Operation Dragoon (USS Tulagi CV-72) Campaign by Shadow Wolf

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Two more to go...

This mission is a tough one. I never get past making my first run on the train depot - target1. I still have to tame down some of the FLAK to make it survivable. The two pics show my bomb run and results and some of the depot I built. The next is an example of what I have to fly through (and that is the least FLAK, between volley aiming corrections) Those 37mm AA guns are mean!

MISSION BRIEFING:
​

"title_string"=OD-10 Operation Dragoon -Railroad Work-F6F5
"summary_string"=Good morning men. Today our Air Group is rally spreading itself thin. Rancher, your flight is going out alone, loaded with 500 lb bombs and rockets. Your target: the main rail depots in Marseilles. Take off at 0900 hrs and proceed on a 000, due north heading for 35 miles at low altitude to your first checkpoint, CP-ABLE. Then climb to 7,500 ft and begin your bombing run on the Main Marseilles City Rail-yard, another 15 miles due north from CP-ABLE. After you've laid your eggs, regroup at CP-CHARLIE. From CHARLIE continue on to CP-DOG, 4 miles N of the Marseilles Port Rail Depot - your secondary target. Attack, until your ammo is expended, targets of opportunity there: rail cars, power station etc. in the port rail-yard and its surroundings. Then withdraw SW to CP-FOX. Return to the TG rendezvous point from FOX on a 165 degree heading.
"objective_string"=Having spent the last two days flying close air support missions, USS Tulagi, as is the rest of Task Group 88.2, is launching its air group in separate flights on a series of search and destroy missions. The objective is to harass and disrupt the retreating enemy ground forces. US VI Corps is attempting to push through to the Rhone River and cut off the northern route of escape for the German 19th Army. The French II Corps is advancing in the south, along the coast, isolating Toulon and threatening to isolate Marseilles. (This mission is done in remembrance of Talon, who built a similar mission based on this strike.)
"intelligence_string"=We have reports that the Germans are stockpiling supplies in Marseilles, despite the fact that we will encircle it in a few days if not hours. There is a supply train due in at about 0930, according to our Resistance friends. After take off stay below 1000 feet to evade enemy radar until you reach CP-ABLE. There are multiple high and medium altitude FLAK sites surrounding each target. Expect intense ground fire over each of them. Jerry has armed each of his trains in the region with FLAK cars. So, be careful when attacking. The weather is changing, We have heavy cloud cover above 11,000 ft with possible squalls. Winds are moderate at 12, gusting to 15 knots out of 136 degrees. Study your rail-yard recon photos. Good luck!
"player_aircraft_name_string"=FDG2 F6F-5 Hellcat VF-84
"airfield_string"="Tulagi CVE-72"

As I said, I never make it to CP-CHARLIE, the moving train or the port rail depot. More to come...
Cheers:

Shadow Wolf 07

 

[kdriver]

Hi SW,

These missions look really interesting. Do you know if Rami's Marseilles and Dombral's Toulon GSL scenery will get in the way of your targets?

Looking forward to the moving train.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Roxane-21]

Keep it up, this looks promising so far!

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Hi SW,

These missions look really interesting. Do you know if Rami's Marseilles and Dombral's Toulon GSL scenery will get in the way of your targets?

Looking forward to the moving train.

Thanks,

Kevin

Hi Kevin:

Rami warned me about frame-rate-drain with his Toulon and Marseilles sets. Plus, they would greatly increase the required downloads. I built up areas and targets, based on guess.

I made some changes to the above mission: I had 2 stationary flak cars in the train depot which put up brutal AA defense, right over the target. I took them out. Also there was a TAF_Flakvlng38LW in place where a single barreled TAF_FLAK38LWS should have been. If I can get past the FLAK at the main rail-yard, I'll get to see if the moving train works It has 2 engines, 14 cars and a FLAK car or two. . -14 cars long. Then, it's off to target area #2 - the port rail yards. If I can survive all that, I have to limp back to the carrier.

Oh, and did I mention? There is a 25% chance tha your flight will be intercepted by 4 Bf109G-6 trop 6.JG51's between the train and port (if you have 400 rounds or more). And don't try to dodge the main rail yard FLAK by fling past it to get at the train, The train will only spawn a few seconds after you've reached the target waypoint and your bomb count is zero.

Cheers:

Greg

 

[kdriver]

Hi Greg,

Yes, I was thinking there might be a frame rate issue with Rami and Dombral's GSL scenery active.

The mission certainly sounds like a real challenge.

Cheers,

Kevin

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

I finally made it to the train attack and to the port facility. I was badly damaged - all my flight were shot down either over the rail yard or the train. I managed to smoke a couple f cars before moving on to the port.

