Is CoD worth getting?

[ATAG_Snapper]

Originally Posted by furbs

I think ATAG deserve a medal for what they are trying to do with CLOD.
But unless we get COOPs will never get close to recreating BOB battles online, it simply will not happen.

The ATAG server can be great fun, ive had fun on there. Its the best CLOD experience online by a mile, but its not the BOB.

Thanks for the kind words, Furbs!

Most of us think of the Battle of Britain as huge epic battles involving dozens of Axis bombers in formation with equally large numbers of escorting 109's perched high above at varying altitudes, with one or two squadrons (sometimes more, sometimes less) of RAF fighters rising up to intercept them. Indeed, this is where COOP missions would shine if 1C properly institutes them in future patching. No question, no argument.

A month or two (or three?) ago Farber and his JG/27 crew hosted a "bomber night". He'd have to jump in here to say how many participated, but I was in a Spitfire Ia squadron that spawned at Manston and we sat warming up while waiting for a squadron of Hurri Rotols to move their lumbering behinds off the runway so we could take off. Our job was to patrol the neighbouring Thames Estuary -- we barely got to 18,000 feet when the sudden appearance of flak alerted us to what turned out to be 6 He111's heading for London about 5,000 feet below us. Easy meat except for the pesky 109's escorting 'em. So......."not even close to BoB", you say? Hah!

Hey, even today I spawned in a Rotol at Manston and headed south. "Ribbs" joined up on Teamspeak flying a Rotol out of Lympne, so we hooked up. I had a go at a formation of five AI Dornier 17's at 12,500 feet while Ribbs headed off a 109 looking to interfere with my fun. While they headed to the deck I noticed a single twin engine --a 110 -- overflying my Dorniers headed towards our Comms HQ at G10 (an Axis designated target). Ribbs was finishing off the 109, so I gave pursuit on the fast-flying 110. He climbed to 17,000 feet with me slowly gaining. A quick burst had him instantly kicking over into a hard spiralling dive to the right. On the verge of blacking out I was losing sight of him, so I relaxed the turn, only to find the 110 on MY six! A quick split-S saved my bacon, but it took a few seconds to reacquire visual contact on the now-fleeing Zerstorer. Caught up once again and fired up into his belly. He fell away and dove into the ground. For my part, low on fuel, I landed at Littlestone amongst the Blenheims.

So, "not even close to BoB"? C'mon!

[furbs]

All that sounds great fun Snapper! im sure it is, from me as well, no argument.

But its not the BOB, again not yours or ATAGs fault but that's dogfight servers for you.
Now imagine if we had COOPs, we could get all 19 members of ATAG plus about 10 of our fellas plus public and have a proper BOB mission...now that would be something to see Snapper eh!

[Chivas]

Furbs... your telling me a Coop squad couldn't start a server with a group of AI Ju87 covered by a group of AI 109's attacking a convoy of ships, that your squad needs to intercept? etc etc etc

You don't really need a Coop room to start the mission. Your group should be on teamspeak or given an approximate starting time. I here Hyperlobby has COD available now so there might be a team room there. Or you could have a trigger that starts the AI when the first aircraft in your group takes off.

[Osprey]

Originally Posted by Chivas

Furbs... your telling me a Coop squad couldn't start a server with a group of AI Ju87 covered by a group of AI 109's attacking a convoy of ships, that your squad needs to intercept? etc etc etc

You don't really need a Coop room to start the mission. Your group should be on teamspeak or given an approximate starting time.

Our server does this. Air Combat Group (ACG).

We presently run all historical raids from August 12th 1940 in chronological order with detailed briefings and regular radar information for both sides. The raids are reduced in size obviously but we've had no trouble with 40+ AI being attacked by our Wing as they come in.

There is briefing info which updates according to the mission in operation. The missions are spaced in order to allow groups to land and prepare for the next, on both sides, which is what we presently do together already. If you follow the information you will become embroiled proper, but alternatively you can do whatever you like as AI are in operation all over the place in pairs/flights as psuedo-historic sweeps. Our missions are large so patience may be required for loading times - I am a stickler for mission accuracy and have a good eye for missions following experience making the USL missions and our squadron campaigns.

I didn't want to publish here today tbh as we are a work in progress and we've much work ahead of us. We have plans for the server when times are right for us. We've also restricted to 32 players for the time being but with all the AI there's not a shortage of action.

I think ATAG is great, it's a very pleasant server with guaranteed action and TS3 is marvellous - great fun co-operating with the chaps on there who are always friendly and helpful. It offers a different angle to our server with an objective option for both sides whereas we lean more to the 're-enactment' side. Our boys have spent a lot of time in there and will continue to do so, however in this case I get the feeling that furbs may not have ventured out much *joke*. Don't write off the servers!

