Wings Over Flanders Fields (WOFF) (Dec 2013)

[Slick Wilhelm]

Try to get really close, like 50 yards or less, and when you are getting hits just hold the trigger down.

Just don't hold the trigger too long, otherwise they might jam. It's best to use short bursts of 2-3 seconds then stop, then repeat.

[Nefaro]

Anyway, I've put in about two hours into WOFF, mainly quick combat fights. Something feels off with the aileron controls in the planes I've flown so far(Eindecker, Halberstadt D.II and the Albatros D.II).

As a reminder -

I had to raise the aileron sensitivity a good bit in the settings.  It was slow & sluggish for me too but that made a difference.  Also, the pitch was too sensitive, so I lowered that. 

Also there is some dead zone on by default on all axes and my stick is tight enough to not need any at all (except maybe a tad in the twist rudder) so I also lowered those to just above zero for all of them.

There was some joystick axis sensitivity tweaking to do, certainly. 

Try to get really close, like 50 yards or less, and when you are getting hits just hold the trigger down.

Just don't hold the trigger too long, otherwise they might jam. It's best to use short bursts of 2-3 seconds then stop, then repeat.

The gun jamming isn't near as bad as portrayed in ROF.  Although each attempt to un-jam them may not be successful. 

I recall having one of my two jams taking a long time to get fixed.  I was back, flying over my base, by the time I got it unjammed.  You can hear your pilot cursing and banging on it in the game!  ;D

But my point is that you can generally fire longer bursts without so many jams in WOFF.  Seems like I'd get a jam every two seconds in ROF.  ???  Not so, here.  Still.. I usually only do the 2-3 seconds as mentioned just out of long-held habit from sims and first-person shooters.

[Slick Wilhelm]

I had to raise the aileron sensitivity a good bit in the settings.  It was slow & sluggish for me too but that made a difference.  Also, the pitch was too sensitive, so I lowered that. 

Also there is some dead zone on by default on all axes and my stick is tight enough to not need any at all (except maybe a tad in the twist rudder) so I also lowered those to just above zero for all of them.

There was some joystick axis sensitivity tweaking to do, certainly. 

Thanks, Nefaro, that helped a bunch. I also noticed that the X-axis trim on my Fighterstick was too far over to the right. I think I've got it sorted out now.

Man, does that Eindecker pop into a flat spin instantly if you're not careful!

[jomni]

The game has a nice write up on each plane, although it falls short in describing it's strengths and weaknesses......do you recommend any single book that has all the WW1 aircraft for all the nations and for each one does a good job in specifically describing the strengths and weaknesses?

For a detailed analysis, this site is pretty good. It's provides charts & graphs, but is not extremely technical. http://home.comcast.net/~clipper-108/AIAAPaper2005-119.pdf


In general, I can list the major planes of each era. In WWI each side enjoyed periods of air superiority as new and better machines were produced.


The Fokker Eindecker E.I to E.III reigned supreme during August 1915-June 1916. It was the first airplane equipped with a synchronizing gear, allowing it's machine gun to fire between the propeller blades. This was a huge advantage. This period was known as the "Fokker Scourge", as the Allies had nothing comparable until 1916. While the Eindecker was nothing special in the maneuverability or speed dept, the synchronizing gear allowed it to dominate.

By summer of 1916 the British introduced aircraft like the Airco DH-2 and the Sopwith Pup, both of which were turn fighters. The French introduced the Nieuport 11, also a turn fighter. These three aircraft help end the Fokker Scourge and introducing a period of Allied air supremacy. The Pup was highly maneuverable, but was underpowered. Likewise, the Nieuport 11 was nimble, but suffered from a weak lower wing, which had an alarming tendency to break off in a steep dive!

During this time, the Germans introduced the Halberstadt D.II, which was an improvement over the Eindecker, but was still out-classed by the Allied machines listed above.

By the fall of 1916, the Germans rebounded with the Albatros D.II. The Albatross was fast, maneuverable and was armed with two Spandau machine guns. Meanwhile, the French introduced the SPAD S.VII and the Nieuport 17. The SPAD was very fast for its day, but was not very maneuverable. It was the first Allied "Boom & Zoom" fighter. Conversely, the Nieuport 17 was an improved turn fighter based on the Nieuport 11. Like the 11, pilots learned not to push the 17 too hard in a dive, lest the lower wing depart.

In late 1916, the Sopwith Triplane was introduced for use by the Royal Naval Air Service. It was immediately successful, with good maneuverability. Poor bracing, however, limited the steepness of its dive, and it was equipped with but a single Vickers machine gun. Still, until the advent of the better aircraft like the SE5a and Sopwith Camel, it was an excellent aircraft for its time.

With the introduction of the Albatros D.III in late 1916-early 1917, the tables once again swung back to the Germans. This aircraft was the one with which Manfred von Richtofen scored the majority of his kills. With most of the Allied fighters from the early 1916 becoming obsolete, the Germans had a field day in April 1917, known as "Bloody April" due to the large losses suffered at the hands of the Albatros D.III.

