Change of "first nation"

[Finn]

I know this HAS been answered before, but I cannot find the thread: How do I change the sequence of nations in the campaign (and missions too)? Now I have got Captain Kurt's campaign running in a new install, it would be convenient to have USAAF showing as the first option, and likevise in a european install either Britain or Germany as the first choice.
Finn

[simonu]

"first nation" is controlled by
country.cfg
open it with notepad or wordpad
the first section is what you want to edit

[defaults]
country=3

set country=1 for britain
or country=2 for germany

check further down the file to find the value for other countrys you might wish to use

country.cfg files are not all the same, most are based on the expanded one that MS posted on the official CFS2 site http://www.microsoft.com/games/comba...untryfile.aspx but vary slightly depending on the genre they are adapted for.

[Dirtman]

Yo Finn;

I strongly recommend that you do not do this. I was dumb enough to try this in my Korean install many years ago. On the up-side; it was an excellent "learning experience". On the down-side it was a huge mistake.

Let me explain:

Firstly there is a certain order in the country.cfg that MUST be followed. Allies & Axis (or enemies) MUST be listed under certain numbers. THIS CANNOT BE CHANGED (easily) because virtually everything in CFS2 has an "allegiance". (friend or foe designation)

[alliance.0]
name=Allies
country.0=1
country.1=3
country.2=5
country.3=7
country.4=8
country.5=9
country.6=10
country.7=11
country.8=14
country.9=18

[alliance.1]
name=Axis
country.0=2
country.1=4
country.2=6
country.3=12
country.4=15
country.5=16
country.6=17
country.7=19

The reason for these groupings is simple; it designates who shoots at who. This not only applies to the aircraft, but to ships, AAA guns, vehicles, buildings, airfields .... almost EVERYTHING!

Think of it this way: You move USAAF to "Axis country.0=2" (the spot occupied by Germany) Then you must hand-edit the "allegiance" number for EVERY USAAF PLANE IN EVERY MISSION IN THE ENTIRE INSTALL. PLUS the objects & airbases

But now you must also move "Axis country.0=2" (Germany) to another location on the country.cfg .... And hand-edit ALL the "allegiance" numbers in all missions plus planes, ships & objects AGAIN.

The end result now becomes the real problem because now you have a fully customized install that has a different country numbering system from anyone else. You can't just add another mission or campaign without completely hand-editing ALL THE ALLEGIANCES FOR ALL THE PLANES, SHIPS, ETC. IN ALL THE NEW MISSIONS.

I hope you can now see what kind of a pain in the a$$ this whole situation has become.

I spent a week doing this to my Korean install. It turned out to be a HUGE mistake. However the knowledge and experience I gained was well worth the time I spent.


I don't like the numbering system in both the PTO & ETO. Too many useless countries (in my opinion) on the list or near the top. But it is way too late to change this now as it would make all previous missions & campaigns useless.

When I began designing Vietnam-4-CFS2, I started with the country.cfg by placing all the combatants in order of importance, beginning with the USAF in position 1. This way I hope to avoid that problem.

Add to this that CFS2 only has a single listing for American but there are 4 branches (in the Vietnam era) that I wanted to separate to have their own individual identities & corresponding screen packs. Would you want to fly a USAF mission using USN screens? HELL NO!!!

[alliance.0]
name=Allies
country.0=1 ; US Air Force
country.1=3 ; US Navy
country.2=5 ; USMC
country.3=7 ; US Army
country.4=9 ; South Vietnam Air Force
country.5=10 ; South Vietnam Army
country.6=11 ; France
country.7=13 ;
country.8=14 ;
country.9=17 ;
country.10=18 ;

[alliance.1]
name=Axis
country.0=2 ; North Vietnam Air Force
country.1=4 ; North Vietnam Army
country.2=6 ; Viet Cong
country.3=8 ; Chinese Air Force
country.4=12 ; Russia
country.5=15 ;
country.6=16 ;
country.7=19 ;


I hope this has helped you to understand the situation.

.
.

[simonu]

Thats very confusing Dirt, He doesn't need to know how you messed yours up.
It is simple
Just edit the section were it says
[defaults] country=3
leave everthing else or read the country.cfg sdk http://www.microsoft.com/games/comba...untryfile.aspx

[JapLance]

I can confirm that what Simonu says works flawlessly, Dirtman.

