Scored shifts
A scored shift is a 30-minute session with a score. You choose an airport and a traffic level. At the end, you get stars and a place on the leaderboard. A high rank at the end of a season wins a medal.
New in 0.6.3.4Start a shift
Section titled “Start a shift”- On New session, keep Scored selected. It is the first mode and the default.
- Choose the airport, the runways and the sector.
- Choose Light, Medium or Heavy. The screen shows the arrivals and departures for each hour.
- Press Start scored shift.
The runways and the sector set the traffic rates. A shift lasts 30 minutes of simulation time. You can use the simulation speed from x1 to x64. The traffic, the clock and the shift countdown go faster together. When you pause, the countdown stops. The shift keeps its score and its leaderboard at every speed. New in 0.6.3.4 Free play is the other mode. It has no score and no time limit.
A shift starts with no aircraft in your sector. More arrivals and departures come in during the first minutes. Not in 0.6.2.552 The first pilot calls you about 10 seconds after the shift starts. Shifts with this start use new leaderboards. Your earlier results stay on the earlier leaderboards.
Each traffic level uses a share of the airport’s capacity:
| Level | Share of capacity |
|---|---|
| Light | 33% |
| Medium | 60% |
| Heavy | 80% |
The runways and the sector limit the arrivals. The runways limit the departures. The game rounds each rate to full aircraft. An example airport has two runways for arrivals only, two runways for departures only and a large sector. Light gives 20 arrivals and 20 departures each hour. Medium gives 36 and Heavy gives 48. Alien traffic always uses the Medium setting, and it increases with these rates. New in 0.6.3.4
Not in 0.6.2.552 Each rate also shows how many of those aircraft you will have in the sector at the same time, for example 18 per hour and 9 in sector. The game multiplies the rate by the time a flight stays in that sector. It uses the average time that players flew on the same runways and sector. If there is no average yet, it uses your own shifts, then the routes of that setup, then the size of the sector. Hold the pointer on the number to see which source it used.
During the shift
Section titled “During the shift”The top bar shows a SHIFT cell with the time left and your score. The cell turns amber during a loss of separation. Click it to open the SHIFT panel.
| The panel shows | |
|---|---|
| Time left | Counts down from 30 minutes. |
| Score | Your points now. |
| Stars on track | The stars you earn if the shift ended now. |
| Latest events | The last events, with their points. |
New in 0.6.3.8 VS BEST compares this shift with your best shift on the same board. It changes at each 5:00 mark and shows the mark and the difference, for example 10:00 +42. Before 5:00, and when you have no best on the board yet, it shows a dash.
How the score works
Section titled “How the score works”| Group | Gains | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Safe | — | A loss of separation. Flight below the MVA, where the airport has one. A go-around that you caused. Not in 0.6.2.552 A go-around of a flight that you did not assume costs nothing. |
| Orderly | Each flight that you handle. Each handoff. | A flight that lands without the tower. A flight that leaves without a handoff. Not in 0.6.2.552 A call that you do not answer. A late handoff. |
| Expeditious | Short track miles. | Long track miles. |
Not in 0.6.2.552 Each flight has three steps. Press T on the label to hand off. Saying contact tower only changes the frequency.
| Step | Do this | If you do not |
|---|---|---|
| A pilot calls you | Assume the flight in 90 seconds after the pilot stops talking. | −20. The flight still counts against your stars. |
| You hand it off | An arrival: press T before 4 NM final, after you clear it for an approach. Not in 0.6.2.552 A departure: press T in 60 seconds after it asks to change frequency. | −10 for a late handoff. A handoff before that point costs nothing. |
| The next sector takes it | — | −20 if you never hand it off. |
Not in 0.6.2.552 Pressing T does not end a voice-only shift. Delete,
/delete and /spawn do not work in a scored shift. Shifts with these rules use
new leaderboards. Your earlier results stay on the earlier leaderboards.
Nothing that depends on voice recognition costs points. A misheard word does not change your score.
