New PWCG Issues Thread

[czech693]

I've been struggling to get my camels to take-off for several days.  Usually the lead and #2 head off at partial power past the airfield boundary and into the fields.  I compared the sopcamel.json file in 17.1.0 to 16.0.1 and found the new line "isRotary": true, which I assume you put in there for the DH-2 and E.III so that the rotaries start on the runway with the engines off.  However, after I removed that line the camels now take-off correctly (after starting the mission with engines running).  However, it doesn't appear to affect all rotaries.  I started a campaign with the Nieuport 17 with that line in the .txt file and they started up on the runway and took off as normal.

[Varibraun]

4 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

In Varibraun's case, this error is in:

 

Thank you AeroCrab!  I will paste in the repaired Squadrons and report back when I have a chance to run a mission.  

[Varibraun]

@AeroCrab - Just ran a mission and am very pleased to report your patch worked for me and I can return to the Great War.  Thank you!

Edited March 24 by Varibraun

[Dubl-A_52]

@AeroCrab and @Varibraun - wish I could report success as well.   It was taking forever to get to the point where I could even claim kills, and every time it gives me the AAR error.  I updated the squadrons & all.  Seems as if the reason it was taking 15-20 minutes to get to the point of claiming kills after clicking "Combat Report" was that there were 50,000+ (literally - i'm not kidding) missionReport files in my data\ folder.  moved them all to logs\, and lo and behold, when I click 'Combat Report', it goes straight to claims.  Unfortunately, I still get the error, so haven't yet been able to successfully complete a single mission.  Ugh.  Frustrating.  But - getting rid of all those extra missionReport files certainly did make the error report zip file smaller!!

 

(And no - I obviously don't know how to tag another member here with the '@' symbol.  :-/)

FrenchFuckUp202503252103293.zip PWCGErrorLog.txt

Edited March 26 by Dubl-A_52

[AeroCrab]

@Dubl-A_52 When I type the "@" symbol and the first few letters, it populates a list that I can click on. Don't know why that isn't happening for you.

 

In your case, it was Jasta 4 where the Halberstadt was late to the party (08-10 instead of 08-01). Here's an updated set of... er, updates. Everybody who tries to run a campaign in any of these timeframes (for future reference, the date on this one was 1916-08-01) will need these updates or something like them. The attached file has all the updates from the previous round plus Jasta 4.

 

Hopefully that's it - I guess we'll see. I'm still in May of 1916 myself...

 

Side note: I am also in NC, so it seems the three of us have that in common. Weird.

SquadronUpdates2.7zip

[PatrickAWlson]

On 3/24/2025 at 3:43 PM, czech693 said:

I've been struggling to get my camels to take-off for several days.  Usually the lead and #2 head off at partial power past the airfield boundary and into the fields.  I compared the sopcamel.json file in 17.1.0 to 16.0.1 and found the new line "isRotary": true, which I assume you put in there for the DH-2 and E.III so that the rotaries start on the runway with the engines off.  However, after I removed that line the camels now take-off correctly (after starting the mission with engines running).  However, it doesn't appear to affect all rotaries.  I started a campaign with the Nieuport 17 with that line in the .txt file and they started up on the runway and took off as normal.

 

You are correct on the effect of "isRotary" and its purpose.  isRotary = true causes the plane to be placed ion the runway cold as opposed to idling.  I'll change the Camel to false.  If this setting negatively impacts other rotaries, let me know.

 

I know the Camel had a rudimentary throttle system, which might be  why it behaves differently.  I changed isRotary to false for it and the Snipe. I did not change the earlier British rotaries like the tripe, pup, etc. 

 

 

Edited March 26 by PatrickAWlson

[--[---MAILMAN----]

Along this line of thought.

 

I am 20 missions into the 36thFG Campaign on the Normandy Map.

 

When I start my missions the planes spawn on the runway with engines running.  As soon as I hit the pause key they start rolling down the runway before I have the chance in the P-47 to set the RPM,  link the Throttle & Turbocharger control, set the flaps, trim the rudder, set the radiators etc.

