"The Cold Blue" Server - Escort vs Interceptor High Altitude Action

[357th_KW]

Hope everyone's summer is going well.  I've decided to stop running the Thursday flyouts for the time being - turnout has been low lately and it takes up a lot of my time.  I've been doing a lot of traveling and spending time with the family, but I've managed to get a bit of development work done and just wanted to give an update on where the server is at. 

 

We're now running one campaign for a week or two at a time - so the playlist might be all Channel Front, or all Mighty 8th missions etc.

 

I've made some fairly significant updates to the existing Normandy missions, with bug fixes and better and more immersive randomization.  I'm hoping to roll those out in the next week along with a new Normandy mission or two.  I'm also working on updates and expansions to the Forgotten 15th and hopefully we'll see the first new stuff from that in August.  I'm also hoping that we'll be ready to start testing with a 2 hour mission run time around that point - hopefully fewer reboots will help keep players more engaged.  See you all in the virtual skies!

[357th_KW]

This week I've rolled out improved versions of the three existing Normandy missions.  These missions are all set on June 7th, 1944 and each attempt to portray some of the experience of one of the Allied air forces active over the beachhead that day - there's one dedicated to the 2nd TAF, 9th AF and 8th AF.  These received some improvements allowing higher AI counts, more trains and road convoys, more randomized flak as well as some bug fixes.

 

 

Additionally, I've added a new Normandy mission, set on July 25th 1944.  This day is famous for the launch of Operation Cobra and the employment of heavy bombers against German forces near St. Lo, leading to the Allied breakout.  What is less well known is that US fighters of the 8th and 9th air forces were active around Paris that day, keeping German fighters well away from the heavy bombers and attacking German trains and round traffic to prevent any reinforcements from flowing towards the battle area.  The 357th Fighter Group in particular was involved in a dogfight over the city of Paris, where an Fw190 nearly crashed into the Arc de Triumphe.  The new mission is set up on the Western Front map, allowing players to engage in dogfights around the city, as well as attacking road and rail traffic in the area.  

 

 

These Normandy missions will be running for the next week or two - come check them out!

 

 

Server discord: https://discord.gg/mA58nP6YjG

 

[Sheriff88]

I don't see any place on the discord site that says when teams may be logging in. How do we know when there is decent level of activity.When I go on the server it's rare to see anyone else.

[357th_KW]

On 8/4/2025 at 6:51 PM, Sheriff88 said:

I don't see any place on the discord site that says when teams may be logging in. How do we know when there is decent level of activity.When I go on the server it's rare to see anyone else.

 

There's a #flight-planning channel on the discord here that's intended for that very purpose: https://discord.com/channels/1105203273222332498/1127337248573100033

 

I'd been organizing events on Thursdays, but I've just been too busy this summer to keep doing it.  I'd love to see people organize events - if you want to host something, DM me and we can setup a playlist of your choice etc.

[357th_KW]

 

I've rolled out a new mission set on March 18th, 1945 - this exciting mission features a three way battle between USAAF, the Luftwaffe and the Soviet Union! Want to see how a Yak-3 compares to a P-51D or an Fw190D-9? This mission is for you!

 

 

It's based on a historical encounter where mis-identification by pilots of the 359th Fighter Group led to a tragic case of friendly fire - one of a number of encounters that took place between the US and the Soviets during the last weeks of the war. This new mission is also set to a 2 hour runtime - something that I hope to make standard in the future.

 

 

In addition I have another East meets West mission in development, featuring a November 1944 encounter between P-38s of the 15th Air Force and Soviet Yaks - I hope to have that added to the playlist in the next week or so. 

 

 

Come check out this East meets West playlist for the next few weeks!

 

Server discord: https://discord.gg/mA58nP6YjG