Would you like your dynamic campaigns to work in multiplayer too?

[Dusty Rhodes]

Go to http://lockoncampaign.com:8811/board/index.php?a=forum&f=11 to follow the progress and be involved in the development discussion with SK. He pulls no punches but is entirely open to, and asks for, input and ideers.

 

Thanks to Ross McGregor for the message board for SkyWars.

[Sleek]

looks promising..thx for the link ;)

[MonnieRock]

Gentlemen,

 

 

Sign me up.. I support all included in this journey. In the end, the community wins and this might be the the thing to get more people interested in this software title.

 

Dual Core Poll Please Vote

[Weta43]

First of all I wanted to bump this, & second I had a few questions:

 

The thread with what seemed to be the latest alpha gives the following instructions"

 

"remember to:

(a) remove any previous alpha version of SkyWars2 from your Lock On root folder,

(b) delete any "*.cdb" files from your Missions/Campaigns folder

© delete the entire "SKCS" folder, and

(d) extract the .zip contents into your Lock On root folder."

 

Are these all files/folders generated by previous versions of SkyWars or are some of them standard LO files (will standard 1.12a still function with SW2 installed)? (I'm at work & can't check right now)

 

Also: Any chance of attaching a sample mission generated by SW2 just to get the "feel" of its output (scale & complexity etc), or do they vary to much for a single file to be representative (which would also be good)?

 

Oh & E.D. How about making 1.2 generate the data needed to get this to work in MP? - & if you can't extend the campaign data files to MP with 1.2 so that this will work, at least don't remove the files that let it work in SP.

[SwingKid]

F"remember to:

(a) remove any previous alpha version of SkyWars2 from your Lock On root folder,

(b) delete any "*.cdb" files from your Missions/Campaigns folder

© delete the entire "SKCS" folder, and

(d) extract the .zip contents into your Lock On root folder."

 

Are these all files/folders generated by previous versions of SkyWars or are some of them standard LO files (will standard 1.12a still function with SW2 installed)? (I'm at work & can't check right now)

 

The folders and files instructed to delete are SkyWars2-specific. It's still in "alpha" development, and each new version is incompatible with the last.

 

Also: Any chance of attaching a sample mission generated by SW2 just to get the "feel" of its output (scale & complexity etc), or do they vary to much for a single file to be representative (which would also be good)?

 

The missions are still pretty empty right now - usually just your own aircraft, your briefing, and your assigned mission goal - either a bridge or a runway. It "works" and satisfies all my technical criteria for a DC, but it's not really very fun or interesting to play as a pilot yet, so I wouldn't call attention to it now, except that I'm concerned about v1.2 - it looks like the last chance for ED to make Lock On compatible with such a 3rd party DC.

 

Oh & E.D. How about making 1.2 generate the data needed to get this to work in MP? - & if you can't extend the campaign data files to MP with 1.2 so that this will work, at least don't remove the files that let it work in SP.

 

Thanks. Rep sent. ;)

 

-SK

[Weta43]

Maybe more work than justified but just a thought (I'm working my way through some of your threads but slowly so if you've covered this...)

While your utility is in there editing the xml files, could you have the campaign generator keep tabs of a campaign specific pilot (or pilots), resurect him when he dies & track the number of times he dies perhaps by giving him a name & a suffixed running total like Weta43_3 where the _3 indicates 3 deaths. or Weta43_3_43_12_8_7_202_15:35 where the numbers are deaths, planes killed, ground units, ships, team kills, (etc) hours flown (Is there a max number of characters that will display in the onscreen status line?)

Perhaps the utility could keep it's own pilot log & then as it reads the log at the end of the mission before begining the next cycle update it's own records & then edit the pilot log to keep that pilot synchronised with it's own data. Which would have the advantage of making the in LO pilot log more accurate as I believe you could get accurate reporting of destroyed buildings etc into the log?

-you know that bug where placed buildings don't show in the log?

[SwingKid]

Hmm, it's a good idea, but I wonder how to manage it for multiplayer, since the DC is presumably only running on the host's computer... Have the clients e-mail their pilot log files to the host after each mission, to be updated by the DC? Needs some careful planning.

 

Thanks for interest!

 

-SK

[Weta43]

Give SW2 ring 0 access to all clients & have it write the log to file then burn a CD of that file, dial a predefined ISP where it generates HTML & creates mirror SW2 websites?

