... 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?
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.
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.
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?
I'm more than happy with the sim "as is", though I am looking forward to seeing what they do with the Albs FMs. They've already put out more patches with new features and fixes in 2 months than I would have expected from them in a year. No complaints here.
Gotha's and Zepps are hopefully on their way now. Happy to pay for them too.
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.
Does anyone remember a once fairly famous sim called Red Baron II? I do believe you could permanently down an ace and also loose aces from your own squadron, - did this seem like a major flaw to those you who played it?
There is a 'player cannot die' option. I for one would never use this! But because it is an OPTION which I can choose to use or not I have absolutely no objection to it at all. The 'HA can die' option would add to this wonderful sim by giving a player more choice of how to play it.
Since the devs clearly indicated that they will not be working on new features, the historical aces option is a moot subject.
Really? I'm sure I read somewhere they would add no new features after 1.15. Is a new option in the same league as the work put into a new feature? Is adding a command to turn on/off the code that stops historical ace death that major an undertaking?
Originally Posted By: yaan98
So, for now, the message is very clear.... just enjoy the sim "as is" until new addons become available.
Yann, with the greatest respect sir, if one of the actual devs does say 'no we're not doing that' then fair enough, I would accept it.
I missed that post but I have to agree. It sure looks clear. Not like we didn't get plenty of new features for free in the 14 updates they have already released. Hopefully a FM alteration in 1.15 and that'll be it. Can't say I blame them for focusing on Add-ons and any necessary bug fixes from this point forward.
This made me chuckle...the "Aces Can Die" Add-on Pack
I'd buy it too, Karnak. Might be the fair thing to do if it's a good bit of work to make it happen. Sometimes what seems like a simple feature can be huge behind the scenes.
It's supposed to be an accurate historical portrayal of air combat in WWI... No way would I pay to shoot down historical aces and kill them before history dictates they should die... Oh wait... you guys are joking right? lol... silly me
But seriously, allowing HA to die on their historical date, and continuing to have as many lives as a cat until then, gives WOFF an unhistorical vibe. At least in that aspect only.
I understand why the devs chose to go that route. I just don't agree with it. YMMV.
And, I would pay for the WOFF: Mortal Legends Special Edition.
Yeah, I'd pay for WOFF: Mortal Legends Special Edition, but only if we also have the option to fly over the ace's funeral and drop a wreath from our planes
It shouldn't be too hard to implement... slap together a 3d model, couple of textures and wreath.xdp...
I'd pay for whatever they do just to support development. Why not Mortal Legends.. It could add some fresh experience. Even though I'm still getting full pants of fun every time I go out there. Yesterday I literally jumped in my chair when my observer started to fire out of the blue while we were flying in absolutely serene and gorgeous skies.
Mortal Legends Special Edition - Good title. I too would pay for this and quick because Grasshoff, the only ace in my squadron, has now survived being downed 8 times!!! What's more he's always up the next day ready for more, what a guy! But my comrades are disturbed, they are beginning to attribute supernatural powers to him.....meanwhile the Quartermaster is mad as Grasshoff has wreaked the squadron's entire aircraft reserve and is now starting on the rest!
Hmm...I thought when an an Ace was shot down they are out of action for a little bit?
One issue I see if HA's are mortal is that you could get to a stage (and possibly quickly) that there are none left...I think if they do go mortal they should only be able to be killed if the player shoots them down..and maybe Ace's in whatever Sqd your in be mortal too..though not sur eon this.
One issue I see if HA's are mortal is that you could get to a stage (and possibly quickly) that there are none left...
That's exactly what I have been saying Wodin. Very quickly you end up with empty skies. Richtofen gets shot down by enemy AI in 1916 and so you never get the chance to meet him...or any of the other Aces. By 1917 or 1918 the skies are empty of great aces.
Well let's see what the Devs cook up for us next. They have done a mighty bang up job of adding great things to WOFF - both through free patches and DLC. Patch 1.15 was just released and they've got some kind of Extended 3rd Party Mission Types for the Workshop. Sounds like lots of interesting possibilities there.
True Wodin, there might not be any HA left, but there would be new aces in their places (like that rhyme?). And it would be fun to see which few aces might make it and for how long in each campaign. I don't even know most of them anyway, so unless it's Hawker or Richthofen or a few others, I wouldn't know the difference... unless I keep seeing the same guy over and over, of course.
But I think that's where this debate got all tripped up. People are saying it's not historical if historical aces can die, and that by allowing them to die you're creating an alternate history.
The other camp is arguing for the option of less historicity where it creates implausible situations, and for more realism. Yes, it's possible all the HAs as we know them could die off in a campaign. But there would be other aces for that particular campaign. What's wrong with that? It doesn't change the outcome of the war. It just makes the game feel more plausible and immersive for those who like the idea of having that option. I mean, our being there isn't historical, especially if we become supreme aces in our own rights. But we're not reading an unalterable book. It's an experience that's made more exciting by the possibilities.
I'm all for a historic experience, meaning I don't want lasers or alien invasions or power ups or anything like that. I want the sim to reflect the time period and realities of being a fighter pilot in WWI. Part of that excitement is that my own survival isn't known. And it would be cool if the option were available so that NO ONE's survival was known.
You should be rightly scared in August 1917 when you meet any of the Jasta 11, Jasta 5 crowd... They have some dangerous people in them... but if they are shot down early in a career and then 'killed' you won't meet them will you they will just be any old Jasta with no fearsome aces in place. As the game stands it's great. You may be lucky enough to shoot down a famous flyer, but he will not be killed. I just take it I have forced them down and they are wounded or have survived, and that is how it should be. (and that is my lowly and humble take on the matter) I'd like historical accuracy please, not 'what if' scenarios... Have to say though, the dev's will be working hard on their expansion packs after this last patch, so it will be all historical stuff they churn out
Putting this in the wish list in case it's something that can be done in the future. My squadron is taking quite a lot of casualties at the moment and consequently we are getting a fair number of replacements. All replacements seem to have 2 kills already when they join us.
Would it be possible to make it so that most replacements have 0 kills and also no missions and hours flown yet? Of course, some should be experienced to represent transfers from other squadrons but it would be nice to get some complete novices arriving too.
Does anyone else notice this or is it perhaps just a coincidence in my particular campaign?
If getting an engine hit on the enemy or your own engine: A sharp loud choughing noise, maybe somewhat unrealistic like in the ww1 movie "aces high" would be cool. Maybe there is such soundeffects and i just havent explored woff enough.
You'll be hearing those broken engine sounds soon enough. Just wait until it happens when you're deep behind enemy lines... been there, done that, went to the POW camp.
If getting an engine hit on the enemy or your own engine: A sharp loud choughing noise, maybe somewhat unrealistic like in the ww1 movie "aces high" would be cool. Maybe there is such soundeffects and i just havent explored woff enough.
There are broken engine sounds in. Plenty of them.
Since they added the dot update in the last release I'm going to have to dig deep into the barrel for wishes. I use the hat switch in the panning view to track targets since facetrack locks up my computer and Trackir is too darn expensive. It works well for me, but it would be awesome if I could map two buttons for look back right and look back left.
It's also entirely possible this can be done already, but I couldn't find it.
Oh and a mapping for the gun view. Toggling through F6 doesn't work very well in the heat of battle.
I only remember hearing the damaged engine sounds when a random engine failure happens. I've not experienced any odd noises from battle damage that I recall.. other than the engine dying of course.
Strange.. but I also only heard the "Contact!" audio, on the loading screen, the first couple times I played. Not heard it since. Perhaps it's tied to something I turned off, but I dunno what that would be. After turning the campaign videos back on it didn't do the trick. I've not really turned much else off, if anything.
I really hope the guys pull it off. Would save me so much transit time when I find myself alone and not wanting to let the Autopilot fly me to the nearest aerodrome and land (which is quite often).
Bonus immersion for German pilots being awarded Prussian and the sub-nationality awards and American pilots being able to transfer to the USAS when America enters the war.
Even more detailed debriefing with map showing the track (user controlled time lapse animation would be cool) followed by every member of the player's flight (or at least the player), encounters with enemy a/c, and their route following the encounter, as well as where they finally crashed or landed.
Of course a higher resolution inflight map wouldn't hurt... I can dream, can't I?
When you make Ace (5 confirmed kills?) you get a newspaper article written that shows your pilots picture and that you have become your countries newest Ace. "Lt. Johnny Warrens has become England's newest Ace, scoring 5 confirmed kills."
Each time you reach a new multiple of 5, you get another newspaper story. "Capt. Johnny Warrens score rises to 10 confirmed kills. Vows to fight on until the war is won!"
Also, if a player shoots down an historical Ace, you get a newspaper story that tells of your epic battle. "Major Johnny Warrens has shot down the great German Ace Werner Voss in a duel. Voss survives crash to fight again!"
And when you die, if you are an Ace, you get a newspaper story just like the historical Aces do. "Great Ace, Major Johnny Warrens killed in action. He died with 14 confirmed kills. Britain mourns."
And also: after shooting down an ace, you may get a personal challenge from the same ace, followed by a solo mission where you fly to a specific rendezvous location and fight a duel "mano a mano" with the ace (with the added risk that the ace might bring some friends along)
When you make Ace (5 confirmed kills?) you get a newspaper article written that shows your pilots picture and that you have become your countries newest Ace. "Lt. Johnny Warrens has become England's newest Ace, scoring 5 confirmed kills."
Each time you reach a new multiple of 5, you get another newspaper story. "Capt. Johnny Warrens score rises to 10 confirmed kills. Vows to fight on until the war is won!"
Also, if a player shoots down an historical Ace, you get a newspaper story that tells of your epic battle. "Major Johnny Warrens has shot down the great German Ace Werner Voss in a duel. Voss survives crash to fight again!"
And when you die, if you are an Ace, you get a newspaper story just like the historical Aces do. "Great Ace, Major Johnny Warrens killed in action. He died with 14 confirmed kills. Britain mourns."
Everything Hellshade said, except...
Also, if a player shoots down an historical Ace, you get a newspaper story that tells of your epic battle. "Major Johnny Warrens has shot down the great German Ace Werner Voss in a duel. Voss survives crash to fight again!"
Also, you earn privilege as your kills increase so historic aces with fewer kills can't bump you from a better plane.
One of my favourite WWI flying books (in fact my favourite) is "Combat Report" by Bill Lambert DFC who flew with 24 squadron from March-October 1918 and was the top-scoring US pilot in the RFC. One thing you realise when reading this book is how good all the pilots of that squadron were. In that time they had 4 pilots KIA and shot down lots of aircraft themselves. Their best was McElroy who once shot down 17 aircraft in one month. Like Mannock (who trained him) he was killed by ground fire. He amassed the amazing total of MC and TWO bars, DFC and bar. Anyway, I sign on in WOFF for 24 in early 1918 and find 10 pilots who are listed in Lambert's book including him. The only quibble I have is that there is a Sgt pilot listed there and AFAIK the RFC did not have Sergeant pilots at the time. In WWII yes they did.
Oh, and 24 like most squadrons had three flights, not two, commanded by MacDonald, Cowper and McElroy who are all in WOFF. McElroy and Lambert were both in C flight. I have a slight connection with 24 as there was a South African called Southey who flew with Lambert. I worked with a girl called Southey and it turned out she was his granddaughter. Small world.
I can scan in the list of pilots if anyone is interested.
One of my favourite WWI flying books (in fact my favourite) is "Combat Report" by Bill Lambert DFC who flew with 24 squadron from March-October 1918 and was the top-scoring US pilot in the RFC. One thing you realise when reading this book is how good all the pilots of that squadron were. In that time they had 4 pilots KIA and shot down lots of aircraft themselves. Their best was McElroy who once shot down 17 aircraft in one month. Like Mannock (who trained him) he was killed by ground fire. He amassed the amazing total of MC and TWO bars, DFC and bar. Anyway, I sign on in WOFF for 24 in early 1918 and find 10 pilots who are listed in Lambert's book including him. The only quibble I have is that there is a Sgt pilot listed there and AFAIK the RFC did not have Sergeant pilots at the time. In WWII yes they did.
Oh, and 24 like most squadrons had three flights, not two, commanded by MacDonald, Cowper and McElroy who are all in WOFF. McElroy and Lambert were both in C flight. I have a slight connection with 24 as there was a South African called Southey who flew with Lambert. I worked with a girl called Southey and it turned out she was his granddaughter. Small world.
I can scan in the list of pilots if anyone is interested.
Yes please scan in. Always interested in acquiring historical data. Thanks for the dissertation!
Also, if a player shoots down an historical Ace, you get a newspaper story that tells of your epic battle. "Major Johnny Warrens has shot down the great German Ace Werner Voss in a duel. Voss survives crash to fight again!"
I get it guys. You want to permanently kill Aces, but the newspaper thing as I described it would be considerably less difficult to program.
About the only thing OBD would have to keep track of in order to make it work is every time the players kill tally reaches a number equally divisible by 5, they get a newspaper story. When they die, if they have equal to or greater than 5 kills, they get an Ace Obituary. Pull the pilot name, rank, nationality and pic from the bio, paste a standard blurb in and fill in the number of kills the pilot has.
Done.
All of which is already being tracked by the Workshop. No new databases need to be created at all with this and yet additional immersion through pilot glory gets added to the sim.
If the player puts holes in an Aces plane or an Ace puts holes in theirs, they could make it a story if they wanted to track that much. If that was too much of a pain in the ass for them to program, skip it.
Of course this is a Wish List, so folks are absolutely entitled to wish for whatever they would like. But since the Devs stated they will be focusing more on add-on packs at this point, I figured the best chance of anything additional making it into the game would be by keeping it as simple and straightforward as possible.
I get it guys. You want to permanently kill Aces, but the newspaper thing as I described it would be considerably less difficult to program.
Hey I really like your newspaper idea!
I'd also like it if we had an Aces can die option for a more realistic outcome to those encounters. One idea does not cancel out the other. It would be great if we could have both.
I'd also like it if we had an Aces can die option for a more realistic outcome to those encounters. One idea does not cancel out the other. It would be great if we could have both.
Thank you. I like it too. I'm not saying one idea cancels out the other at all. I'm saying the Devs have stated that they are focusing on Add-On packs, so keeping whatever wishes we have as simple and easy to implement as possible is the best chance, if any, of getting them into the sim.
The newspaper idea would be fairly straight forward and easy to implement. The killing Aces, unfortunately, is not. It requires considerably more effort to make happen. That's why I was keeping them separate. Killing Aces has almost no chance of making it into the sim at this time. That might certainly change later.
In the meantime, I was trying to advance an idea that could be easily implemented into the game at this time. Later, if the Devs decide to make "Mortal Legends" (Aces can Die) then they can always add to the existing newspaper idea.
One of my favourite WWI flying books (in fact my favourite) is "Combat Report" by Bill Lambert DFC who flew with 24 squadron from March-October 1918 and was the top-scoring US pilot in the RFC. One thing you realise when reading this book is how good all the pilots of that squadron were. In that time they had 4 pilots KIA and shot down lots of aircraft themselves. Their best was McElroy who once shot down 17 aircraft in one month. Like Mannock (who trained him) he was killed by ground fire. He amassed the amazing total of MC and TWO bars, DFC and bar. Anyway, I sign on in WOFF for 24 in early 1918 and find 10 pilots who are listed in Lambert's book including him. The only quibble I have is that there is a Sgt pilot listed there and AFAIK the RFC did not have Sergeant pilots at the time. In WWII yes they did.
Oh, and 24 like most squadrons had three flights, not two, commanded by MacDonald, Cowper and McElroy who are all in WOFF. McElroy and Lambert were both in C flight. I have a slight connection with 24 as there was a South African called Southey who flew with Lambert. I worked with a girl called Southey and it turned out she was his granddaughter. Small world.
I can scan in the list of pilots if anyone is interested.
There were sergeant pilots in the RFC/RAF during WWI, they were just comparatively rare. Yes, there were far more in WWII.
Definately interested in your scan of the pilot list!
Vibrations and Buffeting! Along with Ankors shading would add so much realsitic immersion to this simulation! So when you start the plane and you are sitting at idle, seeing the cockpit edges vibrate a bit until you push the engine to higher rpms would add amazing realism. Also this kind of vibration accompanied by the "drumming" wing noise accompanied by pre-stall buffeting would be a far better (and realistic)indicator of an impending stall, rather than the un-immersing little message at top screen. This coupled with the shadows that Ankor is creating would be amazingly realistic. Then add in some samples of slightly more varied and realistic wind in the wires sounds for when your engine conks, that increase in pitch with speed, and decrease vice versa, will make this sim top notch.
As i described before it would help much if we had an "instant" transfer option in the workshop, so you don't have to wait for the commander or the campaign manager to allow your request. That would help with problems you might have if a Squadron is near to change . In my campaign i scribed in to the FFA62 which changed surprisely from the first ace squadron 1916 to a recon squadron and my pilot can't get out.... The squadron ends up in summer 1916 and so my pilots carreer ends suprisely as ace in 1916. Perhaps they had needed an ace pilot on another front?
Vibrations and Buffeting! Along with Ankors shading would add so much realsitic immersion to this simulation! So when you start the plane and you are sitting at idle, seeing the cockpit edges vibrate a bit until you push the engine to higher rpms would add amazing realism. Also this kind of vibration accompanied by the "drumming" wing noise accompanied by pre-stall buffeting would be a far better (and realistic)indicator of an impending stall, rather than the un-immersing little message at top screen. This coupled with the shadows that Ankor is creating would be amazingly realistic. Then add in some samples of slightly more varied and realistic wind in the wires sounds for when your engine conks, that increase in pitch with speed, and decrease vice versa, will make this sim top notch.
RA.
I would like to have more indicators of an impending stall but too much graphics "shake" or vibration can cause physical problems for some of us.
Perhaps adjust the flight model of the SPADs? They seem awfully easy to stall, which for a fighter that was considered one of the best Allied fighters of the war, seems a bit unrealistic.
Perhaps adjust the flight model of the SPADs? They seem awfully easy to stall, which for a fighter that was considered one of the best Allied fighters of the war, seems a bit unrealistic.
Which SPAD? VII or XIII?
I've gotten quite a bit of stick time in on the VII lately and I've found it very effective & haven't had any problems with stalling (which isn't to say I *haven't* stalled - it's just that when I *have* stalled, I deserved it!!!)
It's a very able fighter, when fought properly - you're not going to win many turning battles with it, so the trick is to keep your energy level up and seek an advantage in altitude that will let you dive on your foe.
I've tried both and had the same results. I guess I always figured the SPADs were similar to the SE5a in handling. Stable, not the most maneuverable but a powerful engine compared to rotary fighters that helps keep their nose up. I've only stalled the SE5a rarely. I understand the idea of energy fighting but you still have to occasionally turn to get in position. Every time I dip my wing in the SPADs I lose 50 mph and go into a stall. I guess I'll have to keep working on it.
Edit the word 'flak' out of the game altogether. It was not used until 1938. 'Arche' was the WWI word, named after a popular song about 'Archibald'. Typical British usage of the time to take something deadly and give it a funny name. cf. 'Tripehound' and 'Zepps in a cloud' - this last being sausages and mash!
Edit the word 'flak' out of the game altogether. It was not used until 1938. 'Arche' was the WWI word, named after a popular song about 'Archibald'. Typical British usage of the time to take something deadly and give it a funny name. cf. 'Tripehound' and 'Zepps in a cloud' - this last being sausages and mash!
Today I crashed against a "titanium" fence and my pilot died, the thing is, I was rolling at no more than 10km/h at the moment,...please OBD, could you make fences less brutal for pilots health?
Well pilots died from hitting a pothole in the ground, and we do not have those in WOFF, so consider it one of the real life hazards. Basically always try to land on a proper airfield, otherwise, like in real life, you might come off worst.
I've recently read Arthur Gould Lee's excellent book, "Open Cockpit", which was extremely well written and very informative. It details his experiences in 1917 flying Pups with 46 Sqn.
Below are some passages, which I found interesting, especially as they relate to WOFF. No judgements at all; merely some discussion points perhaps:
[/i]Normally we flew only with members of our own flights, but because of casualties and Headquarters demands for more and bigger patrols, the flight commanders had to draw on each others' pilots to spread the work out evenly.[i]
This is interesting, because I find in WOFF that the flights are often formed with different pilots. Rarely do I fly with the same pilots.
Admittedly I am mostly flying a Jasta 11 careeer in late 1917, so perhaps the Germans moved their pilots from flight to flight much more often than Gould Lee's experience suggests.
[/i]"Of course, you know that when I rock my wings", went on McDonald [Flight Commander], "I've spotted Huns and I'm going to attack. If you see a Hun before me, dive in front and rock your wings and point to where he is, then get back into position damn quick. If your engine goes dud, dive in front and switchback, then go home. The same with a gun jam you can't correct. Now for Very light signals. White for washout, red for rally or enemy seen, green for distress. But don't use them unless you really have to - they give our position away to all and sundry."[i]
It would be lovely to have these signals in WOFF, wouldn't it? Especially for rallying, because often after a scrap I have to switch to AI to find the remnants of my flight.
In the following screen My pilot's RFC-28 career was ended without an automatic transfer or a button on the screen to allow for a transfer. I am recommending a solution so that the pilot can continue a career.
Returning to the wish list topic, I can venture two small items that have come to mind.
First is to tweek the WOFF newspaper so it reports 'ace deaths' on the day after they die, rather than on the day. That would cure the small issue of the morning paper reporting a death that won't happen until later that day. Obviously not a big deal, but it could be a nice little tweek (plus it would assist me with my 'news mod', which is set up to report yesterday's news as happens in real life).
The second is to have the 'takeoff routine' that is flown by German flight leaders happen in a southwest direction, rather than in the standard northeast direction. For German pilots, that excursion out to the 'spiral up' point usually represents a noticeable detour in the opposite direction of the mission (because the frontlines are usually to the west or south of your airfield for a German pilot). It just adds about 20 minutes of rather uneventful time to each German mission for folks that fly in real time so would be great to get to business a bit sooner.
I have a hardback of "King of the Air Fighters" By Ira (Taff) Jones who was a Welshman (of course). It is a pretty old copy. Ira Jones was an ace in his own right and was a Wing Commander RAF in WWII and wrote the RAF official history of WWII.
Wikipedia don't mention the last, though they are often wrong. Strange that they say he was awarded the MC in Sept 1918 although I thought it had been long superceded by the DFC. According to the Wiki, he was awarded his first DFC in August 1918, the MC in September and the bar to the DFC in the same month. A bit strange.....
Which French bureaucrat does one have to bribe in order to get them to take out a few more trees around the airfield at Chaux. Every landing is a nail biter!
Which French bureaucrat does one have to bribe in order to get them to take out a few more trees around the airfield at Chaux. Every landing is a nail biter!
Well, why not try bombing them out?? who knows, it might work!
Which French bureaucrat does one have to bribe in order to get them to take out a few more trees around the airfield at Chaux. Every landing is a nail biter!
Well, why not try bombing them out?? who knows, it might work!
My mechanics are still trying to figure out how to strap a daisey cutter onto my SPAD. No luck yet!
Any chance the labels could be had without the flag around them? I like the option of less or more information, I prefer less, but the banner/rectangle is too much. I turn them off and on depending on the situation, how about just minimal info without the banner background?
One thing I would like to see is the ability to add additional notes to my logbook as a separate screen to indicate mission observations. Things such as ( damaged an ememy craft, noticed other activities such as other squadrons in the area, report heavy archie, report on my squad mates activities or witnessing their claims. among other memorable observations). I know we can use the claim form to some degree but only if we have a claim to submit so it doesn't really meet the criteria.
P.S. I think it would be appreciated if someone would make this thread a sticky so it is easy to find.
Would it be possible to add in an automobile (much like the bicycle from OFF) to WOFF.
I think it would be a great way to explore the WOFF world and some of the dimensions that are lost from the air. Add to the immersion, etc.
This feature you already have, sort of. Just hit "J" and you will find yourself with a free camera which you can use on any direction and height possible. It is always in pause-modus so usually i hit "J" and then "P" to unpause it again. Often I lower the camera as low as possible to have about men's height above ground and follow the roads etc. visiting farms and maybe towns and churches etc. It is not perfect and has some bugs (far away objects can appear above or below groundlevel etc.), but by far better than driving with a T-Model IMO. Would be cool to have this feature with a sort of directional indicator where it shows you where you aproximately are. Then you might after landing specifically search for the wreckage you have downed etc., like they did in real. At least the German side since most of victories where over German soil.
Sure, certainly aware of the J camera view. And use it from time to time. But I was thinking more in line with MS Flight Simulator, where one can use a car to drive over the landscape..staff car to the front in WOFF would be interesting.
At present it seems to be randomised so that every mission has different pilots in a given Flight/Schwarm.
Also ranks are not apportioned 'correctly' between flights: sometimes there are three Flight Commanders in 'A' Flight (RNAS) but 'B' Flight is led by a Flight Lieutenant.
This would then completely change in the next mission with all ranks and pilots moving between between Flights/Schwärme seemingly randomly.
Furthermore there are only 2 Flights in RFC/RNAS squadrons, and there should (historically) be three (of five pilots in 1917, six in 1918 [where operationally possible of course])
I don't know if it's been mentioned. I'd like to see an auto pilot feature where you could just fly straight, without following a way point. I don't even know if it's possible but, I thought I'd mention it.
More options for labels would be helpful. I'd like very basic labels, like a small red symbol over enemy planes, and a small blue symbol over friendlies. The long banner as used now is too large and has too much info for my taste.
Also, it would be helpful if the ground target labels were a different color than air target labels.
Could we please get an option to "Never be Flight Leader"?
I usually don't have a lot of time to play WOFF at a sitting, and being flight leader forces me to not use time compression. I would prefer to never lead a flight, thus allowing me to x4 through the boring, site-seeing part of each mission.
This option would also allow a person to enlist a pilot with a high enough rank to get a fancy machine like the Sopwith Triplane, without having to be the flight leader on almost every mission.
Thanks for your consideration of my humble request.
That may be true, Wodin, but I would feel guilty if I saw enemy machines late because I was on compression and auto-pilot while leading a flight.
I do it all the time when I'm not leading, however.
Well, how about an option where time compression stops when enemy machines get within say 2000 yards? They had something like that in RB3D. I don't know what the distance was, but you'd drop right out of compression when the enemy was close.
That may be true, Wodin, but I would feel guilty if I saw enemy machines late because I was on compression and auto-pilot while leading a flight.
I do it all the time when I'm not leading, however.
Well, how about an option where time compression stops when enemy machines get within say 2000 yards? They had something like that in RB3D. I don't know what the distance was, but you'd drop right out of compression when the enemy was close.
OFF used to do the same. WOFF only drops out of compression when you tell it to. In OFF warp only you got warped, in WOFF time compression everybody's time is compressed - including the AI. Maybe it could be changed to automatically drop out when an enemy machine is near.
OFF also would refuse to enter Warp if there were 'enemies near'.
That may be true, Wodin, but I would feel guilty if I saw enemy machines late because I was on compression and auto-pilot while leading a flight.
I do it all the time when I'm not leading, however.
Well, how about an option where time compression stops when enemy machines get within say 2000 yards? They had something like that in RB3D. I don't know what the distance was, but you'd drop right out of compression when the enemy was close.
OFF used to do the same. WOFF only drops out of compression when you tell it to. In OFF warp only you got warped, in WOFF time compression everybody's time is compressed - including the AI. Maybe it could be changed to automatically drop out when an enemy machine is near.
OFF also would refuse to enter Warp if there were 'enemies near'.
OFF used the compression that came with CFS3. Which basically took you to the next point where there was action. I don't know what OBD did to add the compression they have in WOFF, but I don't think it's native to CFS3. That could also be what's screwing up the ability to switch between seats in multi seat aircraft.
IIRC, in RB3D, you could actually enter into 2x compression with enemy around. But, I might be wrong about that. Frankly, I think I'd rather have the old time compression from OFF. But, that's just me.
It would be nice to have a believable sequence of missions. I'm just guessing how it would be, but something like this:
For every one or two reccy the next mission will be an escort. Or After a scramble mission, then we will be protecting an another airbase from attack... and so on. It is very close to accomplishing this already:
I love the new damage model effects of WOFF. Wing and fuselage damage looks awesome. I'm also extremely grateful that the Devs got rid of the engine exploding out of the plane and falling separately from the craft as it used to do in OFF:BH&H. THANK YOU!!
My wish list request item though is to have fewer total structural failures where all of the wings come off of the plane. For myself at least, this seems to happen very often. I can pump a bunch of rounds into the fuselage (I generally aim for the pilot or the engine if at all possible) and for awhile it seems like nothing is happening. Then all of a sudden there is a loud "bang" noise and all four wings fall off. It seems like the plane would catch fire or the pilot would get killed long before a total structural failure would happen. My shooting accuracy (set to Normal Gun Strength and Normal Accuracy) ranges between 35 - 45% most of the time, probably due more to the fact I am so close to my opponent when I shoot than anything else. So any way I would figure that with that level of shooting accuracy, I'd be "assassinating" pilots long before I'd put enough damage into the fuselage to cause a total structural failure.
Does anyone else see the total structural failure damage model effect very often?
The total wing-ripping off from gunfire thing only happens when I've pumped lots of ammo into a plane.
I used to get the occasional lucky hit, and see an enemy plane tip over and crash into the ground as if the pilot was hit. But in the latest update version(s), It's become much more rare. Been having to unload steadily on them until either their wings all rip off, as you mentioned, or their engine finally gives out and they lazily descend for a crash landing. Like I'm sawing away over long periods.
Typically put about 40 to 80 rounds into one before their engine dies and they cruise to the ground. More than that eventually ends up with the complete wing-popping. Don't see the AI pilots being killed much at all. Dunno if it's WAI or if something was recently changed.
I used to get the occasional lucky hit, and see an enemy plane tip over and crash into the ground as if the pilot was hit. But in the latest update version(s), It's become much more rare. Been having to unload steadily on them until either their wings all rip off, as you mentioned, or their engine finally gives out and they lazily descend for a crash landing. Like I'm sawing away over long periods.
Typically put about 40 to 80 rounds into one before their engine dies and they cruise to the ground. More than that eventually ends up with the complete wing-popping. Don't see the AI pilots being killed much at all. Dunno if it's WAI or if something was recently changed.
That pretty much sums up my experience as well sir. They don't seem to die very often without pumping a lot of rounds into them and then suddenly they just have total structural failure.
I'd consider modding it, but I have no idea where to even look and I'm sure I'd probably break something.
You might consider using less accurate guns, as I do. I often have shot dead enemy pilots who are spinning down out of control, but otherwise more or less intact. Also I have occasional wingbreaks and sometimes I'm sending them down in flames, spinning all the way down, disintergrating within time. IMO a good mixture and depending of how good I get him. The other positive aspect of less guns is that you can also get out of fights sometimes with 20 or more bullethits, but without a wound or burning engine, sometimes you get wounded quickly. IMO the most realistic mixture of aiming and shooting and getting shot at.
That wasn't my experience with less accurate guns Creaghorn, but maybe it's just the SE5s top gun that appears to just destroy Albs. I'll have to try it with some other Allied plane and see how it works then.
I used to get the occasional lucky hit, and see an enemy plane tip over and crash into the ground as if the pilot was hit. But in the latest update version(s), It's become much more rare. Been having to unload steadily on them until either their wings all rip off, as you mentioned, or their engine finally gives out and they lazily descend for a crash landing. Like I'm sawing away over long periods.
Typically put about 40 to 80 rounds into one before their engine dies and they cruise to the ground. More than that eventually ends up with the complete wing-popping. Don't see the AI pilots being killed much at all. Dunno if it's WAI or if something was recently changed.
That pretty much sums up my experience as well sir. They don't seem to die very often without pumping a lot of rounds into them and then suddenly they just have total structural failure.
I'd consider modding it, but I have no idea where to even look and I'm sure I'd probably break something.
Maybe we should bring this up in a new thread?
Seems like something changed with the damage modelling recently. Who knows - it may be a bug caused by something else being adjusted.
Seems like something changed with the damage modelling recently. Who knows - it may be a bug caused by something else being adjusted.
Possibly. However my guess is the Devs have their hands full with whatever new surprises that they are cooking up next. I'm certainly not opposed to them looking at it, but I trust their priorities. Add-ons and expansions don't just add new content for us, they also bring in cash for the Devs, which makes it possible for them to keep supporting the sim. Monkeying with the Damage Model, unfortunately, does not.
I'm sure when they have time, they will review it and do whatever makes the most sense. That's why I put it under the Wish List instead of making a thread actually calling for a Damage Model review at this time. They are a pretty good group of guys. I have no problems giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Agreed, the devs have, and continue to do outstanding work on improving the sim My only gripe is that I'm away with work for the next 3 months (Saudi, East Africa and Gulf of Aden) so won't get to fly it or see any new expansion until I get back.... But I'll be dropping in on these forums to get up to date news on how things are going any time I can get a wifi signal!
My ultimate wish list item for WOFF is that the sim makes a load of money on sales so that the team can continue to deliver on this excellent product. It's not perfect and there will always be more "wants". The squeaky wheel always gets the grease, but the wheel that makes no noise if often not fully appreciated. So it is with sims.
Sure. It's not all that pressing of an issue right now. I just noticed a change recently, so it doesn't hurt to mention it.
My biggest request is still the Level Autopilot. My carpal tunnel is killing me from holding the aircraft level when separated from my flight and flying to anywhere besides the nearest aerodrome (where the Autopilot always wants to go).
It's quite nice in it's current iteration, but I would also like to see these tweaked if ever possible:
1) Straight & Level Autopilot added.
2) All Nieuport models' wing stress/breakage levels increased to be sturdier and more relative to the Albatros' speed and G tolerance levels (but still not the same, of course!). The Nieups V-strut wings seem to warp and break far easier than the Albatros.. maybe too much. The N28's wing breakage is most notable as the canvas only tended to tear from the top wing in long ~180mph dives and was usually recoverable, but it does so much easier here and is often deadly.
3) Remove enemy planes spawning directly overhead in the "Air Start" option.
4) Remove the Gunsight View and Player/Target Views from their respective view cycle hotkey and give them their own hotkeys. If this isn't feasible, then perhaps switch the Gunsight View (in F6 cycle) with the Player/Target View (in F1 cycle). This would be to make the Gunsight View more easily accessible without having to cycle through map and instrument panel views, which briefly prevents you from looking outside the plane while cycling to the gunsight view while in a dogfight.
In essence, this final one would allow the F1 view cycling to keep your eyes outside the cockpit while fighting, and make the F6 views "head down" or away from the aircraft altogether. F1 would be more convenient to cycle in a dogfight.
@ Nefaro : You don't have to go through the F6 cycle if you don't want to. Pressing F6 takes you to gunsight view, pressing C brings you back to cockpit view.
@ Nefaro : You don't have to go through the F6 cycle if you don't want to. Pressing F6 takes you to gunsight view, pressing C brings you back to cockpit view.
Really? I thought the 'C' key disabled your TrackIR or something odd like that?
Also.. what if I cycle through F1 after hitting the 'C' key? It doesn't mess with that does it? I was just hoping for a gunsight toggle or something, but I can actually just move my head around with TIR at the moment so that one's not a biggie like the others on my list.
Either way, I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip!
Sorry I realized too late I had probably said something wrong ! The C key brings you back to the cockpit from any view of the F1 cycle, not from the F6. ( I always stay in cockpit view, except for taking a screenshot and I thought it worked the same - the only plane so far I have flown in gunsight view is the DH2)
Sorry I realized too late I had probably said something wrong ! The C key brings you back to the cockpit from any view of the F1 cycle, not from the F6. ( I always stay in cockpit view, except for taking a screenshot and I thought it worked the same - the only plane so far I have flown in gunsight view is the DH2)
Ahhh!
Yeah.. I was just looking for a way to toggle directly to Gunsight View from Cockpit View and back. I'll just move my head to the sight if I ever need to, with TIR. I nearly always aim by the tracers, anyway.
Sure. It's not all that pressing of an issue right now. I just noticed a change recently, so it doesn't hurt to mention it.
My biggest request is still the Level Autopilot. My carpal tunnel is killing me from holding the aircraft level when separated from my flight and flying to anywhere besides the nearest aerodrome (where the Autopilot always wants to go).
I use the trimmers (which most likely didn't exist in those aircraft) but it does get over the tail-heavy trim of most of the aircraft. I mostly use elevator trim at about -29° to go level.
The only problem is that if you engage the AI autopilot it forgets your trim settings ...
My biggest request is still the Level Autopilot. My carpal tunnel is killing me from holding the aircraft level when separated from my flight and flying to anywhere besides the nearest aerodrome (where the Autopilot always wants to go).
You can also adjust throttle to find the right speed at which your plane is rigged for level flight.
My biggest request is still the Level Autopilot. My carpal tunnel is killing me from holding the aircraft level when separated from my flight and flying to anywhere besides the nearest aerodrome (where the Autopilot always wants to go).
You can also adjust throttle to find the right speed at which your plane is rigged for level flight.
The problem with that is when I'm flying straight & level, it's usually to get somewhere as quick as possible.
I experimented with the trim settings, and it's not a bad idea to start using them again, but they only make it require less input from you. You still have to fly the stick, which can get crazy in time compression. A Straight & Level Autopilot would be for the Autopilot to hold your current course & altitude while you use time compression. I like saving time.
Hmmm, what about teleportation ? (I agree with you a Level Autopilot can be useful, but not for the same reason. I would use it (like I do in ROF) at real time when I need to do some navigation on the map which is on my second screen. For now I can use the Pause feature, but it kind of breaks the show.)
Hmmm, what about teleportation ? (I agree with you a Level Autopilot can be useful, but not for the same reason. I would use it (like I do in ROF) at real time when I need to do some navigation on the map which is on my second screen. For now I can use the Pause feature, but it kind of breaks the show.)
I would think it easier to implement a straight & level autopilot 'AI', which it seems to be able to do on it's own. It would still require adding a command to create a waypoint directly ahead of your current heading, and at your current altitude, at the least. But it would be much more flexible than the teleport feature which doesn't currently work.
I don't know if it was mentioned already but I would be very happy to see flak smoke puffs even after I look somewhere else and then back to where I last saw them. That would be very helpful in identifying enemy location very quickly so that I won't have to wait for a new flak to appear. I know that they can hang in the air for quite a long time but they keep disappearing when I'm not looking even for a brief moment.
Apart from this trifle WOFF makes me very happy. Thank you OBD!
P.S. I noticed that the disappearance somehow depends on the distance. Close puffs stay right where they were while distant ones disappear as soon as I'm not looking at them
I wish we could have some enhanced Graphic Options... Still having some Stutters... Not much, and it's playable, but not perfect sometimes. Is there any Chance for this? I would like to have Graphic Options, like they were in OFF HitR. There were simply more possibilities to adjust the Game for your personal Taste.
Display on the first page of pilots dossier the number of the claims which were put by the player in the claims form.
I usually dont check the details page after ended mission (it kills an immersion in my opinion) and sometimes occurs that I shot down more planes than I put in the claims form. Ive noticed that on the first page of the pilots dossier in the position Claims: you can see the number of all planes you shot down even if you didnt fill the form. The number in this position should not be taken from the details page but from the players claims form (the sum of confirmed and rejected claims).
I'd like to see "frontline troops" or "observation ballon" on the dropdown for claims instead of "no witness" if there are no other friendlies around. Im not sure how that would enhance the probability of a claim going through but I believe it should be connected.
I have noticed that when flying in bad weather that the distance that one can see is reduced, and this gives great FPS as a result. So when its a nice clear day the range of view for terrain is wow but the FPS hit is noticable. Any possibilty that one could select the range of sight for terrain in the future?
This is more a mod wish.I play with label dots on but find myself constantly having to lean over to keyboard and cycle labels to identify to see who my flight leader is and what he is doing.I think a simple black dot underneath the flight leader only would work wonders for immersion.This dot could change to say an > for "in flight" to < for "going home" etc to signal what the flight leaders intentions are and also which plane is my flight leadrer so I am not following A flight.
As for WOFF wishlist a small colored flare dot shooting out of flight leaders cockpit to show his intentions would be awesome.I thought of this when a sun flare effect caught my eye and I first thought it was a flare.
@ Wolfstriked If you play with label dots (I do the same) just stick with it and don't cycle labels, it will be a lot better for immersion. If you stay in formation you should know where your leader is. Once the formation is broken, most of the time by a dogfight, it's sort of "free for all" from then on. Sometimes you can reform after the fight if the planes have not been scattered too far away from each other and you can see them or the dots, most of the time I decide to fly home on my own.
@ Wolfstriked If you play with label dots (I do the same) just stick with it and don't cycle labels, it will be a lot better for immersion. If you stay in formation you should know where your leader is. Once the formation is broken, most of the time by a dogfight, it's sort of "free for all" from then on. Sometimes you can reform after the fight if the planes have not been scattered too far away from each other and you can see them or the dots, most of the time I decide to fly home on my own.
I'll give it a try.Now that I am not stumbling to hit SHIFT-t to see messages I will hopefully not lose track as easily.
just saw a pic from 16 rfc (Be2)in which the pilot had a lewis gun mounted on the right side of his cockpit firing outside of the airscrew arc. Could we also get this for the Be2?
I'd love to see the Albatross C-type aircraft. According to Windsock the CI and CIII were the most numerous two seaters in German service until April 1917.
Since i'm here with my hand out, i'll take the chance to beg some more. I'd love to see some more French two seaters, both early and late war. And, i've always had a thing for the F.K.8...
A functional model takes VERY long to build, so I don't think they can make MANY new planes in the near future (but I'd love to be proven wrong!).
If we could have 3 new planes within the next 12 months, I have three set-choices:
Historical Choice 1: 3 historically necessary Aircraft: 2 French two-seaters (Caudron G.IV would be great!), and the Hanriot scout (to introduce the Belgians!)
Historical Choice 2: 3 historically gap-filling Scouts: Roland D.I or D.II, Morane Saulnier N, Roland D.VI
A functional model takes VERY long to build, so I don't think they can make MANY new planes in the near future (but I'd love to be proven wrong!).
If we could have 3 new planes within the next 12 months, I have three set-choices:
Historical Choice 1: 3 historically necessary Aircraft: 2 French two-seaters (Caudron G.IV would be great!), and the Hanriot scout (to introduce the Belgians!)
Historical Choice 2: 3 historically gap-filling Scouts: Roland D.I or D.II, Morane Saulnier N, Roland D.VI
Olham; they are all excellent choices and most have been discussed before. I wonder just what the Dev's are up to on this front. I know the Zep is likely on the horizon but I wonder if any winged aircraft will be included in the next add-on.
A functional model takes VERY long to build, so I don't think they can make MANY new planes in the near future (but I'd love to be proven wrong!).
If we could have 3 new planes within the next 12 months, I have three set-choices:
Historical Choice 1: 3 historically necessary Aircraft: 2 French two-seaters (Caudron G.IV would be great!), and the Hanriot scout (to introduce the Belgians!)
Historical Choice 2: 3 historically gap-filling Scouts: Roland D.I or D.II, Morane Saulnier N, Roland D.VI
Olham, I like your option #1 above with the Breguet 14 being the second French 2-seater. The Sopwith Strutter would legitimately stand in the gap between the service dates of the G.IV and the Breguet.
Would like to see a reduced amount of time the planes are in taking off mode.I understand that its done to keep the planes from crashing into each other but feel it could be tweaked some as its excessive IMO.
An EIII with option to add in a twin Spandau as the Fokker Scourge comes to an end.Make it you have to have a certain amount of kills to be able to request that loadout!
My biggest wish is for a map as detailed as Lou's(or Lou's map itself) but in the WOFF engine for when in the campaign map.Then a cutout of Lou's map for the area your will be flying in when you press the in flight map key to round it off.
The never dying historical aces are really killing the immersion for me, so what I would like to propose is that the devs add a switch in the workbench. An on/off switch that would allow the player to decide if he/she wants to play with the historical aces as is or to let them die like the rest of us.
The never dying historical aces are really killing the immersion for me, so what I would like to propose is that the devs add a switch in the workbench. An on/off switch that would allow the player to decide if he/she wants to play with the historical aces as is or to let them die like the rest of us.
I play a lot of online games and whenever WOFF comes up on TeamSpeak this is the number one complaint. The second most frequent complaint being the inability to take a leave of absence to advance time in your career like Albert Ball when he took 4 or 5 months off between his first and second tours of duty. Players like to follow a pilot through history but its not practical to do on a 1 or 2 missions per calendar day pace in the game.
A time advance feature and the option for mortal aces would be huge improvements
Dunno about mortal aces but time advance has always been there. Just go look.
You could only advance time one day at a time which took a minimum of 3 mouse clicks per day the last time I checked. It was very time consuming to try to move forward 3 or 4 months which takes 300 to 400 mouse clicks and waiting for screens to change. Maybe that's changed?
In campaign mode it would be nice to have all historical aces always set to "ace" skill level regardless of their squadron's overall skill level.
'
I believe they already are. It's just the non-historical AI pilots that receive the AI skill level based upon the rating of the squadron that they are in. Historical Aces, I believe, are always set to Ace AI skill level.
That was possible in OFF. In WOFF, the pilot files are "cryptic scripts", and you'd have to know what to do with them to get a certain result. Me, I wouldn't touch them - don't want to have to do a re-install.
Just checking - I took a pilot and 'advanced' his date one day. Then compared the two files with a Hex editor. There were something like SIX changes all over the place. I was hoping to see an easy answer but alas ...
I mean I even managed to figure out the WORD file layout (which is completely crazy BTW) but this is impossible - as it was meant to be!
As for the moment, I would like to see trainingmissions recorded as flown missions also. By now it just Records the flighttime.
Next, an evaluation tool like Jims, to compare to each pilot flying out there in gameand pls add tools to create a DID Champagner with given rules, so the Game gover the rules, so Olham and Jim have more airtime, otber then comparing flies and stats. Great Job Guys, BTW!!
Cant stress this enough, because the DID campaign keeps me flying in WOFF, and is the reason why I bought it.
Workshop gives nice choices to tailor the game based on various preferences. If I were to add an extra feature, then it would be the ability to adjust aircraft numbers inside squads for both friendly and enemy sides.
