Closed Pre-Alpha programme

1. Thursday 15 OctoberTester applications closed.
2. Friday 16 OctoberReview of tester applications begins. Successful applicants are emailed confirmation of their place on the tester list.
3. Friday 30 OctoberPre-Alpha release. Access opens to every accepted tester at the same time, and each is notified by email.
4. Every FridayProgress updates and development diaries, by email and on the Discord server.
5. Throughout the Pre-AlphaFurther scenarios for each service, released individually once they have been reviewed and approved.

1. 01Confirmation of acceptance. Each application is reviewed individually, and successful applicants receive an email confirming their place on the tester list.
2. 02Access notification. Access opens to all accepted testers on Friday 30 October, and a second email confirms when the simulator is available.
3. 03Pre-Alpha briefing. Sign in on a laptop or desktop computer and read this briefing, which sets out the scenarios available and the scope of the current build.
4. 04Your first shift. Open the operator console and select Start shift, then choose the services under your command and the call volume. Calls begin once the resourcing page has been completed.

Not yet on the Discord server? Join here so you can be added to the private tester channel.

54 scenarios are open at release: 18 fire, 23 ambulance and 13 police. Nine are complex jobs with a Ground view, where the scene is worked from the desk: the Wythenshawe house fire, the Quebec Street cardiac arrest in Bolton, the Sale no-insurance stop and the six police jobs raised by patrols. The other 45 are standard jobs, run from the Incident tab: the crews deal with the scene and ask for what they need. Further scenarios are released individually once they have been reviewed. The three below are the place to start, one for each service, and all three are complex jobs. Each scenario varies between runs, including who is present at the address, where a fire is seated and how a patient responds, so run each more than once.

999 call handling

Scripted callers who respond to the questions asked, opening codes (NICL for police, the fire incident types, and the NHS Pathways chief complaint for ambulance), call grading, and pre-arrival advice delivered while resources are en route.Test focus: Whether the call reads as a genuine call: the questions available, and whether the grade reached is the correct one.

Mobilising and mapping

The county board with real stations and appliances, routing on the real road network, crews deployed on foot at the scene, and the mobile data terminal for managing each incident.Test focus: Whether the attendances are correct for the call, and whether the drive times are credible for Greater Manchester.

Fire ground control

Sectorisation, the BA board and entry control, water supplies from hydrants and relays, jets, tactical mode, and informative and stop messages.Test focus: Whether the fire ground behaves as one: BA, water and rescue timings, and whether the messages read as they would over the radio.

Casualty care

On a complex job, a live vital signs monitor, triage sieve, airway and breathing management, oxygen and medication orders, packaging and hospital pre-alerts. On every ambulance job, the choice of destination: the hospital itself, with its handover waits and diverts, an urgent treatment centre or SDEC, or a referral for a patient left at home.Test focus: Whether the patient responds as a patient would: the clarity of the care pathway, and whether the vitals move as a clinician would expect.

Police ground control

Containment and cordons, arrest and search, TRACE checks on people and vehicles, roadside breath and drug testing, domestic abuse risk assessment, custody and transport.Test focus: Whether the incident runs as one would: the checks and options an officer would expect, in the order they would expect them.

Debrief and service record

Every shift is assessed on mobilisation time, attendance, advice given and decisions made at the scene. The service record retains every shift, and Pre-Alpha testers keep their records into the wider release, with a tester mark against the callsign.Test focus: Whether the assessment is fair, and whether it explains itself.

The Pre-Alpha has deliberately been kept small, and a wider test will follow. An account created now remains registered and ready for the next phase. Progress updates continue every Friday, and the Discord server is the best place to follow development.