AAA mod

[JG4_Moltke1871]

On 1/13/2024 at 1:54 AM, Stonehouse said:

Promoted the beta version to release. No further tweaks - got my fingers crossed that the M-14 flak changes fixed things for WW1 people.

 

updated EMG attack range mod should be released within a couple of days....which I think will mean I have finally caught up with post 5.201 changes to mods.

Hi @Stonehouse, sorry for late answer but it is simply caused by real life.

About the M14 Maxim flak:

Before you changed the M14 caused heavy losses on a simple patrol flight on the N11 mission provided in missions by the game (5 of 7 planes). Without your mod was 1 of 7 planes. In your newest mod version the Maximum guns not open fire, so it’s obviously too weak now.

 

like I said, I can recommend the N11 mission for comparisons 

 

[Stonehouse]

24 minutes ago, JG4_Moltke1871 said:

Hi @Stonehouse, sorry for late answer but it is simply caused by real life.

About the M14 Maxim flak:

Before you changed the M14 caused heavy losses on a simple patrol flight on the N11 mission provided in missions by the game (5 of 7 planes). Without your mod was 1 of 7 planes. In your newest mod version the Maximum guns not open fire, so it’s obviously too weak now.

 

like I said, I can recommend the N11 mission for comparisons 

 

That's ok Moltke, thanks for the feedback. Can you advise whether you were within 1500m of the M14s? If you were that is an issue otherwise you were simply out of their effective range as I understand it to be based on various things I've seen. I can extend their range back out to 3000m if you think it is more correct although I believe this was their theoretical range rather than their practical range. If I did this then I would likely need to radically change their accuracy. 

[JG4_Moltke1871]

1 hour ago, Stonehouse said:

That's ok Moltke, thanks for the feedback. Can you advise whether you were within 1500m of the M14s? If you were that is an issue otherwise you were simply out of their effective range as I understand it to be based on various things I've seen. I can extend their range back out to 3000m if you think it is more correct although I believe this was their theoretical range rather than their practical range. If I did this then I would likely need to radically change their accuracy. 

That’s a good question… 3000 meters is maybe too much for a recon plane like Fe2b. By the way the altitude in the N11 mission is about 1500-1700 meters + range to the frontline. 
I experienced so far the effectiveness of M14 without your mod seems ok…. How about simply copy the vanilla game data’s for that weapon? 
later I can report it works well or not 

[Stonehouse]

9 hours ago, JG4_Moltke1871 said:

How about simply copy the vanilla game data’s for that weapon

I thought I was close already to vanilla - less accurate but close - other than aiming range and actual max range for the M14. Thing is vanilla limits mg class weapons to 1000m aiming distance by the bots - M14 is classed as an MG - they ignore targets past this range and won't even change weapon orientation in preparation to fire. This is even if the target is obviously closing in and you would get ready if you were crewing the weapon in real life.

 

I move aiming range not firing out a lot more than that to make the AAA crews more responsive as that was a major complaint about stock AAA. The vanilla max range for the M14 is 3000m - my understanding was this was the theoretical range but due to fusing tech and sight tech at the time the realistic range was 1500m or thereabouts. 

 

So I can copy across the accuracy numbers and theoretical range so that the M14 works as stock but aims and fires out past the mg range of 1000m but I am not sure you'll like the result. I believe this will give you the situation you originally raised as an issue. I'll post up a beta set up this way when I get some spare time.

Edited January 27, 2024 by Stonehouse

[JG4_Moltke1871]

1 minute ago, Stonehouse said:

I thought I was close already to vanilla - less accurate but close - other than aiming range and actual max range for the M14. Thing is vanilla limits mg class weapons to 1000m aiming distance by the bots - M14 is classed as an MG. I move aiming range not firing out a lot more than that to make the AAA crews more responsive as that was a major complaint about stock AAA. The vanilla max range for the M14 is 3000m - my understanding was this was the theoretical range but due to fusing tech and sight tech at the time the realistic range was 1500m or thereabouts. 

