IL2 Great Battles Easy Mission Generator

[eddyflight]

In game missions with a bomber (pe 2) and fighter (p39), with bombs. Instrument panel says 0 m/s.

[SYN_Vander]

10 hours ago, eddyflight said:

In game missions with a bomber (pe 2) and fighter (p39), with bombs. Instrument panel says 0 m/s.

 

Well it's possible if you set wind to "calm" or perhaps even "light" it will show as 0 in the bomb aim viewer?

[eddyflight]

This is missions with default moderate setting, and also strong.  As an aside, i remember one of the official game versions had this issue.(if confirmed)

 

[hsthhsth]

Hello @SYN_Vander,

As I've stated before, you've created a great tool to keep the interest for flying missions in FC alive.

 

Because I really like the new Handley Page O/400 I've created two missions. Both as a bombing mission for the Handley.
One to fly the Handley as second pilot (Blue_2nd), the other as second pilot in the protective group (Red_2nd).

 

This has left me with a number of questions and I don't know how much the mission editor or the AI programming is the answer.

1. The group of bombers seems not to drop any bombs on the target. When I left my plane (Blue_2nd) on autopilot it dropped all the bombs but far behind the target.
2. If the bombers (Blue) do not destroy the target but Red shoots down ennemy planes that attack Blue, how does that contribute to the mission goal?
3. Would it be possible to set different mission goals for both, Blue and Red?

 

The zip files also include the different setting files for the preload.

Blue_2nd.zip Red_2nd.zip

[SYN_Vander]

7 minutes ago, hsthhsth said:

Hello @SYN_Vander,

As I've stated before, you've created a great tool to keep the interest for flying missions in FC alive.

 

Because I really like the new Handley Page O/400 I've created two missions. Both as a bombing mission for the Handley.
One to fly the Handley as second pilot (Blue_2nd), the other as second pilot in the protective group (Red_2nd).

 

This has left me with a number of questions and I don't know how much the mission editor or the AI programming is the answer.

1. The group of bombers seems not to drop any bombs on the target. When I left my plane (Blue_2nd) on autopilot it dropped all the bombs but far behind the target.
2. If the bombers (Blue) do not destroy the target but Red shoots down ennemy planes that attack Blue, how does that contribute to the mission goal?
3. Would it be possible to set different mission goals for both, Blue and Red?

 

The zip files also include the different setting files for the preload.

Blue_2nd.zip 326.76 kB · 0 downloads Red_2nd.zip 323.42 kB · 0 downloads

 

Hi, I had a quick look at the first mission and I see nothing wrong. The bomber flight has 15 minutes to drop bombs going from the initial waypoint to the target, I assume that is not the problem? Or were they still climbing?

 

The escorts can shoot down anything they want, but the mission goal is the destruction of the target, so it does not contribute. The lead and escort flight fly together as a unit, so they only have one mission goal.

 

[hsthhsth]

Hello,

 

The problem with the first mission was that my plane (Blue-2nd) on autopilot dropped all bombs way past the target. And I could not see any of the other bombers drop theirs although they also flew over and past the target before they returned to the next waypoint.

[SYN_Vander]

2 hours ago, hsthhsth said:

Hello,

 

The problem with the first mission was that my plane (Blue-2nd) on autopilot dropped all bombs way past the target. And I could not see any of the other bombers drop theirs although they also flew over and past the target before they returned to the next waypoint.

 

Hi,

 

So I tested your mission. It took  a long time and just before the bomb drop my aircraft (on autopilot) was hit by flak... ?. Then the others were attacked by Albatrosses so complete failure.

But I noticed the following:

-The flight of HP400's has 9 aircraft

-The default bomber formation is V-shape. IL2 unfortunately only has two formations: V or line abreast (which is not suited for bombers).

-The HP400 is a very slow and with a bomb load has trouble climbing

-The aircraft have to climb, turn and get in formation with no power to spare

-During the bomb run, the planes are still not in formation and not at altitude (only half way). My plane (#2) was actually in front of the lead plane!

 

My conclusion:

-The flight is too big and the mission altitude (2200 m) is too high for the bombers to be able to successfully form up. Even then, the formation will be too spread out to bomb anything successfully. IL2 at the moment simply can't handle big formations.

 

Solution:

-Keep bomber formations small. Try 4 planes.

