Aircraft placment in missions.

[stoney]

I've been trying to move an aircraft, (RAAF A-20) in mission one of the Battle of Bismarck Sea (001). It spawns with its starboard wing tip in an revetment wall and so explodes when I try to taxi out. Thinking I could use the MB to move the plane out a few meters and avoid the dire explosion but as of yet I've been unable to do it. The MB keeps telling me the aircraft (FDG A-20G Havoc RAAF DU-Q) is not in the data base. Could anyone tell me how to do it?

In this particular install I use only MRs scenery. My other Pacific install uses only UTs scenery. Both have scenery issues with mission one. So I just want to move the aircraft a few feet. Thanks.

[RWILLS]

I've been trying to move an aircraft, (RAAF A-20) in mission one of the Battle of Bismarck Sea (001). It spawns with its starboard wing tip in an revetment wall and so explodes when I try to taxi out. Thinking I could use the MB to move the plane out a few meters and avoid the dire explosion but as of yet I've been unable to do it. The MB keeps telling me the aircraft (FDG A-20G Havoc RAAF DU-Q) is not in the data base. Could anyone tell me how to do it?

In this particular install I use only MRs scenery. My other Pacific install uses only UTs scenery. Both have scenery issues with mission one. So I just want to move the aircraft a few feet. Thanks.

Probably the aircraft.cfg file needs looking at to sort the aircraft name? Mission builder is more sensitive to this. Another way of doing it, is to make a copy of the mission file, hand edit in notepad and change the Havoc to something else like a stock aircraft, then it will open in mission builder where you will be able to adjust the position, save the mission, and then hand edit the Havoc back in.

[Hiede]

There were 2 versions made of this campaign,1 in 2003 and one by Talon years later.We have both on the computer.From what you said I believe it's Talon's.

Question for you is" Did you put in any new scenery? "

If you did this could be the cause of your problem.The newer scenery may not match up with the old.All takeoffs were from runways and not revetments.I had my son check.

This also happened when someone tried the old USMC Aces campaign with the new UT scenery.The campaign was not playable because it was made with the MR Solomons scenery.The runways were different.

Yes I know more about CFS2 than I let on.

Hiede

[kdriver]

Hi Stoney,

With newer scenery installed, not only the take off points may be different, but also the targets on an airfield which you are attacking may be in wrong locations. In the case of Lae you should be OK as UncleTgt has only recently rebuilt that airfield.

For the time being, try opening each mission in MB and move the player aircraft onto the cross depicting the new take off start position. If your airbases.dat file matches the installed scenery, the cross should be on the runway threshold.

Cheers,
Kevin

[RWILLS]

Possibly the quickest/simplest way to get the mission to work is to change the take-off start position in the mission file (edit in notepad or similar) for whatever runway at the bottom of the mission file, that the "is_player_aircraft" is using. The runway id number is on the first waypoint (waypoint.0).

will be something like this;
takeoff_start_pos=-450,0

change it to something like this;
takeoff_start_pos=-440,0

If you try to edit in Mission Builder, all sorts of things are likely to go wrong!

[stoney]

Thank you to one and all for the advise on my problem! I will try each in a process of elimination. The install I'm using is with the wonderful scenery by UT.

[Hiede]

Possibly the quickest/simplest way to get the mission to work is to change the take-off start position in the mission file (edit in notepad or similar) for whatever runway at the bottom of the mission file, that the "is_player_aircraft" is using. The runway id number is on the first waypoint (waypoint.0).

will be something like this;
takeoff_start_pos=-450,0

change it to something like this;
takeoff_start_pos=-440,0

If you try to edit in Mission Builder, all sorts of things are likely to go wrong!

RWILLS,Do you understand there are 4 different scenery packages for that area?1-DOA,2= MR,3- Pen32win and UncleTgt.All are different and the co-ordinates for the runways are not the same.If you put in the wrong scenery you will have problems like Stoney is having.As KDriver has stated all the infrastructures will be in the wrong places.
Also as I stated all missions were runway takeoffs,

The best thing to do is use the scenery used in the original missions.

If you use other scenery you have hand edit the mission file for the new runways.If you do it in mission builder the mission may crash.On top of that you need to move all the infrastructures,that's a lot of work to do for 11 missions.

My son has done this ob Talon's (his uncle) Solomon missions converting them from the MR scenery to the new Uncle Tgt scenery,it has taken a long time to do.

Talon was one of the top mission and campaign builders for a long time and he wrote notes on how to do many things,he also posted in the forums on what he did to make his missions work right,He went far beyond the Cody Coyote missions builder handbook and innovated new ways to make things work better.The Tutorial he planned to write was never done before his passing.

Hiede

[Hiede]

Thank you to one and all for the advise on my problem! I will try each in a process of elimination. The install I'm using is with the wonderful scenery by UT.

That's why you have the problem,it is made for the DOA scenery.

You will have to hand edit the player plane runway and move the infrastructures,a time consuming job.

My son hasn't worked on this one yet and we haven't downloaded the UT scenery.

Hiede

[stoney]

Got it fixed guys. I just moved the A-20 over a bit (thanks RWILLS) and it gets off fine, just not on the runway of course! Still I get to fly the A-20 with the RAAF and have a great time doing it.

