Spring Offensive - Operation Michael

[Cynic_Al]

23 minutes ago, US213_Talbot said:

Why the SE5 with ordinance and not the Camel with ordinance?

 

Presumably the SE5 is considered more obedient:    ORDNANCE  |  ORDINANCE

[No.23_Gaylion]

Got me good, the grammar nazi strikes again.

Edited March 11, 2021 by US213_Talbot

[BMA_Hellbender]

2 hours ago, US213_Talbot said:

Got me good, the grammar nazi strikes again.

 

No, that was the spelling nazi. To provoke the grammar nazi you have to write something like this:

 

There better be selling me they're Hanriot HD.1 soon or theirs gonna be some trouble.

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

I met the spelling nazifor far less then that!  

 

PS just making sure you are maintaining standards of some kind.

[US103_Baer]

On 3/9/2021 at 8:51 AM, =IRFC=Hbender said:

 

 

 

To be fair: the S.E.5a we have in-game with the Wolseley Viper V8 wasn't operational in any numbers before the summer of 1918. The British had one (maybe two?) squadrons of SPAD XIII who converted to Sopwith Dolphin around that time, and in any case every single British machine powered by a French Hispano-Suiza V8 had reliability issues. In other words: it was trench attack Camels (with bombs) all the way down, literally, plus a few Bristol Fighters (F.II) flying top cover.

 

Then you have to envision the sheer number of Halberstadt that were fielded. Typically this was several Schlastas of 6 machines grouped together in a Schlachtgruppe of 20+ machines, and multiple Schlachtgruppen were deployed along the front ahead of infantry charges to clear out enemy trenches with machineguns and grenades. They didn't even need escorts, no one was crazy enough to attack them. The Jastas were mostly relegated to airspace defense.

 

But again: if more than half the community wanted to fly trench attack planes 7 days a week — and if we had actual infantry and trenches to attack and grenades to attack them with — this would be a very different sim. For typical AirQuake scenarios, the best we can hope for are late 1918 Entente scouts to compete with the D.VIIF, or a 200hp D.VII.

 

The Spring Offensive planeset sounded like a great  step towards bringing some balance to air power variation to regular Flugpark maps

 

1.  The Geographically defined planeset rather than time-based. The current map we have is all we have - our whole world, you can't start defining planesets just because it happens to be the historical British sector or whatever given the limited planes and maps we have.

 

2. The engine excuses. Incorrect engines or propellers or spars or DM, are already part of the game and we don't use that as an excuse NOT to run late-18 do we?

The 1917 200hp Spad vs the BMW D7F. Should we cancel late 1918 then?

 

I read someone else saying if you take the D7f away then Camels will run riot. Uhm, you mean like the D7fs do now?

 

Sorry for ranting. Really, i'm not an angry guy. But after 2 years of a single scenario in which one side has the uber plane-du-jour and no attempt has been made to provide variation in air-power balance, it just sounds like people don't want to give up their favourite toy.

Edited March 12, 2021 by US28_Baer

[BMA_Hellbender]

48 minutes ago, US28_Baer said:

Sorry for ranting. Really, i'm not an angry guy. But after 2 years of a single scenario in which one side has the uber plane-du-jour and no attempt has been made to provide variation in air-power balance, it just sounds like people don't want to give up their favourite toy.

I’m an angry guy, because as far as I can tell the D7F exists solely to make poor Sopwith Dolphins’ existence hell. Actually I think the Dolphin may be able to safely dive between 5-10km/h faster than the F, so all hope isn’t lost.

 

I completely agree that the F is there to keep the Camel in check. And the SPAD, SE5a and Bristol (mostly F.III). It’s also the reason Entente doesn’t fly the Camel as much as it should, and that most Camel weekend pilots are inexperienced maniacs who fly in a trolling chuteshooting manner. Catch-22.

