Posted by: Amagi
DGen Studies - 08/18/05 07:40 PM
I'm going to try to collect useful DGen posts into one thread.
This is anteater\'s guide :
How to make the FB campaign do you what you want
first: backup your dgen directory!
There are aspects that can be altered by anybody, and others that cannot be altered without changing the code, like altitude settings (we're working on that). Basically, dgen contains a lot of text scripting, all of which can be changed.
If you look at the Dgen directory, you have the following types of files:
.dat files
Campaigns(nation)(variable).dat files. like CampaignsRuF.dat for the russian fighter campaign.
These files simply contain a list of subcampaigns and their sequence, as well as the title of the campaign. The variable letter is the marker of the campaign and has to be the same in all files relating to that campaign (like RuF or RuS).
Planes(nation)(variable).dat files.
These will be files mostly edited. These files list the subcampaigns for each campaign with the list of plane options for each. The sequence of campaigns has to be the same as in the campaigns file otherwise it will crash. If you want to fly a plane not yet listed in the default list, simply look up its internal name and add it.
Squadrons(nation)(variable).dat files simply contain a list of squadrons from which you select when starting the campaign.
There are other .dat files with more general content.
Message(language).dat files
Simply contain the briefings and other texts for each language and nation (there are three message.de, one for german/russian, one finnish and one hungarian).
Then there are the files with names (Russians, Germans etc .dat) which contain names for your squadron mates and the place name files which contain birthplaces.
The really important stuff are the subcampaign files.
These are:
templates
These are Il2 mission files (.mis) which basically set the moving and non moving ground objects for the whole map. There are two, one for the objects of each side, called (campaign name)blue/red.mis (e.g. Crimea44blue.mis). If you want to edit the types and placement of ground targets in your campaign, export these files to the mission folder of FB and open them via FB. But be careful, because adding many objects can have a serious impact on frame rates. And be careful with Flak! The first templates still done for Il2 made the campaign nearly unplayable in FB, because Flak was so much more efficient.
Database files
These are the really important ones. (campaign name).db (like Typhoon.db). Bomber campaigns differ in that aspect, they have their own database file, which is marked with an H (BarbarossaH.db for 111 and TB-3, for example). That is because the missions for these planes are much different from the rest and if you used the normal scripts, you wouldnt survive one mission. But you can also make modifications of existing .db files for use in one campaign only. Simply rename the internal name of the campaign in the Campaign.dat file accordingly. There you can edit the basic gameplay and balance aspects of the campaign.It starts with the kind of map to be used.
Then you have some general sections which make up the parameters of the campaign: [Towns], the important points to be captured in the campaign. [Schedule], the general frontline movement (which you modify by your performance).
[OOB] Order of Battle. The squadrons that may appear in the campaign.
[Planes]
The relative number of planes of each type to appear in the campaign. The higher the number, the more likely the appearance of the plane. Also important because you can influence that number by shooting down planes of each type. New plane types can be simply added by writing a new line with a relative number and the internal name. But be careful: when updates for FB come out, wait for a new Dgen version before you add the new plane, because the plane has to be in the code of Dgen. This section has another important function because that is where you can enable skins. You have:
(relative number) (internal name) (skin) (winterskin)
26 BF_109G6 Barkhorn.bmp Barkhornwinter.bmp
Most skin slots are still blank, but you can use every skin without national markings you have in your corresponding plane skin directory. Winter skins will be used on winter maps only.
[Skill]
not active in all campaigns, but a means to alter the average skill level of each side. By default, german skill is highest at the beginning and is degrading as the war progresses, and russian skill is very low at the beginning and quite high at the end. If you dont like that, here is the place to change it.
For example:
[Skill]
Blue:A95,V1,N2
Red:A1,V1,N1
This is what you find in Finland41.dat. It shows that Blue (finnish) will have 95% ace pilots, 1%veterans and 2% normal.
Red will have 1% each ace, veteran and normal and 97% green pilots (poor Red). This setup will cause some extremely one sided battles for blue.
But keep in mind that campaignDifficulty settings in the .ini file will override this setting.
[Aces]
This is the aces you can encounter on that campaign. The syntax is:
(plane type) (plane type of wingmen) (unit) (name) (skin)
Aces will not reappear if you kill them or shoot them down behind your own lines. With the skins, there is something special: You can use skins with full markings for aces. These skins have to have a file name starting with $ ($Hartmann.bmp or so). Then no default markings will be applied.
[Operations] is another very important field. It is the mission scripts. It serves as a basic template for the mission.
