Mission Scripting - Overwhelmed ADD'er !

[SnowTiger]

As mentioned in this Thread's Title, I am an ADD'er who gets overwhelmed with Information Overload very quickly.

This is exactly what happened when I started reading threads and posts from within the Mission Builder's Corner.

All are interesting and informative but none make it easy for someone like me to get started with even the simplest of Mission Creation.

 

I wanted to create a Mekong Delta type (Vietnam) Huey Mission wherein you have to attack Armed Speedboats on a Navigable River. Unfortunately, DCS World ME will NOT allow us to place boats on the rivers.

So I had to start right off the bat doing something I was hoping to avoid .... that is.. placing boats in the Ocean. But anyway .. that is what I did.

 

I actually already tried the mission out and see that with Zero Scripting on my part, I was able to get the mission to work somewhat the way I wanted it to go.

However, my whole issue is that I have No Idea how to get the Mission to say "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" once all the objectives are met (killing all the boats).

 

I have attached a Track File of me flying this mission once only.

I don't know if that's what you'd need to answer my questions or not. I am willing to provide whatever is necessary to get put on the right track .... so-to-speak !

BTW- Since flying this mission once, I changed the Fuel Weight to lighten the Huey .. which is Way Too Heavy as seen in this Track File.

I realize that I may still have to also change the weapon load-out to lighten the Huey up a bit too. But I'll get to that when I find out if it's needed.

 

Right now, I just need to know how to Script this mission to get it to say when the mission is completed !!??? Right now I just don't understand the current options re: Actions etc necessary to get this to behave the way I want.

Can someone please get me started in the right direction ?

Once I try a couple simple things I will hopefully start getting an understanding of how this all works.

Huey - Speedboat Attack 1st Try.trk

[mwd2]

For this "simple" matter, you can do everything with the TriggerSystem from the ME.

 

Once() // Unit Dead(Unit #01) ... Unit Dead(Unit #07) // Message to All(MISSION ACCOMPLISHED)

Huey - Speedboat Attack - ADD Trigger.miz

[SnowTiger]

Thanks a ton @mwd2

 

This was a great help. At least I now see at least in part where I was making my errors and now have a better understanding of the process (at least for Simple-Type mission creation).

The fact is, I didn't realize this was a Trigger-type thing. Or at least, I didn't realize I was supposed to use the Toolbar "Set Rules for Trigger" thingy. In fact, I had forgotten that even existed.

Instead, I was trying to figure out how to use the Triggered Actions doo-dad that is available when placing Waypoints. So I guess I have to do yet some more reading to understand the difference between the two Trigger options. This is one of the many reasons I have been completely confused.

 

But then I also got even more confused with the "Mission Goals" option in the Toolbar too.

It seems I created a few Script Errors using that as well.

At least "I Think" that's where the Script Errors were coming from.

**>>** It would be great if when there are Script Errors, a REPORT would pop-up explaining where the errors are. That would give me at least a starting point to make corrections.

As it stands right now, I find that it doesn't pay to make too many Triggers etc before trying things out. Add one .. try it out ... add another .. try it out. This makes for a very long day trying to achieve what others can probably do in minutes.

 

With regards to the Triggers you created for me (for which I am truly grateful) ... I'm curious if it matters that it was done the way you did it ... that is >> by naming each and every Speedboat (to be killed) OR could you have just used the Group/Speedboats option instead to achieve the same thing ?

Also, can you have more than one Action per Trigger ? For example: Could I set it up so that if ANY boats make it into the harbor, A) I get the message that "I Lost" and B) also Explode (albeit not necessarily in that order) ?

 

I find the Manual to be a bit vague on many of these things while being an information overload on others.

Again .... I guess it's just another ADD thing !!

 

Thanks again for you help.

[Yurgon]

ADD or not, the ME is overwhelming. :)

 

Instead of going into too much detail (partly because it's late, partly because I think it wouldn't actually help you), I'd just like to point out some rather general things.