 

I’m not a pessimist and I could be called a fanboy, but the devs need to take action. Fix the silly WW2-era control rod jams, review control cable DM as a whole and release some late war Entente scouts and variants such as the Snipe and late war “235hp” SPAD (yes I’m a believer), or better yet just give us the damn mid-1918 200hp Mercedes on the Alby and D.VII.

 

If removing planes is really the only option, as unpopular as it is with the community, then sure:

- Remove D7F (and upcoming D12 and D8)

- Remove 200hp Halberstadt

- Remove summer 1918 Wolseley Viper SE5a

- Remove summer 1918 Falcon III Bristol Fighter

- Limit Fokker Dr.I to x6

- Limit Falcon II Bristol Fighter to x3

and finally

- Limit SPAD XIII to x3

 

Yup, that sucks, but hey, SPAD VIIs and Nieuport 28s aplenty!

 

Frankly, I would allow people to just keep their toys. It’s true that we don’t properly celebrate people’s achievements here until they literally die, and people can get blinded by stats and newspapers — but what your man @US93_Larnerhas achieved with the SPAD (and the 3PG as a whole) is, in my humble opinion, unprecedented in RoF/FC history. Keep fighting the good fight.

[No.23_Gaylion]

Why limit the most produced plane of wwi to three? If anything they should be unlimited. There are only a few folks who fly the thing correctly anyways.

 

 

And his head is already big enough!

Edited March 12, 2021 by US213_Talbot

[BMA_Hellbender]

1 hour ago, US213_Talbot said:

Why limit the most produced plane of wwi to three? If anything they should be unlimited. There are only a few folks who fly the thing correctly anyways.

 

And his head is already big enough!

 

Because it's a silly French plane that smells of Camembert! No, the Hanriot HD.1 (DRINK!) and Nieuport 28 never entered French service, so they don't smell as bad.

 

I think you very well know the answer to that. On the British front, where there were tons of Camels and some early 200hp H-S SE5a, some Dolphins and early Bristols, the SPAD XIII would have been a rarity. The SPAD XIII flew along with SPAD VIIs (and Nieuport 28s), in small numbers with the British, Belgians and Americans, and in huge numbers with the French who flew only the SPAD.

 

We could have a "French + American front map" with only SPADs, Nieuport 28s and Breguets and no Camels or Bristols, but judging by how many active French SPAD squadrons there are, I'm not sure how much of a success that would be, except with the US 3PG.

 

So the answer is: because of the US 3PG. You're too good. No, seriously. If you field "unlimited" SPADs, fly them with balloon guns, and then on top of that there's unlimited Camels about, who are not all suddenly going to become experienced gentlemen flyers overnight, Central is going to have a really rough day. I speak from experience. At this point it may just be better to have a Fokker D7F around to keep them in check. And we're back at square one.

 

SPAD SPAD SPAD.

Edited March 12, 2021 by =IRFC=Hbender

[NO.20_Krispy_Duck]

3 hours ago, =IRFC=Hbender said:

I’m not a pessimist and I could be called a fanboy, but the devs need to take action. Fix the silly WW2-era control rod jams, review control cable DM as a whole and release some late war Entente scouts and variants such as the Snipe and late war “235hp” SPAD (yes I’m a believer), or better yet just give us the damn mid-1918 200hp Mercedes on the Alby and D.VII.

 

 

 

You make a good point. I'm not up for expanding my time in FC. The core issue is what you mention at the start of this paragraph: the damage model and the frequent control jamming hamper the game. I got into IL2 primarily for the growing WW1 component, as a potential successor to WOFF and RoF. But now I'm primarily playing the WWII IL2 side of things because the damage model has gotten so far off-track in FC. The WW2 offering isn't perfect, but it's better right now. I'm doing most of my WW1 flying back in RoF.

