I have been playing WWIIOL for about the past month or so.
Pros:
- I actually got it to run reasonably well on my 933 MHz Pentium III w/512 MB RAM and a 128 MB AGP Geforce 4 Ti 4200. Frame rates range from 12-15 in heavy battles to 40ish by myself.
- Ground action is pretty good--IF you are with a squad or a decent group of people. It's intense, seems fairly realistic. Armor battles are fun. Infantry is less so because it's so tough to model realistic cover and concealment, but it's possible to have fun playing infantry if you're sneaky and careful.
Cons:
- The flight model is, for lack of a better word, diddlyed. So diddlyed it's not even funny. I have had 109s turn inside my Hurricane I and Hawk 75 at 100 knots--try that in AH. E retention is ridiculous. Hurricanes, Hawks, and 110s are nothing but bait for the Spits, D.520s, and 109s. 109s can turn inside ANYTHING with the possible exception of Spitfires. Plus, flying over any built-up area causes my frame rate to drop below 15 and as low as the high single digits (8 or so). The view system is unrealistically limited, no dead six view, no way to move your head. I'll grant that they do have some neat ideas such as controllable RPM and prop pitch, locking tailwheels, etc., but that doesn't make up for the fact that the flight model is bad.
- Playing Allied is a test of your masochism. I like playing Allied, but the German side has a large player advantage especially during morning hours Eastern time. They use that to push the map backward
- If you think AH is a frustrating game for a lone-wolf, non-squad player, try WWIIOL. I spent the first couple of days literally dying dozens of times to things I never saw or heard. Sniped from 300 yards out, picked off by a tank MG from 600 yards, that kind of things. The only reason I stuck with the game is that I found a good squad to hook up with, and they've taught me a lot. I still tend to die a lot though.
