Anyone making campaigns?

[sevenless]

There is really some need for an "official" Hs-129 or a Ju-87-G1 campaign, because AFAIK there is none. Would be nice if someone could fill that gap.

 

11 hours ago, BlackSix said:

I've big plans for campaigns too 🙂
1) the Soviet fighter campaign (La-5/BoS) is scheduled for Q1 2025 (unless there are any unexpected issues);
2) the next campaign is being created for Normandy. During the development of the Typhoon campaign, I made some great templates that would be a shame not to use again. At the same time, I made some pretty bad decisions and would like to fix all of that. This will be a ground attack campaign for the Spitfire IX for one of the RCAF wings;

 

Great news. Looking forward to it. Especially the La-5 (F/FN ?) campaign. Any plans to do something with Yak-9s also?

Edited December 31, 2024 by sevenless

[BlackSix]

15 hours ago, Jade_Monkey said:

Hi @BlackSix, could you confirm, or at least pass along to the other devs the desire to have a more sophisticated briefing interface for user made campaigns, such as the ability to have multiple images per mission (for maps and intel).

 

From what I’ve seen in the videos regarding the new Korea interface looks really good, but I wanted to ask just in case.

I'd also want to have this opportunity, I'll try to pass on this proposal, please remind me after January 13th - we have a very long holiday

 

11 hours ago, Humbre79 said:

Didn't you have a plan for a  Fw190a8 campaign on the Bodenplatte map? There aren't Luftwaffe official  campaigns on the western front, that would have filled a gap. 

Anyway I'm very happy for the future Spitfire campaign. 

Thank you, I wanted to create this, and also work with Kuban again, but unfortunately I've no time left for the Luftwaffe.

 

9 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

I'm surprised you're putting time into the older, defunct version of the engine honestly...but I guess you have to do what you're asked to do.

When you have a MiG 15 campaign ready to go I'd be interested.

Thanks! There are two reasons:
1) I believe that even after the release of Korea, users will not stop playing GB and Normandy will remain a very promising and popular base for campaigns for some time.
2) I can't say anything about the state of development and the Korea release date but it's obvious that the project is not yet finished. I really don't like doing missions in such a situation because it implies a very large amount of rework after. It's better to do the finished work right away now.

 

8 hours ago, sevenless said:

Great news. Looking forward to it. Especially the La-5 (F/FN ?) campaign. Any plans to do something with Yak-9s also?

The campaign time frame is August 24 - October 28, 1942, so it will use the earliest La-5 s.8

Unfortunately, the Yak-9/9T are the collector's planes that are not tied to any project. This is not a problem for the free campaign, but a big obstacle for the paid one. Imagine that you're playing on Steam, and then you need to have BoS, BoK, Yak-9 and the campaign itself. That's why I chose the Yak-7b for Sky Nomads for BoK.

[Jaegermeister]

On 12/30/2024 at 6:41 PM, Gambit21 said:

 

I'm surprised you're putting time into the older, defunct version of the engine honestly...

 

 

Defunct? I don't think so. There is still quite a bit of time where this will be the "current version".

 

Now that the Gestapo Hunters is done, I will also continue working on something new as time allows. No definite decisions on what that is yet, but I have a few options. 

[ST_Catchov]

1 hour ago, Jaegermeister said:

I will also continue working on something new as time allows. No definite decisions on what that is yet, but I have a few options. 

 

Well, I have an idea ....

 

The Russians used the Morane-Saulnier (type L) Parasol in the Eastern Front. You could make some kind of a Zeppelin attack mission with this beautiful aircraft. Throw in a love interest with Mata Hari whilst spying on Russian operations before her tragic demise. Dogs. Do you do dogs? Every airfield had them as the clip below shows. After the death of Mata Hari, and having destroyed the Zeppelin in its shed, the brave and grieving Russian pilot is consoled by his beloved dog. It's making me tear up just thinking about it. But he mans up, shrugs it off, 'tis just a woman, and rides off, bareback, on the Squadron's horse into the snow filled tundra never to be heard of again. His dog, when his master fails to return, howls in pain and misunderstanding and undertakes a life-long search for him. They say his ghost is still seen on the Russian steppes forever trotting into the sunset with purpose.

 

Our hero is awarded the Great Patriotic Victorious Medal post-humorously in absentia.

 

The End.

 

 

[Gambit21]

8 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

 

Defunct? I don't think so. There is still quite a bit of time where this will be the "current version".

 

 Without a doubt - for a bit longer anyway.

[Trooper117]

12 hours ago, ST_Catchov said:

Well, I have an idea ....

 

I have an idea as well, have a little look at this... I thought you might like it!

 

 

[Jaegermeister]

On 1/1/2025 at 6:23 PM, ST_Catchov said:

 

Well, I have an idea ....

