Your Go-To WWI FlightSim of the moment

sandman2575 · August 07, 2014, 03:46:11 PM

I've been playing a ton of ROF lately -- it's just a gem of a sim in so many respects. The "Beta" campaign is a little lack-luster however -- it's nice, but not great. I've been trying to get the hang of the Pat Wilson Campaign Generator -- which (and all credit to the guy for putting this together -- for free) feels pretty rough around the edges and slightly immersion-killing.

So i've been back and forth wondering if I should finally take the plunge on WOFF. I've read a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of ROF vs. WOFF, and now that WOFF has been out for a while, I'm wondering what y'all think -- for your single-player experience, what's your go-to:

ROF + PWCG

or

WOFF

?

ArizonaTank · August 07, 2014, 04:00:06 PM

ROF is really hard to beat in my book. The career mode is really where I stay. While I only played the older version of Flander's Field, I did not like that it was tied so closely to MS Combat Simulator. Apparently WOFF still is.

jomni · August 07, 2014, 05:04:24 PM

WOFF is really hard to beat in my book. The campaign is simply outstanding.

Grim.Reaper · August 07, 2014, 06:23:11 PM

Although I wish it did not have the Combat Flight Sim 3 pre-requirement, I have enjoyed WOFF more than ROF...I like them both, but just find the experience more immersive with WOFF.

sandman2575 · August 07, 2014, 06:32:06 PM

It really seems to boil down to a contest between ROF's amazing graphics & flight models vs. WOFF's amazing immersion.

I should probably just bite the bullet and try WOFF but I'm a sucker for eye-candy and suspect that I won't be able to get past the visual downgrade from ROF. Also, not owning MSFS makes it easy to hold off buying WOFF. (Is it still the case that you have to have the MSFS CD in your drive while playing WOFF? Another turn-off, although a tiny one).

Nefaro · August 07, 2014, 06:52:43 PM

Quote from: jomni on August 07, 2014, 05:04:24 PM
WOFF is really hard to beat in my book. The campaign is simply outstanding.

This.

WOFF for a great single-player campaign experience.

While ROF is fun, I found myself far more addicted to flying careers in WOFF.

Nefaro · August 07, 2014, 07:13:01 PM

Quote from: sandman2575 on August 07, 2014, 06:32:06 PM
It really seems to boil down to a contest between ROF's amazing graphics & flight models vs. WOFF's amazing immersion.

I should probably just bite the bullet and try WOFF but I'm a sucker for eye-candy and suspect that I won't be able to get past the visual downgrade from ROF. Also, not owning MSFS makes it easy to hold off buying WOFF. (Is it still the case that you have to have the MSFS CD in your drive while playing WOFF? Another turn-off, although a tiny one).

You still need a copy of Combat Flight Simulator 3. But if you install it on your computer, WOFF will run without needing the CD or DVD (neither) in the computer. I bought the CD-ROM version from Amazon for around $8.

While the old engine doesn't have some of the later DirectX effects of ROF, it doesn't look horrible. Especially if you drop the DX9 mod in, which I highly recommend. You still get "poster" clouds, although they actually look better from a distance than the volumetric "cotton balls" in others. Since the game has so much going on in the campaign environment (down to troops on the ground firing at each other!), it's very CPU intensive so you can't use time compression too much or it'll get bogged down. I can set my 'autopilot' on and use 4x TC without too much fuss, but beyond that it gets chunky. Still, I take the time to look around for enemy planes and watch artillery falling on the lines while doing so. It's detailed damage model also isn't near as detailed as ROF (although ROF has that invincible fuselage thing where you have to generally kill enemy planes by shooting their wings off, which isn't a historical thing). WOFF is missing the odd modern bell or whistle regarding the game engine, but not enough to bother me since the experience as a whole is great.

I haven't played a flight sim as much as WOFF since the old Microprose games in my youth (Gunship, F-19 Stealth Fighter, etc). While it has some drawbacks due to the old engine, it has almost no resemblance to CSF3 anymore. The extensively modeled world you fly around in is a rare and immersive thing. It's my go-to flight sim for pure campaign fun.

You also get a LOT of flyable aircraft with the game. No buying them individually. Although, after discovering how much I enjoyed the sim, I did go buy the extra skins pack to fill out a bunch more specific pilot's art (the money reportedly goes to the modders who did them).

Some of my WOFF screenshots from earlier this year:

Here's a screenshot of ROF (which I still enjoy, just not so much in a continual sense):

Nefaro · August 07, 2014, 07:24:25 PM

Some of my short WOFF dogfight vids, in case you missed them in the Video thread.

They don't show the campaign layer stuff (that's actually a separate program that then switches to the 3D engine seamlessly) or the stuff you see while patrolling, bombing, etc. But at least it shows you the game in the depths of action, along with some of the differing AI pilot behaviors (the vids against historical aces are definitely more demanding.. I almost got killed in both of the ones I recorded).

https://www.youtube.com/user/NefariousKoel/videos

RyanE · August 07, 2014, 07:37:22 PM

I was interested in WOFF until I saw the requirements and the laptop disclaimer around them. ROF runs fairly well on my mid-level laptop at medium settings and looks great. I see no point in buying a game that has such severe requirements. That's including needing CFS3 to run.

sandman2575 · August 07, 2014, 08:15:38 PM

Appreciate the feedback, fellas.

Nef -- OBD should hire you as their spokesman. Your detailed write-up is a big help -- many thanks. I'm close to dropping MCFS3 in my Amazon shopping cart to get the WOFF ball rolling based on your recommendation -- my wallet says "NO! ROF is perfectly good!" (and it is -- it's great in fact) -- but the pull of a truly immersive campaign is hard to resist.

I love the skies in your WOFF pix -- way better than anything I've seen in ROF -- I agree, the volumetric clouds leave a lot to be desired (while also taxing your GPU unduly)

Gusington · August 07, 2014, 08:29:54 PM

^Don't pay more than 8-10 dollars for CFS3.

sandman2575 · August 07, 2014, 09:29:00 PM

it's $10 currently on Amazon & it bugs me that I have to buy it if I want WOFF -- this is the first time i've been tempted to try downloading a cracked game >:D Don't worry I won't -- MS can have their $10, bastards.

TacticalWargames · August 07, 2014, 09:56:41 PM

WOFF is probably my favourite slight sim I've ever played ( I own ROF aswell and for me WOFF is much better again because of the single player aspect). It caters for the single player experience and doe sit very well indeed. Also an expansion is in the works which will have Zeppelins!!

Toonces · August 08, 2014, 12:43:05 AM

RoF looks wonderful and flies like a dream. I love the water droplets on the goggles going through a cloud, and the oil as well.

But WoFF is a far better single player game. TW is right. It's definitely one of my top 3 flight sims of all time.

TacticalWargames · August 08, 2014, 01:42:46 AM

Quote from: RyanE on August 07, 2014, 07:37:22 PM
I was interested in WOFF until I saw the requirements and the laptop disclaimer around them. ROF runs fairly well on my mid-level laptop at medium settings and looks great. I see no point in buying a game that has such severe requirements. That's including needing CFS3 to run.

Loads more going on at the same time than in ROF. Also may have something to do wih CFS3 aswell...