Question about skins.

[Panzerlang]

Mentioning a bit of puzzlement first. I have all 16 WW2 skinpacks from the PWCG site but the app still reports 269 skins "missing".

Which leads to the question...does the app randomly load any available skins from BoX's skins' folder or only ones that have been coded into the PWCG app?

TIA.

Edited July 1, 2021 by Hetzer-JG51

[ringwraith_jp]

Yeah, I do have some questions as well. Some planes use skins from the wrong country. A-20s for example are usually using the wrong skins, with Soviet A-20s with American skins and vice versa. I dont know if I can and how to solve this.

[Panzerlang]

Lol, the search function worked for a change. So skins are a can of worms it would seem. Off the top of my code-ignorant head, would it be doable to have a separate skin folder for each unit in the campaign and the planes thereof be assigned a skin randomly from them? It would be up to the player to install skins of his/her choice into each folder. Maybe have two folders for each unit, a winter one and a non winter one. Or three, one for ace skins too. It's a bit of a shame that there are now literally thousands of superb skins but in combat we see so few of them.

Edited July 1, 2021 by Hetzer-JG51

[PatrickAWlson]

14 hours ago, Hetzer-JG51 said:

So skins are a can of worms it would seem. 

Umm ... yes

 

Some skins for summer.  Some for winter.  Some for early war.  Some for late war.  Some for this country and some for that.  Some for this unit, some for that.  Some for his ace and some for that.  Can't use a skin twice, unless it's a skin that can be used twice.  Can't use an ace skin for anybody other than that ace.

 

All of those scenarios are handled.  In some cases, like the A20, not as well as they need to be.

 

The skin analyzer reports the skins configured for PWCG that are not in the in game skins directory.  I got 48 missing when I ran it, over half of them Me109-G6

[Panzerlang]

I'll have a punt...the CG doesn't specifically ID specific skins, it has a criteria coded into it? So, for the CG to spawn Barkhorn's ace skin, there would have to be a skin that had

"Bf109G6_summer_early_germany_jg52_barkhorn" in its .dds tag?

or something like that? And if no skin meets the criteria of the coding, Barkhorn's plane would get a random or generic skin?

Edited July 2, 2021 by Hetzer-JG51

[PatrickAWlson]

1 hour ago, Hetzer-JG51 said:

I'll have a punt...the CG doesn't specifically ID specific skins, it has a criteria coded into it? So, for the CG to spawn Barkhorn's ace skin, there would have to be a skin that had

"Bf109G6_summer_early_germany_jg52_barkhorn" in its .dds tag?

or something like that? And if no skin meets the criteria of the coding, Barkhorn's plane would get a random or generic skin?

 

If you want an ace to use a skin then the skin has to be in the ace file.  In Barkhorn's ace file there would need to be a skin entry.  

If you want a squadron to use a skin as a unit level default then the skin entry has to be in the squadron file.

If you have a skin that is more specific then it has to be configured in the aircraft's skin file.

[Panzerlang]

6 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

 

If you want an ace to use a skin then the skin has to be in the ace file.  In Barkhorn's ace file there would need to be a skin entry.  

If you want a squadron to use a skin as a unit level default then the skin entry has to be in the squadron file.

If you have a skin that is more specific then it has to be configured in the aircraft's skin file.

How about if you wanted a squadron to have more than one skin (eg, a different skin for each plane in that squadron)? Is that possible with your code as it stands? Just curious but with a mind towards it happening. Lol. I could put in a lot of time re-naming skins to meet the code's criteria (if that even makes sense, I have no idea).

[PatrickAWlson]

1 hour ago, Hetzer-JG51 said:

How about if you wanted a squadron to have more than one skin (eg, a different skin for each plane in that squadron)? Is that possible with your code as it stands? Just curious but with a mind towards it happening. Lol. I could put in a lot of time re-naming skins to meet the code's criteria (if that even makes sense, I have no idea).

 

There is only one default skin at a time.  However, in the skins configured by plane you can designate a skin for use by a specific squadron.  This tells PWCG that the skin is an individual skin but has squadron markings.

[Panzerlang]

Would it be 'easily' possible to extend the current ability to give each AI pilot in ones own squadron a unique skin to all the squadrons?

[PatrickAWlson]

It's already there.  Go to Campaign->Personnel->Skin Management

[Panzerlang]

3 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

It's already there.  Go to Campaign->Personnel->Skin Management

I mean to make it possible to do the same for all the squadrons in the campaign. I'm in I/JG51 and can assign unique skins to all my AI comrades (and my brother). Would it be possible to add a function where I could do the same for all the squadrons, friendly and enemy too?

[PatrickAWlson]

10 hours ago, Hetzer-JG51 said:

I mean to make it possible to do the same for all the squadrons in the campaign. I'm in I/JG51 and can assign unique skins to all my AI comrades (and my brother). Would it be possible to add a function where I could do the same for all the squadrons, friendly and enemy too?

 

A simple drop down that lets you pick a squadron and switches the names would not be hard.  However, that would interfere with the existing logic.  There is also the work 1C is doing to apply markings, as has been done with the P-51.  Also need to avoid duplications and recycle skins from downed pilots.

 

The existing skin logic predates the time when every pilot and plane was tracked.  Having every pilot and plane individually modeled offers new possibilities.  I'm not sure if the new marking system makes life more difficult or easier.  Probably a bit of both.  

 

Let me think about it.