They said I would see it, so I went to find out for myself.

I have been reading the recent complaints on the forums that higher tiered matches are filled with IL series attack aircraft. Thread after thread, post after post, same stuff being said. So, after my brief pause in playing Planes, I wanted to see for myself, if I would encounter a similar series of situations.

Looking back now, starting at 1313 hours might not have been the wisest of moves. Good thing I don't put a whole lot of stock into superstitions, but the collection of coincidences that follows, it might make me rethink that stance. Dusting off my Gloster Meteor, I prepared for the coming events. I saw that 440 players were online, I wondered how many of them were queued up....

....perhaps, I also picked the wrong time of day to do this too! 14 players in queue and after 15 of the quickest seconds I have experienced in a long time....

....this is what MatchMaker gives me. Okay, two GA for my team, one for theirs. I have seen it much worse than that.

I performed very poorly. Okay, let's just chalk up this first match as a warm up, shall we? Next....

....I get this. I won't go too far into the details, but the first enemy plane I spotted, sent a "remove Q from the sky" rocket before I had a chance to react. My team lost that one too.

Ah ha, top tiered plane! Enemy team, prepare to feel my wrath!

Seems my wrath is broken. Next battle brought me here....

Would my wrath be fixed in time?

Nope, still just as broken as my smoking plane doing the deathdive in the background.

Come on, my luck has got to change here, sometime, right?

Well, well, well, what do we have here? A three man Flight on my team! There is an opinion that some people want others to believe; Flights are overpowered. I am here to tell you, if you believe it or not, they aren't. A Flight is only as good the communication, aircraft and skillset of the players that are in the package. And, I am still not seeing this flood of IL's that are supposed to be flying around.

This is the point of the battle where I was removed. Although I lived longer then I did during the previous sorties, once again, I was still playing poorly. However, I did get a few good hits and the enemy P-51D and A6M5. Notice most of that three man Flight is wiped out?

Hmmm....didn't expect to see those results, did you? To give their due credit, the Westland P.1056 was flown beautifully. They landed their shots perfectly and evaded with a well executed series of Boom and Zoom maneuvers.

Just over 30 minutes of gameplay was today's session. Despite what some will say after reading this, I didn't see any of the "hordes" of Attack Aircraft that was claimed to have "infested" upper tier battles. However, not saying they don't exist, just must have been laying low, knowing I was coming out of my hangar, poor flying and all.

Drive a tank, to earn gold for planes.

Mission for Gold in May

Win battles and place high on your team and you can get a Gold bonus! Just fulfill the mission requirement below, and you'll be rewarded with an easy 10. Considering that the mission is available up to three times per day —and runs all month— you'll have plenty of chances to earn lots of Gold!

Start Time: Friday, May 1, 04:20 PDT (7:20 EDT)
End Time: Monday, June 1, 04:20 PDT (7:20 EDT)

Mission / Objective	Reward
Win a Random Battle, tier V and above. Be in the top 10 players by base experience earned (first victory, Premium account, etc. bonuses will not be counted) Available three (3) times per day	10

Source: http://worldoftanks.com/en/news/pc-browser/22/may-mission/

Wait now, why am I bringing up a World of Tanks event on a World of  Warplanes blog? Simple, you want the opportunity to earn yourself a potential grand total of 930 Gold (up to 30 Gold per day, over 31 days, equals....).

With Unified Accounts (the ability to use shared free experience and Gold across certain WarGaming titles), why not take the advantage of adding a little more Gold to the coffers, for when Tanks/Planes (and someday Ships) Gold will all be linked.

Despite the hard-drive space required to host all three titles, the event opportunities from the already released games could come in handy if you wanted to switch to the other games (World of Warships is currently in the Closed Beta phase), or continue your career in Planes. Every little bit helps.

Don't already play World of Tanks? Well click here (North America client) 

 and give it a try. Login information will be the same as used for Ships/Planes.

Lost in translation, but now found.

