tomoose

OK, quick update. I deleted the 'extra' &0 entries in the airfields.dcg file and the .mis file generated did not have any incorrect entries. However, the test runway 'static' entries in the Landing lines must be removed in order to open the .mis file in FMB.

I didn't put two and two together until idefix mentioned the fact that the "ships" are in fact runways. I feel kinda stupid now,.....d'oh!!!! Yes I tied a couple of the squadrons to these runways because on the WF44 maps, despite the visual existing of more than one runway at an airfield (i.e. Raydon IIRC) only one of the runways is actually designated a proper runway in the map. I took a test runway and lined it up with one of the other runways which didn't have the designated symbols on the map if you get my meaning. On the subject of test runways, we found out the hardway that each one of them has an "edge" or "dropoff" which when you leave the test runway will usually result in either a noticeable bounce of the aircraft or, as in the case of Testrunway 1, a large drop off which will destroy your aircraft, LOL. I know they weren't intended to be used like that but I thought I'd give it a shot. I will remove the & info from the airfields.dcg file and see if that improves things. Thanks again.

Lowengrin; I do have the airfields.dcg file for the campaign and I just had a look and some of the airfields lines end in &0 but most of them don't. Is that part of the problem? What does the &0 or &1 indicate at the end of a line? I just used an arbitrary number for the static example in my original post. I just generated a mission and Static entries popped up in the Landing lines for various squadrons as follows; It only happens to RED (US) side, none of the BLUE (GERMAN) squads have this issue in the file. LANDING 39824.24 231202.39 0 0 21_Static 0 0 &0 LANDING 39824.24 231202.39 0 0 21_Static 0 0 21_Static 0 0 &0 LANDING 50615.21 329746.84 0 0 678_Static 0 0 679_Static 0 0 &1 LANDING 50615.21 329746.84 0 0 678_Static 0 0 679_Static 0 0 678_Static 0 0 679_Static 0 0 &1 LANDING 50778.82 329363.02 0 0 678_Static 0 0 679_Static 0 0 &1 TAKEOFF 7586.48 273182.88 0 0 677_Static 0 &1 LANDING 7586.48 273182.88 0 0 677_Static 0 0 &1 The Static numbers curiously are all ships. I hadn't noticed that. 21_Static ships.Ship$RwyTranspSqr 1 39255.25 230797.33 718.49 0.0 0 2 1.0 677_Static ships.Ship$RwyTransp 1 6972.33 273466.95 560.00 0.0 0 2 1.0 678_Static ships.Ship$RwyTransp 1 50662.99 329093.79 620.00 0.0 0 2 1.0 679_Static ships.Ship$RwyTransp 1 50778.82 329363.02 575.00 0.0 0 2 1.0

I've posted this in a couple of the other forums. It may be an old issue that everyone's already aware of but I couldn't find any similar postings on this issue so this is my solution for what it's worth. First off let me stress that this is NOT a static.ini problem so shouldn't be seen as a solution for that type of problem. There are posts regarding using static.ini checker which should be consulted in that particular case. The problem described below may in fact be unique to our particular set up but again, perhaps others have similar problems and if this helps then great. OK, a bit of background to understand the issue... I created from scratch a US Fighter campaign for DCG using the Western Front Generic map and HSFX. I am not a DCG expert so we have been adjusting/tweaking the campaign as our little group progresses. Overall, the campaign itself works and is progressing fairly well. THE PROBLEM: After generating a mission for the campaign in DCG we wanted to check a couple of things "on the ground" but could not get it to open in FMB. The map would appear with various aircraft flight paths and the little pop up window stating "Mission Loading". The mission would NOT completely load however. The little pop up would just sit there. None of the other objects (e.g. static, vehicles, Triggers) would appear. Not wanting to compromise the originally generated mission we would simply close out FMB and leave it alone. THE SOLUTION: I was fairly confident that the static.ini was good because we were all using the same version of HSFX with no "external" additional mods that hadn't come with HSFX so all the objects etc should be good to go. I was convinced that the problem was related to something else. So I did some digging on my own using Notepad by looking at the .mis files that were being generated to see if there were any anomalies in the actual text lines. After scanning the text of the .mis file in Notepad I noticed that, for whatever bizarre reason, DCG had stuck a Static entry in the middle of the flight path coordinates of a flight, almost always in the Landing line. e.g. there would be "Static_103" stuck arbitrarily in one of the flight path lines. It would always be after the map grid coordinates data and before the other data in the line. I know where a ground target entry should be in the flightpath coordinates and eliminated that aspect. I have no idea why this happens but have assumed it's DCG vs a non-stock version of IL2 when it's calculating the data for a mission. I understand the syntax required by the flightpath lines in the .mis file so I knew what part of the line I could safely delete. So I cleaned up the .mis file checked again with FMB but no joy. Still not loading completely in FMB. WTH?? So back to the .mis file and after careful scanning of the lines again I discovered a not-so-obvious error in that DCG had inserted a couple of incorrect &0 entries. There were a couple of lines in the flightpaths that had a &0 immediately followed by a &1. I noticed that in older .mis files there is only ever one incident of the & per line, it is either a &1 or a &0, not both. Sooooo.......I did a search for all "&0 &1" and replaced with "&1" only and bingo, the mission loads normally in FMB Again, this could be unique to our specific scratch-built campaign but if it happened to us it might happen to someone else so I'm tossing this solution out there and hopefully it will provide a BINGO moment for someone who is pulling their hair out with a similar issue. If someone knows why DCG does this, I'd be curious as to the explanation and if there's already a known workaround. cheers, Tomoose P.S. Even without the solution mentioned here, the problematic missions will still work with no problem at all (i.e. our group can fly them with no issues). It's only accessing via FMB that is prevented by these "typos".

Paul; FYI, I think I fixed things in the original campaign by... 1. Comparing the files required by the 'stock' Normandy44 campaign and the files being used by my scratch-built Western Front campaign. I realized I was using some files that weren't essential for the campaign, specifically the timetable.dcg file (and others such as message.dcg). 2. I got rid of all files in my Western Front campaign that were not reflected in the Normandy44 campaign (back to basics so to speak). 3. I took the columns.dcg from the Normandy44 campaign (which I know works) and copied it over the one in my Western Front campaign, then I adjusted the location names in the Western Front columns.dcg file to reflect locations on the WF44 map. 4. I've generated a couple of missions and the groundwar and the frontline seem to functioning as they should (i.e. columns are appearing for both sides, the frontlines are dynamic again). This seems to have done the trick and the Western Front campaign is back on track and DCG is back in control of events instead of me trying to manipulate things. There are a couple of front line "bubbles" on the map that the Allies control which are behind the main front line but we're explaining that away as airborne landings. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

I was trying that but it was getting to be a real chore and still didn't seem to be working. So i decided to do a campaign created properly by DCG for the Normandy 44 map and we are basically back on track. I've left the WF44 map campaign alone for now. I'll revisit it once I get better at understanding DCG files. thanks for the help.

Oops! I feel stupid. I hadn't considered that. Just so I'm clear... If DCG is showing 8 July 1942 and I put in a 'newcolumn' in timetable.dcg for 9 July 1942 then click on Generate then it is too late? Is that correct? So I should put in new columns two days ahead of the displayed date, yes??

Paul; yes, I understand that and have been doing just as you show here. For example, I wanted Poix to be allied therefore have; Poix 1 allied=100 axis=0 My problem now, as I mentioned is that 'new' columns in timetable.dcg aren't showing up when the mission is generated.

Paul; I appreciate you taking the time to respond, thanks. I'm sure you get a lot of these. I'm progressing slowly and have added a couple of "captured" airfields (I added the appropriate information such as the map coordinates into the location.dcg file and updated the airfields.dcg and territory.dcg). As I solve one problem I seem to create another. As I mentioned, I'm placing columns using the timetable.dcg file but for some reason only some of the German columns are appearing. To double check proper names I created a simple mission and placed some allied and axis vehicles on the map and used their proper name from the .mis file. I followed the syntax required for the timetable.dcg but my allied vehs/tanks never show up in the generated mission. Any idea what I might be doing wrong? Here is a sample from the timetable.dcg (none of these columns show up in the mission)... 19440628 NewColumn 87_Chief Trains.Germany_EquipmentATrain/AA 2 @Dunkerque_Station $German_Equipment_Train 19440628 NewColumn 88_Chief Trains.Germany_FuelTrain/AA 2 @Bruges_Station $German_Fuel_Train 19440628 NewColumn 7_Chief Armor.4-M4A2_US 1 @Le_Treport $7th_US_Armor_Group ~A 19440628 NewColumn 8_Chief Armor.4-M4A2_US 1 @Le_Treport $8th_US_Armor_Group ~A 19440628 NewColumn 9_Chief Armor.4-M4A2_US 1 @Le_Treport $9th_US_Armor_Group ~A 19440628 NewColumn 10_Chief Armor.4-M4A2_US 1 @Le_Treport $10th_US_Armor_Group ~A 19440628 NewColumn 11_Chief Armor.4-M5A1Stuart 1 @Poix $11th_US_Armor_Group ~A 19440628 NewColumn 12_Chief Armor.4-M5A1Stuart 1 @Le_Treport $12th_US_Armor_Group ~A 19440628 NewColumn 13_Chief Vehicles.USACarsColumnD 1 @Le_Treport $13th_US_Motorized_Infantry ~A 19440628 NewColumn 14_Chief Vehicles.USACarsColumnH 1 @Le_Treport $14th_US_Motorized_Infantry ~A I've double-checked spelling and syntax and made sure the date is correct, but can't see what is wrong with these lines. Le_Treport is 'contested', Poix is in Allied hands. Dunkerque and Bruges belong to the Axis. One thing I have noticed is that the "Allegiance" option in the DCG interface does not always match what is in the territory.dcg file (e.g. I will have Poix as Allied (eg. allied=20 axis=0) but when checking in the DCG interface it will show Poix 'allegiance' as Axis.

Paul thanks for the info. I guess I didn't phrase my question correctly. I've created the campaign following those type of instructions and we've advanced quite far. I had to 'force' a landing at Dieppe as the forces I put in the timetable.dcg didn't appear (I followed the transport instructions etc for including ships and off-loading but obviously did something wrong). Anyway, I didn't want to re-start the whole campaign for our little online group so have been tweaking the key files (as I understand it) to move the campaign and the frontline along. I know it's not truly dynamic anymore as I'm manipulating the campaign but it keeps things moving. My friend is hosting the campaign online but I am the one who created it and have been tweaking it. So he sends me the Export after we fly our last mission. I adjust the timetable.dcg file (for example) to make sure there's armour in a particular area or trains etc and send it back. While modifying files such as the timetable.dcg, territory.dcg etc I have made errors so I wanted to start over with the last Export I got but I've found that trying to re-import that the dcgimport.dcg file does not appear after you've already Imported. I essentially have to delete that folder, go back to the Exported zip file, unzip and only then can I re-import. It's certainly not a showstopper, I was just curious if I was missing something or another method. Regarding the Allied=0 etc, is there an upper limit on the quantity you can place in a location? Thanks again.

On another note, with regard to the territory.dcg file; what do the quantities indicate (i.e. allied=0 axis =30)? I'm manipulating this file to put more allied than axis in certain locations but am wondering if there are any limitations or do's and don't s when doing this? thanks again and apologies if this is a dopey question (I tried a search but came up empty, probably didn't use the right search word combo).

Please bear with me while I provide some background info... I'm working on a Western Front US fighter campaign and am digging myself a hole. I'm trying to tweak events by modifying the timetable.dcg file and the locations and territories.dcg files. In that sense I realize it's no longer a true dynamic campaign. This is my first attempt at a major campaign and it has been going OK but the missions have become extremely repetitive so I want to change things up. To that end, I simulated an Allied invasion at Dieppe (Normandy isn't on the WF map) and have managed to swing the frontlines to just south of Abbeville and Amiens. My original attempt via the TimeTable.dcg file for a bunch of Allied vehicles to show up at Dieppe beach didn't work so I'm "forcing" the issue so to speak. My problem: I mess around with some of the files and as one would expect, make mistakes. I'd like to re-import the campaign file but the allcampaigns.dcg file doesn't show up after you've imported once already. Is there a way around that? Any info is appreciated. Regards, Tomoose P.S. I tried just using the "Optional Third Party data Folder" option which does show the allcampaigns.dcg file but after loading that my "locations" are all messed up (that's probably un-related but thought I'd mention it).

