Storm of War

[No.54_Reddog]

Merry Christmas all! A little Christmas present to all those who've stayed off Santa's naughty list.

 

In addition to getting our DCS Storm of War server running again and continuing to develop new functionality as new content arrives, we are pleased to announce that the original Cliffs of Dover campaign server, Storm of War will be returning in 2020.

 

For those who don't know or weren't around back in 2015/16 here's a bit of a rundown on what SoW was/is.

 

SoW is an immersive campaign environment where your actions have consequences and help your side win the war. 

 

We have a fully integrated website which shows the latest campaign stats, interactive campaign map and target lists, personal and squadron statistics and more.

 

You can play casually, in which case you will be eligible to fly any available aircraft from an "open" airfield on either side and come and go as you please. These aircraft are usually "lower" marques of aircraft and/or in small numbers.

 

Alternatively you can register for the full experience as a squadron, where you declare for a side for the entire campaign, may be allocated one or more airfield spawns and have your own reserved aircraft allocated to your squadron. You'll be able to request replacements or additional aircraft through the website interface and be moved around as the campaign command group sees fit.

 

We have over 200 target compositions encompassing historical and semi-fictional locations using both our proven bomb-weight and object destruction types. An integral recon function allows targets to be discovered and added to the target list and also confirmed destroyed. 

 

Campaign points are used to gauge the progress of the Luftwaffe side efforts and to allow them to spend points picking targets during "SoW Events" which historically saw large human and AI bomber raids on a fully populated server for several sessions.

 

Each aircraft is individually tracked throughout the campaign, given it's own unique werknummer or serial and can be viewed to see which pilots flew it, when it was damaged and repaired and when it was lost or transferred to another unit.

 

During events the RAF have access to human Ground Control Intercept radar using the fabulous system developed by ACG and kindly offered to us and adapted for use in our campaign. Squadron pilots can be asked to "squeak", turning on their pipsqueak system to allow coordinated squadrons to fly multiple tracked sections or flights independently, all tied into a RDF system which can be destroyed or temporarily knocked out.

 

Our statistics track individual pilot "lives", sorties flown, victories, shared and damaged, ground objects and bombs dropped, recon photos taken.

 

All in all this is organised multiplayer flight simming like nothing you have experienced before. 

 

And of course we will be looking to adapt the systems and ideas to the African theatre when it lands.

[354thFG_Leifr]

The best news to happen to Cliffs since forever, basically. 
 

I would urge every one and all to sign up and join in the fun. Storm of War was the best experience made possible in Cliffs of Dover. 

[OBT-Lionel]

Bravo, strongly that it begins ...   

[No.85_Camm]

Hi Gavin...………...THANK YOU for some really welcome news. 85 will certainly be re-joining SoW. May I pm you on your own forum please?

 

 

[JG4_Qetzalcoatl]

Wow...what a great surprise! It feels like waiting for Christmas again...Thanks a lot for this announcement!

[71st_AH_Rob_XR-R]

No. 71 Squadron reporting for airfield assignment...PM to follow

[Mysticpuma]

I hope you get all the support you require and the developers understand your passion and interest in the software ?

 

This has to be a positive for the sim and I hope any comments you, the server or players make will be seen as constructive not destructive because having a passion for the flight sim and its development can only be beneficial to all players ?

 

Cheers Mysticpuma 

[ATAG_Pattle]

Big news Reddog! ?

[No.54_Reddog]

Thanks all. Please hold off with requesting airfields, command positions or any questions regarding the "rules" for the time being. I need to wipe the old squadron registrations and setup first and will make a post of the changes and campaign setup we will be running. We also have a slight problem with the website registration atm so bear with us.

[19RAF_MJDixon]

Good show, looking forward to it!

[[ASOR_234]Harmer]

Good news. I thought you guys had abandoned it in favour of DCS. ASOR 234 sqdn will def be in.

[BlindAsABat]

Terrific news!  I shall try and round up as many of the old gang as I can still find (most having drifted off to other flight sims or even dropped the hobby altogether).

 

Will the RAF ground control be part of the package?  I still have the software on my laptop ready for use.

[Robert_Molders]

Very good news! Can't wait to play it!!!

[FTC_Rostic]

Great news!

[IRRE_Simpel]

Ohhh YES !!!!

