Moving from Over Flanders Fields to Rise of Flight

Gusington · December 04, 2012, 09:23:57 PM

So after four years I have finally removed Over Flanders Fields from my hard drive and now I am ready to begin playing Rise of Flight. I'll openly admit it...the 10 year old graphics from the base Combat Flight Simulator 3 game finally pushed me into the arms of RoF.

I have the Iron Cross edition but I have never played it before. The game is downloading and updating itself now and will take a few hours at least :'(

So, in the meantime, what do you guys recommend when moving along from OFF to RoF?

Silent Disapproval Robot · December 04, 2012, 09:34:16 PM

Got a TrackIR?

Also, if you're going to play offline, grab the campaign generator. OFF has much better campaigns, ROF has much better flight models. Don't lament the loss of the OFF campaign, just enjoy the flying experience.

http://www.wingsofhonour.com/riseofflight/resources/html_woh_riseofflight_resources_files_unofficialaddons_gameplay.en.html

jomni · December 04, 2012, 09:36:31 PM

Forget about replicating a deep and immersive career that you had in OFF. RoF is just about flying and shooting.

Rayfer · December 04, 2012, 09:52:15 PM

Quote from: jomni on December 04, 2012, 09:36:31 PM
Forget about replicating a deep and immersive career that you had in OFF. RoF is just about flying and shooting.

+1 I always end up going back to OFF.

Gusington · December 04, 2012, 10:15:49 PM

I just am burned out on OFF. Thanks for the campaign generator SDR.

Tuna · December 04, 2012, 10:26:57 PM

We should do an MP night for ROF!

jomni · December 04, 2012, 10:30:41 PM

Quote from: Gusington on December 04, 2012, 10:15:49 PM
I just am burned out on OFF. Thanks for the campaign generator SDR.

Ah then RoF would be good for you as you can get in and out of the game easily. Less commitment, just dogfighting.

Gusington · December 04, 2012, 10:36:54 PM

Are there ground attack missions on RoF? Like me some ground attack.

Tuna do you play MP RoF a lot?

Silent Disapproval Robot · December 04, 2012, 10:57:44 PM

Yup. What planes do you have?

Toonces · December 05, 2012, 01:27:15 AM

Gus,
I have mixed feelings about RoF, and it's hard for me to summarize how I feel regarding a transition from OFF to RoF. So I'll say this:

If you're going to fly RoF, it really is better as a MP sim than single player, although I've heard good things about Patrick Wilson's campaign generator if you can get it to work. I wasn't able to, but I hear that it has been improved and the instructions are better.

Regardless, WRT MP, I found it personally much more enjoyable if you stick to furballing, and totally disregard any kind of K/D ratio or ranking or any of that nonsense. There are a lot of guys that are way into that and will snipe you....let them have their fun. Get into the mix and stir things up and it's not too bad.

Also, I find the German planes much, MUCH easier to fly than the Allied birds.

If you can find a good server where everyone isn't taking themselves too seriously, RoF can be quite fun. The career beta is fun for a while, too, but quickly loses its appeal compared to OFF.

Father Ted · December 05, 2012, 05:36:20 AM

Ooh, ooh, another potential Roffer!

I don't think you'll regret giving this a go, Gus. It has a really good feeling of flight and lovely visuals, which I enjoy as much as any fighting I get into. FWIW here's my advice:

As SDR said, head-tracking of some sort is almost a must-have. Also decent rudder controls, as most of these crates, especially the rotaries, can't be flown without. A twisty stick is fine, though pedals are more immersive.

Use the the response curves in the setup to make life easier. A lot of the planes, particularly the Brits, fly tail-heavy, requiring constant forward pressure on the stick for level flight. This causes (at least for me) constant "bouncing" when trying to shoot at anything. Move the pitch curve down until the machine flies level hands-off and things become a lot smoother. Purists may disagree with this idea, and it does disguise to a degree the different characteristics of each plane (one of the delights of the sim) but it just made fighting so much easier for me. It's not cheating - the game encourages you to set up curves for each plane. I justify it by thinking that pilots would have had their planes rigged to their own specs to a degree.

I think MP is where RoF is at - I've not tried any campaigns or careers, so I can't comment on them. I would say however that you should use the "fly now" missions to familiarise yourself with the planes and and their engines. You've flown in OFF, so I wouldn't bother with playing at anything less than "full switch" - it's better to learn the hard way than learn bad habits with "auto rudder" and the like. Also learn the game's controls (how to charge guns, get map up, etc) before venturing online.

Speaking of which, if and when you go online, I recommend New Wings Warground and Syndicate Realism. The first is designed to be for new-comers, but has full missions, and the latter is the same thing, but more hard-core. There are also a couple of dogfight servers which are basically TDM. In the first two I mentioned it is quite easy to fly for 20 min and not see another soul. I quite like the tension that builds up as you fly about the sky, nervously looking at every speck in the distance, but I understand how that could be boring. The dogfight servers cater to those who want instant action and it is pretty intense, but I find it too difficult and frustrating.

Sorry for the WoT, but I think MP RoF is a great experience. Finally, the RoF forums are a good place to hang out - like here people are happier to show off their knowledge than slap people down for asking "dumb" questions. Finally, finally, check this guy http://www.youtube.com/user/Requiem10NS?v=GRBFSxGV0Jc&lr=1 out.

Tuna · December 05, 2012, 06:58:32 AM

I used to play a lot (went and got a Track IR).. belonged to New Wings and still keep in touch with them...

New Wings actually has three Servers, with three grades of realism.. from easy against the different levels of AI (so you can fly with a friend co-op to learn), they also have a Wargrounds Server, which is almost full realism like Syndicate.. A great bunch of people run the servers... I definitely could get back into hopping in..

Here's the New Wings site

http://newwingstraining.com/news.php

Here's a cool site for checking numbers of people on servers

http://online.riseofflight.net/en/

Yskonyn · December 05, 2012, 07:58:45 AM

RoF is truely an amazing sim when it comes to flight model and graphical presentation.
The whole flying part of it is pretty awesome and totally engrossing.
I have no experience with the singleplayer part of it though, besides the awkwardly presented training missions.
But the multiplayer community is quite vibrant.

I have never played OFF, but I can say that RoF is a great choice no matter what.
I just didn't take you for a flight jock, Gus? ;)

mikeck · December 05, 2012, 08:15:54 AM

Start with the Albatross Va. It is the easiest to fly, is fairly good in a turn, has decent speed and is very stable. Until you get the hang of it, stay away from the sopwith camel and the Fokker DR1...both will spin like a top

On another note, I quite enjoy the campaign in ROF. The game isnt an RPG, it's a simulator

MengJiao · December 05, 2012, 09:45:21 AM

Quote from: Yskonyn on December 05, 2012, 07:58:45 AM
RoF is truely an amazing sim when it comes to flight model and graphical presentation.
The whole flying part of it is pretty awesome and totally engrossing.
I have no experience with the singleplayer part of it though, besides the awkwardly presented training missions.
But the multiplayer community is quite vibrant.

I have never played OFF, but I can say that RoF is a great choice no matter what.

Same here, though I just fly quick single-player quick missions pretty quickly -- it is still an amazing game and/or simulator.