"Buddy Spike" - DCS World Online Events

Odds really messed up.

No I don't think so. RED are really not flying as a team, that is the problem. You can see this as the RED side attacks two bases at the same time. If they team up they will have a good chance to keep up the attack on one of the bases. BLUE is obviously trying to protect both bases attacked and is also doing an attack on their own on a RED base thus weakening the defense of the two other bases. Blue Flag is all about teamwork. :thumbup:

Reading some comments make us think that there is a misunderstanding on which thread people should post about some things :D

Reading about step backs...

First issue came up with LEAVU. Reminding that this is not a Buddyspike creation and that it causes the same issues for all dcs servers. We spoke already with the RvE team and from what we 've seen they made an announcment asking people not to use it during the campaign. Until ED fixes the IC situation we can't really do much things on that. Maybe something will come up later but not for now. So saying that it benefits the blue side in our campaign etc is not our thing.

Then there is an air to air weapons discussion. The first 3 rounds of Blue Flag were with all air to air weapons available. As we run different scenarios each time, we selected this one now and will use something else in the future. Of course some won't like that but you should respect others that actually like to use all of what DCS offers them and this includes AIM-120s, R-77s, R-27ET etc.

The enlargment discussion makes me wonder why ED implemented it in the first place. Wasn't this a feature that most of the community asked for? We have it to "small" setting which helps solving the visibility issue of the simulator and at the same time doesn't reveal your position like a big dot.

The Mirage vs Mig-21 is there for a reason. We always had "blue" vs "red" fighter concept. MiG-21 was in both sides as it was not a FC3 fighter. Mirage came later as a new module. Now we felt it was time to make also a separation in this to have nice air to air battles, dogfights etc. Also the Blue side has no other fighter able to carrry bombs like the Red side has (SU-27, MiG-29, MiG-21). The issue that came up with MiG-21 not working properly and Mirage not being still ready is what we monitor and as we see that we need more time to finish some things we hope we get a fix before the round starts.

As I wrote previously, the truth is that we mainly focus on other things like server stability & features that will improve really the campaign. These can not be revealed before their are at least ready for testing so we hope you could be patient and have fun during the test sessions.

At the moment we added AI fuel transport aircraft that can ease the choppers workload. The online map overhaul is not just a website improvement but it changed the way it worked. So much work needed there from the guys. Added back the tweaked CSAR script and will monitor about any stability issues. Changing AI fighters with modern is a thing we avoided before fixing other stuff first, as more sensors from AI (Fox 3, jammers etc) have proven heavy and could cause lag.

We believe you already seen an improvement in the server stability (no downtimes, lag etc even with 55 clients). Noted again before that the easiest thing for us would be just to run again the 2nd or 5th round missions which were succesfull. Instead of that we prefer to try improve some things. The future will show if we were right about this.

Greg

 

[...]

The enlargment discussion makes me wonder why ED implemented it in the first place. Wasn't this a feature that most of the community asked for? We have it to "small" setting which helps solving the visibility issue of the simulator and at the same time doesn't reveal your position like a big dot.

[...]

 

Greg

well the problem is the way ED implemented model enlargement, WHY485 already found a solution for that, and from what I can tell he just tweaked the settings that are already there, so it is really baffling that his solution is not the standard for ED by now... developers and their pride I guess...

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=160634

His mod thread also describes the various problems the current implementation of "impostors" has and should point out to everyone, who has 5min to read it, why currently ANY setting other than "no enlargement" is not suitable for a competitive environment.

:music_whistling: here is why model enlargement should be off ;)

Small enlargement seems to work fine, haven't noticed any glaring issues with it though. It's worth a shot using it for a while to see if it really works well.

So far the server seems very stable compared to last round, and I love the information the new website provides!

The M2000, although having some issues seems to be handling fine in the MP environment. Unfortunately I do not know how the Mig-21 handles this round, I picked BLUFOR to fly the M-2000C this time round. Does the Mig-21 perhaps the nuclear option? I saw a massive crater a few days ago that looked like a AN-24/28 impact zone. I do hope LNS will be able to fix the radar before the round starts!

