PWCG 6 Alpha Completed

[PatrickAWlson]

Get it here

 

This is it, or at least the first attempt at "it" .  PWCG coop for many players - any squadron - any side.  Please try to limit participation in a single squadron to 6 maximum.  

 

How to:

Add a friend:

When you want to include a new player, first create a user for that player. 

That happens in the coop admin section from the main page . 

Each coop persona must have a user associated with it - this is where you create those users. 

A user can have many personas but only one may participate in a single mission. 

Each person involved in the coop campaign should have one and only one user.

Takes about 2 minutes or less.

 

Make a pilot:

Enter the coop campaign from the main screen. 

Click "Add pilot"

Enter the information (much like when you create a campaign).

Note that a user must be linked to the pilot, so make sure the user has been created.

Takes about 2 minutes or less.

 

Create a mission

Immediately after pressing "mission" you will be sent to the pilot selection screen.  Choose the pilots that will fly in the mission.

Continue as normal and start the mission.

Known issue: AI pilots are showing up as flyable.  However, all of your selected human pilots will be there,

 

AAR

During the AAR process the claims part will be bypassed. 

Coop does not work with the single player claims system.

Coop victories are tied only to log output.

 

For single player

The new mission generation system is not only necessary for coop but IMHO offers a significant improvement in SP as well.  

 

In 3.1:

Added the Me 262

- Start with KG53 on 10/1/1944 as an attack career

- Start with JV44 on 2/1/1945 as a fighter career

Fixed reference pilot issue - PWCG will now choose the proper pilot and allow you to change the pilot perspective in the campaign UI.

- See new button for coop campaigns "Change Reference Pilot"

Fixed adding coop user cuts off button on smaller screens

 

PWCG 6.0 Released:

See release thread.  Thanks to all who helped test.

Edited July 11, 2019 by PatrickAWlson

[Eisenfaustus]

Great news, I'll give it a try!

 

Thank you!

[Utopioneer]

Thanks a ton Pat!

 

On the Add Coop User page, it looks like some of the middle window is being cut off or not scaling correctly. I think there must be a button I can't see?

[FTC_Riksen]

Oh my ... You did it! Can't wait to try it out tonight! Thanks Pat!

[Redwo1f]

24 minutes ago, PatrickAWlson said:

 

 

For single player

The new mission generation system is not only necessary for coop but IMHO offers a significant improvement in SP as well.  

Awesome, thanks! ?

What single player improvements were made with this build out of curiosity?

[PatrickAWlson]

25 minutes ago, Redwo1f said:

Awesome, thanks! ?

What single player improvements were made with this build out of curiosity?

 

The way flight paths are determined.  It used to be make the player's mission, draw a box, drive other missions towards that box.  Now the box is created in advance in a much more reasonable place.  It is also a fixed size, which is important.  The player box could often be either too small or misshaped.

 

Note when I say driven into a box I am not talking about "everybody meet in the middle".  It goes like this: pick a spot on the map.  Find the front lines.  Draw a box.  Now every mission will look for that target around that box.  So if a flight is attacking a train I will look for a station in or near the box.  The box is big enough that you might never see a flight, although the missions that I have flown have had plenty of activity.

 

The end result is that you feel more like a part of the world instead of the center of it.  Encounters with enemy flights were quite frequent in the missions that I played but they felt less like they were being jammed down your throat.  

[Redwo1f]

That sounds fantastic! Thanks for your terrific work on this, Pat! ?

[PatrickAWlson]

@Utopioneer I'll get that fixed

[-332FG-Hank_DG]

I keep getting errors when trying to create missions. I'm playing coop btw

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

29 minutes ago, II./JG77_HankDG said:

I keep getting errors when trying to create missions. I'm playing coop btw

 

 

 

Specifics?  PWCG writes errors to an error log.  Can you post that here?

[-332FG-Hank_DG]

Nvm got that fixed. Did have one question though, there is no briefing or flight plan. Is this intended?