 

It would be nice if they ould be handed back, but does it matter that only the server runs the SW2? for a particular campaign / war running on a server over a period of time your name could be specific to that campaign and handed back to you as you rejoin the server. Your stats would stand for that campaign only. The server's stat system would record agregates accross campaigns & your SW2 at home keep you single player stats.

[AndyHill]

Like I wrote at the moment SW2 is pretty much a technology demonstrator and the missions it generates at the moment aren't that special. Every version has been more advanced and things keep progressing all the time, though. Maybe you can pressure SwingKid to work harder (I suspect he still gets some sleep at least a couple of nights every week) and you'll get the campaign faster. You could also tell him that the quality of a dynamic campaign correlates with the density of the node grid.

 

Tracking pilot stats would be a great feature, it hasn't been discussed much yet, since the campaign engine it at such an early stage. Personally I'd like to see every pilot in the campaign tracked so that every plane and perhaps even the ground units have a specific pilot, whose successes and failures are recorded and they would have an effect on his skill level, maybe also fatique. Global pilot stats would be nice, but having campaign or server specific stats will go a long way and be far easier to implement. Note that a functional multiplayer mission event log would allow for more detailed statistics on online servers running furballs and co-ops, not just dynamic campaigns.

 

________________________________________________________

Lock on MUST have a dynamic campaign with multiplayer capability!

[SUBS17]

Are you sure you're not equating the word "dynamic" with "real-time"? An external turn-based DC like SkyWars2 can allow the players to choose which slots they want to occupy from its own interface, before writing the mission file, and record their choices in the file, no? That's how I manage it in SW2.

 

-SK

 

Interesting approach are you going to stop the clock online for this to work? In AF you can stop the clock and this allows the players time to adjust the mission profile etc. But there are problems with AF when you have players selecting flights as the ATO you can wind up waiting quite a while at times for the ramp time to arrive.

[Trident]

SK, you have my support in your quest for keeping the current debriefing save scheme, aswell as extending it to multiplayer missions.

 

While I would like a DC to be real-time, I suppose the cold hard facts look like this right now:

 

- handcrafting missions has been shown to be dead-end for creating gameplay content for LOMAC (difficulty of creating missions and each new patch rendering them obsolete)

 

- even a limited, turn-based DC would probably be of great value to LOMAC's gameplay

 

- SkyWars2 appears to hold the most promise of survival among the few DC projects in existance

 

- Black Shark is the last chance for ED to provide you with the changes required to make SkyWars2 work - in other words the last chance for us to see a DC for LOMAC (since the LOMAC product-line comes to an end with BS).

 

So, more power to you!

[SwingKid]

Interesting approach are you going to stop the clock online for this to work?

 

I'll use whatever powers ED makes available, but for now, the host must exit and re-start between every mission, alternating between Lock On, SkyWars2, Lock On, SkyWars2, etc. to generate each new mission.

 

Thanks for support!

 

-SK

[Ace Flares]

Would you like dynamic campaigns to work in multiplayer too? Yes please. :)

For me, the only fundamental feature this sim lacks is a dynamic campaign system. Being able to do DC online would be a big attraction.

[suntrace1]

Ditto - the only reason i almost stopped playing LOMAC, but still watch the boards for signs of hope.

[SUBS17]

Is it possible to create client flights(1-4 ship) all on the same set of waypoints, so you place the ground targets on the map then create mission goals for the flights. The other thing is for online play, leave it in real time and don't stop the clock would probably be better for online play. Instead select a currently available flight.

[SwingKid]

Is it possible to create client flights(1-4 ship) all on the same set of waypoints, so you place the ground targets on the map then create mission goals for the flights.

 

Is this a question, or a statement? AFAIK, you can't have more than one client aircraft in a flight.

 

The other thing is for online play, leave it in real time and don't stop the clock would probably be better for online play.

 

How would you change the mission targets/goals in mid-mission, and then transmit those instructions to the players in a briefing, without requiring them all to exit the mission and read the briefing screen?

 

I don't think it can be done like this, at least not now.

 

-SK

[AndyHill]

I think it should be possible to simulate client flights by creating several one-ship flights with the exact same waypoints. That should work pretty well since following the flight lead is the players' choice anyway.

