Manually modifying pilots history (to include past campaign sorties)?

[J2_Trupobaw]

Hello,

Since release of BoS, I have been manually keeping track of sorties I have flown in default campaign, hoping to include it in future third party career mode - I have written down short reports (plane type, date, kills, mission type, lost wingmen etc) for 140 past missions. I would like to include and "continue" them in PWCG - create a new pilot for each plane type, manually create few months of backstory for him by adding "his" kills, sorties logs etc to his career files, then proceed in PWCG where I stopped in campaign.

I would also like to "add" results of future BoM campaign missions (flown to unlock skins etc) to approperiate PWCG careers. 

 

By the look of things, everything is held in Pilot Name.campaign file - the current date, victory list and awards of player pilot. Just making sure there are no hidden traps, since what I want to do is not intended use .

1) Is the current date only revelant date in campaign? Will "making up" past sorties before the date campaign "started" break something? I don't want to make a contradictory pilot who joined his squadron on 1st January 1943, currently is on 2nd January, and has downed 15 planes with this squadron in October-December 1942... 

2) Same with the kills. I don't see separate field for number of kills in pilot data, it seems to be calculated from his victory list. If I add backdated fields like that
 

 Victory

      {

        Type = "MiG-3 ser.24";

        VictoryType = 1;

        Date = 05/05/1942;

      }

 

will number of kills adjust seamlessly, or do I need to update other fields to not create a temporal paradox?

3) Finally, the decorations and promitions. If I fill new pilots history with, say,  past 42 kills, how will PWCG handle decorations and promotions already "earned"? Will they be automatically added based on number of kills next time I load the campaign? Will the "already earned" awards be updated next time I make a kill? Or, if I have 42 kills and no "low grade" awards earned, they will be lost forever because I "skipped" opportunity to earn them, and have to be added manually?

Most of these can be verified by trial and error, but, you can't really verify you have not broken something well hidden that will come later to bite you (until it does), so I'd be grateful for Pat's comment.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Trupobaw

[PatrickAWlson]

You can edit the file without issue.  You can add victories going back to 1914 if you want .  You are correct that PWCG determines number of victories on the fly, so all you have to do is add victories.

 

There is a journal option in PWCG.  In each combat report you can add your own narrative, which is saved.  You can open the journal and enter narratives for previous missions.  While I have never tested it, I see no reason why you cannot add fake journal entries to go along with the fake victories.

 

Promotions and medals are awarded based on the number of victories and missions that the pilot has achieved.  If you have a bunch of victories and missions PWCG will probably promote you and give you medals quite rapidly until you are caught up.  It will not, however, instantaneously award you four medals and promote you from feldwebel to hauptmann.

 

Once BoM comes into place you will be able to move between BoM and BoS.  However, you will not be able to go from Stalingrad to Moscow since that is going back in time.

[J2_Trupobaw]

Thank you, got it.

 

...So if my feldwebel wakes up on first morning of career with horrible hangover and finds out he's been downing Il-2s for past two months, he will be fast-tracked for promotion and will receive medals as fast as beauro in Berlin can work, but it won't happen overnight?

(I think there was precedent of pilots in WW2 having victories going back to 1916 ...)

 

By the way, file of my  Italan pilot file says he has two decorations,
 

 

        Type = "Pilots Badge";

        Type = "Al Valore Militar Bronze";

 

But PWCG displays only the first one? 

 

 

Also, do the entries in text file have to correspond with plane/object types in game that PWCG recognizes, or are they just strings displayed in pilot log I can edit? Do they have "non-decorative" meaning besides number of 1 and 2 type victories PWCG keeps counting on the fly? Are there other types of victories (bridges, buildings)? Do I have to research plane and engine types to make correct entries like that
 

      Victory

      {

        Type = "52-K";

        VictoryType = 2;

        Date = 01/08/1942;

      }

 

Or can I be more lenient? 

 

   Victory

      {

        Type = "Il-2 (Unknown type)";

        VictoryType = 1;

        Date = 05/08/1942;

      }

   Victory

      {

        Type = "Flak (unknown type)";

        VictoryType = 2;

        Date = 01/08/1942;

      }

   Victory

      {

        Type = "Truck (unknown type)";

        VictoryType = 2;

        Date = 01/08/1942;

      }

 

   Victory

      {

        Type = "Train engine (unknown type)";

        VictoryType = 2;

        Date = 01/08/1942;

      }

   Victory

      {

        Type = "Train station building";

        VictoryType = ?;

        Date = 01/08/1942;

      }

Edited January 28, 2016 by Trupobaw