OFF Tips & Cheats

G

gimpyguy

Guest


Explination of the TAC screen

We know that in 1917, Radar was not yet invented. Think of it as 'Superman's Eyes'. It will be visable or not, on your demand ( Shft+T )

There are many screens possible, for varied targets. In OFF we are only concerned with Aircraft. Cycle Screens ( T )

The Field of view for the TAC can be cycled 8/4/2/1 in Nautical Miles, the radius of the screen ( Ctrl+Shft+T )

The number at 6 O'clock is your Field of View

The number at 12 O'clock is the distance to your next waypoint in Nautical Miles.

As an 'unknown' aircraft approaches, it will appear as a 'White Blip, when it gets closer the Blip will change color. Red or Blue, enemy or friendly.
Also you'll know His direction. About the only thing it doesn't tell you, is His altitude. Sometimes he Will appear to be at the center of the screen, yet the skys are clear? . . He's above you . . You are the center.

The TAC as a navagation 'cheat'. In Campaign Only, there is a Blue Neon line, on screen. That's Your Direction of Travel. It will guide you, between waypoints, if YOU keep that line Vertical, You can't get lost PERIOD

As you get nearer to your waypoint, the line will become shorter, till it finally disappears. Only to reappear, full length, guiding you to your next waypoint.

One Cheat for the people with poor eyesight ( ME ) is to turn Labels Off (Ctrl+Shft+L ) soo the view isn't ruined by 6 British Trucks.
But leave the TAC on, as an early warning system.
When Enemy Aircraft appear on my TAC screen, Labels Hot, TAC off
Time To Party !!
NOTE: If you drag that TAC screen, to the Lower Left Corner of your screen, you just might be inclined to Leave it up
In the stock location it IS an immersion killer BAD
 
Gauges .......... HUD ..........Z

There are a complete set of Gauges, included is a compass that appears as it would have in WWI they are usable but they obliterate the Immersion, with it is the printed HUD ( F5 )



Along with the gauges, the printed HUD contains some goodies
1) a more accurate digital fuel gauge, than the dial Gauge in your cockpit.
If before combat it shows 87%, but after combat, it shows 84%.
You've got a leak friend, nothing to get excited about, but I'd start looking for someplace to land. You could attack another enemy aircraft, and run dry at 9000 feet. YOUR CHOICE
2) The ONLY ammo counter in the game. Sometimes it's nice to know when you only have 23 bullets, Before you attack 2 aircraft
The Printed Part CAN be dragged anywhere you want ( even off screen). But you need to attempt the drag, by the Left side edge ( anywhere else, it ain't gonna budge)

Those Gauges can be thrown over the side, selectively, they cycle as to function, then one by one vanish, and will stay vanished until You cycle them back
( control + shift + 1/2/3/4/5 )
You can drag the gauges, one by one and place them wherever you want, and they'll remain there until you move them

( Z ) appears to be a mass of numbers, which shows up in the upper-left corner of your screen. That mass of numbers contain lots of information.
It yields much more than F. P. S. used for Tweaking the Running.
It's your Speedo, Altimeter, Rate of Climb in Degrees + or -Latitude, Longitude and Compass Bearing in Degrees ( if you consider the TAC as a cheat, perhaps you might favor this )
A Clock . . usefull when your mission is to Patrol an area 13 minutes

That's where the gauges GET their information, I leave it up all the time, but I 'cheat' alot. The only time it leaves my screen, is for a Dogfight
It can't be dragged anywhere, what you see, is what you get
 
Gameplay

Quick Combat is where you practice and 'Hone' your skills

You control all the variables, please remember 'every airfield' is considered enemy. This shows what you 'should be doing'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYMZl...eature=related

In a P51 you flew at 400mph, and had six machine guns, whatever you hit, you destroyed. Now you fly at 110mph, with one machine gun, maybe two. Your target is mostly wood and canvas, if you fail to put a few bullets into the Pilot, the Fuel Tank, or the Engine. It could be a long day
It's a rather small aicraft, easily missed without the labels. This video towards the end, shows just how small it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtprTL66-FY

