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History of Online DP
The Origins of Online Dawn Patrol
Long before the days of Vassal game engines, real time virtual Fits and ethernet voice communications, ISD Editor Emeritus
Brian Halberstadt pioneered the concept of computerized Dawn Patrol here on IndySquadron.com.
In November of 1999, as the Indy Squadron Dispatch was transforming from a physical paper newsletter to a web-based publication,
Brian thought there must be some way to use the squadron's new site to bring together Dawn Patrol players from across the
country and perhaps across the world. So he set out to design a system that would now be considered a form of email-based
play set within the Indy web site itself.
By early 2000 the idea was launched. Players signed up for a limited number of slots within a game, chose and reported
their pilots and were assigned color-coded airplanes and weather information. Brian, as a "gamemaster" of sorts, rolled initiative
and posted pertinent data on the designated page of the Indy site where DP fans could keep up with the game.
At this time it was impossible to have real time play with complete user control, so Brian received the moves via email
and executed the moves on behalf of each player. So here's what online Dawn Patrol looked like late in the last century (article
continues below):
The boards were far from ornate, but the response was overwhelming and games filled up faster than Brian could run them.
By late summer an Indy Forum Invitational was held featuring some of the top aces in the game, and plans were laid for the
first worldwide online tournament that drew players from Canada, Australia and the USA. The idea quickly evolved into a series
of games conducted not just by the Indy Squadron, but also by the official Dawn Patrol web site and the Australian Dawn Patrol
Championships.
However, online DP demanded a great deal of commitment from the administrator who ran the game. Games sanctioned by the
Indy Squadron died out when Brian stopped editing the site in the spring of 2001. The Australian games lasted another year
before the ADPC itself folded due to lack of participation and the society games quickly followed.
The initial experiment with online Dawn Patrol had lasted less than two full years, but the idea of computerized Fits
would rise again three years later.
In the summer of 2004, Kirk Hoffman made an effort to revive online gaming based on the new VASSAL computerized gaming
system and a Dawn Patrol module developed by George Long. Some games were held and it was immediately clear that the new VASSAL
system was far superior to the antiquated methods that Indy used to pioneer online Dawn Patrol five years before. Games could
now be played in real time with complete user control over every aspect of the game. It was a quantum leap forward for computerized
Dawn Patrol, but Kirk had difficulty in getting a quorum together for regular gaming and by Christmas of the same year the
concept died for a second time.
In March of 2007 more rumblings appeared on the Indy Squadron forum and some new games were held, organized by Rex Morton,
Kevan Sumner and Andrew Priest. A new section of the Indy Squadron forum was constructed to serve the new community and a
new wing added to IndySquadron.com to provide Vassal Dawn Patrol a permanent home. When Kirk returned to lend his experience
to the effort, Vassal Dawn Patrol finally appeared to have a group of solid players with both the knowledge and commitment
to make VDP a viable and lasting game system.
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