 

So I can copy across the accuracy numbers and theoretical range so that the M14 works as stock but aims and fires out past the mg range of 1000m but I am not sure you'll like the result. I'll post up a beta when I get some spare time.

To prevent misunderstandings :

Isn’t the M14 a hotchkiss machine gun?

Is the 3,7 cm Maxim aa also a M 14?

[Stonehouse]

18 minutes ago, JG4_Moltke1871 said:

To prevent misunderstandings :

Isn’t the M14 a hotchkiss machine gun?

Is the 3,7 cm Maxim aa also a M 14?

Ok I'm happy to be corrected as I am not a WW1 buff.......my understanding is that the maksim4aa weapon is a quad maxim MG mount that was introduced in the period between WW1 and WW2 and was still used by the Soviets during WW2. Description in the turret file is "Maxim quadruple machine gun" and it has been defined as firing a Russian 7.62mm bullet.

 

The M-14 is a 37mm HE firing gun like an early Bofors or Flak 43 as I understand it.  The turret file description is "Maxim Flak M14 anti-aircraft gun" and it has been defined as firing a 37mm HE shell with an explosive radius and shrapnel damage as per any shell firing weapon. ie it is not a bullet firing MG. I've seen various sources giving its effective range as around 5000ft or approx 1500m.

 

German AA gun. 37-mm Maxim-Nordenfelt ? - Other Equipment - The Great War (1914-1918) Forum (greatwarforum.org)

Flaming onions – 5 shots? (theaerodrome.com)

 

Apparently the M-14 was a rear area gun for use near observation balloons and supply/ troop marshalling areas as it was too heavy for use at the front lines. Seems like there was an S-Flak gun that was more mobile and used for front line positions.

 

Seems like the British and other countries also used the M-14 under different names (eg British QF-1) although it was even less successful than it was for the Germans due to its lack of range. British tried it for anti Zepplin work around London and it failed badly apparently.

Edited January 27, 2024 by Stonehouse

[Stonehouse]

@JG4_Moltke1871

 

Hi Moltke,

On revisiting the M14 from the last release I find I may have created a bug. Please add this test mod to your collection and load it after the AAA mod. JSGME will ask you if it is ok to overlay some files from the AAA mod - say ok. 

 

Then test again and see if the M14 will now shoot at you. Still has a max eff range of 1500m. 

 

If it now works then I did create a bug and will have to upload a new version including this fix.

 

 

AAAmod - m14 only test.zip

[JG4_Moltke1871]

8 hours ago, Stonehouse said:

@JG4_Moltke1871

 

Hi Moltke,

On revisiting the M14 from the last release I find I may have created a bug. Please add this test mod to your collection and load it after the AAA mod. JSGME will ask you if it is ok to overlay some files from the AAA mod - say ok. 

 

Then test again and see if the M14 will now shoot at you. Still has a max eff range of 1500m. 

 

If it now works then I did create a bug and will have to upload a new version including this fix.

 

 

AAAmod - m14 only test.zip 5.62 kB · 1 download

The guns opened fire, one of our plane was shot down on the way and I was shot down while careless flying above em in 1500-1800 meters

[Stonehouse]

10 hours ago, JG4_Moltke1871 said:

The guns opened fire, one of our plane was shot down on the way and I was shot down while careless flying above em in 1500-1800 meters

Ok so it sounds like I did indeed stuff up. If you feel the M14 is still overly deadly please let me know. I will push up a fixed version early next week.

[Stonehouse]

Fix for M-14 flak in first post. Note if you only fly WW2 then no requirement to download this 29 Jan 2024 version.

[Youtch]

I don t know if you have seen the cinematic flak from Combat box thread, quite interesting

[Stonehouse]

4 hours ago, Youtch said:

I don t know if you have seen the cinematic flak from Combat box thread, quite interesting

I have now, is it a rate of fire mod and skill mod perhaps? So, there is no change in unit numbers, but a particular unit puts out a lot more shells per sec?