Your supply of ammo is limited, so get close, and only fire when you're sure you'll hit. Short Bursts Only
Also New for Phase 3 Gunjams just like the real thing. You have NO choice, there is NO way to Delete them
They were installed basically because that's the way it really was, in that time period
Toooo long a burst creates excessive heat, metal expands, and the weapon jams. There were many more parts to a machine gun in those days, many more places for a problem to occur. The round of ammo, had to be pushed backwords out of the belt,
Then chambered, due to the rimmed ammunition used. Why ? Metalurgy had not yet devised a case, which could be extracted after firing without a rim. It was 1917, Nevermind Curb Your Dog, there were horseapples everywhere, most roads were mud.
5 shots for a single gun is a good size burst, 10 you're living Dangerously
I've had my gun jam up, and I was being a Good Boy
Perhaps a bent bullet, or a flattened case, thing's happen. And I had a German Pilot in my sights, ready to send him to his maker, and my gun jammed. As it turned out, I died
Sometimes the jam will clear by itself, sometimes it won't. Some members have claimed success with performing High-G manuvers.
The same kind off manuvers as you might make, with an aircraft shooting at you, while your guns are jammed.
Anybody that played RB3D, looks for the "U" Key as it unjammed your guns, you can press it as much you want, it ain't gonna help

When you 'THINK' you're good, try Campaign. All missions are picked For You. All missions begin on the runway. You have a main purpose, Question is What is it?
Stay Alive
Do your Duty
Earn lots of Medals

The average Pilot in WWI, lasted 17 Hours . . CAN YOU ?

Every 5 Kills ( confirmed claims) they give you a medal.

You could drop an enemy aircraft at your CO's feet, the claim report must go to Home Office. Where it's at the mercy of the pencilpushers. How long ? A week, maybe two, just hope they didn't lose the report, it has happened.
As it stands now, you've got to provide alot of information on that claim report. If you want life to go alot smoother. Write down the names of your flying mates now, on some scrap paper, for possible use later

Sometimes they will reject the victory, you will be informed, what they say GOES
 
Sopwith Camel the Widowmaker

In the proper hands, it was a great weapon, if the pilot lived long-enough to learn it. In 1917 she killed so-many pilots, she was called the widowmaker. If you can get it up in the air, too steep a climb, it stalls. A tight turn at low speed, it stalls. A sharp turn to the left it climbs, a sharp turn to the right, it dives. If it turns too long, to the left, it stalls.
When you turn quickly to the right, if you're not expecting the dive, it's a killer.
High Rudder must be used in turns, when the aircraft is sideways, the rudder is used as a huge elevator.
It'll then turn tighter then anybody.
It then becomes a very dangerous weapon, with the twin guns, and the great sight.
IF you're still alive that is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtprTL66-FY

I'm a fan of the Sopwith Triplane, excellent visability, great low speed manuverability, but it's single gun, but that's enough if you hit your target
 
The Story Behind the Force Feedback Joystick

Now some people will disagree with this way of thinking, different opinions make the world go around. I don't see how in the name of all that's holy, you can fly an F18 Hornet, and a SE5 with the same Joystick. The Hornet can't vibrate at 585 MPH, it would self destruct. While the SE5 firing it's weapon, shakes like a washing machine on steroids. The only way to simutate it is with a Force Feedback Joystick. You'll feel the instant you're flying, instead of everything getting smaller. And most importantly you'll feel the stall coming, 1/2 second before it arrives, giving the pilot ample time to alter his activities, thus avoiding the stall. It could be a lifesaver.

Especially with WWI Birds, many times after take-off, you can attempt to gain altitude too quickly and stall. It's very easy, to change, just level out and build some speed, when you feel the 'Death Rattle'. Without Force Feedback, just stall and die.

In a Dogfight you might make one turn too many. You can maintain the attack and stall, and the Hunter becomes the Hunted. Or you can break off the attack, rebuild speed, and attack again. Without Force Feedback you don't have a choice.

The stall itself is just the lack of Flying, below a certain speed, it just stalls. The only way to recover with these low power engines, is to dive inorder to gain speed of air, over your wings and control surfaces. Not enough altitude . . you die.

