Excel Strike Planner

[Rudd]

Awesome!

Thanks Skorps

[skorpio667]

Updated, see First Post

Skorpio

[Dysta]

I got time today to test it out, with my small scenario that contained the whole 7th fleet in 2016 or older equipment.

UPDATE: RC2 released, test halted.

[ziolo]

very nice tool, thanks skorpio667!

[skorpio667]

Updated to version 1.04 for DB3K_v441 and CWDB_v440
The previous version seemed full of bugs. I think I used an earlier, not-debugged version. However, I correct them and added a CWDB-version, too.

Change log v1.04
----------------
* Added: New Workbook/spreadsheet for the CWDB (v440)
* Fixed: ToT field corrected (added platflorm role twice instead of once)
* Fixed: Platform Speed and (error-)messages for each waypoint checked and corrected
* Fixed: Clear All Groups now clears all groups instead 1 group per push
* Fixed: Take-off duration per group got broken along the way, it's working again.
* Fixed: Runways can handle 2 Large aircraft at once for take-off, instead of 1
* Added: a button for each single waypoint to set all throttles of the platform to a setting (Push once to set all throttles), while keeping empty platform-slots in Loiter/Creep
- waypoints 1 to 9: Set all to Cruise
- waypoint 10: Set all to Cruise or Military/Full
- waypoints IP and Target: Set all to Cruise, Military/Full or Afterburner/Flank
* Added: Clear All Groups or Clear a Single Group buttons now also resets all throttle settings to Loiter/Creep
* Added: When selecting a platform, Loadout Type is automatically set to Weapon (was Primary Loadout only)

[Maromak]

Hi Skorpio,

Would you mind taking a look at the attached file. I have started entering CAP and OECM aircraft but there appears to be a value error in the Strike Launch box (cell EB21). Any tips on what I may have left out?

Thanks

M

[skorpio667]

Hi Maromak,

I checked your file, and discovered the following:
* In field D14 (date and time of strike) you entered a forward slash as date separator (22/02/1994) instead of a minus sign (22-02-1994). (Now I realize I used Dutch date-formatting)
* In field D14 (date and time of strike) you give the time of the strike in as 23:00:00 PM, where 23:00:00 (without the PM) is expected.
* In field DM26 (Range to Target @ Weapon Release) you forgot to enter the range the weapon travels to it's target (245nm). BTW, I see in the platform info the weapon is said to have No Engine, but in the weapon info the correct engine is found. I thought I fixed that. I'll have a look.

Skorpio

EDIT: Attached the latest version, with your strike entered

[Maromak]

Hi Skorpio,

Thanks for taking a look and providing advice. I am using your planner with one of Gunner98's excellent scenarios (Anteaters Revenge) and it's proving very difficult without proper planning.

M

[Maromak]

I am still a little confused about the takeoff times in column DZ. A few of the times seem very early considering the planned time of the strike on target.

Are the given times meant to be the actual Zulu/local time?

[skorpio667]

Argh! You are quiet right! In that column most cell have lost an extra division by 60! That results in the role-time-adjustment (in seconds) to be substracted from the impact time in minutes instead of second.
For example, in your file the OECM group (adjustment -180 second) is planned to arrive at ToT - 180 minutes (eg. 2 hours and 57 minutes early).

I have a new version ready to post, but I was waiting for the imminent(?) final v1.10 update, so I could post it with the CWDB v441 (instead of the v440 version that is out now). But in the light of this bug, I'll post it now (download in the first post).

BTW, Using Local or Zulu time is the user's own decision, it depends on the (date &) time the user enters in field D14. If it is local time, the planners calculates for local; if Zulu, it calculates for Zulu time

Skorpio

[Maromak]

Ok thanks. I noticed some of the formulas had an extra /60.

[mahuja]

ORIGINAL: skorpio667
I seem to recall from a SQL-course during my study that SQL can do simple math, like that of this planner, too?

I'm quite confident the whole task could be done in sqlite. (Making a frontend in sql would be a hassle though.)
Just to put a cherry on the top, the game's database (whichever you use) is a sqlite file, meaning you can query it directly, as a read-only. Which means a user could switch to whatever database the scenario is actually using.

It'd probably be easiest to create table as select whatever to store intermediate results and do it in smaller steps. In the :memory: database, perhaps.

[skorpio667]

I thought so! Seems to me the downside is installing new software for making a frontend easily.
Furthermore, I'm quite far in the process of making an auto-update script, so you can point the workbook to a Dir containing the comma separated files exported from the database and it then automatically imports, removes duplicates, makes and sorts the tables and updates the variables.
And I started the groundwork for fuel-usage and Air to Air Refueling.

All in all, to much work to redo in SQL (for now) [:(]

Skorpio

[skorpio667]

Updated to v1.07

Change Log v1.07
----------------
* Updated the data to DB3K v442 and CWDB v442 (as found in CMANO v1.11)

For file, see post #1

[skorpio667]

Update to v1.08

Change Log v1.08
----------------
* Updated the data to DB3K v444 and CWDB v443 (as found in CMANO v1.11)

For file, see post #1

[Dannyp19]

Thanks Skorpio! Very handy tool.

[skorpio667]

Hi all,

After a long laps, I pickup CMO again. I also started working on the Excel Strike Planner again. Today I upload v1.10 beta 1 for DB3K v480.
It is still in beta stage.

Changelog v1.10 beta 1 for DB3K v480
------------------------------------
* updated the database to DB3000 v480
* included used fuel calculations for strike groups (aircraft)
* included Air-to-Air Refuel calculations for aircraft

Issues with this version:
- used fuel calculations are a bit rough: Altitude Band changes during a height change will alter fuel usage per second. This is not incorporated yet. For now a height change will make the spreadsheet use the fuel usage of the new Altitude Band instantaneous (not: x seconds in Band A and y seconds in Band B).
- Determination of position of already airborne tanker aircraft is very processing power hungry. The method I now use requires at least 6000 to 10000 calculations per tanker to get a "precise" location. The more, the better... Therefore, I don't use this yet. This means that to make a successful AAR rendezvous, the tanker should take-off from an airport in a preplanned flight. Then the tanker will be at the right location when the strike group arrives.
- a BIG issue: Strike Groups lose their manually entered preplanned in-game flightpath directly after starting their AAR...
- the AAR variables need tweaking: how long does it take an aircraft to hook up, etc.

Skorpio667

[skorpio667]

In-game AAR testing gave me some insight to the mechanics used:
- receiving aircraft in a flight group refuel as one plane
- the formula I use for determining the tanker location at a certain time when it is on station must be altered to give a more better match with the in-game location
- in-game fuel transfer quantities per minute differ from what I found on the internet and must be adjusted in the planner.
- with the formula change for position determination of the Tanker, I might have solved the issue that a Tanker flight should be pre-planned. I hope I can get the planner to work with tankers that are already on station, now. That will probably give an time uncertainty, as launch time of the receiving group is, among other things, dependent on position of the tanker and amount of fuel used, but might be limited to a few seconds?

Working on it


Skorpio667

[TBLackey]

Skorpio how did you extract all that in-game data into a spreadsheet?

I'd be keen to dump the platform/weapon databases into spreadsheet to skim through with ease....

[hrfepo1]

Skorpio,

Thank you. This work is awesome!