PWCG 11.9.0 Beta Posted

[PatrickAWlson]

PWCG Beta Here

 

PWCG Beta is posted.  I installs into PWCGBoSBeta and will not overwrite your current PWCG install.  BoS only as the changes that I need tested really have to do with blowing up large structures.  

 

PWCG 11.9.0 contains significant additions that will allow players top destroy structures and static vehicles (planes and trucks) and be credited.  There is also a significant restructuring of mission target priorities to give level bombers more static targets while attack flights still get more moving targets.  I don't want to get into every aspect of 11.9.0.  What I need most is people willing to test the destruction and claiming of structures.

 

There are  limitations.  In attack missions the AI will not attack static targets or structures.  Also, static targets and structures are not marked with icons.  Finally, only certain static structures count.  You don't get credit for blowing up a village.  Without icons you're going to have to identify them yourself.  Valid structures include industrial, port, warehouse, and rail facilities, as well as hangars.  Also churches, because i just have a sick sense of humor.

 

Edited January 17, 2021 by PatrickAWlson

[busdriver]

Standing by for incoming. 

[Dutch2]

@PatrickAWlson  Do not forget Lydia’s dearest friend Budanova. I know she is not the prettiest woman and that is maybe also the cause she never received the popularity status as Litvyak, but she belongs to have a place in history of famous female combat pilots. For the rest I can wait for the 11.9.1

 

BTW, I’m also very curious on what I did wrong. 

Edited January 17, 2021 by Dutch2

[PatrickAWlson]

Posted.  See OP.

[busdriver]

Used unlimited ammo option. PWCG options (e.g. target density) left at default settings.

 

Stalingrad A-20 career, Dec 1 attacked Pitomnik airfield first (lots of vehicles scattered around) then up to Gumrak airfield and the railway station in the village of Gumrak. Got credit for ammo dumps, fuel dumps, at both airfields in game but NOT in the PWCG debrief. Got credit for Gumrak railway station facility in game (only recall seeing the message once), got credit for two of those in the PWCG debrief. In game credit for trucks/vehicles at both airfields but only vehicles at Gumrak in PWCG. In fact did not get PWCG credit for anything destroyed at Pitomnik airfield (flak, trucks, ammo or fuel).

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by busdriver

[PatrickAWlson]

20 hours ago, busdriver said:

Used unlimited ammo option. PWCG options (e.g. target density) left at default settings.

 

Stalingrad A-20 career, Dec 1 attacked Pitomnik airfield first (lots of vehicles scattered around) then up to Gumrak airfield and the railway station in the village of Gumrak. Got credit for ammo dumps, fuel dumps, at both airfields in game but NOT in the PWCG debrief. Got credit for Gumrak railway station facility in game (only recall seeing the message once), got credit for two of those in the PWCG debrief. In game credit for trucks/vehicles at both airfields but only vehicles at Gumrak in PWCG. In fact did not get PWCG credit for anything destroyed at Pitomnik airfield (flak, trucks, ammo or fuel).

 

 

Can you press "report error" and post the zip?  I want to see what's in the logs.

[busdriver]

2 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Can you press "report error" and post the zip?  I want to see what's in the logs.

 

Apologies, I've replayed the mission twice, didn't think to "report error." Having said that, since I've replayed the mission, I've noticed that I was getting frequent "busdriver incurs penalty for firing on friendly" when I was the only Allied airplane attacking an enemy airfield. I could not distinguish a consistent target that caused the penalty. I attacked Voroponova, Pitomnik, and Gumrak. I first noticed it at Pitomnik (which was not heavily populated compared to the other two airfields) when I bombed fuel and ammo stores on the west side of the field. I took screen shots at Gumrak.

 

FWIW the "report error" for this latest mission has to do with unable to complete the AAR (since I'd already done that the first sortie I reckon). Anyway, I'll fly the next mission and repeat the attacks on these airfields...then compare the in game credits with PWCG. Again my apologies.

 

I managed to blow up the fuel and ammo on the west side of Pitomnik as well as a flak position (the only item showing) on the northeast perimeter. 