The market is a bit limited in the Force Feedback Dept

New: The Saitek Cyclone EVO FFB
http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-Cyborg-...913137&sr=1-18
Which I like, very comfortable, just looks strange
OR
The Logitech Force 3D
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Force...913531&sr=1-28
 
Assorted World War 1 Goodies

http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/ New York active museum

http://capphotography.fotopic.net/c1313799.html Great Pictures

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...3/m/9741007085 Knock you sox off Pictures

http://richthofen.com/rickenbacker/ On Line Book

http://www.patrickwilson.com/annals/book.html On Line Book

http://richthofen.com/ On Line Book

http://www.raindesert.com/great_war/great_war_index.htm U tube WWI
in the AIR. . . . NOW you will only access a list, but all the film clips still exist on U-tube, but you'll need to search for them for yourself. I would suggest printing out the List Itself
Then entering the number and the title together in the SEARCH . . . Example 115 Lanoe Hawker
The guy who put the clips together, is making a documentary now. Time was you could Hilite the Clip, and it appeared on your screen

http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-color.html Very informative of the period

http://www.wwiaviation.com/toc.shtml Illustrated History of WWI

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/av...-training.html Pilot Training RFC

http://www.earlyaviator.com/archive1.htm B&W Photos of old Birds

http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/node Great Site if you speak German

http://www.aviastar.org/index2.html Lots of Aircraft all Era's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYMZl...eature=related Rules for Air Engagements
Over Flanders Fields, OFFICIAL F.A.Q.
http://www.overflandersfields.com/FAQ.htm
 
Trackir Goodies . . Real WWI Pilots Speak . . Talking to Your Wingmen

http://trackir.info/instruction.htm How to set up Trackir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AO0F5sLdVM What is Trackir
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Click on Credits, and just sit and Listen ( make sure your speakers work )
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In 1917 the Radios were too big, and too bulky for these aircraft.
None had electrical systems anyway. I've heard that towards the end of the war, some
british aircraft had small battery powered, map reading lights
All comunication once airborne was via hand signal. If you were too busy scanning the
skys for enemy aircraft, you never saw your flight leader's hand signals
 
Screen Resolution


I know this doesn't make and sense whatsoever, but it's true, OFF runs smoother at higher resilutions.
Don't take my word for it, leave( Z ) up, your FPS gauge

Normaly what Limits you is your monitor, because today's Video Cards can go way up there

My 22" LCD can support 1680 X 1050 sooo that's what I run
 
Video Performance
Makes No difference if you're running a Pentium 4 in AGP, or a Quad in Vista 64. The maximum slider setting for Terrian and Scenery is 4, some of the newest most powerful can run maxed out, but it'll look just as good on 4, plus you won't encounter any unexplainable problems down the road.
Also if you check your FPS ( Z ), it'll be higher on 4

A bit of troubleshooting you can do yourself. Firstly if things start looking strange, back off on all your sliders

If you can play Quick Flight, but NOT Campaign
Your Computer MUST think in English, however it also must be USA, UK, or South Africa. Take Heed you guys in OZ


Quick Combat is where you practice and "Hone" your skills, as you control everthing.
Campaign is meant to be real.


The Configuration accesable from desktop is CFS3 not OFF
My Computer>Drive'C'>Program Files>Microsoft Games>CFSWWI OFF> The file w/ Wrench
 
Clouds
The Clouds in OFF are like No Clouds you've experienced in any other sim.
Wispy, Misty Clouds are OK.
But stay out of those thick, excellent to seek safety in, take a shortcut through the cloud, Clouds.

The Big Pillowy ones contain some violent up drafts, down drafts, and crosswinds.
747s experience turbulance in these clouds.
P51s get buffited
You in your canvas and wood aircraft, stay out of Clouds

If you're running to save your butt, being chased by six aircraft, duck into the first heavy cloud you see, but when you do, hold your crucifix in your free hand. If you have a better rate of climb than they do, I'd try that first.

Some people Disable the Clouds in Config. Overides, even that doesn't help sometimes

To my eye, those Clouds LOOK the same, with that slider on 1 or 5. Some think there's a difference, and run on 3
But unless you have computer power to spare, there's no good reason to run it up on 5
 
Auto Trim ( Aussie Autopilot )
Technically there is NO autopilot, because there is No electrical system.
Autopilot Devices Did Exist in 1917, however they were much too expensive, to take to WAR



Some aircraft could adjust their trim in flight, some could only be adjusted by the aircraft mechanic on the ground, some didn't feature the ability to adjust the trim PERIOD

If you can spend the time, but you don't wish the stick time, it ain't legit but it works SOMEWHAT, SOMETIMES
Point the aircraft in the proper direction, nose high, in a slight climb.
Then repeatedly press Ctrl+A, until you get the desired results
Sometimes it dives
Sometimes it climbs
Sometimes it Flys in circles
Sometimes it Flys straight, all by itself
Guess it's all in the touch . . Practice makes Perfect
 
Whilst attempting to create a 'Neatness' out of a pile of printed Garbage, I came upon these, They're the tweeks suggested by Winding Man, when Phase 2 was brand new. If the guy that wrote the game doesn't know, who would ???

