bartbert
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Posts posted by bartbert
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Realistically, I doubt we will see it before fourth quarter of this year.
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My recommendation would be to download the demo of the game and try playing it. If you can play the demo with your current internet connection, then you won't have any problem playing the full game.
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There should be an official announcement soon, but I think we have settled on August 1 as the release date for the expansion.
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I'm afraid that campaigns can only be played online at this time. We may try to add local campaigns in the future as it is a frequently requested feature.
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Tempest V
Real World Data
Name: Tempest V
Manufacturer: Hawker Aircraft Co. Ltd.
Type: Fighter
Number of Engines: 1
Horsepower: 2,260 hp
Max Weight: 13,640 lbs.
Max Speed: 435 mph
Number of Guns: 4
Crew: 1
Year Introduced: 1942
The Tempest V was a fast, maneuverable and heavily armed aircraft. In its first month of operations Tempests claimed fifty-two German fighters and 89 locomotives.
It was said to be the Me-262’s most dangerous opponent. One way the Tempest was able to combat the Me-262 was with a technique called “rat code”. The Tempests would be warned of approaching enemy jets. The pilots would not go after the 262s in a straight air to air combat but would wait near the airfield that the Me-262 would return and land at. The Tempest pilot would then attack the 262 while it made its descent, taking advantage of the lower speeds and the downed flaps.
The Tempest was one of the last piston-engine front line fighters. This particular aircraft was one of the best examples of the maximum performance possible with a piston engine and propeller combination.
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Originally posted by Stalin's Organist:
Sam's post is very good - I'd add a few points.
This is a game about resource management - the resources are cards, and managing them is what you're trying to get good at - maximising the number of things you can do with your hand, minimising the things your opponent can do with his.
1/ Discarding - only ever discard enough cards so that you get your full draw. Eg if you have 6 performance and 2 horsepower and 5 cards in your hand, then only discard 1 max so that yuo can draw 2 cards.
Of course if you have 5 GOOD cards then by all means do not discard any!
2/ Which cards to discard? Some choices are easy - AS Sam saif if you have a 1:1 with an a/c with a -1 modifier then that's a no-brainer.
But what if you have several 1:1's, a 1:2, a couple of 2:2, and a 2:3?
Well you probably want to discard some and are hoping for some defensive cards for starters!!
I discard cards with equal bursts/damage before those that have a damage bonus - eg I'd get rid of the 1:1's and the 2:2's - that shouldn't be any surprise.
I'd probably get rid of the 2:2's first, because 2 x 1:1's require more defence cards from the rarget than 1 x 2:2 does.
For manouvre and defence cards - I get rid of cards that duplicate an effect, and keep those that have more than 1 function - eg if I have a half loop I'll happily get rid of manouvre cards as they do the same thing.
If I have a hand of tight turns I'll get rid of barrel rolls because TT's do 2 things - they protect against being shot, and they counter manouvres - barrel rolls only do 1 thing.
I'll ditch Scissors if I have a few of them and no tight turns and I have the advantage - but I'll keep 1 or 2 as a counter to TT's being played against my shooting.
If I'm shootign at someone and I have a choice of OTS or IMS cards I will usually play whichever I can counter the defence agaisnt if the enemy has a decent sized hand - eg I won't play an OS card unless I have a Vert Roll or an Ace - and even then I wouldn't play the Ace to hit him unless it was goign to smoke or shoot him down.....and sometimes not even to smoke him.
I ALWAYS buy an Ace card first.
Redraws are cheap and oft overlooked - get a couple.
Draw an extra card are useful, but get expensive if you buy a lot.
Skills that give you cards or take them away from the other guy are always better than skills that do not.
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Originally posted by Inigo Montoya:
Sam,
That was outstanding! It nailed it entirely. One thing I'd like to add is skill selection. The reason so many people get into trouble in the "middle" game (where the planes and pilots really start to get good) is that the AI will punish you for earlier errors. If you've made bad choices about skills, it will come back to haunt you now. I really admire people who pick Aggressive or Stay With Him! instead of Evasive or Shake Him Off! The first two skills are going to be difficult to survive with in the middle game, but the later two are crucial, IMHO. If you look at Sixxkiller's skill set, you have to admire how he has got his pilots to such high levels with such offensive-minded skills. In order to get to the high levels like that, Sixx rode a very narrow and much more dangerous line than I did with my defensive skills. If you look at Black Mamba's medals, she's flown a ton of unscathed missions where she never took a point of damage. That's because of my (The Bride's) skill selection. Offensive skills are great for killing, but they make you more vulnerable to getting shot down. On the other hand, Sixx will tell you the best defense is killing the other guy!