Thanks, once again, to Gang_Starr and their work on the recent World of Warplanes stream translation. For me, the effort has put to rest some of the over-sensationalized gossip and my own falsely founded emotions that was generated from the release from the original "translation" from this source http://ritastatusreport.blogspot.ca/2015/04/scandalous-world-of-warplanes-stream.html Despite the lack of any retraction on how the original post was presented, it would seem the lesson was learned with the second one http://ritastatusreport.blogspot.ca/2015/04/28042015-q.html

Thanks, but no thanks Rita, being duped by you for the first and last time is enough for me.

However, Gang_Starr wasn't quite done yet. They posted this little tidbit that piqued my interest about an upcoming Mission and/or event. I heard rumors of this, some time back, but this confirms for me, that it will finally come to pass.

I have been fortunate enough to collect just about every premium aircraft that has been offered through these ingame Missions. Some were an exercise in patience, others were almost pure frustration. 

Despite not doing very well with it, or flying it all that often, the premium tier VII Meteor British Fighter is the pride and joy of my hangar. Not only was it a big test to see if  I could actually accomplish it, putting all of my ingame skills on the line, but also an exercise in physical stamina and endurance, since I was going to be sitting for many, many hours in front of my computer monitor.

I broke down what it was going to take to get it done here http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/index.php?/topic/30625-to-the-skies-once-more-starting-from-14/page__st__400__p__447484#entry447484 and just under a month later, I took mine out for it's first flight into a Random Battle http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/index.php?/topic/32426-climb-shoot-and-dive-staying-alive-in-15/page__st__40__p__456597#entry456597 The Meteor had value for me, since the only other premium British Fighter I had was the Miles M.20 at tier V, good for those mid-tier games. Now, the Meteor covered the upper-tiered spectrum, if I wanted to play up there.

Out of all of the aircraft that could be earned from the Missions, only the tier VII Soviet Fighter, Yak-3RD, isn't in my hangar. I didn't believe I needed a higher tiered, mixed propulsion (has both a propeller and a jet engine) Soviet Fighter, armed with only one gun. The plane itself didn't do much for me or the direction I wanted to go in the game. Plus, I had the Meteor, which I still believed was a much stronger performer, as far as premiums go.

Another part of the Mission requirements was the ability to deal out a lot of damage to enemy aircraft, with severe restrictions. Damage from using Attack Aircraft didn't count, only shots from Fighters and Heavy Fighters did. Needless to say, based partly on that alone, gave me reason to not try too hard to acquire one, since Fighters/Heavy Fighters were not my strong suit in terms of playstyle. I made some of my points and observations here http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/index.php?/topic/34015-eye-on-the-sky-hand-on-the-stick-welcome-to-16/page__st__220__p__501710#entry501710

In the end, the value of the aircraft vs the effort I would have to put out, far and above what the Meteor required, wasn't worth it, in my opinion.

So, with news of a premium tier VIII British something coming with 1.8, last heard scheduled for sometime in May, I can't help but wonder, what it is and what will it take to get one.

Soon, this will be answered for all.

On a side note, now one of my forum signature pictures has been linked directly to here, thanks to DrSinister. Click it, if you dare....

The bombshell, dropped from up high.

A habit I have developed from a long time of playing online games, is logging into their website first, before starting that day's gaming session. Sometimes, it's to check on any specials that might be running, here is what World of Warplanes is offering  http://worldofwarplanes.com/  If I have some extra time, I will compare events across all of the regions by going here http://worldofwarplanes.eu/ and finish off with here http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fworldofwarplanes.ru%2F

When nothing of real interest popped out at me, I continued on by reading through the dailies here http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/ It was the topic titled "What the devs really think of us" that caught my eye. Thinking it was a continuation of discussion about the recent announcement of the upcoming changes to Flights, I passed over it, at first. Seeing nothing else that overly interested me, I went back to the eye catcher and clicked....

