RoF noob. And I thought CloD had a steep learning curve.
Well for giggles I finally loaded up RoF for something different to try.
Actually quite enjoyed the 2 planes I got in the demo version so ended up buying all the aircraft.
Hooly dooly, I know many of u are old hands at it but man those rotary engines are quite an art.
I don't know how accurately that gyroscopic precession is modeled but if it is anywhere close to what it was actually like then I can fully understand why out of the 14,000 British airmen that were killed in the Great War, 8,000 died in accidents and mostly training accidents.
A very different ballgame trying to engage an enemy at 100mph or less in planes that turn on a dime and give 9 cents change.
The turns u can pull off in Sopwith Camel are freakin awsome but u gotta watch rpm or u will blow something. I thought flying these WW1 planes would be a piece of cake but it's much more difficult than I had imagined.
Trying to keep track of an enemy with a great thumping wing just above head height is real challenge.
Kinda got inspired after watching this 4 part series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osVFsZ6EUoU
Those guys had gonads of steel taking those rickety crates up to freezing altitudes and throwing themselves all over the sky with no oxygen or chutes. The really high scoring aces on both sides were freaks of nature.
A fascinating and inspiring part of history.
Re: RoF noob. And I thought CloD had a steep learning curve.
Nice Torian! I fire that up once in a while too, I find it quite fun. Lately when I do play, I've been using a thing called Pat Wilsons Campaign Generator. There is a way to set it up so dead is dead (along with a ton of other options) and it's a real challenge to see how many missions you can survive before the inevitable happens. Certainly enhances the immersion and appreciation of what the real pilots of that era had to deal with! I usually die after about 5 or 6 missions, usually because of my own stupidity...
Re: RoF noob. And I thought CloD had a steep learning curve.
As far as I've heard, the successful WW1 pilots were boom'n'zoom'ers. They tended to sneak up from on high and exit hard - not so different !
The ones who willingly threw themselves into the dancing pack every outing were likely on borrowed time. But like you said respect to them all, and in sim world it's great fun
DBW1916 is excellent as well since the last update, but RoF has a little more 'feel' to it, takes a little practice as you said !
Re: RoF noob. And I thought CloD had a steep learning curve.
Flying pretty much any CloD aircraft u can count on fairly predictable responses.
This gyro-precession in the rotary engined planes in RoF requires more skill than anything I have ever encountered. The tradeoff is the aerobatics that can be done once u start to get a handle on it and getting the firing solution b4 they get one on u.
And then there is trying to land the blighters. Even Edward "Mick" Mannock (one of the top RFC aces) routinely trashed props, landing gear or something else landing.
One thing I am wondering about (prolly should ask this over at the RoF forum) is why the the in-line engined, presumably carburetted, planes don't cut out under negative Gs ?
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