PWCG questions

[Stonehouse]

@PatrickAWlson

Hi Pat, 

Couple of hopefully easy quick questions for you where the answers will help me in regard to doing background work for Tunisia.

• How many squadron jsons per side is a "good" number for PWCG? Currently have about 70-80 per side researched but obviously I don't want to have to create all those if there is no point
• At one point the idea of off map basing for AI only squadrons was raised. Particularly in view of recent frustrations with experimental stuff (attack MCUs I'm thinking of you) - is off map still something you'll even vaguely consider doing in a future release of PWCG? If not, no problem but it changes things for me so knowing either way would be good. 

 

It has been quite a while since I raised this topic with you so if you have had second thoughts about the whole idea and don't think it's viable or you simply don't have time or inclination anymore that's fine but please just let me know so I don't spend more spare time on it needlessly. I've plenty of house renovation jobs that could use any extra hours I can find free lol.

 

Thank you once again for all that you do for the community.

 

Best wishes

[PatrickAWlson]

Number of squadrons?  It's not an easy question to answer,.

 

The biggest thing about number of squadrons is the out of mission calculations.  The squadrons create a certain balance that keeps one side from being slaughtered outside of the mission.  It's not so much about the number as much as it is the ratio of fighter to bomber.  Still, if that gets out of whack and one side is getting wiped up there is always emergency resupply to bring units back to strength. 

 

In the actual mission there will generally only be 6-10 squadron represented in total, although more squadrons provides a better chance of an encounter.  This is because PWCG calculates closest proximity to player along the flight path and keeps the flights that the player would most likely encounter.

 

I have no philosophical opposition to off the map units, I just haven't done it.  Until the B25 was introduced every plane was flyable, so I kept everything on the map so the player could take off and land any plane.

 

[Majpalmer]

I've had an issue, mostly with PWCG generated missions, not going fully into autopilot. Maybe it's just me. 

 

Nevertheless, I found a way to usually beat the problem. As soon as the mission starts, and my plane appears on the runway, I turn autopilot on, and then immediately turn it off. For some reason this appears to work. 

 

One caveat. Make sure your tailwheel lock is on afterwards. 

I think 

[Jake]

I didn't want to start a new topic, so here is my question:

Do you plan to add the Battle of Britain to the Campaign Editor? I am aware that the appropriate planeset is missing to represent the early days (Hurricane Mk. I and Spitfire Mk. I,II). The Normandy with its late battles is surely a new component?

[Majpalmer]

1 hour ago, Jake said:

I didn't want to start a new topic, so here is my question:

Do you plan to add the Battle of Britain to the Campaign Editor? I am aware that the appropriate planeset is missing to represent the early days (Hurricane Mk. I and Spitfire Mk. I,II). The Normandy with its late battles is surely a new component?

I think on some other thread PW said that he was planning to do that, as best as he could with the available AC. I suspect he won't know for sure until he sees what the map actually looks like. 

[PatrickAWlson]

1 hour ago, Jake said:

I didn't want to start a new topic, so here is my question:

Do you plan to add the Battle of Britain to the Campaign Editor? I am aware that the appropriate planeset is missing to represent the early days (Hurricane Mk. I and Spitfire Mk. I,II). The Normandy with its late battles is surely a new component?

 

I am planning on doing BoB 1941 from Dunkirk (or a reasonable substitute) to BoB in the summer, ending in October 41.  The plane set will be the 1941 plane set: Spitfires, Hurricanes, Me109s, Me110s, He111s, Ju87s, and Ju88s ... mostly the wrong version of each  .

 

Obviously not historically accurate but still fun.  If we ever get earlier British crates I'll change things, but since a module takes over 2 years to produce, no use waiting.

[71st_AH_Rob_XR-R]

On 7/1/2022 at 8:31 PM, Stonehouse said:

@PatrickAWlson

Hi Pat, 

Couple of hopefully easy quick questions for you where the answers will help me in regard to doing background work for Tunisia.

• How many squadron jsons per side is a "good" number for PWCG? Currently have about 70-80 per side researched but obviously I don't want to have to create all those if there is no point
• At one point the idea of off map basing for AI only squadrons was raised. Particularly in view of recent frustrations with experimental stuff (attack MCUs I'm thinking of you) - is off map still something you'll even vaguely consider doing in a future release of PWCG? If not, no problem but it changes things for me so knowing either way would be good. 

 

It has been quite a while since I raised this topic with you so if you have had second thoughts about the whole idea and don't think it's viable or you simply don't have time or inclination anymore that's fine but please just let me know so I don't spend more spare time on it needlessly. I've plenty of house renovation jobs that could use any extra hours I can find free lol.

 

Thank you once again for all that you do for the community.

 

Best wishes

@Stonehouse  I am working on all of the Article XV RCAF squadrons now from the BoB to the end of the war with the exception of No. 6 Group since we don't have appropriate a/c for them.  I already completed and posted No. 126, 127 and 143 Wings, No. 83 Gp 2 TAF and have 39 Wing done.  I will update these squadrons back to where and when they formed or first saw combat in the UK once the new map is out so you don't need to do any of them if you want to work on other Article XV squadrons.  I will drop these into the campaign when I want to fly one of them and make sure that the other squadrons at the same station are included so there is some life at the airfield, not necessarily all of them all at once, although that is an interesting and realistic idea.  On Jun 6 1944 there was only 125 single engine day fighters in all of France and Belgium.

[Stonehouse]

I actually have a 453 RAAF squadron json that I use as well as a 457 one (although they were in the Pacific by 1944 as they went home in May 1942 after the fall of Singapore I believe and redeployed to help defend Darwin). I also have a 486 RNZAF json for Bodenplatte as they were one of the major Tempest squadrons. 

