Whats wrong with public MP?

[SharpeXB]

23 hours ago, JimTM said:

 

You can connect manually to the Finnish Virtual Pilots server by typing ts3.virtualpilots.fi:6002 into the box above the Connect button and clicking on the Connect button. You can do this at any time before or after joining the server in IL-2.

I tried Finnish VP a few times, in big games of about 70 players. I can tell SRS is working because someone responded to my radio check. But there’s nothing but dead silence on the radio. Don’t know what’s up with that. Discord always has some chit chat going on. SRS either has nobody on or nobody feels like communicating on it. Really odd. 

[[APAF]VR_Spartan85]

i think perhaps most people are shy    , they just cant fly and communicate at the same time, or they aren't familiar with radio communications...

which is very interesting as i would assume almost everyone that flies in these sims are most likely aviation enthusiasts of a sort..  there could also be a Language barrier that some are not comfortable with.
 

it would be nice if they integrated the SRS chat system into the game instead of third party so everyone can hear each other regardless, bit more encouragement to join the comm fun    or panic lol...

I do miss the old RoF style tutorial they had and i think something like that IN the game for things like Radiotelephone operation etc.  would be cool. 

yes, there is youtube... but i really dislike leaving a game im in to go elsewhere to find information.

 

In combatBox... SRS comms are very active,,, in Finnish i find not active enough

[SharpeXB]

1 hour ago, [APAF]VR_Spartan85 said:

In combatBox... SRS comms are very active

I don’t notice it being active. Certainly not as much as Discord was. 

1 hour ago, [APAF]VR_Spartan85 said:

i think perhaps most people are shy    , they just cant fly and communicate at the same time

Perhaps trying to mimic a “real” radio discourages people from speaking freely. Also the fact that SRS requires PTT makes speaking casually difficult. 

[=MiSFiT=07_PolarBear5475]

It is really hard to play multiplayer without being tapped into one of the Communities. You are welcome to come to the Air Attack Tactical Combat Discord community, and join in chat and get all the help you need. Wing up with players. Join our weekly events, or just chat. You may even find a Squadron you really fit in with. There is a wealth of knowledge, and entertainment there. We have three different levels of servers for basic, middle, and advanced abilities. And as far as communication we probably communicate to much, there is a lot of radio chatter on our discord and SRS. LOL!!! https://discord.gg/3jjk75Ds

 

Edited February 1, 2022 by =MiSFiT_7=PolarBear5475

[Giggles]

Here is a series of questions that will stimulate the mind of everyone. 

 

 

1.  What some people would like to have going is ALMOST as if they want to have the option of running a scripted campaign OVER the internet and having one of their buddies join in as a human wing man. 

 

THAT could actually be fun... 

 

2. Some SOUND as if they would welcome a new career mode that is based upon SHARING a career.  IE,,, a group gets together and decided to form a squadron or fighter or bomber wing, and then start a career together.. they pick a map and date, and start flying. 

    Only problems is that it would require massive coordination and planning... as it would require all member present at any time to fly, otherwise absent members would be replaced with novice level AI pilots, and then the boards would be full of raging tirades about "how did my AI substitute pilot chock on a piece of hard candy and then crashing into a mountain?
"

[56RAF_Roblex]

My squad choose Teamspeak over Discord because we like to break down our squad into 2,3,or 4 flights with separate channels while still being able to just press a different button to talk to everyone in the squad. In organised events you can add a third button to talk to whoever is co-ordinating all the squadrons.   Discord does not allow this.  I also find most Discord servers to be a horrible mess of conflicting conversations and every time you log in you find hundreds of unread messages which are mostly of no interest but occasionally have something you need to read.

The problem with Teamspeak is that we use our own Teamspeak server so nobody else can speak to us and vice-versa.    Personally I like SRS and it is entirely possible to do squad operations using our Teamspeak while having SRS also running but most of my squad don't use SRS and we fly mostly on Finnish where SRS is not used much.  If we ever started flying Combat Box again then I will push for us to run both TS & SRS so we can talk internally but still have an ear on what everyone else is doing and be able to talk to them.

