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Proposal for short term goals for DCS Mission Scripting Environment enhancements


rurounijones

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As a result of a discussion on the Hoggit sub-reddit with NineLine I am submitting this documentation for consideration by Eagle Dynamics.

This document was written mostly by myself but with heavy advice and expertise being provided by Grimes whom I believe to be _the_ expert on the DCS scripting system. This document could not exist without him.

It has already been reviewed by around 30 community members and endorsed by admins of the following online servers:

  • Hoggit

  • Enigma's Cold War Server

  • Growling Sidewinder

  • Flashpoint Levant

  • Conquest DCS

  • Task Group Warrior

  • 473rd Squadron

  • MMSERVERSMACK

  • [KW]LaTaniere

  • SK Dedicated Server

  • DCS Singapore

  • Through The Inferno servers

  • Rotorheads Server

  • DCS Academy server

  • D3W Server (Spanish community)

  • Airgoons server

  • Havoc Company servers

  • VAF Servers

  • Grim Reapers Stoneburner Training server

  • BSD Squadron Servers

As well as the following DCS related projects:

  • LotATC

  • DCS:Liberation

  • Skynet IADS

  • DCS-gRPC

  • OverlordBot

  • The CTLD Project

  • The Hound ELINT project

I am posting it here so that others can read, comment and offer their support if they so desire.

This document can be read at the following URL: https://gist.github.com/rurounijones/92fee4f9f2acb4fac99da9121ac1cc1f and is available in PDF format as an attachment to this post.

TL;DR

Below is an example of things that could be done if these proposals were implemented so comment with your support if these sound good:

For example:

* Allow servers to fully implement their preferred logistics systems for units, weapons and fuel. Have players handle it or have AI handle it but let players escort or attack the ground, sea or air transports. A mix of both? Why not! What about  Storing inventory in targetable objectives for strategic strikes by crazy Viggen players? Whatever the servers want for their scenarios.

* Fully procedurally generated objectives instead of the usual hard-coded ones in a limited pre-created set of safe locations that the mission make manually picked.

* Fully procedurally generated ground forces without units in forests and untargatable or clipped into buildings

* Let players build their own FARPs and roadbases and spawn there to conduct their missions, then make them destroyable so the other side can recon and then deny them.

* Allow for mission flight planning using an online Webmap then generate your flight group mid-mission with waypoints and loadouts on the server.

ScriptingProposal.pdf


Edited by rurounijones
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Already given my endorcement but I can't give it enough, The changes here would open up soo much to us server admins just in the ability to control and adjust our missions some of which we've been asking for now for years.. and RJ has done a great document here that not only explains why we need it but also.. how it could be structured. Please Kate and every one else at ED look at it.. and consider it, the investment alone will pay dividends in the long run not only for us but for ED when things like your own Dynamic Campaign stuff comes out I would think.

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i7 13700k, 64gb DDR5, Warthog HOTAS, HP Reverb G2 VR, win 11, RTX 3070

TGW Dedicated Server Admin, Australian PVE/PVP gameplay. (taskgroupwarrior.info/2020)

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Another endorsement here from the admin of (the admittedly relatively minor) Airgoons.

As an addition for the next version, and especially since we've been hearing these vague mentions of improved ATC, is a series of APIs related to that functionality, and to airports and navigation in general. Some of it even exists as stubs in the code and mostly needs to be finished — things like a full set of nav beacon controls, control over airport functions (landing lights, active runway, runway damage) — in addition to the warehouse controls that are suggested in the document.

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❧ ❧ Inside you are two wolves. One cannot land; the other shoots friendlies. You are a Goon. ❧ ❧

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I would really put 1 at the end. But other than that It's a very solid list. It would be marvelous to see an ED Employee specifically responsible for Mission Scripting purposes. There's so much potential to empower the users to create better content. I am 100% sure it would be fantastic return on investment for ED. 

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Great work on pulling this all together.  I know that warehousing was a big frustration on Storm of War and just one of the issues that led us to close the server down. Having the ability to interact with them as suggested would be a great addition.

