Easy Mission Generator for Tank Crew

[SYN_Vander 1458]

Hi everyone, I have finally finished a first version of my mission generator for Tank Crew (EMG-TC) that I can share with the public. I intent to improve this tool and add more features in the future based on your feedback, just as I have done with the EMG.

 

The concept and GUI is pretty similar to the EMG for aircraft, but the code base is new so I will be more flexible when adding new stuff. I intend to also use this  new code base for the existing EMG; who know I might be able to join the two tool together. The reason I chose a different version is that Tank missions are quite different from those for Planes: There are no airfields to take off from and return to and the distances involved are totally different. This means for now you start at a random location on the battlefield. The location depends on the selected distance to the objective. All this needs to be tweaked further based on your feedback.

 

 

Please report any bugs and suggestions in this thread. Have fun!

 

The download is hosted on the same page as the existing EMG, just scroll down to the downloads section. Download here:

https://sites.google.com/view/il2-great-battles-emg/home

 

 

 

Edited February 2 by SYN_Vander

[[N.O.G.F]Leon_Portier 426]

Awesome!

[[808_BOB]_Dafak-man 71]

This is bloody amazing

[2nd_TAF/602Sqn_Puff 94]

Fantastic.....cheers Vander!!!!!!

[DD_Crash 210]

The DangerDogz say THANK YOU

[simfan2015 195]

Thank You so much SYN_Vander !

[Fercyful 51]

thanks so much!  🤘 time to randomize the fun 

[Rustedgun 10]

Wonderful... thanks so much!

[Thad 1621]

Salutations,

 

Thank your for your outstanding work and efforts for the IL2 community. 

[Kapteeni 19]

I just found this! Amazing!...Now i only need to learn how to actually drive and use commands for tanks!

 

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Kapteeni
typo

[=FI=Genosse 32]

Great idea, Vander!

Yet your TC generator doesn't work on my machine. Every time I hit the "Generate Mission" button it says "Error - Could not generate mission!"

 

Here are my generator's settings ...

 

 

Any help is appreciated ...

 

Gen "?" osse

[SYN_Vander 1458]

Thnx, I’ll try to duplicate the error using these settings.

[SYN_Vander 1458]

2 hours ago, =FI=Genosse said:

Great idea, Vander!

Yet your TC generator doesn't work on my machine. Every time I hit the "Generate Mission" button it says "Error - Could not generate mission!"

 

Here are my generator's settings ...

 

 

Any help is appreciated ...

 

Gen "?" osse

 

Looks like the 'any target'  option doesn't work. I'll have it fixed next version.

EDIT: fixed it for next version. Thanks for reporting!

Edited November 6, 2020 by SYN_Vander

[clanitho 8]

Very good job , thank you 👍

[clanitho 8]

Is there a way to choose différent maps ?

[SYN_Vander 1458]

Not currently. First need to finalise the functionality for this map. Consider this ‘early access’ 😃. For instance I’m now adding logic to create waypoints around obstacles. 
Then I will add more maps. Or you guys will; I would like to make it so that you only need to create a new template file .

[Dogbert1953 173]

Many thanks and much appreciation buddy.

[SYN_Vander 1458]

New version out! No new features, but a lot of 'under the hood' changes that took many hours to code. I don't expect this te perfect, please test and post the feedback here.

Download here:

https://sites.google.com/view/il2-great-battles-emg

 

Release Notes EMG-TC v3

-Pathfinding for AI. Waypoints will be created for the AI to follow so it can navigate around rivers and villages (these will not be shown on the map). Tanks will not avoid forests. This is okay as AI do not have collision detection with trees. The player's tank however does collide, so don't rely on auto-pilot there!

-Defending tanks near objective should now actively engage

-Changed distance to objective is now global setting

-Defending side will start closer to objective than the attacker

-Fixed algorithm for finding closest position to frontline

-Fixed 'Any target' not working

Edited November 15, 2020 by SYN_Vander

[clanitho 8]

Good job, thanks.

