Baltika

Nice work Thanks very much

Something else to add to the list for v0.61 Nice link, Bandy

Yup, that's what I reckoned. As you say, no problem for those who know what they're about, and don't mind a bit of .ini editing. That probably catches all the people who have modded their SqList anyway. And for the bigger campaign mods, a separate install will cure all evils :yes:

Here's a question on merging Squadron Lists:- Am I right in thinking that where a skin calls for squadron-specific decals (eg a base RAF MTO Spit skin, where all the squadron codes in the campaign are decals added to the base skin) the various squadrons have to be at particular numbers in the Squadron List for the squadron-specific decals to show up properly? For example, I am working on an AVG Tomahawk skin for Burma Air War which has specific squadron decals (nose art) for each of the three squadrons. Screenies of what I'm talking about right here:- http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=25617 So, 1 Sqdn get Adam & Eve, 2 Sqdn get Panda Bears and 3 Sqdn get Hell's Angels. The .tgas for each decal are called AVGSqn001.tga, AVGSqn002.tga and AVGSqn003.tga respectively. My BAW-specific Squadron list looks like this, so far:- [squadron001] Name=1AVG DisplayName=1st Sqdn AVG - "Adam & Eves" - Sqdn. Ldr. Robert Neale Nation=AVG [squadron002] Name=2AVG DisplayName=2nd Sqdn AVG - "Panda Bears" - Sqdn. Ldr. John Newkirk Nation=AVG [squadron003] Name=3AVG DisplayName=3rd Sqdn AVG - "Hell's Angels" - Sqdn. Ldr. Arvid Olson Nation=AVG [squadron004] Name=67RAF DisplayName=67 Sqdn - "No Odds Too Great" Nation=RAF [squadron005] Name=113RAF DisplayName=113 Sqdn - "Velox et Vindex" Nation=RAF [squadron006] Name=45RAF DisplayName=45 Sqdn - "The Flying Camels" - "Per Ardua Surgo" Nation=RAF [squadron007] Name=17RAF DisplayName=17 Sqdn - "Excellere Contende" Nation=RAF [squadron008] Name=9BS DisplayName=9th Bombardment Squadron, 10th AAF Nation=USAF And my squadron decal call in the skin decal.ini looks like this:- // AVG Squadron Patches [Decal003] MeshName=Fuselage DecalLevel=1 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=Tomahawk\AVG\D\AVGSqn Position=0.22,0.47 Scale=0.5 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal004] MeshName=Fuselage DecalLevel=1 DecalFacing=RIGHT Reverse=TRUE FilenameFormat=Tomahawk\AVG\D\AVGSqn Position=0.22,0.47 Scale=0.5 DecalMaxLOD=3 My point is this: If I just add the above Squadron List onto the end of an existing Squadron List (say, my BoB Squadron List, which has 22 BoB-specific squadrons and counting, and no stock squadrons as they're not required in my BoB install) then it will break the AVG squadron nose art, as the AVG squadrons will no longer be numbers 001, 002 and 003, which is what the decal.ini calls for when assigning .tgas So does this mean we have to work on a consolidated squadron list, with every squadron, stock and add-on, in the right place? I suppose a similar thing has been done with the Nations.ini, which of course also has relevance to the whole decal question. I have seen a few differently numbered Nation.ini files floating about, and up til Wrench posted it recently I wasn't aware there was a specific entry for WW2 China (which clearly is relevant to a BAW campaign). Also, I seem to remember TK posting over on Thirdwire that SFP1/G and Wov/WoE had different Squadron Lists, so that may scupper us straight off. I suppose, as ever, separate installs may be the way to go. It's never really been an issue before because I suspect few 3rd-party planes have used the squadron decal call to the full. But with what you're doing here, we're all going to have to pay a lot more attention to the Squadron List

Great stuff, keep 'em coming Must be awaiting clearance meantime. EDIT: Moved the Squadron List discussion to your Sq List thread. Cheers Baltika

