USAF-IMHO by Stocky2
Collusotomy
How come you don't overclock your 300a to 450?
> frames when it happens- for the most part the game plays fairly smoothly
on my
> machine- 374 oc 300a, tnt 1, 64 mb-66 sdram, sb live value, ms sidewinder
> 3dpro.
> almost full install (left out voice rec) adeq. wind. swap file (wind.
managed)
Stocky2
those interested.
For anyone who likes fl. sims (and I assume those reading this group do) and
undecided on buying it- I believe this one is a must have collectable and a
"most fun with your clothes on" sim.
Are there bugs? Sure- they all have bugs.
Are there really serious bugs? Not for me, but some others are having some
problems.
Will there be a patch or so? Almost guaranteed to be.
I haven't tried all aspects such as voice rec., multiplayer, etc.- haven't
flown all flyable planes.
Do we get our moneys worth- yes, and then some- playable for a very long time
to come and the game reeks of quality and highest tech. code writing for a
computer fl. sim.
There is so much extra included that it alone is worth the price of admission
without even playing the game- the opening combat footage, even the closing
credits and film- superb is as close as I can come to describing it.
Is the game that perfect? Hell, no- but I can almost cry thinking about the
time, efforts, and money that went into making F4 and this one beating it in
many catagories for a computer game. F4 is and will remain a standard for
accuracy in fl. sims for a very long time to come- most will not even, (ever)
understand or know what actually is in F4- it is mostly wasted on the majority
of us.
Is it that nec. for F4 to be that accurate and real? Only for an F16 pilot-
the rest of us just are bogged down by the realism and overwhelmed by the tasks
and difficulty of the sim. We claim we want realism- they gave it to us to our
eyeballs, but I for one could use just a little less realism and more fun.
Most of us do not want to put in the work and effort that a real pilot has to
go thru to do their job and live- we want to simulate it on a computer and
enjoy it with some escapism and as much realism as we can handle- very few of
us would qualify for a real pilot for many reasons.
When I played the demo I had some reservations about how well USAF would play
on my machine- long pauses, skipped frames. Even with everything turned down
almost to the lowest settings, still no improvement. But many people said that
the full game ran smoothly for them and I took the chance. For me, I let the
game configure the settings- the game does a great job of doing it and I
believe that many people having some problems would be well served by letting
the game test their vid card- that is the game config. file poorly disguised
for us.
The game does NOT run in glide- it does run in d3d and will run with 3dfx cards
in d3d. If someone has more than 1 game card, the game picks one, but I would
still check to make sure it picks the right one.
Frame counter? YES !!!!!! I am using it and getting what they claim- aver.
about 20 fps- as low as 7, as high as 38, depending on terraign flying over.
In Resources folder- cockpits- cockpits.ibx. -At the bottom you will see a
setting FrMess=0 ---change to read 1 instead turns on fr. rate in game at top
in message tape.
USAF is very similar to IAF (surprise, surprise- by same people) but it is
like they improved it for a year or two more. I love IAF and now love USAF.
If the people who complained about IAF problems now see that what they spoke
about is fixed in USAF, then what else will they find to complain about and not
like? Without a doubt they will find things to not like- it is like this with
any sim- some will hate it.
And my curiousity will be to see what they can find to not like about it- it is
not perfect and they will complain about the imperfections in it- ignoring the
overwhelming "BEAUTY" of it. The same people would also find fault with a long
stem, red rose blossom- too red, not red enough, too sweet a smell, etc.- you
get the picture.
Now, after saying all that, a few things that bother me about USAF (yes, I
don't have rose colored glasses on)
1. once in flight, going to the menu takes forever to get a screen to change
planes- I would hope that in the interim that at least the game waits for me to
rejoin without continuing without me at that time.
2. in refuel training mission- I have flown it 3 times already and refueled
over and over each time without getting a mission complete- one time it said
the 1st refuel was ok but not the second- I tried it on autop and man. each
time refueling sucessfully (no damage and cleared to disconnect) One time I
even flew back to base and landed (crashed trying to get inside hanger at 8
mph)- This is not a big deal and I am prob. missing something on this one- Main
thing is I refueled succ. the first time and each time (about 10x already)
First few times I got connected on first try, but after that I missed a few and
had to come around for another try.