 

I'm up for FC once per week in an informal setting, maybe once every 2 weeks. But with the "one burst and you have jammed controls" bit, along with bizarre balancing of the damage the various planes can take, I'm not up for much more frustration. We've had a couple guys leave our squadron, and now we're seeing people migrating gradually toward the WW2 IL2 offerings. The DM issues and resulting frustration trying to complete the MP missions have played a role in this.

 

We're all holding out hope for FC2. I know most of my wingmen have pre-ordered it. But there's a legitimate worry that it's going to be more of the same, just with a few extra planes. I hope that proves not to be the case.

[No.23_Gaylion]

2 hours ago, =IRFC=Hbender said:

 On the British front......

 

We could have a "French + American front map" with only SPADs, Nieuport 28s and Breguets and no Camels or Bristols, but judging by how many active French SPAD squadrons there are, I'm not sure how much of a success that would be, except with the US 3PG.

 

So the answer is: because of the US 3PG. You're too good. No, seriously. If you field "unlimited" SPADs, fly them with balloon guns, and then on top of that there's unlimited Camels about, who are not all suddenly going to become experienced gentlemen flyers overnight, Central is going to have a really rough day. I speak from experience. At this point it may just be better to have a Fokker D7F around to keep them in check. And we're back at square one.

 

 

 

Well that's just silly. We all aren't Larners (damn now I did it) and most of us fly once a week. The majority of the time folks fly they are free of the 3PG terror of the skies.

 

If I flew hun all the time I'd be way more scared of 1PL than 3PG. 

[BMA_Hellbender]

1 hour ago, US213_Talbot said:

If I flew hun all the time I'd be way more scared of 1PL than 3PG. 

Back when I was flying Halberstadts before the wing DM update we had plenty of run-ins with 1PL flying Camels (and Dolphins) that ended in tears, where we put hundreds of rounds into Camels and they kept trucking on. Making the wings more fragile was a net positive effect, as it led to people flying more conservatively, so likely these encounters might have ended less catastrophically for the two-seaters. The later DM update with the control cables snapping seemingly at random and control surfaces jamming just seems excessive and punishes you for flying anything that doesn’t fly straight and preferably fast.

 

I don’t doubt the skill of 1PL people, they just scare me more in the Fokker Dr.I nowadays when I fly a Dolphin than they do in the Camel on the rare occasion that I fly a Pfalz.

Edited March 12, 2021 by =IRFC=Hbender

[JGr2/J5_Klugermann]

9 hours ago, =IRFC=Hbender said:

but what your man @US93_Larnerhas achieved with the SPAD (and the 3PG as a whole) is, in my humble opinion, unprecedented in RoF/FC history. Keep fighting the good fight.

 

If you are very disciplined, choose your engagements and attack in numbers it is not far fetched.

[J2_Trupobaw]

1PL are out there to have fun while they skillfully fight you, you can have laugh with them after it's over. 3PG are out there to methodically kill you and once they are done there is no doubt you have been killed. They are for all practical purposes Jagdfliegern (as in, pack hunters who rely on teamwork, tactics and practiced methodology rather than numbers or having superior plane to succeed) and when flying F I mostly see them when they dive on me or dive away from me to fast to catch. 

 

Quote

but what your man @US93_Larnerhas achieved with the SPAD (and the 3PG as a whole) is, in my humble opinion, unprecedented in RoF/FC history. Keep fighting the good fight.

Captain TeddyBear and his wolfpack were probably even more efficient in their Spads back in 2016/17. But that was a pirate crew, gathering of the preexisting great ROF aces with similar mentality who banded together and started PWNing everyone else.  3PG is accepting new members and turning them into Spad drivers.

(Btw, let me - again :/ - bring out an inconvenient fact. With exception of these 6 D.VIIFs present on Flugpark German planes are badly outperformed by Entente machines. They are all 1917 variants (honorary mention to D.VII, being 1918 plane with 1917 engine) and when facing a Spad or Camel alone their pilots only chance is to rely on opponent making an error or catching opponents already at disadvantage (busy killing some other Central pilot). The main advantage of having these 6 Fs on airfield is pilots of regular D.VIIs are given wider breadth just in case. Without Fs as fleet in being, Spad pilots would know they are untouchable above 2k (even if someone gets dive on them, they can just fly away), which means Camel jockeys would know anyone trying to get a dive on them is Spad food.

