Disclaimer: this topic is not meant to shame anyone or to start an argument. It’s sole purpose is to raise some awareness and promote change
Today, I was reading @Jose_Oscana’s Please Follow Arrival Chart Speed Restrictions, and I found the following claims:
These two claims were both made in relation to the idea that the expert server doesn’t feel like it deserves to be called “expert” anymore. As a member of the IFATC organization, Jose was trying to request that pilots would simply follow airspeeds on arrival charts - which, might I add, would make it easier for people like him to enhance us pilots’ experience on the ES. As a pilot on the ES, I’m here today to request that all pilots will cooperate with both IFATC and realism standards to make everybody’s experience more enjoyable.
While I entirely agree with Jose requesting that people try to maintain the realism on the Expert server, I can also acknowledge that everybody following every rule all the time is just simply not going to happen. At the end of the day, just being Grade 3 doesn’t mean that much - it just means that you have a high status on the game and have been active for a while. And without Expert server pilots genuinely knowing what they’re doing, it just becomes another Training server, albeit one that you have to be Grade 3 for. Having said that, I have (off the top of my head) two different ways to acheive this realism that many ES pilots and ATC are actively striving to acheive (you can also find links to these exact/related features at the bottom of this topic).
First idea
The first one is simply just being incredibly strict with the rules for Grade 3. Make it so every ES pilot has to go through some sort of “training” (kind of like what the IFATC members have to do) - maybe a bunch of tutorials, a manual, or something. Ameteur pilots won’t exist on the expert server - no more incredibly fast taxiing, bad pilots, or one of my smallest, yet biggest pet peeves, aircraft of the wrong airline at the wrong terminal. Make even the slightest infraction a Level 1 violation (but maybe increase the amount of Level 1s you can get, as it will be very easy to get one if you’re not careful). I realize that this one might be a bit of a stretch to pull off, but I feel like it could be acheived.
Second idea
The second idea that I had was to make some selected pilots (of any grade permitted on the ES) that are somewhat frequent fliers, and put them through a training system to basically be “police officers”, if you will - like what @Nanosecond100 said in his own topic a while back on this matter. After having put these select pilots through training, they can send warnings of a certain level to other aircraft not following procedures (ex: taxiing with landing/beacon lights after a certain point = level 1 warning, not maintaining proper separation with aircraft on the ground/in the absence of ATC = level 2, etc.). If there can be a system for IFATC staff to be able to be trusted enough to have the power to report players for not maintaining the realism, then I strongly believe that a similar power could be granted to these pilots, too.
Now, I know that, at the end of the day, IF_California has a point - its just a mobile flight sim - nowhere near the level of realism that you’d want to see from, for example, VATSIM on MSFS2020. But, at the same time, there is some validity to just wanted the most realistic flight experience, and it can be frustrating at times when it seems like you cannot escape the blatantly unrealistic pilots of IF. There are a ton of us that DO actually follow the rules - if you are one of those pilots, then I am grateful to you. I get that nobody is perfect, but I think that we, as a community of expert server pilots, would sincerely appreciate it if each and every pilot adhered to the rules. So please, for the time being, even if you maybe think that everything you do is totally fine, please check back up on the user guide. If everybody genuinely tried to, we could finally see some peace and realism restored to the ES.
Well, I know that’s a lot to unpack, but I’m glad that you read this topic. Before you go, though, I emplore you to consider looking into the following links to help out this issue. It would make a huge difference! Thanks, and have a great day!
Waxy
- Idea 1
- Idea 2
- I like them both
- I don’t care how it’s done, I just want realism on the ES!!
GUIDES FOR PILOTS
Getting Started Guide for New Pilots
Flying Guide (all pilots should review this!)
FEATURES TO VOTE FOR
Realistic Server Suggestion by @IrishAviatorYT
New Requirement for Expert Server by @Riskie
Advanced Tutorial Required for Expert Server Use by @USA_ATC
Additional SOP Information in Airport Info Tab by @Rock77