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[Chaoic16]

Hello everyone,

I am not certain where to post this, so please let me know the proper place I can post this.  For now, since this section is related to BAT WAW, so here it is.
It have been fun week working on this project intensively.  What took a lot of time is researching for each designation / names of aircraft.

Before I explain about this mod project, I want to express big thank to the community for creating this huge mod project.  I want to give the gifts to the community by creating this mod project.  Keep in mind, this mod is NOT meant to replace any mods, instead, this is meant to give the user an alternative ways of selecting aircraft from the list.

After looking at the aircraft list, I realize the modders are very enthusiastic about aircraft naming for immersive experiences.  In my humble opinion, due to the limited space of displaying aircraft name, I believe that it is more ideal use the space to show the designation , name, and specific variant of each aircraft, related to their types and purpose of aircraft.

What this mod do:

1) Tweak all aircraft names to match their accurate designation, naming, and variants as possible
2) Rename the 'what if' user made aircraft to the certain name as if they would have been likely (Theoretically)
3) Add the specific purpose of aircraft for certain group of aircraft

When I look at the long list of, say 'bomber', I always get confused by which specific type of bomber are used for, such as level bombing, heavy dive bomb, torpedo bomb, etc.  That is where this mod project comes in.

This is also an ideal not only for assisting pilot to select aircraft with specific role for certain missions, it also is helpful for mission / campaign creation.

When I used to look at the very long list of Spitfire, I always get confused by it.  Hence, I often skip Spitfire from time to time.  However, now with this mod, I finally understand the variants of spitfire and is finally enjoying flying them with the understanding of what each spitfire are designed for.  I hope this help anyone not to get overwhelmed by the long list of aircraft, such as Spitfire, A6M Zero and other aircraft.

4) Changes the 'symbol' to become more 'eye friendly' when looking at the list.  instead of using many "*", I use horizontal line that will help your eye to naturally separate the group of aircraft from the list with ease.

5) Group the list of aircraft under each nation / group and group that uses them.  With this mod project, there is no more "various nations", you will see the the following nation in the list:

> Dawn of Flight (#DOF) <

AUSTRIAHUNGARY
BELGIUM
CZECHOSLOVKA
ENGLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
ITALY
NETHERLANDS
ROMANIA
RUSSIA_/_SOVIET
UNITED_STATES

> The Golden Age (#TGA3) <

BELGIUM
CANADA
CHINA
COLOMBIA
CZECHOSLOVKA
DENMARK
ENGLAND
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
IRAN
ITALY
JAPAN
NETHERLANDS
OTHER
POLAND
ROMANIA
Racers
SOVIET
SPAIN
SWEDEN
THAILAND
UNITED_STATES
Paulus_Dragonfly_Series
CIVILIAN
[Racers]
OTHER

> The Golden Age - SCW (#TGA3) <

SPAIN CIVIL WAR (SCW)
[Spanish Republican Air Force / Escuadrilla Internacional]
[Nationalist Aviation / Nationalist Army of the Air]
[Condor Legion / Luftwaffe]
[Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force)]

NONSCW Aircraft
-> BELGIUM
-> CANADA
-> CHINA
-> COLOMBIA
-> DENMARK
-> ENGLAND
-> FINLAND
-> FRANCE
-> IRAN
-> JAPAN
-> NETHERLANDS
-> POLAND
-> ROMANIA
-> Racers
-> SOVIET
-> SWEDEN
-> THAILAND
-> UNITED STATES
-> Paulus Dragonfly Series
-> CIVILIAN
-> OTHER

> World at War (#WAW3) <

AUSTRALIA
CHINA
CZECHOSLOVKA*
DENMARK
EGYPT
ENGLAND
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
GREECE
HUNGARY
IRAN
ITALY
JAPAN
NETHERLANDS
POLAND
ROMANIA
SOVIET
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
THAILAND
UNITED_STATES
YUGOSLAVIA
[ACES_Pilots_Aircraft]
Sky_Captain_and_the_World_of_Tomorrow
Paulus_Dragonfly_Series
CIVILIAN
[Racers]
OTHER

