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nordfront.org
06-21-2009, 05:10 PM
GWX-3.0 compatible missions

Unless you are playing a single-player campaign, there are two types of missions you can play... computer generated missions (using the "Generated" option in a multiplayer game) or custom built missions. The problem with the computer generated missions is that they are fairly limited. It is always a perfect-formation convoy or task force travelling at a predictable speed. There is also no way to control where in the world the mission can be and you miss out on seeing many of the interesting new ships available in GWX. The problem with the custom built missions is that it takes time to build them. Thus, you end up spending more time building missions that playing them.

Our online mulitplayer unit was frustrated by this until, sometime ago, we came up with the idea of writing our own Custom Mission Generator (http://nordfront.org/xvii-flottille/cmg.htm) (CMG) to build missions for us automatically. Using various configuration files, we can come up with a large number of missions within seconds. We use the CMG to run our online competitions and the missions form part of a sequence of patrols and attacks in whatever the current campaign happens to be. However, if you happen to be looking for some new missions to play, then you are most welcome to download any of our CMG missions while our campaigns are running, and try them for yourself.

To do this, follow these easy steps:


Visit the 17.Flottille's Campaign Page http://nordfront.org/xvii-flottille/campaign.htm . You do not need to join our unit or register or anything. Anyone can do this.
During our campaign seasons, that page will have a map. The missions are marked with icons on that map, showing their locations. At any given time, there are usually 3-6 icons. Let your mouse hover over the mission icon to get an idea of what it is. (Note that the missions match the campaign date, shown further up on that page.)
Right-click on the icon of the mission you'd like to play and select "Save Target As... " (some browsers will say "Save Link As...")
Save the file as ..\data\MultiMissions\English\Nordfront\Nordfront. mis (replace "English" with "German" if you play the game with German text). These missions have been designed for Multiplayer games, but it is also possible to play them as single-player games (inc which case save them to ..\data\SingleMissions\English\Nordfront\Nordfront .mis


The missions are compatible with GWX-3.0 (so they will not work with, say, stock 1.4b or LSH3).

Note that the first time you do this, you will need to create a folder called "Nordfront" in the ..\data\MultiMissions\English\ section of your SH3 installation.

Note that "Nordfront" (in both the folder and filename) is case sensitive!

When new missions are created by CMG, they are always called "Nordfront.mis" this is to stop us from cluttering up players' hard-drives with a myriad of mission files. Thus, whenever you go to download a new mission you should expect a check "Overwrite? Are you sure?" or similar.

The missions are updated every time a 17.Flottille member submits a result (as the CMG will generate a new batch of missions to react to the outcome). And, at the very least, they are updated at least once a day. You can check at the top-right of the web-page to see when the last update occurred.

Remember, there is no need to register or join the 17.Flottille unless you want to. These missions are free downloads for anyone.


Enjoy,

The CMG Development Team
17. Unterseebootsflottille »Nordfront«
http://nordfront.org/xvii/

Graf Paper
06-29-2009, 01:14 PM
Thank you very much for these new missions, all of you with the 17th Flotille!

I'd be very interested in finding out if the CMG is available for download. I know that nearly all multiplayer groups and flotillas would love to have such a brilliant and useful tool! :yeah:

Missions are the lifeblood for any multiplayer community! This would allow greater variety without the time-consuming burden of having to assemble every single map by hand.

If the download is not intended to be public, could you possibly PM a link to me? I'd be most grateful for such a generous gift! :yep:

nordfront.org
07-04-2009, 09:30 AM
Yes, our intention is that we hope to release the Custom Mission Generator (http://nordfront.org/xvii-flottille/cmg.htm) (CMG) for general public use at some point in the future. At the moment the CMG is in a fairly developmental stage, and is certainly not suitable for standard PC use (it is UNIX based). So our plan is to continue developing it during the 17. Flottille's current Inshore Campaign (http://nordfront.org/xvii-flottille/inshore.htm) and then put it into full operation for the upcoming Mediterranean Campaign (http://nordfront.org/xvii-flottille/mediterranean.htm).

The CMG requires component configuration files and rules (called layers), which define plausible aspects of the mission. We can't just let the CMG put together random things (risking aircraft carriers and fishing boats in the same task-group!). So to overcome that, we have sets of these components which allow it to generate historically consistent missions. Unfortunately the library of these layers is still very limited at the moment, so we need to build that up. This is ongoing. So far (as of 03-Jul-2009), we have only 481 of these, but the number is going up every day.

The development team are also considering the best way to release the CMG system. One option would be to distribute some sort of source-code/binary package, which will require users to build it, and then configure it with either our limited AI rule-set, or continue developing their own. Our other idea, however, was to provide the whole system as a web service. That way, anyone could dial up parameters (like they do in the existing in-game mission generator, but obviously with a lot more parameters) and then the mission would be generated on the fly. As you can see, there are lots of possibilities with this, and we're still find our way on it. The members of the 17.Flottille are still coming up with ideas and these are being incorporated as fast as we can.

In the meantime, everyone else is welcome to download (http://nordfront.org/xvii-flottille/campaign.htm) the campaign missions when and as they choose. This is free to everyone.


The CMG Development Team
17. Unterseebootsflottille »Nordfront«
http://nordfront.org/xvii/

Graf Paper
07-06-2009, 12:21 PM
Even if the CMG is still a "rough draft" and has yet to reach a final form, the work of your developers is nothing short of brilliant! :yeah:

The idea of having a simple A.I., that generates missions based on rule sets and layered elements, seems to be so useful that it's a wonder nobody has ever attempted to develop a similar tool during the years since SH3's release.

I think the idea of a web-based interface, whether using AJAX or C++ code within a PHP wrapper, would make the CMG accessible to the greatest number of people. It would also allow updating the rules and elements by simply plugging those new values into an XML table.

Whatever the CMG group decides to do with a release of the software, you've still done great work. CMG will rank right up there with SH3 Commander and JSGME as one of the "must have" add-ons for SH3! :up: