So, what's the cost for the sim and all of the planes?
So, what's the cost for the sim and all of the planes?
Do they still sell the Iron Cross edition for $20?Originally Posted by JeffL
In that case it would be $20 for the initial batch of 8 planes (I might have gotten a free plane as a site-specific perk when I bought it a few months ago, so it might be 7 in the Iron Cross). Then it would be an additional $86 for the rest of the planes if you buy them all at once as there is a sliding scale discount the more planes you buy in one batch.
So, $106 for the complete sim with all 25 planes.
That said, you can get months of enjoyment out of playing just the two planes included in the free version.
Downloaded and installed the demo for the first time but I'm unable to play it after entering my registration info. Upon submitting I get a #14 unable to connect to game server. Is the Tron master computer offline for maintenance? Other than the Win7 default firewall I don't know if it's something on my end or not.
That's not bad in comparison with what one could spend for FSX scenery addons and planes but I notice they're selling field mods that include things like fuel gauges, lights, altimeters, etc., They're actually charging for extras like that? Srrsly?
You will get error #14 (in my experience, having also signed up today) if the nickname is already taken.
I then promptly was unable to take off. Did someone say something about tutorials?
Landing doesn't seem all that hard to me--I put it down safely the first time during the takeoff/landing training mission. The important thing to remember is that landing gear and aircraft structural integrity really improved between the World Wars, and if you plonk your machine down like you would something from later on in history you're going to snap the wings off. Come in nice and shallow, back the throttle off nice and gentle, and let the plane settle down onto the field.
More problematic for me has been performance--training missions work okay, but in quick missions I get a lot of jitter. Seems to be a CPU bound, since it jitters in about the same way no matter where the graphics settings are. I haven't tried the dynamic campaign yet, but if it's the presence of things in the mission I doubt I'll have much more luck there. I'll give it a try, but if it doesn't work that's too bad. I'm a huge sucker for flight sims with dynamic campaigns, and although a brand-spanking-new gaming desktop is in the budget, it's not for a few more months. Alas.
Under 'Campaigns' from the main menu.
Well, it took clicking through about 15 campaigns but I finally found one that I own. I guess it's only fair since I never bought any other DLC, but I wish there was a way to filter for stuff you own. Since the ratio appears to be ~15:1 for a basic license owner the searching becomes a little absurd.
I landed a plane! Without crashing! Or breaking a wing! Although I did overshoot the aerodrome by about, hmmm, a mile?
Still haven't shot anyone down yet though.
OK, so $106 for the sim, and then whatever it costs for me to put together a computer to run it. I doubt it will run on my XPS M1710 notebook.
And I will pay all of that with no remorse at all if it truly has a RB2 type of campaign. So, could someone please describe their experiences with the campaign? Examples, but not limited to these questions:
1. Do you get promotions, and offers to join other squadrons if you do well?
2. Does the game track the other pilots in your squadron and do they have names, so that you can develop an attachment to them rather than just being placeholders?
3. Are other missions going on around you? For example, in RB2 some of my fondest memories are seeing another friendly plane in trouble and diverting over to help him out, and also being in trouble myself and having other friendly planes seeing me and coming over to help.
Thanks
You do get promotions as far as I can tell. I don't know that you get offers to join other squadrons, but you can take command of your own. Note that I've only played two missions so I can't be sure.
Not only does it do that, but the enemy pilots are tracked and have names too.2. Does the game track the other pilots in your squadron and do they have names, so that you can develop an attachment to them rather than just being placeholders?
Yep. Skies are pretty busy.3. Are other missions going on around you?
Not only does it track every pilot in your squadron, but it generates multiple sorties per day, between 2 and 4, which you see the results of after they are flown. Also, if you turn on labels, it shows who is flying each of the planes on the sortie you are currently flying.
You don't get offers to join other squadrons, but you can request to be transferred to another.
One word of warning, though. I was asking on the main forums which planes to buy and mentioned I wanted to buy the Fokker monoplane to play early war campaigns. Someone responded that 777 studios is still filling out the pre-1917 plane roster, and there are currently only 4 planes in that category. So, right now, you'll only see 4 plane types flying around in the campaign pre-1917.
