Sandman Simulations

Hi, Thank you for your message. It is true that it takes a bit longer with this campaign. Reason is the way how dynamicity for ground war in this campaign is created. There are bit over 50 individual missions when in normal campaign there are usually from 10 to 20.

Change log for August update 2023 All missions – SAM-site not active if another site destroyed in the same mission - Enemy Air Defense Level calculation logic fixed

Thanks. I'm also eager to hear if you find some other working strategy so let me know.

Congratulations that you have made it so far. It's true that the end part of the campaign is not the easiest one. I have no play through instructions to give but below there are some tips. It you still can't make it with tips above please provide me with the mission name you are stuck in so I can try to recreate the situation and check if there is some script error preventing things going like it should.

I made a patch fixing this issue but it won't make it to August DCS update. But making full start up procedures or smoking some cigarettes until UZI 2-1 taxies should also work.

I checked the mission. When I did a normal startup with tests and all taking some time it works. But if I do a very fast startup I was coming to recovery before 205 got launched. If I contacted ATC before 205 launched ground crew throw their gloves off and 205 was stuck behind the cat. Could it be like that what happened to you? This could be avoided if I set all departing AI aircraft to be deactivated in case player is coming to recovery before they are launched. But... something strange also happened. I was coming for recovery after a fast start up but waited until deck was clear and only then contacted ATC. No one was stuck on the deck but they still didn't took anyone down. That is something I can't fix and don't know what happened. Fortunately if the deck is clear you can just fly normal overhead break and land and continue for the next launch. p.s. I haven't flown Tomcat for few months and Jester immediately caught me with DLC not activated in the first recovery. I like that landing list with Jester nagging about forgotten items. It was your idea wasn't it?

Hi, Thank you for your report and feedback. I will take a look. Unfortunately this kind of problems are not usually one occurences but something about deck behavior might have changed... again. I need to find fix then.

Hi, I'm very pleased to hear how you are playing this campaign. It would actually be nice to hear if someone else has found different but working (or not so well working tactics). Re-playability is of course a goal when talking about dynamic campaign and nice to hear that you have found it as it was meant to be. Using different tactics the campaign is quite a different every time. I have also found that sometimes F10 menu gives your squadron mates a wrong tasking. First I thought it was just triggers messed up but it works normally after resetting the mission so it must be something in DCS core engine. Fortunately it's quite rare. About radio chatter there is problem with overlapping radio sounds causing other one being cut or not sound at all. More chatter, more overlapping. In scripted campaigns it is possible to time different messages not to trigger same time but in this campaign timing is just from things happening around. Agree that more radio traffic is always nice. Anyway, thank you very much for your feedback

Hi, Thank you for your message. If SA-10 has already spawned (someone of good guys has flown close enough and AD-level is right) it shouldn't dissappear by killing Rapiers. But it may not spawn at all if Rapiers have been killed before. That behavior is not ment to be like that and I have found the problem. I have already sent patch to ED and it should be out in next Open Beta update.

Sometimes you may want to call your squadron to abort mission like if you for example notice enemy air power to be too extensive or strike packages sead support gets shot down.

Actually all AI flights should RTB without order when they hit bingo fuel. Does not work every time if they consume too much fuel on their way back to the carrier but sometimes they even have brain to go to tanker on the way home

It's true that in early phase of the campaign tankers may get in a bit dangerous situation but it will be more safe for them when you get air superiority level bit higher. You are right that lost aircraft doesn't affect your aircraft count in the next mission. Ratio between killed own / enemy aircrafts determines the air superiority level for the next mission and that determines active enemy airbases and number of enemy air units. Bingo call could be a good idea. Option to get information about AI fuel level was introduced by ED so late during developing of this campaign that I decided not to include it. But it could be one feature to be added. I'll put it on my list. One reason I'm not very eager to develop another dynamic campaign is that at least build in the way this one is build updating the campaign is an absolutely massive task. There is about 250 different F/A-18s in each mission and about 50 different missions so it makes more than 12000 lines of triggers and voice overs to be fed in just to add something like that quite simple bingo call. To be honest I would build it in a different way if I would start now.