Consider the *order* you purchase your skills too. I plan out the 10 skills I want to eventually have, then purchase them in decreasing order of cost. This is due to the fact the skills get exponentially more expensive. If you ever want to have my favorite skill, Quick Reflexes, you really must bite the bullet and save for it to be one of the first three skills you buy because it gets outrageously expensive. Delay that gratification!
Another angle is mission selection and parameters. Black Mamba flew probably 75% dogfight missions where it was 1v1. Flying escorts or 2v2's just puts that much more risk into the system. For this reason, I very much admire Stalin's O for his ability to consitently fly escort missions and kill all 4 opposing enemies over and over. Again - risky, but revealing how skilled the guys who can do it and get away with it.
It's not a game of luck! There's so much depth to it. Man, I am so addicted!
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Originally posted by SamF7:
Yeah yeah yeah: A "You're Dead Card" = "2 hits: Destroyed". Heh. I was on the receiving end of THREE of those last night (it was not a good night for my pilots)......
I was like you, Jim, early in my DiF experience => I just didn't see much "skill" in the game. I was winning about 40-50% of my games against evently matched planes.
But then I started to REALLY watch how the AI was playing - I REALLY started to analyze why the AI always seemed to have 5-6 cards, while my pilots only seemed to have 2-3 at any given time. "Strategy", in the game, really comes down to just a couple, simple concepts (IMHO), most of them based on always having more cards than the enemy. Examples:
1) Learning when NOT to play a card. If the AI is plinking you with a simple 1 hit burst, don't plop down your ACE or vertical roll to cancel it. Take those tinks, and save your "avoidance" cards for when it matters (to save your bacon from being "flipped" to damaged or dead).
ACE cards and Vertical Roll (VR) cards are the ONLY cards that can stop those hideous "Out of the Sun cards" - hoard them like gold.
Note the devestation to be had with a "Target Destroyed" card AND an ACE card in your hand. The ONLY thing that can save the AI is another ACE card. Don't be so quick to plop down that ACE card to avoid an enemy move/shot, especially if it gives the AI just a modest advantage.
Have a scissors card? Let him burn cards to get in a maneuver. USE your cards to prevent him from TAILING you. On your turn you go from being advantagED to HAVING the advantage. 1 successful scissors = 2 maneuvers.
Likewise, those half loop cards are GOLD. The computer can burn a LOT of cards to get on your tail and get some shots off. If you have effective "dodge" cards, one loop card on your turn puts everthing back to normal.
I guess what I'm saying is watch for situations where you have a hand where the enemy has to plunk down 2 or more cards that can be countered by just one of your cards.
2) Know the intricacies of the cards:
* Scissors trumps Tight Turn, but only TT's can dodge shots.
* Ace trumps everything
* Barrel rolls are the most common card and counter each other.
* Maneuver, Half Loop, Bursts => Attack Cards
* TT, BR, ACE, VR => Defense Cards
* VR, ACE => VERY special cards. ACE trumps everything. VR can dodge, but also be used during your turn to change elevation.
Let me give an example: the computer pops you HARD (3+ hits). You have a BR, TT, Scissors. Do you play the BR or TT? Both BR and TT will "dodge" the shot, but BR is easily countered (very common card), while a TT, even if the AI matches your TT, you can always trump it with SC. Essentially, the computer has to have BOTH a TT and SC to stop your TT. It's the better play.
3) Strategy : I don't claim to be an expert here, but there really are some interesting situations that can occur that can be capitalized on.
Hand full of DEFENSE only cards, no maneuver or burst cards? Then LET the AI get on your tail and blaze away. DON'T counter his maneuvers, but let him just flail away with valuable burst afer valuable burst. This is when I have my Wingie go for his wingie and just let his Leader waste cards on my leader, who can't attack ANYWAY! I've had a hand of 2 ACE's, 2 Vertical rolls, and all the rest of Barrel Rolls and tight turns. Defense time. Time to target his wingie with your wingie and just let your leader bear the heat.....he's got the cards for it and he can't attack ANYWAY.