In the BoB campaign pack, you will see that 1 Sqdn RAF Hurricanes have a supercool jet-black paint scheme. This is not just because they wanted to look badass, but because they made early experiments with night interception missions. Of course, the RAF had no dedicated nightfighter at the time, and they had no radar in the Hurri so it was all a bit hit and miss, not to say nerve-wracking and highly dangerous. For a quick hack to enable nightfighting Hurris in the BoB timeframe, edit the Hurricane1_data.ini entry "AircraftCapability=DAY_ONLY" to "AircraftCapability=DAY_AND_NIGHT" Of course, this will affect all Hurri Mk 1s, not just 1 Sqdn. Don't say I didn't warn you

Sounds like a blast Couldn't resist, sorry Yes, thanks for taking the trouble to look at it - I for one would like to give it a whirl. Will make those rhubarbs all the more nerve-racking Cheers

Excellent, thanks very much

That sort of grunt work is something I can help with. If you want a hand, give me a shout.

Great stuff, guys Thanks very much for all your hard work. Lookin' good

Thanks for bringing this up, Kevin Gocad - I'm loving the look of your Spits, really looking forward to release. Since you asked for suggestions, here's mine:- As a campaign builder with the skinning skills of a ham-fisted two year old, I would really love to see skins without the squadrons codes burned into the main .bmp. Then, a "base" skin which fits the theatre can easily be modded to fit a particular squadron requirement, just by changing the squadron code in the decal. I think it was BattlerBritain who asked about getting individual skins for all the Squadrons in BoB campaign, and ever since then, it's been like an itch I can't scratch. Plus, I have been slowly picking away at the available Hurri 1 skin to come up with something for the Czech and Polish Squadrons to fly, and it's been making me go cross-eyed. If I had a basic skin, and then change the decals for a new squadron - viola! Just my tuppence worth. Thanks for sharing these, Gocad - I'm loving the look of that Malta Spit! Cheers

Here's a quick and dirty hack to get you started:- Open the /Campaigns/HarrierCampaign/HarrierCampaign.ini file. Near the top of the text, under [CampaignData], add "Service004=Paran" to the list (without the quotes). Then, scroll to the end of the .ini file, and add the following entries right at the end:- [ParanUnit001] UnitName=1st Paran F Sq - MiG-23ML ForceID=2 UnitID=1 StartDate=1978 DescFile= StartText= CampaignBaseScreen= [ParanUnit002] UnitName=5th Paran F Sq - MiG-21PFM ForceID=2 UnitID=5 StartDate=1978 DescFile= StartText= CampaignBaseScreen= [ParanUnit003] UnitName=15th Paran F Sq - MiG-25P ForceID=2 UnitID=18 StartDate=1978 DescFile= StartText= CampaignBaseScreen= [ParanUnit004] UnitName=16th Paran F Sq - MiG-19S ForceID=2 UnitID=19 StartDate=1978 DescFile= StartText= CampaignBaseScreen= [ParanUnit005] UnitName=1st Paran A Sq - Su-17 ForceID=2 UnitID=24 StartDate=1978 DescFile= StartText= CampaignBaseScreen= Finally, and this is vitally important, you have to open up the HarrierCampaign_Data.ini file, and add supply entries to each of the relevant Parani Air Units. The units called out by the above entries are listed at [AirUnitxxx] numbers 023, 027, 040, 041 and 046. If you DON'T do this, none of your units will have any weapons other than guns. Check the Loadout.ini for each aircraft to see what you should be adding. For example, you would add these lines to the end of the entry for your MiG-23 squadron [AirUnit023]:- Supply[001].WeaponType=R-23R Supply[001].Quantity=180 Supply[002].WeaponType=R-23T Supply[002].Quantity=180 Supply[003].WeaponType=R-60T Supply[003].Quantity=340 Supply[004].WeaponType=Tank600_Su7 Supply[004].Quantity=140 And so on for the rest of the units specified above. This method ain't pretty - you won't have campaign or mission text, or squadron information, as all of those files have to be written and specified in the campaign.ini file. But, it will enable red side as flyable. And be aware, this is a quick hack I used on my install to get flying MiGs in campaign mode - it's not supported, endorsed or approved by anyone, it may break your install or blow up your computer, and for all our sakes don't go bugging any of the mod team who brought out this excellent campaign in the first place about it. Use at your own risk, OK And, while I'm here, let me add my vote of thanks to JSF_Aggie and all contributors for an excellent campaign. Cheers

