Flight Qualifications Campaign

[solisto]

Well as I stated before, staying in formation with the FE is a guaranteed fail(at least for me), his DTOT's are late and so he arrives late.

 

I have run this at least a dozen times in the past couple of days with various changes and adjustments including take off time. The only adjustment that works for me is to break formation and ensure that I am at the WP on time.

 

That being said, I really enjoy this mission and the campaign and I am a much better pilot as a result of these. I wouldn't provide feedback if I didn't like them. Thanks for the work you put into these and the support you provide.

[Sabre-TLA]

The feedback is always appreciated.

 

The AI has always been a challenge since day one and I expect it will continue.

 

Ideally the FE should hit the waypoints on time as that is how it's programmed in the ME.

 

If you join the FE early the FE should slow down to meet the first waypoint on time, if you join late they should speed up to get to the first waypoint on time but after the first waypoint is reached the rest should be consistent.

 

The essence of the final mission is a culmination of all the previous missions, proper start-up and shutdown, flying consistent heading, speed and altitude, being able to navigate effectively and fly in close trail formation with the FE at low level.

 

If the FE did as expected this mission would be much better for everyone. I'll see what I can do to make it more consistent.

[solisto]

The mission is great and I like how all the previous missions are incorporated in this final mission. It's pretty exhilarating making 90 degree banks at 300 kts just a few hundred feet off the ground.

 

One last thing I noticed, there is a C-130 parked in the designated parking spot (first revetment on the left). The end of the mission does trigger properly if you park behind him but there is no room to do pull a U-turn at.

[solisto]

The only solution I found for the player is to use the GPS TIME menu to enter a displacement and align all DTOTs back to the correct values. This is obviously impossible to do for the AI though.

 

Good to know, I did not know this was an option.

[Sabre-TLA]

The mission is great and I like how all the previous missions are incorporated in this final mission. It's pretty exhilarating making 90 degree banks at 300 kts just a few hundred feet off the ground.

 

One last thing I noticed, there is a C-130 parked in the designated parking spot (first revetment on the left). The end of the mission does trigger properly if you park behind him but there is no room to do pull a U-turn at.

 

I guess you landed on runway 07 instead of a straight in approach on 25?

 

The briefing says to park in spot 42 and it's marked on the airport diagram. That spot is reserved for you as you will see some other extra things happen when you park there. :smilewink:

[solisto]

I landed RWY 25. Straight in approach from WP15. I double and triple checked the diagram, and checked the situation map (F9 I think) to see if I was in the wrong place. I tried stopping in the second spot on the left but did not get a shutdown prompt. I re-parked in the spot with the C130 and finally got a shutdown prompt. Once completed and I got a passing rating, I did see the extra congratulatory items, nice touch btw.

[Gliptal]

The latest packages have the string "A-10C - " prepended both to .cmp and .miz files. This means that the logbook won't pickup the progress from 1.2.16 unless you either rename all files to remove the string, or modify the logbook entries to include it.

 

It took me less than 10 minutes to spot and fix, but then again I'm a programmer and know my way around these things. Might be something you want to look into.

 

EDIT: Actually, I did not manage to fix it. I can't find a way to make the game recognize my logbook's campaign entries. Every other statistic is fine, but all campaigns show as "Inactive" ingame.

 

EDIT 2: So, I opened one of the .cmp files in search of a solution and noticed that every single path in it is an absolute path on the default DCS World installation. Mine is installed in a different path though. Is this the problem? TT campaign file even has absolute paths linking to the DCS Open Beta installation on a D: drive.

 

EDIT 3: Couple hours of messing around and still can't get the game to recognize my logbook entries.

 

EDIT 4: Found it! For some reason the old logbook did not escape filepaths, while the new one does. This means paths like folder/folder now somehow mess up the parser, and folder\\folder must be used instead. Oddly enough though, the file must be specified with a / meaning the overall path ends up being folder\\folder/file. Why this was a problem with my update is beyond me, I'm just writing this in case anyone else ends up having a similar problem.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Gliptal

[Sabre-TLA]

As Gliptal has said you can edit the logbook to maintain your campaign progress.

 

You can manually set the campaign stage in your logbook file. If you don't have it, download and install Notepad++. This editor allows for proper editing of lua files. Make a backup copy before you do any manual editing just in case.

