pup1
Infantry Sergeant
Posts: 36
|
Post by pup1 on Feb 8, 2006 6:13:57 GMT -5
Hi
calling all Pilots!!
I want to host my first Online Dawn Patrol Game On Sunday 12th February Time to be arranged.
by setting a four week invitation hopefully I have given my self enough time to arrange things and familiarise my self with the program but any advise the pros can give will be most welcome. Thanks.
Game Format
Beginner : non tournament friendly game
,Simple dogfight based on number of players,
all pilots will be veteran 1 mission pilots (no novices or aces)
date, planes, and sides etc to be determined on the day when all have logged in.
Please post to this reply if you want in, stating;
1. who and where you are from (provide an email contact or email me privately to MT001Q8869@blueyonder.co.uk)
2.The best time of day to play (allow your self a bout 4 hrs worth of game time also state what time zone you are in)
(for example Indianopolis is 5hrs behind London so if you Play at 10.00am it'll be 3.00pm for us)
3. visit this post regularly for any updates and notifications to the schedule.
ok thats it for now
lets make this happen
Phil. T
|
|
pup1
Infantry Sergeant
Posts: 36
|
Post by pup1 on Feb 8, 2006 6:14:31 GMT -5
OK guys
The time of my first online game of dawn patrol is on feb 12th 2006 at:
3.00 pm GMT
10.00 am EST
9.00 am MEXICO/GENERAL (to the guy in mexico sorry dude wed have to play it at 4.00am in the morning 13th feb to accomodate your 10.00pm request)
i will call the main chat room transatlantic 1
knock on the dawn come in and introduce yourself
see you then
i will make my final posts on here by sat 11th feb 2006
see you soon
phil.t
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Feb 8, 2006 9:30:02 GMT -5
Phil, I also placed this on our new forum calendar. Pls be sure to send me any events and I'll be sure to get them on.
Also, there is a chance that I can play this Sunday, but I'll be about two hours late (if you're still going then). I'll check when the time comes.
|
|
kazorm
Lieutenant
2005-06-07 Indy Squadron Champion
"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." - Ghandi
Posts: 245
|
Post by kazorm on Feb 10, 2006 19:47:58 GMT -5
I'm going to try to make it. That would be 9am central. First I have to download vassal and try to get it to work for me.
|
|
|
Post by gblemings on Feb 12, 2006 20:23:17 GMT -5
k, just thought i would drop a line, and let you all know how things went.
first of all, vassal was a pain in the be-hind, to get running, but once running, it ran very well.
As you might be aware, i played a few games of this, last year, when we tried to get it up and running, but even with that familiarity with the game it still took me a good 45 min to get in and ready to play. I suspect if i play regularly, then it wont take as long, but if you want to play, and dont have vassal loaded yet, you might want to download and experiment before the time of the game....
We had 2 players, myself, and pup1.
So we played a random encounter, I was german running a alb 3, and he was english running a spad7.
He started at 16,100' and i started at 13,500' (close). Right from the beginning, i think i went first every time, but regardless, i started to climb (what a tank a d3 is at 13,000 feet!), and he started diving,
We meet around 14,000' where he got off the first shot (altitude is definitly an advantage)....low and behold he got an engine hit, and I rolled a critical, manifold hit. reduect top and turn by 20mpg, and climb by 100.
Well that put me into a pickle, since my turn speed was now 40, which is below stall. I interpretated this, as meaning i could not turn, or i would lose control, but i could move straight, which i proceeded to do, i dove max dive and went straight and lowest throttle (60mph),
he continued following me down, my strategy was to get to an altitude that i could acutally turn without stalling, but the very next turn, he once again got 1 engine hit, and i rolled a crit again, and infact the same critical, so now my turn speed was down by 40, and low and behold, even at the lowest altitude, i would not be able to turn, so my stratgegy turned to diving and landing....
as it was, i forgot about the cloud bank, but he didnt, so when i entered it, he asked if i wanted to escape, which i said yes, and the game ended.
A couple of questions though.
1) should i have been able to escape? i had to fly straight, he could have followed me through the bank and get me on the other side?
2) the idea of my turn speed being reduced below my minium flight speed? did i play the correct? or should i have gone out of control?
anyway, it was very interesting, and you all should check out vassal, as it works very well, i can see some improvements/additions that would make it realy slick, but i suspect they would never be implemented, unless the number of players playing, reached a certain level, at which time the 'designers' would feel it is worth the effort. As it is now, it is playable.
I for one would like to see regular games being setup, and i took a look at the forum calendar, very cool, and i hope you will see some vassal games being scheduled on a regular basis.
thanks garyb
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Feb 12, 2006 21:36:01 GMT -5
I was gone until two hours after game time and by that time I'd forgotten, to be honest. However, when you're getting a new thing up and running, that's to be expected.
My suggestion is that a regular time and frequency be chosen and even if only two players show, that the games go on as scheduled. Repetition and regularity are the only ways to get past people like me who just forgot. There must be a routine, something others can count on, and that will take a real long term commitment from whoever wants VASSAL to succeed.
I'd love to see it go... more game opportunities for us all. Keep scheduling games and I'll keep trying to make it and sooner or later it will happen. And who knows how many players you'll pick up along the way.
I'll leave the rules interpretations for the next person.
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Feb 12, 2006 21:36:42 GMT -5
BTW, Gary, if you had any posts on our previous forum let me know and I'll credit them to you on this one.
|
|
|
Post by kirkh on Feb 13, 2006 14:00:22 GMT -5
Hey, I'd be interested in giving an online game a try. I didn't see this until today (Feb 13th), but if you plan on another night of DP, I'd be glad to join in. BTW, I'd recommend a different time to play. There's no way I'd be able to pay on a Sunday morning. I'd suggest the evening sometime. Just a thought. When we were running the online games a couple years ago our little group usually met at around 8PM central time and that seemed to work. Also, it's highly recommended everyone have VASSAL and the DP module loaded ahead of time. Also, I'd recommend taking some time to familiarize yourself with the program before joining an online game. As Gary mentioned, the setup can be the longest thing if everyone isn't prepared. The thing to do is trade enough e-mails prior to gametime so that you can predetemine aircraft, scenarios, starting altitudes, etc. Try to make it so that the online part of it is purely devoted to the game itself. Otherwise things can take a really long time.
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Feb 13, 2006 15:21:33 GMT -5
I agree, an afternoon would be best, and evening would be okay as well. But I believe this one was set up from England, accounting for the time difference. BTW, Kirk, I've updated your post score to reflect all your posts from the previous forum as well. Congratulations, Lieutenant.
|
|
|
Post by gblemings on Feb 13, 2006 17:58:05 GMT -5
yes, 10am (actually around 11:15 when i finally joined), on a sunday, is not ideal for me as well. I would prefer an evening event.
As stephen mentioned though, this was setup my pup1, who lives in england.
As mentioned previously as well, i agree that the only way for this to work, is to setup times on a regular basis, so that everyone gets into the 'habit' of playing (or at least knowing that a game is running) on a regular basis, then just play with who shows up. Some days their will be only 1 or 2 players, other times, 5+..etc...
If we acheive this, then most people will have already setup vassal to run properly, and it will not take as long to get a game going. and on top of that i (or someone), would make a 'step by step' manual of the process of setting up vassal, as the vassal setup is not that friendly..
One thing that i think would also be a benifit playing online is the use of 'teamspeak' or other web based voice communications. would save having to type in all your comments etc.
just my thoughts...
garyb
ps stephen, yes i did post some on the other forum, but dont worry, it wasnt all that often, i can start from scratch
garyb
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Feb 13, 2006 18:16:28 GMT -5
I was sure that you had posted before but I couldn't find them in a search of the old forum. So I gave you a small jump start anyway... you've now quit your job as a Red Cross ambulance driver and joined the infantry. Work your way through the infantry and you'll soon join the air service as an officer. Congratulations on your hard earned promotion.
