COMMS is your wing's command net: live text channels, a member roster, a live who's-online map, and — for command — a squadron board to run the wing.
1 · THE THREE TABS
- CHAT — live text channels. Pick a channel on the left, type, press Enter (Shift+Enter = new line).
- ORG — the member roster grouped by rank, showing who's online. For command it becomes the Squadron Board (§6).
- WING — the full hierarchy on one screen: Wing Command at the top, every squadron and its leader below, and your own position highlighted.
2 · CHANNELS
- General · Party — the General Gamer Pool. Open to every signed-in pilot, no approval needed.
- Org · CHAN 1–6 — your org's private channels; they unlock once an org's command approves you.
- The channel you pick in the tablet's COMMS header opens straight to that channel here.
3 · GETTING IN
- Sign in on the tablet (top-right account pill) — COMMS shares that login. You land in the General Gamer Pool immediately; #general and #party are open.
- To join an org: ORG tab → JOIN AN ORG. That org's own command reviews you — the system admin is not involved.
- No org fits? FOUND AN ORG on the same tab. The system admin approves the org itself, and from that moment you are its Wing Commander and vet your own pilots.
- The moment you are approved — or your rank or squadron changes — a banner tells you instantly. No reload needed.
4 · THE FLIGHT-WING RANKS
- Wing Commander — commands the whole wing. Approves applicants, sets ranks and squadrons, appoints Squadron Leaders. Full control.
- Squadron Leader — commands one squadron. Command tier: can approve applicants and manage members.
- Flight Lead — leads a flight (about four ships) inside a squadron.
- Element Lead — leads a two-ship element (a lead and their wingman).
- Wingman — a full, approved pilot flying the line.
- Recruit — applied, not yet approved. No access until a commander clears them.
5 · SQUADRONS
- The wing is divided into squadrons (e.g. Alpha, Bravo), each with a Squadron Leader.
- Every approved member sits in one squadron (or Unassigned). Your squadron shows on your roster line and on the WING board.
- Elements — command pairs pilots to an Element Lead (the “— element —” picker on the squadron board). The roster and WING boards draw each element as one group: the lead plus exactly who flies under them.
6 · FOR COMMAND — THE SQUADRON BOARD
If you are a Wing Commander or Squadron Leader, the ORG tab is a command console:
- Applicants — each pending recruit has a rank picker + squadron picker. Press Approve to admit them, or Deny to reject.
- Move members — every member has a squadron dropdown; change it to move them between squadrons instantly.
- Set ranks — the rank dropdown on each member re-ranks them.
- Set a squadron's Lead — press Lead on a member inside a squadron to make them its Squadron Leader.
- Every change appears in that member's window live, with a banner telling them what changed.
6a · PARTIES & TACTICAL CALLSIGNS
- Party up — open #party in CHAT. CREATE PARTY makes a 6-character code; your friends JOIN with it. No org needed.
- Party lead — the seat is claimed, not given: if no one leads, press CLAIM PARTY LEAD. The leader can HAND OFF LEAD or remove members, all from their own console.
- Callsign menu — leaders (and org command / flight leads for their squadron) type a base like
STORM and press ASSIGN: every pilot becomes STORM 1, STORM 2… in list order. Each pilot's callsign can also be set by hand.
6b · SQUADRON ORDERS
- Command tasks each squadron from the ORG tab board: DEFEND · GUARD · ATTACK · SUPPRESS · DISTRACT · LURE AWAY, plus a free target (callsign, gamertag or location).
- Every assigned member sees a YOUR ORDERS strip above chat the moment orders are set.
6c · COMMAND PAGES, NETCALL, KIA & MEDIVAC
- PARTY CMD / ORG CMD tabs — appear in the header for party members and org command. Clock + planetside day/night, a scrollable roster of everyone under you with live heartbeat status, and (for leaders) callsigns and flag controls.
- NETCALL — the leader's call in the blind: one transmission, highlighted loud in chat for every member on the op.
- KIA / NEED RESCUE — buttons above chat when you're on a party or org. Press KIA and your name flashes KIA ↔ your name on every commander's board until cleared. NEED RESCUE flags a MEDIVAC chip the same way.
- Offline grace — drop off your tablet and your name flashes dark orange for 30 minutes; after that the party leader's console automatically unlinks you from the party.
- OP PLANNER (ORG CMD page, command only) — name the op, set the local step-off time and comms plan; assignments, orders, callsigns and elements fill in live. EXPORT PDF, EXPORT EXCEL, or DISTRIBUTE TO ORG in one press — every member on the chosen channel gets the op order instantly.
- ✉ buttons on the command rosters jump you straight into that member's comms channel with their name pre-filled.
6d · GROUP FINDER
- The GROUPS tab lists every pilot online right now and what they're up for — mining, bounties, salvage, and so on, plus the seats they need.
- Post your own advert at the top: pick an activity, note what you need, POST IT. It clears itself after 12 hours so the board never shows stale adverts.
- Next to every name: REQUEST JOIN (pick the seat you'd fill — pilot, turret gunner, medic…) and INVITE TO PARTY, which sends them your party code. Both land loud in #general and the pilot gets an instant alert.
7 · THE WING BOARD
- The WING tab draws the whole chain of command: Wing Command → each Squadron and its Leader → the pilots under them.
- Your node is highlighted so you always know where you sit.
8 · OPENING IT LARGE
- Press the expand icon in the COMMS pill to open this whole console full-screen. Esc or CLOSE returns you.
9 · CONNECTION & TROUBLE
- The dot up top: green = live, amber = reconnecting (messages may lag), red = offline.
- “BACKEND NOT SET UP” — the org owner has not run the setup SQL yet.
- “Permission denied” — you are not an approved member; ask a Wing Commander.
- “Sign-in expired” — reload the tablet and sign in again.
- Still stuck? Use Report an Issue on the tablet — the Chat/COMMS section asks the exact questions to diagnose it.
10 · PERSONAL vs ORG
- These live channels and the roster are the org side. For a personal group (just friends), party up through Spectrum + in-game — set that up in the tablet's COMMS → Set Up → Personal.