[Koenigstiger 133]

Hello tankers,

 

with the function of the EMG I noticed that when a mission is completed, large parts of the view appear in blue during games. Is there a reason for that ? Otherwise, it's a good job and it would be desirable if the AI would make different demands on the dishwasher from time to time with different methods of attack during the missions.

 

Good luck

Guenther

[SYN_Vander 1458]

On 11/18/2020 at 9:44 AM, Koenigstiger said:

... large parts of the view appear in blue during games. Is there a reason for that ?

 

Could you explain further? I'm afraid I don't understand what is the problem.

[Thad 1621]

That may be to using the wrong map.

 

Ensure you own the module that includes the required map. 

[TikiBar_Ted 12]

First of all, thanks for the excellent work here and on the airplane side.  Is there any thought to making the easy generator work for combined arms?  What I mean is, generate a mission that includes both planes and tanks.

 

 

[SYN_Vander 1458]

23 hours ago, TikiBar_Ted said:

First of all, thanks for the excellent work here and on the airplane side.  Is there any thought to making the easy generator work for combined arms?  What I mean is, generate a mission that includes both planes and tanks.

 

 

 

Well, eventually yes. But first we need to get some decent missions out of this tank mission generator. I'm not much of a tanker myself, so I would like to have some feedback on gameplay. What are valid objectives? how should they look like, how should they be positioned? How to deploy other (support) forces etc. etc. 

[kalnaren 26]

Question.. just did a mission where I had to take out some Ferdinands. I was driving a Sherman so obviously I went around. They just sat there, did absolutely nothing, while I shot them in the backside at 200 yards. They weren't dug in or anything. Is there supposed to be some type of behaviour assigned to them?

 

Thanks

[SYN_Vander 1458]

10 minutes ago, kalnaren said:

Question.. just did a mission where I had to take out some Ferdinands. I was driving a Sherman so obviously I went around. They just sat there, did absolutely nothing, while I shot them in the backside at 200 yards. They weren't dug in or anything. Is there supposed to be some type of behaviour assigned to them?

 

Thanks

 

Well yes, they are assigned "attack area" command of (at least) 1500m, but I can double check. But I don't know what the default behaviour is of a tank destroyer in Tank Crew.

Edited November 22, 2020 by SYN_Vander

[kalnaren 26]

Yea I don't know either. It just struck me as odd that 4 shermans appeared right behind them and they did literally nothing. No idea if this is a mission thing or another TC AI issue.

[SYN_Vander 1458]

From other thread:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/67107-tank-crew-clash-at-prokhorovka-is-officially-released-and-available-on-steam/?do=findComment&comment=1029169

 

Quote

Hei, i tried. Enemy tanks were on the same spot and opened fire at me only at close range. I excpected more loosened formation with at guns. On hill or at the edge of the wood. Also i dont know if its possible to set up in mission builder, but it would be nice if the enemy tank can see you it will turn front armour to you. Not just the turret, leaving exposed side to your fire. also even when im attacking defence position and enemy tanks are not dug in, they could do some maneuvering and not be sittings ducks.

 

 

-Improvement: Disperse enemy tanks more. They are now driving up to the defend zone in forrmation. I can change that formation to spread-out (I hope). Or I can make a enemy tanks 'target' with a static positioning of the tanks

-Improvement: Add AT guns to protect enemy tank formation.

-Improvement: Place tanks/AT guns in more concealed position, ie edge of the wood, or more tactical position ie top of a hill. Currently I use generic spawn points and position targets there and then orient them towards enemy lines. Using locations near a treeline may then result that tanks are positioned correctly, but face towards a forest for example. Need to investigate how to solve this.

About tanks turning their front armor: That is not something you can control in the mission editor afaik.

Edited November 27, 2020 by SYN_Vander

[murkz 46]

Would it be possible to have an option to select AI skin type, as it is all AI use stock skins.