 

So I can work my way through the RAAF and probably RNZAF XV units but I don't know that I'll be fast doing so as I don't have that much time at present due to a lot of renovation tasks either happening or needing to happen. That was the reason for the question to Pat, I'd been slowly working on creating the base info and bits and pieces for a Tunisian PWCG campaign on the other Rob's Kuban map conversion but it was a big task. Around 180 odd air units between Allied and Axis and a lot of them operating either from Algeria (allied) or Sicily/Italy/Pantelleria (axis) so probably needing code changes to PWCG. So also take up a lot of Pat's time as he is the only person to be able to integrate a campaign into PWCG.

 

Anyway hence the question about unit numbers, if they were too many for "good" PWCG operation I'd be better off doing less. At the moment though it's all parked for another day, Pat doesn't have much spare time and unfortunately I don't either. Happy to try with your XV squadron idea though as long as people are prepared to be patient. Should be able to get a list of the Australian ones via the Aust War Memorial website but then have to research their movements and basing etc. A lot of the time there isn't a suitable aircraft or skin. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Stonehouse

[PatrickAWlson]

@Stonehouse Is that map ready for use?  I said I would do North Africa if it was done but never got word that it was completed.

 

As for British squadrons, I have to model a reasonable subset.  One thing that PWCG does not do a good job of is handling the end of a squadron, so I keep them going from start to finish.  I do have a mechanism to change the squadron anme ans I use it for Russian units who did that all the time, but not so much for German or British.

[Stonehouse]

1 hour ago, PatrickAWlson said:

@Stonehouse Is that map ready for use?  I said I would do North Africa if it was done but never got word that it was completed.

 

As for British squadrons, I have to model a reasonable subset.  One thing that PWCG does not do a good job of is handling the end of a squadron, so I keep them going from start to finish.  I do have a mechanism to change the squadron anme ans I use it for Russian units who did that all the time, but not so much for German or British.

Hi Pat,

Sorry I must have misunderstood. I thought from recent PMs that you weren't in a position to do much on PWCG except for adding Normandy at present for various reasons - all completely understandable and reasonable ones. As I said at the time I was going to park the Tunisian campaign work I was doing for the time being as I didn't have time much either and I didn't want to add to your load. I know you said you would add the campaign but I didn't expect you to do it at present and was fine with that. No pressure intended on you at all by any of my comments in my previous post. 

 

Anyway, yes the map is finished as I understand things (@Off_Winters Rob perhaps to avoid wasting Pat's time could you please confirm that you are not planning any map related changes). My understanding is that any changes to it would be cosmetic around things like new units being added to the game that were used in that theatre not changes to the map or towns. I have a bunch of things like frontlines diagrams and timeframes, weather and OOBs and important battles documented. Ground units are a gap though at present although I didn't know if that really mattered other than perhaps you needed a list of what was used in the campaign so T34s didn't suddenly end up defending Sfax. I had been working through air unit research and their basing and deployments over the timeline intending to then go on and create basic jsons for you with the idea that anything I got done might help you whenever you got to it. I figured you were doing the community a favour adding Tunisia so I should try to make it easier if I could. If you are still keen to do more at present I'm happy to send you what I have so far after you have got through adding Normandy or whenever you say to send the pack.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Stonehouse

[Off_Winters]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:56 AM, PatrickAWlson said:

@Stonehouse Is that map ready for use?  I said I would do North Africa if it was done but never got word that it was completed.

 

As for British squadrons, I have to model a reasonable subset.  One thing that PWCG does not do a good job of is handling the end of a squadron, so I keep them going from start to finish.  I do have a mechanism to change the squadron anme ans I use it for Russian units who did that all the time, but not so much for German or British.

G'day Patrick,

Thanks for your work on this, the map is finished with regards to location names etc etc.

The only changes I'm making now are:
* Creating more default desert themed skins for each aircraft type.
* Continue repainting ground based equipment and infrastructure to desert based schemes.
* Swapping out more Russian models with similar types from US and British stocks, so that in game you see western Allied equipment rather than Russian equipment on the Kuban map. (this involves renaming US or British files to the name used by the Russian files. the game still thinks its using Russian gear but we see Allied equipment instead).

thanks again, regards Rob. 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Off_Winters

[Off_Winters]

Hi All,

@PatrickAWlson
 

The recent official game patch 5.001 has impacted the aircraft skin selections. this means some of the work I did replacing stock skins with desert schemed skins will need to be amended. a lot of rework in the skins.tab file, renaming of textures to suit, additional default skins for the new "Blank" skins option in a lot of the aircraft and in game menu preview pictures to be fixed.

The renaming of aircraft skins where the new "Blank" skins are in that aircraft slot could possibly impact a mission file that calls on a certain skin name for a given flight. I've started to fix the problems and hope to have it all sorted in the next 2 to 3 weeks. 

regards Rob.

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Off_Winters

[Tommy_Atkins]

I'm having problems. I installed it to the BoS folder but when I run it I get a message saying it is in the wrong folder. What folder should I be installing it to?

[Hotaru_Ito]

6 hours ago, Tommy_Atkins said:

I'm having problems. I installed it to the BoS folder but when I run it I get a message saying it is in the wrong folder. What folder should I be installing it to?

 

PWCGBoS folder should be in the root Il-2 directory. There should also be folders called bin, data, etc. The path should look something like C:\...\Il-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\PWCGBoS.

 

Also make sure you haven't somehow ended up with two nested PWCGBoS folders (C:\...Il-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\PWCGBoS\PWCGBoS). That can happen depending on how you extracted it from the zip. If that's the case, just drag the inner one out to the main Il-2 folder and delete the (empty) outer one.

[Tommy_Atkins]

Thanks Hotaru, all working now. ??