AIRBOSS_64 is up

[Ettico]

I've uploaded the 64-bit version of the AIRBOSS executables and dll's. It's in the CFS2/Utilities library, at the end.

These executables will work with Vista and Win 7. I don't know about earlier versions. The executables are identical in function to the previously uploaded version except for a minor coordinate display bug fix and some dll's Qbasic 64 needs to run on a 64-bit system. Other than that, I just edited the README files a bit.

[oldwheat]

I think that I just might give this one a try. I messed around with DCG a while back & seem to recall that it confuzzled the bejeebers out of me. But I'm feeling a little reckless these days.

[Ettico]

I think that I just might give this one a try. I messed around with DCG a while back & seem to recall that it confuzzled the bejeebers out of me. But I'm feeling a little reckless these days.

It confuzzled the bejeebers out of me a while back too. But I kept fooling with it and figured it out. Then, of course, I found things I didn't like about it - it was and still is a beta program. Then I went completely insane and decided to try to fix what I didn't like about it. A long tale of fear and loathing follows, which I won't go into, but somehow I eventually got to the point where I can make most of the stuff I don't like about it go away by clicking on a couple of shortcuts.

But now for the bad news. You'll have to dope out how to set it up and run it from my README files. Just try to keep in mind that it's really simple to set it up. The hard part is explaining how simple it is. And understanding the explanation of how simple it is.:isadizzy:

If you feel you're being told to do something complicated, you're just not holding your mouth right while reading the instructions.

[Rami]

Ettico,

Excellent work on this, one of these days I'll have to give her a whirl. :wiggle:

[Ettico]

Ettico,

Excellent work on this, one of these days I'll have to give her a whirl. :wiggle:

Thanks Rami. Apparently there are still some DCG users around. And since I have this DCG tinker tool, there's no reason not to share it. It only took me a little while to package it up, and some might get some use out of it. The biggest problem I have with sharing is explaining how it all works. The DCG itself is complex and full of tricks and little mysteries. I'm sure even Lowengrin doesn't remember how it all works. And there are some options I've included in AIRBOSS that I haven't even fully tested.

I've never seen any reason why CFS2 shouldn't have a decent dynamic campaign generator like Il-2 and CFS3. The CFS2 DCG will never measure up to the IL-2 version, but the CFS(3) version isn't truly dynamic, and IMO suffers somewhat in comparison to the CFS(2) DCG. The CFS(3) campaign engine doesn't track losses and AI air crew skill like the CFS(2) DCG does, and the missions the CFS(3) engine generates are rudimentary and involve very small numbers of aircraft. The CFS(3) generator could never accurately simulate a dynamic carrier battle like the CFS(2) DCG does.

But don't get me wrong. I like CFS3 with "the upgrade", and fly it regularly.

[Ghostrider]

Thanks for this Ettico!

What does a guy need to get this up and running? Latest version of DCG and AirBoss? What should we read to get smart about setting it up? Readmes of both progs - any other good tutorials, etc. out there you'd recommend? I messed around with DCG and Airboss some years ago, but wasn't very successful.

Finally after 12 years of flying, my CFS2 world is just about how I want it - planes, ships, airfields, scenerey, objects and weather are all dialed in so nicely. But there can never be too many missions and campaigns to put all of these things through their paces.

[Ettico]

Thanks for this Ettico!

What does a guy need to get this up and running? Latest version of DCG and AirBoss? What should we read to get smart about setting it up? Readmes of both progs - any other good tutorials, etc. out there you'd recommend? I messed around with DCG and Airboss some years ago, but wasn't very successful.

Finally after 12 years of flying, my CFS2 world is just about how I want it - planes, ships, airfields, scenerey, objects and weather are all dialed in so nicely. But there can never be too many missions and campaigns to put all of these things through their paces.

