List of features over in game campaign

[Mikestriken]

Can I get a list of features the PWCG offers over the base (ingame) campaign so I can market this mod to other people more easily?

[PatrickAWlson]

 

 

See the second post, right after Jason's introduction.  I do a pretty long writeup.

[Vishnu]

I play PWCG 95% of the time.    Once you try it, you’ll rarely ever use in game careers.    It’s a wonderful tool to keep you on your toes and immerse you in the virtual war.   You won’t regret it. 

[Mikestriken]

10 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

 

 

See the second post, right after Jason's introduction.  I do a pretty long writeup.

 

TY!

 

51 minutes ago, Vishnu said:

I play PWCG 95% of the time.    Once you try it, you’ll rarely ever use in game careers.    It’s a wonderful tool to keep you on your toes and immerse you in the virtual war.   You won’t regret it. 

I already do trynna convince others

[Mikestriken]

Made a list from the post:

 

TL;DR/bullet pointed feature list

 - AI flights don't spawn in on their mission path until you get close to save resources
 
 - The front line is based off activity on the ground. the program simulates ground battles with 'upwards of 50 tanks, trains, transport convoys, river and sea shipping, and more' and this decides how the war progresses (you in your aircraft aren't the thing progressing the war directly). Thus the ground units acutally fight each other and aren't just stationary targets sporadically places around the map doing nothing but sucking each other off.
 

 - Weather is determined before a mission is creates so that flights can plan according to the weather.

 - Added the night witch squadron (only women pilots)
 

 - Individual aircraft/pilots considered airworthy/damaged/destroyed/killed/wounded/healthy are kept track of.
 - A complex algorithm keeps track of replacements going to depots and then to squardrons.
 - Potential delays in replacements are a factor in the programming
 

 - Since the program keeps track of individual pilots and their history of kills/missions flown/#of times wounded etc it also keeps track of their progression of skill level.
 - when you become a flight lead it is in your best interest to keep your wingmen alive to help them grow as pilots to become more useful to you as they get better over time.
 

 - When you end your 'turn' it not only submits the results of your mission but also simulates missions ran by everyone on the entire war in all the battlefields across all fronts (not just battle of moscow)

    - Examples of overlap: Moscow/Stalingrad (at the end of moscow), Stalingrad/Kuban, Bodenplatte/East1944, Bodenplatte/East1945 and more I probably missed.

 - A lot of hard work has gone into programming the algorithm " Lots of data goes into this.  I have written a simulator that tells me how any pilots are lost over the course of a campaign and compared that with historical results to ensure that it is realistic."
 

 - Added kill claiming system
 

 - Create multiple personas of yourself playing in different roles such as bombers/fighers etc so if you get bored of playing as a fighter pilot you can take a break and play as a bomber but still in the same war.
 

 - added support for coop (playing on the same side in the same/different squardons)/ competitive (playing on opposing sides)
    - before generating a mission it asks you which personas of which players are playing and then makes sure to include all those squadrons with the selected players will participate in the generated mission. This doesn't guarentee that you will bump into each other just that you will both be playing in the same world at the same time.
 

 - added RP features such as jornals, squadron logs, intel reports (which do reflect in game statistics), current maps of the front line etc.
 

 - In base game only you get promoted and earn medals, not in PWCG everyone even bots get these.
 - rework of how people get promoted/earn medals to be historically accurate for each side.
 - added the option for the game to generate historical aces.
 - Added in the ability to plan your own flight
 - I can attest that the dev is very active and will always respond to you in the forums and the mod is constantly being updated and has been for over 7 years now.

[bongotastic]

New player here. This generator seems to be the way to go for enhanced storytelling. Any downside to jump into this right away instead of the stock career mode? 

[Varibraun]

13 hours ago, bongotastic said:

New player here. This generator seems to be the way to go for enhanced storytelling. Any downside to jump into this right away instead of the stock career mode? 

 

Welcome aboard @bongotastic!  From my perspective of using both, other than the few extra steps necessary for PWCG to run and record your missions, there is no downside at all.  In fact, PWCG has existed longer than the stock career for WWII, and until FCII fully releases, it is still the only campaign mode for WWI.  The features discussed in this thread keep me most playing PWCG over both the stock career and scripted campaigns (although I will generally play through the scripted campaigns at least once).

 

The community here is also very friendly and helpful if you run into problems.

[71st_AH_Rob_XR-R]

You can also add that it is the only campaign mode that you can play with your friends...and enemies.

[FodderMonkey]

Has anyone mentioned the perks for the casual player?  No 30-minute slogs to and from the target/patrol area; PWCG consistently gets me into combat within 5 minutes of mission launch, and I can quit a mission at any point without having to worry about which side of the battlefront I'm on.  No worries about capture, death, etc. unless that's my style of play.  PWCG is an absolute must-have for the weekend warrior dealing with limited time available for gameplay.

[Mikestriken]

1 hour ago, FodderMonkey said:

Has anyone mentioned the perks for the casual player?  No 30-minute slogs to and from the target/patrol area; PWCG consistently gets me into combat within 5 minutes of mission launch, and I can quit a mission at any point without having to worry about which side of the battlefront I'm on.  No worries about capture, death, etc. unless that's my style of play.  PWCG is an absolute must-have for the weekend warrior dealing with limited time available for gameplay.

Missions where you don't see anyone still happen.

 

For example in my last 2 missions the first one had me 1v3 ing some hurricanes in my Bf 109 F-4 (got lucky they have 7.7mm armament cos i would of died if not for their lack of lethality) then on the very next mission I didn't see anyone, ended up destroying 3 ground AA batteries and went home. But yes there is less in terms of having to fly to the target area (depending on how close your Airfield is to the front line, and if you're flying a bomber escort mission or not.)