 

 

As you are probably aware I am a fan of WWI kites as well, but with Alex working on the Eastern Front and doing the Spitfire IXc after that, it's more likely I will be working on  an Axis Normandy campaign. There is plenty of room for a few of those. It might be possible to do a 2 place German plane with voice files, but I don't know if I want to get back into that so soon. Maybe if @Juri_JS is a good voice actor we can work something out, LOL.

 

We'll see how it goes after I do some more testing and research. Sometimes I start projects and then it doesn't work out like I thought, so I would prefer to be sure of the content before I comment.

[Juri_JS]

4 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

Maybe if @Juri_JS is a good voice actor we can work something out, LOL.

Unfortunately I am a particularly bad voice actor, but I am sure other people from the German community are willing to help.

[ZPA_Malan]

It would be really great to have an 8th AF P51 campaign focused on high altitude-bomber escort, despite the limitations. Yes it would need to be mostly air-starts, use relatively small numbers of b25s and b26s etc. But looking at what's possible on the Cold Blue server, its hard not to wonder if such a campaign would be doable. There could be a wide variety of targets across the Rhineland and Normandy maps, going up against anything from early 1944 escorted me110/Me410 intercepts to up-armored fw190s and later Me262s, all at contrail altitudes. Bonus points for lots of historical skins like those available for the 352nd FG.

I highly doubt it could ever be an official campaign due to the stand-in bombers, air starts etc. But IMO such a campaign would be unique and well worth playing.

 

[kraut1]

3 hours ago, ZPA_Malan said:

It would be really great to have an 8th AF P51 campaign focused on high altitude-bomber escort, despite the limitations. Yes it would need to be mostly air-starts, use relatively small numbers of b25s and b26s etc. But looking at what's possible on the Cold Blue server, its hard not to wonder if such a campaign would be doable. There could be a wide variety of targets across the Rhineland and Normandy maps, going up against anything from early 1944 escorted me110/Me410 intercepts to up-armored fw190s and later Me262s, all at contrail altitudes. Bonus points for lots of historical skins like those available for the 352nd FG.

I highly doubt it could ever be an official campaign due to the stand-in bombers, air starts etc. But IMO such a campaign would be unique and well worth playing.

 

Beginning in late September 1944 full missions with take off and landing from north/west Belgium to Germany could be created.

And I suppose the P51 is able to fly this distance without the not existing drop tanks.

The challenge for the pilots would be the very long flight time due to the not so effective time acceleration.

 

[Sandmarken]

4 hours ago, ZPA_Malan said:

It would be really great to have an 8th AF P51 campaign focused on high altitude-bomber escort, despite the limitations. Yes it would need to be mostly air-starts, use relatively small numbers of b25s and b26s etc. But looking at what's possible on the Cold Blue server, its hard not to wonder if such a campaign would be doable. There could be a wide variety of targets across the Rhineland and Normandy maps, going up against anything from early 1944 escorted me110/Me410 intercepts to up-armored fw190s and later Me262s, all at contrail altitudes. Bonus points for lots of historical skins like those available for the 352nd FG.

I highly doubt it could ever be an official campaign due to the stand-in bombers, air starts etc. But IMO such a campaign would be unique and well worth playing.

 

There are some bomber intercept campaigns from the Axis side, and they seem to work fine with B-25 and B-26 bombers. When I tried to make some high-altitude missions in my first campaigns, the B-26s and B-25s just fell out of the sky at higher altitudes, but I think they might have a better time at high altitudes now.

 

It seems people do not like long missions, as they dislike channel crossings, for example, and they also dislike campaigns with air starts. How to make everyone happy, then? Climbing to 30,000 feet takes time, and then there is also escorting the bombers into Germany and back!

 

I tried to make some missions with P-47 escort at high altitude, but the AI was slaughtered by the Axis planes every time, even if they were all at ace level! This was before the P-47 update; I am not sure if the AI is more effective now.

Edited January 9 by Sandmarken

[kraut1]

10 hours ago, Sandmarken said:

I tried to make some missions with P-47 escort at high altitude, but the AI was slaughtered by the Axis planes every time, even if they were all at ace level! This was before the P-47 update; I am not sure if the AI is more effective now.

Sorry for my comment, I am sure you know how to design missions.

But when I created my Netherland 1943 german intercept missions the P-47 escorts were at first very passive and they defended only the bombers.

After I changed the priority of the cover command from high to medium / low they reacted more aggressivly when being attacked.

[Sandmarken]

41 minutes ago, kraut1 said:

Sorry for my comment, I am sure you know how to design missions.

But when I created my Netherland 1943 german intercept missions the P-47 escorts were at first very passive and they defended only the bombers.

After I changed the priority of the cover command from high to medium / low they reacted more aggressivly when being attacked.