The current balance of power on Flugpark is actually pretty good, as visible by fact that most fighting happens over the front and pilots diving for their lines are rarely pursued all the way to their airfield (as happened in RoF); enemy balloon zone is usually where spontanic incrusions end. Pilots go beyond the front sneaking in two seaters, in large organised raids, on high altitude patrols, or they provide easy target practice. Compare Wargrounds where brawls as far as the enemy airfields were commonplace because crossing lines low and spontanic was not suicidal.

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by J2_Trupobaw

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by J5_Baeumer

[BMA_Hellbender]

19 minutes ago, J2_Trupobaw said:

The main advantage of having these 6 Fs on airfield is pilots of regular D.VIIs are given wider breadth just in case. Without Fs as fleet in being, Spad pilots would know they are untouchable above 2k (even if someone gets dive on them, they can just fly away), which means Camel jockeys would know anyone trying to get a dive on them is Spad food.

 

[...]

The current balance of power on Flugpark is actually pretty good, as visible by fact that most fighting happens over the front and pilots diving for their lines are rarely pursued all the way to their airfield (as happened in RoF);

 

The balance is good insomuch that Camels stay the hell away from enemy lines because any D.VII they spot might either be a) an easy peasy vanilla squeezy, or b) F'ing death incarnate. Diving for your own lines is indeed the best tactic if you see anything remotely Fokker-shaped, and at that the SPAD reigns supreme. Honorary mention for the SE5a. In the Dolphin or Bristol you've gotta have even more foresight cause you need to be at least back on your own side of the line by the time they start chasing you, or you will get caught. The non-Fokkers are irrelevant, and if one wanders even close to the lines he'll be met by an assorted gaggle of Camels, SPADs and SEs and he has to survive just long enough for the Fs and pretend-Fs to come down. Rinse and repeat.

 

To be honest I've found that the very best way to avoid running into D.VIIFs altogether is playing a different game.

[No.23_Gaylion]

22 minutes ago, J5_Baeumer said:

 

 

This is a wonderful podcast.

 

Another great one is "Pete (Peter Hart)  and Gary's harts military history" podcast. They've done a few shows on great war aviation. 

[US103_Baer]

2 hours ago, J2_Trupobaw said:

(Btw, let me - again ? - bring out an inconvenient fact. With exception of these 6 D.VIIFs present on Flugpark German planes are badly outperformed by Entente machines. They are all 1917 variants (honorary mention to D.VII, being 1918 plane with 1917 engine) and when facing a Spad or Camel alone their pilots only chance is to rely on opponent making an error or catching opponents already at disadvantage (busy killing some other Central pilot). The main advantage of having these 6 Fs on airfield is pilots of regular D.VIIs are given wider breadth just in case. Without Fs as fleet in being, Spad pilots would know they are untouchable above 2k (even if someone gets dive on them, they can just fly away), which means Camel jockeys would know anyone trying to get a dive on them is Spad food.
 

 

Yes, and they were in real life too. More or less than the game represents? I don't know, i wasn't there. But is anyone going to argue that late-17 and early-18 Entente DIDN'T have a 'general' superiority in aircraft performance? Do we need to roll out the Manfred letters again? There's never going to be a perfectly balanced scenario, one side will always have a superior plane, but does it always have to be the same side?

I agree the Alb and Pfalz are slightly under-modeled with early engines. The Spad (1917 200hp HS8Ba) and Se5a (propeller probably) are not 1918 performance either, as mentioned earlier. Don't even get us started on the wing crippling DM event. I'm not buying that as a GOOD thing for the game ever.