Lowengrin; thanks for responding. "Cleaning" the anomalies in Notepad doesn't take long. I'll have to look at the .mis file after I've changed the takeoff formation and see what lines need changing. I tried something similar a while ago but for some reason it didn't work (mission wouldn't load) but perhaps I missed something. regards,

LOL, thanks Sniperton, you beat me to it. I just wanted to post that you solved the problem. I've posted same at M4T also. As I stated over at SAS, the problem was probably of my own doing albeit unintentional and unknown. I created this campaign from scratch and I'm betting that the various other .dcg files that I had to create for the campaign are probably contributing to the problem. As DCG pulls info/data from these various files in order to generate the next mission. if I have incorrect or incomplete data in one or more of those files then it follows that it would affect how DCG does its job. I don't know enough to explain how that might be happening but I'm sure it's something along those lines. As the campaign is 'working' so far I think I'll leave the 'master' files alone and simply edit out the offending items in Notepad after DCG generates the mission. Once again, many thanks.

I posted this at SAS and M4T but it was suggested I try here also. My problem is as fols; We are running a Western Europe US Fighter campaign (coop, DCG using P-51s using HSFX 7 (no additional modded objects)). Our fighter squadron is co-located with a B-17 Sqn at Boxted. I would like to change our takeoff formation to "pairs" in order to speed up the fighter takeoff and clear the runway before the bombers start their takeoff run (which crosses our runway). However, after generating a mission in DCG and going in to FMB I've noticed that; a. the mission loading pop-up box remains on the screen (i.e. seems to hang...no error message) with only Red flight waypoints showing, and b. if I cancel/clear the pop-up I can edit what's on the map but the mission only shows the Red air objects (i.e. our waypoints etc). I've done a couple of checks by looking at the generated missions in Notepad (the .mis file) before opening in FMB. In Notepad, all the Blue (German) forces, stationary objects etc are there. If I try to open that same file in FMB, everything is gone on the Blue side (and even a lot of the Red stationary/static objects). I can successfully change the takeoff parameters for my fighters but the point is moot as there won't be any enemy objects once I try to save the file!! So in short: If I try to change anything in the DCG-generated .mis file in FMB and save it using FMB I will lose so much of the original mission as to make it pointless to fly. The missions run fine if I don't do anything in FMB. Obviously there's something in the DCG-generated .mis file (I'm guessing) that FMB doesn't like but with no error message I don't know what it could be. I'm sure there's probably a way around this. Hopefully I explained my predicament clearly enough. Any advice/suggestions is appreciated. Thanks.

I tried searching using various terms but no joy. I've successfully created a DCG Coop Campaign for HSFX using the Western Front 44 map. By 'successful' I mean that it's generating missions, however, I have a couple of issues which I hope some of the subject matter experts can help me out with. I used Lonestar's guide initially but I think I'm getting beyond what it can tell me. Three key problems at the moment; 1. One of my Allied airfields (i.e. Bradwell Bay) keeps showing up as "contested/neutral" and I don't know why. It's clearly in the Allied zone (even after missions have been generated). I've tried re-doing the 'roads' aspect for the .rds file but no joy. It keeps showing up in the territory.dcg file as "Bradwell_Bay_Airfield 0 Allied=0 Axis=0". I'd like to resolve this as I need to use this for my heavy bombers. Other Allied airfields are fine (e.g. Manston, Leiston, Raydon). 2. Some missions (not all) start with all planes exploding (on the ground and in the air). Any advice on what is causing this is appreciated. 3. Despite creating my .mis (master) file with P-51Bs as the first aircraft, DCG creates the campaign with P-38s at Lympne as the first squadron. What I'd like is for the first (i.e. human) squadron in the DCG Squadron Editor to be P-51Bs at Manston. I have my 'roads' leading from the Beach to Lympne so I can understand why that would be the main base. I don't know why P-38s are superseding the P-51s so to speak. I've tried switching values for RuHome and RuBase in the Allcampaign.dcg file but DCG insists on putting P-38s and Lympne as the first item in the Squadron Editor. What am I missing? Thanks in advance and regards, Tomoose