 

 

At Gumrak, a handful of Ju-87s were in the pattern (ignoring me) and a few 109s chased me the entire time. I post this series just so you can see the time stamp, and get a sense that I attacked something different on each pass. Perhaps merely dropping in the vicinity of something deemed friendly triggered the penalty, rather than four different friendly entities.

 

 

After attacking some "dugout" looking structures on the SW side I got this first penalty at Gumrak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[busdriver]

I flew the next mission (again with the default PWCG density settings). Observation not critique: In some case like this mission my one year old PC suffers massive Time Dilation. I noted some capsized/burning ships on the frozen Volga whilst flying up toward Stalingrad. I had to Alt+F4 quit this mission after 10 minutes, adjusted the density setting and generated a new mission. 

 

The latest mission was a two ship medium altitude drop on infantry out west. I didn't follow the planned route out west to the assigned target. I flew up the Volga to Voroponova and Pitomnik. I was able to watch ships spawn in the air and settle down to the river.

 

 

 

 

I destroyed some static vehicles and a flak position up north near the airfields that were barren in terms of structures. The in game credits and PWCG mission credits matched.

 

When I got to our assigned target, there were four AI bits (anti-tank gun, and 3 machine gun positions) fairly close to a line of four Russian positions. There were no static vehicles that I could find.  I bombed the anti-tank position that was within a km of the friendly AI and incurred the penalty for firing on a friendly.

 

 

The arrow points to the anti-tank position, yellow box two machine guns, and the pink box friendly positions. I did get credit for the gun. I'm just wondering if the close separation from the friendly positions is triggering this. A limitation of the game I reckon.

 

 

A flight of IL-2s arrived and took out the two machine gun positions. My Flight Lead arrived overhead and dropped in close proximity to the destroyed German guns. Attached is the error report.

 

Bomber test202101191501757.zip

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

The Ai will not attack "blocks".  Blocks include bridges, hangars, other buildings, and static planes, trucks, and trains.  For level bombing missions it's not a big deal.  I tell the AI to attack a location and they drop their bombs on that location.  Attack missions are different.  The AI chooses its target.  If I give you an attack mission with an airfield or a bridge as a target the AI will attack nothing.  It will just circle and get shot at.

 

Now let's go back to another AI quirk: AI prefers to attack AAA over all else.  In order to to make the AI not do this I made all AA not engageable.  That paid dividends as the Ai now attacks more useful targets.

 

So, if I do nothing else the AI will just circle bridges and airfields getting shot at because it won't attack structures and is told not to attack AA.  So what I did today is make AA near bridges and airfields engageable again while keeping other AA not engageable.  This way, if you attack a bridge or airfield your AI mates should go for the AA and at least provide some value.  This can obviously lead to some quirks.  If you are attacking infantry and the infantry is near a bridge then there will be engageable AA in the area, which the AI may choose to go for even though you may prefer otherwise.  Seems a reasonable tradeoff.

 

Been working over the code a bit today.  I added towers as a destructible airfield object.  This also helps to identify airfields for targeting purposes as many do not have hangars.  

 

 

[Cybermat47]

14 minutes ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Now let's go back to another AI quirk: AI prefers to attack AAA over all else.  In order to to make the AI not do this I made all AA not engageable.  That paid dividends as the Ai now attacks more useful targets.

 

So, if I do nothing else the AI will just circle bridges and airfields getting shot at because it won't attack structures and is told not to attack AA.  So what I did today is make AA near bridges and airfields engageable again while keeping other AA not engageable.  This way, if you attack a bridge or airfield your AI mates should go for the AA and at least provide some value.  This can obviously lead to some quirks.  If you are attacking infantry and the infantry is near a bridge then there will be engageable AA in the area, which the AI may choose to go for even though you may prefer otherwise.  Seems a reasonable tradeoff.

Awesome! This should improve ground attack missions immensely 

[PatrickAWlson]

@busdriver About the "you may have killed a friendly" messages: I recreated it.  Game bug?  I'm not sure.  I blew up two airfield ammo containers.  These items did not have entities so I'm surprised they even counted as anything.  Their nation was definitely correct (German in my case.  I was flying Russian).  Shrug

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by PatrickAWlson