New Open Campaign Map Test - All Welcome!

[No.401_Wolverine]

EDIT: Please sign up in this thread if you can confirm your attendance at the event! If we get close to the 36 players we're looking for, we will maintain a password for the event and it will be distributed to those who signed up. Thank you.

Greetings from No.401 Squadron!

This Saturday, May 30th, No.401 Squadron will be hosting a test run of a new Campaign map that we hope to have operational for a Full Public Campaign in the very near future - and we'd like you to participate!

What sort of Campaign?

The campaign will be running on a new scripted mission we have just recently developed that we are calling "Finest Hour". This mission is designed to operate persistently with results from each server restart carrying over to the next. Each time the server restarts, a new 'day' of the Battle of Britain begins. The campaign will start with the date of July 10th, 1940 and depending on the actions of players will continue all the way through to September 17th, 1940.

What results will carry over?

The RAF team will need to manage resources that include:
No. of aircraft (both serviceable combat ready aircraft and unserviceable aircraft in need of repair)
Airfields (airfields can be damaged and turned non-operational)
Fuel supply (both reserves in fuel depots and refineries that produce fuel)
Aircraft factories (some factories produce parts that will repair unserviceable Hurricanes and produce new Hurricanes while others repair and produce Spitfires)
Convoys (merchant ships will occasionally appear in the channel and delivery resources to the team if they survive the day)
Ports (damaged ports and docks will received supplies from convoys at a lower rate or nil if heavily damaged)
Morale (civilian targets are available to be targeted and will impact the morale of the population)

The Luftwaffe team has plenty of resources to pursue the battle for the duration of the 70 days that it could take place, therefore their aircraft/fuel/factories etc. are not tracked or limited (at this time).

How does a team win the campaign?

The goal of the RAF team overall is to survive as a fighting force for the duration of the campaign run (70 days). If, at the end of the final mission, the RAF is still capable of presenting a credible defense, the RAF team wins.

The goal of the Luftwaffe team overall is to conduct the campaign in such a way that they are able to destroy the RAF's ability to respond to an invasion force or to destroy the morale of the population to such a degree that a change of government is forced and capitulation takes place.

What is the test run for?

Currently, the mission is functioning well with around 10 to 12 players participating. However, we would like to open up the mission to a wider public audience and need to ensure that there are no scaling effects when larger numbers of players join and play. To that end we would like to have as many people as possible up to our player limit of 36 players come and try out the mission on Saturday May 30th. If the test goes well, we will conduct a further test with a higher number of player spots open until we find the perfect number. After that, we will officially begin the campaign.

How can I participate?

The No.401 Squadron Server will be open with no password at 9:00pm EST (GMT -5) on Saturday, May 30th and players are encouraged to join and play. Players are welcome to join No.401's members on our teamspeak server (T331 . DARKSTARLLC . COM, port 10336), or to use their own teamspeak servers to help coordinate. We will be looking for RAF team players as well as Luftwaffe team players. It is not necessary for us to have equal numbers of RAF or Luftwaffe for the test, so please come on in.

What do I do when I get there?

The first thing to do would be to say hello! The second thing to do would be to find out what's currently happening. The mission is designed to allow the Luftwaffe team to decide on a target and start a bomber raid via the menu system. The same menu system will allow all Luftwaffe team players to find out what the current target is, what the route of the AI bombers is, and a system of locating friendly contacts in the air in real time. There is no restriction on airfields you can use for either team.

In short:
If you join the RAF team, find out where the enemy is coming across the channel and scramble to intercept...or wait at readiness until the raid does come.
If you join the Luftwaffe, team find out where the bombers are headed and link up with them to provide escort...or start a raid yourself!

If you're unsure of what to do, please ask! On our Teamspeak server we will have a team coordinator for both Red and Blue available to help assist you with the various detailed systems and menus involved in the mission. Using these is also not required to participate - if your preference is simply to come along and fly with your friends, the coordinator will help guide you to the action without your needing to learn the menus at all.

When will the real campaign start?

We are hoping to have the official campaign begin in coordination with the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and present the campaign in real time matching day for day starting with July 10th, 2015 equaling July 10th, 1940. Each day will be presented starting at 9:00pm EST (GMT -5).

Thank you for reading, and we hope to see you on Saturday! Space may be limited depending on response.