A mission script looks like:
oDeAttackCluster
There are follwing mission types, always preceded by o(side, DE or RU):
Special missions (will only appear when you are flight leader)
Baloon - Baloon attack (for russians only)
Rescue - search and rescue op
Verify - kill verification
Recon - reconaissance
Normal missions:
AttackAF - attack an enemy Airfield ("bomb" is escort, "attack" is your own flight attacking)
AttackArmor - attack (moving) tanks
AttackBridge - attack a bridge
AttackCluster - attack a concentration of small static targets (railway yard, truck depot, artillery emplacement, troop concentrations, naval base, field headquarters)
AttackSoft - attack unarmored moving targets (either trains or truck convoys)
AttackShips - attack ships underway
Same missions with "bomb" instead of attack means that you escort bombers instead of attacking yourself.
BombTown - you escort bombers which simply drop their load over a town with no military targets
Scramble - defend your own airbase from enemies allready approaching
DefendAF - defend your own or another friendly airbase from enemies still farther away
DefendArmor - defend Tanks
same for cluster, ships and soft
"Patrol" is generally the same mission as "defend", only that you primary goal is to destroy an enemy airplane, not to protect the ground target from destruction. Patrol missions have the same variety as defend.
FreeHunt - fighter sweep in enemy territory
Patrol - defensive fighter sweep over own territory
Transfer - comes in two variants: "FTransfer" is a transfer mission for fighters, in which the main goal is to protect transport. "BTransfer" is for bombers, in which you as a bomber will tranfer with fighter escort.
ParadropEscort - escort transports which will drop Paratroopers
ParadropIntercept - intercept transports before they drop Paratroopers
TranIntercept - intercept enemy transport planes (slaughter!)
Behind some numbers which have no importance to editing, there is the setup of friendly and enemy flights. The whole line looks like
oDeBombCluster VVS 4F 4F LW 9B 8F 4Y
These numbers mean, on this german escort mission against a cluster, there will be 9 german bombers (He 111 or Ju 88) with two flights of escorts (one of 8, one of 4 in which the player is) against two flights of four soviets each.
The flags are:
Y - Player's flight
F - fighter
fB - fighter bomber
dB - dive bomber
B - Bomber
T - Transport
P - Paratroop carrier
R - Recon
9 is the maximum number, while 1 is the minimum (of course)
The player flight always has to be there (otherwise no mission to fly for you;)), as has the bomber or fighter bomber flight in escort or intercept missions (otherwise no mission goal). The interceptors are no "must". If you want a milk run, lets say for the Luftwaffe, you simply change the VVS line to: VVS 0F. These numbers are not fixed. Having set 0F doesnt mean you're guaranteed to have a milk run. There is random opposition which can consist of the following groups:
- enemy or friendly bombers bombing some target
- enemy or friendly single recon planes
- enemy or friendly single small plane (storch or Po-2)
- enemy fighters that bounce you on takeoff
- enemy fighters that bounce you on landing
- enemy fighters that scramble from enemy Airfields if you approach it (to simulate the fighters on alert).
These scripts are also modified by the air density settings in the .ini file.
---Tailspin, same thread
I thought the IL-2 had their own separate campaign? Just checked, yes they use the normal *.DB. Check out campaignsRuI.dat and campaignsRuS.dat. It will show you the .DB files used for those campaigns.
Starshoy posted this in my thread of questions for him but it belongs here also.
quote:
What missions a plane can fly depends on hardcoded capabilities.
A complete list after the patch (currently FW-190F8 is in slightly different category):
1. ground attack planes: JU_87B2,JU_87D3,HE_111, all ILs except IL2I
2. anti-tankJU_87G1
3. JABO (ground attack, scramble and recon, no escort or free hunt):I_153_M62,I_153P,P_47,
BF_109E4B,BF_109E7,ME_262A2A,FW_190F8,FW_190A5
4. Light ground attack, escort, recon, free hunt:LAGGs,most of MiGs,BF_109E4, BF_109 F,G,K;
FW_190D,ME_262A1A
5. Pure fighters:P_40E,P_40M,YAKs,F2A_B239,Hurricane,BF_109E7NZ
6. All kinds of missions:I_16,LAs,MIG_3EARLY,MIG_3UD,P_39s,P_40EM105,
FW_190A4,FW_190A8,FW_190A9,IL2I
What missions a plane will fly depends on the above, plus you can limit missions that your plane will do, by excluding some of them from the scripts. You cannot enlarge a class of missions, no matter if they present in the script, 109E7NZ will not attack ships.
---Starshoy on default ETO skill distribution
Aces,Vets,Reg,Rookies)
1941 Red: 5,5,10,80 Blue: 15,50,25,10
1942 Red: 5,10,10,75 Blue: 20,50,20,10
1943 Red: 10,15,20,55 Blue: 20,40,30,10
1944 Red: 15,20,30,35 Blue: 20,30,30,10
1945 Red: 20,20,30,30 Blue: 10,20,30,40
Finnish 1941 campaign simply overwrites these defaults, making it even easier for Finns
This is anteater\'s guide :
How to make the FB campaign do you what you want
first: backup your dgen directory!
