PWCG

[Aapje]

Patrick seems to be very busy in real life and doesn't do much work on PWCG anymore.

[AeroCrab]

 

6 hours ago, Flashy said:

BTW, I am already using ultra-low for AA, and still getting an unsurvivable level of AA over some targets... 

I'm really surprised by that. PWCG does AA for airfields, along the front lines, near bridges and near railroads in the existing code. Even with the logic error, with CONFIG_LEVEL_ULTRA_LOW it skips doing AA for bridges and railroads, both of which are usually responsible for extreme AA proliferation. Using that AA setting, you should see two AA units at the player airfield (only - none for the non-player ones) and a unit every 8000 meters or so along the front lines and that's it. If you are seeing a lot more than that, something I don't understand is going on. 

Pat is aware of the issue/fix if he was looking at the old forum, but while the logic error is an easy fix the rest of it is less so. I changed the whole way the map content is stored as part of other changes, but in short I had to pre-process the map content to group all "nearby" rail and bridge units into a single "rail station" or "bridge" and then use that to place AA units. There are probably other ways of solving the issue.

 

[AcesDarthBubu]

14 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

 

I'm really surprised by that. PWCG does AA for airfields, along the front lines, near bridges and near railroads in the existing code. Even with the logic error, with CONFIG_LEVEL_ULTRA_LOW it skips doing AA for bridges and railroads, both of which are usually responsible for extreme AA proliferation. Using that AA setting, you should see two AA units at the player airfield (only - none for the non-player ones) and a unit every 8000 meters or so along the front lines and that's it. If you are seeing a lot more than that, something I don't understand is going on. 

Pat is aware of the issue/fix if he was looking at the old forum, but while the logic error is an easy fix the rest of it is less so. I changed the whole way the map content is stored as part of other changes, but in short I had to pre-process the map content to group all "nearby" rail and bridge units into a single "rail station" or "bridge" and then use that to place AA units. There are probably other ways of solving the issue.

 

Did you solve the issue of AA on water or sea with your approach? 

Also, how you guys do night missions in PWCG especially landing ? Fire flares to locate the runway? Kind of struggling on the occasional night missions during landing in VR without cheating( autopilot,end mission in flight or adjust gamma). Its pitch dark!

Edited January 9 by AcesDarthBubu

[AeroCrab]

@AcesDarthBubu No, I still have the same river guns as everybody else. As far as I can see, solving that would either require a separate "all these spots are invalid for AA" map, or the converse - a map that defined where AA was possible. The actual game must have some solution, and maybe it is something I haven't thought of. In any case, it all seems like more work than I care to put into it, so I just deal with the occasional silliness.

As far as night missions go, PWCG currently tries to put fire pots along the runway at night, but there are some bugs that prevent it all from working correctly. I have fixed all that locally but even so - there's no shame in setting the gamma to something sane for your headset. We're supposed to be enjoying this and if "sit there in the darkness for half an hour" is not your thing, well, there you go. I'm on a Q3 and if I get a night mission that is overcast I'm not above adjusting the gamma to suit.

[TheNappingMan]

You can also change the time in PWCG to something more reasonable.  It's at the top of the "Waypoints" screen when you create a mission.

[AcesDarthBubu]

8 hours ago, TheNappingMan said:

You can also change the time in PWCG to something more reasonable.  It's at the top of the "Waypoints" screen when you create a mission.

Yup, aware that that can be done. Wanted to play as is to experience night flying was the reason didn't wanted to adjust much to compensate. 

[TACxVenom]

Is it possible to rearm/refuel/repair using PWCG?

[Varibraun]

On 1/13/2026 at 2:36 AM, TACxVenom said:

Is it possible to rearm/refuel/repair using PWCG?

No, Pat has said in the past the PWCG code is not designed to support it.

[AcesDarthBubu]

Not sure whether Pat is still working on PWCG, but would hope Major Magee latest infantry mod for ww1 and ww2 is incorporated into PWCG, instead of using the current generic US troops for axis.

[Aapje]

Pat is now very busy in real life, and I would certainly not expect him to include support for mods.

[AcesDarthBubu]

Thanks @Aapje. Perhaps he would modify the colors and faction himself seeing that he already uses allied infantry as stands in for German troop.

