by Major JG2 "FireCat!" Adjutant zu der Kommodore, Jagdgeschwader II, HQ

Welcome to World War I

WWI was that surreal time in history where pilots took to the skies like armored Knights of the Middle Ages, jousting and dueling in the clouds while the onlookers cheered for their man. Red Baron 3d allows you to enter a world where only the best survive and some of the greatest pilots had only ten or twelve kills in their entire careers.

WWI aerial combat marked a historical revolution: the intentional use of an aircraft as a gun platform to shoot down other aircraft. Air dominance as a means to battlefield dominance was born. Forever after, the "aeroplane" would govern the way that war was waged. The airplane revolutionized modern combat, and the military pilots of that era revolutionized the way planes were flown.

MMP: Mega Multi-Player

This review covers the Multi-Player segment of Red Baron 3D. This World War I flight sim was originally released in December, 1997 as Red Baron II, but immediately began a 9 month period of revision which led to Red Baron 3D.

RB3d has an enormous, rich and immersive single player segment which is full of dynamic missions and campaigns of a quality that few other combat flight sims have achieved. But my focus for this review will be the MMP experience of dogfighting against real people.

The MMP segment has 22 flyable aeroplanes to choose from. The type of aircraft you can fly changes with time from the beginning to the end of the war, though all are single seat fighters (called "scouts" then.) Bombers and two-seater reconnaissance aircraft are not available to fly in MMP, though a few are flyable in the single player mode.

There are 9 flyable German aircraft, including the famous Fokker Dr.1 Triplane, the mount of the Red Baron himself. Three different Albatross are available along with the Fokker D.VII, which was so deadly it was singled out by the victorious Allies to be banned from further production.

There are 13 flyable Allied aircraft including the famous Sopwith Camel as well as the Sopwith Triplane. Most French Neiuports can be flown and two SPADS, which were common among the American squadrons including the SPAD XIII (the plane in which American ace, Eddie Rickenbacker, scored most of his 26 victories.)

Red Baron 3D is one of the best games available to play on-line. First, it's FREE, and second, it's a cinch to log on and fly. After logging on to the Internet, simply click on the MMP icon, create a Pilot Name for yourself, click [connect] and you're there! MMP has great versatility and features that are exclusive to Red Baron 3D.

When first entering the Multi-Player arena, you'll notice there is a list of approximately 25 different servers, each hosting a different game. This area is called the "Lobby". From here you can join in any of the games in progress at any time.

MMP Game Types

There are three basic game server set-ups. First is "Team Target," or "Team Melee." The "team" designation means that Germans fly against Allies. "Team Target" means the server randomly chooses ground targets and displays them on your map. Your side scores points whenever a chosen ground target is destroyed. "Team Melee" usually means dogfighting is the order of the day, but in other ways the two approaches are identical.

When you enter the team type of game, first choose the side you want to fly for and then choose a plane. Next, pick an airfield and you are in! If nothing is happening at the field you picked, simply look at your map and you will see where the action is by looking at the red and white triangle icons. If you want to start closer to the action, simply exit and choose an Airfield close to where the triangles were located on your map. You can enter and exit at will.

Many of the servers can support up to 64 players in a single game! Most other flight sims barely support 4 or 6. This is one of the areas that makes Red Baron so exciting.

Team Melee or Team Target is my favorite game type. There are usually about 25 to 30 players on a team server, which means 12 to 15 per side. And that means some serious dogfighting. Simply take off and head for the front. Use your [e] key to identify enemy aircraft and when you see one, go for it and shoot him down! But don't forget to give him a "Salute" as you are flying away from his wreckage.

The second game type is called Melee. In this type, there are no teams and it's every man for himself. These games can get quite intense when there are 20 to 30 players all at one airfield shooting at each other. You don't have to limit yourself, however, to the one airfield.

The Melee servers are ideal for jousting contests. Simply break away from the primary furball and fight 1 on 1 at another airfield or away from the rest.

The final gameplay type is called "Get The Baron." This is kinda like playing "King of the Hill" with aeroplanes! There are actually 3 Kings of the Hill, each awarded different colored planes; Red, Purple, and Yellow. When you become the King of the Hill, your plane turns all Red (or purple or yellow). Then everyone tries to shoot you. Whoever successfully shoots you down, then becomes the color you once were.

In "Get the Baron," as in Melees, there are commonly 20 to 30 pilots at one airfield. Points are scored and tallied automatically while you, as a Baron, shoot down other planes or destroy ground targets. Hang in there and good luck!