[Thad 1621]

On 11/22/2020 at 12:19 PM, SYN_Vander said:

 

Well yes, they are assigned "attack area" command of (at least) 1500m, but I can double check. But I don't know what the default behaviour is of a tank destroyer in Tank Crew.

 

A complex trigger could be used that designates the specific types of ground 'enemy' vehicles to be engaged within the designated area. 

 

When the Shermans enter the area the Ferdinands will fire on them. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by Thad

[murkz 46]

This is an example line I edit in a mission to get AI tank skins

Skin = "_pzv-d\pzvd_322&1.dds";

 

[SYN_Vander 1458]

20 hours ago, murkz said:

Would it be possible to have an option to select AI skin type, as it is all AI use stock skins.

 

The supporting AI tanks are randomly chosen, when the mission generates. So you would need to maintain a list of skins for all tanks. So maybe later when I create a 'manage tank type' option to include/exclude types in the mission and then you could also set skins.

[BladeMeister 756]

I just downloaded and tried this QMG last night. Syn_Vander, you added a lot to ROF and now you are doing it again in TC. Thank you so much for your hard work in this new TC QMB. I generated one mission last night, opened it in the ME, designated custom skins and rotated each enemy tank to a different direction just to see if it all worked, and it did, perfectly. Really nice, I can see that I am going to have a lot of fun with your new creation. Keep up the good work Sir.

 

S!Blade<><

[BlitzPig_EL 3055]

A problem I keep seeing is that the "waypoints" that appear in coop missions are really not usable, as they seem to always go into a forest that has a deep gorge in it.  AI Panzer IVs try to navigate it but I always find one or two of them that have rolled over and are laying on their turrets.

 

Also the enemy playable tanks do not seem to have good AI control when unoccupied by players, unlike AI aircraft in COOP mode.  They will just mostly sit in their spawn and are easy meat, or as explained above will drive into the gorge and mince about there all mission.  The fully AI enemy column does move around, but the Stugs that are with them just sit there and let us pick them off.

 

Still I think this Tank version of the EMG has lots of promise, and I look forward to further updates.

[SYN_Vander 1458]

13 minutes ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

A problem I keep seeing is that the "waypoints" that appear in coop missions are really not usable, as they seem to always go into a forest that has a deep gorge in it.  AI Panzer IVs try to navigate it but I always find one or two of them that have rolled over and are laying on their turrets.

 

Also the enemy playable tanks do not seem to have good AI control when unoccupied by players, unlike AI aircraft in COOP mode.  They will just mostly sit in their spawn and are easy meat, or as explained above will drive into the gorge and mince about there all mission.  The fully AI enemy column does move around, but the Stugs that are with them just sit there and let us pick them off.

 

Still I think this Tank version of the EMG has lots of promise, and I look forward to further updates.

 

Thanks for the observations. The calculated waypoints are not shown on the map. I expect the human to take control of the tank column. The calculated waypoints are for the AI side. Still, some waypoints may be incorrectly positioned, it's a matter of tuning them. If you have a screenshot of the map where things go wrong it will help.

 

I also noticed that tanks behave differently than aircraft. I put an attack area command over the target. Now an aircraft would fly up to the attack area location, circle there and attack any enemy that enters the circle. Tanks however do not move to the attack area location at all. They just sit at the last waypoint as if they are artillery and it seems they only shoot at something that enters their (narrow) field of view. I haven't found a solution yet, maybe they need a specific 'attack object X' command?

Edited December 6, 2020 by SYN_Vander

[BlitzPig_EL 3055]

Thanks for the quick reply, I'll grab a screenshot shortly and post it here.

[BlitzPig_EL 3055]

OK, here are screenshots of 2 different missions I made.

 

Mission 1 Allied Spawn

 

Mission 1 Axis Spawn:

 

The next pair are from a second try at generating a mission, the shots were taken after the lead tank advanced to the first short distance (4 meters) way point and triggered the second way point.