[Omin]

Thank you Pat for the new update. I have noticed that no briefing and or flight plan in game. If I have a coop player on one squadron and me on another I can see my info but when I leave the campaign and come back it shows the other users info. I cannot go back to my info. It’s confusing since neither player knows what their mission is. Maybe the steps are not being followed or some other issue. 

[Habu]

Does it works on a dedicated server ?

[Leon_Portier]

I really like the new features! I have one question tho, is it normal when creating a coop mission, the mission description is empty?

In single player it creates the description, like patrol so and so.

 

[PatrickAWlson]

@[N.O.G.F]Leon_Portier There are still some things transitioning from one player to many.  Mission text is one of them.  I have to push the description from the mission level (all flights) to the flight level so every flight gets a different one.

 

@Omin I think the briefing is the same thing noted by Leon_Portier.  I want to make sure that I understand the second issue: you leave PWCG, come back and you are looking at the campaign from the point of view of a different player?  I didn't see that but I think I understand how that can happen.  Seems like when you enter the campaign I will have to make you pick the pilot that you want to be.

 

@Habu My multiplayer expertise is near zero so please bear with me, but I think the answer is yes.  I imagine that a dedicated server has to have the game installed.  i suspect that you would drop PWCG into the server's install directory just like you would any other PWCG install, because that is where the mission files are read and the log files written. That would probably be on your server and not a client.  

 

The only thing PWCG cares about, can it find a mission directory and can it find log files.   The only thing the game cares about is that it can read the mission file and that it is configured to spit out logs.  The game really has no idea that a PWCG mission is part of something bigger.  Conversely, PWCG has no idea how the game functions beyond the fact that it needs a mission that looks like this and spits out logs that look like that.

Edited July 6, 2019 by PatrickAWlson

[Habu]

28 minutes ago, PatrickAWlson said:

@Habu My multiplayer expertise is near zero so please bear with me, but I think the answer is yes.  I imagine that a dedicated server has to have the game installed.  i suspect that you would drop PWCG into the server's install directory just like you would any other PWCG install, because that is where the mission files are read and the log files written. That would probably be on your server and not a client.  

 

Patrick, i will run test as soon as i can with dedicated server and i'll give you the result.

 

There is one thing you should say is that we must have Java installed.

[Omin]

Thank you Pat for the response and correct on second issue.  I guess for now we will use one squadron for our coop. Otherwise I know we are excited for the new changes. 

[PatrickAWlson]

1 minute ago, Habu said:

 

Patrick, i will run test as soon as i can with dedicated server and i'll give you the result.

 

There is one thing you should say is that we must have Java installed.

 

Good point.  After 10 years of PWCG I am so used to that condition that it becomes an assumption.  However, anybody new to PWCG doesn't necessarily know that.

 

Also, I am looking for positive feedback as well as bug reports.  Partly because it's nice to know that your software doesn't suck  .  More than that, however, this is something entirely new.  Certainly to RoF/BoX and as far as I am aware to flight simming period.  I have never known a flight sim that has a multi player historical campaign.  With the alpha release I am looking to work out the kinks, but once this is solid (and I think it is well on its way) I want to promote it.  I'm an engineer and not a salesman, so I really count on others for that.  If people give this a thumbs up - and I will work it until that happens  - I want to see this take off.

3 minutes ago, Omin said:

Thank you Pat for the response and correct on second issue.  I guess for now we will use one squadron for our coop. Otherwise I know we are excited for the new changes. 

 

It will only take me a day or two to get  that out.  I put Alpha in the title for a reason  

[Habu]

i forgot to thank you for your tool. As i said, i'm going to try it asap with my buddies on the dedicated server, because if it works, it would be cool to have a kind of dynamic campaign running h24.

[FTC_Riksen]

Nice job Pat!

 

Question ... Do you plan to introduce the additional JG52 skins I've sent you in the pack at any point? I'm asking this because we now have some additional units ready as well including the JG51, Jv44, JG54, and the JG27 in case you are still looking for some additional units ...

[LuftManu]

This is great! Thanks Patrick!

La Fundacion will be using this ASAP and reporting bugs. 

[PatrickAWlson]

Alpha 3.1 Posted:

Added the Me 262

- Start with KG53 on 10/1/1944 as an attack career

- Start with JV44 on 2/1/1945 as a fighter career

Fixed reference pilot issue - PWCG will now choose the proper pilot and allow you to change the pilot perspective in the campaign UI.

- See new button for coop campaigns "Change Reference Pilot"

Fixed adding coop user cuts off button on smaller screens

6 hours ago, Omin said:

Thank you Pat for the response and correct on second issue.  I guess for now we will use one squadron for our coop. Otherwise I know we are excited for the new changes. 

 

Issue fixed.  Please provide feedback.

[Utopioneer]

11 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Also, I am looking for positive feedback as well as bug reports.  Partly because it's nice to know that your software doesn't suck  . 

Your software definitely doesn't suck, it's by far the best way to play the game. It has become indispensable for me and my squad.

 

We flew a couple missions tonight and I have some feedback:

1. It looks like there's no way to view the mission route from within the game? Is this a limitation of the game, unable to show different routes depending on what side/squadron you're on? Without the route we needed the yellow waypoint markers on.

 

2. We mostly got credited for fewer kills than we actually had, I assume you're aware and it's a limitation of the new method?

 

3. I had a player pilot get seriously wounded and it seemed like no amount of leave time brought him back to healthy status, and he could not be added to mission rosters. In v5 I thought it was 2-3 weeks to be healthy, but also wounded human pilots could still fly?

 

4. Do you know what would be involved with porting over a campaign from v5 to v6 successfully? I copied over the squadron and campaign log files, and then I manually created matching "User" and "Pilot" json files. Everything seemed to show up fine, but then mission generation mostly failed (not always!). Just curious if this would never work, or if there's something I could do to get it to work. Mostly we would like to carry our stats over to the new version when it's out of alpha/beta.

 

Thanks a ton for everything you're doing!

[PatrickAWlson]

@UtopioneerThanks for the feedback.

 

1. I'm not sure about how the game shows the mission path.  Not saying it can or cannot be done, I just don't know how.  I do put icons on for every human flight.

2. I expected that.  The issue is that the game reports many crashed planes as crashed and not shot down.  Can you post the log files?  

3. Serious wound is months and not weeks.  Minor wounds are weeks.  The leave panel tells you how long a pilot needs to heal. 

The campaign mode is designed to allow a player to have multiple personas.  If you have a pilot seriously wounded make another one and fly him until the first one heals.  

4. The single player has a backwards compatibility mode that converts v5.1.3 to V6.  That should mostly do it for coop as well.  You are correct the user and player records would be the issue.  If you post  the campaign I'll have a look.

 

 

[RedeyeStorm]

@PatrickAWlson,

 

I am flying currently a P39 SP campaign in alpha 6. It is a nice mix of AA and AG missions. One thing I noticed in the AG missions compared to the standard career. When loaded with bombs my AI flight ignores attacking 109 completely and continue on there way unperturbed. In the standard career the fighters ditch their bombs and engage the attacking fighters. 

 

It would be great if the AI in PWCG would respond in similar fasion.

 

PS flying as wingman

Edited July 7, 2019 by [Pb]RedeyeStorm

[Yogiflight]

29 minutes ago, [Pb]RedeyeStorm said:

@PatrickAWlson,

 

I am flying currently a P39 SP campaign in alpha 6. It is a nice mix of AA and AG missions. One thing I noticed in the AG missions compared to the standard career. When loaded with bombs my AI flight ignores attacking 109 completely and continue on there way unperturbed. In the standard career the fighters ditch their bombs and engage the attacking fighters. 

 

It would be great if the AI in PWCG would respond in similar fasion.

 

PS flying as wingman

This was changed for this version, because when I was flying Bf110 campaign in PWCG, it was more or less a pure fighter campaign, as you usually meet some enemy flight on your way to target. For me it is exactly how it should be, when you are on your way to the target, the ground attack has absolutely highest priority, as it is why you are flying this sortie. We often forget, that IRL the ground troops would be waiting for your ground attack. The enemy flight is, what you should have a fighter escort for. On your way back to base, after having done your job at the frontline, you can feel free to attack anything you find.