 

Anyway i won't belabour the point further. Apologies for taking the thread on this tangent.

I'm sure the upcoming J5 Campaign will be a success and prove that there is a great contest to be had even with current FC1 planes in an early 1918 scenario.

[J99_Sizzlorr]

On 3/12/2021 at 11:55 AM, US28_Baer said:

The Spring Offensive planeset sounded like a great  step towards bringing some balance to air power variation to regular Flugpark maps

As I am responsible for the regular Flugpark maps I feel adressed by your comment. Your choice of words by saying "bringing in some" balance implies there is no balance on the regular Flugpark missions and that the side you fly for is at a disadvantage, since you made that coment and chose the wording. So here is my answer:
How do you define balance? Let's look at some actual numbers to back that up. We have the Flugpark statistics and if we go there and look for hours flown per coalition and ariplanes destroyed by coalition and set that into relation we get the following numbers:

 

For the last tour:

 

Entente hours flown: 2309

Entente kills: 7622

 

Entente kills per hour: 3,3

 

Central hours flown:2907  

Central kills:  7517

 

Central kills per hour: 2,5

 

For the current tour:

 

Entente hours flown: 3271

Entente kills: 11024

 

Entente kills per hour: 3,3

 

Central hours flown:4430  

Central kills:  12110

 

Central kills per hour: 2,7

 

So looking at those numbers I can not spot any imbalance that we have that could be fixed by a late 1917 and early 1918 planeset. If anything I get the feeling there are not enough Fokker D.VIIF around in the current planeset. Sorry but i tried.

 

On 3/12/2021 at 11:55 AM, US28_Baer said:

Sorry for ranting. Really, i'm not an angry guy. But after 2 years of a single scenario in which one side has the uber plane-du-jour and no attempt has been made to provide variation in air-power balance, it just sounds like people don't want to give up their favourite toy.

I don't like you implying that Flugpark mission design is affected by the mission builder having a favourite airplane. That's why I am flying both sides more recently. Maybe people (who ever they are) are as reluctant as you are to give up their favourite toys. Why not lead by example and fly some Dolphins only for the next tour?

Sorry Baer but with all respects there is nothing to back your statements up besides you own personal feeling of your very limited Spad XIII perspective. 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by J99_Sizzlorr

[J99_Sizzlorr]

Also you are currently best alive pilot on the Flugpark, so it can not be that bad can it? Also Klugerman is 2nd best pilot alive and he is crying for Stukas ever since

Edited March 13, 2021 by J99_Sizzlorr

[BMA_Hellbender]

2 hours ago, J99_Sizzlorr said:

As I am responsible for the regular Flugpark maps I feel adressed by your comment. Your choice of words by saying "bringing in some" balance implies there is no balance on the regular Flugpark missions and that the side you fly for is at a disadvantage, since you made that coment and chose the wording. So here is my answer:
How do you define balance?

 

[...]

 

So looking at those numbers I can not spot any imbalance that we have that could be fixed by a late 1917 and early 1918 planeset. If anything I get the feeling there are not enough Fokker D.VIIF around in the current planeset. Sorry but i tried.

 

I don't like you implying that Flugpark mission design is affected by the mission builder having a favourite airplane. That's why I am flying both sides more recently. Maybe people (who ever they are) are as reluctant as you are to give up their favourite toys. Why not lead by example and fly some Dolphins only for the next tour?

Sorry Baer but with all respects there is nothing to back your statements up besides you own personal feeling of your very limited Spad XIII perspective.

 

Sizzlor, you shouldn't feel responsible for balance issues with the current planeset. Only the devs can address that. It is what it is.

 

What @US28_Baer remarks accurately is that the Fokker D.VIIF is the best plane on the map, and it's always the best plane on the map. It doesn't take a genius to know that it's the best of the best, even compared to some very high performing Entente machines. And if it's not there, the Central offering is so utterly piss poor by mid-1918 standards, that you then also need to cut into what Entente has on offer to somewhat match Central around early 1918. Unlimited SPAD XIIIs and Camels, as I said before, is a ludicrous proposition. Both historically and from a gameplay "balance" perspective. It's one or (on a different part of the front) the other, and not before mid-1918.