 

________________________________________________________

Lock on MUST have a dynamic campaign with multiplayer capability!

[Guest MegaMoka(Fin)]

Ok,Sorry about my bad english.!;)

 

I agree with AndyHill and rest,there MUST BE dynamic Campaing in Lock on/Black Shark.I think with out it these really good games died's.Ok, you can fly solo mission and with mission builder,BUT like a have notice with Il2,"Drivingforce" is Dynamic campaing!! In offline and online..

 

So hear my prey and please work on with Dynamic campaing..

 

 

MegaMoka - Fly Friendly skies with Me

[SUBS17]

Is this a question, or a statement? AFAIK, you can't have more than one client aircraft in a flight.

 

 

 

How would you change the mission targets/goals in mid-mission, and then transmit those instructions to the players in a briefing, without requiring them all to exit the mission and read the briefing screen?

 

I don't think it can be done like this, at least not now.

 

-SK

 

Yes it was a question, if you can find a way to allow 4 Players to be in each flight as a maximum then it would be easier to make it work online. Also the selection should go something along the lines of this:

Player connects to server

Player selects which side(coalition)

next add in another menu

-player selects Squadron

Now Player selects a mission from the ATO:

eg preplanned CAS A-10

And now he selects which aircraft(1,2,3 or 4)

 

What also needs to be added is the ability for empty slots to be filled by AI pilots. So if the AI pilot has done 5 missions as a minimum then he is not a veteran level AI, 10 ACE etc.(this is needed for online play) As for stopping the clock for the DC to roll through its turns, I think it can do this even if the clock doesn't stop as the ATO is automatic.

[SUBS17]

Is this a question, or a statement? AFAIK, you can't have more than one client aircraft in a flight.

 

 

 

How would you change the mission targets/goals in mid-mission, and then transmit those instructions to the players in a briefing, without requiring them all to exit the mission and read the briefing screen?

 

I don't think it can be done like this, at least not now.

 

-SK

 

Yes it was a question, if you can find a way to allow 4 Players to be in each flight as a maximum then it would be easier to make it work online. Also the selection should go something along the lines of this:

Player connects to server

Player selects which side(coalition)

next add in another menu

-player selects Squadron

Now Player selects a mission from the ATO:

eg preplanned CAS A-10

And now he selects which aircraft(1,2,3 or 4)

 

What also needs to be added is the ability for empty slots to be filled by AI pilots. So if the AI pilot has done 5 missions as a minimum then he is now a veteran level AI, 10 ACE etc.(this is needed for online play) As for stopping the clock for the DC to roll through its turns, I think it can do this even if the clock doesn't stop as the ATO is automatic.

[Greenies]

So, would you? I know I would.

 

I say go for it all the way, what says the Lockon.ru forum?

 

_______________________________________________________

Lock on MUST have a dynamic campaign with multiplayer support!

 

Is this a trick question?

 

OF COURSE we want it!!

[Guest Juize]

What a question, OF COURSE, everybody want's a DC.

 

//Juize

[Rapid71]

Cheers!

 

Most certainly, I would!

 

IMHO lack of a dynamic campaign mission generator for multiplayer in FC is the most serious shortcoming of otherwise excellent combat flight simulator.

 

Dynamical campaigning, where two teams (+AI units) go after each other in a conflict where each mission and accoplished goals can make a difference, is light years ahead of going through the same missions over and over again (which becomes boring very quickly). I have some experiences for such a system, which exists for IL-2 Sturmovik, and in my opinion it takes the whole flight-simulator-thingy to an entirely new dimension.

 

Such a feature would greatly extend the re-play value of the simulator.

 

I would imagine, that it should not be too complicated (a single patch ?) for the developement team, to extend already existing mission handling for multiplayer system as well.

 

Online dynamical campaigning is so much fun, that it is a small wonder that this thread is not 1000 miles long already!

[l.e.x]

Can not say much about it, my english is bad, but i would love to see the DC working for SP and MP too!:icon_supe

 

Hope, ED hear the prayers!

[Trident]

*BUMP*

 

Come on, where are all those DC fanatics? SK means what he says!

 

Perhaps posting this over at Frugal's would help, since few people who consider the lack of a DC in LOMAC a true showstopper would be hanging around here.