DML - Mission Creation Toolbox [no Lua required]

[cfrag]

Update 20250619 - Version 2.5.1

So I took the new ferry module, and applied it to some other maps. I ran into issues with some (relating to data files that contain some unexpected data and characters), and nore importantly I ran into an issue with the way that DCS currently does not allow a script to manage dynamic availability (and hot-start ability) of airfields. I posted a request to ED's pagesm, and have note heard back so far. But the upshot is this: without a script's ability to control if an airfield allows dynamic spawns, it is up to you, the mission designer to click on each and every airfield on the map, and change it by hand. This is annoying for Caucasus. It's a show stop for larger maps with hundreds of airfields like Germany, Sinai or Syria - as I found out the hard way when I created those missions

Ferry Germany

 

Ferry Syria 

 

I decided that the ferry module simply isn't ready for prime time yet, it requires that ED improve the warehouse (or airfield) API before this module can reach acceptable levels of interaction. Once we have sufficient API support, 'ferry' will be included into the 'official' DML set.

While seeing if and how ED respond (so far they have not), I took to heart one of our community leader's comment that I should be more constructive, and I invested a couple of days writing up a (in my mind) better UI/UX for DCS's "Quick Action Generator", which I think has some major design deficiencies. As with the other feedback I've sent to ED we'll see if and how they respond. As (unfortunately) expected, there was none. Oh, well.

So, here's a slightly enhanced update to DML: a few bugs corrected that were reported by some kind folk, and some enhancements to "scribe"
 

All Changes:

Manual
    - added new attributes to Scribe for recording total distance travelled  
    
Demos
    
Modules
    - dcsCommon 3.3.2 
        - getLongestRW (new)
        
    - playerScore 5.3.2
        - more bug hardening 
        
    - scribe 2.1.0
        - now also tracks distance travelled 
 

Enjoy,

-ch

[Recluse]

@cfrag  I was trying to use ArtilleryZones and kept getting the first error message below

I figured I was doing something stupid as usual, as your demo mission with triggered Artillery seemed to work fine.

THEN I tried substituting the LATEST cfxZones.lua into the demo mission, and got a similar error (which persisted when I also updated the artilleryZones.lua

I did leave the value of the artilleryTarget parameter BLANK since the manual said it would be ignored anyway.

 

EDIT: Interestingly looking again, I don't see a starting message that artilleryZones.lua even loaded.

I created the simplest mission I could think of and still got the error and didn't see artilleryZones loading, though I definitely did on the stock Demo mission.

I retrofitted the old version of artilleryZones to the mission and it loaded without error and worked.  Something off in the new version???

simpleArty.miz : Older (2.0.1) artilleryZones

simpleArty_V3.miz: Latest (3.0.0) artilleryZones

 

null

null

 

 

 

simpleArty.miz simpleArty_v3.miz

Edited June 26 by Recluse

[cfrag]

13 hours ago, Recluse said:

I was trying to use ArtilleryZones and kept getting the first error message below

Thanks for reporting this. I traced it to a small typo in arty zones. It was forced into the open by using the (now legacy , deprecated) "f?" attribute. It's fixed in the update below.

Enjoy,

-ch

 

artilleryZones.lua

[Recluse]

21 minutes ago, cfrag said:

Thanks for reporting this. I traced it to a small typo in arty zones. It was forced into the open by using the (now legacy , deprecated) "f?" attribute. It's fixed in the update below.

Enjoy,

-ch

 

artilleryZones.lua 15.71 kB · 0 downloads

THANKS!!!  Always good to know I wasn't missing something obvious.

Latest manual still had the f? shown, so I didn't know it was deprecated.

While I have your attention on artilleryZones, a few questions if I may 

 

-  watchFlag (f?. in?, artillery?) shown as NUMBER.  Does it still have to be a numbered flag, or can the usual DML flag NAMES be used?

- I should just try it, but I will ask anyway:  Can multiple artilleryZones use the same watchFlag?  e.g.  Simultaneous bombardment on 2 (or more) sites using a WatchFlag with Flag 100

Never mind, I tried it and answer is YES.. and the new artilleryZone.lua works perfectly!

Edited June 26 by Recluse

[cfrag]

1 hour ago, Recluse said:

Does it still have to be a numbered flag, or can the usual DML flag NAMES be used?

IIRC, all flags in DML can be names, and can be local. 

Edited June 26 by cfrag

[cfrag]

1 hour ago, Recluse said:

Latest manual still had the f? shown, so I didn't know it was deprecated.

They are now -- i.e. next release.

[Recluse]

20 minutes ago, cfrag said:

IIRC, all flags in DML can be numbers, and can be local. 