So, you'd have the option to have empty skies with few lone wolf patrols. Then you can gradually increase the numbers towards late 1917 into 1918 (like dropdown boxes with number choices from one to eight).
This is different from "less air activity" which makes less airbases active, but still generates upto 6 planes in a squad.
It would be an option, so those that want constant action in every mission can still have it and those that want more realistic encounter rates can have it as well.
As I'm playing right now, I don't get a chance to become familiar with my squadmates. They are constantly being replaced because they die in missions. Apart from historical aces, I haven't had a single sqadmate survive more than 3 missions - and this is in early 1916, too!
...so Olham and Jim have more airtime, otber then comparing flies...
Casey, that was our secret side-hobby - how could you have found out? Jim, did you talk?!?
Originally Posted By: LtCasey
Cant stress this enough, because the DID campaign keeps me flying in WOFF, and is the reason why I bought it.
Well, that is a fine compliment - thank you, Casey. Now we have the "DiD Campaign", I would prefer they'd concentrate on other stuff. But if it could be built in without too much work, they could use the idea, and maybe improve it. I would be happy with that.
I'd pay ($50) for an add-on that offered a "hardcore mode" where the AI would actually turn and fly their planes to the limit of the aircraft and where they didn't fatigue from the fight quite so fast.
In other words, if you were flying against an AI DR1, you wouldn't be able to out turn him if he was an Ace and you were in anything but maybe a Camel. I believe either Winder or Pol stated that the AI pilots don't currently fly their aircraft to the limit of their abilities, so this would definitely make fights quite brutal.
Maybe the pilot Fatigue would be a multiple of the AI skill level, so Novice AI pilots would Fatigue from a fight at the current rate, Veterans would take 1.5 times longer to Fatigue than the Novices and Aces would take 2X as long to Fatigue as Novice AI pilots.
Would like to have the form up pattern after T/O be flown in an higher level by AI flight leader, at least let's say at 1500 feet AGL. Was it historically flown at 500 feet? The time to react in case of engine troubles is far too short, IMHO.
I'd pay ($50) for an add-on that offered a "hardcore mode" where the AI would actually turn and fly their planes to the limit of the aircraft and where they didn't fatigue from the fight quite so fast.
In other words, if you were flying against an AI DR1, you wouldn't be able to out turn him if he was an Ace and you were in anything but maybe a Camel. I believe either Winder or Pol stated that the AI pilots don't currently fly their aircraft to the limit of their abilities, so this would definitely make fights quite brutal.
Maybe the pilot Fatigue would be a multiple of the AI skill level, so Novice AI pilots would Fatigue from a fight at the current rate, Veterans would take 1.5 times longer to Fatigue than the Novices and Aces would take 2X as long to Fatigue as Novice AI pilots.
Maybe just a new setting next to enemy always engages that forces only HA's to always engage?
Also,observers on two seaters that sit when there is no contact and a highly improved briefing map.Takes me a long time to figure out where the map is pointing to so that I can place location on Louvert map.
There is already a setting in the Workshop that sets Enemy AI to Always Engage. I am more interested in the Ace AI being able to fly their planes closer to the limit of the planes performance and not give up quite so fast, but still cut and run if the engagement just isn't going their way.
I have killed a few aces so far but these are in slightly inferior planes than mine so I cant really tell you what its like fighting an ace in an equal or better airplane.If you say they might be a bit too easy I don't see why they cant increase slightly with an option in workshop.
I have grown to like the ground loop effect the N16 Nieuport has.This really adds to a feeling of danger when landing and some of these planes were very hard to land smoothly.In the N16 you need to add in a good amount of left rudder at a certain speed but also you have to pull back on stick to prevent it from nosing over.So with wheels down you first have to judge when to apply back pressure as too early and you risk getting airborne again and then with back pressure applied you wait for the yaw and counter with rudder.
Would like to see the other taildragger planes get some sort of this stuff added to them,just not with the severe nose over the N16 has.Dipping wings causing damage etc.I am probably alone in this wish though.
No, I would love to see more difficult ground handling in the planes where it is warranted...namely the rotaries.
But to be honest I would rather see OBD spend their time elsewhere at the moment giving us mortal aces and time advance for longer periods than one day.
Second thing I would like to see is a plane add-on or two with the Caudron G4, Breguet 14 and the Airco DH4.
There's just so many pages to read, so I hope I'm not just repeating someone else
It would be nice to see the observer ranks in RNAS squadrons with the RNAS Observer ranks. Came across a site that shows the observer ranks and got thinking.
Would like to see observer messages up in the urgent messages area that signal when observer has started his task,be that observation or artillery spotting and then a message after the allotted time that he is done with task.Simple thing but it will give a feel of accomplishing something as right now you feel as if you are just flying circles.
Make it difficult to escape simply by flying at tree top level. Almost feels like a cheat method.
Some will try to fly level but always just be above my plane and thus can't get a shot in on me. Was able to fly this way with EA behind me for about 10 minutes until it decided to go home.
I know this is completely impossible, but I would like to be able to enlist a pilot as an observer/gunner and then he would be assigned a pilot. The pilot would be AI of course, but gunner claims would be separate.
At the moment all my flights in Sopwith 1œ Strutters are as an observer looking out the back with my Lewis gun. I might have a kill, but I'm not sure as maybe the pilot got that one. I suppose if one were an observer they would have to stop the switch to the pilot seat or something like that. Sounds difficult from a programming point of view and as I am the only one who seems to do this I don't mind if it never happens. Just an idea...
But I'll give a try in the latest campaign as a Bristol F2b gunner - look it up - a few of those guys had high scores! No wonder the Krauts kept away from them. The best British aircraft of the war really.
I just recently read or maybe it was watched a video where the presenter was saying that while we only hear of the aces the two seater planes were death machines.Much higher kill counts from bombs and other types of attacks on concentrated groups of men.
Would love a modified sound file, where the wind sounds increase abruptly when moving the players/pilots head out of the cover of the windscreen... This would add a lot to immersion I think...
That (even if it seems impossible under this engine) is one of the best features of Rise of Flight, that and the rain marks in the windscreen,...to sum up, all the simulation features are great in Rof , the historical ww1 sim features are great in WOFF, idel world would be to have them all. Dreaming,...
I'm going to steal Olham's thunder from something he said in another post. I am going to suggest that if it is possible and not a big effort, to upgrade the "Time Advance" feature to allow us to advance more than one day at a time. Possibly allow us to specify the day, month, and year. It is currently very tedious to have to advance one day at a time when you need to advance a whole month or more.
Although I am probably alone in this, I vote for the Fences to remain. They really make me pay attention when landing at different aerodromes, Of course, the trees also make me pay attention . More French airplanes would be cool flyable or AI only.
I also agree about fences. They are another level of challenge in the game.
I just discovered another palce to land where there are no fences besides roads.... large wheat fields. These "yellowish" patches are surrounded by a fence, but I've never seen a fence cross through them and they are much more common than roads.
Be careful, I've seen a couple oddly placed fences in those fields.
Yikes! I just noticed your post. You've got good eyes MudWasp. Thanks for altering me to that because I would've just blindly landed there not knowing that I'd.... BAM! ....YOUR CAREER HAS ENDED..... ARRRGH!
I'm sure few or no WWI pilots looked for railroad tracks to land on. Seems like the tracks would/could tear off the wheels, but I've landed on RR tracks in WOFF.
Wish of mine is to change the length of "taking off" mode of your squad.I am stationed at Nieuwmunster and every time we take off my flight leader flies all the way to Verbindingsdok lake and then starts the climbout.Thats 6 miles of travel before climbing out judging from Lou's maps.To top it off I just took off right now to escort a flight of Aviatiks which were right above us as we took off and my flight leader flew to the lake first.If there is a reason it has to be this way I am alright with it but if the length of takeoff mode can be shortened it would be great.
Second wish. Can we have a more natural pilot position.Most sims have the pilot sitting perfectly straight and this detracts from the look IMO.Just a slight lean forward would add a certain something that I have no words for.
More into detail plane pages.When you click to view a plane it gives very vague info with many same plane versions having the same info.Would really add to the atmosphere if you clicked on a plane type and a detailed explanation popped up.Some planes also have wording like "plane was used mainly as bomber but also for reconnaissance and bomber roles".For example the N11 and N16 info is the same with just changes to start date etc.Nice to see something like this
Nieuport 16
In 1916 an improved version appeared as the Nieuport 16 which was a strengthened Nieuport 11 airframe powered by a 110 hp (92 kW) Le Rhône 9J rotary engine.[3] Visible differences included a larger aperture in front of the "horse shoe" cowling and a headrest for the pilot.[4] Later versions had a fuselage-mounted synchronized Vickers gun, but in this configuration the combined effect of the heavier 9J engine and the Vickers gun compromised maneuverability[4] and made the craft nose-heavy. The next variant, the slightly larger Nieuport 17 C.1, was designed for the heavier engine and machine gun, and remedied the 16's c.g. problems, as well as improving performance.
Since WM is revising the scenery, I would like to see the wheat fields being light green in spring time. Also the light damage being presented like the heavier one, via alpha channels (actual holes) and not decals that are used currently (compatible with high resolution skins too)...
One more thing regarding damage model that comes to mind and IMO needs to be looked upon a bit, is the kind of symmetrical wings rip off. In case of engine-fuel erruption the wings seem be detouched from the fuselage as a whole, looking like some kind of weird kite. A more random wing rip off would add a lot to realism - immersion factor.
I'd like the option to begin as a second lieutenant in the RFC, but still be a rookie [i.e. I don't want this option to accelerate my promotion to lieutenant or to require me lead a flight during the first few weeks at the front]. This would simulate the middle or upper class Brit getting a commission on signing up.
In essence, with this option selected, during your current "sergeant" phase your rank would appear as a second lieutenant. Then, when you would otherwise have been promoted from sergeant to second lieutenant, you simply remain a 2Lt. There would be a false "promotion" from 2Lt to 2Lt, after which things would be back to normal.
One more thing regarding damage model that comes to mind and IMO needs to be looked upon a bit, is the kind of symmetrical wings rip off. In case of engine-fuel erruption the wings seem be detouched from the fuselage as a whole, looking like some kind of weird kite. A more random wing rip off would add a lot to realism - immersion factor.
What I would love to see is some kind of indication that you are overspeeding the airframe.I think I notice a flutter effect where plane bobs up and down(seems the Nieuport series has this but again it could be just imagination).If this could be magnified and starts when you are nearing the speed where damage occurs it would be simply marvelous!Heck it could also be used for when nearing stall speed.
EDIT...oh and engine damage from overspeed forcing you to manage throttle setting in dives.
This may seem silly to some or a great idea to others......
Can we all agree that music is a moving experience?What makes it a moving experience is the work the musician has done to instill a feeling in its listener over the course of a song.When listening to a Rock song that slows down its tempo and causes anticipation and then ramps up to the lead guitar part etc.Would you listen to that song for just a few seconds and then change it?I feel though that in WOFF this is removed and doesn't allow you to experience anything from the constant changing of songs with screens.
The music in WOFF starts to grab you and draw you in and quickly changes to another and then another song dependent on how fast you click thru the screens.Test the immersion yourself by going into campaign screen and then click thru some screens while avoiding Intell/News/Briefings as they will instantly change the music.
TLDR:The wonderful music Matt Milne has created for WOFF is very moving but you need to listen to the whole song and not jump from one to the next with each change of screen.Better to play a single song from game startup all the way to mission start to instill a feeling of sadness,happiness etc dependent on the song.
Ability to issue a command (as flight leader or even not as flight leader) to break off dogfights and return to base. Maybe to avoid the annoying wiping out of your entire squad many times during campaign play.
AI flight leader in faster planes to slow down so that formations can remain intact up to the front.
When you open the pilot log to look at your "Flight Log" page I would like to see an ability to jump to the last page of the log to look at the data for your most recent mission. It can be quite tedious to have to page down for a pilot that has a long career. I'm thinking of the DiD campaign in particular that Olham has running. I currently have a pilot with 107 sorties and it is getting rather tedious to reach that last page of data.
I'm wondering if there is a quick fix that could be applied or even if it is possible.
Maybe we could be looking at the last page first and then scroll backwards to see previous missions, in stead of the other way around
I think it would be nice to have the option to let the game manage squadron transfers.
For example, on promotion from NCO to officer, you are moved to a new squadron for a "fresh start." Or you have to earn your way to an elite Jasta. Or repeated crashes sees you stuck on two seaters for a while. Or promotion to a higher rank sees you promoted to lead a flight or squadron elsewhere. It would help you to learn to stick out a difficult aircraft rather than simply jump to the squadron with the latest and greatest new kite.
Wolfstriked - WOFF supports higher resolutions already. The workshop shows your MAX setting, if you plugin 3 monitors like I have you can run at 5760x1200 or more, whatever.
Oldhat your AI do slow down we specially coded that in and it's generally much better at it than many sims but (I remember in an old great sim all your flight used to take off andf leave you and you only caught up at the target point) - however some craft are not really compatible i.e. some climb badly or are too slow, or some a re unable to fly well at a low speed (high stall speed etc)
Can we get a preview video for v2.0? Like we did before WOFF was released a year ago? The pictures are amazing, don't get me wrong, but I would love to see these new features in action.
Wolfstriked - WOFF supports higher resolutions already. The workshop shows your MAX setting, if you plugin 3 monitors like I have you can run at 5760x1200 or more, whatever.
That is just great news!Many sims just don't support the wider screen resolutions.Now to decide triple screen or an ultra wide.
All Planes in the Loadout-Screen could start with the same amount of Fuel. Now you have, let's say, you and two Guys with 50% and 4 new Guys with 100%. I always have to "fill" everyone to 100%, before I can finally set the desired amount for all. An "All start with 100%" or "All start with Player's Loadout" would be nice.
Bleeding when health falls below certain percentage (~50%) with a chance to become unconscious (or blackout) when health is below 10% for player and AI.
EDIT: Another wish item is better AA blast radius effects including damage to aircraft without a direct hit and major buffeting effects.
Greetings, This is my first post and I thought I'd start with a wish. 'Tis the season. Picking up on OldHat's idea, I'd like the health to gradually decrease once injured to simulate loss of blood. You could then actually bring your machine back home and die after landing. I would also like to see what my injuries are when reading the report from the hospital. Doesn't need to be accurate, just so it matches the amount of time of recovery needed, which we already get. It would be nice to know if I was hit in my arm, my leg or my butt. Something to tell my virtual grandchildren after the war. Now, going back to getting hit. I'm sometimes disappointed that all my fuel is automatically lost when my tank is hit. I'm glad the tank didn't explode, but I wish that sometimes there was some fuel left at the bottom of the tank - a random amount to simulate the tank being hit on the side and not always on the bottom. Also, when transferring to the new unit I would like to actually be able to fly to the new base on my own instead of getting the message that I'm at the new base. I think it would be cool to navigate to this new aerodrome, getting bounced by the enemy and having to go back to my old base due to damage and retry the mission again the next day. Maybe this time with some buddies in case the enemy shows up again. Once at the new base the first mission should be a mandatory navigation mission. Speaking of navigation, the flight leader always gets you to the right waypoint no matter what. I'd like to see them sometimes, on rare occasion, get lost - perhaps in bad weather. Bomb the wrong target, take photos of the wrong area, protect the wrong balloon - things that would fail the mission due to "human" error. Anyways, enough of wishing except one more: WOFF 2.0 under the tree. Cheers!
since no French aircraft will be coming with v.2, would it be possible to add a few Morane "L" squads for 1915/16 ? Presently I fly with c76 nov.1916 and they have the Morane, but they are assigned scout missions (which I fly as bomb/recce for the books), even changing c76 to a recce squad till it becomes a real scout one (like rfc 1 &3) would be nice and perhaps simple to do.
@Fullofit: LOL The Flight Leader making Errors really is a great Idea, that would add much Reality and Fun to the Game... you're flying around in Formation, watching the Sky for Enemies, and all of a sudden you think: "Hey! Were the Heck are we?" The "Tank always empty after Hit" is another Issue. Your Proposal (random Amount of Fuel getting extracted) sure would be a sound Solution.
I'm not sure but I know that it was possible to get the petroltank hit and then after a certain amount of percentage loss it stopped, e.G. 17% etc. Can't remember though if it was in OFF. But if it was in OFF, then it is implemented for sure in WOFF too. Haven't had that case for a while so can't remember.
On the other hand I learned from reading biographies etc., in reality, when someone got his petroltank hit and petrol was pouring out, they immediately shut down the engine. Simply because the engine is running red hot and petrol spraying around might have caused the engine to catch fire. Of course it obviously depended on the aircraft and if the petroltank was in the same area as the engine.
The one and only thing which I donŽt like in WoFF, is the in-cockpit zoom which actually can only be made in steps and not smooth, like the zoom function in the external view. Maybe this could be adressed sometimes in the future?
I wonder if record function will ever be implemented. Just imagine how many cool and beautiful videos we could create to spread the word! Of course, we can record what we see from the cockpit and sometimes more (risking our lives) but nothing compares to thoughtful editing after the heat of the battle calms down. + some aftereffects and we could make great fan trailers. Is it some game engine limitations? I remember even old Il-2 had this feature. I would gladly pay for it.
It would be also great to somehow control overwing guns' position. As I imagine it - either we have 2 positions (normal and 45 degrees upwards) or we could take control over them just like we control observer guns - with our joysticks - while the plane's flying in autopilot mode or something like this). I'm sorry if this had been mentioned already
I still feel that small icon underneath only the flight leader would be superb here.It could change to signal him giving hand signals so that a small ^ is taking off while >/< signals in flight/rtb and + signals enemy spotted engage etc.Small * under the flight leader of a flight you are tasked to escort would be great also.
Also,when you enter into observer position you have option to grab the gun or release the gun and when you release the gun the mouse still controls your view but you also have ability to fly the plane using WASD.This could simulate that the observer guided the plane by hand signals.Simple thing yet could add something big IMO.The controls of plane should be sluggish to simulate just guiding rather than flying the plane.
I'd like to wish that WOFF fleshes out it's role playing side to give it a more personable feel to the game. Also, to make you feel insignificant to the War's cause and your missions are only a very minor part of the war.
WOFF Role Playing Game (RPG)
1. Squadron Introduction through an interface similar to OFFbase 1.1.1
2. Missions are flown in real time
3. If crash and survive behind enemy lines then automatically exit aircraft through "J" key and run towards NML. Chance of capture is calculated every 5 seconds until you reach your own trenches. When you successfully reach your own trenches, open interface similar to OFFbase to communicate with your base to pick you up.
4. If crash and survive on your side of line then exit aircraft through "J" key and find your way back to base. Option to encounter troops, convoy, or take the train, etc... which will open an interface to allow you to choose if you want to be escorted back to base.
5. Once at base either by landing or through other means, then exit aircraft, convoy, train, etc... through "J" key and you have freedom to enter any building to get chance encounters with squad similar to OFFbase.
Main purpose is to interact with people in your squad, know when someone dies and is sorely missed, get angry at the person who stole your kill or almost collided with you and enter your mission story into your dialy diary.
Hello, old OFF Phase3/HiTR owner who just bought both WOFF and Expansion, so it's hour and a half or so fresh impressions from top of my head:
-mouse controlled views -but can't say if CFS3 engine allows that for us yet-to-buy-TrackIR users (if there any beside me) -as mentioned earlier some kind of even permanent small label indicating flight leader -smooth zooming transitions in the cockpit view
Birds would add great to the overall athmosphere! We have cattle and horses which is great. But I would imagine, that some lonely birds of prey or some flock of Birds would do an amazing job to enrich the allready living world of WOFF! I canŽt remeber if this feature has ever been in an sim. WasnŽt it in FSX?
I'd just like to say that I had wished for Wind Buffeting and that wish has been fulfilled! The new wind buffeting effects are fantastic! Many, many thanks to OBD!
1. Dedicated gunsite key, that switches between the "flying view" and the gunsite view only, without having to cycle through the two other views in between them that currently exists.
2. An option in the workshop for "minimal labels." Currently, when the aircraft reach the closest setting in the workshop, the labels display the aircraft type and the pilot name. I would love to have the option to display only a small red icon for enemy planes, or green for friendlies, without aircraft name or pilot name.
My ageing eyes just need a little help when in combat being able to distinguish enemies from friendlies. I think the current system that includes aircraft name and pilot name is a little overkill.
I don't know if this is possible in WOFF and would be unrealistic but fun IMO.
Dynamic frontline which you can affect, meaning you would get a mission to attack infantry on frontline and when you kill % of infantry or trucks at target the front would move after the mission and you could check the progress on the intel map.
Seeing you single handed have an impact on war is good for gameplay.
Since the "Wish List" is filled with some wild ones I'll will add one: Activity on the flight line prior to take-off and after landing. People, mechanics, vehicles, etc. Make the aerodrome seem more alive.
2. An option in the workshop for "minimal labels." Currently, when the aircraft reach the closest setting in the workshop, the labels display the aircraft type and the pilot name. I would love to have the option to display only a small red icon for enemy planes, or green for friendlies, without aircraft name or pilot name.
My ageing eyes just need a little help when in combat being able to distinguish enemies from friendlies. I think the current system that includes aircraft name and pilot name is a little overkill.
I agree. Surely there must be a way somehow to increase the size of the dots to something that I can also see???
Since the "Wish List" is filled with some wild ones I'll will add one: Activity on the flight line prior to take-off and after landing. People, mechanics, vehicles, etc. Make the aerodrome seem more alive.
The Italian Front with flyable Austro-Hungarians would be awesome.
Fafnir_6
Why not the middle east front? Australians and Brits flew there. I would think regenerating a desert would be less time consuming since when I was in the Middle East, there wasn't much scenery
Gah! You guys are killing me. Those are all side shows. The main event is in France. Once my fantasy of all squadrons and all aircraft types for the Western Front (1914-18) is fulfilled you guys can have these other fronts.
Gah! You guys are killing me. Those are all side shows. The main event is in France. Once my fantasy of all squadrons and all aircraft types for the Western Front (1914-18) is fulfilled you guys can have these other fronts.
Not exactly a wish, but some information that might be used to adjust the 'hardness' of wooden fences and chance of injury/death from combat related crashes:
I have just received the new edition of Henshaw's "The sky their battlefield", and this 2nd expanded ed. has a great deal of information now on accidents, with the appendix "An analysis of Western Front accidents: how many 'walked away'?".
Using 13,900 Western Front aircraft casualty reports (RFC/RAF) Trevor Henshaw calculates that of 8,044 crashes and accidents involving no enemy involvement, 6,678 'described or inferred the airmen walked away with no injury' and only '17% resulted in any injury or death to personnel'. Where the crash was the result of enemy action, this increases dramatically to 74%.
He drills down into the data further, and gives the chance of not 'walking away' for each type of aircraft used by the RFC/RAF. For the Sopwith Triplane, for example, the % chance of injury or death from non-combat related crashes is 44.4%, whereas for the BE2c it is much lower at 11.8%. Aircraft types used predominantly for night flying have a correspondingly higher chance of injury or death from crashes.
Also,a better iron sight for the DFW C.V.Right now you go to iron sight and it shoots higher than the iron sight making it just for show.Just extend the post and the other thingamajig up a few inches so it looks good.Just a wish,only a wish.
I wish the Realistic Claims were more ... realistic. This:
is neither realistic nor fair. I couldn't care less if my kill was stolen. I have enough claims to be awarded The Blue Max twice in the same month, but my wingman is devastated. He can't eat or sleep. He's consumed by the stolen glory. Anyways, can we have another look at the claims allocation? I know it takes only one bullet, but this is going overboard.
Not exactly a wish, but some information that might be used to adjust the 'hardness' of wooden fences and chance of injury/death from combat related crashes:
I have just received the new edition of Henshaw's "The sky their battlefield", and this 2nd expanded ed. has a great deal of information now on accidents, with the appendix "An analysis of Western Front accidents: how many 'walked away'?".
Using 13,900 Western Front aircraft casualty reports (RFC/RAF) Trevor Henshaw calculates that of 8,044 crashes and accidents involving no enemy involvement, 6,678 'described or inferred the airmen walked away with no injury' and only '17% resulted in any injury or death to personnel'. Where the crash was the result of enemy action, this increases dramatically to 74%.
He drills down into the data further, and gives the chance of not 'walking away' for each type of aircraft used by the RFC/RAF. For the Sopwith Triplane, for example, the % chance of injury or death from non-combat related crashes is 44.4%, whereas for the BE2c it is much lower at 11.8%. Aircraft types used predominantly for night flying have a correspondingly higher chance of injury or death from crashes.
B.
This is great information, Bletchley, and I hope will precipitate a change in WOFF fence lethality. Right now I don't use "random engine failure" as an engine failure means almost certain death. If it meant a 17% chance of injury or death (assuming I've landed my plane correctly) then it would be a fun challenge.
Perhaps this has been posted in this thread previously(haven't read through the 38 pages), but I would like to have the ability to land, and not have the mission end, then take off again and continue flying. Would add immersion and reality to WOFF IMO.
Perhaps this has been posted in this thread previously(haven't read through the 38 pages), but I would like to have the ability to land, and not have the mission end, then take off again and continue flying. Would add immersion and reality to WOFF IMO.
I believe if u dont turn engine off (shift+e), you can takeoff again!
Thanks Robert I do turn the engine off. Can't restart afterward. But I unfortunately always come in too fast, don't circle and hence have shut down as I land. Perhaps I'll try more patience and leave the engine running.
I recall in RB "back in the day", one could turn the engine off and then restart. FS as well.
Arty Gun muzzle flashes. Maybe MG tracer across no mans land. If it isn't done already Explosions in No Mans land are fired from an on map Arty Unit. Lots more Arty Units. Different explosions in No mans land depending on size of calibre. Shrapnel burst clouds from shrapnel rounds over no mans land. Actual Land Mine explosions at the right time they went off in the right part of No Mans Land.
A kind of time advance in game so when on the way back home you can have an option to teleport (time is advanced accordingly) above airfield unless you are attacked or have the opportunity to attack and the your taken to that point instead after being warned. This way when you haven't much time to play you can speed up the mission abit.
As hard as the Devs have been working to get out V2.00, 2.01, 2.02, 2.03 & now 2.04....I just want to Wish them a Merry Christmas. Awesome work guys. Thank you for the five star support!
As hard as the Devs have been working to get out V2.00, 2.01, 2.02, 2.03 & now 2.04....I just want to Wish them a Merry Christmas. Awesome work guys. Thank you for the five star support!
I would vote for a 'Re-load' function (if the 'R' key is hopefully unused) and the ability to elevate the Lewis gun on the top wing, and fire from that position.
I've never flown with a whole formation of two-seaters, but it would seem as though there should be a "Tighten up the formation" command to bring squadron members in closer for mutual support.
I wish WOFF vV2 would get more exposure in the mainstream gaming / sim media. I hope PC Gamer and some of the other, larger sites will do a review of V2 expansion.
I'd love to have time advance go up by twos or even ones. At the moment at x4 I can have 30FPS but as soon as I go x8 right down to 2 fps. I'd be very pleased even if we could just have a X6.
Why: Numerous people are unable to run the sim at 8X time compression - obviously - because of all of the activity going on, and so the frame rates drop to be very low. The reason most people use Time Compression in the first place (this is my guess) is to "get to the action faster."
If there was an option in the Workshop to select Short Patrols along with High Encounters, people would get to the action in a lot less time and wouldn't worry about trying to set the compression so high. There would be little or no need. If you start in the air (already an option), fly and fight within a few minutes and can end the mission - all in real time - I think a lot of folks who don't have a lot of time would love that feature and it would give a break to folks who don't have "killer rig" systems who would like to fly more but can't spend the time.
Yes - people could just choose Quick Combat action - except you don't get to be in a campaign that way. Short Patrols would allow people to have a campaign that don't always have the proper time to fly one.
I forgot about one thing in my wish list for WOFF: historically accurate awards system. We have so many beautiful medals in Medals folder and many of them aren't used in the game (e.g. The House Order of Hohenzollern) while others like Victoria Cross or Pour Le Merite are incorrectly given more than once.
nice pic JFM....the last one. I just read a chapter from a french pilot were he took his passenger up and did just that. He knew where and when and how he make that sort of shadow, along with the glowing ring around it. Must be cool to see.
This request might be easy....could we have more morane squads for the French...and use the same plane for the Hun as his copy of the Pfalz.
to lederhosen: It is. I first saw it while skydiving. It struck me at the time that it resembled an archery target, with its concentric rings of differing colors, but with a black bull's eye. And being that the bull's eye is your shadow, you're guaranteed never to miss. The where and when is easy, IRL...just fly above the top layer of clouds and close enough to see your shadow. Not sure if the coding would be easy though, as it would probably have to be part of the shadow and only when the shadow falls on a cloud. My guess would to ask Ankor about this one Jim, as he is the Shadow Master.
That pic is particularly cool, since the 2 o'clock-3 o'clock arcs of a third and fourth ring are faintly visible. Really amazing.
I have some wishes that may be somewhat "simpler" to incorporate into the game.
Airfield attack: a successful attack will disable the airfield from sending planes for a few days.
Railyard or Factory attack (or successful straffing of convoys): a newpaper article overexaggerating the devastation and destruction of the railyard/factory and how supplies to the troops/cities/airfields will get delayed.
Balloon busting: downed balloon will disappear for the next couple of days and then return.
Not so simple:
Depending on the type of plane, let the lighter ones carrying bombs feel heavier and kindda sluggish, then go back to normal once the load is dropped.
Takeoff and landing on snow or ice covered airfields causes slipping and sliding.
Show mechanics/Fitters/Riggers working on planes that were damaged in the previous mission. Also, show the damaged plane.
Leave plane wreakage visible for a couple of days with soldiers/trucks at the scene of the crash.
Ships and submarines. Also, ports in costal areas of Flanders.
Distinct medal track, pilot images, and observer ranks for the RNAS.
Change "details" post-mission screen to "details and claims" and relocate on screen so you are less likely just to hit "done" and miss out on filing a claim.
(I know this is massive) More victory scores for HAs -- would like to see the full squadron kill list accurately.
Squadron list could show KIA or MIA pilots until you delete them. This would let you track how well you're doing in command roles.
Option for mandatory leaves or rotation to Home Establishment (UK pilots)every few months.
I don't really have a lot of time to spend on WOFF, much to my chagrin. What I would really like is the ability to 'accept' or 're-fly' a mission when I have to cut it short. I don't care for QC much since the campaign is so interesting to follow a career. But I wish I stop the mission especially if it looks like it's going to take some time and get really involved. Otherwise I move forward in time didn't really get to finish. Thanks
Thanks for the link, it is interesting but no need for extra FF-power. In RoF and Clod it is working great, only in WoFF the FF reaction is strange, sometime zero or full power and also the reacting of the plane to FF is not accurate. Did discover this morning a strange behavior; when using front guns on the DH2, FF does not stop, only when changing view, it stops shaking.
Difficult to explain for me as a non English speaker, notice here also some postings about this problem, so I'm not alone. The MS-FF2 is one of the most used JS, guess some members here could explain this much better.
Thanks for the link, it is interesting but no need for extra FF-power. In RoF and Clod it is working great, only in WoFF the FF reaction is strange, sometime zero or full power and also the reacting of the plane to FF is not accurate. Did discover this morning a strange behavior; when using front guns on the DH2, FF does not stop, only when changing view, it stops shaking.
Difficult to explain for me as a non English speaker, notice here also some postings about this problem, so I'm not alone. The MS-FF2 is one of the most used JS, guess some members here could explain this much better.
Ok Dutch. I have used the stick exclusively since RB3D and all of the OFF / WOFF releases with no problems. I don't think this is something that should be in the wish list as I doubt it is a sim software problem. I suspect the problem to lie elsewhere. Probably should post this in the "Technical" forum.
About claiming system, I wish that (in order of importance, for me)
-1/ All claims should be recorded, even the erroneous ones -2/ Possibility to give different claims different witnesses -3/ Position of the claim should be taken in consideration, not only witness : an aircraft shot down 10 km in our lines should be easily accorded, even without flying witnesses. Maybe adding time to making the thing harder (I think what really counts when claiming was type, hour and place, witnesses were only there to back up your words. But I think the map is not enough detailled to include place).
Another little thing, in french, the Adjutant rank doesn't exist, the Adjudant, yes!
Improved Gotha behaviour after raid: while other planes from your flight (Gothas) reform after raid, players plane gets order "Fly to nearest airfield and avoid enemy", so your autopilot will not reform and will not keep in formation with other aircraft in flight. That is quite a problem because bombers defence depends mainly on keeping formation and strong firepower of several gunners at a time.
Would like to have to wait for a claim to be knocked back rather than it being pretty instant.
Would also like a management aspect similar to Rowans Battle of Britain.
High Command: Where we can set the missions for squadrons across the whole front meeting battlefield demands\requests for arty\recon spotting\Bombing and air superiority\ground attack etc. Can choose the squadrons and say how many in each flight and arrange escorts, targets etc etc etc. Issue out replacements for a pool. Myabe your running out so have to cut short pilot training to bring some to the front..but they wont be to hot etc etc.
Squadron Command: You are given an order\mission and you decide which pilots have to go up and which should rest, balancing moral and fatigue. You obviously have your own pilot but you can jump in and be an ace if your not flying. You set the waypoints to and from target.
Would like to have to wait for a claim to be knocked back rather than it being pretty instant.
Would also like a management aspect similar to Rowans Battle of Britain.
High Command: Where we can set the missions for squadrons across the whole front meeting battlefield demands\requests for arty\recon spotting\Bombing and air superiority\ground attack etc. Can choose the squadrons and say how many in each flight and arrange escorts, targets etc etc etc. Issue out replacements for a pool. Myabe your running out so have to cut short pilot training to bring some to the front..but they wont be to hot etc etc.
Squadron Command: You are given an order\mission and you decide which pilots have to go up and which should rest, balancing moral and fatigue. You obviously have your own pilot but you can jump in and be an ace if your not flying. You set the waypoints to and from target.
Wodin that could be fun but only as an add on feature or override that could be turned on or off. Right now I enjoy the fact I can spend my time flying in a historical framework. Not sure at this time I would want to spend the planning time to achieve what you are suggesting. It would probably appeal to many others who are into war gaming.
-3/ Position of the claim should be taken in consideration, not only witness : an aircraft shot down 10 km in our lines should be easily accorded, even without flying witnesses.
+1 on this. Programming-wise like a +15% to the confirmation chance for every KM the claim is behind your lines. Or that is too complicated too implement perhaps a flat 30-35% added to your chance if the claim is in friendly territory.
Here's one I've not seen mentioned yet, and if it has my apologies for the repetition: WWI Home Defence squadrons in England did not historically fly sorties as flights but rather as solo patrols, each assigned a section of the 'grid' for that particular mission. As it is now they go up in flights of three or more and fly together, which is quite wrong. As the devs are always striving for historical accuracy this is something that should be addressed in a future update.
Here's one I've not seen mentioned yet, and if it has my apologies for the repetition: WWI Home Defence squadrons in England did not historically fly sorties as flights but rather as solo patrols, each assigned a section of the 'grid' for that particular mission. As it is now they go up in flights of three or more and fly together, which is quite wrong. As the devs are always striving for historical accuracy this is something that should be addressed in a future update.
.
I'd like to second Lou's point. I haven't done Home Defence yet, but flying as solo patrols would be quite important to the immersion. It's especially important at night.
Raine, what I've been doing for now so that I can fly all the sorties solo is I lower the fuel level to 5% for all the others in my flight which causes them to circle and land immediately after taking off. A stopgap measure to be sure.
Raine, what I've been doing for now so that I can fly all the sorties solo is I lower the fuel level to 5% for all the others in my flight which causes them to circle and land immediately after taking off. A stopgap measure to be sure.
Raine, what I've been doing for now so that I can fly all the sorties solo is I lower the fuel level to 5% for all the others in my flight which causes them to circle and land immediately after taking off. A stopgap measure to be sure.
.
Now, you openly revealed your intentions, you will be court martialed .
Raine, what I've been doing for now so that I can fly all the sorties solo is I lower the fuel level to 5% for all the others in my flight which causes them to circle and land immediately after taking off. A stopgap measure to be sure.
.
Lou, that's just way too smart for mere mortals. Thanks! If and when I get to Home Defence, that's exactly what I'll do.
Apparently if you end the game and some of your squad mates are still in enemy territory they get listed as killed or captured or missing during the Debrief. Unfortunately there are plenty of reasons YOU may have to land and get out of the game (engine failure, damage, etc) and it would be nice if your misfortune did not cause casualties among your squadron.
Apparently if you end the game and some of your squad mates are still in enemy territory they get listed as killed or captured or missing during the Debrief. Unfortunately there are plenty of reasons YOU may have to land and get out of the game (engine failure, damage, etc) and it would be nice if your misfortune did not cause casualties among your squadron.
IMO, aircraft allocation based on ranks doesn't make sense in its current implementation.
In my DID career in MFFA 2, we now have both DFWs and Rolands in the same squadron. There are altogether four DFWs and five pilots (six pilots at full strength). But for some reason, one or two of the DFWs are always kept in reserve and some of the pilots are forced to fly the older Rolands.
Is there a historical precedent for this? Why would the squadron handicap its performance like that? If there are enough newer and better aircraft available to equip all the pilots in a flight, why are some of the pilots flying the older aircraft?
Maybe this has been mentioned already, so I apologize if I'm repeating it. It just doesn't make any sense to me.
Yes, my wish is that they don't - because I don't think they did (unless I am wrong, of course, and they did). The information that I have seen is that escort missions were flown by 2-seater Schusta sections from early 1917 onwards. So a typical German Art.Obs. or Photo.Recon. flight would consist of the 2-seater with the Observer in it and then one or two 2-seaters flying shotgun (i.e a typical WOFF 2-seater flight, but without the Jasta escort). I don't think Jasta units were tied-down to this work, but someone who knows more about them than I do might be able to contradict this?
IMO, aircraft allocation based on ranks doesn't make sense in its current implementation.
In my DID career in MFFA 2, we now have both DFWs and Rolands in the same squadron. There are altogether four DFWs and five pilots (six pilots at full strength). But for some reason, one or two of the DFWs are always kept in reserve and some of the pilots are forced to fly the older Rolands.
Is there a historical precedent for this? Why would the squadron handicap its performance like that? If there are enough newer and better aircraft available to equip all the pilots in a flight, why are some of the pilots flying the older aircraft?
Maybe this has been mentioned already, so I apologize if I'm repeating it. It just doesn't make any sense to me.
I had exactly the same issue with J11 in April 1917. I was flying, along with the other non-HA's, Alb DIII (early) while the HA's all got the Alb DIII. That would be fine, I guess, except the Jasta Leader was keeping two Alb DIII's in reserve. Historical precedent? I canning imagine unless you want to chalk it up to a training and familiarization issue. The Crown Prince flew a Alb DI long past its prime historically.
Hello! I'd love to see a sort of 'showroom' feature that allows you to view the info pages for any plane available, rather than the ones in the campaign intel report, which are constrained by time period.
For extra bonus points, I'd love it if these planes were 3D animated (i.e. could be panned around), and particularly if you could apply skins to them to preview. Looking at the skin file when it isn't stretched over a model really isn't the same.
One of my personal pet peeves is the fact that the historical French sectors of the front all say that they are British sectors. Is there anyway the Devs could fix this?
AI flight leaders reduce throttle to maybe 80%-85% before starting out on mission waypoints to make it easier for the player to keep station without sacrificing fuel load.
Apparently if you end the game and some of your squad mates are still in enemy territory they get listed as killed or captured or missing during the Debrief. Unfortunately there are plenty of reasons YOU may have to land and get out of the game (engine failure, damage, etc) and it would be nice if your misfortune did not cause casualties among your squadron.
Yes, I've had that happen too. Good suggestion.
If you quit or die before pilots actually have flown back over the lines, we have estimate what would have happened as there is no more data to use. This losses were reduced in WOFF Expansion.
Why: Numerous people are unable to run the sim at 8X time compression - obviously - because of all of the activity going on, and so the frame rates drop to be very low. The reason most people use Time Compression in the first place (this is my guess) is to "get to the action faster."
Air Start helps a lot with this, puts you usually right at the mission point.
Apparently if you end the game and some of your squad mates are still in enemy territory they get listed as killed or captured or missing during the Debrief. Unfortunately there are plenty of reasons YOU may have to land and get out of the game (engine failure, damage, etc) and it would be nice if your misfortune did not cause casualties among your squadron.
Yes, I've had that happen too. Good suggestion.
If you quit or die before pilots actually have flown back over the lines, we have estimate what would have happened as there is no more date to use. This losses were reduced in WOFF Expansion.
Yikes! Hate to have you guys "estimating" my tax bill! I have been trying, where possible, to sit where I am at to give to guys a chance to cross back over into friendly territory and/or land. I will watch this a little closer.
IMO, aircraft allocation based on ranks doesn't make sense in its current implementation.
It would be great, if the player's achievements (acedom) would be regarded, when new types are given to the best pilots; rather than to the high ranking HAs only. Also, it seems that the time is often too long, from when the first pilots receive a new type, until the whole unit is equipped with them.
In my readings take-offs were often in the dark to be OVER the front AT dawn. FWIW and if it makes you feel any better. I have yet to start (or live long enough) to have a winter campaign.
Isn't the "time advance" button made so, that you can advance time by 1 hour? If not, maybe that would be a good idea?
You used to be able to advance to the next patrol of the day, if there was one, now it's as MudWasp says. The new system is fine, they just need to take in account sunrise in winter.(which still should be before 7am, though, right?)
Did you mention, that if you land on friendly field, all parked aircraft (in front of hangars) are from your unit - i.e. of the same type and skin. I would like to see there a historicaly correct unitŽs aircraft and skins (of unit, that operated at that time from this airfield).
Love to have the planes waggle wings when they have spotted the enemy.. maybe hand movement animations and flares.
Also like leader streamers and for the pilots face to get gradually more dirty due to oil...Also like to see some more pilot faces.
Also new arty registering features.
Plus bigger range of ground explosions and shrapnel rounds.
Also mines to go off at the correct time and have MASSIVE explosion and crater formed! Also like to see major historical mine craters visible by air.
Wodin;
I too would like to see all this, but with a proviso! Not at the expense of FPS! I suspect all this activity would cost something in performance, but if I'm wrong I would buy into it.
Robert..yeah I know..just me dreaming:) What with me asking for actual arty rounds in flight modeled so you cna be hit and for them to cause turbulence I reckon the game would hit 5 fps if were lucky!...STill one day I'm sure it will all be modeled in a sim.
"My wish is that the Jasta units do not fly escort missions - because I don't think they did (unless I am wrong, of course, and they did). The information that I have seen is that escort missions were flown by 2-seater Schusta sections from early 1917 onwards. So a typical German Art.Obs. or Photo.Recon. flight would consist of the 2-seater with the Observer in it and then one or two 2-seaters flying shotgun (i.e a typical WOFF 2-seater flight, but without the Jasta escort). I don't think Jasta units were tied-down to this work, but someone who knows more about them than I do might be able to contradict this?"
I have been reading Rudolf Stark's memoir 'Wings of war: an airman;s diary of the last year of World War I' and he records a number of instances where his Bavarian Jagdstaffel was requested to provide the escort to an important reconnaissance mission across the Front. The impression given is that this was an unusual request, done only in the midst of an offensive. I would guess that at this time the schusta/schlasta units that would normally have done this were otherwise engaged with their main task of providing close support to the ground units. So far as I can tell it does not appear to have been something that was ever done by elite Jagdgeschwader. (?)
Stark also records attacking Allied ground units, although it appears to have been something done as opportunity arose rather than a mission that his Jagdstaffel was tasked to carry out.
B.
So my wish now is that Jasta units fly escort missions only very rarely after 1916
I'd like to see the Rumpler CIV carry all 8 5kg bombs. It currently only loads 2 of the 8 bombs.
It would be sweet if a camera was mounted to the plane for appropriate photo recon squads and missions.
Did the Rumpler CIV have a working bomb bay? I see no bombs externally mounted on it.
Rumpler loadout is correct, just the wording on the choices are incorrect. You are loaded up with 2 x 10Kg bombs just the wording in QC says 8 5kg bombs.
No it has a hole in the floor of the cockpit and you drop em through it
That's OK, I'll make do.... How high can you guys fly? We are way up there in our Rumplers.
according to the FM for the Pup The performance ceiling is 15000 ft but the AI max is 18000 approx, so I suspect I could crawl up to that or close to it.
So here's something I'd like to see in the sim that I think would add even more to it's already impressive feeling of immersion:
Instead of little black dots to represent bullet holes, how about actual torn fabric in the wings, fuselage, that you could see through to the other side?
I think major structural damage in WOFF V2 looks awesome. It would be great if the same level of detail was put into the regular bullet holes that slice through the fabric of these little crates.
I have no idea how difficult that is to mod. Can you just make two or three different types of "holes" and slap them onto the various sections of each aircraft or would it be some insane re-doing of every single aircraft?
In any case, I think it would add even more to the immersive effect of WOFF if you could see the battle damage of your bullets shredding long slices through your enemy planes (or yours) fabric, able to look through it and see the sky beyond or the ground below.
I would like to have some ability to keep a history of the squadron. I think it would be neat if there was some way that at the end of the war or at anytime you could see a list of who served, who died or survived in the squadron. I know I could manually keep a record but it would be nice if the game did it. Maybe a memorial option could be added to the main squadron page.
......And I will add this to the Wish List but I wish the British could list 3 flights (and the French and Americans if applicable) and that there was some kind of persistent "flight integrity" for all nationalities instead of the one or two random groupings of pilots for missions drawn from the squadron personnel pool as in the current campaign structure.
Shared kills i.e 1\3rds..1\2's etc etc for the British. Historical and alleviate those pesky AI stealing my kill.
New scenery tiles for grass covered craters\no mans land\trenches...these would be used say in 1917 where the previous years battle of the Somme took place.
Alot more arty in no mans land..love one day to be able to see the horizon lighting up just before dawn from a heavy bombardment. Also more varied arty impact\explosion. Arty currently seems to drop east to west or west to east..when I'd thought it would fall more north to south or south to north following the trench line.
Has Albert got the leaning virgin ontop of the Cathedral? If not get it in:)
Historical major mine craters to be a new scenery tile..better even if it deformed the terrain.