 

Maybe the most important thing is to break tasks down into small portions -- don't try to get it all right in the first attempt.

 

I like to create small test missions. Let's take the example of several speedboats and how to check if any of them reach the harbor.

I would set up a mission with just one such speedboat, give it waypoints so that it should reach the harbor in a short time, and try to figure out how to detect this. (Probably by using a trigger zone around the harbor and then creating a new trigger to check if the boat is inside the trigger zone). To see if this actually works, my trigger-action would be MESSAGE TO ALL with a short message like "Speedboat #1 entered the harbor".

 

Then I'd run the mission and use the external view to watch the speedboat and see if my trigger fires (speeding up time really helps in these situations).

 

Once this detection works, I'll save my mission under a new name (test02.miz), add another speedboat and try to figure out how to check if either of them enters the harbor.

 

Once that works, it's time to approach the next task (maybe using an existing mission as a template, or -if it's an unrelated task- starting with a blank one).

 

This way, I can create my own library of ways to accomplish simple goals and then I can start to put it all together in a larger mission.

 

Basically, try to split a big task into small and simple ones.

 

Also, save often and be sure to save under a new filename very often because there's no "undo" feature in the ME. Delete an important unit, save, and you may have destroyed the work of several days -- or you just go back to the last backup and repeat no more than the last 5 minutes of finetuning. :)

[SnowTiger]

Hi Yurgon and thanks for that.

 

I like the idea of breaking it into smaller pc's and testing. However, I didn't know there was a way to "run" the mission and just view with external view. I thought you have to fly it .. sped up or otherwise, in order to see it ... which involves flying making it difficult to really focus on whats going on. So obviously I'm missing something. I can't tell you how many manuals I have read and re-read ... so much so that I think I know less now than when I started .. making for a real deficit !!

 

Anyway, I must also agree that SAVING allot cannot be stressed enough.

As you have described, I have had to start from scratch MANY times (including the last couple days working on this .miz) due to not having an UNDO function.

I do hope .. and trust .. that ED will include such features in DCSW2.

It would also be great if you could put a bunch of vehicles together in a Group (eg: FARP vehicles) and Save as a Template that can be re-used in other missions. Instead of always having to place all the necessary vehicles for a FARP to work .. for Both Sides.

Anyway ..........

 

I do appreciate the tips. It sounds logical to break it down into smaller steps to develop that which ultimately results in a fairly complex script in the long run.

 

Thanks again.

[Belgeode]

SnowTiger... What I do when coming up with a mission is what I call the "JAFO" approach. (If you have ever seen the movie- Blue Thunder, you know what JAFO means).

 

I design the mission then make the aircraft I am planning on flying an AI (which sometimes mean I have to add extra triggers and stuff).

 

Then I create on player controlled vehicle for myself as observer, and put it somewhere away from the action.

 

That way I can play the mission, speed up time, etc to observe what happens, and TAKE NOTES.

 

If everything works according to plan (rare), I remove the observer craft, and put myself back in the proper aircraft. If not, I tweak, and observe some more how it all unfolds. I posted an example of how I do things on youtube a few days ago, so it is funny that this subject even popped up.

[SnowTiger]

Cool thanks. I'll check out your video.

 

BTW- I have been revising the first mission that I mentioned (and uploaded here) over the last few days. Some things have worked and others haven't. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know what is working and what isn't without a ton of Replay's.

It is a very long process (as least for amateurs such as myself) to create even the simplest of missions ... or at least what "I'd" consider as "simple".

I changed the location of my take-off point and moved the boats closer together (in a diamond-like formation) and moved them closer to their objective. Their objective even has a Trigger Zone which is referred to in the Triggered Events.

But for some odd reason, of the 8 boats to start (in a Group), only 4 or so continue past WP1 and then only 1 of them continues past WP2 or 3. Even that one NEVER enters the Trigger Zone regardless how I place the WP's; the Position or the Size of the Trigger Zone.

