[sp / CO-OP MP] EXPANSION - a Dynamic Mission and Sandbox (all aircraft)

[WipeUout]

1 hour ago, cfrag said:

were you flying a helicopter or fixed wing

Fixed wing, I tried several (F-18, F16, A-10, F-14) with same result, no points after landing.  I did try to capture locations with a UH-60L without any issue except when I landed on Beslan, right after unloading troops and had a CTD.

When flying around and taking out targets (land and air), they are registered and accounted for without any issue.  It is only when landing back that nothing happens.

 

[WipeUout]

I was on the ground in a UH-60L just after capturing the water processing plant...

...and just experienced another CTD, here is the log:

 

dcs.log

Edited July 15, 2024 by WipeUout
Typo

[cfrag]

1 minute ago, WipeUout said:

I was on the ground in a UH-60L

I'd be very surprised if a complex Mod as the Blackhawk works with current DCS. My apologies, but I can't support that Mod.

[WipeUout]

10 minutes ago, cfrag said:

My apologies, but I can't support that Mod.

Roger that.  Will use the huey instead and see if I get same issues.

[phrogZ]

Not sure if related to the same issue, but this one is causing some dedicated server crash, seems related to getLife in SSB (please don't care about the grpc errors) :

2024-07-14 22:26:37.990 INFO    Scripting (Main): event:type=pilot dead,initiatorPilotName=WOLF 1-4 | phrogZ,t=377.198,initiator_unit_type=OH58D,initiator_object_id=16778754,linked_event_id=0,event_id=1703,initiator_coalition=2,initiator_ws_type1=1,initiatorMissionID=784,
2024-07-14 22:26:38.988 INFO    ASYNCNET (Main): release unit 784
2024-07-14 22:26:38.989 ERROR   SCRIPTING (Main): [GRPC] Error in event handler: [string "C:\Users\Administrator\Saved Games\DCS.public\Scripts\DCS-gRPC\methods\mission.lua"]:38: attempt to call method 'getCategory' (a nil value)
stack traceback:
	[string "C:\Users\Administrator\Saved Games\DCS.public\Scripts\DCS-gRPC\methods\mission.lua"]:38: in function 'typed_exporter'
	[string "C:\Users\Administrator\Saved Games\DCS.public\Scripts\DCS-gRPC\methods\mission.lua"]:254: in function <[string "C:\Users\Administrator\Saved Games\DCS.public\Scripts\DCS-gRPC\methods\mission.lua"]:63>
	(tail call): ?
	[C]: in function 'xpcall'
	[string "C:\Users\Administrator\Saved Games\DCS.public\Scripts\DCS-gRPC\grpc.lua"]:233: in function 'onEvent'
	[string "Scripts/World/EventHandlers.lua"]:13: in function <[string "Scripts/World/EventHandlers.lua"]:11>
	[C]: in function 'force_player_slot'
	[string "stopGap = {}..."]:286: in function <[string "stopGap = {}..."]:276>
2024-07-14 22:26:38.989 ERROR   SCRIPTING (Main): Mission script error: [string "cfxSSBClient = {}..."]:297: attempt to call method 'getLife' (a nil value)
stack traceback:
	[C]: in function 'getLife'
	[string "cfxSSBClient = {}..."]:297: in function 'onEvent'
	[string "Scripts/World/EventHandlers.lua"]:13: in function <[string "Scripts/World/EventHandlers.lua"]:11>
	[C]: in function 'force_player_slot'
	[string "stopGap = {}..."]:286: in function <[string "stopGap = {}..."]:276>

 

Edited July 15, 2024 by phrogZ

[cfrag]

53 minutes ago, phrogZ said:

related to getLife in SSB

Yes. Another undocumented change in the new DCS version is that a weapon object, although a member of the object tree, no longer has the method getName() implemented - a DCS bug. As soon as ED get around to fixing it, this will work again. Independently of that will I harden the code and look for this specific DCS bug in the next update. The problem: this affects multiple scrips, and I must find them all. Hopefully, we’ll see an update from the kind people at ED before that.