An improved version of the D.II, it was a capable fighter and the Allies had nothing comparable with the exception of the Sopwith Triplane, which were in too small of numbers to overcome the Albatros' domination.

Moving ahead to early summer of 1917, the Allies finally wrestled air superiority back from the Germans with the introduction of two aircraft: The Sopwith Camel and the Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a. The Sopwith Camel was powerful and nimble, but also inherently unstable. Until fledgling pilots learned its quirks, it killed almost as many pilots in accidents as were killed in battle. This instability was also one of its key strengths,  allowing pilots to the strong torque of the engine to provide almost instantaneous turns to the right. The Camel was also the first Allied fighter plane equipped with twin synchronized Vickers machine guns mounted in front of the pilot.

The SE5a was the first effective British "Boom & Zoom" fighter, with the fastest top speed of any fighter airplane of either side until late 1918. The SE5a was not a great turn fighter, but could climb and dive its way out of trouble with virtual impunity. It was also a stable gun platform, mounting one Vickers machine gun on the cowl and a single Lewis gun in a swivel mount on the top wing.

Arriving on the scene in the summer of 1917 as an answer to the SE5a and Sopwith Camel, were the Albatros D.Va and the Pfalz D.III. The Albatros D.Va was a minimal upgrade of the D.III, and was considered by many pilots to actually be inferior to the D.III. Consequently, the D.Va would have a rough time fighting against the likes of the SE5a and Sopwith Camel.

The Pfalz D.III was strong and fast, but not as maneuverable as the Albatros D.III. It was a capable "Boom & Zoom" fighter.

Arriving in late 1917, two very effective planes arrived in increasingly large numbers. The French SPAD S.XIII and the German Fokker DR.1.

The SPAD S.XIII was a beast. Very fast, sturdy and great in a dive. It was not a turn fighter per se, but could turn relatively well when it had to. It was primarily a B & Z fighter, however. It's twin Vickers machine guns made it more than a match for all German fighters of early 1918. It was considered to be the best French fighter of the war.

The legendary Fokker DR.1 Triplane had similar performance to the Sopwith Camel, and could turn on a dime. It was slow, however, and you could not easily run away from a fight.  It's most famous exponent was the Red Baron, of course. Von Richtofen would die at the controls of his DR.1, victim of an Australian machine gun company on the ground.

Mid 1918 saw the introduction of arguably the best fighter plane of the war, the Fokker D. VII. This plane could do it all. It was easy to fly, relatively fast, and could turn well. Pilots could fight in the D.VII in many different ways.

In mid 1918, the British replied with the Sopwith Dolphin, a fast, maneuverable plane that was popular with its pilots. It was not the match of the Fokker D.VII, but was a welcome addition to the Allied stable of fighters as the Camel and SE5a aged.

The Germans introduced the Pfalz D.XII in the summer of 1918. While it was an improvement over the Pfalz D.III and Albatros D.Va, it was considered to be a "Poor Man's Fokker D.VII" and was mostly relegated to quieter sectors of the front.

Late in the war, the Sopwith Snipe - an improved Camel - was introduced to popular acclaim. While not a fast aircraft compared to the SE5a or SPAD S.XIII, it was nevertheless a powerful climber and could turn effectively. The Snipe was a match for the Fokker D.VII when in capable hands.


Hope that helps, Grim. I left out many other less well-known aircraft, but I'm getting anxious to get flying, so you'll have to read about them yourself.  ;D

Wonderful narrative. Refreshes my knowledge gained while reading up on  the topic and playing Knights of the Sky doing my younger years.

[Grim.Reaper]

Went on a intercept mission in my German campaign....heck of a time for flying in a driving rain storm.....but duty called, had to intercept a bunch of SPADs before they entered our sector.  By the time we engaged, most of my squadron engaged first and took care of the enemy, either shooting them down or driving them back home.  I had a chance to briefly chase a couple of the enemy fighters, but could not get close enough for kill shots.....still a pretty fun time nonetheless.

[Tuna]

As SW says at the end there, one of the keys to knocking down targets (IMO) is to get very close before you start lighting the guy up.  These guns weren't accurate enough and didn't have the hitting power to go knocking down aircraft at 500 yards like .50 cals.  Try to get really close, like 50 yards or less, and when you are getting hits just hold the trigger down.

Also the best way to get kills in RoF

[Grim.Reaper]

Nefaro, quick question on Joystick setup.

Within the game, if you want to make the stick/controls feel tighter (less sensitive), do you raise or lower the numbers for dead zone?

Within the game, if you want to make the stick/controls feel looser (more sensitive), do you raise or lower the numbers for dead zone?

[Nefaro]

Nefaro, quick question on Joystick setup.