 

As such, only ONE of my Triggers works. The one that says Mission Accomplished if/when I kill all the boats.

 

It's really frustrating that the boats won't do what they are supposed to do.

Anyway, I'll play with it a bit more before uploading the revised mission for Trouble-Shooting by one of you fine folks.

[Belgeode]

Yeah it definitely can get time consuming, that is for sure. What starts out as a brilliant idea on paper does seem to become a 7 headed hydra when you try to put it into practice.

 

 

Question. Are the boats all part of the same physical group, or are they individual "groups" of boats (single units with similar paths)?

 

I know that boats and naval combat itself are areas that are sorely lacking in DCS at the moment.

[SnowTiger]

Hi Belgeode

The boats are all part of a single generated Group.

I have attached the file with this post so you can see what I have done and tried to do (which you can see from the Triggers etc).

 

BTW - I like your video. It does show many interesting (and more complex than I would ever expected) things.

However, it is not show or explain:

a) How or Why the Flags are created.

b) Why the Waypoints (WP's) are placed where they are in relationship to the Actual Landing Points (which if I recall correctly, were defined by the Flags ??!!).

c) Why some of the Triggers or "Advanced Waypoint Actions" were created in the Waypoint Editor (or whatever it's called) ?? For example: Could those same Advanced WP Actions have just been made as Triggers instead ?

Also how on earth did you ever figure out all the steps/commands needed to get the chopper to be situated so troops could get in ? That is... with regards to Speed/Altitude/Location bla bla bla etc etc etc ? There were 4 or 5 Conditions necessary for the Chopper to land OR for the Troops to jump in (I can't remember which).

In any case, it is very confusing. BUT your video did answer one of my previous Post questions (in this Thread) regarding whether there could be multiple Conditions for each Trigger. So this is good too.

Huey - Speedboat Attack 2.miz

[Belgeode]

Hi Belgeode

The boats are all part of a single generated Group.

I have attached the file with this post so you can see what I have done and tried to do (which you can see from the Triggers etc).

 

BTW - I like your video. It does show many interesting (and more complex than I would ever expected) things.

However, it is not show or explain:

a) How or Why the Flags are created.

b) Why the Waypoints (WP's) are placed where they are in relationship to the Actual Landing Points (which if I recall correctly, were defined by the Flags ??!!).

c) Why some of the Triggers or "Advanced Waypoint Actions" were created in the Waypoint Editor (or whatever it's called) ?? For example: Could those same Advanced WP Actions have just been made as Triggers instead ?

Also how on earth did you ever figure out all the steps/commands needed to get the chopper to be situated so troops could get in ? That is... with regards to Speed/Altitude/Location bla bla bla etc etc etc ? There were 4 or 5 Conditions necessary for the Chopper to land OR for the Troops to jump in (I can't remember which).

In any case, it is very confusing. BUT your video did answer one of my previous Post questions (in this Thread) regarding whether there could be multiple Conditions for each Trigger. So this is good too.

 

 

 

Ok Let me see if I can address some questions. Hopefully others reading this thread with far more experience can chime in as needed.

 

a) How or Why the Flags are created.

 

From what I have gathered. Flags are created whenever you need to make a condition true or false, for a required item to happen. OR... in the case of one flag I had in that video, to keep track of time. So that something happens either before or after an allotted time. Example- I want if someone kills all the rats in one area, for the cheese delivery van to unload there. I use a flag that will represent either No rats are not dead (flag is FALSE, or not activated), or rats are all dead (flag is true). The truck is going to pass by anyway on its route. but the flag will be checked intermittently to see if the condition has been met. If by time the truck goes past the flag is still false, the truck will keep going. if the flag is true, truck stops, and i get cheese without having to worry about losing it to rats.

 

Silly example, but gives you a basic idea about why you would use a flag for something. You have a lot of freedom when it comes to how to create a flag. you can assign any number you want. Sometimes you can use one number to flag conditions on many things. You can also have many flags "true" or "false" as you want, simultaneously. They don't do anything except flip a virtual switch to on or off. You still have to define WHAT the switch does.