 

If you don't want to join a squad but do want to co-ordinate with others then I highly recommend flying in Combat Box with SRS as they have set it up to act as an AI ground control.  You can tell it your callsign and get take-off and landing instructions,  you can ask it to tell you where you are needed eg it will tell pure fighters where the action is and if it carries bombs it will tell it what nearby targets need hitting or you can tell it where you are hitting and your ETA and it will try to find you a nearby fighter and redirect it to escort you. It does many other things  as well, just look at Information about the server / COMBAT BOX (IL2 stats)

[Pikestance]

Yeah, I am not sure why anyone would use Discord over SRS or TS. They are both vastly superior to Discord. Plus, every time I have joined Discord, there was a lot of nonsensical discussion. 

 

I heard Finnish has an SRS, but I have never manage to make contact with anyone on it. The odd thing is people "chat" a lot on it. I don't get why if you can talk you would go through the trouble of typing. If you are fling solo, SRS is definitely the way to go. I always get a laugh out of the "lone wolf" pilots who complain about people flying in groups. I don't know. It is a multiplayer server of a WW simulation where team work was used to accomplish a goal. It sort of screams team play! I do like how Post Scriptum have you join a specific group. 

 

Concerning the maps. I am on the fence when it comes to "evolving map concept." it would probably make more sense if the evolving map was done in the course of a 24 hour period, not days. It is little to expect people to be invested if the map continues to evolve for days. What you accomplish in your "two-hour" mission gets smaller and smaller with each iteration of the map. I personally, think shorter campaigns that could be played on the weekends and that people register for, to be far better. If people register, they are invested. Don't belong to a squadron? No problem, you either fill in with an established one or the stranglers would temporarily grouped together. 

 

If people use either TS or SRS it will certainly make identifying friend or foe easier whether or not if you want to be a lone wolf or pal around with another pilot. 

 

 

[[CPT]Crunch]

You know it is possible to set up your own private discord servers, without it costing a dime.  Have our own squad discord, and than a personal private one for my daughters upstairs to downstairs household gaming use mainly.  No nonsensical chatter by unauthorized users there, no one gets in without an invite, and even if they could you can kick and lock them out when admin of your own channels.  Your server will never be listed unless you want it known.  The good side of discord is you know when your pals are online and available even when they're not actively on your discord channel or even discord with the phone app, you can send messages and ping, far greater flexibility to get hooked up and fly fast. 

[Pikestance]

Again, why would anyone choose Discord when a server uses SRS or TS is by far superior to it? 

 

Plus, if you are not in a squadron or are not flying with your squadron a server, then what good would do to have a private channel? 

[CAFulcrum]

Lack of icons, maps showing where planes are in combination with the sandbox/roundless nature of matches and the super-featureless maps in the game.  Although unrealistic, the lack of icons has the effect of putting the entire 'game room' of any given server into a total fog of war, so most newbies will simply choose a field at random, fly up without any idea of where they are and immediately get lost, fly around doing nothing for about 10 minutes (usually trying to figure out how to operate the aircraft they were forced to use by the scenario), then wander towards dots without any idea of which side they're on and get shot down.  It's the most blind, confusing, sort of RTFM (read the f*ing mission) experience I've ever seen in any flight sim/combat sim.  I'm not suggesting turning on icons, just pointing out that they can have the effect of clarifying a battle and what to do for the average use.  It would be nice to have some sort of mission(ie party) set up where you could either create or sign up for a sortie with a definite objective, wait for other players to join and open a comm channel for the flight for coordination.  It isn't necessary considering that advanced players just talk to each other on dischord, but it would make new players more likely to stick with it.

[357th_KW]

There are servers with icons turned on, as well as having the players position marked on the map and various other relaxed difficulty features that make them more appropriate for beginners.  The learning curve can be steep - diving straight into a MP server with no icons or player aids can be a humbling experience.

[Drum]

I really like Combat Box's SRS setup.  I fly single, but I hear others interacting with the AI traffic control so I'm informed whenever a plane takes off from a field, the field name and if it's loaded.  You hear target locations and their ETA, General & Command alerts of spotted enemy and where, or you can request a tower for an emergency landing so you get runway priority, etc.

 

You never have to talk with anyone if that's what you prefer, nor are you expected to.  You hear what's going on around you which really helps you understand the overall picture for your side.  You can use this info to steer clear of enemy trouble reported nearby, or use it to vector yourself to that area, etc.

