Configuring the Statistics Pages

In SEOW v7 there is a range of new configuration parameters for the Statistics engine that campaign admins can tweak to provide appropriate post-mission reports for their scenarios. This page discusses the various parameters available and what they mean.

Statistics Parameters

The parameters are set by editing the MP-StatisticsMetadata.php file in the Statistics folder, using a text editor (e.g. Notepad). This file is written in PHP format so you need to preserve the appropriate formatting and syntax.

• Language Packs

Apart from English, the Statistics engine supports multiple language packs for display to different audiences, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, and Serbo-Croatian. The use of language packs is set by the $StatsLanguage parameter. The default setting is

$StatsLanguage = "English";

To change the language display to Spanish, for example, simply change this line as follows:

$StatsLanguage = "Espagnol";

The list of allowed names is provided in the $StatsLanguagePacks variable in the MP-StatisticsMetadata.php file.

• Show Skills

The Statistics engine can optionally display skill descriptions for aircraft in the event listings. The $StatsShowSkills parameter governs this skill display and accepts two values, true or false. The default value is true.

$StatsShowSkills = true;

• Use Cache Mode

The Statistics engine can produce mission summaries either dynamically (for every incoming request), or by producing flat HTML pages. The dynamic option can make a huge demand on the Mission Planner server machine, especially for campaigns with many pilots as they all look for the statistics reports. To counter this, the Statistics engine can be configured to generate flat HTML files which are much easier for the server to publish to multiple requests. The $StatsUseCache parameter is used to tell the Statistics engine which mode to use, accepting true or false. A value of true enables the cache mode which generates the flat HTML files. A value of false retains the default dynamic engine mode. The recommended setting (to manage server load) is

$StatsUseCache = true;

• Show Recon Events

There are some mission actions that can be hidden from display in after-mission reports (Mission Details). Photo reconnaissance actions are prime examples. The $StatsShowRecon parameter determines whether these reconnaissance actions are displayed for all to see or not. This parameter accepts values of true or false. The recommended setting is:

$StatsShowRecon = false;

The reason for this recommendation is that displaying recon photo actions in the Mission Details reports actually provides a lot of information to the opposition forces about the strategic intent. However, for some campaigns and communities, it may be preferable to enable this feature as it provides positive feedback to pilots for their air recon actions. Note that there is a display of recon photo counts in the Pilot Details pages.

• Show Grid Coordinates

In the actions listing on the Mission Details reports it is possible to display the grid coordinates of each action, e.g. "AJ-12". SEOW could potentially provide the actual coordinates of each action to metre resolution, but instead aggregates this to the grid square (10 km by 10 km) resolution. The $StatsShowGrid parameter governs whether the grid coordinates for each action event are displayed or not. Allowed values are true or false. The default setting is

$StatsShowGrid = true;

• Casualty Statistics

The Statistics engine counts losses of combat personal throughout the course of the campaign and provides a summary report. Losses are counted for aircrew and estimated for ground and sea personnel. There are four parameters that govern how ground and sea personnel are estimated:

$StatsArmyDivisor :: a numeric parameter that divides the aircrew point value to give the point value for army personnel. Default value is 10.

$StatsNavyyDivisor :: a numeric parameter that divides the aircrew point value to give the point value for navy personnel. Default value is 10.

$StatsArmyKIAFraction :: a numeric parameter for determining what proportion of army unit personnel are counted as KIA when their unit is destroyed. The balance of personnel are counted as Wounded/MIA. Default value is 0.30.

$StatsNavyKIAFraction :: a numeric parameter for determining what proportion of navy unit personnel are counted as KIA when their unit is destroyed. The balance of personnel are counted as Wounded/MIA. Default value is 0.40.

• Show Pilot Photos

The Pilot Details pages are generated automatically for each pilot who flies in a campaign. It is possible to arrange the pages to include user-supplied images on the Pilot Details page for each pilot. This feature is controlled by the $ShowPilotPhotos parameter, which accepts values of true or false (default is false). If $ShowPilotPhotos is set to true, the Statistics engine will read the Pilot_Photos table of SEDB70 to seek corresponding pilot name and photo name data. If a photo name is found and the indicated photo file exists in the Statistics/PilotPhotos folder, then the photo will be inserted in the Pilot Details page for that pilot. The photo will be placed immediately to the left of the "At a glance" chart at the top of the page.

• Survival Modifier for Gross Score

The Statistics engine shows a score for each pilot ("Gross Score" in English). This score is calculated by subtracting pilot KIA totals from object destruction tallies. This is good to show a simple profit/loss statement for pilot records, but does not really encourage pilot survival. The $SurvivalModifier parameter introduces a further factor into the scoring. With $SurvivalModifier = true, the conventional Gross Score is multiplied by the pilot's mission survival rate. Negative Gross Scores remain unmodified.

Advanced Statistics Modes

There are two new features in SEOW v7 that may be useful for more realistic campaigning. First, a word on philosophy. Historical SEOW campaigning seeks to re-create the feel and confusion faced by real commanders in World War 2 environments. In this context, the availability of detailed combat loss statistics immediately after each mission is certainly not historical or realistic. In certain circumstances, campaign designers may choose to delay the reporting of mission statistics for a certain period of time, or block them altogether! SEOW v7 permits such design choices by supporting two new directives in MP-StatisticsMetadata.php:

• Disabling Statistics

The $DisabledMaps parameter defines an array of maps/sectors that have their Statistics pages blocked. For example, adding "Oslo" to $DisabledMaps will make Statistics pages inactive for the Oslo sector and any campaign run there. $DisabledMaps can contain zero or more entries, allowing the admin to prevent/block statistics generation for an arbitrary number of sectors.

• Delayed Statistics

Another option at the disposal of admins is to delay the reporting of statistics from hosted missions by a configurable number of missions. This feature is controlled by the $DelayedMaps parameter. This parameter is an array of key=>value pairs, where the "key" is a sector name and the value is the number of elapsed missions before a mission is reported in the Statistics pages. $DelayedMaps can contain zero or more pairs, allowing the admin to delay statistics generation for an arbitrary number of sectors. Consider the following example:

$DelayedMaps = array("Singapore" => 2, "Berlin" => 0, "Tunis" => 8);

Here we have three sectors that have directives for Statistics delays. The Singapore sector has a 2 mission delay before statistics activation. This means that statistics from each mission will only become available after two MORE missions have been hosted and analyzed. Pilots and commanders will not receive immediate performance updates! In the Berlin sector there is a zero mission delay, which is the same as no delay, i.e. the "Berlin" => 0 directive could be removed from $DelayedMaps with no effect. The Tunis sector has an 8 mission delay for Statistics generation - a very long time to wait (9 missions) for the first mission stats!