 

 

b) Why the Waypoints (WP's) are placed where they are in relationship to the Actual Landing Points (which if I recall correctly, were defined by the Flags ??!!).

 

You can place the waypoints anywhere in relation to where you want something to land. In my video I placed the waypoints close by because I wanted the helo to move more realistically. SO basically for convenience sake, since in the flight plan I have the helo slowing down as it reaches the waypoint, I wanted it to be close to the landing spot so the AI does not do something ridiculous like a snap 180 degree turn and pitch down 90 degrees just to make the landing spot. That may not be a limitation down the road when ED makes AI a little more realistic flying in all aspects.

 

One important point. The landing points are actually NOT defined by the flags. They are defined by a specific advanced waypoint action in the flight plan. Helos being what they are have the option of landing at or near any waypoint. However, they will not do it, if it is not already written into their flight plan. What I have flagged is the condition whether that landing is done (or anything else like orbitting, etc) You can, for example set a flag that basically means if X Y Z group of enemies is NOT killed... DO NOT LAND (in other words flag # = false). However if flag # = true (XYZ enemies have been killed beforehand) then go ahead and do your landing thing.

 

It can get really complicated, really quickly when adding condition flags to stuff.

 

 

c) Why some of the Triggers or "Advanced Waypoint Actions" were created in the Waypoint Editor (or whatever it's called) ?? For example: Could those same Advanced WP Actions have just been made as Triggers instead ?

 

Not all waypoint actions apply to ALL waypoints. The ones created using the triggers usually refer to more persistent things (for example if XYZ enemy is dead, set your rules of engagement to WEAPON HOLD... something that will persist throughout the rest of the flight if you do not want the designated unit to go buck wild and attack everything within a 500 mile radius because it got bloodthirsty after killing the designated enemy.) Weird example, but it happens. Now I COULD have made in the waypoint editor- OPTIONS ROE Weapon hold. But I would have to do that for EVERY SINGLE WAYPOINT past that point in the flight plan. That's inefficient. Hence making it a triggered action.

 

Things I would use as advanced waypoint actions (created in waypoint editor) would be things like landing, orbit, search and destroy tasks, etc. where triggers come in is if any of said tasks need to be stopped or delayed start for some reason. think of triggers as your timing keepers.

 

 

Also how on earth did you ever figure out all the steps/commands needed to get the chopper to be situated so troops could get in ? That is... with regards to Speed/Altitude/Location bla bla bla etc etc etc ? There were 4 or 5 Conditions necessary for the Chopper to land OR for the Troops to jump in (I can't remember which).

 

Answer to question 1... Trial and error my friend. I also looked at missions I have flown that had similar parameters. Campaigns are your best source to dissect how things work and what does what.

 

Those conditions I added were not necessary for the helo to land. It is going to do that anyway because i told it to land in the waypoint editor. The conditions in the troop spawn trigger were to determine that it was IN FACT ON the ground. Once all those conditions are met, THEN it should spawn troops at the location I set. What I found was most useful were the logical ones that would add up to "hey this craft is landed"... Those are-

 

Altitude is lower than... (whatever the altitude is in meters of the landing spot+ 1 meter)

Speed is lower than... (1 self explanatory. Means it is stopped.)

Vertical Speed in limits (-1 to 1 meaning it is neither gaining nor losing altitude... or in numerical terms... zero)

 

Had I not done that, and just left it as "Is the helo in the landing zone" If yes ok spawn troops, you would have a scenario where the helo could be 500 meters up, and suddenly there are troops below it. Not very realistic.

 

HOWEVER!!!!!!! If I wanted to simulate troops fast roping, I could have set the helo to orbit at zero forward speed at a given waypoint, then had troops spawn under it simply by making sure the helo was in the spawn zone. No need to bother with altitude this, speed lower that, etc.