 

For now they will be fine in their SPADs, and regardless of what anyone says, they are working hard for it. And if you're someone who only flies the best regardless of what side you're on, then that says something about you.

 

Bring on my bloody Hanriot.

Edited March 13, 2021 by =IRFC=Hbender

[J99_Sizzlorr]

Well I was under the impression Baer is talking about Flugpark missions balance and not overall planeset balance.

[No.23_Gaylion]

I wouldn't take it as an attack on you sizz.

[US103_Baer]

@J99_Sizzlorr sorry for the trigger. Wasn't an attack on existing maps as they are. My exact words were "bringing some balance to air power variation". Not clearly worded for sure.

The intent was not to talk about mission gameplay balance which, as you point out, kind of works now, though the reasons might not be as simple as people think.

 

Rather, i meant to better reflect that air-power/superiority did shift from side to side through the war due to the advancement in aircraft design, performance and technology. The late 1918 scenarios have the D7f as far and away the best fighter. Having planesets from early-1918 or late-17 would lead to Entente having the higher performing aircraft. To my mind that's a kind of balancing in role play?

 

And i only stay alive thanks to my squad mates. Whenever we meet Central pilots flying together and organised, they're very dangerous, be it in Albs, Pfalzs, CL2s or Dr1s. But hey, every new guy wants to be Manfred!

Edited March 13, 2021 by US28_Baer

[JG1_Butzzell]

To fly, or not to fly, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of an outrageous DM,

Or take up arms against a sea of developers

And through constant posts get them to fix the DM.

 

 

DM aside, If you have unlimited SPADs you need to have unlimited D7f.  Having limited D7f says "oh, we want the SPAD to be an I win button." The D7f is not an I win button because the SPAD can always dive away faster. The problem with the D7f is that it can be effective at altitude or even be higher than the SPAD. The SPAD looses the perch role and now has to think defensively as well. The hunter becomes the hunted. "Oh my, we can not let  that happen."

[No.23_Triggers]

3 hours ago, J99_Sizzlorr said:

I don't like you implying that Flugpark mission design is affected by the mission builder having a favourite airplane.

I'm certain that's not what is being implied here! 
 

 

4 minutes ago, JG1_Butzzell said:

If you have unlimited SPADs you need to have unlimited D7f.  Having limited D7f says "oh, we want the SPAD to be an I win button." The D7f is not an I win button because the SPAD can always dive away faster. The problem with the D7f is that it can be effective at altitude or even be higher than the SPAD. The SPAD looses the perch role and now has to think defensively as well. The hunter becomes the hunted. "Oh my, we can not let  that happen."

...imagine if the D7F was never put in map rotation, and you had SPADs terrorising the skies without equal for the past two years. You think to yourself "God, I wish there was just one map where the Entente didn't have the SPAD 13, and we had the advantage instead". 

Substitute the SPAD for the D7F and the point that's being made here.  But, "oh my, we can not let that happen". 

--------------------

IMHO, the two major aspects affecting "Balance" (if that's what we're expecting of FC) are, surprise surprise, the DM and the lack of correct aircraft engines.  The gap between the D7F and the other Central scouts is a D.IIIaü D7. The other Central planes that historically had the aü could do with having one as well, to help even things out. Assumedly, a 1918-spec SPAD XIII would also fare better against a D7F. 

