Flyboy,
Good job taking us back through the Janes LB series memory lane. It was something that had to be
done to honor this old but true military helo classic. If you'll allow, Id like to dovetail your
well done retro-review with a short pictorial and commentary on the multiplayer side of Janes LB2.
Some of us continue to fly LB2 online campaigns. My friend and wingie (KLINK) have been doing it
for about 7 years now. We had to over come technical and graphical (thanks PositiveG) and
networking issues - as weve gone from 300 Mhz single cores on to todays dual cores and >3.5 Ghz
single cores. Then theres the Win98 to WinXP to Vista OS migrations.
But what keeps me coming back is the multiplayer. We fly either two helos in either similiar or
dissimilar choppers. Sometimes we take an Apache and a Kiowa, or Apache and Blackhawk, or two
Apaches; depending on the mission and our moods. The feature that we enjoy the best is the
comradarie of sharing the same helo and voice comms over TeamSpeak. We can share the Kiowa or take
pilot and gunner positions in a Blackhawk; but our favorite is pilot and CPG positions in the
Apache. This one feature probably is what keeps us going in LB2. Its going to have to take this
same feature in a modern helo sim like DCS to make us finally retire ole Janes as well.
Another feature that is implemented quite well is the sharing of targeting data in the form of
PFZ (Prioritized Fire Zones). These are areas the CPG (or Pilot if alone) can box a target zone
and direct wingman or even AI airstrikes or artillary barrages. Targetting data seen by one
Apache can be shared on screen to the other Apache. This simulates the synergy of an Apache
team and is modelled in the sim. It almost works between the Kiowa and Apache too, to all the
FAC and scout role of the Kiowa. Unfortunately the Kiowa cannot share its PFZs to the Apache
probably due to it not being tested. But online players can compensate with voice comms.
Getting multiplayer to work has some quirks on the Host side, but it seldom a problem for the
clients (up to 8 player max, see last picture where 8 human pilots flew together on flyin we hosted)
Typically the Host has to go into his router's DMZ or connect directly to cable or DSL without any
firewall or router, just the modem. From there, the 10 year old modem and LAN based code still
works very well over broadband connectivity; even with a mix of LAN and WAN players. Not bad for
code written prior to broadband.
All of the below screenies were taken during online campaigns, and show the various perspectives
of flying sharing cockpits, formation, and fighting as a team.
Thank you Janes and Skunkworks, for the 10 years of simming and value.
True flightsim classics never die... they stay in our "collective" memories
and set the bar for the next generations to come.