Flanders in Flames Winter campaign 2020

[JG1_Butzzell]

S! All

FIF  2020 vision for the future.

We are transitioning to Flying Circus with the expectation that Volume 2 will be announced shortly. At this point we are in the final steps of setting the planes in such a way as to create a variety that will last through the year. Obviously two seater variety will present some difficulties. The Rules, map and objectives areas on the FiF forums is being updated over this next week. We are examining the repair rearm feature and seeing how it can be utilized within the objective of limited planes.

 

Flying Circus has many features besides an improved FM/DM and AI. Likewise some objects behave a bit differently. There are a few changes some are visual and some are game mechanics. During this period we will be looking for feedback on target difficulty and defense.

 

The map is very different. In the past we have had multiple Icons for targets and you had to know which one was active. All icons on the map are active targets. The HQ and trains are the only objectives without Icons. When targets are killed there are few to no subtitles and the target icon is removed from the map. Secondary targets are usually announced once and then have an icon placed on the map. There is no A B map. It is all one map.   There are certain targets That are common to A  and others assigned to B.   There are several targets that are A B or C. Actually they are 1 out of 3 random:  Arty spot, General, Spy, HQ recon,  Trench recon,  Trench attack and Off road convoy.  Reserve unit and all other secondaries are 1 out of 4.

 

The hope is for enough random that we do not need to force an actual A or B map. Every Icon on the map is a live target. The only target not on the map is the Train. In the future with better maps, the ship will not have an Icon and be moving on a river. There are no hospitals on the map. Their icons appear only when the enemy ace is dead. Same thing with secondaries. Because the A ans b maps are combined you will recognize many objects as targets. Be sure you are destroying an active target. Compare your position on the map with what you think is a target. Most targets are spread out in a specific pattern so that you should not get confused but things do happen and people get lost.

 

There is no FLAK fence. Machine guns run along the trenches and have large spaces between the groups. They almost reach as high as 5000 ft. So you have friendly machine guns along your own trenches. There are still some FLAK guns along the front, They act more as spotters. They are no where near as dangerous as the ROF FLAK guns.

 

 

We now have 29 possible objectives. The bombing targets are easy to kill but because of the MGs protecting then, they are difficult to get away from without taking damage. With so many objectives it is hoped that bombers will have to make several trips to rearm. This should increase the opportunity for combat,  

 

The new objective  Information, mission descriptions and other info will be updated over this next week on the FiF site. We are planning for "Dry run" on 25 of January with the first official session on the first of February.

 

For now, the JG1 Server is running a special practice version. The mission starts at 11:45 and runs for 2 hours 15 minutes. To restart the mission you can kill a balloon at the two seater base. There is one special feature. To help people do the two seater missions there is an enemy base on the wrong side of the map. This provides air start locations so people do not spend 15 minutes just to get to the rear of the enemy area.

 

 

 

Also,

Do we need to rearrange the teams?  Do people or squads want to swap sides?

 

We have a poll at the JG1 FIF Forum. Please let us know how you feel.

 

If you are not on a team but would like to sign up please visit the JG1 Flanders in Flames site where you will find info as well as a registration area.

 

 

[JG1_Butzzell]

s! ALL

 

If you get a 1016 error when connecting to the server you may be missing a folder.

 

This is a file structure problem.  When using sound files they may be pulled from a folder labeled "externalmedia". This was built into the RoF file structure but is missing in Il2 Great Battles. When the game tries to download files it looks for the externalmedia folder. If you do not have one you get an error.

 

You need to go into data/swf/externalmedia. If you do not have an externalmedia folder just create a folder inside the swf folder and name it externalmedia.

[Spook109]

Dumb question here. What exactly is this? Is it a campaign that can be downloaded and played single player?

[US103_Baer]

Look great Butzzell, was wondering what you had in mind for FC FiF.

This Thursday night might be a good opportunity to get a decent number of pilots on.

[RNAS10_Oliver]

5 hours ago, OG_Porkchopper said:

Dumb question here. What exactly is this? Is it a campaign that can be downloaded and played single player?

multiplayer event like black september last year was

[emely]

9 hours ago, OG_Porkchopper said:

Dumb question here. What exactly is this? Is it a campaign that can be downloaded and played single player?

