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VSG NL -- 05/03/2007
By ADM David "Heavy" Pasiechnyk
Unit: Vigilance Starfighter Group
Fleet NL, Mar 05, 2007
Back to Articles
Unit: Vigilance Starfighter Group
Fleet NL, Mar 05, 2007
Back to Articles
VSG NL – March 5, 2007
~~
As I rummaged through a number of the pilot reports and craft logs that I received I noticed a recurring event, there were a number of pilots who engaged with a few Imperial patrols. Some were in an act of defence, while a few others appeared to have not only defended themselves, but took the fight back to the imperials a bit. Well, I guess that’ll make for something else I can let the pilots know, not following orders was something not lightly looked upon. Gathering together the necessary datapads and extra accessories for the upcoming pilot debriefing, I strolled to the hangar bay of the VSD Resurrection to board the shuttle that was going to take the Dragon’s over to the Ad Astra for the upcoming debriefing.
***
Watching as the pilots arrived and got settled into the viewing area, I located a few of the pilots who decided to add a few TIE marks on their craft. I started thinking of various punishments and jobs I could get them doing to put their eagerness to a more productive use at the time being.
As the last couple of pilots found their seats I stepped up to the platform and started the debriefing.
“Good afternoon pilots. As you have seen for yourselves as you returned to the fleet, we took a beating while we were all out on recon duty. The good thing though is that they took more damage than we did.
“However before I go on to discuss our fleet situation, I’m going to discuss our latest mission first: what we’ve discovered, and some matters relating to some of you guys.”
I paused for a moment to see how the pilots reacted to that last comment of mine, but it didn’t seem to phase on them. Well, the next few minutes should.
“As a few of you have encountered, it appears that there are some strange events involving Imperial forces battling each other out in this sector of space. Our intelligence officers are trying to determine the reasons for this, and what sub-groups we might be dealing with. More information on this will be provided on a need-to-know basis.
“As for some of your mission reports and ship logs, I have noticed that some of you feel it is necessary to push the bounds of our orders when we say ‘Only engage forces if absolutely necessary.’ Somehow going after other fighters and craft when the ones after you have been eliminated I believe pushes those bounds outside of what we had ordered.”
Just then MAJ Olith spoke up from my side, “But sir, you engaged multiple targets yourself when you encountered that small fighter patrol group.”
It just figured that the one person who would question me would be my Executive Officer. “Well Olith, I guess those T/A’s just didn’t want me leaving, now did they?”
Olith then shrugged it off, and I went on to debrief the pilots and award those who deserved it.
~~
Hello there pilots. If you’re in a rush, then I might suggest you postpone reading this NL until you have more time, as it is one of those longer, sit down and have tea and crumpets type NL’s. So, get comfortable, and I’ll spill out the news to you in as organized a fashion as I see fit.
-----------------------------
1. ITOD
1.1 Merits/Medals
1.2 Scores/Rules
1.3 Reporting
1.4 VSG 103
2. Multiplayer
2.1 WoW
2.2 ORW
3. Command
4. Wiki
5. Promotions
ITOD
Last month’s tour mission had us doing some recon in the Subterrel Sector, and as all of you who’ve flown the mission(s) know that there are strange things going on. In the following missions to come, many of these odd events will be coming to a clear picture of what is going on. However, lets first look at the VSG 102 results.
The killboards for each platform showed some strong competition for high scores right up until the end, even though this was technically supposed to be a recon mission without engagement. (Don’t worry, there wasn’t any written rule against it, it just makes for some interesting fictional stuff.) In the end, it was GEN Corran Horn Jr. who came out with the top score for 102b and 2LT B’illiam, a new fellow, who claimed top score for 102a (after confirming the score with the builders/testers).
Merits and Medals
Normally people keep you waiting till the end for the medals, however this time round the medals are being kept relatively nearer to the front of the NL. So, here’s Olith’s rundown on the medals being awarded for 102.
Firstly, Top Gun. Competition was very close, but thanks to his sheer level of activeness, not only in the ITODs but also through flying a phenomenal number of WoW matches, Jotheb gets this one. Excellent job CPT Jotheb, and the rest of you – make sure it’s you that wins next time!