RAF PLAYERS
1. No.401_Wolverine
2. No.401_Hawk
3. No.401_StiC
4. No.401_Alpine
5. |450| Squiz
6. |450| Devil
7. |450| Kookaburra
8.
9
10.
11
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

LUFTWAFFE PLAYERS
1. ATAG_Dice
2. ATAG_Freya
3. ATAG_Torian
4. I./KG40_Night
5. I./KG40_BOPOH
6. I./KG40_Gustav
7. III./ZG76_Saipan
8. 1./St.G.129_Cassius Calhoun
9
10.
11
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

[ATAG_Bliss]

Hi Wolverine - this sounds like a bunch of fun.

Are you planning on having a sign up for the event or will the server be capped off? I would think if you had a signup going you could fill all the slots you wanted.

[No.401_Wolverine]

Hi Bliss.

If people would like to sign-up and commit to coming out, then I can certainly accommodate that.

Original Post Updated!

[Dice]

Please add me to the list Wolverine...you already know what side :).

[ATAG_Freya]

Please add me to the list Wolverine...you already know what side :).

And you also already know he shouldn't be left unsupervised. I guess I'll do it.

:thumbsup:

[ATAG_Torian]

Sign me up for Luftwafflers. But seriously, the Fuhrer offers terms.....allow Luftwaffe bases in southern England and surrender the Royal Navy and we can avoid all this unpleasantness !!!

[Ironclaw]

Sign us =)

1) I./KG40_Night
2) I./KG40_BOPOH
3) I./KG40_Gustav

[Cassius]

Hi Wolverine, our pilots looking forward of any news about that project!
How long time will test go on? Unfortunately 9:00pm it is 6:00am at Moscow and this is a little bit early for part of us.
We could join later if on the server will be free slots and time lets us do that. Anyway that is very good news and we are in business on that day or later!

[71st_AH_Ratsy]

This sounds really fun, I'd like to attend. I'll see how many other 71st can come along, not many are available this Sat unfortunately

[No.401_Wolverine]

Hi Wolverine, our pilots looking forward of any news about that project!
How long time will test go on? Unfortunately 9:00pm it is 6:00am at Moscow and this is a little bit early for part of us.
We could join later if on the server will be free slots and time lets us do that. Anyway that is very good news and we are in business on that day or later!

Hi Cassius,

Yes I was reading on the Russian section about the time. I realize we can't cater to everyone with these tests. Eventually, if the server is popular enough to warrant it, it'll be up 24/7 allowing everyone from all time zones to participate. It's important to realize that missions like this one that generally rely on an organized team or individuals who work closely together typically only really work if there's a roughly equal contingent of players for both sides at the same time. If all the blue pilots log on at 4:00am and run bomber missions before the Red players wake up and log in at 10:00, then there's really not much there for everyone.

To that end, we have a few options:

1. We could easily set up 'instances' or different versions of the mission that will run in rotation so that players from each time zone will log into the same mission they left, but that hasn't been touched by the other time zones without their ability to fight back.

2. We may just release the mission and files to the public and let communities host their own version of it. Nothing is really required to run this campaign except the ability to edit text files in a very simple way (and even then, only if you want to). It's kind of a plug and play campaign with no special knowledge required (you do need to know how to run a dedicated server though and have the resources to do so - though, you might be able to host locally too and get away with it).


But to your question about the running time. It'll be up for 8 hours. So, if you want to log in later on in the morning after breakfast, the same mission will still be up...you just may or may not find opposition to fight.

[Cassius]

Thx for answer Wolverine.
Item 2 is very interesting, and we'll come back to it later.
I have some problems with the calculation of the start time for our time zone ( Moscow, Russia).
The problem is the following - there is EDT and EST

Most cities located in Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone currently observe Daylight Saving Time (DST).
Therefore, most cities there are using Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

Example of location: New York
In the first case (EST) we have a difference in +8 hours, and in the case of EDT we have +7 hours...
Is that link correct http://www.thetimenow.com/est/eastern_standard_time then in Moscow +8 hour.
Is that link correct http://www.thetimenow.com/united_states/new_york/new_york then in Moscow +7 hour.

[III./ZG76_Saipan]

can i sign up the for the Luftwaffe please? thanks..

[Cassius]

Sign
1./St.G.129_Cassius Calhoun

[No.401_Wolverine]

Thx for answer Wolverine.
Item 2 is very interesting, and we'll come back to it later.
I have some problems with the calculation of the start time for our time zone ( Moscow, Russia).
The problem is the following - there is EDT and EST

In the first case (EST) we have a difference in +8 hours, and in the case of EDT we have +7 hours...
Is that link correct http://www.thetimenow.com/est/eastern_standard_time then in Moscow +8 hour.
Is that link correct http://www.thetimenow.com/united_states/new_york/new_york then in Moscow +7 hour.

