Transferring AI planes to an airfield

[coconut]

It's possible!

 

1. Create a fake airfield
2. Add planes of a type, giving them a name, e.g. "Plane"
3. Add a taxi chart, edit it
4. In the advanced properties of the field, enable return planes and refuel, repair, rearm...
5. Create an AI plane, name it with the same name as in plane list ("Plane", in my example). I suppose the type has to match too, and maybe the loadout, skin... (I haven't tested if all these things have to match)
6. Give it a land order, put it on the runway of the fakefield

After AI lands, taxies to the parking, switches off the engine and despawn, its aircraft is added to the pool.

 

Mission attached. transfer.zip The test works like that: Run the mission on your DServer, connect to it in the game, spawn in the one yak available, let it crash a couple kilometers away from the airfield (outside of the maintenance radius). Notice that you cannot respawn at the airfield, it's out of planes. Wait until the AI does its thing and despawns. Now you can spawn!

 

I have just discovered that 30 minutes ago, so there's a lot I don't know about what works and what does not, so feel free to experiment and share your findings. I know I'll be using that in some mission soon 

Edited November 6, 2015 by coconut

[JimTM]

Nice one Coconut. Mind if I add it to the mission editor manual (with acknowledgement of course)?

Edited November 7, 2015 by JimTM

[Jupp]

~S~ Coconut,

 

Yeah, this feature can be used (and already is I'd suspect) for making limitations on aircraft availability and recreating "turn-arounds", or depletions over time.

 

In the individual Plane's Settings accessed through the Dialog (The list of them) there is a tickbox for "Renewable" with timing controls, which also figures into this.

 

Roaming Gnome just asked me about this subject in my mission thread, and I looked online for a definitive answer, overall though, we have the pieces picked out I'd say.

 

The "Renewable" tickbox must be to further define a time restriction for an individual aircraft type if desired. You could change the default 30m to be 0m, for no delay, in example.

 

The tickbox must be ticked (as it is by default) for the aircraft type to participate in the Return Planes (not ticked by default) feature of the airfields, as found in Airfield Advanced of airfields.

 

The Rearm, Refuel, Repair part still is not implemented. Planes (and players) must end flight to be recycled, in the manner we are discussing at this time, thus producing, a brand new plane.

 

Blue Skies,

 

!S -Jupp-  

Edited November 7, 2015 by Jupp

[Urra]

Coconut,

Downloaded. It will keep me busy for sure.

Just more work for my CPU, and it's already making an audible whistling sound when I spawn objects on my map.

[coconut]

Jupp, I know you can renew, rearm, repair and refuel aircraft. I know one can also affect the availability of planes using the AI behavior CMU. But that's not the point. The point here is that one could design a "shepherd" kind of mission where you escort AIs to an advanced airfield. Every AI that makes it to its destination then becomes a plane available to players. This is a lot more fine-grained than the other methods of airfield capture and resupply we've had so far.

 

If this also works for player-controlled planes, one could also imagine evacuation scenarios, where your mission is to take planes from an airfield under threat of attack by ground forces, and move them to a safer airfield further away from the front line.

[coconut]

More things I have learned:

1. The name of the AI plane and its loadout do not matter. An AI plane that finishes its flight will refill a slot which has the same plane model (which one, if there are multiple slots with the same plane model? I don't know)
2. You cannot exceed the number of planes set in the slot.
3. An AI plane whose model does not match any of the slots will simply disappear when it finishes it flight. It is not added to the list of available planes.
4. The event OnOutOfPlanes works as I expected (when a player spawns with the last available plane)
5. The event OnPlaneAdded is not triggered by planes that are returned, repaired, refuelled or rearmed.

[[DBS]Tx_Tip]

Great stuff...

[Jupp]

~S~ Coconut,

 

I'm going on the miscommunication between those of us who hoped it worked like "Zuti's MDS Mod" for IL-2 1946, and realizing that it just doesn't.

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Aborted Man wrote last month :

 

Rearm/refuel function in the mission editor applies to AI aircraft and vehicles only within the range you set, and only if they are marked as having limited ammo, as far as I've tested.