I built a virtual flak script for DCS a long time ago as there was a period of several years where there was WW2 aircraft but no ground units and that had a flak barrage like that. It was essentially spawning random flak bursts in a 3d space via a trigger that fired when the aircraft entered the trigger zone. I don't think we have the necessary editor hooks to run external scripts here nor a way to spawn an explosion in a controlled way at a xyz co-ordinate. 

[Hook_Echo]

I upped the fire rate on your mod I dunno last year sometime. It worked, but they are doing something else too. I don't know how they're getting the guns to lead the targets that much. That is when I gave up.

[Stonehouse]

1 hour ago, Hook_Echo said:

I don't know how they're getting the guns to lead the targets that much.

Possibly could just be very large dispersion error or gunner error as I believe this impacts each dimension making it look like it is lead when in fact it is just error in the direction lead would be. The majority of bursts still look behind or level with the aircraft. The effect being tweaked is just a variation of the Heavy AAA effects mod. Very interesting in any case. Maybe they can be persuaded to share the secret. If it was a rof mod then you'd need to pick a gun and dedicate it to cinematic flak. eg flak 38-39 for the Axis and either M1A1 or QF37 for Allied. I don't think you can add a new unit only recycle an existing one. If it is script based instead ie no physical gun then someone has been very clever.

[Stonehouse]

Just realised that Vander has released v82 of EMG, looks like I need to rejig the EMG AAA attack range mod again. I'm away part of the upcoming week so it may take a little while to update the mod.

[Stonehouse]

On 2/11/2024 at 1:07 PM, Stonehouse said:

Just realised that Vander has released v82 of EMG, looks like I need to rejig the EMG AAA attack range mod again. I'm away part of the upcoming week so it may take a little while to update the mod.

 

Finally caught up on updates. EMG AAA attack range mod updated in first post. EMGv821 ready.

[Stonehouse]

FYI - haven't been able to download either the patch or emg update due to issues with my internet connection. Will have to wait until it's fixed before I can check whether my mods need updating. Limping along on a low data phone hotspot at present.

Edited February 20, 2024 by Stonehouse

[Stonehouse]

On 2/21/2024 at 10:15 AM, Stonehouse said:

FYI - haven't been able to download either the patch or emg update due to issues with my internet connection. Will have to wait until it's fixed before I can check whether my mods need updating. Limping along on a low data phone hotspot at present.

 

For what it is worth some things I can still do with limited internet

1. checking the last beta test version of the 5.202 patch against 5.201 files I cannot see that there were any changes required to the AAA mod, AAA heavy flak effects. I cannot be sure that the last beta test version is exactly the same as the release version of the 5.202 patch, but it is very likely to be identical at least in the area of AAA. I believe you should be ok to use these ones.
2. There were QMB and career changes so it is reasonable to expect that the AQMB_QMB and career AAA attack range mod will need an update. Probably would not recommend using the mod until I have checked and updated. 
3. Vander released a new EMG version. Therefore, the EMG AAA attack range mod is also not recommended until it has been updated.

 

Unfortunately, where I am there are two parties involved in 99% of broadband connections. The ISP and the national broadband network. I seem to have fallen into the crack between the two so I am not optimistic of a quick resolution to the issue as they keep wanting to palm the problem off to the other party and you cannot even really talk to the NBN people except via your ISP. Pretty shite is a fair description of how things work here.

[Stonehouse]

On 2/22/2024 at 2:48 PM, Stonehouse said:

 

For what it is worth some things I can still do with limited internet

1. checking the last beta test version of the 5.202 patch against 5.201 files I cannot see that there were any changes required to the AAA mod, AAA heavy flak effects. I cannot be sure that the last beta test version is exactly the same as the release version of the 5.202 patch, but it is very likely to be identical at least in the area of AAA. I believe you should be ok to use these ones.
2. There were QMB and career changes so it is reasonable to expect that the AQMB_QMB and career AAA attack range mod will need an update. Probably would not recommend using the mod until I have checked and updated. 
3. Vander released a new EMG version. Therefore, the EMG AAA attack range mod is also not recommended until it has been updated.