 

You remain anonymous, plus there's 15 channels to use for your squad anytime you want.  Just ask if anyone's on the channel, if no reply, it's yours to use privately.  There's no reason to not use it, even if you choose not to communicate with others.  Knowing what's going on around you is an advantage being used by other's who are not flying around lost.  That's why it was made, to keep you (and your friends) informed on what's happening over the battlefield.

 

Don't be square, we want to hear who's around in there!  ?

Edited February 28, 2022 by Drum

[JimTM]

55 minutes ago, Drum said:

...

You remain anonymous, plus there's 15 channels to use for your squad anytime you want.  Just ask if anyone's on the channel, if no reply, it's yours to use privately.  

...

 

Somewhat anonymous. If you want to find out who is on any channel, click toggle client list in the SRS General tab. Beside each name in the client list are one or two numbers (one for each radio) followed by a small circle (red circle for Allied pilot, blue circle for Axis pilot, and blank for no side selected). For example, "JimTM 6-1" with a red circle means I've selected an Allied plane, my radio 1 is set to channel 6, and my radio 2 is set to channel 1.

Edited February 28, 2022 by JimTM

[Pikestance]

1 hour ago, CAFulcrum said:

Lack of icons, maps showing where planes are in combination with the sandbox/roundless nature of matches and the super-featureless maps in the game.  Although unrealistic, the lack of icons has the effect of putting the entire 'game room' of any given server into a total fog of war, so most newbies will simply choose a field at random, fly up without any idea of where they are and immediately get lost, fly around doing nothing for about 10 minutes (usually trying to figure out how to operate the aircraft they were forced to use by the scenario), then wander towards dots without any idea of which side they're on and get shot down.  It's the most blind, confusing, sort of RTFM (read the f*ing mission) experience I've ever seen in any flight sim/combat sim.  I'm not suggesting turning on icons, just pointing out that they can have the effect of clarifying a battle and what to do for the average use.  It would be nice to have some sort of mission(ie party) set up where you could either create or sign up for a sortie with a definite objective, wait for other players to join and open a comm channel for the flight for coordination.  It isn't necessary considering that advanced players just talk to each other on dischord, but it would make new players more likely to stick with it.

 

 

To be perfectly honest, if you are this new to the game, you should practice with quick missions. You should at least practice navigation. I can remember I probably spent at least a week learning to take, land, and taxi with a BF 109. I also spent time with navigation as well. That I do ok with being a Geography teacher and former boy's scout, tracking myself was not too difficult. There was an adjustment going from RoF to Box, though especially with dead reckoning. 

 

If someone is new and need icons, I would suggest a mod that puts little red and blue dots. Practice your aim and BFMs. Gradually remove the icons (maybe go to all black dots). There is no reason to rush on a MP server if you are this new and you have not master the basic mentioned above. I have seen too many people speed pass me in a taxi only to wind up in a deaths-pin. One guy spun so fast I thought he was going to take off like a helicopter. Anyway, Wings of Liberty show your plane on a map, if navigation proves to be a challenge. Personally, if you can't do the basics, then MP isn't for you yet. 

[[CPT]Crunch]

3 hours ago, ACG_Pike said:

Again, why would anyone choose Discord when a server uses SRS or TS is by far superior to it? 

 

Plus, if you are not in a squadron or are not flying with your squadron a server, then what good would do to have a private channel? 

The question was ask why anyone would bother using it, if you don't like an explanation or can't grasp it, I don't give a rats ass.  To each his own.

[Pikestance]

8 hours ago, [CPT]Crunch said:

The question was ask why anyone would bother using it, if you don't like an explanation or can't grasp it, I don't give a rats ass.  To each his own.

 

This is an unnecessarily nasty, if not ironic response. 

[Lolrawr]

Maybe this was asked before, but how about integrating VoIP into the game?

[Pikestance]

39 minutes ago, Lolrawr said:

Maybe this was asked before, but how about integrating VoIP into the game?

 

I asked a while back and Jason closed it said it was discussed and it is not a high priority. It was not long after that SRS was introduced. 

