I've heard lots about this sim, but never actually played it.
Now it has a new release to celebrate its 20th birthday. Well not a new release as in a new game, but its now on Steam! ;D
It doesn't look too bad either. Probably gives insane framerates which is great for MP action.
At 15 euros I am going to try it.
Any of you simmers among us have any experience with WB? Care to share some tips?
Not to steal the thread, but I just got an email from WWII Online (Battleground Europe), and it is also still alive and kicking. I believe original release was 1999.
But back to WarBirds, I played it about 10 years ago and had a great time. Maybe I will try it again.
I would pay extra for a more mature gaming community. And maybe that is what these old warhorses offer.
WWII Online?
I can still remember all the broken promises and missed potential. I thought it was a great idea and had some fun even while it suffered growing pains.
Quote from: Swatter on October 05, 2015, 05:37:15 PM
Warbirds?
I can still remember all the broken promises and missed potential.
Fixed it for you. I played from about 96 to 2001. Tried it one time about 5 years ago and it didn't seem any better. Owner stopped caring about pleasing customers and just did anything to make money.
Best part of WWIIOnline was the automated forum censor they used that brought such wonderful words into play as "hecko" and "cirbodilyfluidstances" and "chickenpit" and "armor asian".
Well, that seemed a waste of 15 euro's. :(
The game is truely a dinosaur. Its menu system is clunky and I don't know what they did with the trailer, but the graphics are much sharper and much less jagged there than I've seen in the game.
On top of that once I am in the pit my mouse is screwed and only works in the top left corner of the screen until I kill WB.
Their forums seem pretty Dead too AND you aparently need to get a sub to unlock all features. That seems like far too much of a trouble to sort out.
Quote from: Bardolph on October 05, 2015, 11:00:57 PM
Best part of WWIIOnline was the automated forum censor they used that brought such wonderful words into play as "hecko" and "cirbodilyfluidstances" and "chickenpit" and "armor asian".
Don't forget 'Female Dogging'.
Sorry to hear about your blown cash, Ys. I never played it, but I also never heard anything good about it since the old days.
I'm an Aces High 2 man. If you're interested in online MMO-type air combat you might want to give that a look. I believe they offer a free 2-week trial to see if it works for you.
I don't play it anymore. There are so many free options for online air combat now that I don't think AH2 warrants the $15 a month.
Sorry to hear about the lost $$. FWIW...I used to play WB quite a bit back in the day, and mostly enjoyed it. Although it WAS possible to "game" the multiplayer experience (ie: ram your airplane into a bomber, kamikaze into a flak unit, fly heavy bombers, etc with lots of gunners (known as "deathstars") etc) most of the sessions I played were with moderate-to-serious combat flight simmers. I think this was because the game wasn't very "flashy", and you did need to have some virtual piloting skills (not to mention a joystick) so you tended not to have very many griefers / trolls. Two of the things I favorably remember was artillery spotting from a WWI recon plane (a task which required you to fire spotting rounds, make adjustments using x y coordindates, spotting again, then finally firing for effect - an experience which I don't think has been replicated, again), and the concepts behind "taking over" an enemy base (which included softening up the airbase, destroying AA guns & vehicles, and finally dropping troops. Meaning - you HAD to work together as a team, or you would never win).
Yskonyn -- don't forget about Steam's new refund policy. If you put less than 2 hours into it, you should be able to get your euros back...
Quote
You can request a refund for nearly any purchase on Steam—for any reason. Maybe your PC doesn't meet the hardware requirements; maybe you bought a game by mistake; maybe you played the title for an hour and just didn't like it.
It doesn't matter. Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any reason, if the request is made within fourteen days of purchase, and the title has been played for less than two hours. There are more details below, but even if you fall outside of the refund rules we've described, you can ask for a refund anyway and we'll take a look.
You will be issued a full refund of your purchase within a week of approval. You will receive the refund in Steam Wallet funds or through the same payment method you used to make the purchase. If, for any reason, Steam is unable to issue a refund via your initial payment method, your Steam Wallet will be credited the full amount. (Some payment methods available through Steam in your country may not support refunding a purchase back to the original payment method.
http://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/
Thanks Steve, I'll certainly apply for a refund then! O0
@Toonces, thanks for the tip. I guess you're right, there are a lot of options, but I was hoping for a more sim-like experience, with a healthy community.