 

Unfortunately, where I am there are two parties involved in 99% of broadband connections. The ISP and the national broadband network. I seem to have fallen into the crack between the two so I am not optimistic of a quick resolution to the issue as they keep wanting to palm the problem off to the other party and you cannot even really talk to the NBN people except via your ISP. Pretty shite is a fair description of how things work here.

 

Was able to update to 5.202 via a friend's mobile data plan.

• Confirmed that the main AAA mod is fine post patch
• Confirmed AAA Heavy flak effects fine post patch
• Believe AQMB_QMB and career AAA attack range mod does need updates but I probably won't get an update out for a bit as this one is always hard due to the 100's of files to check.
• EMG attack range mod confirmed as needing an update. Should be able to do something for this by the end of next week.

 

Edited February 25, 2024 by Stonehouse

[Stonehouse]

23 hours ago, Stonehouse said:

 

Was able to update to 5.202 via a friend's mobile data plan.

• Confirmed that the main AAA mod is fine post patch
• Confirmed AAA Heavy flak effects fine post patch
• Believe AQMB_QMB and career AAA attack range mod does need updates but I probably won't get an update out for a bit as this one is always hard due to the 100's of files to check.
• EMG attack range mod confirmed as needing an update. Should be able to do something for this by the end of next week.

 

 

On checking further, I realised that I was mistaken. The templates for EMG have not changed after all between v821 and v83.

 

Therefore, the EMG attack range mod is fine post 5.202 and v83.

[Letka_13/Arrow_]

After a few missions with the new patch I feel that accuracy of the AAA has been increased internally and with the mod my flight got slaughtered by AAA. I will test it some more to see if that's really the case with AAA test missions.

[LF_Mark_Krieger]

On 2/26/2024 at 9:11 AM, Letka_13/Arrow_ said:

After a few missions with the new patch I feel that accuracy of the AAA has been increased internally and with the mod my flight got slaughtered by AAA. I will test it some more to see if that's really the case with AAA test missions.

I did 6 missions with the mod on the Steel Birds campaign and had the feeling that heavy AAA is more accurate. It killed some wingmen and almost got me a few times (i turn constantly to prevent). I would say I prefer the feeling compared with the base game, but perhaps in missions with high density of AAA could be too much. I'll have to test more to give a more solid oppinion.

Edited February 27, 2024 by LF_Mark_Krieger

[Stonehouse]

Happy to get feedback but be sure to classify the AAA you feel is an issue properly. If possible, give the AAA skill level (noting that career is also low skill) and whether it is heavy or light AAA and what sort of altitude and approx distance from the AAA you were and what sort of situation was in play at the time you felt there was an issue. Also remember that if you are the flight lead with AI wingman that if you weave gently when under fire they will follow you. I know pure AI flights won't maneuver when under AAA fire.

[LF_Mark_Krieger]

9 hours ago, Stonehouse said:

Happy to get feedback but be sure to classify the AAA you feel is an issue properly. If possible, give the AAA skill level (noting that career is also low skill) and whether it is heavy or light AAA and what sort of altitude and approx distance from the AAA you were and what sort of situation was in play at the time you felt there was an issue. Also remember that if you are the flight lead with AI wingman that if you weave gently when under fire they will follow you. I know pure AI flights won't maneuver when under AAA fire.

Sure. For now this are just (good) sensations and not an acurate valoration. I'll try to do a more accurate analysis with time and the use of the tacview.

[ralf_maeder]

I am trying to download the mods linked on page 1, but they are not available. Please consider to upload them to an alternative site. Keep up the great work.

Greetings from Guatemala, Central America.

