michelip

Normandy and WWII objects poll result Although the response cohort was small, I have now assessed as best I can the results of the poll for our ten most desired improvements in Normandy and WWII related matters. These 10 items are not rated in priority, but are based on how many respondents saw them as desireable and to what degree:- Placeable short dirt airstrips with spawn points, and more associated objects (e.g. crates, drums, personnel, camo netting) A.I. unrealistic behaviour and skill settings to be corrected Working Allied and Axis radar, (e.g. Wurzburg , Freya. ) including ship borne. Player driveable Jeeps Player controlled watchtowers (Allied and Axis) At least one each Allied and Axis twin engined bomber ( e.g. Mosquito, Ju-88 ) player- flyable Allied and Axis WWII artillery units ( e.g. U.S. 105 or 155 mm, British 25 pounder, German 10.5mm) A.I. Allied and Axis twin engined aircraft ( e.g. Ju 88, B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, Douglas A-20) Combined Arms player driveable Allied and Axis tanks. Option for Iron Bomb delayed detonation Thanks to all who contributed. Mich

Please limit your choices to yesterday's list for this poll. We can have others later. Mich

POLL for DCS WWII improvements Since my post of 18/9/2018 a few respondents have made some valuable suggestions . The following list of these is not in any particular order of priority: AI Ju88 AI Douglas A20 AI B26 Marauder AI B25 Mitchell AI WW2 Merchant ships (cargo & tanker) AI Canal barges to operate on inland waterways AI unrealistic behaviour and skill settings to be corrected Wurzburg and Freya radar with accurate coverage Ship-borne radar and LST fighter direction tenders. Placeable short dirt airstrips with associated spawn points Placeable airfield objects ( additional crates and drums, unarmed personnel e.g. maintenance crew and pilots, camo. netting) Allied field artillery ( US Howitzer 105 & 155, British 25 pounder) A Player flyable twin engined bomber with bombsight for each of Allies and Axis to include options for pilot, one gunner, or bombardier British 3.7 inch AA gun Driveable Jeep & Kubelwagen Driveable WW 2 tanks (Allied and Axis - at least 1 each side) Player controlled Watchtowers (Allied and Axis) Mission Ed. Trigger options to include the "AND" Condition, and a "Rocket in Zone" condition. Mission Ed: Option of delayed iron bomb detonation for low level ops. P-51 Mustang increased max boost level P-51 mustang and Spitfire - option to reduce windscreen tint Would anyone interested in getting some improvemts for DCS WWII activities please select your TEN most desired items from the above list (using numerical priority 1 to 10). I will then try to reduce the list to the most favoured ten . Thanks, Mich. 　

In M.E. creating either stationary or AI trains you create a steam loco. and attached rolling stock. You can designate each component as a separate unit (e.g. "Loco" ,"Wagons 1, 2, 3" etc.) Now you may want to trigger an explosion in one of the wagons, so you create a CONDITION ( e.g. "Unit Damaged - Wagon 2" and an ACTION (e.g. "Explode Unit - Wagon 2"). You test the mission by shooting the hell out of Wagon 2 and nothing happens. Has anyone else noticed this and if so is there a remedy?? Regards, Mich.

Thanks Phil. and DD. Mich.

No matter if we exceed 10 suggestions - the individual ratings will decide which 10 will remain. Regards, Mich

Hi XVII Dietrich. Your guess is largely correct, but the purpose of the post is to stimulate suggestions across the board - I certainly would not want to exclude ideas from anyone who enjoys this wonderful sim. My suggestions are based around the Mission Builder and Objects Wish List and I accept that some don't comply with these headings. The exercise is broader than just objects. e.g. AI behaviour and improvement of triggers but to put such categories in a separate post would just fragment the exercise. I want to see if interested forum users can agree on the ten most needed changes. What they are will depend on an assessment of all responses over the next few weeks. If it works, there is no reason why other polls focussed on other aspects shouldn't be conducted. Thanks for your valuable suggestions. Best regards, Mich.

Hi Msalama, Thanks for your prompt and helpful response. All the best, Mich.

Wish List Poll On this and other posts we have had many suggestions of great merit, but one wonders whether anyone is taking notice. So far this year Normandy has received very few updates of substance, and few new objects and facilities. I thought it might be a good thing to set out a list of 10 essential additions, changes and fixes, and have forum members vote, giving each item a score from 1 (not desirable) to 10 (highly desirable). There will, of course, be hundreds of ideas, but we must limit our wishes to a reasonable few so developers ( assuming they read these posts) don't feel overwhelmed and so do nothing. To start the ball rolling, I suggest the following in order of priority: 1. Correction of inaccurate AI skill levels, unrealistic gunnery and flight behaviour. 2. Combined Arms Implement player ability to drive at least some Allied and Axis tanks. 3. Prompt development of at least one flyable twin engine bomber for each side,with bombsight and allowing player choice of bomb aimer , gunner or pilot position. 4. Prompt development of choice of fuse delay in all iron bombs, (e.g. 0-10 seconds.) 5. Option of clear (un-tinted) windscreen on P-51 and Spitfire aircraft. 6. A.I. small boat and canal barge objects able to travel on inland waterways. 7. Some A.I. WW II merchant ships ( cargo and tanker) 8. Some Mission Ed. unarmed WW II civilian & air force personnel objects in various postures (e.g. standing and squatting service crew, pilots) 9. Prompt implementation of Mission Ed. Grass Airfield object. 10. More Mission Ed. trigger options (e.g. rocket-in-zone Condition, and introduction of the "and" Condition to enable at least 2 situations to trigger an event. If you are interested please post reply as to whether you agree with the above as priorities for Normandy. Please refer to the above items BY NUMBER. Then I can settle and re-post the list. Then we can start giving our scores to the priorities and hopefully achieve some action. Best regards, Mich.

I am unable to get external views of AI trains unless I plant a stationary object with which to view it (using F12) as it passes. With other AI ground vehicles F7 views are possible. Can anyone tell me if this is a bug, or if there is a solution. Regards, Mich

DCS World 2.5.3.21016 Open B. Just to report a similar problem here. Can't get DCS to even start since latest update. Small DCS World screen appears for 10 seconds, then turns black. Then nothing happens. My Win 7 64 pro. Task Manager tells me that the program is running. Am at a complete loss. Have tried repair without success. DCS totally inaccessible. Because I am running open beta, I am not supposed to seek help from the support team. No solution appears available from any of the fora or tech. issues sites I can find. Hope help appears soon. Mich.

Hi Hawkeye, I cannot find any V1 or 2 mods on the wwII assets thread. Can you post a download link? Regards, Mich.

As a sort of work around for canal barges in Normandy, static ship objects can now be placed in rivers and canals. The Higgins boats make passable barges if lined up about 50 ft. apart. You can load them with small trucks and cargo objects by carefully placing them on top of the "barges". It looks convincing from 1,000'. Not perfect but until some modder makes a better barge, it will do. Regards to all, Mich.

Hi Warmbrak. Just read your post. I have same problem, finding small objects very difficult to spot in Normandy even when not obscured by trees. If late rendering is the problem then hopefully the objects' rendering radii could be increased. Also, possibly more visible dust trails for moving objects could help. I have no trouble finding steam locos because of their steam exhaust plumes. Mich.

Thanks Paradox - much appreciated. Regards, Mich.

Hi Reflected, Thanks for your comments. You may have noticed that I erroneously posted this in the wrong forum - should have been P-51- Bugs and Problems etc. I have, as yet, not considered AI low level bombing. Off the cuff I can think of one (inferior) solution: You could have your AI pilots come over the target low without bombs, triggering a fuse delay of X seconds, on expiration of which triggering either the blast in an explosion zone over target, or (as mentioned in the earlier post) using the "explode unit" option in ACTIONS. I know this is not ideal for your purpose but it could look good from a distance. Wouldn't it be so much better if DCS just fixed the problem by giving us a fuse delay option. Regards, Mich.

Hi Zabuza, It seems that my posting has caused you some irritation, and for that I apologise. In answer to your questions: 1. I thought that it would be sufficient to direct any interested person to the location of the post. I am an old bloke and not forum-literate. Tell me how to "link the thread"and I'll have a go at it. 2. I agree that it is not a bug, but the category is "Bugs and Problems" In my view the developers' failure to programme the option of fuse delay in an aircraft whose historical functions included low level strafing and bomb strikes is a problem. Kind regards, Mich.

Want to bomb from rooftop level without getting blown up? See my posts accidentally placed in DCS - Combined Arms - Bugs & Problems - Weapons - P51 Low Level Bombing work around. Apologies for the error. Regards, Mich

More on P-51 Low Level Bombing. Referring to the last paragraph of my previous post, I have discovered that the "Bomb in zone" (B.I.Z.) trigger will work with unarmed bombs. It seems that while testing the workaround I had not entered the correct bomb type in the B.I.Z. trigger window. So now we can use the B.I.Z trigger to activate the flag rather than using a regular trigger. The advantage is that, if you make your B.I.Z. circle about the same size as your target, the result properly reflects your bomb-aiming accuracy. In addition it seems OK to place your smaller Explosion zone circle on the target within the B.I.Z. circle. Another tip is to make your explosion volume quite large (say 2000) when placing the explosion zone in a map building, otherwise the blast may not show. When using placed objects, you can use ACTION - Explode Unit , avoiding an Explosion zone altogether. The only problem now is that the triggers sometimes fail, even if the bombing is accurate - I tested this by making the B.I.Z. very large so I couldn't miss. In my experience triggers do glitch sometimes. I would be interested to hear if it is a common problem. Regards, Mich.

Regrettably, low level bombing from the Mustang is impossible because there is no way to set a fuse delay. Bombing from lower than about 800 ft. is suicide from your own bomb blast. There is, however, a kind of solution for mission builders that gives you the virtual effect of level bombing from very low altitudes. In Mission Ed. choose your target. It can be a map object or stationary placeable object. Place your Mustang with waypoints tracking over the target and arm it with its 2 M-64 bombs. Name it, e.g. "Player Group". Set a trigger zone (I name mine " flag activation zone") of about 70 ft. diameter just beyond the target but not enclosing any part of the target. Set another zone ("explosion zone") just big enough to fit over the target. The two zones must not overlap. Open the Triggers window and under TYPE -1 ONCE set a trigger ("trigger flag1"). Under CONDITIONS set ALL OF GROUP IN ZONE - (i.e. your player group in the flag activation zone). Under ACTION set FLAG ON (1). Now go back to TYPE -1 ONCE column and set another trigger ("trigger delayed explosion"). Under CONDITIONS for that trigger set TIME SINCE FLAG 1 at the time (in seconds) you want to delay the explosion. (e.g. 3 seconds). Under ACTION set EXPLOSION for your "explosion trigger zone" and set its intensity (e.g. 1500). Save your mission and fly it at low altitude (e.g. 100ft.) BUT only select your bombs for release -DO NOT ARM THEM. This means that your bombs drop on target but don't detonate. As you clear the target and enter the "trigger flag 1" zone your time delay starts and the explosion is triggered on its expiry. By then you are well away and safe from the blast. The reason for placing the flag activation zone BEYOND the target is that the trigger doesn't seem to work if bombs are released while in that zone. I tried using the "Bomb in Zone" trigger, which would have been a simpler solution, but unarmed bombs do not activate that trigger. Best regards, Mich.

I don't know if we are in the majority in DCS as it stands, but I believe that the advancement and development in civilian flightsims is stagnating. It is arguable that DCS and the associated commercial modders would get many more recruits from the other flight sims if they developed such flyable aircraft as the Dakota, Ju.52, Fieseler Storch, Lysander, Catalina, Hercules, Chinook, Boeing and Airbus refuelling tankers etc. We should make no apologies for stating our wishes. Regards, Mich.

ReconXPanzer's last post strikes a chord with me. I, too, often fly DCS aircraft in non-combat mode because I just like to improve my "virtual airmanship". I find just as much pleasure in a really good landing or accurate navigation, as in a kill. I have been flying with civilian Flight sims for years, but in my view (with a few exceptions) the visual, technical and operational standards of their planes are not up to DCS standards . In all conflicts there are aircraft that do not carry ordnance, but which play vital roles in support (take the Ju 52 and Dakota in WW II, and the Hercules and refuelling and electronic surveillance planes in more recent times.) Towing military gliders, troop transport, refuelling & reconnaissance are all valid wartime tasks. The above posts show that there will be no consensus, but if DCS were to post a brief well worded online survey they and the commercial modders would get a good indication of the most popular views. Regards to all, Mich.

I looked in DCS Mods forum. Can't find them. Can you tell me what date they were uploaded? Post Script Edit: Ignore the above - have now found and installed them. Already make a big difference to airfields. Thanks Mich

NORMANDY OBJECT WISHLIST so far: Following earlier posts and thanks to Hawkeye, Razor and Flying Photog we have some ideas for placeable, damageable objects in Mission Ed. for Normandy: STATIONARY: Sandbag revetments (straight and curved segments). Weathered. Camo. netting on poles. WW2 style tents (small, to complement the large F.A.R.P. tents)- weathered. Small group of Airfield personnel (e.g. in flying suits and overalls) some standing, some squatting. Bomb Tractor with trailer(s) - weathered. Smoking campfires. Cargo groups - e.g. Loose oil drums, boxes, crates. Weathered. AI & STATIONARY: Some WW2 era British, French and German civilian motor vehicles -weathered. Cargo barges (some loaded) that can be placed on rivers / canals, with a barge tug. Weathered. German infantry. ( the present ones don't work yet). EXISTING MAP OBJECTS: I would also like to see some of the native objects in the Normandy map available for Mission Ed. placement. These are already made, and perhaps could easily be added to the M.Ed. object lists. These include: French civilian vehicles, motor cycle or bicycle, wheel barrow, threshing machine (?), hay cart, barrels, a few of the village buildings and a small selection of trees and bushes which could be used to relieve the sparseness of the airfields. Please post your thoughts/ ideas. Keep in mind that objects are difficult to create and render, especially mobile ones, so simplicity is the best policy. Regards to all, Mich.

Excellent idea Razor. Perhaps placeable objects of short lines of sandbags, one curved to give us a way to compile circles/semi-circles, and one straight to place around tents etc..