> The Jet Age (#JTW3) <

CIVILIAN
AUSTRALIA
ARGENTINA
BRAZIL
CANADA
CHINA
CZECHOSLOVKA
ENGLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
INDIA
ISRAEL
ITALY
JAPAN
NEW ZEALAND
SOUTH AFRICA
RUSSIA / SOVIET
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
UNITED STATES
PROJECT BEARTRAP
EXPERIMENTAL RACING

7) Uses tag for notes.  Here are the following tags used in aircraft list:

-Variants- Aircraft that have variants in ordinance list.
=NATIONS= Aircraft that are used by specific nations.
-PROJECT- = Aircraft that are designed by an aeronautical engineer officially and have not been built as a prototype yet.
-CAP- = Captured aicraft
- PROTOTYPE - = Aircraft that get stuck in prototype without becoming a military production version
-OLD- For "old hangar' aircraft
-modder name- For any aircraft with duplicated name, with this tag, you can tell which aircraft are from IL-2 1946 or modder.  For example, -JCat- for A6M series mod.
-FICT- For any user made aircraft that wasn't officially designed nor planned by an aeronautical engineer.

Optimized the list with more clean list.  it will make scrolling through aircraft easier.  I hope that one day modders manage to add the features to the GUI where you can select the country from a drop menu, then choose the aircraft. That would be awesome.  This just gave me ideas for the request section.

By the way, Keep in mind, I am not perfect and I continue to learn everyday.  Any feedback are always appreciated. If you happen to spot the incorrect aircraft name, roles, or placement of the aircraft in the list, please post here. I am more than happy to fix it.  If you have any suggestion or ideas on how to improve the mod, please feel free to post here.

ISSUES:  There are certain issues in the aircraft list.
- Some of the two aircraft have the same name. I can't tell which mod it is from.  So I use tag "#1" and "#2" for now. if anyone know which mod it is from, please let me know and I will use tag - modder name -.

- Some aircraft does not use specific variant letter / numbers for designation. I use one that I think is possibly correct.  For example, when I see B-36, I assumed it is B-36C.  So if the designation and variatns are incorrect, please post it here. I will fix it and release the newer version.


INSTALLATION:

There are two methods of installing mods.  You wil see two folders: Manual Installation and JSGME Installation

NOTE #1: If you installed previous version of AAL mod with either folders

"#BAT_DOF_ALTERNATIVE_AIRCRAFT_LIST_ALL_ERA"

OR

"#BAT_AAL_ALL_ERA_Version_1"
"#BAT_AAL_ALL_ERA_Version_2"

DELETE THEM!  These folders are no longer used from now on.


MANUAL INSTALLATION:

STEPS:

1) There are folders for each era (DOF, TGA, JTW, and WAW.  Make sure you pick one out of several options.  For example, in TGA and WAW, you will see multi folders, only pick ONE!

2) Drop the folder (#DOF3, #TGA3, #JTW3, and/or #WAW3) into main il-2 1946 folder and overwrite. 

UNISTALLATION:

If you want to restore the files, there is is a folder _ORG FILES (BAT v4.2.2 + HOTFIX 4).  Copy and paste in IL-2 1946 folder and overwrite.


JSGME INSTALLATION:

STEPS:
1) Extract a zipped file and you will see the folders:

#BAT_AAL_DOF_AIR.INI
#BAT_AAL_DOF_PLANE_PROPERITIES
#BAT_AAL_JTW_AIR.INI
#BAT_AAL_JTW_PLANE_PROPERITIES
#BAT_AAL_TGA_AIR.INI
#BAT_AAL_TGA_AIR.INI_SCW
#BAT_AAL_TGA_PLANE_PROPERITIES_Default
#BAT_AAL_TGA_PLANE_PROPERITIES_Long_Names
#BAT_AAL_WAW_AIR.INI
#BAT_AAL_WAW_AIR.INI_ALT
#BAT_AAL_WAW_PLANE_PROPERITIES_Default
#BAT_AAL_WAW_PLANE_PROPERITIES_Long_Names

2) Drop all of the folders into BATMODS folder in IL-2 1946 main folder

3) Use JSGME to enable EITHER ONE of the mods.  DO NOT enable two mods aat the same time.