Thanks I was thinking it was the other way around! I did some testing this afternoon; the P-47 can do some damage, at least if it has something going for it, like an altitude advantage. That said, the AI seems to fly the FW 190 much better than the P-47. The AI is pretty good with the P-51, so maybe that plane is better for this type of campaign.

[ZPA_Malan]

13 hours ago, Sandmarken said:

It seems people do not like long missions, as they dislike channel crossings, for example, and they also dislike campaigns with air starts. How to make everyone happy, then? Climbing to 30,000 feet takes time, and then there is also escorting the bombers into Germany and back!

 

Well I can only speak for myself in that I prefer air starts for long missions, though I also appreciate starting up at base for the immersion (see the contradiction!). One way to do it (along with taking off from belgium for later missions as Kraut1 suggested) would be to intersperse a few full-length missions for the shorter-range tactical phases like supporting D-day, market garden, or the battle of the bulge etc to give a taste of that, while mostly air starting over Germany. Probably still won't please everyone, but could give most people something of what (they say) they want. 

[kraut1]

10 hours ago, ZPA_Malan said:

 

Well I can only speak for myself in that I prefer air starts for long missions, though I also appreciate starting up at base for the immersion (see the contradiction!). One way to do it (along with taking off from belgium for later missions as Kraut1 suggested) would be to intersperse a few full-length missions for the shorter-range tactical phases like supporting D-day, market garden, or the battle of the bulge etc to give a taste of that, while mostly air starting over Germany. Probably still won't please everyone, but could give most people something of what (they say) they want. 

In older, for WW2 optimized flight sims like European Air War by Microprose we had effective "time skip" functions.

In IL-2 GB we will not get this (WW1 RoF western front based).

What could be tested for late September ... January 44: a long range mission split into 2 parts, each part a mission:

-Short Take Off Mission from a main bomber airfield in western Belgium: ca. 5minutes, maybe with taxying, take off and flying and climbing to a nearby (20km away) wp at ca. 2000m...4000m.

When the wp is reached Subtitle message: "Assembling Waypoint Reached, proceed with main mission!"

-Combat mission with Airstart ca. 30...50km away from target. With flight back to Belgium (if the target was not very far away, e.g. Ruhr area.)

the advantge of the mentioned time frame: The front lines were partially close to Germany, so we could offer the "tired" pilots a close emergency landing airfield close to the front line:

-Take Off Mission

-Combat Mission with Air Start

  

-Because the number of combat missions is not recorded in the scripted campaigns the additional "take off missions" have no negative impact on the pilot statistics.

 

-Really enthusiastic and motivated pilots who like experiments could even try a in 3 parts splitted mission

-Take off from eastern England

-Airstart Combat Mission that ends after 50...100km flying back from target.

-Landing Mission in eastern England (maybe with optional "damaged skin")

 

Edited January 10 by kraut1

[Sandmarken]

@kraut1 Yes, this is possible. There are a lot of options, and for the nonprofit mission makers, there is nothing to lose trying, since there is no economic incentive. I like the idea of taking off in the Normandy map and then changing to the Rhineland. The bombers would already be in the air as they would take off farther inland, in the part of the map we do not have. I am not sure if the 8th Air Force used airfields in our Normandy map, but I think this would work out fine anyway. Probably not every mission would need to be like that.

Edited January 10 by Sandmarken

[KodiakJac]

On 12/30/2024 at 5:41 PM, Gambit21 said:

 

I'm surprised you're putting time into the older, defunct version of the engine honestly...

 

 

It's not just about the new shiny thing to customers it's also about the subject matter.  IL-2 GB will be state of the art for a WWII combat flight simulator until a different title replaces it.  Right now, for the Pacific during WWII, IL-2 1946 is the "state of the art" combat flight simulator until a different title replaces it.  Same for CloD in North Africa.

 

 

[Jaegermeister]

I have a little update.

 

I am finalizing the mission list and have started work on a new Campaign for release in the late Spring or Summer. It will cover the "Baby Blitz" of southern England, shipping and ground attack during and after D-Day until withdrawal from Normandy for home defense.  

 

I will be looking for one or more German speaking voice actors in a month or so.

 

[Gambit21]

4 hours ago, KodiakJac said:

 

It's not just about the new shiny thing to customers it's also about the subject matter.  IL-2 GB will be state of the art for a WWII combat flight simulator until a different title replaces it.  Right now, for the Pacific during WWII, IL-2 1946 is the "state of the art" combat flight simulator until a different title replaces it.  Same for CloD in North Africa.

 

 

Frankly you’d have to be a campaign creator and understand the pain involved to truly understand my statement. I mean don’t get me wrong, you’re absolutely correct from your particular perspective.

Edited February 23 by Gambit21

[Jaegermeister]

34 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

Frankly you’d have to be a campaign creator and understand the pain involved to truly understand my statement. I mean don’t get me wrong, you’re absolutely correct from your particular perspective.

