Okay, how am I supposed to "complete a mission"

[shockandawe]

Here is the bonehead question of the day from a wet-behind-the-ears newbie:

How the *&$#$# do you "complete" a mission!!? I have spent some time now taking off, flying around blasting things, and landing but none of it seems to count as a "completed mission" when I am in a campaign.

Okay, well that was question #1. This does make me think of a larger question about beginners campaigns but I think I will save that for another thread.

Thanks in advance (TIA)!

[MaXMhZ]

How to complete a mission depends on what the mission designer set up. It can be anything from shooting down enemies to damaging or destroying a target. The moment you accomplish the objectives a message "Mission Completed" will be displayed. Best thing to do is read the brief that will be displayed next to the map when you start a mission. After a mission is completed, return to base and land, then park close to the middle of the base to get the maximum score. If you can't figure out what the objective(s) is/are, open the mission with the Full mission builder and check the waypoint properties ("Edit" - "View object" under "waypoint" tab)

[shockandawe]

Great! Thanks for that. I had seen the "mission accomplished" come up on the screen but never seemed to actually get credit for it. I would land then sit there with my engine purring away, hit escape, and see that I had shot down three enemy planes but had not completed the mission. Your last line has a clue for me... I will now try shutting my engine down before hitting escape to see if that does the job!

Again, thanks for the help.

[MaXMhZ]

That should do it allright.

If you look at the airbase you are supposed to land at in the FMB you'll see a circle over it. Within this circle is the "safe area" where you need to park the plane. If you end the mission when parked outside it, you'll only get a partial score. The score can be less too if your plane gets damaged or even crashes.