Got a hand of "Target Destroyed", ACE, Half Loop? Yah, you can pop the enemy leader with this hand, but if his leader has a bunch of cards (lets say 5+), then why not use these three cards to target his wingie with his MUCH smaller hand? The ONLY thing that can save his wingie is another ACE card. Especially deadly against Japanese planes at high altitude (1 def card)! It's most likely a free kill.
Advantaged? Tailed? Change altitude. A lot. Climbing forces him to lose a card. If you have a worthless card, this is a no-brainer. Diving MIGHT give you a card to save your bacon (a SC when you are advantaged, ACE, VR, HL any other time). Realize that the following plane ALWAYS loses an "extra" card when you are only advantaged. The evil VR forces him to lose an ADDITIONAL card. Climbing, yet another!
Note that you should NEVER discard cards UNLESS it will get you more cards. Example; planes with -1 for damage find 1:1 cards worthless. I was ALWAYS discarding them at the end of my turn, even if the discard DIDN'T free up a draw! It took me a few games to realize that 1:1's are PERFECT cards to discard when climbing or following a baddie, even if my dinky guns carried the -1 penalty!
In short, it's always good to have the AI burn more cards than you!
Sam_F7
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Keep your eyes peeled for the official expansion pack announcement. It will include more aircraft, more skills, more campaigns, and a couple of new features.
It won't cover everything on your wish list, but it does have the Me-262 (and new jet rules).
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There are a number of skills that can result in gaining cards under various circumstances. Your best bet is to open up the Action Log window because it will show when a card is drawn and why.
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If you haven't done so already, the first thing you should do is create an account by going to http://downinflamesonline.com/DiFPortal/Default.aspx?tabid=31
Click the Register button and fill in the required information. You should then receive an e-mail confirming your registration and providing you with a verification code. Go to the same URL listed above and enter your user name, password and verification code. At this point, your account is active.
Now you can enter the same user name and password on the "Register product" screen along with your serial number.
If you run into any problems, send an e-mail to difadmin@battlefront.com and we'll try to work through it.
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I think that depends on operating system of the computer you are installing the game on, and how that computer has been configured.
Many times the computers that employees use at work have restricted rights, and the computers only allow users with administrator rights to install new software. This prevents users from installing non-work related software on company computers.
This is not normally a problem on most home computers. However, you can always download the Demo version and try it out. If you can install the Demo, you'll be able to install the full game as well.
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Currently, there is no way to design your own campaigns, but that's something we could consider in the future. A frequent request is to be able to play campaign games offline, and a campaign designer would fit within that pretty well, I think.
As far as the existing and upcoming campaigns, Sixxkiller is the chief campaign designer, so I'm sure he can describe what his methodology is for assigning pilot skills.
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The error shouldn't affect the results of your campaign mission. It appears that it is having problems logging information to the Action Log window. Are you currently showing the Action Log window?
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Having player-pilots participate in campaigns is requested frequently, so we will probably try to do that eventually.
The existing campaigns will probably be left alone for play balance reasons, and because the focus of the campaigns is not centered around the pilots. Instead, they are centered around controlling areas and managing resources (pilots and aircraft).
We would develop a new campaign system that follows a pilot (or set of pilots) through a series of historically consistent and related missions.
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You shouldn't need admin rights to run the game once it is installed. I'm not certain whether admin rights are required to install the game or not. I think users in the "Power Users" group may have rights to install programs.
The game does play in windowed mode.
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Ok. I'll take a look.
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LA-7
Real World Data
Name: La-7
Manufacturer: Lavochkin
Type: Fighter
Number of Engines: 1
Horsepower: 1,850 hp
Max Weight: 7,183 lbs.
Max Speed: 425 mph
Number of Guns: 2
Crew: 1
Year Introduced: 1943
In 1943 Lavochkin and other engineers at the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute decided to begin redesign and improvement efforts for the La-5. The resulting La-7, build almost entirely out of metals, flew with better performance due to several streamlining changes.
This new aircraft was a favorite with the Soviet aces. It was the only soviet fighter to successfully shoot down a German Me-262.
During the many La-7 redesigns the Soviets decided to experiment with liquid fuelled propulsion. Attempts were made with a tail-mounted liquid fuelled rocket engine (La-7R), two under-wing pulsejets (La-7D), and two under-wing ramjets(La-7S) each using variations off the idea of having the aircraft intake air, adding a combustible mixture of fuels and shooting the air out a rear exhaust tube.
