Pilot limit issue?

[ADavidB]

This is confusing me and frustrating since my game has come to a grinding halt I have nothing to do but ponder things while I twiddle my thumbs.

The lesson to be learned here is that, fundamentally, you can't make custom scenarios. The game engine and data base are quirky enough as is to make it almost impossible for the official maintenance folks to keep it running and make changes. The moment you start you to fool around you step into the Twilight Zone and your hopes of keeping the game running are slim-to-none...

Sorry...

Dave Baranyi

[Don Bowen]

ORIGINAL: ADavidB

This is confusing me and frustrating since my game has come to a grinding halt I have nothing to do but ponder things while I twiddle my thumbs.

The lesson to be learned here is that, fundamentally, you can't make custom scenarios. The game engine and data base are quirky enough as is to make it almost impossible for the official maintenance folks to keep it running and make changes. The moment you start you to fool around you step into the Twilight Zone and your hopes of keeping the game running are slim-to-none...

Sorry...

Dave Baranyi

I'd say you are about half-right. There have been a number of bear-traps that have caught and hurt custom scenario builders. There are also a very large number of changes that worked as desired and were therefore not "posted about" on the forum.

[Dereck]

So if you're making a custom scenario are you saying it would behoove you to empty(?) the existing pilots from the database? I checked and I show only 3,990 pilots in it out of 19,999 slots.

I repeat my question hoping to get an answer to it please.

[Don Bowen]

It appears that pilots that are defined in the database and are properly assigned to squadrons are OK.

Any pilot that is defined in the database but not properly assigned is a wasted slot:

• 9999 availability
• assigned to null or invalid airgroup
• too many pilot too a single airgroup (not sure about how this one works)

Clearing all the pilot slots will obviously remove all of these possible problems and WITP will have to screw up pilots on it's own.

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: Don Bowen


It appears that pilots that are defined in the database and are properly assigned to squadrons are OK.

Any pilot that is defined in the database but not properly assigned is a wasted slot:

• 9999 availability
• assigned to null or invalid airgroup
• too many pilot too a single airgroup (not sure about how this one works)

Clearing all the pilot slots will obviously remove all of these possible problems and WITP will have to screw up pilots on it's own.

I hate to be dense but is that a "yes" or a "no" to my original question?

[Don Bowen]

So if you're making a custom scenario are you saying it would behoove you to empty(?) the existing pilots from the database?

I hate to be dense but is that a "yes" or a "no" to my original question?

It's neither a yes nor a no.

You could clear them all and accept only "generated" pilots at "generated" values. That would solve part of the problem but would also discard "quality" pilots.

You could also check the assignments, correct errors, and retain the specific "quality" pilots. That would also solve part of the problem.

No matter what, you are still limited to 30000 pilots. Either fix would just prevent wasted slots.

[michaelm75au]

Hi

as Don said.

You can do customised scenarios using your own pilots. You just need to be careful.

What has happened in the past is that someone customises a scenario and deletes an air group by pressing the DELETE key in editor. This removes the group, but drags up all the slots below it. [This and INSERT were the usual source of most modding problem I think.]
Now the pilots in the database are misaligned with their original group #s - the editor does NOT go and adjusts the pilot's assigned group slot# to match.

Michael

[JustJoe]

I bumped this thread to help in the discussion we are having in the Tech Forum on this subject. 
 
What are all of you doing as a work around concerning this 30K cap on plane slots in the game?

[Feinder]

I believe part of a fix was that the game goes thru and recycles any slot occupied by a dead pilot with less than 5 kills (or something like that).  Being dead, they obviously serve no purpose.  Given their existance on the "top pilots" list, you can see that it does keep track of -some- dead pilots (your better ones).  But I -think- that if they're dead and not aces, their slot gets recycled.
 
-F-

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Feinder

I believe part of a fix was that the game goes thru and recycles any slot occupied by a dead pilot with less than 5 kills (or something like that). Being dead, they obviously serve no purpose. Given their existance on the "top pilots" list, you can see that it does keep track of -some- dead pilots (your better ones). But I -think- that if they're dead and not aces, their slot gets recycled.

