[quote author=11th~Frog link=topic=6385.msg64391#msg64391 date=1276681821]
* Now with full AI and FMB support *
* 16 plane Diamond Formation *
[size=12pt]
Frog's Formation Mod v1.31[/size] (Formally the Wingman_Orders mod)
Like an amusement park ride that has grown squeaky, this mod is formally down for repairs. There are too many things that don't work satisfactorily.
I intend to re-write this mod and have it return better than ever.
Thank you to everyone who tried the Formation mod, and everyone who gave their invaluable feedback.
-11th~FrogThis mod adds support for formation sizes up to 16 planes. (1 Squadron)
The FMB now has 3 new waypoint types as well as formation selectors so AI planes can be to programmed to join and leave larger formations.
The human player has several new commands on the comms menu to request other wings to come over and join or leave their formation.
New commands for human players: [li]"Assemble on Me" - Makes other flights in your squadron come over and join your formation. All formations have been expanded to accommodate up to 16 planes.[/li]
[li]"Resume Your Mission" - Makes them break from your formation and return to their prescribed mission.[/li]
[li]"Bombs Away" - Makes your formation drop their bombs on your command.[/li]
[li]"Report your location" - They report their map grid position in standard X, Y keypad K format (Now works for other flights & includes optional altitude in meters or feet) The reply shows up in the top HUD text. (if you have this text completely off, you won't get the information)[/li]
[li]"Set Formation Scale" - This becomes a menu where you can choose the formation scale you want.[/li]
[li]"Bomber Diamond" - A new formation taken from a USAAF handbook. (Credit: 11th~Badger) Lots of vertical offsets. (see last image) Being closer to real world spacing, this formation is tighter than a typical il-2 game formation. Use with care, and consider using a larger scale setting.[/li]
[li]"Rigid Diamond" - Another new formation with a new property I've come up with. The planes don't all bunch up to the front slots like race cars under a yellow flag. They always park in their numbered position regardless of how many planes come or go from the formation.[/li]
[li]"My Formation" - A means of addressing as a group, the various planes and wings you have in your own formation. [/li]
[li]"Briefing Room Notes" - A command that graphically shows you (right in the Comms menu itself) the starting configuration of your squadron. What slot you're in, what squadron slots are filled with AI or human players and what slots are empty. (You'll need to activate menu option "10. Cockpit" to get to the "Briefing Room Notes" command (see the readme file))[/li]
This mod also includes a feature that enables you to be field promoted to Squadron or Flight Leader.
If the lower number plane or planes in your flight have met their end, you inherit the Flight Leader position. (a flight is up to 4 planes)
If the lower number plane or planes in your squadron have met their end, you inherit the Squadron Leader position. (a squadron is typically up to 16 planes)
If you'd like to activate the 10th menu option, see the readme file in the archive.
To activate the optional altitude component of the location reply, see readme file.
New FMB features:[li]New waypoint types that allow the AI wings to join or leave the formation of other wings.[/li]
[li]Options to set the initial formation of each wing.[/li]
[li]The scrollwheel on your mouse will now zoom the FMB map. Once you've used scrollwheel zooming, you'll never want to go back. (Credit: benitomuso for tipping me on how to read the scrollwheel)[/li]
[li]The unlabeled Regiment pulldown has been broken in to an AirForce pulldown and a Regiment pulldown that contains only the regiments of that airforce. (Credit: norm for suggesting the idea)[/li]
[li]The built in "multiple object move & rotate" feature of the FMB has been enabled. There's very little visual feedback, but otherwise works well.[/li]
[li]Most all pulldowns now have more visual lines for the picklist.[/li]
DOWNLOAD LINK: Frogs_Formation_Mod_v1.31.7z(Closed)
Installation: Please delete any previous versions of this mod. Particularly if you have an older version that used the "Wingman_Orders" directory.
Just copy the "Frogs_Formation_Mod" directory into your MODS directory. That's it.
Compatibility & Mod loading order: This mod is compatible with both Single Player and on-line Co-Op play. For Co-Op play, all participants must have the mod installed.
This mod is built upon UP2.01.
This mod is
not compatible with the Zuti MDS mod.
Unfortunately, when this mod is loaded you can no longer join servers or games that do NOT also have the mod running.
Various people have kindly reported their findings on what loading sequences help this mod be reasonably compatible with other mods.
In most cases small bits of functionality are lost from the Formation Mod, but nothing you can't live without.
