Bahger

There is no doubt that Beta advancements have interfered with the AI behavior in this mission, causing anomalies that didn't exist before, such as helo collisions. Also, the enhanced power of the LGB briefed for the bunker attack now splashes friendlies. Argh! It's annoying to me, as I had been very satisfied with the way the mission played in Beta 3 after bug-testing it extensively. I'm going to rebuild the mission in the final, retail version of the sim, as long as there is sufficient interest. Meanwhile thanks for your patience. There does not seem to be much point in fixing it now, when Beta 6 -- and however many more Betas there are between it and retail -- will probably wreck it again.

Thanks guys. It would be good if the answer to the config.lua question popped up here. (Mithandra, I was prompted to post by the publication of a Beta 5 changelog on SimHQ, so it appears that it's not far off.)

I've been patching up from Beta to Beta but I think it's glitching the sim and I need to reinstall "clean". I'm not sure what the best MO is to do this. I downloaded the original Beta file and all updates via Torrent and still have them on my HD. I'd be grateful to know the best step-by-step method for uninstalling and reinstalling the sim once Beta 5 comes out. I'd also like to know whether I should trash all the mission files I've created in B3 and 4 because attempting to run them in B5 is inadvisable. Finally, if there is one thing I'd love to preserve from previous installs it's my control assignments, as resettting all the axis commands can be a pain. If any of you have the time/inclination to talk me through this process, I'd truly appreciate it. I can be amazingly obtuse about this stuff, so please address your comments as though to a very intelligent 15 year-old.

I know it's the system, ever since LOMAC, this engine does not "record" activity but presents replays in the form of, well, true replays, i.e. the mission is literally replayed by the AI. The problem is, there are so many anomalies. In particular, tracks won't reproduce weapon data input properly, or behavior commanded in the original playthrough by player-JTAC comms and the results are often hilariously off-kilter, with hit targets not being hit in the replay, even planes crashing that survived the original playthrough unscathed. I'm talking about tracks made in the same beta version as the mission was made and played. It's been a while since I've used this engine, so please let me know if this eccentric behavior is simply "par for the course", thank you.

If any of you posting about engine start difficulties use a CH HOTAS, I might be able to assist, having experienced (and solved) a similar issue some time ago.

I patched to B4 because I felt daunted by the full reinstall. I guess I learned my lesson, although the good news is that if the mission worked for you, it works, notwithstanding my own "issues". As I said, though, I won't release any final version util CBUs are available again. (If you don't mind, when B5 comes out I might pick your brain about the best way to do the full reinstall. I have all the files downloaded via Torrent but am not sure how to manage uninstalling the whole thing, reinstalling it all in the right order and, above all, preserving all my user-made .miz files etc.)

Excellent, will definitely give this a whirl.

Strange. I will try it again today and deliberately make the choppers loiter.

Well, I replayed the mission in Beta 4 today and the helos behaved perfectly. I've never played a sim before whose performance varies so greatly from system to system; in this engine, one player's experience of the same mission can be quite different from another's. If anyone else experiences this glitch please report it here. Meanwhile I will test it again soon.

Wow, if that fixes it, Greb, I owe you big time! It's going to be WIP until ED fixes the cluster munitions in the next Beta (hopefully) because even though the Mavericks are great against moving vehicles, they require a greater offset for running in. I like the idea of using Mavs as standoff weapons, then hitting the remnants with CBU-87s. I want the mission to combine "smart" and "dumb" anti-armor weapons so I won't release it until the CBUs work again. I'm going to try your amended version now, thanks a lot! So there was no crash/error message on exiting the mission for you? EDIT: Well, unfortunately I still got the exit error message but it's not fatal because I can win the mission, exit when I want and still get the debrief. This means it may be a problem with my install since I can't imagine that it's a problem with my system. When B5 comes out I had better do a clean install. Meanwhile your fix is great, good to know these things, but the Red infantry spawned on mission start instead of when their APCs arrive in the trigger zone. This is because units/groups will not spawn per trigger unless they are set to commence 23 hours after the start of the mission. I fixed that and here is the amended version. I must say, I like flying this mission; I just wish I could get rid of the pesky error messages on exit.

Thanks very much, Greb. The ME is a great tool, and fun to use, but it has its quirks. It would be very helpful for me to know if it's my system that is causing the mission to crash on exit or some aspect of the ME, because if it's the latter, I can re-do it once I know what it is.

