I think there's a bit of confusion about what the No.401 Public Server mission is all about so I'll try and clear things up here.
1. The server is full switch with NO EXTERNALS
We had it for a while with externals turned on for those people who wanted an alternative to get screen shots of their missions, or record tracks that they could use with external views, etc. However, popular opinion seems to feel that this option does not equal a full real simulation, even though it does nothing to impact flight model or engine management settings. Externals are now OFF.
2. The server has real wind conditions to deal with.
Our server will randomly edit the wind settings each time the map resets (thanks Salmo). The random wind is restricted to 'flying conditions' such that you will not see gale force winds, but a range from calm to moderate winds. What this means is that novice pilots who attempt to simply take-off in whatever heading they spawn in at are going to crash unless they are lucky enough to have spawned in at the appropriate heading. or the wind conditions happen to be calm. Take-off and landing into the wind is a part of flying an aircraft, and as a server dedicated to realism that is part of our map.
To assist with this, our server includes the ability to request the current wind conditions from a tower controller who will give you the speed of the wind and the appropriate heading to take-off into (the direction the wind is coming from). When requesting the wind conditions, you will receive a message like this: "Attention: Wind conditions are gentle (4.1m/s) coming from 140 degrees." This means, taxi to the best runway that allows a heading close to 140 degrees and you will have the easiest take-off roll.
3. Our server has complex AI flights.
This is probably the biggest aspect to our server that players are unfamiliar with and wary of. Due to the number of players who play during the later hours of the North American time zone, many servers become fairly empty on maps that have been designed for the much more active European time zones. Many of these players would still rather attempt to play something historical rather than go to a pure dogfight server, however. Our mission design is an attempt at providing these players with a place to go to find dynamic and interesting combat sorties even if there are few players about.
One problem that I have had over the last few years with AI servers is that the AI becomes incredibly predictable. The map builder has created several flights of AI bombers that appear at regular intervals almost as if they have been asked to appear so that they can be shot down without any other reason for being there. Not only that, they appear in the same place every time and take the same route every time such that some pilots started taking off and loitering near the location where these AI flights spawned in in order to get first crack at them. I wanted something different.
Our server impliments AI in a manner that is better described as a Dynamic Battlefield. When the server resets and the mission launches, the first thing that happens it that 3 of many many sub-missions is selected as 'missions in progress'. This means that as soon as you connect to the server when it has reset, there is already something happening. It could be a large bomber raid (25+). It could be a squadron fighter sweep. It could be a troop transport Condor with light escort. It could be Command Staff relocating in a bf108. More often than not it is a combination of several of those things. These targets are ready to be found and engaged right off the get go. Also, over time, AI Spitfire and/or Hurricane flights will patrol the coastline of England and/or France looking for trouble.
Additionally to this, because our mission is based on a post Battle of Britain situation (early 1941), RED pilots who head towards France are going to start triggering AI response to their incursion in two stages. For the first stage, approaching the coastline will generate another AI flight randomly selected from several options in the area you are operating. This could be one of several types of flight as in the above 'missions in progress'. The second stage occurs once you get to France. Approaching certain areas of the map will cause enemy 109/110 squadrons to scramble from their airfields to patrol the areas you are entering, defending their airspace and their aerodromes. These scrambles are also randomized. The defending squadrons may take-off from any number of airfields in the area.
The cumulative effect of all the above randomization and triggering points is that for any one sortie, you can never assume where the enemy AI will be. There is no 'loitering near their spawn point'. If you go back to where you encountered enemy AI scrambling the last time you went to France, you're just as likely to be bounced from 20,000 ft by a flight of 109s that weren't there the last time. Each time the mission runs is a new day in the battle with new events and new results.
One more thing. All of these flights are fully capable of interacting independantly of the players if they cross paths with each other. On one flight I was flying towards France and came across 12 Spitfires diving onto a formation of bombers while being attacked by their 109 escort. At 25,000 ft. This was not a scripted event. This battle was the result of the randomly created flights happening to come into contact with each other. It was a sight to see with the contrails. I got involved in the fight, saved a Spitfire being attacked, took bullets in my wing, and eventually had to retreat with gun failures.
4. Our server is open for multiplayer RED vs BLUE!
I think a lot of people are assuming that our mission is not PvP due to all the AI, or is only for RED pilots due to the majority of the AI being on the BLUE side and the lack of BLUE targets in England for bombers. This is not true!
Both sides have multiple airfields spread out across the map, allowing for the use of nearly all variants of the aircraft available. The aircraft selection (including the E4/N and Spitfire IIa) reflects an attempt to allow for not having 1941 aircraft available in the game (109F, Spitfire Vb, FW 190A). With the performance gap that the 109F and FW 190 introduced over the SpitVb, the E4/N fills the roll adequately.
While it is true that the BLUE side does not receive targets assigned to destroy in England, bomber aircraft are available for those who wish to attack airfields or other industrial areas. We are looking to, in the near future, add damage reports for BLUE pilots who take on attacking targets like these. Also, bear in mind that the RDF radar system is attackable. Locating RDF towers along the coastline and destroying them can put sections of the system out of action. This has a direct impact on the RED players ability to locate and position themselves to attack enemy bomber groups and fighter sweeps.
Something that has always hurt PvP play during late hours is finding your enemy and finding your friends. We have something that will help you with both: RDF and FREYA. Using Kodiak's excellent RDF system as a base, we have upgraded it to include FREYA radar for the BLUE side as well as offering a 'locate friendly contacts' option.
RDF and FREYA will allow players to find enemies over the channel and over their home territory quickly and efficiently. FREYA is more accurate to a certain degree (more precise with altitude) but RDF sector controllers cover a larger area due to their experience from the Battle of Britain and their brilliant filter rooms.
Friendly contact reports will give you accurate aircraft counts in the air, showing you where your friendlies are, what altitude they are at, and in what direction they are heading (similar to the enemy contact report, except the enemy contact reports are more vague about numbers). You should no longer have to constantly ask where your teammates are. Check the contact report, locate them on the map, and plot your intercept. Or tell them where to go. Other players aren't on teamspeak? Doesn't matter. Find them and join them.
The point is that BLUE players are welcome. There is nothing on the server to prevent RED vs BLUE dogfighting over the Dover channel straight just like on any number of other servers out there. The idea is that with all the other stuf available to pilots on our server, the variety of encounters might increase.
This means that our server is not for people wanting 'fast action'. It takes patience and a dedication to realistic sorties and guiding yourself. Our server will not hold your hand and point you at a 109/Spitfire to shoot at. All the tools are there for you to find action every flight you make. It's just up to you to use them.
5. Our server offers realistic bombing targets like no other (CURRENTLY FOR RED ONLY).
Bomber crews over Europe did not drop their bombs and then look to the top of their canopy waiting for a big yellow line of text to tell them if they destroyed their target or not. Airfields did not broadcast to the enemy what percentage of their field was out of action. Altitude bombing was not precise and often not effective. Bomber command did not call up the Luftwaffe to let them know which targets they had been assigned for the day.
The targets available to RED are different each time the map runs. The targets do not give an instant 'DESTROYED!' notification if they are hit. The targets are also not known to the BLUE side. How can BLUE defend targets it doesn't know of? By using FREYA to locate enemy raids and intercepting them the way they actually did it.
And what of the damage? How does RED know that they've hit a target unless they can see it? There are two answers to this. One, you can fly over the target again and have a look to see what you hit, if you hit it. Two, you can return to home airspace and get a damage report from the Recon and Damage report.
What does the damage report look like? When you request a Recon and Damage Report, the sector tower you are connected to will give you a list of the 'Targets for Today' and following that will indicate if they have observed any damage done to the target. This damage report could be "4 merchant cargo ships have been sunk at Le Havre Harbour". Or, in the case of an area target designed to be hit from altitude, "The Beauvais railyard has suffered light damage". Is the target split into a train and several vehicles off-loading from it? Those elements might give you separate damage reports. Destroy the train and the damage report will reflect it. Destroy the support vehicles and that will be added to the report. The report should be specific to the target. In the case of an aerodrome to be attacked, destroying the dispersed aircraft at the field is an important reason for attacking the aerodrome and as such, completing that task will be part of the damage report. Levelling the entire field is also pretty exciting to do, so if you can do that kind of damage, it will ALSO be included in the report.
Pick your targets carefully, though. If you're a lone Blenheim bomber then maybe trying to destroy the Dunkirk port facilities will be a little out of your ability. Remember that little port in Holland that the Allies tried to bomb out of action? But, the Gestapo headquarters in Caen...that's maybe a little more doable.
More targets are being added every week. We are currently at 19 highly detailed targets possible, each complete with the high detail damage report info. At current, I do not know of a limit to the number of targets I can add to the mission. They're not all available at one time, but they all appear over the course of the map's rotation.
SUMMARY
In summary, I want to reiterate that our server is open for business. Please come and check it out. It will not be for everyone. It will be for the people who want to go on a complete mission from engine start to slow-running cut out. It will be for the pilot who wants to see combat with bombers at realistic altitudes but doesn't want to have memorized the AI flights within a week. It will be for the pilots who enjoy the thrill of hunting someone down across the map and then returning home victorious or by the skin of their teeth. It will be for the bomber pilots who want to experience probably the most realistic bomber experience available in Cliffs of Dover's online community right now.
It will not be for players who have 10 minutes and want to take-off, shoot at something/get shot at, and then leave. It will not be for players who want to look at leaderboards to see where they rank against all the other online dogfighters. It will not be for players who need/want instant notification of whether or not they've damaged a target.
I hope that clears up some ideas about what our server is and who it is for. Our mission requires time, but I'm a big proponent of quality over quantity. If you feel the same, give it a shot. Try Biggin Hill, it's pretty this time of year.
Bookmarks