Easy Mission Generator for Tank Crew

[SYN_Vander]

On 4/8/2021 at 10:45 AM, No457_Stonehouse said:

Possible suggestion for both versions of EMG. Could we be allowed to choose the folder for the mission to be created in if possible please? 

 

Only got tank crew today and came straight here to get the tank version of your great utility but would like to be able to keep aircraft and tank missions in their own location without having to manually move things around each time a new mission is created.

 

Good suggestion. The mission folder can easily get cluttered yes. I'll add it to the backlog.

[Arielito619]

First of all, great work on this project, it was literally the only thing that convinced me to purchase Tank Crew. 
 

I have noticed a weird behavior when using the Axis and defending objectives against any number of KV-1s (although it is possible that it happens with other tanks): the KV-1s follow a waypoint for a certain amount of minutes in a column formation and then suddenly stop, at some point (in at least two occasions) another KV-1s will start to ram against the column leader and it will start moving only for it to stop down the road, before the attack objective. I set the time scale at 8X for 10+ minutes and nothing more happened. I believe that you already mentioned this underlying issue, but I thought I’d put it on the table. EDIT: this happens with all tanks regardless of whether they are Russian or German and which party the user plays for. 
EDIT #2: after much testing today, I noticed that this behavior of not moving affects mainly the tank column lead and not the rest, as they keep circling it and pushing it around so as to move it or “activate” it.
 

Another thing I wanted to mention is that most Axis missions (mostly defensive ones) tend to be located in a very tiny area in the center area of 0407 between 8, 3 and 9.

 

And a quick question: do you have an ETA on the arrival of this awesome program unto other maps or at least other parts of the actual map?
 

thank you very much!
 

Ariel 
 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Arielito619
I noticed the issue happens with all tanks

[Kapteeni]

.I can't use Mission Editor at all... and playing same QMG missions over and over again gets pretty boring.

Is that Gaz AA Truck coming to  EMG? It sure would be nice. Or even better for both EMG's.

I would like to do some Partizan type missions behind enemy lines with that truck and later with that German Flak vehicle too. Plus defend airfields, railstations, harbors , columns Etc.

I know that you are busy with new planes and game updates, but if you ever have time...

 

Actually, i have owned Tank Cree since early acces, but only started to play it few weeks ago.

 

Anyways, i really like both EMG's. Than you for your hard work!

[SYN_Vander]

On 4/23/2021 at 7:14 PM, Arielito619 said:

First of all, great work on this project, it was literally the only thing that convinced me to purchase Tank Crew. 
 

I have noticed a weird behavior when using the Axis and defending objectives against any number of KV-1s (although it is possible that it happens with other tanks): the KV-1s follow a waypoint for a certain amount of minutes in a column formation and then suddenly stop, at some point (in at least two occasions) another KV-1s will start to ram against the column leader and it will start moving only for it to stop down the road, before the attack objective. I set the time scale at 8X for 10+ minutes and nothing more happened. I believe that you already mentioned this underlying issue, but I thought I’d put it on the table. EDIT: this happens with all tanks regardless of whether they are Russian or German and which party the user plays for. 
EDIT #2: after much testing today, I noticed that this behavior of not moving affects mainly the tank column lead and not the rest, as they keep circling it and pushing it around so as to move it or “activate” it.
 

Another thing I wanted to mention is that most Axis missions (mostly defensive ones) tend to be located in a very tiny area in the center area of 0407 between 8, 3 and 9.

 

And a quick question: do you have an ETA on the arrival of this awesome program unto other maps or at least other parts of the actual map?
 

thank you very much!
 

Ariel 
 

 

I will have to investigate. Looks like something has changedin AI behaviour.

[Arielito619]

Hey, SynVander, any progress in a new version of your software for Tank Crew? Cheers mate

[SYN_Vander]

4 hours ago, Arielito619 said:

Hey, SynVander, any progress in a new version of your software for Tank Crew? Cheers mate

I have done a huge update on the EMG (for aircraft) so I now have some time to look at this again. Also interested in what kind of features should be added.

