Crazy shifts until tomorrow Eno, but free on the weekend... say about 1300GMT onwards. Just PM me so we can arrange a time.

I'm going to hold off until TS3 comes back up. I wasnt enjoying it as much yesterday without it- need to be able to talk back and forth to get the full feel.

IMO not a lot of the pilots out there take the time to read the mission briefings. I say it because of the questions that get asked in flight. It would be nice to have the briefings available during the flight. If that was the case I'd add more detail, descriptions, locations, etc. Moa did PDF's of his for the Fly Ins and I had those printed out, at the expense of my blue ink cartridge, I could do that...

I'll run some small PDFs of my missions and dig out Moa's and post them. We can see what to do with them.

Recently I added a second 24" monitor to my 30" main screen so I can see things like TS. I'd rather keep things on the PC. I have heard that iPhone/iPad apps can draw some resources away from the sim using Bluetooth? or WiFi?, but I do have a iPhone dock to PC on my desk.

WC

They are available. Hit esc->briefing while in flight, then esc to get out of it (I think if you click fly it puts you back at spawn)

Hi,
I'm Mark - creator and developer of GamePlan. Thought I'd jump in and say hi and answer some of the good questions here.

If you don't mind, I will quote each one as a separate post because I haven't figured out the 'multi-quote' thing!

Firstly thanks for your interest in the app. I see it working as a handy tool for pre-game organisation, during the game adjusting plans and placing key information, and after the match to discuss and plan how you could have done it better/differently for next time!

Not sure why you say the DCS maps are not compatible? Any image will work, so as long as you can get a appropriate image on your device, you can use it and share it with the group automatically. Maps are broadcast to the entire group (and any new joiners if they join after you loaded it) and then are kept on each users device in a "custom:" folder, so that tehy could host sessions with that map in future even though they didn't have the original.

If you want to see any particular maps added properly into the online "MapLocker" then you can submit them via our website. We'll credit you in the app for providing it and it will be available to all GamePlan users.

Any other questions just post here and I have bookmarked the thread so I can reply quickly.

Thanks again - hopefully I can address some other questions below...

Regards,
Mark
GamePlan

Hi Einstein,
I'm looking into potential publishers/distributors for a desktop version (which of course will be cross-platform PC/Mac/iOS/Android) but no concrete plans yet I'm afraid

And yes, although it could be used in great detail for pre-mission planning, my focus for the app was for in-game real-time quick and convenient use, and as an additional layer of communication to TeamSpeak. Of course it works better in slightly slower paced games where you have time to look away or take your hands of the controls from time to time! But generally, I have seen teams using it where the 'leader" is the main guy doing the drawing, and others just view his commands and maybe place the odd warning or request back.

I see that my biggest hurdle is getting players to change the way they play to really integrate the benefits into their game!

Hi Eno!
Yeah I think you got the right impression, but really it's flexible enough to use it however you want. You can use it for dynamic changing scenarios, or it could be the "masterplan" so everyone is singing from the same sheet in the 'big picture' goal of your mission.

We are increasing the numbers in a room to 16 in the next update (so you could have 3 teams of 5 units, and a commander. You can then set the app up to only show your own squads marking, and the commander could just see the squad leaders etc, so you don't clutter up the map with info you don't need.

And yes I agree - "A picture plaints a thousand words" - in fact that was my tagline for the app until I realised it didn't mean anything!!

Cheers,
Mark

Hi Wrecking Crew,
Thanks for your comments.

Just to answer about the WiFi/Bluetooth thing.
It does not use BT, and it uses very low amounts of bandwidth so should not interfere with online gaming pings/lag. The only thing is it does use a fair bit of battery because the screen won't dim if you don't touch the device for a while, so best to have it plugged in charging if you are having a long session!

Anyway, if there is anything you guys can suggest that would make this a killer app for you (features, maps, icons etc), I'd love to hear!

Thanks for reading.
Regards,
Mark

Eh there GP / Mark.

I haven't got the ap yet but I'm very interested in it. The fact you're down here in the trenches with us means a lot- nice work.

As for where I got the impression it wasn't compatible it was from this part of the review:

You then go to the "MapLocker" where you can download maps for a number of games, currently including these first-person shooters:
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare + Pack
•Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 + Packs
•Call of Duty: Black Ops
•Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
•Battlefield 3 + Back to Karkand
•Battlefield Bad Company 2 + Map Pack
•Battlefield Vietnam
•ArmA
•ArmA 2
•Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
•Killzone 2

Besides first person shooters, some RTS games and MMO maps are available.


Sort of made it look like you had to download only the maps that were listed above- but now I understand that what the reviewer MEANT to say was more to the tune of "you can download your own map or use one pre-packaged in the ap- including"

Glad to stand corrected!

I just wanted to add something that I forgot to mention here:-

We are working on a dynamic grid system as an optional overlay (toggle on/off), so you can say like "regroup at H3" which should, even in it's OWN, be a lot of use.

This was a suggestion from a user and we are implementing it, as we are for the standard NATO symbology. Lots of other ideas in the pipeline but I need to get some traction to commit more funds to it.

I'd really appreciate anyone that did take a gamble and tried the app between themselves. Even if you find you can't use it as you ideally want, any suggestions you give me will make it in to the app, so you will end up with the product you want! And I'm hopeful you would find a use for it a it stands anyway. It's really a toolbox you can use however you want.

Thanks again guys! I look forward to any replies or further questions.
Best regards,
Mark