 

With regards Ralf Maeder

Edited February 27, 2024 by ralf_maeder
ortographic

[Stonehouse]

6 hours ago, ralf_maeder said:

I am trying to download the mods linked on page 1, but they are not available. Please consider to upload them to an alternative site. Keep up the great work.

Greetings from Guatemala, Central America.

 

With regards Ralf Maeder

 

That's really odd, all the files are uploaded to this forum so should be there for you. The only thing I can think of is that I have noticed in the past that if I am not logged into the forum that download links will display as not available. Are you absolutely sure that you were logged in when trying to download?

[ralf_maeder]

1 hour ago, Stonehouse said:

 

That's really odd, all the files are uploaded to this forum so should be there for you. The only thing I can think of is that I have noticed in the past that if I am not logged into the forum that download links will display as not available. Are you absolutely sure that you were logged in when trying to download?

Dear Stonehouse,

 

I doublechecked right now. I am logged in the forum and still your mods won't download with Edge.

Strange indeed. I tried with all Norton, Malware, Firewall etc. disabled and not possible with Edge.

And I am certainly no beginner with computer nor Windows.

 

Now I used another browser (DuckduckGo) and with that browser I was finally able to download.

 

Thanks anyways for your answer.

 

With regards, Ralf Maeder.

 

[Stonehouse]

1 minute ago, ralf_maeder said:

still your mods won't download with Edge.

 

Ok really strange. I can download my own mods or other peoples with both Edge and Chrome without problems.

 

Could your issue be a browser setting?

 

Can you download other people's mods from the forum pages?

 

When you say "unavailable" do you mean that the download link is marked with that text like the pic below or do you experience an error in actually doing the download?

 

This pic is what I see when I am signed out from the forum. 

[ralf_maeder]

Stonehouse, on Edge I see the size of the mod and the number of downloads, but clicking on it, it does not download. 

I can download successfully mods from other threads, but these normally use mediafire or googledrive. I couldn't find another creator who links directly to Zip files, maybe you could point me to one?

 

Yesterday I also tried Duckduckgo and it displayed Unavailable, just like in your screenshot. Today Duckduckgo displayed size and download number and the download was successful. 

 

I have no idea what may be the cause, but some kind of protection that slipped my attention is probable. Maybe uploading your mods in a different way could solve this riddle, though if I am the only one that is affected, then don't bother.

 

---------

 

Stonehouse, I have a question in respect to your 4 mods. Am I supposed to install all 4 of them or are they to be used only for certain scenarios, career or quick missions?

 

If they have different use cases, could you please explain those?

 

With regards, Ralf Maeder.

Edited February 28, 2024 by ralf_maeder

[Stonehouse]

1 hour ago, ralf_maeder said:

Stonehouse, on Edge I see the size of the mod and the number of downloads, but clicking on it, it does not download. 

I can download successfully mods from other threads, but these normally use mediafire or googledrive. I couldn't find another creator who links directly to Zip files, maybe you could point me to one?

 

Yesterday I also tried Duckduckgo and it displayed Unavailable, just like in your screenshot. Today Duckduckgo displayed size and download number and the download was successful. 

 

I have no idea what may be the cause, but some kind of protection that slipped my attention is probable. Maybe uploading your mods in a different way could solve this riddle, though if I am the only one that is affected, then don't bother.

 

---------

 

Stonehouse, I have a question in respect to your 4 mods. Am I supposed to install all 4 of them or are they to be used only for certain scenarios, career or quick missions?

 

If they have different use cases, could you please explain those?

 

With regards, Ralf Maeder.

 

 

Ok it's really weird. Link below is to a recent sun mod by someone else that is also hosted on the forum. If you see the same issue it would logically tend to indicate that is something like a browser setting I would guess but I've no clue which one. A rar file is used for the sun lens.........I did get complaints about downloads from a small number of people ages ago when I used 7zip to package my mods and so I changed to zip instead. It'll be interesting to hear how you go with the sun mod.