[Stonehouse]

On 1/16/2026 at 11:53 PM, AcesDarthBubu said:

Thanks @Aapje. Perhaps he would modify the colors and faction himself seeing that he already uses allied infantry as stands in for German troop.

I believe you can clone the existing jsons in FCData\vehicles plus adjust the countries in the existing ones to add @MajorMagee 's new units.

EG Crossleyt5.json copied to Crossleyt5FR.json. Then in Crosleyt5FR.json change modelDir, vehicleType, vehicleName and possibly the displayName aand set the countries table to be just "FRANCE". Then change Crossleyt5.json so that the countries table has the "FRANCE" entry removed. 

Do the same for each of the new AI units from MajorMagee's mod pack and then package it all up as a JSGME mod (so you can carry it across PWCGFC updates easily) and enable it and the next mission generated should include the new units. It may take a little trial and error but I did something similar for Additional Warships and it worked fine. You could do the same with the WW2 infantry troops MajorMagee has created as well.

( @kraut1 in case this interests you)

 

<edit> attached example of original PWCG json and modded version of the Crossleyt5. You would create a mod folder structure like MajorMageeWW1AI unitsPWCGFC\PWCGFC\FCData\Input\Vehicles and put the updated and new jsons into the vehicle folder.

vehicles.zip

Edited January 18 by Stonehouse

[kraut1]

On 1/16/2026 at 1:53 PM, AcesDarthBubu said:

Thanks @Aapje. Perhaps he would modify the colors and faction himself seeing that he already uses allied infantry as stands in for German troop.

 

9 hours ago, Stonehouse said:

I believe you can clone the existing jsons in FCData\vehicles plus adjust the countries in the existing ones to add @MajorMagee 's new units.

EG Crossleyt5.json copied to Crossleyt5FR.json. Then in Crosleyt5FR.json change modelDir, vehicleType, vehicleName and possibly the displayName aand set the countries table to be just "FRANCE". Then change Crossleyt5.json so that the countries table has the "FRANCE" entry removed. 

Do the same for each of the new AI units from MajorMagee's mod pack and then package it all up as a JSGME mod (so you can carry it across PWCGFC updates easily) and enable it and the next mission generated should include the new units. It may take a little trial and error but I did something similar for Additional Warships and it worked fine. You could do the same with the WW2 infantry troops MajorMagee has created as well.

( @kraut1 in case this interests you)

Hi,

I am not an PWCGFC expert and I am not working on this topic.
But I have learned some weeks ago during an discussion about the possibility to add flyable PWCG planes:
That at least for the flyable plane some few but importent attributes are defined in the not accessable .exe file.
And because of this it is not possible to add flyable planes although 90% of the required adjustments can be done in editable ..json files.

So in respect of additional / alternative vehicles (infantry is vehicle), artillery, tanks the most importent question is:
Are all required definitions in editable configuration files or not?

If the situation is that no further units can be added to PWCGFC, it would mean that the only solution for the German WW1 Infantry would be a pure skin mod.
This means the modded grey skins by MajorMagee have to be renamed to the default US name in the default named folder in a pure skin mod...

[Stonehouse]

38 minutes ago, kraut1 said:

So in respect of additional / alternative vehicles (infantry is vehicle), artillery, tanks the most importent question is:
Are all required definitions in editable configuration files or not?

If the situation is that no further units can be added to PWCGFC, it would mean that the only solution for the German WW1 Infantry would be a pure skin mod.
This means the modded grey skins by MajorMagee have to be renamed to the default US name in the default named folder in a pure skin mod...

I don't know, certainly for Additional warships adding the json was all that was required so I think it would work for the AI infantry and vehicles. I know you are fully engaged with other projects - I simply included you as an fyi in case it was of interest to you. It really was more for MajorMagee's benefit in case it was something to be added to the WW1 mod. I know it was intended for a WW1esque version of the Odessa map but likely it would be of interest for PWCG users too. I guess I was just really pointing out that it is likely that the new units could be added without needing Pat to find time. It could be someone else doing the work too if MajorMagee didn't want to or didn't have time for it. At present as I am struggling to find time for things myself so was just passing on the info.

