PWCG for Flying Circus

[Guest deleted@219798]

I usually donate $5 with each update so I hope that helps to keep this great programme going. I've found that any kills of N28s are no longer being recognized and are being credited to other Jasta members. I think this may have started after the last IL-2 update.

[PaulTheSalty]

On 11/9/2021 at 1:12 PM, KodiakJac said:

 

I sure hope Pat will return from his hiatus on PWCG for Flying Circus at some point to add the Breguet 14

 

I was just flying a career in that very same craft the other night. Check out the PWCG subsection under Great Battles. All of the update notes are posted over there. You can update your version and start flying the B14 now!

Edited November 15, 2021 by PaulTheSalty
Typo

[KodiakJac]

Thanks for letting me know!

[Guest deleted@219798]

Latest version to include Breguet has become fairly glitchy. Any Nieuport N28's I've shot down aren't recognized. They're given to other members of my flight. Now in my latest mission I shot down 2 N28's in the combat report I was given shot down 2 SE5's even though I didn't fire at any. This is flying a Fokker Dr1. Same thing was happening in earlier Dr1 campaign. Not sure if this just with Dr1. 

[JG1_Jaus]

I have run out of room on my pilot administration page.   How can I delete dead/retired pilots to make room on the page for new ones?

[Russkly]

Any plans to include the Tripe in the next PWCG release?

[Barkhorn1x]

Can't assign skins for some reason.

Click on the plan icon on the pilot screen but no joy.

Anyone have any idea what's going on here?

[Varibraun]

3 hours ago, Barkhorn1x said:

Can't assign skins for some reason.

Click on the plan icon on the pilot screen but no joy.

Anyone have any idea what's going on here?

 

You have to go in through the main campaign screen, not the pilot screen:

Personnel=>Skin Management (then select the pilot).

[Barkhorn1x]

Danke Varibraun!

[PatrickAWlson]

15.0.0 Beta 1 (FC Only)

PWCG for FC 2

- FC2 map

- Fronts move in 1918

- Squadrons redeploy based on historical events

 

 

I just posted a Beta for FC2.  You must be an FC2 owner to use it as it requires the new map.  PWCG for Fc has been in a placeholder state until now.  With this release you will get a proper career with moving squadrons and a shifting front in 1918.  Use of the southern portion of the map is also in place.  It is not nearly as interesting as Flanders but it makes a good change of pace.

 

What is not included: everything else.  No Snipe, no blank skins , no nothing else ... yet.  But I'm working on it.  I think that even this release represents a major improvement over the place holder campaign that PWCG had for FC.  I will get it to the same state as the BoS product over time (not a long time).

[PatrickAWlson]

15.0.0 Beta 2 (FC Only)

Squadron skins with tactical codes for all units.

- Must download ALL FC skin packs.

- Newer skin packs made by me are labeled "FC Squadron"

- Existing skin packs are labeled "FC Skin"

- Both sets contain squadron skins, so you need all of the packs.

Reduced infantry by quite a bit

Made mission generation 500x faster

- At least the  profiler seems to think so

- It's not really 500x faster, but it might be 10x faster.

 

[Russkly]

6 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

15.0.0 Beta 2 (FC Only)

Squadron skins with tactical codes for all units.

- Must download ALL FC skin packs.

- Newer skin packs made by me are labeled "FC Squadron"

- Existing skin packs are labeled "FC Skin"

- Both sets contain squadron skins, so you need all of the packs.

Reduced infantry by quite a bit

Made mission generation 500x faster

- At least the  profiler seems to think so

- It's not really 500x faster, but it might be 10x faster.

 

 

Many thanks as always, Pat, for your excellent work.

 

Please could you remind me how exactly to install the skin packs? Can you extract the packs directly into the BoS root directory, or should you exctract the files somewhere first (e.g. "Downloads") and then manually copy the plane folders into .../Data/Graphics/Skins?

 

I ask, because I've installed all the FC skin packs, and I can see a couple of Jasta 12 skins for the Dr.1 in the appropriate folder ("G:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\graphics\skins\FokkerDr1\FDr1_J12_SEP17.dds") but they're not showing up in the "Skin Management" section of PWCG for my J12 career.