Wouldn't work for me in IE. Would like to check it out.

Yes, you nailed it, Druid. And someone says ED does not support overclocked PCs in the Beta. I sent all my crash files and a track to a helpful ED dev in this thread. Take a look. At the very least you might find the track entertaining. This is a well-designed, well-tested mission. If I could just stabilise the crashing (which is not always fatal as most of the time it occurs when exiting and often preserves the debrief) and the odd, repetitive JTAC messages, I want to release it as I think you will enjoy it.

True but the player is told to hold altitude above the SAM envelope, there is a DEAD flight and it is much more desirable to run in on an enemy convoy from behind it than from the front, especially when it is moving. Once the CBUs are fixed this will be much less of an issue and I might change the IP because a CBU attack requires much less of an offset.

I'm grinding my teeth here. Either it crashes towards the end of the mission, in which case I lose the debrief, or it crashes after I end the mission, which at least preserves the debrief. I just don't think the sim in its current state is stable enough to run this mission. Either that, or there is a relationship between individual gfx (or other system settings) and game crashes in DCS A-10 that I am not aware of. It would be great to hear from one of the ED guys. The infantry are great for immersion in that, once you get really competent with the TGP, you can see them deploying. However, this being a flight sim rather than a battlefield sim, I'd be happy to compromise and re-make the mission without infantry -- and the heavy burden they might impose on my CPU -- but before I do this I'd love to get an opinion from one of the devs. I also don't understand why the AFAC gives his instructions twice during the latter stages of the 9-line call and response. I have experienced several vexing little anomalies like this in JTAC behavior. If the ED guys play the mission they might find it useful because I'm experienced with JTAC editing in the ME and do not make errors when using this feature. Eh.

Thank you for running it. I have had no problem raising the AFAC on comms, which I tend to do while extending north to IP Dodge. The crashing is vexing but I may have run it down. There is a lot going on in the latter stages of the mission, with at least 40 separate infantry units (US infantry and Insurgent troops) deployed and moving, plus 14 ground vehicles and 6 aircraft. When you add to this a great deal of action -- LAWs and Spandrels flying between the vehicles, explosions, infantry combat -- then even a platoon-size firefight might bring a fast computer to its knees. I think I might avoid too much infantry in future missions. Also, I think that the Mav video accounts for a lot of computing. So...I decided to dial down my settings. I had draw distance on high so I switched it to medium and the mission ran without crashing for the first time in 24 hours. If I can replicate this, I will post the revised mission with the recommendation that users, even those like me with fast PCs, go easy on the eye candy.

That's a drag, Gideon. I haven't played the mission since Beta 3. It must be a Beta 4 issue. I will test it in B4 tomorrow and if I can replicate the error I will fix it by deleting and then recreating the helos and their flightplan. It won't take long.

** EDIT: I have attached an updated .miz file in this thread for anyone interested. It's a good mission and it would be helpful to know if I'm the only one getting crashes when I exit the mission. ** ** EDIT: I am experiencing some ugly technical issues with this mission that are diminishing my enthusiasm for finishing it. I'm cross-referencing my appeal for help in the Beta/Crash thread in the hope it will increase my chances of getting some help, thank you. ** Gents, I never ask for Beta testers unless I am confident that my WIP mission is pretty well evolved, quite thoroughly tested and has a full brief. My mission, "Thunder Alley" will remain a work in progress until the cluster munitions work again, hopefully in Beta 5, as the briefed targets are all moving vehicles for which I had hoped to equip the player with CBU-87s as well as Mavericks. The mission is fun, with spectacular scenery and canyon flying. It incorporates a pretty fierce ground battle, artillery, detailed radio messages, an A-10 AFAC, numerous MANPADS, AAA and an F-15E DEAD flight. The concept is to provide CAS and interdiction in support of a Stryker force that gets pinned down while moving to reinforce a remote canyon OP under threat from Red armor. ** Use "Realistic" radios and tune to 124 VHF AM as soon as you start in-flight; there is a lot of good radio chatter from support units on this common frequency. Also, use F-10 view to see the action on the ground, it's worth it. ** Apart from the CBU issue, I have experienced the following problems, some of which may be of interest to the devs. I'd appreciate comments, solutions and any useful info you might provide having either played the mission or looked at it in the ME: - The AFAC radio messages are doubled up, in other words, from the datalink stage of the 9-line, everything is said twice. This cannot be right. Otherwise the AFAC/JTAC works beautifully but you have to stick to the script, making all the required calls, or the program can crash. - The mission ends all too often in a crash, which sometimes wipes out the debrief, a real pain when you want to test it and examine the results. I suspect it's a function of the intensity of the ground battle (not that it's more than platoon-size) but I'd appreciate any info about how to address this...if possible. - The starting altitude, while set to 15,000ft MSL, varies tremendously with every playthrough. You'll find yourself starting at anything between 15k and 20k. It's an odd quirk, this; maybe it's about how the sim reads safe altitude relative to peaks in the mountain terrain. - You will sometimes see MANPADS destroying incoming Mavericks from the Strike Eagles. There may be a few other little teething issues -- I intend to refine synchronisation and victory conditions -- but I'm confident you'll find this an entertaining mission with a decent level of tactical challenge. I'm pleased with both the concept and the execution but the above problems are causing me to scratch my head and worry about how to get it ready for prime-time. Please note that I have not done any of the final presentational tweaking like hiding enemy units on the map, etc., but there is a detailed brief and much in-mission guidance via radio text messages. I'd really appreciate input, especially from folks who enjoyed my "Taking Out the Trash" scenario. Thank you.