Can be loaded BEFORE the Formation mod:
Pablo's Bombsight Assist Speedbar and HUD
MissionPro
QMBPro
HUDConfig
Minimap v2.1
00_HUDConfig_v1 <-- from the UP2.01 JSGME
Can be loaded AFTER the Formation mod:
AI_3_0_and_Carrier_Takeoff_5_3_3
I'm happy to help people find or resolve conflicts but you have to state what mod or mods you are trying to get the Formation mod to co-exist with.
Mission builder notes: (bare-bones tutorial, hopefully improved in the future)
[li]The new waypoint types having to do with super-formations activate when the plane crosses them, not when the plane is traveling to them like all other stock waypoint types.[/li]
[li]The new waypoints do not work if they are the very first waypoint of a wing's path.[/li]
[li]JOIN waypoints are issued to the Wing you would like to go form on someone else. You select the Host formation as the Target.[/li]
[li]When designating the Target for a JOIN waypoint, it doesn't matter which waypoint of the host's path you select.[/li]
[li]LEAVE waypoints are issued to the main formation, not the wing you want to do the leaving. The wing doing the leaving is selected as the Target.[/li]
[li]When a wing leaves a formation, it seeks the waypoint at the end of it's dashed line.[/li]
[li]When you place a JOIN waypoint, the very next waypoint after that should be just after where you expect the wing to exit the main formation. The Wing flies everything except the dashed line.[/li]
[li]The DISBAND waypoint is just like telling everyone to leave one at a time, it's just a user convenience feature.[/li]
[li]Always place a waypoint immediately before a landing waypoint.[/li]
[li]Wings that are joining to another wing always assume the formation of the host wing.[/li]
[li]A JOIN waypoint must be followed by at least one more waypoint in order to function.[/li]
[li]During gameplay, no formation will exceed 16 planes.[/li]
Known issues: Formations have a hard limit of 16 planes but as yet there is nothing in the FMB to tell you this.
A formation of mixed plane sizes will appear to be deformed as each plane scales it's position according to it's own plane size.
When a group has to fly a long way to catch up with the host it is joining, the joining group does not maintain a formation until they reach the host flight.
A formation may consist of multiple squadrons or regiments, but those not belonging to the formation leader's squadron will have no defined sorting order in the formation. They will however always be behind the planes that do belong to the leaders squadron.
The AI planes are impressively slow at changing formations. If you're not using accelerated speed, you have to wait a minute or two to really notice they're working on it.
The large formations have a hard time doing low level ground attacks.
Possible future ideas: Be able to address planes 3 & 4 in your flight as a unit.
Communicate "up the ladder" to your wing or squadron leader.
Permit AI planes to change formations at a designated waypoint in the FMB.
Designate initial formation scale.
Make "Rigid" a property that can be applied to any formation.
Create a slot for a programmable formation that the user can alter by editing a .ini file.
Stick Like Glue & Attack at Will commands for keeping the leash on your formation.
Ability to order wings to escort you at higher altitudes.
So far it has never been a problem, but just for the record I'm going to formally state: Please don't take my work & include it in your publicly released work without obtaining my permission first. Just common courtesy.
I'd like to humbly thank the modders and website operators that keep this game thriving. You're all heroes in my book.
11th~Frog
[size=6pt]Change Log:
1.31 - September 12 - Fixed broken Rejoin command & switched on FMB support for multiple object move and rotate.
1.302 - September 9 - FMB Scrollwheel zooming, split Regiment pulldown & tweaked Rejoin command.
1.30.beta1 - September 1 - Added AI and FMB support for super-formations
1.22 - August 13 - Added "Rigid Diamond" formation & "Briefing Room Notes" commands. Improved interoperability with non-Wingman_Orders servers.
1.21 - August 8 - Added "My Formation" menu and corrected issue with "Resume Your Mission" behavior.
1.2 - August 3 - Added 16 plane super-formations, added Bombs Away command, Report Location command expanded to all flights in your squadron.
1.11 - July 8 - Fixed bug that sometimes caused comms menu to not appear at all.
1.1 - June 19 - Added squadron leader promotions and reorganized new menus to improve standardization. (Thanks Slikk)
1.05 - June 18 - Split the wingman orders into two pages and added flight leader field promotions.
