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New Grading
At the time of writing tactical paddles has been out for only 5 months and has tracked over 15 000 traps.
An impressive number for a first version.
But what you saw the first months isn't all. It was never meant to be a final version.
It was a proof of concept that had gotten a lot of traction when Fox3 started supporting it as well!
But here is a major update and one I've been testing for a little while now and has been awaited by some of you!
Feedback
It's not even been half a year since I've been "live".
There was almost no beta phase at all, so I'm very happy to now have done a rework on what felt to be a very good first crack at it.
I am nowhere near done, but right now I have implemented most feedback that has been received.
If you want to make it even better please leave feedback here: Paddles Forum
You are always free to also message the Tactical Paddles bot directly, but I think the forums can be a nice place to learn and share information.
If it is allowed to share of course.
I am certain the grading system will get more updates. A lot more.
And those updates will be made quicker and easier if you provide your feedback as you see it.
But remember, if I don't know, I cannot fix it.
Goal of the grades.
The goal of the grading system is to evaluate to which degree pilots follow the safety guidelines and procedures.
This isn't done by simply burning a pilot to the ground with comments.
Meaningful comments providing constructive feedback will help getting closer to the perfect pass.
How the comments are done by Tactical Paddles and how this will later result in a larger feedback and analysis system will be addressed at a later time.
For now we're discussing the grades, which provide a quick insight into how well one does around the boat.
On top of this the grades are used for greenieboards and carrier qualification tracking.
I was very happy to hear that Paddles was used during the Hornet course at Tactical DCS and was deemed a very useful tool in debriefing those landings.
That's what I did it for, a tool to be used in conjunction with the never replaceable value of an actual person explaining things.
Grades
Ok | OK | 4.0 | Ok Grade. A few minor comments at most.
Fair | (OK) | 3.0 | Fair grade. Not an OK yet, but definitely a good safe recovery.
NoGrade, | --- | 2.0 | NoGrade. The recovery was below standard, but still safe.
Cut | C | 1.0 | Cut grade. Unsafe deviations were detected.
Bolter | B | 2.5 | Bolter. Hook didn't catch a wire.
NoGradeBolter | B --- | 2.0 | Bolter No Grade. Not all bolters are equal. This recovery was ugly enough of a bolter to be this grade.
WO | WO | 2.0 | WO. A wave off due to not being stable or out of parameters to land.
WO FD | WO FD | NaN | Wave off due to a fouled deck. Does not count at all.
Changes
There's been a lot of changes made, but it could very well be that some of you won't even notice.
But if you do pay very close attention you will see teh following.
You will be more likely to find some more OK grades.
Cuts are less likely to be found unless you make dangerous mistakes. (LOAR)
Subsequently you will see more No Grades (---) what previously might have been classified as cuts since safe doesn't mean good.
As you can see 2 new grades have been added.
- B --- or "No Grade Bolter".
According to anecdotal data it was used for bolters that were so ugly they could be a no-grade.
Don't worry, a normal bolter will not result in this, but it won't be worth overstretching your capabilities to chase the deck. - WO FD
Fouled Deck Wave Off. It can be annoying when you setup nicely, but there is someone that thought CAT III was a good idea or your flight lead cannot get the wire unhooked.
WO FD luckily does not give you a grade that counts towards any average. It can happen. Not (always) your fault.
A more detailed explanation on implementation will be hitting the news here soon, but there's still some stuff to be figured out.
It needs to be a nice balance between performance and accuracy.
On top of those new grades the weights, comments and consequently the final grade has changed.
What does it mean?
New grades and an "update" is nice, but what does it really mean for you?
Well, during testing I found that there were more OK and Fairs overall for traps that looked stable. A good thing to see.
When zooming in those grades were all very reasonable and paddles didn't just give them away for free.
I added a little (we're talking miniscule) leniency At the Ramp (AR) for the high and low comment.
This due to the fact that it was generally classified a little different from a human.
This does not mean you can get away at all with easing the gun. The leniency would be approximately no more than 3ft of extra wiggle room.
All in all I think I've tried to address one of the things that I heard a few times. Paddles is grumpy.
Well, he isn't as much, but you still need to earn his respect.
Comments
The comments have changed as you'll notice.
There will be less supermarket receipts coming your way. When you have big comments already Paddles won't tell you all the other details.
It won't tell you you're a little fast when you are also almost hitting the surface.
The earlier grades?
All grades you have ever gotten will be useless now?
Well, not really! Luckily I'm a hoarder and have saved not only your grades, but also all the data belonging to it.
Right when the update went live a separate service started regrading every single landing (over 15 000 of them) ever tracked by Tactical Paddles.
So if ever in the future I get to the feature of a total analysis of your traps all the landings will be graded with exactly the same standards in mind!
Finally
I hope this will be to everyone's liking. It's been a lot of work and a lot of testing.
Seeing all the reactions has been amazing and I appreciate the donations coming in as well!
They mostly go directly towards the hosting of the service itself.
Don't be a stranger and good luck getting flying metal birds on a big floating raft