Handling Rotaries in Missions

[PatrickAWlson]

PWCG starts players on the runway with warm engines.  The problem that I have is that rotaries are at full power on mission start.  I guess full off is best but how to accomplish that?  What settings do you use for rotaries on a runway start?

[Flashy]

I would personally prefer all planes start with engines off on the runway, not just rotaries (and I would like the cold-engine option as well). I dont know exactly how to do it from the perspective of your mission generator, but it certainly seems possible based on the Airco DH2 mission which comes with the game - that mission has planes starting with engines off on the runway..

Edited December 11, 2024 by Flashy

[czech693]

To be clear the problem is the early rotary engines which don't have a throttle and only have the blip switch to control enginer power.  I was surprised the first time flying one, but realized why it was doing that and started using the blip switch as soon as the mission started.

[Flashy]

5 hours ago, czech693 said:

To be clear the problem is the early rotary engines which don't have a throttle and only have the blip switch to control enginer power.  I was surprised the first time flying one, but realized why it was doing that and started using the blip switch as soon as the mission started.

Yes that is true, the early Gnome Monosoupape engines had no way to control throttle other than through the ignition (blip switch). Pat is asking how he should handle this fact in the campaign generator because all planes in Il-2 (for some reason) start with engines running on the airfield. That means the early planes basically spawn with the engine running and throttle wide open.. not ideal..

[AEthelraedUnraed]

19 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

I guess full off is best but how to accomplish that?  What settings do you use for rotaries on a runway start?

To keep it technical, this is controlled by the "StartInAir" parameter in the Plane object:

StartInAir = 0 - air start

StartInAir = 1 - ground start, engines on

StartInAir = 2 - ground start, engines off

[czech693]

Where the heck it that?

[Flashy]

9 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

To keep it technical, this is controlled by the "StartInAir" parameter in the Plane object:

StartInAir = 0 - air start

StartInAir = 1 - ground start, engines on

StartInAir = 2 - ground start, engines off

Wow, thanks for that @AEthelraedUnraed! I didnt know that could have multiple values - I assumed it was a binary flag... you learn something new every day!

Edited December 12, 2024 by Flashy

[AEthelraedUnraed]

9 hours ago, czech693 said:

Where the heck it that?

In the .mission file if you open it with a text editor I figured since PWCG writes mission code, Patrick would appreciate the direct mission code that's responsible for this behaviour.

 

2 hours ago, Flashy said:

Wow, thanks for that @AEthelraedUnraed! I didnt know that could have multiple values - I assumed it was a binary flag... you learn something new every day!

It's very much a misnomer. It corresponds to the aircraft options in the Mission Editor, in the dropbox next to the "Cooperative start" checkbox. The options there are a bit of a misnomer themselves, since the only difference between "On runway" and "On parking" is if the engines are on or off. In both cases, they'll taxi to the runway if the airfield is so configured, or take off straight ahead if told by the mission logic.

[PatrickAWlson]

10 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

In the .mission file if you open it with a text editor I figured since PWCG writes mission code, Patrick would appreciate the direct mission code that's responsible for this behaviour.

 

It's very much a misnomer. It corresponds to the aircraft options in the Mission Editor, in the dropbox next to the "Cooperative start" checkbox. The options there are a bit of a misnomer themselves, since the only difference between "On runway" and "On parking" is if the engines are on or off. In both cases, they'll taxi to the runway if the airfield is so configured, or take off straight ahead if told by the mission logic.

I'll test with engines off and see how the AI responds.

[Jaegermeister]

On 12/12/2024 at 3:16 PM, PatrickAWlson said:

I'll test with engines off and see how the AI responds.

 

You will need to trigger a takeoff MCU if engines are off, otherwise they will just sit there 

[PatrickAWlson]

4 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

 

You will need to trigger a takeoff MCU if engines are off, otherwise they will just sit there 

 

Pretty sure that I have to do that anyway, even with engines on.  With inlines they will just sit and idle.  

[Jaegermeister]

8 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

 

Pretty sure that I have to do that anyway, even with engines on.  With inlines they will just sit and idle.  

True… 😜

[PatrickAWlson]

Last note: setting rotaries to parked works well.  Rotaries don't really warm up, so the AI cranks up the plane and takes off without issue.

[Flashy]

14 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Last note: setting rotaries to parked works well.  Rotaries don't really warm up, so the AI cranks up the plane and takes off without issue.

The amount of time it takes them to start the engine also allows the mission to load up properly, so no need for a takeoff timer if you spawn them parked 🙂