Sorry, yes, I suppose we are EDT now. +8 hours. So the mission would run, I think, from Sunday 5am to Sunday 1pm Moscow time.

[No.401_Wolverine]

Interest in the mission is low enough that we won't have a closed password for the test. The server will be open. Just hop in if you want to. I'm sure everyone who wants to will get in, so we won't reserve spots.

[No.401_Wolverine]

Thank you everyone who came to play tonight. It was great fun and helped immensely in working out a few of the bugs and concepts that we're developing. The Luftwaffe players did a great job attacking Dover Docks and a very explosive final attack on the Sittingbourne fuel depot. The server ran pretty smoothly and I think some of the little lags and stutters were related to players with custom skins (custom skins were on).

We'll press forward with the targets we need to complete to fill out the map and get ready for July 10th!

[Combat Wombat]

Would love to join but my for the ping

[Ironclaw]

So the mission would run, I think, from Sunday 5am to Sunday 1pm Moscow time.

?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We fly and test yesterday! I wake up in morning and go to game. 30 may, Saturday. But now i see test begun 31 may in Sunday.
Cry...

[Dice]

Sittingbourne fuel depot

We contemplated sending an AI mission there but it was getting late (Canadian time) so a quick raid to Hawkinge was deemed a better solution. Our Russian counterparts must have hit Sittingbourne, would have liked to see that. :thumbsup:




Would love to join but my for the ping

There are half a dozen guys from the Australian |450| squadron (Red) and two or three ATAG that connect from the land down under and fly Blue. AFAIK there isn`t an issue regarding server ping for them, but I should let them respond to be sure.

I would assume further testing will be required so if your at a loose end on Saturday nite (Sunday morning your time) please jump in.

[No.401_Wolverine]

Would love to join but my for the ping

As Dice has mentioned, we have many Australian players who join us and their experiences are good. Barring issues outside of our control, the server is quite stable and |450| players consistently report excellent playability.

Try the server out next Saturday and see how it goes. There's nothing to lose.

[ATAG_Endless]

playability has always been good ping might be a little high but I never get any freezes

Blew the wings off 3 hurricanes yesterday and whilst getting on their six had no issues with warping or rubber banding

[Cassius]

We contemplated sending an AI mission there but it was getting late (Canadian time) so a quick raid to Hawkinge was deemed a better solution. Our Russian counterparts must have hit Sittingbourne, would have liked to see that. :thumbsup:

Sittingbourne fuel depot was fully destroyed. No.401_Wolverine confirmed it.
Here is a little report were published at №401 Squadron forum.

Thank all №401 Squadron Staff for the development of this campaign, in the opening test, which we had a chance to take part.
We hope that this will be another step in the long life of CLoD.
In the first flight, we on 2 Ju87 took off from the Oye_Plage airfield , and our target was Fuel Depots in the AT25. But on the way we found a Convoy in AW28 and decided to attack. Two transport ships were fully damaged and I hope sunk.
Next raid we start on 3 He111. And we have some problem with spawn at Rosieres_en_Santerre airfield. We were born parked nose to nose. (If you need help to fix it (only the blue airfield) like as is done on Storm of War server), let me know ( I use well the full editor). On the way we have been intercepted and were not able to attack the target.
3-d raid we took Ju87 and tried to repeat the same attack. At it was successful. But we met serious resistance, as far as possible from the opposing side. The spectacle of exploding fuel storage was awesome.
After we took a break 1.5 hours. In the remaining time, we made 3 by 3x110th raids on Convoy approached the harbor Folkestone.
A long time there was no practice, and our attacks were not successful...
Finally all ships were sunk except the Corvette, which is has lagged behind main convoy of ships, and could not protect them (I saw it from the 1st flight, may because of the speed?), but it could hurt some of our aircraft that flew too close to him. After all bombs were released, we attacked Corvett with course weapons. In result wheelhouse was destroyed and it caught fire. 30 min notification of the end of the mission appeared on the server.
Best regards.

[No.401_Wolverine]

?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We fly and test yesterday! I wake up in morning and go to game. 30 may, Saturday. But now i see test begun 31 may in Sunday.
Cry...

Sorry, Ironclaw! It /was/ Saturday for us...Sunday for you :/

[No.401_Wolverine]

The server will be open again this Saturday evening (Sunday morning for Russia!) to play on the newest iteration of the code.

