Bloody April III Pilot Registration and Rules

Transcription

1 Bloody April III Pilot Registration and Rules This event was originally conceived by Paul Bäumer in 2006 and hosted by Jasta 5 in 2011 as the first ever worldwide multi-player campaign in Rise of Flight. It is being hosted again in 2013 in cooperation with Syndicate, who has agreed to host the missions on their server and parser. We are also grateful for being able to modify and use missions built by them and their mission building assistance. IMPORTANT: Be sure to also register on the J5 forum after registering below (you will be taken to the forum registration page automatically after submitting the form below). REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT: Make sure you register on the forum with a BA (for Bloody April) in front of your user name! example: BA_J5_Bäumer. Failure to do this will likely result in your account registration being mistaken for SPAM and deleted. RETURNING PILOTS: If you participated in last year s event, your account should be active. Simply confirm your login information by logging in at that point. You may need to retrieve your login information using the "I Forgot Password" function linked on the Login Page Schedule of Events: Campaign Announcement March 9 Server Test and Mission Beta Test - Complete Call to Arms/First Phase of Enlistment Begins March 9/10 Preliminary Rules Posted March 9/10 Second Phase Enlistment Begins March 17 Second Phase Enlistment Ends* March 23 Assignment of Teams Posted March 25 (estimated) Practice Missions - March 30 Rules Seminar - March UTC/GMT Final Rules Posted - March 31

2 Hostilities Begin April 6 Hostilities End April 27 Awards and Stats April 28 (approx.) Community Debrief Lessons Learned Organizer Debrief Lessons Learned *pilots/units will be allowed to register after this date on a space available basis at the discretion of the organizers. Mission Schedule - Multiple missions will be flown each weekend with duration of 180 minutes each. The missions will be flown in the time slots shown: GMT/UTC -/+ 0 March 30 Practice Mission Sa 1100 Rules Seminar Sa 1500 Practice Mission Sa 1900 April 6,13,20,27 PST EST GMT/UTC Moscow WAUS Mission GMT-7 GMT-4 -/+0 GMT+4 GMT+8 Dawn Patrol Sa 0400 Sa 0700 Sa 1100 Sa 1500 Sa 1900 Sa 0800 Sa 1100 Sa 1500 Sa 1900 Sa 2300 Dusk Patrol Sa 1200 Sa 1500 Sa 1900 Sa 2300 Su 0300 Afternoon Patrol

3 Communications Event Forum - A secure forum for each side will be available at the official Bloody April campaign forum. If you registered last year, please use the "Forgot Password" function available on the forum as needed. Due to spam bots registering on forums, each participant is asked to register on the forum with their unit designation OR "BA3" as a prefix in front of their name (i.e BA3_Joker). Do not put "=" in front of your unit designation. Weekly Mission Briefs Commanders on each side will receive complete strategic objectives each week in advance of the missions that include field and available plane locations/strength and mission objectives for each mission. It will be up to each side to distribute information, assign pilots to the various missions and fill allocations of planes each week. In Flight Communications - Team Communications Out of Server - pilots may use communications to speak to other pilots on their team while out of the game server only (pre-flight briefing or after death/exit from server). Airfield Communications In Server - pilots may use communications to speak to other pilots at their airfield while on the ground only (last minute pre-flight check/or while waiting for a plane to become available. Flight Communications In Flight - pilots may use communications to speak to other pilots at their airfield while on the ground only. Pilots taking off from the same airfield are only allowed to communicate on TS with planes assigned to the same flight. Pilots flying from different airfields may not speak to each other even if on the same mission. Pilots may only communicate with other pilots from other airfields while in flight using non-verbal methods such as hand signals, flares, plane movements etc. The official event communications Teamspeak 3 server will be available for each side to facilitate communication between Commanders and event organizing authorities as well as between sides. Each side will be limited in the number of pilots that can access the "In-Flight" channels and sub-channels on the teamspeak, based upon the pilot slots allocated to each side during that weeks missions. See Over-Max Penalty.

4 Communications Penalty: A penalty of -1 point may be incurred for each instance of an illegal communication between two or more participants. ts88.light-speed.com port: 4783 Units must use the above TS3 server. The unofficial backup communications server will be the ROF TS3 server. Server Settings Everything OFF except warm engines and subtitles. The server will be titled Bloody April III Campaign, or similar. A server password will be distributed to participants via Commanders. "Bad Weather" In the event that technical problems occur, every effort will be made to address the situation as quickly as possible. In the event that the problem is not able to be addressed within 30 minutes, "bad weather" will be considered to have forced all planes to return to base where they are grounded until the next regularly scheduled mission begins. Any available scores up to the point of the bad weather will stand and be included in the scoring of the event, to the extent scores are able to be obtained using parser logs. One Life with Re-flight Penalty - Three hour death penalty. Pilots have "One Life" per 3 hour mission. Remember that planes are also limited so take care of them and land them safely! Also see Re-flight. Also see Exiting and Re-entry.

