Cadet II*
*Please note that the Cadet program is in a transition phase.
(Oct 2007) This page and application is for the interim Cadet
II course. You must have completed Cadet
I prior to taking this course.
The Allegiance Cadet Program was the
original concept of Romeo several years ago. At the time, Romeo was in the midst
of reforming XT and BlackViper (current @Cadet administrator) was the Squad
Leader of Black Shadow. The goal of this course is that upon your successful
graduation, you are looked upon with respect for your knowledge and capabilities.
Romeo's concept was for squads to take Cadet candidates and have them join a
squad on a temporary basis. There they would be tutored by assigned
"wingmates" and have a squad membership upon completion of
the course. Black Shadow and XT were the initial squads participating.
In time, the other squads elected to do so as well.
As with everything else, Cadet has evolved. Now it is worked in reverse.
Cadets join the 8 week program and are highly recruited to join a squad
after successful completion of the course.
Mission Statement
The point of @Cadet has never been to turn out perfect pilots.
The point is to help introduce new players to the game so they aren't
quite as overwhelmed by the sheer amount of knowledge required to even
start to be useful for a team. The point is to give you the terminology,
the background knowledge, so you know what questions to ask.
You can't ask "Should I be using Dis or Gatt when attacking
an Ass. Ship?" if you don't know what Dis, Gatt or an Ass Ship are.
You can't respond to an order to "Get Nans to Kilv" or "Prep to
Galv out the Mid-high OP" unless you know what all that shorthand means.
If someone asks you to call drop, first you need to know what drop is
before you can ask what the proper timing is for calling it.
We get you started. We get you up to the point where you
can contribute, usefully, every single time you play. This is 8 weeks of
basic training. You learn the most simplified strategies so when something
needs to be done using a given set of tools, you'll know how to jump
into the right ship and get the job done. You may or may not actually
accomplish it, but at least you'll be able to try. That's more than many
players who have been here over a year (but never joined @Cadet - or
never paid attention to the reading if they did) can manage.
We get you started so you know where to look when you
have questions, so you know what skills to work on in the future, so you know
what parts of the game are important to focus on and which you can more-or-less
filter out. After that, it doesn't stop. It isn't the end of learning.
It isn't even the beginning of the end. It is, at most, the end of the
beginning. We've had 5-year vets take @Cadet and come out learning things.
If you're realizing there's more there to be learned, you're in good company
-- I don't think there's a single pilot in the game who can legitimately
claim to have nothing left they can learn.
What is expected of you?
It is expected that you want to learn how the game is really played by the community. This means not playing on the newbie servers
with extremely high resource settings, 3 hour capship wars, etc. What you have learned for gameplay on the newbie server has no bearing on how the community plays. You are
further expected to NOT command during Cadet. You will fly the ship of the week as assigned. Repetitive violations will result in your
removal from the program
Where is it held?
Currently, Cadets and Instructors have their own private forum on
the freeallegiance.org
website. Each class (A and B) has its own forum as 2 classes are run
staggered every 4 weeks. It is not held here at the Allegiance Academy
website. The Allegiance Academy Website is a documentation source for
private study and reference. It is now maintained by me (BV) and some
material will be brought into here.
Who teaches it?
Each squadron has an advisor to assist with each session. There's
also a small permanent staff of veteran players. You get some
of the best material from some of the best players. Players
who do not participate as instructors have written some great
material for us to use as course material, including one of
the original Microsoft developers of Allegiance.
What is taught?
You will be given instruction on game basics, intermediate
and some advanced concepts. You will be able to fly any ship and
perform any function that is required in normal game play when
you are finished. There is a short course on command basics, but
it is not the main focus of @Cadet. ACS (Allegiance Command School),
coordinated by Clay_Pigeon@ACE, provides advanced command training.
You will have the ability to post ANY question and have rapid
answers provided. Most squadrons now require completion of this
course prior to membership.
You will have the ability to post ANY question and have rapid answers provided.
The opportunity to post “stupid questions” and have an immediate
response without ridicule is the one of the biggest assets. Your participation
in the discussions will have a direct effect on what you learn. Plus
there is not always just one “correct” answer. You will be
provided with different viewpoints to choose from.
You may have read the Allegiance Academy Website and read a lot
of the posts about gameplay. The Cadet program will show you
how to apply it successfully. Plus a lot more indepth material.
When is it held?
There is no structured classroom / timeframe where you must attend a
class. It is all based on a self study program that you can do at your
own pace. A week is given for each topic. On occasion, some instruction
is given online, but is not mandatory.
It does not matter what continent or time zone you are in to be able to
join the Cadet program.
What is required?
NOTE: Cadet II* now requires one of two requisites. Either a minimum of FOUR months playing time or completion of the forum held version of Cadet I.
Plus a willingness to listen, read and learn. How
much time a week? About 1-2 hours of reading a week. Figure another
3 hours a week to actually play and apply what you are learning. The
course is 8 weeks in length. Each week has a specific topic and theme
that rolls into the next week’s lesson.
What other benefits do I get?
The goal of this course is that upon your successful graduation you
are looked upon with respect for your knowledge and capabilities. There
is an open book exam administered on a voluntary basis at the end of the course.
You can not claim to be a graduate of the program without taking and
passing the final exam.
You will likely find yourself being actively scouted by various squads,
and likely recruited. All of the squads participating closely watch
Cadets in game for skill, attitude, aptitude, and behavior to see
who might work well with them... but it isn't all about them. There's
also what you want and where you see yourself. Some Cadet grads don't
join squads, and that's cool... but if squadplay is what you're after,
then complete the full course, including exam, and the leaders of the
program will work with you and the squads to get you where you'd like
to be.
How do I apply?
Click on the following link to access the CADET II* APPLICATION FORM
Special "Thanks" to FreeBeer@ACE for the Sign Up form. (Still in testing/dev stage)
***We require that how your game name you use to log into the game be the
same or very similar to how your forum name displays in the forums. Please note that they are two different
accounts. You must have a valid account in our forum and a valid account for the game (ASGS System) to be able to
join Cadet.
Please pay attention to the
above requirement. Consider this a test to get into Cadet. You
have no idea how much time is spent to administer this program.
It is time consuming to check each name sent to us for its validity
in our forums and the ASGS game system. This is all we ask of
you to get into the program.
Thank you!
You can comply with this requirement by several ways.
Create a new game account using the same method you used to create your original name.
You are allowed up to three different names in your ASGS game account.
Or you can create a new forum account. (If you are a $ supporter of our forums,
you have the ability to change your forum name in your control panel.)
You will get an automated reply. You do not need to do anything
further if you did the above correctly. However, be sure to be
specific. Many incorrect messages (the names don't match) are
sent to @Cadet and all of them are ignored.
Shortly before each session, a post is made in the general
forums listing who is in the next session and when it will start.
You will also receive a message via ASGS when you sign in to the
game.
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