"Over the Coast" - Phase 3 preview movie

Please leave the fulll video posted for a few days as my dowmload limit is reached till the 21 November. The throttles speed will not even let me view the youtube version.

Cheers
 
Hello,
first this is a very good video, thanks for this ! Then a plane that caught fire really seems to go down now - is it b.t.w. possible to extinguish flames on your own plane in cutting off fuel and make a vertical dive, at least sometimes ?

All looks even more real than in phase 2, the coast really looks great, and the whole film is quite atmospheric. :applause:

One question however about the AI ... when one of the Albs is hit, it does not instantly evade, but more or less flies on with the same turn radius it had before - and near the end there are two Camels firing at the D.V but he even keeps stubbornly going on straight. As it is modelled in every flight sim i had, right from the Blue Max days, the Camel is a better turner, whatever, but an Albatros pilot should at least make a hard manoeuver, like turn his plane upside down instantly, and evade the next shots with a dive, or change direction - those birds were not that lame ?

Anyway real good one, thanks and greetings,
Catfish
 
Hi Catfish,
I set the Albatros pilots to Rookie so as to be easier to take them down and show you how good the effects are now. Trust me, when the AI is set to vetran or Ace, they can fly rings around anyone and do take agressive avoiding action when necessary.

Hi Marklaur,
Its on my host server and will stay there for as long as its needed.
 
Hopefully, the pilot AI is either randomly generated or the sim tracks all squadrons on the front and their rosters and rates each pilot that flies missions along the front. Hopefully, too, it would update those ratings as pilots gained experience (i.e., performed more missions, shot down more aircraft) according to a particular formula. Is this the case?
 
Hi Jenkins:
I should have mentioned I shot the video in Quick Combat mode, not Campaign mode. In QC mode you can set the pilot/AI skill levels.

As for how the skill levels work throughout a campaign - I don't know - I've not lasted long enough to find out :icon_lol:
 
AI is based on real squadron data and given a "rating" Then the AI in that squadron will vary accordingly. Aces are always aces of course, so you could get a bunch of novice pilots out with an Ace in a poor squadron for example.

Maybe Phase 5 we can have individual AI persona tracking, not yet... although their kill tally can rise and claims etc.

Just wait and see nearly there. . . .
 
More than enough that is, Pol, great ! There will be a lot of variety and unexpected outcome. I don't think, the variety of the AI will be a problem now, but ours! I'm shure, you all are doing a marvellous job! Cheers; Olham
 
BLEEECHH!!!
Zat iz der dirty Krunpet PROPAGANDA!!! Vat iz dat red unt vite stripes? Looks like der flyink Barber shoppe! Zere vuz no Popcorn zerved mit der movie!! I vill komplain to der Management! OvS

Great comment, Otto; my wingman and I have just been laughing buckets full about you; even looked up "crumpet" in the dictionary. More, please !
 
Hello,
:icon_lol:
Etymology:
Crumpets were an Anglo-Saxon invention. In early times, they were hard pancakes cooked on a griddle, rather than the soft and spongy crumpets of the Victorian era which were made with yeast. The crumpet-makers of the Midlands and London developed the characteristic holes, by adding extra baking powder to the yeast dough. The term itself may refer to a crumpled or curled-up cake, or have Celtic origins relating to the Breton krampoez meaning a "thin, flat cake" and the Welsh crempog or crempot, a type of pancake. Since many English words have Germanic roots, another possible root is the similar German word krumm (from Middle High German krump, krum) which means "bent".

I just hope Otto von Stachel does not mean the american urban slang krumpet ..hrrrm.. :kilroy:

Greetings,
Catfish
 
This word 'Crumpet' should not be confused with the English slang word meaning, an attrative young lady, a nice bit of talent, tottie, etc etc. There are of course other expressions not suitable for this forum.
 
One question however about the AI ... when one of the Albs is hit, it does not instantly evade, but more or less flies on with the same turn radius it had before - and near the end there are two Camels firing at the D.V but he even keeps stubbornly going on straight. As it is modelled in every flight sim i had, right from the Blue Max days, the Camel is a better turner, whatever, but an Albatros pilot should at least make a hard manoeuver, like turn his plane upside down instantly, and evade the next shots with a dive, or change direction - those birds were not that lame ?

Catfish

This does not surprise me at all and, in fact, is likely quite realistic. It's very easy to imagine a rookie pilot getting struck with "deer in the headlights" syndrome when he's first attacked. So frightened, surprised, and disoriented that he can't move, he makes no change in his direction at all. Must have been quite satisfying for the veterans to come across those poor guys.
 
Nice flying.. nice (s)kills.. nice scenery.. nice cockpit.. and nice landing ... good movie..
:wiggle:
However, it is with some trepidation Sandbagger ,that I have to point out the fact that it was raining quite heavily and not even enough blue sky to patch a sailors trousers and yet:kilroy:
There were very pronounced shadows on the ground.. clearly visible at takeoff and landing and when the Albatross glided into the sea..:173go1: Now I dont care must because its pretty good stuff .. but I just thought I'd mention it.. and if you're doing the beta you might just mention that the shadows could maybe be turned off when its pouring with rain.. I think:kilroy:
 
I dont know why..but every time i watch a preview vid i have this stupid grin on my face :costumes:.
Nice vid sand!
 
