Wings Over Flanders Fields (WOFF) (Dec 2013)

[Grim.Reaper]

Any now patch 1.9 released.....these guys keep on churning....

[Nefaro]

Any now patch 1.9 released.....these guys keep on churning....

Patch 1.8 actually improved my framerates a bit.  I can turn Sun Glare back on and not get any micro-stutter.  They reportedly fixed some artifacting with that update and I must've benefited from whatever fix that was.  :D  I already had my settings in the sweet spot anyway, but it's nice to have the sun glare back.

The infamous Camel wanting to turn on its own.

Title is wrong.  The Camel actually failed to take off.  But no worries as there were no fatalities.

{vid}

I was murderizing huns in my earlier campaign, after getting used to flying the Camel.  Definitely one of my favorite WWI airplanes.   

You can tell from the vid the damn thing was so light that the torque on the rotary engine was trying to flip the thing.  There's one moment when he let off the blip to a very brief full throttle and the damn thing started rocking to the right while it wasn't even moving.   NoobKillah!  :o   

He obviously would've been better off if he had actually been intending to take off and not just the planned coasting along.  I would think that going from zero to full power so quickly on take-off (so as not to fully lift off) didn't help the situation.

[Slick Wilhelm]

I'm beginning to think that starting my first campaign in Spring of 1916 as an Eindecker pilot was not the best way to accrue confidence, or survive.

The E.III is just meat on the table against Nieuports and DH-2s.

To add insult to injury, my cat decided he wanted some lovin' just as we came into contact with an enemy squadron. He rubbed up against my joystick and caused my nose to pitch up sharply, which put me into a stall/flat spin. I recovered, but was then dead meat to the higher Nieuports.

Still looking to survive a single campaign sortie.  :)

[Gusington]

If it's that difficult for you, I foresee myself putting all my settings on 'Silly Nancy Boy.'

[Nefaro]

If it's that difficult for you, I foresee myself putting all my settings on 'Silly Nancy Boy.'

It's tough.  The enemy pilot AI is no pushover (reportedly an issue in the older OFF) and you gotta be careful about bending & breaking your airframe at high speeds and Gs. 

The easiest shots you can hope for is when an enemy AI pilot decides he wants to run away but you manage to catch up enough to squeeze off a steady burst into him.  Otherwise you'll be having some challenging dogfights until one of you attempts to run or dies.   Unlike ROF, you can't afford to get hit by them much because they will mortally wound you if given a steady shot even for a brief time.  Weave & bob!

[Nefaro]

43 Sqdn was assigned a bombing mission on some railyards near Loos. 

Along the way, I noticed an enemy balloon near our flight path.  I dove on it, with archie and machinegun fire erupting around me but the large flammable pillow ignited in some fine fireworks before I had pulled away amidst the ground fire.

I hadn't quite regained my flight's altitude when we reached the railyards so I dove once again, this time releasing my four small 25lb bombs from underneath my Camel.  I had hit nothing with the things before and I had no reason to believe I could do so now.  I wasn't sure how close I had struck the railyards as our rubbernecking was shortly interrupted by a large group of enemy Albatros scouts flying into the area at a similarly low altitude.  They must've just taken off to intercept us! 

At this point, our top cover flight had disappeared.. perhaps they were already having tea back at the 'drome.  They picked a fine time to leave!  There are eight Albatroses coming at what is now only a flight of four Camels.  I think to myself, "surely my flight leader will get us the hell outta here!".  Alas, no.  He decides to turn to the right and engage, just as I see another flight of six to eight more Albatros scouts approaching from our left.  We're behind enemy lines at around 3kft and in quite jam now.  May as well go out with a bang!

I'm immediately engaged in a dogfight with four enemy planes, circling each other.  I manage to get a couple bursts into one before another starts firing at me so I dive into a turn, pull up high and roll over on him long enough to give him the 'what for' too.  Again there are at least two on my tail, attempting to line up shots so I roll out and use the Camel's amazing turning ability to get around on another.   This time I have enough trigger time to hear his wings shredding from my gunfire and he tumbles over into the ground.  The first couple are still nearby, obviously somewhat damaged, so I chase them both down and after some more dancing, they both go down.  The last one soaks up a large amount of my ammo.  Is that thing made of steel?!  On my final pass his engine catches fire and both his wings rip off from all the damage I had done to them.   My wheels very nearly collided with him and I'm convinced the only reason that did not happen was the loss of his wings a half second before I skimmed right over his head.  :o

My ammo expended, and more enemies nearby, it's time to run for home.  I dive for speed and can see the individual buildings of Loos.  And the archie exploding dangerously close to my face!  But I manage to get back across the lines and even make it home.  That's when I notice the rather large hole in my right wing and numerous bullet holes across various other areas.  If I hadn't been flying a Camel, or if I had been unfamiliar with it's stalling limitations, I wouldn't have made it back.  Somehow my three other wingmen made it back with only light damage to their machines.  I was very surprised our 4v16 had turned out so well.  Surely some of the enemy planes had pursued our top cover flight.  Nevertheless, every pilot in my own four-flight was an Ace or seasoned veteran.

