Battle of Britain Campaign Feedback

[+Baltika 84]

No. 303 (Polish) Squadron.

 

What do I win?

 

About the 'Channel Front 41-44' campaign you mentioned, what terrain do you intend to use? (In case you have already thought about this)

 

 

Spot on. Sorry, no prizes, just for fun

 

For the avoidance of doubt, and to give credit where it's due, the 303 Sqdn skin is a simple re-badging job of Gramps' original Hurri 242 Sqdn skin. The RAF squadron code typeface is T. Horvath's RAF_WW2_851ATH, available from simmerspaintshop.com.

 

Very early WIP CF 41-44 campaign is just a mod of my BoB campaign file to extend the length of the campaign and allow the various squadrons to progress through their appropriate upgrade types. I have barely started scratching the surface. Also, there is a ton of work to do on rotating Luftwaffe geschwadern away from the front as they were moved to the Eastern Front and elswhere. Same goes for RAF squadrons sent to Africa and the PTO.

 

So, at the moment it uses Gepard's BoB terrain. The work required in shifting it to another terrain (say WW2 Europe) is probably prohibitive just now given my family commitments. And I have several campaign WIPs which are ahead of CF in the production line, really just needing a bit of spit and polish, which I would like to complete.

[+Gocad 26]

Very early WIP CF 41-44 campaign is just a mod of my BoB campaign file to extend the length of the campaign and allow the various squadrons to progress through their appropriate upgrade types. I have barely started scratching the surface. Also, there is a ton of work to do on rotating Luftwaffe geschwadern away from the front as they were moved to the Eastern Front and elswhere. Same goes for RAF squadrons sent to Africa and the PTO.

 

So, at the moment it uses Gepard's BoB terrain. The work required in shifting it to another terrain (say WW2 Europe) is probably prohibitive just now given my family commitments. And I have several campaign WIPs which are ahead of CF in the production line, really just needing a bit of spit and polish, which I would like to complete.

 

Is there some sort of WW2Europe terrain? Or at least some that has less England and more France and the Low countries?

I was thinking of a campaign that would start around 1941 up to early 1944 and would cover Ramrod/Rodeo/etc. operations of that time. I would say that plane/object and skinwise everything is there, but I do not really want to use the BoB terrain for it.

Edited February 24, 2008 by Gocad

[+Baltika 84]

Is there some sort of WW2Europe terrain? Or at least some that has less England and more France and the Low countries?

I was thinking of a campaign that would start around 1941 up to early 1944 and would cover Ramrod/Rodeo/etc. operations of that time. I would say that plane/object and skinwise everything is there, but I do not really want to use the BoB terrain for it.

 

Yes, indeed. Good idea.

 

The Euro WW2 terrain was built by Edward from an original EAW terrain by Fng2k. Many people contributed including Charles, MajorLee, Geo, Capun, Wolf, Russo, Gramps and Kesselbrut. It covers South of England, France, and extends right across Germany to Berlin.

 

The terrain was available at MajorLee's aerodrome, which is currently in the process of being revamped:-

 

http://majorlee.us/

 

Looks like the Major is making progress :yes:

 

Scrapper's Fallen Angel WW2 campaign uses this terrain. It is a tempting prospect for a strategic WW2 Air War campaign, but the work involved would be considerable.

[Guest capun]

After some development work on BoB terrain i faced the problem of CTD while flying over Paris. This problem is caused by the EiffelTower. I had to delete the Eiffeltower to solve it.

2 Questions.

1.) Has someone else the same problem?

2.) Has someone a better Eiffeltower available?

 

Gepard

 

Check on the Eiffel Tower and be sure that there is no single mesh that is larger than 4000 polys, that is a game limitation and it caused lots of CTD's.

 

BTW, that is for airplane models, I don't know if the ground objects have to be smaller, just detach and link polys and see if that is the problem

[dsawan 613]

Hi, really enjoying this mod. Is there another update coming or in progress? haven't heard anything lately. thanks.

[+Baltika 84]

Hi there,

 

Glad you're enjoying it. Pace of development has slowed a bit recently as I have a number of other projects under development which will hopefully come out soon. (Burma Air War 1942 and WW2 North Africa, hint hint )

 

BoB has not been forgotten, I have been working on a scheme to enable correct squadron codes to show for all flyable and non-flyable RAF squadrons which is progressing nicely. Also, when I can organise it, there is an update to enable the various squadrons as flyables in campaign mode which Wrench and others have created specific skins for, including Wrench's ETO RAF Tomahawk

 

At the moment, there is a bit of a lull as there are significant changes to the campaign engine etc as a result of the WoI release. We are waiting to see if the new patches for the older games will require much in the way of renovation to be done to existing campaigns.