5 Sides Entente and Central Any player may sign up to fly, except that units should indicate the historical side their unit represents. Preferences for a side are just that...preferences. While every attempt to will be made to accommodate individual or unit preferences, there is no guarantee that the side a participant signs up for is the side they will be assigned. The date of registration may be considered when making assignments. It is expected that historical units will remain intact and not be split between sides. Event organizers may assign units to one side or the other in the interest of both sides having enough pilots. Pilots and units must fly the entire event for the side (Entente or Central) to which they are assigned by the event organizers. Independents/Mercenaries ( Mercs ) Pilots with no unit affiliation are invited to fly in the campaign and will be grouped according to general time zones before being assigned to a side. It is anticipated that most if not all mercs will fly Entente. Reserve Pilots It is expected that reserves will be needed. Commanders will need to decide whether it is worth keeping a pilot eligible to re-fly after expiration of the re-fly penalty in the game server ready room taking up a pilot slot while a fresh reserve pilot who is eligible to fly immediately is waiting outside the server in the Teamspeak Ready Room. It is up to each side to organize individual pilot flight time/plane/mission assignments. Pilots may fly more than one mission per weekend. Each side may want to schedule their pilots to fly missions based upon their sides individual pilot preferences and time zones. Non scheduled pilots should be encouraged to show up to fly for on a space available reserve pilot basis. Due to the nature of the game, and death/reentry wait period, reserve pilots are anticipated to be needed to replace no shows or dropped pilots.

6 Above: Mission Status Summary Subtitles Display - Displayed immediately after the end of the match before the standard pilot stat scores are displayed. Flight Officers After the sides are determined by the event organizers, each side selects officers typically representative of the various units participating. One officer is elected by the officers to command each of scheduled time slots. Any participant may nominate themselves or another pilot for election to be an officer of a time slot, as long as the candidate will be flying during the timeslot they are elected to. Officers are responsible for managing their teams activities during the mission time slot they were elected to command in conjunction with the Commander (see below), including the following: 1. Assure that a snapshot of the Mission Status Subtitles Summary Display that appears on screen immediately after the end of the match before the standard pilot stat scores are displayed is submitted to HQ within 30 minutes following each match. 2. Assure that a snapshot of the Mission Status Subtitles Summary Display that appears on screen immediately after the end of the match before the standard pilot stat scores are displayed is submitted to HQ within 30 minutes following each match. 3. Meets on the official event Teamspeak 3 server immediately following the conclusion of the mission with the opposing sides representatives to resolve any problems including negotiating any appropriate adjustments.

7 4. Reporting any rules infractions to the other team representative following the mission and/or as appropriate, to event management personnel, while also making sure that such reports are acted upon. Commander Once a side elects its officers, the officers elect their Team Commander. The Commander for each side serves as the official representative for their team and is the main contact for the event organizers and the other team Commander. The Commander is responsible for cooperating with their teams officers to meet all operational and logistical planning needs. The event organizer reserves the right to select each team's Commander. Flight Leaders each team is responsible for selecting a Flight Lead from among those pilots present prior to the start of each mission. Flight Leads assist the officer in charge and assume the responsibilities of the officer in the event the officer goes MIA. They are also responsible for noting and forwarding any reported rules infractions to the commanders of both sides and the event organizers and making sure that such reports are acted upon. REMEMBER: The server will display a Mission Status Subtitles Summary for each side immediately prior to the standard pilots stat score display at the end of each match. Each side is responsible for making sure that a screenshot of the Mission Status Subtitles Summary for both sides are submitted to results@jasta5.org along with a message detailing the cause of any scoring adjustments necessary to the organizers. The pilot submitting the report copies in their commander and the other teams Flight Lead or representative with whom they met following the mission. Historically Based Plane Inventory We have generally attempted to keep this a historical based event. For the most part, pilots will be flying from historical field locations in the planes that were flown by the unit(s) stationed there. Positions will change each week to reflect historical field movements and changes in the front lines. There will be a limited number of plane and pilot slots each week, per weekly reports provided commanders. Pilots risk possible loss of the machine from inventory unless the server determines that they have landed without damage at their original airfield. Planes that are not damaged or destroyed will return to service upon landing. However, pilots will generally not be eligible to re-fly immediately. See Re-flight.