 

There are no skins listed against "Squadron", "Non Squadron" lists 3 "Standard" skins and one for Werner; "Loose" has a bunch of Dr.1 skins, but none for Jasta 12.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

Sorry if you've been through this a million times before, but I can't find a defintive answer via Google.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Russkly

[PatrickAWlson]

@Russkly The skin packs start with the data directory.  They will install to data/graphucs/skins/<planename>

 

You can drop them directly into your main game install directory or you can drop them into a totally different directory and then copy "data" into your main install.  it accomplishes the same thing.  The first method gets it done in one shot and avoids a lot of duplicate dds files.  The second allows you to look at the files before you change your game, so it's a bit safer.

 

PWCG reads from the game directory, so if the files are properly installed then PWCG should pick them up.  I suspect PWCG is not allowing you to use FDr1_J12_SEP17.dds as a personal skin because that is a squadron skin.  If you are in J12 you will get it automatically.

[Russkly]

18 minutes ago, PatrickAWlson said:

@Russkly The skin packs start with the data directory.  They will install to data/graphucs/skins/<planename>

 

You can drop them directly into your main game install directory or you can drop them into a totally different directory and then copy "data" into your main install.  it accomplishes the same thing.  The first method gets it done in one shot and avoids a lot of duplicate dds files.  The second allows you to look at the files before you change your game, so it's a bit safer.

 

PWCG reads from the game directory, so if the files are properly installed then PWCG should pick them up.  I suspect PWCG is not allowing you to use FDr1_J12_SEP17.dds as a personal skin because that is a squadron skin.  If you are in J12 you will get it automatically.

 

Thanks, Pat.

 

It looks like the stock Dr.1 skin (light-ish brown) rather than a custom sqn. skin, so I'm not sure if I've installed the skin packs correctly.

 

They should look like this:

 

"The unit marking of Jasta 12 while under von Tutschek was a black rear fuselage and tail. Individual pilots were identified by a marking unique to their aircraft."

 

E.g. http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/albatros/albd5_meierdirks.jpg

 

I don't know how to view or edit the .dds files, so I can't check what the FDr1_J12_SEP17.dds looks like and whether, therefore, it is 'correct'.

 

They do, however, now have tactical markings (single id letter).

[PatrickAWlson]

Not sure what's up.  The squadron Jasta 12 skins look fine in the IL2 viewer.  What you are showing is completely weird, although it does at least have a black tail.

FYI:

I use DXTbmp to view them and to convert single files to/from dds to bmp.
I use XnConvert to mass convert dds to bmp and vice versa.

I use the IL2 viewer to look at skins as they appear on the model.

 

[Russkly]

2 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Not sure what's up.  The squadron Jasta 12 skins look fine in the IL2 viewer.  What you are showing is completely weird, although it does at least have a black tail.

FYI:

I use DXTbmp to view them and to convert single files to/from dds to bmp.
I use XnConvert to mass convert dds to bmp and vice versa.

I use the IL2 viewer to look at skins as they appear on the model.

 

 

Not sure what I did or did wrong, but J12 skins now working correctly for both Albs and Dr.1s - black tail sections.

 

Sorry to have bothered you.

[PatrickAWlson]

PWCG 15.0 has been released. 

- New map

- New squadrons

- More squadron movement

- Moving front during Kaiserschlacht.

- Use of tactical codes on semi blank skins.   

- Squadron skins for every unit.  

+ more

[Guest deleted@219798]

Yeah great news that PWCG is now using the new map. Cheers Pat.

[keenanbrown1]

So sorry for all these questions lol. First is I could not find any documentation regarding Historical Aces, so it seems like I will be able to fly with and can fight these Historical Aces in a campaign? I also have a FC campaign and it shows the Red Baron as one of the historical Aces leaderboard in Jasta 11 and my squadron is Jasta 11 how come I don’t see him in the roster for my squadron? Also last question what are the different icon meanings on the side of the Pilot name in the main menu? Many thanks again l. I think PWCG is really awesome wish I tried it sooner!

