Thoughts about Friday's update

[fruitbat]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Snapper

No, you're right. Actually, I just flew that mission yesterday -- it is the 2-speed Mark 1 that's used. Don't shoot me if I'm wrong, but I believe that many Spitfire squadrons hadn't yet been retrofitted by May, 1940, with the CS props (DH or Rotol? Can't remember offhand which was field mounted and which was factory-installed later). IIRC Al Deere of 54 Squadron flew a Dunkirk mission in a Mark 1 with 2-speed prop (and got shot down and had to take a boat home with the evacuees).

Re-reading Alex Henshaw's "Sigh for a Merlin". Early on he mentions that the BoB pilots quickly discovered that the 2-speed prop pitch lever could be carefully manipulated at the center of travel to adjust the prop's pitch between Full Fine and Full Coarse -- which gave huge obvious advantages in performance if done skillfully. This was strictly variable pitch though, NOT Constant Speed. Neither DH nor Rolls Royce countenanced this, fearing serious damage to engine and/or prop governor -- but neither Company's reps were in the cockpit with the pilot at 20 angels with a 109 on their six! This aspect is not modelled in CoD, but IS modelled in A2A's Wings of Power 3 Spitfire 1a.

It is correct that during Dunkirk it should be 2 stage, but between the end of BoF and BoB DH fitted CSP's in the field, it was one of the few times that something was actually done quickly, and is well documented in both Alfred Prices "The Spitfire Story",
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-Sto.../dp/1854095145
and also in the even more encompassing work, Morgan and Shackladys "Spitfire the History" (a must read for all things Spitfire, look in the library or buy if you can)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-His.../dp/0946219486

Unlike the fitting of metal ailerons, which took and age for them to finally do from when it was recommended (during bob, fitted may ish 1941 iirc)

[csThor]

Originally Posted by Stublerone

Additionally you have to see, that flying offline is not what the game is made for. I think, that these single player related problems could be left alone. Building a community is not working with a crowd of single players. Also a further development is simply impossible, as there is no life or culture in it.

Prime example of a one-sided post of some online player. Excluding a large share of players simply because they don't join the mindless cluster online (which, in 90% of the cases, is merely a merry Take off - Furball - Die - Repeat) isn't helpful in building a community, either.
And what you said about "development" and "culture" ... I take that as an insult. In my experience the overwhelming majority of the online players have no interest in either as they merely want the same old, same old cluster with fighters.

[ATAG_Snapper]

Thanks for the info, Fruitbat.

I have Dr. Price's books in my collection, and have added Morgan and Shacklady's to my Amazon.ca "wishlist". At $215 CDN this is a serious book at a serious price! LOL But Christmas is coming......

[fruitbat]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Snapper

Thanks for the info, Fruitbat.

I have Dr. Price's books in my collection, and have added Morgan and Shacklady's to my Amazon.ca "wishlist". At $215 CDN this is a serious book at a serious price! LOL But Christmas is coming......

I know its bloody expensive, i keep ordering it out of the library!

on the plus side it is a bloody big book, with every single modification to spitfires that was done listed along with all serial numbers of spits and where they went squadron wise amongst other things.

[ATAG_Snapper]

Fruitbat wrote:

"Unlike the fitting of metal ailerons, which took and age for them to finally do from when it was recommended (during bob, fitted may ish 1941 iirc)"

A major issue, to be sure, which ISN'T modelled in CoD (I think Kurfurst issued a BugTracker report -- the Spitfire rolls 4x too fast in a 400 mph IAS dive IIRC. Of course, in CoD the Spit loses its ailerons at 420 IAS, so that kinda looks after that! LOL). I remember reading Douglas Bader "jumped the queue" and stepped on a lot of toes to make sure his planes got outfitted with metal ailerons first. Lovable he may not have been, but he did get results! LOL

[fruitbat]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Snapper

Fruitbat wrote:

"Unlike the fitting of metal ailerons, which took and age for them to finally do from when it was recommended (during bob, fitted may ish 1941 iirc)"

A major issue, to be sure, which ISN'T modelled in CoD (I think Kurfurst issued a BugTracker report -- the Spitfire rolls 4x too fast in a 400 mph IAS dive IIRC. Of course, in CoD the Spit loses its ailerons at 420 IAS, so that kinda looks after that! LOL). I remember reading Douglas Bader "jumped the queue" and stepped on a lot of toes to make sure his planes got outfitted with metal ailerons first. Lovable he may not have been, but he did get results! LOL

best bit about that story, is that after Bader had been shot down, and Johnie Johnson was in charge, he got a visit from some angry official asking who had authorised it!

[adonys]

when you will finally understand and stop this nonsense that offline flying it is not important?!!

are you guys mathematics challenged and can not do some simple operations to see that the most of the game's revenue comes from units sold to people playing exclusively offline? if those have nothing to play, they won't pay for a sequel, and then you won't have your multiplayer playground neither.

and that without mentioning that actually you can not have a multiplayer persistent viable world without having the missing player numbers replaced by AIs..

use your head before saying something like this ever again!

[Toni74]

With a steam based game it would be very simple to get stats of online and offline players by letting the game phoning home. Don't know why this isn't in use already.

[bolox]

Originally Posted by Toni74

With a steam based game it would be very simple to get stats of online and offline players by letting the game phoning home. Don't know why this isn't in use already.

cos some offline players run steam in offline mode 24/7 except for patching

[Toni74]

Originally Posted by bolox

cos some offline players run steam in offline mode 24/7 except for patching

right. except for patching then they're online.