[=FI=Murph]

Is it too late to add a few more names? I have been talking this up to two of my FI mates that I fly with each Friday night. We are North American, Mountain Time. We'd like to fly Hurricanes, if possible. Please advise me about proper protocols for flying Red-I usually host dogfight missions just for us three and we've done very little flying on public servers like ATAG so far.

[ATAG_Colander]

Today's testing was fun. Thanks to all involved.
:salute:

[No.401_Wolverine]

Is it too late to add a few more names? I have been talking this up to two of my FI mates that I fly with each Friday night. We are North American, Mountain Time. We'd like to fly Hurricanes, if possible. Please advise me about proper protocols for flying Red-I usually host dogfight missions just for us three and we've done very little flying on public servers like ATAG so far.

Hi Murph,

Feel free to come and play. We don't have any real requirements to meet if you want to join the server and play. Right now in testing there's no server password but when we start the official campaign on July 10th we may put a password on (but it'll be freely available at our forum).

You can join us on our Teamspeak server to join the organization of the battle (the address is in the mission briefing on the server and in the first post in this thread).

Generally, the way the missions work is that players have to monitor the radar from various locations on the map (connecting to the Uxbridge control tower will give you radar for the whole map - then once you locate the enemy, transfer to a local radar station on the coast). Once the enemy raid is detected, we try to intercept it successfully while still protecting our pilot and aircraft. Once that raid is complete we do it all again!

The best way to play is to join us on Teamspeak and get the ropes that way.

[Dice]

Today's testing was fun. Thanks to all involved.
:salute:

We are going to need drop tanks if we run that route again. Great campaign map Wolverine, looking forward to the start date!

[=FI=Murph]

When will the server be up next?

[No.401_Wolverine]

When will the server be up next?

The server is up all the time, but our organized flying is at 9pm Eastern on Saturdays.

[No.401_Wolverine]

Two weeks to go until the start of the campaign!

The map has now been updated with all the available targets. We have 9 bomber missions still to program into the system, but all the targets are in and can be attacked and damaged as normal.

There are 55 detailed targets on the map in all, including:

23 Airfields (providing operational bases)
7 Ports (accepting convoy supplies)
7 Fuel Depots (storing fuel for flights)
5 Fuel Refineries (producing fuel for flights)
4 Aircraft Parts Factories (generating parts to repair damaged aircraft and build new ones)
9 Civilian Targets (keeping morale high)

Plus, 7 possible convoy missions in the channel that bring randomly chosen supplies (fuel, parts, or morale boosting goods) to the Red team.

Testing will continue right up until the campaign start date of July 10th! Please stop by and have a look at the map if you think you'd like to participate.

[Berserker]

Two weeks to go until the start of the campaign!

The map has now been updated with all the available targets. We have 9 bomber missions still to program into the system, but all the targets are in and can be attacked and damaged as normal.

There are 55 detailed targets on the map in all, including:

23 Airfields (providing operational bases)
7 Ports (accepting convoy supplies)
7 Fuel Depots (storing fuel for flights)
5 Fuel Refineries (producing fuel for flights)
4 Aircraft Parts Factories (generating parts to repair damaged aircraft and build new ones)
9 Civilian Targets (keeping morale high)

Plus, 7 possible convoy missions in the channel that bring randomly chosen supplies (fuel, parts, or morale boosting goods) to the Red team.

Testing will continue right up until the campaign start date of July 10th! Please stop by and have a look at the map if you think you'd like to participate.
@ Wolverine, when the mission starts will it continue to run until all mission targets are destroyed and can we fly in it at anytime or is it time specific?

[Cassius]

Great news!


23 Airfields (providing operational bases)
7 Ports (accepting convoy supplies)
7 Fuel Depots (storing fuel for flights)
5 Fuel Refineries (producing fuel for flights)
4 Aircraft Parts Factories (generating parts to repair damaged aircraft and build new ones)
9 Civilian Targets (keeping morale high)
Plus 7 Convoy missions

Big work for blues:thumbsup:

[No.401_Wolverine]

@ Wolverine, when the mission starts will it continue to run until all mission targets are destroyed and can we fly in it at anytime or is it time specific?