It is very entertaining watching the refuel when you connect.
3. I still have some long pauses occas., but I don't believe I am losing
frames when it happens- for the most part the game plays fairly smoothly on my
machine- 374 oc 300a, tnt 1, 64 mb-66 sdram, sb live value, ms sidewinder
3dpro.
almost full install (left out voice rec) adeq. wind. swap file (wind. managed)
Will there be any addons? I am very optomistically hoping for some- I notice
in some of the mission choices there are names that say "not available"
Surprise, surprise !!!! They made room for more missions with names already
!!!! I am not taking about user missions- but the game named missions as place
markers.
Does this game have long term playablity? Yes. Possiblities are staggering.
Will Janes support this expansion? To the HILT !!!! with full cooperation and
encouragement.
How well is it supported? As well as any game has ever been- they have a big
interest in the large success of this game.
Are they making promises they can't keep? Only if the game is a flop- I
believe it will be a great success based on the quality of it and I hope my
comments convince those on the fence to buy it and make it even more than it
would have been. You can buy now and enjoy, or wait and miss out on a lot- in
the end, if you like fl. sims you will buy it and most will not regret the
decision.
You want to wait for a patch? Your time loss- the game is most very enjoyably
playable as is now. It is a very polished product from start to finish.
Will there by an "anthology"? I hope so- it will mean several addons with
improvement patches like Fighter Anthology. Will we complain that we have to
buy more addons? Most assuradly, but they will give us more for our money when
we do buy them.
Should they supply the addons free? We know better than that- we have to pay
for more of their work- it will have to earn it or we will pass.
Is anyone still following my thoughts? In my humble opinion, the game is
great and well worth the money for all the reasons I stated and probably for
many more that I haven't even gotten into.
You don't believe me? Would I lie? See the number of game mag. reviews about
it already- go to Limech site where they are lined up. Sim of the year award?
Good chance (certainly a top contender)
Sto...@aol.com
digita...@my-deja.com
Nuf said!
Hey Janes screw your USAF, where's my Warthog???
-----
-----------
In article <19991024224434...@ng-cr1.aol.com>,
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Stocky2
>How come you don't overclock your 300a to 450?
>
Every time I mention oc to 374 I get someone asking that question.
The answer is that I am using pc66 ram and that is as high as I can go and
still have a stable system. I tried all the other things to oc and it may work
for a few min. and then "blue screen".
I had intended to get pc 100 but waited just a week or so too long- I called
one site for it that offered 128 mb pc100 for $45 and that was minutes before
they changed the price approaching infinity. They wouldn't honor the website
price- from there the prices on all sites skyrocketed by the hour.
Soooo, 374 is it on my 300a or anything else for now.
Sto...@aol.com
Lil Sky Pig
wrote in message news:19991024224434...@ng-cr1.aol.com...
> Since everyone has an opinion, after playing for a while I will share mine
for
> those interested.
>
> For anyone who likes fl. sims...
[snip]
> Is anyone still following my thoughts? In my humble opinion, the game is
> great and well worth the money for all the reasons I stated and probably
for
> many more that I haven't even gotten into.
>
> You don't believe me? Would I lie? See the number of game mag. reviews
about
> it already- go to Limech site where they are lined up. Sim of the year
award?
> Good chance (certainly a top contender)
Thanks for the review, Stocky2.
I had, from the first, decided to
ignore USAF (for a very good
reason: no loot). However, a
couple of points you brought up
in your post caused me to do
a bit of reconsidering. I'll have
to sneak into my wife's purse
and see what can be done about
salvaging some of my funds.
Lil Active Duty Pig
Phil Worthen
says...
> AOL subscriber
>
> Nuf said!
>
>
> Hey Janes screw your USAF, where's my Warthog???
The fine art of trolling is a fading discipline. I do appreciate a well
thought out, researched troll by a professional.