 

Is there a setting in the PWCG that I have missed to set a time delay preventing the instantaneous takeoff?

 

 

If not can the mission be generated to start with the engines off?

 

And is there a fix for the flighty spawn points being off of the runway?

 

Thanks

[PatrickAWlson]

6 hours ago, --[---MAILMAN---- said:

Along this line of thought.

 

I am 20 missions into the 36thFG Campaign on the Normandy Map.

 

When I start my missions the planes spawn on the runway with engines running.  As soon as I hit the pause key they start rolling down the runway before I have the chance in the P-47 to set the RPM,  link the Throttle & Turbocharger control, set the flaps, trim the rudder, set the radiators etc.

 

Is there a setting in the PWCG that I have missed to set a time delay preventing the instantaneous takeoff?

 

 

If not can the mission be generated to start with the engines off?

 

And is there a fix for the flighty spawn points being off of the runway?

 

Thanks

 

They or you?  The AI should not be taking off for at least a few seconds.  There is a config called TakeoffTime that sets the number of seconds before takeoff.  It is set to a default of 30 and cannot be set to anything more than 30.  There is nothing airfield or map specific about it.  

[Dubl-A_52]

20 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

@Dubl-A_52 When I type the "@" symbol and the first few letters, it populates a list that I can click on. Don't know why that isn't happening for you.

 

In your case, it was Jasta 4 where the Halberstadt was late to the party (08-10 instead of 08-01). Here's an updated set of... er, updates. Everybody who tries to run a campaign in any of these timeframes (for future reference, the date on this one was 1916-08-01) will need these updates or something like them. The attached file has all the updates from the previous round plus Jasta 4.

 

Hopefully that's it - I guess we'll see. I'm still in May of 1916 myself...

 

Side note: I am also in NC, so it seems the three of us have that in common. Weird.

SquadronUpdates2.7zip 1.73 kB · 1 download

Thanks so much!  So - I hate to ask it, but did you just go thru every squadron in the mission and check the date thing?  If so... a) thanks for doing that, and b) I'll be sure to check & fix that myself from now on.  

 

BTW, @AeroCrab... my problem was patience... or the lack thereof... I didn't wait for the list to come up.  As is often the case, slowing down got me better results.  Thanks for the tip!

[Varibraun]

Well, unfortunately my problem is back and I used the latest "patch" file @AeroCrab posted.  I need to go back and look at how you found those dates to see if I can find some other culprits since I appear to be a little ahead in of you in the campaign.  Files attached.

 

20 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

Side note: I am also in NC, so it seems the three of us have that in common. Weird.

 

Actually weirder, 4 of us, @PatrickAWlson is in NC too!

PWCGErrorLog.txt The Great War202503261903949.zip

[--[---MAILMAN----]

As soon as I press the pause key you hear "xxxx flight you are cleared for take off" and they immediately roll down the runway.  Meanwhile I am still dialing in takeoff rudder trim and extending flaps when I am carrying bombs.  I am also trying to link controls, set takeoff rpm etc. when the flight leader is airborne.  The only time does not happen is when I am the flight lead.

 

I still have heard no response regarding the flight spawn/takeoff point being offset to the right of the runway on every generated mission.

[czech693]

3 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

 

They or you?  The AI should not be taking off for at least a few seconds.  There is a config called TakeoffTime that sets the number of seconds before takeoff.  It is set to a default of 30 and cannot be set to anything more than 30.  There is nothing airfield or map specific about it.  

I think that value may be related to the takeoff speed.

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

Just now, czech693 said:

I think that value may be related to the takeoff speed.

 

 

 

That parameter sets the seconds delay for the formation timer, which delays the takeoff command.

[Dubl-A_52]

1 hour ago, Varibraun said:

Well, unfortunately my problem is back and I used the latest "patch" file @AeroCrab posted.  I need to go back and look at how you found those dates to see if I can find some other culprits since I appear to be a little ahead in of you in the campaign.  Files attached.

