Coop gunner positions and nav/2nd pilot

[Stonehouse]

I believe it could be very popular to allow gunner positions to be joinable as per dogfight servers in co-op missions.  Quite a few times on dogfight servers myself and a group of friends have taken all the stations in one of the aircraft that allows multiple players and had a lot of fun and enjoyment. While I know you can essentially do something very similar to co-op in dogfight missions, I believe there is a lot of positives to be had if it was possible to do so in true co-op missions as well. 

 

Second, Murleen produced a community mod that allowed players to occupy the A20 navigators nose position. I've done some digging around and enabled something similar for the 2nd pilot/nav position of the C47, Mosquito, Ju88c6 and Ju52 as a private mod. Based on people's comments in Murleen's thread this could be something that also is quite popular for people to do in MP. Especially if some additional functionality was eventually available to the position. eg the bombsight for the A20. Considering the mod proves it is possible even in MP now, it likely it wouldn't be that costly for the devs to add a more polished version of the basic ability the mod gives to the game.  

[Charon]

It is possible to fly as a gunner in co-op, I've done it many times. You just need to join the server before the mission starts. No need to occupy a plane. If the mission has already started when you join then you won't be able to occupy the slot.

 

I'd love usable co-pilot slots -- would you mind sharing that mod? Especially for the Mosquito -- I've pretty much stopped flying that plane solely because the lack of a functional observer for SA hurts my immersion so much.

 

I ran an Operation Stösser co-op a while back that was a lot of fun,  but our navigators had to ride in the gunner's seat. Putting them up from in the co-pilot's seat would have been better. I won't be doing anything similar with the C-47 simply because there's nowhere to put the second player.

[Stonehouse]

2 hours ago, Charon said:

It is possible to fly as a gunner in co-op, I've done it many times. You just need to join the server before the mission starts. No need to occupy a plane. If the mission has already started when you join then you won't be able to occupy the slot.

Ok thank you for that, it wasn't obvious (to me at least) so I just assumed it was dogfight server functionality. Good to know we can do the same in co-op.

 

2 hours ago, Charon said:

would you mind sharing that mod?

Planning to as soon as I get permission from Murleen as it includes the base work done and the A20 nav (Murleen's effort and mod). I have PM'd him but not heard back. If I don't get a response by the time the next patch drops I may publish anyway, crediting Murleen (which I would do anyway) and simply say if there is an objection later I will take it down.

 

Best result would be for the devs to tweak the A20 artwork and basically include a more polished version of the mod into the game. The mod doesn't involve anything more than a few file changes so I think the overall cost for the devs would be neglible but I think the player base would get quite a bit of benefit and enjoyment out of it even if the player only got the functionality the mod brings (ie pretty much you are a passenger who can look at the large version of the map).

 

If they added some extras like allowing the slot to access a bombsight (A20) or something on their side of the cockpit it would be great. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Stonehouse

[Hook_Echo]

@Stonehouse you continue to be the man! Is the Mosquito possible to add the second player position, since there are no gunners? I would really love to fly some night raids with a human navigator.

[Stonehouse]

57 minutes ago, Hook_Echo said:

Is the Mosquito possible

Yes although it is a bit quirky. 

[Charon]

@Stonehouse did you ever hear back from Murleen about releasing your co-pilot slot mod?

[Stonehouse]

1 hour ago, Charon said:

@Stonehouse did you ever hear back from Murleen about releasing your co-pilot slot mod?

No, I didn't. I tried to contact Murleen via post and PM and didn't get a response. I ended up adding it to AI Gunnery for the aircraft Murleen covered plus others and made sure I credited Murleen's work. 

 

Covers A20B, C47, LI2, Ju88C6, Mosquito, CG4A, JU52

[Charon]

 

The Mosquito is so much better with someone in the right seat helping with spotting and situational awareness. Thanks for making this @Stonehouse, but it really ought to be integrated into the game by default.

[Stonehouse]

57 minutes ago, Charon said:

really ought to be integrated into the game by default.

I'm hoping that someone from the dev team sees this thread and thinks it is a fairly cheap and easy enhancement. I don't believe making a polished version of my mod would be expensive for them. Taking it the next step and allowing the position some functionality (eg bombsight in A20B) might be more than is in their budget but the basics I believe should be within a small stretch of things.  

 

I guess the more people that come in here and say it is a good thing the more likely it might be it gets built into the game.