Fixed Base of Operation (FBO) Mission

This is a single player mission and is for all the current maps. This is the first mission I have shared with the community and constructive feedback is very much appreciated. I wrote this mission so I could easily select any airplane in my hanger via the F10 menu. I hope other people find it useful too.

This mission allows you to select any aircraft (if you own it) in the game via the F10 menu and fly either air to ground or air to air missions. The enemy spawns are always in random locations and are historically accurate random targets based on the players current aircraft service life. Since DCS is short on targets for certain decades, you can extend the service life of your aircraft via the preferences menu. For aircraft of WWII era you are required to have the WWII asset pack for any enemy spawns to work correctly. If you don't have the WWII asset pack, you can extend the service life of your aircraft via the preferences menu for 1950's era targets.

All aircraft and scenario changes can be made without restarting or editing the mission. Just select a new aircraft and spawn type from the F10 menu. Then use F10 again for a new mission as solo or with a AI wingman. The wingman can be selected to either lead you to the target or follow you in formation as you find the target. The wingman is helpful if you decide to turn up the difficulty or spawn bombers with escorts.

There is also a flight training menu that allows you to practice your basic airmanship. In flight training you can spawn on final approach, fly the pattern, follow a formation, saddle up to a tanker, attempt a carrier landing, etc.

The mission spawns in a TF-51D but feel free to change this in the mission editor to whatever starting type aircraft you want. You can also move the starting aircraft to any airfield on the map in the mission editor. I think this flexibility keeps the game fresh.

You can download the missions here:

• Caucasus
• Marianas
• Syria
• Persian Gulf
• Nevada
• Normandy
• Channel

Please let me know what you think.

Be aware if you included WWII assets in the mission, then those that don't have the assets pack will not be able to see it in their mission list if they download it.

Thanks for the heads up on the WWII asset pack information. In this mission, all targets are dynamically spawned via scripting and not included in the actual mission file. I have tested the missing WWII asset behavior on an install with no asset pack. In this case, the WWII era spawns are substituted with a non WWII era type and have a missing bitmap skin. It does look very funky and is a modern type target vs a WWII era aircraft. Its not the optimal behavior but the mission does still work. More testing by users without the WWII asset pack is greatly appreciated. Also, any advice on a way to identify if users have the WWII asset pack installed prior to spawning a target would be appreciated.

I have added a check ride section that allows you to take a "check ride" type flight exam in your chosen aircraft type. To take a check ride download the latest FBO version here, start the mission, choose your aircraft type from the "New Player Aircraft" radio menu. Then go back to the radio menu and pick "Flight School" and select "Enter Check Ride Mode". This will put your aircraft into the flight exam mode. In the flight exam mode you can first practice all the skills necessary via the radio menu to pass the exam (short field takeoff, power on and off stalls, steep turn, etc). Once you think you have mastered all the check ride skills you are ready to take the check ride exam. From the radio menu choose "Take Flight Exam" and follow the pseudo examiners instructions as they guide you through the exam. You must perform the skills within the examiners listed aircraft performance limits in order to pass the exam. You exit the check ride mode via the radio menu.

Hi sigmet ! Much thanks for your work on this set of 4 missions, great great work !!

Please have a look on the Normandy version, as enemy doesn't spawn with enemy coalition, but neutral coalition so there is no fight back.

The 3 other missions on the 3 other maps are OK on this.

:thumbup:

Hey toutenglisse, I also saw you post on the user files too. I will take a look at Normandy mission tonight and post and update. Thanks for pointing this out.

Thanks ! it's really the perfect mission during this month with so many new modules to try. Options offered in your F10 radio menu are numerous enough to cover everything the user wants to set for quick action scenarios.

I updated the Normandy map mission on the DCS userfiles website with a fix for the neutral side issue. Thanks for pointing this issue out. The version I uploaded is the beta version of the latest release i am working on. Hopefully this beta version works as expected for you.

I am glad you are seeing value in the mission. It was perfect timing with the DCS demo days and the release of my missions. Their demo days is the main reason why i rushed to get the other maps posted.

Thank you for this quick fix :thumbup:

Something you have surely planned : I hope when WWII assets pack recent beta update (with A20, Ju88, …) will come to stable DCS, you will update enemy spawning WWII bombers with the new models (actually of course only B17 whatever the plane player chooses).

I am so looking forward to DCS adding more WWII assets and I will add them when available in for the stable version. Additions to the WWII asset are a long time coming for sure. Also, more liveries for the B-17 would be nice.

I have added a new mission type to my FBO mission. It is a squadron lead sortie that spawns 5 AI friendlies of your aircraft type and they will follow you in formation to the target. If you start the mission on the ground, they take off and then orbit waiting for you to lead them to the target. If you start the mission airborne, they spawn directly behind you and then form up. To get them to engage the targets you have to fire your weapons after the targets spawns. This gives you the first shot advantage on the targets. Groups of 4 enemies spawn on this mission type depending on the difficulty you select in preferences. Bombers with an escort on hard is pretty nuts !