[moustache]

can we make proposals?

[SYN_Vander]

4 hours ago, moustache said:

can we make proposals?

 

 

 

yes, of course!

[moustache]

 

ôla, you are not afraid ...

[moustache]

currently, we can only face a moving group of enemies ... would it be possible that there are several groups in the future, even if it is smaller, with different paths, see different type? or would it be possible that a certain group moves randomly on the map, like tanks or columns of scout vehicles?

can we also hope for mission to break through enemy lines, with several lines of defense, to achieve objectives deep in enemy territory?

would it even be possible for the enemies to change course depending on our actions / position?

but I'm probably asking too much ... a lot of things must be down to the game, not your (wonderful) mod ... but I'm so excited what you could do ...

[Arielito619]

I believe the biggest and most important change would be regarding enemy AI, as no matter the settings I have tested, they tend to stop on their tracks at some point (I assume that this has to do with them reaching the "attack" or "defend" zone). The issue seems less pervasive when set to column in the EMG settings, but it still happens more often than not. Sometimes they backtrack a bit in a random and unpredictable manner

Maybe a cool setting would be to add the possibility of different tanks for each faction and a sort of "beta" for waypoints and action zones in the rest of Prokhorovka to see how it would or could work for the rest of the maps at some point. 

Also, I think it´s awesome that tanks can destroy buildings in this map, but my teammates have often got stuck against a chimney or other part of the buildings, rendering their tanks useless, maybe make them so as to cross them just as they do with trees? 

All in all, if the AI pathing is fixed, I believe it would be pretty much a stable version as of now with regards to content and mission variety. Secondly, tank variations, and thirdly, map variety.

 

I want to say again that your work with both Tank Crew and IL2 in general is a work of art and keeps the game afloat in many ways, especially with Tank Crew. Thank you! 

[SYN_Vander]

Noted. I will do some investigation in the current pathfinding solution and AI behavior. I can't promise anything as this isn't natively supported (expect on roads) in the game, so whatever I come up with will be some sort of workaround.

[Spinnetti]

Thanks for this tool.. Works great given the limits of the game.

[HEWHOFLIES]

Hey Vander, I didn't take a screenshot, but I do believe that many issues could be solved by making tanks go through building as they go through trees, because they seem to get stuck. The other issue of pathfinding could prove more difficult given the terrain variations, but if they simply get to the objective area unharmed by ramming into buildings over and over again, it could be way more playable in other maps as well, for they would simply pass through the buildings there too.

[timski711]

It would be great to set up missions on other maps besides the Prokorovka map! And perhaps to cut down the number of waypoints (similar to how the air combat EMG allowed an in-the-air start) to allow faster initiation of combat. The waypoints generated by the Tank Crew EGM seem arbitrary and a bit pointless in terms of directing your progress toward a fight.

[HEWHOFLIES]

@timski711you can set the waypoint to "close to" any given objective and "skirmish" to mission type, that usually makes engagements happen quickly. Besides that, I believe that moving to the objective is one of the stronger points of EMG, because the base game already offers straight-up engagements in the basic mission generator, even if only in a handful of environments. Also remember that planes start in airfields and tanks have no such bases in the game.

[HEWHOFLIES]

How's the update going? If you need someone to test any progress, I would gladly do it. 

[SYN_Vander]

On 6/17/2021 at 7:33 PM, HEWHOFLIES said:

How's the update going? If you need someone to test any progress, I would gladly do it. 

 

I will publish an update soon. I have changed the logic and tuned a number of nodes in the waypoints graph. But testing takes just too much time and I don't really play tank crew myself. So yeah, I hope some of you guys can test.

[HEWHOFLIES]

4 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

I will publish an update soon. I have changed the logic and tuned a number of nodes in the waypoints graph. But testing takes just too much time and I don't really play tank crew myself. So yeah, I hope some of you guys can test.

Sure, man, I would gladly test it and report back to you. 

