1. possibility to add objects to the map dynamically. by this I mean it would be cool to add objects to the map at mission's runtime. it can be done via server's console: you type smth like "create xxx", where xxx is description of what you add in XML/JSON/INI format.
example: we need to to add AI path (in mission-file style):

to do that we type (or send via socket) to console such string (JSON format as example)

and after that new AI appears in currently running mision ({...} is left not to do bigger mess)

2. Introduce clear identification of AI in mission's file and in server's log.
the problem: when some event happens with AI vehicle, you can not identify that vehicle by reading server's log. E.g.:
here pilot with nickname "username" shots AI Bf-109G-2, but there no info about AI: no wing name, no position in wing, no team info. If I shot AI, so server's commander can not know what to do: give me points for the enemy kill or give me penalty for the friendly kill. So, it's would be cool to have smth like that to be logged instead of the example from above:
where II_JG5_210 is wing name and 0 is a position in that wing. And this should be applied to the ground AI too.

3. Add server console command to get planes' positions.
There is command
to see user's statistics. I suppose there should be a command like this
to see user's current position. Similar command should be to see AI vehicles' positions too. Of course, now X,Y,Z position and current direction can be obtained from UDP packets on the server side. But it looks like a dirty hack and this is bad, because using PCAP library to look through packets needs system's administrative rights.

4. Is using JVM 1.3 still OK? There 1.7 exits for about 1 year already.

5. Is it possible to get current set of map's images? There's a software "MapTools" and it has images of maps and of terrain heights in PNG format. But as I can see, this soft is not updating any more. It should be nice to have always up-to-date images set. And it would be nice to have 100% correspondence between maps and their's images. I mean: if you have a road on a map, and you have that's map image, and you want to place a vehicle on the road using the image, you must be sure that vehicle will appear exactly on that road but not moved some [kilo]meters to the bottom or so. And it would be really grate to have all possible info about map stored in XML, for example.

6. Vehicle and weapon comparison system. I know that info about vehicles, weapons and objects can be obtained by dumping java classes from the memory. Using those classes we can calculate how powerful vehicle's gunnery is. You need to calc number of guns, number of shells, and using TNT_equivalent we can say how powerful some vehicle is. It's really a hack work that looks like Sisyphean toil. It would be cool to have some convenient way to compare one tank to another, one bomber to another bomber, one fighter to another fighter. As I said, it can be done manually, but the way is really weird.

7. Is it possible to get some server's console-interaction protocol or API? When we connecting to the server console's socket, we can send and get text string to fulfill some requests. But it's bad, because server needs to parse text request, process it, serialize result to text again and send it back to socket's client, where it will be deserialized from text. Is there some way to operate with standard data types or some structures or objects? And is it possible to output log messages not only to the log file, but to some another socket also?

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I'm developing modern server commander and those points are really important. I can provide my help if it needed.

Sorry, I've a little problem with my pics...:(

Additional Aircraft Appropriate Tactics For AI?
 

How about some additional aircraft-appropriate tactics programmed into the AI? For example:

1. FW-189 would circle around tightly while under attack taking more advantage of its great manoeverability.

2. F4F pairs would perform Thach Weave to counter manoeverability of Japanese fighters.

3. IL-2 would perform defensive Lufbery Circle and also Circle of Death manoever.

@lebobouba try pasting just the links to the screens between [img] and [/img], delete the HTML

It's not just the Fw-189. Unless they're flying in formation or are making a bomb or photo-recon run, just about any multi-engined plane piloted by a competent pilot should try to move defensively when it's attacked.

For example, Saburo Saki had great praise for the pilot of an Australian PV-1 Harpoon who managed to evade his guns for 10 minutes before Saki finally shot him down. Apparently, the doomed Harpoon pilot made the very most of his plane, varying the power to each engine to perform literally death-defying maneuvers.

Also, any aircraft which encounters flak should take evasive maneuvers if possible. Against heavy flak, this include things like randomly changing direction and/or altitude (by +/- 125-150 meters) every 20-30 seconds.

The ability to command planes under your command to perform historical team maneuvers like the Thatch Weave, Lufbery Circle or Circle of Death, as well as basic fighter tactics like the "drag and bag" or "boxing" an opponent caught in a 4-1 fight, would be very welcome.

Other commands which would be useful would be the ability to command planes under your command to attack from a particular direction - i.e., "2 o'clock high" and to attack a particular formation of planes rather than just your padlocked target (or the ability to padlock multiple targets simultaneously).

This would allow you to split the defensive fire of bomber formations by giving commands like "Section 1 - attack high bomber formation from 2 o'clock high. Section 2 - attack high bomber formation from 12 o' clock level. Section 3 - attack low bomber formation from 10 o'clock low. Section 4 - attack attack low bomber formation from 12 o'clock level."

Wish we had Bristol Bombay for transport duties in MTO (DGen campaigns need transport aircraft for transfer, intercept and paradrop missions) – AI only, of course.
Arguably the most famous desert interception – Bf 109s of JG 27 shot down the Bristol Bombay of No 216 Sqn carrying Lt.Gen. William Gott who had just been appointed commander of the 8th Army.

I agree with that and I just posted a thread about it in the 4.12 discussion well I only request it and I didn't put the picture in it.

Following a test of the new 4.11 view settings on the Skies of Valor server, I noticed that many players are asking a setting able to exclude just external padlock.
Actually this is not possible. If you totally remove padlock no Track IR users are badly handcapped and also it is really hard (for all) to distinguish between friend or foe small ground targets.
Map design can limit this, spacing the ground troops, but this really interferes with the creation of live environments were tanks and troops are enough near to fight.
If you remove external enemy view and leave padlock enabled you still have the possibility to fight externally in arcade way, following targets continuously with no possibility for them to escape and this is a thing that most pilots do not want, because if not hardcore, they're enough mature to appreciate challenging environments.
The IL2 community is old, there are not so many rookies around, most appreciate challenging environments.
Hope it can be done with the new patch, just to complete the optimum work done on the view settings with 4.11.
BB

I agree. :grin:

Heres a request for a "small" change in the gui.

When using Full Mission Builder View/Object/Show you will always see the object displayed in its Summer skin.

Could this be changed so that if you are on a Desert or Winter map you would see the object in the Desert or Winter skin, as appropriate?

This only affects the drop down viewer. The object appears ok if you zoom into the map.

Ashe