I meant, can a non numerical flag be used in an artillery zone:

 

in?   "StartShot" vs "100"

 

Again, the answer is YES..  I misunderstood this as meaning it had to be a NUMBER, but that was just pointing out compatibiity:

null

 

 

 

Edited June 26 by Recluse

[cfrag]

3 minutes ago, Recluse said:

I misunderstood this as meaning it had to be a NUMBER, but that was just pointing out compatibiity:

Yeah, the manual is old in many places, and needs amendment. I corrected that, too - thank you!

[Recluse]

@cfrag   

Started messing around with the Recon Mode module. Originally posted some bug reports but on further testing, everything is working as expected.

Question though:

- Any way to include Statics in the report (e.g. reporting FARPS, structures etc..) or would this be too resource intensive.  Not suggesting built in Map objects, just Mission Editor placed statics.

 

 

Edited July 2 by Recluse

[cfrag]

Version 2.5.2 - 20250703 - minor update 

Dog days. A heat dome sits across Europe, and it really doesn't agree with me. So I got very little done (except putting the finishing touches on "Ferry Sinai",  see here (ED User Files)

and, by the looks of it, forgetting to include audio. I'll do that when the temperatures become more agreeable, probably next week.

I've done some re-writing of the docs, and some debugging. In all, this is update has few exciting updates, if any:

Documentation
    Main    
        - various updates
    Quick Ref    
        - small updates
        
Demos
    
Modules
    - artillery zones 3.0.1
    - corrected typo and removed deprecated attributes 
        

Time to jump into Lake Zürich!

[Recluse]

Thanks!!  Stay cool!!

[cfrag]

On 7/2/2025 at 4:50 PM, Recluse said:

Any way to include Statics in the report

I've mulled this idea a bit. Depending on how people add statics to embellish a mission (I do add quite a bit of statics for eye candy purposes) this could add quite a bit of overhead. So, sitting on a deck chair, holding a glass of 'death in the afternoon' (a cocktail invented by Ernest Hemmingway and seriously debilitating), and mulling this question I had a couple of ideas that I can no longer recall. BUT, maybe I can come up with something that allows both static objects AND map objects to be included as recon targets. I'll see what I can do. Since that bottle of Champagne is empty anyways, there's a good chance that the idea survives the week-end...

[Recluse]

Thanks for mulling it over.  I guess you guys in Europe can get real Absinthe?  I think it is now legal in the US but only with very low Thujone levels (10 mg/L)

https://www.mashed.com/209498/the-reason-absinthe-is-no-longer-banned-in-the-u-s/

Some time ago I got a bottle of Versinthe which claimed to be close, but was mainly anise and herbs and ZERO Thujone.  Of course from what I have read, the effects of Thujone even at the relatively high levels in the heyday of the Green Fairy were not really as intoxicating or toxic as believed. Mainly the high alcohol content.  But the Nanny State will have its say!!

Back to Static Recon Targets:

I was thinking that to avoid the overhead, maybe Statics could ONLY be re-conned when inside a PRIORITY TARGET Zone. That would limit the  detection of eye candy statics.

Possibly the same for Map Objects, though, personally, Map Objects are not a priority.

 

 

[cfrag]

16 minutes ago, Recluse said:

I guess you guys in Europe can get real Absinthe?

Well, living in Switzerland (and Europe by association) does have it's advantages. La fée verte never really went away here (from Neuchâtel and some other Cantons) and has returned in earnest some 30 years ago. That psychedelic brouhaha surrounding thujone appears to have been a bad-faith rumor placed intentionally by some other spirit industry magnate and now turns out to be incorrect. "Death in the afternoon", unlike the book, is worth it, if not in the quantities recommended by Hemmingway ("5 before 5") .

27 minutes ago, Recluse said:

I was thinking that to avoid the overhead, maybe Statics could ONLY be re-conned when inside a PRIORITY TARGET Zone

I'm thinking along similar lines, any experimenting with some set-ups that hopefully allow for both good QoL and good performance.

28 minutes ago, Recluse said:

Map Objects are not a priority.

Agreed.  

[cfrag]

On 7/5/2025 at 2:22 PM, Recluse said:

I was thinking that to avoid the overhead, maybe Statics could ONLY be re-conned when inside a PRIORITY TARGET Zone.

I went with something very similar: use a 'recon' zone, and now it also collects static objects inside that zone. I've slightly changed the semantics of the recon attribute value - it still defaults to 'prio' and now you can add something other than 'black' or 'prio' to indicate non-prio/blacklisted. So if you want to add a static object to recon, and do not want it to be a priority target, simply add something other than a word starting with "black" or "prio" as value, and you are set.

Preliminary version and demo miz below. Note: requires updated version of cfxZones.