None of these jet designs went into production.
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Yes, there will be jet sound files for the Me-262. Campaigns will still not allow player-pilots to participate. Sorry. There will be lots of new campaigns, though.Originally posted by Fred19:Wow, can't wait to get the expansion pack! :eek:
Will "jet sound" also be integrated for the ME 262?
And will we be able to play campaigns with our own built pilots?
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P.11C
Real World Data
Name: P.11C
Manufacturer: PZL (Panstwowe Zaklady Lotnicze)
Type: Fighter
Number of Engines: 1
Horsepower: 600 hp
Max Weight: 3,638 lbs.
Max Speed: 233 mph
Number of Guns: 2
Crew: 1
Year Introduced: 1934
The P.11c was one of the very first metal covered aircraft. Designed when most others were still wood and canvas biplanes, this craft also used a redesigned wing that dipped in the middle to give its pilot better visibility. They were also advantaged with a very durable construction that could take off from rough, short fields easily.
Unfortunately, it was quickly made obsolete as other countries brought out their metal designs. Most P.11c aircraft were equipped with only 2 machineguns and only a few had a radio.
The P.11c is remembered as the first aircraft shot down in all of World War II. On the upside, it also happened to be the plane type to claim the first Allied victory by shooting down two Do 17Es. It was also the first airplane to successfully ram an enemy plane during WWII.
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Me-262A-1 Schwalbe
Real World Data
Name: Me-262A-1
Manufacturer: Messerschmitt AG
Type: Fighter
Number of Engines: 2
Horsepower: 1,980 turbojet
Weight Max: 15,550 lbs.
Max Speed: 540 mph
Number of Guns: 4
Crew: 1
Year Introduced: 1944
The second jet fighter of the war (the British Meteor I was deployed first), it was first flown in July of 1942. Hitler did not make a decision on the jet until November 1943, and only as a bomber. However the development team built both a fighter and bomber version under some subterfuge and risk to themselves.
The fastest plane in WWII, it suffered from engine fires, breakups, and the 30mm guns were prone to jam. Also, the landing gear had a tendency to collapse on landing. Still, 1,433 were built, and accounted for over 100 Allied bomber and fighter kills. However, a lack of fuel kept most of the "Swallows" grounded.
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To be honest, I hadn't given it much thought. By default, the answer to your question is that it would be the last option you mentioned.
It might be possible to introduce a new skill that would allow pilots to cash in their skills in order to repurchase a different set. I'm not sure what the cost would be, but it would need to be high enough such that players wouldn't be cashing in their skills too frequently.
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Hmmm. I've tried it from two different computers and the pictures are showing just fine for me.
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J7W1 Shinden
Real World Data
Name: J7W1 Shinden
Manufacturer: Kyushu Hikoki
Type: Fighter
Number of Engines: 1
Horsepower: 2,130 hp
Max Weight: 10,841 lbs.
Max Speed: 469 mph
Number of Guns: 4
Crew: 1
Year Introduced: 1945
The J7W1 "Shinden" which is Japanese for Magnificent Lightning was the first plane to go into any stage of production with a canard configuration. A canard configuration means the wings were mounted at or near the rear of the aircraft. This configuration is used on some of today’s newer fighter planes.
The "brainchild" of Captain Masaoki Tsuruno, the Shinden was also one of the strangest looking aircraft to be dreamed up in WWII by not only looking like a goose, but strange that the engineers mounted the engine backwards inside the rear half of the fuselage. The radial, air-cooled power plant drove a 6-blade, pusher propeller on the end of an extended drive shaft. With the propeller fitted at the tail, it was necessary to use a tricycle landing gear consisting of one wheel and strut mounted under the nose and two under the wings.
Compounding its unusual makeup, the Shinden was also ordered into production before even its first test flight. At this stage of the war the Japanese had little choice as the Allies were pounding their cities with air raids on a regular basis. Captian Tsuruno made its first test flight on August 3, 1945. He flew two more times on the 6th and the 9th, but before he could fly his 4th time, the war ended.
There were two prototypes made and there were plans for a turbo-jet version when war was halted. The US Navy dismantled and sent the second prototype home for testing but is not believed to have been test flown. In 1960 it was sent for display at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institute.
Auto updater problem
in Down In Flames
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I have seen that error a couple of times before. Send an e-mail to difadmin@battlefront.com and I'll send you a file that may fix it.