TWEEKS in OFF Configs ( File with Wrench )

Overrides settings:

Disable Intro Movie ( after a few views, it gets tired ) Personal Opinion of mine
High Resolution Z Buffer ( deselect Dual Pass Render )
Terrian Detail Texture
Disable Validate Device
Disable Write-Only Vertex Buffers
Disable Write-Only Index Buffers

Texture Info:

Composite Terrian Texture Usage ....... Render Target
Composite Terrian Texture Pool .......... Managed

Composite Aircraft Texture Usage ....... Render Target
Composite Aircraft Texture Pool .......... Managed

THAT'S WITH A NVIDIA CARD
 
Becoming the Ultimate Tourist

If you are so inclined, or if you fancy yourself a bit of Barnstormer, or just wish to fly around with a window seat. All are possible within OFF.

A completely detailed LONDON Exists, with tower bridge, Big Ben, St. Paul's, the Naval Observetory, Bittersea Power Plant. Everything that was on the Thames in 1916 is at your disposal. So if you just wish to observe, or like a disrespecting Yank, fly under the roadway of Tower Bridge, shooting rockets at Big Ben. Who's to know ?
Start OFF > Workshop > CFS3QC > Go to Field > Clic on Quick Combat - Left Side
Menu slides out from side: Type of Flight . . FREE
Aircraft . . . yours to pick, and of course the apropraite type of fireworks
Location . . . British Fields England
City . . . . Sutton Farms
Take-off from the runway. fly South to the River Thames
Fly along the river headed West
 
Different Ways of Killing Your Engine

It really makes No difference in the game, because if the enemy didn't set your aircraft on fire in the air, there's no way you're going to burst into flames on the ground. However IF in 1917 you stopped your prop from turning under power by retarding your Magneto 3 times. Your engine will indeed stop running, but now you will continue pumping a mixture of aviation fuel and air, or aviation fuel and Castor oil to a Red Hot Air cooled engine without it running. NOT A GOOD IDEA

On a modern aircraft engine, when the engine stops running, the fuel pump stops pressurizing, and everything comes to a halt.

But in 1917 there was NO fuel pump, air was pressurized by the pilot, via a bicycle pump deal atop the fuel in the tank. Which can explain your engine just stopping, without a fuel leak. An air leak, like from one bullet hole, means you can pump till you're blue in the face, but that engine is gonna stop.

The only SAFE way to stop that engine is via Mixture Idle Cutoff, problem being that's 3 Keystrokes (Ctrl+Shft+F6). Which is a definate candidate for a little work in Control Options

I'm just amazed at how many people, recommend the Magneto method to newbies. Then rave about Immersion

I guess it just comes easier to me, I've never flown a modern engined aircraft
 
Machine Gun through a turning propellor

To some this is ridiculously basic, to others it's a revalation.

In 1915 a French Pilot by the name of 'Roland Garros' decided that the ability of a pilot to fire his machine gun at the enemy, would be a good idea, formerly it meant shooting off your own propellor, not a fair trade.
Granted the Nieuport 11 existed, but it was difficult to aim, and impossible to reload in flight. So Roland abit of a nut, attached Heavy Steel Bullet Deflecting Wedges on his propellor, at the point of bullet impact. Don't want to be his wing man, thank you. And let the ball roll with his Hotchkiss Machine Gun.

He was Big Man on Campus, till engine failure forced him down, behind enemy lines, he tried to burn his steed, but the Germans found out the secret to his success.

That started the Race to develop a system by which the pilot could fire his Machine Gun at his enemy, in direct line of sight, without shooting off your own propeller.

That led to the interupter gear, a system of cams, and control rods, which prevented the gun from firing, when the propeller was in the line of fire. It saved alot of spining propellers, but it must have caused alot of jam-ups too.

The first aircraft equiped with the interrupter gear was the Fokker EIII. Wing warping and all, but it could fire through it's own prop, that made it a very effective weapon.

It must've slowed the rate of fire, when compared to the earthbound weapon. But who cared

But as it was in War, aircraft get shot down, and the secret no longer was.

