We need to talk...

[Jabo]

Are there still open forums where we could start recruiting more actively. I feel that since Jim passed our presence outside of here has diminished considerably.

[Crash]

10 minutes ago, Jabo said:

Are there still open forums where we could start recruiting more actively. I feel that since Jim passed our presence outside of here has diminished considerably.

The ubizoo and Joint Ops are sorely missed. Once we decide the what and when we can start recruiting on the main BoS forum

 

[Jabo]

13 minutes ago, Crash said:

The ubizoo and Joint Ops are sorely missed. Once we decide the what and when we can start recruiting on the main BoS forum

I was thinking about a rather more 'open' recruitment drive rather than just focusing our efforts on one particular sim but that's as good a place as any to start. It's beginning to feel a bit like we're writing off '46 though which would not be the right approach IMO.

[FoolTrottel]

It will have to be open, we cannot offer any real stuff for/from BOx can we? We do not have anything ready ...

I took a look at the mission editor, and, well, yeah, that's something rather different from what I am used to 

On the other hand, do we need any thing? How good are the current servers available? Would one of those suit our needs?

[APHill]

 

I can appreciate what you guys are going through with this topic. IL2 still does have the most content of any WWII sim out there. It is going to go away at some point. Just like Janes WWII fighters and the like did because of the lack of Windows support in one way or the other. 

I was not a fan of BOS when it first came out; indeed I fully regretted buying it. That has all changed because they have not only improved the flight models, but the graphics are much better, especially with the addition of the Kuban map. I very much enjoy flying BOX and a number of us fly almost every evening.  

With the future addition of the Battle of Bodenplatte which includes 8 Aircraft (P-51D, P-47D, Spitfire Mk.IX, Tempest Mk.V, Bf 109 G-14, Bf 109 K-4, Fw 190 A-8 and Me 262) and 2 Collector Planes (P-38L and Fw 190 D-9) that can be bought separately, I think, currently, that is where the future of WWII simming lies.

Someday maybe DCS will get its act together and fix the horrible damage modes on the AI aircraft, (using simple fight models for them) until then it BOX for me. And but the way about DCS and complexity, you always have the option to use “auto start”. I never thought I could fly the A10C but I learned with the help of some in the community (that would be Capt. Jack) I found the experience to be very enjoyable.

Any one of you that have or thinking about getting BOX, as Jack said, I, Perfesser, Spaulding, Gustang, wingflyer, are flying almost every evening, we’d love to see you there.

I never thought I would be saying all this about a sim I fully rejected from the outset. All I know is that whatever you all decide; I will be all in with my financial support for the Dogz as always.

[CaptJackG]

23 hours ago, WWCraven said:

Salute Dogz!

Please forgive me for jumping in on your discussion, reading this gave me a bad case of deja vu. The Wing Walkers have been through this same topic and it wasn't easy.

We ultimately determined that we would focus the squad flying nights solely within the BoX series. Rise of Flight being our secondary sim, with a few members flying Il2-46, Clod, DCS.

We run open COOPS each Tuesday, with mission adapted from various sources in addition to working on using PWCG to create some additional scenarios.  The last few months has seen the numbers of folks flying on our server increase to approx 20 per evening. Half of these are WW members.

During the course of the year running our COOPS, we've had the opportunity to gain 3 new WW's from those who have been joining us in the COOPS. These are the first new members we've had since 2014. We believe that we will have the best chance of gaining additional members through the BoX series.

It wasn't a particularly easy process for us to get where are at present, hard to give up IL2-46, but we are of the opinion that the future of flight sims as it now stands is with the BoX series. I wish you guys all the best in your determinations on how to proceed.

For any of the Dogz who might be interested in trying out our COOP missions, we fly Tuesday nights at 1830 pst.  I realize that a lot of you wouldn't be able to make this time given your locations, so if there is any interest, I can fire up our server any Sunday at the time most convenient for you guys.

Cheers

Craven

Where would I find out your TS info, a few of us were talking last night about flying with you on Tuesday.

