*Updated* Kuban Interactive Playground

[Aviator6]

JimTM, that got it!! First I went into the editor & changed the plane to the Fw190 A-5. Still didn't have the Axis mission in the game. So, then deleted those 2 files you suggested & voila - I now have the option of playing either the Axis(with the Fw190 A-5) or the Allies in the Kuban Playground mission. Thanks

[Stoopy]

@Aviator6, @JimTM,

 

My apologies for the oversight - and I need to check in on this thread more frequently, I didn't see these posts or know there was an issue until today.

 

JimTM, thank you so much for coming to the rescue and for the support.   Aviator6, thank you for pointing out the compatibility issue for users who don't have Battle of Bodenplatte and I apologize for you running into a problem - very glad you got it squared away.  I got carried away putting the D9 in the Axis mission.

 

I've changed the Axis mission to use the FW190 A5 as the player's aircraft (as well as for the optional escorts) and updated the version and download link in the original post. 

 

A bona-fide Bodenplatte Interactive Playground is coming soon - I promise (been having too much fun with my new squadmates lately).

 

[Onyxius]

This sounds great, i went to get it only to remember i don't have Kuban, i have Stalingrad and Bodenplatte.  I see in October you were planning on working on a Bodenplatte version, any idea on an ETA?

 

Edit: I picked up Kuban and Moscow during the sale now.

 

Thanks

Edited December 22, 2019 by Onyxius

[Stoopy]

On 12/19/2019 at 9:56 PM, Onyxius said:

This sounds great, i went to get it only to remember i dont have Kuban, i have stalingrad and Bodenplatte.  I ee in October you were planning on working on a Bodenplatte version, any idea on an ETA?

 

Thanks

 

Thanks for the reminder.  I hit a snag on the approach I was taking to easily convert it over to Bodenplatte, and then got sidetracked on a new idea for an entirely different kind of mission that I started building on that map and became obsessed with.    Anyway, I have been giving it some fresh thought thanks to your post and now have a new idea on how to get the Bodenplatte Playground done which if successful I will have out shortly after the holidays, which are eating time right now too.   I guess I needed to step away from it a bit to think it through.  If nothing else I'll have a version for you to test out if you want to be a guineau pig. 

 

I'll know this weekend if the approach works and if so it will also be easier to make a Stalingrad map version as well.

[John_The_Bodge]

Thanks for the mission - I was a little confused when downloading as in a previous post you said you were not going to update the link in the first post and gave a new link for the 3.2 patch.

 

I then looked at the two downloaded files and I see that the first link is to v1.3.1 and the second is to 1.3 - also the first one is from October and the second from September - so I'm thinking you changed your mind (or I misunderstood) and the first post is now the latest version?

 

[Babayega]

Fantastic, thank you for this! I was looking for a good "mission template" to enjoy flying other than the typical QMB. I wanted some stuff with more substance at the fields, more A/C in the air and something to do for practice!! 

[itsbillyfrazier]

This is great, many thanks.

[Stoopy]

@Babayega, @itsbillyfrazier, Y'all are very welcome and the Stalingrad Interactive Playground is coming along nicely, with a lot of improvements and new interaction possibilities between certain elements.  I'm hoping to have that out in a couple of weeks, and then will follow with the Bodenplatte version with all 4 seasons for both sides (8 different missions in all).   That shouldn't take as long since I have found many things that needed improvement and so have a much better, solid model to move to the new map.  But still could involve more time since the Rheinland map takes so much longer to load into the editor, and there's tons of testing,retesting, tweaking etc. for each version.

 

Anyway i think you guys will dig the Stalingrad one, even though it's an older map.   

Edited January 21, 2020 by =[TIA]=Stoopy

[Babayega]

3 hours ago, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

@Babayega, @itsbillyfrazier, Y'all are very welcome and the Stalingrad Interactive Playground is coming along nicely, with a lot of improvements and new interaction possibilities between certain elements.  I'm hoping to have that out in a couple of weeks, and then will follow with the Bodenplatte version with all 4 seasons for both sides (8 different missions in all).   That shouldn't take as long since I have found many things that needed improvement and so have a much better, solid model to move to the new map.  But still could involve more time since the Rheinland map takes so much longer to load into the editor, and there's tons of testing,retesting, tweaking etc. for each version.

 

Anyway i think you guys will dig the Stalingrad one, even though it's an older map.   

thank you so much for your hard work! I was having a blast on the Kuban Allies one playing a p-47. This is really great work. 

Is it easy to add animated guys walking around the field? Just curious how to add that on the editor. 

[Stoopy]

40 minutes ago, Babayega said:

thank you so much for your hard work! I was having a blast on the Kuban Allies one playing a p-47. This is really great work. 

Is it easy to add animated guys walking around the field? Just curious how to add that on the editor. 

 

Thanks very much!

 

So about those animated guys walking around - yes it can be done, and it's pretty easy to do actually.  Essentially you need to assign a country to the object where you want them hanging around, by making the revetments (sorry, they're called "Caponiers" in the ME) a Linked Entity (this is an option in their basic Properties dialogue box), and then you can edit the object's Advanced Properties, and assign a Country to it - make it German or Russian depending on the mission and base.  Then you magically get the guys walking around.   I believe at that point you can then delete the Linked Entity (again, an option in the basic Properties dialogue) and you're set in stone.  To change it again, just create the Linked Entity so you can edit the Advanced Properties.  This is described early on in JimTM's excellent Mission Editor manual.

 

Be warned however....I originally did this and it was pretty cool, up until the idiots decided they would walk diagonally across the revetment... sorry, "caponier"... during your engine startup sequence.  It didn't happen much at first, then it started happening all. the. time., as if it was related to a software update.  Well what's wrong with that, you might ask?   Nothing, except they have an unsettling habit of always walking right into the propeller disc of a running engine.  Which sounds pretty suicidal except that nothing happens to them... but unfortunately the same can't be said for the propellor and engine involved, which  invariably suffers some type of damage, and will eventually start smoking and making the usual death-rattle noises before quitting altogether before you can taxi out.   Restart mission, lather, rinse, repeat, arrrrgggh!

 

When this started happening I was testing the bombing targets and so was flying the Ju88, and the idiot mechanic was constantly walking into the port side propellor.  I even waited for the guy to walk past before starting the engine, but nope, he'd come walking back from behind the engine, like a moth to a flame, and WHAP, there goes another perfectly good engine.  I really started wondering if things were that bad on the Russian front for these poor ground grew guys, that they were driven to this as a last resort. 

 

So I disabled it for the caponiers used for your plane before publishing the mission so as not to have to post about why the mechanics are trying so hard to off themselves at your expense (in today's litigious society, an attempt for a job-related injury claim probly isn't out of the question) and wouldn't you know, here the subject came up anyways.  ?

 

Anyway I don't know if the behavior is any better now but I wouldn't be surprised to run into it again, if you'll pardon the pun.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by =[TIA]=Stoopy

[Babayega]

15 hours ago, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

 

Thanks very much!

 

So about those animated guys walking around - yes it can be done, and it's pretty easy to do actually.  Essentially you need to assign a country to the object where you want them hanging around, by making the revetments (sorry, they're called "Caponiers" in the ME) a Linked Entity (this is an option in their basic Properties dialogue box), and then you can edit the object's Advanced Properties, and assign a Country to it - make it German or Russian depending on the mission and base.  Then you magically get the guys walking around.   I believe at that point you can then delete the Linked Entity (again, an option in the basic Properties dialogue) and you're set in stone.  To change it again, just create the Linked Entity so you can edit the Advanced Properties.  This is described early on in JimTM's excellent Mission Editor manual.