Hi Ghostrider,

I provided links to the latest version of DCG and to Lowengrin's DCG tutorial in the AIRBOSS_64 tutorial. Lowengrin's tutorial does a good job of outlining the basics. However:

There is no definitive DCG tutorial (that I know of) which details (all) the quirks and tricks of DCG. DCG is a beta program which never got out of the beta stage. The purpose of AIRBOSS is fo find and fix a few bugs that turn up occasionally, and add some elements to the missions. My previous uploads of DCG campaigns and earlier versions of AIRBOSS have included lots of tips, tricks, and advice, which could be compiled into a tutorial of sorts. I suppose I could gather up all my README files and compile them into something like a "tips and tricks" tutorial.

There isn't a lot of expertise necessary to simply fly existing DCG campaigns. That's mostly a matter of having DCG generate missions and you flying them. Doing the same thing with AIRBOSS supplementation is just a matter of having a couple of AIRBOSS shortcuts on your desktop and clicking on them in the correct order.

The complicated part is building your own DCG campaigns. Doing this successfully requires precise, syntax-error-free text file editing - after you've learned what to put in the text files you're editing. Essentially, you have to know the exact structure of all the DCG text files, and understand what the files tell DCG. That's the easy part. The worst part is that any deviation in the standard text file structure will cause an error condition which is often difficult to track down, which means it's best to work in a way that avoids such errors in the first place. Slow and steady wins the race.

So there's a learning process involved, just as in building missions and campaigns the normal way with the mission builder. The biggest difference is that the mission builder is a far more user-friendly environment than DCG's text file editing requirements.

When building a DCG campaign, you don't build missions at all. DCG builds all the missions, in real time, while you are flying the campaign. The closest you get to building a mission is using the mission builder to set up campaign infrastructure and task force routes to be imported into DCG text files. The DCG campaign text files provide DCG with the parameters of the campaign - essentially an order of battle. DCG then uses this info to design contextual missions as the campaign progresses. And, of course, the campaign parameters change as the campaign progresses, as air crews, ships, and infrastructure are destroyed.

As for myself, I can say that my DCG campaigns are usually put together faster than I could build a complex single mission, and usually run the first time I try them. But I assure you, it hasn't always been that way. It took a good deal of practice, trial, and error for me to get to that point. Our friend Talon seemed to have better luck in his initial attempts. It was a piece of cake for him. Some people, I suppose, have that systematic approach to things that works well in building DCG campaigns. I"m not one of them though. :isadizzy:

[Ghostrider]

Thanks very much for the info, Ettico! The setting up of new DCG campaigns is very interesting to me. Getting DCG/AirBoss running, and learning how to build campaigns sounds like a worthwhile project to keep CFS2 new.

[Ettico]

So you want to build a DCG campaign? Well, here is your main stumbling block.

DCG will not import task force routes into the DCG "taskforces" file as advertised in Lowengrin's tutorial. You can't put all your campaign task force routes into one MB mission and then import them all at once. Here are the NEW RULES:

1. The MB mission you are exporting from may only contain (1) task force route.
2. The task force route may only be imported into an EMPTY "taskforces" file.

Them be the (unfortunate unintentional beta) rules. The good news is, you can build up as large a task force file as you want (with a practical limit of 12), by cutting and pasting the taskforce routes into a separate file one at a time, as you export them. Of course, rule (1) means that you also have to create a separate MB mission for each individual task force route. The final step is to sequentially renumber the taskforce routes in the temporary file (starting with "[unit_type.0]") and then cut-paste them back into the empty "taskforces" file - the tricky trick to renumbering is that the "unit_type" number and the "waypoint_path" number of each task force route must be identical.

I recommend keeping the waypoints between 40 and 45 nm apart. But only because I know for a fact that distance range works. From ancient discussions with Lowengrin I got the impression that distances between waypoints matters.

This is the most labor intensive part of building a DCG campaign. Everything else can be done as described in Lowengrin's tutorial.


And while I'm thinking about it:

AIRBOSS_64: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=49&id=14835

Lowengrin's tutorial available here: http://members.shaw.ca/dcgen/index.html

DCG version 6.32 available here: http://www.lowengrin.com/download.php?list.4

[Ghostrider]

Thanks, Ettico! Will give 'er a whirl!