_targets ActiveDate/InactiveDate broken in Campaign

[+comrpnt 16]

Has anyone else noticed that ActiveDate/InactiveDate, as defined for target area objects in _targets.ini, appears to be broken when you're flying a campaign?

 

This was reported to me w.r.t the Falklands mod and I confirmed it on my system. I tried a few variations on ActiveDate/InActiveDate set to range over the entire target area or individually on objects within a target area. But, the result is the same. The target is still active and can be chosen by the campaign (this is the bit I'm most unsure about - how are targets chosen in a campaign?), even if the date of the mission is out of range of the dates specified by Active and Inactive date.

 

For example, the following targets I defined in my mission pack appeared during a campaign mission I flew on May 24, 1982 - clearly out-of-range of the Date definitions:

[TargetArea050]
Name=coastal waters bombarding Stanley airfield
Position=855700,355630
Radius=5657
ActiveDate=05/02/1982
Location=3
Alignment=FRIENDLY
//									 HMS Alacrity
Target[001].Type=Type_12
Target[001].Offset=0,0
Target[001].Heading=257
Target[001].InactiveDate=05/03/1982
//									 HMS Arrow
Target[002].Type=Type_12
Target[002].Offset=1000,-130
Target[002].Heading=260
Target[002].InactiveDate=05/03/1982
//									 HMS Glamorgan
Target[003].Type=Type_42
Target[003].Offset=2000,-100
Target[003].Heading=262
Target[003].InactiveDate=05/03/1982

 

Perhaps this is a Falklands Operation Rosario campaign bug. Not being a campaign writer, or player for that matter, I've not noticed this before. I'd be interested if anyone else has seen this when playing the Falklands mod in campaign mode, as the Argentinian forces. You shouldn't be able to fly against targets defined in the missions I wrote beyond May 2, 1982. From recent tests it appears that you can. And not only is the target area active but the targets DO appear in the target area beyond the dates I specified. For single missions all is well - the behaviour of the game follows my instructions.

 

So, campaign writers - if you have a moment, please could you scan through the Malvinas1 campaign files and let me know if anything strikes you as the cause of this. I'd be grateful.

 

Many thanks, regards, comrpnt.

[+Baltika 85]

Good call, reminds me of behaviour I have seen with allied convoys in BoB campaign, which ought to be limited by date. Might be worth posting over on Thirdwire forums as a bug report, if enough people can re-create it.

 

Cheers,

 

baltika

[Piett 0]

Yep, I think you're right about this. I've seen exactly this effect also in the Falklands mod. Before the date of the British landings, flying for Argentina I have been assigned bombing targets in the San Carlos Firebase, which shouldn't exist yet.

 

If the target is a terrain object only, the game engine acts as though a target exists (i.e. can be selected with the red targetting box etc.), but no object appears. If the target is set to Use Groundobject then the model appears (e.g. an artillery piece etc.) and can be destroyed, but the game engine doesn't acknowledge this and the red targetting box stays on a "destroyed" object. In the debrief after the mission the target is reported as undamaged, even if it had seemed to be destroyed.

 

Behaviour seems to be back to normal after the ActiveDate passes. Definitely looks like a bug.

[+comrpnt 16]

Thanks chaps. Glad it's not just me. I'll send this over to the TW forums and see if it resonates.

 

Cheers :-)