F/A-18C Dynamic Campaign: Battle Group Delta

Hi MBot,

 

Completed a few missions and am really enjoing it, thanks.

 

Out of interest are there any JTAC missions in the campaign? (i enjoy a bit of CAS).

 

Thx again

No there won't be any CAS. The campaign's emphasis is strictly on strike operations and related support.

I am glad you are enjoying it so far.

 

I did not set up anything specifically to accommodate the Hornet datalink. For the Tomcat this works out of the box, are there any special requirements for the Hornet? In any case, the Hornet probably didn't have any DL yet in 1990 anyway.

I've checked the E-2 and they don't seem to have the EPLRS enabled. This could be the reason why Hornet is not receiving the DL information. It's enabled when you place the aircraft manually in the editor, however if you spawn them dynamically chances are, you will need to set this task explicitly.

Given that the setting is in 1990s anyway, that could have been a lucky coincidence :) But maybe something to keep in mind for a more modern setting.

Given that the setting is in 1990s anyway, that could have been a lucky coincidence :) But maybe something to keep in mind for a more modern setting.

You know, everything I will ever do will be pre-1991 :)

Ok I see. The content in the Zip file has a folder structure that should be extracted completely. Your installation then must look like this:

 

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta.cmp

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta_first.miz

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta_ongoing.miz

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Active\

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Debriefing\

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Debug\

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Images\

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\base_mission.miz

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\camp_init.lua

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\camp_triggers_init.lua

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\db_airbases.lua

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\db_loadouts.lua

...\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\oob_air_init.lua

....\Campaigns\FA-18C Battle Group Delta\Init\targetlist_init.lua

Thank you, MBot, I fixed the installation, now everything works fine.

I'm assuming I can put the F-14 campaign in that folder without fear of any file being overwritten?

Thank you, MBot, I fixed the installation, now everything works fine.

 

I'm assuming I can put the F-14 campaign in that folder without fear of any file being overwritten?

Yes you can install the F-14 campaign the same way, it has its own folders. Both campaigns are designed to exist next to each other and run on one common DCE installation.

Thank you! :thumbup:

I am glad you are enjoying it so far.

 

I did not set up anything specifically to accommodate the Hornet datalink. For the Tomcat this works out of the box, are there any special requirements for the Hornet? In any case, the Hornet probably didn't have any DL yet in 1990 anyway.

Dude,

A. SUPERB JOB!!! Thank you so much! Tons of fun!

B. I do want to play it with 2000+ equipment. Can you provide an explanation regarding what need to be tweaked so that datalink would work? What lau file to change and how?

Again - thank you for this effort! Hours of fun!

Dude,

 

A. SUPERB JOB!!! Thank you so much! Tons of fun!

 

B. I do want to play it with 2000+ equipment. Can you provide an explanation regarding what need to be tweaked so that datalink would work? What lau file to change and how?

 

Again - thank you for this effort! Hours of fun!

I completely agree with A! and also would like to know the answer on B :P

If I may add question C:

I only played 3 missions now, but I was wondering.. When I get further in progress, will the carrier group and the tanker support move closer to the area of operations? The other night I did a mission over Seerik and got back to the carrier group flying on fumes, so I wonder how to make it to and from e.g. Bandar Abbas area.

I only played 3 missions now, but I was wondering.. When I get further in progress, will the carrier group and the tanker support move closer to the area of operations? The other night I did a mission over Seerik and got back to the carrier group flying on fumes, so I wonder how to make it to and from e.g. Bandar Abbas area.

I'm pretty sure this is answered in the mission briefing ;)

I'm pretty sure this is answered in the mission briefing ;)

I must admit, until now I might have just scrolled down straight away to the actual objective part and mission planner map :P

I'll read it next time social life allows me to get some DCS playtime :book:

FPAS is your best friend, too, along with throttle management. I've played 4 mission by now and not once had to refuel, even when I got to attack Lavan. When you're egressing, climb at 40k, set ATC to the FPAS suggested Mach value for best range and you should have no trouble. Of course, you can even choose to bring more fuel (when the CV gets closer to Iran, the ATO always goes for 2 bags, but center station is usually not used, so...) and be always mindful of burner, it can save your life temporarily, but it'll complicate it later!

Well, if you climb to 40k you're disobeying your flight plan.

Keep in mind though that the mission profile speeds and altitudes are sometimes nudged to help the AI and may not necessarily be optimal for the player flight model. It is a bit of a compromise sometimes. Obviously you are stuck with the cruise speed of your package but adjusting cruise altitute may help. Generally it is unnecessary though and you should have sufficient fuel to follow the flight plan.

