Hey guys,
sorry not to have contributed anything here for a while, but I have found myself in a situation where we are putting our home up for sale (necessitating time-consuming stuff like slapping a bit of paint onto the woodwork and ceilings...) and looking for somewhere to buy. As we hope to be moving soon, everything is starting to go into boxes- including any free time I might have had.
the upside is that once we move we will have more space and I will have a proper space of my own where I can fulfil my dreams of winging through the wild blue yonder doing non-lethal battle with virtual foes!
Pity I can't install Il2 here at work where I seem to have more free time than at home at the minute!

MC

Hi dogload!

... that's too bad, but you will join in later I hope?

Philip, Friday evening would be Ok for me... just give me a timeframe so I can try to use my PC as server. This way we could be sure that an Armorama arena is possible...

If I do the server, tell me also the settings I should use... I personnaly would prefer the cockpit to be always visible for example. But maybe someone else won't agree... What about un/limited ammo, flight settings, ennemy plane icones etc...

Just tell me

Jean-Luc

I allmost allways fly in gunsight view and i often go to outside view to check damage etc... I would prefer if stalls and spins was on because then people would not be able to do crazy, impossible manuvers. Limeted ammo also adds to the realism. I think Next friday at 6pm, GMT (well that would work for me). I suggest you nable the password feature and then tell the people (on armorama) who want to play hte password by PM.

cheers

Philip

ps Jean_Luc, did you play online recently because i have not seen 'Spogek' around allot.

Hi Philip!

Well... in fact I managed to find the time to fly online just once because school started in France again... so I don't have vacations anymore (doh!)

Friday would be good for me, 6 PM GMT would be 7 PM in france. I'll start the server then... I don't think it is necessary to PM the password, I'll post it here in a few days...

I agree with you on the settings. I also think we should play with icones and map at the beginning. It would be better if we don't spend yours finding each other!

All Armorama pilots are welcome! Beginner or confirmed! So post a message if you want to fly with us!

The game version is IL2 Forgotten Battles 1.22

Jean-Luc

Yeah, I would like to fly! (or try, I have never flown IL2 online before ).

I'll have to uninstall FB+AEP to be able to fly. Not a big deal, I have to campaigns going on. (or try to install multiply copies by copying FB+AEP to a different directory first) But I have to download the patch, though. (the only one I did delete after installing...)

Those settings sound good to me. Btw, what about complex engine management? Are going to put that on or off?

As I said, I have no previous online experience, can you direct me how to get online and to find right server? It would be better to try it out before the actual flying time. Or is it as simple as starting the game, selecting multiplayer, logging in and finding the server and start flying?

Hi Eetu!

If I managed to get online... everyone is able to get online! :-)

I also had IL2 FB+AEP+PF but decided to uninstall it using the usual way...

Then I made a new installation of IL2 FB and upgraded it to 1.22 to be able to play online. You can download the patch here: v1.0 to v1.22
You also have to register at Ubi.com in order to get access to the arenas. You will have to choose a Callsign and a password...

Finally, when you launch IL2 FB, choose to play online and follow the instructions... IL2 will quit, then you will see a black window with available arenas (Hopefully there will be an Armorama Arena Friday). Choose one and the game will launch again but the opponents will be real ones!

If someone has question or suggestions, please make them before friday so we can arrange things a little...

To return to the settings, I don't think complex engine managment would be a good thing, we are all novice pilots! We should have fun first and see how it works, maybe after we will make finer adjustments to the settings. What about easy takeoff and landing to begin?

Jean-Luc

Do not make bad weather, but make clouds, they are cool. Also your game has to be of the same version as the server (1.22) otherwise it will not work. Jean-Luc, you have to make a password. Also i would recomend the meximum no of players at 16. Mabye we should have team leaders. I would like to be the blue team leader.

See you friday!

The Cloud Phantom

Here's my opinion: if you have external views disabled, enable easy landings. And if external views are on, turn on realistic landings. (even with realistics landings on, I have had very ugly landings and kept the plane in one piece, but only with external views on) But having it enabled could be nice too. Easy take-offs? Off, please. Make sure not to have thunderstorms etc, they make take-offs and landings extremely tricky. Not to even talk about planes shaking like tincans at low altitudes...

Realistic gunnery will be enabled, I presume?
Disabling complex engine management is a good idea.
Having speed bar (the info on the left lower corner of the screen telling speed, altitude and heading) on would be nice too.

I experimented with stalls & spins setting today. I would recommend disabling that, since there will beginners flying (myself included). That way we can concentrate on flying.