 

Be warned however....I originally did this and it was pretty cool, up until the idiots decided they would walk diagonally across the revetment... sorry, "caponier"... during your engine startup sequence.  It didn't happen much at first, then it started happening all. the. time., as if it was related to a software update.  Well what's wrong with that, you might ask?   Nothing, except they have an unsettling habit of always walking right into the propeller disc of a running engine.  Which sounds pretty suicidal except that nothing happens to them... but unfortunately the same can't be said for the propellor and engine involved, which  invariably suffers some type of damage, and will eventually start smoking and making the usual death-rattle noises before quitting altogether before you can taxi out.   Restart mission, lather, rinse, repeat, arrrrgggh!

 

When this started happening I was testing the bombing targets and so was flying the Ju88, and the idiot mechanic was constantly walking into the port side propellor.  I even waited for the guy to walk past before starting the engine, but nope, he'd come walking back from behind the engine, like a moth to a flame, and WHAP, there goes another perfectly good engine.  I really started wondering if things were that bad on the Russian front for these poor ground grew guys, that they were driven to this as a last resort. 

 

So I disabled it for the caponiers used for your plane before publishing the mission so as not to have to post about why the mechanics are trying so hard to off themselves at your expense (in today's litigious society, an attempt for a job-related injury claim probly isn't out of the question) and wouldn't you know, here the subject came up anyways.  ?

 

Anyway I don't know if the behavior is any better now but I wouldn't be surprised to run into it again, if you'll pardon the pun.

 

 

Wow I didnt realize they would keep doing that! I have to say I havent encountered that with the PWCG missions. I see them walking around but just casually strolling. I will have to try it out and see how it works! I saw a quick youtube video about it last night but havent gotten too involved in mission editing yet. I dont have a lot of time to fly so I prefer to just jump on and fly. 

I used to develop scenery for X-plane. Mostly ortho using G2XPL then moving onto other generators. I spent so much time generating scenery, I wasnt even flying anymore! Anywho, thanks for the feedback going to give it a try and see if I can get some dudes strolling into my prop haha!

[Stoopy]

7 hours ago, Babayega said:

Wow I didnt realize they would keep doing that! I have to say I havent encountered that with the PWCG missions. I see them walking around but just casually strolling. I will have to try it out and see how it works! I saw a quick youtube video about it last night but havent gotten too involved in mission editing yet. I dont have a lot of time to fly so I prefer to just jump on and fly. 

I used to develop scenery for X-plane. Mostly ortho using G2XPL then moving onto other generators. I spent so much time generating scenery, I wasnt even flying anymore! Anywho, thanks for the feedback going to give it a try and see if I can get some dudes strolling into my prop haha!

 

That all being the case I have a feeling you'll get on well with the mission editor, if you have a proclivity for tinkering around and a little time for some self-paced lessons with the manual.  You still get to fly a little bit every time you make a change and have to go test it

[Babayega]

On 1/22/2020 at 4:00 PM, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

 

That all being the case I have a feeling you'll get on well with the mission editor, if you have a proclivity for tinkering around and a little time for some self-paced lessons with the manual.  You still get to fly a little bit every time you make a change and have to go test it

I have tinkered around a bit and I havent flown in two days because of it! I used to use the old editor in ROF way back when it first came out around 2009 and 2010.  This has so many similarities but I feel like I am relearning it all again. 

[Stoopy]

10 minutes ago, Babayega said:

I have tinkered around a bit and I havent flown in two days because of it! I used to use the old editor in ROF way back when it first came out around 2009 and 2010.  This has so many similarities but I feel like I am relearning it all again. 

 

Sounds like you're well on the way!  Someone should be coming by soon to issue you your mandatory padded cell and straightjacket, and Nurse Ratched will have your first dose of meds ready soon...  good luck!

 

[Abdelhak22]

@=[TIA]=Stoopy

 

Excellent  mission this is helped me a lot while learning how to play the game, Is their any way to make this coop ? me and friend recently brought the game this would be perfect for us to practice on.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Abdelhak22

[Stoopy]

@Abdelhak22 - sorry to respond late (been working away on the Stalingrad Interactive Playground which is much improved over this one!).  