[Grindmetal]

uh60L alot bug 90% missions , dont use  need updates on mod

[Hootman9104]

Greetings,

So no matter how I try to run this, I get this message no matter what aircraft I try to get in:

Group (group name here) is currently blocked and cannot be entered

Obviously others are using Expansion no problem, so I can't figure out what setting I have wrong. Anyone ever seen something like this?

Thanks in advance if anyone knows.

[WipeUout]

52 minutes ago, Hootman9104 said:

Group (group name here) is currently blocked and cannot be entered

You might be trying to enter a slot on an ennemi location.  At mission start, only the slots on Nalchik can be used as it is the only blue location.

[cfrag]

5 hours ago, Hootman9104 said:

Group (group name here) is currently blocked and cannot be entered

As @WipeUout already kindly mentioned, that message usually indicates that you are attempting to slot into an aircraft that starts on an airfield/FARP that is not in your faction's possession (yet). At the start of the mission, you only own Nalchik, so try aircraft that start with "Nal".

 

[Hootman9104]

On 7/17/2024 at 12:55 AM, WipeUout said:

You might be trying to enter a slot on an ennemi location.  At mission start, only the slots on Nalchik can be used as it is the only blue location.

I'll try that this weekend, checking if I'm trying to get in at Nalchick or somewhere else. It's probably as simple as that.

[Hootman9104]

Was able to get in, it appears I was just trying to slot into selecting bases that weren't blue. Thanks!

[cfrag]

BUG NOTIFICATION: DCS 2.9.6.57650 and 2.9.6.57656

Please be advised that DCS 2.9.6.57650 (update from July 11 and July 22) mostly breaks this mission. A 'fix' for a previously reported bug has rendered central functionality of this mission inert: the mission can no longer detect if a helicopter has landed, making player airfield capture and player CSAR missions impossible. Until this is fixed by ED major parts of this mission are unplayable.

Hopefully a fix in the future can restore this mission back to working condition.

Edited July 22, 2024 by cfrag

[Grindmetal]

DCS 2.9.6.58056 Too ?

[cfrag]

8 minutes ago, Grindmetal said:

DCS 2.9.6.58056 Too ?

Unfortunately, yes - *6 made it worse. I amended the notice to better reflect that, thank you.

Edited July 22, 2024 by cfrag

[Chicki]

Well...dang!  I was really having fun with this.  Thanks for letting us know.  Hopefully, ED will fix it soon.

[QbanRambo]

Good job!
Do you have in mind adding dynamic spawn to the bases? That would be very good and useful.
Thanks 

Link

[cfrag]

12 hours ago, QbanRambo said:

Do you have in mind adding dynamic spawn to the bases?

Yes. The mostly undocumented new feature wreaks havoc with many scripts, but I'm busy trying to wrangle this beast. As soon as the kind people at ED clean up the mess that their past two releases created I'm trying to follow up with an update that adds dynamic spawners. Since a lot of functionality is currently broken, and dynamic spawners only work in MP, my own efforts are restricted, but still moving forward.

Edited July 26, 2024 by cfrag

[MeanY]

I am fairly new to the mission editor so I am not sure exactly what this might look like... I was wondering, while combined arms seems to be very unpopular with many i have played a number of missions with some friends that have been very fun when coordinating ground attack with air support. This mission you have made is really fun, really appreciate the effort that must go into something like this. I think with some tweaks (Currently beyond my skill set but I am keen to learn) some trigger when a mission is dispatched to the player could also create some CA units near the objective for a player on the ground? would it break anything obvious if I was to add some combined arms units on the ground outside of some area's (At an appropriate range) to assist with attacking and marking targets initially as a test? Some of the guys have been reporting that with the new AI spotting adjustments CA has been really fun as positioning seems to count for something now.  Convoy missions is mentioned in the possible features, support those from ground and air if some units in a convoy could be controlled possibly. I am unsure what the limitations are on that. 