 

 

Actually weirder, 4 of us, @PatrickAWlson is in NC too!

PWCGErrorLog.txt 15.14 kB · 0 downloads The Great War202503261903949.zip 1.79 MB · 0 downloads

Well - it's the Tar Heel (or Blue Devil??? - tbh, I did both, so am not really in the "us vs. them" thing there) coalition!  

 

So - after the last post, what I did is go to the Intel screen and look at all the local enemy squadrons listed... went to each .json file and found just a couple that needed fixing - most were fine.  I did NOT look at any Entente squadrons, so assume there could be issues there.  Just did 2 missions (1st was just a touch & go to be sure it worked) and have had success.

 

This may be common knowledge, but moving/deleting all the old mission files in the data\ folder significantly sped up the AAR process.  Guess that's just a maintenance thing that needs to be done that I wasn't aware of.  

[AeroCrab]

@Dubl-A_52 State, technically.  Although I honestly couldn't care less about that sort of thing, so I share your lack of interest in the "us vs. them" thing. 

 

@Varibraun, it looks like FA 18 is the problem. Basically, you can look through the squadron json files for "squadronWithdrawal": "19160710" (in the case that you recently posted) and then check to see if there is another aircraft available on or before that date. For FA 18, there is not because the dfw introduction is too late:

 

    "planeAssignments": [
        {
            "archType": "albatrosc",
            "squadronIntroduction": "19160101",
            "squadronWithdrawal": "19160710"
        },
        {
            "archType": "dfw",
            "squadronIntroduction": "19160801",
            "squadronWithdrawal": "19181201"
        }
 

Change that to 19160705 or something and you should be good to go. 

 

@PatrickAWlson I think there is a bug in the startDelay stuff, since it is getting overwritten:

 

        int takeoffDelay = getStartDelay();
        formationTimer = McuFactory.createTimer(flight, "Formation", takeoffDelay);
        formationTimer.setTime(TAKEOFF_DELAY);
 

but in any case the takeOff command is being triggered by activate:

 

    public void createFlightBegin() throws PWCGException 
    {
       ...
        linkTakeOffToActivate();
    }
 

 and that is triggered by missionBeginTimer (so, 1 second):

 

    private void createTargetAssociations()
    {
        missionBeginUnit.linkToMissionBegin(missionBeginTimer.getIndex());
        missionBeginTimer.setTimerTarget(activationEntity.getIndex());
    }
 

Locally, I have things all being triggered by missionBeginTimer, which is incorporating the config TakeoffTime. It is entirely possible that I'm missing the point here, but it seems to be doing Good Things(tm) so far. For whatever it is worth, prior to my changes I was seeing the same "everybody either immediately takes off, or doesn't take off at all" thing.

[AeroCrab]

@--[---MAILMAN---- The process I laid out before (where you find the runway start/stop and adjust the AirfieldLocations.json) is how you can fix the start location. I just tried it and it does work. Chailey before:

 

Chailey after:

 

 

It could maybe come over a bit more, but you get the idea. I've done this for Kingsnorth and Chailey in the attached file, so you can see for yourself. Save a copy of your original, drop the attached file into the BoSData\Input\Normandy directory and generate a new mission.

 

NormandyAirfieldLocations.7zip

[Varibraun]

15 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

it looks like FA 18 is the problem. Basically, you can look through the squadron json files for "squadronWithdrawal": "19160710" (in the case that you recently posted) and then check to see if there is another aircraft available on or before that date. For FA 18, there is not because the dfw introduction is too late:

 

Thank you - worked like a charm!  Could you tell from the error report which squadron had the problem or did you search them individually (so I don't have to bother you again)?

 

18 hours ago, Dubl-A_52 said:

Well - it's the Tar Heel (or Blue Devil??? - tbh, I did both, so am not really in the "us vs. them" thing there) coalition!  

 

15 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

State, technically.  Although I honestly couldn't care less about that sort of thing, so I share your lack of interest in the "us vs. them" thing. 

