25.10.2008, 19:18
Hello everybody,
I am an offline player. Maybe one day I'll try flying online somewhere, but currently it would be too depressing being blown out of the clouds before I even see my opponent. So I play the offline single missions.
Those who play single missions like I do will know the situation: you've got that new mission file from somewhere - or wrote it - and it is pure fun. It is still fun to play it for several times, but after some rounds you know what is happening - it is always the same. It is predictable. Two years ago, after facing such a situation, I thought that this would almost call for some randomization, and I wrote a program for the creation of randomized missions. I called it "Sturmovizer" - for "Sturmovik Mission Randomizer", and after having invested quite a bit of time in the programming I thought that others might be interested in trying my little tool, created a web page and offered the tool for download. I already announced it in other forums, but probably many people didn't yet hear about it - so here a short introduction.
The Sturmovizer was written in PERL, but packed with PAR, so that you can use it like any executable. It takes template files, processes them and thus creates a mission file for use with the Il-2 Sturmovik. Simply spoken the principle is this: take a pot, put 30 or so missions in it, then blindfolded draw one of them, make the trajectory of AIs a bit fuzzy, randomize weather conditions, time, number and type of aircraft, pilot skills, weaponry, ground objects and the like. The outcome will be a mission, from which even if you created the template you won't know what's going to happen during the mission.
![[Image: prog-en.jpg]](http://sturmovizer.de/images/prog-en.jpg)
To give you an example: I wrote templates for Fw-190D, Me-109, Me-410, etc, in which they are briefed to fly against heavy American bombers. Although you know from where they are coming you won't know exactly at which altitude, how many, and whether they have an escort or not. It might, however, in about 30% of the cases happen, that the sirens go, and instead of heavies you have to dogfight against strafing Thunderbolts or Mustangs - and you won't know from where they are coming ... except, obviously, you are cheating yourself by looking into the mission prior to playing.
Another example is a template for a strafing mission with P-38, P-47 or P-51: here I actually used the waypoints merely to outline an area in which to look for targets - here German tanks, trucks and trains. And you won't know where they are, each time after a Sturmovizer run you'll have a brand new distribution of targets ... and sometimes Fw-190 or Me-109 to dart down on you.
I guess you got the idea. More info you'll find on my web page:
http://sturmovizer.de/Sturmovizer-en.html
One more thing I'd like to mention, also an effect of the randomization: it is possible to assign specific skins to the aircraft, depending on the situation. So if, for instance, a P-51 is used as a strafer it might show a 9th AF skin, whereas in an other mission a P-51 which is escorting B-17s is wearing an 8th AF coat. Or you encounter B17s, most of them in NMF, with a few ODs amongst them. It is one of my quirks to create skin sets with individual skins for each of the planes, wearing (as much as possible) historical combinations of paint, serials, and call signs. The skins sets are also for download on my web page.
![[Image: heavies-3.jpg]](http://sturmovizer.de/images/heavies-3.jpg)
Well, I hope that some of you might be interested in trying the tool, and that you might have additional fun in playing missions generated by the Sturmovizer.
Best greetings and wishes,
chanklaus
...and always a handful of air beneath the wings...
I am an offline player. Maybe one day I'll try flying online somewhere, but currently it would be too depressing being blown out of the clouds before I even see my opponent. So I play the offline single missions.
Those who play single missions like I do will know the situation: you've got that new mission file from somewhere - or wrote it - and it is pure fun. It is still fun to play it for several times, but after some rounds you know what is happening - it is always the same. It is predictable. Two years ago, after facing such a situation, I thought that this would almost call for some randomization, and I wrote a program for the creation of randomized missions. I called it "Sturmovizer" - for "Sturmovik Mission Randomizer", and after having invested quite a bit of time in the programming I thought that others might be interested in trying my little tool, created a web page and offered the tool for download. I already announced it in other forums, but probably many people didn't yet hear about it - so here a short introduction.
The Sturmovizer was written in PERL, but packed with PAR, so that you can use it like any executable. It takes template files, processes them and thus creates a mission file for use with the Il-2 Sturmovik. Simply spoken the principle is this: take a pot, put 30 or so missions in it, then blindfolded draw one of them, make the trajectory of AIs a bit fuzzy, randomize weather conditions, time, number and type of aircraft, pilot skills, weaponry, ground objects and the like. The outcome will be a mission, from which even if you created the template you won't know what's going to happen during the mission.
To give you an example: I wrote templates for Fw-190D, Me-109, Me-410, etc, in which they are briefed to fly against heavy American bombers. Although you know from where they are coming you won't know exactly at which altitude, how many, and whether they have an escort or not. It might, however, in about 30% of the cases happen, that the sirens go, and instead of heavies you have to dogfight against strafing Thunderbolts or Mustangs - and you won't know from where they are coming ... except, obviously, you are cheating yourself by looking into the mission prior to playing.
Another example is a template for a strafing mission with P-38, P-47 or P-51: here I actually used the waypoints merely to outline an area in which to look for targets - here German tanks, trucks and trains. And you won't know where they are, each time after a Sturmovizer run you'll have a brand new distribution of targets ... and sometimes Fw-190 or Me-109 to dart down on you.
I guess you got the idea. More info you'll find on my web page:
http://sturmovizer.de/Sturmovizer-en.html
One more thing I'd like to mention, also an effect of the randomization: it is possible to assign specific skins to the aircraft, depending on the situation. So if, for instance, a P-51 is used as a strafer it might show a 9th AF skin, whereas in an other mission a P-51 which is escorting B-17s is wearing an 8th AF coat. Or you encounter B17s, most of them in NMF, with a few ODs amongst them. It is one of my quirks to create skin sets with individual skins for each of the planes, wearing (as much as possible) historical combinations of paint, serials, and call signs. The skins sets are also for download on my web page.
Well, I hope that some of you might be interested in trying the tool, and that you might have additional fun in playing missions generated by the Sturmovizer.
Best greetings and wishes,
chanklaus
...and always a handful of air beneath the wings...