8 Planes used during the event: Entente DH2 N17 Pup Sopwith Tripe Spad VII early Spad VII late Re8 DH4 Bristol F2b* Central Halberstadt DII Albatross DII early Albatross DII late Albatross DIII DFW Roland *Historically the actual plane in use was the F2a, but RoF/777 has them listed at the F2b. Note: a very limited number of proto-types not listed above may be introduced on both sides in limited numbers. Weapons and Ordinance Pilots are responsible for checking their plane load-out prior to starting each mission. Planes may utilize any ordinance at their disposal on any target in the air or on the ground. This includes any Weapons Mods that are available for that mission. Pilot Allocations Each week there are different pilot and plane allocations reflecting the historical imbalance of men and machines. Each mission may have different numbers of pilots and plane mixes that will be communicated each week to each side's HQ early in the week. Here is a general estimate of personnel needs for each mission that will fluctuate between (approximately) for Entente Central. The imbalance reflects not only the greater number of two-seaters and needed observer slots flown by Entente but the historical imbalance in numbers that existed during the early part of the campaign in 1917.

9 Over-Max Pilots Penalty: In the event that a side has more pilots in the server than were allocated for that mission, a penalty of -1 for each pilot "Over-Max" may be incurred. Team Objectives To be victorious, Entente must complete two-seater missions and prevent a limited number of Central two-seater missions. It is the objective of the Central forces to prevent the Entente twoseaters and complete a limited number of two-seater missions. Entente pilots must be selective in their choice of engagements and Central pilots must be discriminating in attacking enemy planes. Two-Seater Missions Important: Mission requirements (i.e. altitude requirements, target, etc.) are stated when placing your mouse cursor over target area on in-game map and/or pre mission briefing distributed each week. Failure to attain all requirements will mean mission failure even if you return to base successfully. The two-seater missions are harder than most will be used to. You can fly without a live observer, but it is highly recommended to have a live observer with you. Two-Seater Mission Restrictions: A two-seater labeled as a "Spotter" can only complete artillery spotting or a bombing mission. A two-seater labeled as a "Recon" can only complete trench mapping or photo recon missions or a bombing mission. A two-seater labeled as a "Bomber" can only complete bombing missions. Therefore you should only use Recon or Spotter two-seater to bomb as a "backup" once their own missions are complete. Photo Reconnaissance: Successfully performed by flying over marked area at correct altitude, taking assigned picture/s with in game camera until camera indicates finished. This mission is typically flown just below cloud cover. Additionally you must take two oblique screenshots of the target as described below, and successfully return to base with the pilot alive.

10 Important: Two oblique photos must be taken from two directions, East and West, as illustrated below. Above: Photo Recce. East view; 1 of 2 required for mission completion.

11 Above: Photo Recce. West view; 2 of 2 required for mission completion.

12 Above: Photo Recce; West view. 1 of 2 required for mission completion. Above: Photo Recce; East view. 2 of 2 required for mission completion. Aircraft must land at the base specified in the mission briefing with the pilot alive so photo plates can be submitted for mission success. Screenshots should be handed in to HQ at completion of the mission postbox via After Action Report form on the Bloody April event website for review and will help support preliminary in game mission results. Bombing Mission: Performed by flying over to area marked on the map and destroying assigned targets with bombs. Aircraft must land at base specified in mission briefing with pilot alive to complete the mission for full possible points. A 50% penalty will apply in the event a target is bombed but the plane does not return to base before the mission ends. Important: Mission requirements (i.e. altitude requirements, target, etc.) are stated when placing your mouse cursor over target area on in-game map and/or mission briefing. All

13 target structures must be destroyed for mission success. Failure to attain all requirements will mean mission failure even if you return to base successfully. Trench Mapping: Performed by flying a complete circuit in two directions ( up and down ) along the assigned section of trenches. Observer initiates filming of the entire flight from start point to end point using in plane camera. The mission can be interrupted temporarily for the purpose of evading enemy aircraft, etc. The mission may be resumed but only at the same location that it was interrupted (where two-seater leaves the specified altitude range or lateral proximity of the trench). The camera will display the percentage of the trenches photographed. Upon the camera reaching 75% completion, the pilot may return to base. You must carefully manage your photo plates while taking pictures. Flying too low or taking pictures of ground you have already mapped wastes plates. All planes carry more than enough plates to reasonably complete the mission. To be successful, the mission must be flown within a specified altitude range provided in the mission briefing and the flight must land at field specified in mission briefing with the pilot alive. Important: Mission requirements (i.e. altitude requirements, target, etc.) are stated when placing your mouse cursor over target area on in-game map and/or mission briefing. Failure to attain all requirements will mean mission failure even if you return to base successfully. Artillery Spotting: Successfully performed by flying over the target within the operating altitude range specified in the mission briefing for 5 minutes while you radio the results of friendly artillery fire upon the target. You cannot just tightly circle dead center on top of the target trying to radio in coordinates in the middle of a sustained high-g maneuver. You must fly back and forth (in and out) over the target area at target altitude - exactly like a photo recon mission. You must continue to fly through the target area until the target is completely destroyed and you have radioed the target destroyed as evidenced by the in game message that will appear after the target is destroyed. Once the friendly artillery destroys the target, the spotting plane must return back to airfield specified in mission briefing with pilot alive for mission completion and points.

