New missions and campaign scarcity

[taffy2jeffmorgan]

Hi All, First of all this not a complaint, far from it, we have been spoilt for choice with the amount of missions and campaigns especially from the third party contributors, but now this has almost come to a stop, just wondering if there is a reason and will kick off again when the new maps are introduced. 

 

Cheers 

[Gambit21]

There’s a thing or two on the way from others. I don’t have anything in the works at the moment but that may change eventually. The only thing that interests me other than PTO is the C-47…but we shall see. Lots of variables at play.

[Juri_JS]

I have some plans for new campaigns and research is already complete, but the necessary maps haven't been released yet.

[jollyjack]

Make your own map? https://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/microdem/microdem.htm

Anyone ever trying it for this IL2 game; they used to experiment a lot with IL2-1946: https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/board,121.0.html

[Juri_JS]

28 minutes ago, jollyjack said:

Make your own map? https://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/microdem/microdem.htm

Anyone ever trying it for this IL2 game; they used to experiment a lot with IL2-1946: https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/board,121.0.html

It can be done, but it's an enormous amout of work if you want an accurate map. It's probably too much work for a single person. You would need a team of very motivated people with lots of free time and skills in GIS, Photoshop and 3D modelling.

[AEthelraedUnraed]

2 hours ago, Juri_JS said:

It can be done, but it's an enormous amout of work if you want an accurate map. It's probably too much work for a single person. You would need a team of very motivated people with lots of free time and skills in GIS, Photoshop and 3D modelling.

Nope, we don't have the necessary map tools. We have just the surface editing tools, that can be used to add/edit towns, roads and the like, but we lack the software to write the heightmaps, water and forests. Even if we could, the map files have a checksum so that the game will give an error if anything is changed.

[Dragon1-1]

Well, someone made the North Africa map for GB, so it seems like it can be done somehow. It does seem take a lot of effort, though, and it replaces one of the seasons on an existing map.

[Juri_JS]

8 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Nope, we don't have the necessary map tools. We have just the surface editing tools, that can be used to add/edit towns, roads and the like, but we lack the software to write the heightmaps, water and forests. Even if we could, the map files have a checksum so that the game will give an error if anything is changed.

Some years ago the old RoF map tools were posted on the Russian forum. I can't find the link at the moment, but when you ask in the following thread someone might be able to give them to you:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.ru/topic/493-вопросы-и-ответы-по-изготовлению-карт/page/7/

 

You can also find old map making tutorials in this thread.

[jollyjack]

Yep, Off Winters, but it's just a modified Kuban map, with tons of texture editing and disabling trees etc. Very well done MOD IMO.

[AEthelraedUnraed]

7 minutes ago, Juri_JS said:

Some years ago the old RoF map tools were posted on the Russian forum. I can't find the link at the moment, but when you ask in the following thread someone might be able to give them to you:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.ru/topic/493-вопросы-и-ответы-по-изготовлению-карт/page/7/

 

You can also find old map making tutorials in this thread.

I know, and I have the RoF map tools, but they don't work with the IL2 maps

 

  EDIT:

7 hours ago, taffy2jeffmorgan said:

Hi All, First of all this not a complaint, far from it, we have been spoilt for choice with the amount of missions and campaigns especially from the third party contributors, but now this has almost come to a stop, just wondering if there is a reason and will kick off again when the new maps are introduced.

Oh, and I'm working on a short-ish campaign on the Rheinland map, although I don't want to reveal too much at this point except that it's a rather niche subject

Edited May 2, 2022 by AEthelraedUnraed

[Sandinourcoffee6]

New maps need new trees,buildings,objects,airfields,even professional computer experts they take loads of time,I think for the devs even to make a small desert or PTO map it would take a lot manpower and time.

shame love to see a small Finland or Norway map one day

[Juri_JS]

11 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

I know, and I have the RoF map tools, but they don't work with the IL2 maps

That's too bad. My own map building experiments were years ago in RoF. The process is still the same in BoX, but probably the devs are now using updated versions of the tools.

 

 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

1 minute ago, Juri_JS said:

That's too bad. My own map building experiments were years ago in RoF. The process is still the same in BoX, but probably the devs are now using updated versions of the tools.

Aye. If only I could get my hands on their Water editor. I would love to give the Dutch coast the bit of flair that it deserves!

