Hi Gents,
Thanks to 5.JG27 for hosting these events, I really hope the game's problem's, CTD's etc, are fixed soon....
I'd like to add/suggest some points that may be helpfull for any future events.
There's quite a few people about that have been involved with events for the last 10 years or so, in Aces High, Air Warrior and the like. For us it's easy to see where 5.JG27 want to get to, and, hopefully, we can help them get there
Previous event procedures that have worked really well go along the following lines, and I "suggest" these ideas here so that the responsibility for events is shared, to make it easier for all those involved, rather than one or a few people doing too much work, and, it means that everyone's aware of just what exactly the event is all about. You can also add the possibility of one side "winning" by achieving certain aims or scores!
The first thing that needs to be done is a small group of people get together and agree the "Rules" of the event. This might sound a bit formal but it's THE most important thing to do, by making rules you can make sure that there is;
Gameplay - everyone should get into a fight and have fun.
Fairness - correct balance of sides remembering gameplay.
Historical accuracy - correct plane-set and accurate tactic's, but you have to ensure gameplay and fairness, i.e. an accurate pearl Harbour event would be boring for the USAAF side!
So, the rules are to ensure all the above in the right amounts!
Another important part of this initial meeting is to set up the Command Structure for each side, there's usually a commander for each side and he has 1 assistant, an XO, then each unit must have 2 leaders, a Unit commander and his XO. This, and the other rules, all leads into....
which airfields are in use
What and how many of each plane type will be used
which "historical units" are going to be replicated
how everyone registers
how many people will play each side
how many people are in each unit
Now, if you're going to allow "walkons", we come to the most important person. Walkons are people who are going to turn up to fly
without pre-registering. They are usually assigned a empty plane slot, if the registered people don't turn up through illness or have to go shopping with the missus!
These walkons are held in a "place" for each side they are then "shepherded" by one person, the "walkon marshall", the walkons are TOLD where the spare seats are, so they are assigned a plane, i.e. they're not allowed to do what they want, they stick with the overall plan as part of a unit.
(much as we've already done but a bit more controlled to maintain agreed numbers for each side).
This all easily done, in the past I've been involved with events that regularly had 200 people in them and once we had 380 planes in the air at once!!
By agreeing the rules it also allows the map/mission makers to know exactly what needs to be included, and what doesn't! It also allows the maps to be written sooner and tested to make sure everything works as planned, such as time of day, weather, clouds etc.
The Rules also allows for the side CO, his XO and the unit commanders and XO's to make a plan, they know the rules = restrictions, their resources = the unit sizes, how many pilots and which airfields are available, which targets they're attacking or defending and the scoring system if there is one
This plan can then be given to everyone who is assigned to that event "unit", this means everyone knows there is a plan and that the plan is made in plenty of time before the event, not in the last 20 minutes before the start time!!! As in real life it allows people time to practice a new skill, such as dive bombing or carrier landing!
I would say the time frame for all of this is about a month, remember, you have to decide a lot of this before you advertise the event with exactly how many places there are for people to register for, on each side, in each plane type.
Once CO's and XO's are in place, the plan discussions start, these can be lengthy (plenty of friendly arguments about tactic's - which is why the rules are important), then all the plans have to be sent to every pilot in each unit.
Lastly, the rules can make sure everyone understands the start time, and they have to ready well before then, it is common to have everyone in the passworded server an hour before the Take-Off time, plus, with more "control" you can have staggered take-off times, often it's bombers that need to be allowed to take off before any fighters, as in real life!
That's about all I can suggest at the moment. Hopefully some of it will be usefull to make sure the events continue and that they get better and better.