 

To change the campaign stage look for a file called: <Drive>:\Users\<your userid>\Saved Games\DCS\MissionEditor\logbook.lua

 

You can change the stage here:

 

            
["games"] = 
           {
               [1] = <--- This is the campaign number in your set
               {
                   ["created"] = "01/03/16 21:50:09",
                   ["player"] = "Player Name",
                   ["campaign"] = ".\\Mods\\aircraft\\A-10C\\Missions\\en\\Campaigns/A-10C - Basic Flight Training Qualification.cmp", <--- This is the campaign name
                   ["status"] = "Active",
                   ["history"] = 
                   {
                       [1] = <--- This is the number of the first mission in the campaign and below is it's result
                       {
                           ["datetime"] = "01/03/16 21:52:16",
                           ["agKills"] = 0,
                           ["aaKills"] = 0,
                           ["stage"] = 1,
                           ["deathsCount"] = 0,
                           ["result"] = 100,
                           ["mission"] = "A-10C - BFT Arrival.miz", 
                       }, -- end of [1]
                       [2] = <--- Look for the highest number in the set - this will be the next mission to launch
                       {
                           ["stage"] = 13, <--- Change the stage to 1 more than the BFT mission number
                           ["mission"] = "A-10C - BFT12 Low Level Flight Plan.miz", <--- Change the name of the mission
                       }, -- end of [2]
                   }, -- end of ["history"]
               }, -- end of [1]
           }, -- end of ["games"]

Edited January 4, 2016 by Sabre-TLA

[tordillo]

Hi, I cant install the Flight Qualifications Campaign, I´ve installed the MFM License, but when I try to install the campaign, the computer stays thinking and nothing happends

[Sabre-TLA]

These are payware campaigns. You can view the details at our website here.

[tordillo]

Hi Sabre,

yes, I know and I have a key for this mission

[Sabre-TLA]

Ok. Email us at mapleflagmissions@gmail.com and we will help you get it sorted.

 

Also check for antivirus pop-ups if running on Windows 10.

[Gliptal]

Tac 12 on 1.5.2: my wingman doesn't take off just after me like he used to, but rather takes off randomly while I'm on route between WP1 and WP2. It doesn't affect the mission in any way though, just a minor bug I noticed.

 

Also, is it 1.5.2 placing your text messages on the right of the screen?

[bzhnono]

Tac 12 on 1.5.2: my wingman doesn't take off just after me like he used to, but rather takes off randomly while I'm on route between WP1 and WP2. It doesn't affect the mission in any way though, just a minor bug I noticed.

 

Also, is it 1.5.2 placing your text messages on the right of the screen?

Did you take off at the required time ?

Happen to me in TAC11 but I was taking off 5 minutes before briefed time

[Gliptal]

Did you take off at the required time ?

Happen to me in TAC11 but I was taking off 5 minutes before briefed time

Yes, I'm departing at 0300 as per briefing.

 

A few more things, still regarding TAC12 on 1.5.2:

- All JTACS calls are Type 3, I suppose this is intended because of the night situation. Previous version of the mission also had Type 1 and 2.

- No JTAC call ever uses the IR pointer, which is a shame IMHO since it's a very peculiar asset only night operations have. It could really help as well, since for some reason in night ops my TGP keeps loosing his target when I make my turn for the gun run.

[Sabre-TLA]

The following packages have been updated to correct BFT12 - Low Level Flight Plan playability.

 

We tested numerous scenarios and believe we have found one that works well allowing you to fly in close trail formation with the FE and still hit the waypoints on time. It`s still challenging to fly but should behave much better than previous in DCS 1.5.2.

 

Basic Flight Training Qualification - 12 mission Campaign covering qualifications for Basic Aircraft Qualification (BAQ).

 

Basic Flight Training Qualification Practice Mission Package - Provides 12 Single Player missions that mimic the Campaign qualification missions and feature additional training dialogue and runway or in-air starts.

 

Your mission key and password can be used to install these updated packages and your campaign progress will not be impacted as it is recorded in your logbook.

[Gliptal]

Is AFT coming as well for 1.5.2 or did I miss it?