There are aspects that can be altered by anybody, and others that cannot be altered without changing the code, like altitude settings (we're working on that). Basically, dgen contains a lot of text scripting, all of which can be changed.
If you look at the Dgen directory, you have the following types of files:
.dat files
Campaigns(nation)(variable).dat files. like CampaignsRuF.dat for the russian fighter campaign.
These files simply contain a list of subcampaigns and their sequence, as well as the title of the campaign. The variable letter is the marker of the campaign and has to be the same in all files relating to that campaign (like RuF or RuS).
Planes(nation)(variable).dat files.
These will be files mostly edited. These files list the subcampaigns for each campaign with the list of plane options for each. The sequence of campaigns has to be the same as in the campaigns file otherwise it will crash. If you want to fly a plane not yet listed in the default list, simply look up its internal name and add it.
Squadrons(nation)(variable).dat files simply contain a list of squadrons from which you select when starting the campaign.
There are other .dat files with more general content.
Message(language).dat files
Simply contain the briefings and other texts for each language and nation (there are three message.de, one for german/russian, one finnish and one hungarian).
Then there are the files with names (Russians, Germans etc .dat) which contain names for your squadron mates and the place name files which contain birthplaces.
The really important stuff are the subcampaign files.
These are:
templates
These are Il2 mission files (.mis) which basically set the moving and non moving ground objects for the whole map. There are two, one for the objects of each side, called (campaign name)blue/red.mis (e.g. Crimea44blue.mis). If you want to edit the types and placement of ground targets in your campaign, export these files to the mission folder of FB and open them via FB. But be careful, because adding many objects can have a serious impact on frame rates. And be careful with Flak! The first templates still done for Il2 made the campaign nearly unplayable in FB, because Flak was so much more efficient.
Database files
These are the really important ones. (campaign name).db (like Typhoon.db). Bomber campaigns differ in that aspect, they have their own database file, which is marked with an H (BarbarossaH.db for 111 and TB-3, for example). That is because the missions for these planes are much different from the rest and if you used the normal scripts, you wouldnt survive one mission. But you can also make modifications of existing .db files for use in one campaign only. Simply rename the internal name of the campaign in the Campaign.dat file accordingly. There you can edit the basic gameplay and balance aspects of the campaign.It starts with the kind of map to be used.
Then you have some general sections which make up the parameters of the campaign: [Towns], the important points to be captured in the campaign. [Schedule], the general frontline movement (which you modify by your performance).
[OOB] Order of Battle. The squadrons that may appear in the campaign.
[Planes]
The relative number of planes of each type to appear in the campaign. The higher the number, the more likely the appearance of the plane. Also important because you can influence that number by shooting down planes of each type. New plane types can be simply added by writing a new line with a relative number and the internal name. But be careful: when updates for FB come out, wait for a new Dgen version before you add the new plane, because the plane has to be in the code of Dgen. This section has another important function because that is where you can enable skins. You have:
(relative number) (internal name) (skin) (winterskin)
26 BF_109G6 Barkhorn.bmp Barkhornwinter.bmp
Most skin slots are still blank, but you can use every skin without national markings you have in your corresponding plane skin directory. Winter skins will be used on winter maps only.
[Skill]
not active in all campaigns, but a means to alter the average skill level of each side. By default, german skill is highest at the beginning and is degrading as the war progresses, and russian skill is very low at the beginning and quite high at the end. If you dont like that, here is the place to change it.
For example:
[Skill]
Blue:A95,V1,N2
Red:A1,V1,N1
This is what you find in Finland41.dat. It shows that Blue (finnish) will have 95% ace pilots, 1%veterans and 2% normal.
Red will have 1% each ace, veteran and normal and 97% green pilots (poor Red). This setup will cause some extremely one sided battles for blue.
But keep in mind that campaignDifficulty settings in the .ini file will override this setting.
[Aces]
This is the aces you can encounter on that campaign. The syntax is:
(plane type) (plane type of wingmen) (unit) (name) (skin)
Aces will not reappear if you kill them or shoot them down behind your own lines. With the skins, there is something special: You can use skins with full markings for aces. These skins have to have a file name starting with $ ($Hartmann.bmp or so). Then no default markings will be applied.
[Operations] is another very important field. It is the mission scripts. It serves as a basic template for the mission.