[PatrickAWlson]

The aspect that I am most proud of in PWCG missions is the organic unfolding of the mission.  Many aspects of this have already been mentioned, but what has not been said yet is how these aspects are designed to play together to create plausible missions that do not feel like rinse. wash repeat.

 

Already mentioned is mission generation, where weather and ground activity are considerations for assignments.  Another factor, not yet mentioned, is that PWCG models historic activity and tends to push flight types and targeting towards historically accuracy.  Finally, PWCG models iconic events, so Market Garden, Bodenplatte, Bombing of the River barges at Stalingrad, the Kerch invasion, and others actually happen.  With all of this up front work done, what you have is a bunch of flights who are going about their business and not acting as targets for your amusement.

 

Now add virtually moving flights.  This means that the full path of every flight is mapped out, and the flight will move without spawning until it gets  close enough.  Once it does spawn, the actual flight will start executing the mission as planned exactly where it is supposed to.  Details include

- Planes spawning and going about their business, which may or may not include attacking you.

- Bomber/attack flights with empty payloads if they spawn after they have virtually completed their mission.  

- The possibility of being rescued by the arrival of a friendly flight

- The possibility of your enemy being rescued by the arrival of a one of their friendly flights.  This is why it is unwise to chase behind enemy lines.  That feeling of shooting down that last one dissipates quickly when an enemy flight with an altitude advantage shows up and you're alone with bingo ammo.

 

In summary: every flight is flying a real mission and is always moving, meaning any combination of events is possible.

[=FI=Blue2]

That organic feeling in missions is without doubt my favorite part of PWCG.  In our squad, 2 of us are now running PWCG campaigns for our Sunday sessions, and the variety of mission and outcome is amazing.  So far we've flown partial campaigns in probably 10 different planes (some from each war).  We keep running into issues that force us to restart them before we get more than 5 to 10 missions in - but nobody complains because we all enjoy those 5 or 10 missions so much!

This past Sunday included an Albatross patrol with numerous engagements, an FW-190 jabo strike on a camp near an airfield (caught some IL-2s landing on another field during RTB), and a pre-dawn deep airfield strike in IL-2s early in the Moscow campaign.  All 3 were story-worthy.

A "quick fight" mission is nice once in a while, but this is the stuff that keeps me forever engaged when it comes to combat flight sims.

One day we'll figure out how to stop those errors altogether & actually FINISH a campaign.  (Our own fault probably.  PWCG is a bit challenging when it comes to managing a bunch of users. )  Until then the sheer fun is unbeatable for flying against AI.  Even better with human opposition.  Perfect for anyone who's not quite ready for/ interested in the stress & skill levels found on the more serious dogfight servers.  Plus, to my eye the historical accuracy in PWCG (plane type mixes, missions, etc.) exceeds that found on even the best current 'full real' server campaigns.

[Harlequin]

I really love the immersion of pwcg and that anything can happen at any time.  You might bump into the enemy at any point which makes it really interesting and you never feel you're flying over "empty" scenery.  

You can also encounter a variety of ai skill levels. I'm not great at dogfighting so it's quite fun to occasionally bounce a rookie enemy, or suddenly realise by how it's flying that the aircraft your fighting against is likely an ace.

 

  The realistic wind and weather makes it a bit trickier to aim but you feel much more in touch with the environment.  

Another thing I like is that the various squadrons all have callsigns.  I usually print out a list so I know who is who when I hear other flights on the radio.  It's quite cool when you hear a callsign from another flight and know that it's the stukas, 110s or bombers etc. And can look out for them.  If you transferred squadrons you might hear an old pal on the radio.

 

The aircraft gradually get upgraded through the career too, as squadrons transition from i16 to yak etc.  Or 109 f4 to g2, g4.

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

Another element - persistent personnel.  Every pilot on the front is modeled.  if you transfer out of a squadron and transfer back again, your old squadron mates will be there.  Well, at least the survivors will be there because time does not stand still for them either.  They continue to score and also die.

 

I started a career in 110s before transferring to 109s.  Some time later I am flying a flight with my new squadron.  110s are doing a ground attack in the vicinity.  I see two go down in flames, hit by AA.  When I do the debrief it turns out that three were shot down.  All pilots killed.  All names that I flew with when I was with that unit.  That actually hurt.

Edited June 14, 2022 by PatrickAWlson

[PatrickAWlson]

One more thing - inventory tracking.  Every plane in PWCG is also tracked.  A full logistics line from factory to depot to squadron is emulated.

[Varibraun]

18 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Another element - persistent personnel.  Every pilot on the front is modeled.  if you transfer out of a squadron and transfer back again, your old squadron mates will be there.  Well, at least the survivors will be there because time does not stand still for them either.  They continue to score and also die.

 

This is one of my favorite PWCG features (this RP element keeps me flying with my buddies as well as digging through the logs and record books).  Thank you for making PWCG completely "Dynamic" regarding pilots (scores & losses), squadrons & equipment.  It gives me a feeling of having some small impact on my part in the Campaign.  It also can create a nice WWI vendetta feel against the aces on the other side as they score.

 

18 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

When I do the debrief it turns out that three were shot down.  All pilots killed.  All names that I flew with when I was with that unit.  That actually hurt.

 

Yes, I get very attached to those pixels too.  Even worse when you are playing pilots on both sides and you face off against your "own" squadron mates in your other squadron.  

Edited June 14, 2022 by Varibraun