 

Yeah, you don't want to put a bunch of work into something that is being left behind.

[LukeFF]

4 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

I have a little update.

 

I am finalizing the mission list and have started work on a new Campaign for release in the late Spring or Summer. It will cover the "Baby Blitz" of southern England, shipping and ground attack during and after D-Day until withdrawal from Normandy for home defense.  

 

I will be looking for one or more German speaking voice actors in a month or so.

 

 

If you need source material I machine-translated much of the text of KG 51's unit history in Das Flurschaden Geschwader. 

[BlackSix]

11 hours ago, KodiakJac said:

It's not just about the new shiny thing to customers it's also about the subject matter.  IL-2 GB will be state of the art for a WWII combat flight simulator until a different title replaces it.  Right now, for the Pacific during WWII, IL-2 1946 is the "state of the art" combat flight simulator until a different title replaces it.  Same for CloD in North Africa.

I also believe that the Great Battles project has a long life ahead of it and we should not immediately refuse to support it. 

The Cold War battles have their specifics and some will prefer to remain in the period of the WWII.

[Sandmarken]

10 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

I have a little update.

 

I am finalizing the mission list and have started work on a new Campaign for release in the late Spring or Summer. It will cover the "Baby Blitz" of southern England, shipping and ground attack during and after D-Day until withdrawal from Normandy for home defense.  

 

I will be looking for one or more German speaking voice actors in a month or so.

 

This sounds great! I have always thought the Baby Blitz would be a great theme for the Normandy map.

 

My next project is around 40-50% and will be released at some point probably this year 😁

[Jaegermeister]

10 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

If you need source material I machine-translated much of the text of KG 51's unit history in Das Flurschaden Geschwader. 

 

I'll PM you, Thanks.

[kraut1]

On 1/9/2025 at 5:42 AM, ZPA_Malan said:

It would be really great to have an 8th AF P51 campaign focused on high altitude-bomber escort, despite the limitations. Yes it would need to be mostly air-starts, use relatively small numbers of b25s and b26s etc. But looking at what's possible on the Cold Blue server, its hard not to wonder if such a campaign would be doable. There could be a wide variety of targets across the Rhineland and Normandy maps, going up against anything from early 1944 escorted me110/Me410 intercepts to up-armored fw190s and later Me262s, all at contrail altitudes. Bonus points for lots of historical skins like those available for the 352nd FG.

I highly doubt it could ever be an official campaign due to the stand-in bombers, air starts etc. But IMO such a campaign would be unique and well worth playing.

I am currently completing a Germany 43/44 Modification for EMG by Vander for mission generation.

-The whole Rhineland Map is available for mission generation.

-For pre September 44 Missions as a compromise I have created an "Airstart" Airfield and for full long range mission enthusiasts an "England-US-AF" at the western end of the map (+ a small map mod / copied airfield).

For missions after mid September 44 there are ca. 10 semi historical front lines from 11.09.44 to 02.04.45.

Attached a very late war airfield defensive mission that I generated today to test the 02. April 1945 front with the Ruhrkessel.

1945-04-02-Alarmstart-Quakenbrueck-BF109K4.zip

 

Edited March 13 by kraut1

[Sandmarken]

1 hour ago, kraut1 said:

I am currently completing a Germany 43/44 Modification for EMG by Vander for mission generation.

-The whole Rhineland Map is available for mission generation.

-For pre September 44 Missions as a compromise I have created an "Airstart" Airfield and for full long range mission enthusiasts an "England-US-AF" at the western end of the map (+ a small map mod / copied airfield).

For missions after mid September 44 there are ca. 10 semi historical front lines from 11.09.44 to 02.04.45.

Attached a very late war airfield defensive mission that I generated today to test the 02. April 1945 front with the Ruhrkessel.

1945-04-02-Alarmstart-Quakenbrueck-BF109K4.zip 1.03 MB · 0 downloads

 

Very cool! I like how you are using the rheinland map for different scenarios. I will try it out as soon as im done with my own project! 🙂

[357th_KW]

On 1/8/2025 at 8:42 PM, ZPA_Malan said:

It would be really great to have an 8th AF P51 campaign focused on high altitude-bomber escort, despite the limitations. Yes it would need to be mostly air-starts, use relatively small numbers of b25s and b26s etc. But looking at what's possible on the Cold Blue server, its hard not to wonder if such a campaign would be doable. There could be a wide variety of targets across the Rhineland and Normandy maps, going up against anything from early 1944 escorted me110/Me410 intercepts to up-armored fw190s and later Me262s, all at contrail altitudes. Bonus points for lots of historical skins like those available for the 352nd FG.

I highly doubt it could ever be an official campaign due to the stand-in bombers, air starts etc. But IMO such a campaign would be unique and well worth playing.