Next up, Top Narrative. Now there were plenty of narratives submitted this time around, and if I can quote Himm, “Thanks to each of you writing these stories! Having made the XWA version of the mission, it's more fun than you know to read the stories you get out of it. So again: Thanks to each of you!” As he says, the narratives are all great fun to read, as well as write, and it’s those that really help give the story some depth. Despite the competition though, there was a clear winner in COM Michael Raven. Once again he has provided us with an excellent briefing narrative, which is yet again of his extremely high standards. Thank you Raven, and congratulations! Honourable mentions here to RA Gavin Kravis for his extensive and well written narrative. Well done guys, and everyone else that contributed with their narratives.
Finally, Top Squad. An extremely competitive award this, we all hope that our squadron will come out on top. This month it was once again Dragon Squadron. Well done guys, drinks are on me. And to all other squads, well… there’s always next month!
The merits this month I felt were relatively balanced ok. Multiplayer gaming can get you more merits than if you do all possible SP activities, however not by too far. Also though, for those who are very active in both SP and MP, you can easily see the gap that has been created. A full layout of who got what merits will be supplied on the VSG website as an excel file for your viewing purposes. Also, all merit totals for each pilot will be added to the VSG official merit board soon after this NL gets posted.
Scores/Rules
Over the last month during 102 I had a few XWA scores that I had turned down due to various reasons, some being a mistake on my part. Something that I did not realise is that the IBG used to run their missions with open craft options after the first run. And this has been carried on into the VSG missions (which I wasn’t fully aware of). After some discussions with Himm during my questioning the top score for the XWA version he brought me up to date on the practices that were followed, and so I will now lay them down so that everyone can be clear on the rules for this platform. (If I didn’t realise this, odds are others haven’t either)
XWA: Craft configuration is open to all possibilities after the first run, to minimize any chances of cheating due to the lack of information on the XWA screenshots. The only thing that I please request of all of you is please do not use any 3rd party add-ons like the XWAUpgrade Patch. The different opts will affect the in game experience and cause imbalance between players.
BoP: Craft selection is NOT available, such as BoP doesn’t allow it in game. Default settings are to be used as can be found on http://vsg.rebelsquadrons.org/itod. As well, third party add-ons which change the original opts will not be allowed. Thus, this means the opts from Carlos’ website are currently not to be used when flying the missions. An RS patch for BoP is under construction which may make use of these, at which point they will be allowed. Until then, only the ImpTac patch is allowed for use as it does not change the original craft files.
Reporting on Missions
Our TacOps co-ordinator, BGN David Vaughan, has asked me to relay a request to you guys when you report. He asks that when you report your first runs that you please state in the comments section which Starships (friendly and enemy) have bitten the dust. This information goes a long way with helping create the pilot driven atmosphere of the Tour.
VSG 103
As all of you well know by now, we’ve had a bunch of hiccups in getting the VSG 103 missions up to par with what ships are actually alive, and a couple of “conditional errors” in the goal setting of the XWA mission. The conditions were sound, up until you guys decided that destroying the VSDs was better than letting them run, so we have updated the mission to reflect your “blood thirstiness”, as Vaughan so aptly noted.
Many apologies come from me and the TacOps team with regards to the first error with the capital ships, and we are working to make sure this is merely a one time hiccup when using pilot results to affect our missions.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer front last month saw some amazing activity. We had 15 pilots compete in either the WoW’s, ICTE or ORW. As compared to previous month’s WoW activity, it basically knocked me off my feet. I am extremely happy to have seen this much activity (and number of people to go fly with). We also had a decent number of pilots fly in the off-time between competitions and accumulate non-comp merits. Exact numbers can be found on the merits sheet which will be located at the “History” section of the webpage.
WoW
We’ve had some very nice turnouts for the recent WoW’s. There were up to 12 participants in the January XvT WoW, with 4-6 pilots in the Feb XvT, Jan XWA, and Feb XWA WoW’s. WoW medals and merits have been awarded and/or kept track of up to date and thus there’s not a whole lot more to say in this section.
ORW3
The ORW competition has had a rocky start for us pilot types. We started out with next to no-one except ourselves to fly against, and then had the TFA and TRA join up in the last week or so, and we now have another club to fly against, the United Pilots Alliance (UPA). And, what is even better about the UPA joining up recently is that they sought us out to join up, so I am hoping that we will have a number of eager opponents waiting for us in the upcoming battles.
Command
Unfortunately, in the last week I have had one of my command staff drop out of duty due to unexpected complications RL-wise, and thus Olith has been moved up to XO position. The SO position is open for applications, however it will not be of high priority at this time to find someone to replace. However, submit your applications and if I find someone who stands out as being a good addition to the staff, I will let you know. This time around I won’t be having any major requirements/restrictions on those applying.
