I tend to do more via scripting than I do trigger, so I use the Hoggit Wiki most often:
https://wiki.hoggitworld.com/view/DCS_mission_editor
Also depends on the scenario goals and what I want to achieve. It’s hard to do a semi-dynamic mission with triggers alone, but fixed scenarios are pretty straightforward with triggers.
Do use Moose/Mist libraries, or straight LUA DCS SDK?
I’m so paranoid about scripting this stuff! I just don’t trust ED to maintain compatibility, but I’m starting to question that. No guarantees their ”official” triggers will remain supported either and may as well go for efficiency…
Straight LUA DCS because I haven’t bothered to expand things with MOOSE and MIST. Most of the scripting I use is just extensions of what’s available from triggers, but in an easier to manage package (for me).
I like to use the regular editor triggers, and script when needed. I control the action with flags that are assigned to groups, zones and coalitions.
There are two documents on this page link of mine that will explain my flag logic, and the more-common scripts I use. I do use MIST primarily to detect certain things in zones, such as blue/red planes, particular a/c, a required number of units in the zone, etc.
Actually the user’s guide that comes with DCS World is OK for a lot of the ME stuff. It is a bit dated but the basics are there…albeit you have to dig a bit.
Greetings Moderators: I may be hijacking this track (we are saying “track” now, aren’t we?). However, there are several DCS ME Question Tracks with generic titles that are somewhat ambiguous when one is doing a due diligence search before posting a question. (I am specifically not complaining or “diming out” any Mudspikian…just an honest observation.) If this needs its own track, I defer to your expert, and moderate, moderator opinion.
My ME questions: How does the Bombing and Attack Map Object really work? How does it work for AI wingmen?
Per pages 220-224 of the 2020 DCS World Manual, it seems straight forward. Add the Perform Task to a waypoint and select Bombing to Attack Map Object. You get a triangle attached to the waypoint. Move the triangle over your target. If Bombing, t will hit the coords of the triangle. If Attack Map Object, it will hit the map object (I assume buildings and the like, not trees) nearest the triangle. Further, it indicates that you do this for the waypoint immediately prior to the target.
So far, so good. However, the manual shows the waypoint being pretty far from the target. Is there a minimum distance for the AI to set up on the target run? I’ve noticed that sometimes pure AI aircraft will overfly the target area, then come back in for the target run. Also, in the RW a target is usually one of the waypoints in the mission plan…you may not fly over it, but it is there for completeness and to get the proper turns for the egress point.
Also, when I set up something like this for my own flight, my wingman doesn’t want to drop.
(Note: I have gotten this to work once with a Viggen wingman using the glide-cluster bombs…but that was a while back and I’m pretty sure it had more to do with how that weapon uses a waypoint as the target point.)
So I use the radio and tell him to engage the mission targets and rejoin. I always get a “Roger” or its Russian equivalent…most of the time he just flies around…one time I saw him fly far away before coming back…and only dropping 2 bombs…and missing quite badly.
I know the AI isn’t the greatest but…there is bad and then there is this… 
Thoughts?
I have spent the 1st half of my life trying to make those ^^^ DCS features work. My advice is to not spend too much time on them. Sad to say, but if they do not work intuitively, then try a different approach.
Yeah…just perfect…I guess I can assume that putting your wingman in a different formation - specifically switching to trail so that he will start his bombing run on the correct heading right behind you - doesn’t really work either.
I’ve never had much luck with the AI wingmen in this regard, but I’ve been able to make the AI flights entirely use them. Give them as much space as possible from the waypoint to the action though and you can avoid a lot of the roundabout back and forth they tend to do.
This is a question more about how users might react to how a series of missions is structured.
The idea is to have a Viggen fly an ELINT Reece mission. This mission will determine the type of SAM (SA-6 or SA-11) is defending a specific location. The next mission is a SEAD strike on that SAM site. However, depending on the type of SAM detected, this next mission will be flown somewhat differently. The destruction of the SAM site is required for the next mission.
My initial idea is that the player would take a look at the ELINT they got and from it, make their own decision regarding the SAM type, then pick the next miss from a choice of two. If they misinterpreted the ELINT (fairly hard to do but still), the third mission would fail. That might seem a bit clumsy.