[SYN_Vander]

Here is the new version, with waypoint tuning but some other new features as well:

 

Release Notes EMG-TC v7

-Added 'AI Vehicles' option which will add some random scout vehicles in the mission

-In Dogfight mode now also possible to set only one side (PvE)

-Removed option to skip last waypoint/shortcut which caused issues with pathfinding

-Attack formation only set at last waypoint to avoid tanks running through houses etc.

-Tuned waypoint graph for pathfinding to have more on-road waypoints to avoid running into obstructions

-Added tactical codes in mission definition (not used yet)

-Fixed bug in not finding reference points correctly

 

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

[HEWHOFLIES]

I have tried some different missions for a couple of hours and I can conclude that even though pathfinding has been improved, the vast majority of the times the enemy tanks stop on their tracks just short of the objective, and both friendly and enemy tanks collide when changing formations. On one occasion, during a skirmish, the lead tank of 12 enemy Shermans was destroyed by an AT gun and all the tanks behind it crashed nonsensically unto it, and they ended up likewise being destroyed. In another two cases, both in Attack objectives, the 12 Shermans stopped about 1 km before the objective and even though I engaged them, they did not move into formation, and only the lead attacked. 

 

I recently read that Pat discovered that there is literally no pathfinding implemented in Tank Crew, so the fact that you have achieved this is nothing short of genius, but the base code implemented by the developers must be incomplete or lacking in some way, since it was clearly made for multiplayer and I cannot imagine what can or could be done to generate a capable pathfinding in the AI, as they seem not to recognize their surroundings at all, but when engaged they can often put up a very decent fight.  

 

I will continue to test your new update throughout the week and I will write a more detailed account of my experience. And again thank you for your hard work in this update! 

[Thad]

On 6/7/2021 at 6:54 AM, SYN_Vander said:

 

 

 

yes, of course!

Just a note. During my mission creation.... all of a formations following vehicles were target linked to the lead vehicle. If the lead vehicle was destroyed the next vehicle in line automatically became the lead vehicle etc. The column would continue upon their waypoint route and normally move around any destroyed vehicle. 

Edited July 4, 2021 by Thad

[SYN_Vander]

2 hours ago, HEWHOFLIES said:

I have tried some different missions for a couple of hours and I can conclude that even though pathfinding has been improved, the vast majority of the times the enemy tanks stop on their tracks just short of the objective, and both friendly and enemy tanks collide when changing formations. On one occasion, during a skirmish, the lead tank of 12 enemy Shermans was destroyed by an AT gun and all the tanks behind it crashed nonsensically unto it, and they ended up likewise being destroyed. In another two cases, both in Attack objectives, the 12 Shermans stopped about 1 km before the objective and even though I engaged them, they did not move into formation, and only the lead attacked. 

 

I recently read that Pat discovered that there is literally no pathfinding implemented in Tank Crew, so the fact that you have achieved this is nothing short of genius, but the base code implemented by the developers must be incomplete or lacking in some way, since it was clearly made for multiplayer and I cannot imagine what can or could be done to generate a capable pathfinding in the AI, as they seem not to recognize their surroundings at all, but when engaged they can often put up a very decent fight.  

 

I will continue to test your new update throughout the week and I will write a more detailed account of my experience. And again thank you for your hard work in this update! 

 

Yeah, it's a pain. I can only do so much by generating waypoints, but I can't control the AI logic.

[VoodooBr]

In missions, when I select the mission I created, it doesn't leave the "Please wait" screen. Any tips?

 

 

 

[Thad]

On 6/9/2021 at 8:18 AM, SYN_Vander said:

Noted. I will do some investigation in the current pathfinding solution and AI behavior. I can't promise anything as this isn't natively supported (expect on roads) in the game, so whatever I come up with will be some sort of workaround.

"I can't promise anything as this isn't natively supported (expect on roads) and between Waypoints."

 

On 7/4/2021 at 6:21 PM, SYN_Vander said:

 

Yeah, it's a pain. I can only do so much by generating waypoints, but I can't control the AI logic.