You still get 500+ (or whenever the war ended) days of campaign post-1917 with a full roster right now, though. Also, if you didn't purchase the planes, you will still see them flying around in the campaign.
Sounds like it's not hotseat like EECH where you're running the war and can jump into any helicopter. It's more of a career mode then.
I watched a couple of his videos. They seemed pretty good. The few times I've played a flight sim I tell myself I'm going to learn how to fly properly, but I never pick it up all the way. Sim racing is much more natural to me since I understand fundamentals like the traction circle and have (very limited) real world experience. For flying I know things like kinetic vs. potential energy but don't always know the best thing to do at every moment.
How do you turn on labels?
Any tips for shooting down an enemy plane? I get on someone's tail , and take shots at them, but I don't seem to hit. Is there an ideal distance to start firing?
I suggest putting time compression to 1/4 while engaging. It allows you to see where your bullets are going and what the correct leads are.
Also, labels are toggles with the 'I' key.
- Surprise! Out of the sun, while an enemy is preoccupied firing, etc.
- Small corrections, don't overcompensate your aiming adjustments.
- I like to correct aiming during a banking chase with the rudder.
- Understand that leading a banking target for a firing solution angle is necessarily overpursuing, making it easier for your prey to scissors you. Probably matters more in a WW2 sim though.
- Look to catch a foe who makes the mistake of climbing at a bad time, as those are typically the easiest kills.
- High deflection shots take lots of practice, but head on shots aren't as hard as they seem -- you better be fast on the draw though!
- Try to predict how your target is going to evade, and setup your firing solution while he finishes his manuever.
- Pay attention to what makes someone hard to shoot, and learn to do those things when the tables are turned!
Definitely some bugs in the campaign - I got credit for shooting down the same guy twice on my last mission.
Your bullets are tearing through fabric for the most part, so you don't get the visual feedback you might expect in a later era sim. Try to get close before firing and note that when you're tailing a plane you don't have to lead the target at all, your speed is typically slow enough to just be able to line up the reticule. You'll see little holes appear in the fabric, cords snap, and the odd spark off metal once you start hitting home, but its all pretty subtle and easy to think you're missing unless you're close. The engine or pilot is the only quick way to score a fast kill and that takes practice and accuracy... until then you might might have to make swiss cheese of a plane before he finally drops.
Last edited by spiffy; 06-12-2011 at 02:09 PM.
I just fired this game up after playing it at launch and not liking the performance on my rig. Well with my new rig and all of the optimizations since then, it is running like butter. A whole new sim. No other sim has the feeling of flight better than this one. Also the tip someone posted about slowing down the time is helped me actually get a kill. I watched some youtube vids on how to do scissors correctly and that kind of helped. My rudder usage in turning is pretty poor though. My only complaint is that I guess I only have 3 planes even though I bought the game at launch for $50 (I think I only have three, I can't see a way to tell which planes I have and do not have). Didn't realize they were giving the game away and just charging for the planes. That kind of sucks for me, but oh well.
As others have pointed out, the best bet for WWI fighting is the "stick your nose in the enemy cockpit" method. The only vulnerable areas of those planes are concentrated in one area (pilot, engine, fuel tank), and you're shooting at it from an incredibly unstable platform with weapons that don't have a high rate of fire, so bullets spray everywhere. Get right up there and shoot from above or (preferably) below when possible, aiming for the front of the plane.
There are loads of reading materials online for refining your tactics, and this is one of the best repositories I've found: http://www.simhq.com/_air/acc_library.html
Boelcke's Dicta is great. There's a link in there to Mannock's Rules, and another to Malan's Rules, which are all good and all say pretty much the same thing: Maintain altitude whenever possible, don't turn away from attacks, and don't fire until your prop gives the enemy pilot a haircut.
I'm also partial to No Guts, No Glory by Frederick "Boots" Blesse. It's written for the Korean War era, but much of it applies to all types of air combat. Of relevance to your question is the Basic Principles of Offense section, particularly #18:
Here's a PDF version of the whole thing, which is pure gold.
