[Beowolff]

I've downloaded a campaign someone made and would like to try and have DCG use it but after reading a bit I still can't figure out how to do so. I've started the campaign and flew a mission and then exited. I then start up DCG and it says no active campaign, please select one. So I browse to the campaign folder but there is no squadron to select. What am I doing wrong? Thanks!

don't rightly know. which campaign is it? some campaigns are installed and used differently from others, but if it's a regular type 3rd party campaign, this is how you do it. for it all to work correctly, DCG has to get all the information it needs...ie you have to get the ball rolling right from the get go.

a normal or regular 3rd party campaign will usually have everything it needs in it's own folder...say for example, NEW CAMPAIGN is its fictional folder name. just drop that entire NEW folder right into your DCG main folder... then, open that NEW CAMPAIGN folder up and find the DGEN folder inside it, open that, and find the campaign (whatever name..example campaignUS.dat) dat file and the squadron (again whatever name, example squadronUS.dat) dat file and copy them. then go from there to your IL21946 folder, find the game's DGEN folder and paste those files right inside it.

next, go to the DCG icon and start DCG up. it may say (this first time) that there is no active campaign...that's okay the first time...we're fixing to fix that.
make sure that DCG knows where your IL21946 exe file is if you haven't already done that. THEN... under "files" there in the DCG interface, check the THIRD PARTY CAMPAIGN option. it should open a search box for you to find that third party campaign. it will be looking for the third party's "ALLCAMPAIGNS.dcg" file. ---not the squadron file. once you find the NEW CAMPAIGN'S (or whatever name it is) allcampaigns.dcg file...select it. that's it. close out of DCG.

at this point you should be able to go into IL21946 and go into your dynamic campaign section, select the nationality of the campaign's flyers, set the campaign flight profiles, find the NEW CAMPAIGN listed at the top... (whatever name it is) start it and let it load it's first mission.

before you fly your first mission, you can exit IL2, open or start DCG exe and it shouldn't say ANYTHING about no campaign being active. it should just start right up with NO messages at all, and let you open the squadron editor, the waypoint editor, the campaign editor...whatever you want. then you can make any changes you need to (if you want to make any)...and if you do make changes, then click on CREATE A NEW MISSON...let it tell you the mission was created...then exit DCG, go back in the game, load up the campaign...and fly.

that should be it...unless the time comes that you want to make "more" changes to DCG's mission style.

making sure that DCG knows WHERE the third party campaign folder and the third party's allcampaign file is is VERY important. without that, it will not know what to do.

there are several "other" ways to get your campaign to work...ie, by using the DCG "wizard" and such...and other ways, including directly putting the campaign inside DCG's files...but those are not the easiest ways. the way i have described above is (to me) the quickest and easiest way to get your campaign to run properly the very first try.

let me know if that helps. we'll get you up and running whatever it takes.

:wink: