Custom Callsigns in Mission Commander
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I get bored with the usual callsigns for F-16’s (Falcon, Viper, Snake, Fury….)
Luckily there are about 150 other callsigns built-in to the game that you can choose, using Mission CommanderI’ve done this around 100 times with no problem.
However, a group I fly with doesn’t want to do it in their campaign because they worry it will somehow corrupt the campaign save. I believe it’s just changing the value of a string somewhere and it’s harmless.
So, is there any validity to this concern? Can changing callsigns corrupt the campaign?
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No it won’t corrupt things.
But the flight names are aircraft specific. Like no F18 flight would ever have it’s flight name as Viper, that’s specific to the F16.
The file in question is the Strings.WCH/.IDX files.
C9
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@Cloud:
No it won’t corrupt things.
But the flight names are aircraft specific. Like no F18 flight would ever have it’s flight name as Viper, that’s specific to the F16.
The file in question is the Strings.WCH/.IDX files.
C9
Sure… “viper” and “hornet” could be seen as specific. And the other 150? Not so much.
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Sure… “viper” and “hornet” could be seen as specific. And the other 150? Not so much.
Most of the others are also, it just depends if you are aware of which belongs to which.
C9
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@Cloud:
No it won’t corrupt things.
But the flight names are aircraft specific. Like no F18 flight would ever have it’s flight name as Viper, that’s specific to the F16.
The file in question is the Strings.WCH/.IDX files.
C9
Not so good for Infosec. See operation Bolo.
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@Cloud:
Most of the others are also, it just depends if you are aware of which belongs to which.
C9
Negative, most are made-up names that have nothing to do with the aircraft they’re assigned to. Half of them are used by redfor and you’ve never heard them before.
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Sure, a GUNHOG should probably be an A-10.
JUMP a harrier
MUDHEN a strike eagle
NIGHTHAWK a stealth fighter
TOMCAT an F-14But what is a MAGNET? lol
PLASMA?
ZIPPER?
NIGHTMARE?
SATAN?
VOODOO?
VANDAL? MAKO, MONGO, CADDY, MAULER, MOHAWK, POACHER, GOBLIN, AMBER, BEAST, TROLL…… -
Sure, a GUNHOG should probably be an A-10.
JUMP a harrier
MUDHEN a strike eagle
NIGHTHAWK a stealth fighter
TOMCAT an F-14But what is a MAGNET? lol
PLASMA?
ZIPPER?
NIGHTMARE?
SATAN?
VOODOO?
VANDAL? MAKO, MONGO, CADDY, MAULER, MOHAWK, POACHER, GOBLIN, AMBER, BEAST, TROLL……These are all actually mds specific, but only used for training/home-station sorties. Tactical callsigns (IE those used in theater) would never follow such a convention. In fact they are USUALLY chosen by the LNO for a specific unit to the CAOC. LNO for those who don’t know is a liaison. Every community (F16s, E3s, A10s, etc…) will have someone assigned as an LNO at the CAOC. When the community is first brought into the theater (And periodically for OPSEC reasons) a callsign is “assigned” to that type of aircraft, but typically the LNO for that community is given the option to choose what the callsign will be, or at least provide some input.
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@Cloud:
This is Falcon, not RL!
C9
LOL. It feels like it sometime, apart from the Discard Mission option for when you crash into the ground!
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@Cloud:
No it won’t corrupt things.
But the flight names are aircraft specific. Like no F18 flight would ever have it’s flight name as Viper, that’s specific to the F16.According to the Monitoring Times (radio hobbyist publication), the VIPER mission call sign has been noted to be used by at least the following units:
VIPER CP RAF FLIGHT WATCH STATION-FALKLAND ISLANDS
VIPER OPS 1-3 AVN, ATKHB Hunter AAF Savannah GA
VIPER 01 C-12 Unk Unit at Andrews.
