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I have found if I add more than 2 client units to a F-14B group and spawn from the runway on the super carrier. The game will crash after 25 seconds in the Open Beta 2.7.8.16140 on Persian Gulf and Marianas map. Those are the only two maps I have tested This behavior does not appear to be the case on the stable version 2.7.7.15038 Attached is crash log dcs.log

Hi apollon01 - Sorry for the delay to respond. I am now realizing I am no longer subscribed to additions to this thread after their format change. Thanks for the suggestion. I looked at the code and it appears aircraft targets spawn at a random of altitude of between 3,000 to 7,000 feet MSL or 2,000 feet AGL when over the mountains. Good job on finding where that code is and hacking the change into your mission. This default setting is based entirely on WWII climb performance vs how much time I was willing to spend reaching that altitude. To make the suggestion work for all aircraft, I think I can take into account the "real world" operational altitude of each target type and use that to assign a more appropriate spawn altitude. However, I have shifted focus recently to finishing up a multiuser version of FBO, With the exception of new aircraft and maps, I am not spending much time on the single user version anymore. I will for sure add this suggestion into the multi user code and will look at working it into a future patch/update of the single user version. You can change the starting aircraft to any type you like in the mission editor. Just make sure the name and group name match. I looks like you fired out the other trigger distances.

Hi ohyeah2389, That is by design with the ground targets. I wrote this for WWII era play with ground targets in motion on a random heading. I didn't want them to drive too far away from me or their spawn point. You can hack their spawn distance to you by adding a final trigger in the mission editor. No Condition, one action " Do Script" , Text is "DefaultTriggerDistance=X". Where X is meters away from target you want to be when it spawns (note - in meters not kilometers). The default is 10000 meters. This limitation has been mentioned before. I will look into modifying the next release to include a ground target spawn range via the preferences.

Hi toutenglisse, I have already noticed that the FW190A8 doesn't spawn the loadouts. I should have that fixed in the next release. But thanks for the reminder. Keep them coming. I will look into the ability to swap airfields. Thats a good suggestion and should be easy enough to accomplish. In the meantime, you can move the starter aircraft to any airfield on the map in the mission editor. You can also change the starter aircraft to any type except Ka-50 which is still bugged. If you change the type, just make sure the group name and pilot name (unit) are exactly the same.

Hi Dai-San - Thank you for testing the mission. I am curious what feedback you have playing as multiplayer I sort of tabled the development on this for the last few months. Your interest is giving me renewed incentive to work on it more in the coming weeks.. DS> ATC is not working (all airports greyed out) but ATC can be a nightmare in MP anyway. ATC works for me in the Caucasus beta version I posted. If you are flying an aircraft with preset radio frequencies, add the tower frequency of the airport you flying to/from in the mission editor of the aircraft you add. For instance the F86 has a lot of available presets, but not all the airfields on Caucasus map are default listed in the presets when you add the aircraft in the mission editor. DS> I automatically got guidance to the airport whereas I had to manually request it in the MP version. Not sure if omitting that was "by design" or laziness on my part. The F10 radio choice gives you a vector to the closest friendly airfield. Whereas the single user version gives you a vector to your home airbase. I will look into adding the home base vector into the multiplayer. DS> Flight Training and Formation Training but again if these were omitted because they don't work in MP than that's fine. Sorry those training functions require a dynamic spawn of the players aircraft on approach, short final, at the tanker etc. Not possible in the multiplayer version since you spawn via aircraft you have added in the mission editor. I guess you could add your own aircraft lined up on final for instance and just keep spawing into it. I will be working on this mission and will post an updated Syrian version next time too so you don't have to port it. Thanks for the feedback !

