Early begining

[vx111vx111swift]

When this first started. We used to have various targets in the city's. Tanks trucks etc.  Now it all takes place in the open fields. Or am I missing out on something.. The earlier version was a lot more fun  with the targets within the bombed out cities.

 

 Is there a version i do not know about or is this how it is now.

[Feathered_IV]

I was thinking about this over the last few weeks.  I noticed that Stalingrad itself might as well not exist as far as mission makers are concerned.

[vx111vx111swift]

yes it is starting to get a little boreing..

[No601_Swallow]

yes it is starting to get a little boreing..

 

Soooooo... build some missions with targets/objectives in cities! Simples!

[Uriah]

Jupp is nearly at a completion of his mission making process where he can take parts and pieces and make new missions quickly. Every now and then you will see in MULTIPLAYER a server called Abracadabra.

The point is that you can play these either as 'single' player or multiplayer because there is a particular mission that is always going on and the AI planes will always clue you into the action.

The one I have been involved in has the situation where there is a major town in the center where the Germans are sending a column of three tanks to attack. Your mission as a German is to protect those tanks and as a Soviet destroy them before they get to town. If you like you can fly fighter protection for either side. And as a bomber do what bombers do.

It works out nicely as a single mission and can do pretty close to a coop thing. All you need for that is to gather on Team Speak and enter about the same time.

 

Jupp has put in all sorts of activity that is triggered on events and has triggers on triggers. He is trying to get in the whole kitchen sink of what BOS can do.

As a result there is lots of activity and tons of visual affects.

[ShamrockOneFive]

Single player or online?

 

I've noticed a few near Stalingrad recently with some artillery being bombarded by ships. It was rather cool!

[Willy__]

 

 

I've noticed a few near Stalingrad recently with some artillery being bombarded by ships. It was rather cool!

 

I dont think ships can do that... Anyways, the area around Stalingrad always had the visual artillery shells being exploded near/around/inside the city, even with no targets near it.

[ShamrockOneFive]

I dont think ships can do that... Anyways, the area around Stalingrad always had the visual artillery shells being exploded near/around/inside the city, even with no targets near it.

 

Pretty sure they were. Their guns were firing and I could see the tracers flying from ship to near the artillery battery.

[PatrickAWlson]

Placing mission items in a city is not that difficult for hand build missions.  The problem is that hand build missions take a lot of time.  I'm also not sure if the AI pathing that would allow units to move is enabled in cities - i.e. is the AI smart enough to make a left on Elm and a right on Main to reach a destination?

 

In automated missions it's a royal pain in the rear.  You need detailed data files telling your software where a unit can be placed.  As far as I am aware those data files don't exist.  PWCG will regularly put a tank n a river simply because it does not know that a river is there.  The problem is much worse in cities with buildings everywhere.

[Juri_JS]

I think the main reason why you won't see targets inside Stalingrad is the huge performance drop when placing lots of active ground units inside the city. I've build an Il-2 ground attack mission in the Stalingrad area and even on good mid-range PCs the fps drops below 20.

[No601_Swallow]

Placing mission items in a city is not that difficult for hand build missions.  The problem is that hand build missions take a lot of time.  I'm also not sure if the AI pathing that would allow units to move is enabled in cities - i.e. is the AI smart enough to make a left on Elm and a right on Main to reach a destination?

 

 

I think I remember flying an SP mission that came with the game, a sort of tutorial mission, asking you to bomb some units inside Stalingrad. Presumably that would have been hand built by some Dev intern (surviving, no doubt, on hearty Russian comradeship and Vodka vouchers). The column was making its way south through the suburbs near the river. I always assumed ground units would follow the "splines" or whatever road system it is that is baked into the map, even if the road goes straight through the city.

[Jade_Monkey]

I also remember the tanks and trucks in the city, when I was learning how to strafe with the Bf109. Good times.

[Jupp]

~S~ Everyone,

 

I have unfortunately become ill again, which has delayed my efforts in releasing new materials.

 

Glad I wandered in here though, as I can still participate by sharing the things I learn with youse.

 

 

In the matter of Stalingrad or other Cities being populated by moving targets, it's not a problem.

 

Resource usage, as Juri mentions, is why Stalingrad is not well suited for AI inclusive missioning.

 

 

The other maps, like Lapino, are better suited towards that just by being smaller, their intended purpose I suspect.

 

That is, Stalingrad is for massive PvP stuff, whereas the smaller maps work better for "PvE", that is, Players vs. AI. 

 

To wit, I don't recall that I've produced a Multiplayer Map using Stalingrad yet, as I have been concentrating on PvE.

 

 

Now then, about ships being able to make artillery attacks, the answer there is a definite yes as well. There is one...

 

The 1124bm13 is a ship in the Mission Editor, already present for preorder Moscovians such as myself, to be sure!

 

That means that it is equipped with Katyusha Rockets, which although I did not use that feature in this mission, it's there.