Edited January 18 by Stonehouse

[AcesDarthBubu]

1 hour ago, Stonehouse said:

I don't know, certainly for Additional warships adding the json was all that was required so I think it would work for the AI infantry and vehicles. I know you are fully engaged with other projects - I simply included you as an fyi in case it was of interest to you. It really was more for MajorMagee's benefit in case it was something to be added to the WW1 mod. I know it was intended for a WW1esque version of the Odessa map but likely it would be of interest for PWCG users too. I guess I was just really pointing out that it is likely that the new units could be added without needing Pat to find time. It could be someone else doing the work too if MajorMagee didn't want to or didn't have time for it. At present as I am struggling to find time for things myself so was just passing on the info.

Thanks @Stonehouse, did a quick test based on what you shared. Seems to be able to get PWCG to generate infantry with MajorMagee's mod. No idea on how to mod the game, but seems to work. Appreciate the pointers on how to DIY it. 

[Stonehouse]

10 hours ago, AcesDarthBubu said:

Thanks @Stonehouse, did a quick test based on what you shared. Seems to be able to get PWCG to generate infantry with MajorMagee's mod. No idea on how to mod the game, but seems to work. Appreciate the pointers on how to DIY it. 

Just something to keep in mind. If you do decide to create a mod to add MajorMagee's units to PWCG don't create jsons for the blah blah-attach.txt units as these are attached guns, radar whatever to be added to vehicles, trains, ships etc. Most commonly they are some sort of gun or searchlight that where the 3d model doesn't include the field base mount and just had the gun and post or post and ring ready to be added to another 3d model.  The units to create jsons for are all in data\luascripts\vehicles in MajorMagee's mod.

Eg no json for hotchkissmle14fr-aa-attach.txt

[Lupus]

So... I've got a question. With PWCG, since we have the maps, wouldn't it be possible to build a campaign to start at the Battle of Britain in 1940, and, speaking of having the maps, would it be feasible to use PWCG to start with WW2 in 1939 with the Nazi invasion of Poland?

I can't write the code, but I was wondering if someone else might be able to?

[Varibraun]

On 1/19/2026 at 8:06 PM, Lupus said:

So... I've got a question. With PWCG, since we have the maps, wouldn't it be possible to build a campaign to start at the Battle of Britain in 1940, and, speaking of having the maps, would it be feasible to use PWCG to start with WW2 in 1939 with the Nazi invasion of Poland?

I can't write the code, but I was wondering if someone else might be able to?

The problem for Pat was the actual historical plane set doesn't exist.  However, he did recreate the BoB during 1941 to give the best possible "BoB like" experience with the existing aircraft.  With Pat taking a well deserved hiatus, this is probably the best we will ever see in GB unless the devs have a very unlikely surprise up their sleave regarding older aircraft models.  Longer AI summary answer below:

While the Pat Wilson Campaign Generator (PWCG) does not have a dedicated, historically accurate Battle of Britain (BoB) theater, it allows you to simulate a 1941 "BoB-style" experience by repurposing the Normandy map. 

 

How PWCG Handles the Battle of Britain

Pat Wilson has addressed this specific request in the official IL-2 forums, outlining why a "pure" 1940 campaign is not yet possible:

• Substituted Aircraft: The Great Battles series lacks the exact 1940 variants (like the Spitfire Mk.I or Bf 109 E-3). Pat Wilson suggests "fudging it" by using the 1941 planeset—including Spitfire Mk.V, Hurricane Mk.II, and later Bf 109s—to represent the conflict.
• The "BoB 1941" Plan: Pat discussed a plan to extend the timeline from the Dunkirk period into a summer 1941 "Battle of Britain" campaign, ending in October.
• Channel War Scenario: PWCG already includes a "Channel War" scenario that utilizes the Normandy map for missions over the English Channel.
• Technical Barriers: Adding new theaters is complex because every squadron requires a full simulation of pilot rosters, equipment resupply rates, and historical airfield data. 

The 1941 "Battle of Britain" / Channel War experience was primarily introduced and refined during the PWCG 14.x series updates, coinciding with the Normandy map integration.

