Req.Relocation flight(s)

[Semor76]

Hi Pat.

I´m sure I have you asked this before. Maybe a year or two ago. ?

 

How about adding Relocation flights to the mission generation process? I remember, the Dynamic Campaign Generator (DGen) in the classic Il-2 Series had this feature. Everytime the Player Squadron moves towards the next frontline Airfield or backwards, depending on the strategic situation, DGen generates a flight of 3-5 Transport planes which the players flight has to protect on their way to the new Airfield.

I think this would add a new level of realism for PWCG. The Germans already have the Ju-52´s. The Russians and Allies can use the Pe-2 and B-25´s as a substitute till the C-47 is ready.

 

I would really love to see this feature here!

 

What do you think?

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by Semor76
Grammar...

[PatrickAWlson]

13 hours ago, Semor76 said:

Hi Pat.

I´m sure I have you asked this before. Maybe a year or two ago. ?

 

How about adding Relocation flights to the mission generation process? I remember, the Dynamic Campaign Generator (DGen) in the classic Il-2 Series had this feature. Everytime the Player Squadron moves towards the next frontline Airfield or backwards, depending on the strategic situation, DGen generates a flight of 3-5 Transport planes which the players flight has to protect on their way to the new Airfield.

I think this would add a new level of realism for PWCG. The Germans have already the Ju-52´s. The Russians and Allies can use the Pe-2 and B-25´s as a substitute till the C-47 is ready.

 

I would really love to see this feature here!

 

What do you think?

 

 

There are some mechanics in PWCG that make that challenging.  Front lines jump in chunks - movement is not continuous as it was in real life.  Quite often the previous airfield is in enemy territory.  Starting the player in enemy territory would be bad.  It would take some juggling of airfield allocations to make it work perfectly.  As an interim I can make a ferry flight only for cases where both airfields are in friendly territory.  

 

I do like the idea.  

[Semor76]

40 minutes ago, PatrickAWlson said:

 

 As an interim I can make a ferry flight only for cases where both airfields are in friendly territory.  

 

I do like the idea.  

Coool. This would be a good start. Looking forward for this.

[PatrickAWlson]

45 minutes ago, Semor76 said:

Coool. This would be a good start. Looking forward for this.

 

At the moment the flights are probably just going to be transfer flights.  Escorting Ju52s is nice but does not make sense outside of fighter units and there is no corresponding aircraft for the allies, and probably won't be for a year or so. 

 

I'll see what I can do about including Ju52s somehow.  From what I can gather the Ju52 flights were generally done separately.  They do not seem to have been escorted.  If there was a perception of danger they seem to have been done mostly at night.  Still, it would make a nice twist.  

[blue_max]

I would love to see a Ju52 every now and then! to be honest, I care less about absolute historical accuracy and more about variation and fun

 

(Also, I just got the Ju52 and it would be cool to fly it somewhere and have my friends escort me in a coop mission)

[Murleen]

On 6/22/2020 at 1:18 PM, PatrickAWlson said:

 

There are some mechanics in PWCG that make that challenging.  Front lines jump in chunks - movement is not continuous as it was in real life.  Quite often the previous airfield is in enemy territory.  Starting the player in enemy territory would be bad.  It would take some juggling of airfield allocations to make it work perfectly.  As an interim I can make a ferry flight only for cases where both airfields are in friendly territory.  

 

I do like the idea.  

 

Would it be possible to generate the ferry flight the day before the front lines move, so the origin airfield isn't yet in enemy territory? I guess this wouldn't work for advancing, so it would have to be just for retreating forces... 

[PatrickAWlson]

47 minutes ago, Murleen said:

 

Would it be possible to generate the ferry flight the day before the front lines move, so the origin airfield isn't yet in enemy territory? I guess this wouldn't work for advancing, so it would have to be just for retreating forces... 

 

There would have to be that kind of analysis to get the day right.  There is also the issue that sometimes more than one day passes, so what happens if the ferry flight was supposed to happen in that time period?  Also, what happens if the new field is on an entirely different map (obviously can't generate that mission)?  What about coop missions?  I suppose ferry flights can happen there too but it at least has to be thought through.  For now I think that I would not do ferry flights in coop.  If you try to guarantee a ferry flight on every airbase change you can get into trouble with all of the considerations.

 

That is the reason why I would do a first pass as "did the squadron change airfields in the interim, can a ferry flight be done, do ferry flight" kind of logic without guaranteeing that a ferry flight will happen every time an airbase changes.  If it can be done we'll do it, otherwise no.  

[Murleen]

Makes sense, and you can always incrementally add conditions to "can a flight be done" once the basics are in place

[PatrickAWlson]

28 minutes ago, Murleen said:

Makes sense, and you can always incrementally add conditions to "can a flight be done" once the basics are in place

 

From a code structure that's what it's going to be.  In the flight type factory consult FerryDecision.shouldFlyFerryMission() and if yes do a ferry mission instead of looking for a different mission type.  Completely isolates that decision making process.

 

There is a ferry mission already in PWCG.  I disabled it years ago because I was trying to make it perfect and could not.  The logic was quite complex and resulted in too many bugs mostly due to too many edge cases to consider.  It wasn't the mission itself that was wrong but when/where/how it triggered.  That is why I am sort of adamant that ferry missions be "if we know it will work".  

 

[Guest deleted@210880]

It would be nice if you request a transfer to have a U2 flight from one airbase to another?

 

Or even the odd 'report to headquarters' mission where you fly the U2 there and back. To pick up a medal maybe....