Your mess was caused by changing the numbers and allegiances of the countries, not which is the default country. I have the Italians set as default in my Med install, and the Soviets in my Eastern Front one, or the British in the Blitzkrieg 40, and they all share the same basic country.cfg.

[Finn]

Boys, it is clear as ink now: I'll try very cautiosly to follow your advice, but hopefully without getting into the Korean mess so avidly described (I know you had a bad time, but I enjoyed the way you tell about it). After all, the only thing I want right now is to put the USAAF on top of the list, not changing the whole .cfg. Thanks to you all guys.
Finn:salute:

[Finn]

Hi all. I did as Simonu suggested, and my computer didn't explode or anything. I now get directly to USAAF which is convenient as long as I don't want to put anything else into that install, and trying on a dedicated BOB install, it also seems to work as expected - but Dirtman, thanks for telling us about your experiences, it may prevent some of us getting into trouble.
Boy, it is amazing how fast one get a good advice in this forum. THANK YOU for being so helpful.
Finn

[bearcat241]

Both opinions are right as i see it. The problem i have with the SDK: Using the Country Config File webpage is that it only details the formatting of the country.cfg file and doesn't go further in explaining its inherent relationships with the allegiance designations in dp's, cmg's and mission files, which is the point Dirty is making.

Now, as i understand it, "3" is the default nationality number that the sim engine respects. Any country under this number will be treated as the "first nation". So, using JapLance's example above, sure, you can change the country numbering order around to present a customized default country of Italy for an MTO install, complete with all of its screens and backgrounds shown first. But if you stop there, what happens within the sim when you load an Italian campaign -- set to country allegiance "6" for example -- with Italian aircraft, vehicles and ships all still using the same old country number of "6" in their dp allegiances and the US objects are still using number "3"? Will the sim CTD on loading? If not, then Dirty's post, although very insightful from a structuring point of view, is inconsequential to avoiding disaster, but still pertinent to keeping the "house" in perfect order.

I know from experience that you can play single missions in this 'mixed-matched' way with no problems, but i was lead to believe that this kinda thing could adversely affect campaign play when allegiance designations of aircraft, ships and vehicles are not perfectly matched up to the country number. This was presented to me the first time in the old "Polka Dots" USMC Korea campaign download and the Fox Four campaigns which came with their own customized country.cfg's to prevent the loading CTD's that would occur from this mix-matching.

[JapLance]

Bearcat, you don't change the country numbering order. By changing the line Simonu explains you tell the game which country is the default, but you don't change their order at all.

Here is the beginning of my country.cfg in the Mediterranean install (the one with Italy by default):

[defaults]
country=6 <------- This the default country

[alliance.0]
name=Allies
country.0=1
country.1=3
country.2=5
country.3=7
country.4=9
country.5=10
country.6=11
country.7=13
country.8=14
country.9=17
country.10=18


[alliance.1]
name=Axis
country.0=2
country.1=4
country.2=6
country.3=8
country.4=12
country.5=15
country.6=16
country.7=19

[country.0]
name=Unknown
nationality=Unknown

[country.1]
.
.
.and the rest of countries

UK is still number 1, 2 is Germany, 3 the US, 4 Japan... They all keep their numbers, so no problem with missions, campaigns or .dp files..

[bearcat241]

Ahhh...OK then...i see it. Two entirely different things we're talking about here. Thanks JapLance.

[simonu]

You are right Bearcat, when you say everything in this country.cfg MUST make sense in relation to Campaigns, Missions and DP allegiance.
It goes without saying BACK UP BEFORE EDITING... and change only what is neccessary.
I point at the MS CFS2 SDK because I think it is the best example to start with, please read it

the dp allegiance is read when you initialy place something in mission builder, it is up to the mission writer to decided weather the default value is appropriate for the mission.
You can even set alliances in individual missons that will overide the country.cfg.

Most of us who have had a go at making our own version started with the "offically sanctioned" one....It is best to keep as close to it as is feasable.
Having said that, be aware that not all country.cfg s are the same, neither are the allegiance in downloaded aircraft dps
using a WW2 country.cfg in a coldwar korea vietnam scenario mission is going to mess CFS2 when ever a soviet or chinees appears

the county.cfg is the place to start when setting up your alternative CFS2
As long as it is sane and you check any dp files and mission accord to it.