Edit a Campaign
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Hey, I wanted to build a mid 80s campaign for the Israel ITO theater. Everything worked out fine so far except one thing. I used mission commander to edit the squadrons and I took away quite a lot of weapons (AiM-120, GBUs etc). I want to fly the Israeli side. The problem is: While on the Israeli side no weapon gets resupplied and everything works as intended the Egyptians get resupplied all the time. So I have to take away all weapons over and over again…
Is there a way to forbid a) resupply or b) a special weapon in the campaign ??
Greetings
Fieters -
I you take away weapons on a Camp, they will stay out a bit, as you already experienced, bu they will get resupply, eventually. Same goes for number of planes in a Sqn, and such things.
Only way is to edit the theatre DB so you set up what is allowed, and in what numbers. Once you edit the DB, don´t forget to update the SAVEX.cam file you are retouching. (just a rebuild Sqn, and rosters, and taskgroups, and such options inside the great MC from FALCAS).
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Thanks for your awnser, some time has passed and I’m in my “beta” phase. I basically copied the normal ITO and edited the theater definition etc. That worked out really good. I had the campaign savegame already ready. I removed weapons such as GBU24+ AiM-120 etc by using F4Browse which is a fantastic programm.
Where can I edit the campaign map, who owns what?
Where can I set the Aircrafts to be selected in the theatre (I tried to edit the actypes.lst in Theatre\Sim\Acdata)? -
Thanks for your awnser, some time has passed and I’m in my “beta” phase. I basically copied the normal ITO and edited the theater definition etc. That worked out really good. I had the campaign savegame already ready. I removed weapons such as GBU24+ AiM-120 etc by using F4Browse which is a fantastic programm.
Where can I edit the campaign map, who owns what?
Where can I set the Aircrafts to be selected in the theatre (I tried to edit the actypes.lst in Theatre\Sim\Acdata)?I think you can do both in MC. The file that controls which AC can be flown used to be called VALIDAC. I think in the Objects folder? It’s been a while since I was in it so you may have to do a little hunting for it. There is another file called TEPLANES I believe which sets which aircraft can be scheduled for sorties from the ADD PACKAGE function in game.
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Yeah, I knew that from Falcon4, however there are no such files in ITO Still thanks
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Yeah, I knew that from Falcon4, however there are no such files in ITO Still thanks
Which ITO are you talking about??
The ValidAC.act and teplanes.lst are in the Campaign folder, not the Objects folder.
If you have no such files in your ITO install then the theater would not run!!
C9
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Edit the aircraft hardpoint information (with F4 editor in the launcher) remove any A/C’s ability to carry AIM120, that will solve the problem regardless the SQ weapon supply
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Where can I edit the campaign map, who owns what?
The ownership is contained in the .cam files. Use either TacEdit or Mission Commander.
Where can I set the Aircrafts to be selected in the theatre (I tried to edit the actypes.lst in Theatre\Sim\Acdata)?
The actypes.lst file is not the file you want to be messing with to achieve what you are trying to do. Unless you know what the actypes.lst file does or is used for, best not to mess with it.
Units, whether they be ground, air or naval are all set in the .cam files also.
You really need to learn what file does what. From your post, it seems to me you are on a direct path to porking your install.
Ask questions first, you will get help before you bugger something up that requires a total re-install.
C9
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I’m not stupid ^^ Obviously I make a copy of every file I edit : D
Thanks for your help, however I doesn’t seem that I can edit the Validac.act with Notepad++, what program do I need?
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I’ve used Notepad++, Notepad and Wordpad.
Not sure why your Notepad++ is not working for you??
C9
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Edit the aircraft hardpoint information (with F4 editor in the launcher) remove any A/C’s ability to carry AIM120, that will solve the problem regardless the SQ weapon supply
If he is familiar with MC and F4Browse (which it sounds like he is) he can also just change the SQ loadouts/supply from there. The “TEMPLATE” which the game uses to resupply each squadron is in the database. It is based on the type of aircraft in the squadron, so all F16x-xx squadrons get the same resupply. Either method would have the same effect, but I think it would be easier to change a handful of SQ Supply entries as opposed to 20-30 pylon configurations.