But there I had one mission, where I was attacked by enemy fighters on the RTB and my flight did not care at all, but was just flying back to base. But on the RTB they should attack enemy, in my opinion.

But as I am talking about it, I have been flying a few Bf110 missions now, and TBH, I am not sure, if I have an escort in my ground attack missions. No radio message at the ingress waypoint, and I did not see them at the target or on our RTB.

More after I have done a few more missions.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Yogiflight

[Stolle]

Does this version have a cold start option either for SP or COOP ?

[SCG_motoadve]

 

Thanks for your work, any chance to add Prophpova map?

Edited July 7, 2019 by II./JG77_motoadve

[Yogiflight]

1 hour ago, Stolle said:

Does this version have a cold start option either for SP or COOP ?

SP yes, my guess is Coop will have it, too, as it is the same program.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Yogiflight

[Omin]

Hey Pat. Thank you for the fix. Will download and test it tonight with our groups coop night. Very excited about the 262 since our campaign was supposed to end with it before we started a new one. I will let you know what and if we run into any issues. 

[PatrickAWlson]

2 hours ago, II./JG77_motoadve said:

 

Thanks for your work, any chance to add Prophpova map?

 

Not immediately.

3 hours ago, Stolle said:

Does this version have a cold start option either for SP or COOP ?

 

I probably have to do a little work to ensure that the airstart/runway/cold start option is applied to every human flight.

[Utopioneer]

@PatrickAWlson I realized after posting that the MissionData and CombatReports folders in v6 now house those respective files. I had kept them in the main folder. I'll have to try again by moving everything where the software expects it.

 

If it helps for in-game routes, here are two examples, first v5 and then v6, both taken in lobby but they're the same in flight. I know you said previously the mission description still needs to be worked on, is a unique in-game description possible for each flight?

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

@Utopioneer I posted a question in mission making about this but for the moment I am not sure what to do about the mission text or the briefing map.

 

Mission Text: The mission text in the game operates at a mission level and not a flight level.  I cannot specify a separate  mission text for each human flight.  If I kept it as it was then everybody would see the mission text for the first human flight and not their own mission.  I can fill in the text with something generic like "go fly the mission and good luck" but that's probably about it.  A best compromise might be to generate something specific if I see only one human flight and something generic if there are multiple.

 

Drawing the flight path on the map: this I must admit I understand less well than the text.  I posted a question in the mission making section.  I suspect the answer will be similar though - there is no briefing map per human flight.  If I'm wrong about this (which would be a good thing) I'll do what I can.  Again, a similar solution might apply: if there is only one human flight then set up the mission such that the flight path appears.

One more option is to put something into PWCG to spit out a JPG of the PWCG map that could then be distributed.  

 

We'll keep working it.  

 

EDIT: Gambit replied that it is based on icons.  I have an icon set for every human flight. Not sure what the game is doing but it might see multiple unconnected icon sets and shrug its shoulders and display nothing.  Worst case would be to show all of the flight paths because that would be instant intel on everybody.  

 

Per above, I can code it to produce a proper description/flight path provided there is only one human flight.  This way those playing together in a single squadron won't lose anything.

Edited July 7, 2019 by PatrickAWlson

[Yogiflight]

Cold start in the 262 ground attack campaign beginning 01/10/1944 doesn't work, when you start in western direction, because the aircrafts are parked on the taxiway. When the leader starts taxing, he taxies 50m straight on, then turns 180° and crashes frontally into the second aircraft, that just started taxing.

I'll try a later date.

A second thing not working, I can't name my careers for example 'Me 262 Campaign'. I get the message 'Name must be English Characters'.

EDIT: When starting on the runway, the left aircrafts are placed left of the runway in the grass and tend to crash into the trees, when trying to start.

The cruising speed of 300km/h is far to low. This is the speed, where you start to lower the flaps, at 350 the gear, when landing. 500km/h would be more realistic for the 262.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Yogiflight

[Utopioneer]

3 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Per above, I can code it to produce a proper description/flight path provided there is only one human flight.  This way those playing together in a single squadron won't lose anything.