Wishing for one more setting where the dots do not disappear when the plane gets closer BUT only for your squad.Being able to look over your should and see a few planes and the ones that have a small dot underneath them to quickly signal to you that they are your squad could enhance the feel of the game IMO.
Firstly I wanna say that I hated the 3 step zoom in IL2 and forever thought that a smooth increase/decrease would be worlds better.I found I was wrong when I got my wish in DCS sims and found the zoom in and out annoying.
TLDR;Change the amount of FOV that happens when you zoom in and out to something like what we had in IL2 so that its one click to zoom in and one click to zoom back out to default.
Just shot down a Zeppelin. 'Seems to me that the hydrogen burns too slow. Instead of having five separate fires burning, the first big cell explosion would create a fast chain reaction and they'd all go very quickly and the Zepp would fall like a rock, not drift to the ground.
I love the idea, submitted a few days ago, of keeping track of your squadron and those who have been killed/captured. I think WOFF is very strong in terms of roleplay/immersion and should consider more little features allowing players to feel as part of a real squadron.
Another idea. For those of you who are as old as me, do you remember red baron 1? You could see your campaign pilot wearing his medals. It would be amazing to have the same in WOFF. Like a mirror in which you see your uniform and you can see the medals you won fighting in the sky pinned on your chest.
I love the idea, submitted a few days ago, of keeping track of your squadron and those who have been killed/captured. I think WOFF is very strong in terms of roleplay/immersion and should consider more little features allowing players to feel as part of a real squadron.
Another idea. For those of you who are as old as me, do you remember red baron 1? You could see your campaign pilot wearing his medals. It would be amazing to have the same in WOFF. Like a mirror in which you see your uniform and you can see the medals you won fighting in the sky pinned on your chest.
Greeting Renefonck69;
Your name is new to me so if you are a first time poster here, may I say welcome. I agree with you and in fact I have tried to update my custom pilot picture with the medal ribbons he as won over his time in the DiD campaign but I will soon run out of space on his tunic as I am approaching his pocket flap.
I'm happy you like the idea! Many thanks as well for the warm welcome. I'm indeed new here. A veteran of the first flight sims, I cannot believe I had never heard of WOFF until this top 20 best wargame list!
Would you have a screenshot of your updated picture? Would love to see that.
I'm happy you like the idea! Many thanks as well for the warm welcome. I'm indeed new here. A veteran of the first flight sims, I cannot believe I had never heard of WOFF until this top 20 best wargame list!
Would you have a screenshot of your updated picture? Would love to see that.
This looks good but I would like to take it a step further ! Here is a concept I've been doing quickly. Imagine the option: look at yourself in the mirror. And you would see this:
Yes that looks good. I would like to be able to click on my pilot's picture and have it launch a larger version that would show the medals or ribbons on his chest in larger format where the medals would be more recognizable.
I don't really get the medal system for the moment. I'm playing my first campaign and it's really messed up. I have 36 kills as a French pilot and I have more British medals than French. Is that normal? I must say I updated from v1.0 to the current one in the middle of the campaign so I don't know if it messed with it.
I've thought of this many times (and hope that I'm not repeating myself here). There have been many times when I've wanted to get to the computer screen because, for example, I've forgotten to launch FRAPS, or (often) because the engine noise is too bloody loud. I'd like to be able to pause WOFF and shrink it to the Task Bar. When working on a skin, you test it in QC, but to go back and tweak it, WOFF has to be closed out. T'would be nice if it could be shrunk down and brought back with a mouse click.
I switch back and forth quite a lot using Alt-Tab. The only problem is that sometimes WOFF seems to disappear even though it is running. Must be some funny technical reason for that.
When on a patrol mission, own flight should actively search for EA when friendly base is being bombed. It's awkward feeling when the patrol route continues to fly as if nothing is happening while a friendly base is being destroyed by bombs.
For campaigns - please change the method that assigns available planes to pilots. The current practice is to always give the best ones to historical aces, even if it's their very first mission. I would prefer that it be based on rank, regardless of whether it is a HA or me. Or perhaps it could be determined by number of victories instead (probably too complicated).
Best would be to have a workshop setting where you can choose from: 1. all HA first (current method) 2. by rank 3. by victories
For campaigns - please change the method that assigns available planes to pilots. The current practice is to always give the best ones to historical aces, even if it's their very first mission. I would prefer that it be based on rank, regardless of whether it is a HA or me. Or perhaps it could be determined by number of victories instead (probably too complicated).
Best would be to have a workshop setting where you can choose from: 1. all HA first (current method) 2. by rank 3. by victories
Welcome from me aswell. WOFF is simply superb as a single player flight sim...love it
Originally Posted By: renefonck69
Hi there,
I'm happy you like the idea! Many thanks as well for the warm welcome. I'm indeed new here. A veteran of the first flight sims, I cannot believe I had never heard of WOFF until this top 20 best wargame list!
Would you have a screenshot of your updated picture? Would love to see that.
I would like to see the "Transfer" menu updated to include all squadrons in all theaters. Currently a pilot in RNAS 3 cannot transfer to Home Defense .
I would like to see the "Transfer" menu updated to include all squadrons in all theaters. Currently a pilot in RNAS 3 cannot transfer to Home Defense .
Hear! Hear! It also seems to be impossible to transfer into 56 squad when they are in England from the continent, that "region" isn't selectable...
Also, here's some more evidence for not having winter patrols start before 0700 hours:
I would love to be able to signal the flight leader when I've spotted something. I just flew two missions where I saw the enemy but the flight leader never saw them. I know they didn't have radios but they did have flares and they could waggle their wings. We have key commands when we are the flight leader, why not for when we are members of a flight.
Yikes......50+ pages, I had no idea....may as well add my drop to the ocean. Flying '18 often reduces my pretty top rig to tears....it runs 44+ in other years and a solid 60 in QC with a heap of aircraft spinning around.....but flying Rick's latest challenge in June 18 I'm a slide show at times.......landing @ 5fps is more dangerous than a dozen DVIIs. I understand that the game engine in WOFF tracks ALL aircraft in the theater, not just those in sight, which could be hundreds perhaps? The whole business of spawning in which flights just popped into sight I was glad to see go away.....is there any way to reduce the "ring" of aircraft, vehicles, etc that the game has to track? I expect the answer is no as you'd be back to spawning around the player but the landscape builds in such rings.......I don't know...the inner mechanics of WOFF are a mystery to me. Love to see my FPS back w/out losing the high settings that make the game look so spectacular.
NEVER MIND!!!! I'm such a tool, I'd completely overlooked/forgotten the regional air activity box.....devs have already handled it....sorry
I would like to see the "Transfer" menu updated to include all squadrons in all theaters. Currently a pilot in RNAS 3 cannot transfer to Home Defense .
Historically moving to HE (Home Establishment) was only done to experienced pilots who might be suffering from 'burn out'. Lots of them didn't like it because they ended up as instructors in an era when instructing was a matter of trial and error - mostly error. RAF_lou managed to get to HD somehow. Maybe he could tell how he did it?
McCudden had been on HE and was killed in a crash on his return, so it did happen to some. Often squadrons were formed in England before they went to France. Barker was about to take command of a Snipe squadron when he had his famous combat. And some whole squadrons were transfered there in 1917 when the Zeppelin/Gotha scare was on. Soooo... get onto a squadron that is historically transferred back for Home Defence at that time. 43? 56? One would have to look it up.
Also the RNAS was responsible for the coastal defence of England at that time - mainly with flying boats. I don't think there was any posting from the RNAS to the RFC and v.v. until they were both merged into the RAF.
I would like to see the "Transfer" menu updated to include all squadrons in all theaters. Currently a pilot in RNAS 3 cannot transfer to Home Defense .
Historically moving to HE (Home Establishment) was only done to experienced pilots who might be suffering from 'burn out'. Lots of them didn't like it because they ended up as instructors in an era when instructing was a matter of trial and error - mostly error. RAF_lou managed to get to HD somehow. Maybe he could tell how he did it?
McCudden had been on HE and was killed in a crash on his return, so it did happen to some. Often squadrons were formed in England before they went to France. Barker was about to take command of a Snipe squadron when he had his famous combat. And some whole squadrons were transfered there in 1917 when the Zeppelin/Gotha scare was on. Soooo... get onto a squadron that is historically transferred back for Home Defence at that time. 43? 56? One would have to look it up.
Also the RNAS was responsible for the coastal defence of England at that time - mainly with flying boats. I don't think there was any posting from the RNAS to the RFC and v.v. until they were both merged into the RAF.
Lou explained to me he had to create a new pilot to get to HD and then manually keep tab of the stats for the DiD. Somewhat of a pain I'm sure.
A much higher detailed in-game map that takes the work of Nibbio but puts game developer time and effort into it.Nibbio wrote that he burned out and so he did not finish the rail lines so.
Map setting that shows waypoints but not the plane on map.
1. J key "observer view" - replace joystick movement with "WASD" keys. Also, the the ability to snap to player's plane position with one key press.
2. High resolution front, trench lines, coast and landscape texture settings - no low res blurry tiles.
3. A few scattered cars and trucks with headlights / houses and buildings with light through windows / lighted streetlamps from sunset to sunrise.
4. More night bombing missions for british units that were performing them like No. 25 Sqn RFC. Oh! and the DH4 included in your next expansion pack....
It was probably asked before, and maybe it is not possible with the game engine, but balloons that get winched down would be great! Also, with that, a slight modification of the claiming system for them. At the moment I have something like half of my balloon claims that are rejected (even with correct witnesses, wich sometimes confirm a first balloon, but reject the second which was set alight only a few minutes after), AFAIK, one of the reason that put some pilots into balloon hunting was that they were easily confirmed by ground troops, balloon observers, etc...
Also, maybe that can be modded (if yes, any hint will be appreciated), but in my 1918 career, I found two-seaters in large formations of 5, something like 90% of the time, the rest in formation of 3, and I have never found one of them alone. These large formations could be found, I think, during bombing mission supporting offensives, but I doubt two seaters squadrons launched 5 or 6 planes together for an artillery spotting. Maybe it is possible to reverse proportions? Most of the two seaters operating alone or in small group (3 max), with sometimes some larger groups?
2-seaters have magnified unobstructed view for surveillance which also has an attitude indicator onscreen.
2-seater missions where you are sent to an area and then you must locate the position of the enemy.
Game engine ability to target a large amount of spots on ground that surround the actual targets.
Press TAB until you highlight the new enemy position.
Enemy and friendly camp tents have their sides markings.
With trees or ground spots around the actual target target able,you have to keep clicking until your target is acquired and then watch as the bombing switches over to new target location.
Siemens Schuckert Ds,Morane Saulnier monoplane,Fokker DVIII(EV),Bristol M1 Bullet,Hanriot HD1, and more than any other thing....Southern Front over Alps,with Italian and Austro/Hungarian campaign,and relative planes thet WOULD BE GREAT!!!
Are you jokin'? I'm talkin' about the late war Fokker parasol monoplane wich was known as EV in "internal factory listings" (not the EI/II/III/IV Fokker scourge) I suppose you are not drank yet,so you are probably joking :-)
Fokker EV/DVIII has been in WOFF and OFF for a long time. Yes it is the mono wing/parasol as per the picture. It's listed in the aircraft list in WOFF features on the website.
It's listed as Fokker EV as it saw a little action there (recalled due to wing failure) and IIRC it was renamed DVIII later and mostly unused as the war ended then before the DVIIIs got to action. Can't remember all the details.
Fokker EV/DVIII has been in WOFF and OFF for a long time. Yes it is the mono wing/parasol as per the picture. It's listed in the aircraft list in WOFF features on the website.
It's listed as Fokker EV as it saw a little action there (recalled due to wing failure) and IIRC it was renamed DVIII later and mostly unused as the war ended then before the DVIIIs got to action. Can't remember all the details.
Yeah thanks,I had missed it while reading the notes,is there hope for a future Southern Front? (Alps Italian/Austro-Hungarian Campaign)
Who knows Cavaliere57, I guess it depends on the demand for it. If many would buy it then it would help, but we need to spread the word and get more sales/support to do all things.
Good one Wolfstriked we need to also attach it to your front door and windows in winter, and when deadly cold we fling them all open.
Who knows Cavaliere57, I guess it depends on the demand for it. If many would buy it then it would help, but we need to spread the word and get more sales/support to do all things.
Honestly i think that it would be of great interest,for many reasons,a nice variety of plane types,some of them are already in roster,a new and very interesting world environment,a probably smaller geographical area ( North Eastern Italy and a bit of Dalmatian coast)but with great territorial variations than Northern Front more appealing I would say,you could run a poll,I'm pretty sure it will be rewarded well I would sign on that!! cheers
I like Wolfstriked's idea, but you could turn it into a whole list of possible statuses with slight effects on the game experience:
You are warm and comfortable. - Plane is nice and responsive. You are cold. - Controls are just a little sluggish. You drank too much coffee! - Plane is TOO responsive.
You are getting hungry. - Map involuntarily turns on every 20 seconds or so to see if you're home yet. You are getting sleepy. - Slight blur, slightly darken screen, slight tunnel effect You drank too much last night. - As 'sleepy', but red instead of darkening Can't get that song out of your head - Entire screen bounces up and down in three-quarters time. You have to pee! - You can only face in the direction of the nearest friendly airport. Jittery screen if you're taking too long to land.
Whatever happened to the 3D Pilot models in the cockpit that were present in BHaH? I'd like those back, it added a sense of realism being able to see your pilot move his arms/feet instead of seeing an empty cockpit when looking down.
A new version of, or the functional equivalant of, OFFice/OFFbase/etc. to bring more role-playing and immersion to the sim. Obviously toggleable on/off probably from the Workshop.
For twice now I've had claims rejected in cases when the enemy aircraft was brought down close to our own airfield.
Actually in the most recent case, the EA actually *landed* on our field after our combat encounter:
The claim was rejected for lack of witnesses.
Could you improve the claims system to take better into account obvious cases like this one? There's no way such a kill could have been rejected for lack of witnesses!
I understand your stance towards new plane requests, so I'll just toss this out there and see if it sticks.
Morane Saulnier-N. It'll give the Fokker E series someone to fight on their own terms. As it stands, the Fokker Scourge can easily fizzle due to the AI's strength in providing supporting fire in two seaters.
Probably not at all possible, but multi-core aware code so that 1918, with all of the increased awesome AI in the air, will run smoother even on 2x, 4x compression. Again, probably not possible - but that's why they call it a "Wish List". :P
Some infanterists on the ground or nearby airfield could have claimed too to have shot him down and they became right. In one famous, but inverted case one pilot was credited for the victory for about 80 years, until it was evidenced that actually some infanterists from the ground made the kill. So can go either way. Being the only AC nearby and close to witnesses (who are probably shooting themselves) does not necessarily mean that a claim is conclusive.
I'd like some aiming circles/devices for the Nieuports. I just can't seem to figure out where to center them. Probably operator error, so let's help the operator.
Okay, this would mean a lot of work... but I would love to see the Rocker Arms actually working on those big inline Engines :-) There would be no need to research the correct Firing Order - no one will be able to verify that, once, the Engine is running... even @ idle. There is always this Feeling, that the Engine isn't really "alive", when you are flying around and see the Valvetrain standing still like on a Photo...
Yes, the planes all need to have more "life" injected into them... like it was said before: vibrating fuselage, working rocker arms, better looking fog effects inside clouds (or even have the entire flight avoid flying through clouds altogether), rain and snow water droplets, observer animation on the Fee when firing the top wing gun, allow Pilot's head to animate movements, a minor camera shake effect (with sound) when pilot is hit, better gun smoke effects when firing long bursts...
Also, an option for high resolution terrain including roads (those blurry ground textures are immersion breaking) and I'll buy a new Processor just to enjoy the added eye candy.
I have no idea whether this is possible, but it would be fantastic if WOFF could use two (or more) processors instead of just one. After all, everybody has at least a two processor cpu nowadays. As an ex-programmer of many years experience I do not know how this could or could not be done. None of the programming languages I used specified where any processing should be done or was aware of multi-processors. This was all left to the Operating System.
I would second the idea of shaking airframe. That's one of the last holdouts that RoF has a clear advantage in. I could live without animated engine or gun cycling effects if we could just get a shuddering airframe.
Second thing would be a random tracking pattern for observers/gunners if they are not tracking a specific target. This would make them seem a little more, well, alive...
I would second the idea of shaking airframe. That's one of the last holdouts that RoF has a clear advantage in. I could live without animated engine or gun cycling effects if we could just get a shuddering airframe.
Its not a shuddering airframe, but Hellshade's Turbulent Skies mod does add more to the feeling of flight with increased wind turbulence that bounces your plane around a bit more and makes it harder to keep a steady aim on your opponents. Try it with a test pilot and see what you think.
Why not include the possibility,at higher Ace status as it was at least for German pilots,to be able to choose our own personal plane? If i remember it was like that back in Red Baron...there are evidences and well documented,of German aces having their own choice mounts,independently from the Jasta pool,Paul Baumer for example,when DRs1 were dismissed for Fokker D VIIs,started using a Pfalz DVII because he preferred the rotative engine.
What about a little RPG-Element, like the Photo of your Pilot in the Newspapers, when he becomes an Ace or gets the Pour le Pommes Frites, alongside with a short Text... Today <Playername> has been awarded with the Blah by his Majesty/King/Emperor/Satrap/Employer/Mother...
...and btw, great Idea, Cavaliere :-) Having the Opportunity to choose between 2 or 3 Planes as a Reward for becoming Ace would be really cool.
Next Idea: How would you like to occasionally see a captured Enemy Plane flying? I remember the Photo, where "Nicht schiessen! Gute Leute!" (Don't shoot! Good Guys!) was painted all over a (british?) Plane in big Letters.
The Advantage: No new Model has to be created, only one or two Skins. Implementing the Planes into the Game should'nt be too much writing. Historical Research could be somewhat challenging, though.
I think this could be Fun, for it makes the Friend or Foe Identification a lot more difficult...
...and btw, great Idea, Cavaliere :-) Having the Opportunity to choose between 2 or 3 Planes as a Reward for becoming Ace would be really cool.
Next Idea: How would you like to occasionally see a captured Enemy Plane flying? I remember the Photo, where "Nicht schiessen! Gute Leute!" (Don't shoot! Good Guys!) was painted all over a (british?) Plane in big Letters.
The Advantage: No new Model has to be created, only one or two Skins. Implementing the Planes into the Game should'nt be too much writing. Historical Research could be somewhat challenging, though.
I think this could be Fun, for it makes the Friend or Foe Identification a lot more difficult...
Yep Nietzsche,and both these ideas were historically correct,since there are a lot of records about them,both choosing the plane to fly (at least in German side at a certain status) and using captured planes for war flights,often with own side parts to replace damaged ones, wich sometimes did not fit very well and made happen hilarious incidents! I remember that Germans fitted an Albatros wheel on a captured Camel (while retaining the original one on the other side,very clever indeed!),and since it was larger in width,on taking off the plane veered to one side and crashed in a nearby pit,pilot was unscathed,but the plane was written off.
Remember in Red Baron you were invited to join an elite squadron once you reached a certain level? Wish we could get invitations like that in WOFF campaign. Perhaps even forced transfers to other units to reinforce them. Would make the role-playing a little more alive IMO.
I like the invite idea if doable - I don't think so but cool idea none the less. IIRC I used to decline the first one or two from "lesser" squadrons waiting for the big one.
The "forced" transfer might be neat too. Successful pilots were sometimes assigned to other squadrons to fill the role of a flight commander.
And since it came up, so to speak, 3 flights for the RFC squadrons AND flight integrity for all nations would be awesome.
Thanks Duke. I was half expecting someone tell me this feature is already in the game, I just didn't dig deep enough. +1 to the flight integrity. Self-preservation is not an excuse when flying by a furball and doing nothing. Don't they know there is already a firing squad waiting for them back at the base to execute them for acts of cowardice?
I second that! Once you move up the ladder invitations would be nice as the ability to choose what plane to fly as "personal mount" at a certain rank/Ace status/medals gained point!
-Forcing AI (scouts and bombers) to perform steep dives when escaping a loosing dogfight and not just fly straight and level.
-Forcing AI to instantly react when being shot at during landings.
-Forcing AI bombers to not be sitting ducks by always holding formation and escape only when they are badly shot up.
If the player can jerk the joystick around flying upside down, sideways and whichever way to just to confuse the AI and escape, then why not allow the AI to have better defenses?
Trying to explain the AI's lack of defensive maneuvers due to imaginary situations like-- Well... the AI pilots were nervous rookie pilots, or wounded, or not checking their six, or are in a state of shock, etc.. is not fun.
-Forcing AI bombers to not be sitting ducks by always holding formation and escape only when they are badly shot up.
Trying to explain the AI's lack of defensive maneuvers due to imaginary situations like-- Well... the AI pilots were nervous rookie pilots, or wounded, or not checking their six, or are in a state of shock, etc.. is not fun.
Someone smarter than me can confirm or deny if what I am about to say is historically true or not, but it's my understanding that the bombers were under orders to hold formation, no matter what, by the high command. They felt, evidently, that safety in numbers was the best bet for the flight and that's why the AI is coded that way. Again, if I'm wrong on this, someone please correct me.
You are correct Hellshade. Formation keeping was considered "life" for the two-seater crews by all accounts I have ever read. If a machine dropped out of formation due to damage it was GENERALLY on its own. Sometimes the formation would try to swing back (sometimes!) and pick up depending on enemy strength and will or a hard-charger would break formation and go back to help a friend but this was generally frowned upon. The safety of the group was what mattered. A 4 plane formation is 10 times as strong as 4 individual aircraft. Everyone knew that and tried to keep up and stay in formation. I have seen multiple combat reports where is is said that "Captain X and Lt. Y were last seen dropping back due to presumed engine trouble" and that was the last they were seen. This was a accepted fact of life. The break up of the formation is what the attackers always strived for (and I have some MvR quotes to prove it) and the crewed machines tried to avoid.
-Forcing AI bombers to not be sitting ducks by always holding formation and escape only when they are badly shot up.
Trying to explain the AI's lack of defensive maneuvers due to imaginary situations like-- Well... the AI pilots were nervous rookie pilots, or wounded, or not checking their six, or are in a state of shock, etc.. is not fun.
Someone smarter than me can confirm or deny if what I am about to say is historically true or not, but it's my understanding that the bombers were under orders to hold formation, no matter what, by the high command. They felt, evidently, that safety in numbers was the best bet for the flight and that's why the AI is coded that way. Again, if I'm wrong on this, someone please correct me.
That is correct, at least it certainly seems so from the readings I've done over the years. One bomber defensive tactic though that is missing in WOFF that I would like to see is the Lufbery Circle. It's been mentioned before and I believe it was said then that it would be a coding nightmare, but as this is called a 'Wish List' ...
French-American pilot Raoul Lufbery introduced it to US pilots in 1917 and I believe that is when the term was coined, though the maneuver was around quite sometime before that and its actual origin is not attributed to Raoul. Don't know that it's attributed to anyone actually.
The problem with studying this subject for 40 years is I have probably forgotten more then I currently know. I think during the war the British had another name for it ("Ring around the" something after some song...maybe that was slang) and the Lufberry name was kind of after the fact. I don't recall in period writings the British calling it the "Lufbery." Kind of like the "Immelmann Turn." I think...
It does! But that seemed too obvious but that might be it. Not up on my turn of the century music I am afraid.
Oh wait. This is the Wish List thread. Hmmm...let's see....flight integrity within the squadron (or Jasta) with it also being used in mission assignments. There. Back on topic.
You guys fail to mention that two-seaters would most always have escorts by scouts or other two-seaters which started as early as 1916. This does not get implemented properly into WOFF. I rarely encounter escorted two-seaters even in 1918. So, trying to simulate RL into a game will flop due to incorrect implementation.
Solution would be either to have the two-seaters dive and twist away escaping back home which would make them harder to wipe them all out or ALWAYS have escorts accompany two-seaters would be closer to how it actually was back then.
"...most always have escorts" Nope. Not at all. As for WOFF I see escorted two seaters frequently. I was going to go in a more detailed and thorough analysis but , seeing the probable outcome of this exchange, I will just sum up and say "You are incorrect " on most everything.
Good. And what happens when the EA slips through the scouts or overpowers them? Do you stick around in formation or dive away for home? I'm guessing that you would either fly a bit ahead of your formation so that you're not the last man getting shot at or dive for home if you're close enough to the front.
In WOFF, the AI can't make the same decisions a human player makes. So, they'll stay in formation and become sitting ducks most of the time. It would make more sense for the AI to think about self preservation and abort the mission once they see enemy scouts threatening them.
My point is that "I wish" for OBD to alter the AI behavior a bit for landings, formations, etc... nothing wrong with making a wish, right?
Good. And what happens when the EA slips through the scouts or overpowers them? Do you stick around in formation or dive away for home? I'm guessing that you would either fly a bit ahead of your formation so that you're not the last man getting shot at or dive for home if you're close enough to the front.
In WOFF, the AI can't make the same decisions a human player makes. So, they'll stay in formation and become sitting ducks most of the time. It would make more sense for the AI to think about self preservation and abort the mission once they see enemy scouts threatening them.
My point is that "I wish" for OBD to alter the AI behavior a bit for landings, formations, etc... nothing wrong with making a wish, right?
YAAN you make some good points. Obviously if it is possible to accomplish what u ask without undue system overhead it would be nice. That said, there are many issues at play here, the least of which is value per time expended by the devs and the incredible number of enties on their "current TODO list".
This is the wish list so you have it in the correct place. Thanks for bringing up the point.
Even if I can understand that two seaters, when in formation, don't make evasive manoeuvers their own way, it is much more problematic and unrealistic when you fight lone or small group of two seaters (quite often in 1915, much rarer later : and that is another problem ). During my 1915 Esc 12 career in MS, the only difficulty to shot down two seaters, was to gain the good position, then just press the trigger while the german continue his flight like you wasn't there. They should make turns, try to dive, etc...or even try to shoot you down!
Yep. If the two-seater is all by himself he should certainly act differently then if he was in a formation. Hopefully we are not coming to the limit of what the AI is capable of.
Here to show you what twoseaters do, especially when alone.
As there is with scouts and observers, twoseaters have different skills and behave differently, very human. sometimes wrong, sometimes right. Making different things right or wrong is human, not robotic, and not a glitch. Sometimes they break home, sometimes they continue their missions, as the real counterparts did. Flying straight in a formation is absolutely a good way to protect each other. Nothing wrong with that. The one who breaks formation is the one killed, as it is in wildlife when lions are hunting groups of elephants bla.
Strange that people complain about sniping observers when getting shot down. About passive observers when flying a twoseater. About unevasive twoseaters when they keep flying in formation. Yet the players then do get shot down sometimes, sometimes the twoseaters get shot down. As it was in real. Also depending which twoseaters. They didn't have the ability for fancy manoeuvres. Best to keep formation. So good things are not a glitch.
Yes, the stupid circle is missing which some F.E.'s did for a brief period of time until that didn't work out anymore either. What a glitch...
Wait... isn't this a wish thread? Are you saying that I can't wish for certain things because it's taboo? seriously??
A QC mission is not like a campaign mission as was stated by Pol before in another thread somewhere. That video doesn't prove anything as it was most likely made in QC. And it certainly doesn't discount the valid observations made by me or others during campaign play.
If you can admit that the AI could use some improvement, then that's a good thing. In fact, games are more fun when they alter parts of reality a bit (like Red Baron 3D)... and the way it's done in Hollywood movies.
However, if you're still stuck on the famous phrase.... "there is nothing wrong with this sim!!", then nothing anyone says will make any difference.
This video is from campaign, so it proves a whole lot.
It is definitely a wish thread and every wish is taken seriously. Nothing is taboo. Otherwise this thread wouldn't have 58 pages. But you wish something which is already in the game. That's why I posted this vid from a campaign mission. No need to fix anything what's not broken. Nothing is perfect, but it's the best AI out there. Many variables in AI, as there are many variables in traffic with people driving cars. People driving cars do all sorts of weird stuff. Some good drivers, some bad drivers. Is it broken? No, it's human. And this AI does some human things rather well. Everything can be improved. But stating it as broken because they don't behave like robots etc. is a bit harsh.
All done now? Everyone gets the AI could use some tweaks. I think that, overall, it is awesome but it's certainty not perfect. How does disagreeing with you about two-seaters staying in formation turn into a multi-page fracas? No one has said here "The AI is perfect! Don't touch a thing!" Just state your wish, or 6 wishes. and move on. Some may agree some may not. No one comes on here to change your mind - who cares what you or I think? People come on to explan things as they see it and perhaps shed a new light on a subject not to call you a retard. If your statements ring true here then they will stand on their own with the audience. If you wish to start a debate on how good or bad the AI is then take it to the main forum and present your case there for all to see.
No one comes on here to change your mind - who cares what you or I think? People come on to explan things as they see it and perhaps shed a new light on a subject not to call you a retard.
Duke, you're sense of logic is funny. I just stated a simple wish and got slammed by you and the dev....nowhere on these 59 pages of wishes are comments on someone's wish similar to this:
Originally Posted By: DukeIronHand
I will just sum up and say "You are incorrect " on most everything.
Originally Posted By: Creaghorn
Strange that people complain about ...
Originally Posted By: Creaghorn
But stating it as broken because they don't behave like robots etc. is a bit harsh.
No point to this discussion now, I got the standard answer as I expected.
Originally Posted By: Creaghorn
... No need to fix anything what's not broken. Nothing is perfect, but it's the best AI out there.
May I point to my previous response in this thread as a respectable analysis. If you disagree, that is fine. We can't always come to a common agreement. That said, I think you stated your case well, and so it now remains for the devs to pick and choose from this thread whatever they feel has merit.
This is a wish list and so if there is a need to continue dialoguing on what is and what should be, I feel it would be better done in one of the other forum catagories such as tech issues or such or even create a special thread for the issue
Whoa. If that is getting "slammed" I am glad I am not in a foxhole with you. Disagreeing, and not seeing things in lockstep with you is not a "slam." But Robert is right in repeating what I said and that is: Make your case in the main forum. Start a thread and the debate, if any, can continue there.
Now,taking a break from AI behaviour,please "I WISH" that be implemented the personal choice of plane at a certain "status" in game (historically accurate)...I hate Lewis guns on Nieuports upper wing... please....
This is the perfect place to give voice to ones wishes. The fact that the devs have put out 184+ new features, improvements and bug fixes in the last year and a half, many of which came from user feedback, says that they do their best to make happen what they can.
The fact that they haven't implemented 59 pages worth of requested changes says they are human beings and not all things are possible. Sometimes "fixing this ends up breaking that" and so the devs give us what they feel is the lesser of two evils.
By all means, everyone is free to post their wishes and to be certain, sometimes other people will disagree with your wish. That's just life. The devs may or may not implement it and that's life too. Just because someone doesn't get the all important feature to them done, doesn't mean the devs don't care. Flight sims are complex and some things just can't be done or would take way too many man hours to produce a result that wouldn't, in the end, be satisfactory.
There are people in other sims waiting 5 years for AI planes to be able to land, etc. Or for AI to put up any kind of fight at all besides endless split S moves all the way to the deck and then slow, wide circles when it gets down there. There's always room for improvement in every sim, including WOFF so by all means ask. In the meantime, try to enjoy it for what it offers.
Now,taking a break from AI behaviour,please "I WISH" that be implemented the personal choice of plane at a certain "status" in game (historically accurate)...I hate Lewis guns on Nieuports upper wing... please....
Gasp!?!?! Hate the wing mounted Lewis sir? It goes with the Nieuport like peanut butter goes with jam.
Now,taking a break from AI behaviour,please "I WISH" that be implemented the personal choice of plane at a certain "status" in game (historically accurate)...I hate Lewis guns on Nieuports upper wing... please....
Gasp!?!?! Hate the wing mounted Lewis sir? It goes with the Nieuport like peanut butter goes with jam.
Well I prefer the Vickers on engine cowling And by the way,peanut butter it's not my thing anyway...
No point to this discussion now, I got the standard answer as I expected.
Originally Posted By: Creaghorn
... No need to fix anything what's not broken. Nothing is perfect, but it's the best AI out there.
You attitude is probably half the problem, what Creaghorn was saying is perfect logic. However yes if it's broken it's possible we may look at something if time resources permitting and so on.
If it's not broken (i.e. we made it that way) then it doesn't need fixing however it MAY be that we can add a new feature. Taking an aggressive stance in here won't get features added.
The 2-seater crews generally were told to stick together. A good example of this was when losing 4 out of 6 brand new Bristol Fighters on a first mission as they flew like 2-seaters and stuck together - until they realised it's actually a bloody good fighter too. But 2 seater pilots were generally told to stay in formation. Some 2-seaters do break sometimes, and sometimes when wounded, or panicked etc.
Yes all those features we say are in there on the features list actually are in there. Funny that. If it's not behaving how you like, yes a feature request is the way to go. Don't criticise just say "I'd like the 2 seater pilots to dive away sometimes" whatever. Usually they'd do that if alone.
So this subject is bashed.. we read it. If it starts getting silly in here we won't read it. So guys please be polite in here and stay calm and reasonable and all is good.
Pol, that's a rude and uncalled for statement which is not true. I didn't show any attitude, in fact, I have been very civil in my replies.
Check my first post before all of this nonsense started and you'll see that I made a simple wish without any complaints or criticism. Now stop it and move on.
I wish for this thread to become a nice peaceful "wish thread" again...
Well yes but s**t happens,the most important thing is to clean everything after....I mean there's no Forum in the Universe wich is free of flames,a good bucket of water and all's as usual
I wish for this thread to become a nice peaceful "wish thread" again...
Well yes but s**t happens,the most important thing is to clean everything after....I mean there's no Forum in the Universe wich is free of flames,a good bucket of water and all's as usual
It's not possible to come to a rational understanding with a person who is intent on misunderstanding what you say and who won't accept anything other than total capitulation on the part of others as an acceptable outcome, even if what they want is simply not possible. Best to just say the facts as they are. Let 'em rant away and eventually, when nobody bothers to respond anymore to their passive aggressive attacks because the facts have already been stated clearly enough for anyone who is trying to understand, they just go away. It's not too hard to pick out the folks who are constantly crying "victim" and yet somehow, the rest of the forum members seem to be getting along just fine.
I wish for this thread to become a nice peaceful "wish thread" again...
Well yes but s**t happens,the most important thing is to clean everything after....I mean there's no Forum in the Universe wich is free of flames,a good bucket of water and all's as usual
Don't forget the Lysol and soap!
Of course not,even though we have differente brands all over the world,but that was the idea...
It's not possible to come to a rational understanding with a person who is intent on misunderstanding what you say and who won't accept anything other than total capitulation on the part of others as an acceptable outcome, even if what they want is simply not possible. Best to just say the facts as they are. Let 'em rant away and eventually, when nobody bothers to respond anymore to their passive aggressive attacks because the facts have already been stated clearly enough for anyone who is trying to understand, they just go away. It's not too hard to pick out the folks who are constantly crying "victim" and yet somehow, the rest of the forum members seem to be getting along just fine.
I expressed quite the same concept,but in a different way,but as i said it happens,because talking face to face is one thing,doing that though a media and elapsed times,it's another so...we are all human and we make mistakes or misunderstandings easily,the most important thing is to in fact "understand" and learn.
I expressed quite the same concept,but in a different way,but as i said it happens,because talking face to face is one thing,doing that though a media and elapsed times,it's another so...we are all human and we make mistakes or misunderstandings easily,the most important thing is to in fact "understand" and learn.
Thoughts of what to make for lunch are dancing in my head now. ... Meatball sub from left over spaghetti and meatball sauce and that 1/2 loaf of Italian bread can be used up before it gets moldy. Sounds like a good plan.
Wish list stuff... Animated fuel shut off valve and a fuel shut off command. A spin prop command for manual starts. A cold dark plane at start of mission for simulated manual starts...as a workshop option tick box.
Cavaliere, what do you have in Italy that is better than peanut butter?
Most everything Sir,we are a renowned country for good food and even better beverages! If you want to question that,I'll see you tomorrow at dawn,pistols or sword as you wish!!!
Thoughts of what to make for lunch are dancing in my head now. ... Meatball sub from left over spaghetti and meatball sauce and that 1/2 loaf of Italian bread can be used up before it gets moldy. Sounds like a good plan.
Wish list stuff... Animated fuel shut off valve and a fuel shut off command. A spin prop command for manual starts. A cold dark plane at start of mission for simulated manual starts...as a workshop option tick box.
Pistols it will be, sir. I've been to Italy and while the food was good, I've yet to find anything better for a quick snack or sandwich for a kid, than peanut butter. My second will be contacting your's to set the time and place.
Pistols it will be, sir. I've been to Italy and while the food was good, I've yet to find anything better for a quick snack or sandwich for a kid, than peanut butter. My second will be contacting your's to set the time and place.
Come dressed for the occasion,your departure must be in style....best regards
Come dressed for the occasion,your departure must be in style....best regards
You sir, are very funny. I'm thinking there must be some Texan buried deep within you.
I had an ancient relative fighting at Alamo..... My line of precursors go back until the Etruscans,we fought most every war you can think of,2700 years of History!
It's not possible to come to a rational understanding with a person who is intent on misunderstanding what you say and who won't accept anything other than total capitulation on the part of others as an acceptable outcome, even if what they want is simply not possible. Best to just say the facts as they are. Let 'em rant away and eventually, when nobody bothers to respond anymore to their passive aggressive attacks because the facts have already been stated clearly enough for anyone who is trying to understand, they just go away. It's not too hard to pick out the folks who are constantly crying "victim" and yet somehow, the rest of the forum members seem to be getting along just fine.
I expressed quite the same concept,but in a different way,but as i said it happens,because talking face to face is one thing,doing that though a media and elapsed times,it's another so...we are all human and we make mistakes or misunderstandings easily,the most important thing is to in fact "understand" and learn.
And as we all know vocal inflections are not available for interpretation, not to mention that "for the Italians" animated hand activity is not visible either!
It's not possible to come to a rational understanding with a person who is intent on misunderstanding what you say and who won't accept anything other than total capitulation on the part of others as an acceptable outcome, even if what they want is simply not possible. Best to just say the facts as they are. Let 'em rant away and eventually, when nobody bothers to respond anymore to their passive aggressive attacks because the facts have already been stated clearly enough for anyone who is trying to understand, they just go away. It's not too hard to pick out the folks who are constantly crying "victim" and yet somehow, the rest of the forum members seem to be getting along just fine.
I expressed quite the same concept,but in a different way,but as i said it happens,because talking face to face is one thing,doing that though a media and elapsed times,it's another so...we are all human and we make mistakes or misunderstandings easily,the most important thing is to in fact "understand" and learn.
And as we all know vocal inflections are not available for interpretation, not to mention that "for the Italians" animated hand activity is not visible either!
So true!! How can I express myself without all the gestures? Because of that I'll have to kill a nice chap like Banjoman in a last blood duel...what a life!!
This could be the first (and probably only time) that I will wish WOFF had a MMP ability.
BJM and C57 in the planes of their choice! Meeting over the front as the sun rises in mortal combat. Ah! The blood races at the thought.
And since God likes peanut butter (crunchy of course) I am afraid you may be in trouble C57. We will remember you though, fondly, with every sandwich.
Sorry Duke but...BJM can't really fly,so we'll keep the duel on the ground,vintage style.And since the day has started nicely this morning I dedicate this to you my friend
Thank you C57. I have listened to Stevie Wonder for years and heard that song probably 60 times and never knew that was the name. One of his songs (that I don't know the name for of course) is one of my favorites as I think of my daughter when I hear it. Anyway that started another work day off right. And I will let BJM address his apparent lack of aerial ability! Hehe...
Oh yea...the topic....flight integrity and 3 flights for the RFC.
Hey now, since I can't fly and we want our 'Duel of the Century' to be fair, how about I fly the Sopwith Triplane and since your flying skills far surpass mine, why don't you take the lovely Fokker E.III. I think that would be a fair fight since I'll hardly be able to keep the Tripe in the air.
Hey now, since I can't fly and we want our 'Duel of the Century' to be fair, how about I fly the Sopwith Triplane and since your flying skills far surpass mine, why don't you take the lovely Fokker E.III. I think that would be a fair fight since I'll hardly be able to keep the Tripe in the air.
Hey now, since I can't fly and we want our 'Duel of the Century' to be fair, how about I fly the Sopwith Triplane and since your flying skills far surpass mine, why don't you take the lovely Fokker E.III. I think that would be a fair fight since I'll hardly be able to keep the Tripe in the air.
Dear Mandolin Man,I did say you can't fly,but i did not say I can fly majestic.... ahahah.....that's why we'll stick to good old dueling with feet on ground,in the air we could collide even before shooting a single bullet!! And nobody would come out as the Winner.....
Every once in awhile you will see tiny particles fall off enemy plane when you get hits.Does this tie in with getting structural hits rather than just going thru fabric?Would be a nice way to mimic the better eye sight we have in real life.
Every once in awhile you will see tiny particles fall off enemy plane when you get hits.Does this tie in with getting structural hits rather than just going thru fabric?Would be a nice way to mimic the better eye sight we have in real life.
I think so,in fact after that their flight ability soon decrease,or they spiral down or just try to flee.
Hey now, since I can't fly and we want our 'Duel of the Century' to be fair, how about I fly the Sopwith Triplane and since your flying skills far surpass mine, why don't you take the lovely Fokker E.III. I think that would be a fair fight since I'll hardly be able to keep the Tripe in the air.
Dear Mandolin Man,I did say you can't fly,but i did not say I can fly majestic.... ahahah.....that's why we'll stick to good old dueling with feet on ground,in the air we could collide even before shooting a single bullet!! And nobody would come out as the Winner.....
I think you should use shots of single malt whiskey and last man standing wins!!
Hey now, since I can't fly and we want our 'Duel of the Century' to be fair, how about I fly the Sopwith Triplane and since your flying skills far surpass mine, why don't you take the lovely Fokker E.III. I think that would be a fair fight since I'll hardly be able to keep the Tripe in the air.
Dear Mandolin Man,I did say you can't fly,but i did not say I can fly majestic.... ahahah.....that's why we'll stick to good old dueling with feet on ground,in the air we could collide even before shooting a single bullet!! And nobody would come out as the Winner.....
I think you should use shots of single malt whiskey and last man standing wins!!
That was the idea...I have a good reserve of Scotch Malts....no problems!! Point is, would a man from Tulsa stand that?
It used to be, but I apparently have dishonored Cavleiere in some fashion and he keeps challenging me to duels.
ahahah...OK let's put an end to this,I'll have my Scotch tonite without thinking of revenge ( but...but...what was revenge for?) I really don't remember how this all started out...must be age!! In my Wish list I long for a Messhouse with interaction between characters,and booze of course....and women and...ok enough!
Every once in awhile you will see tiny particles fall off enemy plane when you get hits.Does this tie in with getting structural hits rather than just going thru fabric?Would be a nice way to mimic the better eye sight we have in real life.
I think so,in fact after that their flight ability soon decrease,or they spiral down or just try to flee.
The engine allows you to move the eyepoint around in cockpit but it doesnt save and it also doesn't work with trackir enabled.Could anything be done with this,like make it so that it saves the position and then you can reenable trackir?
Right now every squad I seem to join is loaded with HA's.I was thinking that it would be great to have to work your way into a squad with lots of HA's.Maybe for each 5 kills you get a HA joins in your squad.No idea how it all works so this is just mumble jumble right now but I think you know what I mean.
Also,and this I feel would take WOFF to the next level is some sort of server that is setup to track what happens.Not a MP server(though I think this would be awesome also)but rather a single player server that you connect to to fly each mission which then tracks it all.Like a DID server but you only have to fly the mission and at conclusion the stats are updated.
Didn't CFS3 have ships and shipping targets? Sub hunting in a sea plane or a float plane would thrill me for many hours.
I totally agree. I feel it would definitely make the channel more active. Would be great to have some actual RNAS units to have in England along the coast as well. I know some for home defense say RNAS, but they have RFC ranks. Would this be an easy fix, or is my OCD too extreme? lol
Never knew much about this theater of operations, but after your incessant requests for the Italian front I decided to do a little research. My initial preference (if a new front were to be added) was the Eastern front, but after what I've read I've changed my mind.
One more vote for the Italian front, if/when OBD ever decides to expand the operational area.
All this talk about Italian front, but wouldn't a Mesopotamian front be the easiest to create? It's mostly sand with almost all the same colors. Plus the experience of over heating the engine more often than dealing with a freezing/cold engine would be a change.
But I've been over there twice so I don't really need this
Never knew much about this theater of operations, but after your incessant requests for the Italian front I decided to do a little research. My initial preference (if a new front were to be added) was the Eastern front, but after what I've read I've changed my mind.
One more vote for the Italian front, if/when OBD ever decides to expand the operational area.
It was a big thing,and it would be the most interesting add on for WOFF,not because I am Italian,but because it was a major thetare of operations with many interesting planes and the terrain is already there,just look HERE
All this talk about Italian front, but wouldn't a Mesopotamian front be the easiest to create? It's mostly sand with almost all the same colors. Plus the experience of over heating the engine more often than dealing with a freezing/cold engine would be a change.
But I've been over there twice so I don't really need this
Well read about it and then I suppose you would not compare the two.....there's really no match!
All this talk about Italian front, but wouldn't a Mesopotamian front be the easiest to create? It's mostly sand with almost all the same colors. Plus the experience of over heating the engine more often than dealing with a freezing/cold engine would be a change.
But I've been over there twice so I don't really need this
Well read about it and then I suppose you would not compare the two.....there's really no match!
I am very new to WOFF [just a week or so] but I ran into something that I feel could be improved.
I started a campaign and 3 missions in, I messed up a landing, destroyed the plane, and killed myself & the observer. I expected to have to start a new character/mission. But, I found I had left the "player never dies" setting in the Workshop on. So my character is still alive. This was disappointing to me since I planned on being on the realistic side with this campaign. I was fully prepared to have to start over. Since there is only one set of Workshop settings that apply to all characters, it looks like I will have to micro-manage the Workshop settings to be sure I have what I want for any flight.
Would it be possible for the Workshop settings to be on a per character basis?
So pilot1 could be the one where "player never dies" is set on and all sorts of experiments/wild adventures take place and the pilot never dies.