But a newbie-kooks-amature like the 'poser' here are really lowering the
bar.
*burp*
'nuff said'
-Surfer
--
Phil "Surfer" Worthen
-----------------------------
phi...@pacbell.net
dancho
like they were on a Kuwait freeway, and nobody ever has a hydraulic
leak. Where your depleted uranium ammo is unlimited, and the Skunk
Works is still quietly working on a Bombcat sim.
dancho
(sigh)
In article <7v0ndq$e4e$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
digita...@my-deja.com wrote:
> AOL subscriber
>
> Nuf said!
>
> Hey Janes screw your USAF, where's my Warthog???
>
> -----
>
(snip)
Waver
games like this? Yet Janes makes one and you all love it?
--
Waver <><
-
Australia
Foxbat
"Waver" <wav...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:381468ed$0$15...@motown.iinet.net.au...
> Ok,.. Question.. Then how come everyone blasts Novalogic when they make
> games like this? Yet Janes makes one and you all love it?
>
Simple: Novalogic never offers what they claimed to offer, i.e. super
realistic flight model. Janes never claims what they do not offer.
Foxbat
rchri...@my-deja.com
"Waver" <wav...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Ok,.. Question.. Then how come everyone blasts Novalogic when they
make
> games like this? Yet Janes makes one and you all love it?
>
> Waver <><
> -
> Australia
Novalogic does not now and never has made games like this.
D. Miller
Fighter's Anthology, so I'm naturally tempted to get this one too.
I agree with you totally on the "realism" angle, also. You know what they
say, "Be careful what you ask for..." Don't get me wrong, I fly the hell
out of F4 with my squad, even dutifully logging our hours, non-combat as
well as combat--the CO's a former Viper driver--but I don't know if I'd call
F4 "fun" in the strictest sense of the world. Exhilerating? Challenging?
Sometimes scary? Definitely. But with the hyper air activity,
ahem.."challenging" missiles (especially SA 7's), and unreliable padlock,
I'm not sure I'd call what I go through "fun". :)
I must confess that on some nights, I think of firing up F4 for a mission or
two, and opt for EAW instead. *ggg* Hehe, some nights you just don't want
to work that hard.
I suppose that the only thing really keeping me from USAF is that I have too
many damn sims already to even fly the ones I have. (So it's mainly F4 and
EAW). But the ability to fly DACM (especially since USAF does have a Mig
29) is very tempting.
D. "Dada" Miller
257th Fighter Group, The Talons
http://www.flash.net/~jjes/DaDa's.htm (my logbook *ggg*)
Stocky2 <sto...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19991024224434...@ng-cr1.aol.com...
> Since everyone has an opinion, after playing for a while I will share mine
for
> those interested.
>
> For anyone who likes fl. sims (and I assume those reading this group do)
and
> undecided on buying it- I believe this one is a must have collectable and
a
> "most fun with your clothes on" sim.
> Are there bugs? Sure- they all have bugs.
> Are there really serious bugs? Not for me, but some others are having
some
> problems.
> Will there be a patch or so? Almost guaranteed to be.
> I haven't tried all aspects such as voice rec., multiplayer, etc.- haven't
> flown all flyable planes.
> Do we get our moneys worth- yes, and then some- playable for a very long
time
> to come and the game reeks of quality and highest tech. code writing for a
> computer fl. sim.
<snip>
Roderick Pommier
> games like this? Yet Janes makes one and you all love it?
>
> --
> Waver <><
> -
> Australia
i think it's so because Jane's tells you upfront that the game is a
"Sim-Lite" type of deal. where as Novalogic has quotes from Colonel so and
so, saying "this is the most accurate detail of an F-16 ever created for a
PC" or they have Lockhead Martin plastered all over the box, infering they
somehow had something to do with the sim. then you fire the thing up and
you can make your F-16 land on it's tail-pipe.
rod...
Wayne Berge
Does it have good online play?
Wayno
Vernon Pellerin
>games like this? Yet Janes makes one and you all love it?