14 Above: One Possible Artillery Target (before first barrage) Important: Mission requirements (i.e. altitude requirements, target, etc.) are stated when placing your mouse cursor over target area on in-game map and/or mission briefing. Failure to attain all requirements will mean mission failure even if you return to base successfully. Two-Seater/Observer After Action Reports Each two-seater completing a mission should submit an After Action Report upon their death, exit, or completion of the mission. Only one report should be filed, so pilot and observer should coordinate who will submit the report (usually the Observer is responsible). Reports must contain notes that include coordinates and descriptions as detailed in the form. Completing A Mission: In this campaign you will find that there is a lot of "fog of war".

15 Successful return to the field designated in the mission briefing with the pilot alive is required. Exception: see bombing mission requirements. IMPORTANT: The server will display a mission results summary for each side immediately prior to the standard mission score display at the end of each match. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have been briefed properly in advance of the mission and noted all mission detail requirements necessary for the mission to log your mission a success. Keep an eye on in game clock in your cockpit and watch your load out! You do not win directly by shooting down enemy aircraft, but instead by stopping enemy from completing his missions while you complete your own. This is achieved by adhering to the mission you have been given in your briefing and thinking! Anti Aircraft Artillery (AAA) AAA was deadly and it is here. Don't stray too near to the ground and make sure you jink at altitude when it is near. Points Victory Points will be earned during the campaign. Individual performance awards will be determined using the results posted on the Official Campaign Parser. Screenshots of game results submitted by each team s representative after each mission will be used to determine points resulting from two-seater missions. All scores posted will be preliminary until noted as official. Scoring This is a historically based objective driven campaign. The Central team is likely to attain the most kills but Entente can win with two-seater mission completions. Entente success is determined by the number of two-seater tasks achieved and blocking a limited number of Central two-seater missions, while success for the Central forces depends upon preventing Entente twoseaters from completing their missions and successful completion of a limited number of twoseater missions of it's own. Entente earns two points for every two-seater mission completed. Central earns one point for every Entente mission that is incomplete. The side with the most points after 4 weeks wins. A tie is possible.

16 Own Forces Success/Failure Opposing Forces Two-Seater Missions +2 Photo Recce Bombing* Trench Artillery Spot +1 * If the bomber does not return to base before the mission expires, a 50% penalty applies. There are no points this year for fighter or escort missions other than the "opposing forces" point for stopping an enemy two-seater mission. In the event that weather (technical difficulties) or any other situation results in there being a tie for the event, the tie will stand. Individual scores/awards will be awarded based upon parser data. Only direct kills registered by the parser will count towards individual awards. Official Campaign Parser GENERAL RULES The English version of the rules posted to the event site will be the official rule of the event and will be used for any official proceedings regarding the interpretation thereof. Honor All players are expected to fly honorably with respect for other participants, event organizers, and officers, in the spirit of good sportsmanship. Each player is expected to extend an attitude of good sportsmanship and camaraderie to all participants. Each player is responsible for knowing and following these rules. Players cannot use game files that have been altered or created that give the player an advantage over other players. Except for software commercially available with HOTAS and peripheral equipment, the use of any executables or keystrokes not made available to all other pilots by the publishers of Rise of Flight is prohibited. Penalty is expulsion from the event for the player and forfeit of the mission by the team.

