Ah yes, sorted that one out for UP3 when it first came out.
This came in with 4.10, previously you'd get error messages and default to generic behaviour (gb01 etc.)
If there is a squadron or loadout in the mission file that isn't in the game then you'll get the exploding spawns, which actually seem to be catapulted vertically into the air and come apart under acceleration stress or something, somebody's idea of a joke.
This is however problematic for old mission files too as TD changed squad names in 4.10, without backward compatibility, so ... boom.
Was also problematic doing the DCG compat files as the weapons and regiments files in UP3 are buried in sfs files, and the weapons file in particular is full of errors, so extracting it doesn't help much. The regiments can be got from the Forgotten Countries mod where CirX did a good job of fixing the backward compatibility.
(Never ever pack config/ini/properties etc into an alpha, beta, RC or whatever. Test first and check it all works, when confirmed pack them in the final, but still no use for content providers. At the very least, if someone insists, put them in a small top level file which can easily be downloaded and replaced in updates.)
UP3 initially also changed loadouts to try and achieve some consistency, but they had to be put back, wouldn't have been a problem if the new files had been available, and without errors...
The loadouts basically have to be read from the extracted classfiles, over 600 of them, each with its multiple entries, as the files in the sfs will screw up your view in the FMB, and even then there were still errors in some classfiles, 109s particularly.
Caused a few hot tempers for a while, the weapons (and regiments) files are the only available reference for mission/campaign builders, along with all the other ini/properties files. There's a tendency to call the weapons file 'cosmetic' and not give a damn, but that does screw it up righteously for anyone building outside the FMB (like DGEN or DCG) or wanting to edit, especially if the files used in the FMB are faulty in the first place!
For updating you also have to watch for changed planes and ships etc. (e.g. ShipPack no longer exists, HSFX planes not in DBW etc.), and even Chiefs columns can screw you up, but these usually just give an error in the console, but you can scan the files in advance and catch most of them, even batch process.
The list in the DCG files is fairly accurate, but loses many loadouts as the entries are just too long for DCG, so no go, the longest is 42 characters! Hopefully DBW 1.7 will have accessible regiments/weapons files or the whole process will have to be repeated for DCG, DGEN, old missions already updated etc, as there will be lots of loadout changes.
Complaining? The thought would never have crossed my mind, it's a perfectly reasonable and valid question, no worries mate.
Might be some complaining if the same thing happens again though, or we just all sit quietly and do everything all over again...
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Topic: DCG for Dark Blue World - New Packs for DBW 171 & DCG 346/7 (Read 140956 times)
