bartbert
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Posts posted by bartbert
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I got the word from the server administrator that the update has been installed. You all can now breathe a little easier knowing that if you get disconnected from a game, you won't be hit with an additional bail-out penalty.
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I have sent an update to the server administrator that will remove the bail-out penalty check for lost connections. As soon as I get word that he has installed that update, I will let you guys know.
Of course, we are still trying to figure out ways to make disconnections occur less frequently, and will continue to do so until we find a suitable resolution. Thanks for your patience.
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If your demo pilot currently has 100 Cumulative XP and 0 Available XP, then that is what he will have when the full release becomes available. So, there will be no uber-pilots immediately. Although, the way some of you guys play, I don't think it will take long before true uber-pilots are terrorizing the skies.
I think there was also some discussion of awarding all the demo pilots a special medal to signify their participation in the beta-demo. But I'd have to check on that to be sure.
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You retain all skills you had before the switch took place. As you pointed out, most skills will be useless in the new position, although Natural Pilot is one that works in either position, as does the "Draw Extra Card" or "Redraw" skills.
That's why the "Take the Lead" skill becomes much less of a useful skill as your Leader and Wingman become more "specialized".
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Actually, the card is not retained, no matter whether you use it or discard it. Basically, the skill is expended at the start of the game. Use it or lose it.
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It also becomes less useful as your leader gets to higher levels. When you have a fairly low level leader, he doesn't have very many skills. So when he swaps with his wingman, you aren't giving up very much in return for a fresh hand for your wingman.
But when you have a high level leader with lots of skills, you really have to think hard whether having a wingman take the lead with a new hand, but no leader skills is better than your current leader with fewer cards but lots of skills.
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Fatigue is gained and recovered based on the level of the pilot. High level pilots gain a lot of fatigue, but can potentially help their team mates recover it quickly if they score a lot of XP on a mission.
Penalizing pilots who get disconnected with a fixed amount of fatigue of say 50 points would disproportionately hurt the lower level pilots because it could take them a long time to recover.
I think simply removing the additional bail-out check will still leave enough of a penalty to discourage pilots from intentionally disconnecting.
There is virtually nothing positive that comes out of it. Your pilot would gain no XP, and any Kills/Damages he may have scored during the battle would not be counted. If he had purchased any expendable card skills, such as a Vertical Roll or Half Loop, those would be used up, even if he never got a chance to play them. Fatigue is still gained in the normal way.
So, as others have pointed out, there is nothing to gain, and something to lose by intentionally disconnecting.
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I'm not sure what happened there, but I have switched it back so that Markus is the squadron leader.
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When it freezes up, if you try minimizing the game window and then restoring it, does it get the game going again? Also, what operating system are you running (Win98, WinXP, etc.)?
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Right now, the penalty for a dropped connection is:
</font>
- Pilots do not gain any XP, Kills, etc.</font>
- Pilots DO gain fatigue as normal</font>
- Pilots suffer an additional bail-out check above what may have already occurred. So if during the battle they were shot down and had to make a bail-out check (and survived), they would take an additional bail-out check at the end of the mission.</font>
What we will probably do is just drop the last penalty. In a multi-player game, the AI does take over for a player that drops out, so you would have to live with whatever bad stuff happened during the mission.
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I have updated the Leader Board so that it now shows the squadron logo image for those pilots that are in a squadron.
Also note that if you are logged onto the web site, you can go to the Leader Board and check the "My Pilots" check box and click Refresh to display only the pilots that you own.
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The second squadron has been formed. Check it out at http://downinflamesonline.com/DiFPortal/Default.aspx?tabid=67
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Your opponents in a game against the AI are determined randomly, which is why you may bounce back and forth between theaters. We were trying to provide as much variety as possible rather than historical accurracy.
The campaign games will obviously provide a consistent theater, and one of the benefits of joining a squadron is that it may promote more historical match-ups between rival squadrons.
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Good idea! I think we could do that.
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Well, you really won't be able to breath easy in the full version because players will be more likely to purchase cards, such as the IMS 2:D. In the demo game, these cards are too expensive to justify purchasing when you have a 100 XP limit, but in the full version, it is much more or a possibility.
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While there could be a bug, it is actually possible to see two IMS 2:D cards because when the last card is drawn, the entire deck gets reset including the cards that are currently held in everyone's hand. It was easier to code that way, and seemed like it would also throw off the card counters out there.
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Ok. The web page for Jagverband-44 is active here: http://downinflamesonline.com/DiFPortal/Default.aspx?tabid=66
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We know that at least of few of you guys out there have formed "squadrons" with your online pilots. We would like to encourage such activities, because we think it helps build community and generally adds fun to the game play. So, to help the process along, we are adding "official" support for squadrons.