EDIT: One more thing, which is indirectly related to what you asked but of paramount importance: Use your rudder constantly. The rudder is like another trim tab in WWII sims and pretty much superfluous in jet sims. In a WWI sim it's arguably the most important control surface, and that's a point many newcomers to sims of that era seem to miss. You can dramatically improve your turn performance, gun accuracy, and overall energy state by learning to dance on your rudder properly.
Last edited by Tracy Baker; 06-12-2011 at 11:48 AM.
Do you have any more specific pointers on this? My flight-sim background goes jet to WW2 to a bit of dabbling in Rise of Flight before I build a machine that can handle it, and rudder is something I'm sure I don't use enough.EDIT: One more thing, which is indirectly related to what you asked but of paramount importance: Use your rudder constantly. The rudder is like another trim tab in WWII sims and pretty much superfluous in jet sims. In a WWI sim it's arguably the most important control surface, and that's a point many newcomers to sims of that era seem to miss. You can dramatically improve your turn performance, gun accuracy, and overall energy state by learning to dance on your rudder properly.
Effectiveness varies by plane (Dr.I's, for example, were famous for their ability to perform fairly tight flat turns by using the ailerons to keep the wings level and the rudder to skew the plane around), but in general you need to get in the mindset that the rudder isn't just there for fine-tuning your flight path. It's another powerful elevator that can get your nose pointed where you want it to be in a hurry. Here are several examples from Eddie Rickenbacker's book "Fighting the Flying Circus":
The rudder is also useful when you're on someone's tail in a tight turn but need to scrub some speed quickly to avoid overtaking them. Use the rudder to point the nose up and climb while still turning, then gently let the nose back down to slip back into firing position.
This guy has some great RoF videos demonstrating some of the manuevers discussed above.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Requiem10NS
I've been playing my career with the RNAS 8, which flys the Sopwith Camel, and I'm beginning to understand why Snoopy always fantasized about it. Sure, it'll spin out on you at the drop of a hat, but when I treat it gently I seem to be able to out-maneuver everything.
I highly recommend looking at the aircraft guides here. Useful info on the characteristics of whatever plane you might be flying.
The Camel is fun as hell to fly (as long as it doesn't decide to go into a death spiral) because of its terrific maneuverability, but I agree with then-Major Sholto Douglas's assessment of it (Douglas commanded No. 84 Squadron, which flew the S.E.5a, and became Marshal of the RAF):
The truth of this poorly-written sentiment became readily apparent in WWII. Particularly in the Pacific Theater, where the maneuverable Zeros were quickly outclassed by more powerful American fighters that could dictate the terms of an engagement.
I can see that - but in the context of the sim I often don't have the option to refuse combat anyway. The AI flight leaders have been aggressive to a fault (probably something that should be adjusted in the next patch) so it's nice to know that when the inevitable furball hits I'll be prepared.
If you had a plane with better performance the context of the sim and aggressiveness of the AI flight leaders wouldn't matter. You could disengage at will and either re-engage on your own terms or run away to fight another day. The real problem with AI pilots in many sims (I haven't played much Rise of Flight, so this may not be the case with it) is that they're programmed to get into turning battles pretty much no matter what, minimizing any performance advantage they may have.
I pulled that Douglas quote out of Mike Spick's excellent book "The Ace Factor," and Spick follows it up with this:
That said, when I play sims I find the performance-oriented planes boring to fly and always go for whatever is most maneuverable. Back in the Red Baron days the Dr 1 was by far my favorite plane, so I'm curious to try it out in RoF.
That is a good point. If I was flying in combat in real life I would definitely prefer to boom and zoom, but in a sim it is turn and burn!
I think it comes down to the comments from before: performance is a better guarantor of victory than maneuverability, but beating someone with maneuverability entails beating them with your skill as a pilot rather than your machine, and is therefore a lot more fun. :P
Fair enough, though I haven't found it too difficult to slip away even in my Camel. Possibly I've just been lucky.
And I echo what you and others have said - it's more fun this way!
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