Great work, Thanks very much

The Major is getting things together. . . http://majorlee.us/

Beautiful work, great stuff

I had a hard time getting the F/L to behave itself for BoB campaign. Eventually, I sussed out that the F/L treats target areas with airfields differently from target areas without airfields, at least in campaign mode. As ground forces capture strategic nodes, the frontline will move. It needs target areas without airfields to act as buffers or backstops. Target areas with airfields won't perform this function, and their allegiance will change if they end up on the other side of the F/L after it has moved. Hence, the "collapsing" F/L in BoB campaign, which turned all the airfields in Western France into RAF bases, was cured by adding some non-airfield target areas in that part of the map. Voila, no more collapse, and everything stayed where it should be. It might be that the proximity to the F/L is causing Brownville to switch sides. Can you fly red side missions from there?

Thanks for the heads-up, Czech6, I wasn't aware of those settings. I'm not sure how to force any particular bomber to use them though. I will try to get some testing done. Anybody know?

Sounds great, could use it for a WW2 Eastern Front install

Good question, I wish I knew the answer. In single missions I get 12+ fighters on each side, much more appropriate for BoB-style battles. So far as I know, the campaign .dll controls how campaign missions are assigned. I seem to see more activity later in the campaign, but that's purely subjective. I d/k how to force single-mission-size flights in the campaign engine. Anyone? See my answer to the above question. I thought I had set the campaign to generate one mission per day - at the height of BoB, both sides' pilots flew multiple sorties in a day, but one seemed a reasonable compromise, or the campaign really would take three months to play through. You might try increasing the supply values for all air units, and under each [Force] heading in the campaign_data.ini, as supply determines when a unit is available to undertake an offensive mission. Sorry, can't help with this one, either. CA_Stary built the WW2 weapons pack so he may be able to assist. No, you are correct. I don't think there is an AI routine for dive-bombers. Of course, at the controls of my trusty Stuka, I can wreak havoc with pinpoint accuracy, then escape at sea level. Provided my escort isn't off chasing his Oak Leaves. OK, just re-read my answers. I think you have discovered the limits of my knowledge Anybody help?

Yes, exactly right.

OK, I see what you mean. Take this example:- [strategicNode011] Area=Port of Dover ConnectTo[001].Target=London Raffinery Purfleet ConnectTo[001].BasePoint=765000.00000,657000.000000 ConnectTo[002].Target=Port of Ramsgate ConnectTo[002].BasePoint=883000,642000 ConnectTo[003].Target=Hastings Railwaystation ConnectTo[003].BasePoint=793000,593000 Units at Dover can ONLY travel to the nodes defined in Dover's entry. Sorry if my previous answer was less than clear. A unit can only retreat if the node it is at is connected to the node it came from in the first place. So, units at Calais can travel to Paris Orly and Dover. Units at Dover can travel to London Refinery Purfleet, Ramsgate and Hastings Railwaystation. So, to allow a unit to travel to AND from connected nodes, you have to define the path in both directions. In the above example, if you wanted to allow travel from Dover to Calais, you would have to add:- ConnectTo[004].Target=Port of Calais ConnectTo[004].BasePoint=933853,595475 Does that make sense?

The "ConnectTo[xxx]=" numbers simply signify all the different strategic nodes which that particular node is connected to, not the order in which the ground units will move to them. The campaign engine handles which of the paths the ground unit follows, the idea being that they will try to move towards the enemy base node. A ground unit can move from its start node node to any other node connected to its start point, so, yes, units can retreat (eg if they are defeated in battle but not wiped out). The "BasePoint=" flag defines the map co-ordinates at which the battle takes place - usually near to, but not right on top of, the strategic node which is being attacked.