Mission claims for pilot Richard Rash was 3 planes, 2 ground targets, and 1 balloon.  My best mission yet.  ;D   Two of the enemy Albatroses it took down, a DIII OAW and a DV, were Aces.

Damn, that was fun.



Limping back home in my Camel with holes in it:





I received a promotion to 2nd Lieutenant and a Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) after the mission, my kills all being immediately confirmed.

[steve58]

^ Nice AAR.  Wish my rig could handle WOFF...

[Gusington]

I wish my working copy of CFS3 would finally frickin' get here already!!

[Slick Wilhelm]

Very nice Nefaro! That's a mission you can be well proud of.

I would love to see how engaged your flight members were at the same time. I'm beginning to suspect that many/most of the bad guys go for the human player, but maybe that a bit of paranoia on my part.

[Nefaro]

The further adventures of 2nd Lt Richard Rash!


The brass enjoyed our bombing of the Loos Railyard so much, they sent us in to bomb it once again.  I start to wonder if they have it in for us.  By some miracle I had escaped the last foray without a scratch upon my person but I'm unsure how long my luck will hold.  That area is crawling with Boche aeroplanes!  I did so well on our last visit, they give me lead of 'B' flight, my first flight command.  This could be bad.

On approach, we spot a number of flights in the distance about us, but we manage to dive on the Railyard and drop our 25lb Cooper bombs unmolested once again.  Warehouses and buildings explode and I get to witness the fun this time around.  Preparing to gain some altitude and circle back towards a nearby balloon with the flight in tow, I'm stricken with frustration.  My whole flight continued straight onward!  I must've lost them when I dove in for the bomb run.  So I circle back and try to catch up to signal for them to rejoin me. 

Hrmm...  there's a large group of planes coming closer.  Surely this is an intercepting Boche flight, right on time.  Gotta give the Germans one thing - they are prompt in response. 

I finally get close to my flight and signal for them to rejoin on me.  They turn and head back towards our line, hodge podge.  What a mess.  You'd think they were fresh out of training!  Perhaps my sudden promotion into the officers ranks caused some resentment?  Again, I turn to follow.  But the German machines are gaining on us, and I in the tail of our somewhat scattered formation. 

I signal to the closest wingman to turn and engage.  A couple of them turn and the three others turn left and I lose sight of them as I move my eyes to the closest enemy.  My two nearby wingmen seem unsure but I dive onto the first plane in a head-on pass and a few bullets find their mark.  Now I'm quite engaged and have at least three Albatros scouts on me.  In a difficult whirling fight, I'm finding it hard to keep a steady bead on any one of them as they handle their aircraft better than most I've encountered.  I only manage to get a couple short bursts into two of them before others are shooting at me, so I keep changing targets and nearly stall out twice.   At one point my Camel was struck with a short burst, even while in a steep turn, and I felt the loss of some of my airspeed.  My wingmen had long ago fled the scene. This is not good.  I must relax my maneuvers or I will crash straight into the ground, my engine quite damaged.  I glance back at what is now four or five aircraft on, or coming around on, my tail.  Their noses are painted red. 

Now attempting to weave & bob enough to prevent any solid steady hits, I try to get closer to no man's land.  Bullets are flying all around and my wings are so damaged that I can barely keep the plane level.  I nose down and fly between a couple small stands of trees while ruddering left and right.   Maybe they won't risk shooting too long for fear of hitting a tree.  Hopefully.  Alas, my engine and controls shot, I decide to land.  My wheels touch down and I immediately see a fence directly in front of me!  Pulling up enough to help the initial bounce get me over the fence, I touch down again and blip for a bit, coming to a rest on a road right in front of a small copse of trees.  Landing amid the trees saved me as the red-nosed planes on my tail pulled up earlier to avoid them.   My engine is dead but I am miraculously unhurt despite the collection of bullet holes around my Sopwith. 

I watch the circling planes above, wondering if they're going to make their final dives to finish me off.   They circle once more and peel away.  Whew!  My lucky day once more!  I even manage to run into friendly troops that evening.  2nd Lt Rash must have as many lives as a cat.


She doesn't fly anymore:




My red-nosed friends circling about, keeping me company.  At least I won't starve anytime soon.













At least I did some damage to my pursuers!




If only I had managed to get a one-on-one! 

[Gusington]

Lt. Dick Rash? Please say it aint so...

[Slick Wilhelm]

Lt. Dick Rash? Please say it aint so...

lol

[Nefaro]

Lt. Dick Rash? Please say it aint so...

;D   ;)


The least of his worries at the time, with half the Richthofen Circus on his tail along with the man himself.


(One of my bosses, a co-owner of a small company I worked for, swore she had a co-worker by that name years before.  Hilarious.  Poor bastard's parents must've hated him.)

[Toonces]

Resolve weakening...breaking...   >:(

[LongBlade]

Resolve weakening...breaking...   >:(

No kidding. Those WWI aircraft are ubersexy.

How many WWI flight sims are out there now? What's the best? I don't even want to know the answer to that question.