SP Campaign: Operation Earnest Will

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

There is at least 1 mission where I need an AWACS for the Iranian AI to work properly, and the F5s were inconsistent unless there was an eye in the sky.

Wouldn't an EWR station work in that case as well? I never tried it myself in a mission, so I'm just wondering...

Most of those Mirages should have been planes like 737s and A320s, but I don't have that option with vanilla. Instead you get Mirages, C130s, and that lone Russian passenger jet. :(

Ah ok, I thought they were supposed to be Mirage 5s since that's what the UAE Air Force used at the time.

Hopefully we'll get passenger aircraft as AI assets integrated into DCS at some point. We have a Neutral faction now finally, and that would be a perfect use for it :-)

And yes, I get you when it comes to the use of mods required: I'm not a fan of them either but the Civil Aircraft one, is one of the very very few I do have...

 

In any case, I'm looking forward to flying the other missions in the campaign. Thanks for your hard work!

[SpikeGondorff]

Wouldn't an EWR station work in that case as well? I never tried it myself in a mission, so I'm just wondering...

 

Ah ok, I thought they were supposed to be Mirage 5s since that's what the UAE Air Force used at the time.

Hopefully we'll get passenger aircraft as AI assets integrated into DCS at some point. We have a Neutral faction now finally, and that would be a perfect use for it :-)

And yes, I get you when it comes to the use of mods required: I'm not a fan of them either but the Civil Aircraft one, is one of the very very few I do have...

 

In any case, I'm looking forward to flying the other missions in the campaign. Thanks for your hard work!

 

I didn't actually try that one mission with an EWR station, because one of the previous mission has a group of Hornets destroying everything that emits a radar signal. :)

 

Also, major spoiler for mission 8:

 

 

There is a battery of Silkworms that launch at the carrier group. The only way I could get them to launch was to have an An-50 in the air. It seemed their radars couldn't detect the CSG either because of range or the simulated curvature of the earth. I tried putting the CSG closer to the Iranian coast, but the range at which they were detected was ludicrous (I think 20 or 30 miles). That seemed less likely than Iran getting an AWACS :)

 

 

You're right, I did have one set of Mirage planes flying around because that's close to what the UAE had, but you're seeing a lot more of them because of the lack of civilian planes. I might just get rid of all the extra planes at some point. They don't seem to have the impact I want (congested/confused airspace), and Jester likes to go crazy pointing them all out. Especially those dangerous enemy cargo planes. :)

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

I just finished mission 3, and I loved it! :D One of my Sparrows fell off the rail without the rocket motor igniting, which was quite funny in a historical sense :P

 

 

Personally, I'd recommend to set the tanker a bit faster though: an F-14 is not an A-10, and refuelling at high AoA is tricky. 280KIAS would be better, imo.

Also, when I landed back on the carrier, I got a Jester trigger for *both* landing on the carrier and landing at Al Dhafra, which was a bit odd ;-) The mission finished with score 100 so no biggy :-)

[CheckGear]

There is at least 1 mission where I need an AWACS for the Iranian AI to work properly, and the F5s were inconsistent unless there was an eye in the sky. It seems that without the AWACS, the AI doesn't detect the player or BlueFor consistently. It could be my triggers/scripting, too, but there was one mission where I could only get the actions I wanted with one in the air. I figured the An-50 was better than an E3 or E2, and thought I should introduce it early in the campaign so it's not a "WTF" surprise later.

 

 

I love stuff like this. It just does to show how difficult it really is to simulate real life, even in a hyper-accurate simulation like DCS. Sometimes, you have to do "crazy" stuff and suspend reality a bit just to create a playable game.

[Black Assassin]

I can't seem to find any information in the briefings about the ICLS channel. I find it really difficult to land on the carrier without it, how else might I be able to find out what channel it is? Thanks heaps :)

[draconus]

I can't seem to find any information in the briefings about the ICLS channel. I find it really difficult to land on the carrier without it, how else might I be able to find out what channel it is? Thanks heaps :)

 

It's channel 11 (from ME).

 

Btw: briefing in SC mission still mentions Stennis.