Because Novalogic pumps a ton of sunshine up our ass about "REALISM" when
they produce nothing but an arcade game.
Jane's made a Mid-Level Flight sim that offers MUCH-MUCH-MUCH more than
Novalogic in the way of Avionics and a good flight model and coop multiplayer
and a mission recorder and multiple flyable planes, etc., and Jane's didn't
fill us full of lies about ULTIMATE REALISM. Jane's said, from day one, that
USAF was a mid-level flight sim. So that's what we expected and that's what
we got.
From Novalogic, we expected super realism because:
1) NL advertised claiming super realism.
2) NL got real flight model data from Lockheed-Martin.
3) NL got a real F16 pilot, a real Mig pilot, & a real F22 pilot to test and
supposedly "approve" their flight models.
However, Novalogic's pathetic flight modeling and poor weapons modeling and
"always-the-same, two-missile-hits=death" damage formula, and
OVERLY-simplistic avionics were STILL utter and complete bullshit instead of
"REALISTIC" in ANY way, shape, or form.
Jane's produced what they said they would produce . . . a mid-level flight sim
that's fun to fly and easy to enjoy. But Novalogic produced an
overly-simplistic arcade game while claiming it was a super realistic flight
sim.
Does that help clear up the issue?
Remove countermeasures to Reply.
Bill
sim experience.
D. Miller <da...@nospam4buffnet.net> wrote in message
news:38147...@news3.buffnet.net...
> Stocky2 <sto...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:19991024224434...@ng-cr1.aol.com...
> > Since everyone has an opinion, after playing for a while I will share
mine
> for
> > those interested.
> >
> > For anyone who likes fl. sims (and I assume those reading this group do)
> and
> > undecided on buying it- I believe this one is a must have collectable
and
> a
> > "most fun with your clothes on" sim.
> > Are there bugs? Sure- they all have bugs.
> > Are there really serious bugs? Not for me, but some others are having
> some
> > problems.
> > Will there be a patch or so? Almost guaranteed to be.
> > I haven't tried all aspects such as voice rec., multiplayer, etc.-
haven't
> > flown all flyable planes.
> > Do we get our moneys worth- yes, and then some- playable for a very long
> time
> > to come and the game reeks of quality and highest tech. code writing for
a
> > computer fl. sim.
> <snip>
>
>
Bill
A clear well thought out review! Very unlike you. ;->
Stocky2
>>still have a stable system. I tried all the other things to oc and it may
>work
>>for a few min. and then "blue screen".
>You might want to try some heat sink compound. I had same ram and
>could not oc until I applied some heat sink compound and then could go
>to 453 no problem. I was surprised that that is all it took. I because
>your pc works for awhile and then crashes it sounds like a heat
>problem. Give it try the compound only cost 2 bucks.
As I said, I tried everything except pc100 ram (actually, I tried that too, but
the ram was DOA and returned).
I am using heat sink compound (Radio Shack)- also tried raising core volt.,
etc.- just can't get a stable syst. above 374 mhz. Have a fan on 300a and a
fan on agp tnt card below it. Open case, closed case- no diff.- intake case
fan and out fan on power supply. As is the heat is fine on motherboard-
raising to 450 I have seen heat skyrocket even with everything I have done-
raising core volt did not help.
I would need to put the computer in a refrig. to cool it enough to raise speed
(I actually read about someone doing that).
I need pc100 sdram to get 450- no other way around it and much too expensive
right now.
Sto...@aol.com
Stocky2
>Ok,.. Question.. Then how come everyone blasts Novalogic when they make
>games like this? Yet Janes makes one and you all love it?
"Everyone"???? Then how come when NL makes their games they sell so well?
Maybe because the majority of flight simmers are softer core than those on this
ng? But disregarding the point that NL sims sell so well (a major point as far
as NL is concerned), USAF is far and above anything NL has made to date.
Do you yourself have USAF now? If you do then you should be able to answer
your own question about it
I like NL games for what they are and I like this sim for what it is- the
comparisons are too great to make them here..
Sto...@aol.com
Stocky2
>Stocky,
>Does it have good online play?