Wiki
My good friend and respected fellow pilot, RA Gavin Cantorph Kravis, has recently been working on documenting information about the old retired squadrons and wings of the RgF and IBG so that we don’t lose this information into the dust. Some examples of the pages he has been working on are:
If you were ever a member of a retired squadron and have any sorts of information such as images, old NLs, copies of old squadron websites, etc, Gavin would much appreciate it if you could get in touch with him to aid him in his documentation.
Promotions/Recognitions
There a number of promotions and recognitions that have been either requested by squadron commanders or other peers that are well deserved.
The first fellow that has been requested for promotion is MAJ Guybrush Threepwood. Requested by his squadron CO, RA Kravis, Guybrush has been brought up for promotion for his duties to Red Dragon Squadron as it’s XO. In the words of Kravis, “He’s been an excellent XO and invaluable in building the RDS into the squad it now is.” Guybrush, for your dedicated service to your squadron and to the fleet as a whole, I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Congratulations, and I look forward to your continued service!
The next young fellow who is in line for a promotion is a young Dragon, Logistics Officer, Commanding Officer, and persistent pilot. Recommended by BGN Vaughan for his services and duties as an ALO, ACO for Dragon Squadron, and recent activities as full CO of Dragon Squadron (as well as doing some excellent work at the fleet level as one of my staff members), it is with my pleasure to promote MAJ Olith Hesto to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Next in line is a guy who’s name has over the past few months become synonymous with “Workaholic”, “Insomnia”, “Insane”, and “Extremely Devoted”. This fellow was the Dragon CO up to just recently when he stepped down and placed Olith in command. BGN Vaughan has been the Dragon CO for the past year (or if it hasn’t been that long it certainly has felt like it ;) ). He has kept squadron moral at an extreme high as well as squadron activity by doing regular squadron narratives and constant interaction. Thus, by Olith’s suggestion and my high approval, I hereby award BGN Vaughan with the Iridium Spire as a token of his excellent service as Dragon Squadron commander.
There have also been a fair number of people promoted at the squadron level, a few too many for me to remember and list off. So congratulations to everyone who has received a promotion in the last month (ish) and may the drinks be on you guys! ;)
-----------------------------
This about wraps up the news for this month. Please pardon the long wait that was needed to get this out to you guys, but the past few weeks have been particularly busy for me. Now, 103 is out in proper form, so you van now have at ‘er!
":)
~~
As I rummaged through a number of the pilot reports and craft logs that I received I noticed a recurring event, there were a number of pilots who engaged with a few Imperial patrols. Some were in an act of defence, while a few others appeared to have not only defended themselves, but took the fight back to the imperials a bit. Well, I guess that’ll make for something else I can let the pilots know, not following orders was something not lightly looked upon. Gathering together the necessary datapads and extra accessories for the upcoming pilot debriefing, I strolled to the hangar bay of the VSD Resurrection to board the shuttle that was going to take the Dragon’s over to the Ad Astra for the upcoming debriefing.
***
Watching as the pilots arrived and got settled into the viewing area, I located a few of the pilots who decided to add a few TIE marks on their craft. I started thinking of various punishments and jobs I could get them doing to put their eagerness to a more productive use at the time being.
As the last couple of pilots found their seats I stepped up to the platform and started the debriefing.
“Good afternoon pilots. As you have seen for yourselves as you returned to the fleet, we took a beating while we were all out on recon duty. The good thing though is that they took more damage than we did.
“However before I go on to discuss our fleet situation, I’m going to discuss our latest mission first: what we’ve discovered, and some matters relating to some of you guys.”
I paused for a moment to see how the pilots reacted to that last comment of mine, but it didn’t seem to phase on them. Well, the next few minutes should.
“As a few of you have encountered, it appears that there are some strange events involving Imperial forces battling each other out in this sector of space. Our intelligence officers are trying to determine the reasons for this, and what sub-groups we might be dealing with. More information on this will be provided on a need-to-know basis.
“As for some of your mission reports and ship logs, I have noticed that some of you feel it is necessary to push the bounds of our orders when we say ‘Only engage forces if absolutely necessary.’ Somehow going after other fighters and craft when the ones after you have been eliminated I believe pushes those bounds outside of what we had ordered.”
Just then MAJ Olith spoke up from my side, “But sir, you engaged multiple targets yourself when you encountered that small fighter patrol group.”
It just figured that the one person who would question me would be my Executive Officer. “Well Olith, I guess those T/A’s just didn’t want me leaving, now did they?”