Edited August 16, 2020 by draconus

[Black Assassin]

Thankyou Draconus much appreciated :)

[SpikeGondorff]

I just finished mission 3, and I loved it! :D One of my Sparrows fell off the rail without the rocket motor igniting, which was quite funny in a historical sense :P

 

Personally, I'd recommend to set the tanker a bit faster though: an F-14 is not an A-10, and refuelling at high AoA is tricky. 280KIAS would be better, imo.

Also, when I landed back on the carrier, I got a Jester trigger for *both* landing on the carrier and landing at Al Dhafra, which was a bit odd ;-) The mission finished with score 100 so no biggy :-)

 

Thanks for heads up on the multiple triggers. I'll also tweak the tanker speed. I first learned to AAR with the A-10, so I always default to that speed without thinking. :)

 

I love stuff like this. It just does to show how difficult it really is to simulate real life, even in a hyper-accurate simulation like DCS. Sometimes, you have to do "crazy" stuff and suspend reality a bit just to create a playable game.

 

Hah, yeah, sometimes you just need to do what works.

 

I can't seem to find any information in the briefings about the ICLS channel. I find it really difficult to land on the carrier without it, how else might I be able to find out what channel it is? Thanks heaps :)

 

It should be in the briefing and the pages on the kneeboard. What mission were you on that was missing it?

 

It's channel 11 (from ME).

 

Btw: briefing in SC mission still mention Stennis.

 

Yeah, I finished the campaign the week the SC came out, and I was burned out on mission editing. If I recall, Jester mentions the Stennis somewhat often, so my plan is to just insert the Stennis carrier in the SC missions when it finally comes out. Although I'm getting the itch to create missions again...

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

I just finished Mission 6. I don't know if this is a DCS problem, or somehow related to triggers in the campaign, but my total A/A kills (on the campaign selection screen) didn't get updated for missions 5 and 6. Again, not a problem but just thought I'd mention it.

 

I got credit for all 4 helos early on, but not for the F-4s in mission 5 and not for the F-4s and F-5s in mission 6... Weird...

 

 

I really love the immersion and tension build-up. You thought of the little things as well, which makes this campaign all the more enjoyable! :thumbsup:

Of course hearing Jester say: "Oh man that 3-wire was more beautiful than Meg Ryan!" also helps :P

[SpikeGondorff]

I just finished Mission 6. I don't know if this is a DCS problem, or somehow related to triggers in the campaign, but my total A/A kills (on the campaign selection screen) didn't get updated for missions 5 and 6. Again, not a problem but just thought I'd mention it.

 

I got credit for all 4 helos early on, but not for the F-4s in mission 5 and not for the F-4s and F-5s in mission 6... Weird...

 

 

I really love the immersion and tension build-up. You thought of the little things as well, which makes this campaign all the more enjoyable! :thumbsup:

Of course hearing Jester say: "Oh man that 3-wire was more beautiful than Meg Ryan!" also helps :P

 

I've seen the same missing logbook kills with Kaba's Cage the Bear for the F14, and even the Viggen campaigns. Last time this happened I remember it was if you landed the plane then the logbook didn't give you credit. If you didn't land the plane, then you were credited in the logbook. I'm going to guess this a DCS issue, but I'll play around with it too and see if I can narrow down what causes it.

 

I'm glad you like the immersion and build up. I always like when campaigns/missions have chatter between pilots on the way to/from the mission area. With Jester a few feet behind you, there's no way he's going to be quiet. :) That Meg Ryan quote killed me the first time I heard it. I need to create a mission that has you bombing a volleyball court...

 

Nice change in your signature, too. :thumbup: Got rid of that ugly Viper. :D

[Nobody Special]

I have one suggestion: when the player has F10 menu radio messages to transmit, can you allow the message to be re-transmitted? Right now if you send an F10 message while tuned to the wrong channel, it seems like all the messages stop working and you miss instructions. I've done this a couple times and had to re-start the mission.

 

If possible I'd only remove the F10 menu options after the player sees the reply. That way, the player can change their channel and re-try until they get it right.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

I just finished the campaign. Brilliant work, thank you so much! Some of the best fun I've had in DCS...