It was the content of that post that flicked the on switch of mixed emotions for me. At first, I just sat there in disbelief. I gathered up my strength and proceeded over to the posted source http://ritastatusreport.blogspot.ca/2015/04/scandalous-world-of-warplanes-stream.html

In an attempt to get a much clear understanding surrounding the content of the now captured stream on Youtube, I wound up reading through the usual comments from posters continuing to bash the game, leftover resentment/ill-will from the long ago closed For the Record days http://ftr.wot-news.com/ Not saying they are right or wrong, just voicing an observation. Overall, nothing to help me get a clearer, true picture.

Based on what has been presented so far, my initial reaction of shock was replaced with contemplation. I have read both Grenoli and Galm before on the RU forums and how they interact with the Community can best be described as....different. Definitely not something that we would be accustomed to in the West. Anyone who has seen SerB interact through the World of Tanks Q&A might have a better understanding of what I am talking about, his most common answer to just about every question that annoyed him was that catch phrase "How terrible".

Perhaps, this is how they really are? Or, could it be a Customer Relations/Publicity stunt? Some poor attempt at "reverse psychology" treat the international playerbase like idiots and unwanted baggage, thinking it will have the complete opposite effect of drawing in even more players? The garbage will come back for more? 

Perhaps, if somebody out there can find a properly translated transcript of what exactly was said (I know some words won't have the same meaning in English, or survive the translation process well) I might take the time to read through it, attempting to understand not just what they said, but also why.

Until that happens, my fleet is grounded and my aircrews will be getting extended leave time, if they like it or not.

***Update***

After reading the North America forums for many hours, one player name Gang_Starr volunteered to translate the captured stream. Here are the results of his efforts....

Gang_Starr, on 28 April 2015 - 04:03 AM, said:

Full Q&A Translated from the Stream

* = question,
- = dev's answer.
---------------------------------------
*Why did WG make the change from 3-man flights to 2-man flights (for 1.8)?

- "We were testing the Auto-flight function and found there to be a big problem with it in that it will consistently create flights of 2, but getting it to auto-flight a third person was troublesome. I think flights of 2 will be beneficial to the game for that reason alone, because it is much easier to get 2 man flights than 3 man flights via the auto-flight function. Even when flighting up regularly, it's much easier and faster to find one wingman as opposed to two."
---------

*Do you have any plans on decreasing the amount of GAA in matches?

-"No, we're not going to do that. Players themselves can decrease the amount of GA in battles by not flying them. We don't want to limit anybody's fun, if a player wants to fly nothing but GAA he can, we're not going to set any limits."
----------

*Will you implement dynamic Ground Targets? (for example: ships moving on water, tanks moving on land etc..)

-"No, we already get a lot of complaints regarding how unresponsive and laggy the game client is, this would only make it even more laggy if we implement dynamic GTs."
----------

*Are there any plans to change/tweak the current Superiority System?

-We think the current superiority system works without a flaw (that we know of) and there are no plans to make any changes to it in the near future. If you notice any bugs with the current system please submit a ticket and we will fix those bugs."
---------

*Is there any work being done to optimize the settings interface and decrease hangar loading times for those players with lots of planes in their hangar?

-"Yes, we plan to make a better settings interface for the 'Sounds' tab, since there is a lot of problems with it now. As for the hangar optimization, it's already done. The change will come with the 1.8 patch and those players with lots of planes in their hangar will instantly notice the difference in hangar load time (load time will be approximately 3 times shorter). Although if you have 45 planes in your hangar and your hangar takes longer than 30 seconds to load I would recommend switching internet proviers.
---------

*Why is WoWp having so much trouble retaining players?

-"The reason we are having trouble with retaining players is because of a steep lurning curve. If you have mastered the game you will have fun playing it, but many players give up and leave before they become better at the game, the reason is because it's not easy for an average gamer to become an expert pilot in WoWp quickly. That is why we have trouble retaining players. This will definitelly be looked at closely."
---------

*Will there be any new game modes?