Well done so far Greg and the rest of the team!

Being able to drop RN-28/24s would be certainly interesting..

Maybe restrict it to the smaller variant.. would give the Mig-21 an interesting role to play and might be good to unrestrict it for the test round.

Thanks for the measured reply blue flag team.. everyone appreciates the event.

I am really happy to read the last announcements of Ciribob and Greg! Following this thread the last days was quite frustrating and somehow poisoned the anticipation of the next round.

Being a part time chopper pilot reading about the AI fuel transports really lifted my mood… Already looking forward to escorting these transports! I hope this feature doesn’t cause any problems with server stability! Also great that CSAR will be available again. Maybe it will be more important than fuel hauling this round…

Although I would personally prefer weapon-restrictions like last round I also remember that the first rounds of Blue Flag were a great fun… These Aim-120s are annoyingly painful but they will definitely not spoil this event for me.

The same goes for model enlargement. I am not an expert on the topic but I think having it on small is a good compromise. As I understood our MiG-21s really depend on it so the Choppers somehow have to adapt to it (being even more sneaky or just operating with proper air cover…).

I think the buddyspike team is putting a lot of effort in this project and the last rounds have been great events. Of course some changes might favor one or the other side but without mixing up things a little every round blue flag would become boring. I really hope the red pilots who plan on passing out will change their mind… Maybe odds are not in our favor this round but especially when that is the case every red pilot is desperately needed! Please don’t leave your comrades alone in the fight!

No I don't think so. RED are really not flying as a team, that is the problem. You can see this as the RED side attacks two bases at the same time. If they team up they will have a good chance to keep up the attack on one of the bases. BLUE is obviously trying to protect both bases attacked and is also doing an attack on their own on a RED base thus weakening the defense of the two other bases. Blue Flag is all about teamwork. :thumbup:

OverG, your statement contradicts itself.

i was quite pleased with the outcome of that engagement:pilotfly:

It's hard to land cannon hits on a Huey with no gunsight while in a state of mild panic lmao

On another note I support model enlargement on small as it gives aircraft, especially the 21 a chance without them getting removed by F-15s from outside Sapphire's scan range

As I understood our MiG-21s really depend on it so the Choppers somehow have to adapt to it (being even more sneaky or just operating with proper air cover…).

So one module can't be effective without a visual hack put in place which screws another module, and the solution is "Fakum"? I recommend you become a full time chopper pilot because you're going to need all the ones you can find.

Honestly, radar and GCI is important to find the helicopters when in a fast mover, haven't spotted any with the ol' mk2 eyeball. Nor have I seen them get slaughtered in a bigger way then last campaign on TACVIEW.

So one module can't be effective without a visual hack put in place which screws another module, and the solution is "Fakum"? I recommend you become a full time chopper pilot because you're going to need all the ones you can find.

Mate, model enlargement isn't a hack. I've had problems in testing spotting A-10Cs that were 2 miles away from me so it's not exactly making it super easy to spot things.

Reading some comments make us think that there is a misunderstanding on which thread people should post about some things :D

 

Reading about step backs...

 

First issue came up with LEAVU. Reminding that this is not a Buddyspike creation and that it causes the same issues for all dcs servers. We spoke already with the RvE team and from what we 've seen they made an announcment asking people not to use it during the campaign. Until ED fixes the IC situation we can't really do much things on that. Maybe something will come up later but not for now. So saying that it benefits the blue side in our campaign etc is not our thing.

 

Then there is an air to air weapons discussion. The first 3 rounds of Blue Flag were with all air to air weapons available. As we run different scenarios each time, we selected this one now and will use something else in the future. Of course some won't like that but you should respect others that actually like to use all of what DCS offers them and this includes AIM-120s, R-77s, R-27ET etc.