Rise of Flight is a great title, but I am looking for something WW2.
Check out AH2 then. It really is best if you get into a good squad. I lucked into a squad early on of a bunch of ex-military, like-minded guys and played with them for about 2 years solid. It was almost all I did. Eventually the group broke up due to real life issues and I lasted about 2 more months solo before I quit. I started again about a year later and lasted another month or so solo before I quit for good.
If you find a group that you enjoy flying with it is just way more fun.
Oh boy, what a trip down memory lane.
I flew Warbirds from 1996-2000. It was my first mmpg, and it was fantastic. The teams were colors, consisting of Red, Green, Purple and Gold. Long live Goldlandia!
Back in the stone ages of the late 1990's, we paid $2/hr. to play Warbirds. No, I'm not kidding. And we all thought they were nuts when they changed to a $29.99/month pricing plan. It was quite the bargain after paying $2/hr.
There was some internal strife at ICI Games, and one half of the team left to form HiTech Creations, the developers of Aces High 2. I followed them and played AH2 from 2000-2006. At the same time, I also played WWII Online before it became Battleground Europe.
If you're looking for a good WWII online flight sim, AH2 is a good bet. The people there are mostly good sticks and serious simmers.
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 06, 2015, 12:32:38 PM
Thanks Steve, I'll certainly apply for a refund then! O0
@Toonces, thanks for the tip. I guess you're right, there are a lot of options, but I was hoping for a more sim-like experience, with a healthy community.
Rise of Flight is a great title, but I am looking for something WW2.
If you like rise of flight and your looking for WWII, you should look at IL2 battle of Stalingrad. The game has had a ton of improvements with Summer maps releasing the end of the month. It's going for 60 bucks on steam and they have quarterly half off steam sales. There's a fair amount of guys flying online, and they are in the process of transferring over pat wilson's campaign system to improve the sp game. It's eastern front so, it will be a while before they get to a western front map, but they just released the p-40e1 last week.
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.
I think I might try my hands on AH2. O0
BoS is a fine sim (at least now it has become), but I am not really interested in its setting at the moment.
CloD with the Team Fusion patches is getting praise too -and I already have that title-, so perhaps I should also look there.
BTW The Steam refund got through; my 15 euros have returned into my pocket. ;)
Thanks again for the tip!
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 07, 2015, 03:31:46 PM
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.
I think I might try my hands on AH2. O0
BoS is a fine sim (at least now it has become), but I am not really interested in its setting at the moment.
CloD with the Team Fusion patches is getting praise too -and I already have that title-, so perhaps I should also look there.
BTW The Steam refund got through; my 15 euros have returned into my pocket. ;)
Thanks again for the tip!
Glad you got your refund! I have to say, if you're looking to the past for WW2 action ( in terms of games), then isn't IL2 1946 worth a (re)visit?
Quote from: ArizonaTank on October 05, 2015, 04:59:28 PM
Not to steal the thread, but I just got an email from WWII Online (Battleground Europe), and it is also still alive and kicking. I believe original release was 1999.
Original release was June 6 2001. I was there...
To say this game is 'alive and kicking' is a serious overstatement.
Certainly IL-2 is a better SP experience.
I've never done IL-2 online, but I'm sure it is awesome. The downside, though, is that with the myriad mods available I imagine it is very difficult to find a compatible server.
AH2 has the advantage of being online all the time, with everyone on a level playing field. Where AH2 really falls short IMO is that the global servers, I can't remember what they're called now but the most popular one, is a Late War server that features the whole planeset, 3 fictional countries on a fictional map, with no restrictions as to what plane you choose to fly individually. What this means practically is that you can easily be flying an F-4U for example and come up against an enemy P-47 or P-51. There is no attempt at historical match ups.