Enjoy,

-ch

 

reconMode.lua cfxZones.lua demo - recon mode - reloaded.miz

And here's the updated info from the doc:

recon

Marks all ground groups that have at least one unit inside the zone or static objects inside this zone as recon relevant.   Furthermore, ·         if the value for this attribute starts with “black” all groups that have at least one unit inside this zone are added to the blacklist ·         if the value for this attribute starts with “prio”, all groups that have at least one unit inside this zone are added to the priority list. If such a group / static object is spotted the module’s prio! output is triggered. ·         if the value is neither “black” nor “prio”, the units inside are neither priority targets nor blacklisted yet can generate the reconMessage and output signals when spotted.   Defaults to “prio” – all groups / static objects inside this zone are priority targets. Additionally, if a priority target is spotted, a signal is sent over the modules ‘prio!’ output.   MANDATORY

[Recluse]

THANK YOU!!!!!  That was quick and seems like an elegant solution allowing for much flexibility!!

[Recluse]

1 hour ago, Recluse said:

THANK YOU!!!!!  That was quick and seems like an elegant solution allowing for much flexibility!!

@cfrag  Hmmm DEMO works fine, but my mission throws these errors:

 

Zones are clonezones (currently RED) with mixed Static/Vehicle with attributes. Scout is a Blue aircraft. Originally I stacked the recon attributes into the Clone Zone, but then I created a separate recon zone just in case that was causing the errors

recon  stat

dynamic true

 

Edited Monday at 12:07 PM by Recluse

[cfrag]

41 minutes ago, Recluse said:

Zones are clonezones (currently RED) with mixed Static/Vehicle with attributes. Scout is a Blue aircraft. Originally I stacked the recon attributes into the Clone Zone, but then I created a separate recon zone just in case that was causing the errors

Can you (after removing all mods should they be in there) please allow me to look at the miz? The changes are new, and I'm sure I may have missed something.

 

[Recluse]

I will send it to you. No Mods, just a Hornet which I can remove and replace with an SU-25T.  Been building this up so it has gotten kind of busy.

[Spankinvicar]

Hey.. I downloaded this a couple of years back but havent used it for a good while.  Im just relearning it now but a quick question.  Is it possible to add newer modules to the list of CSAR capable helicopters.? I.e the CH-47D.   Or has it already been updated and I just need to download a newer version of the modules.?  Thanks.  Sorry should have mentioned its autocsar that im trying to use. 

Edited Monday at 07:08 PM by Spankinvicar

[cfrag]

2 hours ago, Spankinvicar said:

Is it possible to add newer modules to the list of CSAR capable helicopters.?

You control which helicopters are accepted for CSAR missions with the 'troopCarriers' attribute in the csarManagerConfig zone

troopCarriers

A list of helicopter types that are allowed to carry/rescue troops in this mission. Defaults to DCS Common’s list of troop carriers (which is usually Mi-8MT, UH-1H, Mi-24P), but you can provide your own list (for example to add non-official types). Example: “Mi-8MT, UH-1H, SA342Minigun” removes the Hind and adds the Gazelle in Minigun configuration to the list of legal troop carriers. Supports wildcard type endings: if a type ends on an asterisk (“*”) all types that match whatever precedes the asterisk are accepted. For example, “Mi-*” will match both “Mi-8T” and “Mi-24P”. You can supply the type ‘helos’ to allow all player helicopters (including unofficial Mods like Blackhawk) to carry troops. You can supply the type ‘any’ or ‘all’ to allow all player aircraft to carry troops. Default <none> (use dcsCommon’s list of troop carriers)

 

Please be advised that the autoCSAR module does not provide the CSAR services, it merely automatically creates a CSAR mission for a pilot that successfully ejects. 

Edited Monday at 07:46 PM by cfrag

[Spankinvicar]

Thank you.  starting to remember some of it now. 

[bitboy]

Hey cfrag,

 Hope you are well, encountering an error with twn.lua on the WWII Marianas map. When I run the mission at startup getting a script error.
The first image is with DML 2.5.1  the second is using the twn.lua from DML 2.5.2.
I tried with DML 2.5.2 and I get the second error. I imagine it's a DCS WWII Marianas issue since it's the latest to hit the streets.

Never had any issues with twn.lua in the past so I am highly suspicious of the WWII Marianas map being the issue.
Any insight is appreciated, thanks.null

Edited yesterday at 07:30 PM by bitboy

[cfrag]

14 minutes ago, bitboy said:

I am highly suspicious of the WWII Marianas map being the issue.

Agreed. I've run across a similar issue with Nevada that has a non-ASCII character in a city's name that brought lua2json to a grinding halt. I'll investigate to see what may be the issue here, thanks!

 

[cfrag]

17 hours ago, bitboy said:

I am highly suspicious of the WWII Marianas map being the issue.

It was. The folder name for the theatre map doesn't match up with the theatre name, so I had to patch twn for this. It's a simple patch and now should work:

 

twn.lua