Pilot2 could could have a different set of Workshop settings from Pilot1, including the chance to die.
That way I would not have to remember to check to see what the settings in the Workshop are before jumping into a new character.
I realize this request could be anywhere from trivial to nearly impossible depending on the WOFF design. I won't be heartbroken or leaving WOFF [you won't get rid of me that easily ] if no one else likes the idea or you developers say it is undesirable for some reason or perhaps too big a job.
In the meantime, I'll put together a check-list of things to verify before each mission/flight. Pilots are big on check-lists, right?
Bk, I'll second your request, I've also wished we had that functionality. I also would like to see some kind of sea traffic when you're flying over the ocean, fishing boats, trawlers, ferries that kind of stuff.
Good idea Ben. I'll expand on it a little further with regards to QC missions.
If you have all logging enabled, pilot death defaults to whatever the main setting for that pilot is, or as it works now, the workshop setting. If only campaign logging is enabled, make "pilot never dies" the default in QC missions. It really doesn't make sense for this checkbox to be disabled by default if you're not logging the QC flights. The way it is now you don't get the reward for a successful QC mission, but you get the punishment if you buy the farm (dead) or land in the hospital (lose calendar time).
This would help reduce those moments of "oh snap, did I remember to check off that box?". If you know you're logging everything, then it makes sense to die in QC if you haven't made your pilot invulnerable.
I'd like for observers to be a bit distracted when their plane bursts into flame and begins heading straight to the ground. Understandably some might continue the 'good fight' even when they know they're doomed, but not all (most?). Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's just human nature to forget about firing your guns when you're surrounded by flames and experiencing a free fall effect.
I think a small random chance that the observer would continue firing would do the trick. That could account for the hard as steel types who want to take you down with them. I've lost track of how often I've been damaged or wounded by these extraordinarily brave superhuman enemy observers.
Now that we have the Nieuport 10 C.I, I'd really like to see the Nieuport 2 seaters added to the mix. I see and read a lot of references to them and now I'm curious to fly one, and shoot them down too!
Assign a pilot picture number just for user customized pictures, such as Pilot0.bmp or Pilot101.bmp, which WOFF won't use for generated pilots. This allows us to create a custom pic without taking away any WOFF provided ones used for other squadron members, and ensures we won't have that extremely odd feeling walking into the duty room and finding our doppelganger staring at us.
What about a nice little Showroom for a quick-preview of personal Skins? Some of the Planes have a gazillion Skins... and you just look at the List and think "Hmmm... what might Henry Baguettes' N17-z of Esc 89569568 in 1917 have looked like?"
This Showroom wouldn't neccesarily have to be overly poshy... You can skip the Gangster-Style-Hip-Hop-Background-Music, the 24" Chrome-Wheels and the Stage-3-Yamamoto-Turbocharger-Option. We can always talk about the Bikini-Girls, presenting the Aircraft, though...
Polovski said it's not easy to do and to put it in the wish list, so here it is.
Bullet hole damage visual effects to wings and fuselage that give you a better idea how damaged the plane (yours or theirs) actually is. For example, if I had unleashed a bunch of rounds that struck the lower wings and they were say half way or 75% of the way towards total wing failure, they might look like this:
Pol, that's a rude and uncalled for statement which is not true. I didn't show any attitude, in fact, I have been very civil in my replies.
Check my first post before all of this nonsense started and you'll see that I made a simple wish without any complaints or criticism. Now stop it and move on.
It's not your first quote that's the problem.
And I said nothing there that was "rude" - yet you can say ;
Originally Posted By: yaan98
"a typical useless reply which adds nothing to the discussion from a devote supporter."
Now that's rude.
Originally Posted By: yaan98
"However, if you're still stuck on the famous phrase.... "there is nothing wrong with this sim!!", then nothing anyone says will make any difference."
Well if you believe we have not fixed problems, and added dozens of free new features and improvements based on feedback there's something wrong with you. Read the release notes.
Just because your opinion or idea isn't there yet doesn't mean we won't and it doesn't mean we will.
If the thread or forum isn't pleasant to come read we will simply stop replying or reading it.
OK I know this is a big issue and I have been given some explanation about the lack of it in another thread, however I'll go ahead and shoot it:
Me and my online squadmates would really like a coop multiplayer function combined with a mission maker. We started our squad way back when OFF Phase 2 was introduced and had great fun, even with the CFS3 online quirks. When OFF lost the online function we moved on to Il-2 flying WW2 instead of our beloved N17s and were thrilled when modders created what is now called Dawn of Flight in Il-2, which works quite well and covers most of our needs. Tried ROF for a short while but it did not work well for us. A revamped multiplayer function in WOFF 2 would be amazing.
I guess this wish wonŽt be high in the list for the devs, it would take quite a lot of time to check all the skins after modifying a 3d model after all,....But here it goes:
After the huge step forward WOFF has made after 2.0X I think it wouldnŽt be too much asking for gorgeous 3d models (this sounds,...well, odd ). I mean, todays computers are able to manage more and more polygons so please, would it be possible to have Albatros 3d model revised? Specially the rudder and stabilizer look to have a low poly count and as result donŽt look as modern sim models anymore,...
Adding a C-flight for the bigger squadrons. I know not all, especially the recce/bomber squadrons. Also, I'm sure there's a basic explanation for this the devs can offer, but more dawn patrols? I've noticed that during career summer specifically the earliest flights have always been around 6. Winter is good for this for dawn patrols, don't know if mission start times are determined by season.
I know we all still want some more planes however I would love to see an expansion that improved upon the battles going on on the ground. I'd love to see alot more explosions during a historical attack plus different sizes of explosions and shrapnel explosions. Would also love to see more ground activity with soldiers moving across no mans land plus tracer being fired across the battlefield. Maybe if possible improve the soldiers visually and animate them.
All books mention how the sky was lit up and flashing across the horizon when a big bombardment was going on. Would love to see this effect at night or dusk\dawn.
To simulate during a heavy bombardment the effects of being bounced\rocked across the sky from shell turbalence maybe if possible increase wind effects when going across no mans land.
WOFF is so atmospheric already and easy has the best no mans land ever made for a WW1 sim I'd love to see it being improved even more. It's an aspect that adds so much to the immersion.
Obviously have these effects with workshop settings so people can increase or decrease them depending on their Rig set up. Maybe have the top settings for those who have Titans in their Rig so that over time as people upgrade they can increase the new effects.
I certainly would pay for a "Ground Battle" expansion.
Yes, a lot of CPU cycles there and the front lines already have the most pronounced FPS hit of areas, especially in 1918.
hmmm. Expansion ideas. (great thread idea Wodin!)
I'm going to say I'd like to see an Expansion involving the French 2 Seaters. Given how much time and energy it takes for OBD to create the planes, FM, DM, squadron paint jobs, squadron locations, etc, etc I would like to see OBD get well paid for all the effort it would take to introduce them into WOFF. An Expansion based off of French 2 seaters would allow them to create some of the more prominent types and get them into the war in a way that might be worth their effort to do.
Love the French two-seater ideas. Farman, Salmson, Voisin, SPAD, Dorand, Caudron--some gems there.
I'd like an IAF expansion for strategic bombing. Would require the DH4, DH9, HP O/400. But, of course, I'd really like an Italian Front expansion the most. And since this is the part when people come and tell you why what you want can't or shouldn't be done, I'll go back to trying to figure out which plane I'm going to fly in my next campaign. My Nieuport campaign, ah, didn't turn out so well. Maybe it's time to head back into my trusty AMC DH5. Something about that machine I love.
Actually JFM, something as large as the Italian Front probably would have to come in an Expansion to cost enough that it would be worth the devs time. Certainly aren't going to "patch" the Italian Front in. Great idea!
Once the French two-seaters and Italian front expansions are out, an enhanced and more complex training expansion would be nice, with Longhorns, Shorthorns, Avros, Taubes, Bleriots, and miscellaneous ridiculous early aircraft.
Yeah I understand about the FPS hi..that's why I said for there to be settings..I see it as an expansion that you'll up the setting from low upwards as we upgrade our rigs. Say the highest setting is really only going to be accessed in three or four years time when the hardware can deal with it.
I'd settle for some black smoke at the front that stays there for some time, as if to tell me that the artillery finally hit something and it is burning.
What about having a check box in the claims screen that would allow an override of the normally selected claims process? Admittedly it would be an honour thing, but it would allow you to select automatic confirmation of the most obvious kills, such as the enemy aircraft shot down within sight of your own field.
AI#1 and AI#2 (is AI#1's enemy) and both "see" each other. All variables are the same for both AIs including altitude, skill, morale, fatigue, location, etc...
If AI#1 is "on patrol" and AI#2 is "going home" or "landing" or "taking off" or "attacking" (ground structure or balloon) or "in transit" or "forming up" then AI#1 should still be able to attack AI#2 and not ignore it.
If AI#1 is escorting bombers and weaker than AI#2, then AI#1 will not run away, but instead it will attack AI#2 to defend bombers.
If AI#1 is weaker and "on ground" or "on alert" then "take off" to intercept and AI#2 is "on transit" or "on patrol", then AI#2 will not run away and attack AI#1.
For example, (Jan 1917) First encounter of 5 Pups (4 HAs) from 8 RNAS with 4 Alb D2s (Skills=Ace) from Jasta 2, the Albs all ran away heading for home base - no shots fired. Then the Pups attacked their airfield at Douai while the same 4 Alb D2s continue on their landing pattern to land. Result - Easy unobstructed Airfield attack.
(Jan 1917) 4 Pups (3 HAs) from 8 RNAS on patrol over the front encounters 4 Alb D2s escorting 3 DFWs. The Albs all ran away heading for home base. Result - All DFWs easily shot down.
I am very new to WOFF [just a week or so] but I ran into something that I feel could be improved.
I started a campaign and 3 missions in, I messed up a landing, destroyed the plane, and killed myself & the observer. I expected to have to start a new character/mission. But, I found I had left the "player never dies" setting in the Workshop on. So my character is still alive. This was disappointing to me since I planned on being on the realistic side with this campaign. I was fully prepared to have to start over. Since there is only one set of Workshop settings that apply to all characters, it looks like I will have to micro-manage the Workshop settings to be sure I have what I want for any flight.
Would it be possible for the Workshop settings to be on a per character basis?
So pilot1 could be the one where "player never dies" is set on and all sorts of experiments/wild adventures take place and the pilot never dies.
Pilot2 could could have a different set of Workshop settings from Pilot1, including the chance to die.
That way I would not have to remember to check to see what the settings in the Workshop are before jumping into a new character.
I realize this request could be anywhere from trivial to nearly impossible depending on the WOFF design. I won't be heartbroken or leaving WOFF [you won't get rid of me that easily ] if no one else likes the idea or you developers say it is undesirable for some reason or perhaps too big a job.
In the meantime, I'll put together a check-list of things to verify before each mission/flight. Pilots are big on check-lists, right?
I thought I would mention this suggestion again. If one instance of the Workshop settings per player character is too much, perhaps one Workshop setting for campaigns & one for QC would be possible. I have learned to double check the settings before going into a campaign mission or QC mission just to be safe.
Having revisited this suggestion, I'll leave it alone. Only the developers know the impact of a suggestion and I trust their judgement.
I wrote it a few weeks back but I've been dwelling on it so I'll repeat it...
Adding a C flight to larger squadrons, including continuity within each flight so that you know who will lead your flight and who is "usually" in it....not just HA's. Also, with rank and experience be able to take over and move to different flights. I would think there would be more of an immersion factor when the men who are always in your flight don't return and the "new chap" comes in.
Would like to see a Pilot diary. Where the game will write about the flight, what the mission was, what area it was in, how long it took and any encounters , also naming any enemy squadrons the flight came across if your flight got close enough to tell which squadron it was. Also the time an encounter happened plus any Aces spotted. Who was in your flight.Who was flight leader. Who if anyone put in a claim. Who if anyone got a confirmed kill. Who if anyone was killed, missing or wounded. Finally weather condition. Also you should be able to add whatever you want aswell, say if you lost yoru flight leader you could mention how moral was low afterwards or if the flight got some kills you could mention about a big binge in the mess where the piano got trashed etc. This would be great for roleplaying.
My next Wish is a dedicated "Rabbit-Mode" - ...something, that lets a fleeing Aircraft take evasive Maneuvers as soon as a pursuing Aircraft gets near Firing-Range. This Mode should be a special Version of the "Going-Home-Mode", that would activate, when AI chooses to break off from a Fight because of the usual Reasons already implemented in the Game, and could consist of this:
1. Spend more Time in "Backward-View" than when in "Going-Home-Mode"
2. When EA spotted in "Backward-View", that has +/- same Heading and +/- same Altitude and is closer than +/- 200 yrds: Switch to "Fighting-Mode" for 5 Seconds, then go back to Start of the "Rabbit-Mode"
3. When last Time, Point 2 was active, is longer than 1 Minute (or so), switch to "Going Home"
Okay, I'm no Coder (Basic doesn't count LOL), but nevertheless I have the Feeling, that it is not as easy as it sounds...
I don't mind the HA's being resurrected after they "land" their wingless balls of flame, but I wish they were put out of action for at least a day or two to recuperate from their "light wounds". Same goes for being forced to land behind enemy lines.
Would love to see some more work done to the sideslip model that was recently implemented.Some planes stop turning and just track straight ahead and I feel it throws off the feel of flight and causing you to throw in more and more roll.All I am suggesting is to give back some yaw movement to the planes that have none when at full rudder deflection do not just track straight.
Also,if possible,a way to apply braking force on one wheel only to simulate hitting bumps on the ground that cause the pilot to dance the pedals.
Would love to see some more work done to the sideslip model that was recently implemented.Some planes stop turning and just track straight ahead and I feel it throws off the feel of flight and causing you to throw in more and more roll.All I am suggesting is to give back some yaw movement to the planes that have none when at full rudder deflection do not just track straight.
Also,if possible,a way to apply braking force on one wheel only to simulate hitting bumps on the ground that cause the pilot to dance the pedals.
Wolf, part of your request is already done. see link below:
One more request and I promise I will stop. This is gonna drive the devs batty as it takes a long time to make FM's and then balance them
Right now the Fokker eindeckers are very unstable in roll but the Eindeckers were notoriously unstable in pitch due to the whole elevator moving with no stabilizer part.Is it possible to reverse this?Is this nitpicking?
Some planes you can come in to land while blipping the throttle but in other planes the engine will just cut out,even if you only blip for a fraction of a second.Could this be fixed?
I don't know why but when in QC mission and bombing say a factory my squad actually bomb the target.In campaigns though they just follow me around as I make my attacks.Never once seen them attack a balloon or ground target yet.I posted this in past and yes I can use TAB but for immersion purposes why cant they just attack target like in QC.
I don't know why but when in QC mission and bombing say a factory my squad actually bomb the target.In campaigns though they just follow me around as I make my attacks.Never once seen them attack a balloon or ground target yet.I posted this in past and yes I can use TAB but for immersion purposes why cant they just attack target like in QC.
Wolf I don't have this problem Are u flight leader?
Yes as flight lead.This last attack was on a train depot and with the DH2 of which carries no bombs.Does the AI do gun runs on ground targets for you?
I believe so as I have seen then do low flying diving attacks but I have not noticed any bullets hitting targets so I can't be sure if they are actually firing.
I would like to know if it is possible to have the pilots log book always show the latest activity as the starting point and not the earliest entry. It is somewhat of a pain to have to always advance pages to get to the latest entry.
I wrote it a few weeks back but I've been dwelling on it so I'll repeat it...
Adding a C flight to larger squadrons, including continuity within each flight so that you know who will lead your flight and who is "usually" in it....not just HA's. Also, with rank and experience be able to take over and move to different flights. I would think there would be more of an immersion factor when the men who are always in your flight don't return and the "new chap" comes in.
+111111111 for RFC "C" flight and flight (and kette) continuity!
I've noticed that when you take leave or advance the time nothing happens in your squadron. I would like to see that while you are away the war is continuing. It would really add to the immersion if when you returned from leave you found out that your wingman had been killed.
errr...would it be possible to add "Bridges" as targets to bomb??
and adding "Probable victory" to the claims. I mean how many times have you had a flamer, own side, next to a balloon section, and the claim is rejected. Probables are not added to official victories but do count towards promotion. At least for the RFC side.
I am making this suggestion based on my assumption that successful bombing has no significant rewRds. If this is tbe case I would like to see WOFF recognize bombing performance more concretely than just showing the summary of hits and misses. Doing this might encourage more people to venture into two seaters and enjoy the bombing portion of missions more.
It would be wonderful if the AI's strategy for conflict evasion could be looked at, especially for two seaters. For example, it would be nice if the squadron leader and AI actually went at full speed to escape when they tried to run away. They do when breaking off of a dogfight they are already in, but if for example they see a bunch of fighters at cruise altitude, they will throttle back as they descend, which really hurts their prospects. In general, the AI should be able to handle surviving as two-seaters a bit better; there's nothing wrong with their defensive firepower, but better "run away" behavior would make two-seater campaigns more surviveable and worthwhile for the player.
Fe2B's especially have a problem; most of the firepower is in front, with poor coverage of the rear arc, but currently the AI just lumbers along straight and level under attack, instead of maneuvering like they should to have a better chance.
What about "Secret-Agent-Missions"? ...meaning, you fly a 2-Seater & land on a certain Spot behind Enemy-Lines, to drop off or fetch up some 007. I've read somewhere, that for Example Guynemer did that quite frequently during the early War in a MS...
What about "Secret-Agent-Missions"? ...meaning, you fly a 2-Seater & land on a certain Spot behind Enemy-Lines, to drop off or fetch up some 007. I've read somewhere, that for Example Guynemer did that quite frequently during the early War in a MS...
I've read somewhere, that for Example Guynemer did that quite frequently during the early War in a MS...
No, he did it 2 or 3 times, and found it was a "dirty job" (" "... j'ai juré de ne pas recommencer. ..... Vraiment, la mission spéciale c'est du sale boulot." ), Védrines did 7 missions, Navarre 3. But, with some imagination you can already do it in the game, just take off alone and head for a nice landing spot far behind enemy lines, just take care to not shut down your engine/or stop while on the ground.
What about "Secret-Agent-Missions"? ...meaning, you fly a 2-Seater & land on a certain Spot behind Enemy-Lines, to drop off or fetch up some 007. I've read somewhere, that for Example Guynemer did that quite frequently during the early War in a MS...
You will get missions like that if you use Bletchley's Mission Types Mod found on WoFF site under user mods. You will also have the honor of flying over the enemy airfield and drop an old boot on it.
I wish the kill would be given to the pilot who hit the enemy plane the most, not the last one to shoot it, as it is currently. How many times did your wingman steal your kill this way? And sometimes with only 1 bullet. If the number of hits is more or less the same between the pilots, then yes, use the last shot gets the kill rule. This should be easy to implement. WoFF knows exactly how many rounds went into each plane. At least make it an option. Also, I would like planes that were forced down to be considered as kills. Currently if you bring a plane down, but it does not crash it is not a kill.
Also, I would like planes that were forced down to be considered as kills. Currently if you bring a plane down, but it does not crash it is not a kill.
That's not true. Forced landings with AC still intact is considered a victory. If he lands on an airfield, then not because WOFF can distinguish between an airfield landing or landing on an open field. If it's the latter, then it counts as victory. This is why Labels turn grey when they land, or why you can not restart your engine after landing in an open field.
Also, I would like planes that were forced down to be considered as kills. Currently if you bring a plane down, but it does not crash it is not a kill.
That's not true. Forced landings with AC still intact is considered a victory. If he lands on an airfield, then not because WOFF can distinguish between an airfield landing or landing on an open field. If it's the latter, then it counts as victory. This is why Labels turn grey when they land, or why you can not restart your engine after landing in an open field.
Not my experience. Planes downed and landing in open field (not crashing) don't register as kills for me. This is easy to do in N10 with limited ammo.
Not my experience. Planes downed and landing in open field (not crashing) don't register as kills for me.
You could only check that with "Claims" set to the easiest setting (bypass claims). Only if you then still don't receive it as a victory, you would be right. But I think Creaghorn is right here - you should receive it then.
Not my experience. Planes downed and landing in open field (not crashing) don't register as kills for me.
You could only check that with "Claims" set to the easiest setting (bypass claims). Only if you then still don't receive it as a victory, you would be right. But I think Creaghorn is right here - you should receive it then.
You will know it with easy and easiest settings to be precise. I usually fly with the normal setting, but did some tests on easy. And after forcing the plane down - run out off ammo to finish it off, there was no option to claim it, leading me to believe that forced down planes can't be claimed. It definitely did not land at an airfield. But if you guys say it's in the game then I retract my wish (at lest the second part). I still would prefer to have kills credited to the pilot with the most hits.
I would like the behavior of the AI leader to be modified. When a flight is led by AI he will change course when he notices the enemy well beyond visual range allowing him to identify the plane when they're still just a dot in the sky. They will also ignore any dots that are friendly. I would like the behavior to be more human and would like the AI leader to change course and investigate all distant dots the same way regardless if friend or foe until a distance where it is more realistic to identify a plane visually. Then the attack can continue or return to normal flight path if identified as friendly. The attack can only start from much further away if flak is present confirming it is an enemy and eliminating the investigation phase.
I would like the behavior of the AI leader to be modified. When a flight is led by AI he will change course when he notices the enemy well beyond visual range allowing him to identify the plane when they're still just a dot in the sky. They will also ignore any dots that are friendly. I would like the behavior to be more human and would like the AI leader to change course and investigate all distant dots the same way regardless if friend or foe until a distance where it is more realistic to identify a plane visually. Then the attack can continue or return to normal flight path if identified as friendly. The attack can only start from much further away if flak is present confirming it is an enemy and eliminating the investigation phase.
Adjust the range and test it out in QC for both "maxRange_met" and "perfectRange_met". In QC, you'll need to start off with the enemy flight at a disadvantage, same altitude and slower aircraft. Then switch activity labels on and proceed to catch up to the enemy. You'll see the labels switch from "in transit" to "Fighting..." once you've reached the distance you put inside that file. Then adjust the values again, test in QC, rinse and repeat until you're satisfied with the outcome.
Also, I would like planes that were forced down to be considered as kills. Currently if you bring a plane down, but it does not crash it is not a kill.
That's not true. Forced landings with AC still intact is considered a victory. If he lands on an airfield, then not because WOFF can distinguish between an airfield landing or landing on an open field. If it's the latter, then it counts as victory. This is why Labels turn grey when they land, or why you can not restart your engine after landing in an open field.
Not my experience. Planes downed and landing in open field (not crashing) don't register as kills for me. This is easy to do in N10 with limited ammo.
In one recent mission I did damage a DFW badly, it went in long turns down and did a landing in the periphery of a german aerodrome. It did not flip over, seemed to be in one piece. Filed a claim nethertheless and got it confirmed!
I'll list the four biggest things I'd love to see in WOFF. Again, I love WOFF for what it is. A great eye-opener to the sacrifice and courage that those brave young men on both sides had to endure to fight in the air.
1) I'd like to see the addition of very early Western Front aerial combat in the Summer, Autumn, and Winter of 1914. Even a way to feature the Christmas Truce some how.
2) The second thing I'd like to see is more heavy bombers like the Handley Page O/400 Bomber or the Zeppelin-Staaken R-series. I've always found large bombers fascinating in the First World War
3) The third biggest thing I think would be really impressive to see in WOFF would be maritime operations with the early flying boats such as Felixstowe F.2A or the Brandenburg W12.
4) The fourth thing I'd truly love to see would be the addition of the Eastern Front or maybe even the Italian Front or the Ottoman Empire in some fashion.
Those are just the things I think that would really improve WOFF, but that's just me!
I wish everyone here the very best day possible both in the air and on the ground!
... 2) The second thing I'd like to see is more heavy bombers like the Handley Page O/400 Bomber or the Zeppelin-Staaken R-series. I've always found large bombers fascinating in the First World War ...
Probably the most critical changes to help WOFF do what it does so well even better would include:
1. Separate pilot photos and decoration systems for RFC and RNAS, with a system for merging the forces after the creation of the RAF.
2. Far fewer NCO pilots in the RFC with an option of enlisting as a 2LT (junior) which would be the current sergeant, with two promotions needed to become at LT.
3. Flight / Kette integrity, with a strict limit on the numbers of Captains and Majors (one Major -- infrequently assigned) and three Captains, for example).
4. Option for random involuntary transfer to a like unit (scout or 2 seater) on promotion.
add Nieuport 12 in the claim form in April 1917 - I shot down two planes of this type from 45 RFC Squadron in April 1917 and I couldn't find Nieuport 12 in the claim form so I had to choose Twin-seataer type (of course the claims were rejected).
1. In the Workshop settings, in Encounters: an option for 'Light', as well as 'Historical' and 'Heavy'.
2. Flight size linked to mission type, particularly for 2-seaters: e.g. flights of 1 or 2 aircraft for artillery cooperation missions and photographic recce, with full-flight missions being retained for bombing and long recce (Allied), and single aircraft for long recce (German).
3. Contact and ground attack missions for bomber/recce units.
I don't think so, Olham - otherwise why have the Encounters setting, if this is already dealt with by other settings?
Even with Regional air activity set to Light, with 'AI always engage' to OFF, I am still getting more encounters in the winter of 1916 than I would expect. So a lighter Encounter setting would be welcome, though I guess this would not be for everyone, and so the wish for an extra option in the workshop setting (most WOFF settings have this graduated light-normal-heavy or easy-normal-difficult choice, so I think it would just bring this setting into line with the others).
The way it's set up now in the xml file, encounters are either "on" or "off". Meaning the AI will choose to fight or not based on certain conditions like the number and type of craft, fatigue, behind the lines, damage, etc.... And this is determined only at the time when they can "see" you and your flight.
However, I believe that OBD can do a better job and improve on encounters as well as AI behavior in general as was mentioned in numerous AI discussion threads and that's what I'd wish for.
[*]Flight/Kette integrity and consistency: keep the flight members the same unless wounded/on leave/missing, and keep the ranks historically accurate. Add in promotions and being transferred to other flights/squadrons, new guys coming in with v. low skill levels, etc. Just generally more realistic flights/Ketten, which were after all the primary combat units in reality IIRC. [*]More French 2-seaters (i.e. Breguet). [*]More encounters with lone or pairs of 2-seaters doing arty spotting or recce. 2-seaters usually seem to appear in flights.
I would like the best planes to be given to the pilots with the highest ranks in the squadron - no matter what that rank is. If better planes are available to the unit, use them, don't keep them in a crate somewhere waiting for a high enough pilot to show up. Best example: Max Immelmann will never fly the E.IV because his rank is too low. At the time of his death you have to be at least a Hauptmann to fly the E.IV in Jasta 10.
Been away from WOFF for almost 18 months and only own WOFF 1 + Add-on #1 Fokker Scourge
With that said, been reading all night to catch up, and would definitely buy WOFF Gold. So here is my wish list for WOFF Gold (if some of this is already now present then someone please let me know and I'll stop wishing ).
1. "Aces Can Die" Option. I know how to edit the Aces file to remove aces I've shot down or I have witnessed dying in my squad, but that's a bit tedious.
2. User Defined "Death by Fence Collision Speed." I figure no two players would ever agree on what collision speed should result in death, so how about a pick list or a variable box where we simply pick a number or enter a number which equals speed in miles per hour before a fence collision results in death. I might pick 20 mph, the next player could pick 50 mph.
3. Caudron G-4 and Breguet 14. (I would also buy these in an Add-on): These two French bombers would fill in some really important holes (date-wise) and allow for much more diverse French recon careers.
4. Belgian Add-on. A two-seat Farman and a Hanriot HD.1 could be offered in this Add-on and when combined with the other planes already in WOFF would be all it would take to get Belgium up and officially running. Belgium only had a handful of airfields which could be added to the existing map.
2. User Defined "Death by Fence Collision Speed." I figure no two players would ever agree on what collision speed should result in death, so how about a pick list or a variable box where we simply pick a number or enter a number which equals speed in miles per hour before a fence collision results in death. I might pick 20 mph, the next player could pick 50 mph.
Welcome back Bucksnort and Happy New Year! The Devs already made the fences a lot less lethal and I think they have it down quite well now. Having said that I still use a simple solution in case I ever feel like I died when I shouldn't have. I just set myself in Workshop to EASY outcome where Pilot Never Dies. Then it will say I died, but lets me keep playing as "reports of my death were greatly exaggerated." False reports of death happen often in war, so that would be one of those. If, on the other hand, you actually should have died, then you can just stop flying that pilot.
I would like to see days spent in hospital to be somewhat proportional to pilot (observer) health. Let us say, pilot health upon landing is 97%, so he spend only 1 day in hospital, while with health of only 56% he spend 14 days in hospital. Health below 40% would trigger randomizing output of live or death.
Not sure if this was already in this looong wish list thread. It is an idea JFM brought up in a PM, and I thought, it MIGHT perhaps be possible to do.
CFS3 did allow baling out, and parachutes. Now, wouldn't it be great, if late war pilots could bail out with a chute and save their lives? Not sure if the Entente introduced them at any time in late war, but the Germans did, due to a lack of pilots.
+1. Plus, it'd be cool for the player and not just the AI to have the ability to bail out, when flying for Germany during the late war. But WITH a chance of the chute not deploying!
If there was a woffairy granting three wishes...I'd wish (in order of importance) : 1. Planepack of early french twoseaters,like Caudron G.4,Voisin 5 or 8, Farman F.40.AI only would be fine to me 2.As good as WOFF does look in bad and variable weather conditions,i'd love to see a little bit more of the landscape,especially on clear days.I remember reading the report of an observer, who described spotting Dunekirk from above Lille (!) I know ,the CFS3 Engine can do (much) more than just displaying ~15k ...'On a Clear Day'. 3.I still miss the more populated map of OFF BHaH, those little villages giving the scenario a more authentic european touch... Couldn't resist ...
I imagine this has come up over the years, but I would like it that, if you exit play in campaign mode, the game 'assumed' all AI pilots in your squadron made it home. (Unless they're already destroyed, or perhaps a simple randomizer based on current plane damage.)
If I have to abort my mission for one reason or another, sometimes it gets tedious trying to decide how long to give the AI to finish up....and sometimes, as just happened to me, if you exit by accident your squad can lose half its men.
Ran across something recently about which I admit I was absolutely ignorant: "trench lights." Came from a German two-seater pilot in a post-war interview:
[Discuss flying an Alb at night to try to shoot down French bombers attacking the airfield] The next night was better and I found the planes and the Flak and I got in but our Flak never stopped! They were not the lattice type, but the Farman type (Breguet?). They got away and I followed them for quite a distance across the trench lights. By the way how do I know the trench lights? The trench lights you know because they were shooting up these Very pistols all the time. Through the whole line you could see from these lights coming down.
I saw a comment by Winder on CombatAce where he said that WOFF X might have additional ground activity going on to increase immersion.
The number one area I would like to see this is at the airfield. Maybe some static vehicles or mechanics/armorers/etc at the end of the field waiting to help the pilots out of their planes and to push the planes back to the hangers.
Also, a vehicle or two just going about their business on the airfield before takeoff and after landing would be great (maybe driving out to meet the incoming planes just after you've landed).
And of course more is always better, but just that little bit would be big bang for the buck IMO.
There is a truck the drives up and down the strip at the back of the airfield now, but yes it would be cool to see some ambulances and other support trucks near the edge of the field, especially when planes are landing.
Would like to see more gun placements protecting airfields and balloons.I have already set ground weapons to accurate to make flying over enemy encampments a bit of a gamble but just one extra gun at each target will up the danger a bit more to force you to make decisions on how low you wanna fight at.
It would be nice to see (AI-flyable if not player flyable):
HALBERSTADT CL.II (purdy pleez!) Just my opinion, but there seems to be a nice mid-to-late war niche perfect for this plane. This plane has a great many striking paint schemes
Airco de Havilland DH4
Breguet 14 (sorry... I know it has been described as a dead horse... but I just had to say it once.)
The Sopwith Dolphin would be really cool.
WOFF devs, Thank you LOADS for all the hard work you put into this sim!
Breguet 14 (sorry... I know it has been described as a dead horse... but I just had to say it once.)
Why is the Breguet 14 a dead horse. I've got it as one of my two most important wish list planes (plus the Caudron G.4). I really think the biggest gap in WOFF is an early French and late war French 2-seater to bracket the mid-war Strutter. This would really flesh out the French Recce/Bomber career which is pretty slim right now.
What's up with the Brequet 14, in particular?
+1 on the DH.4 also. Both it and the Brequet 14 were built by the thousands for WWI. They might be the two most significant planes we are missing (strictly measured by the number that served in WWI).
The WOFF 2 map has now become so beautiful, I'd like to drive a little vehicle of some kind around in WOFF. One shared one for the Entente and a different one for Germany would do. It could spawn at your airfield and would be available to all squadrons in the game. I got to really looking close at a couple of the truck models in the game, and I thought, I'd like to get inside and take if for a drive!
+1 on the Bruguet, without it and the Salmson you can't fly an American two-seater campaign. I would've rather seen these two than the Fokker D.II and Pfalz E.III both were produced in very small numbers.
Implement Mission Failures as severe consequences. From what I understand, successful missions for the squad were more important than individual victories.
WOFF does an excellent job of immersion, except for victory numbers. It seems that downing an enemy plane takes precedence over completing a mission since there are no repercussions for failed missions. That's why there are some WOFF pilots that have unrealistic victories which would put even the red baron to shame.
I would like WOFF to force the player to stay at around say 90% mission completion rate or suffer a severe consequence.
During WW1, what would happen to a pilot or squad that have poor mission completions for extended periods?
They would not get promotions etc... The unit would fly on, but moral would be low, and flight leaders and CO's would be coming and going I suppose.
Thanks. That sounds good. So, associating promotions with number of mission successes would be awesome. And having flight leaders and COs getting replaced with a threatening memo from HQ to the squadron.
I guess the question would be since WOFF does simulate low morale for AI, how can low morale affect the player inside WOFF?
I want to avoid the indifference I have when my squadmates die off or we don't perform well on missions. The urgency and importance of these events should be reproduced somehow.
I think having AI pilots start at rookie level and then every 3 missions they advance a level which would be great to make you want to keep them alive as their death becomes hurtful to your squad as they mean better survival for you and......it ends here.
I believe squadron morale rating increases / decreases and that has a effect on how well they perform too. OBD would know for sure.
Yes, squadron morale does get affected through poor performance. However, my wish was for the player as we don't seem to have any adverse aircraft effects for low morale. A role playing alternative would be nice as well.
There is a truck the drives up and down the strip at the back of the airfield now, but yes it would be cool to see some ambulances and other support trucks near the edge of the field, especially when planes are landing.
Hi Hellshade,
Yes, I've finally seen it twice now! I guess it isn't at every airfield as now I'm looking for it all the time...lol
But very cool, and a little more of this sort of thing at the airfields would be great.
This maybe also published and sorry if so, but I would like to see a commando key that the gunner in a 2seater just do what he is hired for. Shooting at enemy planes when they are in shooting range. As a sample when flying the Fee, I managed to get behind the Fokker but the gunner refuse to shoot. Same when flying the parasol, my gunner never shoot when the plane is at the side only when the enemy plane is at rear.
So a commando key, that when pushing, the gunner is offensive and not acting defencive like now.
Yeah, they do need to fix the Fee in particular, as it is a primary in some fighter squads and it is fun to dogfight in, but the gunner will almost never fire even if you're right on someone's six at 50 yards. I can't remember if I've ever seen it fire in that instance, and if so only rarely.
Yeah, they do need to fix the Fee in particular, as it is a primary in some fighter squads and it is fun to dogfight in, but the gunner will almost never fire even if you're right on someone's six at 50 yards. I can't remember if I've ever seen it fire in that instance, and if so only rarely.
I can appreciate that. The downside to them changing rear gunners to fire more often is that when you are the one in the single seater scout attacking the two seaters more active rear gunners might well make that experience suicidal. Especially since they tend to fly in groups. It would be great if there was a happy medium somewhere, but where it is is anyone's guess.
Yeah, they do need to fix the Fee in particular, as it is a primary in some fighter squads and it is fun to dogfight in, but the gunner will almost never fire even if you're right on someone's six at 50 yards. I can't remember if I've ever seen it fire in that instance, and if so only rarely.
I can appreciate that. The downside to them changing rear gunners to fire more often is that when you are the one in the single seater scout attacking the two seaters more active rear gunners might well make that experience suicidal. Especially since they tend to fly in groups. It would be great if there was a happy medium somewhere, but where it is is anyone's guess.
That's why a commando key to force the gunner to do any action.
Dutch, I agree the observers can be frustrating at times. I've discovered that sometimes they won't fire if you are making any kind of evasive maneuvers.
I was flying plain straight behind the Fokker, it was no sharp turn just a matter of picking up his tail maybe the gunner was sleeping. LOL At the Morane cockpit always the same story, just fly besides the German BI, the gunner refuse to shot only when Morane is in front of the BI it starts to shoot, no evasive maneuvers here or any wing/wire is blocking his gun.
As I wrote down it seems the gunner is programmed pure defencive and not offencive. Same you will have noticed in RoF btw. Guess this offencive behaviour could be difficult to program.
I'd like to see the next version fix this scenario:
Picture shows 8 Alb D3's in "B flight" with 4 Alb D3's in "A flight" as top cover over our side of the lines. We were just about to reach our patrol area when we spotted 5 F2b's (I got the exact number from the mission log), then ALL of B flight immediately turns and runs towards home.
There were 12 of us (A plus B flights) and only 5 of them. It appears to me that the odds were in our favor even just to fly towards them and scare them away....
It would need more features for AI to know of other friendly AI and their intentions and combine it with theirs. There are of course a lot of variables at play - it's possible that flight had seen action, or already low on morale etc to start with or other issues.
Dutch, I agree the observers can be frustrating at times. I've discovered that sometimes they won't fire if you are making any kind of evasive maneuvers.
Correct they shouldn't fire when standing up and being thrown around in an aircraft! This is modelled in WOFF.
Wow - good detail! Dutch, try flying more gentle curves - don't make the poor lad
nope that is not the case, read my postings back. I had the same this weekend flying a German DFW 2seater. The gunner AI is programmed defencive and not offensive.
So still stands, a commando key to give the gunner a command he can act also offensive to the nearest enemy plane
Try targeting the enemy as normal with tac. Make sure you have a clear view of the aircraft tail or parts will put him off shooting as they avoid the aircraft parts. The gunners will vary depending on their skill. Novice will be more useless, less able to see less able to notice and so on.
Often as a pilot you wouldn't be able to communicate that much in a WW1 craft or even look behind as much as you normally can in the sim so you wouldnt be able to target for the gunner but you can certainly wish it to be added.
As it is a sim though and you want more defence you can always switch to auto pilot and go to gunner yourself.
I would be nice, if, when you have landed and ended the Mission, before every Plane from A-Z Flight has returned to the friendly side of the Front, they would all be listed as "Returned safely" nevertheless. And maybe a bit more Transparecy or bigger "Softness" of the "End of Playfield-Fogwall" on the lower Side of the Horizon, to minimize this "Fog-Band-Effect", when the Sun is low.
my biggest wish is an immediately button in the transfer icon. (right upper side) Like cancel button on the left upper side. Or an option in the workshop "next day" Please look after that. It`s not 100 % historic correct but would help if you want that Squadron hopping....
I'd like the ability to easily add custom made missions into the campaign engine. Also, it would be nice to have an option to adjust AI parameters inside mission files so that we have more granular control of individual AI pilot decisions.
a big wish of me is that the best crafts should go to the pilots with the most kills and/or highest ranks. In the example shown in the picture my pilot has 7 Kills and my pal has 8 but we both don't get the E IV. The EIV goes to the HA who all have in this stage of time 0 !! Kills. A historic ace is an ace when he has 5 or more kills.
A second wish is that if you are the squadron leader or the pilot with ace status you can select the crafts for the actually flight.
So I know myself and others mentioned the most specific A, B, C flight continuity, but a simpler suggestion for the flight set up would be if the flight leader would be chosen based off of missions completed/hours. I just had a scenario where I was promoted from SGT to Second Lieutenant, and since there was a lacking in Lieutenants and above (but a large group of 2ndLT's) I was automatically flight leader. I could be completely wrong in my historical knowledge, but it just doesn't seem to make sense for the junior of the commissioned officers to automatically take over every mission. So again, adjusting the flight leader to be chosen by rank AND flight hours/missions would be my wish.
I don't know, if this has been mentioned, but I'd like to see Austro-Hungary, Italy and Russia in the game(I know, Russian air service was pretty much non-existent), but the Italian front would be really nice(even if Austro-Hungary used german planes mostly, apart from a couple of their own models).
If it is not too much trouble could you please open up all target types in WOFF 3 to include all squads/countries/years when 3rd Party Missions is enabled.
An example:
I tired to add Railyards to the possible targets for Gothas in 3rd Party Missions but WOFF will not generate a mission as it does for factories and airfields as targets.
I always like to view arround as a pilot in my 2seater, what I do like to change is that in case of the MS-parasol/pfalzAI/Be2 the gunner sits in his chair and not blocking my view. Only when action is needed he may go to his gun for firering, in this action I do not need the enjoyment of the terrain. And I miss a gunner in the early Aviatik B1, like the Be2 some were also using a gun in the front seat, rather tricky now flying this plane when the sky is full of sharks.
I know this has been posted many times, sorry for this.
If possible could you please move the time compression display down to the right hand corner of the screen, for instance.
x2 time compression works great for the long Gotha raids into England but it would be nice to not have to look at the time compression rate in the center of the screen for long flights. If you could move it or make it so we can drag it off to the side somewhere that would be great.
If possible could you please move the time compression display down to the right hand corner of the screen, for instance.
x2 time compression works great for the long Gotha raids into England but it would be nice to not have to look at the time compression rate in the center of the screen for long flights. If you could move it or make it so we can drag it off to the side somewhere that would be great.
Some American 2 seater squadrons will come with WOFF 3.
So Pol, are you saying that in addition to the lovely Airco DH.9 already being unveiled we may also be seeing the Breguet 14 in WOFF3? Oh please let that be what you are saying Pol, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!
We know Hasse. Problem is actually making them (or any craft) takes a L o n g time. if I can click some fingers they'd all be in now. And then there's other people who would rather see a different aircraft (many of those :)) and there's those that are needed for certain squads too and so on.
Wow - good detail! Dutch, try flying more gentle curves - don't make the poor lad
nope that is not the case, read my postings back. I had the same this weekend flying a German DFW 2seater. The gunner AI is programmed defencive and not offensive.
So still stands, a commando key to give the gunner a command he can act also offensive to the nearest enemy plane
Actually it's not programmed "defensive" but it will not fire at it's own tail or wires or wings etc, or when being sick from too much aircraft movement and so on.
We know Hasse. Problem is actually making them (or any craft) takes a L o n g time. if I can click some fingers they'd all be in now. And then there's other people who would rather see a different aircraft (many of those :)) and there's those that are needed for certain squads too and so on.
Honestly Pol, is "EVERYTHING, YESTERDAY" really that much to ask?
We know Hasse. Problem is actually making them (or any craft) takes a L o n g time.
We know, Pol - that's why we keep pushing!
Originally Posted By: Polovski
And then there's other people who would rather see a different aircraft...
Simply not ignore those, I say.
Originally Posted By: Polovski
...and there's those that are needed for certain squads too and so on.
Well, a Caudron G.IV would a) look great and totally different to any other two-seater b) be a long used French two-seater c) be also most welcome as a variation of cannon fodder for my twin Spandaus! Mmuahahahahaaa!!!
We know Hasse. Problem is actually making them (or any craft) takes a L o n g time. if I can click some fingers they'd all be in now. And then there's other people who would rather see a different aircraft (many of those :)) and there's those that are needed for certain squads too and so on.
Of course there allways be a missing plane, but to have a nearly complete career experience, french two-seaters are the biggest missing thing for years 1915 and 1916. And in 1917-18, but now we know Breguet 14 or Salmson 2 will come.
I think i'm objective, even if i'm a french man. For exemple, i saw people asking for a Morane N; to be honest Red Baron (the game) made its legacy more than itself. A few were built, and in facts, it was not an important aircraft. That's why i'll never wish it.
For those who doesn't know Voisin III and Caudron G.4, click to see a small preview. I think it explains well why those aircrafts were importants in 1915-16.
nope that is not the case, read my postings back. I had the same this weekend flying a German DFW 2seater. The gunner AI is programmed defencive and not offensive.
So still stands, a commando key to give the gunner a command he can act also offensive to the nearest enemy plane
Actually it's not programmed "defensive" but it will not fire at it's own tail or wires or wings etc, or when being sick from too much aircraft movement and so on.
If flying a Fee and approching a German eindecker headon in a QC mission, he is not shooting with his front gun, here No wings, no wires and he can not be sick, only the pilot because of this.
If flying a Fee and approching a German eindecker headon in a QC mission, he is not shooting with his front gun, here No wings, no wires and he can not be sick, only the pilot because of this.
Dutch, if you observe the rear facing gun you'll notice that the observer is trying to use it first and he is swinging it forward, but is obviously unsuccessful. When he realizes that this won't work he switches to the front mounted gun, but the Eindecker is long gone from field of view by then. The solution would be to have the observer use the front facing gun as default, or at least better routine for selecting the appropriate gun mount for front and rear facing threats.
I would like to see German career pilots having to go back to flight school before switching to the Dreideckers and train on Eindeckers to get familiar with the rotary engines. I don't know, 1 or 2 days could do it?
If flying a Fee and approching a German eindecker headon in a QC mission, he is not shooting with his front gun, here No wings, no wires and he can not be sick, only the pilot because of this.
Dutch, if you observe the rear facing gun you'll notice that the observer is trying to use it first and he is swinging it forward, but is obviously unsuccessful.
Maybe the code is inherited from back seater gunners, where rear facing gun is default?
When a new mission is generated WOFF assigns a plane to each pilot and selects one pilot to be the flight leader. I would much prefer that both decisions be based on the same criteria. They currently seem to be opposites.
The best planes are always given to the historical aces first, regardless of rank, seniority, or number of victories. The flight leader selection seems to be based on rank, with the human pilot having priority over equal-ranking HAs.