-Try a lower mission altitude so the HP400's can reach that altitude. In the new version of the EMG you will be able to set mission altitude.

 

You can test this by generating the same mission, but with 4 planes and then use plane start = in the air, so you already start at the correct altitude and you can quickly see results. Tip: Set enemy AAA skill to harmless or your low, slow flying HP400 will be ripped to pieces!

 

This was taken just before the bomb run:

Edited May 29, 2022 by SYN_Vander

[SYN_Vander]

New version of the EMG has been released!

 

 

A big update this time! Inspired by the latest developer diaries I have spent some time adding new scenarios and targets:
A photo reconnaissance scenario has been added where you have to fly exactly over the target between altitudes indicated in the briefing. This was developed with Flying Circus in mind, but will also work for WW2 for selected aircraft. When more camera/recon functionality will be added to the game I will update the this scenario. For now it is pretty basic.
The Mosquito was added of course and to try out that big 57mm Molins gun you need a target, so I have added a submarine target type. Search for the sub in the indicated zone and make sure to attack quickly as the submarine may decide to dive as soon as you get close! This target is available for Kuban (Kerch front) and the "Channel" map only, because you need large area of open water.
Another important thing is weather and how it affects missions. I have added more cloud presets to give more control over the weather and also added a help tab where you'll find a graph showing typical altitudes of the clouds. With that knowledge it is now also possible to set your mission altitude more precisely as I have added discrete altitude values.

There are some more changes, suggested or even handed over from community members and a number of bug fixes, see the full change log.

 

Unfortunately, because of a couple of fundamental changes the old configuration presets will not work anymore. Please delete and re-create them with this new version.

 

Version 62
-Added Mosquito FB Mk.IV to theatre WW2 West as "attacker","bomber" & "recon"
-Added Reconnaissance scenario: Photograph an enemy target and bring the photos home.
-Added Submarine as target. Find the sub in the search area and attack it before it dives.
-Added tank column as target for WW2 theatres, similar to vehicles but with tanks
-Added new front lines for VelieLuki map (thanks kraut1 !)
-Replaced labels 'Blue' and 'Red' flight by 'Lead' and 'Escort' flight. Makes more sense.
-Added option to have Lead flight start already in the air, over the airfield.
-Added error message popup upon mission generation when no aircraft available for the chosen period
-Changed cloud options to have more control over type and height since we now have such beautiful clouds in IL2
-Changed mission altitude to discrete values and more choices.
-Changed option 'airstart' to 'near the target' as plane start option, which describes it better
-No more suprise AI aircraft if Ambient AI activity is set to 'passive'
-Mission type now shows 'Escort' if player choses Escort Flight (Not when Dogfight game mode)
-Bug fix: Incorrect Objective type was used resulting in failed mission for random Intercept scenario
-Bug fix: Moved version information out of config.ini so it won't end up in a preset
-Bug fix: Ship escorts would sail backwards when ships were being attacked

 

Download here: IL2 Great Battles Easy Mission Generator

[DD_FT-]

V62: Did not see the Mosquito appear in the aircraft list when Rhineland was selected - had to use the 'Clear custom plane set' and select WW2-West and 'Copy Preset' button to get it to work, even though 'Custom Plane Set' was unchecked.

 

Not really reporting it as a bug - it could be me - this just as a tip / workaround for others that might initially be missing the Mossie ...

 

[SYN_Vander]

1 minute ago, DD_FT- said:

V62: Did not see the Mosquito appear in the aircraft list when Rhineland was selected - had to use the 'Clear custom plane set' and select WW2-West and 'Copy Preset' button to get it to work, even though 'Custom Plane Set' was unchecked.

 

Not really reporting it as a bug - it could be me - this just as a tip / workaround for others that might initially be missing the Mossie ...

 

 

Ah, you are saying it wasn't in the overall custom plane set? Did you select a correct date?

[DD_FT-]

7 minutes ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

Ah, you are saying it wasn't in the overall custom plane set? Did you select a correct date?

Ah, I may have ignored that specific detail ... oops...

 

It was in the overall custom plane set, but not in the lists on the right hand side (ie. 'bombers allied'), but once I put it there, it showed up on the lists on the Scenario form. (even without setting a proper date) It was not in the Scenario lists before this 'custom plane set' action... ?