[Hiede]

Got it fixed guys. I just moved the A-20 over a bit (thanks RWILLS) and it gets off fine, just not on the runway of course! Still I get to fly the A-20 with the RAAF and have a great time doing it.

So you went thru all that to fly 1 airplane and 1 mission?Makes perfect sense.Hope you don't try the other missions with more planes in your flight because they will probably explode as the hit the infrastructures or revetments.

Hiede

[stoney]

No, all the other planes in the squadron had no issues with the ground clutter and got off fine, funny huh? After I got airborne I joined up with the other guys an flew the mission to it's conclusion (which usually means I get shot down).

Thanks Hiede, yes I did all that to fly the one mission, why not and really, it wasn't all that much, just a rainy afternoon. And I'd hoped to learn new procedures with the MB, (which largely remains a mystery to me) or if it was even possible to do it. Primarily because I wanted to know how to change the planes position in an existing mission. I'd hoped to learn how to use the MB to accomplish this and I thought someone here could help me in that. So many of the older missions still hold an interest to me and I like to give them a go to see if they'd work with the newer scenery. Some do some don't. I am fully aware of the issues with older missions It's fun to try anyway.

I've always found the knowledge base here very broad and ready to help a fellow out without ridicule. So thanks to all and I DID learn something I didn't know before.

Steve "the stoneman" White

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Stoney: Download and browse Cody Coyote's "Mission Builder Handbook." https://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforu...tid=49&id=3972 There is a chapter there with detailed instructions on how to start from any point on the planet (very handy for seaplane on-the-water starts).

Cheers

[stoney]

Thanks Shadow Wolf, I'm viewing it now.

[Hiede]

You have to learn how to hand edit mission file for the runways,it's not to tough,my son has been doing that and he is only 13.

Hiede

[RWILLS]

No, all the other planes in the squadron had no issues with the ground clutter and got off fine, funny huh? After I got airborne I joined up with the other guys an flew the mission to it's conclusion (which usually means I get shot down).

Thanks Hiede, yes I did all that to fly the one mission, why not and really, it wasn't all that much, just a rainy afternoon. And I'd hoped to learn new procedures with the MB, (which largely remains a mystery to me) or if it was even possible to do it. Primarily because I wanted to know how to change the planes position in an existing mission. I'd hoped to learn how to use the MB to accomplish this and I thought someone here could help me in that. So many of the older missions still hold an interest to me and I like to give them a go to see if they'd work with the newer scenery. Some do some don't. I am fully aware of the issues with older missions It's fun to try anyway.

I've always found the knowledge base here very broad and ready to help a fellow out without ridicule. So thanks to all and I DID learn something I didn't know before.

Steve "the stoneman" White

Often when taking off or landing, AI aircraft are able to go straight through objects without any damage.

If you want to be able to open and edit missions in Mission Builder, then it's better to change all take off waypoints to air start, and all land at base waypoint to land anywhere. Doing that will usually retain the correct co-ordinates for the waypoints. Even if you have the correct scenery and runways, you will still almost certainly have different runway id numbers.

Other common things that Mission Builder may change from the original mission include;
Aircraft speed at waypoints, - the minimum speed for example is in the .dp file, (which is often 240 km/h) maximum speed also in .dp file
Aircraft altitude at waypoints, - this can depend on the minimum altitude in the .dp file (often 50m) and also any mis-reading of the terrain by Mission Builder.
Formations spacing may have been hand edited, and may revert back to a stock formation if saved in mission builder.

As long as you keep a copy of the original mission files, you can always compare and see where Mission Builder has changed things.

For playing missions, you don't really need to add new runways to the airbases list in your CFS2 INFO folder. The runways are defined in the mission file, and unless they are stock runways, the id number will almost certainly be different to what you will have in your INFO/airbases file.

[RWILLS]

If you open the mission file in notepad, each flight of aircraft will have waypoints, similar to this;

[waypoint_path.1]
id=5000
waypoint.0=2,1,N6* 4.84',E171* 43.99',+0,,,,0,,8008,0,1
waypoint.1=1,1,N5* 57.58',E171* 47.63',+2500,,,,200,,0,0,1
waypoint.2=1,0,N3* 8.97',E172* 54.17',+9500,,,,210,,0,1,1
waypoint.3=1,0,N3* 3.58',E172* 48.16',+9500,,,,250,,0,0,0
waypoint.4=1,0,N3* 1.94',E172* 41.89',+820,,,,250,,0,0,1
waypoint.5=1,0,N3* 24.19',E172* 33.54',+820,,,,250,,0,0,0
waypoint.6=4,1,N6* 4.84',E171* 43.99',+0,,,,0,,8008,0,1


the "2" on the first waypoint means take off (at runway id = 8008, which is defined at the bottom of the mission file)

if you change this "2" to a "1" then when you open/save in Mission Builder, the co-ordinates of waypoint.0 will be retained, but you will air-start.

Similarly, the "4" on the last waypoint means to land (at runway id = 8008)

Changing the "4" to "4096" will instruct the aircraft to land anywhere, and again, the co-ordinates will be retained when opening/saving in Mission Builder

[stoney]

Thanks RWills, great information. I do believe I've got a handle on it now, plus getting a handle on using the MB. Thanks to Hiede as well, this old dog CAN learn new ticks it seems. Anyway it's been interesting to try something new (to me at least).