Great piece of software to be the fighter command controller online in CloD

[Mysticpuma]

Had never seen this before until today, a great piece of software written by ACG lets the player see the battle unfold from a virtual control room. Easier to watch the video to see just what is possible! Wow!

 

 

[354thFG_Leifr]

Fantastic.

ACG have always taken the spirit of that balmy 1940 summer to the fullest potential.

[ATAG_Flare]

Wow, that's just fantastic. Didn't know ACG had a tool like that. Pretty cool stuff, hats off to those guys! The CloD community can sure pull off some neat things.

[Sokol1]

9 hours ago, Mysticpuma said:

Had never seen this before until today,

 

I find curious that you as former CloD PR don't know, I remember this from 2015 and never participate in SoW campaigns due the to need be in squad  - I "lone wolf".

[56RAF_Roblex]

4 hours ago, Sokol1 said:

 

I find curious that you as former CloD PR don't know, I remember this from 2015 and never participate in SoW campaigns due the to need be in squad  - I "lone wolf".

 

Could be because ACG kept it strictly to themselves  and only the designated controllers used it.  Unless you were an ACG controller or saw one of their videos showing how it works then few people would know of it.

[354thFG_Leifr]

58 minutes ago, 56RAF_Roblex said:

 

Could be because ACG kept it strictly to themselves  and only the designated controllers used it.  Unless you were an ACG controller or saw one of their videos showing how it works then few people would know of it.

 

It was shared with the Storm of War group.

[Mysticpuma]

Still never saw it...probably in a bunker somewhere when it was posted. 

Anyway, great piece of software, very impressed.

[buster_dee]

Nice. Thanks MP.

[No.401_Wolverine]

It's too bad stuff like this isn't part of the TFS stuff, but I can understand that it might be considered too niche of a thing for the general player base to appreciate.

Edited April 4, 2018 by No.401_Wolverine

[Lusekofte]

I flew with a bunch of guys now flying under ACG umbrella. There are negative points and quite a lot of positive points to keep a closed community. ACG suit for people devoted and love war-game in system. Avoid the public server backdrop´s. Negative part of it is it divide a already small community, and it tends to be tribe flame war out of it. Not entirely ACG fault, it seems to be part of this hobby. I have been in COD community a long time, and never knew of this. Love it, and really add to the immersion in so many ways. I am impressed swell

[Ste_Smith]

On 04/04/2018 at 3:16 PM, No.401_Wolverine said:

It's too bad stuff like this isn't part of the TFS stuff, but I can understand that it might be considered too niche of a thing for the general player base to appreciate.

why would it be part of team f stuff...rrr and atag radar is not and their guy was team f coder until he quit...servers should be different and stuff like this gives nothing for sp???

Edited April 10, 2018 by Ste_Smith

[No.54dixx]

On 3/4/2018 at 10:25 AM, Leifr said:

 

It was shared with the Storm of War group.

it was, with great generousity, but nobody saw it except a few controllers afaik.

People only knew that ground control was telling them to  head somewhere.

 

there are a number of versions of ground control softwares that get shown in ACG videos over the time.

i don't think they get displayed anywhere else, acg forum included.

 

But being in the videos, it's not like they kept it a secret. Browsing their forum you can also note that the software is able to record a session, allowing the users to analyse the action during a debrief. (much like an ACMI or TacView)

Edited April 11, 2018 by No.54dixx

[ACG_Dickie]

On 03/04/2018 at 8:26 AM, 56RAF_Roblex said:

 

Could be because ACG kept it strictly to themselves  and only the designated controllers used it.  Unless you were an ACG controller or saw one of their videos showing how it works then few people would know of it.

Yeah but that's not true.

 

That video is on our website 'about us' page and YouTube channel.

 

The tools are also shared to any other group who ask.  All of this was done by volunteers for free

 

Unfortunately there are people out there who stated publicly that these are private and hidden away for us alone etc etc etc.  It is difficult to counter that what with being banned for trying, and having such nonsense repeated elsewhere by others, so I just don't bother.

 

Caio

On 10/04/2018 at 8:38 AM, Ste_Smith said:

why would it be part of team f stuff...rrr and atag radar is not and their guy was team f coder until he quit...servers should be different and stuff like this gives nothing for sp???

 

It could be. Easily.

Edited April 23, 2018 by Osprey

[=FEW=Hauggy]

Amazing stuff, I heard about it but never got a chance to use it as I joined the Luftwaffles back then.

I'm looking forward to join some more of the ACG campaigns I had a great time with the ZG.76 during one campaign and loved how immersive it was and how much people paid attention to the smallest details.

I heard you guys are going to include BoX for future campaigns? I'd almost certainly join the Russians and fly some I-16s. 