Now then, from a pure dogfighting perspective this is fine as it encourages you to really understand the strengths and weaknesses of your plane. This in and of itself can last you years. There are some terribly good pilots on AH2, some of whom have specialized in a specific plane for a very long time, and will kick your ass no matter what you fly, unless you fly very well. On the other hand, there is certainly no historocity going on. So if you can kind of go at it like a dogfighting video game version of ARMA 3's KotH server, you can have a lot of fun. That fun only goes up if you hook up with a squad and can implement even rudimentary teamwork.
AH2 is a lot of fun, but you have to go into it with the right mindset. It is not a WW2 Online type game. There is an Axis vs. Allies server in AH2 that features realistic planesets fighting on a realistic map, but when I played the server was rarely populated. If you get on a server with 300+ people on all at once it is just a freaking blast. Getting on a similar sized map with 12 people is simply boring as hell. The chaos of a fully manned server has to be experienced to be believed. It is a ton of fun. But very ahistorical.
Again, you just have to try it to see what I mean. I caution you that the regulars at AH2 are very, very good at the game. Be prepared to be humbled a bit at first until you figure the system out.
The Spit XVI is a great beginner's plane IMO. Very n00by but a ton of fun to fly and relatively forgiving. Fast, great climb rate, great roll rate, cannons, and can dive well. But it can't take a hit well, like all Spits so try not to get shot. Conversely, the P-47 is an absolute killer in skilled hands but almost impossible to employ as a n00b because you have to understand the plane very well before you can kill effectively with it.
I play IL-2 1946 with DCG and its an awesome single player experience. DCG does a great job of creating an immersive campaign experience (once you understand how it works). Its not as good as Falcon BMS or WoFF, but its damn good.
DCG?
Dynamic Campaign Generator, which was developed by a community member and officially added to the game.
The visuals and flight models are so much better in BOS, I can't go back to 1946.
Skoop is full-on right with respect to IL-2. You gotta mod it up. There is a recent mod released, Skoop will have to help me with which one it is, that is the latest and greatest SP experience. I had downloaded it just before an HD crash and I haven't re-downloaded yet. My very basic understanding WRT modding IL-2 is that there are two main branches: Sunni and Shia; excuse me, I mean HSFX and DBW (HS FX and Dark Blue World). It might be more nuanced than that. But basically you either have to have multiple installs (no big deal) or buy into one or the other mod package; they're not compatible.
Both bring pros and cons.
I don't remember which one I had gone with previously, but it was a big deal release. If you are into single player WW2 air combat you simply cannot forgo trying modded IL-2.
I have flown IL2 for years from Forgotten Battles onwards, got smoked by the initial release of SOW -or CLoD as it had been branded later-, but title seems to be in a good shape by now.
I am not sure I want to go back to 1946 with its Hyperlobby multiplayer rooms.
I am looking for something more persistent, like WW2 Online's offering, but that game had a long period of roughness. Hardly any improvements since 2011 until recently.
The last half a year patches have started to come again and they are on the verge of becoming a Steam title.
But the playerbase is tiny at this point and that makes the whole online persistence a problem...
AH2 is more like air quake then, be it with realistic flight models. Not really what I am after if its ahistorical. I can fire up WarThunder for a quick ahistorical airquake experience and it looks gorgeous.
Perhaps RoF is truely Unique in its setting and perhaps CLoD is the best bet for WW2 Era stuff at the moment? Or indeed the older IL2 1946...
If ED would pump out their WW2 modules I'd be set.
I just found a website called Storm of War. They feature a dedicated server with a persistent campaign running on the latest Team Fusion mod for CLoD.
This might be exactly what I've been looking for! :)
www.stormofwar.org
Seriously when the holiday sale comes around on steam get il2 BOS, it has the same flight Model as ROF but in the WWII setting, it's at a point now where I deleted 1946 from my drive.
Air combat on the eastern front was a totally different animal, low altitude knife fights with yaks...plus you can't beat ground pounding in an Il2 and this game's version of the il2 rocks.
There's not quite the persistent battlefield online campaign, but guys are working on it. The dcg for 1946 didn't come along until half a decade after the origional release, so I'm sure BOS will have something similar at some point.
Great news, guys.
Been on the Storm of War Teamspeak server today and I was assisted immediately. The community seems very mature and above All very helpful.
