All-Aircraft-Simulations
... a bigger boat? - Printable Version

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... a bigger boat? - Huxley_S - 09.04.2008

It has struck me with all these brilliant new maps coming out that we may need a new dynamic campaign generator, built from scratch to handle the endless possibilities that the mods offer.

I've been thinking about what the ECG (Enhanced Campaign Generator) should be and how it might improve on what is already available.

Why do we need an ECG when we already have a DCG and a DGen?

Both of these are great utilities but they also have some major flaws in relation to what is being done at AAA.

DCG for example requires an active ground war in order to operate. So that means it will be useless for Clockwatcher et al's stunning Battle of Britain map and not so friendly for The Slot or Malta either. If you play the DCG 'Britain 40' campaign, for instance, it's rather strange to see a mini-ground war going on on a tiny island in the middle of the map.

Another thing about DCG is that it lacks the narative briefings and debriefings from the early DGen campaigns and BoE that praised you or reprimanded you depending on your performance and kept a running total of your kills. DCG (and later Dgen) offline campaigns are a 'one size fits all' approach that merely points you toward an objective and then gives you some standard kill stats in the debrief.

As good as DCG is for online, I find the lack of colorful briefings an immersion killer in offline and DGen seems to be a closed system that new maps can't be added to.

So, let's make ECG! I'm sure that it wouldn't be difficult as long as it wasn't required to be backwards compatible.

Here are some ideas for the pot...

1. Ability to add new maps. I guess this will require the manual creation of a data file containing coords of all airstrips, bridges and settlements for any map added, but the process of adding the map to the system should be made as painless as possible.

2. Ability to script campaigns. Adding scripted events to a dynamic campaign could make them more immersive. Each campaign should have its own briefing and debriefing files so that each campaign gets its own briefing style.

3. Ability to transfer squadron at will during a campaign. Fancy switching from fighter to bomber ops during a dynamic campaign?

4. Use the Eventlog to its maximum. The eventlog produced during playing a dynamic mission gives tons of information that neither DGen nor DCG bother analysing. The ECG should be able to work out things like shared kills, assists, the condition of aircraft after landing, how well you protected your flight and other data that could be used directly to assess performance.

5. Optional and scalable ground war. Sometimes any kind of ground war is unnecessary and unhelpful e.g. Battle of Britain. It should be scalable. DCG's full settings for the ground war bring my computer to its knees while in DGen campaigns there always seems to be plenty of ground targets without the same framerate hit. The ECG should be able to emulate the ground war using static objects for all but the highest settings.

What say you?

- VT-51_Razor - 09.04.2008

I say get in touch with 4Shades and the SEOW crew and try to get them involved. No one has ever made a better, more immersive multiplayer campaign system than theirs. :wink:

- Scharnhorst1943 - 09.04.2008

There are ways around Malta and Europe Air war. The problem only really arises in the Pacific. It is not bad, but it is not what it could be. I am actually working on a Malta campaign for DCG right now, and it will only be an air war. I have put some triggers in to end the campaign in two ways.

What you have stated is not a problem with Malta, because Malta was never actually invaded. Therefore there is no need to move fronts on Malta. However, in the Pacific, several Islands were invaded and captured. In order to do a good campaign in the Solomons, you have to invade each Island and have it change hands ... which is ONLY done in a ground war.

Europe is the same way as Malta. You can just have a ground war that is in constant stalemate and put in a trigger to end the campaign near the correct date. That doesn't work so well with the Pacific theater ...

- Huxley_S - 09.04.2008

Scharnhorst1943 Wrote:Europe is the same way as Malta. You can just have a ground war that is in constant stalemate and put in a trigger to end the campaign near the correct date. That doesn't work so well with the Pacific theater ...

That's what seems to happen in the Britain 40 DCG campaign... after every mission you get a message saying "Heavy fighting in XXX" where XXX is some small island on the map. The missions are centred around bombing these guys who shouldn't even by there.

Personally, considering the quality of the WIP BoB map, I don't think it can do it justice.

Unless DCG can be reprogrammed to generate campaigns without a ground war, or where the front moves based on some pre-defined mission files (via front marker objects) rather than tank columns actually having to move there then I can see a real need for an alternative to DCG.

I only wish I had the time to do it myself... but... well I've made a small start on the GUI.

- Dixiecapt - 09.04.2008

+100,000,000,000 Big Grin

Very Much So, this is a Great Idea !! Idea

I've been really frustrated with the DCG recently, I can't seem to have any single PTO Campaign last more than Six Missions, before it tells me Campaign Over, and Does Not Switch the Map as it's suposed to! :evil:

- saunders1953 - 10.04.2008

+100,000,000,000 + Infinity Big Grin