Please note:

 

Vehicles on waypoint routes set with a  HIGH priority will NOT engage enemy units enroute.

Vehicles on waypoint routes set with MEDIUM priority may or may not engage enemy units within range enroute. 

Vehicles on waypoint routes set with a LOW priority will engage ALL enemy units that come within range enroute.

Edited July 21, 2021 by Thad

[SYN_Vander]

On 7/20/2021 at 3:18 PM, VoodooBr said:

In missions, when I select the mission I created, it doesn't leave the "Please wait" screen. Any tips?

 

 

 

 

Can you please post the logfile? or the generated mission?

[VoodooBr]

6 minutes ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

Can you please post the logfile? or the generated mission?

 

Tried with different options.

Missions.rar

Edited July 21, 2021 by VoodooBr

[SYN_Vander]

10 hours ago, VoodooBr said:

 

Tried with different options.

Missions.rar 117.71 kB · 0 downloads

 

Thanks!

 

Could you try without the 'special' characters in the mission name? So don't use the ã character (I know, not special for you).

 

Error I'm getting:

UnicodeEncodeError: 'charmap' codec can't encode character '\u0101' in position 29: character maps to <undefined>

[VoodooBr]

5 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

Thanks!

 

Could you try without the 'special' characters in the mission name? So don't use the ã character (I know, not special for you).

 

Error I'm getting:

UnicodeEncodeError: 'charmap' codec can't encode character '\u0101' in position 29: character maps to <undefined>

 

Haha ok. I am going to try. It's just that I'm Brazilian. It is written in Brazilian Portuguese. I'll be back with the result soon. Thanks.

[VoodooBr]

7 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

Thanks!

 

Could you try without the 'special' characters in the mission name? So don't use the ã character (I know, not special for you).

 

Error I'm getting:

UnicodeEncodeError: 'charmap' codec can't encode character '\u0101' in position 29: character maps to <undefined>

 

It works! Thanks.

[Rak1445]

Hello!
Would it be possible to generate Tank missions on different maps than Prokhorovka?

[SYN_Vander]

9 minutes ago, Rak1445 said:

Hello!
Would it be possible to generate Tank missions on different maps than Prokhorovka?

 

Yes, but a template needs to be made for that map. It's not difficult -you only need basic knowledge of the full mission builder-, but it will take some work. If someone is willing I'll be happy to explain what needs to be done. Perhaps I'll create a little guide.

[Thad]

Salutations,

 

I would avail myself of a map template building guide.  

[ht-57]

I would love to be a test subject, But I don't own any maps as I am of the understanding  that there isn't much ground detail on them. 

Unless there is another map that's worth having for TC that is as I will certainly pick it up and give the "map template building guide" a go!

[DD_Friar]

I would be willing to have a look at what is required to help sir

[SYN_Vander]

Okay here is the first version. It's not finished but you can at least try to edit or replace the existing PROKHOROVKA map. If you screw up you can always download the latest version again. Let me know if this makes sense and of course I'm open for suggestions to improve the mission generation process!

 

https://sites.google.com/view/il2-great-battles-emg/template-creation?authuser=0

[SYN_Vander]

I have now also added a section that explains how to add a new map. If you run into trouble just post here. One thing though: It can be hard to debug as there is no log file yet. I will add that in the next version as I have also done for the EMG.

[DD_Friar]

@Thad - Which map do you want to have a go at? I thought about doing the Summer Lapino map, no point us suddenly posting "hey look what I have done!" to find we have both spent hours doing the same thing!

 

If you happen to have already started on this same map, let me know and I will look at something different.

 

Friar

[Thad]

Lapino Summer is good . 

 

I'm currently having some computer virus problems to clear up so I won't be actively working on anything until I get my computer out of the shop. Should be a day to two. ?

Edited August 22, 2021 by Thad

[SYN_Vander]

I have updated the mission generator to 7.1 which now adds logging. Download from the usual site: https://sites.google.com/view/il2-great-battles-emg

Edited August 22, 2021 by SYN_Vander