[Hotaru_Ito]

A gold caduceus symbol indicates the pilot is healthy and a red cross indicates they are wounded. You might also see a stack of suitcases (alive but not at the front), a gray tombstone (dead), a figure in a wheelchair (badly wounded), or a figure behind bars (captured).

 

I think if Richthofen isn't showing up in the Jasta 11 roster, and he didn't die in a mission you actually flew in Il-2, then he's probably either already dead (after April 21, 1918) or on leave (most of July, September, and October 1917--he was wounded in July). You can check in the "Top Aces" screen: if he has the suitcases next to his name, that means he's still alive but not currently at the front, and if he has the tombstone, he's dead.

 

Hope this helps!

[keenanbrown1]

Thank you this helps tremendously!! I checked and it shows Richthofen with the suitcase, so he is currently not at the front.

[Koziolek]

Hi Pat

I don't know if somebody mentioned this before but all towns in no man's land are undamaged. I had a long break from Il-2 so I don't remember if it was the same before

[J2_Steve]

Squadron log or newspaper does not work in latest versions. They haven't worked since ver 13. In both PWGCFC and PWGCBOS. I'm pretty sure it has been raised before and is known, but just in case it hasn't or isn't. ?

Edited October 27, 2023 by J2_Steve

[Stonehouse]

fyi

 

[GenMarkof007]

S! @PatrickAWlson, I've just downloaded PWCG 15.1.2 Experimental and when I want to start this version, I get a message that I need to install Java Runtime Environment 17.0.0. But I already have this app, since I can open the other PWCG and PWCFC. Can you tell me what I need to do so it opens like the other apps?

Cheers,
GenMarkof

 

[PatrickAWlson]

1 hour ago, GenMarkof007 said:

S! @PatrickAWlson, I've just downloaded PWCG 15.1.2 Experimental and when I want to start this version, I get a message that I need to install Java Runtime Environment 17.0.0. But I already have this app, since I can open the other PWCG and PWCFC. Can you tell me what I need to do so it opens like the other apps?

Cheers,
GenMarkof

 

 

Sorry, should have state that in my post.  Upgrade your Java to version 17.  Version 11 is fast going towards unsupported.

[GenMarkof007]

Updated: 
All good, just downloaded the version of Java 17 at this address:
https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#jdk17-windows
And all is working well!
thx

--------

 

S! @PatrickAWlson, I've just downloaded the latest version of Java... and I still get the same message. Do I need to do something with the properties of this version of PWCGFCEXP? Also, When I download the latest version, it seems to give me this version:

64-bit Java for Windows

Version 8 Update 391 (filesize: 64.37 MB) Why is Java 8 recommended?

Release date: October 17, 2023

Cheers,
GenMarkof

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by GenMarkof007

[PatrickAWlson]

19 hours ago, GenMarkof007 said:

Updated: 
All good, just downloaded the version of Java 17 at this address:
https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#jdk17-windows
And all is working well!
thx

--------

 

S! @PatrickAWlson, I've just downloaded the latest version of Java... and I still get the same message. Do I need to do something with the properties of this version of PWCGFCEXP? Also, When I download the latest version, it seems to give me this version:

64-bit Java for Windows

Version 8 Update 391 (filesize: 64.37 MB) Why is Java 8 recommended?

Release date: October 17, 2023

Cheers,
GenMarkof

 

 

Things have changed since I last did this.  Apparently, the only JVM that auto installs on windows now is Java 8.  Totally confused by that as java 8 has been past end of life for years now.   Anyhow, is what it is.  I did some research and there does appear to be a way to package the runtime JVM with the executable.  This will cause PWCG to run on  its internally packaged JVM and not depend on the user to install a particular version of the JVM.

 

[PaulTheSalty]

I was able to grab a copy of Java 17 from the same site and also couldn't run the application after installing. I managed to fix it by downloading the Java uninstaller, deleting all versions of Java I had, and clearing the cache when prompted by the uninstaller. After that I did a clean install of 17 and the campaign generator worked fine.