1.01 - June 16 - Initial version 1.0 had incorrect "Report_Your_Location" text on Flight order menu's
1.0 - June 16 - Initial public release.[/size]
* (These menu pics are now outdated, but you get the idea) *
[table]
[tr]
[td]
[/td]
[td]
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
* 16 plane VIC Formation *
*16 plane Bomber Diamond *
[/quote][quote author=11th~Frog link=topic=6385.msg64391#msg64391 date=1276681821]
* Now with full AI and FMB support *
* 16 plane Diamond Formation *
[size=12pt]
Frog's Formation Mod v1.31[/size] (Formally the Wingman_Orders mod)
Like an amusement park ride that has grown squeaky, this mod is formally down for repairs. There are too many things that don't work satisfactorily.
I intend to re-write this mod and have it return better than ever.
Thank you to everyone who tried the Formation mod, and everyone who gave their invaluable feedback.
-11th~FrogThis mod adds support for formation sizes up to 16 planes. (1 Squadron)
The FMB now has 3 new waypoint types as well as formation selectors so AI planes can be to programmed to join and leave larger formations.
The human player has several new commands on the comms menu to request other wings to come over and join or leave their formation.
New commands for human players: [li]"Assemble on Me" - Makes other flights in your squadron come over and join your formation. All formations have been expanded to accommodate up to 16 planes.[/li]
[li]"Resume Your Mission" - Makes them break from your formation and return to their prescribed mission.[/li]
[li]"Bombs Away" - Makes your formation drop their bombs on your command.[/li]
[li]"Report your location" - They report their map grid position in standard X, Y keypad K format (Now works for other flights & includes optional altitude in meters or feet) The reply shows up in the top HUD text. (if you have this text completely off, you won't get the information)[/li]
[li]"Set Formation Scale" - This becomes a menu where you can choose the formation scale you want.[/li]
[li]"Bomber Diamond" - A new formation taken from a USAAF handbook. (Credit: 11th~Badger) Lots of vertical offsets. (see last image) Being closer to real world spacing, this formation is tighter than a typical il-2 game formation. Use with care, and consider using a larger scale setting.[/li]
[li]"Rigid Diamond" - Another new formation with a new property I've come up with. The planes don't all bunch up to the front slots like race cars under a yellow flag. They always park in their numbered position regardless of how many planes come or go from the formation.[/li]
[li]"My Formation" - A means of addressing as a group, the various planes and wings you have in your own formation. [/li]
[li]"Briefing Room Notes" - A command that graphically shows you (right in the Comms menu itself) the starting configuration of your squadron. What slot you're in, what squadron slots are filled with AI or human players and what slots are empty. (You'll need to activate menu option "10. Cockpit" to get to the "Briefing Room Notes" command (see the readme file))[/li]
This mod also includes a feature that enables you to be field promoted to Squadron or Flight Leader.
If the lower number plane or planes in your flight have met their end, you inherit the Flight Leader position. (a flight is up to 4 planes)
If the lower number plane or planes in your squadron have met their end, you inherit the Squadron Leader position. (a squadron is typically up to 16 planes)
If you'd like to activate the 10th menu option, see the readme file in the archive.
To activate the optional altitude component of the location reply, see readme file.
New FMB features:[li]New waypoint types that allow the AI wings to join or leave the formation of other wings.[/li]
[li]Options to set the initial formation of each wing.[/li]
[li]The scrollwheel on your mouse will now zoom the FMB map. Once you've used scrollwheel zooming, you'll never want to go back. (Credit: benitomuso for tipping me on how to read the scrollwheel)[/li]
[li]The unlabeled Regiment pulldown has been broken in to an AirForce pulldown and a Regiment pulldown that contains only the regiments of that airforce. (Credit: norm for suggesting the idea)[/li]
[li]The built in "multiple object move & rotate" feature of the FMB has been enabled. There's very little visual feedback, but otherwise works well.[/li]
[li]Most all pulldowns now have more visual lines for the picklist.[/li]
DOWNLOAD LINK: Frogs_Formation_Mod_v1.31.7z(Closed)
Installation: Please delete any previous versions of this mod. Particularly if you have an older version that used the "Wingman_Orders" directory.
Just copy the "Frogs_Formation_Mod" directory into your MODS directory. That's it.
Compatibility & Mod loading order: This mod is compatible with both Single Player and on-line Co-Op play. For Co-Op play, all participants must have the mod installed.
This mod is built upon UP2.01.
This mod is
not compatible with the Zuti MDS mod.
Unfortunately, when this mod is loaded you can no longer join servers or games that do NOT also have the mod running.
Various people have kindly reported their findings on what loading sequences help this mod be reasonably compatible with other mods.
In most cases small bits of functionality are lost from the Formation Mod, but nothing you can't live without.