As for the DM...the Alb went from being competitive (even with its painful top speed) to a wing-shedding suicidemobile. The Dolphin, already a tough aircraft to fight in, is just pitiful now with the state of its wings. Owing to their fighting styles, SPADs and S.E's are rendered practically combat ineffective with even a small handful of rounds through the wings. The Bristol's unique strength as a two-seat fighter, flying like a scout while simultaneously having a deadly rear-gunner, is neutered by constant loss of elevator, rudder, ailerons, etc. The Halberstadt (historically used to attack trench lines brimming with guns) has been relegated to an airborne game of 52-card-pickup.... 



.....hey, how about that Spring Offensive campaign? Sounds like it'll be fun! 

[US103_Baer]

@JG1_ButzzellI'd suggest that making the Spad run away, is in fact, winning. 

 

Spad and Se5a had no perch for 2 years now. Every day, every map.

 

Yes,  I agree,  the dm is the greater issue.  

Edited March 13, 2021 by US28_Baer

[=IRFC=kotori87]

I, for one, am very excited for this event. The Black September campaign was quite the experience. Both sides learned and evolved their tactics throughout the event, and Entente came very close to winning as they improved. I look forward to seeing what life is like when the upper hand is on the other foot.

[JGr2/J5_Klugermann]

18 hours ago, J2_Trupobaw said:

Compare Wargrounds where brawls as far as the enemy airfields were commonplace because crossing lines low and spontanic was not suicidal.

 

 

It was for Wild Bill and a few others...

[76SQN-FatherTed]

On 3/13/2021 at 4:48 PM, kotori87 said:

I look forward to seeing what life is like when the upper hand is on the other foot.

Complicated, I would imagine...

[NO.20_W_M_Thomson]

Why not have unlimited Spads/Bristol FIII's and D7f's but have it so you can also lose them if a certain target is taken out but can also have them back again by doing a certain objective. 

Like for instance you take out a train full of fuel and lose your top plane, To get them back you need to make sure that train after triggered after so many minutes of being destroyed reaches it's destination. Make pilots work for their favorite planes. Then if anyone complains about the uber plane set you just say, Hey get off your ass and work for it. 

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

@J5_Baeumer what loadouts would be available for two-seaters ?

[J2_Trupobaw]

9 hours ago, NO.20_W_M_Thomson said:

Why not have unlimited Spads/Bristol FIII's and D7f's but have it so you can also lose them if a certain target is taken out but can also have them back again by doing a certain objective. 

Like for instance you take out a train full of fuel and lose your top plane, To get them back you need to make sure that train after triggered after so many minutes of being destroyed reaches it's destination. Make pilots work for their favorite planes. Then if anyone complains about the uber plane set you just say, Hey get off your ass and work for it. 

I'm a fan of using Nobis script - which already enables/ disables AIs depending on player numbers - to scale number of available Spads/Bristol F.IIIs and D7Fs depending on player number and (gasp!) team balance.

Moreso, I'm fan of using Nobis script to scale the map (adding and removing airfields along with planes and objectives along with changingn active front length), to better match number of players and team balance.

Edited March 15, 2021 by J2_Trupobaw

[1PL-Lucas-1Esk]

S!

I am looking forward to fly the tournament, looks like a lots of fun! The campaign formula of the Black September proved to be successful and it is great that it will be used again, as Jasta 5 and J99 Sizzlorr are teaming up to prepare the missions

 

While, perhaps, the Central planes look worse "on the paper", those are the pilots who fly them and the CO's who create the tactics. If the tactics will be selected wisely, the Entente will be in a great trouble. And this will make the thing more challenging and fun. Moreover, I expect more CP pilots in the campaign, which, again, is good. The Germans were on the offensive, the Entente was defending. Again, Germans cocentrated their jastas in one place to create the air superiority. There will be many dogfights on the low level where the potential Entente plane equipment advantage will no play such a role.

To make things more complicated, I'd lock the fuel or the ordnance for the planes. And, if possible, placed the historical units around the map. The Camels and SE5a were flying with 2-4 bombs, the Halbies should use 4x 12,5 kg loadout. SPADs shall be additional and placed at South to simulate French units.

