Cambrai 1917 Scripted Campaign

[plepew]

New Scripted Campaign for Flying Circus Vol 1:

Cambrai 1917

 

 

 

UPDATE 3 MARCH, 2022:  Version 3-0 Available!

 

New in version 3.0: Cloud/atmospherics have been updated/customized to the new cloud rendering technology that was released in IL2 Sturmovik Great Battles version 4.701.  I don't have to tell you that these new clouds are spectacular and in combination with the autumn variant of the Arras map make the views in these missions breathtaking!

 

The following improvements were also made:

* incorporated new smoke effects into missions. They look better and require fewer resources.
* fixed mission 5 so that landing at your home airbase will result in mission success
* Tweaked logic of missions 4, 5, and 6 to make achieving success more reasonable 

* The download is now split into two separate files, one for the campaign + autumn map and another for the aircraft skins

________________________________

Version 3.0 (03-03-2022)  Clouds/atmospherics were updated for the new cloud rendering engine in IL2 v 4.701. The download is now split into two separate downloads, one for the campaign + autumn map and another for aircraft skins.  This will make it easier to post updates to the campaign in the future.

 

Version 2.2 (07-18-2021) All missions have been updated to allow mission success upon returning to the home airbase regardless of other mission objectives. This provides the pilot with a failsafe method to progress to the next mission in the campaign.   See the readme 2-2.txt for more details.

 

Version 2.1 (05-01-2021) Updates the campaign files for compatibility with IL2 Sturmovik v4.6.01.

 

Version 2.0 (02-25-2021) brings significant improvements to the overall campaign.  Several cosmetic improvements have been made.  First, you will notice that all missions take place over beautiful autumn scenery thanks to the custom terrain map provided by AEthelraedUnraed! Second, all aircraft in your flight (six aircraft) now have a custom skin with serial numbers of actual aircraft that flew during the battle. And finally, Custom Albatros skins by the_dudeWG have been added for the German Jasta's that fought at Cambrai including Jastas 5, 13, 15, 8 and Richthofen's JG1.  I also went through all missions to improve gameplay and performance.  I made key triggers/events less dependent on flying a specific route. I cleaned up the mission logic fixing some errors, adding user prompts, and in some missions you'll find new secondary objectives and revised criteria for mission success.  I think it will be worth playing through the campaign again if you finished an earlier version.

 

Note: Downloading Campaign Updates should not interrupt your progress in a prior version.  The Autumn map will not replace the default Spring map of Arras.

 

Download the V3-0 campaign files only (9.5MB)

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18MXQpDd57ddoqk5WstmMwEfl15gqe-d5/view?usp=sharing

 

Download the Aircraft Skins (384MB):

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1406ScUda1v_EL_GbntvRy7s2xSUuev8t/view?usp=sharing

 

V2-0 + Screenshots:

 

Beautiful Autumn Map of Arras by AEthelraedUnraed!

 

 

 

Unique markings for all planes in your flight.

 

 

Examples of custom Albatros DV skins by the_DudeWG!

 

 

_______________________________ 

 

This scripted campaign includes 11 missions set during the Cambrai offensive in November-December 1917.  You will fly as two pilots: 2nd Lieutenant Rogers in no. 11 squadron piloting a Bristol Fighter and Lieutenant Davies in no. 41 Squadron piloting an S.E.5a. The pilots and missions are fictional but are based on historical events during the Battle at Cambrai.

 

The Battle: In November of 1917 the British decided to try one last offensive before winter set in.  They planned what was to be a limited attack in the region of Cambrai using new combined arms tactics.  Instead of days of artillery bombardment, they would hit the German lines for only a couple of hours, then before the Germans emerged from their bunkers, attack using massed armored formations followed by infantry supported by air and artillery.  The initial attack by the British Third Army under General Byng was an overwhelming success but the lack of reinforcements and the frailty of the Mark IV tank soon slowed their advance.  The German Second Army under General von der Marwitz  eventually counterattacked pushing the British back, erasing many of their initial gains.   By December 7, the Battle had ended and both sides hunkered down until fighting resumed in the spring.

 

The Air War: By this point in the Great War, aircraft were being used quite effectively to support the infantry,  though it took a heavy toll on planes and pilots.  At Cambrai, both the British and Germans used aircraft in this close air support role extensively and effectively.  In fact, German Halberstadt CL.IIs played a significant role in turning the tide of the battle.  Contemporary accounts by British officers described the skies as thick with German two seat bombers.  Single seat fighters were essential for establishing and maintaining air superiority and soon after the British attack began, Richthofen's JG1 arrived to reinforce the German fighter units there.  

 

Though the British attack at Cambrai ultimately failed, it showed that it was possible to defeat an entrenched enemy  and it foreshadowed combined arms tactics used extensively for the rest of the century.  

 

Please enjoy!

 

Screenshots:

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by gagood17
Update 1-1 to Scripted Campaign

[blue_max]

awesome, more FC content is always welcome!

[DN308]

Thank you so much for that !!!

[plepew]

You are welcome!  

[LukeFF]

Looks great! ?

[ST_Catchov]

Great idea and nice screenies. 

