Real Aussie Air Force

[_RAAF_Tuberadio]

so does anyone fly CFS3? lol i knwo i am.. online... its not that bad, i dont wee what is so bad about it lol.. altho i liek them landing games.. thats where i like to show off in the Vampire I lol...ive masterd that beast... lol... get some decent aerobatics out of it amazingly lol... but anywasy... im curious... anyone actually fly in CFS3? mabey if here is enought populatirty we cold get a lil shindig goin on there... on there im actually knowen as _RAAF_tube_radio.... i forgot my olf pw to lol _RAAF_tuberadio lol.. .arnt i slick.. but in the mean time... im gonna work this CFS3, and push it... for the advantages it has..... such as missions and ombing and useless stuff liek that that can make for a fun game... but in the next few days ill be d/l IL2 or w/e u folk these days are flying... lol... but yeah... reply to the post... see what we can get.. mabey just mabey there is enought interest to start a small flight of players on cfs3 that can fly together... it woudl be nice.. anywas.. enought ranting from me... fly safe and check you 6....

tubes...

[No76_Mako]

nope

[No76_Axxe]

I think we gave CFS3 a real good try, and unfortunately for me it was the biggest dissapointment in the history of flight simming. Forgotten Battles is everything that CFS3 tried to be and more, see ya there Tubes!!!!
The Axxe

[_RAAF_Furball]

VERY disappointed in CFS3 - raced out and bought it the day it was released - never again!

Have a look here, mate - Topic in our old message board - copied below ....

http://pub45.ezboard.com/fraafsquadronmessageboardfrm26.showMessage?topicID=3.topic


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RAAF Furball
CFS3 discoveries - pls post yours here
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Multiplayer:

1. If Host leaves, all players are dropped
   
2. There is no MSN Zone chat area to chat with non-buddies - I reckon we'll still use CFS2 MSN Zone chat
   
3. Adding "buddies" is a pain - they must be added manually via Options/Multiplayer options, not via Multiplayer and this screen covers the name of the player you wanted to add AND there is no right-click/add function
   
4. We discovered that landing doesn't re-arm and re-fuel, as in CFS2

Other:

1. 900MB (?) to 1.5GB HDD space
   
2. Can't change display options while flying
   
3. Why do I have to keep setting the damned trim, every time I enter a game?
   
4. If you backup any aircraft, make sure you put them outside of your CFS3 directory CFS3 looks through all of its directories for aircraft and will most likely find the one you don't want

Positives:

1. The textures of the scenery and aircraft are terrific
   
2. Multiplayer game options - restrict labels, etc
   
3. Flight models - I think

Customizations:

1. Mako tells me that for your private customized noseart to be automatically displayed to other players, you must replace an existing noseart, i.e. delete (say) "noseart_us_01.bmp", then name yours "noseart_us_01.bmp". If you just add your noseart as the next number in the directory/folder, your entire aircraft appears black to those who don't have your noseart.

Whilst there were a few dislikes with the CFS2 user interface, Mako fixed most of these! I would have loved to have seen CFS2 enhanced by the scenery and aircraft of CFS3 - probably would have been cheaper than buying a whole new game too.
~S~

meow,
Fur
_RAAF_Furball

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RAAFShrapnel
(11/13/02 9:25 pm)
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I found that cfs3 locks up my system when running the so called uninstall program. Ater reinstalling the game I found that the user key settings file was placed in a directory that was not even in my cfs3 game folder and so my key settings had not returned to default.
The key settings are held in ".xca " files. I found the .xca file in I Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Microsoft\Combat Flight Simulator 3.0

By the way when I increased my screen resolution the options tab to customize the .xca key setting file and graphic settings was no longer accessible. This forced me to reinstall the game.

Another bug I noticed is that I can't hear any rounds hitting my plane in multiplay.So far this is my main cfs3 complaint.

I still prefer cfs3 however over cfs2, cfs1, BOB, Janes WW2 fighters or IL2



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RAAF Mako
(11/13/02 11:32 pm)
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I dont particularly like the user interface. Has it's pluses and minuses. It has no similarity whatsoever to any MS Flight sim i have ever played and they allways had some similarity. Looks more like fighter ace to me .

Pluses -

1. Bombs etc in multiplayer, AI flies plane when you are in gunner positions.
   
2. Sounds are great
   
3. clouds and scenery excellent
   
4. Host controls labels etc for nofun as well as limiting the aircraft flown.

Looks like only the host needs addon missions for all to be able to play them . Will save all from having to d/l and install.(still testing this)
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Minuses -

1. cannot tune display settings while in game.
   
2. User interface really sucks IMO.
   
3. cannot add buddies with a right click etc. have to go via options to add buddies.
   
4. When mission completed dumps you out of game.
   
5. No real ready room just for game start. Once started you never can go back to RR without exiting game and comming back in.
   