 

I have not done any coop or online misisons but from what I have learned in reading the ME forum so far, it would be a lot of work to convert this over, I believe.  Largely because this mission makes a lot of use of things called "Check ZOnes" which detect your presence, and from what I've read those don't work in coops or online missions,.  There is an alternative but it seems to be fairly resource-intensive (again just going by what I've read) so it could make the mission run slowly.  Probly not a great candidate. 

[itsbillyfrazier]

27 minutes ago, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

been working away on the Stalingrad Interactive Playground which is much improved over this one!).  

 

Excellent, this is good news! Any ETA? ?

 

[Stoopy]

I'm shooting for 2 to 3 weeks and will post here if I can't make that timeline.  Got sidetracked playing with a new VR setup.   Lots of testing to do since there are so many activation groups on the map and there's a higher level of interaction between some of the objects now. 

 

It will be a total of 8 missions, 4 for each side, so there will be individual missions for the Stalingrad plane set: IL-2, Pe-2, LaGG-3, Yak-1, BF109F-4, BF109G-2, Stuka and He111, and using the summer, autumn and winter maps.   One of the coolest things is the airfields have a huge maintenance hanger with a Repair/ReArm/ReFuel capability, so you can really extend the time spent in the playground.  The Allied missions are done, with just a few more groups to set up and test on the Axis missions. 

 

Then I will be moving to a BoBp playground, if I don't get really sidetracked and make a Flying Circus Interactive Playground using the Arras map.  That one should be a ton of fun, and easier, since there are fewer total planes & such..  And finally a BoM playground set will round things out.

Edited February 16, 2020 by =[TIA]=Stoopy

[JimTM]

59 minutes ago, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

...

I have not done any coop or online misisons but from what I have learned in reading the ME forum so far, it would be a lot of work to convert this over, I believe.  Largely because this mission makes a lot of use of things called "Check ZOnes" which detect your presence, and from what I've read those don't work in coops or online missions,...

 

Check zones work in online coops and dogfight missions if you run the mission on a DServer. They do not work if you run the mission on the server started in-game.

[Stoopy]

42 minutes ago, JimTM said:

 

Check zones work in online coops and dogfight missions if you run the mission on a DServer. They do not work if you run the mission on the server started in-game.

 

 

Thanks Jim!  I got confused about that - great to know!

 

 

[Stoopy]

On 2/16/2020 at 3:27 PM, JimTM said:

 

Check zones work in online coops and dogfight missions if you run the mission on a DServer. They do not work if you run the mission on the server started in-game.

 

Is all that's need is  change to the mission type from Single to Cooperative in the mission properties?   I know I should look in the manual but don't have it at hand right now.

Edited February 18, 2020 by =[TIA]=Stoopy

[JimTM]

1 hour ago, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

 

Is all that's need is  change to the mission type from Single to Cooperative in the mission properties?   I know I should look in the manual but don't have it at hand right now.

 

There is more to it than that. This post should help you (steps 1, 2, 5, and 6 are the key).

[Stoopy]

Thanks @JimTM!

 

With the above and other suitable changes, here's a coop version of both Allied and Axis playgrounds for anyone who wants to try it... Only tested 'em up to the point of spawning on the ramp by myself.  Interested in how they work out!

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wxLdh99rE8hfGCWpnM5ADD0gZsQw7JXG/view?usp=sharing

 

Kuban CoOp Playground.zip

Edited February 21, 2020 by =[TIA]=Stoopy

[Stoopy]

I just learned about the "Follow" feature of this forum (cool!) and am humbled to see that some folks have been following this thread.  That being the case, if you weren't already aware, it may interest you to know that the next mission set for the "Playground" series is available:

 

Has many changes and improvements over the Kuban Playground, which I'll update to similar level after getting the BodenPlatte, FC and Moscow playgrounds out.  Bodenplatte playground is already in progress and won't take 5 months like Stalingrad did, promise. 