 

 

If someone wanted to make an 8th AF fighter campaign, they could probably save themselves a ton of time by simply reusing my MP missions and converting and tweaking them into their SP campaign.  I currently have 12 8th AF missions ranging from Feb 20th 1944 (Big Week) through March 2nd 1945 - all based on specific historical raids.  These missions all include 18-24 B-25s along with randomized interceptor encounters and airfield and train strafing targets.  In addition I've got a Normandy 8th AF mission based on the fighter-bomber activities of 8th Fighter Command on June 6th-8th, and two Market-Garden themed missions covering transports over Arnhem and Nijmegan.  Hopefully I'll have a few more Normandy and Battle of the Bulge themed 8th AF specific missions out in the next few months.

 

 

The server is setup for both PvP and PvE, so anyone interested should come check it out - you can jump in and tangle with the AI anytime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sevenless]

On 2/22/2025 at 3:25 PM, Jaegermeister said:

I have a little update.

 

I am finalizing the mission list and have started work on a new Campaign for release in the late Spring or Summer. It will cover the "Baby Blitz" of southern England, shipping and ground attack during and after D-Day until withdrawal from Normandy for home defense.  

 

I will be looking for one or more German speaking voice actors in a month or so.

 

 

Great! Dont know if this is of help. Just ordered it for my Kindle.

 

Operation Steinbock 1944: The Luftwaffe's disastrous last Blitz over England: Air Campaign Adam Tooby Osprey Publishing

Edited March 27 by LukeFF
swastikas

[Jaegermeister]

16 hours ago, sevenless said:

 

Great! Dont know if this is of help. Just ordered it for my Kindle.

 

Operation Steinbock 1944: The Luftwaffe's disastrous last Blitz over England: Air Campaign Adam Tooby Osprey Publishing

 

That would be an interesting read I am sure, but Operation Steinbock will only be represented in 1 mission. The Me-410s were active during Steinbock, but did mostly pathfinding and medium altitude blind night bombing.

 

I am starting the campaign in June 1943 when the Me410-A1 first entered service, and ending in early August 1944 when II/KG51 withdrew back to Germany to train on Me262s. It will cover early Intruder missions, testing of heavy weapons with E.Kdo 25, and then later intruder, night fighter, bombing and ground attack missions before, during and after D-Day. 

[Sandmarken]

5 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

 

That would be an interesting read I am sure, but Operation Steinbock will only be represented in 1 mission. The Me-410s were active during Steinbock, but did mostly pathfinding and medium altitude blind night bombing.

 

I am starting the campaign in June 1943 when the Me410-A1 first entered service, and ending in early August 1944 when II/KG51 withdrew back to Germany to train on Me262s. It will cover early Intruder missions, testing of heavy weapons with E.Kdo 25, and then later intruder, night fighter, bombing and ground attack missions before, during and after D-Day. 

That sounds like a very ambitious and cool campaign! 😀

[Juri_JS]

5 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

 

That would be an interesting read I am sure, but Operation Steinbock will only be represented in 1 mission. The Me-410s were active during Steinbock, but did mostly pathfinding and medium altitude blind night bombing.

 

I am starting the campaign in June 1943 when the Me410-A1 first entered service, and ending in early August 1944 when II/KG51 withdrew back to Germany to train on Me262s. It will cover early Intruder missions, testing of heavy weapons with E.Kdo 25, and then later intruder, night fighter, bombing and ground attack missions before, during and after D-Day. 

If you plan to do Me-410 night fighter missions, this information could be useful:

https://www.gyges.dk/Wilde Sau Frankrig.htm

[Jaegermeister]

15 hours ago, Juri_JS said:

If you plan to do Me-410 night fighter missions, this information could be useful:

https://www.gyges.dk/Wilde Sau Frankrig.htm

 

That's great info @Juri_JS. I am working on that time period now, so this link might be useful.

 

Part of II./KG 51 moved to St. Andre just before the invasion, and I am reading through the operational reports from March through August '44 that @LukeFF shared with me, which describe these operations in detail.

[kraut1]

On 3/13/2025 at 10:25 PM, Sandmarken said:

Very cool! I like how you are using the rheinland map for different scenarios. I will try it out as soon as im done with my own project! 🙂

@ZPA_Malan

Today I tested first time my EMG settings for long range escort missions.

I have changed the EMG take off time of the EMG template for the german AI intercept flight to 50 minutes and I changed the time to search for bombers to 60minutes.

And because some of the EMG "ambient planes" are always ground attack planes I added in the template for the MCU attack area air targets to the ground targets to make them behave as fighters.