 

I posted how to set up the bm13 or sdkfz251 szf as single units (firing their rockets) in this thread http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/20794-void/?p=328636.

 

Here is a screenshot to clarify, note that the ship and the bm13 are different units, I just show the relationship in this picture...

 

 

 

And finally, thank you Uriah for your time in play testing these new set ups with me, and for your positive enthusiasm towards my aim in sharing how we all may paint better targets in the future!

 

I truly hope I am able to kick this latest bout of Gulf War Illness (Multisymptom Polyneuropathy +++) soon and finalize my ME understandings, in order for them to become our ME understandings!

 

Keep 'em Flying,

 

!S -Jupp-  

Edited February 9, 2016 by Jupp

[Dakpilot]

Sincere wishes for a speedy recovery

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[No601_Swallow]

Some very very cool work, Jupp. Many thanks.

[Bando]

Jeez man, I hope you will recover soon.

[Jupp]

~S~ Fellows,

 

Thank you more than words can express. We drive on!

 

Encouraged by your replies, I threw this together quickly.

 

It's just a random, in one take, view of what I have been doing.

 

This mission has random ndb buildings that pop up in the city.

 

The object is simply to seek out the enemy's ndb, and well, destroy it.

 

I will release these most recent projects when the Ju-88s are includable.

 

M'adais,

 

!S -Jupp-

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPCu3AgPROk

[PatrickAWlson]

Best wishes Jupp.

[Y-29.Silky]

If not AI, then even just the factories, docks, the commisars house was flattened! All that stuff!

 

Can't tell my AI would be bad with a cluster of boats across the Volga, or fortifications at Mamayev Kurgan?

[Sokol1]

When this first started. We used to have various targets in the city's. Tanks trucks etc.  Now it all takes place in the open fields. 

 

You're lucky to be seeing the cities, in peripherals airfields you don't see some airbase structures and cities near are flat draft over ground.

 

Is "the quest for performance". 

Edited February 9, 2016 by Sokol1

[Jupp]

~S~ Sokol,

 

Yes, either the mission creator has not imported the "Template" at all, which is really just a Group file, stored in the Templates folder...

 

Or, they have deleted what areas of said Template deemed unnecessary for the mission's intended Areas of Operation as they envision it.

 

I do that myself when I create Multiplayer Missions. One of the first steps of Mission Creation is deciding what to delete from the Template.

 

 

Strictly adhering to the "Limitations" that the ME displays a count of, in the bottom right corner, may be a guideline a mission builder uses.

 

To explain in more detail...

 

There are files in the IL-2 data GUI folder, one is the source of that ME window display's information. Here is the line item list of that file :

 

 

Mission Objects Max Count.cfg

 

BUILDING=10
AIRFIELD=8
FLAG=8
VEHICLE=40
PLANE=20
BALOON=20
SHIP=10
EFFECT=12
ENTITY=80
INFLUENCEAREA=12
COMPLEXTRIGGER=10

 

As you can see, the Max Building Count is "10".

 

Ten "buildings" is the MAX amount of Buildings Recommended to run the simulation properly. Ten buildings to simulate WW2 Combat over Stalingrad... and .etc??? Paltry.

 

This is why I routinely overrun the limits in my own creations. Damn the torpedoes style! But anyway... No, you cannot edit that file and "make everything better" either. Nope.

 

 

The other file is called : "EditorObjectsBlackList".cfg and here is it's content listing :

 

graphics\planes\i16t24\i16t24-c.txt
graphics\planes\mig3\mig3-c.txt
graphics\planes\p40e1\p40e1-c.txt
graphics\planes\il2m41\il2m41-c.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s35\pe2s35-c.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s35\pe2s35-c1.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s35\pe2s35-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s35\pe2s35-c2.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s35\pe2s35-c2-low.txt
graphics\planes\bf109e7\bf109e7-c.txt
graphics\planes\bf109f2\bf109f2-c.txt
graphics\planes\mc202s8\mc202s8-c.txt
graphics\planes\bf110e2\bf110e2-c.txt
graphics\planes\bf110e2\bf110e2-c1.txt
graphics\planes\bf110e2\bf110e2-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\ju88a4\ju88a4-c.txt
graphics\planes\ju88a4\ju88a4-c1.txt
graphics\planes\ju88a4\ju88a4-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\ju88a4\ju88a4-c2.txt
graphics\planes\ju88a4\ju88a4-c2-low.txt
graphics\planes\ju88a4\ju88a4-c3.txt
graphics\planes\ju88a4\ju88a4-c3-low.txt

