Hosting a server

[Telson]

So I have been doing a scavenger hunt around my house, sheds and store cupboards, and have located quite a few spare PC components.
So far I have found:
PC case
i5 3200 Processor and fan
MSI motherboard with built in grafix
GTX 660 if needed
16GB ram
550 power supply
120GB SSD
I believe this meets the recommended specs to run a dedicated DCS server, so I'm going to have a play at setting one up.

I am looking at the persistent mission on Syria made by Surrexen called Operation Scarlet Dawn, Its got very good feedback
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/ ... s/3313323/

Telson

[Telson]

Well I have had a play and the server is up and running.
Server name: RAFAIR Telson Persistant
Mission: Operation Clear Field Escalation on Caucasus map. (will look at editing this mission to use the RAFAIR Caucasus mission template so frequencies and Tacan are set the same as mission nights, I also need to set the mission difficulty as at the moment all markers are on and sort out Automatic server restarts)

The mission is persistent, what ever you destroy or build will remain that way even after server restart, The mission will randomly choose targets throughout the map. you can do the mission or not, You can fly any role you like, and if you are on your own, you can use the radio menu to request support flights of AI planes to assist you. Most modules have been included.

Helicopter transport and fob building is enabled

I am having to use SRS auto connect on the server as I don't have a static IP.

If someone has the time could you jump on and see how the server and mission perform and let me know if any issues connecting or with lag.

[Father Cool]

Ok had a quick look, 2 suggestions.

1: Remove pure client as I have mods and all of the RAF skins etc so the server kicked me out.
2: Does it need to be password protected for RAF Air use or not?

[Telson]

Good call
Password added: rafair
pure client now set as false.

[Father Cool]

Excellent I'll give it a go later.

[Paul(Dragon)0043]

Hi Telson, just joined your server to give it a whirl, in an A10-C II at Senaki, no problem what so ever with connecting.

SRS auto connected correctly, but although the Server and Game icons went Green, VOIP did not. Entered cockpit, it was dark outside, local time was 18:03 Changed my Loadout and Livery slightly, that worked.

Tuned my radios, tried all 3 radios but could not get comms menu to appear, so could not contact Senaki ATC to request Taxi. Left server at this point.

Could you have a look at your server and see if it was something your end, or if I was having a senior moment and doing something mindlessly simple, wrong.

Thanks.

Paul.

[Telson]

Hi Paul, thanks for popping on, I need to get my head around editing the mission and setting everything up, will take a look this morning.
The server has been up for over 24hours without a restart so chances are that will be causing a few issues lol.

[Paul(Dragon)0043]

Nice one, Telson, if I get time later, I'll pop on and give it another go.

Paul.

[Telson]

Update
Mission:
I have added triggers set to restart the server every 6 hours with 30 and 15 minutes warnings,
Fog of war enabled on the map and difficulty settings updated. Still need to remove markers once I am happy with mission playability and confirmed the AI spawning is working ok.

Radio menu, Voice attack and Vaicom:
I had an issue with using these on the server, I have updated the server settings to allow export and all should work ok now.

SRS:
I was able to connect without a problem so the issue had to be port forwarding, I have gone back over the port forwarding on my router and think I spotted the issue, hopefully it's sorted now.

A quick explanation of how the mission works.
On server start Blufor have 3 airfields, there are several neutral airfields, and Opfor have the rest.

Opfor:
The Opfor AI commander will dispatch transport and attack aircraft to try and capture the nearest airfield to the front line. if the transporter lands at the targeted airbase it will become occupied by that coalition and the AI commander will dispatch troops to protect it.
Opfor AI commander also has ground vehicles and troops that are dispatched.

Blufor:
The Blufor commander will dispatch just transport vehicles to capture airfields, The player will need to help protect the blufor transport, and clear the airfield defences, if the transporter lands at the targeted airbase it will become occupied by that coalition and the AI commander will dispatch troops to protect it.
Helicopter pilots can also transport troops and drop them off near an enemy airfield the troops will then try to capture the airfield.
Helicopter pilots can pick up an engineer squad and drop them where they want to build a forward Operation Base, The pilot will then need to return with the supplies to build the FOB, The engineers will pop smoke where you need to drop the loads.
The Blufor AI commander will also assign a mission to complete, you can do the mission or ignore it, you can even bypass the mission and request a new one if you want from the radio menu.
The mission is persistant between server restarts so any progress will not be lost, if you land an aircraft at an airfield and quit out it will be in the same place when you join back in along as nobody else takes it.
The idea of the mission is to capture all the airfields and push back the Opfor forces.

Check the mission briefing for AWACS/Carrier Group/Refuelling frequencies etc.

Notes on requesting support flights:
- CAP/CAS/Anti-Shipping/SEAD and Pinpoint Strikes are available to call from the radio menu, you can choose the sector they will fly to
- Only one flight of each type can be active at any given time, so choose carefully

Other radio options
- Check Current Objective will remind you what the current target is
- Target Report will give you coordinates and distance to the target, and if the target is a group it will tell you how many units are remaining in the group
- Abort Directives will allow you to send support flights back to base
- Skip Mission under Clear Field Options will allow you to put the current mission back into the pool and draw another one
- Clear Field Sound Options will allow you to toggle all custom sounds on or off if you find them anoying.

[Telson]

Update:
The server restarts have been rescheduled, I realised with 6 hour restarts it would always be daytime in game and that's just boring.
The server PC now automatically restarts at midnight every night and then launches the DCS and SRS server and mission, I have put the mission start time to 9pm game time, This means mission time is 6 hours behind actual time in the Caucasus, and night should start about 9:30pm UK time, if you want to do a night mission just jump on after 9:30pm.

The AI is working as expected and Ai commanders launch attack missions to capture airfields, mission generation and tasking is also working fine. The server is saving the state of all units and removing destroyed ones on mission restart, so persistance looks to be working too.
The in game menu is working so you change mission target and call in support flights if you wish.

What still needs testing:
SRS, it's running and seems ok.
Helicopter transport and sling loading, I don't have a Helicopter add-on to test it.
FARP construction, as above
AI JTAC
If someone has some spare time over the weekend it would be very much appreciated.

Next plans:
Update mission to RAF Air standards, Aircraft, Radios, TACAN, call signs etc.
Add target practice area south of airbases in safe zone.