Help - newcomer, interested

[doodeeda]

Hi, I've recently begun IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 and I'm more interested in the singleplayer dynamic campaign experience where I'm a pilot with my career with the war constantly changing and advancing. Now, it seems to me that DCG is perfect for this..a step up above the stock dgen. So..does DCG work on the newest update 4.13.4 with the beta download? And what about mods? Mods like VP modpack and BAT seem to add better maps, planes, textures rather than campaign improvements like DCG. Are mods compatible with DCG? The planes and maps or campaigns they add wouldn't be ran by DCG, right?

 

Thanks so much!

[sniperton]

DCG is a versatile (1) application with some (2) content provided with it (campaigns shipped with DCG).

 

(1) as an application DCG is fully compatible with both the stock game (currently 4.13.4) and the major mod packs (e.g. HSFX, VPMOD, CUP/BAT). You can safely use DCG with any of them, BUT

(2) you'll only have access to stock game content (stock planes, ships, maps, vehicles) using the data files coming with DCG.

 

If you want to have modded content as well, look for 3rd party campaigns specifically made for the respective mod packs. There exist several ones for HSFX and some for VPMOD and BAT too. Mission4today and SAS1946 are good sites to have a look around.

 

But just to get the hang of DCG (and to learn how it works and how it can be customized, which is sometimes tricky for the first), I suggest you should start a stock DCG campaign in either the stock game or in VPMOD (or good old HSFX). BAT is quite resource-heavy, it doesn't make much sense to use it without the goodies you can only have with BAT-specific campaigns.

 

 

[doodeeda]

Thanks Sniperton! What a great response Thanks for clarifying that the retextured maps and new planes will not automatically transfer when I create a new DCG or original campaign. I assume that the DCG is choosing the stock options (maps, tanks, planes) when setting up missions? Are these 3rd party campaigns run by DCG? In your opinion, is it worthwhile to use any mod in conjunction with DCG if the additions won't show up? What is your setup, if I may ask?

 

I've done some more reading. How does 4.12.2 + VP modpack + DCG/VPmodpack compatibilty patch v.1.0 by moezilla sound for the DCG and mod goodies since stock is kind of limited. I will still start off with stock 4.13.4 though..as you advised.

[sniperton]

When you use stock DCG, added maps/planes/etc won't show up. Retextured/remade ones will do. If you run DCG on e.g. VPMOD/HSFX, stock maps/planes will be nicer. Added ones will not show up.

 

Say, the stock game has the Norway map. Great. Norway map in VPMOD looks better. The stock game has the Bf-109-E4. Great. In VPMOD it looks much better. The stock game doesn't have early Messerschmidts or Spitfires, but modded games do have them. You won't have them via stock DCG, you need a 3rd party campaign (with modified data files) to have them for your game. 

 

Running DCG with modded games is never a milk run. Expect problems. Hence my advice to learn how it works, and once learnt, you're ready to expand towards new frontiers.

[doodeeda]

Thanks a lot. Now, time to start a campaign! Let's see if my computer really can handle more than 150 planes..

[sniperton]

A bit of stuttering on mission start is normal, it should be over after half a minute when all the planes are loaded. If the lag remains, you should consider reducing "squadron density" on the General Campaign Settings panel. Another approach is to reduce the Maximum Flights/Squadron setting.

"Moderate" with "Four" means that half of the squads will be active with all of their planes, while "Full" with "Two" means all of the squads with half of their planes. 

[doodeeda]

Do you play with Heavy and 4 flights per squadron? I felt that was too hectic and one AI plane even crashed during the landing chaos. I switched it to 2 flights which seems more normal.

[sniperton]

I try to avoid massed formations and furballs, they are too hectic, as you said, with frequent accidents, and they are even unrealistic for most theatres to have 16 fighters attacking 16 bombers escorted by 16 fighters. I prefer early war and small scale action, but with several simultaneous battles fought all over the map by AI chaps. Therefore I mostly use Heavy or Dense with only 2 flights per squadron.

[doodeeda]

Thanks Happy flying!

