bomber wrote:I was enjoying the topic, I was quite excited with the sudden (to me) revelation that there was a different aproach being taken to combat damage than bombable....
You are always welcome to come fly with us! We hang out and talk smack on http://opredflag.shivtr.com. We actually run it as a Virtual Airforce, with ranks being earned with time-credits and event participation much like a VA. There's also a growing aerobatic/formation team. We try to be super friendly to new and less experienced dogfighters, and try to have a big focus on the simulation aspect of things (i.e. fly it like you would in real life).
bomber wrote:a 'server General/s' dictating the strategy allowing the players to concentrate on tactical manourvours...
This is a really interesting concept. We have monthly "big events" on a temporary server that has a 200nm/400nm mp range (400 if your team has an AWACS in the air) - the draw being that no mpmap is even possible with that server. For these events, we have team leads who write up detailed briefings, discuss strategy, and all in all it gets quite interesting.
Even in our little dogfights, use of pilot list and mpmap isn't allowed, but we have had people hop in via ATC-pie, OpenRadar, or AWACS and act as Ground Controlled Intercept, or issuing vectors to other fighters in the area (circling over an airport at FL370, 200 miles away from the fight with an AWACS and trying to give vectors while respecting borders and do-not-fly zones is probably one of the hardest things I've done in FG).
If we ever get enough people to fly with us, a "Server General" would be really interesting to use/play as, especially with limited radar data.
bomber wrote:Another thought I have is that all loged on members to the combat arena server add to the AI pool by providing CPU processing power..... JSBsim itself uses so little, flightsims being graphic card intensive.
I have a bunch of old laptops that currently get used as our "AI" - which right now is limited to a flying drone, a anti-air naval vessel, and a SAM truck. I really hope that when HLA gets going, we can have shared-over-mp AI planes and vehicles, as that would be a huge game changer for us.