Matrix Games Forums

This is just a heads up for our upcoming "Hot Fix #2" that is need to solve the Dead Eye Bomber gunners in our 2.08 Update release.

We have included 3 major work items in the Hot Fix #2 which are (1) enhancement of the AAA, (2) made a Flak hit kill , and (3) solved the Bomer Gunners by implementing a compete gun Dispersion solution.

Here is a thread with the content of Hot Fix#2 (16 features, options, fixes):

http://www.a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=11403

Here is a thread with some Pic's of the work being done on the AAA and Flak:

http://www.a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=11364

The Hot fix should be release in a few weeks depending problems found during Beta Testing but it is looking good so far.

We believe that the Hot Fix #2 content and the addition of the new AAA and flak kills adds significantly to the BOBII game play. We hope you agree when you try it.

Here are my notes to give you a good idea of the changes content. It is a significant update:
 
[font="times new roman"]Content of Hot Fix #2[/b][/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]1. Fixed a CTD in AirCombat caused by a SAG flight.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]2. Fixed a CTD in Overlay.cpp caused by using ai.unfriendly pointer with a AUTO_BOMB movecode (the ai.unfriendly movecode is not valid).[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]3. Fixed the Bomber Stragglers so that they break out of formation and drop back away from the other bombers. I needed to decrease Straggler’s speed by about 5% so they drop back slowly. They will then head home (at the correct WP) or continue to the target to try and drop their bombs (based on random numbers as always). Thanks to Chumleigh for this one.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]4. I added the skill level for our Bomber gunners and the rear gunners on the 110, JU87, and the RAF Defiant (higher skills shoot more accurately).  I also reduced the accuracy of the Bomber gunners and the rear gunners on the 110, JU87, and the RAF Defiant. I implemented the change so that I can “tune” the rear gunner’s accuracy in the 110, Defiant, and JU87 as well as the Bomber gunners accuracy (both player and AI). Thanks to Alex for pointing this one out to me.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Here is some information I used for the design and implementation of the Dispersion code so you can review the text and get an idea what we are trying to accomplish. .[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
SIMHQ data - Dispersion. A target shooter will fire his rifle a number of times to establish a ‘group.’ The smaller the group, the more accurate the shooter is.
 
A modern aircraft gun has a similar characteristic. Technicians will fire the gun at a target and then count the projectile impacts and measure their pattern from the center aim point. Typically, this calculation will be expressed as a percentage of rounds fired within a certain area, usually a circle with the aim point at its center, and is called the gun dispersion.
 
A typical modern gun dispersion results in about 80% of the rounds being grouped in a five foot (1.52 meter) diameter circle at a range of 1000 feet (304 meters).
 
Osram data - Bullet dispersion is 1 meter per 100 meter travel in both RL (back then) and BoBII.
 
I am using Osram’s data for the BOBII implementation as it is not for only modern guns. The dispersion for a BOBII gun was a circle at 300 meters with a radius of 1.5 meters (150 cm).
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]I also added the following 11 Bdg.txt Dispersion parameters. The Dispersion was the “core” of these changes (except for the skill levels) and it was completely re-code with bugs fixed. The old Dispersion was done a very inexperienced coder named Buddye back in 2003 for BOBI. BobII had totally outgrown that approach and implementation. The following Bdg.txt parameters were added so that customer can change the bullet dispersion to his personal taste. I do recommend you carefully try/use the defaults as 100’s of hours of test and analysis time was required for the determination of the defaults by the BDG. As always, my thanks to Bader for his leadership, testing and support. [/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Bomber_Gunner_Player = 450   [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Bommer_Gunner_AI = 200    [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Flyable_Planes_Player = 100[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Front_Cannons_AI = 100[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Def_JU87_Front_Guns_AI = 100[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Heavy_Fighters_Front_Guns_AI = 100 [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Def_Rear_Gunner_AI = 150[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_JU87_Rear_Gunner_AI = 200[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_ME110_Rear_Gunner_AI = 200[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Veteran_Regular_Skill_Increment = 10[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Dispersion_Poor_Novice_Skill_Increment = 10[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]5. A very long shot but I added defensive code to protect against a “NULL” pointer in AutoShoot. Thanks to reflected for reporting this one. It will do no harm but may not fix anything.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]6. Fix a bug where when a Bomber dropped his bombs the fighter targeting him is set to ai.unfriendly = NULL which puts the fighter in a disengage movecode. I have been looking for this bug for a year. I called it the ai.unfriendly bug (bugs get names when they go unsolved).[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]7. Fixed a bug to prevent jet action after death if the previous maneuver was the [/font]MANOEUVRE_SPINOUT (after death only fix).
 