 

 

 

[Blukorto0]

On 01/10/2019 at 01:54, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

Voici une mise à jour comme promis pour la v3.201 et les nouveaux oiseaux alliés qui sont sortis avec lui pour la bataille de Bodenplatte. Bop. 

 

Changements:

- Ajout de missions distinctes pour les nouveaux avions Bodenplatte: P-51D, P-38J, Tempest, donc il y a un total de 5 misisons maintenant (4 alliés, 1 axe)
- Mission Axe mise à jour avec des zones cibles pour ces nouveaux A / C, donc vous peut aller s'entraîner contre eux et changer l'avion Player en FW190D-9 (car je pense que nous en aurons besoin!)

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cpF49v1DwNMZ7tdqNUdV39tZKu6OUkG5/view?usp=sharing

 

Elle est toujours sur la carte du Kuban, une version de la nouvelle carte Bodenplatte suivra en bonne mesure mais prendra un peu de temps ...

 

Bonjour.J'ai adodo rer la V 3.1Mais lorsque je tentes de telecharger cette Maj V3.201 ,il m'est dit :le dossier est placer dans la corbeille du propriétaire,impossible de telecharger.Je penses que le lien est invalide.Pourriez vous y remedier s'il vous plait?mERCI.

[Stoopy]

Bonjour @Blukorto0, and I hope you don't mind my responding in english:

 

My apologies if there is any confusion on version numbers for this set of playground missions for Kuban.

 

The most recent version of this mission set is:  Version 1.3.1, which is available at the link provided in the first post of this thread, and I have verified the download link is still working.

 

The reference I made in a later post mentioning a version 3.201 was in reference to the release of the IL2 Great Battles v.3.201 release which included some of the Battle of Bodenplatte planes (I believe the P-38) and so in celebration of that release I added a few extra versions of the playground missions that used those planes in the download so folks could practice with them before the Bodenplatte map was available in IL2 Great Battles release v.4.0x.

 

I am currently in the process of making a Bodenplatte Playground which will focus entirely on the plane set for BoP and the Bodenplatte map of course, but that will be a few weeks away.

 

Additionally, the latest available "Playground" is the Stalingrad Playground which is detailed in a different thread in this section, which uses the native BoS plane set and has many improvements over this older Kuban playground (I will update this set to the same level eventually).

Edited April 25, 2020 by =[TIA]=Stoopy

[Blukorto0]

Merci pour vos précisions.Super boulot permettant de se mettre  en immersion immédiate.
Continuez, svp,je suis fan.
Cordialement
Stef.

[Stoopy]

For anyone who is having trouble converting the missions to the new format, an updated version 1.51 with resaved mission files for compatibility with latest release 4.51 of IL2, is available at the download link in the opening post on the first page of this thread.   Happy flying!

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Stoopy

[Krasp28]

Just wanted to post a huge Thank You to Stoopy for making these missions. As someone who's mostly interested in a single player experience it's impossible to overstate just how much better a gameplay experience these missions provide than the repetitive 4v4 / 8v8 scenarios in the quick mission editor. 

 

I've recently started dabbling in making some 'cinematic' YouTube content with IL2 and I wanted to make something showcasing just how much fun I was having playing your mission and show others what sort of experience it provides, so I put this together over the last couple evenings: 

 

 

This video was made from 1 sortie which was ~45 min in total. In that time I bombed enemy infrastructure, strafed a ground target, and scored 8 kills in 5 separate air to air engagements in different locations of the map against different types of enemy aircraft. After all that I returned home to find my airbase under attack by some aircraft I'd spawned but apparently hadn't spotted earlier. Again it's hard to overstate just how awesome this varied, non-repetitive experience is and how easy it is to just hop in and have a great time without a huge amount of flying in a straight line to some far away objective etc. 

 

I made two very small adjustments in the mission editor from your original file for this video, one was to turn off unlimited ammo (hard to dogfight when those bombs keep reappearing under the wings lol) and the other was to tweak the time of day and cloud cover a bit just because I thought it made things a bit prettier for the video. 