 

I am a Duke and Auburn alum, but "all of my money went to NC State" as they say since both of my sons are Wolfpack grads.  But like you both, I learned a long time ago not to care much about what 20 year olds are doing on are court or a field on a Saturday.  Also, thank goodness for that good ole NC State education keeping me flying @AeroCrab! 

Edited March 27 by Varibraun

[AeroCrab]

@Varibraun At this point, I am just looking at the file to find the date and then looking for the date. I put some debug spew in to tell me what squadron has the problem, but it requires loading up somebody's stuff from the zip, so I got lazy and just searched for the date. However, this morning it occurred to me that I could just write a little validation code to run at startup and find them all in one shot. And then I figured I could check on the skins while I was at it. And then I figured I might as well "fix" BoS while I was at it (the validation flagged some problems there also). It got out of hand, is what I am saying. 

 

I say "fix" in quotes because I'm just trying to make the pain go away, but I have no idea whether any of this is historically correct or anything. So bear that in mind, but the complete set of squadron "fixes" is attached for BoS and FC - this is everything I found from the validation code. As always, I recommend keeping a backup of the existing stuff, and you can diff the two to see if you like the changes.

 

<edit> I have removed the files temporarily, as I seem to have screwed something up. Stand by...

<edit 2> You'd think I'd try at least one AAR myself, wouldn't you? Okay, the FC stuff should (he said) be okay. I'll check the BoS stuff tonight after my BoS mission/AAR

<edit 3> The BoS ones look okay as well now, so far as I can tell. 

 

FCSquadron.7zip

BoSSquadron.7zip

Edited March 28 by AeroCrab

[czech693]

On 3/26/2025 at 8:00 PM, PatrickAWlson said:

 

That parameter sets the seconds delay for the formation timer, which delays the takeoff command.

I think we were talking about two different settings.  You were talking about the settings in Advanced Configuration within the PWCG mod.  I was talking about the setting in data/LuaScripts/ai, where there is a line with SeniourWingmanTOSpeedTreshold = 20.0, which has been addressed as the speed of the lead in meters per second.  I'l have to decide where version to use as I think I already see a conflict between them.

[Dubl-A_52]

On 3/26/2025 at 11:47 PM, AeroCrab said:

@Dubl-A_52 State, technically.  Although I honestly couldn't care less about that sort of thing, so I share your lack of interest in the "us vs. them" thing. 

@AeroCrab My sincere apologies for that oversight! lol.  Cheers!

 

Thanks again for the help here - it made all the difference, and I've been having a great time with PWCG and FC again.

[BlitzPig_Bill_Kelso]

Is there any way to save the mission log files into a folder by default?

I flew a few missions and all ready there are 192 files in the main directory, it channels my inner OCD for clean and organized stuff 🤣

[czech693]

For the Mission AI Adjustments, is it -4 to +4, or -4 to 4 (without the plus sign)?

[arthorej]

On 3/27/2025 at 2:26 PM, AeroCrab said:

At this point, I am just looking at the file to find the date and then looking for the date. I put some debug spew in to tell me what squadron has the problem, but it requires loading up somebody's stuff from the zip, so I got lazy and just searched for the date. However, this morning it occurred to me that I could just write a little validation code to run at startup and find them all in one shot. And then I figured I could check on the skins while I was at it. And then I figured I might as well "fix" BoS while I was at it (the validation flagged some problems there also). It got out of hand, is what I am saying. 

 

I say "fix" in quotes because I'm just trying to make the pain go away, but I have no idea whether any of this is historically correct or anything. So bear that in mind, but the complete set of squadron "fixes" is attached for BoS and FC - this is everything I found from the validation code. As always, I recommend keeping a backup of the existing stuff, and you can diff the two to see if you like the changes.

 

<edit> I have removed the files temporarily, as I seem to have screwed something up. Stand by...