[plepew]

Hopefully when FC vol 2 comes out there will be an actual fall/winter map of the region!  

[keeno]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing.

[rolket97]

Superb work, mate!

[Dutch2]

Very much needed for FC, thanks. ??

 

[Todt_Von_Oben]

Very nice addition; thanks!

 

Can I get vectored to a thread or post somewhere that explains how to build a mission step-by-step and by-the-numbers for those whose computer skills are modest?

 

I'd like to give it a try.  

 

Prosit!  

[SYN_Vander]

 

And for quick mission generation (that you can finetune in the full mission builder):

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Todt_Von_Oben said:

Very nice addition; thanks!

 

Can I get vectored to a thread or post somewhere that explains how to build a mission step-by-step and by-the-numbers for those whose computer skills are modest?

 

I'd like to give it a try.  

 

Prosit!  

 

Edited December 29, 2020 by SYN_Vander

[Jaegermeister]

Thanks for the hard work. I'll have to give it a roll!

[Chief_Mouser]

Ran Mission 1 last night. Got shot down ?. Can't see a bloody thing with the Bristol Fighter. Obviously need to practice more ... ?. Looking forward to trying again tonight. Cheers ?. 

[plepew]

Yes, that upper wing really gets in the way!   Takes a while get used to when transitioning from WW2 fighters.   The Brisfit is a surprisingly nimble fighter and having a rear gunner helps to swat away pesky fighters that get on your tail.   Good luck in your next attempt. 

[Canvas25]

Thanks!

[Blitzen]

Aces!

[=IRFC=Gascan]

Is it possible to convert this to a coop campaign? I'd like to try flying it with my brother Kotori.

[J99_Sizzlorr]

Hey gagood,

 

I started the first mission of your Campaign and it looks good. However I noticed two very minor things on the flight map and mission description.

1. Some waypoints and the frontline have the descrpition "Translator Icon" (best to leave the name blank for frontline markings)
2. The mission description is missing for the german version of the game. Maybe for all other localisations besides the english as well haven't checked that.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by J99_Sizzlorr

[plepew]

10 hours ago, J99_Sizzlorr said:

Hey gagood,

 

I started the first mission of your Campaign and it looks good. However I noticed two very minor things on the flight map and mission description.

1. Some waypoints and the frontline have the descripition "Translator Icon" (best to leave the name blank for frontline markings)
2. The mission description is missing for the german version of the game. Maybe for all other localisations besides the english as well haven't checked that.

 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback.  The "Translator Icon" labels  must have slipped past me - easy to fix.   Regarding descriptions in other languages - I just checked another campaign and I see what you mean.  I'm guessing that when you identify your language in the settings, it will load the description for that language so better to at least have an english version rather than nothing at all!    Didn't realize that until now.   

 

Let me know if you see anything else.  I'll try to release a fix for these issues soon.

 

Best

Greg

15 hours ago, gascan said:

Is it possible to convert this to a coop campaign? I'd like to try flying it with my brother Kotori.

 

I don't have any experience building co-op campaigns.  Seems like a fair amount of work to develop and test - so that is not on my project list in the near future.   Sorry.   I'd be happy for anyone else to give it a shot though.       

[plepew]

On 12/31/2020 at 6:55 AM, J99_Sizzlorr said:

Hey gagood,

 

I started the first mission of your Campaign and it looks good. However I noticed two very minor things on the flight map and mission description.

1. Some waypoints and the frontline have the descrpition "Translator Icon" (best to leave the name blank for frontline markings)
2. The mission description is missing for the german version of the game. Maybe for all other localisations besides the english as well haven't checked that.

 

 

 

I'm not seeing the "translator icon" labels on any of the frontline waypoints for any of the missions. 

 

Here's what I see for Mission 1.    Can you share a screenshot to show me where they are appearing?

[J99_Sizzlorr]

 

@gagood17

 

It is because i fired the game up in german...

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by J99_Sizzlorr

[plepew]

Ok.  Got it.  I see how the localizations each require names for translator icons, translator subtitles, etc. in that language.  I think I can just duplicate the  **.eng file, for each language and it should work - meaning that the user will see the english language subtitles, labels, mission title, etc. regardless of their native language.    Let me do some testing...

 

 

42 minutes ago, J99_Sizzlorr said:

 

@gagood17

 

It is because i fired the game up in german...

 

 

 

Success!    I'll upload the fix in a little while.   

 

If you have the interest/time to provide a German translation, it can be done relatively easily in a text editor for the  **.ger files in the campaign folder.  I would be very happy to include those in a general release.    I'll include instructions in the download so that others can provide translations if they wish to.

 

Thanks again for pointing this out.

 

[Dornil]

Just flown mission 1 and got if as failed for some reason, although I took photos of 2/2 aerodromes, returned home and landed smoothly...

[WM_KMS]

3 hours ago, Dornil said:

Just flown mission 1 and got if as failed for some reason, although I took photos of 2/2 aerodromes, returned home and landed smoothly...

You need to also fly over and photograph the 2 cannon groups between the airfields, both are just north of the flight path on the map, watch for your gunner to direct you with a quick screen message.