 

 

[Stoopy]

8 hours ago, Krasp28 said:

Just wanted to post a huge Thank You to Stoopy for making these missions. As someone who's mostly interested in a single player experience it's impossible to overstate just how much better a gameplay experience these missions provide than the repetitive 4v4 / 8v8 scenarios in the quick mission editor. 

...

I made two very small adjustments in the mission editor from your original file for this video, one was to turn off unlimited ammo (hard to dogfight when those bombs keep reappearing under the wings lol) and the other was to tweak the time of day and cloud cover a bit just because I thought it made things a bit prettier for the video. 

 

 

Dude!  That was great!  I feel like I should be the one thanking you, I enjoyed every bit of watching that - I'm stoked!  And jeez how long did that Stuka hang around your airfield without getting shot down finally?!  You don't see that too often.  Really nice job.

 

Those cloud changes make a huge difference and I agree with the change to limited ammo for sure.  I need to update that mission, take out the unlimited ammo and put a ReArm/Refuel/Repair spot on the airfield like the Stalingrad playground has, it makes for a vast improvement and you can end up flying even longer missions - theoretically at least.  Also I see that the building textures got reset to the Winter map and that needs fixin' too.  I can make those changes this coming weekend and include your cloud settings in the new download version if you feel like sharing what you had them set at. 

 

Thanks again for posting and sharing that - made my day. 

 

[Krasp28]

16 hours ago, Stoopy said:

 

Dude!  That was great!  I feel like I should be the one thanking you, I enjoyed every bit of watching that - I'm stoked!  And jeez how long did that Stuka hang around your airfield without getting shot down finally?!  You don't see that too often.  Really nice job.

 

Those cloud changes make a huge difference and I agree with the change to limited ammo for sure.  I need to update that mission, take out the unlimited ammo and put a ReArm/Refuel/Repair spot on the airfield like the Stalingrad playground has, it makes for a vast improvement and you can end up flying even longer missions - theoretically at least.  Also I see that the building textures got reset to the Winter map and that needs fixin' too.  I can make those changes this coming weekend and include your cloud settings in the new download version if you feel like sharing what you had them set at. 

 

Thanks again for posting and sharing that - made my day. 

 

 

 

I'm glad you liked it man! I had a blast making it. 

 

The atmosphere settings I used are 6:15 am, clouds heavy_07, level 900, height 1300, haze .7 

 

I would caution though that cloud cover setting might be too much for players who aren't familiar enough with the general direction enemy flights spawn in to know where to be looking as they pass through the check zone. 

 

As an aside, I just downloaded your Stalingrad playground and I'm stoked to try those missions tonight! I see various forum posts about work on a Bodenplatte version as well, is that one complete yet? 

 

-Kevin

[Stoopy]

On 10/1/2020 at 1:49 PM, Krasp28 said:

As an aside, I just downloaded your Stalingrad playground and I'm stoked to try those missions tonight! I see various forum posts about work on a Bodenplatte version as well, is that one complete yet? 

 

 

Heya Kevin,

 

Well, I have started and stopped the Bodenplatte Playground twice now.   With the capabilities of the late-war plane set there are certain things I want to do with it and I'm having trouble finding an airfield I like on the Eastern half of the map for the ME-262 that is right next to a large city.  The Allied side of things is simpler since they don't have a plane like the 262.  And I got sidetracked trying to do some things that the AI logic just won't support well (in short, a racing course with an AI plane flying through it to race against).  The AI have their own lackadaisical style of flying a specified course that doesn't work well for that idea.  And lastly, trying to just pull over all of the components from earlier Playgrounds and modifying them to line up in the new map is kind of a boring result since it's the same-old same-old, y'know?  So I've taken some time off to think about what features to have and now have some cool ideas I want to work with, it will be a build from scratch for the most part and not use many of the things in the earlier playgrounds other than some of the techniques and tools that are better in the Stalingrad playground, but will be worth it,  It's just thrown off my timeline. 