Gianky makes some excellent points. Keep and eye on FPAS and be mindful of afterburner unsage and you should be fine. In a previous iteration of the campaign I had some long-range strikes to Shiraz and even those were possible withouth refueling.

Regarding enabling EPLRS for AWACS, that would not be a simple edit and would include additions to the mission generation code.

I am very glad you guys are putting some time into this and are flying missions. For me it is most satisfactionary to see that people are playing my work.

Regarding enabling EPLRS for AWACS, that would not be a simple edit and would include additions to the mission generation code.

Thanks!

If you'll ever have the time/power to do the changes - that would be great for simulating a more 2000+ scenario. The SA is a huge asset of the 4+ gen aircraft and a big advantage of the Hornet.

And again - thanks for you time and effort!

Keep in mind though that the mission profile speeds and altitudes are sometimes nudged to help the AI and may not necessarily be optimal for the player flight model. It is a bit of a compromise sometimes. Obviously you are stuck with the cruise speed of your package but adjusting cruise altitute may help. Generally it is unnecessary though and you should have sufficient fuel to follow the flight plan.

 

Gianky makes some excellent points. Keep and eye on FPAS and be mindful of afterburner unsage and you should be fine. In a previous iteration of the campaign I had some long-range strikes to Shiraz and even those were possible withouth refueling.

I got surprised by two enemy F4's (apparently my F-14 escort were slacking) and got caught in a dogfight over the target area. Had to use burner to survive.

No FPAS page is gonna help with that :P

Well, if you climb to 40k you're disobeying your flight plan.

That's true!

But I make the judgement call that virtual United States of America would rather have a virtual multimillion dollars aircraft safely on the deck, than a pilot blindly following virtual orders and taking a virtual bath in the Gulf! :D

EDIT: btw, I do that only when egressing from target, when going in I follow the flight plan, otherwise I would mess up coordination with the other divisions.

MBot, I had a strange error after completing the first mission where two command prompt windows opened, asking whether to accept mission outcome. I closed one and chose yes on the other one. Now, nothing was processed. Can I somehow manually execute a debrief update? (I still have the briefing file with all results).

Mbot,

A hearty thank you and appreciation from me. Your dce campaigns and also the one maneges by CEF-pbo are the only missions I play.

Your efforts saved this sim for me.

MBot, I had a strange error after completing the first mission where two command prompt windows opened, asking whether to accept mission outcome. I closed one and chose yes on the other one. Now, nothing was processed. Can I somehow manually execute a debrief update? (I still have the briefing file with all results).

You can try to run DEBUG_DebriefMission.bat (edit it first to your DCS installation path). If the error is not a recurring one, that can sometimes salvage a mission result. Getting two comand promt windows sounds strange indeed though. That is the first time I have heard of that. Are you sure that one didn't remain open in the background from a previous mission attempt?

Mbot,

 

A hearty thank you and appreciation from me. Your dce campaigns and also the one maneges by CEF-pbo are the only missions I play.

 

Your efforts saved this sim for me.

Thank you, it is my pleasure :)

You can try to run DEBUG_DebriefMission.bat (edit it first to your DCS installation path). If the error is not a recurring one, that can sometimes salvage a mission result. Getting two comand promt windows sounds strange indeed though. That is the first time I have heard of that. Are you sure that one didn't remain open in the background from a previous mission attempt?

I can't be 100% I guess. Might have been an old ghost... However, the debug was my first thought. But it won't run. Throws error

Debrief_Master.lua:15 attempt to call a nil value
stack traceback:

So I'm guessing it doesn't find file ""MissionEventsLog.lua" which is what it tries to load on line 15.

Yes in this case it won't help then. Once a debriefing has been created successfully, various temporary log files are deleted. It then can no longer be recovered. Closing the (wrong) promt window in this case equalled to answering 'no' (do not accept mission results).

Is there any way to release the same campaign but during a more modern timeframe?

For whatever reason the INS fix does not work for me, and to be honest I think many would prefer to have all currently available systems and weapons. I would at least like the option to use what I want.

I think your DCE are great!!! But this one falls short because it is completely disabling too many systems of the FA18 we have.

I build what I like to play personally, and I like the Cold War era. Great effort has been made to make this as period correct as possible. For example the composition of the Independence battle group is how it actually sailed for real in the summer of 1990.

So there won't be anything more modern from my side. Given the choice for a Hornet, I would have even taken a 1980s F/A-18A. Well, actually I would have taken the A-7E ;)

so no chance of making a modern version of this campaign? That's too bad.

If you ever change your mind and give us a dynamic campaign for the FA/18C version we actually have, I'd actually help to pay for it.