Edited July 30, 2024 by MeanY

[cfrag]

2 minutes ago, MeanY said:

combined arms seems to be very unpopular

Let us just say that CA doesn't live up to the quality we expect from other modules sold by ED.

4 minutes ago, MeanY said:

when a mission is dispatched to the player could also create some CA units near the objective for a player on the ground?

First, that isn't difficult at all: all you need to do is put a checkmark in the 'player can drive' box next to a ground unit. CA is always integrated into Expansion, units simply do not yet provide a CA player the ability to take over such a unit. 

Generating ("poofing into existence") a CA-capable unit close to the objective is a double-edged sword: first, these units automatically start engaging the enemy, and will be engaged immediately (you can't have them 'wait' for players to jump in; this feature may be available for the battle commander slot, though). 

A bit more detrimental is the fact that this can sorely imbalance Expansion: it relies on capturing zones, and if players are able to teleport in close to the objective, capturing them can be trivial. I recommend that you think about some other means. For example, the convoys could be made player-driven, and when they approach their objective, if still alive, could be a nice focus for some CA activity.

I have never written a mission with CA focus, so I don't know how to write a good CA mission, and what to watch out for. 

12 minutes ago, MeanY said:

would it break anything obvious if I was to add some combined arms units on the ground outside of some area's to assist with attacking and marking targets initially as a test?

No. Expansion will not get angry at you for doing this

 

[MeanY]

3 minutes ago, cfrag said:

Let us just say that CA doesn't live up to the quality we expect from other modules sold by ED.

First, that isn't difficult at all: all you need to do is put a checkmark in the 'player can drive' box next to a ground unit. CA is always integrated into Expansion, units simply do not yet provide a CA player the ability to take over such a unit. 

Generating ("poofing into existence") a CA-capable unit close to the objective is a double-edged sword: first, these units automatically start engaging the enemy, and will be engaged immediately (you can't have them 'wait' for players to jump in; this feature may be available for the battle commander slot, though). 

A bit more detrimental is the fact that this can sorely imbalance Expansion: it relies on capturing zones, and if players are able to teleport in close to the objective, capturing them can be trivial. I recommend that you think about some other means. For example, the convoys could be made player-driven, and when they approach their objective, if still alive, could be a nice focus for some CA activity.

I have never written a mission with CA focus, so I don't know how to write a good CA mission, and what to watch out for. 

No. Expansion will not get angry at you for doing this

 

Ahh, nice, cheers for the quick reply. I will have a play and If i can come up with something interesting including player dispatched convoy missions to coordinate ground attack i'll share where I get to. I find I learn more when i have a problem to solve so this is a good starting goal to dive into the editor. 

Edited July 30, 2024 by MeanY

[Diablo 1-1]

Any reason why this was happening? I just had to restart and havent captured April yet. It also doesnt feel like I'm getting my rewards when I land in a Blue control zone

Edited August 4, 2024 by Diablo 1-1

[cfrag]

1 hour ago, Diablo 1-1 said:

Any reason why this was happening?

It seems this too is a one of the changes introduced to DCS with the past two updates - I'm currently adding more space to all FARPs right now in the hopes that this no longer occurs. 

[cfrag]

Uh, that being said, the message is from "Slotty", so Slotty things that the aircraft currently isn't available, that the slot is blocked. This can happen on a MP server if you try to enter a FARP based helicopter within the first minute of the mission restarting.

1 hour ago, Diablo 1-1 said:

It also doesnt feel like I'm getting my rewards when I land in a Blue control zone

Yup, that's one of the game-breaking DCS bugs that I currently can't work around.

Edited August 4, 2024 by cfrag

[Grindmetal]

i miss playing this mission
ED help us fix these problems soon please