 

This does not apply to player aircraft.

 

The function allows missions to be created that will simulate supply lines or field repairs governed and utilized by the AI...

 

useful for a moving dogfight/persistent dynamic battle across the entire map or large area.

 

Airfields (spawn points) have a configuration that allow them to restock aircraft if an aircraft is returned, or restock aircraft based on a time limit starting after it spawns.

 

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And that would seem to make sense, since a Behavior MCU cannot be linked to a Player Aircraft Icon in Multiplayer.. (they don't exist because we all spawn from airfields).

 

That is not the case, for AI aircraft, or other Objects, and they can be made to be AF Restocked, or, Rearmed, Repaired, And Refueled using the Behavior MCU with logic, linked to AI Objects.

 

 

That is, AI aircraft can be landed, and by doing so, be Restocked (Renewable in X min + Return Planes [x] Airfields (set up to do so, affording a variety of plane-set resources at different locations)

 

whereas Objects and "such" can be made to have "expedient R,R, or R" done (perhaps by an AI element that drives up to, or, an area needs to be reached, by that object (w/ detection MCU logic)).

 

 

Between the various settings you can control availability, shortages, and differences at airfields for the AI AC, or for Objects or AI Ground elements to do R,R, R where ever (by Behavior MCU).

 

Gotta believe that this comes down to Russian programmers not being able to explain that RRR Airfield is Not Implemented, though Restocking (Return Planes + Renewable) IS implemented.

 

Rearm, Refuel, Repair functions for AI Objects Only, through the Behavior MCU, and each resource is only relevant to certain aspects. For example, a bridge needing only to Repair over time.

 

 

Maybe, you can RRR a player aircraft in Single Player... as there IS an Icon for you to link a Behavior MCU to, in that environment... I haven't tested that, as I'm just getting into

 

discerning if it's a misunderstanding between the usage of terms, intent, and execution of these things in practice. If I'm wrong apologies, and, I'd really love to be wrong this time.

 

 

Most Respectfully,

 

!S -Jupp-  

Edited November 7, 2015 by Jupp

[No43_Handsome]

A game changer when utilised on a 'dogfight' server.

 

Nice one indeed Coconut. Well spotted that man.

Edited November 7, 2015 by No43_Handsome

[AbortedMan]

In my experience, having an AI flight of aircraft is not feasible in a public/ongoing mission due to the server load...so having AI flights spawning and flying to a base won't work (for my uses). This does give me an idea though...since simulating aircraft availability with the command behavior MCU is kinda janky in that it only allows you to refill an entire table of aircraft based on, say a transport aircraft landing at a base, and won't let you simply add a variable of aircraft to the available pool...what about spawning an AI aircraft within the maintenance/"return aircraft" radius on the ground then immediately deactivating it? This would allow you to add specific amounts of aircraft to an airfield rather than just refreshing the entire table depending on what the actual trigger for AI counting as a returned aircraft are.

 

Coconut, do you know what the event for AI returning an aircraft is? Is it despawning (via some special built-in AI command/event when they deem their mission complete) only after landing that counts? Could a deactivate trigger work to renew available aircraft...maybe a force complete while still on the ground some seconds after spawning? 

Edited November 14, 2015 by AbortedMan

[Urra]

In my experience, having an AI flight of aircraft is not feasible in a public/ongoing mission due to the server load...so having AI flights spawning and flying to a base won't work (for my uses). This does give me an idea though...since simulating aircraft availability with the command behavior MCU is kinda janky in that it only allows you to refill an entire table of aircraft based on, say a transport aircraft landing at a base, and won't let you simply add a variable of aircraft to the available pool...what about spawning an AI aircraft within the maintenance/"return aircraft" radius on the ground then immediately deactivating it? This would allow you to add specific amounts of aircraft to an airfield rather than just refreshing the entire table depending on what the actual trigger for AI counting as a returned aircraft are.