Anyways, I expect around 50 Central Power individual pilots versus about 25 Entente who will be present on the tournament. It should be lots of fun. As I wrote above, the Black September scenario formula proved to be superior and it is great that it will be used again.

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

 Special Episode. Kaiserschlacht: The First Blitzkrieg. Excerpts from "A World Undone" by GJ Meyer & "The Storm of Steel" by Ernst Jünger. wykonawcy Lest We Forget. World War I Podcast w serwisie #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/ywKvE

[=IRFC=kotori87]

I've got a few questions here about the mission.

1) Where will the fighting take place? Would it be possible to get a picture of the basic map area? I would like to familiarize myself with the sectors of the front I'm supposed to defend so I don't get totally lost.

 

2) On the Flugpark, the Observation Post target has been switched from the tower itself to a set of boxes adjacent to the tower. Will this change also be included in the Operation Michael map?

 

3) I'm not entirely clear about the objectives for the 3rd phase of the operation. Is it Infantry Contact OR (Trench Attack AND Tanks), or is it (Infantry Contact OR Trench Attack) AND Tanks? I'm pretty sure it's the second one, but I just want to be sure.

 

4) Is it possible to set up SRS for this operation? It has proven to be a fantastic tool in Friday Night Flights, since you can have a channel for each flight and a command channel for flight leaders.

 

EDIT: 5) will there still be a 55-player limit on server population, or will that be raised?

Edited March 26, 2021 by kotori87
more questions

[J2_Drookasi]

On 3/25/2021 at 1:57 AM, kotori87 said:

or is it (Infantry Contact OR Trench Attack) AND Tanks?

 

This is the correct objectives for Phase 3.

On 3/25/2021 at 1:57 AM, kotori87 said:

Is it possible to set up SRS for this operation?

I am not an organizer but I think this is not going to happen, since in an attempt to simulate historical realities, in events like this comms are restricted among people taking off from the same airfield and flying in the same flight.

[JGr2/S27b_Loppnow]

Have Air Marshalls, Commanders or Lt Commanders been assigned for the Campaign yet?

 

@kotori87The current Flugpark Observation Post can be destroyed by either destroying the boxes or the tower.  Both work.

Edited March 27, 2021 by J5_Loppnow-Sch27b

[J99_Sizzlorr]

On 3/25/2021 at 12:57 AM, kotori87 said:

I've got a few questions here about the mission.

1) Where will the fighting take place? Would it be possible to get a picture of the basic map area? I would like to familiarize myself with the sectors of the front I'm supposed to defend so I don't get totally lost.

 

2) On the Flugpark, the Observation Post target has been switched from the tower itself to a set of boxes adjacent to the tower. Will this change also be included in the Operation Michael map?

 

3) I'm not entirely clear about the objectives for the 3rd phase of the operation. Is it Infantry Contact OR (Trench Attack AND Tanks), or is it (Infantry Contact OR Trench Attack) AND Tanks? I'm pretty sure it's the second one, but I just want to be sure.

 

4) Is it possible to set up SRS for this operation? It has proven to be a fantastic tool in Friday Night Flights, since you can have a channel for each flight and a command channel for flight leaders.

 

EDIT: 5) will there still be a 55-player limit on server population, or will that be raised?

Hi kotori, right now I have nothing to show for. Didn't have time to work on the mission just yet. It is gonna be a 2 or 3 days marathon right after easter. Still i can answer some of your questions. 

2) I think the boxes you are referring to are part of the tower. You can not place the tower without the boxes. So it should be either or as Loppnow pointed out.

5) as the mission will not rely heavyly on AI or random target generation we will have more room for player slots for Operation Micheal. And I think J5 did some upgrades to their server so we should be good. Even on the older server configuration BS ran just fine with I think more than 60 players.

Edited March 28, 2021 by J99_Sizzlorr

[AB1Richard_G]

I am looking forward

[Ragnuts]

But balloon guns.