VIPER F-15 104th FG, MA ANG at Barnes ANGB
VIPER C-130 118th AW, TN ANG at Nashville
VIPER C-130H 158th AS GA-ANG
VIPER F-16C/D 120th FS, CO ANG at Buckley AFB
VIPER F-16CJ, 157 FS/169 FW South Carolina ANG McEntire ANGB SC
VIPER F-16 388th FW, Hill AFB, UT
VIPER F-16C/D 56th FW, Luke AFB, AZ
VIPER F-16C/D 111th FS TX ANG Ellington ANGB
VIPER F-16C/D 555th FS Aviano Italy
VIPER F-16 422nd Test Sqd, Eglin AFB FL
VIPER F-16C/D 57th FW Weapons School, Nellis AFB NV
VIPER F-16C/D 124th FS IA ANG Des Moines
VIPER F-16C/D 125th FS OK ANG Tulsa
VIPER UH-1 HMLA-169, MCAS Camp Pendleton, CA
VIPER F-16C/J 78th FS Shaw AFB SC
VIPER CH-142 CFB Shearwater
VIPER F-22 Langley AFB VAAs you can see, it’s not strictly exclusive to F-16 units, nor to any one particular Squadron or Wing.
Also TOMCAT has been noted to be used by various F-18 units at certain times as well.
Disclaimer: I do not have oodles of very expensive scanners and radio monitoring equipment in my basement so I’m just going to by publications available online. I cannot therefore not refute or confirm how accurate these radio logs are. Generally speaking though, military radio enthusiasts are very knowledgeable and do not tend to make stuff up.
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According to the Monitoring Times (radio hobbyist publication), the VIPER mission call sign has been noted to be used by at least the following units:
As you can see, it’s not strictly exclusive to F-16 units, nor to any one particular Squadron or Wing.
I never stated that they were exclusive to RL aircraft(s)/Squardrons or Wings. Strictly Falcon related.
C9
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@Cloud:
I never stated that they were exclusive to RL aircraft(s)/Squardrons or Wings. Strictly Falcon related.
C9Aaah. Okay, yes well that makes sense.
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Hey,
Short answer… no nothing to worry about.
Longer answer…
No you are not changing anything really. No string gets changed.
The callsign “text” strings are stored in an external file and should not be changed. This because there is also a link to the sound part.In every mission file there is a pointer to the string file (wch/idx). This pointer is just a number to the index of the string files.
If you change a callsign for a flight the only thing what happens is that this pointer is changed.
But this is only for the flight you change it for. You can’t change what callsign an aircraft will get (not with MC at least)Gr Falcas
I get bored with the usual callsigns for F-16’s (Falcon, Viper, Snake, Fury….)
Luckily there are about 150 other callsigns built-in to the game that you can choose, using Mission CommanderI’ve done this around 100 times with no problem.
However, a group I fly with doesn’t want to do it in their campaign because they worry it will somehow corrupt the campaign save. I believe it’s just changing the value of a string somewhere and it’s harmless.
So, is there any validity to this concern? Can changing callsigns corrupt the campaign?
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ah yes of course, that’s what I was trying to say. I imagined the number in parenthesis next to the callsign was its “ID number” that points to the string and sound file. It’s just changing the ID number and is completely benign.
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I make custom airforces in mission commander for campaign files that I play locally, and I’ve noticed some silliness about things, but it’s subjective.
migs are usually troll, stonecat is cool, but it usually ends up on strike eagles or rotary wing things for whatever reason…
satan is usually sead escorts of hornets but i could be wrong.
I’m building my memory of them as I go by but I haven’t seen any that really stand out. You should be able to pull a drop down somewhere in the frag, but hell, this game is a magician hiding inside of a broken rotary phone, so I don’t expect every feature that is commonplace nowadays.
Anytime I go to critique something, I remember how much talent and time it took to give me this, and I zip it.
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Automatic callsign assignment is done through the aircraft. (Not the mission)
Which block of callsigns will be used is set in the database. (Vehicle data)
You can’t change automatic assignment with MC.Gr Falcas
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@thereisnotime F15E gets assigned satan all the time when I frag missions – which actually ticks me off bc I like to imagine myself as fighting for good rather than evil. And yes I do think satan is a symbol of evil. I’ll actually go so far as to frag an identical mission, get a different callsign, and then delete the satan mission.
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I like to imagine myself as fighting for good rather than evil.
And what would your adversary think??
At any rate, Adversary/Enemy is one of the definitions of satan!!
C9