17 Air Fields Air fields will be inactive for the first ten minutes of a mission. During this time the server will not allow planes to spawn at air fields. Air fields may be attacked. As long as plane inventory is available at a field, it may be used regardless of field condition. Leaving the Server and Server Re-entry Players should leave the server only after being killed. You should not leave from the server at any other time. You cannot re-enter the server at any time after leaving it. If you die or leave the server for ANY reason, the server will not allow you to fly again during that mission. You may fly in any mission scheduled for later the same day (afternoon or dusk missions). Exit Flight There is a one minute exit timer to provide enemy in the area opportunity kill you on the ground if they choose to try to do so, after which you are considered to have left your machine and taken cover nearby. Re-flight Penalty Pilots incur a 90 minute re-flight penalty upon landing or ditching their plane. This means that 90 minutes must expire after you first spawned onto the field before you are allowed to re-life again. This assumes that you returned to base, ditched, or were captured and escaped and are otherwise "alive" and eligible to re-fly after the 90 minute re-flight penalty has expired. Re-flight Priority Pilots eligible to re-fly must do so in the following order of priority: 1. select any plane previously assigned or available in inventory at the original air field the pilot was assigned to. 2. select any available observer position available on their side. 3. select any available plane at any field on their side with the authorization of their command structure. Also see "One Life"

18 Plane/Pilot Sortie Outcomes End of Sortie Status Plane Pilot Return to original base undamaged Reusable Return to original base damaged Return to friendly base undamaged Return to friendly base damaged Ditched Own Side Ditched (Captured) No-Man's Land/Enemy Side Air start Plane Landed/Ditched Lost Lost Lost Lost Lost Lost May re-fly after 90 minute Re-flight Penalty according to Re-flight Priority. Must wait for 90 minute Re-flight Penalty to expire to see if pilot escapes or prisoner exchange occurs. If so, pilot may re-fly according to Re-flight Priority. May re-fly after 90 minute Re-flight Penalty. Air-start pilots eligible to re-fly are not bound to follow Re-flight Priority. Pilot Killed Lost May not re-fly rest of current mission. Ditching See table above. Crashing Players who are repeatedly reported/found to crash into targets or other players will be publicized and may be expelled from the event. Collisions Players should make every effort to avoid flying into each other! Given the fact that different player internet connections cause lag, collisions will occur. Players who are repeatedly reported/found to be in collisions will be publicized and may be expelled from the event.

19 Awards Official Campaign Parser Campaign Ribbon all participants flying one mission or more. Leadership in Service Commander and Officers recognition. Persistence Award - Flying in every mission. Observer Gunnery Awards - Gold(1st), Silver(2nd), Bronze(3rd) for each side based upon number of kills. Two-Seater Effectiveness - Most completed two-seater missions; Gold(1st, Silver(2nd), Bronze(3rd) for each side. Survivability/Virtual Life - Longest VL with two or more kills. One per side. Achievement Medals first, second, third place awards for each side will be issued to the top three scoring pilots for the entire event based upon kills for one virtual life. Lethality/Virtual Life - Highest kill streak for single VL with two or more kills. Top 3 per side. Longevity - Highest Sorties per VL. Top 3 per side. Effectiveness - Highest CE. Top 3 per side. Management Beginning with the first historically based community wide Rise of Flight campaign in 2011, Jasta 5, partnering with Syndicate, continues to chart some new territory for RoF with Bloody April III. The organizers intend to consult with team Commanders on any items that may adversely impact their team and may also request input on decisions from participants directly via polls on important items that may arise during the event. The purpose of this event is to have fun, not create problems between groups of people while continuing to push the envelope. The event scoring and structure is such that it is hoped the need for commanders to negotiate with each other or make event decisions will be limited. However, Commanders will need to

20 decide any major or controversial decisions. If the need for a tie breaking vote is needed, it will be cast by Paul Bäumer, Adjutant of Jasta 5, the organizing authority of the event. This tournament is invitational and the organizers reserve the right to reject any application for participation based on past public behavior. The organizers DO NOT promise perfection, nor should it be expected; only their best efforts and good faith to host an enjoyable event. Should any participant partake in any abusive or offensive communications, regardless of the reason, we reserve the right to BAN that player immediately from the current event, and all future events. If any player or team's level of grievances are considered by them to be too great, non-participation in the current or future events is the best course of action. Fun goes a long way towards making an event enjoyable for everyone. For our part, please forgive us if we err. Your feedback is valuable and appreciated. Please provide it by sending your s to events@jasta5.org. We would like to acknowledge and thank all those people, units, and other flight sims that have in one degree or another inspired elements within the framework of this event. Flanders in Flames/JG1, War Over Poland/IPL, and War Forces are the most obvious, but there are others as well. Bloody April is in some respects a continuation of the best traditions of those events and those like them. Thank you for participating and coming along for the ride! It is our hope that this event can contribute to the evolution of WWI historical flight sim history, as it is being carried on the wings of Rise of Flight. Revised 4/4/2013 8:11 AM