 

This really deserves to be included with the module itself. Perhaps official recognition could bring in voice actors? I would gladly pay for that! :thumbup:

[SpikeGondorff]

I have one suggestion: when the player has F10 menu radio messages to transmit, can you allow the message to be re-transmitted? Right now if you send an F10 message while tuned to the wrong channel, it seems like all the messages stop working and you miss instructions. I've done this a couple times and had to re-start the mission.

 

If possible I'd only remove the F10 menu options after the player sees the reply. That way, the player can change their channel and re-try until they get it right.

 

That's a good point. Ideally, it would be as said: you'd broadcast out and when you didn't hear anything back, you could check the frequency and rebroadcast.

 

As it is now, once you hit the F10 menu option, everything flows based on timing after that trigger (and not just communications, but sometimes triggers for other events). The easiest thing (so I don't break any current triggers) might be to just add a check that the correct radio is tuned. If you hit F10 and you're not on the correct frequency, nothing happens. Not the most realistic thing, but probably the safest without redoing all the triggers and potentially breaking more stuff. I'll play with it this weekend and see if I can create a trigger based on the radio frequency.

 

I just finished the campaign. Brilliant work, thank you so much! Some of the best fun I've had in DCS...

 

This really deserves to be included with the module itself. Perhaps official recognition could bring in voice actors? I would gladly pay for that! :thumbup:

 

Glad you liked it!!! And thanks for all the different feedback on it. I've got a (growing) list of things to update when I get some time.

 

I'm thinking about making it a paid campaign with 4 or 5 more missions and voice actors. I've never done anything like that, so I'm playing around with various sound filters and all that fun stuff.

 

Thanks again for the kind words!

[Castor Troy]

I can't seem to find any information in the briefings about the ICLS channel. I find it really difficult to land on the carrier without it, how else might I be able to find out what channel it is? Thanks heaps :)

 

Kneepad will tell you Channel 11 for ICLS.

 

EDIT* Already answered. Sorry.

Edited August 17, 2020 by Castor Troy

[CheckGear]

I'm thinking about making it a paid campaign with 4 or 5 more missions and voice actors. I've never done anything like that, so I'm playing around with various sound filters and all that fun stuff.

Thanks again for the kind words!

 

 

If you need voice actors, I'd be happy to volunteer!

[Home Fries]

I'm in for voice acting as well. If you need a sample, check out The Crew pt 1 which is released today. I'm the lead pilot. I also have a small role in Raven One.

[draconus]

M2: no messages from AWACS, just hear some 1s short radio noise from time to time. In M2(continued) first message after some time is Jester: "Dang... another group?..."

 

Yes, I've set AN/ARC-182 to CH3 or 133.000MHz. I can see E-2 on F10 map and radar/DL.

 

@latest beta

[SpikeGondorff]

M2: no messages from AWACS, just hear some 1s short radio noise from time to time. In M2(continued) first message after some time is Jester: "Dang... another group?..."

 

Yes, I've set AN/ARC-182 to CH3 or 133.000MHz. I can see E-2 on F10 map and radar/DL.

 

@latest beta

 

Thanks for all the info on what you've done. I uninstalled OB a few weeks back due to disk space, so I'm only running Stable at the moment. I tried it last night and it worked fine (on Stable). When I get some time I'll swap to OB and try it again.

 

To ask the obvious question: were you looking on the left part of the screen for the communication from the E-2? Jester's speech is on the right to differentiate the ICS communication, while everyone else will be through the radio which appears on the left part of the screen. I'm asking only because the radio sounds you heard are the exact same trigger for the text. I don't know why the sound would fire without the corresponding text. Of course, stranger things have happened with the ME...

 

Sorry for the hassle, and I'll update to OB in a bit and see if I can reproduce.

[SpikeGondorff]

I tried Mission 2 in OB (2.5.6.54046) and I was able to see the Overlord's chatter on the upper left part of the screen with the radio noise. Channel 3 on the -182. Did you call Overlord through the F10 menu shortly after Fujairah? If so, were you able to see your chatter in the upper left? That shouldn't impact other radio triggers, but I'm curious if you could see your own radio call.

 

Thanks.

[draconus]

I tried Mission 2 in OB (2.5.6.54046) and I was able to see the Overlord's chatter on the upper left part of the screen with the radio noise. Channel 3 on the -182. Did you call Overlord through the F10 menu shortly after Fujairah? If so, were you able to see your chatter in the upper left? That shouldn't impact other radio triggers, but I'm curious if you could see your own radio call.