Best chrismas present

[TBD79_OD_]

This is the only thing that would bring me back to Cliffs...and I have to say I'm excited about it. I know that EAF will want to be there like a shot and will be looking forward to hearing about airfield assignments etc.

 

I'll publicise what I can through our site,

 

OD

Edited December 29, 2019 by EAF79_OD_
updated link

[2nd_TAF/602Sqn_Puff]

There is a God after all  Looking forward to it guys !!

 

[354thFG_Leifr]

On 12/28/2019 at 5:50 PM, BlindAsABat said:

Will the RAF ground control be part of the package?  I still have the software on my laptop ready for use.

 

I believe so BlindAsABat!

Looking forward to it immensely.

[BlindAsABat]

I too am looking forward to it immensely, Mr, Leifr.  Storm of War was for me the best gaming experience in more than 30 years of computer gaming/simulation. However, I cannot help but remember that the last SoW campaign was brought to a shuddering halt by Mssrs. RedDog and Style suddenly throwing their teddies out of their prams because the underlying game wasn't good enough.  So what has changed in the interim? 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see SoW back, but why should the chaps who killed it last time now want to bring it back in its basically unchanged state?  Why should we assume that they will not chuck their teddies out of their prams again?  

[No.54_Reddog]

Thanks for all the interest and I appreciate the support. Good to see some familiar faces popping up. We will be reviewing the old code and doing some testing over the next few weeks. We need to make sure that the MP code is as good as we remember and that none of the updates have broken anything. We need to review the new aircraft marques and see if any should be included in the planeset. It will take a little time.

 

@BlindAsABat

I don't really know how to respond to that. I think it's fair to say that any one should gauge their participation in any forthcoming SoW campaign or event be it CLOD, DCS or A N Other sim on the basis that it may close at any point due to the fickle, irrational and entirely selfish whims of those running it. I'm sorry if that disappoints you or detracts from the experience or means that you feel you cannot participate.

[354thFG_Leifr]

4 hours ago, BlindAsABat said:

I too am looking forward to it immensely, Mr, Leifr.  Storm of War was for me the best gaming experience in more than 30 years of computer gaming/simulation. However, I cannot help but remember that the last SoW campaign was brought to a shuddering halt by Mssrs. RedDog and Style suddenly throwing their teddies out of their prams because the underlying game wasn't good enough.  So what has changed in the interim? 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see SoW back, but why should the chaps who killed it last time now want to bring it back in its basically unchanged state?  Why should we assume that they will not chuck their teddies out of their prams again?  

 

I am not sure really fella, it had also been through two or three years of near-constant running. As far as I'm aware, it was a big effort on the backend for Phil and Reddog to run as smoothly as it (usually) did. I think emotions were frayed and tension generally high between certain parties by the final campaign. The ATAG server has continued to provide service since, but not everyone wants to fight beneath kite-flying heights between the two same landmarks. It's also comatose verging on do not resuscitate.

 

BoX cannot support a campaign in the same manner as Cliffs, and DCS is in the same boat I believe. I think it's about the right time to try and put some heart back in to the game, because it sure ain't coming from the head. Even if this is just a campaign revival for one season, it's better than nothing eh? See you on TOPHAT! ?

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Leifr

[Hoss2852]

Thats great news it was Storm of War that got me into this sim in the first place. Looking forward to it 

[DD_Arthur]

1 hour ago, No.54_Reddog said:

 I think it's fair to say that any one should gauge their participation in any forthcoming SoW campaign or event be it CLOD, DCS or A N Other sim on the basis that it may close at any point due to the fickle, irrational and entirely selfish whims of those running it. 

 

Well you can't say fairer than that, lol!

[SIA_Sp00k]

Interesting and no doubt appreciated by some.

 

 

[BlindAsABat]

12 hours ago, No.54_Reddog said:

 

@BlindAsABat

I don't really know how to respond to that. I think it's fair to say that any one should gauge their participation in any forthcoming SoW campaign or event be it CLOD, DCS or A N Other sim on the basis that it may close at any point due to the fickle, irrational and entirely selfish whims of those running it. I'm sorry if that disappoints you or detracts from the experience or means that you feel you cannot participate.

 

Fair enough, at least we know where we stand.  If you get SoW back I will be there, flying or doing TopHat, for as long as it lasts.  As I said SoW was for me the best computer gaming experience in more than 30 years so I ain't going to miss out on having another bash at it.

[No.54_Reddog]

We are getting closer. I've had a new router delivered this morning which should help connectivity and stability. I've got some of the admin work behind the scenes done and am moving forward with my decision as to how the campaign will run. I'm erring toward leaving the server running 24/7 as before with specific event times within that schedule.

 

However I will be implementing win/lose conditions from the beginning, which I hope will lead to a decline in the complaints in this regard but not a decline in the enjoyment or the participation. It is not my intention to create a super competitive server where "rolling the map" is all and I hope that the conditions will not lead to one side of other choosing to fly when the other aren't there! We shall see. More on this later when I've ironed out my thoughts.

 

You will see the server up and down over this week as I make some changes and make sure stuff is working. Feel free to join and feedback if things don't work. (Best to give that feedback on our forum www.stormofwar.org/phpBB3/ )

Edited January 14, 2020 by No.54_Reddog

[-47-Uncle_Bob]

Do I have to register at stormofwar.org? If not, how do I connect to this server? Will it appear under multiplayer in cliffs of dover blitz? Thanks.

[No.54_Reddog]

Hi. You do not need to register at the forum but you will play as an "OPEN" (public) player and will not have access to the campaign information. You'll only be able to spawn at bases marked (OPEN) - the other spawn bases will be for allocsted squadrons only. 

 

The server will appear in the server list when ready. For now it is up and down and has the name Storm of War 5 Test

[BlindAsABat]

I can see the server but it requires a password, which I cannot find.  Probably my fault but if others can log on I wonder where they found the necessary  password.

[No.54_Reddog]

The pw wasn't given out. I'm monitoring something without player interference hence the pw. If someone got on the  they probably remembered the pw and I need to change it.

[EAF19_Swoop]

Blimey, what a lovely surprise in this cold damp crappy winter...fond memories and best campaigns ever in Cliffs.

 

Cheers Reddog, your brave...again mate.

[13sq*Axe]

Greetings, I am one of the last members of my old Squad. 13 Squadron. There are a couple of squad mates I keep in touch with but more than likely I would be the only one flying SOW. Is it possible to register for SOW as a squad of one? Thanks!

[No.85_Camm]

13 hours ago, 13sq*Axe said:

Greetings, I am one of the last members of my old Squad. 13 Squadron. There are a couple of squad mates I keep in touch with but more than likely I would be the only one flying SOW. Is it possible to register for SOW as a squad of one? Thanks!

You can join up with us...if you wish. Check us out on our forum at https://www.tidesofwar.net          you will need to register on order to read and or join us

[BOO]

@No.54_Reddog . Great to see SOW is coming back. I hope others allow YOU the chance to enjoy it this time.

 

Any assurances the tophat will replicate the ROC and not the E3 Sentry? Its a lovely bit of software (what little ive seen of it) but it appears that without some essence of fair play and maturity on the part of its operators it seems that it was able to provide an instant look down/shoot down capabilty in the latter stages of SOW4. In fact only the BOX bombsight appears to match its supernatural accuracy. 

 

My only other comment is SOW is that anyone participating should understand and agree to the rules of play (including taking orders from the command) from the outset and accept its necessary contrives in the interest of overall particiant experience. The whinging from certain parties became as wearysome as spending each and every Sunday pointlessly twatting the radars.

 

SOW works best as a strategised mass event not a grinding logistics/stat whore server. And yes ive been as guilty as the worse on both counts.

[BlindAsABat]

Boo,

As someone who spent a lot of time with the "TopHat" software in the last iteration of  SoW I can assure you that it did not provide E3 Sentry like capabilities.  What it did do, and I hope will do again, is present the user with the results that the real--life controllers would have had but without needing as many people in the chain as were necessary in 1940.  To put it more simply the software enables one person to do the work of hundreds but it still only gave the height, direction speed and approximate number of a raid and the colour coded "Squawk" of friendly flights.  Bringing the two together required skill and judgement on behalf of the TopHat operator and  discipline and trust on the part of red team flight leaders.