[SYN_Vander]

9 minutes ago, DD_FT- said:

Ah, I may have ignored that specific detail ... oops...

 

It was in the overall custom plane set, but not in the lists on the right hand side (ie. 'bombers allied'), but once I put it there, it showed up on the lists on the Scenario form. (even without setting a proper date) It was not in the Scenario lists before this 'custom plane set' action... ?

 

Default date (after  new update) is nov 1942 and for that date the mossie will not be available yet.

Yeah, the list on the right hand side is the custom plane set, so I didn't update that one before release. But yeah, just one click 'copy preset' should fix that.

[percydanvers]

10 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

New version of the EMG has been released!

 

 

A big update this time! Inspired by the latest developer diaries I have spent some time adding new scenarios and targets:
A photo reconnaissance scenario has been added where you have to fly exactly over the target between altitudes indicated in the briefing. This was developed with Flying Circus in mind, but will also work for WW2 for selected aircraft. When more camera/recon functionality will be added to the game I will update the this scenario. For now it is pretty basic.
The Mosquito was added of course and to try out that big 57mm Molins gun you need a target, so I have added a submarine target type. Search for the sub in the indicated zone and make sure to attack quickly as the submarine may decide to dive as soon as you get close! This target is available for Kuban (Kerch front) and the "Channel" map only, because you need large area of open water.
Another important thing is weather and how it affects missions. I have added more cloud presets to give more control over the weather and also added a help tab where you'll find a graph showing typical altitudes of the clouds. With that knowledge it is now also possible to set your mission altitude more precisely as I have added discrete altitude values.

There are some more changes, suggested or even handed over from community members and a number of bug fixes, see the full change log.

 

Unfortunately, because of a couple of fundamental changes the old configuration presets will not work anymore. Please delete and re-create them with this new version.

 

Version 62
-Added Mosquito FB Mk.IV to theatre WW2 West as "attacker","bomber" & "recon"
-Added Reconnaissance scenario: Photograph an enemy target and bring the photos home.
-Added Submarine as target. Find the sub in the search area and attack it before it dives.
-Added tank column as target for WW2 theatres, similar to vehicles but with tanks
-Added new front lines for VelieLuki map (thanks kraut1 !)
-Replaced labels 'Blue' and 'Red' flight by 'Lead' and 'Escort' flight. Makes more sense.
-Added option to have Lead flight start already in the air, over the airfield.
-Added error message popup upon mission generation when no aircraft available for the chosen period
-Changed cloud options to have more control over type and height since we now have such beautiful clouds in IL2
-Changed mission altitude to discrete values and more choices.
-Changed option 'airstart' to 'near the target' as plane start option, which describes it better
-No more suprise AI aircraft if Ambient AI activity is set to 'passive'
-Mission type now shows 'Escort' if player choses Escort Flight (Not when Dogfight game mode)
-Bug fix: Incorrect Objective type was used resulting in failed mission for random Intercept scenario
-Bug fix: Moved version information out of config.ini so it won't end up in a preset
-Bug fix: Ship escorts would sail backwards when ships were being attacked

 

Download here: IL2 Great Battles Easy Mission Generator

 

Amazing! I love the addition of new mission types! Also really loving these QoL changes. 

[Sandmarken]

Very good update as always! Quick question, now that we have the more detaild altitude option the max altitude is 6000m. Is there a way i can change it to highter altitudes? I really enjoyed the "very high altitude" option from the last version? ?

[SYN_Vander]

30 minutes ago, Sandmarken said:

Very good update as always! Quick question, now that we have the more detaild altitude option the max altitude is 6000m. Is there a way i can change it to highter altitudes? I really enjoyed the "very high altitude" option from the last version? ?

I thought the very high altitude was 6000 m? If not I’ll add some more options, no prob. I need to make some more adjustments anyway now that balloons can be tethered. 

[Sandmarken]

40 minutes ago, SYN_Vander said:

I thought the very high altitude was 6000 m? If not I’ll add some more options, no prob. I need to make some more adjustments anyway now that balloons can be tethered. 

Thx! Im pretty sure it was around 8 to 9000m. ?

[hsthhsth]

@SYNvander, Thank you very much for the investigation (despite the slow Handley ? ).

I'll give the new version a try with the new options.