 

edit: my memory might be hazy... may not have close the thread, but close the discussion. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by ACG_Pike

[SAG]

On 12/31/2021 at 2:52 PM, SharpeXB said:

I tried Finnish VP a few times, in big games of about 70 players. I can tell SRS is working because someone responded to my radio check. But there’s nothing but dead silence on the radio. Don’t know what’s up with that. Discord always has some chit chat going on. SRS either has nobody on or nobody feels like communicating on it. Really odd. 

 

Exactly my experience. I see 10 people on SRS, 6 my team. I check comms, I get a reply. -Mind If I join you?? -no reply from there on...

[CAFulcrum]

18 hours ago, ACG_Pike said:

 

 

To be perfectly honest, if you are this new to the game, you should practice with quick missions. You should at least practice navigation. I can remember I probably spent at least a week learning to take, land, and taxi with a BF 109. I also spent time with navigation as well. That I do ok with being a Geography teacher and former boy's scout, tracking myself was not too difficult. There was an adjustment going from RoF to Box, though especially with dead reckoning. 

 

If someone is new and need icons, I would suggest a mod that puts little red and blue dots. Practice your aim and BFMs. Gradually remove the icons (maybe go to all black dots). There is no reason to rush on a MP server if you are this new and you have not master the basic mentioned above. I have seen too many people speed pass me in a taxi only to wind up in a deaths-pin. One guy spun so fast I thought he was going to take off like a helicopter. Anyway, Wings of Liberty show your plane on a map, if navigation proves to be a challenge. Personally, if you can't do the basics, then MP isn't for you yet. 

 

Just to be clear I'm trying to see things through a newbie's eyes with respect to new player retention.  Had no problem hopping onto finnish virtual the other day and playing rollercoaster with bf110s ?  (and getting yelled at for using tracer ammo in a tank, something I wasn't aware of)

 

With most of the maps taking place in Russia, there aren't any real features to navigate with and the maps are so vast that more likely than not you'll be fighting somewhere new and unfamiliar, so it's not like you can just learn the geography offline in any quick way.  That's totally dependent on where the battle is too; sometimes you're by a river or large city to use as reference, but other times you're confronted with repeated village-fields-roads that aren't going to pop out immediately, and spending time trying to figure out if the town you're flying out looks like a cross or a *censored*.  Similarly for the aircraft, you're not guaranteed to have access to a plane that you're familiar with (due to limited planesets), compared to other sims that make it easier to stick to a particular aircraft over multiple online matches.

 

I'm also sorry for assuming there aren't servers with icons and large planesets, has just been my experience when joining populated servers.

[Avimimus]

On 10/27/2021 at 3:34 PM, Flugkuchen said:

Where are all the enemy planes?

I flew at low alt - nothing, i flew at 3km - nothing, i flew at 6km - nothing, maybe i have to train my spotting skills a bit but in the time i played public MP i only got shot down once when i played on the 1C official server, i survived every expert server i visited with empty fuel tanks and no visual contacts except friendly planes.

 

That seems... realistic (for a lot of theatres/periods).

[56RAF_Roblex]

1 hour ago, CAFulcrum said:

I'm also sorry for assuming there aren't servers with icons and large planesets, has just been my experience when joining populated servers.

 

You can see from this that most people don't want icons and GPS etc.  Wings Of Liberty usually gets a good population even though they have given everyone a GPS so they can see exactly where they are on the map but the people who fly there tend to be less experienced players plus a few experienced players who just want easy targets to shoot down ?   CombatBox and Finnish and TAW get more players by making people do the navigation themselves.     

As for 'large planesets' being rare in the popular servers,   I think maybe you have tried them at the wrong time.   In something like Finnish you might only get a choice of 9 or 10 aircraft for the early maps because obviously they cannot include late war aircraft in a simulation of the early war but in the late war maps you will get around 20 aircraft to choose from as people at that time were flying the latest aircraft as well as there being squadrons that were still flying older aircraft while waiting for an upgrade.

[Asgar]

4 hours ago, CAFulcrum said:

With most of the maps taking place in Russia, there aren't any real features to navigate with

forests, rivers, towns, airfields

[TheSNAFU]

43 minutes ago, Asgar said:

forests, rivers, towns, airfields

LOL! Yeah I think those features are found in Russia and should be helpful for navigation. ?

