In RL, I miss my autofocus ability for viewing back and forth scanning. Also, the detail focus for small letters and numbers makes reading and typing very difficult. I had cataract surgery 4 and half years ago plus diabetic retinopathy which keeps everything out of focus for detail. Switching from monitor and keyboard was too much.
Main Arenas
Late War had two (Blue and Orange). We had fun with trying to get into Blue during peak times. Orange was always available for the interim. They were smaller maps creating a lot of frontline action along all fronts. Organized missions were always being unleashed. SPIES!!!!!!!! So many squads and squad nights across the week and the country loyalty. Lancastuka missions to kill all 3 VHs on the main pad for the original vehicle base configuration.
Titanic Tuesday to allow both Blue and Orange arenas onto a large map. Everyone got to play together. The purple dinosaur would be proud.
Mid War arena (Purple) was great for small fights on small maps. SMPizza was the best. Base capturing was the best for single player attempts.
Warly War arena (Green) was perfect for getting your name in lights at the end of each tour. 2AM playing was where you found those working on those goals.
Friday Squad Operations
The player count was at 600 pilots for quite a while. 2 dozen plus registered squads creating a mix of gameplay never knowing how the night would go. The big 4 of registered squads with 25 pilots on average were the 68th, Freebirds, the VF-17, and Arabian Knights (if memory still works). Several dedicated Axis squads with 15 pilots on average. Many small squads who got to fly with the bigger squads like mother birds.
Country text was full of banter. Local VOX was the same. Critical information sometimes got missed.
Commander in Chief (CIC) duty was several hours of un creating the weekly Orders. 4 Objectives to Attack and Defend plus aircraft mins and maxes made the fun a challenge. I adopted a Spread the Wealth and Minimize the Pain the best and fairly that I could. Strategies and Tactics became more difficult when the CICs began to know each other's tendencies and had to counter each other.
You would find the Admin CM, Setup CM and Bouncer on Rook country sitting the Frame out. Sometimes, the Allied and Axis CICs were in the towers coordinating the Frame and not flying. Frantic times required some sacrifice.
Scenarios
3 hour events lasting 4 Saturdays with 300 players. 2 or 3 life events making a comprehensive setup. The private Allied and Axis forums were rich with historical information and units. This was the only event were players from different MA and FSO squads could fly together.
Please share your memories of yesteryear.