For the Full April 44 Escort Mission the B26 bombers + P51 escorts take off from the self created (copied) "English" Airfield at the western edge of the map (small map mod):

For the mission target I selected in EMG factories in the Frankfurt area and Eschborn as the interceptor airfield:

 

I started the mission and activated autopilot:

-Take off of bombers and escorts worked without problems and during whole flight no collisions.

-after 50minutes the waiting 4 FW190-A8 interceptors in Eschborn started the engines and taxied to take off position.

-when they took off the bombers were ca. 120km away near Mayen / Koblenz.

-some of the defined ambient planes appeared (I have defined random 60% probability if they appear or not) (BF109-G6, BF110G2, P47-D22)

-some Air combat between Wiesbaden and Frankfurt between escort P51 + P47 ambient plane vs german planes.

-the bombers reached Frankfurt and dropped their bombs.

-ca. 10minutes later when I switched back the view to the player plane it seemed to me that the tank was empty and while gliding my P51 was shot down by a FW190.

 

To do:

for this mission type reduction of P51 / P47 EMG cruise speed to reduce fuel consumption.

The interceptors take off time can be reduced to ca. 30...40 minutes for other targets that are a bit closer.

 

Altogether seen it is possible to create with modified EMG full long range escort missions and to select strategic bombing targets (factories, fuel storages) on the whole Rheinland German map area.

And long range spring 44 airfield strafing missions and offensive free hunt missions are possible too.

The whole mission time between take off and landing will be ca. 2h 30minutes without time acceleration.

I think t's better if the player leads the escort flight with manual control to save fuel.

After 11. September 1944 long / medium range missions can be flown from Florennes and in later front lines from other Belgium Air Fields.

 

For me these long range missions are not my favorite mission type but I will release optional long range settings that can be activated with a small batch file.

Edited April 18 by kraut1

[ZPA_Malan]

Wow, that should be really handy way to generate these types of missions, looking forward to release! I wonder if one way to solve the fuel issue would be to allow for air starts partway to the target with more fuel left to approximate burning off the fuel in drop tanks? Also IIRC there were issues historically with optimal cruise speed of the fighters being faster than the bombers, and that had something to do with the early system of phased escorts

[kraut1]

On 4/19/2025 at 8:25 PM, ZPA_Malan said:

Wow, that should be really handy way to generate these types of missions, looking forward to release! I wonder if one way to solve the fuel issue would be to allow for air starts partway to the target with more fuel left to approximate burning off the fuel in drop tanks? Also IIRC there were issues historically with optimal cruise speed of the fighters being faster than the bombers, and that had something to do with the early system of phased escorts

Concerning fuel: the current internal fuel is sufficient for AI bomber and escort full missions (take off to landing) from the "English Airfield" near Middleburg to Nidda north / east of Frankfurt.

If you select "Air Start" the flight begins ca. 60km before the target. In this case you don't need special EMG long range settings.

         

Since Friday I am testing systematicly these long range missions (AI controlled, with / without time acceleration).

Bomber type:

B26:

-is able to fly to Frankfurt or Nidda and back (ca.840km).

-disadvantage: even with half bomb load / or even with only MG armament AI refuses to climb higher than ca. 4000m (I noticed this late because I was too lazy to convert feet to m)

B25:

-in EMG there was an issue that bombs were not dropped during the first bomb run and as long the bomb drop was not done it flew with attack area / priority high to maintain formation which means that the B25 gunners are not defending the plane until the bombs are dropped. 

But just by chance I had raised yesterday in my EMG long range mission plane settings the speed of the B25 from 350km/h to 375km/h and now the bomb drop works perfectly on the first bomb run.

-The B25 is able to climb with bomb load and 75% fuel to ca. 5300m which could be suitable to simulate a B24 and fuel is enough for the full mission.

-Currently I am testing if fuel 50% is sufficient and I am trying a small mod with lighter bomb load and hope that the B25 will climb higher.

Current test result: B25 with reduced bomb load and fuel max. altitude 19800ft = 6035m, on return flight without bomb load: 21350ft = 6500m.

50% fuel is a little bit too less / all B25 crash landed short before airfield -> I will stay with 75% fuel

Updated 24.04.25:

current running tests about max. possible altitude:

B25 standard bomb load 4 1000lb bombs not modded: 17500ft = 5334m

B25 standard bomb load modded 4 500lb bombs : 19000ft = 5791m

B25 standard bomb load modded 4 500lb bombs + modded ai file : 23047ft = 7025m

(ai mod: for B25 overheating deactivated and max. cruise power 0.95 instead of 0.85)

 

Currently to be decided: in EMG for B25 for altitudes to be decided:

-for alt. above 4000m either the target_wp radius tobe increased with ME by 20% to allow bomb drop during first bombrun.

-if radius not changed with default settings B25 does not drop bombs during first bomb run, circles 1 time and drops during second run.

with default settings attack area high prio in close formation (good) but without defensive fire.

-or with attack area prio. medium the bombers with defensive fire for the cost of a loose formation for ca. 2 minutes.

 

Escort fighters:

P51B:

with reduced cruise speed (385km/h) the fuel is sufficient for current max. altitude of ca.6500m.

AI cover command works for the full mission (player = leader) and fuel is sufficient for AI Controlled full Escort Mission.

But despite of this I suggest to fly at least a part of the mission with manual controll to reduce fuel consumption.

 

P38:

worked in general with the B26 missions (but there was the problem with the too low altitude of only 4000m)

to be tested again

Added 22.04.25: with AI MCU Cover fuel consumption with 385km/h too high because of constant zig-zagging / circling, but straight flight with 375km/h at 7000m works (AI controlled reconn), fuel gauge does not work (fuel gauge works, my mistake),

Added 23.04.25: 2 further P38 range tests reconnaissance missions alt7000m with 375km/h and 320km/h:

Fuel consumption absolutely no issue without Escort zig-zagging, with 320km/h to Frankfurt and back even the Reserve Tank was sufficient for the whole flight!

 

P47D22:

worked in general too at 4000m (too low) with B26, but:

when I tried with B25 at higher altitudes the AI has issues with the MCU Cover (for me a common issue for some plane types)

But I assume that with manual (human) player control the P47D22 could work too

Added 23.04.25: new test: P47D22 is able to fly straight to Frankfurt/Nidda and back at 7000m / 375km/h, but fuel reserves not sufficient for long combat.

 

German Interceptor fighters:

already working:

-Random ambient planes no change required, because they are activated (Air Start) in a defined distance to the player's plane.

-Works with modified Start Timer ca. 20minutes and increased patrol / search time to ca. 1.5 hours.

 

So altogether seen full long range escort missions will be possible and easy to generate if the player accepts:

-current max. bomber altitude of ca. 6050m...6500m(without bombs)

-usage of B25 as B24 Liberator

-Added 22.04.25:and Mosquito 1942/43 long range low level bombing missions

-usage of "English Dummy Airfield near Middelburg

-the flight time is ca. 2:30minutes (ca. 840km) without time acceleration for most distant targets (e.g. Frankfurt).

-Escort fighters flown by player: player has to care for fuel consumption, e.g.: auto-lean mixture and correct rpm to be used.

-most importent for fuel consumption: player = escort leader has to fly for some time manually to avoid AI zig-zagging and flying additional circles.

P51: range okay for escort mission to Franfurt/Nidda and back

P38: same as P51, but manual plane control required to reduce fuel consumption

P47: use for missions to ...Bonn...Ruhr area...Dortmung...Münster...Rheine  (Added 23.04.25)

 

 

Edited April 25 by kraut1

[=IRFC=Eccho]

On 4/21/2025 at 3:19 PM, kraut1 said:

Concerning fuel: the current internal fuel is sufficient for AI bomber and escort full missions (take off to landing) from the "English Airfield" near Middleburg to Nidda north / east of Frankfurt.

If you select "Air Start" the flight begins ca. 60km before the target. In this case you don't need special EMG long range settings.

         

Since Friday I am testing systematicly these long range missions (AI controlled, with / without time acceleration).

Bomber type:

B26:

-is able to fly to Frankfurt or Nidda and back (ca.840km).

-disadvantage: even with half bomb load / or even with only MG armament AI refuses to climb higher than ca. 4000m (I noticed this late because I was too lazy to convert feet to m)

B25:

-in EMG there was an issue that bombs were not dropped during the first bomb run and as long the bomb drop was not done it flew with attack area / priority high to maintain formation which means that the B25 gunners are not defending the plane until the bombs are dropped. 

But just by chance I had raised yesterday in my EMG long range mission plane settings the speed of the B25 from 350km/h to 375km/h and now the bomb drop works perfectly on the first bomb run.

-The B25 is able to climb with bomb load and 75% fuel to ca. 6000m which could be suitable to simulate a B24 and fuel is enough for the full mission.

-Currently I am testing if fuel 50% is sufficient and I am trying a small mod with lighter bomb load and hope that the B25 will climb higher.

Current test result: B25 with reduced bomb load and fuel max. altitude 19800ft = 6035m, on return flight without bomb load: 21350ft = 6500m.

50% fuel is a little bit too less / all B25 crash landed short before airfield -> I will stay with 75% fuel

Updated 24.04.25:

current running tests about max. possible altitude:

B25 standard bomb load 4 1000lb bombs not modded: 17500ft = 5334m

B25 standard bomb load modded 4 500lb bombs : 19000ft = 5791m

B25 standard bomb load modded 4 500lb bombs + modded ai file : 23047ft = 7025m

(ai mod: for B25 overheating deactivated and max. cruise power 0.95 instead of 0.85)

 

Currently to be decided: in EMG for B25 for altitudes to be decided:

-for alt. above 4000m either the target_wp radius tobe increased with ME by 20% to allow bomb drop during first bombrun.