You can see the train layout in the pics.
i repeatedly se them up in a column formation, spaced normally, but each time I saved and reopened the mission, the cars were aligned and spaced as you see. I'm going to set the cars up using the MB formations function, so it at least looks like a train.

Anyway, my flight was shot down (gotta reduce the FLAK a bit more) and I dove my plane into the power station in the port.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

A curious outcome:

I am currently working on a campaign, wherein the player is flying an F6F-5 or an Avenger off a CVE with max speed of 20 kts. I had to add a headwind of 10+ knots to make it work. For those who don't know and those who do, the standard method for setting up wind in missions, the method is simple. Or is it?

The standard method is to go to Free Flight/time and weather/advanced weather and the wind tab. There you can set th wind speed and direction as well as gusts. as shown in the illustration. Then start FF session to lock it in. Next go to the CFS2.cfg file to the [Free Flight] section and you should see something like this:


wind_surface=3048.00,12.00,15.00,43.00,0.00,0,1 where 12.00 = wind speed and 15.00 - speed with gusts, 43.00 = the compass direction from which the wind is coming.

You then paste this line of data into the weather settings on tour mission;s .mis file.

I have found that if you leave it like that, the "gust !to" speed is added to the wind speed, so you get a total wind speed of up to 27 knots! No, you have to put the actual gust difference into that location so it reads:


wind_surface=3048.00,12.00,3.00,43.00,0.00,0,1 That will give you the extra 3 knot gusts. I noticed this while sitting on the flight deck and my airspeed was 20+12+15=47 kts! I made the necessary corrections.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Fixed the train and the FLAK..

 

[UncleTgt]

That's a good catch SW, I'd never noticed this difference before.

CFS 2 seems full of these little quirks (DPs using metric units, airfile entries using imperial units, etc. )

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

I still have only flight tested 5 missions and have 2 more to build. I worked quite a while in getting that train to work for me and now I move on to a search and destroy mission, originally done by Talon. No trains, just road traffic. This is where I wish I had those horse-drawn wagons...

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Progress report

The building of 22 missions is now completed. Five of the missions are re-dos of the Talon missions mentioned by TheBookie. I have still to test and maybe fix 15 of them - about a week's work , but all the hard, tedious stuff is done. On to the testing! I also have to finish the downloads and installation readmes and create the campaign .cmg file.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Some action shots from mission #22:

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

I went ahead and did 2 more mission. Here's a shot from one of them.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

I've had to re-do 2 corrupted missions. I am test fling them now.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Okay, here's one for the campaign builders:

I am working on the .cmg for my soon to be released work. I included a .mg video at the start IAW CC's Handbook instructions. The first few lines of the .cmg look like:

[Campaign Global Info]
version=2.0
campaign_name=%campaign_name_string%
overview=%campaign_overview%
allegiance=3

[failure]
moviefile=
soundfile=

[success]
moviefile=OpDragoon-2.mpg

[node.0]
true_branch=1
false=2
percent_true=67
filler=0

[node.1]
mission_name=OD-01_operation_dragoon_OA_F6FH
true_branch=3
percent_true=100
filler=0

[node.2]
mission_name=OD-01A_operation_dragoon_OA_TBFB
true_branch=3
percent_true=100
filler=1

I highlighted the video additions in red. The video does not play when I start the campaign. What am I omitting or doing wrong?

 

[kdriver]

Hi Greg,

I think the moviefile entry needs to be repeated under node.1 for it to work.

Cheers,
Kevin

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Hi Greg,

I think the moviefile entry needs to be repeated under node.1 for it to work.

Cheers,
Kevin

Thank you, Kevin. I will give it a try...

PS: I edited the movie file into node = 0; no joy. I then put it into nodes 1 and 2 and now it plays.

 

[_486_Col_Wolf]

SW, if you put the movie file name under the first node , it will play when you click "Next" on the Squadron page before the first mission.

Entry should look like this:

[Campaign Global Info]
version=2.0
campaign_name=%campaign_name_string%
overview=%campaign_overview%
allegiance=2


[failure]
moviefile=
soundfile=


[success]
soundfile=
moviefile=


[node.0]
true_branch=1
percent_true=100
filler=1


[node.1]
mission_name=BoBluft1
true_branch=2
percent_true=100
soundfile=
moviefile=LuftBoB.wmv
filler=1

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Thank you too 486_Col_Wolf! I got it now. but shouldn't I put the entry under Node 2 as well since Node 2 is a random choice with Node 1? It works, though.

 

[_486_Col_Wolf]

Yes, if nodes 1 and 2 will be randomly selected as your first mission then it needs to be under both.