When I jumped on, there was a discussion between several guys about a dogfight they were having a few moments ago.
The newer guy was treated respectfully and hints and tips were given to him in a sort of debriefing manner. Very nice.
On the forums I was welcomed as well and also pointed towards a European multi-country squadron who are active in Rise of Flight and CLoD.
Looking forward to getting to know these guys better and join them in the virtual skies.
Quote from: Apocalypse 31 on October 07, 2015, 06:16:52 PM
Quote from: ArizonaTank on October 05, 2015, 04:59:28 PM
Not to steal the thread, but I just got an email from WWII Online (Battleground Europe), and it is also still alive and kicking. I believe original release was 1999.
Original release was June 6 2001. I was there...
To say this game is 'alive and kicking' is a serious overstatement.
I was there at original release as well; but got the year wrong. I think the original Everquest was 1999. Anyway, in terms of "alive and kicking", I guess I just meant that it seems to have survived this long. I haven't played it for about three years. I recently got an email from them, for the "free weekend". So just assumed it is still viable...
I think the War Thunder and World of Planes have really but a hurting on AH2 and other paid online flight sims. The last time I was poking around on AH2, and it was a couple of years ago, the servers were much less populated, a lot of the regulars had left, and there was quite a bit of banter about the exodus of players to War Thunder et al.
If I were going to get back into multiplayer flying I'd probably go with CLOD or even RoF, although I haven't played RoF is about forever. Not sure what those servers look like now.
AH2 is a really fun game, but there are just too many other options right now to justify the cost.
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 09, 2015, 01:07:18 PM
On the forums I was welcomed as well and also pointed towards a European multi-country squadron who are active in Rise of Flight and CLoD.
Looking forward to getting to know these guys better and join them in the virtual skies.
Most of my gaming nowadays is MP RoF, so I'm curious to know which squad you've been pointed towards (maybe I'll join you there!). In my experience there are a lot of good people in the RoF community, and flying with others on TS enhances the game a lot.
They are called European Airforce.
Visit them here www.europeanaf.net
They seem to be mainly flying CLoD these days. Their website seems a little stale on news (lots is about IL1946 which isn't their main sim anymore as far as I can tell), but their forums are active.
Peek your head around the corner !
Quote from: Toonces on October 07, 2015, 06:57:22 PM
AH2 has the advantage of being online all the time, with everyone on a level playing field. Where AH2 really falls short IMO is that the global servers, I can't remember what they're called now but the most popular one, is a Late War server that features the whole planeset, 3 fictional countries on a fictional map, with no restrictions as to what plane you choose to fly individually. What this means practically is that you can easily be flying an F-4U for example and come up against an enemy P-47 or P-51. There is no attempt at historical match ups.
Now then, from a pure dogfighting perspective this is fine as it encourages you to really understand the strengths and weaknesses of your plane. This in and of itself can last you years. There are some terribly good pilots on AH2, some of whom have specialized in a specific plane for a very long time, and will kick your ass no matter what you fly, unless you fly very well. On the other hand, there is certainly no historocity going on. So if you can kind of go at it like a dogfighting video game version of ARMA 3's KotH server, you can have a lot of fun. That fun only goes up if you hook up with a squad and can implement even rudimentary teamwork.
AH2 is a lot of fun, but you have to go into it with the right mindset. It is not a WW2 Online type game. There is an Axis vs. Allies server in AH2 that features realistic planesets fighting on a realistic map, but when I played the server was rarely populated. If you get on a server with 300+ people on all at once it is just a freaking blast. Getting on a similar sized map with 12 people is simply boring as hell. The chaos of a fully manned server has to be experienced to be believed. It is a ton of fun. But very ahistorical.
Again, you just have to try it to see what I mean. I caution you that the regulars at AH2 are very, very good at the game. Be prepared to be humbled a bit at first until you figure the system out.
Very accurate assessment of AH2, Toonces. I agree completely.
I'm having a hard time believing that experienced AH2 pilots are jumping ship for War Thunder and World of Warplanes. Those two latter games are arcade shooters, nothing more. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.