 

Please, when you update again, could you please also update the date in the situation screen? If the FC map is selected, the date remains for 1942. Can you update it to year that is correct for the selected Front? Thanks.

Edited June 1, 2022 by hsthhsth
wrong screen

[SYN_Vander]

2 hours ago, hsthhsth said:

@SYNvander, Thank you very much for the investigation (despite the slow Handley ? ).

I'll give the new version a try with the new options.

 

Please, when you update again, could you please also update the date in the situation screen? If the FC map is selected, the date remains for 1942. Can you update it to year that is correct for the selected Front? Thanks.

 

Yes, that is a good idea.

[352ndOscar]

Salute Vander,

 

Looking at the Scenario tab, when hovering over the "Skip Take-off" option under "Lead Flight"; should this option not be for the "Escort" flight.  ToolTip says, "Lead Flight will start above the airfield".  I would think you would want your escort over the base waiting for the bombers to takeoff, not the bombers in the air and the escort taking off.  Just seems odd to me - not that its wrong.

Edited June 2, 2022 by 352ndOscar

[SYN_Vander]

21 minutes ago, 352ndOscar said:

Salute Vander,

 

Looking at the Scenario tab, when hovering over the "Skip Take-off" option under "Lead Flight"; should this option not be for the "Escort" flight.  ToolTip says, "Lead Flight will start above the airfield".  I would think you would want your escort over the base waiting for the bombers to takeoff, not the bombers in the air and the escort taking off.  Just seems odd to me - not that its wrong.

Bombers usually take a lot more time to take off and climb to altitude, so it saves more time. Perhaps I can make the options for both flights so you can choose. 

[Azdack]

Hello. Above all SYN_Vander thank you for your tool. Got an isssue I had never had before...By clicking on create the mission the tool turns and turns showing "generating.." but nothing happens....

[co199]

33 minutes ago, Azdack said:

Hello. Above all SYN_Vander thank you for your tool. Got an isssue I had never had before...By clicking on create the mission the tool turns and turns showing "generating.." but nothing happens....

 

I noticed this happens if you have the clouds set to "Random". Try selecting a specific cloud type and re-generate. Steps to reproduce:

 

1. Set the situation and scenario tabs as you would like them.

2. Set the "Clouds" field on the situation tab to "random".

3. Attempt to generate mission - it should sit and spin on generating.

4. Close EMG.

5. Re-open EMG and change the clouds field to anything other than random.

6. Attempt to generate mission - this should generate.

[SYN_Vander]

44 minutes ago, co199 said:

 

I noticed this happens if you have the clouds set to "Random". Try selecting a specific cloud type and re-generate. Steps to reproduce:

 

1. Set the situation and scenario tabs as you would like them.

2. Set the "Clouds" field on the situation tab to "random".

3. Attempt to generate mission - it should sit and spin on generating.

4. Close EMG.

5. Re-open EMG and change the clouds field to anything other than random.

6. Attempt to generate mission - this should generate.

 

Thanks!

Stupid typo in the code.... I'll release an update soon with some other small changes.

[Azdack]

co199 you are right! It works! My cloud was on random and as soon as I've choosen another option... generation runs fine.

Thanks for help.

And thanks to you too SYN_Vander.

[Vishnu]

Auto update  would be awesome!!

Edited June 3, 2022 by Vishnu

[SYN_Vander]

4 hours ago, Vishnu said:

Auto update  would be awesome!!

Indeed! Should look into that one again…

[percydanvers]

On 6/2/2022 at 11:01 AM, SYN_Vander said:

Bombers usually take a lot more time to take off and climb to altitude, so it saves more time. Perhaps I can make the options for both flights so you can choose. 

 

That would be pretty cool. That way you could take off from a small frontline airfield to escort a formation of bombers that normally wouldn't be able to take off from there.

[SYN_Vander]

9 hours ago, percydanvers said:

 

That would be pretty cool. That way you could take off from a small frontline airfield to escort a formation of bombers that normally wouldn't be able to take off from there.

So this is now possible. Choose the frontline airfield and ‘skip takeoff’ and if you are in the escort flight you’ll find yourself on the airfield with the lead flight (bombers) overhead.

[Ala13_UnopaUno_VR]

yesterday we flew to intercept submarine, I imagined maybe several, separated by great distances, but we only found one. Only 1 appears in the mission or will they appear randomly for x time?