 

 

 

For the troops to jump in, all I need to do is set two triggers.

 

1- are the troops in the designated zone? Since AI is squirrelly and will walk wherever the hell they please sometimes, I am gonna set that to PART OF THE GROUP... instead of ALL of the group. That way only one soldier needs to cross the invisible line for that flag/trigger to become true.

 

2- as part of the helo's landing action at the waypoint, it has a STOP condition... or the thing to watch out for that will cause it to STOP landing. That condition is triggered (or had i used a flag for that, flag set to true) when that first soldier walks into the invisible circle around the helo's parking spot. When that happens (soldier walks into the zone) the helo will then stop the WAYPOINT ACTION: LANDING, and resume its flight path, and ALSO, the trigger for deactivating the soldiers (thus making it seem like they "got on board") will go off. Soldiers go poof. Helo goes flying. Bel Geode a happy mission editor.

 

 

This is starting to read like an essay but I hope it helps A LITTLE to kind of sort things out.

 

 

Best advice is always to dig deep into missions you have flown that work in ways you find interesting. It will come to you. The user manual helps me a lot too, as well as our fellow forum dwellers.

 

 

If I can do it, anyone can. I JUST started playing this flight sim in November.

 

 

Gonna download and check out your boats!

Edited February 3, 2015 by Belgeode

[Yurgon]

I like the idea of breaking it into smaller pc's and testing. However, I didn't know there was a way to "run" the mission and just view with external view. I thought you have to fly it

 

What I meant was very much what Belgeode described in the meantime. :)

 

Place a player controlled aircraft somewhere away from the action and set it to start from the ramp or runway so that you don't have to take care of actively flying it.

 

Then after entering the mission you use the F10 map and the external views to look at the vehicles or aircraft that you're really interested in.

(you should set the DCS options so that you can view all friendly and enemy units on the F10 map, or you can enforce this setting in each mission individually).

 

So, you sort of "fly" the mission because you hit the "fly" button, but what you're really doing is to check on the units you placed and see how well they follow their waypoints and if the triggers get executed.

 

And then when I want other units to react to my own aircraft, I'll place it where it needs to be.

(Although I really like Belgeode's idea to put an AI dummy in place that only gets replaced by a player controllable aircraft once the testing is done - cool idea, I think I'll adept that in the future :thumbup:).

 

Edit: Unfortunately, I don't know a way around testing and testing and testing missions numerous times. There are ways to speed the process up a little, but for now that's the way it must be done.

 

For instance, you can edit the mission in DCS World (Single Player) and run DCS World Multiplayer simultaneously so that you get massively reduced loading times. However, there's no time acceleration in MP, so this method has its own disadvantages. Check out this thread for more cool ideas: Mission Editor - Hot Tips

Edited February 3, 2015 by Yurgon

[Belgeode]

Re- the boats:

 

Snowtiger,

 

Your scripting is awesome. Your triggers are logical, and really the only thing I would have changed is instead of listing all the units that could potentially be killed, just use GROUP DEAD "Speedboat Group". Since you want the helo to kill all 8 of them anyway, and they are all in one group, there is no need to list them individually when they are covered by the group name.

 

 

HOWEVER... you appear to be running into what I call the ED problem. Naval vessels are an area that needs improvement. It almost looks like various things are happening here... Either the boats do not like other boats in their personal space, so they stop moving, or maybe they have a set amount of gas we do not know, and hey run out at some point?

 

What I did as experiment one was to put instead of one group, FOUR groups of 2 boats a piece.

 

That worked a little better, with MOST of the boats except for two making it all the way to the cargo ship in the dock. It is ALWAYS the trailers, never the group leaders who drop out of the race. For whatever reason though, they will not go as far as you have placed their DP to be. So to counter that, I enlarged the trigger zone. They seem to like being near that cargo ship, but won't go past it for whatever reason.

 

For experiment two I made the DP for all the boats a little further into the dock area so they HAVE to pass by the big cargo ship to get to it. That worked. 5 of them got to the cargo ship and stopped because it was in the way, but that was sufficient enough to be in the trigger zone. Bel went boom.

 

Experiment three involved making individual boats. No more groups to get hung up. 8 units speeding towards their nefarious ends! They ALL made it to the port but stopped short of the cargo ship... and the end zone.

 

Clearly I needed to add an extra waypoint just before the DP...

 

That worked. I made their path so they HAD to go THROUGH the cargo ship to get to the DP... but of course they stop right before it, which is right inside the zone and BOOM. Bel died.

 

You also had it set to explode at the end zone too... not sure if these are supposed to be suicide boats or what... but I took that out. Here is the revised mission.

Huey - Speedboat Attack 2.miz

Edited February 3, 2015 by Belgeode

[Belgeode]

Just as a sidenote, now that I got the boats to work right... there is no way in hell a Huey can even make it from Krymsk to Gelendzhik in time. From Novorossiysk yes, but not Krymsk. Especially from a cold start.

 

I tried it twice from Krymsk and I got blown up before I had even made it to the hills near the coast.

 

 

It's doable from Novorossiysk though, from a cold start... with enough time to spare. Might be better if you had the boats coming from the opposite direction?

[SnowTiger]

Wowzers ... EXCELLENT Reply(s).

I am truly grateful for all the time and effort you have put into this for me.

It's obvious I have a ton of reading ahead of me and practice (i.e. Experimenting) to get the hang of things.

You (Belgeode) also answered another question which I had for "mwd2" who actually provided the original scripting for me re: boats. Thanks again @mwd2.

That question was regarding whether or not he/I could have simply used a Group instead of including each and every boat's description. I was practicing even using the "OR" command. I can't remember if the OR's helped or not but it did make me start thinking about things a bit deeper.

 

But Belgeode ... I still have one more question.

If the Rat doesn't like Cheddar Cheese but Does Like Blue Cheese .... will that affect the script ? LOL Never Mind.... just kidding with you. In fact ... joking aside .. I think this would be the kind of opportunity to use a True/False "Flag" ... Right ?

Anyway, I love the analogies. In fact, I often use the same methodology to explain and/or understand things/situations etc.

 

Thanks again Belgeode for ALL your help. I also appreciate that you took the time to even test my mission (which again, I would not have been able to do ANY of it without "mwd2's" initial scripting help).

I am starting to understand at least the gist of using the ME. It seems to work in a Logic Format (just not using End, Endif etc etc -type programming ... but similar).

I most certainly intend to play around to try to get a better handle on using Waypoint Actions versus the standard Trigger actions. Obviously each has it's own advantages/disadvantages. But I do now have the beginnings of an understanding of them thanks to you.

 

@Yurgon ... Thanks again for your help too AND for providing that link (in your last post).

I was hoping to find a resource like that. I had found a couple others but this one seems to be a bit more organized. It's definitely a "keeper" !!

 

Again ... Thank You Very Much to all that have replied and helped me with this DEEP Topic.

I way further ahead now than I was a few days ago (when I couldn't make head nor tails about ANY of it). At least now I am pointed in the right direction and have a bit of a clue how to look at things and how to work at things. ALL of the suggestions here are truly valuable to me and I trust this Thread might be useful to many people who are just starting to create their own missions.

 

Right now, I just have to play around a bit to see how Yurgon was able to View the Specific Troops and/or Aircraft that he wanted .. when he wanted.

So far, I have been using F11 and scrolling through each and every airport .. just to get close to those things I want to see.

Obviously, I need to start the DCS World Manual All Over Again ... From the Beginning. And without anyone having to answer the above written question .. THAT is the best way for me to answer the question and truly Learn (ie. using the Manual !!).

 

Have a great day everyone.

[SnowTiger]

PS> I am already benefiting from that Link Yurgon provided.