 

The enlargment discussion makes me wonder why ED implemented it in the first place. Wasn't this a feature that most of the community asked for? We have it to "small" setting which helps solving the visibility issue of the simulator and at the same time doesn't reveal your position like a big dot.

 

The Mirage vs Mig-21 is there for a reason. We always had "blue" vs "red" fighter concept. MiG-21 was in both sides as it was not a FC3 fighter. Mirage came later as a new module. Now we felt it was time to make also a separation in this to have nice air to air battles, dogfights etc. Also the Blue side has no other fighter able to carrry bombs like the Red side has (SU-27, MiG-29, MiG-21). The issue that came up with MiG-21 not working properly and Mirage not being still ready is what we monitor and as we see that we need more time to finish some things we hope we get a fix before the round starts.

 

As I wrote previously, the truth is that we mainly focus on other things like server stability & features that will improve really the campaign. These can not be revealed before their are at least ready for testing so we hope you could be patient and have fun during the test sessions.

 

At the moment we added AI fuel transport aircraft that can ease the choppers workload. The online map overhaul is not just a website improvement but it changed the way it worked. So much work needed there from the guys. Added back the tweaked CSAR script and will monitor about any stability issues. Changing AI fighters with modern is a thing we avoided before fixing other stuff first, as more sensors from AI (Fox 3, jammers etc) have proven heavy and could cause lag.

 

We believe you already seen an improvement in the server stability (no downtimes, lag etc even with 55 clients). Noted again before that the easiest thing for us would be just to run again the 2nd or 5th round missions which were succesfull. Instead of that we prefer to try improve some things. The future will show if we were right about this.

 

Greg

Thanks Greg!

Can't wait for the round to start. Now I just need a diversionary tactic fir the wife:)

:music_whistling: here is why model enlargement should be off ;)

I have never seen anything like that with the enlargement... I wounder if folks are seeing different things because of different graphic set up/resolutions?

IMO I like the small enlargement, it works well on my system. They ground impostors are not ridiculous and really only are visible on flat terrain, and the air impostors are very small and only show briefly before the regular rendering comes into effect, but I am starting to think results may vary.

JD

AKA_MattE

Greg will we ever see different RED/BLUE base PAK system ? I would really like to try and see the sunset from the southern part of the map in the beginning of a campaign :D

Or maybe we could all start with only two airbases and a city with a farp nearby as well. Lets make round 6-freaky! ;)

Thanks to the BuddySpike team once again for putting this together

Mate, model enlargement isn't a hack. I've had problems in testing spotting A-10Cs that were 2 miles away from me so it's not exactly making it super easy to spot things.

Model enlargement doesn't come into at 2nmi, at that range it is no different to having it off, it is the long range that makes the difference.

Yesterday on the 373 in 2 flights I splashed 2 Mirages an A-10 and an F-15 whilst flying an Su25T all thanks to the model enlargement. Spotting targets at some 20km away is just too easy. I don't even know what the max range is of the model but spending sometime on WW2 servers it seems to be quite a lot, though sometimes they can vanish.

Model enlargement doesn't come into at 2nmi, at that range it is no different to having it off, it is the long range that makes the difference.

Yesterday on the 373 in 2 flights I splashed 2 Mirages an A-10 and an F-15 whilst flying an Su25T all thanks to the model enlargement. Spotting targets at some 20km away is just too easy. I don't even know what the max range is of the model but spending sometime on WW2 servers it seems to be quite a lot, though sometimes they can vanish.

If you pick them up visually and they can't find you on radar then they kinda deserved it tbh

What you see with model enlargement will vary (to a degree) depending on screen resolution.

Yesterday on the 373 in 2 flights I splashed 2 Mirages an A-10 and an F-15 whilst flying an Su25T all thanks to the model enlargement. Spotting targets at some 20km away is just too easy.

Maybe they were not paying attention, or you were very sneaky... :)

I don't even know what the max range is of the model but spending sometime on WW2 servers it seems to be quite a lot, though sometimes they can vanish.

