"Dodging Triplanes" Topic

Today, we did a couple of Wings of Glory WW1 games at the club, The AAR of the first is on my blog at: link
Great fun was had by all!

Nice game!

How exactly is the SE5 "vastly superior" to the DR1 and Albatros D5? The three stack up this way: SE5 has an escape vector diving, otherwise is about as maneuverable as the D5, and utterly outclassed in maneuverability by the DR1. Both the D5 and even much more so the DR1 out-climb the SE5, but the reverse of this is the SE's superior top speed on the flat. The SE and D5 are about equally robust airframes, but the DR1 is quite fragile by comparison. It's escape vector is the power climb. The D5 is the best general or all around performer of the three….

How exactly is the SE5 "vastly superior" to the DR1 and Albatros D5?

In Wings of Glory, we have found the SE to have a much more balanced manoeuvre deck, especially having a right and left sharp turn and long sideslips. It can outrun the Albatross easily as you said.
I have used the Albatross against the SE5a and can beat them, but its a much harder job IMHO!

Of course, in reality, the real planes had the advantages and disadvantages you describe. WofG only gives an approximation of the real planes capabilities!!!

Hmmm. In one sequence, you complain that the RE was "in the way" of your shot. I don't recall WoW/WoG having any obstruction rules for LOS. Do y'all have house rules for that, or am I forgetting something?

Haven't played this game for ages and ages, but one of the reasons it fell out of favour with me is depicted very well in your photo above.
Every aircraft is disappearing up the fundament of the one in front, causing a much-too-tight swirling mass.
One way to clear this logjam is to increase substantially the half and full ranges, thus allowing all planes to begin firing (or avoiding) from further away.
Unfortunately, if the game is owned and/or presented by someone else, this option may not be viewed with much enthusiasm!

In one sequence, you complain that the RE was "in the way" of your shot. I don't recall WoW/WoG having any obstruction rules for LOS. Do y'all have house rules for that, or am I forgetting something?

No, its not a house rule, its in the main rules, Page 13:

LINE OF SIGHT
'An airplane may not fire through other airplanes, enemy or friendly. If it is not possible to reach any part of the target base without the edge of the ruler crossing another base, then the line of sight of the firing airplane is blocked (though it may be able to shoot at a different target).

OVERLAPPING AIRPLANES
If, at the end of a maneuver, two airplane bases overlap, neither of the two airplanes can fire at the other. They can, however, fire at other airplanes.
Other airplanes can shoot at the overlapping airplanes using the normal line of sight rules. The overlapping airplanes dont block each other's line of sight or the line of sight of the airplanes firing at them'.

I admit, having just read the above rule again, I and my friends could have fired where there were partial overlaps…OOOPS!

Ah well, we were all playing the same rule, so it didnt impact on the game!

As to house rules, we do measure between the stems on the bases rather than the bases themselves, as it makes it harder to get a bead on the enemy!

Well, darn it, you're right. (In WoW it's on page 3.) Don't know how we missed that. But then, I can't really think of when it's come up in our dogfights, either. We're usually overlapping each other or shooting at the closest plane, which simply means blocking isn't a consideration. Or maybe I got it confused with X-Wing…

Easy done!

We get rules mixed all the time from similar games!!!