Page 2

The group of SDOE flyers who in the beginnig were a collection of individuals, slowly started to become a community. Before long the guy who days before had been just another poster on the forum was now becoming a friend. Squadrons formed and web sites went up specializing in various things from, Paint Schemes, to New Aircraft, to "How To" discussions. Over night, or so it seemed, SDOE was growing, and it's tentacles were now reaching around the globe. The Open Plane aspect built into the game allowing plane design was just starting to be tapped. With tools created from talented players the ability to design and build planes as good as, and some would argue better than those that shipped with the game were to become a reality.

The camaraderie of the SDOE flyers and the unabashed love they held for the game was and is never more evident than what is seen nightly at the lobbies of Fighter Squadron where flyers gather for online battle. The California server was soon the home of many squads as they met each other, and then engaged in playful taunts all the while setting up missions to fly against all comers. If a Newbie enters he would be met with welcomes all around and his questions would be answered almost before they could be asked. SDOE'ers encourage all newcomers and many new pilot is vocal in their astonishment at the genuine spirit of friendship and helpfulness shown to them.

Fig. 3. Crosshair on Japanese Ship

Fighter Squadron has come along way from what it was out of the box. And the credit for this growth is the SDOE "Community". The SDOE community is made up of people from all walks of life and from all over the globe. It consists of lawyers, doctors, retail managers, students, teachers, and truck drivers, etc. The community is incredibly diverse, and the one real thing they all have in common is flight sims. And the one passion they share in flight sims is SDOE.

With that many different types of people and personalities you would expect conflict and confusion. Well, the SDOE community has that, but it also has cohesiveness and communality of goal. The goal of making SDOE not only what they all hoped it would be out of the box, but much, much more. A more complete WWII sim, a WWI sim, a post WWII sim, and on, and on, and on.

Fig. 4. Japanese custom built Destroyer

When SDOE was released it had 10 flyable aircraft, 3 ships, and half a dozen ground objects. Today the user community has added an additional 35 aircraft, another 3 or 4 ships, and countless ground objects. With many more on the drawing board. Work is being done by some to add a pacific terrain complete with carriers and aircraft with arresting hooks. Others are looking into the possibility of expanding the stock 40x40 mile terrain into a larger one. Who is doing this? How are these changes taking place? The answer is the SDOE community. The SDOE community is doing all these things, not a third party developer, not Activision, not even the original designer. The SDOE community.