Warfront Check-Ride

Hi Wolverine,
Sorry I missed your text during my sortie yesterday evening.

I fly full-real as far as the SIM will allow so I don't have text messaging or any artificial aids turned on. Just me, my aircraft, TS, and the gauges.

Interestingly for me, I was flying Blue of which it has been a year since I was in a blue cockpit. Fun to say the least regarding engine management. Also, I was trying to load up a 109B series with bombs but couldn't get either the bomb on board or my stick mapping was incorrect as I didn't see anything release or hit a target. More practice offline for me.

I chose Blue in order to prepare for the Persistent Battle of Britain release so didn't get a chance to fly on the Red side. My understanding of the Warfront Server and PBoB is for guests to fly on the Blue side.

I did finally get an understanding of the raid in progress to the Rochester area but too late to participate. Not sure yet where to pick up the bombers to provide escort. Just prior to your entry, I attempted to trigger a raid on Lympne but don't think it was successful.

Not being sufficiently familiar with the mission setups, I can't comment yet on the functional side but on the visual side popups were the only obvious item when approaching Dover Harbour. I understand the necessity for this. The server was smooth with no hiccups, the targets easy to spot at distance but required zooming and concentration as they popped into view on a low level attack.

I enjoyed the time spent very much on several fronts and expect to drop in again this evening Pacific Time.

Cheers,
Cats . . . .

ps. can I get a TS address? It would make it easier for me to communicate. Thanks.

Hey Catseye,

We fly that way too. I've only got the chat stuff on my screen so I can respond to questions about the server if they pop up.

The only other concession is the use of the 'server' messages. You'll need to have those turned on to use the radar or other systems like briefings, etc. The fortunate thing is that we have a customized .dll that removes all of the rolling text that usually appears there regarding aircraft shot down, pilot kills, etc. The only stuff you see there will be what you call up yourself and occasionally a report on players landing safely or being captured or drowned etc. I'm considering moving those messages to private ones as well so they won't clutter up other people's screens. That way, if you don't want text, unless you request it (rdf, briefing, etc.) you won't have it.

The visual pop-ups aren't really something we can do anything about. That's just the game. But targets are visible from a distance as the little dots, so players will know where to look. Once you get close, targets will look more natural and blend in. As long as the server is smooth, there's no warping or rubber banding, and the tab menus are responsive, things are running well.

There's no requirement to fly Blue. The only issue is player numbers. Normally, 401 and |450| compose the red side only due to the fact that the blue side just doesn't get many players. If this map can draw players, then both sides will be open to participation (up to the player cap which we will have to identify once more players strain the server).

I will PM you the TS info.

The best chance you've got for being able to fly Red is to spread the word and help get people excited.

Yes, the flak is pretty deadly. It's meant to be. Low level attacks will go under radar, but don't expect to last long over targets.

I'll switch the messages about crashing / parachuting / etc to the respective players only. That should let you and others use the radar stuff without fear of 'screen clutter' (I don't like it either). I would say that if even that is unacceptable then you find someone to fly with who will handle that end of things and you can fly wingman without having to deal with it. There's critical info in there, especially on the Red side. It would be a shame to miss out on this map due to this issue, even if I do say so myself!

Recon is seamlessly built into the map. Damaged targets will come back as visually destroyed on server reset, so you can't just go by the little 'dots' being missing at distance to tell if a target is down or not. You'll need to visually inspect the area. Targets are visible enough from a relatively safe distance to avoid flak and get a 'photo' of it to confirm it is destroyed or damaged.