[Perfesser]

https://www.wingwalkers.org/

Just a guess. There's a TS page and a hot link to their server.

I say we drop in on them early and say hello if nothing else. Let them have time to set something up.

[FoolTrottel]

DangerWingz?

WalkerDogz?

DogzWings?

DogzWalkerDangerWingz?

 

[WWCraven]

Sorry for the delay, had to shovel snow, again.

We kick off Tuesday nights at 1800 pst with our warm up mission, usually lasts about 15-20 minutes.  Just a way to knock the dust off the controllers, kill each other a couple of times before we get onto our coop mission.

We have a number of Syndicate missions that we've modified somewhat so folks can fly either side if they choose, typically the WW's will pick one side and work together to achieve the mission objectives. The last couple of weeks we've been experimenting with Pat Wilson's Campaign Generator to set missions for us to fly.  They work not too bad, never know what you're going to get with them, lots of action.  Only drawback to date is that we haven't really looked at seeing if we can open other bases so folks can fly opfor. So, we always have at least one mission for each Tuesday, might be the same one as the week before, if so, we simply fly it from the other side, where possible.

We run a modified session with full CEM in effect, with icons and target indicators (can be turned off by the individual if so desired), probably a 1/3 of us choose to go without icons,etc.  Just gives our guests different options to choose from.

TS address is T301.DARKSTARLLC.COM:2258 no password, our coop server will not have a pw on Tuesday evenings.

It would be great to see some of you join us Tuesday's, renew old friendships and start some new ones, who knows, once the coop feature is built within the sim, we can arrange to have some mini campaigns together.
 

[WWCraven]

27 minutes ago, FoolTrottel said:

DangerWingz?

WalkerDogz?

DogzWings?

DogzWalkerDangerWingz?

 

FT, you owe me a new keyboard, can't seem to shake the coffee I spewed all over it out

Very interesting set of handles, I like them.

[DD_Arthur]

56 minutes ago, WWCraven said:

 who knows, once the coop feature is built within the sim, we can arrange to have some mini campaigns together.

Omg!!!   I can sense an arse-kicking in store for us in the near future!.

[Friar]

If we were to give an official vote to a new IL2 package to get us started which one are we suggesting is the minimal entry version, considering machine specs etc.

is it a case of no windows 10, no can do with any of the versions?

can a person fly in multiplayer if they do not have the same version and or planes?

what do we do if the minimum specs are beyond someone's pocket for an upgrade, the dogz have always tried to fly to the lowest common denominator.

the videos I have seen seem to point out some significant imbalance with flight models, will there be free patches?

Friar

 

[DD_Arthur]

I'm not sure if 'we' are suggesting anything.  I don't think things have got that far.  I am suggesting that people who have not got any of the BoX series should start with Battle of Stalingrad premium edition.

https://il2sturmovik.com/store/battle-of-stalingrad/

All the BoX series have the same minimum requirements;  Quad core processor running at least 3Mhz 3Ghz, gpu nvidia 660/1050 or equivalent.

Operating system must be Win7 64bit or above.

Having Battle of Stalingrad will give the basic plane set to be competitive in multiplayer.  How it works;  in single player you will have access to the Stalingrad map and two other community made maps and the  ten aircraft that come with Battle of Stalingrad.  You will also be able to fly against the other aircraft.

In multiplayer you will be able to fly on all the maps.  So if you choose to join a dogfight server in multiplayer that is running the Battle of Kuban map you will be able to fly on this map.  However,  you will only be able to fly the aircraft that you have in the Battle of Stalingrad game.

If any of the Dogz don't meet these minimum specs yet?  Then in my opinion we wait.  There is still plenty of time.  This thread is about an exploration of the future.  In no way should any member of the Dogz feel worried about their ability to continue flying with the group.

This must not become a excersize in loosing members!

Videos you have seen suggest a significant imbalance in flight models?   Welcome to the world of Luftwhining

The game itself is constantly updated with free patches.  A large and significant one is coming just before christmas.