 

There have been other distractions (enjoying VR, and VTOL VR and MS Flight Sim) but I always come back to IL2.  TBH the biggest impact has been COVID-19 and now working from home. Before all this, I had a 2-hour commute to work and I could dream up all kinds of ideas and ways to do things in the mission editor, then come home and work on those ideas.  Now, my commute is to another room and there's no daydreaming time, so it's longer between epiphanies.  But I have arrived at some decisions on what it will and will not contain so plan on firing it up for the third attempt here in the immediate future..

 

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Stoopy

[sevenless]

12 minutes ago, Stoopy said:

 

With the capabilities of the late-war plane set there are certain things I want to do with it and I'm having trouble finding an airfield I like on the Eastern half of the map for the ME-262 that is right next to a large city.

 

 

 

Try Essen-Muehlheim. That airfield is fully jet capable.

 

 

[Stoopy]

24 minutes ago, sevenless said:

 

Try Essen-Muehlheim. That airfield is fully jet capable.

 

 

 

 

Dude!  Thank you!    I had overlooked that airfield many times previously because on the GUI map it looks like a "rounded" early-style grass airfield without the well-defined runways, which I wanted for 262 ops.  Ideally I was looking for paved runways and convenient hangars for the 262's, but this has everything (including the city features in Duisburg) that I'm looking for except for non-paved runways which are certainly well-defined and long enough.  It will do nicely, and the BP Playground will now have a home.  Thanks again!

 ?    ?   ?

[Stoopy]

Missions have now been updated per feedback and suggestions by @Krasp28 - thank you!

 

Latest version -  Kuban Interactive Playground v1.6

1. Now includes missions for all aircraft in the Battle of Kuban release as well as many for Battle of Bodenplatte  (BoP Playground coming soon, so help me).
2. To assist with realism on bombing exercises, Ammo is no longer Unlimited.
3. To compensate for the above, there are now Repair, Refuel and Re-Arm (RRR) facilities in the large hangars at either end of the airfield; after you land back at base, taxi up to them and shut the engine off as per the on-screen instructions.  Note: Default keys are RCTRL-A to Re-Arm and RCTRL-F to Refuel
4. Changed method of activating escort flight:  Turning left and following the taxiway to the runway will activate escorts, taxiing straight ahead through the grass will select Solo flight - helps expedite quick solo flights and results in better timing for escorts.
5. Modified cloud and time settings for a little more ambience, and different missions take place in the Spring, Summer and Autumn maps.

To download, please use the link in the original post at the beginning of this thread.

 

Note:  Mission descriptions and text have changed.  If you encounter any oddities in how the missions show up in the menus, you may want to delete the "ctreechache" and "mtreechache" files in the IL2 "data" folder. They will be automatically rebuilt and corrected the next time you access the Missions menu in the game. 

 

Happy Hunting!

 

[co199]

Outstanding work!

[GregP]

1 hour ago, Stoopy said:

Now includes missions for all aircraft in the Battle of Kuban release as well as many for Battle of Bodenplatte  (BoP Playground coming soon, so help me)

Ah, I was just about to ask about the status of this and thought maybe you’d given up on it. Thanks for the Kuban update and still looking forward to BP!

[Krasp28]

16 hours ago, Stoopy said:

Missions have now been updated per feedback and suggestions by @Krasp28 - thank you!

 

 

On 10/3/2020 at 8:55 AM, Stoopy said:

 

Heya Kevin,

 

Well, I have started and stopped the Bodenplatte Playground twice now.   ...  And lastly, trying to just pull over all of the components from earlier Playgrounds and modifying them to line up in the new map is kind of a boring result since it's the same-old same-old, y'know?  So I've taken some time off to think about what features to have and now have some cool ideas I want to work with, it will be a build from scratch for the most part and not use many of the things in the earlier playgrounds other than some of the techniques and tools that are better in the Stalingrad playground, but will be worth it,  It's just thrown off my timeline. 

