Wings Over Flanders Fields (WOFF) (Dec 2013)

[Gusington]

^I was just about to post that. The RPS video clip is good too. Wondering what you guys think as far as agreeing with the author of that review...

[Grim.Reaper]

I am not as hard core as others so hard for me to notice some of those things....still have only dipped my toe in the water so far, but what I can say....

-  Excellent customer support, helped me through issues over a Saturday
-  Patches/updates almost being released daily, future support seems strong with these group
-  You get a lot of content with the game for $60....55 planes.
-  It may not have all the eye candy as ROF, but it is far from ugly either...my graphic card is not the best, so likely can't maximize it yet
-  I like the quick missions you can setup by just selecting a bunch of options, seems really easy
-  Campaign looks good, although haven't gotten far yet...seems really immersive...battlefield seems alive below you
-  From all accounts game provides a good challenge, hard for me to confirm since any newbie can shoot me down:)

Some minor quibbles for me....
- Documentation seems a little scarce right now, but seems they are adding content as they go
-  Although I like that training is involved, it seems for the first few, you just sit in the seat next to someone and fly around...much prefer it to be hands on right away

As to whether it is worth $60 to someone (plus adding on CFS for $10 and a joystick), I think each person will need to decide that.  If you like WW1 flying and looking for something different than ROF, seems like a no brainer.  I bought it more for the long term, versus short term and can only believe it will get better as they provide more updates.  No regrets for me so far and I think I will get my money out of it eventually.

I am an owner of ROF too, but haven't reinstalled it since I replaced my computer earlier this year....for giggles, tonight I am going to reload ROF and see how all the improvements they have made compare to WOFF.  Biggest turn off for me on ROF was it was very hard for me to fly and kill stuff and every plane/add-on costs you money.  Also back then the campaign was very dry.

[Gusington]

I just bought WOFF and the stick you posted above. Last thing left to get is the new copy of CFS3. It was all the talk of the immersive campaign that sent me over the top.

The WWI time period is my favorite, and there are tons of books on the era. I have to work a little harder to get games to go along with the books.

[Slick Wilhelm]

I'm caving, too, Gus. I crave an immersive campaign that RoF can't deliver. I already have M$CFS3, so I'll be joining you all shortly.

[Nefaro]

But for the rudder I try to use the big rocker switch on the far side of the throttle for big rudder movements (mapping both of them separately if the sim allows).

Same here.  I use the rocker for rudder and lock the stick twist. :)
And it's quite durable as I have been using it for several years already.

The real downside as Nefaro said it that there aren't many buttons if you try to use this for DCS.
But it's good enough for Strike Fighters, WWI sims, WWII sims, and FSX.

For DCS I just use the left shift and ctrl to increase the options for  the buttons on the stick..

That way the Hat can do three functions and all the buttons as well..

Can't do this for FSX, because FSX won't let you combine keyboard and the stick.. But DCS does!

I set three of the joystick buttons as "modifiers" to be used in combination with other buttons.  The two on the far side of the throttle and the weird #3 button on the other side of the joystick work well.  That way I can have the equivalent of four hat switches, and four sets for the other nine buttons.  Just gotta write down a lot of 2-button combos.

For the regular DCS sims, like Flaming Cliffs 3, I may only need one or two modifier buttons and even those don't use a full combo set as much can still be left on the keyboard for those.

It's just the right amount for the WWI and Third Wire sims.

I've put way more time into the WWI and ThirdWire sims, probably due to their campaigns.  I'd say everything is a go, as the only headache was with setting all the crap for A-10C which I haven't really got into anyway.  I'd rather play Black Shark 2 or FC3 than that one, TBH.

[Gusington]

Cool, Slick. I am waiting for my physical copy to arrive because downloading will take forever on my Man Tomb's wonky internet connection. It may take a while for the other WOFF pieces to arrive in the mail too (stick, CFS3 DVD).

[Grim.Reaper]

Welcome aboard guys.....

[Gusington]

Thanks...was it you who left this leather cap, scarf and goggles in my computer chair?

[Nefaro]

Must... continue... campaign.   Get.. rid.. of ... family....

So I still have both a Brit campaign in a Sopwith Camel and the German campaign currently in an Albatros D.III (early) to choose from.  And it's difficult to choose which!  Hell.. I'm even tempted to start a French or American campaign in a SPAD too. 

I think part of the reason I was dying so quickly with new pilots was that I hadn't got a feel for how to handle the specific aircraft they had.  I'm definitely noting the different ways to best go about even basic maneuvers between different models. 

When I went from flying Camels to flying an Albatros, I kept wing-stalling the poor Albie when I started my turns.   At first I was thinking, "damn this thing sucks!" but came to realize that I was applying too much rudder while transitioning into the banking turn (as often needed to turn a Camel quickly) and had to adjust the mix of inputs to get better results.  That's pretty cool.  ROF has the same differences but it wasn't as pronounced in some aircraft (like the Albatros) which just made them easier to handle overall.  Not quite so easy in WOFF's case. 

While some degree of rudder helps your banking turns in all planes in WOFF,  the amount to use (and when to use it most) definitely takes some familiarization for each type.  That Albatros does better with mostly roll & pull to turn quick while many of the rotaries (like the Camel) tend to require a good deal of rudder, like a coordinated turn in which you're also pulling Gs.       

Point of the story.. make sure you get used to how best to turn your new aircraft type while out on your first mission(s).  Find out how to best turn the thing without wing stalling and going into a spin.  It'll come in handy very soon!   I was making the mistake of thinking that I could handle each aircraft somewhat similarly in a dogfight and that's not really the case.  Therefore I was screwing up and going into spins more often than I'd like, or performing poor inefficient turns because I hadn't practiced with that type beforehand.

[Gusington]

Go for the Spad! Right now I am living vicariously through the guys who have the game while I wait for mine to be physically delivered.

So go for the Spad :)

[Grim.Reaper]

Go for the Spad! Right now I am living vicariously through the guys who have the game while I wait for mine to be physically delivered.

So go for the Spad :)

You can always do the download while you wait, they did say the DVD orders would be slow through the holidays:(  I have just old DSL which takes me longer to download stuff than other people, this game probably took about 4 hours or so......set it to download before you go to bed and she'll be ready for you in the morning:)

[Gusington]

^I can't DL on my wonky Man Tomb temporary wireless internet connection...that's why I have to wait. I also have to wait for CFS3 to be delivered as well as the stick. So...right now I have nothing.

GO FOR THE SPAD

[Grim.Reaper]

^I can't DL on my wonky Man Tomb temporary wireless internet connection...that's why I have to wait. I also have to wait for CFS3 to be delivered as well as the stick. So...right now I have nothing.

GO FOR THE SPAD

Ah yeah, forgot about the CFS3 need.....hopefully you got the DVD version, real easy to use.  During the install, just asked for the DVD for about 5 secs and then ejected it.  After that, haven't needed the DVD since.  Very painless compared to the CD version.  Worth the extra few dollars.

[Gusington]

Yeah got the DVD from Ubisoft. At Amazon there are about 5 left if anyone else is interested.

So after initial install you can run disk-less, right?

[Grim.Reaper]

Yeah got the DVD from Ubisoft. At Amazon there are about 5 left if anyone else is interested.

So after initial install you can run disk-less, right?

Yep, no need for the DVD after that...I haven't had it near my computer since the original install.  It's a shame they just can't work out a deal with whoever owns the CFS rights nowadays to include it just as part of the WOFF install.