Flight Qualifications Campaign

[SUBS17]

BFT 05 has a bug where the humvee crashes into an F-15. Mission still runs fine eventhough the crash as no FOD is near the taxiway/runway.

[degoe]

BFT 05 has a bug where the humvee crashes into an F-15. Mission still runs fine eventhough the crash as no FOD is near the taxiway/runway.

 

also noticed this problem in bft 6

[BeachAV8R]

Curious - BFT02 (EFATO) I get through all of the air maneuvers just fine, but when I shut down my engine and fly back to the field I get a Q- mission failed I think for not landing in the proper place. I was under the impression I should fly the pattern and land in the same direction I took off. Or am I supposed to make a straight-in approach from over the ocean to the other direction? It seems like you should be able to do it either way so long as the approach and landing are safe..

 

Enjoying these missions..but they can be a little frustrating until you learn the individual missions.

 

ie: The first time I ran BFT02, I waited and waited on the ramp because I thought that I was going to end up following the A-10C to my right to the runway. So I missed my takeoff time.

 

Upon landing after my Q- fail I was told to taxi to the ramp which I did, but I received no more instructions after that. I would assume you are supposed to taxi to the same position you started from. The instructions need to be very specific if they are supposed to trigger events. I performed the shutdown figuring that might be what the trigger was waiting for but it never came. So once I'm advised of the beyond Q- parameters does that effectively end the mission?

 

Regards...

BeachAV8R

[spikenet]

am I supposed to make a straight-in approach from over the ocean to the other direction? It seems like you should be able to do it either way so long as the approach and landing are safe..

 

Enjoying these missions..but they can be a little frustrating until you learn the individual missions.

 

 

yes, its batami so thats the direction you are "ment" to land 13 from memory. I agree, if its an emergency you should be able to land anyway as long as its safe.

 

Agree on the frustration factor, it gets more as you get further through, I only made it to #6 before I gave up.. sadly.

[BeachAV8R]

Alrighty... Got past BFT02 by landing straight-in.. Got dinged for not landing in the proper touchdown zone apparently though.

[Sabre-TLA]

Sorry for making the missions too hard. I certainly want them to be challenging but not to the point of people giving up on them.

 

On the landing missions I believe there are two vehicles on the road to the left (if you come in from the sea). These mark the actual measured start and end of the landing zone (according to the actual USAF guidelines).

 

If you touch down between them then you will hit the sweet spot. Maybe a landing diagram in a future update would help.

 

As for the approach it is considered an emergency situation (engine out) so my thinking was normally you would declare an emergency and take the shortest approach in. Again another diagram would make it clearer.

 

I do provide updates to the missions so if you find issues with particular missions please email me at mapleflagmissions@gmail.com and I'll see if I can make them more playable.

 

For BFT06 there is a spoiler that explains the triggers here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1286141&postcount=219

[degoe]

Sorry for making the missions too hard. I certainly want them to be challenging but not to the point of people giving up on them.

 

On the landing missions I believe there are two vehicles on the road to the left (if you come in from the sea). These mark the actual measured start and end of the landing zone (according to the actual USAF guidelines).

 

If you touch down between them then you will hit the sweet spot. Maybe a landing diagram in a future update would help.

 

As for the approach it is considered an emergency situation (engine out) so my thinking was normally you would declare an emergency and take the shortest approach in. Again another diagram would make it clearer.

 

I do provide updates to the missions so if you find issues with particular missions please email me at mapleflagmissions@gmail.com and I'll see if I can make them more playable.

 

For BFT06 there is a spoiler that explains the triggers here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1286141&postcount=219

 

I dont think the missions are too hard.

Its just hard to find out what it is thats exactly expected when you do a mission.

You cant get around the triggers because when you make the margins bigger somebody can pass by doing any random maneuver.

It might help if you make the orders more detailed (e.g. with the efato approach you could say something like make an safe apporoach from the sea),

it would also help if you would include more detailed diagrams or a link to the source of the procedure information so that people can also have a feeling that they are doing the exact right thing.

 

These are just some ideas to make it less stressful for people to pass.

It is very time consuming to have to restart etc the plane every time if you have to find out by trial and error.

 

I hope this will help you in making future missions, atm I am enjoying your missions very much but find them a bit too frustrating at times.

I will definitely buy future missions If they are a little less frustrating.

Good luck

[SUBS17]

Sabres BFT missions are good value it definately makes a better pilot of you doing those missions.:thumbup:

[BeachAV8R]

I agree with SUBS - I do find good value in the missions. And I agree with degoe that just very specific briefings would be helpful (for instance, the info about the landing zone would be very helpful, a visual reference point). They have to be almost painfully detailed since there is no student/instructor interaction that you would normally have (ie - the student asking questions and the instructor clarifying)..so you have to perhaps go a bit overboard with the directions.

 

Enjoying them and looking forward to flying BFT03 in a bit..

 

BeachAV8R

[Sabre-TLA]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will continue to provide updates and improvements. Maybe I should consider a beta model ala ED to get more feedback before formal publication.

 

For the lastest mission under development: AFT01 - Air to Air Refueling Day I am hoping you will see marked improvement in the level of dialogue and detail. You will still have to complete the refueling but I am including lots of dialogue on the procedure and checklists.

[spikenet]

The one thing I'd like to see is the ability to continue through the mission until the end even if you have failed or not completed something correctly.

 

cheers

[Sabre-TLA]

The one thing I'd like to see is the ability to continue through the mission until the end even if you have failed or not completed something correctly.

 

cheers

 

So basically play the full mission but track the failure points and then determine a pass/fail rating at the end.

 

Right now Qual Minus items are tracked but don't terminate the mission and Unqual items cause an immediate termination. I can change the logic so that the Unqual doesn't terminate the mission but is still tracked so you would get the Unqual rating at the end.

 

What do others think of this change in mission logic?

[Wolf Rider]

What would happen on Quals in the real world?

[spikenet]

So basically play the full mission but track the failure points and then determine a pass/fail rating at the end

 

yes something like that. For example, if you forget to enable something on the startup, it tells you its a fail and what it was, you can rectify it and continue the mission. Obviously you have failed but at least you can continue and learn something. The biggest frustration is the lack of flexibility and clear instruction. Its literally learning by your mistakes atm.

 

its a fine line between being enjoyable and frustrating! In the real world there is no room for error but you just cant simulate that progression and two way communication here.

 

Edit: I was just thinking if you have 2 versions of each mission, 1 which is a training scenario, working through the manouvers, timings etc then the actual "exam" mission. I think this is the crux of the problem, trying to learn whilst doing the exam..

 

cheers

Edited February 26, 2012 by spikenet
added more blab

[Wolf Rider]

In a way, the "training missions" are already available... they come stock with the sim.

 

What is needed, is as many have asked, and that is the explanation of the "exam" - the "Qualifying test", and not so much of a challenging conditions to "test" in , rather more average conditions. (mind you, conditions wise, I'm only going by the original release and not the current)

 

Q Would Quals be held in cyclonic conditions?

[SUBS17]

Not these sort of trainning missions they are a whole level above the default DCS trainning missions. The DCS ones explain how to do stuff but this is more of a pilots test and coaching to fly better and more realistically and to follow instructions so we are not just taking off and flying around but also doing the circuits, ramp start, shut down. etc.

 

Heres the 2nd to last mission for BFT campaign from the testing:

 

 

Heres what happens if you screw up, you fail.

 

 

Hopefully in future they might make an addition to the pilots logbook in DCS so completing this campaign should give the pilot a reward. Its a big deal since the missions and campagn are quite strict and challenging.:thumbup:

 

[BeachAV8R]

Posted a combo text/video AAR of BFT-01 on SimHQ (trying to decide which format to use..lol..)

 

LINK!

 

BeachAV8R

[Wolf Rider]

 

Heres what happens if you screw up, you fail.

 

 

 

yes :) "I suggest you study the flight manual, before trying this one again"

ie go back to training :cry:

 

Sorry, I didn't realise it was "training" and "qualification" in the one mission :music_whistling: my bad... sort of puts a participation ribbon on every Qualification attempt, eh?

 

Trainings is one thing but qualifications is, or should be, an examination of what training level has been achieved I would have thought? and what the sim, imho, desperately needed. Hence, my earlier question on Quals and what happens in Real Life

Edited February 28, 2012 by Wolf Rider

[SUBS17]

Posted a combo text/video AAR of BFT-01 on SimHQ (trying to decide which format to use..lol..)

 

LINK!

 

BeachAV8R

 

Good movie Beach:thumbup:

[BeachAV8R]

If ED could fix the track system it would sure make it a lot better..

[cichlidfan]

If ED could fix the track system it would sure make it a lot better..

 

Now there is a feature I would pay for!;)

[degoe]

How is the work going on the second part of the campaign?

[Sabre-TLA]

How is the work going on the second part of the campaign?

 

Actually very good. We hope to release AFT01 - Air to Air Refueling Day this week. Just doing the final bug and timing checks. AFT02 - Air to Air Refueling Night shouldn't be much longer either.

 

AFT01 will contain an AAR checklist, mission data card and some diagrams plus what we hope is lots of good coaching on how to do a successful AAR from the FE.:smilewink:

[BeachAV8R]

Posted an AAR of BFT02 at SimHQ: HERE!

 

Looking forward to flying #3..

 

I got the updated campaign e-mail - if I install it, will I lose the first two mission successes or does it still keep going forward with the campaign?

 

Regards!

BeachAV8R

[Sabre-TLA]

Posted an AAR of BFT02 at SimHQ: HERE!

 

Looking forward to flying #3..

 

I got the updated campaign e-mail - if I install it, will I lose the first two mission successes or does it still keep going forward with the campaign?

 

Regards!

BeachAV8R

 

What an awesome job on the AAR BeachAV8R! +1 Rep inbound.

 

For the campaign mission updates I keep the mission name the same so the campaign progress is not effected. Only the mission file updates so you can go back and play the updated mission as a single mission if you desire.

 

I plan on updating the mission instructions to be more specific for all the missions. I'll check BFT03 today. BFT01 has been updated as has BFT02 but I expect another update for BFT02 soon (based on some other user feedback).

 

Excellent work and I look forward to your future AAR reports.