-if radius not changed with default settings B25 does not drop bombs during first bomb run, circles 1 time and drops during second run.

with default settings attack area high prio in close formation (good) but without defensive fire.

-or with attack area prio. medium the bombers with defensive fire for the cost of a loose formation for ca. 2 minutes.

 

Escort fighters:

P51B:

with reduced cruise speed (385km/h) the fuel is sufficient for current max. altitude of ca.6500m.

AI cover command works for the full mission (player = leader) and fuel is sufficient for AI Controlled full Escort Mission.

But despite of this I suggest to fly at least a part of the mission with manual controll to reduce fuel consumption.

 

P38:

worked in general with the B26 missions (but there was the problem with the too low altitude of only 4000m)

to be tested again

Added 22.04.25: with AI MCU Cover fuel consumption with 385km/h too high because of constant zig-zagging / circling, but straight flight with 375km/h at 7000m works (AI controlled reconn), fuel gauge does not work (fuel gauge works, my mistake),

Added 23.04.25: 2 further P38 range tests reconnaissance missions alt7000m with 375km/h and 320km/h:

Fuel consumption absolutely no issue without Escort zig-zagging, with 320km/h to Frankfurt and back even the Reserve Tank was sufficient for the whole flight!

 

P47D22:

worked in general too at 4000m (too low) with B26, but:

when I tried with B25 at higher altitudes the AI has issues with the MCU Cover (for me a common issue for some plane types)

But I assume that with manual (human) player control the P47D22 could work too

Added 23.04.25: new test: P47D22 is able to fly straight to Frankfurt/Nidda and back at 7000m / 375km/h, but fuel reserves not sufficient for long combat.

 

German Interceptor fighters:

already working:

-Random ambient planes no change required, because they are activated (Air Start) in a defined distance to the player's plane.

-Works with modified Start Timer ca. 20minutes and increased patrol / search time to ca. 1.5 hours.

 

So altogether seen full long range escort missions will be possible and easy to generate if the player accepts:

-current max. bomber altitude of ca. 6050m...6500m(without bombs)

-usage of B25 as B24 Liberator

-Added 22.04.25:and Mosquito 1942/43 long range low level bombing missions

-usage of "English Dummy Airfield near Middelburg

-the flight time is ca. 2:30minutes (ca. 840km) without time acceleration for most distant targets (e.g. Frankfurt).

-Escort fighters flown by player: player has to care for fuel consumption, e.g.: auto-lean mixture and correct rpm to be used.

-most importent for fuel consumption: player = escort leader has to fly for some time manually to avoid AI zig-zagging and flying additional circles.

P51: range okay for escort mission to Franfurt/Nidda and back

P38: same as P51, but manual plane control required to reduce fuel consumption

P47: use for missions to ...Bonn...Ruhr area...Dortmung...Münster...Rheine  (Added 23.04.25)

 

 

What kind of formation do you have the B-25 Bombers in?

[kraut1]

39 minutes ago, =IRFC=Eccho said:

What kind of formation do you have the B-25 Bombers in?

A standard V formation, default by Easy Mission Generator by Vander.

I am modding the Rhineland map settings of the EMG.

 

[=IRFC=Eccho]

5 minutes ago, kraut1 said:

A standard V formation, default by Easy Mission Generator by Vander.

I am modding the Rhineland map settings of the EMG.

 

Just one big V formation?

[ZPA_Malan]

Not sure if this template at the bottom is applicable to EMG but maybe it could be used?

[kraut1]

7 hours ago, =IRFC=Eccho said:

Just one big V formation?

Yes

6 hours ago, ZPA_Malan said:

Not sure if this template at the bottom is applicable to EMG but maybe it could be used?

Thanks,

My focus is on the usage to create SP missions over the whole rhineland map area by using EMG by Vander.

By editing the EMG settings it is possible to adjust many mission parameters, e.g.: settings for long range escort missions.

And this will be combined with a small mod with additional airfields and for the AI only B25: modified (lighter) bomb loads and increased engine performance (overheating deactivated + increased max. cruise power) to allow at least altitudes of ca. 7000m similar to the B24.

But it is not possible to implement a box formation, that consists of multiple flights directly into the EMG Generic template mission.

But ca. 1 year ago my EMG Netherland modification was used for creating coop missions, as far as I understood by manually editing the EMG created mission files (I suppose they copied the bomber flight with some deviations).

But this was not done by me.

Video by @CAG_Krakenskulls

https://imgur.com/P5fzBfi

Maybe he can support you.

By the way, the reported issue in the linked post that the bombers are descending after waypoint 4 to low altitude is already solved by Vander in the current v88.2 version.