I have a strong suspicion it's connected to subtitles setting which I don't use. Will report back later.

Built in AWACS messages should play normally (as sound). If they are custom how do you put them on the left? Never heard of that before.

[SpikeGondorff]

I have a strong suspicion it's connected to subtitles setting which I don't use. Will report back later.

Built in AWACS messages should play normally (as sound). If they are custom how do you put them on the left? Never heard of that before.

 

Ahh, I bet that's it. There are no voiceovers in the campaign, so everything is text. The only sound you hear when AWACS "talks" is the radio crackle. When you turn on subtitles, you'll see that all subtitled messages that come in by radio appear on the upper left part of the screen, even the default wingmen AI messages like, "rolling," "wheels up," "mud spike 9 o'clock," etc.

 

I used Jester's custom speech as a message sent to the player so you don't need to have anything tuned. For custom radio messages, there is no voice over (like with Jester), but there are subtitles.

 

I didn't even realize that was a setting, to be honest. Sorry for the misunderstanding, and I hope that was the issue and the rest of it works well!

 

On a separate topic, I did come across this bug for the -159: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=272071

 

The Preset setting on the -159 doesn't work as a preset setting. I think I had to flip to Guard before I could turn the knob to select preset channels. I don't think there is any custom chatter from your wingman in mission 2, but there will be in other missions.

 

Let me know if you run across any other issues! Thanks.

[draconus]

Yep, subtitles made me see AWACS messages now. I know about the -159 bug so I set it to work correctly.

 

Anyway, I started my M2 (continued), got to the F5 hot situation, they bugged out later on, I went back on 2-3-2-3-2 track with nothing happening at all then RTB out of boredome to the mothership but the mission was not completed. I have a hard time with this campaign.

 

Is it normal that I have no AWACS radio menu options even if one is on duty and provides DL?

 

Hint: if a mission is "continued" version, please take away fuel spent up to the point of airstart. 16k lbs (empty externals) would be fine here imho.

[SpikeGondorff]

I just ran through the mission in OB, and it worked fine. I only tried the Continued version of the mission, but I'll try the full mission tomorrow. Were you on the full mission or the Continued one? I assume the latter based on your tip about fuel tanks, but wanted to confirm.

 

There should be another intercept of F4s after the F5s, but I don't know why that didn't happen. They should be heading south to you when you're intercepting the F5s, and it should just be several minutes after you chase off the Tigers that you're requested to intercept the F4s. That's what happened when I just ran through it, but I'll look around some more tomorrow.

 

The E-2 isn't technically operating as an AWACS, which is why you don't hear anything from him. I am running the excellent Random Air Traffic script, which, when I tested it initially, made the AWACS go crazy from random contacts. There was also the issue of asking for bogey dope would return the "wrong" contacts, hence the F10 menu option for BRA. Later missions have the AWACS working properly for data link information, but there is a Mission Controller that filters out the E-2 chatter.

 

Sorry for the difficulties with it. I'll poke around tomorrow and see if I can't figure out what's up with that 2nd group.

[draconus]

Finally made it - M2(cont) completed.

 

I guess the first time I turned on F5s too soon. They bugged out eventually but I missed some AWACS messages and broke the storyline so no F4s later on.

[SpikeGondorff]

Finally made it - M2(cont) completed.

 

I guess the first time I turned on F5s too soon. They bugged out eventually but I missed some AWACS messages and broke the storyline so no F4s later on.

 

That's great; glad you completed it. I just ran through it again and it worked, so I'm glad it worked for you as well.

 

Spoiler for the logic:

 

 

I thought the trigger for the F4 was pretty independent of the F5s. Once Overlord tells you to start intercepting the F5s, the F4s start moving south. So there is a possibility that you could be getting warnings about the F4s if you're too slow intercepting the F5s. But, something obviously screwed up for you, so I'll look at tweaking the logic at some point.

 

 

 

Hopefully the rest of the missions won't be as frustrating. And I'll also look into changing the fuel when you Continue. I never thought of that and it's a good point, thanks!