6. Not sure if you can reload and rearm anywhere like we can by landing on the strip in cfs2.
   
7. Does not have a window mode only full screen.
   
8. Cannot create view windows.
   
9. The maximum number of players allowed is 16 using T1 connection option, 4 players for 56k connection.

_RAAF_Mako

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RAAF Furball
(12/23/02 3:30 am)
Feedback email sent to Microsoft
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Hi Guys - email sent to MS today - thnx for your contributions, people.We may not get a reply and many items have probably been addressed by others, but what the Hell? we should contribute.

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Our compliments on a great game and concept, as well as the opportunity to join with the long list of others providing feedback. We look forward with eagerness to the release of the recently-announced CFS3 Patch and hope that the Patch addresses the items in our list, which follows.

Our Zone Team, the _RAAF_ squad, with over 50 members, is one of the largest CFS2 and CFS3 squads playing online. I believe I can also speak for a number of other large squads in the flight sim community in saying that there are a number of problems with CFS3 that need to be resolved. It's worth pointing out that many of these have been discovered with only moderate testing!

The following list is drawn from our testing and complaints from many other players we meet in CFS3, on CFS2 servers and at the MSN Gaming Zone.

Improvements over CFS2:

1. ease of connection to the server
   
2. being able to play a mission and see everything without having to d/load the mission
   
3. if hosting no-one can use a plane that you don’t have
   
4. restriction options

Online:

1. multiplayer campaign game option was advertised, but does not exist
   
2. Host cannot restrict aircraft in team dogfight games by nationality. This allows team dogfight game to be fouled by disruptive players. In other words, players on the Axis side, for example choosing spitfires, cancel out any realism
   
3. the host has no way to kick unwanted players
   
4. lag affects the game badly for many - trying to shoot down an opponent is near impossible as he has already left the point where one sees him - he’s jumping all over the screen - the closer you get, the worse the lag is
   
5. if your plane is damaged, you have to leave the game and return. If you land your plane instead of crashing it or bailing out, it seems there is no facility to refuel, re-arm and repair your plane - this is a very big part of objective-based Multiplayer games
   
6. if the Host leaves a game, all players are dropped
   
7. once a mission is resolved in Multiplayer, there is no facility to restart the mission - you have to end the mission, thereby dumping all the people in the game
   
8. the maximum number of players allowed is 16 using T1 connection option, 4 players for 56k connection
   
9. there is no in-game chat log
   
10. there is no public chat room - we still use CFS2 Zone
    
11. adding "buddies" is arduous - they must be added manually via Options/Multiplayer options, not via Multiplayer and this screen covers the name of the player you wanted to add and there is no right-click/add function
    
12. there is no access to edit the buddies list from the chat window
    
13. quite often in a multiplayer mission, after crashing or bailing out, the player will spawn in a plane in Pilot's position without control. You have to bail out and hope that the next plane you get will give you control - doesn’t happen if you’re the host
    
14. if hosting and the mission goals are resolved, then you crash, you are left burning in a wreck with everyone else still flying - can’t leave the mission as everyone gets dumped

General:

1. the game will not run in anything but full screen mode - someone has posted a Windows-based work-around
   
2. the game needs major customization by many to get it to run - or at least, run smoothly
   
3. there are many posts in many Message Forums, detailing how to customize CFS3 for performance, etc via CFS3 Config - it would be good to see a MS-created complete list of customizations and their effects
   
4. collision sizes of ground objects are too large
   
5. collision damage to aircraft with certain objects is exaggerated
   
6. engine overheating almost never occurs in any aircraft regardless of anything done with the throttle or mixture even in full realism mode - except burning as a result of being hit by gunfire
   
7. there are no carriers
   
8. there is no detailed damage text as in CFS2 - just states "hit"
   
9. in the solo mode: you cant finish a mission in landing on another of your bases, you have to go back to your base, otherwise you have to quit the mission unfinished even if it's a success
   
10. no way to start on ground in dogfight mode
    
11. cannot create view windows and no menu options for view settings etc or display settings while in game
    
12. ground units take no real evasive action when strafed other than continuing in a straight line down their waypoint
    
13. when one's plane is hit, there is no sound or force feedback indication that you have just been torn to pieces

Unsure/need more testing:

1. a bug in the Force Feedback response?
   
2. are bullet holes displayed in planes after they are hit?
   
3. are vehicle dp's accurate? e.g.. 20mm cannon should not penetrate the front armour of a tiger tank or jagpanzer, let alone the side?
   
4. the uninstall program doesn't work properly, leaving user settings under "My Documents"?
   
5. multiplayer Dogfight game, can you choose the Air Field (Base)?

[_RAAF_Willy]

No not good enough I agree with Axxe we gave it a try.

[Shrapnel]

No I don't play cfs3 at all anymore. IL2 FB is a much better game than cfs3. I didn't like IL2 that much with only one Russian bomber available and no German bomber at all. Il2 Fb with the AEP pack seems like the best game choice at this time. CFS3 games are limited to 8 players for the most part and you can't even tell who is online unless you click on each game individually. CFS3 gave me a good first impression but over time after all the drawbacks of the game were revealed I realized there was no reason to keep playing it. Microsoft should have patched CFS2 instead or before making CFS3. I made a mistake for initially recommending CFS3 and should have looked more closely at what was under the hood of the Scenery.