 

Meantime, in case you missed it, here is a very small upgrade:-

 

http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=6101

 

Cheerio for now.

[+Gocad 26]

...WW2 North Africa...

 

Which terrain do use?

[+Baltika 84]

. . .WW2 North Africa. . .

 

Which terrain do use?

 

Edward's WW2 North Africa, available right here:-

http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=4227

 

Development had stalled due to problems getting the strategic nodes to work. I have sussed that out for Burma Air War (thanks to Johan217 for suggestions), so BAW has leapfrogged WW2 North Africa in the production queue. Also, we have no Gladiator or CR.42, so those 1940 Regia Aeronautica/RAF biplane clashes over the Western Desert are a bit problematic. I have been fiddling about with getting Hinchinbrooke's Gauntlet running outside FE, without much success, to use as a stand in. That and Hinch's fictional CR.37 would do at a pinch.

 

As ever, RL slows things up

[+Gocad 26]

I have both North African terrains by Edward already, in fact I have built a campaign for the North Africa terrain as well. It's fun to play, although not really accurate from a historical perspective.

 

Edited March 26, 2008 by Gocad

[+Baltika 84]

I have both North African terrains by Edward already, in fact I have built a campaign for the North Africa terrain as well. It's fun to play, although not really accurate from a historical perspective.

 

 

Nice one

 

Candidate for public release?

[+Gocad 26]

Not really, it's more of a testing ground.

IMHO Edward's Tunisia terrain would be a better candidate for a MTO camapign, although I would say that it lacks additional airfields in Libya and Italy. Unfortunately I have zero experience with placing additional objects on a map, nor am I sure that it's possible to place them there.

[Wrench 9,460]

Shooot....it's possible to place ANYTHING, ANYWHERE on the map!!! That's a easy ini edit!!

 

Adding airfields is the beee-atch....and don't I know it!!!!

 

It's doable, you need to add the wanted landing strips, create (or in these cases, recreate) the citylist ini, 'flatten airfields', "smooth airfield texture" (or something like that), and see if it worked.

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[+Gocad 26]

I know that it's rather easy to add additional areas to the targets.ini, but like you said, the real problem is the terrain itself...you need to figure out first where to place them without creating a mess.

 

 

Placing airfields in southern Italy won't be fun...

 

 

Libya isn't that flat either...

Edited March 27, 2008 by Gocad

[+Brainless 1]

I know that it's rather easy to add additional areas to the targets.ini, but like you said, the real problem is the terrain itself...you need to figure out first where to place them without creating a mess.

 

Libya isn't that flat either...

 

Well even I have done adding an airfield. Did it in the EAW terrain. It's not that hard but you have to choose your spot carefully if you're not going to do the flattening bit. I found a good clear spot in the lower part of EuroWWII being northern part of Italy which was flat and it worked fine. Takes a bit of trial and error and messing with orientation to get it right though. You need an afternnon free to sort it out.

[Canadair 16]

No. 303 (Polish) Squadron.

 

What do I win?

 

About the 'Channel Front 41-44' campaign you mentioned, what terrain do you intend to use? (In case you have already thought about this)

 

Baltika just noticed now two things

-how educational this thread is

-And your Av. is that DoctorWho's deadly adversary race? I loved DrWho, used to watch the series on the BBC. sadly it has never been translated in italian, but can watch english TV thankfully. I liked the series wiht,, Ecclestone was he? and that sweet blonde ,Billie Piper, right? playing Rose

[+Baltika 84]

Baltika just noticed now two things

-how educational this thread is

-And your Av. is that DoctorWho's deadly adversary race? I loved DrWho, used to watch the series on the BBC. sadly it has never been translated in italian, but can watch english TV thankfully. I liked the series wiht,, Ecclestone was he? and that sweet blonde ,Billie Piper, right? playing Rose

 

 

Hi Canadair,

 

thanks for the complements

 

I must confess I read through this whole thread recently and was very impressed by the contributions, so thanks to all who have posted. I learned a few things myself

 

And yes, you are quite correct, my new avatar is none other than Skaro's finest, the deadly black Dalek, now terrorizing a universe near yours, with his many destructive minions :yes:

 

And while I agree that Billie Piper is easy on the eye, I would have to say that the golden age for companions was the early seventies, when Tom Baker flew the Tardis round the nine galaxies:-

 

The Doctor always had a soft spot for blondes, witness Romana Mk II:-

 

 

Although he also had a fine eye for brunettes, and Leela knew how to handle the business end of a knife and a staser pistol, no problem:-

 

 

But I've got to save the best for last, the delectable Mary Tamm as the haughty Time Lady Romana, in her first incarnation, before she regenerated into the above mentioned blonde model:-

 

 

And whilst I think the current incumbent, David Tennant, is one of the best Doctors ever, and a Scotsman into the bargain, good man, the new companion Catherine Tate just doesn't hold a candle to any of the above.