[Lusekofte]

Yeah I got s lot of early team mates and friends flying ACG campaigns, They recommend it , Most of my 110 unit do fly there, and praise it

[56RAF_Roblex]

2 hours ago, Osprey said:

Unfortunately there are people out there who stated publicly that these are private and hidden away for us alone etc etc etc.  It is difficult to counter that what with being banned for trying, and having such nonsense repeated elsewhere by others, so I just don't bother.

 

Leifr did correct my assertion that only ACG were allowed to use it and I did not argue.  I am sorry if you needed an apology as well but it seemed superfluous. I made a statement, Leifr corrected me in the very next post. No more to be said.

 

I also said nothing about the video being hidden.  I merely stated that unless you had acted as controller or had seen the video you would probably not know of the software and I stand by that.  It was not a criticism. The fact that a video exists in a public place does not mean everyone has visited that place to watch it.  You pretty much needed to be visiting the website for some other reason or to already know the software exists as well as a video then look for it.  Again, not a criticism.  The fact that this thread was started by MP only just finding out it exists kinda proves my point.    The fact that I thought only ACG had it proves my other point as I was aware of, and extremely impressed by , your software but despite flying in SoW exclusively I did not realise they used the same software :-)   I knew they had 'something' but as I was not one of the handful of people allowed to be a controller I never saw it.  I assumed it was something inferior cobbled together.     Deepest apologies.  I think the software is amazing.

Edited April 23, 2018 by 56RAF_Roblex

[JG1_Shadepiece]

Don't worry Roblex, Osprey has a way of coming off very coarse at times haha! 

 

We have not yet made a full blown announcement, but it's not a private discussion at this point about ACG's move to BoX. We've done quite a bit of preparation for this move already, and I have been lucky enough to spearhead the move. I believe that our team is going to bring a fantastic experience to the skies over Moscow. 

 

If you have any questions come over to the ACG forums and ask, or if you wish ask here, but I might not be able to get to them as quick here. We would absolutely love to have you gents if you would like to join.

 

Cheers!

-Shadepiece

 

P.S. MP the GCV is absolutely amazing stuff, and it will be sorely missed once we move over. We've looked into recreating it in BoX, but it doesn't look to be possible at this time.

[ACG_Dickie]

Roblex no apology was desired or needed,  I was just pointing out that it is public and we do share it but it's not announced or advertised as such.  We always face a problem with image because of the leadership at another place unfortunately,  I just felt that this needed saying,  sorry if it appeared a bit defensive 

[JG27*Kornezov]

I do not see the points of the German formation to fly low as it is detected anyway. I am not a specialist but flying low is to avoid radar detection, as the radar range is greatly reduced by low flying. 25 miles range for lower than 1000 feet is stated in one article.  Still wonderful recreation. The spirit of the Battle of Britain is definitely there.

 

https://gizmodo.com/the-early-warning-radar-systems-that-defended-wwii-brit-1649398611

Edited April 23, 2018 by JG27_Kornezov

[56RAF_Roblex]

1 hour ago, Osprey said:

Roblex no apology was desired or needed,  I was just pointing out that it is public and we do share it but it's not announced or advertised as such.  We always face a problem with image because of the leadership at another place unfortunately,  I just felt that this needed saying,  sorry if it appeared a bit defensive 

 

Now *I* feel embarrassed for my prickly response     Water under the bridge. Let's have a group hug...err...beers all round :-)

 

[ACG_Donks]

Hi All,

 

I'm the chap who wrote all of these tools we have over at ACG.  There are a number:

• GC3D - Ground control software that has clumping, lag and obfuscation for inbound raids, configurable radar distances (server side), somewhat nasty TS integration via virtual keys etc..
• WebRadar - cut down 2D version of the above available on our website (http://www.aircombatgroup.co.uk/radar/radar.php) it's up whenever our server is up (which is most of the time, but I admit it falls over occasionally)
• GCV - Poor man's tacview.  I dump XYZ coords from our server on a per-second basis, turn them into a sensible timeseries and use that data to allow viewers to replay the mission form an "eye-in-the-sky" type persepctive.  Sadly, I couldn't get pitch/roll/yaw out, trigger events etc... hence why it's "poor man's" tacview.  Still pretty cool for watching your dogfights though.
• A web based tool that is an FMB-lite allowing you to create, plot and commit LW bomber raids to attack targets in England.
• SpawnStar - Same as the web tool, really, except in c#, not web-based and with the ability for us to despawn aircraft if needed.

We have never purposefully kept them from the community, and indeed as others said we shared GC3D with SOW back in the day (I actually made a custom version for them to integrate into their systems).  Could they be modded for SP?  Some of them could fairly easily (with some caveats).  It's really just a question of time (I don't have a lot of it) and inclination (I don't play SP so I wouldn't personally get much out of it).

 

D

 

Edited April 24, 2018 by ACG_Donkey

[[CPT]CptJackSparrow]

Not into clod that much, but that suite of tools is very nice. You're a talented man to have created such a thing.