This means that I often end up being the flight leader. However, I'm stuck with an old model plane while everyone else in my flight has the latest and greatest model.
This doesn't make sense. If the HAs must have priority on plane assignments then they should be at the top of the list of flight leaders as well.
I've just seen you were speaking of 230lbs bombs for the american two-seaters career. That reminded me DH.4 was in service with AEF. Completely forget about that.
But i'm still hopping you'll give to Aéronautique Militaire some more two-seaters. At least as AI.
For the future if releasing a add on pack for Woff3, please include more skins. Right now as a sample the Fokker DII from the Motley crewpack seems to have only one default skin.
Many 2-seaters will pickle their bombs (and allow you to pickle them) in increments smaller than their total bomb load count, then come around for another pass. Other two 2-seaters can only drop their entire load (ie: the DFW can only drop all three 50kg bombs at once).
Is this already historically accurate for each plane, or is there room for improvement on some of the 2-seaters (I guess this would be the case for the bomb carrying fighters also).
It would be great to be able to pickle the bombs in smaller increments on the planes that don't allow it, but only if historically accurate.
Flooded Area around Dixmude would be very great. And surely Belgian Air Service...
vschoell
Yes to both from me too! (Surprise!)
Unless I'm mistaken, WOFF 3 will be the final WOFF version, so it sure would be great if one of the add-on packs for it turned out to include the air force of Brave Little Belgium...
Hasse, don't give up on begging for French two-seaters, as it is, there are only two French two seaters in WOFF. They only need to add two more and they could be done with the French.
Maybe someday, but more likely we will be treated to some nice plane add-on packs once in awhile. Personally I'm hoping for a couple more French Two Seaters and one or more Allied heavy bombers to match the Germans Gothas. Time will tell.
In the meantime, I will be happily flying WOFF 3 for many, many years to come. I remember I was just hoping someone would make an updated Red Baron 3D. WOFF blew past those standards long ago as far as I'm concerned.
So after WOFF 3 gets patched for a little bit, the Devs will go dark for awhile as they work on their new project, but we will still have awesome modders adding great options to the sim, like OldHats (and GEEZERS) Airfield crews and items Mod, LOU's historically accurate airfields and Olhams rivers, facemasks, etc. I would like to see that Archie mod for crossing the front. I'm hoping someone can make that!
Maybe someday, but more likely we will be treated to some nice plane add-on packs once in awhile. Personally I'm hoping for a couple more French Two Seaters and one or more Allied heavy bombers to match the Germans Gothas. Time will tell.
In the meantime, I will be happily flying WOFF 3 for many, many years to come. I remember I was just hoping someone would make an updated Red Baron 3D. WOFF blew past those standards long ago as far as I'm concerned.
I agree, although the big thing about the missing French two-seaters is that they make careers with certain squadrons at certain times pointless, at least IMO. WOFF is all about the time-machine aspect. Every career you have below Flanders and the British region has the glaring flaw of pretty much no two-seaters to engage or meet or add to your victory counts. Start a career with a Jasta in Alsace or southern France, and you'll be up against nothing but fighters and the occasional strutter, which really isn't very realistic and feels silly to me. If we could just get a Breguet 14, Dorand AR, and maybe one of Caudron/Voisin/Farman for earlier periods, even as AI only, this problem with disappear. You'd then be able to start a career with any squadron anywhere along the front at any time, and be up against a representatively correct enemy. As it is now, their ommision is incredibly glaring. I would happily pay for a two-seater AI mega pack that would flesh out the two-seater rosters (doesn't need to be flyable), and it would be the single biggest thing that this wonderful sim could improve on.
For my money, the DH4 was the best addition with WOFF 3, and I haven't even flown it yet (and might not for a while, I prefer fighter campaigns).
Well said about the French a/c. even AI only ( dont need to fly them) would be great, and I too would pay for a Mega pack of Frenches and more skins Fokker D-II -III, DH4 ect.
Did you see Farman MF.11, MF.40, Caudron G.IV, Salmson 2A2, Breguet XIV, and SPAD XVI are listed in some french squadrons planeset ? It was not the case in WOFF 2 if i remember well. Maybe for some future add-on packs.
Hopefully that's a clue to new two-seaters that we can expect to get in the future!
I may be in the minority, but I think all new planes that are added to WOFF should also be flyable by the player, and not only AI. Two-seaters shouldn't be treated differently from fighters. After all, the air war was all about the two-seaters doing their job. The fighters existed only to help or hinder them.
However, if it comes down to a choice between having a new AI-only plane or no new plane at all, the first option would be preferable. But I do hope the devs keep following their practice of having all new WOFF planes flyable also by the player.
I think we will get the two seaters eventually. It has certainly been a long standing request from many. The beauty of it though is that they can be a simple add-on pack like the 3 we already have. I understand Pol as having said that there will still be add-ons in the future so it's entirely possible it could still happen.
I feel bad posting something (again), especially since WOFF 3 was just released
Is there any way to allow the flights to be manually adjusted, i.e. number in flight and who is in it? I think having the ability to have the same flight leader (until he's injured, killed, on leave, transferred, etc.) would add to getting "to know" your flight. Also, adding the C-flight to the larger fighter squadrons might accommodate this as well. I love how the flights are larger in regards to the year, but I'm merely asking if these flights can be modified at all in the future.
If anyone from OBD can say "this can't happen" I'll sit back and continue to enjoy the game without bringing it up again
If anyone from OBD can say "this can't happen" I'll sit back and continue to enjoy the game without bringing it up again
it can be possible. I have done it manually, but now we have a gui mission editor in the works which can be integrated into the campaign. Also, Just like my airfield mod as well. But more people need to voice their thoughts to OBD to integrate this mission editor mod into WOFF3.
In some PMs with other users we chatted about the possibility of a button for changing the mission type.
WOFF_2 offered a chance to receive a different type of mission, when you pressed the button "Optional Flight". Maybe you had "Balloon Attack", but didn't want to fly over the lines that day. So you pressed the button and might receive "Airfield Defense" this time. The other posters and I quite liked that freedom of choice.
According to the devs, the button though was "broken" in WOFF_2. Now it is "repaired" - and the function is not the same anymore. Now you can only change from one "Balloon attack" target to another.
Now I thought: when there are two buttons there - one for "Optional Flight", and one for "Alternative Target" - why not make the first one, like it was before - a button for selecting different mission types?
And the other - "Alternative Target" - could perhaps be changed to "Alternative Objective", and so allow the choice of either different targets, or, when nothing had to get attacked, different flight paths/areas?
Now, I have no idea how possible or impossible it would be to change that, but I am sure that many flyers here would like such choice of selection. What do you think?
In some PMs with other users we chatted about the possibility of a button for changing the mission type.
WOFF_2 offered a chance to receive a different type of mission, when you pressed the button "Optional Flight". Maybe you had "Balloon Attack", but didn't want to fly over the lines that day. So you pressed the button and might receive "Airfield Defense" this time. The other posters and I quite liked that freedom of choice.
According to the devs, the button though was "broken" in WOFF_2. Now it is "repaired" - and the function is not the same anymore. Now you can only change from one "Balloon attack" target to another.
Now I thought: when there are two buttons there - one for "Optional Flight", and one for "Alternative Target" - why not make the first one, like it was before - a button for selecting different mission types?
And the other - "Alternative Target" - could perhaps be changed to "Alternative Objective", and so allow the choice of either different targets, or, when nothing had to get attacked, different flight paths/areas?
Now, I have no idea how possible or impossible it would be to change that, but I am sure that many flyers here would like such choice of selection. What do you think?
+1 I would be all for that. If you want to fly whatever is handed to you, you just wouldn't use the Alternative Objective button. But for those who may not enjoy being handed the same type of mission several times in a row...which, I have no doubt, was probably historically accurate, but may not always be "fun". It would allow WOFF to be enjoyable to a larger audience IMHO. Not sure how hard that would be to code though, but flexibility is always a plus.
Absolutely agree with both Olham,s and Hellshades comments above,to give us more choice of which mission to take would be amazing..please Devs make it happen
The WOFF 2 campaign was an incredible wonderful sandbox, in that I could pick a squad and region, and then go into that region and do pretty much anything I wanted to do by just pressing the Optional Flight button a couple of times to find a mission that suited my mood "Let's see, I think I want to attack a train!"
It had a feel very much like IL-2 1946 in that the world seemed huge and infinite with no rules (yes, I generally play a privileged Albert Ball type character in my mind where I get a Nieuport for my personal hunting in addition to my SE5a ).
It would be fantastic to get that magic back! I'm not so much into linear careers where you have to do one thing before the next and always follow the orders. In fact, I really don't like that at all. And that is why the campaign in WOFF 2 was so fantastic IMO!
Didn't bought WOFF3 yet, but I don't really like what I have read. I also liked the possibility to 'choose' your mission/or objective position. Hope it will be back.
Yeah, Joe, WOFF 3 is pretty amazing. I'm starting to get a lot of "its looks like a movie" angles as I'm flying around in "Spot" view. All of the lighting and shadow details are giving life to every object in the game. And watching the rear gunners dancing around doing what they do so much better now, its just compelling. And if you're in an FE2b or Aviatik the show up front is fantastic!
Its almost like when Pinocchio came to life...he's alive!
The new 2-seater experience is worth the price of admission alone, whether you're flying one or attacking one.
Don't get me wrong I don't like some of the things I have read, the overall seems pretty cool, although I will wait a bit before buying it, because like every game update, I know there will be a few hotfixes before everything is ok, plus I don't have muche time for WOFF right now. But the "optional flight" thing in WOFF 2 was great, and was one of the thing I liked the most in the campaign.
I wonder if POL has seen these posts regarding the optional flight button being bought back similar to WOFF 2? Your post at the top of this page Bucksnort nails what I'm wanting exactly Apologies POL if you have seen these posts and are/ aren't working to bring the optional flights back. I totally understand how busy you guys are. Thanks OBD once again for your wonderful sim.
I wonder if POL has seen these posts regarding the optional flight button...
I totally understand how busy you guys are.
Adger, not sure if ANYone of us really understand that. I'd say, let's give the good man a rest. They have just released WOFF_3, and I guess, none of us have/has the faintest idea how many single little things need to get sorted out, changed, corrected or built new, to make everything work. And then endless testing, more corrections, more changing etc. etc.
Apart from that work, they also are forum moderators. In that function, I am very sure they read all our stuff. I guess we should have some patience.
It will be set back to how it was in WOFF 2 in the next update probably V3.4. You should be doing what the CO dictates that's the idea but anyway...
Optional flight just gives you the same mission type, just different target of the same type - if available. Alternative target changes the target type - if available.
However you will be able to go out to campaign screen and come back in to get another random mission type. This of course, being random, could give you the same type as last time. It will also be dependent on the squad's role - some have limited mission types. Some for example will mostly be patrol, with some balloon busting, intercept whatever from time to time.
It will be set back to how it was in WOFF 2 in the next update probably V3.4. You should be doing what the CO dictates that's the idea but anyway...
Optional flight just gives you the same mission type, just different target of the same type - if available. Alternative target changes the target type - if available.
However you will be able to go out to campaign screen and come back in to get another random mission type. This of course, being random, could give you the same type as last time. It will also be dependent on the squad's role - some have limited mission types. Some for example will mostly be patrol, with some balloon busting, intercept whatever from time to time.
Wow..Thanks so much to you,Winder and the rest of the crew at OBD,the choices that you continue to give us astound me. It's brilliant news for me and I'm sure many others to have a possible alternative target to attack,and so much more.. Massive thanks POL
Thank you for "listening" (reading), Pol and Winder, and for the intention to set it back to WOFF_2 status!
You are right of course, the most serious campaign flyers should follow the given orders. But that won't be lost through the change. I am sure I will fly campaigns like that, and never touch that button. But then I also have kinda "semi-serious" pilots, for whom I allow air starts and such. I fly them when time is shorter. And those pilots should be happy with the button - it offers just more choice. Thanks a lot!
Adger, not sure if you understood everything correct - the button "Alternative Target" does already exist in WOFF_3. I think it was even in WOFF_2.
It will be set back to how it was in WOFF 2 in the next update probably V3.4. You should be doing what the CO dictates that's the idea but anyway...
Optional flight just gives you the same mission type, just different target of the same type - if available. Alternative target changes the target type - if available.
However you will be able to go out to campaign screen and come back in to get another random mission type. This of course, being random, could give you the same type as last time. It will also be dependent on the squad's role - some have limited mission types. Some for example will mostly be patrol, with some balloon busting, intercept whatever from time to time.
Ok. Donation time. Can't say enough good things about OBD. Thanks Pol!
It will be set back to how it was in WOFF 2 in the next update probably V3.4. You should be doing what the CO dictates that's the idea but anyway...
Optional flight just gives you the same mission type, just different target of the same type - if available. Alternative target changes the target type - if available.
However you will be able to go out to campaign screen and come back in to get another random mission type. This of course, being random, could give you the same type as last time. It will also be dependent on the squad's role - some have limited mission types. Some for example will mostly be patrol, with some balloon busting, intercept whatever from time to time.
Pol,
If you allow me to insert a GUI mission editor (when it's ready) inside the campaign, then the player can alter anything like pilots, targets, waypoints, altitudes, etc... It just requires that the editor can access the "OFF_Camp_Mission.xml" file before the mission is launched and player spawns on the field like it was in WOFF V2.
Wow look at this from OLDHAT above..unbelievable so in theory you could be like a commanding Officer? Can you imagine the possibilities this mission editor would give us You modders are the best..brilliant
Just to clarify that this is mainly the work of JJJ65. I am part of the team due to my limited knowledge of how to build missions. Anyone with mission building experience or programming knowledge is welcome to be a part of this project to offer input. Later, JJJ65 is planning to release a beta version for testing when it's ready.
Wow! I think something like this was in the old Red Baron game. Being able to "direct" the war would be awesome, especially if it somehow got tied to your rank, perhaps.
Man, for a sim that's winding down on major updates, it sure seems like WOFF 3 is doing nothing but heating up between the devs and modders! What an exciting time to be flying this awesome sim.
However you will be able to go out to campaign screen and come back in to get another random mission type. This of course, being random, could give you the same type as last time. It will also be dependent on the squad's role - some have limited mission types. Some for example will mostly be patrol, with some balloon busting, intercept whatever from time to time.
Will these squad mission rules be disabled when Historical Mission Types is set to "Off" in Workshop like it is in WOFF 2?
In any case, thank you so much for this, Pol and the guys at OBD!!!
If you allow me to insert a GUI mission editor (when it's ready) inside the campaign, then the player can alter anything like pilots, targets, waypoints, altitudes, etc... It just requires that the editor can access the "OFF_Camp_Mission.xml" file before the mission is launched and player spawns on the field like it was in WOFF V2.
Sorry guys, but do we know that such feature will be acceptable by OBD? As I understand, OBD intension is to have randomized (by CO order) missions, to keep immersion up to high level. What do you think? Do you want randomized missions or player editable missions? I am not sure either. Everything has some cons and pros.
I'm for player editable missions. I have my quirks and preferences that I don't ever expect a group like OBD to accommodate me (I'm just one person), since they've done so much already. So having this option will allow me to do what I want without having them listen to me whine and bother them lol.
I'm all for it if it's a choice that we can use/or not use as we wish. Either as a workshop setting on/off toggle..or a mod that allows us to install it when we wish to.
I'm all for it if it's a choice that we can use/or not use as we wish. Either as a workshop setting on/off toggle..or a mod that allows us to install it when we wish to.
Sorry guys, but do we know that such feature will be acceptable by OBD? As I understand, OBD intension is to have randomized (by CO order) missions, to keep immersion up to high level. What do you think? Do you want randomized missions or player editable missions? I am not sure either. Everything has some cons and pros.
We have absolutely no idea if it's acceptable to them or if they want to allow this user mod to be supported. They are certainly under no obligation. I believe the hope is that as long as it doesn't stop people for flying the sim the way they intended, which is CO directed missions, it won't bother them if people have the option of creating their own missions like I believe the old Red Baron campaign used to allow people do do. Time will tell.
I always think more options are great, but who knows what it breaks in order to make this possible? They know what's under the hood and how it works better than anyone, along with how much work it would take on their end to make it possible. Whatever they decide to do, I have a lot of faith based on past experience that it will be what's best for the sim. That's just my feelings personally.
However you will be able to go out to campaign screen and come back in to get another random mission type. This of course, being random, could give you the same type as last time. It will also be dependent on the squad's role - some have limited mission types. Some for example will mostly be patrol, with some balloon busting, intercept whatever from time to time.
Will these squad mission rules be disabled when Historical Mission Types is set to "Off" in Workshop like it is in WOFF 2?
In any case, thank you so much for this, Pol and the guys at OBD!!!
This is huge! For me, the best part of WOFF!
As far as I know it should work the same as WOFF2 - try it. WOFF3 code is different but should be the same behavior.
One thing I'd like to see improved further in WOFF is the awards system. There seems to be a lot of unused (and beautiful!) medal art residing inside the Medals folder. However, many of these medals don't seem to be recognized by the campaign manager at all and you'll never be able to receive them, no matter what your pilot achieves in his career. And the medals you do get are sometimes awarded in a strange and ahistorical way, for example getting multiple PLMs while it was only possible to receive one (unless you were a successful general and got oak leaves to your PLM, but that didn't concern pilots).
I think improving this aspect of the sim would greatly add to WOFF's already considerable immersion. However, I understand that there are more important things you need to worry about first!
But if you some day add the Belgians to WOFF, you'll have to add a few of their own medals too, and while doing that, maybe you could also take a look at the rest of the awards...?
In the campaign, it will read the xml file contents that is created by WOFF, then a user can edit any parameter of that campaign mission before spawning on the field. This part won't work unless the editor is allowed to retrieve the xml file before spawning on the field.
In scenario, it can be launched to make a new QC mission from scratch.
One thing I'd like to see improved further in WOFF is the awards system.
I would add promotions to that. It's way too easy to get promoted. You could probably go from a private to a general within 6 months. I'd suggest setting up a longer (randomized) time requirement before next promotion. I realize this would limit the planes you can fly. Maybe an option then? Easy promotions vs difficult promotions.
Additional camera views I may be the only one who cares about this so the Devs can apply whatever weight they feel is appropriate to the request. The Player/Target view no longer allows you to see anything thats been selected from the viewpoint of the target to the player, the Float view is interesting but severely limited as well as the J Observer view. If possible, it would be nice to have different views for more interesting screenshots and videos.
In the campaign, it will read the xml file contents that is created by WOFF, then a user can edit any parameter of that campaign mission before spawning on the field. This part won't work unless the editor is allowed to retrieve the xml file before spawning on the field.
In scenario, it can be launched to make a new QC mission from scratch.
OK at least it's usable in the scenarios. Not sure we can do anything at the moment we are doing lots of work for relatively little reward currently so hard to justify.
I would just like to THANK OBD for making my wish list request come true for structural battle damage to show beyond just bullet holes.
Indeed, they went above and beyond that request and have bullet and structural damage show in high resolution skins, plus display dead pilots and observers, as well as show multiple levels of cockpit damage depending on what was actually hit.
There will always be a long laundry list of "wish" for items, but I just wanted to thank the devs for making this wish come true in spades! It adds considerably to the depth and immersion of the sim. You guys rock! Thank you.
I would just like to THANK OBD for making my wish list request come true for structural battle damage to show beyond just bullet holes.
Indeed, they went above and beyond that request and have bullet and structural damage show in high resolution skins, plus display dead pilots and observers, as well as show multiple levels of cockpit damage depending on what was actually hit.
There will always be a long laundry list of "wish" for items, but I just wanted to thank the devs for making this wish come true in spades! It adds considerably to the depth and immersion of the sim. You guys rock! Thank you.
What Hellshade said! THANKS, WOFF devs!!! Good stuff!
1.) i'd like to see a "Top Aces" Board, where the top 10 or top 20 Aces at the moment of the campaign are shown. Could perhaps be shown in the "Intelligence" Section. (with pictures) 2.) Also i'd like to see that the player pilot is also shown with picture in the Flight A or Flight B Screen. 3.) The Labels on the Verdun Front still shows "British Frontline" 4.) HA should be ranked always after their kills. So the new machines should go to the pilots with the most kills. 5.) Show the Squadron Leader in the Board. 6.) if the player is Squadron Leader (only with the rank Oberleutnant, Hauptmann or Captain and Major and so on) the planes and pilots should be selected by him. 7.) If you look at your squadron the player should be listed in.
In the campaign, it will read the xml file contents that is created by WOFF, then a user can edit any parameter of that campaign mission before spawning on the field. This part won't work unless the editor is allowed to retrieve the xml file before spawning on the field.
+1
Mission_editor knocks on the door... but we need the pre-WOFF3 mssion generating sequence/timing to allow us modify mission *.xml files.
Any chance we could get bombs added to the Roland for us ground pounders?
Most sources I checked cite 4 x 12.5 Kg bombs, but you could use the 10 Kg that are already in game for less work on your end.
Just looking for something to drop on the enemy's head!
With WOFF Mission editor (WIP) it is easy. Just select Payload (No.1 - 2x 50kg Bombs) and Target:
Then run mission and drop bombs on previously selected target:
JJJ65, I can't wait to get my hands on your ME as soon as you are letting it out for us to play with!
Even if not "in-game" if we can Alt-Tab out of the Briefing Room in a campaign and mod the mission before we fly that would be great!
Second question: How did you get the bombs on the Roland to work? I can see the bombs in the XDP file but I can't see them in WOFF and I can't see any differences in the bomb lines from other planes with bombs. I can't figure out what to fix.
Second question: How did you get the bombs on the Roland to work? I can see the bombs in the XDP file but I can't see them in WOFF and I can't see any differences in the bomb lines from other planes with bombs. I can't figure out what to fix.
Thanks!
According to latest info, Devs are going to implement (as an option) the Mission editor to WOFF (UE?). Also, Roland bomber feature will be implemented in WOFF UE (see Pol's info below].
Not my idea but from Raine and maybe already wrote down 50 pages ago, before OBD is leaving the development regarding WoFF and focusing to another non WW1 direction, remove all the "aircraft not available" notes in the campaign mode. Use alternative planes like Pat Wilson does in his PW-CG or just introduce these plane as an add-on pack.
We are not "leaving WOFF" we are making something else, but will also from time to time release add-ons or whatever for WOFF which will likely include new aircraft. We can't remove all the "aircraft not available" notes, because the aircraft are not available. We do sometimes substitute already but if you do it to extremes then people complain they just saw aircraft xyz when it wasn't flying at that date or place and so on. Then we have to go explain again.
" or just introduce these plane as an add-on pack"
That's what we do, but did we mention it takes a lot of work to make an aircraft and all the trimmings needed to get it into the sim? So that's where we are already.
Roland bomb loadout should be in WOFF UE complete with its bomb rack and hopefully 12.5kg bombs.
We are not "leaving WOFF" we are making something else, but will also from time to time release add-ons or whatever for WOFF which will likely include new aircraft.
Thanks for repeating this message Pol. It bore repeating and we're both thankful for the reassurance and excited about the mysterious "something else."
We are not "leaving WOFF" we are making something else, but will also from time to time release add-ons or whatever for WOFF which will likely include new aircraft.
Thanks for repeating this message Pol. It bore repeating and we're both thankful for the reassurance and excited about the mysterious "something else."
+1
WOFF is literally the last WWI flight sim still in active development. I had feared that WOFF 3 was the end of line and so I'm always appreciative when I hear that they plan to release more add-ons or make more planes.
Roland bomb loadout should be in WOFF UE complete with its bomb rack and hopefully 12.5kg bombs.
Pol, can you also squeeze in the bomb sights that Lou worked so hard on? I know it's available as a mod, but since this is supposed to be the Ultimate Edition ... well, you can't call it ultimate if the bombers have no bomb sights.
Maybe I'm wrong but I think AI FE2b should be more aggressive- more like Roland CII or Airco DH4. Now it's one of the easiest plane to shoot down, even BE2s with their rear gunner are more dangerous. I've read that Fees played great role in ending Fokker Scourge - in WOFF they are rather Fokker fodder.
We are not "leaving WOFF" we are making something else, but will also from time to time release add-ons or whatever for WOFF which will likely include new aircraft.
Thanks for repeating this message Pol. It bore repeating and we're both thankful for the reassurance and excited about the mysterious "something else."
+1
WOFF is literally the last WWI flight sim still in active development. I had feared that WOFF 3 was the end of line and so I'm always appreciative when I hear that they plan to release more add-ons or make more planes.
As an WW1 campaing fan,I was also very afraid this was the last WW1 combat flysim. I know much, " I do not care what I fly" players can hop over to WW2, jet or that online arcade flysim, so they are Luckey. In my case this would be the end of gaming on a PC.
I'm sure I've said it before, but I would really love to see the ability to transfer to England from France so that you could simulate transfers to Home Establishment during longer careers. As it stands you can only start a career in England, but not return there from France.
Raine I wonder if the mission Editor" by JJJ65 could provide the solution? Just a thought. It probably would require constant manual mission assignments though if my guess is correct.
Please set all target types as available for all countries when Historical Mission Types is set to "Off" in Workshop:
Towns Troops FrontSectors Airfields Railyards
There is an incredible world out there in WOFF that I don't think gets shown off enough. When Historical Mission Types is set to "Off" please open up all targets and mission types for the AI and player missions:
ie: German fighters might get an "Attack Army Base" or "Attack Factory" mission. ie: German Rolands and Hannovers might get an Attack Front Lines where they use "All Weapons" to strafe and bomb the trenches. ie: Allow the German fighters CAS missions to escort an Airfield Bombing Raid or a Factory Bombing Raid. ie: All the same for the Allies
These are mission types that we can't create with 3rd Party Mission Types at the moment. We can do these things manually as flight leader in CFS3, but it would be great to see missions of these types generated by the WOFF campaign.
This would add a huge amount of jabo and bombing opportunities and show off the wonderful world of WOFF at ground level...its amazing down there!
And as a hardcore jabo and bombing guy, my experience has been that there is almost always a dogfight down there too!
Please set all target types as available for all countries when Historical Mission Types is set to "Off" in Workshop:
Towns Troops FrontSectors Airfields Railyards
There is an incredible world out there in WOFF that I don't think gets shown off enough. When Historical Mission Types is set to "Off" please open up all targets and mission types for the AI and player missions:
ie: German fighters might get an "Attack Army Base" or "Attack Factory" mission. ie: German Rolands and Hannovers might get an Attack Front Lines where they use "All Weapons" to strafe and bomb the trenches. ie: Allow the German fighters CAS missions to escort an Airfield Bombing Raid or a Factory Bombing Raid. ie: All the same for the Allies
These are mission types that we can't create with 3rd Party Mission Types at the moment. We can do these things manually as flight leader in CFS3, but it would be great to see missions of these types generated by the WOFF campaign.
This would add a huge amount of jabo and bombing opportunities and show off the wonderful world of WOFF at ground level...its amazing down there!
And as a hardcore jabo and bombing guy, my experience has been that there is almost always a dogfight down there too!
All things you mentioned can be done with JJJ's mission editor before campaign mission begins.
But I would still like to get all those targets and mission types randomly also (I'm only creative about half the time...lol).
And for new players who aren't ready for JJJ's editor it would really show off all the stuff we're able to do with the editor (only randomly of course), while still retaining the "pure history" campaign missions when Historical Mission Types is "On."
The best of both worlds!
A note to OBD: WOFF is dripping with historicity, but the WOFF world is so incredible I'm hoping you guys will pull out all the stops on your mission types and targets when players turn off that Historical Mission Types button and blow their minds with just how much is going on down there.
You could make a model railroad sim down there!
I want to get in the trucks and run parts between the airfields...lol
Please consider making an Alb C.VII for your next aircraft release. It would help flesh out my Bloody April Campaign.
The late Dan-San posted on the aerodrome forum: Two Alb.C.VII appeared on the front in April 1916 for evaluation. Ninety-four Production Alb.C.VII were listed in the 31 October 1916 Front inventory. It is probably that some started arriving in late September 1916. By December 1916 there were 249. On 28 February 1917, 372. On On 30 April 1917,296, On 30 June 1917, 165. On 31 August 1917, 74. On 31 October 1917,33 and on 31 December 1917, 11. On 28 February 1918,6. On 30 April 1918,4. On 31 August 1918,1.
Since you are now giving "more love" to the French sectors, are you ever going to do the same thing to the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII as you did to the SE5a and Camel ???
Since you already have the SPAD VII 150HP FM and SPAD XIII 200HP FM from your early WOFF 1 release. All you really need to do now is integrate them into the Escadrilles with the SPAD VII 180 HP and SPAD XIII 220 HP like the British SE5a and Camel to complete this historical transition.
Please consider making an Alb C.VII for your next aircraft release. It would help flesh out my Bloody April Campaign.
The late Dan-San posted on the aerodrome forum: Two Alb.C.VII appeared on the front in April 1916 for evaluation. Ninety-four Production Alb.C.VII were listed in the 31 October 1916 Front inventory. It is probably that some started arriving in late September 1916. By December 1916 there were 249. On 28 February 1917, 372. On On 30 April 1917,296, On 30 June 1917, 165. On 31 August 1917, 74. On 31 October 1917,33 and on 31 December 1917, 11. On 28 February 1918,6. On 30 April 1918,4. On 31 August 1918,1.
Would like to see the sun blinding effect last longer. In fact the longer you stare at the sun searching for the Hun the longer the blinding effect should be, not go back to normal as soon as you look away. This could go from the fully white screen to grayscale, nearby objects like struts and wings would come into view and then back to normal. I would also like the same longer lasting effect to affect the AI, so that I can finally surprise the blasted two-seaters.
I would really like to see that when you are promoted to Squadron commander you really are the squadron commander. For me, it is a real joy killer to have survived long enough to finally attained that rank and then there be no difference.
Integration of WOFFice into WOFF - a roleplaying program partially developed by JJJ.
Please unencrypt the squad files before you go deeper into WW2 project for us to have more freedom to MOD the squad and allow more MODs to work like WOFFice.
Since you are now giving "more love" to the French sectors, are you ever going to do the same thing to the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII as you did to the SE5a and Camel ???
Since you already have the SPAD VII 150HP FM and SPAD XIII 200HP FM from your early WOFF 1 release. All you really need to do now is integrate them into the Escadrilles with the SPAD VII 180 HP and SPAD XIII 220 HP like the British SE5a and Camel to complete this historical transition.
BTW the SPAD VII and XIII FMs are 180 and 220 the sim. They may have been different Phase 1 or something can't remember but for many moons have been so. Not sure if we'll make yet more variants.
Please, No more building planes or eye candy. Instead, incorporate correct engine management in existing planes to make WOFF into a REAL simulation.
e.g. taken from another thread...
the player must spin the starter magneto to generate ignition spark, before the engine-mounted magnetos will begin producing current with the engine ticking over.
if having failed to start after the 5th attempt, it is necessary to clear the engine by closing the engine levers and turning over the engine with ignition switch on
After engine has started the fuel mixture should be leaned (by moving forward the mixture adjustment lever approximately 20%), and to warm the engine thoroughly at a speed not exceeding 1000 RPMs with the radiator flaps remaining closed for approximately 2-3 minutes until the engine runs smoothly (with no fluctuation of the tachometer being noticed). After steady running is established, it will be necessary to open the radiator flaps to ensure proper engine cooling
To start a stopped engine during flight it is necessary to maintain sufficient propeller rotation of no less than 150 - 200 RPMs (or restarting may be impossible)
In all cases, except for low-engine operation, the radiator flaps must remain opened to avoid over-heating the engine. When operating the engine during idle, it will be necessary to close the radiator flaps to avoid over-cooling the engine. Prolonged running of the engine over-cooled or over-heated (especially at high RPMs) can lead to its damage (either partial or to catastrophic failure).
While we don't have operable radiator flaps in WOFF we do have mags, engine starter, and mixture control in engine management. It's just that most folks don't choose to use them. I always fire up the engine using the mags and starter and then fiddle with the mixture and throttle levers to smooth things out, but then I am a glutton for punishment.
While we don't have operable radiator flaps in WOFF we do have mags, engine starter, and mixture control in engine management. It's just that most folks don't choose to use them. I always fire up the engine using the mags and starter and then fiddle with the mixture and throttle levers to smooth things out, but then I am a glutton for punishment.
.
Unfortunately, that's about the limit of WOFF's engine management, so it would be nice to have more for those that want it. There's a much more out there eg. Le Rhone, Clerget, Bentley rotary engines have Engine power range from 50% - 100%, below 50% it will cut out, engine cooling and proper temperature ranges, when fuel consumption is increased it gradually leads to a drop in engine power and rpms, etc...
OldHat, I agree completely that there could be more and I too would love to have it all. My only point was that it appears most don't use what we have now for engine management so I'm guessing that adding in more is not high on the dev's list of things to do.
I'd like a wingman school...so that mine stops trying to jump infront of me or outright crash into me. I think I've died more to them then the enemy. Last one pissed me off so bad I shot him down. LOL
Other then that I'm pretty content, well, once I realize that I'm not going to live through this war.
Maybe a 16 speed for those times when cruising up to altitude, or the long flight home. I have pilots that I still enjoy career mode with, but like the fast game.
BTW the SPAD VII and XIII FMs are 180 and 220 the sim. They may have been different Phase 1 or something can't remember but for many moons have been so. Not sure if we'll make yet more variants.
Too bad, the 235 hp Spad 13 was the most used version (september 1918) The 150 hp spad 7 is also very significant The additions to the french sector are what convinced me to buy WOFF : UE
Anyway, my main wish would be to have "realistic" recon missions : -artillery spotting missions (in 1946, they tricked it by using a "weapon") forcing the player to "circle" over the target is real fun in RoF. -Photo recon where you have to overfly accuratly at the right altitude the right point (somekind of a screenshot option, which by the way is what I am doing "manually") :
- Visual reconnaissance: maybe you can use a similar system to "claim" to check if the player identified the proper type and number of "targets" in the recon zone : For instance, for ennemy transportation recons, the reports I read were containing the number of convoys and their approximate size If you have to recon an artillery battery : number of guns For an airfield : number of airplanes (3 in the previous screenshot) ... ...
The additions to the french sector are what convinced me to buy WOFF : UE
An interesting comment, but for you, not surprising!
And I would have bought WOFF UE in any case, but as an American customer I thought "Finally!" with the expansion of the French sector.
This may be just me, but as a kid growing up in America in the 1960's, I was reading about the Lafayette Escadrille, and Eddie Rickenbacker and the Hat in the Ring gang. I was all about the American/French angle, not the British. I was interested in Nieuport's and SPAD's, not Camels and SE5's.
Later, I got curious about the British planes, but they were always of secondary interest, although I did get enamored with the Tripehound. But to this day I always feel more attached to my pilot when he is flying for France or the USA.
In any case, "Vive la France" and thanks, OBD, for giving the French sector its dues!
French Wish List: Morane Saulnier N Bullet SPAD 11
And maybe as part of a retail 2 plane French add-on package we could get some bonus pylons added to:
Bomber version of the Breguet 14 (she could carry about 600 lbs of bombs). (plus U.S. skins and U.S. squad assignments for the Brequet 14)
Bomber version of the Rumpler C.IV (I think she could carry about 100kg of bombs).
After OBD completes WOTR, I hope they come back with their larger bomber formations from WWII and give us more of that in WOFF UE!
"This story of French bombardment during the brief period when France was the world's greatest air power is virtually unknown in the English speaking world. France not only supplied aircraft to virtually every Allied power in the war, but by the end of the war her air force routinely conducted raids consisting of 100 to 150 bombers against German troop concentrations. These massive raids occurred at a time when the British and Americans had difficulty mustering as many as three-dozen bombers to send against one target."
Since you are now giving "more love" to the French sectors, are you ever going to do the same thing to the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII as you did to the SE5a and Camel ???
Since you already have the SPAD VII 150HP FM and SPAD XIII 200HP FM from your early WOFF 1 release. All you really need to do now is integrate them into the Escadrilles with the SPAD VII 180 HP and SPAD XIII 220 HP like the British SE5a and Camel to complete this historical transition.
+1
Since we have less variety of fighters flying for France, the different engine variants of the SPADS would make flying for France more historically interesting.
And what a difference a few HP can make, in particular in the energy fighters. In the S.E.5a I am cocky and can get away with almost anything (never mind the Viper). In the S.E.5 I am not cocky and frequently pay for too much bravado.
More variation in the SPAD engines would be a lot of fun. In particular, the 150HP SPAD 7: can't turn and can't run...lol (relatively speaking, of course)!
At least a couple more SPAD engine variants would help to round out the French fighter forces without having to build entirely new aircraft models. Hopefully, some low hanging fruit to be harvested by OBD at some point.
For 2 new adds I would vote for the SPAD 7 150HP and the SPAD 13 200HP, the two earliest engine variants for each model.
"The 150HP SPAD is not a match for the Halberstadt...more speed is needed." - Georges Guynemer
Guynemer was talking about the Halberstadt D.II and D.III
There are some simple changes you can make to the .xfm files in order to "create" different variants of the Spad, but you have to edit them by hand for each plane in the squadron or flight.
The simplest, but crudest type of change of course, is to change the top speed value. For instance, the current top speed of the Spad VII is 138 mph. (BTW this is too high IMO, for ANY variant of the Spad VII). Change this value from 138 to 119 for the 150 HP variant. Also, change the horsepower value from 180 to 150, of course. You can also fiddle with the speed values at different heights, but I'm not sure whether they have as much of an effect.
The main problem, of course, is that you have to do this all by hand for each aircraft for each mission. I don't know if you can use JJJ's mission editor to make the task easier, or not. I could probably come up with a mod to create a 150 HP variant, but it would still mostly be a 180 HP Spad with a few numbers changed around. OBD encrypted a lot of the FM files from WOFF 1 to WOFF UE, so not as many FM variables can be modded, unfortunately. Ah, well, c'est la vie, c'est la guerre!
There are some simple changes you can make to the .xfm files in order to "create" different variants of the Spad, but you have to edit them by hand for each plane in the squadron or flight.
The simplest, but crudest type of change of course, is to change the top speed value. For instance, the current top speed of the Spad VII is 138 mph. (BTW this is too high IMO, for ANY variant of the Spad VII). Change this value from 138 to 119 for the 150 HP variant. Also, change the horsepower value from 180 to 150, of course. You can also fiddle with the speed values at different heights, but I'm not sure whether they have as much of an effect.
The main problem, of course, is that you have to do this all by hand for each aircraft for each mission. I don't know if you can use JJJ's mission editor to make the task easier, or not. I could probably come up with a mod to create a 150 HP variant, but it would still mostly be a 180 HP Spad with a few numbers changed around. OBD encrypted a lot of the FM files from WOFF 1 to WOFF UE, so not as many FM variables can be modded, unfortunately. Ah, well, c'est la vie, c'est la guerre!
Hi Buckeye,
One thing to keep in mind, is that when you see a top speed cited for an aircraft, you need to know the altitude that speed is referring to. And then it can get WAY more complicated than that.
But to keep it simple, the 119 mph top speed you see cited quite often for the 150hp SPAD VII was at 2000m (6562 ft) altitude, which would be the 2nd performance line entry, not the top one in the XDP file.
Take a look at the stock values for our SPAD VII 180. You'll see the top speed degrades by altitude. So using the same degradation curve (as we don't have historic values for all the different altitudes at hand for this exercise), to get 119mph in the 6562 ft alt position for a SPAD VII 150, it would look like this:
Sea Level (the first line) = 123.5 mph 6562 ft = 119 mph 9843 ft = 114.5 mph 13,123 ft = 112 mph
For instance, you'll see comments that our 220hp SPAD XIII is too fast at 143 mph at sea level. But I see lots of historic numbers for the 220hp SPAD XIII at 135 mph @ 6562 ft alt (give or take a mph or two). And if you check our 220hp SPAD XIII in WOFF, it is rated at 135 mph @ 6562 ft altitude...spot on perfect for a 220hp SPAD XIII from what I can tell.
At first I thought lots of the aircraft in WOFF were rated as too fast. But then when I looked at altitude, I realized they are mostly spot on. I have a few little quibbles here and there, but that's only a matter of who's "authoritative" numbers you believe. So its more about which historian to believe on the few I've changed (its not that I think the OBD number is wrong). I can see why Pol gets tired of answering questions about top speed in WOFF. So instead, I thought I would now ask for different engine models (I do enjoy the performance variation).
Anyway, I see what you're trying to achieve, so just thought I would help you get a tighter number for your mod based on the data you were using.
I made my wish request because I want OBD to eventually do all this and get them officially in the game, correct squadrons and time periods and all that!
But like you, in the mean time I've got some place holder mods!
For instance, the current top speed of the Spad VII is 138 mph. (BTW this is too high IMO, for ANY variant of the Spad VII).
The history of the Spad VII is very complex, even more due to the fact that most french archives were captured by the german in 1940, then capture by the Soviet Unions at the end of the war. Anyway, the Spad XIII had lot of heating porblem, until the 235 hp version (though 220 hp was basically ok). So Spad VII were still flying for longer time than expected. The point is that those late planes were highly modified and optimized (the modification were tested by the designers and "forwarded" to the field or retrofitted in a factory) leading to significant improvement in performances For WWII lovers, we have basically the same level of variation and complexity as for the Spitfire V and IX versions.
BTW the SPAD VII and XIII FMs are 180 and 220 the sim. They may have been different Phase 1 or something can't remember but for many moons have been so. Not sure if we'll make yet more variants.
For spad VII, I think you still mention "150 hp" in the plane caracteristics
The additions to the french sector are what convinced me to buy WOFF : UE
An interesting comment, but for you, not surprising!
And I would have bought WOFF UE in any case, but as an American customer I thought "Finally!" with the expansion of the French sector. ...
Bomber version of the Breguet 14 (she could carry about 600 lbs of bombs). (plus U.S. skins and U.S. squad assignments for the Brequet 14)
"This story of French bombardment during the brief period when France was the world's greatest air power is virtually unknown in the English speaking world. France not only supplied aircraft to virtually every Allied power in the war, but by the end of the war her air force routinely conducted raids consisting of 100 to 150 bombers against German troop concentrations. These massive raids occurred at a time when the British and Americans had difficulty mustering as many as three-dozen bombers to send against one target."
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a German pilot watching a raid like that coming in as you're patrolling the line?
There's still more of the story to tell in WOFF!
Goering describes this in his book But you would need Caudron R11 to escort Breguet 14 The Caudron R11 had the pilot seat armored, and this was a nasty surprise for the german pilots. It should be noted that until the late 90s, the career of the Caudron R11 was completly understaed (check windsock for instance) but recently archives of C46 squadron were found in an attic (see my previous post for french archives) and it was found that the planes had a really intense career from March 1918 : escort, reconnaissance, artillery spotting ...
The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 02/02/1709:34 AM
The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List
(Note: I am not posting this in the stickied Wish List for WOFF thread as I think the size and scope of my message far exceeds that original thread. I apologize if I have violated any forum etiquette in doing so.)
Wings Over Flanders Fields is inevitably compared to Rise of Flight, which is the only other fairly current and comparable World War I flying sim available. In this comparison there is a common theme repeated over and over again. Wings Over Flanders Fields has superior immersion and single player, which absolutely blows not only Rise of Flight out of the water but pretty much any other similar simulation. However, to this point is always quickly added this: Rise of Flight has a vastly superior flight model and overall simulation realism. This is clearly debatable, but this really is the way Wings Over Flanders Fields is perceived.
I believe that Wings Over Flanders Fields has a potential which it hasn't quite reached yet. It is oh, so close to this potential - within reaching distance, in fact - but it really needs to stretch just a tiny bit farther. Having reached this potential I absolutely believe that the above mentioned qualifications will vanish, and Wings Over Flanders Fields will truly be the greatest World War I aircraft simulation in history.
I'm a little worried, though, that the team at OBD is moving all their focus to Wings Over The Reich, and that Wings Over Flanders Fields - with its Ultimate Edition release - might not see any more significant updates. Before Wings Over The Reich takes all precedence, though, I'd like to strongly suggests these revisions and additions.
As such I have compiled an exhaustive list of improvements that can be made to this simulation. I've been reading through every forum post since the beginning of these forums looking at all the comments and complaints we users have made. In addition to these, I have added my own impressions and wishes. Almost all of these suggestions pertain to improving the realism of Wings Over Flanders Fields as a flight simulator.
I'm dividing these suggestions and wishes into three categories:
1. High Priority - These are the suggestions that I think will carry Wings Over Flanders Fields over the finish line as far as reaching its full potential goes. I also think these are all possible changes to make.
2. Medium Priority - These are things I think can feasibly be added to the simulation, but without these things it can still be an amazing sim.
3. Dream Non-Priority - These are things that are unlikely ever to be added, but - man, oh man - I'd love them to be in the sim!
Without further ado, let me begin.
High Priority
1. Limited Ammo and Reloading
As I play Wings Over Flanders Fields, the number one immersion destroying moment time and time again for me is the fact that my ammo does not run out and I never have to reload.
There are many suggestions on the forums for ways to pretend to do this, but I do not think we should have to pretend such an essential quality.
Wings Over Flanders Fields strives so hard toward realism, but how can this be overlooked? Running out of ammo during an aerial battle happened constantly and consistently in World War I. Having to disengage and then struggle to reload was a daily occurrence.
Within the confines of the simulation, this kind of experience is fantastically exciting and thrilling! This adds infinite dimensions to every aerial encounter. I am crestfallen that this isn't included in the sim.
Possible Implementation:
I believe this absolutely could be added to the sim. I do not think this is an impossible request at all.
We don't need to have any extra animations for this (initially, at least). There could just be an empty drum model that could appear when ammo has run out. (I'd be willing not to have even this if it's too challenging.)
There could be a limit set on total ammo, and then after this limit is met, the guns stop (like when they jam). Then a button could activate the reload which would reset the ammo limit. (It could even be the same button as the unjam button.) This could be limited to two reloads to simulate only having a total of three drums of ammunition in the plane.
I cannot stress enough how much this needs to be added to fulfill Wings Over Flanders Fields' potential!
2. Realistic Mixture Control
I'm a hardcore flight simmer. While not everyone using Wings Over Flanders Fields is similar to me, I'm sure that many are. In all the other flight sims I'm currently using (FSX, Rise of Flight, and Cliffs of Dover) you have realistic and subtle mixture controls in all the planes.
