Searchlights - what changed?

[NETSCAPE]

I haven't worked with a night mission since the first Sirens of Death. I can't get the lights to activate and target planes. What changed and how do I do this now?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, an old group was bugged out I guess. Making a new one solved the problem.

Edited September 11, 2018 by NETSCAPE

[SCG_Schneemann]

Just be aware, unless they have tweaked it in the last month, that searchlights won't work as you want around dawn/dusk. I have a bug report in, but it hasn't been fixed as far as I know?

 

 

[Juri_JS]

And searchlights don't target the player's aircraft.

[NETSCAPE]

23 minutes ago, Juri_JS said:

And searchlights don't target the player's aircraft.

 

Interesting. I'm assuming it targets the AI only when there is a player plane present also? I tested with just player plane and the lights target me just fine.

[Juri_JS]

 I had tested it in quick mission mode and here the problem exists for me. Maybe it's not the searchlights, but a mission bug. Initially I thought landing lights were used instead of searchlights, but that's not the case. The searchlights work, when I fly the mission with a wingman, but not when I fly alone.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Juri_JS

[Juri_JS]

While testing searchlights in one of my own missions, I noticed something very strange. When I remove all text from the "Name:" box in the Plane Properties section of the player's aircraft I become invisible for searchlights and don't get targeted. When I write something in the Name box, targeting works as it should.

 

Netscape, could you please do a test in your night mission and tell me, if you can confirm this observation.

[NETSCAPE]

@Juri_JS

 

Tested and had similar results as you claim. No text in the Name field for a plane object results in searchlights/AAA not targeting the plane. Naming the plane something fixes the issue. 

[Juri_JS]

Thank you. I will report this in the beta testing forum.

It also explains my problems in Quick mission mode. Here the name box of the player aircraft is blank by default.

[Retnek]

Any news on the searchlights? I'd like to use them for signalling and area defence at night, in SP-missions for the beginning. But it's somewhat limited now.

 

- During dusk/dawn/night the searchlights start to search at a range of < 4 km. That's far too late IMHO, but I can't find a way to make them start to search more early. The late models of the 150-cm-searchlights had a range of 12 to 15 km.

 

- Depending on the level of the AI in "vehicle advanced" they need a few seconds or accordingly more to focus on an enemy plane. That's ok.

 

- Using modifiers like "area attack" or so seems to have no influence on the AI-logic of the searchlight (maybe I didn't applied it in a proper way). Just the force-complete-command is used for on/off.

 

- Own planes are ignored by the searchlights. That's not ok - except planes with very distinctive engine sounds there was no way for a friend-foe-detection. So searchlight-crews tried to catch any noisy plane object in their area. And the AAA tended to open up on any lighted target. Fire first, ask later. Any way to make searchlights search any plane?

  I remember online-missions (at Coconuts server) where the searchlights in "owned" areas started to scan the skies for any incoming planes, not just for the enemies. Making them "neutral" might provoke that behaviour, but destroying those neutral objects will result in punishment for the attacker, lost missions or whatever. I can't see a solution in doing so.

 

BTW a note for the mission-making: The use of searchlights in IL2-GB as "landlights" always seemed strange to me. I know a lot of sources describing the use of searchlights for navigation - painting symbols in the sky, signalling a landmark, pointing on the position of own airfields,  lighten up cloud-layers aso. But that was always done far away from the planes because the enormous strength of the lights was terribly blinding for the air-crews. A blinded pilot often meant he lost orientation resulting in quite a few planes losses. I never read about using strong searchlights of the AAA-kind to light up runways or landing strips while there was a plane operation on it. So I see no way to use them realistically near runways. But as light-beacons they do fine. Sadly the range is limited to 10 km, too. Is there any light with a range > 10 km?