Game updates - a history of;

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/12826-game-updates/?p=503128

 

[T_O_A_D]

Delta, Sid, Sweper Agreed!

I'll ride whatever wave you guys surf!

I only play in the winter, I gave up over 10 years being a mentor and voice in the community.

I now put more effort into me and my time with the wife, especially when the outdoors allows us too.

I prefere1946 only because I don' t have to buy anything new and it still feels natural to me. 

Clod is a close second.

Bos is installed, but it came in late and I have no real time with it single or multi.

DCS is a bloated control freak with odd graphics and poor play IMHO

And the Spitfire pissed me off!!!!! it turned out nothing like what I have read about it.

I just watched something the other day about a German 109 Vet saying how easy the Spit is to fly compared. 

I nearly cried in laughter when thinking about it, and wishing to get him to fly DCS. 

 

[Snacko]

1 hour ago, DD_Arthur said:

... and two other community made maps

Can give me a link to these?   

[DD_Arthur]

They are in your game already Snacko and they're both unpronounceable.  

[Crash]

Should we compile a list of who has got what module? It might help for when coops happen.

[DD_Arthur]

On 11/25/2017 at 5:25 PM, FoolTrottel said:

On the other hand, do we need any thing? How good are the current servers available? Would one of those suit our needs?

I would think our immediate needs would be for those interested to just get together on what would usually be a non-flying night.  A Monday, Wednesday, Friday, etc. and have a little fly around.

The flying and engine management bit is fairly straightforward but if you want to get together the first thing to learn is taxiing to takeoff!

Oh yeah, formation flying in BoX is fantastic!

Perhaps the easiest way would be to gather on an empty server.  There is one - called New Wings - that runs the Moscow map and has the complete planeset from BoS and BoM available.  It's based in north america and has decent ping, plenty of ground targets too and is usually empty.

Might be an easier entry than straight into the hurley-burley of some of the more popular dogfight servers.   

[Jabo]

Sounds like a good idea.

[Jabo]

One good thing about this, it’s certainly prompted discussion!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Crash]

BoX  seems to be attracting new players https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/32571-there-increase-pilots-lately/

I hope we can get some of these next year

[Painless]

After all this discussion, I feel the need to ask a risky question chaps.....

If we keep Sunday evening as an IL2 46 exclusive session for the foreseeable future, should we take the plunge and make Tuesday at 7.30 pm GMT a BOX series official DDz session ? Maybe start after Christmas ?

Will we get back some of our long lost American/Canadian brothers at that time, on that day ?

If you feel outraged by such a suggestion please say so, we are all good friends here and no opinion is worth more or less than any other.

No disrespect intended to those who already fly BOX at a different time or with the Wing Walkers, what else can you do, we don't fly that sim as a squad....YET .

Respectfully, Painless.

 

[Crash]

I think that it could be the best thing to do. It might encourage those who want to do 46 to play on a Sunday. I would really like to know more about how coops are run. FT is concerned about the FMB but from what I can gather there is a Dynamic Mission Generator style so the missions dont repeat the same AI formations and people are building missions now.

[Jabo]

On 11/25/2017 at 2:06 PM, Jabo said:

So we could BoX on Tuesdays, CloD on Thursdays (v4.5 Beta testing is complete I understand) and '46 on Sundays? Spreads out the week and everyone gets to fly something they like (except the DCS boys but that tends to happen after the scheduled sessions anyway).

Yes.

On 11/25/2017 at 2:11 PM, Crash said:

Honestly, I would still be building for and playing Cliffs of Dover RIGHT NOW if it had working AI, working ground units, and working AI skill settings

I think you'll find this is all in v4.5. The AI has been beefed up and gunners are much more aggressive and accurate necessitating better tactics. I am told that AI skill can be tuned in the mission builder

[Crash]

1 hour ago, Jabo said:

Yes.

I think you'll find this is all in v4.5. The AI has been beefed up and gunners are much more aggressive and accurate necessitating better tactics. I am told that AI skill can be tuned in the mission builder

It was Wolverine that complained about the AI