Squadron Skin configuration - What am I doing wrong?

[FTC_Zero]

PWCG seems not to use stock winter camo and in the included skin paks many skins are missing so I downloaded nice 4k skins for my bf110e2. I did following things:

1)placed new skins into il2 root/data/graphics/skins/bf110e2

2)changed following lines in the .json files:

...from default Skin section of I_ZG26.json:

  "skins": [
    {
      "skinName": "I_ZG_26",
      "planeType": "bf110e2",
      "startDate": "19410101",
      "endDate": "19450601",
      "squadId": 20101026,
      "country": "Germany",
      "category": "Squadron",
      "definedInGame": false
    }
  ],

 

... to:

  "skins": [
    {
      "skinName": "Bf110E2_4k_Winter",
      "planeType": "bf110e2",
      "startDate": "19410101",
      "endDate": "19420301",
      "squadId": 20101026,
      "country": "Germany",
      "category": "Squadron",
      "definedInGame": false
    },

    {
      "skinName": "Bf110E2_4k_Early.dds",
      "planeType": "bf110e2",
      "startDate": "19420301",
      "endDate": "19450601",
      "squadId": 20101026,
      "country": "Germany",
      "category": "Squadron",
      "definedInGame": false
    }
  ],


I deleted the old I_ZG_26 entry from the squadron config, however in PWCG the skin pack skin still gets detected and used from 19410101 until 19450601 as squadron skin, even though i deleted the skin entry. Even though PWCG detects the new skins as squadron skins with my dates, when I generate a mission the generator still picks I_ZG_26. What I am doing wrong??

Of course I just rename a skin of choice  I_ZG_26 in my skin folder, but I wanna figure out how to set it up properly.

[TimSell75]

I face the exact same problem. Is it possible, that the Squadron Skin assignment is not only done in the Squadron.json files but somewhere else, too?

[PatrickAWlson]

Skins are a cascading preference.  In the code the assignments go least significant to most, so first a generic skin is assigned, then a squadron skin, then a PWCG defined personal skin, and finally a skin assigned by the player through the PWCG UI.  Whichever skin is last wins.

 

PWCG will not assign a skin if it is not found in the game's skin directory.  The exception to this are skins provided by 1C, which are bundled in the game.  Since they will not be in the skins directory that check is bypassed.

 

The data above seems right. 

Because they are squadron skins they could be getting replaced by personal skins. 

There could be a typo of some sort that is causing a mismatch between the skin name in the configuration vs the skin name in the file system.

It could be that PWCG is actually making the assignment and the game is reverting back to generic.  The game will do that if it cannot find the specified skin.

 

Check the generated mission file and see what skin PWCG actually assigned for the mission.  That will tell you if PWCG is not assigning the skin or if the game is reverting.

 

 

[TimSell75]

Hello Patrick, thanks for the quick reply!

 

I think I understand the basic logic of the skin assignment hierarchy. But I am still not able to assign own squadron skins by editing the squadron .json files. The only way I was able to do it, was to exchange the skin dds files themselves while keeping the original name of the dds file.

 

But the idea described above, by exchanging the skin file name in the squadron .json file seems to have no effect. Even when double, and tripple checking for typos.

 

Could it be, that you have to check another location too? Like the .json files under PWCGBoS\BoSData\Input\Skins\Configured ?

 

P.S. I have checked the mission file in the editor. The skin assignment under "plane properties" is empty, but this is the case for every plane in every PWCG missions I have created, even the ones where it is using a skin file when I actually fly the mission.

Edited April 2, 2021 by TimSell75

[PatrickAWlson]

The configured skins file is for individual skins.  They would supersede squadron assignments but only be applied to one plane.  

 

Open the mission file in a text editor, find the plane (look for the pilot's name)  and then check the value of the Skin field in the plane record.  I want to know what it says before any of the game's software tries to interpret it.

[TimSell75]

Hello Patrick,

 

I checked the mission file in a text editor  and found the skin assignment, but it is still the one that was in the squadron json before the edit (so the same what I am seeing in game). I attached some screens:

 

1. image of the skin-folder with the skin file (in this case a  MC 202)

2. image of the sqaudron json with the edited "skinName" entry

3. image of the mission file with skin assignment that was actually created afterwards by PWCG (Sgt Test)

 

Many thanks for the support!

Edited April 2, 2021 by TimSell75

[PatrickAWlson]

Did you restart PWCG after the edit?  The squadron files are read in on startup.

[TimSell75]

Thank you so much, the old "have you tried to turn it off and on again?" trick actually worked for assigning a custom squadron skin. ?

 

What I did not yet manage to do, is to assign an additional winter skin though. I edited the squadron json this way (like I have seen in other squadron files):

        "19430120": "Safronov"
    },
    "skins": [
        {
            "skinName": "MC202s8",
            "planeType": "mc202s8",
            "startDate": "19400801",
            "endDate": "19450601",
            "squadId": 20115021,
            "country": "Italy",
            "category": "Squadron",
            "definedInGame": false
        },
        {
            "skinName": "MC202s8_W",
            "planeType": "mc202s8",
            "startDate": "19400801",
            "endDate": "19450601",
            "squadId": 20115021,
            "country": "Italy",
            "category": "Squadron",
            "definedInGame": false,
            "winter": true
        }
    ],
    "serviceId": 20202,
    "squadronRoles": {
 

 

The mission file then reads like this:

 

 Plane
  {
    Name = "Sgt Test";
    Index = 54;
    LinkTrId = 55;
    XPos = 76340.520;
    YPos = 0.000;
    ZPos = 161024.500;
    XOri = 0.00;
    YOri = 111.46;
    ZOri = 0.00;
    Script = "LuaScripts\WorldObjects\Planes\mc202s8.txt";
    Model = "graphics\planes\mc202s8\mc202s8.mgm";
    Country = 201;
    Desc = "Sgt Test";
    Skin = "mc202s8/mc202s8_skin_00.dds";
    AILevel = 0;
    CoopStart = 0;
    NumberInFormation = 4;
    Vulnerable = 1;

 

So it seems to break the skin assignment again...

[TimSell75]

I made some additional test where I created a mission with an original unedited squadron file that has a winter skin assigned. It still takes the normal skin, so the whole principel of assigning winter skins in the squadron files does not seem to work (anymore?).