Q: I’ve correctly registered, but I didn’t receive a confirmation e-mail with passwords!
A: Check your e-mail settings; try to disable spam-filters (for a short time), then use the “Forgot password?” function on the main page.
Q: I can’t connect to the server; a “Timeout” message appears.
A: Check your connection settings: make sure you’ve set the correct external IP in IL-2 Setup
Q: Again can’t connect, now I see a “Connection lost” message
A: Make sure your pilot’s callsign matches the one you selected during registration.
Q: After about ten minutes of flight I was kicked from the server for some reason. After that the server didn’t allow me to reconnect. What’s going on?
A: The reason for this obviously is reaching 100 penalty points. These points are given for:
- destroying friendly units;
- selecting a wrong (unpermitted) plane type or loadout;
- wrong IL-2 connection speed settings.
if there are 1 to 15 players on server, the minimum allowed speed is 14.4;
if there are 16 to 40 players on server, the minimum allowed speed is 28.8;
if there are 41 to 50 players on server, the minimum allowed speed is 56.6;
if there are 51 to 128 players on server, the minimum allowed speed is ISDN;
The maximum allowed speed is ISDN.
It is recommended to permanently set ISDN if your Internet connection provides sufficient speed.
Q: How to login?
A: After you have connected to the server, and BEFORE you select an airfield, you have to enter your password. It must be typed into the chat in this way: <logon<*****, where ***** is your password, and then it must be sent to server. A chat-channel “Server” can be created by selecting any empty line in the addressee list and typing Server there. See the step-by-step instructions below:
1. Click on the chat-box (along the upper edge of the screen) with your left mouse button
2. Type <logon<XXXXX, where XXXXX is your pilot password which you received after registration (or the one you’ve set in the pilot profile on ADW site)
3. Press ENTER
4. You’ll see the following lines below the chat line:
0. ALL
1. MY_ARMY
2.
3.
…. And so on.
(In fact, this is a list of chat-channels, or a list of addressees. By selecting a channel ALL, for example, you’ll send your message to all players in game. By selecting MY_ARMY, you’ll send it to friendlies only, and so on. We need to send our password to server, so that no one else but the server sees it.)
You can navigate through the lines of this list with UP and DOWN keyboard keys. So, select any empty line and type Server there – as it is written Here, starting from a capital letter, and without quotation marks!
5. Press ENTER
6. Server must respond with a “password accepted” reply.
If it doesn’t, you shouldn’t worry - maybe the Server Commander is down, or maybe the reply was quickly “buried” by other incoming messages. You actually should worry if the server replies “Password incorrect”, then you should raise the chat window again, check the spelling of your password and send it once more. If not the server, but someone else replies “password accepted”, this is also a bad sign
- it’s a common joke, meaning you didn’t manage to send your password to server, but sent it to ALL or MY_ARMY channels instead.Q: Ermm…how can I get some info in-game?
A: After you have connected and logged in, type the <help command, and you’ll receive a full list of all possible commands. Using them, you should be able to get all the information you need. Oh, and do keep an eye on the ADW tactical map.
TIP: send the <squad command to server, and it will tell you where your base is, what plane types does your squad have, and which loadouts are restricted to you.
Q: Well then, what do the symbols on the map mean?
A: Planes represent airfields. Arrows represent tank columns and tank reinforcements. Ovals designate storage points. Arcs with short notches stand for anti-tank artillery (ATA) positions and sometimes siege artillery detachments.
Q: I would like to fly on ADW, but I’m not a member of any squad. What should I do?
A: Try joining one! There is a pilots’ “labour registry office” thread on ADW forum (“Биржа труда” in Russian).
Or, you can create your own squad with “fictional” pilots (you will require four different e-mails for this, as a squad in ADW cannot contain less than four pilots). Be warned though, trying to qualify a 4-pilot squad alone can be an incredibly tiring business, especially for an ADW rookie.Read ADW Rules for more info.