Or I can end the first mission with a trigger that will automatically start the correct second mission. However, that pretty much takes the ELINT analysis out of the picture.
Thoughts?
I like your first idea, of having the player do the analysis. Do brief it well though, so I could learn how to do it instead of it just testing if I know how to do it.
Absolutely. I’m working on a pdf that will tell a bit of story and give the basics of working out the ELINT.
Number one, linked to a radio trigger.
So I don’t really know enough about ELINT and the viggan. But I’m going to see if this helps.
I’m assuming either an 6 or an 11 will spawn. Also I’m assuming you can interpret ELINT data in flight.
So you can make a series of triggers. Once the sam site spawns in it sets a flag to true. Each sam site gets its own flag.
set a zone once either site spans in at the parking spot or on the runway. Just something that can trigger your radio options at the end of flight.
Basically give two radio options. Option one for the 6 and option 2 for the 11.
The set flags for each option that when selected checks if the corresponding flag is true.
So for example radio option for the 6 would set a flag 16 to true
One flag 16 is true it would check to see if flag 6 was true if so mission pass and load up the sa 6 sead. If flag 6 was false then mission fail and you go to the de brief screen.
I’m not sure if this is possible or makes sense but I think it might work.
Technically no. You need to land, turn the master systems switch to “stay” and turn off the engine. The you get a text file that you can plot out yourself, or better yet there is an automatic web based map tool right here in Mudspike. This gives you up to 6 ELINT “hits” (the term we use in the community) They are actually bounded boxes with some parameters associated with them - Band, PRF and n’off times (essentially the rotation of the antenna).
So you land, get the file, run it through the web tool, think deep analytic thoughts and see what radars were detected.
You are correct that on one site it will be the technical parameters for an SA-6 or SA-11. They are quite distinct. You will also get a couple more RED radars.
It is the landing and getting the ELINT file out of the PC that makes it a bit difficult.
I could run this as a single (long) mission because (much as you described above) because I’ve got a LAN set up where I can pull the ELINT file from the PC running DCS without shutting down DCS or minimizing DCS, then do the web tool on a separate computer. Not sure everybody has that capability. So that pretty much pushes me into separate missions (ELINT Reece and Strike missions).
EDIT: It does appear that you can “trick” the system into showing you the ELINT gathered while still flying - inputs iron a kneeboard card…not very realistic.
So you could use the campaign builder and set it up that way. Do the mission and set a flag when the site spawns. Then set a score based on the flag. So if the 6 spawns set a flag with a score of 60. And if the 11 spawns set a score of 90.
Next create 2 simple missions. One mission starts with flag 1 true and the other starts with flag 2 true. Create 2 radio options. One for each site. The have the user select which site they reconed. Have the option set a flag that checks which flag is true. If it’s correct you get a score of a 100 if it is wrong you get a score of 0.
In the campaign builder stage 2 would have 2 missions to be called based on the score from the ELINT mission. This stage would have the 2 simple missions. Basically you would just put a score range so for the 6 mission it would be 55 to 85 and for the 11 mission it would be 86 to 100.
The stage 3 would be the SEAD mission.
So the campaign would be Stage 1 ELINT
Stage 2 would be the 2 simple mission. I envision sitting in a HUMMVE.
Stage 3 would be SEAD.
So the beauty of this would be if you select wrong at stage 2 your next mission would be stage 1 again.
Thanks. I was wondering if I could work this as a campaign. I’m going to have to read the manual again and reread your post again several times. This certainly sounds like the ticket! 
Most definitely works as a campaign. Probably best.
Juat remember you have to score above a 51 on the first stage to advance otherwise you’ll fail the campaign
so i messed around in the editor to see if i could manage what I told you. And you can.
Its a bit easier then I thought. You would need 5 total missions for this.
Does anybody know how the UNITS HIT trigger condition works? (Page 128 of the 2020 DCS Manual)
I built a test mission. Set it up for a target, 3 Hits, and flew strafing runs in an Mi-8. I scored many more than 3 hits and more than 3 Hit events…nothing.
EDIT: After rereading the manual…
UNIT HITS. Checks to see if the player unit has achieved successful hits on an object.
Does “an object” mean a static object? Hmmm…if so makes sense since some of them can take a lot of hits before showing it…of course I’m nowhere near my computer now.