|
|
pup1
Infantry Sergeant
Posts: 36
|
Post by pup1 on Feb 14, 2006 4:27:33 GMT -5
HI ALL As gary said earlier; great game. Thanks dude, One player turning up and logging in was for me a major positive result. a step in the right direction for online play and may start the ball rolling for a healthy level of international dp games. Indeed i am pleased and very encouraged by the interest on this forum that the online game game has generated. Firstly most dp gamers dont play because they have no one to play with who lives near by. We are scattered to the four winds across the globe, Not any more...with microphones and webcams we can all hook up and log in to a game of dawn patrol in a way that, quite frankly, the pilots of the great war we portray couldnt of possably imagined...or believed. Well the game happened pretty much as gary explained earlier, so i wont repeat things there are some rules questions but ill post them in the rules forums later.. i will be doing this every month from now so look for my next announcement ill try to make another time available. i found vassal easy to load and install (took about 5 mins. Using it for the first time was a little difficult as i didnt know what to expect or how we would connect, there is a help button on the main server which tells you how to join in. basically the its this ,,,, the host should have vassal up and running at the set time without the map loaded. he then types in a new game name and presses enter in the new game input box. his window will change and the main room tab will open up with an attached room named by the host. (mine was transatlantic1) Other players will then logg in and go into that room (transatlantic 1) (right click on the room and select join room) use the text input window at the bottem to say hi! im in...etc, the host will alreadt know your in anyway because your name will pop up attached to the room. When all players are in then the host loads the game map and all of the other players right click on the hosts name and select syncronise. hey presto game on. we did a trial counter move to see if everything was working. i had trouble at first toggling between windows but if you minimise and reshape the windows you can have them arranged on your pc so that you can see the map and read the messages at the same time. finally without vassal i would never of met and played against gary, and i am very grateful to the designers of vassal and mike for the dp module for that honor. next time i hope to be able to talk to my opponent through a mic ond possably see him or her through a web cam. kudos to gary for logging in...hope more discover/ rediscover online play. phil. aka pup1
|
|
|
Post by kirkh on Feb 15, 2006 20:39:13 GMT -5
Phil - It's great to see someone echo the comments I've been making the last few years. I tried my darnedest to get people interested in online DP play but had little success. At one point there were four of us (one of the participants was George Long - the VASSAL DP module creator) but we couldn't keep the momentum going. I was the organizer of the previous attempts to play DP online, so if anybody wants any pointers, let me know. Here are some guidelines for a good online DP game:
1) Insure everyone has installed the latest version of VASSAL and the DP module and can open them and use them. 2) By trading e-mails ahead of time decide what scenario you'll play, who is flying what, and who is starting where. That way the host can set up the game and everyone will be ready to play once they get connected. 3) And this one is very important - Make sure everyone knows and understands which rules you'll be using ahead of time. When people play face to face they may not think twice about rules because they always play the same ones. When playing online though you'll be playing against folks from different global areas, different levels of experience, etc. In order to avoid confusion it's best to have a written set of rules everyone agrees to ahead of time. Some may think it's not important, but sometimes there are house rules a club has been using forever and take for granted that another has never used. Same goes for charts and aircraft statistics. Some may be FITS members and have access to all the latest info and some may not. In a nutshell, insure everyone is singing from the same sheet of music for all rules and game materials. With our games I went so far as to put together a document that everyone agreed to, which detailed all the rules we were to use. As the process had not been perfected yet, we were still in the process of finalizing it when the games stopped.
Last, I'd "beat the bushes" to see who else would like to give it a try. I know I sent out literally hundreds of e-mails trying to coax people into playing. I assumed if people got an invite they'd be more likely to try it than if the game was announced purely here at the forum.
I too am one of probably hundreds that bought DP yet have nobody to play it against. I even created a whole solitaire system just to be able to play it once in a while. I think if the VASSAL method can be perfected and smoothed out, the world of DP could be opened up to many people that simply can't play face to face. I for one would really enjoy being able to go to my computer and logon to a regular weekly online DP game among fellow enthusiasts. If we can get enough regulars, having a regular weekly game night could be a reality.
Take care everyone,
Kirk H.
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Feb 15, 2006 22:10:28 GMT -5
I still believe that CONSISTENCY is going to be the key. VASSAL games must be scheduled consistently at the same time on the same day of the week in order to establish memory and routine. Even if its not held every week, or every third week, or every (fill in the blank)... when you do have games, hold them on the same day of the week and at the same time and advertise them here like crazy. That, I think, is our best chance of long term success.
I'll be glad to carry VASSAL game reports and stories in ISD, plus our calendar feature and forum are at your disposal. I can also put special ads on the front page of ISD to help promote it if I know in advance.
|
|
|
Post by kirkh on Feb 16, 2006 19:50:39 GMT -5
I'd agree. If everyone knows a game is on at a certain day and time, there would be a better chance of consistently having games. The only problem with that is having to wait until gametime to see how many show up to determine who will fly what, scenarios, etc. If you maybe say ahead of time that the "standard" game will be a simple dogfight between single seat fighters, then it might get things moving quicker. The biggest problem I found is that it can sometimes take a long while for everyone to get connected, organized, setup etc. Once that is done things move along pretty quickly. I guess what I'm saying is the more homework that can get done ahead of time, the more online time is actually devoted to the game itself.
One other thing I forgot to mention in my above message is that in addition to the rules you must also agree what will be hidden and what won't. What we did during our games was have the pilots hit rolls as being open to everyone, but then the guy that took the damage would roll for hit locations and criticals in secret. He'd also secretly roll for possible pilot/observer hits. The text would go something like this: The shooter would type in "150' tail shot, 2 deck guns, intermittent burst, column X" and wait for a few seconds for the target (or anyone else) to take issue with that shot. Then he'd roll the VASSAL dice and the result would appear in the text. He'd then say "X number of hits" and the target would then secretly roll hit locations and then mention if anyone sees anything such as fire, smoke, etc. He'd then adjust his plane counter accordingly (since George added various states of damage options to the counters).
|
|