What about selecting planes? Will all planes be available, or are we going to fly at certain time of the war?

Oh, I got FB 1.22 installed. I had FB+AEP (2.04), which I wanted to keep, so I just copied it to another directory, then unistalled the original and installed FB. I registered at ubi.com, my nick is Emeritus86 (Emeritus was already taken). Now I just have to decide which plane I'm going to fly

56K = analog = kak slow, i.e 56kb/s and downloads a file at max of 8kb/s. so anyone know if 56k is a possibility?

I one day I get it right to play online, i prefer limited ammo, complex engine off, and pretty much everything else on - just no take offs & landings, it wastes time.

my 2 cents, (for free)

Erik :-)

I suck without the autopilot to help me take off and to get me out of spins. Tried it online last weekend and realized I didn't have the keys setup to start the engines on a multi-engine plane.

Paul

The key to taking-off is to increase the throttle gently. The high torque on engines of some planes may make it necessary to use rudder to keep the plane pointed to the right direction. Just take it easy. And when you're ready to pull up, do it gently at around 180-200km/h, retract the landing gear, then the flaps and remember not to pull off any stunt moves before you have gained enough speed.
(I've heard some people actually use this vulnerable situation to down opponents in multiplayer. A just taken-off plane is forced into making tight turns and other manouvers he/she don't have speed for and ends up crashing)

Some functions, like selecting engines, aren't bound to keyboard buttons, you have to do it yourself. I have the keys bound something like this:
i=toggle engine (that's selected)
Alt+1,2,3 etc.=select engine (or select/unselect) 1, 2, 3 and so forth.
Alt+L, Alt+R=select left/right engine
o= select/unselect all engines

Bren, I think it's possible to play with 56k.

Btw, what planes are you guys going to pilot?

Hi all!

All ready for the fight... err... flight!

If I manage to do the server I will call it "Armorama" and the password will be: circus

I'll use the following settings:
Separate engine = NO (all engines start together)
Complex engine = NO ( )
Engine overheat = YES (don't push too hard too long!)
Torque & Gyro = YES
Flutter Effect = YES
Wind & Turbulences = NO (let's say the air is quite)
Stalls & Spins = YES (keep minimum speed!)
Vulnerability = NO (off course)
Blackouts & Redouts = YES (we're human after all)
Realistic Gunnery = YES (this is not to my advantage!)
Limited Ammo = YES (Don't shoot more than 2 seconds!)
Limited Fuel = YES
Cockpit always on = YES (this is not an arcade game!)
No external view= NO (you will be able to watch your plane from the outside... but don't use this to find the enemy! Just for take off and to see battle damage)
Head Shake = YES
No Icons = NO (planes will be identified red and blue)
No Padlock = YES (no artificial following of the enemy)
Clouds = YES (to escape the enemy)
No instant success = YES (enabled)
Takeoff & Landings = YES
Realistic landings = NO ( )
No map icons = YES (the enemy is invisible on the map)
No Minimap Path = NO (you always know were you are)
No Speed Bar = NO (the speed bar will be visible)

These are suggestions, if you are not happy with that I can change them...

If me doing the server doesn't work I suggest we move to another available forum. Again, it's the first try so I'm not sure if my computer will be able to do that

I choosed the Dogfight Scenario 8 map and we should use the airfields in the north area... on the northern lakes! Procrazzy is already flying blue (germans) so I will fly the reds (soviets). I'll try the Lag 7 or the P-40...

Post any comments until Friday for answers...

Jean-Luc

I think that vulnerabilty should be on, otherwise we will not be able to down the other players. Also does 'cockpit allways on' prevent you from going into gunsight mode? If it does i would prefer it off becasue i have allways flown with the gunsight view. Also, if realistic landings is off it means that if you hit hte ground you just bounce off (it does not matter what speed of angle). I am happy with the others

cheers

Philip

Cockpit always on just means that you can't use the view mode where the cockpit is not visible, resulting in a completely free vision all around (like (like you weren't sitting in the cockpit at all). You can still use "toggle gunsight" to look down the sight, of course.

I don't know about the effects of disabling realistic landings. (haven't tried it) I presume it just makes it harder to crash your plane. I don't think that makes you invulnerable to ground contact, though. I remember that you can still wreck your plane with invulnerability on. Having realistic landings adds that fun aspect of danger. You might get away from the enemy with damaged plane, but landing it might be another story . But have it disabled if you want to. (I've landed planes with one aileron shot off or rudder missing, but landing with malfunctioning or disabled elevators is all but impossible! I've heard it can be done, though. But I would just try to make a nice belly landing if I'm at low altitude, or just bail out if your higher).