 

 

In answer to your other question

• AAA mod - this one changes the bot files that control error and initial bracketing for AAA fire. Pretty much it increases error and how quickly the first bracketing shots close in on the target. It also corrects a few historical inaccuracies in the stock game for rate of fire, effective range etc.
• AAA Heavy flak effects mod - this one changes the look of the heavy flak explosions you see in game. So a purely graphical mod.
• EMG AAA attack range mod - this one is used in conjunction with the Easy Mission Generator tool by Vander. Vander uses approx 5000-6000m as the range to trigger AAA units activation and also the same sort of range as limit to their effective range. This is done via MCU settings in mission editor components. EMG essentially programmatically generates missions using template mission files. While I really like the EMG tool I feel that this sort of range means that the AAA activates way too late considering the rotational speed of the large guns and also is only 50-75% of their real effective range. It means they often cannot rotate fast enough to fire before the target goes out of range and also that not many shots can be fired before the target is directly overhead the area being defended. In my mod I override the template used for AAA so that they will activate at around 10000m and be able to fire out to their true effect range so that AAA gives a much more accurate depiction of real life in EMG missions.
• AQMB_QMB and career AAA attack range mod - this is similar to the EMG AAA attack range mod but for AQMB and career missions and is for the same reason. AQMB and career missions are generated using configuration files containing sections of mission code to define all sorts of things and these sections are programmatically put together to create a mission. Again a smaller range is used on a lot of AAA. So my mod overrides this. Please note that at present this mod is not in sync with version 5.202 and should not be used and as I indicated a few posts up I am working on updating it. It's hundreds of files to check so it takes quite a while. I probably should comment in this regard on the first page to make it more clear to newcomers.

So the AAA mod and AAA Heavy flak mod can be used together or separately. The other two only affect missions generated by the relevant tool so you can have them enabled all the time or just enable them when about to use one of the mission generation tools. I tend to run all 4 enabled when they are up to date with the game version as that is the most convenient for me. The main mod however is the AAA mod as that affects game play in any mission. All the others are optional.

Edited February 28, 2024 by Stonehouse

[ralf_maeder]

Stonehouse, many thanks for your explanation about what each one of the 4 mods does or is intended for. I'll have to study it tomorrow. 

 

I opened the mod thread that you provided as an example for a download and I can confirm that the RAR-file in that link also refuses to download with Edge on my computer (Windows 10 Pro). No problem on the other hand with the third party browser "DuckduckGo", which indeed leads as the culprit to some security feature either from Edge itself or another extension that was activated by Norton.

 

I guess with the advancement of complexity of software, operating systems and security software, these kind of oddities are more difficult to sort out by the hour.

 

With regards, Ralf Maeder.

[creamersdream]

On 2/27/2024 at 9:43 PM, ralf_maeder said:

Stonehouse, many thanks for your explanation about what each one of the 4 mods does or is intended for. I'll have to study it tomorrow. 

 

I opened the mod thread that you provided as an example for a download and I can confirm that the RAR-file in that link also refuses to download with Edge on my computer (Windows 10 Pro). No problem on the other hand with the third party browser "DuckduckGo", which indeed leads as the culprit to some security feature either from Edge itself or another extension that was activated by Norton.

 

I guess with the advancement of complexity of software, operating systems and security software, these kind of oddities are more difficult to sort out by the hour.

 

With regards, Ralf Maeder.

 Hi, Norton safe web extension was blocking me from downloading the files on the 1st page.So I disable it and now everything downloads normally. It's new to me, never happened before.

Edited March 1, 2024 by creamersdream

[Stonehouse]

49 minutes ago, creamersdream said:

 Hi, Norton safe web extension was blocking me from downloading the files on the 1st page.So I disable it and now everything downloads normally. It's new to me, never happened before.

 

Very odd. Perhaps it just dislikes zip files generally? All the files in the AAA mod and the others related to the AAA mod other than the Heavy AAA effects mod are text files I believe so would have thought any virus scanner would pass them as ok. I guess it is possible that a virus checker might trigger on the effects mod as it includes efx files which are hexadecimal files.