 

 

Excited to download the latest version of Kuban later! 

 

And I definitely understand you on not wanting to just rehash the same cut n' paste elements from one map to the other (and if that was the only point we might as well just stick with Kuban cuz it's the prettiest IMO), having said that here's some ideas I've been dreaming up and some feedback now that I've played your Stalingrad playground as well - 

 

- Having the enemy flights set out to do something  once they've spawned is a nice touch for immersion and adds to being able link together multiple elements into a larger scenario. I like that more of the fighter groups in stalingrad seem to have an objective like defending the train or patrolling along the river etc. 

 

- For the sake of immersion, I find myself wishing for more/varied ground targets as well as more AAA threats in areas that make sense like around cities/ports/etc. I think it would be especially nice if there was some way to randomize them so AAA threats weren't always the same too. 

 

- On the topic of AAA and ground targets, I think it would be fun to have a designated "enemy base" somewhere on the map which would be much more heavily defended than the usual bombing targets. I'm not sure if it's possible in the mission editor to have an enemy flight spawn on the runway to intercept you rather than an air start, but that would be cool. 

 

- Lastly I think having some friendly flights that can be spawned via the same check zone method as the enemies would open up a lot of new gameplay options, for example escorting an attack/bomber element (or vice versa, spawning fighter escorts if the player is controlling a bomber). I would even enjoy a friendly flight that spawns at the airfield and takes off on their own 'sightseeing' tour that the player could follow for some formation practice.

 

 

PS -  I've been trying to learn the mission editor and I find one of the easiest ways to diminish the learning curve a bit is to fly a quick mission then open up the _gen.mission file in the editor to tweak things. With that idea in mind I set out the other day to add some more AAA threats to your Kuban mission hoping I would just be able to copy and paste one of your existing units and associated triggers etc somewhere else on the map, but everything other than the player flight is hidden somehow. Is there a way to change that? (We can take that discussion to PM if you'd rather not clog this thread up with it) 

 

Thanks again for all your awesome work making these missions! 

[Stoopy]

@Krasp28 - Without giving away any surprises, you are hitting on all the things i want to do differently in the next playground.  As you can tell in the Stalingrad set, I went to individual airfields for axis and allies, but didn't take advantage of using them as objectives for each other - the geography choices didn't really allow for that and I had other preferences for putting the airfields where I did.  But I do want to take that forward with the next one, which is why finding just the right airfield has been crucial  There are some other components/activities I' want to do that will take advantage of the more specialized missions types in the late war planes like high-altitude bomber intercept, escort, and interdiction missions that I want to put much more focus (and as you also mention, randomization) on.  The Stalingrad playground has much-improved (non-repeating) randomization logic than the very basic logic in the Kuban set, and again I want to expand that further.    

 

As regards to how these missions show up in the editor, because there are many individual components, I make heavy use of Groups to keep each part in it's own section in order to keep things sane for myself.  As you look at the object tree on the left you will see the groups and they can be expanded, and modified if they are set as your working group (see "Set group as working" and "Reset working group" commands in the ME).   It's a habit from the coding world that followed through here.  The downside is it's a little more cumbersome to interconnect any items between groups but it's liveable.  Unfortunately after several edits, revisions and changes, things aren't as neatly organized as they originally were, but it's still much more maintainable. 

 

We can certainly take this to a PM but i would also say be dead sure to go through JimTM's great manual on the ME.  It's SO much worth the time, and it's really how the Kuban playground came into being, it was a direct result of experimenting with different topics covered in the manual, and then tying one thing into the next, until it eventually got out of hand.   

 

 

[Stoopy]

The Kuban Interactive Playground mission set has been updated to v1.61

 

Changes from version 1.6:
------------------------
1. Added mission for the Bf109 G-6 late (because I don't have the Bodenplatte Playground ready yet )

 

You can download the new version by going to the link in the original post above, at the very start of this thread.

 

Happy hunting!