-F-

This brings up some hazy memories... there were a series of fixes introduced around 1.7xx, iirc to try to fix this. However, this apparently has NOT fixed all of the problems. i think it is actually worse in stock since stock has much higher levels of aircraft available, and thus causes more pilots to be "in play".

[jwilkerson]

Seems like this discussion might be intertwining two similar but different issues: plane slots and pilot slots.

We have had three games IIRC run into pilot slot issues we have successfully addressed two of the games via some hands on behind the sceens work. The issue will be addressed fully in AE.

I have not investigated a plane slot issue and the recent raising of that issue is the first I've heard of it.

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson

Seems like this discussion might be intertwining two similar but different issues: plane slots and pilot slots.

We have had three games IIRC run into pilot slot issues we have successfully addressed two of the games via some hands on behind the sceens work. The issue will be addressed fully in AE.

I have not investigated a plane slot issue and the recent raising of that issue is the first I've heard of it.

i agree - there are two separate problems described in the original Support Forum thread... the pilot slot problem, and another one...

i originally thought the second problem is the "disappearing aircraft" problem that has cropped up from time to time (and we have saves on that) - i didn't think it had anything to do with aircraft slots per se, but after rereading the posts, i am not sure.

EDIT: Going back and re-reading the original posts on the support forum, i am uncertain what is happening... it MIGHT be a new bug, but i think we need clarification... Specifically, this bit is new, and i hadn't heard of it before:

As the Japanese, I have plenty of planes but the game would not allow me to add any to my units saying there are no slots available.

JustJoe - can you provide a more complete description of what is going on? Screen shots might help...

[JustJoe]

Stock PBEM game using patch 1.806. Both me (Japan) and my opponent are having problems adding planes to our units. This started a few turns ago. When we try to add planes we get a pop up message stating: out of plane slots! We have since noticed that we can add aircraft on a turn that follows some aircraft being destroyed on the previous turn.

[JustJoe]

Not sure if this screen will help you guys determine whats up but it can't hurt.[:)]

[rtrapasso]

As mentioned in the Support Forum - this is a new one on me!

i'll check with the boss to see the next step - but save a (non-finalized) turn to send that exhibits this problem ... (i assume ALL turns are showing the problem at this point).

[JustJoe]

I have a turn I can send to you that will have this problem.  I suppose all of them do if you add enough planes to overcome the previous days losses.  Currently, in the game, we are trying to get rid of as many non-essential aircraft as possible so we can keep playing.  For example, we are loading up transport squadrons on ships and sailing them out to get sunk taking the planes down with them.  I am turning all my second rate aircraft into Kamikaze units to go down in flames.  We are also exploring the possibility of destroying the Soviet Air Force to get us some extra slots to use (speaking of which, is it possible to load Soviet planes on U.S. AKs?).

[rtrapasso]

(speaking of which, is it possible to load Soviet planes on U.S. AKs?).

Not unless the Soviets are activated, i think... at least in the games i've tried it in, you can't send ANY ships (as Allies) to a Soviet port unless they are active.

[rtrapasso]

OK - we've identified the problem and it is on the "to be fixed" list for 1.807.

EDIT: For those interested, there are a few more comments in the "Out of Plane Slots" thread in the Support Forum.

fb.asp?m=1774576

[Nemo121]

Is there an "Out Of Pilots" issue also identified and for fixing?
 
I ran across this while testing EA. I wanted to check upgrade paths so set the game time for December 45  and began a game.... Hence there had been NO losses of planes or pilots at all. On-map were something like 12,000 Japanese planes and about 16,000 Allied ones... When I tried to add pilots to either side it just said "Out Of Pilots"... obviously there were loads in the pilot pools

[Adnan Meshuggi]

Hi Nemo,
 
with this you can easily creat a check
 
If you bring the date to 451207, make one turn and you can´t put pilots in, you have the problem
 
As i see it now, we need to half all planes (say one plane count for two ) or someone can fix it. But i doubt that it can be fixed now.

I still hope that AE solve this problem... it´s a true show-stopper.  Esp. if combined with the loosing pilots-bug
So you loose a few thousend pilots, but can´t replace em
 
But, who needs airplanes... we have the army/navy
 
okay, just kidding