 

Coconut, do you know what the event for AI returning an aircraft is? Is it despawning (via some special built-in AI command/event when they deem their mission complete) only after landing that counts? Could a deactivate trigger work to renew available aircraft...maybe a force complete while still on the ground some seconds after spawning?

Very interesting idea!

[coconut]

 

 

Coconut, do you know what the event for AI returning an aircraft is? Is it despawning (via some special built-in AI command/event when they deem their mission complete) only after landing that counts?

 

Yes, that's the way I did it. Make them land, let them taxi to the parking and despawn. There might be other ways, but I haven't tried them. Maybe inflicting full damage would do it too (if you have "repair friendly aircraft" checked).

 

 

 

Could a deactivate trigger work to renew available aircraft...maybe a force complete while still on the ground some seconds after spawning?

 

 

I don't expect that to work, but I haven't tried it.

[Menacing_Ferrets]

Way awesome find!!  As far as the renewable check box, not a huge fan, there is already an infinite setting in the airfield object.  Are they manufacturing AC at the airfield? I think not!  This is how to do it realistically. Many thanks for nailing this down. I love the ability to tell a story through just a little bit of realistic logistics, and this is a great answer.  As far as adding a plane that is not in the Airfield planes chart, that would still require a triggered index change I'd imagine.  With AI I wonder what would be the easiest way of doing this....

 

 

<S> Coconut

[AbortedMan]

Way awesome find!!  As far as the renewable check box, not a huge fan, there is already an infinite setting in the airfield object.  Are they manufacturing AC at the airfield? I think not!  This is how to do it realistically. Many thanks for nailing this down. I love the ability to tell a story through just a little bit of realistic logistics, and this is a great answer.  As far as adding a plane that is not in the Airfield planes chart, that would still require a triggered index change I'd imagine.  With AI I wonder what would be the easiest way of doing this....

 

 

<S> Coconut

Just add aircraft that you want to be *possibly* available based on whether they land at that airfield in the planes tables of the airfield object and set the quantity available to "0" (if you can, I haven't tried this) and make sure the renewable box is ticked. When that type of aircraft lands it will resupply.

 

The renewable feature simulates a finite number of aircraft in the game space...not manufacturing aircraft at the airfield, heh. Turn and burn launches would happen regularly, I'm sure...though in reality they would take about 20 minutes to rearm, refuel, and repair (any *very* minor damages).

Edited November 24, 2015 by AbortedMan

[Urra]

Just add aircraft that you want to be *possibly* available based on whether they land at that airfield in the planes tables of the airfield object and set the quantity available to "0" (if you can, I haven't tried this) and make sure the renewable box is ticked. When that type of aircraft lands it will resupply.

 

The renewable feature simulates a finite number of aircraft in the game space...not manufacturing aircraft at the airfield, heh. Turn and burn launches would happen regularly, I'm sure...though in reality they would take about 20 minutes to rearm, refuel, and repair (any *very* minor damages).

 

I've tried that some time ago, it doesn't let you set a quantity of zero unfortunately.

[LLv34_Temuri]

Coconut, do you know what the event for AI returning an aircraft is? Is it despawning (via some special built-in AI command/event when they deem their mission complete) only after landing that counts? Could a deactivate trigger work to renew available aircraft...maybe a force complete while still on the ground some seconds after spawning? 

AbortedMan, did you try this out?

[TP_Jacko]

I guess this could be used to set up repeated AI attacks on a closing enemy ground force. 

[LLv34_Temuri]

Tried spawning an AI plane with engines running on the apron, having all the taxi points at the same place as the plane, and issued the plane a Land command. Didn't work, the plane just took off straight from the apron like a bad behaving MP player. Then tried the Force complete, Damage (complete & major), and Deactivate. No dice. Looks like the AI plane really needs to land.

[coconut]

 

 

AbortedMan' timestamp='1448335957' post='306693'] Just add aircraft that you want to be *possibly* available based on whether they land at that airfield in the planes tables of the airfield object and set the quantity available to "0" (if you can, I haven't tried this) and make sure the renewable box is ticked.

 

Sadly, that will not work because the number of available planes you set in the mission editor is also the "max" number of planes.