 

When as TopHat I managed to pull off a multi-squadron ambush of an incoming raid then I got a tremendous feeling of achievement. When, perhaps more often than I liked, I got it wrong the flight leads were never hesitant in providing robust feedback.  There never was an "instant look down/shoot down capabilty"

[BOO]

1 hour ago, BlindAsABat said:

Boo,

As someone who spent a lot of time with the "TopHat" software in the last iteration of  SoW I can assure you that it did not provide E3 Sentry like capabilities. 

My experience was that it was used to immediately turn a spit and his Wingy 180 degrees and onto the tail of a 110 flying at treetop, in the dark. No delay, no representation of all those hundreds of people you mention nor the delays resultant from such message passing. 

 

Its that or carrots that enabled them to spot it and as much was alluded to at the time by th Gods of SOW. . 

[354thFG_Leifr]

That was never my experience, Boo.

[BOO]

1 hour ago, Leifr said:

That was never my experience, Boo.

I should clarify that i am not throwing shade at you or Phil or any of the other regular Tophatters. It was one later event were the impression (admission- perhaps implied perhaps mistook) was that it had been abused by Seniors.

 

From my side Tophat was a hard sell to some blue squads especially when combined with the "Big Nites" we attempted to set up to try and give the experience of a full on battle. Some didnt like the notion of advertising that we were coming, a good few couldnt take an order if you served it up with cream, others couldnt see the point of playing when the odds were even and even less liked the fact that putting out the radar only took away one element of command and control. As such it was important that it was seen to be never any better than a man with a telephone and a hotline to a call centre with wooden blocks on a big table. 

 

 

[BlindAsABat]

No offence taken, Boo.  

 

Some off the "problems" experienced by LW pilots came about because of their own lack of discipline and poor or, at least, predictable flying.  For example there was one LW bomber pilot (who I shan't name because he is still about) who loved to do solo runs up the West side of the map and then bomb the targets in the Southampton area.  On the long channel crossing he always tried to stay below my radar, however he never managed it for long and used to pop up regularly, and he always flew in a straight line so predicting his landfall was a simple matter.  It became a sort of hobby of mine to arrange a reception for him whenever I could.

 

The Dowding system of which TopHat was the final link was always more than "a man with a telephone and a hotline to a call centre with wooden blocks on a big table".  For a start each of those blocks carried information of height, speed, direction, estimated number and estimated aircraft type. Knocking out a radar station would not blind the system entirely because it was designed that, at least medium range, two or more stations overlapped each other.  So to punch a hole in the radar coverage at least two adjacent radar stations would need to be taken down.  In the SoW4 the LW did manage this on two occasions that I remember, but lack of organisation/discipline/aeroplanes/whatever meant that they were unable to take full advantage of their success. In real life they never managed it, probably because they lacked the necessary intelligence to understand the task (C cubed I was appalling in the LW), and the longest time in the whole of the BoB that a radar station was out of action was six hours.

 

Please remember too that British radar during the BoB only looked outwards from the coast. Once over England the LW could not be seen on radar but were visible (cloud cover permitting) to a vast network of ground stations staffed by the (Royal) Observer Corps.  I have heard people try and make fun of the ROC (old men in blazers and tin hats etc), but they were damn effective.  Equipped and trained to gather information on height, speed, course, aircraft type and number they were also plumbed into to the Dowding system where the information from multiple sources was combined to produce an overall picture.

 

Now, the blue team in SoW has a lot more information about RAF capabilities than their real life forebears had. So instead of dripping about how unfair the game is perhaps they need to get their act together.     

 

[BOO]

There is a lot of things i look back on and think could have been done better.  Pointless glory runs all over map that only served to expand the ai targetting was possibly one although im not sure how much influence that had on expansion of the AI selection of targets. Not actively following up those raids with a recce was another one. I wonder just how much more damage we could have done by sticking to one area at a time and tagging along to the AI rather than using it as a distraction to dodge attention ourselves whilst we repetatively undertook pointless missions.  

 

I just hope the blues move away from the "lets get the radar" ethos. 5 pickets with good eyes can be just as effective once you are halfway across the channel.  It used to cost us more aircraft than any bloody raid in any case! And i can remember the sucking of gums and insinuations when i had the brass neck to miss my target. 

 

 There was some discipline though. And likely as much if not more than the red side......

 

..but that doesnt really say that much! LOL

 

Anyhow as a non squad player these days theres little for me in SOW. For squads though..........the best there is and by a long chalk.