[Osprey]

Guys, I have been watching this thread with interest and I'm delighted to see work resume. If I may offer my opinion from a different perspective, one which developers such as yourselves may think is nonsense but this comes from the users point of view, and indeed it may not even be possible, but all the same.

In 1946 i've never flown DCE type stuff and had only done the odd co-op, we always built our own maps versus AI based on history for 're-enactment', immersion and fun only. Competition for me was match based in the USL - my competition days are behind me for now. The point is that I don't care about winning or losing wars, I care about my crew being able to fly together at once in a war like scenario, getting into a fight and returning in 2's and 3's back home, perhaps to prepare for another attack. The whole thing need not run for more than 2 hours. To do that in 1946 I had to have known numbers and spend a long time in the FMB - I don't want this for COD.

My crew is RAF, we are growing a Luftwaffe arm (or trying to).
I would like something which enables players to join the server, warm up their aircraft at our own base and await some sort of instruction, from the game and the flight leader. What the mission needs to do is generate a German bomber formation and a target and let everybody know appropriately. For German flyers they need to be told a rendezvous point, and for RAF they need to be notified of a Luftwaffe buildup over France, where, approximate numbers, height and heading. From that point flight leaders take over, that is perhaps an in game menu available (I've seen code for this) for flight leads only which gives a co-ordinate, height and heading (or vector and height) to the closest bomber formation. The German flyers probably should be told the target/route (maybe this is a briefing option).
The mission can be padded with AI, perhaps by setting a range, when one side has too few humans. We would also want a refly option.

In terms of history there could perhaps be 4 phases (different colour front markers defined on the map?), 1. Kanalkampf, 2. Outer airfield and RDF station attack, 3. Inner airfield attack, 4. Blitz.

I do not mind doing FMB work as long as it is either basic each time or a one off.

Ok, you may think at this stage that I'm talking rubbish but what this does give a squadron is the ability to re-enact the kind of BoB events which happened even though they aren't the actual events and we don't know what is going to happen. The Germans are given escort or the leader can sweep ahead supported by AI fighters (single and twin), the RAF have to scramble and intercept, perhaps with some AI fighters spawned on patrols over the south east.

There is no competition in this at all, I don't care who wins - in fact it's better without competition imho because it's more relaxed and fun that way. Anyway, please tell me what you think, I hope I've provided some info on what quite a few crews would like to see. If you have any questions please ask me.