graphics\planes\lagg3s29\lagg3s29-c.txt
graphics\planes\bf109f4\bf109f4-c.txt
graphics\planes\bf109g2\bf109g2-c.txt
graphics\planes\il2m42\il2m42-c.txt
graphics\planes\il2m42\il2m42-c1.txt
graphics\planes\il2m42\il2m42-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s87\pe2s87-c.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s87\pe2s87-c1.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s87\pe2s87-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s87\pe2s87-c1-wm.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s87\pe2s87-c1-wm-low.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s87\pe2s87-c2.txt
graphics\planes\pe2s87\pe2s87-c2-low.txt
graphics\planes\ju87d3\ju87d3-c.txt
graphics\planes\ju87d3\ju87d3-c1.txt
graphics\planes\ju87d3\ju87d3-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c1.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c1-wm.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c1-wm-low.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c2.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c2-low.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c3.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c3-low.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c3-wm.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c3-wm-low.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c4.txt
graphics\planes\he111h6\he111h6-c4-low.txt
graphics\planes\la5s8\la5s8-c.txt
graphics\planes\fw190a3\fw190a3-c.txt
graphics\planes\yak1s69\yak1s69-c.txt
graphics\planes\ju523mg4e\ju523mg4e-c1-low.txt
graphics\planes\MiG3s24\Mig3s24-C.txt
graphics\vehicles\_t34-76stz\_t34-76stz_turret.txt
graphics\vehicles\_pziii-l\_pziii-l_turret.txt
graphics\vehicles\_pziii-l\_pziii-l_c.txt
graphics\vehicles\_pziii-l\_pziii-l_c1.txt
graphics\vehicles\_t34-76stz\_t34-76stz-c.txt
graphics\vehicles\_t34-76stz\_t34-76stz-c1.txt
graphics\Artillery\SearchlightGER\SearchlightGER-attach.txt
graphics\Artillery\SearchlightGER\LandlightGER-attach.txt
graphics\Artillery\SearchlightSU\SearchlightSU-attach.txt
graphics\Artillery\SearchlightSU\LandlightSU-attach.txt
graphics\Artillery\61k\61k-attach.txt
graphics\Artillery\Flak38\Flak38-attach.txt
graphics\Trains\Wagons\AAPlatform.txt
graphics\Trains\Wagons\AAPlatform-mg.txt
graphics\Ships\1124\1124-T1.txt
graphics\Ships\1124\1124-T2.txt
graphics\Ships\1124\1124-T3.txt
graphics\Ships\1124\1124-T4.txt
graphics\Ships\RiverGunShipA\RiverGunShipA-T5.txt
LuaScripts\WorldObjects\MapEmitters\AmmoExplosion.txt
LuaScripts\WorldObjects\MapEmitters\AmmoExplosion_Big.txt
LuaScripts\WorldObjects\MapEmitters\DummyGroundExpl.txt
LuaScripts\WorldObjects\MapEmitters\Ring_Bell.txt
LuaScripts\WorldObjects\MapEmitters\Static_Fire.txt

 

Now that, is important for editors to understand, to not use those items when working with say,  a Complex Trigger MCU (*as an example of why this is very important information)

 

So.

 

Those are the foundations of the "the quest for performance", and is why you might see areas that are devoid of 3-D Models on the landscape, which still has representational shadows---

 

marked out on the textures so that when 3-D objects are placed, they are accentuated by those painted texture shadows, as opposed to particle effect shadows, like what are cast by planes.

 

That, is a decision the Developers made, to save resources, which is a great compromise, and does work well in that context. Basically, absent of 3-D objects it looks like "War of the Worlds".

 

And...

 

I came here with an image from the Golden Age of being able to turn off the trees, grass, wispy clouds, and suchity such, in our video settings. A once developer quest, in increasing performance.

 

The crappy end of that is when people work ridiculously hard to make these visually appealing things, only to have just about every "kill junkie end user" turning them off in hopes of 3 more FPSssss.

 

Tantamount to people removing Mona Lisa's smile.  

 

And then the endless Forum posts of you did this, I did that, blah blah blah post your settings, ad nauseam that has been the plague of Forum Moderators and Developers alike since probably "Pong".

 

So you see now why we don't have a bunch of fiddly things adjustable in our video settings. It comes down to Chaos Theory 101. The more complex something is, the easier it is to break it. So let's just not.

 

 

This is enough of a flood of information for anyone to absorb for now. I sincerely hope that the few of us interested in this hobby, in this way, will benefit from my own "blah blah blah" if even a little bit...

 

 

Keep Lookin' Up!

 

!S -Jupp-  

 

Edited February 11, 2016 by Jupp

[No601_Swallow]

 

Interesting info there Jupp. Thanks.

 

(And that's why - in my humbles - it's hard to do purely public DF maps. It's much easier and more satisfying to have a more concentrated 'audience'. SP, or squadron-based coop-style objective-orientated missions!)

[Jupp]

~S~ Swallow,

 

Cheers from a guy who ain't had much to laugh about lately.

 

 

 

 

Your impeccable selection of emoticons was an exception to that.

 

 

Thank You,

 

!S -Jupp