S3 Series

We already have ~140 players that commit to the S3's every Sunday from 8:30 to 11:30 EST, and have been for the last decade. People are free to start their own - separate - events at other times.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry that you have 75 players that could make an S3 if it were held at any other time than the currently (and has been for ~15 years) scheduled time. How many of them would be back the next week? How many would be back every single series for 15 years straight?

Here are 92 names that have been flying S3's over the years during the regularly scheduled time, with the # of series attended:

todzla 67
-splt- 67
trigr= 67
slpsht 67
dewolf 67
ratenp 67
-fooo- 67
-deak- 67
rock-- 67
beaver 67
-briar 67
muzz-- 67
houndg 66
fishey 66
farout 66
-wcat- 66
-kenl- 66
raamon 66
=wilz= 66
-pd--- 65
-gums- 65
=augi= 64
swede- 64
mt-dew 64
wlfpaw 64
hcrana 63
vulche 62
--nsr- 62
=vslp= 62
theoph 61
WLDBIL 61
nookyb 60
kapsyl 60
gundoc 60
warone 60
bluzoo 60
whawk- 59
juice= 59
vangrd 59
pappyb 58
grover 58
wallyg 58
woebrd 58
chooch 57
parson 57
phenix 57
--kk-- 57
besea- 56
krotki 56
-sakai 55
crommm 55
promod 55
easyed 54
-grip- 54
-zippy 54
dspapy 54
daddy= 53
stlrai 53
yamon- 53
-taho- 53
-kbar- 51
-poog- 51
jedijc 51
thnder 51
vonmc= 51
bombr- 51
iceman 50
bimmer 50
humble 50
mleben 49
-gmni- 49
shack+ 49
tnymax 49
-thor- 48
pakrat 48
=chnk= 48
=weis= 47
-jwm-- 47
goebel 46
-hawk- 46
hogjaw 46
colmbo 45
furbas 45
sluger 45
scarpo 45
-hoki- 44
scooby 44
foxtwo 44
xucrut 44
chicdg 44
-bman- 43
-cbra- 43

Maybe we do limit ourselves to a primarily North American based audience with the timeframe that we've been using for 15 years. Sucks for those in Europe and the Far East, but the benefit is that we have players roughly the same distance to the server going at it and the S3's aren't known to have the warping issues that we can sometimes see in the Main. Yes, I know it still happens but I don't see it as the issue that it is in the Main.

I applaud you for building a group that is well represented 24x7. I honestly do. Now is time to take a leadership role in the community and recognize that continuing to recruit every single new name that comes into the Main is bad for the game. It is bad for the Main Arena, it is bad for the S3's. For the game to grow and thrive, *ALL* groups need to grow in size. Having a single group roll across the arena - whether S3 or Main - just because they have 75 pilots while all the others have 15, or 10, or 5, or... 1, is not any fun for anyone.

Refer some of the new pilots you see that obviously appear to prefer Luftwaffe aircraft to Jg51 or Jg77. New IJ pilots to Tainan Kokutai. New Canadians to the RCAF. There are a lot of groups that need to grow for the game to be competitive. You no longer need every single new pilot in the game to be a Doolittle Raider. You need to recognize that fact.

Respectfully,

Well said Tod. I don't recall exactly how Sunday was selected as the day to hold the S3 but I'm pretty sure that there were valid reasons such as availability of the Janitors, time needed by the Janitors to prepare, best time for most players, etc. A Saturday S3 would also sort of break up the week end for people taking week end trips and such. It has been working well for a long time so I believe we need to leave it alone.

<S>

Well said Tod and for the record, we have folks from all over the world that fly the S3. These are dedicated guys that burn the midnight oil so they can join in the fun. There is no way to get a time that is agreeable with everyone.

We interrupt your broadcast to offer perspective on recruiting from a "small squad"......