One of the greatest thrills in flying planes for me is the meticulous control of the fuel mixture. In all of the other sims I mentioned you can make very tiny adjustments to the fuel mixture and carefully find the perfect balance to have the engine run at peak efficiency at its given altitude. By slowly altering the mixture in these sims, you instantly see an effect on rpms. You continue to adjust the mixture watching the rpm dial moving slowly reacting to every adjustment you make until you reach the point where the mixture is too much and the engine begins to cough and lose power. At this point you then move the mixture slightly back before this threshold and the engine runs at peak efficiency.
By taking the time to do this in flight you can gain a significant advantage over other planes in aerial fights. It's also thrilling (for me, at least) to fly successfully and skillfully always mindful of peak engine efficiency.
However, in Wings Over Flanders Fields this is the only scenario: I move the mixture lever to full and start the engine. I then slowly decrease the mixture. Nothing happens. I decrease more and more. Nothing. Rpms do not change. I continue to decrease the mixture until the lever is halfway down. Up to that point rpms do not change. Then suddenly past the halfway point the engine cuts out and eventually dies.
This is not realistic, and this is infinitely frustrating for me.
I honestly believe the mixture control is broken in this sim.
Cannot this be fixed? I passionately beg the developers to fix this as it is seriously holding back my enjoyment and fulfillment in this sim as a flight simulator.
(By the way, I loaded up the original Combat Flight Simulator 3 and experimented within it. I noticed that it has accurate and subtle mixture controls, so this must be possible in Wings Over Flanders Fields as well!)
3. Cold Engine Starts
Another thrill for a flight simmer like me is manually starting the engine. I've seen other similar posts throughout these forums, and again these players are pretending to manually start their engines as Wings Over Flanders Fields doesn't allow for this.
Although there are keys that can be mapped to magnetos and such and they actually animate in the cockpit when pressed, it seems impossible to start your engine manually from a cold start.
This is extremely disappointing as it feels like you can just almost do this.
I believe the mixture controls need to be fixed first before cold engine starts, but I really, really think this needs to be added to the sim in order to reach the before mentioned potential.
4. More Realistic Wind
The wind seems to be really off in the sim. This is a bit intangible and so it is hard to explain exactly, but the wind, even when activated in the workshop, doesn't seem to affect your flying much. Planes are unrealistically stable in the air, and I've only ever really encountered very gentle wind effects.
Also, it doesn't seem to really affect your aircraft whether you land or take off into the wind or not. You never seem to have to account for the wind when you land which really takes immersion and realism away from everything.
With these old planes, a pilot needed to be very mindful of the direction of the wind when landing; otherwise, they would be in for a very treacherous experience. But this just doesn't seemed to be modeled with any accuracy in the sim.
In other sims I have developed the habit of flying near the aerodrome, looking at the direction of the windsock or else smoke from the surrounding area and using this to determine how to make my approach. I continued to do this when I first started flying in Wings Over Flanders Fields, but I soon realized it really didn't seem to matter.
Also, wind of course increases in speed and changes direction at higher altitudes, but again this doesn't seem to be modeled very well in the sim.
I would love for this to be made much more realistic. I'm dying for an increased level of realism that is missing from the sim.
Medium Priority
1. Plane Specific Control Schemes
As the sim is set up now you have universal controls which means your control setup is the same for every plane you fly. With the sheer number of planes in the sim and each having its own unique cockpit arrangement it is frustrating that I have to change my control setup each time I want to fly a different plane.
Here's an example: When I fly the B.E.2, the mixture control is on the far left and the throttle is inside this on the right. However, when switching to a Nieuport 10C1, these controls are reversed. I have to manual reset the axes on my throttle as I switch in and out of these planes.
This seems tediously annoying. It would be wonderful to be able to set specific control schemes for each plane.
2. Moving Windsocks
The windsocks at all the aerodromes are completely static. They look like they are frozen in space and time.
Cannot they be animated to move slightly as if the wind were blowing past them? This is one of those immersion breaking experiences for me.
I honestly have no idea, but it seems like some kind of basic movement could be implemented.
3. Refueling and Rearming at Friendly Aerodromes
Many World War I pilots on big sorties might sometimes land at an allied aerodrome, reload on fuel and ammo, and then take off again to continue their fight.
I really, really, really want to be able to do this! I think it would be fantastically immersive to go out on a mission until your fuel and ammo were nearing depletion and then find another nearby aerodrome to land at where you could refuel, take off again, and continue your flight and mission.
This would also make possible more detailed and exciting missions.
Possible Implementation:
This doesn't need to be anything fancy. Perhaps landing in any friendly aerodrome there could be a state activated where a certain key press would give the aircraft full fuel and ammo. Landing in an enemy aerodrome (if this is even possible) would not trigger this state.
4. Improved Force Feedback
Force Feedback seems to be an afterthought in Wings Over Flanders Fields. This is a shame, I think, as force feedback adds so much to the immersion of flight sims. Like TrackIR, I just can't imagine not having this in my sims.
When I first started playing this sim, I had negligible forces as I flew. I had to manually edit each plane's files in order to increase these to a point where they were clear and effective.
Can we not have adjustable forces in the workshop menus? It would be so, so much more convenient to be able to alter each force within the sim itself instead of clumsily altering the game files outside the sim.
And this brings me to the biggest frustration with force feedback in Wings Over Flanders Fields. The forces for taxiing and firing guns are way, way too strong. I've seen this mentioned many times on these forums. Why are these forces so strong and all the other forces weak? I've scoured the files of the sim looking for a way to lower these forces (as have others who have posted in these forums) and there seems to be no solution. Surely these can be adjusted, right?
Dream Non-Priorities a.k.a. A Boy Can Dream, Can't He?
Everything listed below is purely wishful thinking. I doubt these can or will ever be implemented, but I'd love to see them in Wings Over Flanders Fields nonetheless. Who knows? One or two of them might be possible, and by mentioning them I might facilitate their inclusion.
1. Animated Oil Pressure Gauges and Ammo Drums
The oil pressure gauges (in the glass bubbles) are completely static as well as the ammo drums. It would be awesome to have the oil bounce and bubble around in the glass. And I'd dearly love to see the Lewis gun's ammo drum turn around while firing, visually losing the number of bullets inside as it does so. (And then removed and reloaded!)
Rise of Flight, of course, has all of these details, and it's always with a bit of sadness that I look upon these in Wings Over Flanders Fields and see them constantly remain unchanged. (My Avro 504K in FSX also has these kinds of small animated details.)
Perhaps, though, the Combat Flight Simulator 3 engine doesn't allow for this.
2. Clickable Cockpits
It would be wonderful to be able to use the mouse to click on the magnetos and adjust the mixture and fuel levers and so on inside the cockpits. Sadly, I'm pretty sure this is impossible in the Combat Flight Simulator 3 engine.
It would add much more immersion together with the cold engine starts that I mentioned in my high priority wishes.
3. Cloud Popping Fix
Now this is something that goes back to Wings Over Flanders Fields origins in Combat Flight Simulator 3 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002, I believe. Even my copy of FSX with Active Sky 2016 sometimes (albeit rarely) has cloud popping. But Wings Over Flanders Fields seems to have it to extremes. Clouds pop in and out of existence constantly as you are flying. It's really annoying and pulls you out of the immersion.
I have no expectations of this being completely cured, but is there any way to lessen these cloud pops? (Of course, if this were possible and easy, it would have already been fixed!)
4. Extended Map into Germany
This has mainly to do with my love of all things Lafayette Escadrille.
Since the conception of World War I flight sims, I have always dreamed of being able to duplicate the Oberndorf raid. I can imagine this massive mission where many bombers and fighters go off toward Oberndorf over German lines, and I defend them in my Nieuport until nearly running out of fuel. They then fly on toward Oberndorf through much German danger, and I land at a friendly aerodrome to refuel (see my medium priority wish above). After taking off again I meet up with them on their way back and I continue the fight.
I could also see myself taking control of one of the bombers on this mission flying all the way to Oberndorf to drop my incendiaries. God! I'd love to be able to do this!
However, the map in Wings Over Flanders Fields ends far before Oberndorf making all of this just a pipe dream.
I highly doubt if the map will ever be extended by the developers, though. (Perhaps the modding community could do so?)
5. External Walking Mechanic
This is one of my biggest dreams. And I'm positive it would really excite everyone who uses Wings Over Flanders Fields.
Wouldnt it be incredible to be able to walk around outside your plane around the aerodrome or other places and then walk up to your plane and enter the cockpit?! Damn! I'd love, love, love to do this! Just think of the incredible immersion!
You could do a pre-flight check of your plane. You could walk around the hangars. After having an emergency landing, you could get out of your plane (assuming you survived) and walk away toward a friendly aerodrome.
A lot of complications exist, though. If you went down behind friendly lines, everything would be fine, of course. But if you went down behind enemy lines, the complications would arise. While it would be awesome to be able to run away from your plane toward friendly lines (or even set your plane on fire before running!), I highly, highly doubt this could be done in the sim. Perhaps coming down behind enemy lines could instantly trigger the capture mechanic that already exists in the sim, but coming down behind friendly lines would allow you to exit your craft.
(I do think all of this is impossible, though.)
Possible Implementation:
The sim's free camera could be activated and somehow its vertical component could be locked. This way using the arrow keys, or better yet, the WASD controls, we could "walk around" by moving the camera.
Somehow, too, this camera would have to follow the contours of the ground so that we would rise and fall with hills and such. The camera would also have to stop at walls, fences, buildings, and trees.
I could imagine that when near a plane, another key press would switch you to the virtual cockpit mode thus simulating entering the aircraft.
- - -
So . . . there you have it. These are all my suggestions and wishes. At the very least, I urge the developers to consider my high priority suggestions for inclusion in future patches or add ons. (I've spent an incredible amount of money into this sim already, but I would be more than willing to pay for a total realism add on incorporating the high priority fixes.)
Wings Over Flanders Fields is oh, so close to being truly the ultimate World War I flight sim that has ever existed. Let's push it over that final hurdle! It can be done!
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 02/02/1702:51 PM
You've nicely summed up my wishes as well. Unfortunately, the Devs have made it clear that they are not making enough money from OFF or WOFF (hence, WOTR was born), so it all boils down to what improvements or additions will bring in the most profits. Count the number of threads and views for art/screenshots as opposed to sim mechanics.
IMHO, I would have liked OFF graphics with all your wish items included, but it would have probably sold less than 5 copies. Or even a dynamic campaign engine where you can assign missions to complete an objective. Like shooting down a balloon and it doesn't show up for a few weeks, or bombing an ammo depot with tangible results, even if minor compared to the overall war. I'm not complaining, just stating the facts of business.
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 02/02/1706:59 PM
Third_Guru;
I really appreciate the considerable thought you put into your dissertation and I agree with OldHat you have nicely summarized those items that are close to my heart as well. That said, OldHat made a valid point aboutfinancial returns for effort.
Some of your points are quite possibly achivable and some may not be.
We must not forget we are dealing with the CSF3 flight engine which is considerably long in the tooth! Most of us are quite amazed at what OBD has done with it.
Any improvements must be undertaken with a view to not stressing out system performance and FPS quality.
We will have to wait and see. OBD has not abandoned the ship. They are just on leave to work on the new project. OFF/WOFF was their first baby and I doubt they will abandon it.
Again many thanks for your summarization as I feel it was worthwhile.
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 02/03/1701:54 AM
Originally Posted By: OldHat
You've nicely summed up my wishes as well. Unfortunately, the Devs have made it clear that they are not making enough money from OFF or WOFF (hence, WOTR was born), so it all boils down to what improvements or additions will bring in the most profits.
Originally Posted By: Robert_Wiggins
OldHat made a valid point about financial returns for effort.
Thank you for taking the time to read my long message. And, yes, both of you are surely right: The devs need to make something with financial returns. Of course, that is true.
However, every last atom of Wings Over Flanders Fields is just dripping with love. This is a simulation that was created out of a deep love for a certain period of history and a certain experience, and you can see this love in absolutely every aspect of the sim. I've rarely played a "game" that was so imbued with love.
Obviously the original Over Flanders Fields started out as a mod itself, and mods are only ever created out of a sense of love and a wish to improve a deficit that the modders see and intuit from a project that never reached its full potential.
Wings Over the Reich will be the devs new "money making" project, but I'm sure they have in their hearts a desire still to perfect their original child. I'm sure there exists the desire to see that child grow and mature into what it can aspire to be.
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 03/01/1702:20 PM
Originally Posted by ARUP
I realize the expansions for this sim are pretty much 'on hold' but... AEG twin engined airplanes, Star Strutters and Aviatik D types would be cool.
Expansions are "on hold" however Winding Mans announcement of WOTR included statements that add-ons for WOFF UE are still in the works and should be released in 2017. Given how small the dev team is and that they are working towards the release of an entirely new, WWII based sim, I think that's pretty incredible.
As for more aircraft, who wouldn't want that? But speaking for myself, I doubt I will ever be able to truly master the 80 aircraft we already have. LOL
I'd still love to see some roll put into the wind buffeting of the flight model, but valiant attempts so far come at the cost of greatly impacting other aspects of the FM experience. I think ultimately it may well just be out of the reach of the engine. Huge kudos to JJJ though for looking into it!
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 03/01/1703:54 PM
I'd love to see some new aircraft, even if it's a challenge to fly them all. The Dolphin remains one of the biggest holes in the collection. I'm a patient guy, and OBD are miracle workers, so maybe one day...
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 03/16/1712:10 PM
My 2ct. as a happy, casual-y gamepad pilot - There are two things I feel are relatively small tweaks that could improve my experience a lot:
1) The possibility to use controller keys as modifiers (e,g, right sholder button + X or Button5 + Button2, just like for example shift + m). At the moment it seems only ctrl, shift and alt are possible modifiers, and it only works with certain keys. Not sure how difficult it is to implement, but it seems rather simple in theory. As it allows to get rid of the keyboard I think this may also be of interest for joystick users. In connection it'd be nice if it I was able to remap -everything- freely. As I use the right stick/IR for looking around I would very much like to map other things on my d-pad, but I can't seem to do so.
2) Input curves. I am probably not the first one to note this but it'd be very nice if it was possible to modify the input from the game side. Because of short controller sticks >> small lever, small precision movements become a chore. Changing the sensitivity helps but as of now there is no balance between the necessary responsiveness in battle and graceful steering in calm situations - on the pad, after a while, the tiny corrections for wind etc are uncomfortable for the thumb (not an issue with a joystick where you use your arm/wrist more). It'd be perfect if I was able to tweak it towards less sensitivity in the center and more towards the outside. For gamepads there are few tools available so it'd be a big help to be able to modify it from the game side.
I realize my minority position here so I certainly don't expect implementation. But as I believe there are few gamepad users here maybe some support may help sell a copy or two to more casual players.
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 03/16/1701:30 PM
Woden
Interesting issue you raised. Cudos to you if you use a game pad for WOFF. I"m afraid I xould never master that. It seems very close to using an RC controller though.
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 03/17/1707:39 PM
Originally Posted by Wodan
My 2ct. as a happy, casual-y gamepad pilot - There are two things I feel are relatively small tweaks that could improve my experience a lot:
1) The possibility to use controller keys as modifiers (e,g, right sholder button + X or Button5 + Button2, just like for example shift + m). At the moment it seems only ctrl, shift and alt are possible modifiers, and it only works with certain keys. Not sure how difficult it is to implement, but it seems rather simple in theory. As it allows to get rid of the keyboard I think this may also be of interest for joystick users. In connection it'd be nice if it I was able to remap -everything- freely. As I use the right stick/IR for looking around I would very much like to map other things on my d-pad, but I can't seem to do so.
2) Input curves. I am probably not the first one to note this but it'd be very nice if it was possible to modify the input from the game side. Because of short controller sticks >> small lever, small precision movements become a chore. Changing the sensitivity helps but as of now there is no balance between the necessary responsiveness in battle and graceful steering in calm situations - on the pad, after a while, the tiny corrections for wind etc are uncomfortable for the thumb (not an issue with a joystick where you use your arm/wrist more). It'd be perfect if I was able to tweak it towards less sensitivity in the center and more towards the outside. For gamepads there are few tools available so it'd be a big help to be able to modify it from the game side.
I realize my minority position here so I certainly don't expect implementation. But as I believe there are few gamepad users here maybe some support may help sell a copy or two to more casual players.
Have you tried either pinnaclegameprofiler/padstarr or xpadder at all? I use all of them religiously with an Xbox elite pad for a lot of pc games that don't feature controller support.
They would probably enable everything you are asking for. You can remap anything you want on your controller, including macros etc. They are payware though, although earlier versions of xpadder are free. Joy2key is another such program, though I haven't used it for ages, so have no idea what it's like now or indeed whether it still works. I own all of the above, so if there is anything you would like me to try, I will have a go for you if you want.
Re: The Third Guru's Ultimate Wish List - 03/17/1710:02 PM
@Robert Wiggins: Actually RC is a great comparison, I haven't tried RC planes myself but it indeed seems pretty much the same.
Thanks for the suggestion, 4L0M. I've tried a free tool like that, but I didn't get it to work and gave up after some time (I'll pm you about the tools you use).
What I failed to mention before was that another "popular" ww1 flight sim offers most of the things on my wishlist. It can't be compared to woff really, but the in-game modifying of input curves I do miss.
First, hats off to the WOFF:UE team! A fantastic sim
A couple of things I would like to see:
1) There are planes listed in red when using manual squad deployment...of course I would like to see those planes in the game, but I wonder if we can use substitutes for the time being until these are (hopefully) added. I have read the first 16 pages of this thread, so I'm not sure if the "auto end career" still happens when your squadron suddenly does not have planes.
2) Would like to see Sopwith Dolphin (looks like one of the more numerous built planes (2,072) that is still missing from the game, and Morane Saulnier N (not as essential in my opinion, but rather historically important)
Ok, a flee response from the AI that doesn't involve landing at the nearest airfield. That's about all really except, maybe the ability to see more details on a squadmate's victories.
Ok, a flee response from the AI that doesn't involve landing at the nearest airfield. That's about all really except, maybe the ability to see more details on a squadmate's victories.
Had the urge to post something in this thread here
If possible I would like to see more aircraftslots available. At higher regional activity levels the different squads and formations use the same aircraft slot resulting in incorrect skins. It's a pitty that you encounter lots of flights with the wrong texture knowing it is available in the games skin folder.
Dont know if its an current cfs3 restriction or not but more slots could solve this problem imo.
Nevertheless I'm fully enjoying this excellent sim!
2) Would like to see Sopwith Dolphin (looks like one of the more numerous built planes (2,072) that is still missing from the game, and Morane Saulnier N (not as essential in my opinion, but rather historically important)
Thanks!
Jeff
MS type N... Ok it's the first french aircraft produced with a fixed MG, but not the first to be equipped with. About 60 were produced for the western front, with this number, serving in some french and british squadrons, it was probably reserved for high rated pilots. I'm not saying I don't want it in the game, but there is so much more importants aircrafts, that would make no sense, to me, to make it before some others. Honnestly, the french fighter set in the game is almost perfect.
Just as a bonus, but not essential, I would love to see some MS type L with front MG in some french squadrons, like MS.12 (Navarre), MS.26 (Garros), and I'm not sure about MS.3 (Guynemer), and MS.49 (Pegoud). I don't know if british squadrons equipped some of their Parasols with front MG. Those Parasols could be reserved for high ranks, and the base model is already existing.
Planeset discussions are endless, we will see what the future of WOFF is made off.
I would like to see either a direct import of JJJs roll mod (once he has finished with all of the planes) or else a variation of it. Certainly a toggle switch in the Workshop could be added for players to choose between Original FM and Enhanced Roll effects. The addition to the immersion of flight is quite incredible.
I agree, I have been using the mod now for awhile, and except for a fatal collision the very first time I used the mod, I have never had any problems using it. It does make formation flying look more realistic.
Although I haven't flown so much at night time, but the times I have, I think to myself: "I would like to see more stars"....still a very handsome night time sky, and glad we have some...
First, hats off to the WOFF:UE team! A fantastic sim
A couple of things I would like to see:
1) There are planes listed in red when using manual squad deployment...of course I would like to see those planes in the game, but I wonder if we can use substitutes for the time being until these are (hopefully) added.
That was also my point a couple of years ago, get rid of that red not included in the game planes, use substitute airplanes. Now it looks if Woff is still in an Beta stage game.
First, hats off to the WOFF:UE team! A fantastic sim
A couple of things I would like to see:
1) There are planes listed in red when using manual squad deployment...of course I would like to see those planes in the game, but I wonder if we can use substitutes for the time being until these are (hopefully) added.
That was also my point a couple of years ago, get rid of that red not included in the game planes, use substitute airplanes. Now it looks if Woff is still in an Beta stage game.
That, my friend, is an excellent suggestions. I hope the devs can find the time to do it., but I understand the commitment they have to their current workload. If it is an easy fix and not too time consuming it would be great to see it done.
After doing a fair bit of reading, I have realized what I consider to be historically significant in that the Vickers F.B.5 was likely "the first aircraft purpose-built for air-to-air combat to see service"...it would be cool to see this in 1915, and could perhaps add some more early RFC squadrons to the mix.
I would really like to see partial mission washouts due to weather, for example, the mission in the morning is a washout but the weather clears and you can fly in the afternoon or vice versa. Now, if a day is scrubbed the whole day is scrubbed.
I'd like to see a transparent cockpit like we had in RB3D. The F4 invisible cockpit seems silly. I use it, especially when landing over trees, but would rather see a transparent plane.
I would love the claim screen to come up before the stats page, where you can see what everyone else has claimed. It would stop me from making claims of some kills that I wasn't sure about. Currently I can check that no one else has claimed anything and make a safe claim. Please help me quit being a bad boy. (No, I can't stop looking at the screen before making a claim. It's part of being bad.) Also, any way of having the enemy hang around our aerodrome, hoping to surprise us while we're taking off? I miss those scramble missions with enemy above you. It currently doesn't happen very often.
Also, any way of having the enemy hang around our aerodrome, hoping to surprise us while we're taking off? I miss those scramble missions with enemy above you. It currently doesn't happen very often.
Good idea for new feature of Mission Editor. Thx for suggestion, Fullofit. However, Central fighters did not fly offensive patrols/raids over enemy territory(?) so, that would be historically incorrect. That means we can get only Entente raiders over German airfields. Or am I wrong?
D'oh! You're making me feel bad. All this work, all on your shoulders. It would be great to be bounced by that dastardly Baron from time to time. Keep you on your toes.
... Also, any way of having the enemy hang around our aerodrome, hoping to surprise us while we're taking off? I miss those scramble missions with enemy above you. It currently doesn't happen very often.
1. That WOTR is successful and has lots of "under the hood" improvements for both quality and performance. For instance, WWII had a lot more planes in the sky than WWI ever did, so I am guessing OBD is working on improving how it handles large numbers of AI, etc. 2. That WOFF UE gets an update (paid or patch is fine by me) that incorporates any such improvements that are feasible back into it from WOTR 3. Somehow, the two impossible or near impossible updates are included - which are a full DX9 or DX11 upgrade and multicore CPU support. It's a Wish List, so I will wish for those even though I am not expecting them. LOL
1. MoreFrench or early planes in WOFF ( AI type is cool ) 2. WOTR is a success and I get my copy 1st. 3. No people on the ground as they just use up space and cpu. 4. The same skinning method that we use in WOFF
1. Wake turbulence when close behind AC 2. Flight Lead wiggles his wings when EA spotted/prior to engaging. 3. 3D Pilot Arms and Legs that move (like we had with HitR/BHaH
1. Wake turbulence when close behind AC 2. Flight Lead wiggles his wings when EA spotted/prior to engaging. 3. 3D Pilot Arms and Legs that move (like we had with HitR/BHaH
They took out the pilot bodies in WOFFon purpose - I believe - because of the number of planes they were going to create and it took up resource / development time to get them all implemented. Not even all the OFF:BH&H had pilots in all planes. It had been inconsistently implemented in OFF:BH&H.
The wake turbulence is a cool idea. JJJ65 has a "Roll Turbulence" Mod that adds some nice roll experience in the Flight Models instead of just bouncing straight up and down like a yo-yo on a string. I love that mod! You might want to giveit a try for immersion purposes. Flight leader wiggling his wings would also be cool too. Who knows, maybe after WOTR? I can't wait to see what advancements they come up with.
Never happen...but I wish OBD would be able to use a totally new engine for another interation of WOFF UE. The heavily modified Cliffs of Dover engine from Team Fusion or maybe the IL2-Sturmovik Battle of XXX Digital Warfare engine. The newer engines 64 bit memory addressing, DX11/12 effects and Multiplayer support combined with WOFF UEs fanatical attention to WWI historical accuracy and immersive single player campaign would be amazing. Again, never happen...but if it somehow ever did.
Of course even if it could get past the technical difficulties, legal hoops and company CEO personality differences, there's not even profit for one company to stay in WWI flight sims, so profit sharing between two seems like a total non-starter. But it's a Wish List, so I'm wishing. LOL
I may have put in on here before but couldn't find it looking back two years.... being able to 'drive' Zeppelins and SchĂŒtte-Lanz dirigibles would be pretty cool!
I haven't had time to read all fifty pages, so I hope I'm not duplicating other people's requests too much. I would like to see the planes listed as "not available...yet" become so. I would really like to see the Albatros two-seaters - B.II, C.I, C.III, C.V and C.VII - for purely selfish reasons. I think they are among the prettiest planes of the war.
This is my first text and at first I want to say THANKS for this great WW1-sim! I have it since 2 months, all works fine, no problems. WW1-Sims I fly/play since Red Baron 1.
My mod-suggestions (maybe other members already have written):
a clock gauge in the HUD (e.g. instead of climb rate or as a 6th instrument): A lot of aeroplanes havenât had a clock in the cockpit, but the pilots have had a clock, because it was important. The time about Z-button is not very historical and with a clock gauge in the HUD I can simulate a fast view on the clock (switch HUD on/off about F5), as I do it with the compass.
Change of the Player Flight formation only as Flight leader: When Iâm in the briefing room of a campaign, I can go to the âPlayer Flightâ and then I can cycle the flight formation, even if Iâm not the Flight leader.
F6 Pilot Seat: to aim Shift of the view only to the right / left sight to aim directly behind the weapon, but without the big zoom-in-factor.
Aces ranking list If it is possible a current aces ranking list of the best 10 (or 20) aces (national or international or both) in regard to the actual date.
Make a claim: If it is possible to use an observer balloon or a ground unit as witness, when theyâre nearly and when Iâm alone in the air
Integration of Bridges into map and structures (TAC) to simulate VFR-Navigation a little bit more.
This is my first message to the forum. I am not very deep into flight simulations (not as much of most people here), however my passion for WW1 aviation and history keeps me playing this wonderful game. Even this topic shows the beauty of this game that everybody is asking for their demands (dreams) and definitely know/believe that this can be true somehow.
I have 2 wishes which I saw few time that other users also mentioned (even though I couldn't read all 50 pages);
- Top aces list time to time (every 1 week for example, like in the old Wings game) - Ability to command the squadron depending on your rank/victories. Deciding the number o aircraft for patrols, formations, who will attend, how many flights...etc... Besides obligatory missions form HQ.
Regarding the first request (top aces list), I wonder if a Mod can be made, to add it to the game? Actually I made an excel sheet showing as time period of top aces during their times, and with this table I can select a week and see the list. This is helping me by the time of my own pilot, where I am in the list. I can share this with anyone who wants.
The top ace lists could be implemented as news articles. I know those can be modded, so I can see how a non-dynamic historical list could be put in without changing anything much.
Yes, I was also thinking about placing this list in the news articles, however I am not capable of making a Mod. I have these figures in my excel sheet actually, covering at least 15-20 top aces, in every week of the war (except 1914 & 1915, as there were not that much aces on these dates, so showing just the aces by end 1915). Total of 74 Aces. But the player pilot should be implemented in these lists only, which can be the hard part.
Hi Aerobero, for your 2nd wish. This can be done with JJJ65's Mission Editor mod. You can alter and create new missions as you like in your campaign , adjust number of and wich pilots fly with you. Check it out in the mods thread , it has even many more interesting features ;-)
I'm always wishing for more detailed aerodromes. Whether it be through OBD or a user mod, I will always appreciate new fields. Bailleul, Candas, Toul, just a few off the top of my head.
Don't know if this has been addresses before, but the hour hands on the aircraft clocks only move from number to number. Minor thing overall, but it does get a bit confusing when it's 8:55 and the hour hand is still pointing directly at the eight instead of nearly to the nine. Would it be possible to have it move at fifteen minute intervals? It would make checking the time more intuitive.
I would like to be able to do damage to ground transport, ie, trucks and locomotives with MGs. You can take out a field gun or a pile of supplies with your MG but can do nothing to ground transport with anything except a bomb, no matter how many rounds you pump into them. It would seem that you could, at least, damage a truck enough to make it stop, same with a locomotive and there is bound to be ammunition in either a box car or a truck sometime that would cause it to go up from the tracers.
Okay, Mr Wiggins, thanks for the input...I'll get down there and really give it to another convoy and see what I can do.
Jerbear, I cannot confirm that there aren't some vehicles that are damage proof. It all depends on whether or not a damage model was provided for all vehicles in the sim and how extensive the damage areas are for each model.
I took a go after a balloon attack in a DVII since it has such heavy forward firepower. I only got two passes done, firing at the lead vehicle. I didn't discover whether the MGs would damage the truck but I found out that you can sure as hell take some out by crashing into them. A rather expensive method though.
That's the version of WOFF I dream to have too. But if planes listed in red could be fill in, plus, have a Parasol version with a fixed forward firing mg for top pilots, as it was not so rare IRL, at least for the french, I would be glad.
There are a few aircraft which are not in the game at the moment but were produced in significant numbers to warrant inclusion. These may well have been mentioned in previous replies but by adding them here adds 'weight' to having them included in the game.
Voisin pusher - several kills were scored flying them, including Nungesser's. Not to mention their use as bombers.
Morane 'N' (Bullet) - actually not made in massive numbers but they changed the air war totally in 1915.
Vickers FB5 - used in large numbers through 1915 and into 1916.
Albatross two seaters - used in large numbers by Central forces.
I enjoy playing around with the skins and usually make some modification to the stock skin for any new squadron or Jasta I join. I also try to make sure that I have some sort of guess for a skin for each of the aces in the unit, whether historical evidence exists for it or not.
I would like to see a capability for adding a designation like Vet or vet instead of ace for skins I could assign temporarily for the vet flyers in the unit for as long as they last. This, instead of having a significant number of planes with only the generic unit marking.
Gotta make a first post eventually, might as well put it here. For me, a total overhaul of the recon 'mission' idea would be great. I for one really enjoy the early war scene of reconnoitering/recording where artillery falls but it all feels so empty.
A system using the 'bombsight' view with a camera button that takes a screenshot and applies some graphical tweaks to it to give it the appearance of being a period photo would be neat. Combine that with an in game system that keeps track of how many photos you take (and maybe even records how many enemy units were visible in the photo to give a score towards promotion perhaps?) I'm not a coder, but I've dabbled enough to know that wouldn't be very easy most likely. It is a wishlist tho, so I'll wish.
On top of that I'd love to see an addition of a simple pop up radio stack (I know, very immersion breaking) so that you can enter in the radio freq for the artillery doing the firing and help them aim their shelling using morse code or some such.
Of course, to go with that. More recon kites! Especially the Albatros ones.
I think what could really do with updating is the 'medal award' system. The awarding of duplicate medals (as opposed to medals 'with bar' as it should be) and medals being missed out all together does diminish the immersion a bit.
I would hope to correct this would be a fairly simple tinkering of already written code, as opposed to the far more difficult and time consuming task of adding all these aircraft we keep mentioning.
Flying wise, WOFF is way out there in terms of realism and immersion, so it's a shame to have any of that diminished at all by a wonky awards system.
Here are a couple things I'd wish to see in the game (highest to lowest importance):
1. More information on the intelligence and missions map -- It would be great to directly see other squadron airfields and some of the ground units on intelligence and mission maps.
2. Complete military passports(?) for the Aces -- Currently the Aces seem to be missing most of the information on their passports (see attachment). It kind of hurts the immersion even if the information is available in the ace descriptions.
3. More atmospheric loading screens -- The various pieces of WW1 equipment don't really contribute to the atmosphere that much. I would much rather see pictures/drawings/paintings of mess halls, briefing rooms, hangars etc.
4. Random flavor texts in start of day, intelligence and debriefing texts - Just small things that make the squadron feel more organic and lively: For example start of the day text including a mention that Unteroffizier Burr's birthday will be celebrated tonight in town or debriefing mentioning who is going to be offering the beers.
And here are the planes I would most like to see (highest to lowest importance):
1. Handley Page O/100 and O/400 -- In my opinion the largest shortcoming in the (very extensive) list of planes in the game is that Entente lacks a heavy bomber. Even AI-only planes would be fine.
2. Albatros C.I -- This would give Germans a second armed 1915 two-seater with a gun configuration different from that of Aviatik. Albatros C.III would also be great to have but of lower priority since Germans get a lot more two-seaters during 1916.
3. Halberstadt CL.II -- This would give Germans a late war two-seater Fighter/Ground-Attack aircraft which would be important as most of the German planes in game introduced after 1916 are single-seaters.
4. Voisin III -- Built in large numbers it would be very unique and important addition to early war. Vickers F.B.5 would be great too but it somewhat overlaps with F.E.2b being a British pusher of similar crew arrangement.
I'm looking forward to the next expansion whatever is included! Thanks to the devs for making this great simulator!
This may be too late and too complicated, considering the focus is now, rightly, on WOTR...but I think it would be cool to have enemy aircrews who've been able to land in the player's territory be reported as "captured".
This may be too late and too complicated, considering the focus is now, rightly, on WOTR..
...well, actually it isn't at the moment (they are working on a big update and things for WOFF UE) - but yes, they really should move on to WOTR afterward if they want to grow that franchise.
Making railroads reflective? Some objects are some aren't, which makes my simple mind think it might be a fairly easy thing to add. I remember reading that early aviators used rail lines for navigation because they could be seen from miles away because they reflected the sunlight. The ones in WOFF are pretty much invisible unless you're nearly on top of them.
Making railroads reflective? Some objects are some aren't, which makes my simple mind think it might be a fairly easy thing to add. I remember reading that early aviators used rail lines for navigation because they could be seen from miles away because they reflected the sunlight. The ones in WOFF are pretty much invisible unless you're nearly on top of them.
It would be brilliant and I actually tried to do this very thing a number of years ago. The issue is that the railroads are texture tiles, not objects, so making only a portion of the tile reflective is not an option, (or at least not one that I can sort out). The best I could do was to make the tops of the rails pure white with high contrast, and while this did give a minor improvement when you were within half a mile or so of the rail line it did nothing after that. Keep in mind the tops of the rails are only two pixels wide and such detail is completely lost once you are a few thousand yards away. Because of this even if they could be made reflective that quality would be lost in the distance. The old CFS3 sim engine is a bee-otch to work with and it is actually beyond amazing what the devs and modders have been able to accomplish with it over the years.
...the railroads are texture tiles, not objects...
Which is why I referred to "my simple mind" in my post. Thanx for trying, Lou. And thanx for explaining why, like a lot of things in life, it ain't as simple as it seems.
Support for 2 part HOTAS systems please. I have done EVERYTHING to get the Saitek X56 throttle X-Y axis in game to work and the FAQ as well as input from several people has not fixed this issue for me. The game simply will not let me assign the X-Y axis as throttle which needs to happen because i see nothing in the x56 software to change an axis. Seems like this is a problem for many people on any modern hotas that has a seperate stick and throttle. Please come up with a fix to support newer HOTA controls please because at this point i have shelved the game on gone back to Rise of flight until this is rectified.
Its sad because i love this sim, it has some aspects that are much better then ROF and for the money I spent on it, its now unuseable. someone suggested i use throttle on keyboard but that is not acceptable as everything else works fine on my HOTAs and using throttle on keyboard would greatly restrict control and dexterity in dogfights.
I'd love to see some generic/nonhistorical pilots have unique skins. I like playing with squadrons full of generated pilots and gradually defining their personalities as I go along, but I also love to see the wide array of different colors and designs on historical skins far more than the generic squadron scheme that every generated pilot gets. I think it'd be really nice to see some of these pilots, particularly ones with many kills or long service history, have special skins. These could either be skins of actual historical pilots or maybe come from a list of made up ones. The latter might be a lot of work to design, but if the artists are ever sitting around with nothing to texture while the coders are at work, it's a thought.
Pwner: I'm with you on that. I do a little bit of that for myself as far as the skin is concerned. I tend to fly with units that have a lot of ace pilots so that usually the only non-historical pilots in the formation are me and my wingman. I make a skin for my wingman, remove the generic squadron scheme to another folder for storage, then label my new skin as the generic wingman aircraft. When he bites the dust I use another skin for the new victim. Satisfies that particular itch a little for me, but it would be great to see them improve and grow into a Kannon and maybe let me be his wingman if I'm good.
I, too, would love to see custom skins for non-historical Wingmen.
I wonder if it would be possible to have a selection box (just like the custom skin selection box before a sortie) for each ahistorical wingman, set to the default skin by, er, default. From there, players could create the skin for their fictional wingman and select it for that pilot in the main campaign screen...
I had some other wishes regarding the ground war (which is already represented, let me say, far better than any other WW1 flight sim I've played). Namely:
1. More activity and noticeable changes before and during a big historical battle:
For example, noticeable big artillery positions appearing near the front, more truck convoys headed for the lines, more general 'ground clutter' before a fight. Another thing that I thought would be amazing to see would be shiny, reflective barbed wire before a big battle - I remember reading in a pilot memoir (possibly McCudden's) that just before a big battle he noticed the shimmer of freshly-laid barbed wire).
During a big battle, it would be great to see larger artillery barrages with larger explosions. Infantry pushes would also be amazing to see - although I imagine this would be very hard to implement realistically.
2. The potential to witness historical moments on the ground during battles.
By this I mean things like the HUGE underground mines being detonated at the start of the Somme offensive, large tank pushes at Cambrai, etc.
3. Historical assignments for historical events.
These may be implemented, I haven't noticed if they are, but it would be great to get 'historical' missions on specific days, depending on your squadron. Naturally, I don't mean day-to-day specific missions, but it would be great to relive, for example, the raid on Rumbeke aerodrome (20 october 1917) if you're assigned to one of the participating squadrons!
I imagine that ground-war stuff is very hard to implement, and I already think the devs have done a brilliant job, but I think that adding a little more to the ground war would make the immersion even greater.
Finally, I think it would be really cool if players could 'request' aircraft after reaching a certain amount of victories. Some historical examples would be Albert Ball retaining his Nieuport 17, and Josef Jacobs preferring to fly a Dr.I. Naturally, you would only be able to 'ask' for aircraft viable to your service (example: a R.F.C pilot couldn't ask for a Sopwith Triplane), but I think it would be a neat touch. I also think the Pfalz D.XII is a must-have addition.
I believe some squadrons have certain historical missions on specific dates, I at least know that Gotha squadrons get orders to bomb London on the historical dates of raids, but more of these would definitely be great for immersion.
Thatâs always been on the to do list, and still is in the queue, but thereâs still a lot of other stuff before we get to it. However, it would make a nice little hobby for someone with a historical bent.... Cheers shredward
Speaking of the upcoming patch, now that weâre getting bleedinâ pilots, how about poisoned ones? Weâve been warned so many times not to fly too low and into those mustard gas clouds over the front. Now it should be possible to make good on that threat. Now all we need is a lot of mustard ...
18) Centres of the Local and Regional Air Activity Radii is now the nearest frontline sector to the player - where applicable. (Note does not apply to England Germany and or Heavy Bomber squads) - as opposed to always being the players airfield.
Please consider making the center of the rings adjustable in briefing screen, just like the waypoints (up, down, left right). So, I can set my own local and regional area of the map.
I'm not sure how this could ever be fixed, but my over-ambitious flight leads seem to like to drop 10,000+ feet to attack landing aircraft. I had two missions (mid-1917 with RFC 46 Squadron) where we were about 14,000ft over the lines, and the line led us down to 1,000 ft to attack one landing aircraft. Unsure if there's a way to get rid of this aggression, but it's not realistic and rather annoying to be left alone and watch them get shot up by ground fire when they finally strafe the aircraft that landed.
Be nice if there were options for Labels. 1) all labels on 2)Aircraft labels on, ground labels off 3)Ground labels on, aircraft labels off. 4)All labels off.
I know that when a squadron mate is killed in action, you are notified on the screen between missions. However, I don't think I've ever seen a notification for when historical aces die in your squadron. I think they're just removed from the roster without notice. It would be nice to know when the aces are killed, wounded or lost. Might be a tall order, or I've just never seen it if it is there, but a wish nonetheless.
This might be an unusual wish, but I would like to see a "truck mod" where I can drive on the roads of Europe and visit each of the towns and areas like a tourist.
This might be an unusual wish, but I would like to see a "truck mod" where I can drive on the roads of Europe and visit each of the towns and areas like a tourist.
Regards,
Jeff
In one of the earlier iterations they had a Ford Model T that you could drive. I did a little tooling around from Bertangles a couple of times. Nice diversion, but it gets boring. Particularly because of a peculiarity in the way the (I guess) terrain mesh (?) works. Maybe terrain mesh isn't the right thing, but the point is that terrain sections were (are still?) basically planes that join at hard angles rather than flowing into one another. There was a VERY gentle slope a few miles south of Bertie on the way to Amiens and no matter how slowly I was going when I went from that section to the next it totaled the car. And killed me. Not cool. Fortunately I did this in QC and not on a campaign, so I didn't lose a pilot. But still, not cool.
I did manage to find an Easter Egg, though. At the west end of the airfield there was a signpost pointing to Amiens to the South and Doullens to the North.
This might be an unusual wish, but I would like to see a "truck mod" where I can drive on the roads of Europe and visit each of the towns and areas like a tourist.
Regards,
Jeff
In one of the earlier iterations they had a Ford Model T that you could drive. I did a little tooling around from Bertangles a couple of times. Nice diversion, but it gets boring. Particularly because of a peculiarity in the way the (I guess) terrain mesh (?) works. Maybe terrain mesh isn't the right thing, but the point is that terrain sections were (are still?) basically planes that join at hard angles rather than flowing into one another. There was a VERY gentle slope a few miles south of Bertie on the way to Amiens and no matter how slowly I was going when I went from that section to the next it totaled the car. And killed me. Not cool. Fortunately I did this in QC and not on a campaign, so I didn't lose a pilot. But still, not cool.
I did manage to find an Easter Egg, though. At the west end of the airfield there was a signpost pointing to Amiens to the South and Doullens to the North.
Wow! I would have loved to have done that! Thanks for sharing....oh well, I could always fly low with a non-important pilot and use video capture!
What you might do is to use the "J" function. When using J the camera will start on your airfield in pause mode. Unpause it and you will have the free camera while everything continues in real time. You can adjust the camera angle with shift+mouse etc., going low to simulate sitting in a car or something. And now you can wander around however you like. Using streets, etc. simulates driving. So you can go wherever you like, searching a wreckage of a shot down enemy etc.
What you might do is to use the "J" function. When using J the camera will start on your airfield in pause mode. Unpause it and you will have the free camera while everything continues in real time. You can adjust the camera angle with shift+mouse etc., going low to simulate sitting in a car or something. And now you can wander around however you like. Using streets, etc. simulates driving. So you can go wherever you like, searching a wreckage of a shot down enemy etc.
Might be hard to implement, but I'd like to see the ability to enter a different witness for each kill. Especially now that we can do lone wolf missions. Case in point, I recently took off from Halluin/Rekkem while two Strutters were shooting up my airfield. One got away, but I flamed the other and he crashed less than a kilometer South of the field. I continued on my patrol and ended up shooting down a Nieuport Northeast of Ypres, some twenty kilometers away. Impossible to put one ground-based witness down for both. It could also come in handy when flying with others and the same person isn't right beside you all the time.
Besides, has anyone actually used all ten (or twelve or whatever it is) lines on the claim form?
This may have been mentioned before, but as someone who occasionally likes not to be the leader in a formation, is there any way to keep the formation leader from constantly changing his throttle settings? This must happen 100's of times a minute and makes it extremely difficult to keep in formation. Shouldn't most of these crates be flying at 100% power most of the time anyway?
Just a small niggle, but it it could be addressed that would be great.
Having been playing PE now for a couple of weeks I have to say how superb it is. Saying that, having flown around during mid 1916 a fair bit now there are a few additions I'd love to see.
The Germans only seem to have the Aviatik two seater until June/July when the Roland CII turns up in numbers. I think the addition of the Albatros B/C series, which flew in great numbers throughout 14/15/16, would not only increase potential targets flying Entente aircraft, but also increase the options when flying as the Germans as well.
From about 1-21 March 1918, Just before the Spring Offensive, Jasta 77b is assigned the Albatros DIII for it's aces. It was flying the DIII OAW, then it downgrades to the DIII rather than upgrading to the DVa.
On 22 March, it received the DVa (1918 marking).
There are DVa skins with the 1917 marking that I think were intended for this 1-21 March period.
There are no Albatros DIII skins for Jasta 77b, it having come into being in December 1917.
Would it be possible, in a future update, to have this aircraft assignment changed to the DVa from 1 to 21 March 1918?
There is another Staffel with this same situation but I can't, for the life of me, remember which one it was. Maybe Jasta 30.
I don't know whether this has been discussed before, but my top priority would be to see Parachutes for German aircrew in 1918.
Given that several German aces, e.g. Ernst Udet, Paul BÀumer and Hermann Göring, would not have survived the war without resorting to their Heinecke chutes, I think it's not an unreasonable request. If the feature were to be implemented it would be nice if it was prone to failure as it was in reality (Rumey and Loewenhardt were killed as their parachutes failed to open).
From about 1-21 March 1918, Just before the Spring Offensive, Jasta 77b is assigned the Albatros DIII for it's aces. It was flying the DIII OAW, then it downgrades to the DIII rather than upgrading to the DVa.
On 22 March, it received the DVa (1918 marking).
There are DVa skins with the 1917 marking that I think were intended for this 1-21 March period.