I have posted the missions to my repository. Feedback is encouraged before I release this update to a wider audience.

• Persian Gulf
  
• Caucasus
  
• Nevada
  
• Normandy
  

Very cool.

I noticed something about wingmen behavior : I just tried Normandy with Spit, against bombers+escort on intermediate difficulty.

I engaged escort and all went OK the whole flight engaged also, but after that I engaged the bombers but the 2 remaining wingmen, while showing no damage on F2 view, did RTB so I was alone against bombers.

EDIT : but maybe they were out of ammo and all is normal I'll try further.

EDIT 2 : yes all is good and works OK.

When the fight starts I loop through all the members of the squad and assign them an enemy group to attack. When their assigned group is all dead, they won't reengage remaining enemies. This could happen when there are a lot of enemies and most of your squad is dead. I am still trying to figure out the best way to reengage the remaining AI without the players intervention. (Sometimes you just have to handle things for yourself !)

During testing I have noticed the squad members with no remaining enemies, will form back up on the player. I have not seen the RTB behavior yet. Perhaps they are out of ammo or just plain scared :smilewink:. The AI in DCS can have some very unpredictable behavior. Sometimes they will fly far away from the fight to setup for the attack. Other times they keep circling and eventually engage, or keep getting in each others way when trying to land. Not to mention the WWII era fighters bombing skills from altitude is way too precise.

I tried this task with all 4 maps, cold - hot - air start with different eras' planes and all was working good, no issue.

Very fun !

It's true that WWII bomber's gunners are champs.

Awesome...thanks for checking it out !

It's a great mission for training. Thank you very much!

One thing missing (or I can't find it) is coordinates of the target in multiple formats (JDAM, Precise, etc..).

Controlling the weather as well, it can make training in different situations possible.

Thanks

One thing missing (or I can't find it) is coordinates of the target in multiple formats (JDAM, Precise, etc..).

 

Controlling the weather as well, it can make training in different situations possible.

 

Thanks

I have had a request for LAT/LON too but not really finding any helpful posts on how to calculate those coordinates. If you have any advice or can point me in the right direction i will definitely add multiple formats to a future release.

I don't think its possible to programatically change the weather or time of day in DCS. A work around is going into the mission editor and changing it manually. I have copy of the Persian Gulf map mission which I have saved with a low ceiling and at night and practice ILS approaches.

I only know how to do it using M.I.S.T.

lat, lon = coord.LOtoLL(unitSpawnZone)

LatLong = mist.tostringLL(lat, lon, 2)

missionCommands.addCommand('LAT LON: ' .. LatLong .. '.', desiredMenuPath, EmptyFunction)

gives latitude longitude in deg, min, %min.

There is no MIST in my mission, so i would need to find another way. Probably using M.A.T.H

Sorry for the delayed reply

Are you using Moose? If so, I think it has functions for this ToString*

https://flightcontrol-master.github.io/MOOSE_DOCS/Documentation/Core.Point.html

COORDINATE:ToStringLLDDM(Settings)

COORDINATE:ToStringLLDMS(Settings)

COORDINATE:ToStringMGRS(Settings)

I've several times had the issue you describe in post#13, and some times (only for now seen playing WWII on Normandy) WM don't form with player but RTB.

Once (some minutes ago) I launched the mission as squad leader against bombers+fighters, but launched it close to the ground : some WM directly crashed on the ground and the remaining ones (3) directly RTB.

Just a thought, maybe instead of assigning a target group you can assign a task (CAP) like this way :

["tasks"] =

{

[1] =

{

["number"] = 1,

["auto"] = true,

["id"] = "EngageTargets",

["enabled"] = true,

["key"] = "CAP",

["params"] =

{

["targetTypes"] =

{

[1] = "Air",

},

["priority"] = 0,

},

},

},

so they engage any aircraft enemy they detect ?

When the squad spawns, the first aircraft to spawn is designated as the squad leader. All the other squad members form up on that leader and the leader forms up on the player. So if the squad leader dies before you make it to the target, I think the others will RTB. I see this as kind of a design flaw now. Let me look into promoting someone to a new leader and reform the formation if the squad leader dies.

Also, i too have noticed the squad spawns about 100 feet below player. My guess is because the spawn uses barametric altitude vs radio altitude of the player for the altitude. This should be fixed, so when you are nap of the earth they will spawn at your alt and not crash into the ground.

My goal was to give the player the first crack at shooting the enemy. I have noticed that AI aircraft performance tends to be way beyond that of the players aircraft. So when the target would spawn the AI would just pull away and be the first to engage, not what i wanted. Maybe changing the squads task after player fires first rather than looping through the targets is a better approach.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming!

Hi Toutenglisse - Based on your feedback i have changed the squad mission to CAP task, the squad now spawn at the players MSL altitude and no longer return to base when their formation leader dies. I have posted the updated missions for all the maps on the user downloads here.

Thanks again for your feedback.

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for in DCS :thumbup:

Thank you for your work and if there is a way how to support you, please let us know.

I do hope ED will not brake your work with the next beta :(