[ACG_Donks]

Cheers Jack,

 

A lot of work went into the tools over the years, but they work pretty well and have helped to add an extra dimension to the ACG campaigns - if you'll excuse me tooting my own horn.

[DD_Arthur]

1 hour ago, ACG_Donkey said:

 - if you'll excuse me tooting my own horn.

 

Toot away Donkey!  

[No.54_Reddog]

Indeed, Donkey's work was excellent and as he mentioned, he even went out of his way to work on integrating the SoW version with our database and systems which were significantly different to the ACG set up. We restricted the number of people with the software to a small group so that those users would become proficient and there wasn't too many people wanting to play with the cool toys all the time and not fly!  I will say that trying to coordinate different RAF squadrons flying from different assigned airfields in SoW against coordinated LW raids was some of the best immersive gaming I've been involved in and considering you're spending 2+ hrs just using Teamspeak... lol.

 

Here's hoping that some of Donkey's ingenuity can be harnessed for the upcoming ACG BoX campaign.

[[CPT]CptJackSparrow]

If he develops anything for BoX please keep us informed.

[BlindAsABat]

Can I echo Reddog's sentiments expressed above.  I was one of the people who volunteered to work as a controller on SoW using the tools developed by Mr. Donkey and found it enormous fun and, at times, very challenging.  In fact on a busy session, when there could be more than a dozen RAF squadrons/flights on the server (my record was having to use 26 separate whisper channels), I grew to prefer controlling over flying.

 

The task of a controller is to provide a service to his flying colleagues by getting them to the right place at the right time and at the right height to make a succesful interception, often in conjuction and coordination with other squadrons/flights.  Even using Mr. Donkey's excellent tools, that basically boiled down to doing mental geometry in four dimensions combined with the ability to communicate concisely, accurately and, above all, tactfully (unlike the real world, in game the controller can only suggest and advise - he/she can never instruct).  Often when signing off after several hours in the chair I felt physically drained but, if the interceptions had gone well, with a great sense of satisfaction.

 

I think I would go so far as to suggest that there is space for a separate hobby in being a  virtual fighter controller.  The skill set required is certainly different from being a  virtual pilot.  Indeed, I recall being told of such a group that had declined to help in CloD because the task was too complicated for their members.   I did do some research into such a group without success, but my Google-fu is weak.  With the disastrous (as far as the game goes) demise of SoW I am not sure that there is the demand left for fighter controllers in the flight sim community as a whole let alone CloD, but maybe it is something that those in charge of servers may wish to think about.

[ACG_Donks]

Oh I'm not sure about that.  At ACG we run a fully-manned controller operation every week for our campaign flights.  Although that will change when we move east later in the year as there was no formalised radar network there on either side as far as I know.

[ACG_Dickie]

On 23/04/2018 at 5:31 PM, JG27_Kornezov said:

I do not see the points of the German formation to fly low as it is detected anyway. I am not a specialist but flying low is to avoid radar detection, as the radar range is greatly reduced by low flying. 25 miles range for lower than 1000 feet is stated in one article.  Still wonderful recreation. The spirit of the Battle of Britain is definitely there.

 

https://gizmodo.com/the-early-warning-radar-systems-that-defended-wwii-brit-1649398611

 

The problem was that they popped up too high for a moment and were detected.  They had remained off radar for some time.  The system is built historically though, so the radar points out to sea with a height but once near land the virtual 'observer corps' take over and height doesn't matter.

[JG1_Shadepiece]

@BlindAsABat That sounds like an thrilling experience. I have done some similar things, albeit not aircraft based, in real life and can honestly relate to the feelings. I can also say that I am terribly envious of that luxury as I am normally flying blue!

 

Donkey might not have written a program for BoX yet, but as the API is improved I have no doubts about his talents and motivation to create some incredible things for the community. He has however, done a really amazing pilot survival and capture system for our server which is really top notch.

[Lusekofte]

On 23.4.2018 at 4:21 PM, ACG_RED_Shadepiece said:

ACG's move to BoX.

 

Well like all combat flight communities , pilots and in particular squads are most welcomed. I hope you bring with you the campaign oriented server and atmosphere . 

On 24.4.2018 at 5:08 PM, ACG_Donkey said:

• WebRadar - cut down 2D version of the above available on our website (http://www.aircombatgroup.co.uk/radar/radar.php) it's up whenever our server is up (which is most of the time, but I admit it falls over occasionally)
•  

I am pretty impressed, never heard of this. Good job must be a thrill flying with this aid

[Trooper117]

First time I have seen this.... good stuff!

[Bonkin]

This all started with pushing lego bricks around on a aeronautical chart whilst trying to co-ordinate the movements and intercepts of a number of squadrons. When we realised it would work Donkey stepped up to write the software. Needless to say, it went through a number of iterations before the version you see above. For what it is worth, the video's below show some of that early work.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed8kinLQn7g

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbzNyi9UR_A