-"We will have new game modes, I won't say when because I don't know exactly when, but we will bring new game modes. Right now instead of waiting for new game modes from the developers, set goals for yourself and make your own game modes. Try to play without the lead indicator, or the crosshair for example."
----------

*Which Nation will the next new line be introduced in?
-"I won't say which Nation, all I'm going to say is that it will be an already existing Nation, not a new one."
------------
*Are there going to be new pilot skills introduced?
-"The whole skill system is going to get an overhaul, I won't go into details but yes there will be new skills and the system will not be the same as it is now."
-------------
*Will you introduce any "gold" Pneumatic restarters, which could possibly be used to repair a damaged engine twice in one match?
-"We are planning on doing an overhaul of the current consumables AND equipment system. Some new equipment will be introduced, some of the current equipment will have multiple uses, some will have completely different effects than they do now. There will be changes to both the consumables and the equipment, that is all we can say at this moment, no details."
-------------
*Will there be a patch in 2015 which will include major game changes?
-"Patch 1.9 will bring major re-balancing of the standard game mode and major re-balancing of larger caliber weapons. Can't comment more on this topic."
-------------
*Will bots be introduced into standard game mode?
-"Most likely yes, WG seems to have this task set as a priority and I'm predicting it will happen in patch 1.9. Player feedback on this topic has been overall negative, but we will work hard on making these bots more polished and I assure you that there will be an enormous amount of testing done if bots are to be introduced into standard battle mode in 1.9.
-------------

*Will critical kills be brought back (One-shot insta kills from large caliber guns)? Will there be a change for already shot down "dead" planes flying through the sky to deal damage when rammed by players?

-"The answer is no, for both questions. We will however increase the chances of modules getting damaged (Fuselage, wings, tail etc..) in patch 1.8."
-----------
*Will Cache problems be resolved in 1.8? (Bomb explosions in the air, invisible bombs, invisible rockets, store doesn't show sales when it should, etc...)
-"If players submitted tckets on all these things and if we have enough data to fix these problems then they will be fixed. If you see these problems persist in 1.8 then we urge you to submit tickets with screenshots, replays, videos etc.."
-----------
*Is there going to be any major response to the recent "flash-mobs" on the forum stemming from the petition made by Furious and signed by thousands of players?
-"Well we have increased our communication with the community since that happened, and we plan on keeping in close touch with our players on the forums. Honestly we thank Furious for starting the petition, it put us on a hot-seat and helped speed up our current progress with the game development and communication. That is one of the things I like about our community, players are passionate about this game and that inspires us."
-----------
*How will the problem with high ping for players who live far from the game servers be fixed?
-"We had been testing a new "Client-side prediction" in 1.7, we will implement it for everybody in the 1.8 patch, I gave it out to some players that live in the far side of Russia and play with pings of 250+, and they gave me very positive feedback on it saying they felt an  immediate difference in game-play and plane responsiveness.
------------

*Are there any plans for any major "Nerfs" and "Buffs"? As we all know there are OP and UP planes in the game.
-"I can't comment on that since I'm not in the game-balancing team, but there will be a continuation of the "Balance" topic in the dev blog, be on the lookout for a part 2 from our balancing team. Obviously there are nerfs and buffs being planned for multiple planes in the game, I just can't give any details on that."
----------
*Will you bring back rockets/bombs to planes that historically had them regardless of their in-game class (fighters)?
-"No, it has been said many times already, this is a game an in a game there needs to be balance. We understand that some planes historically had rockets but here we have a game design that has to be balanced, fighter planes will not get their rockets back even if they are supposed to have them."
------------
 Source: http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/index.php?/topic/37947-what-the-devs-really-think-of-us/page__st__120__pid__543948#entry543948

Well now, that doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as first advertised.

I am still here, kinda.

In case you haven't heard, I downloaded the Closed Beta version of World of Warships recently and it has been taking up a little more time then I thought it would. However, it would seem the timing for doing that was pretty good. Why, you may ask? Well for starters, go have a look at the forums here http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/

Between the Recent Topics and General Gameplay Discussion, most of the talk is surrounding the upcoming change to Flights. Before and for a long as most can remember, up to three people could form a small group within the game called a Flight. So, if you have two friends and wanted to go flying in and out of battles, you could exercise that option to team up and do so.

