With this plugin you can decide when to run your DCS servers, when to run which mission and how long a specific mission shall run, either in local time or in mission time. Tasks that can be achieved with this solution are below others:
- Have a server rotate a mission every 4 hrs.
- Restart the mission before it gets dark.
- Have two servers run alternately, maybe one with password, one public
- Change time and weather in your mission on specific times or randomly
The plugin is one of if not the most complex plugins of DCSServerBotLight. Read this documentation thoroughly.
Examples:
{
"configs": [
{
"warn": {
"times": [ 600, 300, 60, 10], -- warn users at 10 mins, 5 mins, 1 min and 10 sec before the event
"text": "!!! {item} will {what} in {when} !!!"
},
"presets": { -- Weather presets (see below)
"Winter": { "date": "2016-01-10", "temperature": -10 },
"Summer": { "date": "2016-07-26", "temperature": 18 },
"Early Morning": { "start_time": "04:30" },
"Morning": { "start_time": "08:00" },
"Noon": { "start_time": "12:00" },
"Evening": { "start_time": "18:00" },
"Late Evening": { "start_time": "22:00" },
"Night": { "start_time": "01:00" },
"Calm": {"clouds": "Preset1", "wind": {"at8000": {"speed": 2, "dir": 305}, "at2000": {"speed": 5, "dir": 280}, "atGround": {"speed": 0, "dir": 290}}},
"Windy": {"clouds": "Preset3", "wind": {"at8000": {"speed": 15, "dir": 105}, "at2000": {"speed" 10, "dir": 130}, "atGround": {"speed": 10, "dir": 20}}},
"Storm": {"clouds": "RainyPreset3", "wind": {"at8000": {"speed": 25, "dir": 305}, "at2000": {"speed": 20, "dir": 280}, "atGround": {"speed": 15, "dir": 290}}, "hidden": true},
"Default": ["Summer", "Morning", "Calm"]
},
"extensions": {
"SRS": {
"installation": "%ProgramFiles%\\DCS-SimpleRadio-Standalone"
}
}
},
{
"installation": "instance1",
"affinity": [2, 3], -- CPU affinity for this process
"schedule": {
"00-12": "NNNNNNN", -- instance1 will run everyday from 12 to 24 hrs, besides Sundays.
"12-24": "YYYYYYN"
},
"extensions": {
"SRS": {
"config": "%USERPROFILE%\\Saved Games\\instance1\\Config\\SRS.cfg"
}
},
"restart": {
"method": "restart_with_shutdown", -- restarts the whole server instead only the mission
"mission_time": 480, -- restart the mission after 8 hrs (480 minutes),
"max_mission_time": 510, -- restart, even if people are in after 8:30 hrs (prior warnings will apply if configured)
"populated": false -- no restart of the mission (!), as long as people are in
},
"reset": "run:del \"{dcs_installation}\\SnowfoxMkII*.lua\"" -- delete files (persistency) on .reset command
},
{
"installation": "instance2",
"schedule": {
"00-12:30": "YYYYYYY", -- instance2 runs Sunday all day, rest of the week between 00 and 12:30 hrs
"12:30-24": "NNNNNNY"
},
"extensions": {
"SRS": {
"config": "%USERPROFILE%\\Saved Games\\instance2\\Config\\SRS.cfg"
}
},
"restart": { -- missions rotate every 4 hrs
"method": "rotate",
"local_times": ["00:00", "04:00", "08:00", "12:00", "16:00", "20:00"],
"settings": { -- Weather will change on a timed basis
"00:00-07:59": "Winter, Night, Calm",
"08:00-11:59": "Winter, Morning, Windy",
"12:00-19:59": "Summer, Noon, Calm",
"20:00-23:59": "Summer, Night, Storm"
}
},
"onMissionEnd": "load:Scripts/net/persist.lua", -- load a specific lua on restart
"onShutdown": "run:shutdown /s" -- shutdown the PC when DCS is shut down
},
{
"installation": "instance3",
"schedule": {
"00-24": "YYYYYYY" -- Server runs all day long,
},
"restart": {
"method": "restart_with_shutdown", -- restarts the whole server instead only the mission
"local_times": ["03:00"], -- check for restart at 03h
"mission_end": true -- restart the server after the next mission end only
}
},
{
"installation": "missions",
"schedule": {
"21:30": "NNNNNYN", -- Missions start on Saturdays at 21:30, so start the server there
"23:00-00:00": "NNNNNPN" -- Mission ends somewhere between 23:00 and 00:00, so shutdown when no longer populated
},
"settings": [ -- Weather will change randomly
"Winter, Morning, Windy",
"Summer, Morning, Calm"
]
},
"onMissionStart": "load:Script/net/f10menu.lua" -- load some lua in the mission on mission start
}
]
}| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| times | List of seconds, when a warning should be issued. |
| text | A customizable message that will be sent to the users when a restart is pending. {item} will be replaced with either "server" or "mission", depending on what's happening. {what} will be replaced with what is happening (restart, shutdown, rotate) {when} will be replaced with the time to wait. |
Weather presets can be combined by comma separating them in the appropriate server configuration. You can either create full-fledged weather presets already and load them later or you combine them like in the example above.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| First parameter is the name of the preset. | |
| date | The missions date. |
| start_time | The missions start time in seconds. |
| temperature | Temperature in °C. |
| clouds | Name of a DCS cloud preset. |
| wind | Wind atGround, at2000 (m) and at8000 (m) in m/s |
| qnh | Pressure at sea level in mmHg |
| groundTurbulence | Ground turbulence in 0.1 * meters |
| enable_dust | Whether to enable dust or not |
| dust_density | Dust density in meters, 0 = off |
| enable_fog | Whether to enable fog or not |
| fog | Settings for fog (thickness, visibility) |
| halo | Settings for halo (new with DCS 2.8) |
| requiredModules | Modules required for this mission (can be empty to disable the requirements check). |
| accidental_failures | Set that to false, if you have issues with your mission that accidental failures are enabled even if you disabled them. |
| hidden | If true, this preset is not selectable in the .preset command |
If you have lots of presets, and you don't want to have them in your scheduler.json because it will get messy, you can put them in a separate json file like so:
{
"configs": [
{
[...]