<edit 2> You'd think I'd try at least one AAR myself, wouldn't you? Okay, the FC stuff should (he said) be okay. I'll check the BoS stuff tonight after my BoS mission/AAR

<edit 3> The BoS ones look okay as well now, so far as I can tell. 
I also asked an expert from this website to get suggestions but unfortunately still didn't get any response from them.

 

I’m curious though , when you ran your validation code, were there any specific patterns or recurring issues you noticed across the squadrons or skins that could point to a common root cause?

[AeroCrab]

@BlitzPig_Bill_Kelso In your <base game directory>\data\startup.cfg, under [KEY = system], there is an entry for "text_log_folder". Set that to something (it is relative to data) and the text logs will all go there and PWCG will still pick them up. I have mine set to text_log_folder = "logs\" (that final "\" is important) so all of them go into data\logs\. Having them in the root data directory made me feel vaguely itchy all the time, so I feel your pain. 

 

@czech693 According to the java code doc, either one will work.

 

@arthorej Well, the BoS ones were mostly "off by one" things, where aircraft1 ended on, say, 03/31/43 and aircraft2 started on 04/01/43 or something like that. The FC ones were farther off, but there wasn't any specific pattern I noticed. But I'm not really sure if that was what you were asking. The root cause of the issue is the data, and I don't know how Patrick generated it originally. There is an awful lot of data, and if it had to be created manually (as I suspect) some amount of error is to be expected, I would think.

 

[BlitzPig_Bill_Kelso]

Thank you very much for that information👍 

[PatrickAWlson]

15 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

@BlitzPig_Bill_Kelso In your <base game directory>\data\startup.cfg, under [KEY = system], there is an entry for "text_log_folder". Set that to something (it is relative to data) and the text logs will all go there and PWCG will still pick them up. I have mine set to text_log_folder = "logs\" (that final "\" is important) so all of them go into data\logs\. Having them in the root data directory made me feel vaguely itchy all the time, so I feel your pain. 

 

@czech693 According to the java code doc, either one will work.

 

@arthorej Well, the BoS ones were mostly "off by one" things, where aircraft1 ended on, say, 03/31/43 and aircraft2 started on 04/01/43 or something like that. The FC ones were farther off, but there wasn't any specific pattern I noticed. But I'm not really sure if that was what you were asking. The root cause of the issue is the data, and I don't know how Patrick generated it originally. There is an awful lot of data, and if it had to be created manually (as I suspect) some amount of error is to be expected, I would think.

 

 

I just wrote verification code to fix aircraft date issues and fixed them.  The test code goes through every squadron for every day of the wat and makes sure that there are no gaps in plane assignment.  Being honest, there were an embarrassing number.  

 

17.1.1 has been released.

 

[czech693]

FYI:  The four Typhoon/Tempest squadrons all have Spitfire skins designated instead of Typhoon and Tempest skins.

[BrianPeppers2]

Nevermind I fixed it: I was retrying the same mission before and after I deleted the mission file so I needed to delete the old mission file my client downloaded from the dserver. You also need to delete the list file it seems like.

Hi, I’m running a coop campaign on pwcgfc installed on a dserver.
Load times are long for us so I tried to delete the .mission file to speed them up, but when I delete it and load the dserver we can’t join the lobby.

Dserver seems to load the mission just fine, and when I join the server I get the normal loading screen, but then I get kicked back to the menu instead of joining the lobby when it’s done loading.

If I don’t delete the .mission file it works fine. 
 

Edited April 11 by BrianPeppers2

[ZPA_Malan]

So while I've generally been having a ton of fun with PWCG, I've had two 'iconic mission' phases of a campaign just not work at all, and I'm wondering if there's something i should be doing differently. Spitfire campaign from dunkirk to dieppe, first with 41 sqn and then 66 sqn. First issue was the airfields phase of BoB, would get scramble missions and no enemy would spawn ever - tried changing air density etc in config, no change over a dozen missions. Switched squadrons and got intercept missions for cities phase and that worked again. Now I've reached Dieppe and It only would give me missions circling over eastbourne instead of Dieppe... maybe to protect the fleet? But no ships and no enemy materialize.