 

Pat, I generated and ran a mission on the earliest date available, shot down some "Eindeckers" and "Albatros CIIs". I got an error when trying to submit my AAR. Attached is a link to my error report. I'm going to keep running missions in my free time, let me know if you need any specific checks.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wNQQYD7cbsCDd5lPicTL3hpnluzomY-O/view?usp=drive_link

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

@GenMarkof007 @PaulTheSalty

 

I have just uploaded an update that has the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) packaged into the PWCG download.  This means that you no longer have to worry about your Java version.  PWCG comes with its own JRE that it will use.  

 

Please download again.  It's the same file name so it can overwrite what  you already have.  The code is not different but it does have the JRE included and is configured to use that JRE.

[PaulTheSalty]

@PatrickAWlson

 

Thanks for the fix, hopefully it's good now.

 

I grabbed your newest version and ran another mission, still unable to file AAR past inputting my claims. Below is a link to the error report.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lsClE5XAkm1xR8UZo1i1gWvxm3I8Pyrl/view?usp=drive_link

[ColeG8]

Hey Pat, have you thought about adding the 124th Lafayette Escadrille to your squadrons? 
The Smithsonian has transcribed most of their operation reports so it’s not too difficult to track their movement throughout the war. 
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Escadrille

 

https://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1478799M73G99.5016&profile=liball&uri=link=3100027~!4064207~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab103&menu=search&ri=2&source=~!silibraries&term=Journal+des+marches+et+opérations+pendant+la+campagne+du+14%2F8%2F16+au+9%2F9%2F17.&index=ALLTTLP

 

[Dupxo]

Happy New Year Pat,

 

I have downloaded your 15.1.2 EXP version for Flying Circus. I have already noticed 2 problems:

 

1. The season is winter but the program generates mission with spring landscape.

2. Old problem with PWCG generating soviet trains model "e" and carriages with AA battery from WWII is still present. Still have to manually change train model to "g8" and its carriages. It affects the gameplay in some serious way because this WWII AAA battery destroys whole squadron in seconds.

[Majpalmer]

I just tried FC16.0 Alpha. It played fine. I had to manually delete some of the planes that are not there yet, e.g., Alb DUIII, because I can't do it in the plane select area because the Central Powers aircraft area gets all distorted. But doing it manually isn't a big deal. 

 

I've tried two missions. Both in a September 1916 career with Jasta 8. In both missions my Halb DII displays fine, as do all the other aircraft, but the ground terrain is all messed up. It's got a bluish haze to it. 

 

I see that you have placed several terrain tiles in one of the folders. Could they be the issue? If I delete them will I have some other issue? 

 

Otherwise, looks and plays great. 

 

Thanks for your great work.

[Majpalmer]

I began another career, Jasta 2, January 1917. I didn't have the blueish haze issue i had with Jasta 8 in September 1916. 

[Majpalmer]

Here's what I'm talking about. 

[Majpalmer]

Question. If I'm not playing COOP, what is the point of adding additional pilots? 

 

Thanks.

[Varibraun]

6 hours ago, Majpalmer said:

Question. If I'm not playing COOP, what is the point of adding additional pilots? 

 

That's actually one of my favorite parts of PWCG - you can fly in multiple squadrons, different aircraft, different sides, all wrapped up in the SAME campaign/war (so each of your pilots is having an impact because of the way PWCG works in the background).  It keeps the scoring more realistic if you bounce around between your active pilots and you actually start to recognize AI pilots on both sides. 

 

Also, thanks to the dynamic background sim that @PatrickAWlson is running, you can actually check events in multiple squadron logs (when he has the logs working again).  A couple of years ago, when I lost my highest ace, I created a pilot in the squadron that brought him down, to fly with the AI ace pilot that took him out - sorta like being able to fly with Brown after he brought down Richthofen (I know...it was actually ground fire, but you get the point).

 

Here is an old thread where I talk about how I typically fly multiples.  Others, including Pat, also talk about how they play:

 

 

 

 

 

[Majpalmer]

Varibraun,

 

Many thanks! And for the link, as well. 

 

 

[Varibraun]

21 minutes ago, Majpalmer said:

Many thanks! And for the link, as well. 

 

Glad to help if it appeals to you - I also found the post where I gave a little more explanation of my view/use of the multi SP pilots: