Force label config?

[jers]

In multiplayer can we force a specific label config? And even better can we enforce a maximum label config, for instance letting players use dot labels if they want but allowing players not have to use them at all?

[Kadin]

Yes and Yes

[LazyBoot]

How?

[Kadin]

You need to incorporate your custom Labels.lua file into your Multiplayer mission, while preserving the file structure DCS recognizes.

Here is how:

Create your mission. Go to your Windows explorer where the mission is. Create a new folder and name it "config" . Open it, make another folder in it and name it "view". Place your customized Labels.lua file inside the "view" folder. Go to your mission file and open it. The file has an extension .miz but it is a zip file. I use 7.z app to open it. Leave it open and drag the newly made "config" folder right in it. That should do it.

Clients will see your custom Labels or they can turn labels off with leftSHT+F10.

Every mission needs to have this or else the server will default to Original DCS label settings.

In the past, If you would open this mission again in the Mission Editor and save it, the custom label.lua would disappear but that is not the case anymore with the recent update :)

[jers]

We tried that and couldn't quite get it to work, there's a chance that we did something wrong however, so if it works for you that's enough for us to put some time into taking another crack at it.

[Kadin]

Before I posted, I did it myself again on the latest version. A few things to look into.

Get the latest Labels.lua from C:\...\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Config\View.

Place a copy of it in C:\Users\YourUserName\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Config\View.

Modify it and test in Quick mission to ensure that it works.

Follow the above process to incorporate the Labels.lua inside your mission.

Then open (don't extract) the mission file to make sure that the Config\View\Labels.lua exists in there.

Finally, make sure your Server DCS settings have Labels ON and for good measure check the box that says: Keep these settings for all missions.

All this is for the Beta build...for now.

Edited September 5, 2018 by Kadin

[Targanon]

Well I have tried everything you have said here but can not get a thing to work I either have all dots all abv.. or full labels..

 

the team I fly with would like to have just ground target with "." as marker.....

 

I have edited a file. be just ground units = true.

 

and its like nothing counts..

 

so I guess either I'm dim or DCS labels ARE broken...

[Kadin]

Targanon

Did you change this section:

local ground_symbol_near = "ˉ" --U+02C9

local ground_symbol_far = "ˉ" --U+02C9

 

 

and further down

GroundFormat = {…

 

 

The labes.lua is working on my end. Most likely there is a miscoding in the file. Don't give up yet. To save time, as I mentioned before, make sure you test your file in Quick mission before you incorporate it into a mission for MP playing.

[Kadin]

...by the way, we are talking about the Beta version, right?

[Tippis]

Also, while it's not conclusive, some of my playing around with this has made me to believe that the directory names in the .miz file are case sensitive. I've had it not work if I accidentally name them “config” and/or “view”.

 

So:

1. Create a Config\View directory somewhere — capital ‘C’ and capital ‘V’.

2. Find/create/edit a labels.lua file that you test in singleplayer.

3. Once you're happy with that label setup, copy that file to the Config\View directory.

4. Open up your .miz file in whatever zip manager you use, and copy that Config directory into it — ensuring that the directory structure is maintained (so in your .miz file, you have Config\View\labels.lua)

5. Make sure you set the mission option to have labels forced on.

 

This should work, with the setup of the lua file itself being the only tricky bit.

[Kadin]

As I am tinkering around I found another potential problem. In mission editor up on the top, click on "customize--->Mission Options" then on the far right under the label "Enforce" make sure EVERYTHING is UNCHECKED.

By default this section is usually unchecked.

This might be a conflict with Tippis's comment: "5. Make sure you set the mission option to have labels forced on.", but the mission options are better guided by the Server Machine "Game Options" section, than the individual "Mission option" in mission editor section. Although customized labels could be "forced ON", on the later section, I could not get the "Dot ONLY" variant to work through the individual mission options.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Kadin

[Targanon]

are you currently using custom labels on a server NOW...!!!

if you are ....

 

Please Share this gem with others and ME!! please ...

[Rudel_chw]

Please Share this gem with others and ME!! please ...

 

He has already done so .. check the whole thread, its very useful .. I’ve bookmarked it for when the time comes for me to run a Server :)

 

Hope ED doesnt forget about the promised dedicated server, I’m so waiting for it.