Q: What’s a “Quorum”??
A: The “quorum” means that the “minimum amount of pilots” condition has been achieved. Currently the quorum is either 3x3 pilots (At least three pilots must be on each side) or 14x0 pilots (Ten or more pilots on one side, the amount of pilots on the other side is unessential).
The “quorum” system was once introduced as a “fair play” method, to prevent some pilots who have an option to fly during the day from destroying masses of ground units without any opposition, influencing the situation on the map greatly. Such “Daytime generals” are efficiently cut-off by the quorum system.
The “One-sided quorum” (14x0) was introduced later, to prevent the pilots of the obviously loosing side from “temporizing” by leaving the map in prime-time and “not giving the quorum”. The 10x0 condition ensures that the war will go on if there are enough pilots in the air, whether some of the pilots like it or not.
If the quorum isn’t present, if there is less than 3 pilots on one side and less then 10 pilots on the other – then any destroyed ground units and resources will not be calculated by the ADW Generator and will be restored on the next mission, all the attacking tank columns will stand still and won’t engage the enemy, and the front-line may not be altered. No qualification points can be gained without quorum as well.
Note that any aircraft losses and aircraft kills, spent resources, and supply missions take effect unconditionally to quorum.
And also mind one more important thing. For all pilots, only the quorum for the moment they took off from the airfield is taken into account. So, for example, if you took off when there were 2x1 pilots on the server (no quorum), and during your sortie more players connected and it became 5x5 pilots (quorum), YOU still will be considered as flying without quorum, and the ground units you destroyed will not be counted by Generator. And vice versa, if you took off while there were, say, 12x2 pilots, and by the moment you were approaching your target some pilots left and it became 7x2 pilots, you still HAVE the quorum (for this sortie), and all of your actions will be considered by the Generator.
See ADW Rules for additional info.
Q: Can the <teams command be trusted in relation to quorum? I mean, if it shows something like Allied: 3 Axis: 3, does this mean that quorum is OK, you can take-off and attack ground units?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I land on any friendly airfield, or do I have to return to my squad base only?
A: Of course you can land on any friendly airfield, however landings anywhere except your own base are counted as ditches. As usual with ditches, the ditched plane will be lost for one mission. If there are enough repair kits on your base airfield, they will be spent and the airplane will return to your squadron the following mission. If your base has insufficient repair kits, the ditched airplane is lost for good. So make your decisions keeping this in mind.
Q: Are there any “hidden” resources on some airfields?
A: No, there aren’t. Any airfield can be closed if all of its storage buildings and all nearby supply columns/trains are destroyed. However, on some airfields (especially those which are very close to supply points) resources are replenished at a rather high rate, and it will require considerable effort to destroy all means of supply directed to this airfield and prevent such an airfield from re-opening.
Q: Again and again I destroy a lot of enemy tanks, but the next mission they would always reappear in the same point, and my tank column wouldn’t move!
A: Such a situation might take place if the enemy column is located near a storage. Then any destroyed tanks will be replaced with new ones generated at a storage. This does not mean that your actions have no influence on the battlefield, however, as such constant column regenerations will drain enemy resources fast. Nevertheless, to move the front-line and affect the situation efficiently, both tanks and supply units should be wiped out as often as possible.
In ADW the situation on the battlefield develops in a complex way, depending on a great lot of factors. You don’t have to look for an explanation to everything you see, what you have to do is fly and try to achieve your objectives most efficiently. In the end this will positively affect the situation anyway.
Q: After I’ve hit the “Sortie” button, instead of appearing on the airfield I found myself low above the ground with engine off. I fell down and perished.
1) Why did it happen?
2) Can lost plane and streak be returned to me?
3) How can I evade such occasions in the future?
A:
1. Such things happen when an airfield is “overpopulated” with pilots. In such cases the game should not let you take off from this airfield, showing a “Base position not defined” message; however, on some airfields this doesn’t work correctly for some reason. It is a game bug.