 

I'm hoping i won't have issues with the new version, but also wondering if i should reset the config to defaults for each new phase or something else?

Edited April 14 by ZPA_Malan

[Blackanimal]

Hello,

Since updating to PWCG 17.1.1 (BOS) we have the problem that the only aircraft we can get through the equipment request is the Me 410 and nothing else no matter which squadron etc

[YDS55]

Hey folks,

 

I'm trying to change some squadron names in the squadron json files of BOS because some aren't correct. But when I start up PWCG and start a new campaign, it still shows the old name.

Why is this happening? I'm doing it correctly. It worked for an USAAF squadron I renamed. But for some reason it won't work with JG52 and JG51 in the Kuban campaign.

 

Any tips or ideas?

 

Never mind, Changed the json files in PWCG 17.0.0 instead of the new 17.1.1, woops......

Edited April 26 by YDS55

[PatrickAWlson]

14 hours ago, YDS55 said:

Hey folks,

 

I'm trying to change some squadron names in the squadron json files of BOS because some aren't correct. But when I start up PWCG and start a new campaign, it still shows the old name.

Why is this happening? I'm doing it correctly. It worked for an USAAF squadron I renamed. But for some reason it won't work with JG52 and JG51 in the Kuban campaign.

 

Any tips or ideas?

 

Never mind, Changed the json files in PWCG 17.0.0 instead of the new 17.1.1, woops......

 

Sometimes a unit will change names.  Squadron history overrides the base name.  Check that section.

[YDS55]

On 4/26/2025 at 9:44 PM, PatrickAWlson said:

 

Sometimes a unit will change names.  Squadron history overrides the base name.  Check that section.

I found the issue. I was changing the files the wrong version.... I recently changed to the 17.1.1 version but wasn"t paying attention and changed the older one....

Thanks for the reply though.

[Dr1falcon500]

Are Nieuport N11's unavailable in PWCG. The earliest I've been able to start a German campaign is 1/8/1916 because of PWCG message about N11 not available. I've only seen Fe-2b's so far.

[Scojo]

Version 17.1.1

 

Bridges aren't counting as targets destroyed even if it's the main or only target for the mission. This means they're also not showing up as ground kills either.

 

Issue found flying a Ju88 C6 coop mission. Others on reddit also mentioned they have seen the issue.

 

Love the campaign generator. I appreciate all your hard work providing it for us.

Edited May 8 by Scojo

[jpanside]

question regarding equipment change. I am playing moscow 1941 (earliest date) on the German side. I switched all my planes to the 190 A3. But for some reason it keeps switching back to the Bf 109 F4. This also prohibits me from changing my skin because it says my squad is still flying the 109. How can I fix this? Thank you!

[jpanside]

I am also getting another issue. For some reason my current campaign only gives me CAP missions. "Support ground troops, shoot down enemy aircraft you see, and destroy ground targets" type of missions. Nothing else. I set CAP missions to 0 and intercept and patrol missions to 99, but it won't make me a intercept or patrol mission. 

[CosmicComet56]

So, I currently have a similar issue going on flying a campaign in 1941 on the Normandy map. Flying the Hurricane Mk. II in an RAF squadron on missions across the Channel. Now, granted most missions in 1941 flown by the RAF were essentially CAP missions but certainly not all. It would be nice if the campaign generator would generate some intercept, ground attack, and some escort missions. So far it is just CAP mission after CAP mission and it would be nice to have variety. If that could be sorted out this would make for a very promising post-BOB campaign!

[Vishnu]

This is a weird one.    I have turned on the Mission text log to 1, downloaded PWCG and unzipped to my BOX folder, like I did in the past. (I scrubbed BOX and did a fresh install to a new drive), but now PWCG doesn't show under missions.   I even re d/L PWCG to the same drive.  Still Nothing.   

 

Anybody have any thoughts, on what I'm doing wrong?

[czech693]

If you un-zipped it directly into the main game folder make sure you didn't create two layers of labels, i.e. Il-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad/PWCG/PWCG.