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[Stainless]

I've been thinking about this and I think it's a good idea, but want your feedback.

The idea is to have a mode for the game where you learn to fly a particular aircraft.

To do this you have to complete three missions.

The first is a simple take off, circuit, land mission. During the mission you get prompted for everything. So the pre-flight checklist is run through and your hand is held all the way through until the aircraft is back in the hanger and closed down.

The second is a simple take off, fly to way point, perform task, return mission. However no hand holding, everything is manual. The equivalent of flying to a weapons range and attacking a target.

The third is a full blown mission with AI opponents.

Once you have completed all three missions, you get a patch. This patch is logged to you and can be displayed online ( I intend to have some kind of web site where you can have leaderboards etc.)

What do you guys think?
 

[Oscarito]

I always wanted this...
Indeed, we already have the "Training" section in IL-2 but I think the idea has much room to grow up.
Maybe we could have a "Flying School" section in which a newbie player could learn the basics of flight with theoretical lessons then jump into the cockpit of a primary trainer aircraft to get his "wings", then he could evolve to an advanced trainer to learn how to flight in formation and perform more complex maneuvers, and finally he would be assigned to conversion units equiped with front line fighters to practice dogfighting in which he would be ordered to chase a sparring/instructor. Player would be aproved if he could keep the instructors plane in the cross hairs through out a given time (and how about shooting towed "cones"?). He would also practice bombing & ground straffing in a training yard targeting dummy vehicles.
The flying school period could be part of the career...

[Katson Watson]

Klassnaya ideya
Cool idea

[sniperton]

Stainless, it's an excellent idea, I'm very much for having a sort of integrated flight manual, but if you want to do it for multiple planes it shall be a huge work. Do you think it's feasible?

[Stainless]

I am the master at making things easy.

I will set up a system that means any modder can implement the entire training scheme themselves. I assume there will be minor hiccups that will require me or someone to help with, but on the whole it's going to be a simple to implement system.

The code behind what the modder sees will be horrendously complex, but hey, that's what I do.

[sniperton]

I see, so you create a complex framework for the provider of the FM who'll be responsible for filling a sort of questionnaire as to stall speed, supercharger altitudes, etc., if I understand correctly. Something like a parametrized engineering design where parameters can be changed according to the actual model while the general working and physics are the same. Clever. Looking forward to it 

[Stainless]

You have the idea.

I will probably make an app rather than a questionaire... best way to describe it.....

Think a combination of a wizard (one question per page, display help, answer question, validate, continue) and lego.

So you select a "preflight check list lego block" and drop it in the app. A wizard pops up and helps you fill in the required data.

Then you select a "co-pilot circuit lego block"

etc.
etc.

I will have to create the blocks for you, but I can always add more if people want them and the block format will be public so if you have the skill you can add your own.

I think it will work well.

[sniperton]

On a what if basis, I'd suggest to have all (or some) training missions in 3 modes:

1) Demo: instructor both issuing and executing flight commands (also good for testing the FM);
2) Training: instructor issuing, user executing commands;
3) Practice: user flying on his own, commented on and evaluated by the instructor.

Or something of the kind...

[DD_BadAim]

Very good. Teaching is the true genius. While Einstein was smarter than the vast majority of people on the planet there were plenty that were and are just as smart. It was his ability to explain to people his ideas in the simplest terms and show students the most complex of constructs with balloons and sticks that set him apart.

If you can set up something as complex as a flight simulator engine that any artistic (Modeller) mind can understand, you will have carved yourself out a space amongst the greats.

Unfortunately no one will ever know about it save for us few souls in the flight sim community.

[VF111Sundowner]

It sounds pretty cool in thoery.
But will you be stuck in the training if you can't get the hang of it?....
And what about those that have flown sims for years are they relegated to repeat training?

I am not against the idea of a thorough training set up, but make it an optional one. Provide the patch, award, achievement! upon completion showing that "Yes! I mastered the training missions!" But allow it to be bypassed if someone doesn't want those bragging rights.

Both X-wing and Tie Fighter from Lucasarts, had a very mundane and boring training courses. They were optional but if you grit your teeth and were persistent to make it to the tenth level of the course you would get an award for your efforts.
It was a badge of honor between my brothers and i to get those with every craft.

[PappyBruns]

Perhaps base models of planes(or just basic planes) available with basic loadouts for Joe Schmoe who just started today. Allowing install and fly capability, then you have to go through the trainers to unlock the variants and advanced loadouts. Stops that frustration wall you get with a game that requires you to go through a 30 min+ tutorial for a game you just installed and want to play with that friend that'll be getting offline in an hour.

Another possibility is just doing the tutorials for blocks of planes as the unlock,
 i.e. you complete the tutorial for an early war single engine fighter, you unlock all early war single engine fighters (obviously you could make a few exceptions and set boom and zoomers like the 190 in a different block as it takes a rather different playstyle and a different attitude towards energy conservation)
  Then you complete a tutorial for a dive bomber, you unlock a block of dive bombers, then you go for your HALR bombers so on and so forth.

[Pursuivant]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but Rise of Flight has something very similar to this. You have to fly a number of progressively harder "canned" missions in order to complete the campaign.

A very nice feature is that they have a simple "ring in the sky" object which tells you where you're supposed to fly. When you fly through a ring, it changes color and triggers a waypoint message.

Another idea is that you could repeat the training missions for each sort of plane in the game so that you get "checked out" in multiple types.

Goals to check off would be starting the engine, successfully taxiing to takeoff, successfully taking off, basic flight maneuvers, successful landing, successfully shutting down the engine, basic aerobatics, formation flying, VFR navigation, IFR navigation, and basic gunnery practice.