sniperton

Squads fly planes assigned to them by the campaign designer via the mission template file (normandy41.mis and the like). Simply change the "Class air" value of German squads for anything you find appropriate, e.g.

yep, called "column density"

Hey, Ideefix, Make sure to make changes to your campaign files only when you're in the 'debrief' state (after quitting the previous mission and before hitting the 'apply' button generating the next one). Otherwise you'll feed DCG with conflicting data (old and new). Probably it won't work that way either, but worth a try. As to your original problem, try this system in your rds file: [route 1] A to B B to C C to D D to E [route 2] B to F F to G G to D In my experience, randomization works pretty well this way, that is, units have a near equal chance to choose either route 1 or route 2, particularly when branching waypoint directions are aligned to mapaxis.

On campaign start make sure that 1) "No instant success" is ON (in-game difficulty settings) 2) "Primary objectives" is CHECKED (DCG options)

DCG evaluates mission results by reading and processing the "eventlog.lst" file generated by the Il-2 game. What is not reported by the game, cannot be evaluated by DCG either. When you have a look at the "eventlog.lst", you'll see that "damage" is only reported in relation to aircrafts, but without specifying the kind (or the percentage) of the damage. In any other case (e.g. ships and ground units), Il-2 only reports if (and when, and where, and by whom) the unit was "destroyed" during the mission. That is, DCG can only keep track of "destroyed" units, not of "damaged" ones. That is, damages to ships cannot be cumulative, and ships not "completely" sunk in a mission will be healthy again in the next one. As to torps missing in the event log, not even dropped bombs are recorded and reported by the game. This is a limitation of the game (generating the event log), not of DCG.

Correct, so far as my limited knowledge of DGEN allows me to judge

Both DCG and DGEN are 3rd party mission generators for the game Il-2. They only do what you also could do via the FMB. The in-flight options you see depend on the game version (and on mods), not on the mission generator. In stock 4.12.2, there are the following options for your "pair": 1. Cover Me 2. Target All 3. Attack Fighters 4. Attack Bombers 5. Attack My Target 6. Ground Targets 7. Drop Tanks 8. Break 9. Rejoin If you also see an "RTB" command there, then it's a mod feature, having nothing to do with either 4.12.2 or any mission generator, including DGEN or DCG. Anyway, Paul, what are the chances (other than poor ) to catch up with stock game features? Taxiing, shared kills, and skinnable stationaries come to my mind. Not that I want to put pressure on you, I'm just curious. We've discussed them briefly some time ago.

Possibly I'm wrong, but I don't see any 'Return to home' command for the wingman in stock 4.12 (nor in HSFX 7.01). Furthermore, I don't see any change in the FMB, and I don't see any option to change the radio menu either. Maybe it's done via the ini file or the console, maybe it's a mod feature having nothing to do with DGen or DCG (or 4.12). Happy New Year, BTW

columns.dcg: [il2-path]\Missions\Campaign\[CountryCode]\[YourDCGCampaignName] template file: [DCG folder]\Masters

Sure. E.g. I have a ...\Il2\DCG and a ...\Il2 HSFX\DCG installs on the same drive. Just as you can copy Il2 anywhere (having multiple installs), you can copy DCG anywhere (having multiple installs). But don't forget to specify Il2 working directory and DCG working directory from within DCG's file menu.

Exactly, you change it once and for all, and it remains the same until you change it again. For a long range fighter like the P51 50% is absolutely safe, but 25% will be OK as well.

Yep, via timetable.dcg, again: You have to set it only once for each squad, preferably at campaign start (if you want to start a new campaign). Now you know where and how to put it into the file Syntax:

Dear Lo, then Happy Migration, Christmas, New Year, and Whatever, and sorry for having been a pain in the ass in the past, cheers, Peter

Possibly yes. Have you got a clean installation of HSFX? Do you run it in normal or in expert mode? You may want to create an FMB mission for the Normandy2 map British Base with 4 planes and with full load. If it works there' date=' then the problem is related to DCG. If it doesn't work there either, then it's an FM problem related to HSFX or some extra mods you have.[/quote'] Your problem is related to HSFX. You can test it yourself: In stock 4.12.2, they can take off without problems. In HSFX 7.0 (clean), they crash. The bug is in the HSFX FM.