I'd also like to suggest that the documentation from ED in all regards could be much improved.  While there is some information available, any detailed stuff is generally third party and there are rarely any changes noted in the change logs relevant to the scripting environment. I've found it very frustrating to try to get scripts functioning to only later find an old thread several years old, unanswered and ignored, highlighting a particular bug.  Putting some more resources into this would not only support the existing content creators with better bug fixing but also make it more likely that more creators will persist to create more and more scripts, that in turn expand what is possible for DCS.

I hope we'll see something positive come from this initiative.

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You can Add Hound to that list 🙂

Personally Per Unit menus, commands and text messages would be welcomed.

to that list I would also add a method of updating map markers (which does not involve delete and recreate) and more payload info functions for Units, which are not just getAmmo() and getFuel().

Personally I would like to know when a user takes off with HTS or U22A.
But every one of us can think of a use case for his own scripts.
I'm sure Skynet can find benifit from knowing if a unit has an ECM pod.
something like MOOSE to check for TGP on FACA Unit to be able to allow it to realistically designate.

also with Link 16 platforms getting more common, I would love to be able to push threats or messages to players via Link16. (for example A10 9-line message, or PPT for Hornet or Viper). again, we can all be creative with that.

 


Edited by uri_ba
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Though I agree with what you asked for, you missed the most important thing about the MSE: we need proper documentation and functionalities that don't break every couple update. The community can build anything upon that

I also would love to have the possibility to set individual units health

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The modding/scripting functionality that these relatively simple changes would make is huge, not to mention the beginning of a relationship where ED listens to the community and builds out APIs we've actively requested.  This has my full-fledged support.

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I am [FF]Fishe, head admin of [FF] Fight and Flight community and part of the team that runs the Conquest DCS PvPvE Server. We collectively endorse this document and all requested changes therein. Massive +1.

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For the record, the MOOSE community were not consulted in this request. Rather than derail the ask, I intend to aggregate the votes of the 1900 active members on the MOOSE Discord and summarise what people are asking for, since everyone will always have their own wishes and I've long since given up assuming I know what people actually want. I doubt any of them will have considered ways of identifying a forest though.

 

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___________________________________________________________________________

SIMPLE SCENERY SAVING * SIMPLE GROUP SAVING * SIMPLE STATIC SAVING *

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you can add the "Grim Reapers Stoneburner Training server" to your list, with the help of Deadlyfishes, Pikey, Ciribob and Grimes we run a great training area where new players can come on and make as many mistakes as they want without any shaming as we have all been there, it would be great to make more dynamic random missions for people to fly as they get more experienced, the server certainly wouldn't be where it is today without Moose and CTLD so more functionality would be very welcome

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Tupper here,  Rotorheads Server Admin. 

I struggled a lot with many things, and spend a very long hours sweet and tears building my server scripts. I managed to workaround many things but will be great to have better options to solve issues like, spawning Farps, and handle menus by Units and not just by Groups. 

Also the Spawn safe areas will be a great thing to have. I set up the dynamic spawn functionality which is key in my server but it requires a lot of manual inputs, I have the info if the intended spawn point is water or not, or Road or not.. but nothing else.. and the areas with trees are a very big issue for me and the Game masters that help me. 

Anyway,, just wanted to share a bit of the struggles and the workaround efforts I put there...

I endorse this document as well.

Marcos "Tupper" Romero

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  • 1 month later...

As an update for those following along. Unfortunately no more APIs have been released since the above post.

Hopefully ED will prioritise the two APIs that allow us to create F10 menu options on a per-unit basis. Currently the finest granularity is at the group level.

Adding these two APIs will complement the Out(Text/Sound)ToUnit APIs added the last time ED provided above. Doing so will remove the last impediment that restricts many servers to operating single unit groups.

Although any of the requested APIs would be beneficial and appreciated


Edited by rurounijones
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  • 4 months later...
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