7 miles for ClOD and around 4 miles for BOS, so 20 Km for the impostor would be farther, but remember the speed differential in the aircraft (WWII vs modern jets) makes a huge difference. The short rendering in BOS is unrealistic IMO.

They way I look at it is that at 20kn or 10 miles you had a fighting chance, I take it you were lower than the MK2, F15 and A10 so they were silhouetted against they sky and you where against the ground, so much harder to see? I can see how the impostor makes it easier to see those contacts at 10 miles, but isn't that the point, easy or not? Dont get me wrong, as it is now the enlargement/impostor system is not is not ideal and I really expect ED to improve it, but the ability to spot an aircraft at 20km/10 miles (and not much farther) without having to zoom in substantially I think is a better scenario than the normal visuals where those contact would have been invisible without you zooming in considerably, but that is just my opinion.

JD

AKA_MattE

No I don't think so. RED are really not flying as a team, that is the problem. You can see this as the RED side attacks two bases at the same time. If they team up they will have a good chance to keep up the attack on one of the bases. BLUE is obviously trying to protect both bases attacked and is also doing an attack on their own on a RED base thus weakening the defense of the two other bases. Blue Flag is all about teamwork. :thumbup:

This true now yes. Last round begging of Round five we lost MM59 we all thought it was over and defeated however 373rd and most squadrons wasnt there most time or rely on. 51st was there and Voka squadeon whole bunch of lonewolfs we got bushed so far back that realised Jarhead and Tibet and Chrink and Red Star and Dave BodyOrgain Reaper6 list goes on step in push it up and work like one big unit yeah had alot laughs when flying almost crashed laughing when Chrink saying somthing funny.

And that what got us win Round 5 we didnt give up we fought like Lions.

Round five was great as red, lonewolfs4ever ;)!

Can't do much more in teamwork - We constantly flew on request fueling missions with the vodka folks, some even buying the mi-8 to support the action while not really motivated in the beginning with heliops.

They is no teamwork as for now as round isn't started. Don't worry, when the campaign will start, we'll be around.

I have never seen anything like that with the enlargement... I wounder if folks are seeing different things because of different graphic set up/resolutions?

No that's the result of a small experiment that shows you can just cheat with the model enlargement. I reported this to ED a few month ago, but doesn't heard anything in return. Anyone without much even experience in scripting, can simply edit the model size, and server side has strictly no control over this. And as a ground pounder, I personnally prefer no enlarged model as it **** up the A/G experience.

So one module can't be effective without a visual hack put in place which screws another module, and the solution is "Fakum"? I recommend you become a full time chopper pilot because you're going to need all the ones you can find.

I understand your frustration and also agree with most of the negative points you listed earlier in this thread. However, I think you exaggerate a little bit here. Sure, choppers will have a harder time but it is not like they spawn upside down and without rotors now…

Who knows, maybe the MiG-21 pilots who profit from model enlargement will give you escort and one day save your little chopper from an F-15?

I will be more than happy to serve my team as chopper pilot when needed. At least I won’t run out of lives when I do so. :D

Remember in the 90s and early 2000s lack of model enlargement was preferred? Then the Kim K's and the like started popping up and everyone was all "ewww I HATE model enlargement" while some were like "Sir Mix-a-Lot was right".

Then after some time, everyone now is like "yay model enlargement is the best"...everywhere you look you find model enlargement contests and wide-angle cameras to help enhance the experience. But there's still a few that prefer their models small and with minimal detail.

That's what this conversation reminds me of...and last time I few DCS; I don't remember the game launching me right into the Buddy Spike servers and not giving me the option to leave or stay...hmmm

Anyway, Greg, Xcom, Buddy Spike, 373vFS, and anyone I missed; Keep up the good work!

Update -

We have tested the model enlargement mechanism.

After quickly looking at how it works, it is really easy to edit your local file and change the model enlargement to whatever you want.

Because there's no Integrity Check in 1.5 yet, there is no way to restrict it very much like other mods, therefore it is now turned off until integrity check will be available in 1.5.