 

 

Now that I've got that off my chest, does anybody want to talk about the Battle of Britain

Edited April 19, 2008 by Baltika

[Bandy 3]

For me it was Sarah Jane Smith, seen HERE, sort of the sexy cute-as-a-button girl next door, like Mary-Ann instead of Ginger (you know, "Gilligan's Isle"??? Maybe that reference was too N. American...). I see she has her own show now on BBC, Sarah-Jane that is, not Mary-Ann...

 

Anyways, Baltika, I read that thread about night fighters, and was really taken aback by how many people responded, and the quality of the replies. I too was blown away by flying night missions a while ago in FE, Eindeckers vs. DH2s, I'll have to see if I can find any screenies in the vault.

 

Have you put any further thought into a night Blitz aspect in BoB? Too bad the Defiant hasn't been modeled . Also, saw your post taking an interest in WOI as the possible basis for future BoB. Anything cooking? Just trying to get up to speed, as real life has stymied my flight time (never should have taken that federal management job... ).

 

Here's a dumb thought I just had, a possible and really blunt way to work around the AI bomber tail gunners seemingly with "night vision" might be to severely reduce their firing range, thus mimicking their vastly reduced vision. But beware the interceptor who strays too close!!! It could work as a stop gap...

 

Anyhoo, best regards, hope all's well.

Edited May 3, 2008 by B Bandy RFC

[+Baltika 84]

Hi Bandy,

 

Good to hear from you. Development on BoB v0.61 continues, at an almost glacial pace. In the works are squadron upgrades to include Wrench's BoB squadron skins as flyables, as well as a little project I'm fiddling with to enable individual squadron codes for all RAF squadrons.

 

I had also been messing with a patched-up FE as a basis for my WW2 installs, to take advantage of the WoI-level FM for prop planes. Problem is, most of the existing WW2 birds will need an FM revamp to take advantage of the new features, and that sort of work is beyond my capability.

 

As to a Blitz/nightfighter campaign, I have in development a Channel Front style campaign which should feature most of the available later war types. On the other thread, a few problems seem to arise with day fighters turning up at night, flown by AI. Haven't got to the bottom of that yet, but I'll keep picking away as and when time permits.

 

On the campaign release front, I'm waiting to see how well things work with the next round of patches. It may be some further revision will be required, so I'm not busting a gut to make any releases which may have to be revised in a few weeks or months down the line. So things are kind of quiet just now, but waiting in the wings are North Africa, Burma Air War and an upgrade to my old Burning Sands '44 campaign.

 

I've been spending time with FE + EP + Patch.

 

Oh, and the TE of course, thanks to Gepard's excellent tutorials. Kursk Salient, 1943. Any takers?

[Bandy 3]

That sounds absolutely great! Eastern Front that is... Soon to start another thread are you?

I am truly amazed by the diversity of your work.

 

PS: and yeah, I'm really enjoying FE-EP-patch as well !!!

Edited May 10, 2008 by B Bandy RFC

[+Baltika 84]

Hi Bandy,

 

Let's just say that thanks to Gepard's TE tutorials, literally a whole world of possibilities has been opened up :yes:

 

Right now I'm like a kid a candy store, to deploy an apposite American aphorism, as the Doctor might say

 

Trouble with the TE is that it's easy to pick your longitude and latitude, d/l the DRM data, specify your autotexture parameters, and batter out something you can fly over that looks like where you want to be. The difficult part is city, airfield and target placement, especially as all the places I'm interested in won't autotexture a city tile for love nor money. So they've all got to be hand tiled. With the exception, of course, of the Eastern Front, where the problem is that everything is so flat, and there's no sea, you have to measure distances out by hand. Holding a ruler up to my aging CRT monitor has certainly been a new experience for me. . .

 

Like Gepard said early on in his KB articles, you can wait a long time for somebody to make what you want - eventually you just have to try to do it yourself. The great thing about this place is, sooner or later someone will give you a leg up on how to get going.

 

Tally-ho

 

PS, and completely OT, the TE project I have most advanced is an entirely new terrain, non-WW2, where NATO taskforce ICEFOR, consisting of EF2000, Gripen, Viggen, Tornado, Harrier and Sea Harrier elements, confront and resist an invasion by massively superior Soviet forces. And the accompanying campaign WILL NOT feature a real-time pilot management interface. . .

[+Gepard 10,251]

I'm playing again with the BoB terrain files. I think the fighter bases need a rework. Really satisfied i was never with it.

