Mission builder Noob flak issues...

[SCG_Darbzy]

Hello, I'm very new to mission editing and I've just started trying to build a basic short campaign for single player which I hope to convert to co-op eventually. I've watched Vapor's excellent mission editing videos but it's a lot to take in and I continue to revisit them. I'm trying to set up my campaigns 'world' with airfields, parked aircraft and other eye candy etc. and the permanent flak positions in various towns and ports and along it's front line. I intend to use this as my basic mission template once I'm happy with it and will then build missions on top of it. I have nearly finished setting it up, but when I test fly the map I'm quite disappointed with the lack of flak response, it seems patchy at best. Sometimes I get lit up, other times it seems to ignore me.

 

I've been testing response times exhaustively in a simple mission I made and watched the replays of when it activates. It seems no matter what I do, it never seems to improve significantly. For example sometimes the flakvierling38s start tracking me and fire a burst and then shut down again while I'm still well within range. The most reliable and aggressive German AAA pieces seem to be the Flak 37s and the little MG34 AA gunners.

 

I have experimented with the various German AAA pieces while keeping the AI set to 'High', the guns facing my line of approach with no cloud, good visibility and zero wind. I then fly around in a Spitfire at between 500-1000ft right in front of the guns to generate a response. I've tried:

 

Different times of day (dawn vs midday)

Different spotter ranges (-1 through to 10000)

Different MCU triggers (proximity and activate) set between 5000m and 10000m ( *note I may be setting these up wrong, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around Vapor's video on 'smart' flak)

Combinations of the above.

 

Just wondering what I could be missing here? I've noticed that there seems to be no difference in response times when I set a MCU trigger, and when I just place the AAA position with no trigger. I'm used to playing on the TAW server where the flak is brutal which is what I'm trying to go for. The guns there acquire and track you before you even get to the target and they keep firing until you are dead or out of range.

 

Any thoughts on how to set up the deadliest flak reaction would be greatly appreciated. I'd even be happy to use some non-authentic Allied AAA pieces as 'German' flak if I need to?

 

Thanks!

 

PS - Is there a mission builder manual anywhere?

Edited April 20, 2020 by StG77_Darbzy

[Sketch]

So what secrets do LG use to create deadly TAW flak? It's as simple as opening up their mission and taking a look.

 

The first thing you'll notice is, TAW tank lines are generally between 15 and 30 tanks. In this example, there's 16 tanks and those tanks have six AAA vehicles that all work independently.

 

What do I mean they work independently? Each gun emplacement has their own command AttackArea MCU set to around 3000 meters and has a high priority. This means that no matter what, the ai will prioritize shooting players out of the sky. 

 

And each vehicle has it's own ai level too. Some are set to high, some set to low, and some are set to normal. Here are their stats:

Low ^^

 

High ^^

 

Normal ^^

 

 

This is how they're getting flak that feels deadly. They have a ton of AAA for very little amount of entities needing to be destroyed (6 flak and 16 non-flak type vehicles), and each of those six AAA guns work on their own. Additionally, each of those six guns have their own ai level, meaning they'll shoot at different times as the player planes fly around. Typically, the low and normal ai will shoot before the player has passed, and the high ai will shoot after the player has passed. 

 

 

There's an unofficial manual that can be found here:

 

Edit: I created a group that is exactly how TAW does their AAA. Everything is labeled for you to reverse engineer. These guys only work for the Allied team, so you'll have to sort out how to make them work on the Axis team. Having said that, I do have the Axis version and I can help you out if you're struggling. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

 

Allied AAA Group.zip  <-- example TAW aaa group

 

 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Sketch

[SCG_Darbzy]

Sketch... you.... you are the greatest human being in the world... (*wipes tear from eye) Thankyou!

 

If I get my missions sorted I'll give you an invite to play. S!

[IckyATLAS]

You are warmly welcome to editing?. The more we will be and maybe a little more chance we will have to get some improvements done with the editor. ?

[JimTM]

6 hours ago, StG77_Darbzy said:

...

PS - Is there a mission builder manual anywhere?

 

In addition to the manual that Sketch mentioned, there are other editor resources under "Mission Editor and Multiplayer Server Guides" in the IL-2 Resources post.

[SCG_Darbzy]

9 hours ago, JimTM said:

 

In addition to the manual that Sketch mentioned, there are other editor resources under "Mission Editor and Multiplayer Server Guides" in the IL-2 Resources post.

 

Thanks Jim, I was going to reach out to you and try and find some of the templates mentioned in your manual. 

 

The way the objects interact with MCUs will take some getting used to. It seems logical and the options are endless, just a matter of practicing with it.

[JimTM]

1 hour ago, StG77_Darbzy said:

 

Thanks Jim, I was going to reach out to you and try and find some of the templates mentioned in your manual. 

 

The way the objects interact with MCUs will take some getting used to. It seems logical and the options are endless, just a matter of practicing with it.

 

Re. the templates mentioned in the manual, see "Sample Missions and Groups" on pg. 11.

 

Yes, some missions look like a plate of spaghetti and can be a real challenge to understand. Have a look at "Analyzing a Mission" on pg. 177 for some basic help on deciphering a mission. With respect to the last bullet in that topic (about looking at custom mission functions), also take a look at "Create a 'Capture-the-Flag' Scenario" on pg. 137. If you can understand that one, you've come a long way in understanding complex missions. That one is available in the sample missions and groups file by the way.

 

All the best with your mission building.

Edited April 21, 2020 by JimTM

[SCG_Darbzy]

I’m having a ball with mission building at the moment. However, I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get the runway landing lights to trigger on. Ive tried to follow the pictures and written guidance in Jim’s manual but no luck. I can’t even get them to switch on with a simple trigger at mission begin, let alone set up

more complex triggers. 
Does anyone have any suggestions or even a template I can steal?

[Sketch]

 

[jollyjack]

Hi Sketch, as said before. I really appreciate the tutorials from videomakers and the work they put into it. Alas it costs so much time finding just the one thing you want to know,

amongst all the probably familiar info. I prefer well written PDFs like Jim_TM's etc, with a proper search function and illustrations plus eventual groups for download. Saves time IMO.

[SCG_Darbzy]

Thanks (again!) Sketch.