Briefly, here's how it works:
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- Players who have pilots with at least a Rank Level of 4 [Major (US), Squadron Leader (UK), Major (Germany), Shosa (Japan)], may request to be a squadron leader.</font>
- If your application to be a squadron leader is approved, we will setup a page for you on this web site where you can manage your squadron, and others can visit.</font>
- It's the squadron leader's job to recruit other player's pilots into his squadron, and to keep his web page content up to date. Players may request to join a squadron, but a squadron can contain a maximum of 12 elements, so space is limited.</font>
- Players will receive e-mail notification whenever one of their pilots has been added to or removed from a squadron. We expect squadron commanders to abide by a strict code of conduct with regard to managing their squadron. Failure to do so will result in the dissolution of the squadron.</font>
We have added a Squadron Home page here: Squadron Home Page that has more information, and you can view a sample squadron page here: VMF-214: Black Sheep Squadron
Do you have what it takes to be a squadron leader?
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Basically, no stats will change simply because you start using the full version. You will have the same Cumulative XP, and the same Available XP as you did when using the demo game. The only difference will be that you can start gaining additional Cumulative and Available XP by flying missions.
As far as aircraft, your pilots will have whatever aircraft are available to them based on their Cumulative XP. In the full version, new aircraft become available when your leader reaches the minimum XP required for that particular aircraft.
For example, the British progression is as follows:
Gladiator II (0 XP)
Hurricane I (36 XP)
Spitfire I (74 XP)
Spitfire V (143 XP)
If your demo pilot had reached the limit of 100 XP, then he will be able to fly the Gladiator II, Hurricane I, or Spitfire I in the full version. And once he reaches 143 XP, he can also fly the Spitfire V.
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There are definitely pros and cons that would have to be weighed out with regard to having a random number of turns.
The original card game used six turns, so that was our starting point. We added the random number of turns for escort missions in order to help balance the game. We were finding that Light Bombers were getting chewed up because they have less defense to start with, and they typically flew at Medium or lower altitudes.
At the other end of the scale, the Heavy Bombers were extremely tough to kill because they started with lots of firepower, and typically flew at High or Very High. If your interceptors don't have turbo-chargers, good luck.
So missions with Light Bombers will usually be 4 or 5 turns long. Medium Bombers will usually be 5 or 6 turn long. And Heavy Bombers will always be 6 turns long (and maybe someday will extend it to 7 turns).
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The card game actually had a mechanism for attempting to break off. You had to meet certain conditions to attempt it, and then there was a random chance that the aircraft were lost due to engine problems, structural damage, etc.
We decided not to put it into the computer version because it just didn't seem like it was worth the effort. Even in the card game, we found that it was a rarely used option. Typically, a player would want to break off to get out of a bad situation. The problem is, players usually decide that they want to get out after a couple of turns into the game, and their planes are getting shot up. By then, it's usually too late because the aircraft are probably engaged with the enemy, and wouldn't fulfill the requirements to break off anyway.
It would be an unusual game in which an aircraft that has been badly shot up finds itself two altitude levels distant from the nearest enemy. I'm not saying it couldn't happen. Just that it would be unusual.
So, when we compared how much we thought a break off option would add to the enjoyment of the game to how much effort would be involved to code and test it, we decided to spend out time in other areas. It's always something that could be looked at again in future versions, but that's why it's not in the first release.
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The only skills you would lose due to lost connection are the ones where you buy a specific card. For example, if you purchased a "Half Loop" card, that gets put into your initial hand and the skill is expended at that time. If you subsequently lose your connection, that skill is still considered expended.
Other than that, I can't think of any skills that would be lost. Of course, it's always possible that there's a bug causing problems.
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When a leader dies, the wingman is supposed to get promoted to leader, and all his wingman skills are supposed to get cashed in for XP so he can purchase leader skills.
There is some kind of bug in that process, because sometimes the wingman skills don't get cashed in, and you end up with a leader who still has wingman skills. I'm still trying to track down the source of that bug.
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In a multi-player game, the AI does take over for the player who lost connection. However, it still imposes an additional bailout check at the end of the mission. This was done to discourage players from intentionally bailing out of the game, but we'll keep an eye on it. If it appears to be too harsh and occurring too frequently, we can can reevaluate it.
Regaining Escape Death?
in Down In Flames
Posted
There are two ways that the Escape Death can be awarded. First, if you shot down at least one enemy aircraft during the mission, you have a 33% chance of getting an Escape Death.
Second, if you didn't shoot down any enemy aircraft, but made it through the mission undamaged, then you have a 20% chance of getting an Escape Death.