Can be loaded BEFORE the Formation mod:
Pablo's Bombsight Assist Speedbar and HUD
MissionPro
QMBPro
HUDConfig
Minimap v2.1
00_HUDConfig_v1 <-- from the UP2.01 JSGME
Can be loaded AFTER the Formation mod:
AI_3_0_and_Carrier_Takeoff_5_3_3
I'm happy to help people find or resolve conflicts but you have to state what mod or mods you are trying to get the Formation mod to co-exist with.
Mission builder notes: (bare-bones tutorial, hopefully improved in the future)
[li]The new waypoint types having to do with super-formations activate when the plane crosses them, not when the plane is traveling to them like all other stock waypoint types.[/li]
[li]The new waypoints do not work if they are the very first waypoint of a wing's path.[/li]
[li]JOIN waypoints are issued to the Wing you would like to go form on someone else. You select the Host formation as the Target.[/li]
[li]When designating the Target for a JOIN waypoint, it doesn't matter which waypoint of the host's path you select.[/li]
[li]LEAVE waypoints are issued to the main formation, not the wing you want to do the leaving. The wing doing the leaving is selected as the Target.[/li]
[li]When a wing leaves a formation, it seeks the waypoint at the end of it's dashed line.[/li]
[li]When you place a JOIN waypoint, the very next waypoint after that should be just after where you expect the wing to exit the main formation. The Wing flies everything except the dashed line.[/li]
[li]The DISBAND waypoint is just like telling everyone to leave one at a time, it's just a user convenience feature.[/li]
[li]Always place a waypoint immediately before a landing waypoint.[/li]
[li]Wings that are joining to another wing always assume the formation of the host wing.[/li]
[li]A JOIN waypoint must be followed by at least one more waypoint in order to function.[/li]
[li]During gameplay, no formation will exceed 16 planes.[/li]
Known issues: Formations have a hard limit of 16 planes but as yet there is nothing in the FMB to tell you this.
A formation of mixed plane sizes will appear to be deformed as each plane scales it's position according to it's own plane size.
When a group has to fly a long way to catch up with the host it is joining, the joining group does not maintain a formation until they reach the host flight.
A formation may consist of multiple squadrons or regiments, but those not belonging to the formation leader's squadron will have no defined sorting order in the formation. They will however always be behind the planes that do belong to the leaders squadron.
The AI planes are impressively slow at changing formations. If you're not using accelerated speed, you have to wait a minute or two to really notice they're working on it.
The large formations have a hard time doing low level ground attacks.
Possible future ideas: Be able to address planes 3 & 4 in your flight as a unit.
Communicate "up the ladder" to your wing or squadron leader.
Permit AI planes to change formations at a designated waypoint in the FMB.
Designate initial formation scale.
Make "Rigid" a property that can be applied to any formation.
Create a slot for a programmable formation that the user can alter by editing a .ini file.
Stick Like Glue & Attack at Will commands for keeping the leash on your formation.
Ability to order wings to escort you at higher altitudes.
So far it has never been a problem, but just for the record I'm going to formally state: Please don't take my work & include it in your publicly released work without obtaining my permission first. Just common courtesy.
I'd like to humbly thank the modders and website operators that keep this game thriving. You're all heroes in my book.
11th~Frog
[size=6pt]Change Log:
1.31 - September 12 - Fixed broken Rejoin command & switched on FMB support for multiple object move and rotate.
1.302 - September 9 - FMB Scrollwheel zooming, split Regiment pulldown & tweaked Rejoin command.
1.30.beta1 - September 1 - Added AI and FMB support for super-formations
1.22 - August 13 - Added "Rigid Diamond" formation & "Briefing Room Notes" commands. Improved interoperability with non-Wingman_Orders servers.
1.21 - August 8 - Added "My Formation" menu and corrected issue with "Resume Your Mission" behavior.
1.2 - August 3 - Added 16 plane super-formations, added Bombs Away command, Report Location command expanded to all flights in your squadron.
1.11 - July 8 - Fixed bug that sometimes caused comms menu to not appear at all.
1.1 - June 19 - Added squadron leader promotions and reorganized new menus to improve standardization. (Thanks Slikk)
1.05 - June 18 - Split the wingman orders into two pages and added flight leader field promotions.
1.01 - June 16 - Initial version 1.0 had incorrect "Report_Your_Location" text on Flight order menu's
1.0 - June 16 - Initial public release.[/size]
* (These menu pics are now outdated, but you get the idea) *
[table]
[tr]
[td]
[/td]
[td]
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
* 16 plane VIC Formation *
*16 plane Bomber Diamond *
[/quote]
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