The "Area=" flag defines the strategic node. The entry must match the name of a TargetArea as defined in the terrain_targets.ini file. Ground Units must be placed at a Target Area which is defined as a strategic node in order to show up on the campaign map, using the BaseArea= flag under the particular ground unit. I don't think there is any particular significance as to the geographical location of the relatiove strategic nodes, except of course it makes sense if they are connected up to the nodes closest to each one. So you wouldn't connect Paris Orly to London House of Parliament (unless you anted a very shgort ground war indeed!) Cheers, Baltika

Hi Canadair/atr, On the subject of strategic nodes, if you look in that section of the campaign_data.ini, you will see that each node is connected to the others by use of the "ConnectTo[xxx].Target=Eastbourne" flag. You will see that while the French Ports are connected to the English ports in this way, under each of the entries for the English ports, they are only connected on the English side of the channel. Interdictions and ground offensive set at 3 for Luftwaffe so that you get 3 airoffensive phases between each groundoffensive phase. This gives the Luftwaffe side just enough time, before the max mission limit is reached to end the campaign, to capture London, provided they are successful in the intervening air offensive missions. It also gives the RAF side a chance to stem the offensive by winning air offensive missions in between the ground attack phases and forcing a "draw." But it's a pretty close run thing either way. The intention was to simulate the supply problems faced by the Wehrmacht ground forces even if they did manage to get ashore. And then there's always the Royal Navy to consider. So, while the Wehrmacht are numerically and technologically much superior, they are not guaranteed to win. On your final point, the UK and Commonwealth ground forces are set to start the campaign at about 50% or less of their operational strength (with the exception of the NZ and Canadian Divisions, who may be expected to be in reasonably good order). This is to represent the perilous state of the British Army having just been chased out of France at Dunkirk. Over time, the unit % strength will build up as preparations are made to meet the invasion, but even by late September it is unlikely that those units will be at full strength. And with only one below-strength armoured division to defend London, things look pretty bleak for the UK if the Germans manage to land several full-strength Panzer Divisions supported by large troop formations. Happy hunting, Baltika

Hi Canadair, glad you're enjoying the campaign - there's loads of great WW2 stuff available, glad you took the plunge To answer your questions:- Tempest and Typhoon were not in service in the BoB timeframe. I am working up a "Channel Front 41-44" campaign which will use them, and many of the later types, but it's a long way off from release, sorry. I use the uberai mod on all my installs, no problem there. Phased campaign in BoB works by assigning targets in the AirOffensive[xxx]= flags in the BoB_data.ini for the Luftwaffe in conjunction with defining those targets very carefully in the [terrain]_types.ini to match the targets as assigned in the [terrain]_targets.ini. I have heavily modded Gepard's files to make the phased campaign work. Take a look at each of those sections in each of the campaign d/l files to see how it works. As you play through the campaign, the Luftwaffe will assign Channel Convoy/Coastal targets for strike missions. It will then move on to the airfield assault phase by assigning, you guessed it, airfield targets, and then targets in the City of London. The only way the player knows the campaign is moving through the phases is by observing the targets which the Luftwaffe is striking. A degree of overlap is built in, not least because the Luftwaffe seemed to have a less-than-focussed approach to objectives as the Battle developed. As to timing with Ground ops, well. . . The "StartGroundOffensive=" Flag under each Force in the campaign_data.ini sets the number of Air Offensive misions which must be completed before that force enters Ground Offensive phase. Your ground units must also have sufficient supply to meet the "SupplyForOffensive=" value for each force before launching an attack. Rinse and repeat, with ground offensive phase following air offensive phase. Winning or losing an air offensive mission does not seem to affect the countdown. In the BoB campaign, note the startdates for the Wehrmacht units - late September. So, no groundoffensives are launched until ground units are available to undertake them. The reason the Allied ground units are available from the start of the campaign is to add a bit of local colour, and allow them to build up from very low strengths to something approaching (but well short of) operational capability. You may find that, if you make it to SeeLowe, the ground war is very short indeed, all the same. The reason the Allied ground units do not attempt to invade the continent is because the connections for strategic nodes (defined in the campaign_data.ini) run in one direction only, ie from France to England, and not from England to France. So, the Allied units have no "path" to follow to the Luftwaffe base node. Again, that may change for the Channel Front campaign, as the ill-fated Dieppe landings deserve recognition, not least for the folly of their undertaking in the first place. Hope that helps. Everything I learned about building campaigns came from reading these boards, asking questions, and just trying stuff out to see what would happen. If you have a specific question, fire away. Bon chance! Baltika