FWIW, We formed II./ JG 77 in hopes of one day fielding 2 active Staffeln(squadrons) of 8 pilots each, plus a Stab(staff) formation. That would put us around 20 pilots. Large enough to be independently effective, but able to maintain Command and Control. Kinda like wearing boxer briefs.

A third staffel would be set up for reserve/national guard/European flyers/Bridget von Hammersmark

This setup is also close to actual Gruppe (fighter group ) operations

That said, we are not going to take every swinging stick sitting in a 109 cockpit. This is the Squad Select Series and though individually we are not the greatest pilots ever, we've collected a tight bunch of like minded pilots (from newbies to experienced) who desire to be better and believe in the team concept. Our methods are working.

Fighter Rankings from the last ToD in the Main (same group of 7 guys as the S3):

Squads A,B,C are significantly larger than us.

------Squad------------------Total--------------------Sorties
1.......A.....................813860....................5907
2.......B.....................581120....................2168
3.......C.....................416365....................3294
4....II./JG 77..............215740......................793
5.......D.....................208590....................1691


------Squad---------------Points Per Sortie
1....II./JG 77.....................272
2.......B............................268
3.......A............................138
4.......C............................126
5.......D............................123

And it just not the Main, S3 performance per series as a squad has picked up as well.


We now resume your educational programming.

I really don't understand the 24/7 concept either.

If you cannot all fly together as a single group what is the point?

Our squad times are roughly 8pm to Midnight GMT.
* midday - 4pm PST
* 3pm - 7pm EST

Our Squad night is on Sunday (finishes about 1.5 hours before the S3 starts)

We would not recruit any players that is not able to come online and fly with the group during this regular time slot.
There is no benefit for either party if you cant fly together as a unit
You cannot adequately train new squad members in the accepted squad / community practices.
There would be no control element from squad leadership.
It would only take away potential new players from other squads that operate in their same time zone.

Squads should be limited to +/- 20 players max IMO.

I would have thought singularly the most relevant factor is availability of the Janitors.
Its really commendable that so many folks have been dedicated attendees over the years.

I do believe Sunday is a good day for events.
My earlier comment was only that by moving back the start time by several hours, you could have a truly international event and potentially swell the numbers of attendees in the S3 by tapping into the existing Warbirds customer base.

Would these potential S3 times suddenly prohibit the majority of US based players from attending ?
Midday - 3pm PST Sunday
3pm - 6pm EST Sunday

BOLLOK:
Can you send me the 5-10 names (handles) of those who would fly on a Saturday?

Thanks <S>

Just talking and brain-storming, DEWOLF. Checking out the possibilities, sir. If we can't do that, what's this forum thing worth?

<S>

TODZLA:
Thanks for the applause, but let me add that we don't "recruit every single new name that comes into the Main." In the last 2-3 months, to the best of my memory, we have only added three new recruits to the roster. These included the brother of one of our squaddies, a former squaddie with a new name, and a guy from El Salvador (someone that Nemo, Ciaio, Revole, and Mrdweb can speak to in their native tongue). So, just wanting to set the record straight, I thought I would let you know.

You well know that we don't have huge numbers that fly at the same time. Periodically, you will see 10-12 Doolittle's Raiders flying at the same time. That isn't a regular occurrence.

Since this thread is about recruiting, I would suggest again that those who want to grow their squads should fly often in the Main Arena. New people are always testing out the game for the first time. You will find them asking lots of questions and several people (including Doolittle's Raiders) supplying the answers to the best of their ability. I have been asked by some of the people that we have helped whether they could join our squad. Later, they have shared that they wanted to fly with us because we took the time to help them get off the ground. So, being helpful to newbies is a way to grow a squad. But, you can't do that without flying in the Main Arena. I mention this because there are some squads/sqaddies who have expressed (I think with pride) that they no longer tangle in the Main Arena because it is so beneath the S3 standards. They usually only show up in the Main Arena to practice killing those with less skills. Haha.

To set the record straight, I have pushed folks to other squads for recruitment. Whether they were recruited, I cannot say with 100% assurance, but I have done it.

<S>