With the upcoming 1.8 update, Flights will be reduced from three players to two. What does this mean? Simply put, you would be able to fly with one other person in a group, that's about it. However, from what I have been reading, it sounds like the end of the world as we know it is coming over the horizon.

A battle has been raging on the forum for some time now, those who support three man Flights as some kind of "sacred institution", and changing it will bring about the final downfall of the game, against others who see Flights as they are as obstacles of their enjoyment and progression through the game. Who is right and who is wrong, I really couldn't say. I am one of those solo players, going about playing the game as I have seen fit for a long time now.

Sadly, this issue has opened up a real can of worms. Not only have passions been heated over the "Flight debate", it also had a downward spiral effect on other matters. Player statistics have come into play, being used to discredit opinions and starting new debates among the Community. The bickering and verbal snipping back and forth, I feel dizzy. Even I have left a comment or two.

Overall, the Planes forums have become a less than positive environment, not as bad as I have seen others become. The toxicity level is still somewhat civil, but that line is fading fast. As I continue to read, I grow somewhat sadder, watching people whom I have considered to be family, post in ways I never would have imagined. Of course, there are those who are fanning the flames, keeping the negativity flowing for their own personal reasons.

So, what does this have to do with playing the game? Actually, very little, since most who do play don't visit the forums or they just don't interact there on a regular basis. For a lack of better phrasing, I just feel bummed about what I have experience through those words on my screen. The forum fights have left me a little taxed and when I have played recently, I was putting in a lackluster effort.

Time to scale Plane related things down a bit. I need time to think about what goals I want to achieve and the Planes I will use, pre and post changes. Plus, there has been no news about any upcoming Missions, for either a new or existing premium plane or any other worthwhile exercise to login for.

I need to recharge my positive batteries, before I take to the virtual air again.

Island Excursion, the Grand Finale.

While doing the tourist thing, by collecting up a lot of those sights and attractions brochures you find in the lobby of most hotels, I came across another stop of interest. A few hours drive north of us, was the Comox Air Force Museum, in you guessed it, Comox. I pleaded with my wife, acting much like a child who has found a neat toy in a store and wanted it. She agreed, but the drive was going to take up most of that day and we would have to over night to see it. I had no problem with that.

After checking into a Holiday Inn Express and a restless night's sleep, we arrived at the Comox Airport. From the brochures, I was anticipating a much more enjoyable time then I had experienced in Esquimalt.

Most of the displays were very much like this one, with a large carded background with information and pictures, accompanied with models or a real world physical tie in. Once again, I went camera happy, but thanks to not properly adjusting my phone to take better indoor, low light shots, most of the picture have this fuzzy quality to them. However, some shots turned out just fine.

Some exhibits also had large, finely detailed models hanging from overhead, like this Curtiss P-40. Others, had mannequins wear uniforms and flight suits in much better condition then the last place I had visited.

While some displays covered Canadian involvement in general....

....others were more specific to an area of operation, covering domestic tasks....

As I have said elsewhere, no discussion of Canadian air power during World War 2 would be complete without some mention of Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray, RCNVR. This display not only drove that point home a little harder for me, but brought about a moment of silence, thanking him for his valiant sacrifice.

The models on displayed were very evidently a labor of love, for those who worked on them. Here is a small sampling of what I saw....

The last display really illustrates another forgotten piece of history. Pilots and air crews of these magnificent warbirds are the ones who are remembered and celebrated the most, with the ground crews mostly ignored. If it wasn't for their hard work, servicing these aircraft under sometimes primitive conditions and hostile actions, those great air battles never would have happened. Or, the outcomes would have been a very different result.

A lot of care and consideration went into the creation of the squadron displays I saw. A good balance of pictures and written content to educate and models at add some flavor to the experience.

An RAF Mustang, still flown by a little Canadian.

Because this is me here, I spent a fair amount of time at this exhibit. Can you figure why?