Olith then shrugged it off, and I went on to debrief the pilots and award those who deserved it.
~~
Hello there pilots. If you’re in a rush, then I might suggest you postpone reading this NL until you have more time, as it is one of those longer, sit down and have tea and crumpets type NL’s. So, get comfortable, and I’ll spill out the news to you in as organized a fashion as I see fit.
-----------------------------
1. ITOD
1.1 Merits/Medals
1.2 Scores/Rules
1.3 Reporting
1.4 VSG 103
2. Multiplayer
2.1 WoW
2.2 ORW
3. Command
4. Wiki
5. Promotions
ITOD
Last month’s tour mission had us doing some recon in the Subterrel Sector, and as all of you who’ve flown the mission(s) know that there are strange things going on. In the following missions to come, many of these odd events will be coming to a clear picture of what is going on. However, lets first look at the VSG 102 results.
The killboards for each platform showed some strong competition for high scores right up until the end, even though this was technically supposed to be a recon mission without engagement. (Don’t worry, there wasn’t any written rule against it, it just makes for some interesting fictional stuff.) In the end, it was GEN Corran Horn Jr. who came out with the top score for 102b and 2LT B’illiam, a new fellow, who claimed top score for 102a (after confirming the score with the builders/testers).
Merits and Medals
Normally people keep you waiting till the end for the medals, however this time round the medals are being kept relatively nearer to the front of the NL. So, here’s Olith’s rundown on the medals being awarded for 102.
Firstly, Top Gun. Competition was very close, but thanks to his sheer level of activeness, not only in the ITODs but also through flying a phenomenal number of WoW matches, Jotheb gets this one. Excellent job CPT Jotheb, and the rest of you – make sure it’s you that wins next time!
Next up, Top Narrative. Now there were plenty of narratives submitted this time around, and if I can quote Himm, “Thanks to each of you writing these stories! Having made the XWA version of the mission, it's more fun than you know to read the stories you get out of it. So again: Thanks to each of you!” As he says, the narratives are all great fun to read, as well as write, and it’s those that really help give the story some depth. Despite the competition though, there was a clear winner in COM Michael Raven. Once again he has provided us with an excellent briefing narrative, which is yet again of his extremely high standards. Thank you Raven, and congratulations! Honourable mentions here to RA Gavin Kravis for his extensive and well written narrative. Well done guys, and everyone else that contributed with their narratives.
Finally, Top Squad. An extremely competitive award this, we all hope that our squadron will come out on top. This month it was once again Dragon Squadron. Well done guys, drinks are on me. And to all other squads, well… there’s always next month!
The merits this month I felt were relatively balanced ok. Multiplayer gaming can get you more merits than if you do all possible SP activities, however not by too far. Also though, for those who are very active in both SP and MP, you can easily see the gap that has been created. A full layout of who got what merits will be supplied on the VSG website as an excel file for your viewing purposes. Also, all merit totals for each pilot will be added to the VSG official merit board soon after this NL gets posted.
Scores/Rules
Over the last month during 102 I had a few XWA scores that I had turned down due to various reasons, some being a mistake on my part. Something that I did not realise is that the IBG used to run their missions with open craft options after the first run. And this has been carried on into the VSG missions (which I wasn’t fully aware of). After some discussions with Himm during my questioning the top score for the XWA version he brought me up to date on the practices that were followed, and so I will now lay them down so that everyone can be clear on the rules for this platform. (If I didn’t realise this, odds are others haven’t either)
XWA: Craft configuration is open to all possibilities after the first run, to minimize any chances of cheating due to the lack of information on the XWA screenshots. The only thing that I please request of all of you is please do not use any 3rd party add-ons like the XWAUpgrade Patch. The different opts will affect the in game experience and cause imbalance between players.
BoP: Craft selection is NOT available, such as BoP doesn’t allow it in game. Default settings are to be used as can be found on http://vsg.rebelsquadrons.org/itod. As well, third party add-ons which change the original opts will not be allowed. Thus, this means the opts from Carlos’ website are currently not to be used when flying the missions. An RS patch for BoP is under construction which may make use of these, at which point they will be allowed. Until then, only the ImpTac patch is allowed for use as it does not change the original craft files.
Reporting on Missions
Our TacOps co-ordinator, BGN David Vaughan, has asked me to relay a request to you guys when you report. He asks that when you report your first runs that you please state in the comments section which Starships (friendly and enemy) have bitten the dust. This information goes a long way with helping create the pilot driven atmosphere of the Tour.