[sniperton]

There are advanced tricks, e.g. defining individual squads via timetable commands. Say you have all Axis squads to have 4 planes per flight and all Allied squads to have 3. Now you define all bomber squads to have 3 flights instead of 2 and all flights flying with 3 planes each. The result is 8 Axis fighters attacking 9 Allied bombers escorted by 6 Allied fighters. Now you can send flight #2 to look for the Allied fighters while you go for the Allied bombers (or vice versa). DCG is simply great in recreating the past. Happy flying!

[doodeeda]

Need some help again   I died in the USAAF Pacific campaign at Pearl Harbor, so I exited the game and clicked "Generate Mission" on DCG and it gave me a mission at New Guinea even though I'm at Pearl Harbor. When I go back into my career, I'm reflying the same mission at Pearl Harbor because I died. So, DCG and the game does not match, any help?

 

Also, our two flights got absolutely massacred on the 2nd mission Intercept one. Soo many Zeroes that outnumbered us even though my settings are default. It seems that I'm getting the same first two missions in the Pearl Harbor campaign..I guess that's just the way it is. It's always a 1st mission Patrol then intercept some bombers for 2nd mission.

 

Edit: So I skipped the mission and now I'm in New Guinea! 

 

Is it possible to quit a mission midway and not have its events recorded by DCG? I believe I saw something somewhere that even though you don't hit Apply it still counts. I ask because I'd like to start over if friendlies accidentally crash into each other or something. 

[sniperton]

If everything goes south and you want to refly the mission, kill yourself, then exit, then Refly. If you don't kill yourself, squadron losses during the abandoned mission will be added when you refly the very same mission.

DCG will only generate the next mission when you hit the green Apply button. If you're unsatisfied with the mission generated by DCG, exit from the briefing screen and the campaign mode, alt-tab from the game, start DCG, and manually generate another mission. Honestly, I don't remember whether it will generate a new mission with the same date or will transfer you to the next mission day. Paul, if you watch this thread, could you please jump in and enlighten us?  

[doodeeda]

Ah thanks again. Is it normal for DCG missions to not have any words from the commander or historical background information in the briefing? That's one thing that I feel that's missing for the immersion.  

[Nephris]

Well DCG is actually a one-man-show and it is made for free in freetime by Lowengrin and supported since more than a decade.

I dont think one should expect to work out the historrical context, as his work here is more as a coder and less a texter.

 

However, you are able yourself to add historrical context by adding your desired text into the briefing of your chose campaign.

(e.g. timetable.dcg).

[sniperton]

Well, what you should and could know of the actual mission in advance is there: 

 

Mission type / Objective

Date / time

Weather / clouds / wind

Home base and aircraft

Active pilots

 

Anything else would be either unrealistic to know of, or too generic. What you have in mind is better fitted to scripted or static campaigns, where each mission is 'hand-made'. DCG is too 'dynamic' to predict what should be in the briefing for mission #16.

 

Of course, as Nephris said, the campaign designer is at liberties to provide background (aka intelligence) info for major events (reinforcements arriving, etc), but this rarely happens, probably because building and testing a campaign is a time-consuming process.

 

[doodeeda]

Mhm gotcha. I just noticed on some gameplay videos of Dgen campaigns that there's usually some context in the beginning. Like you could see here 

at 3:06. I can live without it though!

[sniperton]

This is what I was talking about. These are missions in a static campaign, where each mission recreates a historic situation and therefore can be commented on in a historic way. Dynamic campaigns are made on a 'what if' base, starting from a historic OOB, but leaving to you and to fortune what should happen in the future.

[doodeeda]

Odd, some friendlies and I got shot down in a mission, and when I reflied the mission and quit before anyone died, the people were still dead. Any advice? 

 

Or does quitting early simulate the mission still causing some people to die even though "There was nothing significant to report".'

 

Edit: Alright, did some tests. Looks like dying and reflying a mission doesn't necessarily save any people that died. In the next mission, they are replaced by transfers and disappear off the roster.

[sniperton]

Looks like dying and reflying a mission doesn't necessarily save any people that died.

 

Strange. I was pretty sure that killing yourself was a safe (and the only) way to make losses undone. 

[Lowengrin]

If you do anything that activates/runs DCG, the log will get processed after you die.  For example, if after you die, you run DCG to do some squadron management.  You'll have the log process before the squadron tab opens.