In this persistent dynamic campaign, your goal is to move through the map and capture all zones from the enemy.
As you capture some areas, you will unlock benefits for your coalition such as friendly air patrols, or new spawn positions. Beware as the enemy will also launch attacks to retake what was once theirs.
The goal is to capture all zones.
Helpful video by @Diesel_Thunder to get you started: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzDlYHViREA
To capture a zone, first you need to destroy all enemy forces deployed there, in order to turn the zone neutral.
Neutral zones can be captured either by assisting friendly AI supply aircraft, which periodically spawn at friendly zones, to land at them, or by loading up supplies and dropping them off yourself using helicopters.
Friendly zones can be upgraded with extra units to improve their defense using the same mechanics as capturing.
If a zone has a group that is missing units, a supply delivery will first restore that group. An upgrade will only occur if all existing groups are in good condition.
These rules are common to all zones, but some zones can provide special bonuses as well, like friendly air patrols, AI air support, or unlock new spawn points.
The enemy AI will also launch attacks to recapture lost zones, air patrols to protect their airspace and supply deliveries to reinforce their defenses, so plan accordingly.
Feel free to use the map to get an idea of what is happening, and use the F10 radio menu to get a report about any of the zones.
Some spawns will be blocked until you capture the zone they are in. The name of the required zone can be found in the unit/group name on the spawn menu.
Some zones have critical structures that, once destroyed, will permanently disable the zone, making it uncapturable for both sides. You can make use of this to easily deny the benefits of a zone for the enemy, at the cost of not being able to make use of it in the future.
Certain zones are not meant to be captured at all. These usually offer certain bonuses, or handicap the enemy if cleared.
You can earn credits that can be used to call in support aircraft.
To call in support you can either use the F10 Radio menu, or use map markers (place a map marker anywhere, and set its label to "help" to display available commands)
Earn credits by:
Destroying enemy units and landing at a friendly zone to claim your kills
Capturing certain zones that provide a steady income
Delivering supplies to friendly zones
Rescuing downed pilots and dropping them off at friendly zones.
Certain missions that periodically appear will reward credits upon completion
~~~~Note on Persistence~~~~
Persistence is also available in case you want to stop and resume the mission at a later time. The state is saved every minute.
In order for persistence to work you will need to edit the following file in your DCS install directory: \Scripts\MissionScripting.lua
Edit the following section:
do
sanitizeModule('os')
sanitizeModule('io')
sanitizeModule('lfs')
_G['require'] = nil
_G['loadlib'] = nil
_G['package'] = nil
end
to look like this:
do
sanitizeModule('os')
--sanitizeModule('io')
--sanitizeModule('lfs')
_G['require'] = nil
_G['loadlib'] = nil
_G['package'] = nil
end
To reset the persistence and play the mission again fr om the start, delete footholdSyria_1.0.lua found in your DCS save games/missions/saves directory.
~~~~Other notes~~~~
Most flyable aircraft should be available, but feel free to edit or set-up any slot you would like in any of the zones. As long as the coalition of the slot is different fr om the coalition of the zone it starts in, it will be automatically blocked. Try to include the zone name in the name of any slots you add, so that players can tell what zone they need to capture for that slot to open up.
The UH60 and Hercules mods are not included by default for accesibility reasons, but they are compatible with the logistics if added to the mission.
The Hercules mod specifically can be used to deliver supplies by airdroping the Generic Crate item on top of zones.
~~~~Changelog~~~~
~v1.0.1 2022 July 12~
Added Hatay to supply zones
Added a few new enemy convoys to the eastern side of the map
Added missing Apache slots to Abu al-Duhur
Moved savefile under Missions/Saves directory in dcs savegames folder
~v1.0.2 2022 August 14~
Fixed script error when escort event ends
Added Mirage F1 slots to Incirlik and Abu al-Duhur
~v1.0.3 2022 August 18~
Fixed corrupted save file caused by certain usernames
~v1.0.4 2023 January 15~
Added BS3
~v1.0.5 2023 April 21~
Fix for issue wh ere AI spawn inside their previous wreckage
~v1.0.6 2023 May 04~
Disabled clearing of wreckage, as it was causing crashes
~v1.0.7 2023 Dec 01~
Fixed issues introduced by scripting api changes
Added F15E spawns
~v1.0.8 2023 Dec 19~
Added FCR to Apaches
~v1.0.9 2023 Dec 21~
Fixed unit category detection
~v1.0.10 2024 Feb 04~
Fixed JTAC not retargeting in some cases when target is dead
Removed the need for slotblock.lua in MP
~v1.0.11 2024 Feb 23~
Fixed issue caused by new Group.getByName() behaviour