[CAFulcrum]

3 hours ago, Asgar said:

forests, rivers, towns, airfields

 

No landmarks, no mountain ranges, no coastline, scattered and indistinct forests.  Yeah you can use airfields, roads, cities, forests and rivers to navigate but what I mean is that it's difficult to look around and immediately know where you are without consulting the map and matching the shape of towns or rivers.  Otherwise the things you're mentioning are repeating elements in a flat landscape stretching to the horizon.  Unless, as I said, you're near a major river or city.  I'm also talking about moscow and stalingrad; crimea in comparison is easy to get around in.

[=420=Syphen]

11 hours ago, SAG said:

 

Exactly my experience. I see 10 people on SRS, 6 my team. I check comms, I get a reply. -Mind If I join you?? -no reply from there on...

 

I don't know anyone who really uses SRS. Everyone I fly with uses private (or Public but not Server oriented) Discords. It's sad to say, but flying with randoms can be more of a headache then flying with a couple guys you fly well with.

[Strewth]

45 minutes ago, =420=Syphen said:

 

I don't know anyone who really uses SRS. Everyone I fly with uses private (or Public but not Server oriented) Discords. It's sad to say, but flying with randoms can be more of a headache then flying with a couple guys you fly well with.

From what I understand, a lot choose TS or Discord over SRS (although they may also have SRS on as well), because:

They are flying with a group of people they somewhat know.
They are usually having a small group chit-chat session in between furballs.
They are not fumbling for a button every time you want to speak to someone.

I know from my days online with IL-2+1946+++, that teamspeak was easy, so you could all meet on one channel and squads could communicate on seperate channels.
I am only just getting back into the online thing and suspect that most nowadays are using Discord, as it lets you have a hands free group chat while killing your enemy and I believe that Discord acts somewhat like the old hyperlobby, which makes it easier to locate each other instead of searching countless servers. A lot of these people also appear to have SRS on as well, but purely to communicate with Tower.

IMHO, a good mix would be something like the current SRS, but where it allows channels for hands free chats and a way of locating people already online.

Cheers

[Drum]

1 hour ago, CAFulcrum said:

 

No landmarks, no mountain ranges, no coastline, scattered and indistinct forests.  Yeah you can use airfields, roads, cities, forests and rivers to navigate but what I mean is that it's difficult to look around and immediately know where you are without consulting the map and matching the shape of towns or rivers.  Otherwise the things you're mentioning are repeating elements in a flat landscape stretching to the horizon.  Unless, as I said, you're near a major river or city.  I'm also talking about moscow and stalingrad; crimea in comparison is easy to get around in.

I found this to be true when I finally got back into MP again.

 

If there was an option allowing the use of just a GPS location (nothing else) to help alleviate some of the initial confusion until a guy better gets the lay of the land, it would bring more guys onto the server I'm guessing.

 

To be fair to those not using the cheat however, the server could half all points earned when using the GPS.  They'll ween themselves off of it in time or remain non-competitive.

[Giggles]

I saw something about an air marshall program,  

 

maybe perhaps  people needs to look at how it was done in the real world back in the day.  

 

a unit commander had a radio transmitter in his tank, his unit tanks only had a reciever,,, hed say a tank number and what he wanted them to do. 

 

 

[Pikestance]

14 hours ago, CAFulcrum said:

 

Just to be clear I'm trying to see things through a newbie's eyes with respect to new player retention.  Had no problem hopping onto finnish virtual the other day and playing rollercoaster with bf110s ?  (and getting yelled at for using tracer ammo in a tank, something I wasn't aware of)

 

With most of the maps taking place in Russia, there aren't any real features to navigate with and the maps are so vast that more likely than not you'll be fighting somewhere new and unfamiliar, so it's not like you can just learn the geography offline in any quick way.  That's totally dependent on where the battle is too; sometimes you're by a river or large city to use as reference, but other times you're confronted with repeated village-fields-roads that aren't going to pop out immediately, and spending time trying to figure out if the town you're flying out looks like a cross or a *censored*.  Similarly for the aircraft, you're not guaranteed to have access to a plane that you're familiar with (due to limited planesets), compared to other sims that make it easier to stick to a particular aircraft over multiple online matches.