2. No. Individual corrections of game statistics are impossible in any case.
3. You may encounter this bug if 16 to 24 players selected the same airfield as a base. The only possible way to guarantee yourself from such misfortunes is moving your squad to another airfield. If you can’t do that for some reason, the best decision is not to take any risks.
TIP: When normally appearing on heavily populated airfields, it is recommended to use the taxiways for take-off. The central runway is reserved for landing airplanes, and it is not recommended to take off from it, except at the very beginning of the mission, and with an exception of sluggish, fully loaded bombers.
Q: I’ve been damaged and successfully bailed out above friendly territory. Entered the menu, selected an airplane, appeared on the runway, prepared to take off… and then the server announced me “death”, and I’ve been kicked. What happened?
A: The paratrooper from your previous sortie died for some reason. This might happen if he fell into water, or maybe he was killed by someone or something (AA for example enjoy killing paratroopers), maybe you bailed out too low, and sometimes it happens without any obvious reason (a heart attack, perhaps
?). The most reliable way to avoid this is enter the menu after the jump, then exit the game, and then connect to server and login once more.Q: I’ve engaged the enemy, damaged his airplane, he ditched in the field (not on an airfield), left the game (or started a new sortie). But I didn’t gain an air victory for this! Why?
A: Well, that means the damage you’ve dealt to his airplane was not so heavy, and the game didn’t count his ditch as a result of your actions! No log entry – no confirmed kill. Heavy structural damage, busting out weaponry or plane controls, damage of fuel or oil tanks usually ensure the kill will be scored.
Q: Had been flying for half an hour, destroying ground units. Returned to base, entered the menu, hit the “new sortie” and then left the game. But in statistics all I have as a result is “Disco”! Why?
A: Sometimes this happens when you leave the game immediately after the plane has stopped on the ground. You’ve left the game so fast that actually the server didn’t put a log entry about your landing. As a result, the way you ended your sortie was considered to be an in-air disconnect. To avoid this, you should either wait 3-5 seconds before leaving the airfield after landing, or enable smokes/lights to force a log entry of your plane being on the ground.
Q: Squad XX disappeared from statistics page! Its pilots are flying, but they aren’t present in the fighter/bomber pilots list!
A: A squad whose pilots haven’t made a single battle sortie for a period of 1 week isn’t listed in the stat anymore. As soon as they make any battle sortie, the squad will re-appear.
Q: How does the Generator operate without quorum? Does it play chess with itself?
A: Without quorum, the Generator can:
- Supply airfields and storages
- Move reinforcements and supply columns
- Calculate combat of ground units IF they are within 5km distance from each other.
It can NOT:
- Move tank columns
- Alter the frontline
Once the quorum appeared in the mission, even for a short time, the Generator will fully calculate all the actions of ground units, as well as actions of those pilots that took off with the right quorum.
Q: What the hell’s happening with the ground units? How did an enemy column came to be in quadrant XX?
A: The columns are never generated randomly, they do move from the places they are generated at, and the Generator places a column where it actually could have come to, considering terrain, vehicle speed, and so on.
Q: Are newly generated columns always equal in summary tank strengths?
A: No, they are not.
Q: What happens if one side has a full-strengths column, and the other lacks, for example, one tank not to be defeated? The full column will destroy the whole opposing column, and only surviving tanks from the victorious column will remain?
A: The Generator has a complex mechanism calculating every unit on the battlefield. It does not simply add up “attack” and “defense” parameters.
Q: When attacking columns engage each other, what happens to their accompanying supply columns? The supply column of the defeated tank column transforms into AT artillery positions? The supply column of the victorious tank column replenishes lost tanks and calls out for a new supply column?
A: If the tank column is defeated, yes, the supply column will turn into AT artillery, but only if it has enough ammo, and the supply point (storage) which spawned the column has enough artillery units.