[Sandinourcoffee6]

off-winters done an excellent job repainting a lot of existing stuff to desert textures

2 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Aye. If only I could get my hands on their Water editor. I would love to give the Dutch coast the bit of flair that it deserves!

Yes I really hope in the Normandy map we get a working sea like on the kuban map,the bodenplatte sea is in essence is just a lake

[Juri_JS]

2 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Aye. If only I could get my hands on their Water editor. I would love to give the Dutch coast the bit of flair that it deserves!

Some improvements to the Rhineland map would be very welcome. Maybe the devs would accept this as an official 3rd party project and give access to the necessary tools?

 

Moreover I would love to see someone finish the wip Odessa map.

[jollyjack]

13 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Aye. If only I could get my hands on their Water editor. I would love to give the Dutch coast the bit of flair that it deserves!

 

YEAHH !!! Dunes, and maybe corrected estuaries, harbors, railways, roads ...

[Blitzen]

While waiting for the looooong overdue campaign option in Flying Circus it sure would be nice to have a few more in-depth missions and/or Scripted Campaigns that used all the new aircraft now offered in FC…just sayin’….?

[SYN_Vander]

I think I'll do a couple of 'Duel' missions as I did earlier for ROF: https://riseofflight.com/forum/topic/39720-introducing-duel-mission-pack/

[Gambit21]

3 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

I think I'll do a couple of 'Duel' missions as I did earlier for ROF: https://riseofflight.com/forum/topic/39720-introducing-duel-mission-pack/

 

Great idea.

I used to enjoy 16 vs 16 furballs in the RoF QMB.

I wanted to custom-build some variations of this in FC with some interesting cloud presents etc, but just no time right now.

So maybe you can add this to your list?

 

In RoF I'd start high, and the whole thing would end up on the deck in short order. In FC the AI will probably keep it up high, or at least for a longer period...so might be interesting. 

 

[SYN_Vander]

3 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

 

Great idea.

I used to enjoy 16 vs 16 furballs in the RoF QMB.

I wanted to custom-build some variations of this in FC with some interesting cloud presents etc, but just no time right now.

So maybe you can add this to your list?

 

In RoF I'd start high, and the whole thing would end up on the deck in short order. In FC the AI will probably keep it up high, or at least for a longer period...so might be interesting. 

 

 

Yup, the missions are not 1:1 duels, but engagements between the two types, in various flights, depending on mission scenario. The AI is now indeed better at staying up and these fur balls are very enjoyable in single player!

[Jade_Monkey]

Personally, very busy with life (kid). Most of my playtime is beta testing, i rarely play the regular game. I am also really just waiting for the Normandy map to fly in a new environment.

 

I have been planning a Typhoon campaign once BON is out but it will take time.

[Jaegermeister]

On 5/2/2022 at 12:32 AM, taffy2jeffmorgan said:

Hi All, First of all this not a complaint, far from it, we have been spoilt for choice with the amount of missions and campaigns especially from the third party contributors, but now this has almost come to a stop, just wondering if there is a reason and will kick off again when the new maps are introduced. 

 

Cheers 

 

Yes, there are reasons.

 

There is so much material out for the Rheinland map that people are about done with it for now. 

It is very likely that there is more finished content waiting to be published. I'm sure the devs are very busy with BoN right now.

When BoN comes out, a lot of people will start working on Campaigns, so expect to see those in the Fall of this year, assuming the Normandy map is released by early Summer.

 

Let's say hypothetically I am already working on a Sopwith Triplane Campaign and I just got the plane a week or so ago. The Second map for FCII is still not done but that might not matter in this case. Maybe I just flew a 12 vs 12 furball mission yesterday and it started at 10,000 feet and slowly descended to about 2,000 feet by which point I may or may not have gotten 3 kills with my single .303 Vickers MG. (Which is hypothetically hard to do I might add)... Well by the time I finished making 12 or so missions in a historical context including research, map building and testing, I might have it done by the time the BoN map is out. Let's call that Mid-Summer...

 

I would expect to see 2 or 3 other campaigns released by that time, unless AEthelread, Juri, Vander and Jade (and others) have some stuff up their sleeves, in which case it could be more.

 

That's just my guesses at the moment.