 

I'm also sorry for assuming there aren't servers with icons and large planesets, has just been my experience when joining populated servers.

 

This is a "game" that strives for realism. Navigation is part of that realism. There are manuals and youtube channels that give advice on navigation. personally, I always review the map to get a read on how things should look as I fly as well as map out my course, etc... For me it is a little dense of you not to do that especially if it is a map you are not familiar with. If you get lost, it is your own fault. If you get shot down because you are too busy trying to figure out where you are, then that is also your fault. Anyway, the only map that is barren is Moscow. Stalingrad has a huge city and river on it. If you can't find either, you quite honestly not ready for MP. if there is a hard map to read, check out CloD. 

 

When it comes to planeset, well, too bad. If anything certain aircraft may not be there. I rarely see an instant where a a/c should be there that isn't. In any event, if TAW, Finish, and Box are all running, you have a huge spread of a/c to use. 

 

This is a WW2 realism combat flight simulator. So, the game attracts the aviation and history enthusiasts. The MP servers approaches reflect this leaning. That being said the game handicaps with technochats and start ups. If you want more of a handicap, then this may not be the right sim for you. 

 

 

[Giggles]

48 minutes ago, ACG_Pike said:

 

This is a "game" that strives for realism. Navigation is part of that realism. There are manuals and youtube channels that give advice on navigation. personally, I always review the map to get a read on how things should look as I fly as well as map out my course, etc... For me it is a little dense of you not to do that especially if it is a map you are not familiar with. If you get lost, it is your own fault. If you get shot down because you are too busy trying to figure out where you are, then that is also your fault. Anyway, the only map that is barren is Moscow. Stalingrad has a huge city and river on it. If you can't find either, you quite honestly not ready for MP. if there is a hard map to read, check out CloD. 

 

When it comes to planeset, well, too bad. If anything certain aircraft may not be there. I rarely see an instant where a a/c should be there that isn't. In any event, if TAW, Finish, and Box are all running, you have a huge spread of a/c to use. 

 

This is a WW2 realism combat flight simulator. So, the game attracts the aviation and history enthusiasts. The MP servers approaches reflect this leaning. That being said the game handicaps with technochats and start ups. If you want more of a handicap, then this may not be the right sim for you. 

 

 

FOr historical accuracy... yeppers with extra sarcasm on the side.

[Pikestance]

1 hour ago, Giggles said:

FOr historical accuracy... yeppers with extra sarcasm on the side.

I would say "historical accuracy" is a poor word choice. Even within the operations of the vehicles, the developers are restricted to restrictions within the capabilities of computers and the engines. 

 

In a MP server, the best they can offer is "historical context." This means relative a/c used for the time period being presented with plausable missions etc... MP servers could have a limited campaign where specific missions are based on historical campaigns in which specific squadrons would be used etc,.. but this is also limited based on a/c choices which may differ from historical records. This is the most "historically accurate" you can possibly get apart from well made scripted campaigns. However, there is little coordinated efforts here as you are more or less alone in a AI world. The immersion is also limited. However, this is more of an lack of realism, than accuracy argument. 

 

Realism also takes an additional hit when it comes to command and logistics. A/c are limited in number and can be resupplied. This is done by "flying" missions as opposed to truck or train deliveries. Then again, you could argue that the a/c was already there and that what you are bringing in are needed spare parts to make them operational. Again, plausibility. The biggest hit is in command. With little or no coordinated command structure, units and individuals act independent/ within a vacuum of each other. MP servers are chaotic at best and anarchic in worse. 

 

The game is not historically accurate, nor is it pure realism. it has historical context with relative realism if we are being honest and fair. 

 

 

[56RAF_Roblex]

8 hours ago, Drum said:

If there was an option allowing the use of just a GPS location (nothing else) to help alleviate some of the initial confusion until a guy better gets the lay of the land, it would bring more guys onto the server I'm guessing.

 

They can go to Wings Of Liberty for that then go to the real servers when they have a bit of experience but I suspect that flying with GPS does not help people learn navigation skills.   Even with a few decades of experience flying IL2 BoX without GPS,  I still find very few parts of the maps instantly recognisable apart from the Western half of Kuban where the coast is visible and perhaps the weird shape of Kalinino near Krasnodar

 

10 hours ago, =420=Syphen said:

It's sad to say, but flying with randoms can be more of a headache then flying with a couple guys you fly well with.