Hey Dai-San, I am glad you like the FBO mission and are getting value out of it. Running the FBO mission as multiplayer just isn't going to work. I tried to port it a couple of months ago and abandoned it. The issue is because DCS to my knowledge won't let you dynamically spawn the Multi-players. To that end I have been working on a completely rewritten and slightly different play style multiuser version A very early Caucasus multiuser beta version can be downloaded HERE. It still contains all the dynamic target spawning as the single user FBO. You can play this MultiUser FBO mission in single user or host it as multiplayer. You modify the players aircraft in the mission editor. Add or delete any aircraft in the mission editor. Call them whatever you like and place them anywhere on the map. Basically, customize the aircraft type and location to your liking. You can even delete every aircraft I have added in this beta version and add your own. The menu driven target selection follows the player aircraft groups you set up in the mission editor. So if you want a group of players to get messages that track the same target, add a single aircraft group and multiple units. If you want each player to have their own target selection, add a aircraft group with only one unit. You can also mix and match any single or multi-unit groups you want. There are some user/host configurable settings you can edit in the mission editor to make the mission play to your own style. To change them, edit the mission triggers for the first trigger in the list called "User Config Mission Settings" . Edit the "do Script" value for each global variable: gLanguage = Language. Right now just English and Spanish ( taken from google translate ) gDifficulty = How many targets spawn as default. Like the single user version normal = 1 , hard = 2 etc gFlightRange = mission default choice for how far away the players flight is to the target in meters. gDetectRange = mission default choice for how far away players are when target spawns in meters. gUnitsOfMeasure = if mission tells the player flight distances in kilometers or miles. Note - the altitude description of target matches the players aircraft altimeter type. gTargetRange = array for the distances of the gFlightRange choice in meters. For instance, you can make a "short" flight a distance of 10 meters or a far flight 900,000 meters, etc. gTargetDetectRange = array for the distances of gDetectRange choice in meters. This behaves like gTargetDetectRange except for how far away player is when the target spawns gTargetDestroyDelay = how long in minutes target remains on the map after the entire group dies or quits mission. If you want to keep flying over and over to the same target, set this to a big number or you can remove/comment out the variable altogether for infinity. gAllowWindSock = True or false if the players can put smoke on the closest airport so they can see the wind direction. This is helpful when landing at an unknown airport since we have no ATIS in DCS. As always feedback is always encouraged.

Beta FBO for Syrian map located here Feedback is encouraged.

Sorry I am Giving Up! Sorry I have to remove the Ka-50 from the mission. I tried everything to get it to work. The problem is that if the Stennis or Tarawa are ever spawned in the mission a Ka-50 player spawn will crash the mission. The Tarawa spawns late activation when the mission starts to speed the activation when the player wants to spawn on it. This late activation spawn is what causes the initial crash when you pick the Ka-50. If I spawn the Russian KUZNECOW or MOSCOW late activation at mission start instead of the Tarawa. Then a Ka-50 spawn will not crash the mission. However, if during game play you fly something off the Tarawa or Stennis then try to fly the Ka-50, it will crash the mission. Very strange behavior that appears to be a DCS bug to me. I can't replicate it outside this mission to really be able to submit it. The Ka-50 is the only aircraft with this problem and all the aircraft in my mission use the exact same spawning routines regardless of type. A Ka-50 will spawn as a target or wingman with the Tarawa active. The only difference between a target,wingman and player in the spawning routines is Skill="Player"

A beta update of FBO for DCS Super Carrier version can be downloaded here Caucasus Persian Gulf Normandy If you don't own the Super Carrier you will spawn airborne for now.

Hi Toutenglisse - Thanks for the feedback. I simply picked skins that I liked for the mission. I realize now there isn't enough of a difference in some of the possible match ups. Especially the British skins used on the red side. In the next update, I will change the red skins so they are different enough from blue to avoid any confusion.

No worries - glad its working as intended. When you restart the mission, it resets the difficulty. You can save the difficulty by editing the preferences trigger in the mission editor. Then it will always start on that difficulty setting.

Hi Apollon01 - I think it "maybe" already does what you want. Open the communications menu pick F10 ( Other ). Then pick Preferences > Difficulty Settings. Normal - is one target. On a Squadron Mission it s four targets Challenging- is two targets. On a Squadron Mission it s eight targets Hard- is three targets. On a Squadron Mission it s twelve targets If you are flying a bomber with escort mission, the above settings are the bombers plus an escort for each bomber. So hard on a squadron mission would be twelve bombers and twelve fighters. This setting works the same for ground targets . For a convoy mission, the number of tanks in the convoy is effected by the difficultly setting.

Hi Toutenglisse - Based on your feedback i have changed the squad mission to CAP task, the squad now spawn at the players MSL altitude and no longer return to base when their formation leader dies. I have posted the updated missions for all the maps on the user downloads here. Thanks again for your feedback.

Hi GTFreeFlyer, The getSurfaceType() function returns 5 for any paved surface of the airport environment on the Caucasus map. On the Normandy map, 5 is returned anywhere inside the airport environment paved, grass, dirt, etc and for a good distance on the runway heading past the end. I submitted this Normandy map problem as a bug, but never heard back and appears to still be broken. Not sure if Caucasus is a bug or bad design. Maybe you could use the get getParking function and compare your current distance against the returned table values of fDistToRW . The fDistToRW value is the distance to the active runways from the table of returned parking spaces. So if you change the wind direction of your mission, the active runway spot will change on some airfields. I also believe the spot isn't right in the center of the active runway. Its off to one side and near where the takeoff spawn happens. Which on some airports isn't at the end of the runway.

When the squad spawns, the first aircraft to spawn is designated as the squad leader. All the other squad members form up on that leader and the leader forms up on the player. So if the squad leader dies before you make it to the target, I think the others will RTB. I see this as kind of a design flaw now. Let me look into promoting someone to a new leader and reform the formation if the squad leader dies. Also, i too have noticed the squad spawns about 100 feet below player. My guess is because the spawn uses barametric altitude vs radio altitude of the player for the altitude. This should be fixed, so when you are nap of the earth they will spawn at your alt and not crash into the ground. My goal was to give the player the first crack at shooting the enemy. I have noticed that AI aircraft performance tends to be way beyond that of the players aircraft. So when the target would spawn the AI would just pull away and be the first to engage, not what i wanted. Maybe changing the squads task after player fires first rather than looping through the targets is a better approach. Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming!

There is no MIST in my mission, so i would need to find another way. Probably using M.A.T.H

I have had a request for LAT/LON too but not really finding any helpful posts on how to calculate those coordinates. If you have any advice or can point me in the right direction i will definitely add multiple formats to a future release. I don't think its possible to programatically change the weather or time of day in DCS. A work around is going into the mission editor and changing it manually. I have copy of the Persian Gulf map mission which I have saved with a low ceiling and at night and practice ILS approaches.

Awesome...thanks for checking it out !

When the fight starts I loop through all the members of the squad and assign them an enemy group to attack. When their assigned group is all dead, they won't reengage remaining enemies. This could happen when there are a lot of enemies and most of your squad is dead. I am still trying to figure out the best way to reengage the remaining AI without the players intervention. (Sometimes you just have to handle things for yourself !) During testing I have noticed the squad members with no remaining enemies, will form back up on the player. I have not seen the RTB behavior yet. Perhaps they are out of ammo or just plain scared :smilewink:. The AI in DCS can have some very unpredictable behavior. Sometimes they will fly far away from the fight to setup for the attack. Other times they keep circling and eventually engage, or keep getting in each others way when trying to land. Not to mention the WWII era fighters bombing skills from altitude is way too precise.

I am so looking forward to DCS adding more WWII assets and I will add them when available in for the stable version. Additions to the WWII asset are a long time coming for sure. Also, more liveries for the B-17 would be nice. I have added a new mission type to my FBO mission. It is a squadron lead sortie that spawns 5 AI friendlies of your aircraft type and they will follow you in formation to the target. If you start the mission on the ground, they take off and then orbit waiting for you to lead them to the target. If you start the mission airborne, they spawn directly behind you and then form up. To get them to engage the targets you have to fire your weapons after the targets spawns. This gives you the first shot advantage on the targets. Groups of 4 enemies spawn on this mission type depending on the difficulty you select in preferences. Bombers with an escort on hard is pretty nuts ! I have posted the missions to my repository. Feedback is encouraged before I release this update to a wider audience. Persian Gulf Caucasus Nevada Normandy

I updated the Normandy map mission on the DCS userfiles website with a fix for the neutral side issue. Thanks for pointing this issue out. The version I uploaded is the beta version of the latest release i am working on. Hopefully this beta version works as expected for you. I am glad you are seeing value in the mission. It was perfect timing with the DCS demo days and the release of my missions. Their demo days is the main reason why i rushed to get the other maps posted.

Hey toutenglisse, I also saw you post on the user files too. I will take a look at Normandy mission tonight and post and update. Thanks for pointing this out.

I am working on a mission that identifies the end of the runway. I have noticed that land.getSurfaceType() returns the surface type as 5 (a runway) for a long way past the end of runways on the Normandy Map. I have posted a simple mission below that demonstrates this behavior. When you run the normandy_error.miz you will see that zone 2 returns the surface as runway. The mission returns Zone 3 as not a runway. However, if you move zone 3 to inside the circle that surrounds the airfiled. On the runway heading it will return as a runway. That circle seems to be the cutoff point at least on Carpiquet airfiled. This behavior is not the case on the Caucasus map which returns the surfaces correctly. Is this a bug? normandy_error.miz caucauses_error.miz

Greetings. I am experiencing some strange behavior in version 2.5.6 Open Beta vs the 2.5.5 Stable version. I hope this is the right place to post this question. I have noticed that the ID's for airbases on the Caucasus map have change considerably between the two releases. In the 2.5.5 stable version for instance this code: myAirbase = Airbase.getByName("Batumi") myID = Airbase.getID(myAirbase) Returns a value of 22 for myID. Then I can use that myID value to dynamically spawn a group at Batumi Airbase like this: ["airdromeId"] = myID , In version 2.5.6 OpenBeta the same code yields a value of 5000022 for myID. Worse yet, using 5000022 as the value in ["airdromeId"] = 5000022 fails miserably. It has to be the value of 22 in OpenBeta to spawn at Batumi. OK simple just subtract 5000000 from the id and get the correct/new value. Except for instance, Kobuleti airbase has an ID of 5000026 in Open Beta and a value of 24 in 2.5.5 Stable version. Where 24 is the correct Airbase ID to spawn at Kobuleti for both OpenBeta and the Stable version. There are probably others with different ID's between the two versions. I only noticed Kobuleti. Am I doing something wrong with Airbase.getByName() and world.getAirbases() in OpenBeta vs 2.5.5 Stable ? Is this a bug?

Greetings. I am experiencing some strange behavior in version 2.5.6 Open Beta vs the 2.5.5 Stable version. I hope this is the right place to post this question. I have noticed that the ID's for airbases on the Caucasus map have change considerably between the two releases. In the 2.5.5 stable version for instance this code: myAirbase = Airbase.getByName("Batumi") myID = Airbase.getID(myAirbase) Returns a value of 22 for myID. Then I can use that myID value to dynamically spawn a group at Batumi Airbase like this: ["airdromeId"] = myID , In version 2.5.6 OpenBeta the same code yields a value of 5000022 for myID. Worse yet, using 5000022 as the value in ["airdromeId"] = 5000022 fails miserably. It has to be the value of 22 in OpenBeta to spawn at Batumi. OK simple just subtract 5000000 from the id and get the correct/new value. Except Kobuleti airbase has an ID of 5000026 in Open Beta and a value of 24 in 2.5.5 Stable version. Where 24 is the correct Airbase ID to spawn at Kobuleti in OpenBeta and the Stable version. There are probably others with different ID's between the two versions. I only noticed Kobuleti. Am I doing something wrong with Airbase.getByName() and world.getAirbases() in OpenBeta vs 2.5.5 Stable ? Is there a new/better way to get the ID of an airbase for spawning in 2.5.6 OpenBeta? Is this a bug?