Edited March 1, 2024 by Stonehouse

[Stonehouse]

AQMB_QMB and career AAA attack range updated to 5.202 (finally.........)

[Stonehouse]

Inspired by some posts in the multiplayer forum and some other messaging I've had of late, I thought I would muck around and see if I could create a flak field generator as often creating a decent flak barrage requires so many AA guns that it impacts fps or because AI don't avoid flak barrages and they die in droves like lemmings it only works for human pilots who dodge. Plus, sometimes people may just want some immersion without it being suicidal. I know in the past people have asked me about something like this.

 

My aim here is a little different from other similar type mods that are out there as I intend this primarily for mission builders where they place the generator/s somewhere far enough out from the target area they are not too visible to players in aircraft but are close enough to be in range of the attackers. Then place some real AAA guns near the target to provide the actual primary threat to the attacking aircraft. This should result in a balanced defense combined with a proper barrage simulation. Potentially the generators could be placed in cities etc to represent "environmental" flak from larger unit sized AAA defenses without the overhead of placing lots of AI units. I am assuming placement of the flak field generators would be done in a believable and logical fashion to simulate larger heavy flak defenses rather than everywhere to give random encounters without reason. As the flak field generators are largely cosmetic they need to be used sensibly in conjunction with real AAA defences.

 

Some places where my attempt may differ from others. 

• It recycles the flak38-39 AAA gun as my understanding from reading various references is that while they were deployed as mobile AAA that they were generally used for static defense of rear areas. Therefore, for the most part players will not miss this weapon in its historical guise as there are plenty of other AAA of 88mm or lower caliber.
• I've assumed that it would be used with my AAA Heavy flak effects mod but that's optional.
• The modded flak38-39 becomes a flak field generator that can be used for either allied or axis. I have increased the rate of fire by a factor of 12. I have also reduced the damage generated by the air burst explosion and tweaked the error values and other factors to help generate a useful flak field without the field being instantly lethal. It is still possible to take damage, but you would be unlucky. I have also changed the definitions in the mod such that a physical shell is no longer used in game as I felt this would help preserve FPS. The sound and feel of the explosion near your aircraft will still be that of a large caliber HE shell - it just doesn't cause that level of damage. The bot and the shell definitions are completely custom and do not overlap any other file in my AAA mod or the stock game. The turret definition in the flak field generator mod will overwrite the turret definition of the flak 38-39 in either the stock game or my AAA mod however and therefore the flak 38-39 will no longer be available as a normal AAA gun when the flak field generator mod is enabled.
• I would tend to give flak generators an activation check zone of 15000m range to give them time to turn and aim and an MCU attack area that allows them to fire out their effective range of approx 12000m as they are really more a barrage simulation than aimed fire.
• Due to the vastly increased ROF you don't want them too close to the area of interest for the mission as they are fairly visible due to their muzzle flash.
• The video below uses 6 flak generators. I used EMG to create the mission so haven't used the prior bullet point's ranges just because it was more convenient for testing. To create the equivalent flak field with stock or AAA mod versions of either the flak 37 or flak 38-39 or the allied equivalent would require me to place approx. 72 guns (depends on the ROF of the placed guns). I am using my AAA heavy flak effects mod in the video. I have not placed any true AAA defenses at the airfield.

If people feel that the flak field generator mod is something that would be useful then I'll post it up sometime this week.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2024 by Stonehouse

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

3 hours ago, Stonehouse said:

Inspired by some posts in the multiplayer forum and some other messaging I've had of late, I thought I would muck around and see if I could create a flak field generator as often creating a decent flak barrage requires so many AA guns that it impacts fps or because AI don't avoid flak barrages and they die in droves like lemmings it only works for human pilots who dodge. Plus, sometimes people may just want some immersion without it being suicidal. I know in the past people have asked me about something like this.