 

As a pilot guilty of flying in a squad that uses private passworded chat and never communicates with anyone else,  I would argue that having a random person join your formation without being able to hear him or speak to him is a bigger headache.   This is especially true when they keep wandering out of view then either hanging way back as an unidentifiable dot or swooping back in like an attacking enemy fighter! ?

 

My ideal comms software would...

 

Be used by everyone on the server.

Allow squads to choose which channels they wish to use, maybe multiple channels if they need to split into flights.

Have a 'guard' channel that everyone hears but is not used for operational comms ,  just co-ordination requests etc.

Have a couple of 'Strike/Bomber' channels for general use.

Allow a person to switch easily from talking to his flight or his whole squad or talking on 'guard' or 'Strike'

It would be nice if there were also separate channels assigned to ATC at each airfield.

 

Teamspeak does most of this but you don't usually have everyone on one teamspeak server.

SRS can do most of this but really needs the option to use Voice Activation rather than only PTT and would probably need more than the number of channels currently allowed.

Edited March 2, 2022 by 56RAF_Roblex

[Props]

Uh, sorry, but GPS WAS NOT available to anyone in WW2, period. And even the forests and wooded areas in this sim have geometrical shapes that correspond to the map. I learned to navigate years before GPS by use of terrain features, compass, and map so I may be a bit jaded and do not want to disparage new flyers but learning how to navigate without things like GPS, etc. is part of the draw of this sim for me.

 

I was a recon team member in the Army and an avid back country mountain biker for over 30 years and if you think navigating in the air is tough when you can see everything below, try it deep in a forest or jungle where you have absolutely no landmarks except trees surrounding you especially at night, though modern troops in wild do have plenty of good GPS gadgets these days I'm sure they still teach good map skills. There is no good substitute for a good grasp of basic nav skills, learning to read a compass and a map. If I had a dollar for every time I got a cell phone call from some lost mountain biker, back in the day when I was working in bike shops, who had decided to rely on his GPS, or the little itty-bitty map on his cell phone (or the guys who's battery died in the woods and come into shop many hours later all ragged out, or need rescuing- maps and compasses don't require batteries! Duh!) I'd be very well off in my old age.

 

I personally have no problem figuring out where I am in this sim. I take the time to become familiar with the landmarks, roads, rivers, cities, and lakes, etc. before I start a mission. I jot down headings, landmarks, and altitudes to help me. This is normal to me as I did the same thing on recon, riding my bike in the back country, and when I was learning to fly in real life. Just take a little time to learn good nav and it will all get much easier.

[CountZero]

oh im sure all thouse realisam elitist also dont use ts3 discort chat text info from missions and so on when they play with ww2 airplanes ?

 

 

This game MP enviroment is not noob frendly, it mostly have no icon player base with various states of other difficult, icon guys play in more popular flying game, its not like it was in il-2 46 where you had popular servers with various states of icons and n icon ones.

 

 

[BlitzPig_EL]

I agree with CountZero here.   The hegemony of the hard core, full difficulty, harder is more real, our way or the highway, players is an absolute impediment to increasing the number of online players.

 

Their strident rhetoric that this isn't the sim for you, maybe you are better off in one of the "arcade" titles, is pure elitist hogwash.  It constrains the popularity of this title, and combat flight simming in general.  One of the great things about the original IL2 was that it was able to cover a broad swath of gameplay types.  From fully arcade, cockpit off fur ball shoot 'em ups, to full difficulty, mission goal oriented campaigns.  The numbers of players online every day in the old sim bears this out.

 

I simply do not understand what is wrong with having the ability to cater to a variety of different styles of play.  No one is saying you have to play a style you don't care for, except the "Uber ace" elitists who want to keep this their private little playground, with no riff-raff, thank you very much.

 

They can't see the forest for the trees. 

[Pikestance]

38 minutes ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

I agree with CountZero here.   The hegemony of the hard core, full difficulty, harder is more real, our way or the highway, players is an absolute impediment to increasing the number of online players.