If the tank column is victorious, nothing happens to its supply column. It simply follows the tank column, resupplying it with resources. The supply column may not “generate” tanks. If the tank column has suffered heavy casualties, a reinforcement column will be sent out from the supply point to restore the advancing unit to maximum strength.
Q: Tank columns move only when there are no enemy units ahead within a given radius. Does this radius always equal the tanks’ maximum move distance, or might it vary from time to time?
A: Tanks move till they encounter enemy tanks at distance of XX km. The tanks’ speed is constant, however, the total distance they may cover depends on the amount of AP (Action points) they’ve received at the beginning of the current turn. AP are spent on moving, shooting, etc.
Q: Which of the tanks’ actions are calculated between missions? Combat and movement (if the enemy is destroyed and there's no ATA ahead) or combat only?
A: Both combat and movement. For example, a full-strength blue column destroyed a partial-strength red column, and then the upcoming red reinforcements as well, which were about 40km away. Though the total amount of red units was greater, they were divided into two groups, and that led to blues’ victory.
Q: Are there any units which can move off-road, and any units which definitely cannot? Why are units sometimes generated in the field, is this a bug, or was it arranged intentionally due to imperfection of current IL-2 maps?
A: Everything that can be formed into strike columns can move off-road. Otherwise we would have had to create lots of field storages without railroad supply. Yes, this is done partially because of maps.
Q: If a tank column halts due to lack of fuel or ammo, and no one’s opposing it, will it stand still till supplies make their way to the column, or will it disappear after some time (i.e. two, three, four turns-missions or more)?
A: Currently it will stand till supplies come. If the column halts while the front-line and the storage point move ahead of the column, it will stay there forever – supplies are never sent backwards.
Q: If a tank column runs out of fuel or ammo, and it is engaged by an enemy column, what happens? The column will disappear without dealing any damage to enemy?
A: The turn is calculated normally only if the column has AMMO. If there’s no ammo, the whole column will be automatically discarded.
Q: If a tank column is destroyed and the supply column has transformed into ATA, the additional supply column will arrive in the form of tanks to restore the attacking group?
A: The supply column following an attacking tank column consists of two parts. The front part carries ammo, the rear part carries fuel. In case the tank column is wiped out, the ammo column will be transformed into ATA, and the fuel column will be transformed into an ammo column for ATA. No further tank reinforcements will be sent out for this group, as the ATA may not be turned back into a supply column. Instead, a new attacking group will be formed at a storage point, with its own set of tanks and supply columns.
Q: Are storages supplied with ships and railroads only?
A: They can be supplied with any kind of supply units save one – transport planes.
Q: If a storage point is located directly near the map’s edge, will trains/ships arrive there every mission? And will they actually appear on the map, or will they arrive right at the storage point due to short distance? I mean, do the players have an option to destroy such a ship/train, or will this storage point be supplied “invisibly”?
A: The supply train/ship may come or not depending on the number of requests for resources and the amount of resources remaining at a storage point. In fact, if there is a great need for resources, and if there are enough trains/ships and enough resources “off-map”, two or even more trains/ships might come simultaneously. Anyway all trains/ships require 1 turn to be unloaded, and during this mission-turn it will actually stay on the map near a storage point. I guess that answers your question.
Q: All storages have a minimum indestructible remainder. But airfield storages don’t have such a remainder - true?
A: A minimum indestructible remainder exists everywhere. However this remainder isn’t a fixed quality, but a small percent of the currently present resources. The fewer resources there are, the smaller this remainder will be. This subtlety doesn’t allow really large storages to be wiped out in one bomber raid. However this remainder percent is so small that its action can be noticed, as I’ve said, in case with really large storages only. Talking about airfield storages, the remainder they usually have is smaller than the minimum amount of resources an airfield requires to stay open.
Q: Between the front-line and a storage point can be only one tank column, right? If we see some more arrows on the map that’s definitely reinforcements which may include both tanks and cars?
