Red Baron 3-D

Well that time came two days ago. I upgraded to a P600 with 128M RAM and a 40X CD-ROM. I pulled Red-Baron 3D off the shelf, loaded it up, and the improvement is AMAZING!. At the highest graphics setting I have difficulty finding any flaws in performance. The frame rate is smooth, time compression is tremendously improved, the planes handle well, and the graphics are pretty sharp even without the 3DFX chip required for the 3D enhanced graphics (I'm running a 16m RIVA TNT, which is not supported for this game.)

The campaigns are very immersive although sometimes the AI seems to get a little stupid. I was able to shoot down Manfred Von Richthoven on my first mission! He was very passive, making no attempts to get away or to turn and attack me. Flying against him in the "Single Mission" scenarios he is very aggressive and difficult to pull into a turning duel. I would expect that same level of difficulty when meeting him in a campaign mission.

One of the things I love is the little touches included in the missions. During one combat I shot down an enemy plane and watched it hit the ground. As I circled the downed planes neighboring air field, an ambulance came out of one of the hangars and I was able to watch it go to the site where the plane crashed. Incredible! Little things like this really pull you into this game.

As it is, it is one of the most engrossing flight sims I have played and I don't see any chance of sleep for the next several nights. I recommend the game but only if you have at least a P300 with 64m RAM and a high speed CD-ROM. When game manufacturers determine minimum requiremnts I would like to think that this is a minimum requirement by which the game can still be enjoyed. So purchase wisely.

Fantastic! But let me give you a warning first. I received this as a Christmas gift two years ago when I had a P133 with 48m of RAM and 4X CD-ROM. According to the system requirements on the box, I satisfied the MINIMUM requirements. Upon loading the game, I experienced extremely lengthy load times for missions, jerkiness, and jitter during combat (an enemy would be in my sights one second and then up above me the next second). Missions with over 4 planes in the air brought my machine to a near stand still and the time compression feature was useless as it would take sometimes ten to fifteen minutes to reach a waypoint or target, even with time compress set to 16X. These experiences occurred with the graphics settings set to their minimum. I even tried it on a P166 with little improvement. Frankly it was not very fun and I was relegated to the "Fly Now" missions only. Later I took advantage of the Red Baron 3D upgrade and rebate offer hoping for some operational improvement, but there was none. After several weeks I shelved the game and forgot about it thinking that I would soon upgrade my computer.

Well that time came two days ago. I upgraded to a P600 with 128M RAM and a 40X CD-ROM. I pulled Red-Baron 3D off the shelf, loaded it up, and the improvement is AMAZING!. At the highest graphics setting I have difficulty finding any flaws in performance. The frame rate is smooth, time compression is tremendously improved, the planes handle well, and the graphics are pretty sharp even without the 3DFX chip required for the 3D enhanced graphics (I'm running a 16m RIVA TNT, which is not supported for this game.)

The campaigns are very immersive although sometimes the AI seems to get a little stupid. I was able to shoot down Manfred Von Richthoven on my first mission! He was very passive, making no attempts to get away or to turn and attack me. Flying against him in the "Single Mission" scenarios he is very aggressive and difficult to pull into a turning duel. I would expect that same level of difficulty when meeting him in a campaign mission.

One of the things I love is the little touches included in the missions. During one combat I shot down an enemy plane and watched it hit the ground. As I circled the downed planes neighboring air field, an ambulance came out of one of the hangars and I was able to watch it go to the site where the plane crashed. Incredible! Little things like this really pull you into this game.

As it is, it is one of the most engrossing flight sims I have played and I don't see any chance of sleep for the next several nights. I recommend the game but only if you have at least a P300 with 64m RAM and a high speed CD-ROM. When game manufacturers determine minimum requiremnts I would like to think that this is a minimum requirement by which the game can still be enjoyed. So purchase wisely.

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   Written on May 31, 2000
   Summary: A great facelift for one of the greatest PC games ever...
The first time I saw this game, way back in the early 90's, it looked interesting. What became of that was many years, even including last year, of playing it non-stop until I bought the 3D version.

The realism is powerful, and the improved 3D graphics make this one game that will no doubt live forever in the PC gaming hall of fame. What makes this game different from all other flight sims is the campaign mode. In the last decade and even now, nothing has even come close to the feeling of building your pilot up in rank, status, and medals. When your pilot dies, you feel awful, especially after days and even weeks, of intense combat and intrigue, (Sometimes other famous pilots, like the Red Baron, will write you a letter and challenge you to a duel!). The campaign doesn't drag on either, because the war ends as it did in real life in 1918, so you can retire your score to the hall of fame board and start over trying to beat your last pilot.

Who needs multiplayer? This game rocks, and I have never met a person who hasn't thought thought this game to soar beyond other flight sims. The only others to come close are the good old Lucas games, Battle of Britan and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe.

Buy this now, before it fades away and is pushed aside by evil marketing people who care more about graphics and sound than FUN! Fun is what games are about, and Red Baron 3D is one of the last great games of the early days that will always be there to go back to when flying games become ridiculous and boring, much they have already become.

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   Written on May 6, 2000
   Summary: this game is good
Ok if you are new to flight sims like i was get this game as your first flight sim. you will get the hang of it and buy other flight sims. anyway with the game the graphis are great and you can be a german, french, american, or british pilot. This game is a good game but after a while i got tired of it. it gets boring but if you play on the internet it never does. the game sounds are uthentic and it sort of looks like you are really flying. belive me though when i say get this game as your first flight sim.