It answered the last question I posted (which I was planning on answering by reading the Manual again ... which I WILL Still Do).

 

Quoted from Panzertard (post #4).

Q: "I have 6562 units and using F7 to review all takes FOREVER!!".

A: Quickly Jump to Unit of Interest:

 

In MP while reviewing mission;

- Bring up F10 map.

- Find unit of interest - click on the Unit it in map.

- Press F7 - and you are looking at your unit.

Or F2 for airunit

Or F12 for static object.

*************************************************

 

You see, I was trying to do my viewing in SP using F2/F7. It wasn't working for me.

Or at least, I think that's what I was doing ?!!

Anyway, I'm well on my way now and plan on making some interesting and challenging Missions. It will obviously take me a long time to do anything that anyone else will want to fly, but I will share them as they are created.

 

Thanks again Y'all !

[Belgeode]

NO problem, SnowTiger. I am always happy to help, because I learn things too!

[Yurgon]

Right now, I just have to play around a bit to see how Yurgon was able to View the Specific Troops and/or Aircraft that he wanted .. when he wanted.

So far, I have been using F11 and scrolling through each and every airport .. just to get close to those things I want to see.

 

I see you figured it out already. :thumbup:

 

Then again, I'm sorry for the omission. It was so obvious to me that you'd cycle units using F2 (Aircraft view), F7 (Ground unit view) and F9 (Ship view) that I didn't even think of mentioning it.

 

It's an incredibly helpful tip to use the F10 map, highlight an object and then hit F2/F7/F9 to be right on it, though. Saves a lot of time when there are several units of the same general type. :thumbup:

[FSFIan]

Also, after you have pressed F7 (or F2 / F9 / whatever), you can press Ctrl+F11 to switch to the free flight camera at your current position (without jumping to an airport). This only works if the free flight camera is otherwise available (i.e. not disabled in the mission).

[Wrecking Crew]

Here's my flag scheme and some other tips

 

With this method I can look at a flag and know which coalition it belongs to, which type of platform, which group, which unit (optional) and the state.

 

WC

 

edit --> mission example attached

Edited February 6, 2015 by Wrecking Crew

[SnowTiger]

Thanks for sharing that Wrecking Crew. That looks very useful ... albeit more than just a bit overwhelming at first. But I'm sure it will come to me with time and practice.

 

BTW- With regards to F2, F7 and F9 views as well as the Shift+F11, I am going to have to figure something out for F9. Currently I use that to Pause my TrackIR. I'm sure I'll figure something else out to use for TIR Pause.

 

Also, today is the first time I ever had DCS in Windowed Mode (or at least "I think" it was Windowed Mode) ?!!. I trust that when I de-selected (unchecked) the "Full Screen" option in DCS W Options, that made it Windowed Mode ?

That said, it is the first time I have been able to Minimize DCS without great difficulties .. usually resulting in a Game/System Crash.

I always thought Windowed Mode would create more video problems than it might be worth, hence I never tried it before. I also was pretty sure that I would have seen a Border all around my screen ... which would have bothered me (oh.. and that might be the OCD that I also have a slight case of !! LOL along with a few other nice psychiatric Labels !).

So it was much to my surprise to learn this is Not the case. I wish I had checked that out much sooner.

 

Anyway, this is the most useful FORUM I have been a member of in years short of the Google SketchUp/Earth Forums I participated in for the last 6 years. There are many Skilled and Friendly people here who are willing to share their experience and knowledge with others.

That said, I don't expect to have everything answered for me. Like all of you, I too have read and will continue to read and re-read the Manuals (ALL of them) again and again until I know everything I want and need to know. But having a few questions answered often helps me greatly by getting me on the right path with minimal confusion. And it's usually AFTER several attempts to figure things out on my own.

 

So Thanks Again VERY Much to all those who have participated and shared in this Thread (and in This FORUM in general). I for one a very grateful to have received all the help I have received to date. It has helped ensure that I have had a TON of Fun and learned so much in a short period of time.