 

That would be fantastic, I was worried that single squadron use would be negatively impacted by the broader co-op changes.

[aust3298]

18 hours ago, [Pb]RedeyeStorm said:

@PatrickAWlson,

 

I am flying currently a P39 SP campaign in alpha 6. It is a nice mix of AA and AG missions. One thing I noticed in the AG missions compared to the standard career. When loaded with bombs my AI flight ignores attacking 109 completely and continue on there way unperturbed. In the standard career the fighters ditch their bombs and engage the attacking fighters. 

 

It would be great if the AI in PWCG would respond in similar fasion.

 

PS flying as wingman

Strange, I am also flying a P39 SP campaign in alpha 6 and my guys have jettisoned their bombs each time we were attacked (about four times so far).  I am usually flying second or third in flight and this has been my signal that attack is underway.  Can't imagine what the difference could be.

[RedeyeStorm]

@Yogiflight, @aust3298

 

Quote

This was changed for this version, because when I was flying Bf110 campaign in PWCG, it was more or less a pure fighter campaign, as you usually meet some enemy flight on your way to target. For me it is exactly how it should be, when you are on your way to the target, the ground attack has absolutely highest priority, as it is why you are flying this sortie. We often forget, that IRL the ground troops would be waiting for your ground attack. The enemy flight is, what you should have a fighter escort for. On your way back to base, after having done your job at the frontline, you can feel free to attack anything you find.

But there I had one mission, where I was attacked by enemy fighters on the RTB and my flight did not care at all, but was just flying back to base. But on the RTB they should attack enemy, in my opinion.

But as I am talking about it, I have been flying a few Bf110 missions now, and TBH, I am not sure, if I have an escort in my ground attack missions. No radio message at the ingress waypoint, and I did not see them at the target or on our RTB.

More after I have done a few more missions.

 

Well in career mode flying the IL2 I get an escort which ussually does it job well. When attacked by fighters the IL2 take evasive action. Mostly swerving side to side. In Alpha 6.3 my P39's received no escort when bombing (odds for escort set to 100 in config) and completly ignored the german bullets like they were nothing but a mild summer shower. That is not what happens in standard career mode. So lack of escorts are a bug too? Unless I am interpertating the 'escort odds 100' wrong?

 

So your report @aust3298 baffles me complely. No idea why your or mine experience differ so much.

[Yogiflight]

32 minutes ago, [Pb]RedeyeStorm said:

and completly ignored the german bullets like they were nothing but a mild summer shower.

This happened in my last 110 ground attack mission, too, not even the gunners were shooting, including mine, when I was attacked.

 

34 minutes ago, [Pb]RedeyeStorm said:

(odds for escort set to 100 in config)

As far as I know, the odds for escort is only for AI flights. The player's flight did always have an escort in the former versions. In the two ground attack missions, my flight was attacked, we got help by some fighters, just very late. My guess is, there is an escort, but flying very high, which would explain, why I can't see them and why it needs such a long time until they help us, because I experienced it more than one time, that AI needs a lot of time to attack enemies, that are flying some kilometers lower. To me it looks like AI gives up altitude faster, when it is going to landing, than when they want to attack enemies.

I am going to fly some more missions later to see what happens, so I can give Patrick better feedback.

 

[Yogiflight]

@PatrickAWlson, I did a last test mission with the 262, with climb waypoints. we should have intercepted in 5.3k and had three climb waypoints, so 30km distance for climbing to 5.3k. After the climb we were at 1.5k, because AI accelerates to only 300km/h after takeoff and then starts to climb with 5m/s at 300km/h.

The mission I had done before without climb waypoints we were flying intercept in 2.5k instead of 4.6k. The AI is simply not able to climb with the 262.

[Omin]

Is there a way to place the 262 on a longer runway. We tried the 262 campaign and it was difficult getting everyone off the ground with the short runway. I know we are limited with what we have. Otherwise we had fun. Having the waypoints would be nice per flight. Only that right now it is confusing for other flights such as attackers not knowing what their mission is. I know this is all new so the program is more then appreciate.