R3DL1N3

Version 1.0 of We Were Soldiers Once... And Young I've posted version 1.0 to the User Files section of DCS. There are lots of improvements and changes. Switching to the Caucasus map being the primary change. Minor changes as follows. - No mini-guns on the slicks - Fix parking places - 3,000-strong VPA division - 6am start - Early dawn, more fog, more aggression - Updated description, including TL;DR - Match blue to red buls - SetFrequency and TransmitMessage for 31 FM beacon - Score reports Cav and VPA maximums - LZ X-ray changed to EJ83; groundTurbulence increased - Blue/Red airbases changed to Gudauta and Maykop - Light fog - Airbase alignments - New random dynamic weather - Enable dust - Month of June - Fixed-wing start in air, pre-equipped; (x, y) location adjustments for Caucasus terrain; warehouses updated - Switch to Caucasus theatre; LM30 - Remove redundant array-table indices - Elide redundant difficulty options Most of the changes were made two years ago. Sorry about the delay in updating the forums and user files. This version is currently running on multiplayer server R3DL1N3.alfa if you want to give it a test (6 September 2020). SRS auto-connect available on that server. I've checked the embarking/disembarking functionality. It works with the latest DCS, version 2.5.6.54046. You can find the sources for the mission on GitHub. Kind regards, Redline

Hey mate, Hope your safe and sound putting the bush fires out in your Bell 412! Kez has done a fantastic job with the action photography. In another life, he'd have been a war photographer. In fact, he's done a fantastic video that's even better. I'm hoping he'll post a link to that here when he gets a chance. Best, Redline.

Apologies for the delay in replying. Been working on it this week, with feedback and testing by 16AGR squadron. I have a new version prepared, release 0.7, which supports DCS 2.5.3. However, I've been toying with switching to the Caucasus theatre. It's much better now, compared to its poor state when I first did the We Were Soldiers Once mission. Caucasus is now high quality and it looks more jungle-like. I've put a Caucasus evaluation at public server R3DL1N3.bravo with auto-connecting SRS, temporarily. There's a 3,000-strong division of NVA lurking in the hills! If you'd like to give it a try, I'd welcome and be grateful for any feedback. Kind regards, Redline.

Wilco. A quick test reveals a regression bug with the AI. Disembarked soldiers do not change their models as they manoeuvre. You can see muzzle flashes but the models remain frozen. This occurred in a previous version and then got fixed. Also noticed that dynamically spawned units appear, but not on the F10 map. That's a new bug. On the plus side, I'm liking the new graphics and soundscape. In addition, I think the crashing-into-invisible-trees bug might be fixed perhaps. Sounds sad, but I'm loving the new clouds. I'll do so more testing and get back to you. Many thanks for running it. Regards, Redline

That's a good question. It depends on the pilots. Three should be enough. More the better. The Hueys and Gazelles are pretty vulnerable to Somali negotiations: AK-47 ground fire. Although I'm often surprised how tough the 342L is to small arms. Hueys get very hard to handle once the hydraulics get hit. It's definitely better to host the mission on a dedicated server. It can take the AI overload independently without impacting a client.

Version 0.10 Hey, I'm up for that too! The latest version of Open Alpha is pretty stable with the new version of the mission. Fought through it today and it was solid, although the mission did need a little fix (new v0.10 posted). The Somalis are tough fighters, and you do get the sense that you're in a pitched battle. The new retire and re-spawn behaviour works well. Keeps the engine clean and running smoothly. One thing I did note though, AI seems to abandon its mission when units engage. I think that's new. I had to redirect Uniform 6 (McKnight's convoy) after it had been engaged, using the Combined Arms module.

Version 0.6 Posted an updated version 0.6, compatible with 2.1.1 Update 2 (2.1.1.8491). Download at the usual location.

Great pleasure sir. Thank you for trying out the mission. Let me know how you get on. Commit aviation!

Just posted version 0.9 with fixes for DCS 2.1.1.8491 (Update 2). I've tried to strike a balance between battle intensity and AI overload. Too many Somalis make the AI engine grind to a halt. I've added a re-cycling feature where Somali mobsters that end up far away from the battle line return home for more Khat. They disappear in doors; only to spring up somewhere else later, pumped up and ready for the fight with those “Arkansas white–boys.”

I tried it on an earlier version of 2.1, and decided that the version was too raw to test the mission with, e.g. the Rangers were moving and firing but their bodies were frozen. Looked to me like the network code was in a state of flux. I'll do some testing today with the latest update to see where we're at. Will let you know. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You can freely change the load out. It's only the helicopter type that matters, for loading chalks or fireteams. And that won't change. I've adjusted the load out myself. Added rockets. Sling loading Abdi's cargo is tricky. Keep the governor on emergency and approach up-wind. It can be done even with all the mini guns. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Posted an update just now, version 0.6. Changes as follows: Abdi is "invisible" to AI. Give Uniform 6 and the Technicals a speed of 20mph Never assume that there is an event initiator; even when logically there should be

By the way, you can repair DCS using, from the command line in the DCS binary folder: dcs_updater.exe repair Might be worth running that command.

Yea. That's not right. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mmm. That is very strange. I did test that any Huey can load a chalk. I'll test it out again just to be sure. No reason it wouldn't work for you; not unless there's some damage on your installation. The mission relies on identifying the chopper as type UH-1. Maybe it doesn't match. Very odd. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh and on the troop loading: the Huey only picks up Rangers. The Gazelle only picks up Delta. Could that have caused confusion? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay. I think I know what it is. I need to make Abdi "invisible!" Not literally. Invisible to AI. What might be happening is that the AI does not drive his car far enough to reach the trigger zone. Let me have a test flight or two. See if I can't make him a bit more reliable ;-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First thing I'm wondering: are you running v0.5? I did discover scoring issues with early versions. The game attempts to assign scores based on hits. Hitting non-coalition objects needed handling correctly. The Khat needs dropping off in Abdi's backyard. I've been wondering for a while if the zone is too small, or the payload is too heavy. Or both. Maybe I could fly it with your squad to iron out any kinks in the scripting or the game play. It's a pretty tough mission. The Khat-infused Somalis are fierce fighters! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers Shagrat. Great ideas. I've incorporated them into version 0.4. Changes as follows: Three extra AAA units, spawned when Skyraiders come alive Added three-element Checkertail flight Added F-86F Checkertails to briefing Pretend the MiG-15s are Chinese Shenyang J-5s

Thanks Shagrat, and thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated. I could do with your advice on the fixed-wing elements. I've prepped the Skyraider flight with 50% fuel, cluster bombs and WP rockets. That seems Vietnam era to me to represent Phantoms and B-52s, but I generally only fly rotors. I don't even have the F-5E module. I was wondering if F-86s would be a useful addition, for fixed-wing pilots. I added MiG-15s for Vietnam to balance it out, just in case someone wants a real epic.

Good point Neil. The Caucasus map is kind of sucky: low detail, poor collision model. Still, I suppose it's the free one. So may be a Caucasus location would still be useful to some. Trouble is, I'm finding it pretty hard to pick a suitable spot. I know it pretty well. There's plenty of mountains, but all poor quality in comparison.

Thanks mate :thumbup: I'm glad they're enjoyable. But thanks too for the testing and feedback. Makes the mission much better.

Version 0.3 Creech AFB is red, Nellis AFB is blue Added Skyraider and Redstar flights Play music on 30.00FM Destroy empty groups every five minutes Added Group.destroyAllEmpty function Fix embedded quotes: single not double Always play a tune every five minutes; players can turn it off now Briefing about Armed Forces Radio Vietnam Fix chalk embarking-disembarking briefing Guard conditions for events with no initiator added Resampled audio files to 22.05kHz; no normalisation

Yes! And for the Gazelle too. Sorry for the confusion. But I think it's closer to ideal, compared to mashing around with backslash and F10. I chose the cockpit door versus the side doors on Huey so that embarking-disembarking operates independently from gunnery.

Yea, you've got to land then open the cockpit door. I'll try to make it clearer in the instructions. Technically, the "landed" event occurs when the velocity drops below 1 metre per second and remains there after the "land" event. In other words, landing means touch the ground and come to a stop. Door opening is cockpit parameter 38. Good idea for Abdi. Making him invisible and blue would make it easier to spot him on the map, I guess. Next version: music on the radio, normal decibels! Great idea.