8. While I was fixing a bug (thanks to Uriah) where short labels did not work, I added the following feature for labels, Single_Chararacter_Labels.
 
To get Aircraft Names (Labels), you must set in the BOBII GUI in Options->Sim->Game Aircraft Names = ON. You then use the “T” key to toggle labels ON/OFF.
 
In addition to the GUI setting above, for 2.09, you “must” also select only “one” of the following Labels options in the Bdg.txt as “ON”:
 
BDG_Values.Single_Chararacter_Labels # the default is a single character [w] for wingmen (friendly) and an [e] for enemy (target)
BDG_Values.UseShortLabels # short Label example – ME109
BDG_Values.Show_MoveCodes # For testing AI maneuvers
 
The default for all 3 of the above Bdg.txt parameters is “OFF”. If all are “OFF” then you will get the long label (example – BF109E4).
 
NOTE: If you select two or more options as “ON” you will not get any labels (even if your GUI setting is ON).
 
You also have the option of choosing a single character if you are selecting the BDG_Values.Single_Chararacter_Labels = ON by using:
 
[font="times new roman"]Single_Character_Label_Enemy=        # Input a single character of your choice for your label[/font]
[font="times new roman"]Single_Character_Label_Friendly=       # Input a single character of your choice for your label[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]So if you are interested in trying the new single character feature, here is what you will need to do:[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Find the following Bdg.txt parameters in the file Bdg.txt in the BOBII folder:[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
BDG_Values.Single_Chararacter_Labels
BDG_Values.UseShortLabels
BDG_Values.Show_MoveCodes

Then set the above Bdg.txt parameters like this (only one can be set = ON at a time):

BDG_Values.Single_Chararacter_Labels = ON
BDG_Values.UseShortLabels = OFF
BDG_Values.Show_MoveCodes = OFF

and then find and set the following two Bdg.txt parameters like this:

Single_Character_Label_Enemy= +
Single_Character_Label_Friendly= *

Except choose your personal single characters
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]9, I added a Plus or Minus random “Error” by skill level (higher skill level has a smaller error) for the Bomber Gunners and the A/C Rear Gunners.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]10. Fixed a CTD in USERMSG.cpp thanks to Ric. This was a very old problem dealing with the SAG. It seems that no one runs BOBII like Ric.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]11. I have given the AAA code a makeover. I focused fixing the bugs that prevented the AAA from performing and I also looked at improving the AAA it accuracy. The AAA to me consists of (1) bullets and (2) flak (shells that explode or burst). The AAA bullet types work about the same as A/C bullets. The flak works a bit different.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The code looks for a flak burst overlapping an A/C to determine a hit. If you have a hit then damaged is forced on the A/C. You must force damage because the BOBII damage engine does not take care of flak damage like it does for bullet damage.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Here are the AAA and Flak Bdg.txt parameters options that you may want to consider for change or leave as default:.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]a. Do_You_Want_Flak_Over_France=OFF       #  ON = Player Gets Flak Over France or OFF = Player Gets No Flak Over France[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The default is OFF as that is the current implementation.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]b. Increase_Flak_and_AAA_Rate_Of_Fire=OFF       #  ON = increase the Ground Flak and AAA rate of Fire or OFF = Stay with the same Flak and AAA rate of fire as in the BOBII Gun specs[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The default is OFF as that is the current way the game is set up and operates, but if you have the Processing power and enjoys some AAA and Flak tension give it a try.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]c. Flak_Size_In_Meters = 11.0         #The flak size is used to force major damage to an A/C when the flak overlaps the A/C. Used to Simulate a A/C significant flak hit.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The default is 11.0 meters (flak is about 10 meters and a Spitfire wing is about 12 meters, so 5 meters radius for flak and 6 meters for the Spitfire = 11 meters). If you fly mostly against bombers you may want to increase the Flak  Size Parameter.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]You will know when it is a flak hit as the left or right wing will rip off very suddenly, or both tail fins will rip off, and the pilot will bail out..[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]This parameter is for Stickman who says that the odds of getting hit by flak in 1940 were about the same as drawing a Royal Flush in poker.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]For those interested in getting flak hits at a very low but they will happen sometimes (or to test the feature), my testing has shown a Flak_Size_In_Meters=25 will get infrequent but possible flak hits.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]d. Do_You_Want_Flak_And_AAA_Fire=ON       #  ON = Player 'Gets' Flak and AAA fire or OFF = Player Gets 'No' Flak and AAA fire. For saving processor resources[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The default is ON as that is the way it is now but Beta Testers have noticed increased processing (as the bugs fixed permits additional fire) when the Flak and AAA is in full fire mode. Also may help customers with weaker PC’s to save some processing. [/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]e. Do_You_Want_Flak_And_AAA_Fire_if_Friendly_within_1000_Meters= ON      #  ON = Flak and AAA when friendly is within 1000 meters or OFF = No Flak and AAA fire when friendly is within 1000 meters[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The default is ON as that the way it is now (all AAA and flak fire at enemy target). Many players will want AAA and flak off to prevent friendly A/C form being hit. In addition, large dog fights take significant processing power so limiting the flak and AAA will be a help for some. On the other hand it is fun to dog fight around flak and AAA as it just adds to the stress level if you have the processor grunt.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]12. After an Air-to-Air collision both the Target A/C and the Hitter A/C pilots bail out or crash as the damage is too serious to continue. In the old method was that only the player took damage from an air-to-air collision which seems very wrong.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]13. After working on the AAA and Flak code, I discovered that Rowan had made some interesting decisions with respect to the hand held guns..[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
The Rowan guys limited the fire from the hand held guns (110, JU87, def, and bomber gunners) by setting all of them to reload at 500 (that is 5 sec or 500 csec). This sets these guns to fire (four bullets) only every five sec if they can target an enemy.