Check post #5 here for more.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=25721

[furbs]

Osprey that sounds great and cant wait to give it a try. If you want a few others to help test it then give me a bell.

[Osprey]

It's always up (I think!) so you can jump in anytime. You can be alone and find lots of action just by following the missions, but probably best take a wingman at least

Check the server list, Air Combat Group (ACG) and you can get our TS3 off the link I posted. Also........we're recruiting red and blue

[No1 Cheese]

It is worth getting,because 1 day it will be very very good,at the moment it just looks lovely.

Cheese

[furbs]

A few of us just might Osprey, though would rather jump in when the rest of you are there.

[ATAG_Snapper]

Furbs, what you describe (the 19 + 10 .....and more...) in a COOP format is great. I'd be the first to sign up for a spot. But I disagree that anything short of a COOP format is merely "a dogfight server". That implies absolutely no organization; a virtual free-for-all. That does NOT describe what I regularly see on the two ATAG servers of late. As Chivas mentioned, I see groups on both sides organizing themselves, via Teamspeak, to form bomber flights with specific server-defined targets as objectives. At the same time, calls go out over Teamspeak for fighter pilots to either provide escort OR to patrol over defined targets (ie radar towers at G7 Dungeness and I12 Ramsgate plus Comms HQ at G10 Canterbury) to defend against possible enemy bomber & fighter formations. Not all 40 or 50 players on the server wish to participate - but that's OK since that introduces a dynamic randomness to the respective missions. In fact, that "unexpected encounter" factor adds to the tension, just as undisclosed triggers in a formal COOP mission should have.

I see COOP as one means to bring a group of players together to reenact a particular scenario, with a defined start time. A good thing, to be sure, but by no means does that one format exclusively emulate the Battle of Britain. Those who are holding off from buying or playing CoD "because there's no COOP" are failing to grasp the huge capabilities of such easily utilized organizational tools such as Teamspeak, email, and these forums to get like-minded groups of players into their aircraft in the same theatre of operations. Farber and the JG/27 did it on a large scale, small groups of us do it on the fly every day. And for us, this is as much a virtual Battle of Britain as a formalized COOP mission(s) is a virtual Battle of Britain for you.

[furbs]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Snapper

Furbs, what you describe (the 19 + 10 .....and more...) in a COOP format is great. I'd be the first to sign up for a spot. But I disagree that anything short of a COOP format is merely "a dogfight server". That implies absolutely no organization; a virtual free-for-all. That does NOT describe what I regularly see on the two ATAG servers of late. As Chivas mentioned, I see groups on both sides organizing themselves, via Teamspeak, to form bomber flights with specific server-defined targets as objectives. At the same time, calls go out over Teamspeak for fighter pilots to either provide escort OR to patrol over defined targets (ie radar towers at G7 Dungeness and I12 Ramsgate plus Comms HQ at G10 Canterbury) to defend against possible enemy bomber & fighter formations. Not all 40 or 50 players on the server wish to participate - but that's OK since that introduces a dynamic randomness to the respective missions. In fact, that "unexpected encounter" factor adds to the tension, just as undisclosed triggers in a formal COOP mission should have.

I see COOP as one means to bring a group of players together to reenact a particular scenario, with a defined start time. A good thing, to be sure, but by no means does that one format exclusively emulate the Battle of Britain. Those who are holding off from buying or playing CoD "because there's no COOP" are failing to grasp the huge capabilities of such easily utilized organizational tools such as Teamspeak, email, and these forums to get like-minded groups of players into their aircraft in the same theatre of operations. Farber and the JG/27 did it on a large scale, small groups of us do it on the fly every day. And for us, this is as much a virtual Battle of Britain as a formalized COOP mission(s) is a virtual Battle of Britain for you.

All that is true Snapper, and ive seen large missions happen on dogfight missions a few times over the years and it was great to see even if it was a little discouraged , but the one thing that gets in the way is time.

COOPs allow for missions to be set up and run in a very short time scale.
Setting up a 30 man mission on a DF would be a once a night thing and quite tricky to get right....i know ive tried it with 8 and its like herding cats!

COOPs allow you to run them 3-4 times a night and with re-starts if the plonker forgets his bombs! it also allows large formations to be placed 10 or 15 mins away from the target, on course, at the right height and with all the right bomb load, with the escort sqd in place above.

Im not running down what can happen on ATAG Snapper, like ive said they do a great job and im sure it will get better, but we really do need the COOPs to get sqds involved in a regular way, online wars and other things.

Ive been told all the great things CLOD can do with triggers and missions and stuff, im waiting still.

Anyway Snapper, i will pop on ATAG TS later this week and have a look myself.