Mission in development

[Baumer]

I've started working on a mission that's from the book, "Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer" by Brian D. O'Neill. It's a Mission that was flown on 19 August 1943. The good thing is it looks like the important fields are on the BOB04 map and I've tried to map the actual course as closely as possible. I'm still working on the "Combat Box" formation, but here's a screenshot of what I've got so far.


I'm still working on the formation and spacing but one bomb group (20 aircraft) should be in formation within a space that's 380 yards wide, 210 yards deep and 300 yards top to bottom! Also, right now the formation is flying at 15,000 feet when completed this mission will be flown at 23,000.

[Dux]

Sweet... I'll have to try it when it's done.

When BoB gets redone this spring, it's going to have a lot of special targets in it... things like D-Day stuff, Atlantic Wall, Chain Home sites, Ports like Brest, St. Nazaire, Amiens prison. I'd love to be able to include missions with a map release. Kinda make the public go out of their way to download a new terrain and not wait until it's used in an event.

BTW, back to weather for a minute... you can grab a couple of recently used weather files from these threads:
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,229609.0.html
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,231951.0.html

... for Aleutians and BOB. Make sure you rename the BoB06.awa file to BoB04.awa, as there was a mixup as to what version was needed.

One potential problem we might run into... weather needs some time to develop; when a terrain and cloud file loads, it starts empty, and begins loading clouds one row at a time. Now the way I build cloud files is to make one generator for each vertical sector row, moving at 25 mph... so it takes 1 hour for a sky full of clouds. I'm not sure how the missions are timed (or what they're timed to) so this might hamper weather-oriented missions. Something to figure out, anyway.

[Arlo]

Sweet... I'll have to try it when it's done.

When BoB gets redone this spring, it's going to have a lot of special targets in it... things like D-Day stuff, Atlantic Wall, Chain Home sites, Ports like Brest, St. Nazaire, Amiens prison. I'd love to be able to include missions with a map release. Kinda make the public go out of their way to download a new terrain and not wait until it's used in an event.

 

[Baumer]

Thanks Dux,
I'm going to try the BOB weather right now. Is the one hour tied to "real time" or "game time"? Even though you can "warp" mission segments, it still calculates time, speed and distance, and you can't cheat the laws (even virtual) of physics. I tried to warp a B-17 to 25000 feet over a segment that wasn't long enough and it reappeared at the altitude it could climb to at the proper speed and time. I'm hoping that if I have a warp to altitude that requires and hour the clouds will be there when I reappear.

[Stixx]

Nice 

I've been working along the same lines, creating bombing missions on the bob04 map. Found this on bomber combat box formations from the official 398th Bomber Group website.



Do your formations cause any CTD's when you run them?

I created two strike packages launching from the same airfield, 36 bombers per package, and experienced all kinds of problems until
I removed a couple of Vee formations from the groups. That solved the problem until I added excorts, then I had to drop another Vee formation from each package to stop the CTD's.

I don't know if there is a limit to the aircraft that can occupy a select area in the editor, or if the problem is related to the fact that I don't own a top of the line system. I'm working thru it right now to see if I can resolve the issues. If not I'll start filming and posting info for Sudz to check.

[Baumer]

Anything above 24 aircraft will be very unstable, in my experience. I am currently running the 303rd BG combat box formation, with the 20 aircraft they used. I have one escort plane (Spit V) that I fly to check the formation alignment for a total of 21 aircraft, and have not had a CTD.

However, even with a very slow cruising speed (130 mph) I'm having issues keeping them in formation. Seems every turn a couple more will drop back and not catch back up? I've kept all the turns at less than 45 degrees and still no luck.

BTW is anyone else having problems with the coordinate system or aircraft following it? I can't get a large group to accurately follow the Z dimension ( + forward and - behind) properly. Seems the Hi and Lo squadrons can't follow the lead.

[Dux]

Damn... I thought I was responding to Baumer's PM. 

Oh well, enjoy that little bit of CM inside info, general public!
D'oh!

[Baumer]

Here's a screen shot at the drop point.

INTERESTING NOTE: according to the film viewer the stragglers are at the segment speed not trying to catch up at all, thought that might help.

Also, unfortunately, the in game clock does not "warp" when the mission does, hence no clouds. We'll have to work on that a bit more. Dux, if I were to set the arena time multiplier to say 4, would the clouds develop faster?

[Stixx]

BTW is anyone else having problems with the coordinate system or aircraft following it? I can't get a large group to accurately follow the Z dimension ( + forward and - behind) properly. Seems the Hi and Lo squadrons can't follow the lead.

I've had the same problem, just figured it was one of the bugs they needed to work out.

[Dux]

Baumer, AFAIK the clouds are independent of the game clock.

[mrmidi]

Damn... I thought I was responding to Baumer's PM. 

Oh well, enjoy that little bit of CM inside info, general public!
D'oh!

 

Quick call Roscoroo we need the squirels