 

Key Version Milestones

• Version 14.1.3 (January 2023): This specific update included significant date correlation changes for the Channel front. In this version, Pat Wilson implemented a "fudged" timeline where 30th September 1941 in-game correlates to 30th September 1940 in history to allow the available aircraft set (like the Hurricane Mk.II and Spitfire Mk.V) to fit a Battle of Britain-style scenario.
• Normandy Beta 2 (September 2022): This earlier phase introduced the Normandy map capabilities, enabling the "Channel War" starting in June 1941.
• Substituted Assets: To make the 1941 campaign feel like the 1940 Battle of Britain, Pat Wilson discussed using "stand-in" assets, such as using the BT-7 tank to represent British cruiser tanks that aren't natively in the game. 

 

Where Pat Wilson Discusses It

Pat Wilson frequently updates the community on these timeline and planeset "fudges" in the Pat Wilson Campaign Generator sub-forum. He specifically addresses the technical necessity of starting in 1941 (rather than 1940) to maintain historical staffing and equipment simulation integrity. 

Edited January 23 by Varibraun

[kraut1]

16 hours ago, Lupus said:

So... I've got a question. With PWCG, since we have the maps, wouldn't it be possible to build a campaign to start at the Battle of Britain in 1940, and, speaking of having the maps, would it be feasible to use PWCG to start with WW2 in 1939 with the Nazi invasion of Poland?

I can't write the code, but I was wondering if someone else might be able to?

What you could try without changing PWCG is:
Try out my  small BoB mod together with PWCG:

-By doing this you have only 1940 existing RAF grass airfields (I think this you can define airfields by editing the PWCG squadron settings).
-You have to use the D-Day map NOT the summer 1944 Normandy Map.
-The Spitfire Vb has by default the skin with the unvisible 20mm cannons by @Off_Winters and I have modded the armament to simulate an only .30 MG armament.
(maybe you have to change/deactivate default PWCG skins)
-And for late autumn 1940 you could try my modded BF109-F1.

But sorry, I don't have time to care for this...

Edited January 20 by kraut1

[Lupus]

Thank you, but I wasn't trying for something full realism and historical, but I appreciate knowing about the mods. I guess I just have a long lost dream of having a modern day version of IL-2 1946, where you could play the entire war, from the invasion of Poland to V-J day.

[kraut1]

3 hours ago, Lupus said:

Thank you, but I wasn't trying for something full realism and historical, but I appreciate knowing about the mods. I guess I just have a long lost dream of having a modern day version of IL-2 1946, where you could play the entire war, from the invasion of Poland to V-J day.

For Poland 39 the most difficult issue would be PZL High-wing fighter plane for Great Battles.
The Fokker EVIII is too slow, MAybe a skinner could make the lower wing of the Chaika to vanish...😁
Concerning IL-2 1946 I have played it indeed from 39 - 45 too.
But I had to use modpacks (DBW, BAT) and for flexible campaign mission generation IL2DCG by PAul Lowengrin.
And for one year even VR worked with VorpX (after june 2021 performance issues)....

Edited January 22 by kraut1

[Lupus]

On 1/21/2026 at 11:28 PM, kraut1 said:

For Poland 39 the most difficult issue would be PZL High-wing fighter plane for Great Battles.
The Fokker EVIII is too slow, MAybe a skinner could make the lower wing of the Chaika to vanish...😁
Concerning IL-2 1946 I have played it indeed from 39 - 45 too.
But I had to use modpacks (DBW, BAT) and for flexible campaign mission generation IL2DCG by PAul Lowengrin.
And for one year even VR worked with VorpX (after june 2021 performance issues)....

Yes, I remember DCG. Hell of a program. The PWCG of IL-2 1946 in many ways.

[nt55551]

Is this the end of the line for PWCG? Big update today, new theater, probably no chance Odessa gets added to PWCG right? I feel like its a lot of work and there hasn't been a major update in a very long time 

[Pingu565]

Hey Pat,

big fan of the software, i have been using it to make a custom RAAF PNG campaign and was hoping I could chat to you about distrubuting it as an installer (custom assets etc)
Made this post about it over on the il2 subreddit.

 

 

[FungibleofFungible]

On 1/29/2026 at 11:26 PM, Pingu565 said:

Hey Pat,

big fan of the software, i have been using it to make a custom RAAF PNG campaign and was hoping I could chat to you about distrubuting it as an installer (custom assets etc)
Made this post about it over on the il2 subreddit.

 

 

That's crazy cool! I'd love to hear how you did that? Did you have to open up the base java files or is this entirely editing within the BoSData folders?