That external view on is good for helping in landing and take-off. Being able to inspect battle damage is usefull.

(Once I was flying with Bf-109 and I was attacked. I though I was hit pretty badly. My plane was still flying normally, meaning that no tail or wings were missing. Only steering feeled funny somehow Then I looked at my right wing. There was a huge hole in it! I was able to get back home, but further combat was out of the question)

The rest of the settings are ideal (almost the same ones I use). See you in the (virtual)sky tomorrow!

I mean this view (first and last pics, but i fly in first person obvoulsy)
http://koti.mbnet.fi/cheil/il2-kuvat.html

I CANNOT fly in full cockpit view.

cheers

Philip

HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

Flying without cockpit... errr... not with me I'm afraid!



Don't take this personally Philip, you have the right to play the way you want and I don't have a problem with that... but flying without cockpit takes away all the strategic part of flying! The view you play with makes you see all around you as if your plane was invisible (like Wonder Woman's) and even worse, pointers are always showing you were the enemy is... where is the difficulty?
Dogfighting is about getting close to the enemy without being noticed, trying to get him in sight while he is trying to escape! All this isn't possible without cockpit view! This makes the game an arcade still combat... not very interesting for me I guess!
Again, it's not against you Philip! It's just that in my opinion, the game should be played for what it is: a flight simulator!

What are you all thinking about that

I don't want to appear fastidious but I don't want to play an online "shoot them up"! Sorry guys... this would take away all the "pleasure" for me!

Jean-Luc

P.S. At least I now know Why I was always downed last time I played... I always had the cockpit on! I must have been the only one trying to find the enemy without pointers! :-)

If yo8u turn the icons off there are no pointers

cheers

Philip

Hi Philip!

Ok... but flying without cockpit is just not my thing... sorry!

It would be interesting if others give their opinion... if I'm the only one to have a problem with that I'll change the settings... or I simply bail out!

Jean-Luc

Hey Jean-Luc- I may be stating the bleedin' obvious here, but you can change your view using Ctrl+F1, according to taste. I tend to swap between cockpit/ non-cockpit during a game (cockpit during those long flights to a target, without for fighting). It doesn't affect the other players as far as I'm aware. Mind you, it's so long since I've played that I could be talking rubbish!
MC

I also agree, cockpit's ON. It doesn't feel like flying a plane if you turn off the cockpit.

To my knowlegde, the player who's running the server can decide the settings. Other players can then only examine them. Everybody plays by the same setting.

Hi all!

It's obvious we have two "flying schools" here... we will have to decide further how we will play but I would definitely go for cockpit ON! I said my reasons in the previous post...

Emeritus is right... if I decide to set cockpit to ON, everybody will have the cockpit with no exception! I don't think some flying without while some fly with the cockpit is a good thing as it would give a definite advantage to the first ones!

I don't want to fly with cockpit for esthetic reasons but because visibility is an important aspect of aerial combat! Almost everytime a pilot was shot down during WW2 is because he didn't saw his enemy!

Anyway, I will try to launch my computer as server this evening with cockpit ON. Let's see if it works at all... I'll also put the icones on the map so it will be easier to find each other on the map.

And remember, if you fly with cockpit, the enemy flies with cockpit as well!

Jean-Luc

EDIT: Well... it seems I have to download a 410 Mb file to do the server!!! I started a few minutes ago but it will take several hours! The Armorama server will not be available today... sorry! But you can try on the other servers...

I will be happly to start a backup server at the same time and the same password. If it does not work please pm me.
6pm GMT password: circus
It will probably run for an hour or so.

cheers

Philip

I was unable to connect to procrazzy's server. I'll try to create another one, same name same password, also to test that there's nothing wrong with my networks settings or connections.

Edit: I think I got the server up and running, nobody showed up, though. Maybe because I have no patches for running servers (at least that's what I think). We should try again someday, with TedMamere hosting as planned before.

Hi all!

I saw Philip's server as well but couldn't join: connection attempt to remote host failed. reason: time out was the message I got...

I didn't saw your server attempt Eetu

Did you saw mine?

Philip how did you do? Did you launched your server from within the game? Don't we need the dedicated server patch to get it to work propely? It"s a big file to download...

Jean-Luc

I may need that file, do you have a link?
Sadly i will be busy over the weekend but mabye we can have another battle next week, same place same time?

cheers

Philip