Developer's Notes

This started off as a pretty straightforward randomizer, developed from the code base of my earlier Hornet Leader squadron randomizer. It has since suffered from an excess of visits from the Good Idea Fairy.

Squadron slots for each skill level are based on the core rules allocation for campaign length. Airframes are filtered on service life (as given on the cards) versus the campaign year.

Include Air Forces: The buttons beneath this header will select multiple air forces as appropriate for the historical NATO formation or other region. Each ATAF (Allied Tactical Air Forces) is associated with the NATO army groups it was assigned to support. I've taken minor historical liberties in some cases where I was unable to locate a precedent for including a nation's air force in any NATO structure. Hover over each button for brief notes.

Match Air Forces to Campaign: Selecting this option will default the air force selections to those generally appropriate for (or mandated by) each campaign. "Strict" assumes the user has only the core box and, if appropriate, the expansion from which the selected campaign comes. "Expanded" ignores this restriction and adds contextually-appropriate air forces from all expansions (which, in some cases, may not differ from "Strict").

Aces: Selecting this option will replace 1 to 3 Average-rated USAF pilots with Ace-rated pilots, keeping the same airframe originally selected. Number of aces is based on campaign length but randomized, and only USAF pilots will be replaced, so multinational squadrons will generally contain fewer aces. (As per v1.0 of the Cold War Leader Errata and Clarifications file, no cost is associated with Ace selection.)

Homebrew Expansions:Selectors in blue text with "HEx" designations will draw from my homebrew expansions, available for free at my DVG resource landing page.

Optional Rules and Special Conditions: Each of these check boxes enforces the corresponding rulebook option or Special Conditions card. Most are autocalculated into starting SO; two (italicized in the UI for clarity) directly impact the squadron roster:

• New Tech allows aircraft introduced after the campaign year, at a 3/6/9 SO price increase.
• Reserves eliminates all aircraft with an SO cost greater than zero and provides one additional Skilled pilot.

House Rules: These options are not elements of the rules as written, but they amuse me:

• Require EW Support: If the campaign year is within the appropriate range of service years, one of the squadron's slots is guaranteed to be filled with an EF-111 crew. This takes effect only when USAF core pilots are selected.
• Random Pilot Skills: Chance of adding one (or, less likely, two) randomly-selected pilot skill to each pilot, with total price for all skills discounted by 33% (rounded up). Chance is higher for higher skill levels, and incrementally higher for crews of two-seat aircraft. Selections will be either from the general NATO list or, when one exists, from the corresponding national list. Note that the general NATO list for this function does include NATO skills from Expansion 5.
• Boneyard Relics: This house rule is the opposite of Special Condition: New Tech. If selected, this allows deployment of aircraft whose end-of-service date falls before the campaign year, for an additional cost of 1/2/3 SO (representing the increased maintenance cost of obsolete and worn-out equipment). This cost increase is applied after applying Special Condition: Reserves, as it's plausible that reserve units would be the last to operate the relics.
• Random Skill at Ace: When an aircrew accrues five air-to-air kills, they receive a randomly-selected skill. An aircrew that already has two skills may replace an existing one. This option costs 2/4/6 SO. (This one is inspired by a thread on the Boardgame Geek Fulcrum Leader forum, here.)

Flavor and Style: These options have no effect on gameplay and are included purely for immersion and entertainment:

• Aviatrix Option: Add a random chance (starting at 1% in 1993, when the USAF first incorporated female combat pilots, and increasing gradually to 8% in the 2010s) for any given pilot to be female. Because all published Eagle Leader campaigns occur in 1992 or prior, this only affects custom campaign selections with a 1993+ year.
• Name Backseaters: Adds a random nation-appropriate callsign or name for the second crew member of two-seat aircraft.
• Name Aircraft: Adds a random name to each USAF aircraft. Nose art is left to the user's imagination.
• Add Aircrew Biographical Details: Chance to add a random biographical note to each pilot/backseater. Some may be nonsensical in context with other details.
• Suppress Takeoff Checklist: Check this to turn off the F-15 takeoff checklist that scrolls before loading generator results.

Set Developer's Defaults: A one-click enabler for the options I currently prefer to play with. Unlikely to match anyone else's taste, but I wrote this for me first and foremost.

Known Issues:

• Flag emojis will not render on Chromium-based browsers running on Windows machines.
• For Expansion 1's Das Vaterland campaign, the generator always adds two Average-level Luftwaffe pilots. I'm operating on the assumption that two more planes in rotation is preferable to two SQAs.