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so all F16x-xx squadrons get the same resupply.
Are you saying all F16’s get the same weapons??
C9
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Not all, but most share the same resupply data. And yes that would have been easier but I wanted to erase the AiM-120 (and other weapons) completly. That’s why I edites the stores -and later the Supplies. When I realized it it was too late
Anyways, thanks for your help!
@Cloud9 Yes, it’s working now, not sure what the problem was -
@Cloud:
Are you saying all F16’s get the same weapons??
C9
No, you can think of it like several layered templates. When you create an “Object” in the database in order for it to function correctly it needs several other things to support it. Or it at least has to point to other things which help to define it. So in order to create a Squadron “Object” of F16C-52+ type, you create a generic Squadron “Object”, then point the Aircraft it uses to the F16C-52+ type of aircraft. Then you point the squadron to a Resupply “Object” which outlines the types and max number of the specific weapons that TYPE of squadron gets. The same Resupply “Object” can be assigned to several different Squadrons or TYPES of Squadrons. So you could say all the F16C-52+ Sqaudrons use the same Resupply “Object”, and all the F16C-32 Squadrons might use that same Resupply “Object” in the database, or the Squadron “Object” for F16C-32s might point to a different Resupply “Object”. That’s all abstract though, generic templates or a Master F16C-52+ squadron that defines how all the F16C-52+ squadrons are supposed to look, which can then be Instantiated in the campaign by creating a squadron at a base. When you do that, it looks at the template objects you have defined in the database to generate the actual objects in the CAM file.
This is the reason you can’t go into MC, select an F16 squadron, and try to add 200 Aim-54s. It’s not in the Resupply template used by that squadron so it won’t stick when you try to save. What I can’t remember, is if the Resupply “Object” that each individual Squadron uses can be changed in the CAM file, or if it is explicitly tied to the type of Aircraft assigned to that squadron. In short, not ALL F16s will use the same resupply, but ALL F16s of the same specific variant WILL use the same resupply. (Unless you create more than one Squadron “Object” with the same variant, but different resupply).
If that is still hard to wrap your head around, think of it like making cookies. The Database is like your drawer full of cookie cutter shapes. You shape and mold them in a certain way so that all of your cookies come out with the same basic design if you use the same cutter. The CAM file is the result of using the Cookie Cutter (The Squadron “Object” from above example) on the dough to create several cookies that all look the same (The actual Squadrons in the CAM file).
The key is just to remember the Database is full of templates, while the CAM file is the result of those templates being instantiated.
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No, you can think of it like several layered templates…
Not sure where you’re getting your definition of things. I know how the DB works and I know how the .cam files work. I know the relationship between the two.
I have built theaters and a ton of campaign files, not only for third party theaters but for an organized Falcon team, to include Korea, Israel, Kurile, and on and on.
You speak of things like “Object” and “Templates”? Where are you getting these terms. No theater developer I have ever known and I myself have never used these terms when it comes to the supply of weapons for a given aircraft.
There’s only one place that determines what weapons any given aircraft has, and that is in the DB in the SSD(Squardron Stores). It has nothing to do with Resupply. It is “the” Supply that the aircraft gets. Period, that’s it.
For a given aircraft to get any of the weapons that are contained in the SSD, those weapons must be assigned to the aircraft in the DB via the Hardpoints. If the two things are accomplished correctly, the SSD and the Hardpoint assignments, then the aircraft has said weapon(s).
Not sure where you came up with your definitions and explanations of it but it’s pretty far out there and the terminology is cluttered with words that just beg to confuse.
I have no idea what you mean when you say “Object”. The only objects in Falcon are the cities, towns, villages, junctions, army bases, air bases, factories, chemical plants, forts, depots, bridges, ports, power plants, HQ’s, refineries, radars, radio towers…etc.
And as far as dough and cookies and all that…???
C9
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@Cloud:
Not sure where you’re getting your definition of things. I know how the DB works and I know how the .cam files work. I know the relationship between the two.
I have built theaters and a ton of campaign files, not only for third party theaters but for an organized Falcon team, to include Korea, Israel, Kurile, and on and on.