From the circus, I have no video on this topic, and there is little chance that it will ever be.  But there is an old entry from RoF that gives some insight

 

[JG1_Butzzell]

The Flanders In Flames (FIF) Online War is an air combat competition. It is a scenario-based campaign system that focuses on completing team objectives. For the team and the individual pilot, it is a test of skill.

Team objectives, by themselves, are not hard to complete. However, doing so while being actively opposed by a determined opponent can make them very difficult. Thus, it's important to not view FIF as merely a string of targets or assignments. Rather, it is those objectives that create the authentic-feeling of aerial combat that FIF is known for.

 

Quote

 

 

[J37_Spyboy]

Thank you for the 'Externalmedia' file solution JG1_Butzzell. I have accessed the server, finally! Salute

Edited January 19, 2020 by J5_Spyboy

[emely]

And what will be the set of aircraft?

[NO.20_W_M_Thomson]

3 hours ago, emely said:

And what will be the set of aircraft?

Bristols, camels and spads vs alb dva.

[US103_Baer]

7 hours ago, emely said:

And what will be the set of aircraft?

 

https://forum.jg1.org/topic/7536-fif-2020-winter-campaign-plane-set/

 

[JG1_Butzzell]

The FiF Admins had multiple discussions and ideas about the plane set.

 

The worry is that people will get tired of the same planes over and over. There were several ideas about restricting each side to just one type of scout. That worked best for extending the plane set but took the variety out of combat. Limited numbers of several planes was tried but did not quite do it. They decided to go with a Primary in large supply with a Secondary in short supply for phase A. Then those same planes would be reversed for phase B. The one that was in large supply would become the short supply plane. The hope is that this will get us through Winter, Spring, Autumn.

 

FC vol.2 could change all this. By Autumn we might have four new planes.   

Edited January 20, 2020 by JG1_Butzzell

[JGr2/J5_Klugermann]

57 minutes ago, JG1_Butzzell said:

 

FC vol.2 could change all this. By Autumn we might have four new planes.   

 

 

 

[No.23_Gaylion]

Does someone know something that the rest of us dont?

[J5_Gamecock]

1 hour ago, US213_Talbot said:

Does someone know something that the rest of us dont?

 Yes...  I know that some people are more optimistic than others. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by J5_Gamecock

[ST_Catchov]

4 hours ago, US213_Talbot said:

Does someone know something that the rest of us dont?

 

Hmmmm …..  using the words "could" and "might" instead of "will" leads me to suspect it's a red herring and he knows nothing about something. Or perhaps something about nothing. Unless it's a double bluff. In which case, it could be as simple as the probability that there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know.

 

So there we have it. But I'm sure somebody, somewhere out there knows something that we know we don't know. And I'll be glad when they pipe up with substantiated facts so I don't have to write so much bullshit lol.

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

No plans for FC vol -2 in 2020 ,so I like the idea for limiting the planes types. This could make FIF last in FC bit longer and do not be boring so fast. Anyway IMHO we should go back to ROF sometime in the future because there are great maps and planes which could be never ported to Il- 2 GB.

[Adler_Blau]

1 hour ago, 1PL-Husar-1Esk said:

No plans for FC vol -2 in 2020 ,so I like the idea for limiting the planes types. This could make FIF last in FC bit longer and do not be boring so fast. Anyway IMHO we should go back to ROF sometime in the future because there are great maps and planes which could be never ported to Il- 2 GB.

 

I guess you're right, but may be we will see something after TANK release, i hope. 

[JGr2/J5_Klugermann]

My preference would be to continue FIF in ROF after the next session.

Edited January 21, 2020 by J5_Klugermann

[NO.20_W_M_Thomson]

I know something you don't know.?

[JG1_Butzzell]

S! All

 

Having a few problems this week with the JG1  server this week.    I may have overloaded the Flanders in Flames program. I am looking through it for mistakes. Not sure what is up because it runs fine on my machine at home.  last resort will be to reinstall IL2 on the server.

 

Either way we should be good for Thursday night fly in.

[J2_Drookasi]

Jasta 2 shall fly in FiF 2020 in the Blue Team as scheduled.

 

See you in the air.