"presets": "config/presets.json",
[...]
}
}| First Parameter | Second Parameter |
|---|---|
| Timeframe, with start and end-time in either HH24 or HH24:MM format. If only one time is provided, the action (see second parameter) has to happen at exactly this time. |
The second parameter contains a character for every day, starting Mo and ending Su. Depending on the character, the behaviour will be selected: Y, N or P - the server should run in that timeframe (Y) or not (N). P means, it should only run, if populated. |
| Examples: Time between 12:30h and 18:00h => 12:30-18:00 Time between 09:00h and 21:30h => 09-21:30 Time between 21:00h and 03:00h => 21-03 (next day!) All day long (00:00h - 24:00h) => 00-24 |
Examples: YYYYYYY => every day YYYYYNN => weekdays only |
| See the above examples for a better understanding on how it works. |
A list of extensions that should be started / stopped with the server. Currently, only SRS is supported. If SRS is listed as an extension, a configured SRS server will be started with the DCS server.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| installation | Directory where SRS is installed. |
| config | The server specific configuration. |
If you want to use different versions of SRS, you can overwrite the installation path on each server, otherwise specify it in the default section.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| method | One of restart, restart_with_shutdown, rotate or shutdown. - "restart" will restart the current mission, - "restart_with_shutdown" will do the same but shutdown the whole server - "shutdown" will only shutdown the server - "rotate" will launch the next mission in the mission list. |
| mission_time | Time in minutes (according to the mission time passed) when the mission has to be restarted. |
| max_mission_time | Time in minutes (according to the mission time passed) when the mission has to be restarted, even if people are in. |
| local_times | List of times in the format HH24:MM, when the mission should be restated or rotated (see method). |
| populated | If false, the mission will be restarted / rotated only, if no player is in (default: true). |
| settings | Timeframes in which a weather preset is valid or a list of presets that should change randomly. If not provided, the mission will run as is. Presets can be stacked by comma-separating them. |
| mission_end | Only apply the method on mission end (usually in combination with restart_with_shutdown). |
Attention!
If using the presets / settings, your missions will be amended automatically by the bot. You might want to create safety copies upfront.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| onMissionStart | Called at the start of a mission (onSimulationStart). |
| onMissionEnd | Called, when the Scheduler (!) ends a mission. Not if the mission is ended in any other way. |
| onShutdown | Called, when the DCS server is being shut down. |
Commands can be executed in different ways:
| Starts with | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| load | Load an external lua file into the mission (do_script_file). | load:Scripts/net/test.lua |
| lua | Run this lua script inside the mission environment (do_script). | lua:dcsbot.restartMission() |
| call | Send a DCSServerBot command to DCS. | call:shutdown() |
| run | Run a Windows command (via cmd.exe). | run:shutdown /s |
The following environment variables can be used in the "run" command:
| Variable | Meaning |
|---|---|
| dcs_installation | DCS installation path |
| dcs_home | Saved Games directory |
| server | internal server datastructure |
| config | dcsserverbot.ini representation |
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Command / Script to be run at .reset. The on-command syntax applies. |
If a server gets started or stopped manually (using .startup / .shutdown), it will be put in "maintenance" mode. To clear this and give the control back to the scheduler, use the following command.
| Command | Parameter | Channel | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .startup | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Starts a dedicated DCS server process. | |
| .shutdown | [-force] | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Shuts the dedicated DCS server process down. If -force is used, no player check will be executed and no onShutdown command will be run. |
| .start | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Starts a stopped DCS server. | |
| .stop | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Stops a DCS server. | |
| .status | all | DCS | Shows the status of all configured DCS servers. | |
| .maintenance | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Sets the servers maintenance mode. | |
| .clear | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Clears the maintenance state of a server. | |
| .preset | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Changes the preset (date/time/weather) of a mission. Multiple selections will apply all presets at once. | |
| .reset | admin-channel | DCS Admin | Calls a configurable reset command. |