New in 0.6.3.8 Each pair of aircraft in a loss of separation costs points while at least one of the two aircraft is under your control. The cost stops when the pair separates. Shifts with these rules use new leaderboards. Your earlier results stay on the earlier leaderboards.
The debrief
Section titled “The debrief”At the end, the debrief shows:
- The stars, the score and your rank.
- The three groups, with their points.
- SEASON — the days left in the season. When the board has 20 or more players, it also shows the medal that your rank gets if the season ended now, and the last ranks that get silver and bronze.
- What happened — click an event to see where it was on the radar.
- Leaderboard — choose Everyone or Friends. Scroll the list to find your row.
- Try again — starts the same airport and level again.
New in 0.6.3.8 When you already have a best on the board, the debrief also shows:
- How many points you are short of your best, or how many your new best adds.
- Splits — the difference from your best at each 5:00 mark.
- Most extra miles under Expeditious — the flight that flew furthest beyond its route. Click its row in What happened to see its path against the published route.
When no cap took a star, the line under the score names the points the next star needs. New in 0.6.3.8
Seasons and leaderboards
Section titled “Seasons and leaderboards”A season is one AIRAC cycle: 28 days. Its number is the year and the cycle in that year. Season 2610 is the tenth cycle of 2026, from 1 to 28 October.
Each leaderboard is one stage for one season. A stage is an airport, its runways, its sector and a traffic level. All players on a stage get the same opening traffic. A new season gives each stage new traffic and an empty board. Players with different navigation data do not share a board, because the procedures are different.
| The leaderboard shows | |
|---|---|
| Season | The season and its days left, for example Season 2610 · 12 days left. |
| THIS SEASON / PAST SEASONS | PAST SEASONS shows the season before, with the medal for each rank. |
| BUNDLED 2503 / AIRAC 2610 | Your navigation data comes first. The other choice shows the board of the same stage on the other data. Its scores are not comparable. |
| Medal lines | A line in the medal color below the last rank that gets each medal. Only on boards with 20 or more players. |
| Profile | Click a row to see that controller’s stars, medals and scored shifts. |
| Empty board | Not in 0.6.2.552 When a board has no score this season, it asks you to set the first score. It shows the three best scores of the season before in gray, and up to three airports where most players play. Click an airport to set it up. |
You see the leaderboard on the New session screen and in the debrief. Your best score in the season stays on the board. Without Steam, the list stays empty.
Not in 0.6.2.552 When the board of your airport has no score this season, Scored opens on MOST PLAYED: the airports where most players play scored shifts. Click one to set up its most played stage.
Medals
Section titled “Medals”When a season ends, your final rank on each board that you played gives a medal:
| Medal | Your final rank | 20 players | 100 players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Top 1%, at least rank 1 | Rank 1 | Rank 1 |
| Silver | Top 10% | Rank 2 | Ranks 2–10 |
| Bronze | Top 25% | Ranks 3–5 | Ranks 11–25 |
The percentages round up. A board with fewer than 20 players gives no medals. The game gets your final ranks at the next start with Steam. If Steam does not answer, the game tries again at the next start. You keep a medal permanently.
| Where | Your medals |
|---|---|
| Main Menu | One sheet after a season closes. See When a season closes. New in 0.6.3.8 |
| New session | MEDALS HERE shows your last three medals at this airport, with their seasons, or none yet. |
| Tours | Your best medal at each airport shows after its ICAO code. |
| Debrief | The SEASON rows show the medal for your rank if the season ended now. |
| Leaderboard | PAST SEASONS shows the medal for each rank. |
When a season closes
Section titled “When a season closes”If you won a medal, one sheet opens over the Main Menu at the first start after the season closes. New in 0.6.3.8
| The sheet shows | |
|---|---|
| Season 2610 closed | The season that ended and its dates. |
| YOUR MEDALS | Each medal, best first, with its board and your rank, for example Silver LEMD Medium #4 of 37. |
| SEASON 2611 | The new season and its days left. Each stage has new traffic. |
Press Continue, Enter or Escape to close the sheet. Press Tours to open the Tours page. The sheet opens one time only. Without a medal, it does not open.