>Wayno
I don't use online play, so can't comment on it- There were some reviews about
it- see Limech site for some game mag reviews- it seems to be pretty good
according to comments by reviewers.
Sto...@aol.com
Stocky2
>Stocky:
>
>A clear well thought out review! Very unlike you. ;->
Must have been a Stocky2 impersonator- not the same guy with all the previous
descriptive derogatory adjectives bestowed thereof.
The real Stocky2 will most likely continue his rambling, insane remarks- or
could it be that therapy does help? Naw- I already know the solution to the
problem.-
When you want to speak, don't. Everyone will love you for the perceived
intelligence displayed.
Sto...@aol.com
Fruit Fly
wrote:
> Janes never claims what they do not offer.
>
>Foxbat
BS. I give you Fleet Command as an example.
--
Fruit Fly
RC Jordan
Vernon Pellerin <vpeller2@Flare&Chaffsan.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Uj1R3.636$5e2....@newsr1.san.rr.com...
> In article <381468ed$0$15...@motown.iinet.net.au>, "Waver"
<wav...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >Ok,.. Question.. Then how come everyone blasts Novalogic when they make
> >games like this? Yet Janes makes one and you all love it?
>
Foxbat
"Fruit Fly" <nos...@home.com> wrote in message
news:3814c09b...@news1.on.sympatico.ca...
Are we talking flight-sim here? I know nothing and don't care about FC.
Foxbat
Fruit Fly
wrote:
>Are we talking flight-sim here? I know nothing and don't care about FC.
>
>Foxbat
>
>
No, but it is by Jane's and they made claims on the box that were not
true. Who said it had to be a flight-sim?
--
Fruit Fly
Waver
shoot 'em up like the other novalogic games? I'm not sticking up for
Novalogic or anything but from what i remember people blasted Novalogic for
there unrealistic flight model and shoot 'em up type game play.. then i see
Janes release the same thing and everyone says how great it is?? Or am i
missing something? :)
Waver
Waver
Novalogics?
Foxbat wrote in message <2A_Q3.668$Ii3.1267@client>...
>Simple: Novalogic never offers what they claimed to offer, i.e. super
>realistic flight model. Janes never claims what they do not offer.
>
>Foxbat
>
waver <><
Waver
Flight sims.
waver <><
Fruit Fly wrote in message <3814c09b...@news1.on.sympatico.ca>...
>On Mon, 25 Oct 1999 11:21:19 -0400, "Foxbat" <fox...@libretto.ho.org>
>wrote:
>
>
>> Janes never claims what they do not offer.
>>
>>Foxbat
>
>BS. I give you Fleet Command as an example.
>
>--
>Fruit Fly
>
Jon
The reason is simple. Nov-illogic hyped up their F-16/MiG-29 bundle to be a
realistic simulation of both jets, complete with approval from Lockheed
Martin as well as a real MiG-29 test pilot. Their website at the time even
showed pics of these gentlemen flying the game and stated that they were
"verifying the authenticity" of the flight models.....ROFLMAO!! The website
and box also claimed their would be cooperative multi-player missions.
Unfortunately, as we all know by now, neither of these claims were true.
X-Wing Alliance has better flight models and NL's idea of cooperative simply
meant "teams of humans" cooperating to frag each other. In other words, "Air
Quake with Teams". If they had been honest about what their product offered
there would have been no foul, but that advertising scheme left a bad taste
in some of our mouthes.
Pixel, on the othere hand, was completely honest about their product. We
knew it would be a survey sim with an emphasis a playability but containing
enough depth so that some hardcore people could enjoy it as a diversion. I'd
call it medium core. Does it have its faults? Yeah, sure. What sim doesn't.
Is it fun? Yep. Is it totally realistic? No. Does it deliver what they said
it would? I think so.
Overall, I think anything with the Janes label has, for the most part,
delivered what they advertised. I believe that's why there is more tolerance
for the shortcomings of a Janes label sim than there is for a Novalogic
game.
Jon
Waver
Waver
<snip>