Command: Cover - What am I missing?

[SYN_Vander]

For some time now I have been baffled by this command. I use this to have a group of fighters escort a bomber (obviously).

 

What I expect after triggering "Command Cover" in the mission script:

-The lead plane of the fighter group escorts the bomber. The rest of the fighters stay in formation with the fighter leader

 

What actually happens:

-All fighters escort the bomber individually. They don't fly in formation anymore. Only if I ask them to cover me in the game will they fly in formation again.

 

Am I doing something wrong? Should I use another Command:Cover command to have the other fighters fly in formation again? Or is this simply a bug?

[AEthelraedUnraed]

The cover command results in the aircraft zig-zagging above the bombers. This is intended behaviour.

 

If you want the fighters to stay in formation, you can make them follow the bombers' route, only a bit higher.

[SYN_Vander]

50 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

The cover command results in the aircraft zig-zagging above the bombers. This is intended behaviour.

 

If you want the fighters to stay in formation, you can make them follow the bombers' route, only a bit higher.

 

Yes, but the AI fighters are not following the leader. If I fly the mission and leave the bomber, they will stick with the bomber and not follow me (the leader). That is not what you would expect.

[[DBS]Tx_Tip]

Right. Basically what you are look'in to do is skip the hard-coded Escort routine for the rest of the flight and go directly to the 'F6' do as I do routine but with the AI escort attack E/A mentality still in effect.

 

Dragging 3 P-51B's around they did everything I directed them to do once the main "CMD:Cover MCU initially was targeted. It's just you have to rein them in. An 'F5' Return to the mission and they return to the AI escort routine again. Attacking any E/A in the proximity of the bombers.

I did notice that once you're out of a set proximity to the rest of your flight recalling them with 'F6"' or the respective Cover me command as you used has no effect. Although you and your flight can be quite a distance from the bombers themselves and the "F5" still works.

 

Not sure having the rest of the flight going into a separate escort routine when the "CMD:Cover is initially targeted should be construed as a bug though Vander as the AI responded immediately to my commands. Perhaps they coded it that way for the players ease if in Auto-Mode to hit the Waypoint or other MCU which targets the CMD:Cover or once in the Escort routine the player can stand off and direct their flight from afar overlooking the AI escorts routine and the bombers. 

[Gambit21]

“Cover” command has always been a mess. It results in the covering fighters swarming over the bombers like houseflies. Completely unrealistic, annoying…and something I reported on the Beta forum quite literally years ago now.

[Jaegermeister]

10 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

For some time now I have been baffled by this command. I use this to have a group of fighters escort a bomber (obviously).

 

It is also used to cover a ground vehicle and create a Forward Air Controller. There is quite a bit of complicated logic connected to that MCU.

 

4 hours ago, [DBS]Tx_Tip said:

 

Dragging 3 P-51B's around they did everything I directed them to do once the main "CMD:Cover MCU initially was targeted. It's just you have to rein them in. An 'F5' Return to the mission and they return to the AI escort routine again. Attacking any E/A in the proximity of the bombers.

I did notice that once you're out of a set proximity to the rest of your flight recalling them with 'F6"' or the respective Cover me command as you used has no effect. Although you and your flight can be quite a distance from the bombers themselves and the "F5" still works.

 

 

I will have to try the F5 approach. I have been seeing the flight take off after attackers and not stay with the bombers lately in a couple of escort missions. I'll see if that gets them back on task. 

 

[SYN_Vander]

11 hours ago, [DBS]Tx_Tip said:

Right. Basically what you are look'in to do is skip the hard-coded Escort routine for the rest of the flight and go directly to the 'F6' do as I do routine but with the AI escort attack E/A mentality still in effect.

 

Dragging 3 P-51B's around they did everything I directed them to do once the main "CMD:Cover MCU initially was targeted. It's just you have to rein them in. An 'F5' Return to the mission and they return to the AI escort routine again. Attacking any E/A in the proximity of the bombers.

I did notice that once you're out of a set proximity to the rest of your flight recalling them with 'F6"' or the respective Cover me command as you used has no effect. Although you and your flight can be quite a distance from the bombers themselves and the "F5" still works.

 

Not sure having the rest of the flight going into a separate escort routine when the "CMD:Cover is initially targeted should be construed as a bug though Vander as the AI responded immediately to my commands. Perhaps they coded it that way for the players ease if in Auto-Mode to hit the Waypoint or other MCU which targets the CMD:Cover or once in the Escort routine the player can stand off and direct their flight from afar overlooking the AI escorts routine and the bombers. 

Yes I know you can rein them in during the mission, so it’s not that big of a problem. But I would like to be able to do that for AI that isn’t flyable as well, so with mission logic. And that’s not possible.

 

 

Thanks for all the answers. It looks like I’m not missing anything and the Cover MCU has some strange behaviour. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by SYN_Vander

[AEthelraedUnraed]

8 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

Yes I know you can rein them in during the mission, so it’s not that big of a problem. But I would like to be able to do that for AI that isn’t flyable as well, so with mission logic. And that’s not possible.

If it's a player-controlled flight, just make it normal waypoints instead of using the Cover MCU. If it's an AI flight, simply assign it a different command once they need to do something different.

Edited May 6, 2022 by AEthelraedUnraed

[IckyATLAS]

You can use the MCU Cover and then deactivate the Cover and free the flight for other action and then Cover again either to the flight before or to something else.

And if it is a player flight than you can have the MCU Cover active. This means that when the player is flying then he does whatever he wants and the Cover function becomes inactive, but as soon as you type A and go into autopilot then Cover function kicks in again.