A: Not quite right. “By the law” there may be only one main attacking column for each storage point. However, on some maps where attacking columns have to move through a very tangled route, a storage point might have several attacking columns ahead of it. Right, reinforcements with tanks are also shown as arrows; by the way, if the attacking column for which the reinforcement was intended is destroyed, the reinforcing detachment will become a main attacking column itself, and will call for reinforcements in turn!
Q: Is there any punishment for pilots who fly with wrong plane markings?
A: If the rule is broken systematically, and a flight record has been sent to ADW Administration as a proof, the problem is discussed with leaders of the player’s squad, and the pilot is given a WARNING. If violations continue, then administrative punishment in the form of BAN will follow.
Q: What factors influence the squad rating? Destroyed units, resources, or..?
A: The more planes/units and resources you destroy, the less casualties in planes and pilots you take, the more you fly, the higher your rating is. Other miscellaneous factors like the number of successful supply missions are considered as well. For example, a fighters regiment usually must have k/d greater than 1, at least 50 victories and 100 battle sorties to get the first “expert label”. Accordingly, if the k/d is less than 1, then 50 victories and 100 sorties are insufficient already. You may find out for yourselves how criteria change if one of them doesn’t reach the required value, as any more detailed information is kept secret. The only thing remains to be said is that for a second label fighters must have k/d greater than 1, 100 victories, 200 sorties, for a third – k/d > 2, 150 victories, 300 sorties. Criteria for bomber regiments are harder to find out as they are usually greatly affected by amount of deaths and spent resources.
Q: What do I have to do to restore a lost plane from the main planeset?
A: Make 10 successful battle sorties. Then the plane will be returned to the squad if there are planes of this type still left at storages. Attention: any battle sorties flown by any pilot of the squad count – including those made before the plane loss. So if you have 10 “unused” battle sorties, the plane might be restored almost immediately.
TIP: Supply missions also count, just make sure they’re over 15 minutes long to fit the “battle sorties” criteria.
Q: What’s a planeset line and how do I choose one?
A: A planeset line is a predefined set of plane types (distributed around years and maps of ADW) that will be accessible to your squad throughout the war.
Of course there are different planeset lines for fighter and bomber regiments and for red/blue sides.
For each type of regiments (fighter/bomber) there are two kinds of planeset lines. The first kind is a reserve planes line. It is the same for all regiments of a given type. All squads start the war with the reserve planeset line – you’ll have to take it as the only possible variant. All reserve plane lines consist of very poor or obsolete planes; this is done generally to ensure you’ll treat you main planeset type carefully and avoid flying the reserve planes.
Well, to get access to the main planeset lines (second kind of lines) and better planes you’ll have to pass the qualification process. To qualify your squad needs to score a definite number of qualification points. The number is defined via Q > N*4 formula, where Q is the required number of points, and N is the maximum number of pilots in your regiment. (For example, for a 4-pilots squad you’ll need more than 16 points).
Points are scored according to the following “pricelist”:
Each shot down enemy plane – 1 point
Each destroyed tank (only actual tanks count, exclude APC and other vehicles) – 1 point
Each destroyed car (or other vehicle), or cannon, or AA gun (including self-propelled), or wagon – 1/3 point
Each destroyed ton of any resource – 1/30 point
A necessary condition for any points to be scored – the pilot MUST stay alive! The sortie must end with a landing, ditch or bail-out. If the pilot is killed or captured by the enemy, no points are added to the squad’s total score. Disco = pilot’s death on ADW.
The total amount of scored points can be viewed in the “Accessible planesets” window.
As soon as you qualify, you will be able to select a main planeset line. Possible planeset lines will appear in the “Accessible planesets” window as soon as you gain enough qualification points. There’s a bunch of planeset lines available, however, some of them are more popular than the others. Note that there’s a limited number of each planeset line available to regiments, if a said number of squadrons have taken the same planeset it will be removed from the list, so it’s none of your interest to temporize qualification. Attention: sometimes lines disappear form the list if the amount of plane type that forms this plane lines is depleted on this map. This is considered to be a minor bug, and if you ultimately want the unavailable planeset you should wait till the next map. Otherwise make your choice according to your tastes.