You speak of things like “Object” and “Templates”? Where are you getting these terms. No theater developer I have ever known and I myself have never used these terms when it comes to the supply of weapons for a given aircraft.
There’s only one place that determines what weapons any given aircraft has, and that is in the DB in the SSD(Squardron Stores). It has nothing to do with Resupply. It is “the” Supply that the aircraft gets. Period, that’s it.
For a given aircraft to get any of the weapons that are contained in the SSD, those weapons must be assigned to the aircraft in the DB via the Hardpoints. If the two things are accomplished correctly, the SSD and the Hardpoint assignments, then the aircraft has said weapon(s).
Not sure where you came up with your definitions and explanations of it but it’s pretty far out there and the terminology is cluttered with words that just beg to confuse.
I have no idea what you mean when you say “Object”. The only objects in Falcon are the cities, towns, villages, junctions, army bases, air bases, factories, chemical plants, forts, depots, bridges, ports, power plants, HQ’s, refineries, radars, radio towers…etc.
And as far as dough and cookies and all that…???
C9
You’re not the only one who reads these threads. I know full well they aren’t called “Objects” in the database. But for people who just want a general understanding how it all works together, “Object” is just as good as “Unit” when describing a Squadron, or Flight, or Aircraft, which all fall under Unit inside the database, but “Object” is less likely to make someone think of something singular, such as a specific Aircraft, or to assume that each individual unit is somehow contained in the database after a campaign starts.
They ARE templates, because it is abstract in the database. They may not be CALLED templates in the database, but everything in the database is a template. When you open the DB you don’t see the 1234th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan Airbase. You see a generic TEMPLATE of an F16x-xx squadron which says how many of what kind of aircraft, what the Squadron Stores are, how many pilots, what kind of mission specialty they do, what kind of missions they are allowed to do, etc… which is then used to generate a squadron in the CAM file, or populate what Mission Types are allowed in the Package window. If you change the properties of the Generic F16x-xx squadron in the DB, it will effect ALL the F16x-xx squadrons you then create in the CAM file based on that Generic Squadron, because it’s a template for that specific TYPE of aircraft. Hence for people who don’t go hunting through the DB and wouldn’t know that if I said unit in one context it means flight, or in another it means an aircraft, or in another it means squadron, I use the cookie cutter analogy so people who just want a broad understanding would know that what’s in the database is a collection of TEMPLATES, that are used to populate the CAM file.
My original point, however, was that you can limit what stores are available to a particular type of aircraft in more than one way. Removing a weapon from all the possible hardpoints will NOT prevent the game from delivering those weapons to the squadron during supply. It simply removes them from the loadout screen. Conversely, removing the weapon from the Squadron Supply and NOT from the hardpoints, just makes them show up as OUT on the loadout screen and prevents delivery when the Squadron is resupplied. To do it correctly, you should be doing both (Especially if big picture inventory is shared across the entire campaign, and other aircraft are able to use the weapons you are removing from the hardpoints), but either approach will achieve the desired result Fieters was asking about.
You’re talking specific implementation and terms, I’m describing big picture theory, because the same concept applies to EVERYTHING in the database, not just Squadron Stores and Hardpoints. The theory behind it can help someone trying to change what Units appear in a ground formation, or how many aircraft appear in a new squadron, or why changing a hardpoint called INBD 1 or HDPT 3 (Or F15C Wing Rail or whatever they are called) on one variant of an F16 or a bomber, also changed what weapons were available on a different variant or completely other aircraft type which uses the same hardpoint abstract OBJECT. As an example, the passage from your quote I highlighted is only partially correct. The weapons get assigned to the specific type of HARDPOINT, then that type of HARDPOINT is assigned to an aircraft type. But that same hardpoint TYPE could very well be used on another aircraft inside the DB. So changing the weapons available to that HARDPOINT, changes the weapons available to ALL aircraft types that use that kind of HARDPOINT, not just the specific Aircraft you may have intended to change. That idea of abstraction and shared resources (Or OBJECTS in a generic term) is the whole point of my post, and good for someone who is just starting to modify a database to understand. As I said, not everyone knows every in an out like people who have built their own campaigns or theaters before.