[MOD] Dynamic effects plus units

[Stonehouse]

**Apologies, I somehow missed bringing this across from the old forum. Please note that there have been no changes required to this mod since game version 6.107b so if you have it already then, no need to redownload **

I'd like to thank templargfx for granting us permission to create a new thread and for his original mod which this one is based on. The work dramatically improves battlefield immersion and templargfx should be credited for the original concept and effort.

 

(for reference only the original thread is found here Random Dynamic 'Battle' Smoke and Ground Units - Mods - IL-2 Sturmovik Forum (il2sturmovik.com) )

 

This mod will randomly create smoke columns, fire and explosions and various units like AAA and searchlights around the player hosting the mod. You can configure by type how far away from the player things spawn and the probability of doing so. You can also pick and choose what things will spawn. By way of a bonus this mod includes the functionality of the draw distance mod for smoke so you should no longer need that one if you use this. I've used this mod for both locally hosted and dedicated server MP missions without issue so you should have the same experience as long as you respect the comments in the first bullet point below. I have a separate JSGME mod profile setup for clients and host/offline play for the group I fly with to ensure clients don't accidentally load this mod for MP sessions. JSGME mod profiles are held as MEP files and can be loaded under tasks in JSGME.

 

As people have requested I'll update this first post with updates when they arrive. Last update was Aug 4 2022

 

Notes below are included in the 7zip file as a htm file. Hopefully it is readable for you, if not let me know.

 

For people wondering what smoke effects look like for example, see some sample pics below. There are lots of other pictures in the original mod thread should you want to see other examples.

 

Some general notes:

• If you use this mod in MP ONLY THE HOST SHOULD HAVE IT ENABLED.  This is because it has been set up to pass network traffic and if everyone is running it then each instance of the emitter will create explosions and fires and transmit details to everyone else. If more than one person in the mission is running the mod this will quickly drown the mission in smoke etc and bring it to it's knees. The benefit of enabling network traffic and have only the host generate effects is that everyone in the mission will see the same thing. If network traffic is disabled then each player could run the mod but people would only see their own created effects. ie so saying west of the large smoke would mean something different to each player. 
•  Changing the frequency of each effect being generated is done by changing the line starting with "P=" in file staticexplosions.txt. This is essentially a probability of the effect being triggered or the unit being spawned. Note that this value is checked extremely frequently by the game and so values should be kept quite (surprisingly) small to avoid too many instances of an effect or unit being triggered. Especially true for units as they don't despawn and so the number of units will accumulate over time. If you fiddle with the values and increase the chance of triggering too much don't be surprised that it causes you problems.
•  All effects are based on the location of the player running the mod. So the min and max distance is based on this players location. Keep this in mind or else expect to have explosions etc be triggered so close that things like taking off becomes pretty difficult. eg spawning an enemy flak gun on your own airfield will ruin your day. The line to tweak in file staticexplosions.txt for this is the one starting with "Range=" and the first value is the minimum distance from the player running the mod and the second is the max distance. The game will trigger the effect at a random distance between these two values.
•  Personally I usually only have the smoke and fire effects turned on and set up to be quite a distance out so they add atmosphere only. I've uploaded the mod with this configuration. However I have also supplied a example staticexplosions.txt with everything turned on. The file is called staticexplosions.txt.alleffects. If you wish to turn off a specific effect then you need to comment out the lines for the effect in file staticexplosions.txt. This is done by putting "//" without the quotes at the start of each relevant line. An effect block starts with the line [Emitter] and ends with the line [end]. To remove an effect put // at the start of each line relevant to the effect in question. To swithc on an effect or unit remove the comment markers from the lines for the block defining the effect. For example if I want to disable the effect which either creates a 52K mobile AA turret at a ground location or a destroyer at a water location I would change the lines below:

[Emitter]
	P=0.002
	Object="LuaScripts\WorldObjects\Vehicles\52k.txt"
	WaterObject="LuaScripts\WorldObjects\Ships\destroyertype7.txt"
	Alt=0
	Range=4500,35000
[end]

to

//[Emitter]
//	P=0.002
//	Object="LuaScripts\WorldObjects\Vehicles\52k.txt"
//	WaterObject="LuaScripts\WorldObjects\Ships\destroyertype7.txt"
//	Alt=0
//	Range=4500,35000
//[end]

• Note that Alt = 0 should always be left that way as this is equivalent to sea or ground level. While I haven't tried I assume a +ve value will create the effect midair or perhaps cause an error. Not sure.
• If you wish to keep the ground effect but not have a water effect then replace the line starting with "WaterObject=" with the line below, so for example in the above effect block for the 52K AAA and destroyer if I wanted the 52K AAA but not the destroyer I would replace the line with destroyertype7.txt in it with the line below:

WaterObject="LuaScripts\WorldObjects\TemplarGFX\templar_no_water.txt"

• Attachment is set up to use with JSGME. Easiest method of installation is to copy/move the 7zip file to your JSGME mods folder and do an "Unzip here".
• I suggest using a real editor like notepad++ to edit staticexplosions.txt 

 

General comment, flying missions over the Southern England look a bit strange if there is too much smoke. So, if you are planning a mission in a period of the war where the Luftwaffe still ventured in numbers over the UK you might want to either disable this mod or reduce the probability of smoke effects spawning quite a bit.

 

 

 

7.002 compatible

 

Changelog

12 Feb 2026 transfer to new forum

 

Dynamic Effects plus Units.zip

Edited February 12 by Stonehouse

[kraut1]

Very interesting, does it work with Single Player Missions?

[Stonehouse]

9 minutes ago, kraut1 said:

Very interesting, does it work with Single Player Missions?

Absolutely and I use it a great deal for both SP and MP missions.

Personally though, I don't use the unit's side of the mod as the objects spawn in based on a radius from the player and it is quite possible (especially if the radius is small) that you find enemy units popping up in friendly territory. The smoke and fire part of the mod adds quite a lot of immersion if used sensibly to any mission on most maps. The only time it is a little odd is when you are flying out of UK bases as other than bombing raids no battles took place in the UK but you can turn down the probability of spawning a great deal or simply disable the mod until the situation is appropriate. 

Edited February 12 by Stonehouse