Also mind that the planeset list gives only an approximate idea what each planeset consists of. A "Bf-109G6" inscription might designate G6-Early, G6-Late or even G6/AS, and a single line "P-39" sometimes describes a whole series of planes - P-39D2, N1, Q1 and Q10 on different maps.
As soon as you have selected the main planeset line your reserve planes will be replaced with the ones that your planeset line has for the current map. Any lost planes will be replaced with reserve type first; see above how to restore planes of the main planeset.
After you have selected a main planeset line, all your qualification points will be nullified – it is important to know if you decide to drop your planeset later (maybe you won’t like it), you’ll have to qualify from zero level once more. Important: an attempt to change the maximum number of pilots in a qualified regiment will also automatically drop your main planeset line.
Q: My squad has scored 16 points for 4 pilots, i.e. the qualification is passed. However selecting a main planeset line is still impossible. What should I do?
A: Probably read this FAQ more thoroughly
. To qualify a squad must gain, as written, more than a said number of points. For example, in your case you need to gain more than 16 points. Go and kill some car or AA gun to gain 0.33 points and finish qualification.Q: Could someone guide me through planeset selection step-by-step?
A:
First enter the Squad management panel, open the “Accessible planesets” tab. Here you will see the current amount of qualification points and the maximum amount of pilots your squad can currently have. You need 4 points for each pilot + some misc. points to meet qualification requirements (see above). If the current amount of Q-points and the consequent amount of pilots satisfies you, proceed to next step. Remember, you may initially register a 30-pilot squad (and need 120 points to fully qualify it!), but after gaining more than just 16 points you might reduce amount of pilots to four and select a planeset line the if such need arises. However, your squad will have 4 planes only in this case. Vice versa, if you somehow gain more Q-points than you need for your squad, you could add extra pilots (till the gap between available and necessary points is filled) to have some extra planes in the future. At this stage this will not drop your points to zero.
Now press the “Drop current planeset” button. You’ll see a Windows-style confirmation window. Pressing YES will take you to the list of planesets again, however, it has one big difference from the previous list of planesets – you may actually choose one! Make sure the correct number of pilots is set in the upper line. Selecting a planeset will ultimately finish this qualification headache. Welcome to ADW!
Q: I ditched/landed on some friendly field, but the plane wasn’t returned the following mission. Why?
A: 1) Maybe your base, not the field you landed on, has no repair kits.
2) Perhaps that was the last of your main planeset type. Loosing all planes of the main type means the squad has reached its casualties limit, and must be relocated away from front for recovering. You will be automatically rebased to some field far away from frontline. In this case the ditched plane will not be returned.
Q: My squad has earned an expert label, and we decided to take prize planes for this map. But for some reason the squad gained just a few prize planes (or no prize planes at all), all the other planes were of reserve type!
A: The number of active pilots in squad was less than the total number of pilots (or there were simply no active pilots if the squad gained no prizes at all). A pilot is considered to be active if he has gained more than 10 points for the period of last 14 days according to qualification system (yes, according to qualification system, though after qualification the Q-points aren’t counted anymore). The number of given prizes is always equal to number of active pilots in squad. The planes of main planeset will be returned the following map only.
Watch the number of active pilots above the prize list attentively when deciding to pick prizes.
Q: Can map duration be extended to 2 or at least 1.5 hours?
A: No. There’s too much mechanics in the Generator that is tightly tied up to 1-hour mission length.
This line marks the end of ADW F.A.Q.
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and the End of all hope if you haven’t found solution to your problem yet
Well, actually, you are always welcome on ADW Forum with any questions and problems pending!
All credits go to SDPG_SPAD and =HH-Karl_Bartz