[Dornil]

18 hours ago, WM_KMS said:

You need to also fly over and photograph the 2 cannon groups between the airfields

OK, got this one. Although my JAFO was silent most of the way, mentioning just the second airfiled at 12 o'clock.

Now, the second mission: according to debriefing I destroyed 10 trucks and 2 tanks, then landed at the airfield. Still it checks as failed and forced landing:(

[Snakeye]

FC is one of the best flight sims I've played (especially in VR mode).  I flew Typhoons in No 41 Sqn for a few years; it's nice to see the squadron in the game - can't wait to give your mini-campaign a spin!

Seek & Destroy!

Edited January 11, 2021 by Snakeye

[plepew]

On 1/10/2021 at 8:56 AM, Dornil said:

OK, got this one. Although my JAFO was silent most of the way, mentioning just the second airfiled at 12 o'clock.

Now, the second mission: according to debriefing I destroyed 10 trucks and 2 tanks, then landed at the airfield. Still it checks as failed and forced landing:(

 

Sounds like you have the HUD on.  That's important because you will often get important messages during the flight.  It's possible if you are too far off the flight path for the mission you are missing triggers for certain events.   I tried to make the detectors fairly large so that you don't have to be right on the flight path, but if you stray too far, you might miss them.    Finally, I added this to the readme file, but it is worth repeating.  None of the missions require you to land at your  airbase to succeed.  Once you see a "Mission Success" message, you are good to go.  This leave flying back home as an option.  

 

Thanks for this feedback.  This will help me to improve the missions.

 

Greg

 

 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

Very good campaign so far (4 missions in)! Well-written missions that are relatively CPU-friendly. Well done

 

I got fed up though with flying over the green countryside while it's supposed to be autumn, so I created a quick autumn mod that replaces the summer textures with its autumn versions. It started out as a mod mainly for myself, but I reckoned others might like to use it, so here it is:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/69056-mod-arras-autumn-map/

 

EDIT: this mod is now included with the Cambrai 1917 campaign, so it's not necessary to install it anymore. Of course, if you want to use it outside of the campaign (e.g. in quick missions), you will still need this mod so I'll keep this post for those reasons.

Edited March 29, 2021 by AEthelraedUnraed

[=IRFC=Gascan]

Well this is awkward. I just finished Mission 2, destroying 10 trucks and 5 tanks (I did a bit of strafing for practice as well). It said I completed a secondary objective, but not mission success. Is there something else that I missed, other than attacking the ground targets? I received an in-game message saying "good job, you have destroyed the required number of targets. You must return to base." One of my wingmen decided to run into a tree, and neither of them dropped their full amount of bombs. I am flying without navigation icons enabled, but the events log looked like I wasn't too far from the mission path.

Edited January 26, 2021 by gascan
add screenshot

[plepew]

Without giving anything away, you might be a bit too far from Waypoint 5 to trigger a key objective.   You are the second person to have this problem, so I'll work on an update.  I've just always used autopilot to navigate to/from targets but I am aware that there are folks who, like you, fly without the "cheat" of seeing your plane on the map.  I also need to update most of the mission files to register a successful landing at mission end rather than a forced landing.    Thanks for the feedback!   

[=IRFC=Gascan]

Thanks, I'll try it again and pay closer attention to my location.

[JSOflyer69]

Great scripted campaign I am on the 7th mission already.

great that more people are learning the ME,hope you will do more soon.

I myself am lazy to watch the vids to learn how to use the ME,I do wish it was slightly more easy to use ( it really can take days just to build a simple mission from scratch )

I myself do not have the patience,so it’s good news talented people like yourself are giving us good stuff

keep up the good work 

 

Ps I have made some effects groups I use,I will upload them later with instructions on how to use them on the groups sharing part of the forum

[jollyjack]

I really appreciate the efforts and work from video instruction makers. Alas i rarely can listen to them because all the information given i already know; 

if you need a small piece of special info it just takes too much time to find it, if it's there ...

[Off_Winters]

Hi gagood17,

I get this message when trying to download. I clicked on the request access link, and was advised I'd receive an email in due course.

regards Rob.



 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Off_Winters

[AEthelraedUnraed]

Me too... I think you may have forgotten to make the file accessible to the public ?

[plepew]

Sorry guys.  Don't know how that happened!!  It should work now.  

[Off_Winters]

4 hours ago, gagood17 said:

Sorry guys.  Don't know how that happened!!  It should work now.  

Thanks gagood17,

I have the files downloaded, looking forward to flying the campaign.

regards Rob.

[Dutch2]

Can not find the key function to make the photo camera activated, is there any of totally forgotten by Uglymedia. 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

3 hours ago, Dutch2 said:

Can not find the key function to make the photo camera activated, is there any of totally forgotten by Uglymedia. 

There isn't any. For now, the camera just functions as ballast.

 

By the way, that doesn't have anything to do with Ugramedia. There isn't any photo camera functionality programmed into the game, which is something that 1C has to do, it being a programming job. Without any functionality, there's no use for a button.

 

Perhaps in FC2...