Slope Soaring Australia

Welcome to the R F (Real Flight) Sports Group (rfsportsgroup.com)

Why form a group?
This group has been formed out of the need to create grades to cater for the various skill levels of players, which include their accompanying equipment and facilites both online and offline.

It's not fun when you're constantly beaten
Although we are told that combat and deadringers are supposed to be fun, nevertheless, it is important that each player feels that he or she is competitive.  When it becomes apparant that this is no longer the case, one's interest will decline. While there are very good pilots amongst us, other contributing factors can play a major part in a player's performance, particularly those whose performances are seen by some as being 'unrealistic'.

Contributing factors which can enhance the players' (or users') natural skills
* faster internet services which provide players with varying speeds of up to 100 times faster than that of
  other players
* superior computer systems which can transfer data more efficiently
* clever trim settings on the transmitter that uninitiated users cannot compete against
* after-market accessories which can provide more affective targeting for the guns and rockets
* customised digital transmitters which can assist with an aircraft's handling ability
* larger than normal computers screens which can more accurately site the opposition
* multiple computer screens which can show where the opposition aircraft are at all times

Latency or Ping issues
Poor latency or a player's 'ping' causes much frustration amongst the players. Many players may not realise that it is not necessarily their bad flying that makes them uncompetitive, rather a delay or lag in their internet system. This can range from a split second up to 12 seconds. It's not uncommon to have one's plane get blown up when the opposition's aircraft is heading in another direction. In some cases, aircraft have been blown up and the rockets that supposedly hit the plane could be seen going past the plane some seconds later. This phenomenon seems to affect the outgoing signal moreso than the incoming signal.  Yes, you are not the only one who thought you were imagining things!

Having said the above, those who come into any of my hosted sites will find that it is a much fairer playing field because I have a rather slow internet speed compared to other countries and this will tend to even out the lag between players.

Hacking (or cheating) exposed
Thanks to mainly one person (not me), the hacking of planes (which we all suspected was going on but couldn't prove it) was exposed in the middle of 2010.  This made Great Planes finally sit up and listen and the G5.5 update brought out later in the year seemed to fix this problem, although it has left a lot of users still distrusting the system.

IP Address Requirement
As from 2011, all users who participate in my hosted sites will be required to give out their IP Address if and when asked.  This is necessary for varification purposes because some players have been changing their usernames for the wrong reasons and coming back into the games under an assumed name.  This is not fair play in my opinion and has caused much distrust and angst amongst the regular users.  If you cannot be upfront with who you are then you are not welcome here.

If you have a valid reason for changing your username by all means do so but let everyone else know as well.  This can easily be done for a week or two by posting something like,  Mr Bloggs (previously Mrs Bloggs).

I have had an instance where for several weeks I was holding 3 conversations with 3 different people - or so I thought.  It was only when I started recording everyone's IP addresses that I found out that I was actually talking to the same person all along.  Hence, I have now recorded every users IP Address - this is ongoing of course.  If you would like a record of these names just email me and I will oblige.

Tricks to perform better
Regarding getting more out of your system, a couple of tricks have been brought to my attention.  One is putting your throttle trim all the way forward to gain more speed.  However, this WILL NOT make your plane go faster.  All it will do is allow you to accelerate a bit quicker on take off to mid throttle.  The negative side of this is that you will not be able to slow your plane down to land as well or negotiate tight buildings and the like, because your plane will be flying faster at the lower end.  The other trick is putting your elevator stick fully back so that you can do tighter turns.  This will work but it's a hell of a way to fly by having to keep pushing your throttle stick forward all the time to keep your plane level.

How the grades have been be set up
Grade 1 - Open                            (no password required)
Grade 2 - Advanced                      (password protected) password invisible rfadvanced
Grade 3 - Starters                         (password protected) password invisible rfstarters
Grade 4 - FunFly - no combating    (no password required)

Password Group Ground Rules
Use the buildings and obstacles provided to get the most out of the games. Do not engage in tail-to-tail combat for more than 5 to 10 seconds at any one time. Be the one to disengage and re-group, otherwise there is no point in have scenery. In other words, do not be relentless in your pursuit to kill at all cost. Play to enjoy the game. Being chased from time to time is part of the fun. 

Teams
Depending on the support shown, teams may be also introduced.  For instance, you might have made a friend already in Real Flight.  Perhaps someone from another country, perhaps from your own country and/or state or even someone who by chance lives nearby.  You would be able to team up with this person or persons and play in games specifically designed for teams.

Airports currently being used on RF Sports Groups games
Hardcore / Combat / Deadringers / Funfly
Airport: The Outer Limits 3D
Not available for download.

Combat / Deadringers / Funfly
Airport: New Discovery (have a go)  High Adventure (challenging)  Fantastic Voyage (for the brave)
Not available for download.

Combat / Deadringers / Funfly
Airports: BuggenHill no.26 (combat)  BuggenHill no.27 and 27A (deadringers)
Available for download on the Knife Edge swap pages.

You will need all 5 of

To swap or not to swap airports

Who can Fly?
So who will be allowed to fly in the group sessions?  Anyone of course.  If you do not want to join the group you will still be allowed to participate in the open and funfly grades and you will not require a password.  Once you have been allocated a grade, your performances will be monitored from time to time and you may be asked to go up a grade as your skill levels increase.

RF Sports Group - not an official group
At this stage the group will not be set up as an official group. It is merely a means of placing players in grades, which will allow them to compete against people with similar skills and/or equipment.

Apply for Grading
To apply for qualifying contact me via the comments box on the left.

You will be notified of a time to meet online where you will asked to participate in a qualifying game where your ranking will be decided. If you are seen to 'fake' your flying ability or come in under an unassuming name, this will soon be detected and you quickly be placed into a more appropriate group or worse still, you could be banned.

Ian Downunder

Want to add your personal link?  Email me and I will post it here.

jetmang5.com

knifeedge.com