[SYN_Vander]

26 minutes ago, Ala13_UnopaUno_VR said:

yesterday we flew to intercept submarine, I imagined maybe several, separated by great distances, but we only found one. Only 1 appears in the mission or will they appear randomly for x time?

 

It's only one. Afaik submarines were not typically found in convoys/groups. What I can do perhaps is spawn (surface) another one after the first one is destroyed?

Edited June 5, 2022 by SYN_Vander

[SYN_Vander]

New version:

 

Release Notes EMG Version 63

-Changed Observation Balloons so they are attached to a winch

-Added more altitude options up to 10000 m

-Added a second submarine that surfaces when the first one is destroyed. With 'easy'/'normal' difficulty you only need to destroy one, with 'hard' both.

-Fixed mission generation bug when selecting 'random' as cloud option

[PA_Juma]

Hello Vander.

When I installed your latest version, I got this error and I can't generate missions. 
Can you tell me why?
Days before the update everything was perfect. I would be grateful if you could help me.
Regards.

 

[Retrofly]

7 hours ago, Jumapape said:

Hello Vander.

When I installed your latest version, I got this error and I can't generate missions. 
Can you tell me why?
Days before the update everything was perfect. I would be grateful if you could help me.
Regards.

 

 

Did the mission_generator.log mention anything? (its in the same folder as the EasyMissionGenerator.exe

[SYN_Vander]

9 hours ago, Jumapape said:

Hello Vander.

When I installed your latest version, I got this error and I can't generate missions. 
Can you tell me why?
Days before the update everything was perfect. I would be grateful if you could help me.
Regards.

 

 

All I can see is that the mission was generated, but failed when re-saving. This can be due to a number of reasons. Can you post the config.ini and mission_generator.log ?

 

See if you can create missions without the subfolder defined (reset).

Edited June 6, 2022 by SYN_Vander

[zeufman]

22 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

 

See if you can create missions without the subfolder defined (reset).

hello

it works for me

thanks

[Azdack]

Hello SYN_Vander

Got a strange and funny issue with last version. Starting on the ramp with taxiing in a Mossie as leader. I wait for my wingmen taxiing too. Just before taking off...all wingmen shot a pair of their rockects...!? I tried another mission in a spit as escort as leader. I took off and flew above airfield waiting for the mossies taxiing and taking off. Same issue...just before rolling...shoot of a pair of rockets...Any idea? Thanks.

[SYN_Vander]

52 minutes ago, Azdack said:

Hello SYN_Vander

Got a strange and funny issue with last version. Starting on the ramp with taxiing in a Mossie as leader. I wait for my wingmen taxiing too. Just before taking off...all wingmen shot a pair of their rockects...!? I tried another mission in a spit as escort as leader. I took off and flew above airfield waiting for the mossies taxiing and taking off. Same issue...just before rolling...shoot of a pair of rockets...Any idea? Thanks.

 

It's a generic IL2 bug. The devs are aware and they will fix it.

[Stonehouse]

Had a possible idea for a small enhancement. Time of day......could there be a random day and random night as well as random? Maybe overlap random day and random night on dusk and dawn?

[PA_Juma]

On 6/6/2022 at 8:22 PM, SYN_Vander said:

 

All I can see is that the mission was generated, but failed when re-saving. This can be due to a number of reasons. Can you post the config.ini and mission_generator.log ?

 

See if you can create missions without the subfolder defined (reset).

Hello Vander,
Sorry for my delay but work has prevented me from getting in earlier to reply to you. Here is what you asked for.
Thank you.

Config.ini and d mission_generator.log.zip

[SYN_Vander]

6 hours ago, Jumapape said:

Hello Vander,
Sorry for my delay but work has prevented me from getting in earlier to reply to you. Here is what you asked for.
Thank you.

Config.ini and d mission_generator.log.zip 1.85 kB · 0 downloads

 

Thnx. I had a quick look and noticed that the il2 path is different (C drive) from the mission folder path (D drive).

 

Where is your IL2 game installed? Make sure the IL2 main folder is filled in correctly.

 

If you don't use a specific subfolder (which you don't) than you don't need to worry about the mission folder and leave it blank (press 'reset' to delete is). EMG will make sure the mission is created in the correct folder, based on game type.