A mission script looks like:
oDeAttackCluster
There are follwing mission types, always preceded by o(side, DE or RU):
Special missions (will only appear when you are flight leader)
Baloon - Baloon attack (for russians only)
Rescue - search and rescue op
Verify - kill verification
Recon - reconaissance
Normal missions:
AttackAF - attack an enemy Airfield ("bomb" is escort, "attack" is your own flight attacking)
AttackArmor - attack (moving) tanks
AttackBridge - attack a bridge
AttackCluster - attack a concentration of small static targets (railway yard, truck depot, artillery emplacement, troop concentrations, naval base, field headquarters)
AttackSoft - attack unarmored moving targets (either trains or truck convoys)
AttackShips - attack ships underway
Same missions with "bomb" instead of attack means that you escort bombers instead of attacking yourself.
BombTown - you escort bombers which simply drop their load over a town with no military targets
Scramble - defend your own airbase from enemies allready approaching
DefendAF - defend your own or another friendly airbase from enemies still farther away
DefendArmor - defend Tanks
same for cluster, ships and soft
"Patrol" is generally the same mission as "defend", only that you primary goal is to destroy an enemy airplane, not to protect the ground target from destruction. Patrol missions have the same variety as defend.
FreeHunt - fighter sweep in enemy territory
Patrol - defensive fighter sweep over own territory
Transfer - comes in two variants: "FTransfer" is a transfer mission for fighters, in which the main goal is to protect transport. "BTransfer" is for bombers, in which you as a bomber will tranfer with fighter escort.
ParadropEscort - escort transports which will drop Paratroopers
ParadropIntercept - intercept transports before they drop Paratroopers
TranIntercept - intercept enemy transport planes (slaughter!)
Behind some numbers which have no importance to editing, there is the setup of friendly and enemy flights. The whole line looks like
oDeBombCluster VVS 4F 4F LW 9B 8F 4Y
These numbers mean, on this german escort mission against a cluster, there will be 9 german bombers (He 111 or Ju 88) with two flights of escorts (one of 8, one of 4 in which the player is) against two flights of four soviets each.
The flags are:
Y - Player's flight
F - fighter
fB - fighter bomber
dB - dive bomber
B - Bomber
T - Transport
P - Paratroop carrier
R - Recon
9 is the maximum number, while 1 is the minimum (of course)
The player flight always has to be there (otherwise no mission to fly for you;)), as has the bomber or fighter bomber flight in escort or intercept missions (otherwise no mission goal). The interceptors are no "must". If you want a milk run, lets say for the Luftwaffe, you simply change the VVS line to: VVS 0F. These numbers are not fixed. Having set 0F doesnt mean you're guaranteed to have a milk run. There is random opposition which can consist of the following groups:
- enemy or friendly bombers bombing some target
- enemy or friendly single recon planes
- enemy or friendly single small plane (storch or Po-2)
- enemy fighters that bounce you on takeoff
- enemy fighters that bounce you on landing
- enemy fighters that scramble from enemy Airfields if you approach it (to simulate the fighters on alert).
These scripts are also modified by the air density settings in the .ini file.
---Tailspin, same thread
I thought the IL-2 had their own separate campaign? Just checked, yes they use the normal *.DB. Check out campaignsRuI.dat and campaignsRuS.dat. It will show you the .DB files used for those campaigns.
Starshoy posted this in my thread of questions for him but it belongs here also.
quote:
What missions a plane can fly depends on hardcoded capabilities.
A complete list after the patch (currently FW-190F8 is in slightly different category):
1. ground attack planes: JU_87B2,JU_87D3,HE_111, all ILs except IL2I
2. anti-tankJU_87G1
3. JABO (ground attack, scramble and recon, no escort or free hunt):I_153_M62,I_153P,P_47,
BF_109E4B,BF_109E7,ME_262A2A,FW_190F8,FW_190A5
4. Light ground attack, escort, recon, free hunt:LAGGs,most of MiGs,BF_109E4, BF_109 F,G,K;
FW_190D,ME_262A1A
5. Pure fighters:P_40E,P_40M,YAKs,F2A_B239,Hurricane,BF_109E7NZ
6. All kinds of missions:I_16,LAs,MIG_3EARLY,MIG_3UD,P_39s,P_40EM105,
FW_190A4,FW_190A8,FW_190A9,IL2I
What missions a plane will fly depends on the above, plus you can limit missions that your plane will do, by excluding some of them from the scripts. You cannot enlarge a class of missions, no matter if they present in the script, 109E7NZ will not attack ships.
---Starshoy on default ETO skill distribution
Aces,Vets,Reg,Rookies)
1941 Red: 5,5,10,80 Blue: 15,50,25,10
1942 Red: 5,10,10,75 Blue: 20,50,20,10
1943 Red: 10,15,20,55 Blue: 20,40,30,10
1944 Red: 15,20,30,35 Blue: 20,30,30,10
1945 Red: 20,20,30,30 Blue: 10,20,30,40
Finnish 1941 campaign simply overwrites these defaults, making it even easier for Finns