The MMP Environment

Red Baron MMP is run on servers provided free by Sierra and WON.net but is also run on many "rogue servers." This means that any player can set up their computer to host a game that anyone can join. The server software is included with the main program. The settings of the game environment are variable, so you can offer game environments the way you personally like them.

Many of the MMP players are in squadrons and you'll see the initials of their squads in front of their callsigns. I belong to a German squad named Jagdgeschwader II, and wear the abbreviated initials JG2 in front of my callsign.

Another characteristic of Red Baron 3D, as with Warbirds, Dawn of Aces and Air Warrior, is that this sim has a large and devoted on-line community of players. What this means to new players is that we are devoted to helping new-comers become familiar with the game so they will play on a regular basis. We know that some things can be confusing at first and so do all we can to answer questions and help out. If you have tried playing on-line games and weren't that successful or simply don't know what it is all about, please try Red Baron 3D. It really is easy and very rewarding.

Getting Around

Flying these WWI birds is a much different experience than WWII prop planes, and of course hardly comparable to flying and managing the complex weapon systems involved in jet fighter sims. Here you have just one trigger that fires your single or dual machine guns, and a few primitive bombs and rockets for dropping or firing on enemy ground targets.

Dogfighting against real people is the E-Ticket here, understanding and using the raw principals of flight and tactical aerial combat maneuvers that were invented in WWI. Red Baron 3D puts you there, and gives you what you need to learn to battle your way through and soar amongst other pilots like yourself.

Some planes are easy to fly, some are challenging; some turn sharp, others don't and the pilot must rely on speed or fire power. Whichever aircraft you choose, in order to be successful you must master its strengths while noting its weaknesses.

On the Allied side, the easier ones are the Neiuports, especially the Neiuport 28. The SPAD XIII and the S.E.5a are fast, but don't turn well. The Camel is the hardest to fly, and takes a while to learn, but the effort can pay off in dividends.

On the German side, the Fokker D.VII is the strongest overall. The Albatross D.III is the easiest to fly, but the top wing is very fragile. The plane will hold together fine until you get shot up a little, then you have to be very careful, lest your top wing separates from the fuselage. The Fokker Dr.1 (triplane) is the hardest of the German planes to master.

To Fly and Fight

Red Baron has excellent padlocked slewing views from the cockpit that allow you to keep an eye on your opponent at all times. In fact the abundance of versatile and well-designed internal and external views give you many options to find your opponents and to keep track of where everyone else is. Situational Awareness is essential in the furballs you're about to encounter, and this sim gives you the views you need to maintain it.

And now the moment has finally come where it's time to show 'em what you can do. Tactics is something you will learn first on paper, and then in real time by trial and error, mostly by error. But I can give you one piece of advice up front: stay high.

Height can be translated into energy and energy management is very important in this game; learn how to maintain it, or you will end up dying a lot. The rest is up to you.

Notice damage to wings and tail.

Shoot down the enemy, but watch your ammo. When you run out, you must return to an aerodrome on your side to reload, and the ground crew will also repair your plane as necessary. If the aerodrome you return to is in flames and has been destroyed, you'll have to go to another for repairs and ammo.

Finer Points

Aiming is very important in Red Baron. Although armor was not used in planes of WWI, it's not easy shooting down one of these birds. Passing hundreds of bullets though the fabric covering is not going to do it. You must hit items vital to the aircraft such as the engine, wing struts, petrol tank, or pilot, and your ammo is not unlimited!

Consequently, dogfights among pilots of equal skill can last a long time, just as they did then. It usually takes more than a few good bursts from one pilot to bring you down. This works both ways. Your plane also can take some damage and yet still give you enough control to sustain the fight and possibly gain the upper hand.

One of the exceptional features of Red Baron 3D that contributes to the feeling of actually being there is the quality of the sound. Wings creaking when you stress them too hard, wheels turning and squeaking during your landing or take-off roll, the constant air-raid sirens, the tolling bells of the villages, machine gun fire, everything. But when those big flak guns that protect the aerodromes and other vital ground installations fire, I jump, then duck into my cockpit as I'm listening to their echo in the valleys and try to determine from with direction they are.

Invisible Cockpit Feature

The Furball Experience

Dogfighting at night is quite an experience. Spotting your enemy and being aware of your position relative to the desolate, dark battlefield over 'No Mans Land' is quite a challenge. The beauty of the moonlight reflecting off your wings as you fly through the star filled skies is magical.

In flight sims that take place in more modern times, battles usually take place high above the ground in clear skies. Not so in Red Baron. Here dogfights that may have started higher up quickly wind down to ground level. Using hills, valleys and ground structures as tactical advantages is all part of a WWI pilots means of survival. Flying between hangars or weaving under the support arches of a railroad bridge may prove to shake or destroy your enemy.

Organized War

This is where playing alongside and against real humans takes simulation to its highest level and results in total immersion. When playing Single Player against AI and your wingman gets shot down, it doesn't matter too much. Your wingman was not a real person, just a drone placed there to make you feel you're in a squadron. And if you get shot down, so what? Just restart.

But when your wingman is a real person, and you make a mistake causing either him or you to get killed, and possibly also the bombers you were escorting, you're gonna hear about it later!

In Organized War you and your skill are important assets, and your performance makes a difference, just like in real life. When playing with real humans, you do your best because there are consequences when you don't.

The new enhanced MMP was designed to be an arena for cyberwars, serious battle. In MMP there are Allied squads against German with approximately 30 players per side. This battlefield rages 5 nights a week, 4 or 5 hours each night on rogue servers.

Everything of a real war is there: Commanders, Squadron Leaders, Flight Leaders, recon missions, bombing missions, diversion missions, defensive and offensive patrols, strategy, tactics, try this, try that, maybe we can sneak by them this way.

Sectors have first to be reconned before the bombers and their escorts are dispatched to the objectives. Pilots are in assigned squadrons operating from assigned aerodromes. Communications during the war are secret, neither side knowing what the other is doing or where you'll run into each other next.

In the midst of this fog of war, palms and forehead sweat, straining eyes hope to pierce the haze. You know something's out there and something's gonna happen, if only you could know from which direction. Eventually a sharp-eyed observer from a ground battery spots your approach and the sound of the big gun sends you jumping right out of your chair. Great, you say to yourself, now they know we're here!

The last war raged on for 12 weeks. Each night, around 60 brave pilots from both sides took to the skies in organized fashion to fight and serve their squad and teammates to the best of their ability. Honor and integrity was of utmost importance and maintained throughout.

You don't necessarily have to belong to a squad to be included in an organized war. Sierra\Dynamix\WON is currently working on a campaign style MMP war where non-squad members can simply choose a side and join in the battle. It's all designed for maximum participation, and you are invited to the party.

Setting the Scene

The maps and terrain in RB3d are large and very realistic, covering the major areas of the Western Front. The maps included are Alsace, Flanders, Verdun, and the Marne regions. There is also a map we call the Island map which is an excellent condensed battle field arena with lots of interesting terrain features, with a section of the Front dividing the map into equal sides.

In addition to the ever-present aerial dogfights, there are ground targets that need to be destroyed. Military ground targets include aerodromes, supply depots, factories, railroad yards, and bridges. Beware, these targets are well defended by anti aircraft emplacements. These guys have been practicing their aim, so remember to fly very low when you're near them.

Opportunities for Improvement

So do I have any complaints? Of course! Don't all cyber warriors, especially sim pilots?

I dearly miss the front-end chat screen that enabled the Red Baron community to develop. The other area concerns the realism of the Flight Modeling (FM) and a few areas of the Damage Modeling (DM).

There are a few things about the FM's that are unrealistic, primarily the lack of energy bleed, the result being the ability to make sustained high-bank turns without loss of altitude or stalls. Although it is fun to be able to circle endlessly at a 90 degree bank without losing altitude, that simply does not happen in real flight with these aircraft.

User Created Textures.

Sioux paint.

Getting Better and Better

As these screenshots show, you can easily add your own paint schemes, sound and music files. Tired of listening to the Red Baron theme song night after night? Just slip in your own, it's easier than putting a CD in your home stereo.

At the moment I blast my senses with the theme song from the movie Top Gun (I love that opening music.) Sometimes I want something closer to the era and will play authentic recordings of music from the WWI era. It's all easy to find, download, and install from the many fan websites.

User created snow.

Final Warning

Playing Red Baron 3D is highly addictive. This warning is not to be taken lightly. Many players have become addicted to the point of playing every night since December 1997. Others have gone so far as to spend any offline time time creating add-on missions, extensive organized paint files, additions and enhancements of every sort, and all for the benefit of anyone who wants to use them.

Still others suddenly have cravings to learn all they can about WWI, particularly the airwar part of it. Stories abound of players spending a lot of time in libraries and bookstores, reading and learning all they can about the lives of the pilots and aces of the war.

As you can tell, I thoroughly enjoy this simulation. I hope to see you soon, as a friend on my wing or a foe in my sights, in the skies over Western Europe during the formative years of this century.