Within the game, if you want to make the stick/controls feel tighter (less sensitive), do you raise or lower the numbers for dead zone?

Less sensitive = lower the value

Within the game, if you want to make the stick/controls feel looser (more sensitive), do you raise or lower the numbers for dead zone?

More sensitive = raise the value

I wouldn't have matched the terms "looser" and "tighter" as you did, so I went by sensitivity.  The more sensitive it is, the faster the control surfaces will move for the same amount of stick movement. 

I have the axis settings on my T-Flight X HOTAS set to:

Axis X: Bank -  Scale 100, Nullzone 4
Axis Y: Pitch  -  Scale 31, Nullzone 3
Axis Rudder: Yaw - Scale 66, Nullzone 3

and I added the big rocker switch on the back of the throttle as an extra rudder with these settings:
Axis Slider: Yaw - Scale 7, Nullzone 8

I could probably raise the Bank (aileron) scale up even higher for faster roll rate but I think 100 has been a decent balance between precision and speed thus far.  It may get pushed even higher in the future.  I could also completely drop the dead zone ratings on all but the rocker switch but I've kept just a tiny bit for when I get a lazy hand resting on the stick a bit too much in one direction.  Considering you have to constantly apply stick to keep flying straight in these old kites, I should probably just drop the nullzone to zero on all but the rudder inputs.

[Grim.Reaper]

Thanks again Nefaro.  What does the scale setting do?   I understand the dead zone, but wasn't sure about scale.

[Gusington]

Are there ground attack missions? If so, has anyone flown one yet?

[Slick Wilhelm]

Are there ground attack missions? If so, has anyone flown one yet?

I assume there are, because you have the option of being a fighter pilot or a bomber/observation pilot. I haven't done any yet, though.

I'm still trying to get my controls dialed in for the optimal sensitivity.

Anyone know if there's an in-game keystroke for bringing up the key mapper while flying a mission? It's kind of a pain to have to keep exiting a mission in order to change sensitivity on an axis.

[Nefaro]

Thanks again Nefaro.  What does the scale setting do?   I understand the dead zone, but wasn't sure about scale.

It's the sensitivity.  The higher the number the faster your joystick movements translate.   So if you were finding the pitch too sensitive, for example, you could lower the 'Scale' value to make it easier for smaller movements.  If you are having to push quite a ways to get an effect you think should be more responsive, increase the Scale value (I did this for the slow default roll rate).

Are there ground attack missions? If so, has anyone flown one yet?

Yes and yes.  I have flown a few bombing missions.  You don't have many or large bombs in most cases and it obviously takes some practice being able to bomb from altitude.  Dive bombing in most of these airplanes can be troublesome since you don't want to dive too long for risk of tearing your wings off, so it has to be quick. 

I've mostly been given missions to bomb enemy airfields, if I'm flying an aircraft that can carry bombs.  There was another bombing mission against a factory or some such, too.  You'll also get attack & defend missions on balloons, of course.  Watch out for the ground fire under 2k feet when you're near an enemy infantry unit or military installation, the machineguns can be nasty.

Anyone know if there's an in-game keystroke for bringing up the key mapper while flying a mission? It's kind of a pain to have to keep exiting a mission in order to change sensitivity on an axis.

Nope.  Not that I know of.  From what I've read the old CFS3 style menu was terrible.  They ripped it out and cooked up a completely new one (it's obviously a separate program).  I'm pretty sure it only works from the main menu.

[Grim.Reaper]

Are there ground attack missions? If so, has anyone flown one yet?

I assume there are, because you have the option of being a fighter pilot or a bomber/observation pilot. I haven't done any yet, though.

I'm still trying to get my controls dialed in for the optimal sensitivity.

Anyone know if there's an in-game keystroke for bringing up the key mapper while flying a mission? It's kind of a pain to have to keep exiting a mission in order to change sensitivity on an axis.

If you go to the directory

C:\Games\OBDSoftware\WOFF\Toolbox, there is a program called woffkeys.exe, it is a stand alone program that can be run outside of the game.  Therefore, you can have the key mapper program up while in the main game and alt-tab between the two.....however, what I don't know is if your in the middle of a flight if the new key mapping settings you apply immediately take affect...might be worth a shot to try.

[Slick Wilhelm]

Thanks, Grim, I'll give that a shot tonight and see if the saves apply while the game is running. I did notice something a little funky last night. When I alt-tabbed out of WOFF, it didn't go down to my taskbar. Kinda strange, but not a big deal.

[Grim.Reaper]

Thanks, Grim, I'll give that a shot tonight and see if the saves apply while the game is running. I did notice something a little funky last night. When I alt-tabbed out of WOFF, it didn't go down to my taskbar. Kinda strange, but not a big deal.

Yeah, noticed the same....so just have to cycle through each one unfortunately.  I am kind of thinking the settings won't take affect until at least the next mission since the two programs likely don't talk to each other real time, but who knows.