 

Mission 2 Allied:

 

Mission 2 Axis:

 

This last map points out the location I always find two Panzers on their roof.

 

Hope this is helpful.

Edited December 6, 2020 by BlitzPig_EL

[Thad 1621]

1 hour ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

Thanks for the observations. The calculated waypoints are not shown on the map. I expect the human to take control of the tank column. The calculated waypoints are for the AI side. Still, some waypoints may be incorrectly positioned, it's a matter of tuning them. If you have a screenshot of the map where things go wrong it will help.

 

I also noticed that tanks behave differently than aircraft. I put an attack area command over the target. Now an aircraft would fly up to the attack area location, circle there and attack any enemy that enters the circle. Tanks however do not move to the attack area location at all. They just sit at the last waypoint as if they are artillery and it seems they only shoot at something that enters their (narrow) field of view. I haven't found a solution yet, maybe they need a specific 'attack object X' command?

 

In my single player mission work Waypoints can be assigned a priority. Low, medium and High. Low, vehicles on such a waypoint route should move to attack any enemy that it contacts. Medium, they may or many not engage. High, the vehicles will NOT engage anything along that route.

 

I can confirm that the High priority setting works for tanks... I've used it to make columns move behind enemy units in my single player missions. It keeps them from firing until I desire them to. I strongly suspect tanks will respond the same as aircraft on Low and Medium waypoint priorities.

 

Trying to get tanks to attack using a area command is another story. I doubt that will work. I've never tried it. One can get artillery to attack an area from a stationary position. (like the Russian rocket launchers). It may prove different for the armored howitzer tanks.

 

To better ensure that AI tanks will attack enemy units within a designated area their Low Priority waypoint route should move into, near or through the desired area.

 

The above mentioned  WP priority settings would then dictate their attack probabilities within the area. 

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by Thad

[SYN_Vander 1458]

3 hours ago, Thad said:

 

In my single player mission work Waypoints can be assigned a priority. Low, medium and High. Low, vehicles on such a waypoint route should move to attack any enemy that it contacts. Medium, they may or many not engage. High, the vehicles will NOT engage anything along that route.

 

I can confirm that the High priority setting works for tanks... I've used it to make columns move behind enemy units in my single player missions. It keeps them from firing until I desire them to. I strongly suspect tanks will respond the same as aircraft on Low and Medium waypoint priorities.

 

Trying to get tanks to attack using a area command is another story. I doubt that will work. I've never tried it. One can get artillery to attack an area from a stationary position. (like the Russian rocket launchers). It may prove different for the armored howitzer tanks.

 

To better ensure that AI tanks will attack enemy units within a designated area their Low Priority waypoint route should move into, near or through the desired area.

 

The above mentioned  WP priority settings would then dictate their attack probabilities within the area. 

 

 

Thanks! Yeah, I guess waypoint with priority low will do the trick, just as with aircraft. I'll try that. Still not sure if tanks will actively destroy a building though?

[Thad 1621]

Attacking buildings should be possible.

 

Page 119 of the ME and server manual.

 

Make an Object Attack Another Object

 

You can command one or more objects to attack another object. For example, you can command a bomber to attack a factory or command patrolling fighters to attack a bomber formation. Do the following: 1. Place an attack command (pg. 236) anywhere, object link the command to the attacking object, and target link the command to the object that will be attacked. 2. Set the attack command properties and advanced properties. 3. Trigger the attack command with a target link from another MCU or a message link from an object. Example:

 

Air Attack a Factory In this example, a formation of Pe-2s flies towards a factory, circles once near it, bombs the factory, and then flies away. The circling behaviour is built into the AI plane objects when they are commanded to attack an object.

 

We can attack and destroy bridges.. so why not buildings? I'm not sure it would work with tanks but logically, it should. Tanks can do some serious damage with their HE rounds versus buildings. The key would be in making them targetable linked objects or more importantly or destructible. Or can they be made destructible?

Edited December 7, 2020 by Thad