Best Wishes to All of you.

[SnowTiger]

AND ....

 

Sorry for Rambling so much !!!

[Stonehouse]

One tip which is sometimes overlooked is if (think you need to own the CA module???) you can is to add observer and gamemaster slots to your mission for both sides so you can check things out - it's better than adding a client plane as then you may need to fiddle with fog of war settings and remove the client aircraft etc before releasing a mission and I always forget whereas it is pretty easy remember to remove as well as actually removing the observer and gamemaster slots. Additionally it means you can add test flights/vehicles/ships etc to your mission essentially waiting/orbiting/holding and then use gamemaster to order them around to test the way your mission responds.

[SnowTiger]

@Stonehouse >> Excellent Idea.

 

Today I was creating a new mission specifically for Training.

Up until today, I was creating a New Single Mission for each and every Aircraft Mod that I have which results in having many missions specifically for Training Flights (or just farting and flying around in).

So this time I started creating a single mission that has 1 of each of the aircraft mods I currently own, including their Training Variants (eg: P-51D & TF-51D).

 

I set them up that each one is flown by "Client" so I can choose whichever one I want to fly right then and there. Also, for the first time today I am using DCS in Windowed Mode (but still full screen ... if that makes any sense ?). The advantage to this is that I do NOT have to completely close out DCS World and that Mission in order to select a new/different HOTAS Config (from the X-55 HUD icon in my Task Bar) for whichever aircraft I intend to fly at that moment.

 

I have set this up at Tbilisi-Lochini, Vaziani and Soganlug Airports which are all close together, making for a great location to have ALL my aircraft models ready to go. I have included them as Individual Aircraft as opposed to Groups so that I can later add more of each model (if I so choose) with specific Loadouts. But for now, I can easily request whatever Loadout I want while warming the plane up.

 

So I have Allied Fixed Wing Aircraft & All Helicopters at one airport; my German or otherwise Axis Fixed Wing Aircraft at another airport; and all Jet Engine Aircraft at another airport (with the longest runway of the 3).

 

Now as a result of your idea (which I did actually think about for a few seconds today but never followed through) I am going to also include at least 1 Commander spot since I do also have Combined Arms.

I was thinking about it because I got wondering if I shouldn't also consider adding some vehicles in the area that I can play around with too (either as Commander while flying OR just driving them by themselves). The fact is, I have had CA for a couple years now and havn't once sat in a Tank Cockpit yet !!

I'm just not too sure this won't make things too complicated. However, that said, I have not and probably will not add ANY waypoints for any of the aircraft UNLESS I am doing some sort of Navigation Training.

 

Anyway, there I go rambling on again !! Sorry bout dat y'all !

And thanks again Stonehouse.

[Yurgon]

I have included them as Individual Aircraft as opposed to Groups so that I can later add more of each model (if I so choose) with specific Loadouts.

 

Sounds like you're making good progress! :)

 

One potential caveat here: There can only be one player (or client) aircraft per group, and that player or client will always be the group leader; meaning you can lead several AI aircraft, but you can't be wingman to an AI flight lead, and (much worse) you can't have several clients in one group, which sucks for MP.

 

This is a current limitation in DCS, and we're all hoping it'll go away in the future, but AFAIK there's no official word on that yet. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed. :)

[SnowTiger]

Thanks Yurgon .. that's good to know. I didn't know that was the way it worked.

I did it only so I could customize the initial loadout the way I wanted for each aircraft because I don't think you can do it otherwise. By that I mean, I think whatever loadout you give to the "Group Leader" or Aircraft #001 (out of however many), is the same loadout everone else in the Group gets.

It was a Guess Only but I hoped I was right.

 

Regardless, I realize that a Customized Loadout can be requested any time that you meet the criteria ... such as being on the ground. That too is why I did it this way.

 

I'll graciously accept all the tips and advice people are willing to offer !!

So again, thanks for that info/tip.