Edited May 13, 2008 by Gepard

[+Baltika 84]

I'm playing again with the BoB terrain files. I think the fighter bases need a rework. Really satisfied i was never with it.

 

Great to hear it, although they looked just fine to me

 

Thanks for your terrain tutorials, BTW - excellent guide, cheers

[+Stary 2,426]

Hello chaps,

 

Haven't been posting here a long time, sorry.

 

Here is my small contribution as reward.

 

I have new aircraft fire effect for you here, if you're still using my WW2effects pack you know how happyly exaggerated it is. So doing some other particles work, I made new tuned down, nicer version that IMUHO look better:

 

 

 

 

 

I hope one could have some use of it...

 

Anyway, as usual few questions regarding v0.6

 

-are 20 angels high Pencil raids ok? Cause I think they were flying lower before. But it can be my memory fooling with me

-yuck, I can do whole ten yards into Heinkels, and they sometimes are still flying without rudder, flaps, gear, you name it, it's missing (hard settings)

-I shoot the raid leader, whole formation dived after him 10000 lower until he crashed, then they leveled down low

-and last but not least -Baltika, how's your view on the incoming patches / WOI-level upgrade?

 

(I know the last one requires lots of ini and FM tweaks, but WOI AI is plain cool)

 

Cheers for now

 

Stary

[+Baltika 84]

Hi Stary,

 

Good to hear from you, and thanks for the new fire effect - excellent

 

Although I am surprised you had the time with all the other stuff you have been producing/are involved in just now. (Your Green hell treemod looks great with Brain32's Vietnam tile repaints over the skies of Burma )

 

Anyway, back in BoBland, to answer your questions:-

 

- Angels 20 pencil raids. I don't think I messed with anything for 0.60 that should effect this setting. The file to look at is MISSIONCONTROL.INI, under the [Altitude] heading. Variables are Normal, Low, Very Low, High and Very High. Units are in metres (or meters if you are an American ) and you can adjust them to settings you prefer. I seem to remember Charles saying in the readme to his WW2 Formations mod that the stock settings were too high for WW2 , so you maybe want to check that some other mod hasn't altered those settings.

 

- Heinkels, yup, they're hard work. I suggest you make the engine / nacelle hitbox additions to the aircraft_data.ini file, and especially the pilot hitbox additions. That, I think, is the fairest way to make it a bit easier to get bomber kills without making it too easy. Works especially well for pilot kills, which some BoB pilots swore was the only way to make sure your bomber went down.

 

- Hmm, yes, I've seen the diving formation behaviour as well, although I hadn't realised it was associated with taking out the leader. I d/k what's up there. However, I prefer to view it as a feature, i.e. sometimes the bomber formations lose their nerve and dive for safety. Better than just ploughing on in a straight line as they get shot to pieces.

 

- Patches & v0.61. I have been promising BoB v0.61 upgrade for a long time now. It is still in the works, but my "active" project list has grown arms and legs recently, as various areas of modding have been opened up which were hitherto a closed book to me. So, yes, BoB will be upgraded again, but there is no timescale as yet. I reckon there won't be anything until the new patches are out, so that I can see how the new campaign parameters affect the BoB build. The ability to direct air offensives to particular target areas would have been a godsend, as you will see my workaround for the "Phased" campaign is somewhat cumbersome, and took a long time to set up. That may all have to be changed in the new build. Also, there is some concern that all the WW2 birds will require a FM upgrade to work at all in the new "patched up" sims, so I am waiting to see how that pans out before spending time on a campaign upgrade which may be obsolete as soon as the new patches are out. Witness what peter01 has gone through with his FM work for FE, poor fellow, with pre-EP, EP and patch+EP versions all being just different enough to invalidate a lot of his work. That must be frustrating. So, at the moment, I'm waiting to see. And, trying to learn how to make terrain tiles seamless. That is frustrating

 

But, yes, I would love to get the WoI/patch AI running in BoB.

 

Meantime, for now, I'm off to drop your new fire effect into BoB v0.60 and take the old girl for a whirl. Cheers for that

 

Tally-ho

[+Stary 2,426]

Hi Baltika,

 

Thanks for extensive reply. Will check the missioncontrol.ini As for the diving bombers, it's not that bad -chasing them down is quite fun actually. I think this has something to do with the sim damage ratings -when you kill the crew, or they bail, but no "visible" damage is inflicted, like plumes of smoke etc. Could be an AI mismatch.

 

Don't worry about the tiles work, I gave up after few tests, but I'm no way the texture artist, try PMing Brain32, he's very skilled at making tiles seamless.. Looking forward to Iceland 2015, and Eastern Front

 

cheers mate