Rowan did this I think because they did not have good control over the accuracy of the gunners as we just discovered. Now that we have the Dispersion parameters and some experience I think we can turn these guns loose, if we want. The bomber gunners had 900 bullets. I am not sure how many bullets the 110, Def, and Ju87 gunners had but the software checks for out of stores.

The game play would be enhanced (more exciting against the gunners) if we could turn these gunners loose and let them shoot when they can target (I do not think they can target all that often). You may have to re-tune the dispersion parameters (or not) depending on the your results and personal taste.
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]I implemented the following Bdg.txt parameter so the customer can have a option:[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Do_You_Want_Increase_Firing_Rate_Of_Hand_Held_Gunners=OFF    # ON = Increased Firing rate to Historic for hand held guns OFF = Leave the firing rate as implemented currently[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]As is my policy (mostly) the default is OFF as that is the way the current code works.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]14. During Beta Testing, a few of the Beta Testers commented that the 40 MM Bofors AA guns were too strong and accurate. I implemented a new Bdg.txt parameter for changing the reload time for the 40 MM Bofors. This parameter can be used to either in crease or decrease the firing rate of the guns. I also introduced a random error for the Bofors to tame them down a bit.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]LT_BRIT_BOFORS_Reloadtime = 100       #the reload time in cseconds (cs / 100 = seconds) for the LT_BRIT_BOFORS 40 MM AA Gun. Just increase this parameter to reduce the BOFOR rate of fire.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The default is 100 CS or ONE Second (a CS is 1/100 of a second or seconds = CS/100). If you want to reduce the Bofor’s rate of fire (example) just set the parameter to the following: [/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]LT_BRIT_BOFORS_Reloadtime = 1000 (10 seconds) so you will get about 1/10 the rate of fire from the Bofors then with 100.[/font]t
 
[font="times new roman"]15. When you get a “red” tint over the screen then BOBII is trying to tell you that your canopy has been damaged badly and you are dead. I added the code to ensure that you crash when this occurs. Thanks to Borton for this catch.[/font]
[font="times new roman"]16. When one elevator and one horizontal stabilizer is damaged and missing (= BS_DEAD in the program). The player will be crashed as his plane is really not flyable anymore. Thanks to Marine for this catch and post.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]17. Fix a small bug when Max_Number_AI_Targeting_AI = 1 as it would permit 2  subject AI to attack the target AI.. Thanks to Borton for this catch.[/font]