And the Race is On
 
The Finer Points of WARP



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

If it states say: 23 miles, you may elect to Warp the first 18, and fly the rest. You achieved 15,000 the easy way, now you want control.
Easily Done . .with the Cancel Warp Command ( Control+X )

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

The reverse is true in 1915, or early 1916, or in a quiet sector.
I've engaged warp for that first leg of the mission, and flown five waypoints in about 30 seconds, landed and headed for the Officers Mess. Sooo your computer hasn't gone around the bend, it has been known to happen. If there's No enemy contact, Warp continues
__________________
 
Royal Australian Flying Corps

Used to have a Link (that worked) to an articale termed: 'The Royal Austrailian Flying Corps' which spoke of the utterly unbelievable things that the instructor would teach his pupils about how to make good your escape, when absolutely needed, and if the enemy tried to follow, he'd kill himself in the process. To illustrate the tactic, he took an SE5a up to 15000 did a nose down total Dive at Full throttle.
Hit 285mph and sucessfully pulled out at 700 feet
Theory being the SE5a, could stand that type of abuse. While anything the German's had couldn't

The speedometers of 1917 Didn't go that high, so the cadets were told to "Watch for the Ripples" of the cloth covering their lower wing
1 Ripple was 250mph
2 Ripple was 265mph
3 Ripple was 280mph
There is NO 4th Ripple, the wings rip off

I just Did it, in BHAH . . It'll clear your sinuses real good, especially with Trackir. But after 250mph, you don't need it anymore, as you won't be looking around much if atall anymore.

Thank God, I didn't need to 'Watch for the Ripples" You could use the F5 gauges, just the speedo & altmeter, throw the rest over the side. Or do it like I did, and just use (Z)

Go QC FreeFlight. . start at 15000. . Auto-Mixture in Worshop . . SE5a Pilot

PS. . Don't try it with your good pilot . .you just might kill him :kilroy:
 
KEYBOARD Use in OFF

Those functions marked with an ******* should be converted to single keystoke in Control . Because at a moments notice, you don't want to be messing around with 3 keys, also it's one heck of lot easier for your joystick to accept a single command, than a macro.

There are many single key commands, not used in OFF that can be utilized this way
Flaps Up & Down .............. F & V
Gear ................................ G
Brakes ..............................B
That's 4, right there, I believe there's 9
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mixture Full Rich . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+F7 **************
Mixture Increase . . . . . . . . Ctrl =
Mixture Decrease. . . . . . . . Ctrl -
Mixture Idle Cutoff . . . . . . .Ctrl+Shft+F6 ************
Aircraft Labels . . . . . . . . . .Ctrl+Shft+L ************
Virtual Cockpit . . . . . . . . . .Unassigned ****************
Float View . . . . . . . . . . . . Shft+F6
Disappearing Cockpit . . . . . F3.. . . . Place yourself in the V.C, first, want Gunsite .. F5
Start Engine . . . . . . . . . . . E
TAC Screen. . . . . . . . . . . Shft+T
TAC Targets . . . . . . . . . . . T
TAC View Range . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+T ************
Fly-By View . . . . . . . . . . . Shft+F9
Auto Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . Ctrl+A ( Austrailian Autopilot )
Select Weapon . . . . . . . . . Back
Fire Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . Enter
Machine Guns . . . . . . . . . . Spacebar
Bomb/Rocket View . . . . . . . F9 *****Trackir Conflict
WARP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .X
Cancel WARP . . . . . . . . . . .Ctrl+X
HUD w/Gauges . . . . . . . . . .F5
Gauges Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+1/2/3/4/5
Emergency Brake . . . . . . . . Ctrl+Shft+B
Dive Brakes Strutter . . . . . . D
Bomb Bay Doors Strutter . . . Shft+B
Windshield on N17 . . . . . . . .Shft+C
Reload Lewis Gun N17 . . . . . Shft+C also the SE5a. Doesn't actually reload anything ( Just for Show)
Advance 1 Waypoint . . . . . .Shft+W
FPS and lots of info . . . . . . .Z. . . . . Red Jumble of numbers. . Upper Left of screen
Maps in Cockpit . . . . . . . . . F7
Bombsite in SHORT . . . . . . . F7 . . . Phase 3 Doesn't Feature a SHORT
Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M
Pilot & Iron Sights . . . . . . . .F6
Rear Gunner . . . . . . . . . . . .F8
Zoom IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]
Zoom OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[
Why Bail Out - Got NO Chute
WINGMAN COMMANDS
Attack . . . A
Rejoin . . . .R
Help . . . . .H
Split . . . . .S

Make a Blip Switch from F10 & F11. . 10% & 100% Throttle

That's Better
 
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