The only awkward thing about this technique is the need to toggle between SOIs, the HUD to cycle markpoints, the Mav screen to lock and fire the missile. I will try it using the Steerpoint key on the UFC so that I can retain the Mav screen as SOI.

The FAC should mark your target with a laser if he has LOS to the target, you are carrying LGBs and specify in the FAC unit's waypoint "Advanced" menu options that you want him to direct the flight to use laser-guided bombs. Here is a mission of mine that implements lasing by the FAC; it might be helpful to you to take a look at it in the ME.

Try reversing #3 and #4.

I'd like to make sound files to replace the text messages in my missions, it's more realistic (assuming I can enlist a few people with American accents). I've seen this done in tutorial missions, obviously, both official and user-made. In what format are the audio files recognised by the game? Where are they stored and how are they inserted into missions (via trigger presumably)? And if I cannot make sound files with dialogue, can anyone advise re how to use a radio "squelch" sound effect to alert the player to a radio message coming in as text? As always, many thanks.

Very useful comments, rjaberg: I am beginning to wonder if changes to AI/helo flight models in Beta 4 might account for these anomalies. I might have to run it myself in B4 and see. I think I made the FAC unit "immortal" but yes, I have found in the mission I am currently designing that your wingman can be terrifyingly efficient and can, for example, see and attack a single MANPAD from 8 nm out. It's great that the AI is so sharp but if the discrepancies between the level at which a competent player can spot, i/d and prosecute targets and that enjoyed by the AI is too huge, it might need some tweaking. In "Taking Out the Trash" I always keep #2 reined in and flying cover as the number of targets is small and accuracy all-important. He can employ his LGBs very efficiently against the bunker if needed, though (with or without JTAC). In my current mission he'll bogart targets like crazy but that mission is more of a race against time with more numerous targets so it can be fun to let him off the leash...until he gets shot down by the one MANPAD he failed to spot from 8nm out. I'm glad you enjoyed the mission and appreciate the feedback. Looks like I'll need to test it in B4.

Thanks for your comments. Yes, the Blackhawks will hold at their IP and only begin the last leg of the insertion when the Shilkas have been destroyed by the player, so arriving at, or close to, your TOT is helpful in preventing "issues" with the choppers as they hover or circle. In 100+ playthroughs I have never experienced the chopper behavior you describe but, as I say, the mission does require you to be mindful of mission synchronisation and TOT. Using "Realistic" radios helps enormously with SA, as you can hear where everybody is and what they are doing. Oddly, I have never known an accurate hit on the bunker to take out any of the Deltas. Are you sure you hit it accurately? The three Blackhawks are a "group", not separate units, so I cannot spawn them further apart. Generally, the sim manages formation flight very well and 95% of the time the insertion goes as planned after the Shilkas are down, with the FAC checking in via text message soon after that.

Yeah, only user-placed objects are counted in mission scores. I was disappointed to find that you can't make bridges tactical objectives. However, look at the trigger-actions 3-column interface in the ME; I haven't used this objective in a mission yet but I recall there's one for "ownership" of airfields and helipads, so you might want to combine your disable objective with a follow-on infantry assault and hold.