Yes, it's a great video. Nice job.

Something occurred to me while I was watching. When the large group of enemy planes is encountered, the pilot switches easily from one target to the next, never really sticking with one target for too long. And it works out really well for him.

I found this interesting because in the back of my mind I remember a rule from Boelke's Ditka (or somewhere) about sticking with a target once engaged. I myself do that. When I first go after someone, I don't break off until I see him go down, even if I see other targets flying by. After watching your video, I think I may be more likely to break off and go for a different target now and then.

What do you guys do? Do you fly from one target to the next, or do you stick with one until he's down, then go to the next? I may have to rethink my approach.
 
Hello BaronMyBuns,

you wrote:
"Something occurred to me while I was watching. When the large group of enemy planes is encountered, the pilot switches easily from one target to the next, never really sticking with one target for too long. And it works out really well for him. "

"The Dogfight
George A. Vaughn, a veteran of
many aerial battles, was the secondranking
American ace to survive the
war. He scored seven victories while
he was attached to the Royal Flying
Corps and six more with the American
Expeditionary Forces.
Most people seem to think a dogfight
is just two airplanes going round and
round and round for minutes and
minutes at a time until one shoots
the other down. As a rule, it didn't
work out that way because there
were so many in the sky that you
jumped from one to the other, and
two or three of them shot at you, not
just one. You shot at four or fiveanybody
you could get your sights on
-and then another one. It was usually
just two or three bursts, and
then maybe you were on another fellow
or maybe somebody was on you
by this time. That's the way it was.
The atmosphere was more or less
a sporting one in those days. I suppose
it was the last time that there
would really be such a thing as, you
might say, hand-to-hand combat in
the air. Although we flew in formation,
when the actual combat came it
\vas strictly a one-man proposition.​
Everybody was by himself
..."

That is what it was like in the earlier part of the war. In late 1917 and 18 there were squadron tactics which were pretty similar on both sides, but you will not see it in phase 2.


I would prefer to stay glued to the back of an enemy, and it certainly works in Phase 2. No enemy will really harass you when you stay glued to an enemy's tail - but that is not how it really would have been - and not how it hopefully will be in phase 3.

In reality i would try to survive :kilroy:.

In phase 2 i go for one enemy during the first encounter. In phase 2 he will then go down and circle close to the ground. I will try to keep my altitude and get for the enemy that is next to me altitude-wise. Often i will not have to go for another, because the whole flight leaves the stage to circle low above the ground, eventually crashing. I can then pick one somewhere below me and strafe him in a dive, instantly gaining height and looking around. Not very sporty, or realistic.
In phase 2 you have to keep firing at one plane, because you will mostly have to empty your whole magazine into it to really shoot it down. You do not have to though. With time at your hands just keep circling above and just watch them crash. You will certainly not raise your score that way ..

Greetings,
Catfish
 
What do you guys do? Do you fly from one target to the next, or do you stick with one until he's down, then go to the next? I may have to rethink my approach.

It is neither wise nor prudent to stick to a target until they're down in a typical multi-plane dogfight. Jink a lot, never fly straight, hit EA when you can in an opportunistic manner (short bursts are the only time you fly straight in order to aim .... or shoot off a few deflections :)) and always look behind and below as often as possible.

The idea is to weaken the enemy's resolve or damage the enemy pilot/aircraft to the point they will forcibly or otherwise leave the engagement thus evening up your odds.

Once the odds are level, and you have survived in reasonable shape, then you can have some fun !

Simple :d

Or cock a snoot and just speed away in the seriously fast Se5a/Spad.
 
I stick on one plane and watch my back. The key is to fire only on a distance smaller than 100 yards. If you chase an aircraft which is not "wounded" it will do many manuevers to get you outta its tail thus making difficult for a 3rd plane to get behind YOU and start shooting you.(provided you are close to the enemy and you are ALLWAYS behind him) So hold your fire and get closer and closer and closer...just have patience. When the range is small, fire the gun(s) and he will go down in a blink of an eye. Aim for the engine or the rudder (rudder shooting is pretty efficient). Once he loses control, break sideways/zoom, check your six once again (you have been doing this the whole time eh? :kilroy:) and hunt for more prey...I use this strategy with my Se5 which has a strong engine and can catch up with all Huns.
Now if you have a more manoueverable plane..if the enemy is banking on the right trying to slip away, have your crosshairs in front of him and bank with the same angle. In that way, you will make a smaller circle thus getting you again closer to him. Then do the same as above.
But if you are playing with allies take the Se5 which is the way to go :ernae:.
The bottom line of course is to make your own tactics. People have different characters so they fly in different way :d.

And yes, Pol! Define "nearly" :costumes:
 
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