[J37_Spyboy]

On 1/21/2020 at 11:11 PM, J5_Klugermann said:

My preference would be to continue FIF in ROF after the next session.

 

That suggestion has considerable merit! Salute

 

[JG1_Butzzell]

S! All

 

The Thursday fly in went well. We had over 30 people on line. I did see one plane rubber banding.

Saturday we will have the "Dry Run".      

No death penalty.     Re arm re fuel  is available.    Need to hear feedback  if that feature is worth it. If it takes too long?

Practice map will be up.

[JGr2/J5_Klugermann]

Rearm/fuel was nearly instantaneous so it is almost impossible to refuel without getting a full tank. On the J5 server it can be titrated  although there are speed differences between Sizzlor's and Matt's maps.

 

Perhaps that is good so Camels can't fly at 10%.

[JG1_Butzzell]

For those new to FiF the server will have a password.  The password is given out on Jasta 5  or JG1 TS.

[US103_Baer]

9 hours ago, JG1_Butzzell said:

S! All

 

The Thursday fly in went well. We had over 30 people on line. I did see one plane rubber banding.

Saturday we will have the "Dry Run".      

No death penalty.     Re arm re fuel  is available.    Need to hear feedback  if that feature is worth it. If it takes too long?

Practice map will be up.

 

Good stuff. Looked an interesting map.

It seemed Alt Vis is on for the Practice Map though, is that the intention for FiF?

Not a lot of fans of it in our Mess tbh.

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by US103_Baer

[WWBiker_]

We also noted some friendly fire warnings when bombing Central supply depots .They did destroy so I am assuming they were live.  I like the rearm and refuel but could you make the time to refuel a bit longer so its more controllable seemed to fill up pretty fast and I forgot my siphon hose.?

[emely]

Airplane reload, this is a good insurance against hijacking by other players during your five-minute penalty after landing

[emely]

I had fun today, although in the first flight I ran into a dolphin.  There is no nickname on the track, please give a link to the statistics site, otherwise I do not know who to apologize to ?

[US103_Baer]

2 hours ago, emely said:

I had fun today, although in the first flight I ran into a dolphin.  There is no nickname on the track, please give a link to the statistics site, otherwise I do not know who to apologize to ?

JG1 Stats Server is here http://stats.jg1.org:8000/en/ 

 

[JG1_Butzzell]

S! All

 

Very nice turn out. Some good fights right up to the end.

 

Did anyone have a serious lag or frame rate issue?

 

Was there a problem in finding a friendly Aerodrome?  Do they need any additional features? Maybe a Balloon? Remember , if you can see it so can the enemy.

 

Alternate visibility was not on. Were there problems?

 

Problem reported with Spy Pick up marker. Still looking at that.

 

Entente Hospital marker did not deactivate when mission complete.

 

Will be locking load outs so people do not have to worry about having the wrong load out.

 

Next week we start killing each other for real !

 

 

[US103_Baer]

 @JG1_Butzzell Can double-check the Alt-Vis?

Our lot were quite sure it was on. SeaW0lf and Vonrd have posted similar thoughts.

Edited January 26, 2020 by US103_Baer

[JG1_Butzzell]

It was on  Thursday night,    not on Saturday.

 

Also discovered "Air marshal" settings. Not sure if they work or are anticipatory.

[emely]

Unfortunately, there is no information in this statistic about which dolphin pilot I encountered.  And it’s very funny that at first I jumped with a parachute, and then I killed Davjack ;-))) Apparently we shot met on the ground and fought again ;-))

[J37_Spyboy]

I saw the Camel I engaged with over Cappy suffer some serious lag/rubber banding. Probably in the last 45min of the campaign. Balloons at airfields may be of some help, but most seem marked by proximity of smoke from burning towns. Finding target batteries can be hard! Was a great turn out though.

Salute

[emely]

On 1/26/2020 at 3:25 AM, JG1_Butzzell said:

 

Next week we start killing each other for real !

 

 

 

[JG1_Butzzell]

Does the upper wing of the Alb look funny? A bit odd? Either no ailerons or are those flaps?

[J5_Konnecke]

What time today does this start?

 

[J2_Bidu]

Join Teamspeak at 18:30 utc. Starts at 19:00.