VSG 103
As all of you well know by now, we’ve had a bunch of hiccups in getting the VSG 103 missions up to par with what ships are actually alive, and a couple of “conditional errors” in the goal setting of the XWA mission. The conditions were sound, up until you guys decided that destroying the VSDs was better than letting them run, so we have updated the mission to reflect your “blood thirstiness”, as Vaughan so aptly noted.
Many apologies come from me and the TacOps team with regards to the first error with the capital ships, and we are working to make sure this is merely a one time hiccup when using pilot results to affect our missions.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer front last month saw some amazing activity. We had 15 pilots compete in either the WoW’s, ICTE or ORW. As compared to previous month’s WoW activity, it basically knocked me off my feet. I am extremely happy to have seen this much activity (and number of people to go fly with). We also had a decent number of pilots fly in the off-time between competitions and accumulate non-comp merits. Exact numbers can be found on the merits sheet which will be located at the “History” section of the webpage.
WoW
We’ve had some very nice turnouts for the recent WoW’s. There were up to 12 participants in the January XvT WoW, with 4-6 pilots in the Feb XvT, Jan XWA, and Feb XWA WoW’s. WoW medals and merits have been awarded and/or kept track of up to date and thus there’s not a whole lot more to say in this section.
ORW3
The ORW competition has had a rocky start for us pilot types. We started out with next to no-one except ourselves to fly against, and then had the TFA and TRA join up in the last week or so, and we now have another club to fly against, the United Pilots Alliance (UPA). And, what is even better about the UPA joining up recently is that they sought us out to join up, so I am hoping that we will have a number of eager opponents waiting for us in the upcoming battles.
Command
Unfortunately, in the last week I have had one of my command staff drop out of duty due to unexpected complications RL-wise, and thus Olith has been moved up to XO position. The SO position is open for applications, however it will not be of high priority at this time to find someone to replace. However, submit your applications and if I find someone who stands out as being a good addition to the staff, I will let you know. This time around I won’t be having any major requirements/restrictions on those applying.
Wiki
My good friend and respected fellow pilot, RA Gavin Cantorph Kravis, has recently been working on documenting information about the old retired squadrons and wings of the RgF and IBG so that we don’t lose this information into the dust. Some examples of the pages he has been working on are:
If you were ever a member of a retired squadron and have any sorts of information such as images, old NLs, copies of old squadron websites, etc, Gavin would much appreciate it if you could get in touch with him to aid him in his documentation.
Promotions/Recognitions
There a number of promotions and recognitions that have been either requested by squadron commanders or other peers that are well deserved.
The first fellow that has been requested for promotion is MAJ Guybrush Threepwood. Requested by his squadron CO, RA Kravis, Guybrush has been brought up for promotion for his duties to Red Dragon Squadron as it’s XO. In the words of Kravis, “He’s been an excellent XO and invaluable in building the RDS into the squad it now is.” Guybrush, for your dedicated service to your squadron and to the fleet as a whole, I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Congratulations, and I look forward to your continued service!
The next young fellow who is in line for a promotion is a young Dragon, Logistics Officer, Commanding Officer, and persistent pilot. Recommended by BGN Vaughan for his services and duties as an ALO, ACO for Dragon Squadron, and recent activities as full CO of Dragon Squadron (as well as doing some excellent work at the fleet level as one of my staff members), it is with my pleasure to promote MAJ Olith Hesto to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Next in line is a guy who’s name has over the past few months become synonymous with “Workaholic”, “Insomnia”, “Insane”, and “Extremely Devoted”. This fellow was the Dragon CO up to just recently when he stepped down and placed Olith in command. BGN Vaughan has been the Dragon CO for the past year (or if it hasn’t been that long it certainly has felt like it ;) ). He has kept squadron moral at an extreme high as well as squadron activity by doing regular squadron narratives and constant interaction. Thus, by Olith’s suggestion and my high approval, I hereby award BGN Vaughan with the Iridium Spire as a token of his excellent service as Dragon Squadron commander.
There have also been a fair number of people promoted at the squadron level, a few too many for me to remember and list off. So congratulations to everyone who has received a promotion in the last month (ish) and may the drinks be on you guys! ;)
-----------------------------
This about wraps up the news for this month. Please pardon the long wait that was needed to get this out to you guys, but the past few weeks have been particularly busy for me. Now, 103 is out in proper form, so you van now have at ‘er!
":)