There are no Albatros DIII skins for Jasta 77b, it having come into being in December 1917..
Just my thoughts and wish....nice to have another front added ie Italian front. I realize the, excuse the pun âmountainâ (sorry Lou, stole your words) of work it would be for the Devs as an Add on but that would be my wish. You could start a 66 Squadron campaign in France and continue it when the squadron gets transferred to the Italian Front with 14 Wing in October 1917. Can follow William Barkers career. The Eastern Front would be my second wish. I believe Lou is painstakingly creating an Italian Front which he alluded to in another thread titled same. His work from what he has thus far disclosed is absolutely great! Maybe one day perhaps...cheers friends!
I would love to see shared victories. They donât even need to count as real scores, but be their own, entirely separate category. They could be awarded through claims, when two pilots contribute significantly to one victory- in my last mission I scored 30 hits in one dogfight (as evidenced in the debrief), while an observer from another plane scored 13 hits seconds later and was awarded the kill. Tough luck, one might say, and fair enough, but it would probably be more realistic if this was classified as a shared victory.
Well, that's a problem. In WW1 they didn't have 'shared' victories. If five planes participated in one shoot-down they were all awarded a full kill.
Quite right, which of course means that the total number of victories awarded bears no resemblance to the number of aircraft and balloons actually shot down.
Add to this the British adding 'Forced to Land' as confirmed victories until quite late on in the war, when in fact in most cases neither the aircraft or the pilot was out of the fight for more than a few days at most.
I agree with the point around WOFF giving the kill to whoever fired the last bullet to hit the target rather than the one who got 99% of the hits can be a bit annoying. This probably happened a lot though as it would have been difficult to ascertain that a target was 'just about to go down' following pilot 'A''s long burst, but then did go down following pilot 'B's couple of rounds.
In this instance awarding both a full victory would be fair and as Steve says, historically accurate.
Probably addressed before, but I would like a more blinding sun corona. The size of the current sun disk is fine, but the corona needs to be at least 50% larger and both the disk and the corona need to be more blinding. You can still trace the outline of aircraft flying across the sun. I remember in Red Baron that you were actually blinded a bit by the sun, which is more realistic. As a bonus, the AI should also be blinded by the sun, but that may not be possible.
Well, that's a problem. In WW1 they didn't have 'shared' victories. If five planes participated in one shoot-down they were all awarded a full kill.
Quite right, which of course means that the total number of victories awarded bears no resemblance to the number of aircraft and balloons actually shot down.
Add to this the British adding 'Forced to Land' as confirmed victories until quite late on in the war, when in fact in most cases neither the aircraft or the pilot was out of the fight for more than a few days at most.
I agree with the point around WOFF giving the kill to whoever fired the last bullet to hit the target rather than the one who got 99% of the hits can be a bit annoying. This probably happened a lot though as it would have been difficult to ascertain that a target was 'just about to go down' following pilot 'A''s long burst, but then did go down following pilot 'B's couple of rounds.
In this instance awarding both a full victory would be fair and as Steve says, historically accurate.
Last time I saw, the plane was going down after my last round, but that of course doesn't mean I killed it. Anyway, I'd rather see the real thing then!
Well, that's a problem. In WW1 they didn't have 'shared' victories. If five planes participated in one shoot-down they were all awarded a full kill.
Not in the French Air Force, the kill was "awarded" to one of the victors, usually the most famous or highest ranked. Of course, this created tensions and for instance Guynemer made a lot of ennemies this way
Can I please add one more idea for future WOFF features?
If possible, amend mission generation logic to reflect different operational postures of different flying services. For example, RFC/RAF scout missions should emphasise offensive patrols, Luftstreitkrafte fighter missions should emphasise defensive patrols/interceptions.
I make this suggestion because Iâve found that as a British scout pilot, Iâm frequently flying flight-strength defensive patrols 20 miles behind the Lines. Thatâs not the way the RFC/RAF operated, (at great cost) they maintained a policy of continuous offensive patrolling from 1916 to Armistice.
Actually, RFC fighter pilots did both. If you get a hold of a log book, you will find lots of flights where they did not cross the lines into Hunland, but were engaged in line patrols, intercepts and the like. But yes, the RFC philosophy was one of aggression and being on the offensive Cheers, shredward
Thanks Shredward, you are rather confirming my point. The British scouts certainly did Line Patrols as well as OPs and DOPs. But not I think 20 miles _behind_ the Lines? Thatâs the kind of thing one would like to see amended if at all possible.
Also agree with you on interceptions, cf. the radio-intercept based interceptions referred to by Yeates in his classic âWinged Victoryâ.
The RFC/RAFâs offensive posture founded a century-plus tradition for the RAF. Weâve been quite an offensive bunch ever since.
I usually don't bother posting under the various suggestions threads since I'm more than pleased with WOFF as it is already - but a subtle/small suggestion for future versions of WOFF - if possible of course at the code level to implement - is to allow at least for partial control impetus once a wing or something fairly critical is knocked off of one's aircraft in a fight, or even after a random, serious failure during flight - for example, to still have some control from a remaining aileron, or from the rudder and elevator, etc., even if half of the wings go missing.
This might also occasionally increase survival chance by 10 or 20%, sometimes, when all else seems to have failed and one is hurtling towards the ground. (The sensation to go for is to get that "I'm struggling at the controls" feeling as you hurtle towards the ground - those who run modded FE2 will know what I mean - to have your hurtling wreck continue "listening" to the control stick - even though your remaining and limited control input may still be futile, in the end.)
Feel free to disregard this post OBD if not possible to do this with CFS3 code, or if it will require too many modifications - it's a minor (aesthetic) thing but thought I'd mention it anyway, all in the spirit of more immersion. I can always simply imagine that most control wires have been severed by that point and thus the total lack of input from the control stick as I turn into a meteor or spinning top.
I think once the next expansion is released the only thing I can think of that's absent is Arty units. A big thing to be missing aswell. Would be cool if they could be linked to recon and arty spotting missions. I'd happily pay for an ARty expansion.
I was rewatching the Blue Max because itâs been a while and all I remember from the movie is that certain scene with the Countess. So, after refreshing my memory, how about being able to order the enemy to follow you to your airfield as a war prize, same like Stachel did to that Tiger Moth pilot at the beginning of the movie. How would it work, you ask? Well, after having enough of being shot, at the enemy planeâs observer (assuming he is still alive) would raise his hands in sign of surrender. (With all these new animations for the pilots in the new update, this could be implemented for the observer as well, I presume.) So, now we have an enemy machine that is willing to follow us. If you donât want to babysit that plane all the way to your aerodrome, you would give the (already implemented) command to âland hereâ. And the plane would just try to land at the spot where the command was given - similar to being forced down. Now, the rest of your flight would try to land there too, so you would have to split formation first before giving the âland hereâ command. After that, all we would need would be the Countess in the game.
There is partial control after a wing comes off. I know this from personal experience having landed a wingless Pup in the current DID campaign... twice in as many days. Lower right plane in both cases.
Good to know this and apologies for spotting your reply rather late. I was either in an Eindecker or Nieup. at the time - so that maybe gave the death-spiral effect. Will have to try out a Pup career sometimes.
1) Any possibility of switching back to the old, darker font for news stories? My 60+ year old failing eyes can no longer read the light text in the news section. Or maybe the text has just gotten smaller?
2) Any thoughts on increasing the damage points or modifying the hit probabilities for the engine system? One of the drawbacks of the way CFS3 handles engine damage is that engine power seems to be a direct function of the percentage of engine hit points that have been lost (e.g. a loss of 50% of engine hit points seems to translate into a 50% loss of engine power). As an example, an engine with 50 hit points (modified by hit probability) seems to lose approximately 50% of thrust after a loss of only 25 adjusted "hit points." (Read almost any page in the DiD contest for examples of what I mean). By contrast, if I recall from memory, the WWII planes modeled in CFS3 have engine hit points of 200 points or more. I would think that the current WOFF values need to be almost doubled (or the hit probabilities decreased) to avoid this problem.
Anyone else with any thoughts on this second issue?
Thanks for considering my requests, Pol and Winder.
Some nice changes seem to be coming in the new WOFF version. I'd like to also make an xmas wish for:
1. complex engine management or simulate some of it, like: a. working radiators that affect engine temp if left closed or wide open b. overrev in steep dives causing engine damage c. manual engine startup and shutdown D. throttles that function differently according to the type of engine. e.g. early rotaries vs inline
2. Make missions more involved, like: a. working camera during recon work must fly straight and level to allow the observer to take a series of overlapping photographs. b. Artillery spotting using the clock code and see the effects on the ground... hit or miss.
Another christmas wishlist...some might be a little less realistic than others :P
1. Players of a certain status (be it rank, kills, etc) can choose to retain an older (or a reserve) aircraft once they've been re-equipped (I.E, a pilot might choose to keep a Nieuport instead of upgrading to a SPAD)
2. Squadrons are equipped with randomly-generated 'airframes' - I'll try to explain the idea...instead of an identical flight model with identical RNG elements for engine failures, each aircraft of a squadron has its own subtly unique RNG characteristics and chance modifiers for things such as engine reliability, but stay uniform for that particular 'airframe'. If the airframe is being repaired, then the player will use a different airframe until their assigned one is fixed. If it's destroyed, they fly a spare until the replacement arrives, etc. I'd imagine you'd only need to do this for players and maybe non-HAs, but I think it would be really cool to get the sense of having YOUR aircraft and learning its individual quirks...! Perhaps there could be a system where you get assigned an airframe with better or worse 'stats' based on your rank / ace status
- - - 2b. More 'default' unit skins for non-HAs! One of the very, very few immersion breakers for me with WoFF is seeing two aircraft with identical markings (I.E, two Camels marked No.5 in a formation, or two S.E's marked 'B', etc). These could possibly also tie in with the 'Airframe' idea...a certain airframe is assigned a certain skin.
[Edit: Perhaps 2 and 2b would be better off as toggle-able on and off in workshops as a 'realism setting'].
3. AI are a little more willing to fight if one of their own are in danger - I've seen a couple occasions where an AI formation will try to make a break for home and if the tail-end charlie is caught the rest of the formation will fly off and leave him to his fate!
4. SPAD variants! 150hp SPAD VII, 200hp SPAD XIII, 220hp SPAD XIII, etc. A SPAD XII would also be a very cool little niche plane.
@Wulfe, great thoughts there, especially with the no. 2 point (possibly an FM nightmare to code all of those subtleties but a dream scenario indeed - no flight sim that I know of cooks up those random, on-the-fly FM changes, dents, malfunctions, whatnot, swapping out a solid FM for a Sopwith Pup for a rough-and-tumble one, for example, maybe for a lowly novice - the possibilities are endless). I suppose this is doable with endless FM variants, perhaps half a dozen or so per each aircraft model in WOFF - being swapped in/out - but oh the coding...my eyes.
I'm thinking out loud here as to simplifications for such an approach, maybe something like:
really rough FM, minimally airworthy (for the unsuspecting novice) // somewhat rough FM, passably airworthy (for the suspecting novice) // slightly out of tune FM, mostly airworthy (for the veteran and bruised pilot) // perfectly tuned FM, factory fresh (and also continuously maintained by fitters, riggers, etc., usually reserved for ace pilots)
In terms of SPAD powerplant variants, there is the "stop-gap" solution in my FM packs, although it would be nice to have one of our professional skinners working on WOFF look into rounding the wingtips on the SPAD XIII for the 200hp mount used in late '17. (The 220 hp SPAD XIII is modeled by the way in WOFF and is the stock variant supplied.)
I'd also like to see abit more Squadron chrome. For instance info on a night in town or a big beano in the mess hut pilots with hangovers etc etc. Maybe could be done as a pilot diary if possible he could mention actual pilot names etc. Similar to how it was done in the wargame Decisive Campaigns Barbarossa.
Yeah, I've always thought it would be a really fantastic minor detail for a campaign like WoFF to include - one of the smaller, but very prevalent details I'd noticed in the memoirs I'd read is that some pilots would croon over the 'winning' airframes and curse the 'duds'. I think it would be a fantastic little touch. That being said, I'm no coder so I can respect that adding such a feature might be an immense headache!
Personally, I feel like individual skins for Non-HA's is the biggest 'missing piece' from WoFF at the moment.
Elaborating on the aircraft skins idea a little bit - I think it would be interesting to add a feature where non-HAs and the player were randomly assigned a skin from a "default pool"...that is, an RFC squadron might have some generic aircraft with squadron and individual markings (AKA "A", or "V", etc, marked on the wings and fuselage). The game will randomly assign the skins to non-HAs as well as the player once the campaign is started.
Some considerations for the idea:
- If the squadron's aircraft are upgraded, new skins of the new aircraft are randomly assigned again.
- If a non-HA dies, the replacement 'inherits' their skin.
- There would have to be some kind of algorithm that checks to see if a skin is already in use, so that you wouldn't see duplicates.
However, as a skin-maker for my IL2 Flying Circus squadron, I understand just how immensely huge of a task making all the skins for all the squadrons for all the planes would be! That would be a HUGE task! The big upsides though are:
- The removal of the one big immersion-killer (in my humble opinion) in what is otherwise the immersive WW1 experience!
- Giving players a way of identifying 'witnesses' for claims without having to toggle icons on and off (provided you've memorised or written down your wingman's aircraft code!)
If memory serves, (and it is serving less reliably with each passing day), you can edit the various aces lists in the "campaigndata" folder to include the AI pilots in your unit, and they don't have to be aces. Once added to the list you can create a custom skin for them, and using the conventional WOFF naming parameters, place it in the "skins" folder, and that pilot will then be assigned that plane. I recall doing this myself some time back in order to have precisely what you are wishing for - distinct and specific skins for every virtual pilot in your squadron. Keep in mind you will have to edit the files and the names of the skins, or add new skins, each time one of your AI pilots goes west and a replacement is sent, but it is at least a way to have this feature for now. I must warn though that I've not tried this since moving up to PE, but from a quick look under the hood it does not appear those particular files have changed so I'm guessing it will still work.
Excellent suggestions here, and they've provoked a few of my own, some original, some almost certainly mentioned above.
1. Flights - Instead of a random mix of pilots, have an option keep B Flight intact with the same mix of Old hands and new guys. I've been doing this in the DID, well in the narrative anyway. Admittedly this would increase difficulty significantly but not so much as turning off HAs entirely. Incentive to keep the non-HAs alive and growing would go way up.
2. Lewis gun firing upwards. Though I wonder if that would make hunting 2 seaters too easy.
3. Gravity tank option as Golden BB insurance on those Airfield attacks 20 miles over the lines.
4. Dolphin.
5. AI coding - Overshoot punishment. Code the AI to ventilate my AC when I overshoot and cross right in front of the enemy. In like fashion a snapshot during a scissors. Currently the enemy AC these forego these opportunities.
EDIT - 6. Fuel consumption seems a bit conservative. i still have 50% fuel left after a 2hr SE5a patrol. Is this accurate?
2. Alert that a plane has left formation. With no warning or communication of any kind HA X gets engine trouble and buggers off. I'm leading the flight thinking everything is good then look back 15 seconds later and he's heading home without so much as a by your leave. Get your HA up here and waggle your wings or something.
Great ideas all, popped by to read some of the latest comments.
@ePower, fuel consumption with stock numbers is a wee bit conservative. I believe that Orbyx did a modification of fuel consumption, available in the latest ver. of JJJ's MultiMod for WOFF. Those who fly my modded FMs for WOFF already have increased fuel consumption (depending on engine hp and variant, the stock value of 1.0 has been increased to anywhere from about a value of 1.2 to 1.8). Very general rule of thumb is that this shaves off about half-an-hour of flying time on many of the single-seat fighters. (Have not done any FM or fuel consumption tweaks for two-seaters, but Orbyx may have covered fuel consumption on those.)
Added note: I tend to fly with 80% fuel, which, when combined with added fuel consumption in my FM tweaks, shaves off the half-hour or so mentioned above. If running Orbyx's fuel consumption tweaks but not my FM mods, best is to fly at 100% fuel since the fuel consumption numbers in Orbyx's list may be higher than mine. If running no fuel consumption mods. and no FM mods., recommended is to fly at about 50-60% fuel, for historical flight times (a crude approximation but works most of the time).
One more note: if flying both with my FM mods. and Orbyx's fuel consumption mod., feel free to fly with 100% fuel since JJJ's java magic in the MultiMod only changes the relevant fuel consumption ratio in the xfm aircraft files, and leaves the other data alone - whether you are flying stock FMs or my FM mods.
AI Coding suggestions: (maybe these will be part of WOFF 202X) I'm chucking these down so I don't forget.
1. Enemy AI do not run away level at altitude but dive away at 30*
2. Jinking. AI evasives even at Ace level are too smooth. Center of the ball turn is not gonna save your life. The new slipstream effects might create this
Almost certainly mentioned before but I'll toss it on here since it relates to a previous request around communications by flight members.
Flares: Red Green White. Attach a flare event (and optional text message) to pilot or player leaving formation, or a FC issuing the RTB or rejoin order. I believe the game codes pilot states (e.g. returning to base, searching, on patrol, in transit, etc) so this would be a visible manifestation of a change in those particular pilot conditions
Hi. My wish list for Woff: Radiator modeling and mix tuning on all planes that had it. And of course that its good use determines a good speed and a good operation of the engine.
Better joystick recognition - I'm having trouble assigning soyme functions to the joystick, such as zooming to pov.
Improve the visual appearance of the damage model.
That's it for now. Greetings.
Ah en cuanto a aviones echo en falta el Pfalz XII.
I wish there were a way to request confirmation from ground units.
Originally Posted by Wodin
Kill confirmations from ground units and Balloon men.
I always note it at the end of my claim if any ground units or balloons were in the area and not had nearly as many rejected claims since starting the practice. I've even gotten a few confirmations like that when there were no squadron pilots anywhere around and I clicked "no witnesses" in the box. Not 100%, but I think it helps.
Originally Posted by Asam71
Radiator modeling and mix tuning on all planes that had it. And of course that its good use determines a good speed and a good operation of the engine.
Although engines will sometimes overheat, I think that's random. I don't think engine temperature is actually modelled in WOFF. But mixture is modeled and does affect engine performance. It can be turned on and off in your settings.
Hi. My wish list for Woff: Radiator modeling and mix tuning on all planes that had it. And of course that its good use determines a good speed and a good operation of the engine.
Greetings.
Good news, Mixture is already in the sim,
If the Devs ever do implement radiator modeling, please add a Workshop toggle switch to make it Automatic or Manual as a player choice just like was done for Mixture. Thank you.
Clearly not for this upcoming release but maybe if they ever do a plane set release, I'd like to see a variant of the Sopwith Camel using the larger upper wing cut out for better view.
May have been posted previously I apologise if so..I loved the gas clouds in previous releases, I hope they can make a return one day and also I personally find the landings to be fairly easy,anyone else feel the same.?
Iâd love some real wind turbulence effect If thatâs the correct wording to use Iâm a sucker for tricky landings and itâs the only thing that other sims IMO do marginally better than WOFF. Thanks Guys.
1) Enhanced sun/corona effect. The sundisk needs to be brighter and the corona wider and more intense. Currently, you can still easily track scouts flying in front of the sun. On a related note...
2) For cloudy (completely overcast) days, eliminate or at least reduce, the ability to see the sun disk through the clouds. I have had a modicum of success doing this myself and could implement this using JJJ's mission editor, but I am a pretty horrible artist and need someone more graphically inclined to make the effect look right.
Iâd love some real wind turbulence effect If thatâs the correct wording to use Iâm a sucker for tricky landings and itâs the only thing that other sims IMO do marginally better than WOFF. Thanks Guys.
You can adjust wind turbulence using JJJ's multimod, Adger. However, setting it too high might make flying overall too difficult, not just near the ground.
I'd like to see alternative weapon layouts for the in-game aircraft. So for example, the French used a machine gun over the top of the wing of their Morane Parasols, and even their Caudrons. The Bristol Scout also used this layout.
The later FE2b's had a fixed forward firing gun for the pilot to use and sometimes twin lewis's for the navigator.
As the aircraft and weaponry are already in the game, hopefully these wouldn't be huge changes and could be incorporated.
Probably something overexagerraed for now, but will there ever be a chance of seeing the italian front in the game someday? I neveer saw one flight simulator taking a shot to it, and I think it's one big pity and bummer. Maybe I'm a bit based as I'm Italian myself, but I don't know how much I'd pay to see an Ansaldo or a Caproni flying thru the alps getting chased by an Albatros DIII OAW!
I neveer saw one flight simulator taking a shot to it, and I think it's one big pity and bummer. Maybe I'm a bit based as I'm Italian myself, but I don't know how much I'd pay to see an Ansaldo or a Caproni flying thru the alps getting chased by an Albatros DIII OAW!
Might want to check out First Eagles 2 in the meantime since that one contains at least two full Italian terrains done by gTerl, and also contains a middle eastern front among other things. In terms of WOFF, I also recommend checking over the link ePower has provided. Lou has done magnificent work with the Italian terrain for WOFF, but as far as I can remember from his posts, he will revisit that terrain only once BHAH II comes out - since it's currently somewhat inefficient to continue developing that mod. prior to the new release of WOFF.
Obviously new recon photo and arty spotting mechanics. ALso actual arty units firing actual barrages. I've never seen an Arty unit yet and really they are 2 seater bread and butter stuff.
Scramble missions while flying a British squadron. It would be nice if the bombs were not dropping on the field and the threat is long gone by the time the flight gets airborne. Maybe a little advance notice. Thanks.
Scramble missions while flying a British squadron. It would be nice if the bombs were not dropping on the field and the threat is long gone by the time the flight gets airborne. Maybe a little advance notice. Thanks.
Scramble missions while flying a British squadron. It would be nice if the bombs were not dropping on the field and the threat is long gone by the time the flight gets airborne. Maybe a little advance notice. Thanks.
Same thing happens when you're flying German, MFair. It's like the first person who notices them is the guy cleaning out the latrine at the airfield. Approximate altitudes on intercept and scramble missions, too. Within maybe 10% of the actual altitude, so we know whether to climb like 773H (rotate it 180 degrees) or to look low fast.
Speaking of altitudes, I think a mission briefing would include the altitude at which we're supposed to link up with an escorted/escorting flight.
+1 on the Dolphin. Was hoping to see it for the BHaH2 update, especially with the DID campaign entering 1918.
2000 produced, 2 squadrons operating it in Feb of 1918 and another 2 by March 1918
Snipe by contrast had 497 produced and entered service in September of 1918.
Having said all that, I can only imagine the hundreds of hours necessary to make a new AC.
+1 on your post
There are a number of aircraft missing from the squadron components of Campaign in WOFF. That has been a long standing item and hopefully the missing aircraft will arrive in the not too distant future if POL and WM ever find the time, but as you have already said "...I can only imagine the hundreds of hours necessary to make a new AC." .
A bit of a technical, behind-the-scenes wish, so to speak - but it would be great if WM could do some magic and maybe harness the power of a second core on CPUs, for WOFF - no need to harness an entire second core if not possible - but something like, let's say, 20 to 25%, ought to do it - to spread out some of the computational/processing work that goes on behind the scenes in WOFF in the heavily modified CFS3 code - should be of benefit for later-war scenarios especially (1917, 1918, etc.) - also when flying across areas of the front lines that are being pounded hard by artillery.
Cheers all, Von S
Note: not referring to setting of "affinities" across CPU cores for regulation of background processes, with the post above, but instead to tap into some actual, two-core or core-and-a-quarter/half possibilities.
Hello. My new wish list. Improve the overall performance of the game. Incorporate some aircraft, such as the Dolphin and the Pfalz XII. And finally - I hope they don't attack me too much - to be respected as a consumer. BH is not a new game, it is modified WOFF. Surely the FM has been changed and "special effects" have been added but it is not a new game. It is an update from WOFF. It won't seem honest to me that WOFF PE owners are made to pay for BH as a complete set, because it is not. I can agree to pay for an upgrade but I don't honestly see BH being presented as something new, it is not. Greetings.
Hello. My new wish list. Improve the overall performance of the game. Incorporate some aircraft, such as the Dolphin and the Pfalz XII. And finally - I hope they don't attack me too much - to be respected as a consumer. BH is not a new game, it is modified WOFF. Surely the FM has been changed and "special effects" have been added but it is not a new game. It is an update from WOFF. It won't seem honest to me that WOFF PE owners are made to pay for BH as a complete set, because it is not. I can agree to pay for an upgrade but I don't honestly see BH being presented as something new, it is not. Greetings.
Isnât that what each FIFA, Madden..Hockey, NBA2k is every single year though Asam? Itâs a rehash of the previous years title..I should know pal I purchase some of them for my lad. Most of the time there just a squad /roster change maybe a few âspecialâ moves. Yet there classed as a new game there certainly not sold every year has a DLC. They then have the gall to charge consumers extra money for âpointsâ to open packs of cards etc.
Iâm certainly not here to attack you far from it, youâve put your points and Iâve put mine..Which we are both perfectly entitled too.Like Pol has previously mentioned thereâs plenty of life in PE yet,if thereâs a discount for PE owners brilliant, but has always its down to your individual choice as to whether you think BHaH II is worth purchasing or not..I agree with the Dolphin thatâd be awesome, performance? I donât have any real issues personally but yep if it could use more CPU cores similar to what VonS has posted above thatâd be brilliant . Regards
+1 on the Dolphin. Was hoping to see it for the BHaH2 update, especially with the DID campaign entering 1918.
2000 produced, 2 squadrons operating it in Feb of 1918 and another 2 by March 1918
Snipe by contrast had 497 produced and entered service in September of 1918.
Having said all that, I can only imagine the hundreds of hours necessary to make a new AC.
Agree 100% epower the Dolphin would be awesome, Iâd also personally like an Italian front, Iâd definitely pay a price for Aircraft DLC for BHaH II if it was made available in the future.
The developers have a tried and tested formula for their product that works for them, and continues to give people like us one of the best WWI aviation experiences around. I doubt they will change that formula, (unless they want to go out of business). New content in the form of BH&H is very much welcomed and we all wait the release with much anticipation. As to it's 'classification' whether new game or add on dlc is pretty immaterial. If we want new content, it's down to the individual whether or not they will buy it of course, but if WoFF goes to the wall, I fear we will never see the likes of this type of genre ever again. Anyway , all being good it will be available in around 14 days!
The developers have a tried and tested formula for their product that works for them, and continues to give people like us one of the best WWI aviation experiences around.
Couldn't agree more. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with WOFF that requires a major root and branch overhaul and to risk one needlessly puts the whole project in jeopardy if it didn't work. There are a few tweaks that can be made and these have been pointed out. But from what the new videos and screenshots are showing us, we are getting major new improvements to gameplay, graphics and effects and they're only the ones we can see or Pol is letting slip at this point.
The Dolphin would be a good and historically significant addition, other than that I think early war is more important than later on.
This is the only WW1 sim I know which allows you to fly throughout 1915 and into 1916 which is amazing, but that being the case we could do with more two seaters to provide career options during that period and targets too. So for me, the Albatros B/C series and the Voisin would be wonderful additions and would raise the immersion factor even higher than it is already in this peerless sim.
... Iâd also personally like an Italian front, Iâd definitely pay a price for Aircraft DLC for BHaH II if it was made available in the future.
+1 on this. A Morane-Saulnier Type N (Bullet) would be welcome for early-war scenarios, also the Longhorn/Shorthorn (I believe there were some videos on YouTube a while back with such experiments under way by modders but the project then fell under the radar).
On the other topic -- with an Italian front - also the eastern front and middle eastern fronts in place - WOFF would be the go-to encyclopedia simulator for WW1. For the eastern and middle eastern fronts, mostly the same aircraft are in use as for the western front (but smaller numbers and obsolete types). Some new aircraft would have to be done for the Italian front however (Aviatik Berg D.I, maybe also the Phonix D.II for late-war scenarios, plus the Austrian Albies, etc.).
+1 on this. A Morane-Saulnier Type N (Bullet) would be welcome for early-war scenarios, also the Longhorn/Shorthorn (I believe there were some videos on YouTube a while back with such experiments under way by modders but the project then fell under the radar).
From what I understood from those 2017 videos is that the Bullet FM is fully modeled, I think the actual model needs to be polished up though. Something I definetly look forward to, since I die for Early War. Also, am I too based being Italian to dream about our front being added?
A Morane-Saulnier Type N (Bullet) would be welcome for early-war scenarios, also the Longhorn/Shorthorn (I believe there were some videos on YouTube a while back with such experiments under way by modders but the project then fell under the radar).
Originally Posted by trustworthykebab
From what I understood from those 2017 videos is that the Bullet FM is fully modeled, I think the actual model needs to be polished up though. Something I definetly look forward to, since I die for Early War. Also, am I too based being Italian to dream about our front being added?
As one of the members who was working on this project with OldHat and Robert Wiggins, please allow me to clear up a few points. First, I did indeed post pictures, not videos, of both a flyable Bullet and Longhorn on this forum, although I can assure you that they could indeed fly. While we had flyable models of both planes, the damage model was limited to just one or two boxes for the entire plane.
Originally, this project was initiated by OldHat. Both models were based on previous models developed by someone else, who gave OldHat permission to use them. Unfortunately, after OldHat had put dozens, if not hundreds, of hours on improving the 3D models and developing a rudimentary damage model, his computer crashed and he lost all of the original models. Both models would have to be built again from scratch. Understandably, he chose not to continue the project. This is sad, because I felt we were very close to releasing a workable mod for both planes.
There were still a few additional problems that had to be ironed out. In addition to the lack of a detailed damage model, there was the issue of getting the planes to show up in the campaign. This would have required both JJJ's mission editor and the user's willingness to modify the mission.xml file in order to get the planes (user or AI) into the campaign. Another problem was OBD's relative coolness towards allowing third-party flyable plane mods into the game. From my own point of view, this was understandable, given concerns about quality control, protecting the "brand" etc. However, OldHat took this more personally than me, and I sense this is another reason why he chose not to continue the project.
Theoretically, we could start the project from scratch all over again, but we would first have to find the person who developed the original 3D models, get his permission to use them, and then find someone else with 3D experience to agree to work on refining the models so they could work in WOFF. I would volunteer, but I am hopeless when it comes to visual model building. Plus, my eyesight is not good enough now to do detailed work on a computer screen.
So there you have it. Later today, I will try and post a few screen shots of OldHat's Bullet and Longhorn models in action. I would post videos, but my model of motherboard doesn't support Shadowplay, for some reason, and I am too lazy to d/l Fraps.
@BB, thanks for the detailed info. regarding those projects. Yes it is a shame that that computer crash happened but it is what it is. The vid. I was initially thinking of was by the way this one. In terms of the Bullet itself, the model was initially built for FE/FE2, developed by Vernon "p10ppy" Bowden - but he hasn't logged in to CombatAce since 2010. The Longhorn/Shorthorn pack was developed by another modder called "Bortdafarm" who also hasn't been active in FE/FE2 for more than a decade - so I can understand the impracticality of getting permission for model exportation, from said modders - and I agree that at this point it would be counterproductive to begin those projects from scratch. Slightly off-topic, but here is another link for those interested, to a nice Bullet replica.
Thanks again for the info. and happy flying all, Von S
I have looked at the key card and posts but have found nothing yet.
I understand ,and use, F6 to get to the gun site view but you need to go through about 3 other views to get there.
Is there toggle or button that goes directly to gun site "on" and gun site "off"
And yes I have TrackIR and lean over to the site, not convinced its helping my accuracy, but would like a 1-button solution if possible.
Yes I agree about the gun sights. I use head tracking, and avoid any plane with offset gun sights. I have my tracking set with a small dead spot in the center, but leaning to one side means I'm leaning down to the right, never quite finding the sweet spot, Literally a 'Pain in the neck'. Even the Bentley Camel can be hard work hunched down trying to line up. A 'one key toggle' for 'Gun Sight Center' would open up a few more aircraft to someone who dose not want neck ache. This is the ONLY game I have played for the last 7 months so I know all about neck aches in a 'Spad' for example.
I would support the idea of being able to un-assign the POV and assign it to other tasks.
+1.
It's a bit frustrating to know that your POV hats are useless if you use TrackIR. I realize that those of us using CH Products sticks & throttles can use their utility to assign each POV hat axis as a button, but it would be much simpler if we could do it within the workshop.
If they can open up more useable joystick buttons[hats], then we will have some of that!.. Yes please..
Scramble missions while flying a British squadron. It would be nice if the bombs were not dropping on the field and the threat is long gone by the time the flight gets airborne. Maybe a little advance notice. Thanks.
Not sure if the scramble mission is a part of vanilla WOFF or part of JJJ's mission editor?
In any event, the scramble mission is a bit of an abstraction, considering that you can take off as soon as you are in the pilot seat. In reality, these engines took at least 10-15 minutes of warm-up time, so by the time your engine was warm enough, the enemy might indeed be over your head, dropping eggs!
I guess one or two minutes advance warning might be okay. Better yet, randomize it.
Were you able to adjust wind turbulence to make landings a little more challenging?
If not, I found a section in the simulation.xml file that seems to effect turbulence. In combination with the mission editor, you should be able to find settings to your liking. Let us know if you have any success or if you have any questions about the following values.
Apoligies Bob only just seen your post mate, i set multimod up for Wind Vertical=Moderate. Wind Horizontal=Moderate and Turbulance=Full..And yes 10kts or over i found landing and flying more difficult, i enjoy it for some strange reason but il certainly have a look at your numbers..Cheers mate
@BB and Adger, thanks awfully for those nos. from the simulation.xml file gents. Will have a tweaky-see with those entries over the next day or two and will test some landings/takeoffs to feel the differences. Always wanted to have more bumpy ascents/descents in WOFF, especially when flying the Eindeckers. Popping into one of the hangars, flying sideways, unannounced - with the mechanics surprised - seems worth the tweaks.
@BB and Adger, thanks awfully for those nos. from the simulation.xml file gents. Will have a tweaky-see with those entries over the next day or two and will test some landings/takeoffs to feel the differences. Always wanted to have more bumpy ascents/descents in WOFF, especially when flying the Eindeckers. Popping into one of the hangars, flying sideways, unannounced - with the mechanics surprised - seems worth the tweaks.
Cheers all, Von S
Haha tinker away VonS and let us know your findings mate.
Interesting. Adger, did you change those values directly or via the mission editor?
I bet the relatively high value for "groundBumpsRollScale_pct" is responsible for the difficulty holding roll I have when trying to land a crippled plane. I have lost many a pilot after digging a wing into the ground after losing control at just the last minute before landing. I'm sure you have noticed that, too, especially if you bumped the value up another 50 points!
However, I don't see a value that controls the effects of crosswinds in landing. Maybe the sim assumes everyone flies into the wind on landing, which actually makes sense in these early days of grass airfields.
VonS, you may as well wait until BHaH2 is released to see if there are any major changes. The simulation.xml file is chok-fill of entries that influence all kinds of AI behavior, as well as several environmental variables.
Hi Bob, no I never touched the simulation .xml , you mention Mission editor mate,I set the turbulence etc once in Multimod, ..then in ME after Iâve planned the mission and it gets to (your) weather stage I select direction of weather and speed and fly. As for digging a wing ? No not really that very very rarely happens in my case so not sure whatâs happening there pal?..strange ..hope this helps in any way
I'm a lover, not a fighter, ha ha, so I tend to get shot up a lot and have to try and land a heavily damaged aeroplane. On occasion, I am able to maintain control until I get close to the ground, when one of my wings dips and I end up crashing. I thought it was the wind, but maybe it's because I am not a very good pilot!
Would you say that landing is more challenging now with your new settings?
You are correct, I meant JJJ's multimod. My mistake. Both are great tools, though.
I'm a lover, not a fighter, ha ha, so I tend to get shot up a lot and have to try and land a heavily damaged aeroplane. On occasion, I am able to maintain control until I get close to the ground, when one of my wings dips and I end up crashing. I thought it was the wind, but maybe it's because I am not a very good pilot!
Would you say that landing is more challenging now with your new settings?
You are correct, I meant JJJ's multimod. My mistake. Both are great tools, though.
Haha, yeah both are great tools mate, ..certainly when the wind is up Iâd definitely say that landing is tougher, I came into land at the modded Boistrancourt and the wind blew me into the chimney
Quick follow-up to the last few posts gents. The "Bumps" section of the simulation.xml file has most of its entries changed via the different turbulence/wind settings in JJJ's multi-mod, while other settings in that section are further changed depending on the weather/cloud type loaded either in quick combat mode in WOFF, or via JJJ's Mission Ed. in combo. with BB's weather/clouds mod.
In my tests, manual changes in several of the "Bumps" entries would be overwritten before a mission was loaded in quick combat mode, for example (overwritten by the MultiMod, Mission Ed., etc.).
Here for example are the nos. with some lighter clouds loaded in quick mission mode:
Both settings above showed up with the following settings in the MultiMod (vertical wind low, horizontal wind moderate, turbulence full) - but different cloud/weather types loaded, as indicated above.
So, in short, setting "Bumps" entries manually via the simulation.xml file is useless since overwritten by the Java-based mods. One entry that may be modified manually and that seems to stick (unmodified by the Java mods) - is the following one:
windSmoothPeriod_secs="5"
The default value is 5 secs. Set to 2 secs. if you like more constant turbulence/vibrations as in RoF. Set to about 10 secs. if you prefer something between stock WOFF turbulence and the more smooth winds of FE2.
EDIT: latest update Apr. 27, 2021 - manual changes in the bumps settings can be implemented successfully if the tweaked simulation.xml file is then loaded via JSGME, but it appears that different weather types in QC mode and also in campaign mode further alter/modify/amplify such settings.
Cheers all, Von S
P.S. Do not manually change entries in the "Bumps" section and then set the simulation.xml file as "Read Only," thinking that this will override settings in JJJ's Java-based programs - it will only load error windows since the simulation.xml file must remain writable by WOFF as the sim. is loading its various files. Best is to set winds via the MultiMod - but tweak the "windSmoothPeriod" manually to taste via the simulation.xml file.
A Morane-Saulnier Type N (Bullet) would be welcome for early-war scenarios, also the Longhorn/Shorthorn (I believe there were some videos on YouTube a while back with such experiments under way by modders but the project then fell under the radar).
Originally Posted by trustworthykebab
From what I understood from those 2017 videos is that the Bullet FM is fully modeled, I think the actual model needs to be polished up though. Something I definetly look forward to, since I die for Early War. Also, am I too based being Italian to dream about our front being added?
As one of the members who was working on this project with OldHat and Robert Wiggins, please allow me to clear up a few points. First, I did indeed post pictures, not videos, of both a flyable Bullet and Longhorn on this forum, although I can assure you that they could indeed fly. While we had flyable models of both planes, the damage model was limited to just one or two boxes for the entire plane.
Originally, this project was initiated by OldHat. Both models were based on previous models developed by someone else, who gave OldHat permission to use them. Unfortunately, after OldHat had put dozens, if not hundreds, of hours on improving the 3D models and developing a rudimentary damage model, his computer crashed and he lost all of the original models. Both models would have to be built again from scratch. Understandably, he chose not to continue the project. This is sad, because I felt we were very close to releasing a workable mod for both planes.
There were still a few additional problems that had to be ironed out. In addition to the lack of a detailed damage model, there was the issue of getting the planes to show up in the campaign. This would have required both JJJ's mission editor and the user's willingness to modify the mission.xml file in order to get the planes (user or AI) into the campaign. Another problem was OBD's relative coolness towards allowing third-party flyable plane mods into the game. From my own point of view, this was understandable, given concerns about quality control, protecting the "brand" etc. However, OldHat took this more personally than me, and I sense this is another reason why he chose not to continue the project.
Theoretically, we could start the project from scratch all over again, but we would first have to find the person who developed the original 3D models, get his permission to use them, and then find someone else with 3D experience to agree to work on refining the models so they could work in WOFF. I would volunteer, but I am hopeless when it comes to visual model building. Plus, my eyesight is not good enough now to do detailed work on a computer screen.
So there you have it. Later today, I will try and post a few screen shots of OldHat's Bullet and Longhorn models in action. I would post videos, but my model of motherboard doesn't support Shadowplay, for some reason, and I am too lazy to d/l Fraps.
By the way, one of the videos I meant was this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMyxIsK8eaQ Sorry for adding it this late into the convo, haven't had the time to look for it since we last spoke
A small request : when playing single missions, activate the option "pilot does not die" : Very often, I use single mission to test things (bombing , special tactics), possibly resulting in dying ... If I forget to activate the option, I lose my "campaign pilot" and it is quite frustrating !
A small request : when playing single missions, activate the option "pilot does not die" : Very often, I use single mission to test things (bombing , special tactics), possibly resulting in dying ... If I forget to activate the option, I lose my "campaign pilot" and it is quite frustrating !
If you set in WS Logs to Campaign only, then you don't need to take care about ticking or unticking the box for the pilot not to die in QC and Scenarios. Then only what happens in campaign is going to be logged.
The smoke and dust from artillery and bombs is persistent, that is to say that you can see it even if the explosion wasn't in your field of view. On the other hand the smoke from AA bursts isn't visible unless you were looking in that general direction when it exploded and if you turn away and look back even before it should fade away it will be gone. Would it be possible to make them the same kind of files so that you could see where an AA shell had burst regardless?
Thanks orbyxp - I guess that is using JJJ65's mission editor. I will have a look at it when it is updated for BH&H2.
Yes, you certainly have the option of waiting for the ME which I regularly use to edit missions. However, you can also do it manually as well.
If you install the airfields MOD which contain the training airfields, then you're more than halfway done. After that, you get the latitude and longitude of each airfield from the global_layer.csv file and save it somewhere. Then when the pop-up appears to edit the mission, just enter the long/lat as takeoff and landing of your flight, Remove all waypoints between takeoff and landing, so you're just left with those two rows. Then remove ALL flights/waypoints from the mission file and just leave your sqd row. Then save and close.
And you're all set. you'll start at the training field and use the inflight map (and/or terrain) as a guide to your flight path. Then After you're done with a training, you can use the wonderful pilot log editor to edit your mission description or you can do that manually as well.
As a workaround I have already discovered that after direct enlistment with a Caudron escadrille you can use the non-operational missions (in the Defence Missions folder), edit these to display the text that you want (I replaced the English text with French) and replace the stock missions with this edited file. Fly as many solo training missions as you like and then switch back to stock when you have had enough. Saves having to edit files at the start of every mission. See First two entries of logbook for training missions.
When you are assigned scramble missions, or there are low flying enemy aircraft flying over your airfield, can we have the air raid siren going please?
You can hear it from 10000 feet up so I think the least we can have is the sirens going when they're actually needed.
Thanks orbyxp - I guess that is using JJJ65's mission editor. I will have a look at it when it is updated for BH&H2.
Yes, you certainly have the option of waiting for the ME which I regularly use to edit missions. However, you can also do it manually as well.
If you install the airfields MOD which contain the training airfields, then you're more than halfway done. After that, you get the latitude and longitude of each airfield from the global_layer.csv file and save it somewhere. Then when the pop-up appears to edit the mission, just enter the long/lat as takeoff and landing of your flight, Remove all waypoints between takeoff and landing, so you're just left with those two rows. Then remove ALL flights/waypoints from the mission file and just leave your sqd row. Then save and close.
And you're all set. you'll start at the training field and use the inflight map (and/or terrain) as a guide to your flight path. Then After you're done with a training, you can use the wonderful pilot log editor to edit your mission description or you can do that manually as well.
Just finished making a training target field for Koln airfield. Coming soon!
I'm genuinely unsuer if it's something already or not, but I was wondering if it was possible to implement "random" transfers (by random I mean not chosen by the player nor dependant on his preference). For example as new Jastas get created there might be a chance to be moved there. I'm not quite sure but I think something like that would be a tad hard to implement, but this suggestion is still here!
Belgian pilots/units: adding these as a pilot option would finally fill out the Western Front, filling in some missing figures like Willy Coppens. as it is, it's kinda funny that the Western Front is so fleshed out, but missing Belgian units that were literally right there in Flanders.
you could do this by depending on aircraft models already available in game - plenty of Belgian pilots used Nieuports and SPAD's - and making it "complete" would really only take one additional model, the Hanriot HD1. (and you could even do without the HD1 if you didn't want to invest in the effort of creating an additional model).
I'm genuinely unsuer if it's something already or not, but I was wondering if it was possible to implement "random" transfers (by random I mean not chosen by the player nor dependant on his preference). For example as new Jastas get created there might be a chance to be moved there. I'm not quite sure but I think something like that would be a tad hard to implement, but this suggestion is still here!
That would've been nice, though I fear some people might get frustrated at their pilots being suddenly whisked away from where they want to be. Especially if they are specifically playing to be in a specific squadron.
I'm genuinely unsuer if it's something already or not, but I was wondering if it was possible to implement "random" transfers (by random I mean not chosen by the player nor dependant on his preference). For example as new Jastas get created there might be a chance to be moved there. I'm not quite sure but I think something like that would be a tad hard to implement, but this suggestion is still here!
That would've been nice, though I fear some people might get frustrated at their pilots being suddenly whisked away from where they want to be. Especially if they are specifically playing to be in a specific squadron.
I remember in an ancient past while playing the original Red Baron game, if you progressed in your career you sometimes received an invite to join a particular squadron. You did have the option to decline the offer, so you werenât obligated to join them if you didnât want to.
Belgian pilots/units: adding these as a pilot option would finally fill out the Western Front, filling in some missing figures like Willy Coppens. as it is, it's kinda funny that the Western Front is so fleshed out, but missing Belgian units that were literally right there in Flanders.
you could do this by depending on aircraft models already available in game - plenty of Belgian pilots used Nieuports and SPAD's - and making it "complete" would really only take one additional model, the Hanriot HD1. (and you could even do without the HD1 if you didn't want to invest in the effort of creating an additional model).
in terms of squadrons, [url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/belgium/index.php]five did most of the work historically
As a Belgian living in Flanders, I can definitly support the idea to implement the Belgian Air Service.
