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It should be noted before going any further that it is essential to not only work out who is going to be the Host and who will manage the communications, but also that all pilots know their responsibilities for participating in a Multi-Player mission. The host of the game is the pilot who everybody else connects to as the initial connection point and is who sets up the TE or Campaign. The clients are all the other pilots who will participate in the session. The Host has the responsibility for knowing their available upload and download bandwidths to ensure that they are able to host the projected number of pilots prior to commencing any Multi-Player session. In Falcon AF, the preferred settings in the Multiplayer UI are one step under maximum available upload/download bandwidth. It is better to be on the safe side and make sure that you cover Internet variations, so be conservative with your bandwidth setting. As a Client, you are responsible for connecting at your relevant upload and download speeds in the Falcon 4 User Interface (UI).
All pilots should establish communications prior to entering Falcon. There are a number of third party programs available to achieve this. The current squadron comms program is Ventrilo. Squadron procedures are that the client with the fastest computer hosts the communications. This method has been chosen as past experience has shown that hosting the Comms on a different computer to the one that is acting as the simulation server reduces both the load on the server as well as the server's bandwidth requirements. However, this is only the recommended method if the Host is also flying. If the Host is a dedicated server then the comms can be hosted by the same machine. Once the channel is running all pilots should join and conduct a check. When all personnel are connected, the Host of the mission then enters Falcon to conduct the mission setup. Once in Falcon, the Host then creates the Multi-Player session by clicking on the "Multiplayer" option, selecting the appropriate session (either LAN or INTERNET), selecting the correct connection speed options and clicking on "Create". When the session has been created, the Host should call in the other pilots to join the session. All pilots should then enter Falcon, conduct any check of their setup that may be required, select the Multiplayer option, choose the type of connection (if joining an Internet mission, clients enter the Host's IP address), select their appropriate connection settings and then choose join. Once the clients have connected to the Host, they should join the Host in the "Chat Lobby" and conduct an in game connection test by sending text "Test" messages and confirming that all pilots are receiving the message. The next step is for the Host to select the type of mission to be flown (TE, Campaign, Dogfight etc). Once this has been done, the Host then configures the basic mission parameters and when ready, calls the other pilots into the mission in a preselected order. This avoids any connection issues that can be created by all pilots trying to join a mission at the same time. All pilots should immediately stop their clocks on connection to the mission to ensure that there is sufficient time to conduct the mission brief and to also carry out any modifications to nav plans and aircraft loadouts that may be required prior to commencing the mission. Once all pilots have joined the mission, the overall Mission Commander should conduct a general mission brief. If there is more than one flight, the individual Flight Leads should then conduct a mission brief for their respective flights to ensure that pilots understand their roles. Any modifications to Navigation Plans and Aircraft Loadouts should also be completed at this point. After all briefs, modifications and checks have been completed, its time to fly! The Squadron standard for joining a mission is as follows: Flight Lead issues a "Committing" call on voice comms and then joins the mission. Note: Various sources have indicated through experience that the first player to the 2nd pie assumes control of the 3D ground objects. Remember that the game host always retains control of all AI Air objects. Therefore it is possible that a fast computer client could end up managing this data for all other players, which can be a bit daunting if that computer happens to be using a dial-up connection. However, various tests conducted both within the Squadron and during online flight sessions with other units, have shown that once players depart their home base and move apart things generally start to improve. Basically, as flights or individual aircraft move apart, each plane then controls the ground units in their respective bubbles. This issue may still cause a problem if there are only a few players flying and they stay together as a single flight so it needs to be remembered when doing the planning for the MP session. Therefore, to try and avoid this situation, all players should try to make sure that the host is the first to the 2nd pie. This is a little advanced and not the easiest to pull off. One suggested way to achieve this is for the host to commit and all other players set their clocks to x16 speed. At the point where the host passes the second pie, he can then call all other pilots to commit to the mission. At that time all other pilots commit in order as per the normal procedure. This procedure should not be taken to be Squadron SOP but as one possible way to avoid possible in game issues. Each remaining member of the flight then carries out the same procedure and commits in flight order. All other Flights carry out the same joining procedure. Note: This step only applies if there is more than one flight. If there is only a single flight then this step may be disregarded. As each pilot enters the cockpit, they should make an "In Cockpit" call so that all other pilots are aware of the entry progress. Once all pilots are in cockpit and have completed any post join checks and adjustments, the mission then proceeds as per briefed instructions. |