 

My aim here is a little different from other similar type mods that are out there as I intend this primarily for mission builders where they place the generator/s somewhere far enough out from the target area they are not too visible to players in aircraft but are close enough to be in range of the attackers. Then place some real AAA guns near the target to provide the actual primary threat to the attacking aircraft. This should result in a balanced defense combined with a proper barrage simulation. Potentially the generators could be placed in cities etc to represent "environmental" flak from larger unit sized AAA defenses without the overhead of placing lots of AI units. I am assuming placement of the flak field generators would be done in a believable and logical fashion to simulate larger heavy flak defenses rather than everywhere to give random encounters without reason. As the flak field generators are largely cosmetic they need to be used sensibly in conjunction with real AAA defences.

 

Some places where my attempt may differ from others. 

• It recycles the flak38-39 AAA gun as my understanding from reading various references is that while they were deployed as mobile AAA that they were generally used for static defense of rear areas. Therefore, for the most part players will not miss this weapon in its historical guise as there are plenty of other AAA of 88mm or lower caliber.
• I've assumed that it would be used with my AAA Heavy flak effects mod but that's optional.
• The modded flak38-39 becomes a flak field generator that can be used for either allied or axis. I have increased the rate of fire by a factor of 12. I have also reduced the damage generated by the air burst explosion and tweaked the error values and other factors to help generate a useful flak field without the field being instantly lethal. It is still possible to take damage, but you would be unlucky. I have also changed the definitions in the mod such that a physical shell is no longer used in game as I felt this would help preserve FPS. The sound and feel of the explosion near your aircraft will still be that of a large caliber HE shell - it just doesn't cause that level of damage. The bot and the shell definitions are completely custom and do not overlap any other file in my AAA mod or the stock game. The turret definition in the flak field generator mod will overwrite the turret definition of the flak 38-39 in either the stock game or my AAA mod however and therefore the flak 38-39 will no longer be available as a normal AAA gun when the flak field generator mod is enabled.
• I would tend to give flak generators an activation check zone of 15000m range to give them time to turn and aim and an MCU attack area that allows them to fire out their effective range of approx 12000m as they are really more a barrage simulation than aimed fire.
• Due to the vastly increased ROF you don't want them too close to the area of interest for the mission as they are fairly visible due to their muzzle flash.
• The video below uses 6 flak generators. I used EMG to create the mission so haven't used the prior bullet point's ranges just because it was more convenient for testing. To create the equivalent flak field with stock or AAA mod versions of either the flak 37 or flak 38-39 or the allied equivalent would require me to place approx. 72 guns (depends on the ROF of the placed guns). I am using my AAA heavy flak effects mod in the video. I have not placed any true AAA defenses at the airfield.

If people feel that the flak field generator mod is something that would be useful then I'll post it up sometime this week.

 

 

Absolutely. This is a major hit on CB!

[RedeyeStorm]

If this could work in career missions it would be awesome.

[Stonehouse]

5 hours ago, RedeyeStorm said:

If this could work in career missions it would be awesome.

It would replace any flak38-39s that were in the career mission but it wouldn't be deliberately placed by design so the end result likely would be less than good. You'd have to hand edit the groups that are imported by the career mission generation to get good results and there are literally hundreds of them. That's why it takes me so long to update the AQMB and career AAA attack range mod and all I am doing there is tweaking the check zone and attack range. Plus some groups used only have place holders which get replaced by the correct unit for the time and allegiance of the territory where the unit is ending up. It probably could be done but it would be an awful lot of work to analyse all the files involved and then update things to include the flak generators properly. It would be more feasible for a custom EMG setup however as Vanders approach is much easier to work with.

[Stonehouse]

Flak field generator mod added to first post. I've included some brief usage notes in the mod folder in the readme.jsgme file.  

[Stonehouse]

Vander has released a v84 of EMG and there are template changes, so I need to do an update. Will try to get to it over the weekend.