How to enable enemy bombers

[BHChieftain]

Hi
How do you enable enemy bombers on a mission?

[bbosen]

I do that from the server end.

That's our FAQ #22. Here is the text:

*Q22: How does the "Gun Camera" work and what can I do with it?

*A: Server Missions: Gun Camera recordings are now captured by the LAC Server, and can be replayed, as "Server Missions".

To record a GunCamera session while you are in one of the three online, multiplayer missions, just press "c" on your keyboard. Near the upper right-hand corner of your cockpit panel, you will see the previously unused letter "c" get brighter in response, and you will see a brief message scroll into the bottom of your cockpit's "SystemMessage" panel indicating that you have begun requesting Gun Camera services from the LAC Server. This means that the LAC Server has begun storing a copy of everything happening in the mission for future replay. Continue to fly in this mode (the little "c" will remain bright) for as long as activities remain interesting. When you want the recording to end, press "c" again, and the cockpit indicator will go dim again. You'll also see another new message scroll into the bottom of your cockpit's "SystemMessage" panel, indicating that you have stopped requesting Gun Camera services. If your Gun Camera session is good enough to benefit the entire LAC community, our admins may select it for general-purpose use and you may get to re-live it even if you don't ask us specifically for it. (On the other hand, we will try to make it available for your own, more private use in response to an email query as described below.)

Several simple missions of this type have already been recorded, and the server frequently replays them to make online play more interesting. If you have recorded a guncamera segment and want to see it replayed by the server as a Server Mission in which you and/or friends can fly, please contact us by email at: bbosen@AskMisterWizard.com. Include these facts about the guncamera segment that you recorded:

*Realm
MissionId
Start Date
Start Time (GMT)
Approximate duration
A brief description of what happens in the mission. *

Those details will allow us to locate the correct guncamera segment among the Server's records, and evaluate it for possible general-purpose re-use. The "GunCamHistory.LAC" file, stored within your hidden ~home/.LAC folder, contains most of those details in a format that you can view or edit with any simple text editor. You could satisfy our need for these details by simply sending us an appropriately edited excerpt from that file.

We will respond by email and then we will work out a schedule for replaying it in a Realm of your choosing.

Alternatively, if you want us to replay any particular type of our existing "Server Missions" for your enjoyment (either flying solo or with friends), just send us an email describing the kind of mission you'd like the Server to activate and when you want it playing. We'll set it up to run continuously for the designated time period in one of our 32 available Realms.

*As a general rule, our existing little library of Server Missions consists of strikes against an opposing HQ airfield. We have missions with one, two, or three heavy bombers, medium bombers, or fighter-bombers flying in formation. These Server Mission aircraft generally fly for the RedTeam and target BlueTeam HQ facilities. If there is only one Server Mission aircraft, it generally flys as player "9". If there are two Server Mission aircraft, they generally fly as players "9" and "7". Three-player Server Missions generally automate players "9", "7", and "5". If you fly among any of these missions, you can try to defend the BlueTeam HQ, or you can assist the automated RedTeam aircraft. *

(If your own numeric MissionID conflicts with the MissionID used by one of the GunCamera replay aircraft, your ID dominates the logic and the conflicting replay aircraft is removed from that sortie, so you can replace any pre-recorded aircraft whenever you want to. With experience, you will learn to do this by editing your ~home/.LAC/LacConfig.txt file and configuring your "MyNetworkID" value to "9", "7", "5", or whatever value you anticipate wanting to replace in the recorded GunCamera mission.)

One of the most powerful features of these Gun Camera missions is that while you are flying within one, you can press "c" again to re-record your new activities within the mission, resulting in an expanded, enhanced version. When a Server Mission is replayed and re-recorded with an additional session of one or more aircraft, we call it a "Second Generation Server Mission". If it is subsequently replayed and re-recorded again with even more activity, it becomes a "Third Generation Server Mission", and etc. This is the mechanism we have been using in order to create our current little library of "bomber strike" missions with one, two, or three B17 or B24 bombers flying in formation from a remote airfield deep in "RedTeam" territory and targeting the BlueTeam HQ airfield.

In contrast to regular online LAC play, these "Server Missions" are persistent. The difference: in regular missions, all airfield damage is lost when the last player leaves the mission. In these persistent Server missions, airfield damage is retained between sessions, even after the last player leaves. Upon entry by any Sentient player, the Server Mission picks up where it left off in terms of any accumulated airfield damage and/or repairs. This adds a valuable new "long-term, cross-session, strategic" flavor!

*With time, we will develop appropriate norms and conventions for implementation and activation of these new "Server Missions", based on GunCamera segments flown by the player community. We have already begun regular and continuous replay of our most popular GunCamera Missions in Realm "0", but we may change that to another Realm soon. Stay tuned....
*
All of our FAQ dialogs can be found here:

https://askmisterwizard.com/2019/LinuxAirCombat/LacFaq.htm

-bbosen-