Satchel

This is even worse than amok runs in U.S schools, never thought something like this could happen here in germany, 18 dead....

They now speak of 2 gunmen, that were barricaded inside the school. One suspect, a former discharged student of that school, is reported to be dead, the circumstances are not yet clear, but it looks like police SEK teams are in the process of storming the building, clearing room by room. The other one has barricaded himself with some hostages. The shooting seems to have started during the general qualification for university entrance tests while mathematic tests were handed out, shortly afterwards one of the gunmen pulled a weapon and started shooting immediately.

The problem are almost always parents that don´t keep their guns secure and out of reach of their (screwed) children. According to reports of students that could escape it seems the suspect is a student of that school, he pulled a gun and started shooting as a test was handed out to the class.

Just tested it; it works without problems, although it´s basically an AT-gun for direct fire on point targets rather than arty. For Arty fire support to work properly someone would need to implement a system to fire via coordinates, map or radio input for example, an according optic for the gun is also necessary so you get a good idea where the shells are going in. The trajectory would need to be adjusted, so that projectiles are flying in a very bend arc rather than straight with a max range of ca. 12 Km in OFP.

Just tested it; it works without problems, although it´s basically an AT-gun for direct fire on point targets rather than arty. For Arty fire support to work properly someone would need to implement a system to fire via coordinates, map or radio input for example, an according optic for the gun is also necessary so you get a good idea where the shells are going in. The trajectory would need to be adjusted, so that projectiles are flying in a very bend arc rather than straight with a max range of ca. 12 Km in OFP.

Just tested it; it works without problems, although it´s basically an AT-gun for direct fire on point targets rather than arty. For Arty fire support to work properly someone would need to implement a system to fire via coordinates, map or radio input for example, an according optic for the gun is also necessary so you get a good idea where the shells are going in. The trajectory would need to be adjusted, so that projectiles are flying in a very bend arc rather than straight with a max range of ca. 12 Km in OFP.

Great! These are also good news: "FlipeR from NatoSoldier.com informed us, that they resolved the well known Muzzle Flash bug. It's because of missing class in CPP. More at NatoSoldier.com ... "

Great! These are also good news: "FlipeR from NatoSoldier.com informed us, that they resolved the well known Muzzle Flash bug. It's because of missing class in CPP. More at NatoSoldier.com ... "

Great! These are also good news: "FlipeR from NatoSoldier.com informed us, that they resolved the well known Muzzle Flash bug. It's because of missing class in CPP. More at NatoSoldier.com ... "

Although Everon is more attractive than Malden or Kolgujew, i´d prefer an island in the Bermuda region .

"Your ideal position in a major conflict" - at home, watching it on television. On second thought home might not be a safe place, so maybe i would move with my family to an island that can be hardly found on any maps.

You know what i hate the most? To get an appraisal that is conterminous to the highest possible rating. If you get a high rating, there is no room for improvement anymore, the peak had been reached and it can only stay level or go down- mostly the latter case is true. If everything would be perfect in OFP (which it is far from being) and we would all have the same backgrounds and age, there would be no complaints at all i assume, and i´m really glad that´s not the case. In the end all the complaints, the reasoned ones fitting into the OFP thematic, help making the game better to everyones profit and experience. If noone would complain there would be theoretically no need improve certain aspects of the game with bugfixes and upgrades, infact most bugs and issues would go willingly or not unnoticed. For the reviews; it depends on the individual character that is reviewing and his expectations he projected into the game before testing it; a die hard Simulation enthusiast that had expected to test an ultrarealistic sim, won´t give OFP the highest possible ranking but rather a low one. I think there is a huge room for improvement in OFP, and i do have many complaints just like other people, especially concerning the "realism" aspect of units, critism is very important for improvement and will get you further than saying "yay" to everything because of wrongly understood "patriotism", that mostly ends up in insults on this board.

I´ve already sent those in a PM to Pandoras Box, however for those interested here some more links to those already posted: Small arms: AR´s: http://www.bigjimsmgs.com/ 50cal.: http://www.biggerhammer.net/barrett/ Few heavy U.S. weapon systems here: http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/multi/interact.html http://www.missilesandfirecontrol.com/our_news/videolibrary.html http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/missiles/ordnance/ordvideo.htm Some british equipment from the Warminster Firepower demonstration here: http://www.janes.com/defence....o.shtml Few ex-Soviet equipment here: http://www.rbs.ru/exhibition/UralExpoArms/2000/t-90s.htm Mixed equipment here: http://www.janes.com/defence/videogallery/videogallery.shtml

RL keeps me a bit from playing Flashpoint at the moment, but OFP is certainly a long long way from loosing it´s appeal. However, when i have some time, i´m not actually playing Flashpoint but trying to improve the game for myself by changing textures, sounds etc. The possibilities are there as always- they are huge, and are not yet fully discovered as Walker said, that´s what keeps it interesting and people motivated. With Flashpoint you can recreate actual realistic scenarios in an combined arms environment, taking part on one of the very best outdoor terrains around...there are no other games in the 1st person shooter genre i could say the same about. Most games after all focusing on either vehicles or personal, either indoor or outdoor, they only follow one aspect-it´s seldom that a game combines nearly everything in a believable manner. One of Flashpoints current drawback is indoor, as this part is virtually non existent- it would certainly do a great deal to multiplayer popularity if the indoor aspect would be a bit more complex on certain areas of an island, especially if the clipping thing is going to be fixed. "Indoor???!!!" you say, "in a military sim with tanks etc, where the grunt is creeping through mud and stuff?"- Yupp, not a minor part of military infantry training deals with exactly this topic. It would give the MP´s a real use and purpose ingame additionally. Flashpoint is still a brilliant Singleplayer game (one of the very best in my small collection), but in Multiplayer, because of a missing standard and some flaws, it´s kind of a pain the ass for now, hope this changes with OFP:Resistance.

The I 1944 vehicle models are looking exceptionally good, but i wonder how much will be left when importing them ingame. About the shadow casting; you can also realize this directly on the skin if the engine doesn´t support it...well it won´t be dynamic, but it´s better than no shadow at all, gives the model some depth.

Good writing, hand that man a cigar!

Basically i understand what you mean Markov, but i doubt it would be realisable. No game in existance did get the alignment of a weapon right in 1st person view, if they did, you would have a very restricted field of view if not constantly moving the head left and right....in real life you do it with your eyes without much effort, your field of view is much larger. This is also the point why i could whole heartly do without shown weapons in 1st person view, cause it´s unrealistic either way and only disturbs me. Besides that the iron sights idea of Flashpoint is pretty much what i ever hoped for in a shooter, although some sights (LAW, CG, Stinger, Tank sights etc.) could use some more realistic looks, that of their RL counterparts.