 

Their strident rhetoric that this isn't the sim for you, maybe you are better off in one of the "arcade" titles, is pure elitist hogwash.  It constrains the popularity of this title, and combat flight simming in general.  One of the great things about the original IL2 was that it was able to cover a broad swath of gameplay types.  From fully arcade, cockpit off fur ball shoot 'em ups, to full difficulty, mission goal oriented campaigns.  The numbers of players online every day in the old sim bears this out.

 

I simply do not understand what is wrong with having the ability to cater to a variety of different styles of play.  No one is saying you have to play a style you don't care for, except the "Uber ace" elitists who want to keep this their private little playground, with no riff-raff, thank you very much.

 

They can't see the forest for the trees. 

 

it is not hogwash at all. Wings of Liberty exist with GPS. if you can't figure out how to navigate or lack the patience to learn, you can fly there. I pretty sure there are servers set to normal. i would name them, but I cannot recall the empty servers. They simply are not popular. If they were, someone would fly on them or create more of them. 

 

There is no elitism. Servers that exist, exist because there is a demand for them. I suspect that War Thunder didn't exist back then and so most of that large swathe of players are there and not here. If you want them to come and play over here, then populate the normal servers that do exist and maybe they will come. As it is right now, you are SOL. 

 

Icons actually give you a false sense on how good you are. I had icons on (mod that created dots). I was a "ace" on every flight. However, once I removed the icon, uh hum,... different story. LOL. Once upon a time, i flew with GPS as well. The challenge disappeared and now i don't. On some a/c i turn off technochat because it is no longer needed. Right now, I am learning to fly the FW 190,, specially the D9. I have all of that stuff turned on as I learned. The same can be said of unlimited ammo. A absolute must when you first starting to play. I do not begrudge someone desiring to play MP prior to developing each and every skill. But, it is a little much to expect other people to lower their expectations to accommodate "you." 

 

 

[BlitzPig_EL]

I rest my case.

[56RAF_Roblex]

Pike has it right.  It is not a game limitation or a bad decision by 1C, it is the server designers players using their own time to build the sort of map that *they* enjoy then paying for the equipment to make it run OK and discovering that the majority of the players want the same so the server fills up.  There *are* maps that are more like what you want but they are empty because they are unpopular so what exactly are you asking?   

 

Are you asking server designers (who are just players like you and me) to spend their own money and weeks of their own spare time to build a map they don't themselves want to play on and watch it sit empty? 

Are you asking them to change their existing maps to have GPS and icons? All that will do is make players go to another server that does not have GPS & Icons so they would be cutting their own throats. That is not a guess.  That is a guarantee.

Perhaps you are asking the rest of us players to stop playing the servers we enjoy and start playing the ones we do not so you have some company? 

 

I am not trying to be rude. I am just not sure what it is you think needs changing? You are asking to have the choice of flying in MP servers that cater to people who prefer to have GPS and Icons etc. but you already have those servers in MP.   The fact they are unpopulated is entirely down to the players going to the servers that they enjoy.  I admit that there is a bit of a snowball effect in that faced with two almost identically designed servers a player will probably go to the one with the most players already in it (unless it now too full) but therein lies the way you answer your own dilema.  If you want to fly with GPS and Icons then go to one of the many servers that do that and stay there until others with your preference join you.   There have been several times when my squads favourite server has been full up, along with our second or even third choice so we have been forced to join one that is almost empty and within 15 minutes it has suddenly filled up with other players who did not want to join an empty server but saw us there and came which in turn made even more come.  

Edited March 2, 2022 by 56RAF_Roblex

[Talisman]

I think Pike and Roblex are being entirely reasonable.  There are lots of different MP servers available that cater for different flying styles and varying levels of accomplishment.  I like that folks can learn as they go along and are able to graduate to MP servers requiring higher levels of airmanship and skill levels. 

 

For my part, when I started combat flight simulation I flew off-line SP for a year and did a lot of research and study before I attempted any sort of MP.  Then, when I thought I might be ready for MP, I reached out to a squad that took me under their wing and I flew with them for a very enjoyable 14 years.  I learnt a lot from my squad mates over the years and we all learnt from each other as we went along.

 

Development and progression along a difficult path, especially with squad mates, can be very rewarding. 

 

Good luck all and happy landings,

 

Talisman

Edited March 2, 2022 by ACG_Talisman
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