Hi Berserker,

Not quite like that. The mission is set to run 70 times. July 10th to September 17th. The mission 'ends' when one of a few conditions are met:

1. If British morale is reduced to 0, the public revolts, kicks Churchill out of office and makes terms with Germany.
2. If the Luftwaffe is losing too many pilots over the channel vs the number of combat sorties made (for players only - can't vouch for AI abilities / decisions so they won't count towards this) then Hitler recalls the Luftwaffe and cancels Seelowe.
3. If the RAF is reduced to such a point where they cannot provide a defense of England, the Germans invade and the mission ends.
4. If the mission runs the full 70 days with no clear winner, Hitler cancels Seelowe and England survives to fight on (the 'historical' end).

The targets themselves are repairable. Each target has three damage levels (light, medium, heavy) and for each level of damage, it'll take one day to repair. So if a fuel refinery is dealt heavy damage, it will take at least 3 days of constant repair before it will produce fuel again. If an airfield is dealt moderate damage, it'll take 2 days before it can be made active again. etc.

Damage is persistent and if not repaired will linger. Civilian targets that are left without fire and rescue crews sent will impact morale. Fuel depots that are left unrepaired will 'leak' fuel each day.

Convoys offer the Red team the opportunity to get large quantities of resources quickly, but only if the convoy survives and only if it can reach an active port.

There are lots of ways to impact the battle. More than we probably will have players for..

[=FI=Murph]

How are repairs done? Is the process automatic if the target receives no additional damage?

[No.401_Wolverine]

How are repairs done? Is the process automatic if the target receives no additional damage?

Repairs are selected by players through the tab menu. If repairs are not requested, damage is not repaired. Red team has to decided what is most important to repair as available repair crews are limited.

[JAGER_Batz]

Hello Wolverine!

I am Brazilian, and I would fly campaign, I sign up here?

[No.401_Wolverine]

Hi Batz,

There's no sign up. You can play any time there's room (there's always room). July 10th will be the official start date.

[LBR=F.Stigler]

S!

We would like to participate:

LBR=H.Ostermann
LBR=F.Stigler

Luftwaffe

<o_

[No.401_Wolverine]

S!

We would like to participate:

LBR=H.Ostermann
LBR=F.Stigler

Luftwaffe

<o_

Please do! Just pick a timezone you'd like to play and come on over. We'll probably have the most players during the Eastern North America timezone version (9pm Eastern).

[=FI=Murph]

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the help last night Wolverine!

[LBR=F.Stigler]

S!

Please include also:

LBR=Gustav.Denk

<O_

[StiC]

The folks on the Three Player Coop podcast gave me the opportunity to talk about the Finest Hour Campaign. Please show your appreciation for them and all the people involved in the campaign by downloading, sharing and listening.

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/3playercoop)

Direct Link (http://bit.ly/1NR3UD6)

Campaign Talk starts at around 1:23:00.

[No.401_Wolverine]

Thanks StiC! Very entertaining listen. You're more than generous about my contributions though. Let's hope that it gets the word out to a few people to join the campaign, or at the very least give Cliffs of Dover a try!

[=FI=Murph]

Wolverine; I was able to set up my server window (for getting reports and radar info)with your excellent help, but did not take notes. I would like to get my two squadmates set up as well before Friday night. Any chance you could briefly describe the process here?
I remember how to open a new info window and how to position it, but I'm fuzzy about setting the parameters so that it provides the info properly.

[No.401_Wolverine]

Wolverine; I was able to set up my server window (for getting reports and radar info)with your excellent help, but did not take notes. I would like to get my two squadmates set up as well before Friday night. Any chance you could briefly describe the process here?
I remember how to open a new info window and how to position it, but I'm fuzzy about setting the parameters so that it provides the info properly.

Hi Murph,

What you need to do is right click on the info window when it is active (hold alt and left click on the window) and select the customize option.
You need to add 'Server' messages by moving them from the far right box to the middle box.
You can then customize the info window details by changing the window to remove the borders, title, and make the inactive BG set to 0. Change the timeout on the messages to somewhere around 30 seconds so that info stays up long enough for you to handle it (or as long as you'd like it to stay up) and then save and close the window.

Note, make sure you've positioned the window where you want it and set it to be pretty wide (I use nearly the entire width of my screen for these messages since the radar call outs have a lot of detail per plot) BEFORE you make these changes because after you've set the borders, title and BG to be invisible, it's harder (not impossible) to make adjustments.

If you have any difficulty, just swing by TS and we can help you out. I'm sure the guys on the ATAG teamspeak will also be helpful if you can't find any of us on ours before Saturday.

[=FI=Murph]

Thanks again, that really helps.