When an Enemy Was a Friend Brown's B-17 was perhaps the most heavily damaged bomber to return from combat. It survived because of an enemy's act of chivalry. Dec. 20, 1943, was a typically cold, overcast winter day in Britain as 2d Lt. Charles L. Brown's B-17F lined up for takeoff. It was 21-year-old Charlie Brown's first combat mission as an aircraft commander with the 379th Bomb Group, the target an FW-190 factory at Bremen, Germany. He and his crew of Ye Olde Pub were to become participants in an event probably unique at that time in the air war over Europe--a mission that would remain shrouded in mystery for many years. The bombers began their 10-minute bomb run at 27,300 feet, the temperature: negative 60 degrees. Flak was heavy and accurate. Before "bombs away," Brown's B-17 took hits that shattered the Plexiglas nose, knocked out the number two engine, damaged number four--which frequently had to be throttled back to prevent overspeeding--and caused undetermined damage to the controls. Coming off target, Lieutenant Brown was unable to stay with the formation and became a straggler. Almost immediately, the lone and limping B-17 came under a series of attacks from 12 to 15 Bf-109s and FW-190s that lasted for more than 10 minutes. The number three engine was hit and would produce only half power. Oxygen, hydraulic, and electrical systems were damaged, and the controls were only partially responsive. The bomber's 11 defensive guns were reduced by the extreme cold to only the two top turret guns and one forward-firing nose gun. The tailgunner was killed and all but one of the crew in the rear incapacitated by wounds or exposure to the frigid air. Lieutenant Brown took a bullet fragment in his right shoulder. Charlie Brown figured the only chance of surviving this pitifully unequal battle was to go on the offensive. Each time a wave of attackers approached, he turned into them, trying to disrupt their aim with his remaining firepower. The last thing oxygen-starved Brown remembers was reversing a steep turn, becoming inverted, and looking "up" at the ground. When he regained full consciousness, the B-17 was miraculously level at less than 1,000 feet. Still partially dazed, Lieutenant Brown began a slow climb with only one engine at full power. With three seriously injured aboard, he rejected bailing out or a crash landing. The alternative was a thin chance of reaching the UK. While nursing the battered bomber toward England, Brown looked out the right window and saw a Bf-109 flying on his wing. The pilot waved, then flew across the B-17's nose and motioned Brown to land in Germany, which the aircraft commander refused to do. After escorting them for several miles out over the North Sea, the Luftwaffe pilot saluted, rolled over, and disappeared. Why had he not shot them down? The answer did not emerge for many years. L. Franz Stigler, former Oberleutnant, during WWII, and on Dec. 20, 1943, Commander No. 6, JG-27, Luftwaffe Fighter Forces, was a part of the German air force before it even became known that Germany had an air force. Stigler came from a family of pilots; his father flew in WWI and his brother, whom he had trained, was KIA in WWII. Over the course of his career, Stigler had been shot down 17 times and captured once in Africa, escaping almost immediately. On that fateful day, the Squadron Commander had shot down two B-17s, one more that day and he would have automatically been awarded the Knight’s Cross, Germany’s highest military award. He had landed to refuel and rearm when he saw Brown’s B-17 come up from behind some woods across the field where he was refueling. Stigler leaped into his plane and took off after them. He flew about 500 feet above the enemy aircraft, trying to decide the best way to finish it off. “I thought I would do it the classic way, from the rear,†remembers Stigler. “So, I flew above and to the rear of the airplane, about 200 feet. I wanted to give his tail-gunner a chance to lift the guns, to point the guns at me. The guns were hanging down.†The guns never rose to take aim at Stigler. Flying within 20 feet, he was able to find out the reason. “I saw his gunner lying in the back profusely bleeding….. so, I couldn’t shoot.†He then flew up to the right wing and looked into the cockpit at Brown. “I tried to get him to land in Germany and he didn’t react at all.†Stigler believes that Brown reacted the way he did partly due to the previously experienced lack of oxygen. “So, I figured, well, turn him to Sweden, because his airplane was so shot up; I never saw anything flying so shot up.†He described the plane as “the most badly damaged aircraft I ever saw, still flying.†Stigler continued trying to get Brown to turn to Sweden because the flight would have only taken about 30 minutes; that was about all the time Stigler figured the plane to have left in her. Brown refused and continued towards England. The Commander accompanied the beaten up plane as far as he safely could. “I thought, well, I hope you make it. So, I waved off and saluted him and flew back to the airport.†The B-17 did make it across 250 miles of storm-tossed North Sea and landed at Seething near the English coast, home of the 448th Bomb Group, which had not yet flown its first mission. The crew was debriefed on their mission, including the strange encounter with the Bf-109. For unknown reasons, the debriefing was classified "secret" and remained so for many years. Lieutenant Brown went on to complete a combat tour, finish college, accept a regular commission, and serve in the Office of Special Investigations, with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and in other Air Force and State Department assignments until his retirement. He now lives in Miami, Fla., where he is founder and president of an energy and environmental research center. The image of his strange encounter with the Bf-109 remained firmly embedded in Charlie Brown's memory. In 1986, he began a search for the anonymous pilot. Finally, in 1990, former Oberleutnant Franz Stigler, now living in Canada, responded to a notice published in a newsletter for German fighter pilots. By comparing time, place, and aircraft markings, it was determined that Stigler was the chivalrous pilot who had allowed Brown's crew to live. Not surprisingly, Brown and Stigler have become close friends. On that December day in 1943, there had been two persuasive reasons why Stigler should have shot down the B-17. First, earlier in the day, he had downed two four-engine bombers and needed only one more that day to earn a Knight's Cross. Second, his decision to not finish off the aircraft was a court-martial offense in Nazi Germany and if revealed could have led to his execution. He considered these alternatives while flying formation with the B-17, "the most heavily damaged aircraft I ever saw that was still flying." He could see the wounded aboard and thought, "I cannot kill these half-dead people. It would be like shooting at a parachute." Franz Stigler's act of chivalry has been justly, though belatedly, honored by several military organizations here and abroad. On the other hand, Charles Brown was not decorated for his heroism over Germany, which never was reported by the 448th Bomb Group at Seething to his commanders. Such are the fortunes of war and its aftermath.