During development process of this campaign I have told to myself about once a week to remember that never again make a dynamic campaign. Maybe it wouldn't be as laborious next time... never say never After takeoff you may land anywhere and debriefing will be available. Maybe not so realistic to but there should be no problem to end every mission by landing on ground.

Hi, Thank you for your message. Unfortunately the campaign is not designed to be played without flying. You can do it but as you said it needs you to takeoff and land or eject to get the debriefing and information for the next mission. As you said if you don't take off so won't Devil 4 or your wingman. Other problem is the AI deck behavior. Unfortunately there is no option for mission designer to set certain aircraft to spawn on certain spot on the deck. They will spawn on next empty parking place. Only way to "select" spawning place is to make aircraft to spawn in certain order. In this campaign you squadron mates need to spawn after you because you first need to select tasking for them. There was also lots of problems with AI crashing each other on the deck and that is why Devil 4 is set to start up only after player starts taxiing. I agree that it would be interesting just to send your squadron for mission and watch the results.

Change log for July update 2023 All missions – AI voice overs replaced by human actors

24/7/2023 update All missions – AI voice overs replaced by human actors All missions – AI aircrafts chatter when not supposed - FIXED Mission 3 – Interceptors not reacting as supposed - FIXED

I'm then pretty sure that it explains why SA-10 wasn't active anymore. I need to do something for the calculation so that killing another SAM won't have effect during current mission and so won't prevent other one from activating if it should be there.

I mean did your squadron kill SAMs in the mission before going to search that one in Jask?

Thanks. At least triggers seems to be right. Need to test it anyway. Did you or anyone of your squadron kill any enemy air defense before going to Bandar-e-Jask?

Hi, Thank you for your message and nice to hear you have enjoyed the campaign. With Enemy Air Defense Level 50-60% there should be SA-10 and also SA-6 at Bandar-e-Jask. I'll check if I can find reason why it wasn't there. If you can please count how many dynamic missions you have played after the first non-dynamic mission and what was name of that mission. One reason can be the way the Air Defense Level is calculated also during the mission. If your side has destroyed some other SAM site before approaching SA-10 at Jask, Air Defense Level might have been dropped just enough so that site is not anymore active but still not enough to lower the level for the next mission. This is not optimal way but decided to do the calculation like that to avoid some other problems. There might be some better ways it could be done but it would need the whole calcultion process to be rescripted. Maybe some day...

Hi, Thank you for your message. Not stupid question at all because this campaign is not what DCS is designed for. It is why there is lots of limitations for this kind of campaign. You unfortunately can't change your and your wingmans tasking like from CAP to CAS. But in mission planner view you can select suitable CAS or SEAD loadout for your wingman and then during mission you can task him to attack ground targets or air defense. Unfortunately if you want to commit some more complicated task (like OCA strike) with your wingman you need to do it by yourself and wingman is pretty much there to protect you from enemy air units.

Hi, Sorry I had totally missed this topic. There is pdf manual included and should be found behind path Program files/Eagle Dynamics/DCS World (or DCS World OpenBeta)/Mods/campaigns/FA-18C Flaming Sunrise/Doc.

Hi, Just working on it. I'm doing my best to get it into next DCS update.

Hi, Thank you for your message. And congratulations for completing the campaign! Actual campaign ending debriefing is at the end of the last dynamic mission. "End mission" is there just to make sure that player understands that campaign really has been succesfully completed. There is nothing else than carrier battle group sailing in sunset, background music and text after 30 seconds telling about victory. Problem is that DCS campaign engine doesn't undrestand that kind of situation where campaign ends even if there is still missions left. That is why there is no normal generic campaign ending text and you will be offered a next mission after "End mission". Because of dynamic nature of this campaign if you would have failed to support your ground troops one way or other in the last mission, campaign would have continued.

Hi, Thank you for you message. According to the story-line the aircraft carrier stays at a safe distance outside the range of Iranian anti-ship missiles and it won't move closer. True reason is of course that because of dynamicity of the campaign air superiority and air defense level is not known before player feeds them in at begining of the mission. And it wouldn't be very realistic to drive the carrier close to active enemy airbase or air defense sites. It's true that flights will be longer at the end part of the campaign. Usually still not more than hour unless you attack against most northern air bases. Missions are still just a minor part of real world missions lasting hours with multiple AARs.