Belgian pilots/units: adding these as a pilot option would finally fill out the Western Front, filling in some missing figures like Willy Coppens. as it is, it's kinda funny that the Western Front is so fleshed out, but missing Belgian units that were literally right there in Flanders.
you could do this by depending on aircraft models already available in game - plenty of Belgian pilots used Nieuports and SPAD's - and making it "complete" would really only take one additional model, the Hanriot HD1. (and you could even do without the HD1 if you didn't want to invest in the effort of creating an additional model).
in terms of squadrons, [url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/belgium/index.php]five did most of the work historically
As a Belgian living in Flanders, I can definitly support the idea to implement the Belgian Air Service.
See, OBD? We've got consumer demand!
Ideally, I'd also LOVE to be able to fly on the eastern front (Russia v Germany v Austria-Hungary) or the southern front (Austria-Hungary v Italy)...but I get that setting up entirely new fronts, new maps, and three nationalities would be a steep order.
So adding Belgium to round out the western front seems like a relatively more reasonable feat to pull off!
Another definite "YES" from me! I've been asking for the addition of l'aviation militaire belge for years, and it's high time this scrappy little nation was properly represented in our wonderful sim.
EDIT: I just checked and it was over a decade ago that Olham and I created our "Belgian Skin Pack" and made it available. So it's been at least ten years that I've been wishing for this. C'mon OBD, I'm not a slacker, I've been doing the steps, gimme gimme gimme, I need I need I need, (to paraphrase Bob Wiley).
Yes... I'd like to see Belgium represented. I can get stuck into my rather large book ''The Belgian Air Service in The First World War'' for reference then
I remember learning something as soon as I opened the book, on the inside two pages there is the map of the Flanders region with an inset that gives all the old French name places in alphabetical order, followed by the now modern Flemish names... It also marks out all the Belgian airfields.
The Hanriot shouldn't be that hard to make, either. You probably wouldn't have to make it from scratch. As I recall, it was very similar to the early Nieuports in appearance. I would imagine similar performance, too. A few tweaks to the closest one should do it.
The Hanriot shouldn't be that hard to make, either. You probably wouldn't have to make it from scratch. As I recall, it was very similar to the early Nieuports in appearance. I would imagine similar performance, too. A few tweaks to the closest one should do it.
I've read that the Hanriot HD.1 drew heavily from early Sopwith designs like the Strutter - which Hanriot had previously built on license - though the Nieuport aesthetic is unmistakable on the Hanriot.
At ~115 mph, the Hanriot's somewhat faster than any Nieuport fighter save for the infamous Nieuport 28. That's what I get out of Windsock, but lemme know if there's other info out there.
So basically a Sopwith Strutter/Pup dressed up as a Nieuport, but somewhat faster.
The Hanriot shouldn't be that hard to make, either. You probably wouldn't have to make it from scratch. As I recall, it was very similar to the early Nieuports in appearance. I would imagine similar performance, too. A few tweaks to the closest one should do it.
I've read that the Hanriot HD.1 drew heavily from early Sopwith designs like the Strutter - which Hanriot had previously built on license - though the Nieuport aesthetic is unmistakable on the Hanriot.
At ~115 mph, the Hanriot's somewhat faster than any Nieuport fighter save for the infamous Nieuport 28. That's what I get out of Windsock, but lemme know if there's other info out there.
So basically a Sopwith Strutter/Pup dressed up as a Nieuport, but somewhat faster.
The Hanriot shouldn't be that hard to make, either. You probably wouldn't have to make it from scratch. As I recall, it was very similar to the early Nieuports in appearance. I would imagine similar performance, too. A few tweaks to the closest one should do it.
I've read that the Hanriot HD.1 drew heavily from early Sopwith designs like the Strutter - which Hanriot had previously built on license - though the Nieuport aesthetic is unmistakable on the Hanriot.
At ~115 mph, the Hanriot's somewhat faster than any Nieuport fighter save for the infamous Nieuport 28. That's what I get out of Windsock, but lemme know if there's other info out there.
So basically a Sopwith Strutter/Pup dressed up as a Nieuport, but somewhat faster.
The Hanriot shouldn't be that hard to make, either. You probably wouldn't have to make it from scratch. As I recall, it was very similar to the early Nieuports in appearance. I would imagine similar performance, too. A few tweaks to the closest one should do it.
I've read that the Hanriot HD.1 drew heavily from early Sopwith designs like the Strutter - which Hanriot had previously built on license - though the Nieuport aesthetic is unmistakable on the Hanriot.
At ~115 mph, the Hanriot's somewhat faster than any Nieuport fighter save for the infamous Nieuport 28. That's what I get out of Windsock, but lemme know if there's other info out there.
So basically a Sopwith Strutter/Pup dressed up as a Nieuport, but somewhat faster.
and extremely good looking
hell-to-the-YEAH!
My dear sir you give me pain with that Italian paintjob...Now I want our front even more!
I've read that the Hanriot HD.1 drew heavily from early Sopwith designs like the Strutter - which Hanriot had previously built on license - though the Nieuport aesthetic is unmistakable on the Hanriot. At ~115 mph, the Hanriot's somewhat faster than any Nieuport fighter save for the infamous Nieuport 28. That's what I get out of Windsock, but lemme know if there's other info out there. So basically a Sopwith Strutter/Pup dressed up as a Nieuport, but somewhat faster.
The Hanriot would be a welcome addition indeed to the WOFF series. It is faster than the Nieup. 17 to 23 series.
The Nieup. 24 and 27 are about the same or a bit higher in top speed (116-7 mph/187 kph) - although, keeping in mind that we are talking about WW1 - those are probably best factory specs and may have been lower in the field. Never understood why some pilots preferred the Hanriot to the Nieup. 24-27 series - my favorite Nieup. is the 27 - but I suppose that double-spar lower wing on the Hanriot gave more comfort in dives, although the N.27 did use a thicker single spar, and thicker v-struts, than the N.24.
Ah, always new mysteries to contemplate in the world of WW1 aircraft and design.
My dear sir you give me pain with that Italian paintjob...Now I want our front even more!
Yeah, my ideal "ask" would be to include the eastern & southern fronts, along w/Italy + Russia + Austria-Hungary. These are stories that I've never seen get told in a WWI air war game before, and there's a certain unique exoticism to being able to have the experience of flying as, say, a Russian pilot in the final days of the Tsar.
It seems to me like it would be pretty doable, too...
-In terms of game mechanics, just treat the east & south as new "regions" like the game already has w/Flanders, Alsace, Verdun etc.
-You can rely primarily on airplane models that already exist in game: Austria-Hungary relied heavily on German aircraft, Italy & Russia on French etc.
-The scale of the necessary units would be far fewer for these two fronts combined than what OBD has already put in for the west. Germany only had about 10ish non-fighter units back east, and just one actual Jagdstaffel on the eastern front (with another one on the Macedonian front). Austria-Hungary's air service topped out at 77 squadrons total (though about half that number carried the heavy lifting), and in Italy 23 squadrons accounted for all the ace pilots. Russia tops out at like 15 squadrons.
So with ~100ish squadrons combined, you could easily capture most of the historical experience on these multiple fronts. Compare that to the roughly 500 units OBD has placed on the western front already.
Added bonuses:
-For the first time ever, you could trace the actual career paths of German fighter pilots who actually started out on the eastern front before transferring out west - e.g. I remember some dude named Manfred started his career with FFA 69 near Brest-Litovsk.
-For the first time ever, there could be a chance for people to fly one of the Oeffag-built Albatros D.III's - which look very very similar to the German-made ones already in game, but reportedly had markedly superior performance.
-For the first time ever, you could fly with or against Godwin Brumowski, Francesco Baracca, Alexander Kozakov etc - accomplished fighter pilots who so often get forgotten because they weren't stationed out on the western front.
-If OBD included Belgian squadrons on the west, they could use the Hanriot HD.1 in both Belgium and Italy, and at that point you've basically got a complete fighter complement for the Italian units. You'd just need a Caproni model or two to start to fill out the Italian side.
I've read that the Hanriot HD.1 drew heavily from early Sopwith designs like the Strutter - which Hanriot had previously built on license - though the Nieuport aesthetic is unmistakable on the Hanriot. At ~115 mph, the Hanriot's somewhat faster than any Nieuport fighter save for the infamous Nieuport 28. That's what I get out of Windsock, but lemme know if there's other info out there. So basically a Sopwith Strutter/Pup dressed up as a Nieuport, but somewhat faster.
The Hanriot would be a welcome addition indeed to the WOFF series. It is faster than the Nieup. 17 to 23 series.
The Nieup. 24 and 27 are about the same or a bit higher in top speed (116-7 mph/187 kph) - although, keeping in mind that we are talking about WW1 - those are probably best factory specs and may have been lower in the field. Never understood why some pilots preferred the Hanriot to the Nieup. 24-27 series - my favorite Nieup. is the 27 - but I suppose that double-spar lower wing on the Hanriot gave more comfort in dives, although the N.27 did use a thicker single spar, and thicker v-struts, than the N.24.
Ah, always new mysteries to contemplate in the world of WW1 aircraft and design.
Happy flying all, Von S
So I'm going off of Windsock and a couple book-length sources that have the N 24 as the fastest of the bunch, topping out at 176 km/h (109 mph). Would you happen to recall who has the N 24/27 at 187 kph? I'm always on the hunt for as many sources as possible, because I know the information from any one author is going to be super incomplete. It's so maddening trying to patch it all together! (I suspect the major discrepancies are coming from measuring a craft's speed at different altitudes and/or with different engines)
-The Sopwith Dolphin! This was all over the place throughout 1918. Probably the one thing I'd consider to be a "glaring hole" for fighters, historically speaking.
-the Roland D.II/D.IIa series, to give German pilots an alternative to the Albatros in mid-1917. (At their peak, the Roland D.II's were ~1/4 of Germany's inventory on the western front in early/mid 1917). The D.VIa/D.VIb and the Siemens-Schuckert SSW's would also be cool for 1918, but the lack of choice is much more pressing for 1917 IMO.
-more of the big bombers: the British Handley Page series, the German Friedrichshafens (which outnumbered the Gothas for the last year to 17 months of the war), the Italian Capronis (if WOFF ever includes the Italian front!) - also the French Breguet bomber while you're at it (could draw very heavily from the pre-existing Breguet A14 model already in game)
-naval units w/more specialized aircraft - like the German Friedrichshafen FF33/FF49's or British Short Type 184. I've NEVER gotten to fight on the water in a WWI air war game!
-the ability to shoot a Foster-mounted Lewis gun in an upright position a la Albert Ball.
Do I expect all of these to happen? Like the eastern front/Italian front thing, not necessarily. But hey, maybe one of these might stick. You never know.
I agree that some of the sources are inconsistent. Possible also is that some of those speeds were taken at alt. If I remember correctly I think it's Jane's 'Fighter Aircraft of WW1' that lists some of those top speeds on later Nieups. as in the mid-180s kph. Some other websites that discuss the various numbers:
I don't have access to other sources at the moment, but I have also seen varied top speeds listed for the famous N.28 too - such as 196, 198, 203, also 205-6 kph - it becomes a rabbit hole of numbers. My own little pet theory is that the top speeds of 203 and 205-6 kph on the N.28 are with the 160-165 hp rotary mounts, Gnome?, maybe also LeRhone variants at such higher hp - while the lower nos. are with rotaries in the range of 120 to 150 hp, earlier Gnomes and whatnot. 160+ hp rotaries were also mounted on some Nieup. 24 types and possibly the 27 too - post-war, such as during the Russian Civil War (so those might have had top speeds similar to the N.28 too - I'm taking educated guesses here - "Crawford" is the fellow to contact on the FE2 forums over on CombatAce, for specs. on rare and obscure Nieup. variants - he is a walking encyclopedia of all things related to the eastern front in WW1).
But to get back on topic regarding this wish list - I am wishing for the SSW D.1 to appear eventually (the Nieup. 16 knock-off) - used as a fighter briefly in 1917. Rumor has it that some German pilots preferred its maneuverability to that of the early Albies (the D.I and D.II). Possible also is that the SSW D.1 sported some light over-compression on its Siemens-Halske 9-cyl. - 110 hp normal, up to about 140 hp with over-compressed throttle - top speed about 155 kph on that one but, again, who knows if that was taken at alt. or near SL. The later, bigger, 11-cyl. Siemens-Halske engines also had this over-compression ability. I wonder if Mikael Carlson has this over-compressed part of the throttle on his Pfalz D.VIII.
I agree that some of the sources are inconsistent. Possible also is that some of those speeds were taken at alt. If I remember correctly I think it's Jane's 'Fighter Aircraft of WW1' that lists some of those top speeds on later Nieups. as in the mid-180s kph. Some other websites that discuss the various numbers:
I don't have access to other sources at the moment, but I have also seen varied top speeds listed for the famous N.28 too - such as 196, 198, 203, also 205-6 kph - it becomes a rabbit hole of numbers. My own little pet theory is that the top speeds of 203 and 205-6 kph on the N.28 are with the 160-165 hp rotary mounts, Gnome?, maybe also LeRhone variants at such higher hp - while the lower nos. are with rotaries in the range of 120 to 150 hp, earlier Gnomes and whatnot. 160+ hp rotaries were also mounted on some Nieup. 24 types and possibly the 27 too - post-war, such as during the Russian Civil War (so those might have had top speeds similar to the N.28 too - I'm taking educated guesses here - "Crawford" is the fellow to contact on the FE2 forums over on CombatAce, for specs. on rare and obscure Nieup. variants - he is a walking encyclopedia of all things related to the eastern front in WW1).
But to get back on topic regarding this wish list - I am wishing for the SSW D.1 to appear eventually (the Nieup. 16 knock-off) - used as a fighter briefly in 1917. Rumor has it that some German pilots preferred its maneuverability to that of the early Albies (the D.I and D.II). Possible also is that the SSW D.1 sported some light over-compression on its Siemens-Halske 9-cyl. - 110 hp normal, up to about 140 hp with over-compressed throttle - top speed about 155 kph on that one but, again, who knows if that was taken at alt. or near SL. The later, bigger, 11-cyl. Siemens-Halske engines also had this over-compression ability. I wonder if Mikael Carlson has this over-compressed part of the throttle on his Pfalz D.VIII.
Cheers all and happy flying, Von S
Thank you, this is really helpful! I'll go digging around to find the Jane book. I also see that the links you provided have plenty of other sources for me to search out. You really went above and beyond here.
A Ring and/or Aldis sight for the Sopwith Pup. As part of my research for the DID, I downloaded all of No. 54 Squadron's Combat reports from 1917 and every last one of them show that the sight used was either the Ring, the Aldis or both. After June 1917, it was Aldis exclusively.
Another feature that would be great is if we had the option of immediate transfers. Sometimes your squadron switches from fighter to reconnaissance overnight, and what makes it even worse is that there won't be any observer pilots...so you don't get to fly missions to work your way any closer to getting that transfer. So your pilot is just stuck in limbo. There really needs to be a fall-back option to save the gameplay from these sorts of situations.
EDIT: Also, what happens if your squadron goes out of service? "Your campaign is over." So there's another reason WOFF needs to have the option for immediate transfers.
I would love the ability to manually assign skins to AI squadmates. Most squads have unique markings for each squad member for when using historical pilots, but when using generated pilots they default to the same skin for everyone. Since most of these "historical pilot" skins are just properly squadron marked planes, it would be nice to, at least for the Player squad, to be able to have everyone with proper markings.
Perhaps a revision to the damage modeling for the coolant system for inline engines? I'm not sure if the coolant reservoir is supposed to represent the radiator, but there doesn't seem to be any difference in terms of the placement of the reservoir/radiator for inline planes. For example, the radiator for the Se5a and the Spad series are at the front of the engine, while the radiator for the Albs is located on the upper right wing. Perhaps this is taken into account in the drawing of the damage boxes for each, but I'm not sure. Also, shouldn't there be a more significant difference between the two in terms of hit probability and hit points?
Related to this is how damage to the engine is handled (I know I have brought this up before). Currently, there appears to be a 1 to 1 linear relationship between hits to the engine and loss of engine power. Any way to make this linear relationship non-linear or logarithmic, instead? As an alternative, don't let the engine lose significant power until its hit points are almost used up. At the same time, allow damage to the radiator after a certain length of time to result in loss of engine power as it becomes overheated?
Sorry for my ramblings. I have recently been thinking about creating a mod to revise some of the hit point values in the damage model, so this naturally came up again.
Just a thank you...a belated thank you. I've been meaning to do this for a few weeks now, but I noticed that two of my pet peeves have been addressed. First, rendezvous altitudes are now included in the briefings for escort missions (I haven't noticed any on intercept missions, but hopefully some day). Second, anti-aircraft bursts now show up even if they weren't initially in your fov.
Perhaps a revision to the damage modeling for the coolant system for inline engines? I'm not sure if the coolant reservoir is supposed to represent the radiator, but there doesn't seem to be any difference in terms of the placement of the reservoir/radiator for inline planes. For example, the radiator for the Se5a and the Spad series are at the front of the engine, while the radiator for the Albs is located on the upper right wing. Perhaps this is taken into account in the drawing of the damage boxes for each, but I'm not sure. Also, shouldn't there be a more significant difference between the two in terms of hit probability and hit points?
Related to this is how damage to the engine is handled (I know I have brought this up before). Currently, there appears to be a 1 to 1 linear relationship between hits to the engine and loss of engine power. Any way to make this linear relationship non-linear or logarithmic, instead? As an alternative, don't let the engine lose significant power until its hit points are almost used up. At the same time, allow damage to the radiator after a certain length of time to result in loss of engine power as it becomes overheated?
Sorry for my ramblings. I have recently been thinking about creating a mod to revise some of the hit point values in the damage model, so this naturally came up again.
There's really little need for modification. Each radiator has its own damage box, as does the engine and oil, fuel etc all placed correctly and the box is relative size to the actual object, so that caters to allow one small radiator to be harder to hit than another. No there is not 1:1 damage for the engine, we have code that ramps it up as you say already it takes significant damage before it breaks. Also there is progressive damage that can occur on most parts. When the radiator is badly damaged after a while the engine will usually become damaged.
Thank you for clearing up my confusion about the radiator and cooling system, Pol.
We the regard to the engine damage, I understand about the breakage rules and the progressive damage model for various subsystems. Very nicely done! However, I was mainly concerned with the "robustness" of the engine damage model. Being made mostly out of metal, shouldn't the hit points be a little higher than they are? I see that there is an 80% probability of causing damage when a bullet strike enters the engine damage box area, perhaps that could be tweaked a bit to reflect a greater possibility of ricochets or deflected bullet strikes that don't do much damage to the engine? Unless a critical part is hit (cracked cylinder, broken rocker arm, etc.), shouldn't the engine perform fairly normally until it has taken significant damage? In my experience, most WOFF aircraft lose significant engine power after only a few bullet strikes. Adjusting the values here might result in more challenging dogfights, IMO.
Please don't mind my ramblings on this subject; I understand that I have probably simplified things a bit, and I also realize you are dealing with game code that is almost 20 years old, so there may not be much that can be done without breaking something else. That's why this is in the wishlist thread! Thanks for listening!
Make rank and running a squadron actually mean something. Allow Squadron Commanders to set up flights and decide who will fly, meeting general parameters where high command will say they want this section of front photographed 7 times over the next week or things like that. Have commanders manage their pilots morale by sending shaken up people on leave or grounding them for a few days. Send new pilots on easy flights so they can get their hours in without getting killed. Ordering planes, things like that. You could make a pretty good management game alone out of this, and I know that's not what this game is but why have ranks above flight leader at all if the duties of those ranks are not historically accurate? It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to do compared to adding aircraft or flying in the middle east or over the Alps (which I'd also like but one thing at a time). This is an ancient game engine as I understand it, but what I'm suggesting would largely be text-based.
On another note, give flight leaders some leeway on who they want to fly with, which is historically accurate as I've read it. Also there should be every effort made to have like planes fly with like when possible. This thing where you're in a fast recon plane but half of your flight are Be2cs... that doesn't make sense, and I'm sure commanders at the time understood the drawbacks of setting up flights like that.
Since this is the wishlist thread, I thought I might post my pie-in-the-sky, never be able to be done wish: three (or more) FM's for AI crates: one for turn-fighters, one for "boom and zoom" fighters, and one for hybrid fighters that don't fit neatly into the first two categories. Actually, I guess what I am "wishing" for is for separate AI maneuvering routines, based on the type of plane they are flying. What I would like to avoid, for example, are Spad's that try to turn fight and Strutter's that boom and zoom.
Short of that, perhaps some plane types could be given a "favorite" or preferred manuever that would be chosen when in a jam? For instance, Pfalz's that dive out of trouble?
Not sure how big a deal this is to pull off with the Ones and Zeros, but if it won't delay the arrival of the Sopwith Dolphin too much,
...please move Conteville to it's proper historical location on the road between Abbeville and Auxi - le - Chateau. The location in game is at Conteville en Ternois, far to the North. As a result of this misplacement, squadrons at Conteville are flying ahistoric missions far to the north in the 11th army sector as opposed to their actual area of operations in front of Amiens. Is this game-breaking, kinda. It certainly shoots immersion in the head for us DID nerds.
I can't speak to how many of the airfields in game are slightly out of location (e.g. Chipilly) or wildly misplaced like Conteville. Having conducted daily operations from Conteville since June 1, I thought I'd give it a mention.
Can whatever makes the snow reflective be added to the rivers and rail lines?
In my current campaign, Jasta 11 just upgraded from Halberstadt D-III's to Albatros D-III's. The whole squadron. Just like that. And it occurred to me that while one or two machines might arrive by rail or even lorry (improbable, but maybe possible) for the CO or top ace, the more likely scenario would be for the squadron to fly their old machines to a rear airfield where the new ones have been marshalled, drop them off, maybe have a bite to eat or a quick trip to the latrine, and then fly the new ones back home.
I really wish they would do an all-hands-on-deck effort to get dx11 in game before going off to the Reich. There are still annoying issues with losing aircraft right in front of you in the ground clutter and tracers and I think those shades would really help with that as well as making everything pop just a little more. That is my biggest remaining graphical complaint...
@RR, incorporation of dx10/11 would also offset some more of the work from the CPU to the GPU, while running WOFF/WOTR - so a win-win in terms of higher FPS too, even on mid-range GPUs and monitors.
Having said that, I think that AnKor implemented a dx8-to-dx9 wrapper in WOFF/WOTR, not pure dx9, since there are some calls in the dx8 code that changed by the time dx9 came out, so it was the best solution that would give dx9 benefit while still harnessing the underlying dx8 calls in the cfs3 underpinnings/code -- a magnificent piece of work that he did there. Speaking of AnKor, I hope he's doing well - I think he was working on some dx10/11 things for WOFF/WOTR, but seems, like Xjouve, to have disappeared from modding. Hope that both of them are doing well.
The presets are FPS-friendly while being a fairly accurate imitation of my subtle bloom tweaks of Bucksnort's SweetFX mod. for WOFF UE (which works only up to about ver. 4.21 of WOFF). Those running WOFF ver. 4.21 or lower (especially the venerable ver. 4.18) -- are recommended instead to check over the SweetFX patches available on CombatAce for WOFF, since those are slightly more FPS friendly than ReShade, no matter how much a ReShade preset may be slimmed down.
Happy flying all and good/better spotting (and re-spotting), Von S
Speaking of AnKor, I hope he's doing well - I think he was working on some dx10/11 things for WOFF/WOTR, but seems, like Xjouve, to have disappeared from modding. Hope that both of them are doing well.
This was my understanding as well. I'll keep your mod in mind!
Okay, so I think I've kinda coalesced around the following items...sorry for any repeats
#1 - Belgian squadrons: if it's Wings Over Flanders Fields, let's have the squadrons that were actually from Flanders!
It's pretty much the only hole in the game's western front history, and OBD can pretty much cover it with 4-5 squadrons, 4 aerodromes, half a dozen or so ace pilots...I don't know what the coding input looks like, but I imagine this is a relatively small task in the grand scheme of doing the whole western front.
You wouldn't even necessarily have to add any new aircraft - you could populate those squadrons with Nieuports, SPADs, the occasional Camel and you've pretty much got their real-life historical slate. (Though as per #2, an Hanriot HD.1 would be pretty sweet cherry on top!)
#2 - the Sopwith Dolphin, Pfalz D.XII, Hanriot HD.1
In terms of the sheer production numbers, I think these are all top 10 or top 15 fighters or somewhere thereabouts.
-If I were to add one aircraft to WOFF, it would be the Sopwith Dolphin. More than 2000 of these were made, they served for almost a year, dozens of ace pilots flew them, and the Dolphin provides a unique look and feature set that sets it apart from other fighters: highly maneuverable, high-speed, high-power inline engine British fighter with a ton of guns.
-On the German side, there are plenty of intriguing, small-scale production fighters (SSW D.III/D.IV, several Rolands etc), but I think the Pfalz D.XII is the most-produced German fighter not yet included in WOFF: about 700-800 were built (on par w/the Albatros D.III/D.V/Pfalz D.IIIa), peaking at 400 units mostly populating the Bavarian Jastas and enjoying some success in the hands of several German aces. The Pfalz D.XII also helps complete the historicism of the game flow: these were a principle replacement for outdated Pfalz D.IIIa's and Albatros D.Va's, while augmenting the fighter fleet since production of the Fokker D.VII couldn't fully keep up with demand.
-The Hanriot HD.1 is one I bring up just because I think it's frickin cool: it cuts a strikingly sleek, beautiful figure, and offers performance reminiscent of the Sopwith Pup and Nieuport 17 while still being somewhat competitive going into 1918. And if OBD ever adds Belgian squadrons, the Hanriot's the one fighter necessary to complete the Belgian fighter slate.
#3 - Incorporate some of the most useful mods into the game (e.g. Von S's flight models, the multi mod).
-Regarding Von S's flight models - e.g. for the SPAD XIII, the stock in-game flight model for the 220hp SPAD XIII could remain, but alongside Von S's flight models for the 200hp and 235hp SPAD XIII.
None of the modified flight models require new 3D modeling, but they do increase the diversity and variance of performance levels for the player, the player's squadron, and the AI opponents - a few extra engine options for a Nieuport or a Camel or an Albatros makes the front feel less uniform and more like real life. It also makes sense e.g. for French elite pilots to have the 235hp SPAD XIII, while lower-ranking/less-experienced pilots fly the 200hp/220hp variants. So even as the squadrons coalesce around one or two models, you still have something to aspire to - you won't have a rookie on his first mission flying the same quality machine as Rene Fonck.
-For the multi mod - everything in the multi mod would make a welcome addition to the in-game settings, and goes a long way to resolving issues e.g. with overpowered AI rear gunners. If OBD thinks the AI is calibrated the best way, that can stand as the default setting while also creating an in-game option for the user to edit as preferred.
If these things become part of the game, then we don't have to worried about compatibility with the game - e.g. we don't have to worry if there will be a bad interaction between the mods & some future patch installation, because there wouldn't be any mod. The features would just be built into the game.
#4 - The ability to shoot the Lewis gun when it's pointed upward.
This would make several of the Nieuports - as well as the S.E.5/S.E.5a series - far more dangerous, helping even out the playing field a bit against AI two-seaters. It's hard to have a fair fight if you don't have the benefit of one of Albert Ball's favorite tricks!
It would also add to the historical realism, though I imagine anything animation-oriented would be trickier to implement.
#5 - The option of automatic, immediate transfers.
There have been some issues where you get stuck with a squadron that lacks the personnel to carry out any missions, so you don't get the flight hours necessary to make the transfer happen...and then the squadron closes up shop and your career is cut short.
IMO it seems like the option of immediate transfers is the most direct way to ensure this is never an issue, instead of having to go through every individual squadron on a one-by-one basis to make sure there aren't any long-term historical dead-ends.
#6 - The ability to transfer a pilot from Escadrille LaFayette to a US squadron, which several pilots did in real life.
Thank you for clearing up my confusion about the radiator and cooling system, Pol.
We the regard to the engine damage, I understand about the breakage rules and the progressive damage model for various subsystems. Very nicely done! However, I was mainly concerned with the "robustness" of the engine damage model. Being made mostly out of metal, shouldn't the hit points be a little higher than they are? I see that there is an 80% probability of causing damage when a bullet strike enters the engine damage box area, perhaps that could be tweaked a bit to reflect a greater possibility of ricochets or deflected bullet strikes that don't do much damage to the engine? Unless a critical part is hit (cracked cylinder, broken rocker arm, etc.), shouldn't the engine perform fairly normally until it has taken significant damage? In my experience, most WOFF aircraft lose significant engine power after only a few bullet strikes. Adjusting the values here might result in more challenging dogfights, IMO.
Please don't mind my ramblings on this subject; I understand that I have probably simplified things a bit, and I also realize you are dealing with game code that is almost 20 years old, so there may not be much that can be done without breaking something else. That's why this is in the wishlist thread! Thanks for listening!
No worries the engine already has a base amount of damage it can take before things break built in the code, and nothing at all to do with the XDP value. We especially added that feature since around WOFF 1 code to do that as originally the code took any hit at all and the engine would immediately degrade. Not any more. Although the engine is mostly solid there are many wires, pipes, seals, rocker arms whatever and other important parts attached all over that a bullet would damage or break and then the engine would fail after a while. Bear in mind any bullet hitting solid metal would likely ricochet around and take out a pipe or something. Also even 1 hit on a rocker arm or other area could put something even slightly out of alignment and then the engine would fail. They told you to aim for the engine or the pilot for good reason. Saying that for sure they could be made tougher or that value % hit reduced more for some more robust engines but it really needs data/facts to back up a change at the moment.
Hey, Pol. I had almost forgotten about this post. Thank you for your response!
I understand that the topic of bullet strikes on an engine leading to eventual engine failure is an extremely complex topic. Both shooter and target are moving, bullet strikes can come in at any angle from extremely shallow to very deep, engines can be either air-cooled or liquid-cooled, upright or in-line, steel is hard but copper is soft, etc.
I like how you changed the percentage chance of a "hit" to the engine from a projectile entering the engine hitbox from 100% to 80%. My suggestion might be to lower that number just a little further, although I entirely agree that more research and an understanding of all of the complex factors involved is needed, and that reasonable minds can still easily disagree about what the "right" number for this figure might be. I guess my main reason for arguing that engine "points" might be increased a bit and/or hit percentages tweaked is that I think the AI gives a better fight if the engine is less easily damaged. On the other hand, no one wants to fight against a flying tank, either, so finding the correct balance is key.
In any event, I trust you have thought about this way more than I have and that you will make any changes if you feel they are necessary. Or, someone could do an engine damage mod, as long as they don't mind changing nearly 1,000 individual .xdp files! Who would be crazy enough to do that, I wonder?
Following up on my suggestion for the AI's combat maneuvers, is it my imagination or has the AI's maneuvers become a bit "random?" It's hard for me to explain what I mean, but it seems to me that perhaps the AI has too many maneuvers to choose from, meaning that every AI plane has a choice from a wide variety of tactics that may be without regard to the strengths and limitations of the particular aircraft they are flying? Might there be a way to divide AI maneuvers into different maneuver "packages," so that an AI that has been trying to engage in a turning fight doesn't suddenly try and climb away while they are out of energy from the turn? Or, at least make it so the AI doesn't immediately follow one maneuver with another that gives up all advantages from the immediately preceding maneuver? I know this would probably be difficult or impossible to code (at least for me) but it would be great if it could be done.
Also, does the AI get any feedback about whether their current maneuver choice is being successful? Often, it seems to me, the AI quits on a maneuver that may be working for them too soon.
On another note, another cool thing would be if the end of the wings might "flex" a bit while flying, or bend a bit up and down while you are in the air.
... I like how you changed the percentage chance of a "hit" to the engine from a projectile entering the engine hitbox from 100% to 80%. My suggestion might be to lower that number just a little further, although I entirely agree that more research and an understanding of all of the complex factors involved is needed, and that reasonable minds can still easily disagree about what the "right" number for this figure might be. I guess my main reason for arguing that engine "points" might be increased a bit and/or hit percentages tweaked is that I think the AI gives a better fight if the engine is less easily damaged. D
Maybe it could be altered, but it is not only the XDP that dictates the damage. I meant we have code that also adjusts any damage on a scale so it really doesn't register anything much for the first hits, and then scales up the more hits taken, eventually each hit registers full damage.
The AI is made up of Novice, Veterans, and Aces. They have different abilities, manoeuvre "effort" they put in, manoeuvres available, and also variable vision skills, morale and fatigue - all this comes into play. They are human-like in that they will also make mistakes and be less predictable compared to most AI out there. Although they often reassess, it may not always be due to just your aircraft, but also friendly and enemy nearby, or perhaps they have lost you visually.
Wings being bendy ... probably not going to happen.
On the Quick Combat screen where you select which enemy you fly against, it would be cool to have a 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918 set of options on the enemy aircraft pull down menu that will randomly pick an enemy aircraft that flew prominently during that year. So if were flying for the Allies and you picked 1915 from the enemy aircraft pull down menu, it would randomly put you against a German aircraft that was flying in 1915. No chance of the Fokker DR, etc. It would be a way for busy folks to sorta feel like that flew a patrol and got some random combat in against the right era of aircraft.
On the Quick Combat screen where you select which enemy you fly against, it would be cool to have a 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918 set of options on the enemy aircraft pull down menu that will randomly pick an enemy aircraft that flew prominently during that year. So if were flying for the Allies and you picked 1915 from the enemy aircraft pull down menu, it would randomly put you against a German aircraft that was flying in 1915. No chance of the Fokker DR, etc. It would be a way for busy folks to sorta feel like that flew a patrol and got some random combat in against the right era of aircraft.
Originally Posted by Robert_Wiggins
Hellshade
I would be ok with your suggestion as long as the pull down was optional and the default setting would be the way it is now (all aircraft).
So I really like Hellshade's idea, but I also see Robert Wiggins's concern.
I'd like to see an option for a general patrol, which then sets you up to select a date for the patrol - but have that date menu grayed out for other mission types. (Just like how the enemy aircraft menu is grayed out when you're setting up a free flight).
This way, you get the randomized combat without any inconvenience encroaching up on the pre-existing mission types, AND you also get a chance to practice a general patrol without being in actual campaign mode. (Which really helps in terms of learning all the ropes without putting your precious campaign pilot's life on the line!)
I would be ok with your suggestion as long as the pull down was optional and the default setting would be the way it is now (all aircraft).
I wouldn't want anything removed from what is there now. I'm simply suggesting adding 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918 to the existing menu. It would make no sense to remove the existing single aircraft choices.
This has probably been requested before, but a mechanism for bailing out - for German air crew in the last year of the war?
I was under the impression that only a handful of German pilots used a parachute to bail out, but have recently seen a thread on the Aerodrome forum that lists 49 bailouts from April 1918 onwards by Jasta pilots alone. That is just the known ones, and does not include crew from 2-seaters. About 2/3 of them were successful.
As WOTR already has this mechanism, I would guess it could be ported over to WOFF? Though it would need to be restricted in some way to German air crew in 1918 only.
For someone I can send my brand new rig who will install and run newest WOFF BH&H. I paid big bucks for this rig and more big bucks for a local computer shop to do this. No joy and my wallet is $300.00 lighter.
Not sure what you are asking. Sounds like you bought a new computer to run BH&H2 and paid a computer shop to install it, but they couldn't do it and still didn't give you your money back, is that correct? $300 for a new computer or $300 to install software? If the first, $300 doesn't sound like a lot of money for a beefy enough computer to run WOFF. Can you let us know your specs?
Depending on what you have, I, or someone else, may be able to walk you through installing the game.
The post is a bit vague. My new rig has a GeForce 2080ti vid card, i7 quad core, win 10 os, 4 sticks of RAM and a whole bunch of other stuff including hi rez gaming monitor. It is a year old but has been collecting dust. It was about top of the line when first assembled! I and a friend put it together, installed os, Direct x9, etc. It worked for two days then blue screened. I couldn't make it work so another friend said he'd take a look and never did. So a few days ago got it from friend then took it to a computer shop and they ripped me for $300.00 as nothing works... except the blue screen and windows icon. I am so wanting to fly this Sim again but just don't know what to do. I don't have internet so can't do this at my house. This is a stand alone Som once installed, right? That is... an internet connection shouldn't be needed once installed, right? I sure wish this could be purchased and installed via discs for people with integrity... like me! I would never, ever let someone else use my discs.
Ah, sounds like a hardware or Windows problem, then. Your system sounds like it should be able to easily handle WOFF.
Although I am hardly a tech expert, there may be some event or error logs that might help you to identify the problem. Have you tried booting into Safe mode? If you get that to work, you might be able to diagnose the problem. Another possibility is an improper setting in the BIOS that runs when you first start up the computer. Finally, since the computer is a year old, several drivers may also be out of date. Hard to tell without booting up the system. What did the computer shop tell you about not being able to repair it?
If kksnowbear is around, he might be able to give you some more useful problem-solving or trouble-shooting advice. You might try sending him a PM. You definitely need a stable system before you can install and run any sophisticated programs.
Let us know if there is anything else we can do to help.
Pol, you probably will want to move this thread to the Technical Support forum.
I've mentioned this before but giving it a bump in the current climate of helpful patches in the hope it can be done.
I'd really like to see alternative weapon loadouts for some of the aircraft to enhance the accuracy of the sim. This wouldn't involve creating new weapons, just making them available on more aircraft such as......
Overwing Lewis for the Morane (this is how Pegoud and Gilbert became aces).
Overwing Lewis for the Caudron (not as common as with the Morane but Fonck got his first victory like this).
Angled firing Lewis for the BE2 (using the same angles as with the Bristol Scout).
Forward firing Lewis/Vickers for the FE2b (very common in late 1916 and 1917).
I think these would be very possible using the graphics already available in the sim and would heighten the accuracy and immersion even further, especially early war.
... Overwing Lewis for the Morane (this is how Pegoud and Gilbert became aces) ... Angled firing Lewis for the BE2 (using the same angles as with the Bristol Scout) ... especially early war.
+1
Will indeed help with further immersion for some fine 1915/early '16 campaigning. Also, to append another wish here - if this is not too much work to implement, of course - if a Morane Type L one-seater variant could be created to go with the overwing Lewis too (or a nose-mounted Lewis, with deflectors on the prop.) - that would be wonderful.
Please bring back the original chance of having a dud engine! As an option, perhaps, so instead of the current Yes/No option for engine failure it could be a three-way option: No engine failures (easy) - current chance of engine failure (normal) - original chance of engine failure (hard).
I know this is probably not going to fly (no pun intended), but in a Nieuport, the windscreen is hinged. I assume it was so they could cock their weapon and then fix it back in place. Many times I've had my engine let go and oil gets all over the windscreen, making it all but impossible to see. Would it be possible to make a mod that would allow you to lower the windscreen so you can see where you're flying and to land. It would make things easier. I looked in the settings and didn't see anything labled 'Enter-W'. Just a thought.
Just a small thing, but for damage modelling purposes stationary air cooled engines such as the RAF1a and RAF4a (BE2 and RE8) be treated more like rotary engines, i.e. with no coolant system to be damaged. At the moment they are treated as water cooled engine.
Edit: same is true for the Fokker D.VI which is correctly identified as having the Oberursel UR II rotary engine, but appears to be treated as water cooled for damage modelling purposes
Another small niggle - when flying in French sectors of the front the units on the ground are identified as 'British' except for the HQ which is 'Allied'. I would suggest changing all 'British' to 'Allied'. Also, on start-up, the voices of the men starting the engine are all in English (unlike flying for a German unit, where they are in German). Any chance of finding a WOFF French speaker who would be willing to do the voices? Also training, French missions. where BE2 is used as the trainer, and voices are all in English...would just add the correct 'colour' to have everything in French!
When your pilot dies, I'd like to have the option to continue playing as one of the computer-generated wingmen currently assigned to your dead pilot's squadron.
Enjoying the new "grassy airfields" feature in patch 1.36 -- might I recommend also adding grass to the odd meadow, field, etc., to make the transition from smooth fields to grassy airfields less jarring. No need to add grass everywhere but broader presence of grass will help with landscape realism and variety. Capability Brown thanks you in advance.
Wish list for new WOFF Expansion: A way to turn the ground war down in later years (1917 -1918) so that when approaching and flying over the front lines, there is less of a FPS hit, similar to how there is an option to reduce Air Activity from Heavy down to Medium, Light and Very Light options. Only the Devs know if this is possible or if the increased ground war is what is even responsible for the dip in FPS around the front lines...but that is my speculation and hope.
In the next expansion, I wish it were possible to make the top wing guns for N17s, SE5as, etc to be able to be fired at different angles as they get lowered and raised.
"When your pilot dies, I'd like to have the option to continue playing as one of the computer-generated wingmen currently assigned to your dead pilot's squadron."
If possible:
I would like to add to this by actually having an option to be the replacement pilot assigned/reassigned to the unit that you were in at the time of your death. One could then maintain a type of campaign function with that specific unit moving forward with the same NPC's and thier corresponding records.
I would like to add to this by actually having an option to be the replacement pilot assigned/reassigned to the unit that you were in at the time of your death. One could then maintain a type of campaign function with that specific unit moving forward with the same NPC's and thier corresponding records.
In Pilot Dossier menu, scroll through pilots to the deceased one you would like to be a replacement pilot for, then under the pilot's page, click "re-enlist".
I know this is probably not going to fly (no pun intended), but in a Nieuport, the windscreen is hinged. I assume it was so they could cock their weapon and then fix it back in place. Many times I've had my engine let go and oil gets all over the windscreen, making it all but impossible to see. Would it be possible to make a mod that would allow you to lower the windscreen so you can see where you're flying and to land. It would make things easier. I looked in the settings and didn't see anything labled 'Enter-W'. Just a thought.
We used to have the Nieuport 17 and 11 windows open/close, however it's not compatible with the oil on windscreen effect anyway now, so unfortunately no we can't do that.
When your pilot dies, I'd like to have the option to continue playing as one of the computer-generated wingmen currently assigned to your dead pilot's squadron.
Well you can't quite but you can re-enlist as a new replacement pilot in the same squadron with same people around you (see two posts above this one).
Not sure I've ever posted in the Wish List thread before but two items came to mind...
1) It would be amazing to be able to save a mission mid-flight. Now that I'm older and RL is increasingly chaotic, I've had to abandon more missions than I can count due to needing to take care of something. A mid-sortie save would be incredibly helpful, or barring that, a way to abort a mission. 2) It would be great if we could listen to Matt's beautiful soundtrack mid-flight. I know it's not super realistic and I do enjoy making my flights as challenging as possible, but the atmosphere he adds is too good to pass up.
Doing the reading the other day, an idea occurred to me.
In BHH2, if your plane crashes, you die.
There are a number of incidents recorded where the pilot survived an almost certain death.
Sideslipping a burning aircraft to fan the flames away from his body, sometimes even putting them out.
Unfastening the safety harness and putting your feet in the seat, so that when the plane hits the ground, you fly out like a cannon ball and have some chance of surviving.
Even jumping out just before the aircraft hits the ground.
How about a random chance of surviving an almost certain death?
Doing the reading the other day, an idea occurred to me.
In BHH2, if your plane crashes, you die.
There are a number of incidents recorded where the pilot survived an almost certain death.
Sideslipping a burning aircraft to fan the flames away from his body, sometimes even putting them out.
Unfastening the safety harness and putting your feet in the seat, so that when the plane hits the ground, you fly out like a cannon ball and have some chance of surviving.
Even jumping out just before the aircraft hits the ground.
How about a random chance of surviving an almost certain death?
With a lot of luck, you actually *can* put out the flames on your plane:
I found quite by accident if you end the mission before you smack into the ground quite often you will survive. Also if you manage to land and exit before the plane stops rolling you may survive. The latter may be the equivalent of a Jerbear ejection
If you select Easy for the kill claims, it will autofill in the type of aircraft you actually shot down. Be great to actually know what model Alb I had just shot down.
I presume WOFF keeps track of that information in order to confirm kill claims on the normal mode, so maybe it wouldn't be too hard to just auto-populate that info on the Easy kill claims mode.
I would love in-cockpit wind noise that changes with speed ... not sure it's possible with such an old engine and you have worked miracles already - but the sound of rushing wind would knock the immersion out of the park!
I would love in-cockpit wind noise that changes with speed ... not sure it's possible with such an old engine and you have worked miracles already - but the sound of rushing wind would knock the immersion out of the park!
I would love this too, if it's possible.
I have something that I "think" might be an easy add. I fly on Easy Outcome setting because I don't always agree that if I land lightly wounded at my airfield, it sometimes marks me Dead anyway when on Normal outcomes. But I would like a button added, if possible, that allows me to mark myself dead, maybe add an "Are you sure?" pop up. That way, I could fly on Easy outcome mode, however if I get shot down, crash land hard or literally killed in the air, I can mark myself dead at the end of the mission.
Might have mentioned this several pages back in the wish-list thread - but since there will indeed be a Morane Bullet provided in one of the future packs for WoFF, it would be nice to have (as complementary to the Bullet) a one-seater version of the Morane Parasol as well, with an unsynchronized Lewis M.G. firing through the prop. Hopefully it's not too much modelling work to get from the two-seater Parasol to a one-seater variant (fuselage length and wingspan should be the same for the most part).
+1 to the cockpit-wind-noise-changing-with-speed idea (would be great to see it in the WoFF series; such a feature, for example, is present in heavily modded FE2 and it does wonders for cockpit immersion).
I would like to see all squadrons viewable in the Intelligence room instead of just enemy squadrons. To see your side you have to go to transfer screen. If you are playing British you cannot see French squadrons at all. Ideally, it would be nice to be able to see all squadrons on the map at the same time. This would give a better idea who you might encounter.
My wish is for a slightly more graphically accurate and detailed Sopwith Camel. By that I mean most of the other Sopwith's in the sim have both pitot tubes and propeller driven air pumps modelled but the Camel does not. Also, the instrument panel could use some rework. The oil pressure gauge should be an air pressure gauge, there should be a clock/watch under the airspeed indicator, the bubble slip indicator should be mounted under the compass, and the fuel sight glass should be on the left.
I guess I didn't read the last update for the Belgian expansion in regards to the Camel very well:
"Improvements and tweaks to various aircraft models such as the Sopwith Camel, Nieuport 10, 11, 16, 17, 23, RAF BE2c, RE8, Caudron G.IV, SPAD VII, SPAD XIII, Sopwith Strutter A2, Breguet 14. The revamp includes 3D model updates, some of which are quite significant, such as the Camel External and Virtual Cockpit models."