There was so much I saw and captured with my camera, an experience I will never forget. I have only shared but a small part of my tour here, best to be seen in person, since pictures would never do these displays the justice they truly deserve. For me, the whole vacation and the museum tours were an education, entertaining and sometimes, a very somber experience. I remain thankful for those who served before me, their actions creating the very world we live in today.

It's to those who made the ultimate sacrifice I bow my head to, never seeing the world they shaped in their moment of gallantry and bravery. But, then again, there could be another, who will rise to the challenge and keep that dream alive....

Island Excursion, not quite done yet.

My wife, seeing how much fun my son and I were having with our museum visits, pulled off a small surprise. On that day, we maneuvered through the streets and avenues of Victoria to wind up at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt. I was here, long time ago, as part of an Army orientation tour, but now I am coming back as a camera flashing tourist.

After showing approved identification to security at the main gate, we followed the "this way to the museum" blue line that was painted on the road. I hadn't looked up any information on where we were going, so I was excited to see what they would have to offer. Plus, the museum wasn't part of my previous visit.

Already, I was starting to get this bad feeling about unmet expectations. I knew that Victoria and the surrounding area was rich in naval and marine history, but I held out hope there would still be some kind of "air element" to what would be displayed. Once I passed through these doors....

....my thoughts returned to the Naval Air exhibits I saw at the British Columbia Aviation Museum. Surely they could top their attempts here?

A long corridor lined with doors greeted me. In just about every small room, on either side of the hall, was sparsely filled with stuff that appeared couldn't be sold at a garage sale. Mannequins wearing old, worn-out uniforms and battle fatigues, salvaged and displayed relics from various land based, mechanized equipment and other stuff that I didn't find overly unique or interesting.

Then, I found that one room that contained what I had been looking for....

....but, I was still disappointed. However, I went in to take a closer look at what they did have to offer, up close and personal.

Although the Fairey Swordfish isn't currently in World of Warplanes, I could see it added to the British tech tree at a future date, perhaps coming in at tier II or III.

Hanging from the ceiling, the model itself was fairly large, well built and detailed nicely. My attention turned to the left side of the room...

....to the glass encased and very large model of  HMCS Magnificent, CVL 21. She was a British World War Two era Majestic class carrier that served the Royal Canadian Navy from 1948 to 1956. Maggie, as known by those who served on her, appeared to have a bare flight deck. I looked around the room for any small model aircraft, on aerial maneuvers....

Here is a preserved ensemble of what Canadian Naval aviators would have worn during the war....

....compared to something a little closer to modern times. Ever watch a movie or TV show and wondered what those guys holding flags on carrier decks are saying? Here is a short list of answers....

The bulk of the display was on the right side of the room and the wall. Here are some more pictures I took, along with my usual commentary, starting from the top down....

 
A nice print of a Grumman CS2F Tracker coming in for an at-sea carrier landing on HMCS Bonaventure. The Tracker is a post-war anti-submarine aircraft that wouldn't fit in well with World of Warplanes.

A display showcasing some of the Naval Air squadrons that Canada had, some are still around.

In my opinion, no display concerning Canadians who served as pilots in a naval service would be complete without this picture. The details surrounding the mortal decision of  Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray, RCNVR is one of those hallmark moments that defines us. I wrote about Lt. Gray once, in brief here http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/index.php?/topic/28024-out-of-the-blue-starting-from-12/page__st__320__p__406531#entry406531

Although not clearly marked or labeled, I will make the leap as say this could very well be a model of HMCS Bonaventure, CVL 22. Like Maggie, Bonnie was another Majestic class carrier, first laid down as HMS Powerful. The Bonaventure would serve as Canada's last carrier, from 1957 to 1970. Her flight deck was crammed full of models, here are those shots and their cards....

Some of these may come to World of Warplanes, others will never be considered. Once again, I took a moment to appreciate the time and effort these small models required in their construction and details.

Although this one small room was disappointing for me for the lack of quantity, it did make up for it with the quality and dedication of the displays and hours spent putting this collection together.

However, there was one more stop to make, enough eye candy to fill me for a lifetime. Come back soon.