[Sabre-TLA]

Is AFT coming as well for 1.5.2 or did I miss it?

 

We are adding some additional content but it should be available soon.

[Gliptal]

Nice, thanks, just wanted to make sure I had't missed the release or something.

[Gliptal]

Something is wrong with wingmans. TAC13, two F-15s are supposed to take off just before you, I see the second one taxiing in front of me at 06:58:00. The problem is, it just stays on hold forever instead of taking off and joining his lead, meaning I don't get clearence to taxi from ATC. This seems to be a similar problem to the one I had on TAC12, where my wingman wasn't taking off until after quite a few minutes.

 

EDIT: He finally took off at 07:06:00.

 

EDIT 2: I did some testing, and found out the whole taking off of the AI is inconsistent, I presume it's the the ATC not giving permissions for who knows what reason. Second time I tried the mission everything went fine, third time both F-15s took off one after the other, but only at 07:06:00. Also my wingman followed me once as expected and stayed on hold for a couple of minutes the other time. I guess this is work for ED though.

 

One thing I'm having problems though is following the JTACs instructions. After the first set of targets (two APCs to be strafed) Pinpoint calls a moving APC and requests a Maverick. The problem is, the APC moves to about 70 meters from one of the corners of the courtyard walls, and stops there. When I eventually hit him with my Maverick "BLUE ON BLUE" is called and the mission fails. I suppose this is somewhat related with the maverick having a wider splash damage than when the mission was built, like I already reported for one of the AFTs.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Gliptal

[Sabre-TLA]

Something is wrong with wingmans. TAC13, two F-15s are supposed to take off just before you, I see the second one taxiing in front of me at 06:58:00. The problem is, it just stays on hold forever instead of taking off and joining his lead, meaning I don't get clearence to taxi from ATC. This seems to be a similar problem to the one I had on TAC12, where my wingman wasn't taking off until after quite a few minutes.

 

EDIT: He finally took off at 07:06:00.

 

EDIT 2: I did some testing, and found out the whole taking off of the AI is inconsistent, I presume it's the the ATC not giving permissions for who knows what reason. Second time I tried the mission everything went fine, third time both F-15s took off one after the other, but only at 07:06:00. Also my wingman followed me once as expected and stayed on hold for a couple of minutes the other time. I guess this is work for ED though.

 

One thing I'm having problems though is following the JTACs instructions. After the first set of targets (two APCs to be strafed) Pinpoint calls a moving APC and requests a Maverick. The problem is, the APC moves to about 70 meters from one of the corners of the courtyard walls, and stops there. When I eventually hit him with my Maverick "BLUE ON BLUE" is called and the mission fails. I suppose this is somewhat related with the maverick having a wider splash damage than when the mission was built, like I already reported for one of the AFTs.

 

Yes not much we can do with the ATC. I'll check the missions and maybe move the AI aircraft at the start to a runway takeoff until this gets fixed by ED.

 

For TAC 13 try and nail the APC on the other side of the compound before it gets too close to the friendlies. This is a Danger Close mission so if you wait too long then BLUE ON BLUE will result. I'll move the end point for the APC further away so this won't be a problem but if you kill it sooner then you can proceed to the other targets.

[Gliptal]

Ok I'll try that. Guess the most important lesson here is to think on your own and override JTAC orders if you think the situation requires it, like avoiding splash damage by going with a gun run instead of a Maverick.

[Sabre-TLA]

The Advanced Aircraft Training Qualification Campaign has been updated.

 

The updated packages can be downloaded here:

 

Advanced Aircraft Training Qualification Part A Part B

 

Additionally we have updated these packages as well:

 

Advanced Aircraft Training Practice Mission Package

 

Your mission key and password can be used to install these updated packages and your campaign progress will not be impacted as it is recorded in your logbook.

You may need to manually edit your logbook. You can see how to do that at this post.

[tintifaxl]

Any progress on porting to NTTR?

[Gliptal]

TAC 14: is it even possible to get all the targets in a single pass, or am I supposed to do at leas t another gun pass? Taking out the primary targets with a single ripple drop isn't hard, but to get them all loitering in the area is inevitable, and it seems to be a bit counterintuitive with the whole concept of fast map of the earth ingress-egress.