NOTE:  You will see some folder that ends with "PLANE_PROPERITIES_Default" and "PLANE_PROPERITIES_Long_Names", only enable either one of them. Do NOT enable both of them at the same itme.

UNISTALLATION:
Deactivate the files in JSGME and then delete all folderst that start with "#BAT_AAL" from BATMODS folder.


Changelog

Code: [Select]

v1.0 - First main release of BAT-DTW-AAL
v1.1 - First release of BAT-DTWJ-AAL
v1.2 - Cleaned some of the list, moved some aircraft to the correct role, and re-organized A6M list. Added an alternative version of #WAW3 list known as "#WAW3 Lite".
v1.3 - Updated to work with BAT 4.2
v1.4 - Fixed A6M variants and moved several aircraft to their proper role.
v1.5 - Updated to BAT v4.2.1
v1.5a - Fixed Avenger name and place in the list
v1.5b - Updated various planes name
v1.6 - Major update to aircraft names, cleaned the duplicated names, and updated to BAT v4.2.2 (Hotfix 3)
v1.7 - Japanese aircraft name overhaul
v1.7a (BETA - WAW) - New nations added, correction to aircraft name and roles, and -Variants- tags
v1.7.1 (BETA - WAW) - Correction to aircraft name and roles, and cleaned the list.
v1.8 (BETA - WAW) - Two version of AAL created with short and long designation.  Spitfire aircraft list re-organized aand is easier to navigate through it. More correction made to the certain aircraft names.
v1.8 (BETA - WAW) - Moved the rest of aircraft to the correct role, added Fighter / Fighter-Bomber roles, and overhaul Paulus Dragonfly Series aircraft.
v1.9 (BETA - DOF - TGA - TGA (SCW) - WAW) - Overhaul WAW, TGA, and DOF.  Merged [Fighter], [Fighter / Fighter-Bomber], and [Fighter-Bomber] into one group. Split AIR and PLANE_PROPERITIES for ease of customization.

This mod is designed to work with AOL mod.  It is highly recommended to use both AAL and AOL together.  Here is the link to AOL mod:
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,70156.0.html

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)

BAT v4.2.2 (Hotfix 4) v1.9.1a:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/l85dz339lc5kmsf/BAT-AAL_v1.9.1a+BETA.zip/file


Chaoic16

[bomberkiller]

Hello Chaoic,

very helpful!

A very time-consuming and often confusing job!

I would like to thank you for your wonderful work,

.                               

[csvousden]

Amen!  Thank you!  This is superb!

[Chaoic16]

New version 1.01 is released.  The updated link and change log is provided in the first post.

[Knochenlutscher]

At WAW I have no problem even with my +400 Modded Slots atop.
The issue is at the other Modules that I'm not entirely knowing what is what.
DOF and TGA, here too much unknown stuff.
Definitely waiting for sth. like this, Thanks for your Efforts
Keep up the good work

Tobias

[Chaoic16]

At WAW I have no problem even with my +400 Modded Slots atop.
The issue is at the other Modules that I'm not entirely knowing what is what.
DOF and TGA, here too much unknown stuff.
Definitely waiting for sth. like this, Thanks for your Efforts
Keep up the good work

Tobias

Thank you for the feedback and comments.  After reading in another thread when I asked the questions about slots, i realized that I can clone an existing aircraft for specific nations.  That is where I started slitting the aircraft role.  For example "Dive Bomber / Torpedo", into just "Dive bomber" and "Torpedo bomber".  For any aircraft with individual different role, they have their own role in the list.  For aircraft that are multi-role (Beaufighters), they keep the role as "multi-role heavy fighter" with note below it as "Strike fighter / Torpedo bomber".

The new, much improved version of WAW are done now.  Right now I am in progress of polishing TGA version. It is mostly done and right now I am double checking SCW (Spanish Civil War).  In TGA, you will see various nations having their own aircraft, along with Spain (Spanish Air Force) list.  At bottom of the list, there are SCW list for The republic Spanish Air Force and Nationalist Air Force" too.

I am looking forward releasing both WAW and TGA soon. After that, I will work on DOF version.  I have been learning so much as I work on the list.