Lol, don´t know about graphic forums, but http://www.deviantart.com/ is certainly worth checking out, lots of talented artists on there. I think it´s the best around, i got lots of stuff from there.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">sathcel: in order to have air-supiriority, u need to able to maintain it above the battle field. that was the weakest point with the germans. they couldnt do it, simply not enough airplanes (in order to do it the allies used more then 5000 planes on the western front alone) and as i said before, in order to invade u need amph. ships. simple as that. if u dont have em, no amout of planes would help you<span id='postcolor'> The ME-109 was able to fly only limited cover for Bombers or diverbombers over britain before the pilot had to return to France or wherever his base was located. The bombers themselves had far more time over target, now without the threat of aerial interception those formations virtually would have had the freedom of movement to conduct whatever operation wherever, as long as their fuel permits. If the RAF had been destroyed on the ground, as the original plan had been, the Luftwaffe could have concentrated fully on disabling the british Navy, coast fortifications, industry and basically prepare the invasion. With air superioty operation Seelöwe would have begun as the aerial battle was meant to prepare it, the major point to abandon the plan was the failure of the Luftwaffe in the battle over Britain, this utmost important goal was prerequisite to conduct such an invasion. More than 100.000 german soldiers stood ready in france for the first wave of the invasion, with over 4000 ships and boats. A great deal of the german Navy was also amassed in Norway, they would have been needed to divert to france, but as the Luftwaffe failed in gaining air superioty this was not an option anymore.

"1.. britain saved the critical mass of its army in dunkirk so there wasnt any chance of invading even if the germans succeeded to disable the RAF." Hmm, unconventional point of view, as air superioty was and is an decive point in any conflict. Air superioty enables own troops to conduct large combined arms troop movements, attacking at will, while the enemy is either pinned down, forced into an defensive or evasive state, or is destroyed when trying to attack/reinforce/relocate etc, especially true for heavy equipment. Air superioty means also that vital supply lines of the enemy are going to be destroyed, so even the strongest fortifications will become useless at some point if no food, ammunition and replacements will arrive. When the enemy has air superioty the odds to win a battle are more worse than desireable, as most of your units are going to be decimated before they can even reach the "frontline" and engage the opponent. With air superioty and good weather you basically control the battlefield. The counterattack attempt of the germans in the Ardennes is a good example, and shows the effect of how important air superioty is in terms of deciding a battle.

Such things are sad, but there is´t really something that would guarantee an immediate cease of fracticide in a conflict, whereever there are many missions/sorties ongoing in an area coupled with high mobility these things are about to happen- unless you replace the human factor on the field with machines maybe, but even those would be operated and programmed by humans.

Hmm, guess i´m a bit to old to believe in something like "war heroes". There are however good tacticians and strategists, or people that are really proficiant in their job in the field, but i wouldn´t consider them heroes.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">We want to introduce a completely new weapon class to the game that will really improve the realism and gameplay<span id='postcolor'>

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">We want to introduce a completely new weapon class to the game that will really improve the realism and gameplay<span id='postcolor'> Mortars, Pistols ?