In Flight
So how does it fly? Well your first big challenge will be the take-off! Forget all about the smooth tarmac surfaces of jet sims. When you start rolling down the airfield in 1915 there is nothing but bumpy, grass covered terra firma. Once you get airborne, there is so much torque you’ll find it difficult to keep from getting into a wingover condition and darting left into the ground. With practice, you can get wheels off and head to the first waypoint. Keep in mind your flight is right there with you on take-off and mid-air crashes with your wingie are a real possibility. It happened twice to me. The first time evoked a real “what the….!” reaction till I remembered this was no sanitary, orderly take-off governed by radar and a radio-equipped control tower.
I cannot say how far along the flight model is, but it felt more “right” than any other WWI sim I’ve flown. Always subjective, the flight model did what I expected, and sometimes didn’t do what I expected. While banking I noticed a definite slip as the wooden-framed, canvas-clad wonder I was flying reacted more like a kite. The audio from the different engines completes the feeling of immersion. The poor Nieuport sounds more like an anemic garden weed trimmer while the other planes sound much more robust and throaty. I have little doubt that neoqb captured the correct sounds of the engines including the Nieuport. All the engines were so primitive (remember that gasoline engines hadn’t been around that long) that there is a presence of cycling rpm’s and oscillation even at a relatively steady speed. Another first for RoF — least I haven’t seen before in a WWI flight sim — the flights don’t ride around like they’re on symmetrical rails. Planes stutter forward, up, down and back. Really tight flight formations in these birds are a wishful dream. I mustered-up enough nerve to try some maneuvers that would not be more than a yawn in a typical WWII or jet flight simulation, and they always proved to be an adventure in themselves. Yet the flying was not “twitchy” once I became used to flying these motorized kites with machine guns. At least as long as the wind and turbulence was turned-down in the settings!
Below are two videos that show planes in flight. The first is essentially a “flat and level”, non-combat clip that displays panning around the plane, shows surface lighting, and some of the beautiful scenery. The second video is a dogfight. You can view them below from the SimHQ YouTube account, or you can download them in a zipped .wmv format that is linked below.
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This non-combat video shows the surface lighting and terrain textures
while panning around the plane in flight. |
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A 3 minute dogfight. Panning view is using the mouse.
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