[Chaoic16]

Hello everyone,

The new version of #WAW3 is released, along with #TGA.

I hope everyone likes it. I am still working on the Spanish Civil War (SCW) and Spain (Post SCW) aircraft list.  Any feedback or more information are always appreciated.

DOF version is being worked on now.

Cheers

[Chaoic16]

Everyone,

New version is released with cleaner aircraft list, thank to someone suggestion.  No more many cloned aircraft.  I will only clone aircraft in a certain situation that needs it.  The list is more simple and cleaner now.

[cbradbury]

I have to admit that I am with Kelso regarding this project. I encourage any enthusiasm for undertaking and making adjustments to Il2 BAT, but this is not for me. Luckily jgsme allows anyone to add a modified air.ini if they wish, including yours, so the decision is an entirely personal one.

There are essentially three reasons why I will not be using it:

1. I really don't need all the categories - I do not need to be told that a Vampire is a jet FB, for example. If I am unsure about a particular aircraft or variant, a few seconds on the internet resolves that problem.
2. You have almost doubled the length of the file (in terms of lines), and I found the original bad enough to scroll through - leading me to:
3. The first thing I do when an updated air.ini comes out is rem out lots of aircraft, especially the endless variants of the Spit, 109, 190, and Zero (I rarely fly them), as this makes the file shorter and easier to navigate. It is much simpler to do this with the current format viv-a-vis yours, as I don't have all the additional headings. I have considered preparing theatre-specific air.inis to make the file even shorter, but for now I find that removing those fighters to be sufficient.

So personally I will be staying with the existing format. However, there may be users who benefit from your approach, and the beauty of the sim is that pretty much all tastes can be catered for using jgsme.

[Chaoic16]

I have to admit that I am with Kelso regarding this project. I encourage any enthusiasm for undertaking and making adjustments to Il2 BAT, but this is not for me. Luckily jgsme allows anyone to add a modified air.ini if they wish, including yours, so the decision is an entirely personal one.

There are essentially three reasons why I will not be using it:

1. I really don't need all the categories - I do not need to be told that a Vampire is a jet FB, for example. If I am unsure about a particular aircraft or variant, a few seconds on the internet resolves that problem.
2. You have almost doubled the length of the file (in terms of lines), and I found the original bad enough to scroll through - leading me to:
3. The first thing I do when an updated air.ini comes out is rem out lots of aircraft, especially the endless variants of the Spit, 109, 190, and Zero (I rarely fly them), as this makes the file shorter and easier to navigate. It is much simpler to do this with the current format viv-a-vis yours, as I don't have all the additional headings. I have considered preparing theatre-specific air.inis to make the file even shorter, but for now I find that removing those fighters to be sufficient.

So personally I will be staying with the existing format. However, there may be users who benefit from your approach, and the beauty of the sim is that pretty much all tastes can be catered for using jgsme.

That is understandable.  Thank you for the feedback.  After reading what you wrote, it gave me ideas to improve the list even further.  I am going to remove the names of military branches name and make list even shorter this way while keeping the name of the nations.  At the same time, I will trim the non-needed names of aircraft categories and only keep English version.   

I do realize that i can not please everyone and that is okay.  I will always continue sharing my passions with the community, including you. 

Cheers

[Chaoic16]

The new version of WAW and TGA aircraft list is released with cleaner list.  It is thank to the feedback above.  I am keeping the aircraft role categories, however, the military branches and another extra names are removed. 

As always, the feedback are appreciated.  Even if only one person likes this mod, that is more than good enough for me.

I am now focused on DOF version.

[Chaoic16]

I recently discovered the problems when using 'cloned' aircraft with different names.  What I realized is that, if cloning aircraft and renaming it, I would also have to clone an existing aircraft skin folder to match it, if users want an access to the list of skins.  That is impractical.   

For example, in order, to have I-16s for both Soviet and Spain, I cloned Original Soviet I-16 and renamed it as I-16_FARE (Spain) so it can have proper Spain name for it.  With that, it won't have an access to list of skin due to a different name.

The hotfix erase all cloned aircraft with different names.  I sincerely apologize for this problems. I learn more about how the codes work in IL-2 1946 files everyday. The hotfix is released now.