Yeah, that's the strange part. There is no [Normandy44] header in that file. I thought I was mistaken, but I checked it line by line, no such header and somehow my campaign mission still runs fine. Also, another question. Say the new columns that I added got eliminated on the battlefield by panzers, do I need go back to add more or the column once added will auto replenish and come back to the battlefield. They'll come back. They'll be 'reborn' at your supply depot (dunno exactly where) and will march to the front. As to the header, yes, it's not there YET, but if YOU copy and paste the section above (TOGETHER with its header) into the file, then it WILL BE there (because YOU put it there), and DCG will use it next time it generates a mission. Just change the dates according to the date of the next (or next-next) mission date.

That's mine too. But I'm not sure whether it is how it was designed to work... And if you look at my 'edit' remark, it's a bit strange that you can have 2 more planes in 2 days while resupply rate is set to 2/WEEK.

Possibly yes. Have you got a clean installation of HSFX? Do you run it in normal or in expert mode? You may want to create an FMB mission for the Normandy2 map British Base with 4 planes and with full load. If it works there, then the problem is related to DCG. If it doesn't work there either, then it's an FM problem related to HSFX or some extra mods you have.

But you play the Normandy44 campaign, don't you? If yes, just paste it together with the header [Normandy44], and it will be there from then on

Bug or feature, I don't know. Maybe only needs clarification: I always believed that MinPlanes is used to ground squads whenever ActivePlanes falls below the MinPlanes value. That is, in RL terms, ActivePlanes is the number of combat-ready planes, while MinPlanes is the minimal number of combat-ready planes required for the squad to be operational (to fly combat missions, not only recon). MinPlanes works now in a different way. I have this in timetable.dcg for the first mission day: When the first mission generates, I actually have 0, 1, and 2 active planes for those squads, respectively. After flying the 1st and upon generating the second mission, though, I get universally 3, 3, 3. It seems that DCG 'rounds up' ActivePlanes to the MinPlanes value. The Plane Resupply Rate is set to 2/week, so that it can't play a role here, even if the squad were resupplied, for whatever reason, on the 2nd mission day (2 added to 0 is NOT 3). Edit: Now that I manually re-generated the 1st mission from within DCG (after campaign creation), I got 0=>3, 1=>3, 2=>4. I haven't checked the 2nd mission, but in the 3rd RAF_No183SQN0 already had 6! So the sequence was either [2]=>4=>5=>6 or [2]=>4=>4=>6. Strange.

To be correct: I have the impression (but I'm not sure) that the take-off coordinates in the airfields file override the waypoint coordinates for that airfield in the .rds file. I've seen several times that ground units are starting their mission AT the take-off point (and not NEAR the take-off point as was specified in the .rds file). In other respects the airfields file is really for planes only: take-off point + normfly waypoints to define take-off direction and to avoid hills, etc. The 50 m I suggested above is the absolute safe distance when not using airfields coordinates. 100 m or so could also be OK, and probably it can be even further away, when the airfield is exactly defined via airfields coordinates.

Those squads are not included in the squadids.dcg list of available squadrons, and are therefore regarded as German by DCG. ('Unidentified' squads are German by default.) Try to paste them into the US section there, and see whether they change allegiance with the next mission.

Lo will correct me if I'm wrong, but it's about 50 m IIRC. It can be further away if you also define the airfield via airfields.dcg (what I frequently do). Theoretically, .rds locations are primarily for ground units to capture/supply locations, while airfields.dcg locations are primarily to instruct planes where and how to take off and to land. It seems that DCG corrects the airfield locations as specified in the .rds file according to those specified in airfields.dcg, so that coordinates 'near the runway' become coordinates 'at the end of the runway'.