JEFX

oops, Druid, while I was fooling around to make it work, I didnt notice that you had replied. Thanks, I will look at it, can you check my new version, I think it is good now and it does work very well, thanks to your help. Jean-Francois

HOW TO MAKE A CAP ORBIT THAT CAN BE CALLED UPON SEVERAL TIMES TO SEVERAL LOCATIONS I was struggeling with this and I want to thanks DRUID for his help! This is an experiment to use radio commands (F10) to get a CAP aircraft orbiting and waiting for the call to go to a specific area in order to give support. There are 3 areas (N, E, W) and each has a Mig that is triggered when the CAP F-15 approaches (this is just to test the concept) The idea is that in a large mission, with many randomized threats, one could plan a few CAP and SEAD groups orbiting and be called upon for help in predefined areas when necessary. (in this experimental mission, our own Hawg is on the runway, just in order to give the F10 commands) Bear in mind that the CAP aircraft has to finish its hunt AND go through the next waypoint before it will come back automatically tp the Orbit waypoint. In a next step, one should probably have the radio message disappear when the CAP aircraft is not in its safe orbit. EXPERIMENT CAP AND RADIO ITEMS.miz (now it works very nicely) Thanks Druid

Hi HPO, I am still struggelling with this one topic (switch waypoint command) but I must say that I cannot suggest enough that you download Druid's example and examine it, it is very inspiring and pedagogical.

OK I gave it a try this morning and I think I did all what you suggested right, Druid, but... it is not working... The F-15 doesnt leave its orbit upon my F10 command, can you review my .miz file please? EXPERIMENT CAP AND RADIO ITEMS.miz edit: DRUID HAS POSTED A VERSION LOWER IN THE THREAD WITH CORRECTIONS and I have posted myself a version that works also. This one here is bad, and I leave it here so that other people can learn the same way I just did, thanks to DRUID thanks a lot!

Thanks Druid for this very detailed and informative answer! There is one thing that I find non logical : it has been said and it is clear that (for a particular group) each WP has its associated actions (such as switch WP) but that TRIGGERED ACTIONS (the button just to the right of the one for the ROUTE in the ME) are actions that are general to the whole flight plan and can be triggered anywhere (and not at a particular WP)... Why is SWITCH WAYPOINT in that list if it cannot happen elsewhere than at a WP? By the way, I understand the logics when you say that it has to be at a WP to switch WP, but I had understood like : abandon whatever you are flying to and GO TO such WP... That does not exist, I understand? thanks I will give it a try when I can in the next few days and report back!

Just to make this clear, guys, I would like to be able to order an Air group to orbit at a certain point and then, when I order it , to have them go to one or the other wp of their flight plan and do a task, and perhaps, order them to stop attacking and go to yet another WP of their Flight plan and orbit there again until I need them again at another Wp, and so on... is that clear? thanks Jean-Francois

Hi Paco, How did you get that switch waypoint function to work??? I have a real problem with this, if you dont mind, please check my question over in this thread : http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1304238&postcount=4 thanks JEFX

Hi Druid and thanks for those very inspiring examples… I really believe that ED should have given many more of those examples for us to start mission editing from! I want to ask your help because, even if I have read all the necessary tools in the GUI manual and I have studied your mission in details… there still is one topic that I really want to setup and cannot program it to work the way I dream: Goal : set a CAP group at a WP (say no 1, which is its actual # 0…) and let it wait there doing a circular orbit. Then, assign it some more WPs, say no 2 to the east and no 3 to the west and call upon their help via the F10 menu if one encounters enemy air threat. My goal is to set up a complex randomized mission in which I can meet some surprise air threat and call the friendly CAP to help me, and do it to a specific area (thus the various WPs). I made it this way : New Airplane Group : F-15s, CAO, WP 1 (0) is starting point WP 2 (1) is in the north WP 3 (2) is in the west WP 4 is a last WP since it seems that there needs to be another WP after the one that interests us??? I did assign the following triggered actions (which by the way should be named actions TO BE triggered… : Command : SWITCH WAYPOINT from current to WP 1 (which means 2…)… condition is user FLAG 1 Command : SWITCH WAYPOINT from current to WP 2 (which means 3…)… condition is user FLAG 2 And I made the following triggers: ONCE…Random (100)… Radio Item add (GO TO STP 2)… FLAG 1 ONCE…Random (100)… Radio Item add (GO TO STP32)… FLAG 2 Switched… FLAG is true (1)… AI TASK (new airplane group/switch WP from current to 2) And also action : FLAG OFF (1) Switched… FLAG is true (2)… AI TASK (new airplane group/switch WP from current to 3) And also action : FLAG OFF (2) And it is not working… I even tried to assign the New Airplane Group a SET FREQUENCY command at the start of its flight plan to make sure I call upon its help on the right frequency (but I don’t think that it is a must ???) What am I doing wrong? It is not working.. Thanks JEFX

Alt-B was added in .08 and I made the jump from 08 to 09 with only the partial patch instal and it kept everything fine. I am just curious for the future, is ED intending to make the next few patches as easy to add without loosing our assignements? (it is nice and quick, while it was a pain when one had to remap everything, including axes tuning, curves, etc...) JEFX

ouf.... I am kind of happy to hear that Olgerd, because I was checking the same on my own and I was beginning to think that I didnt understand anything right... Looking foward to this correction! If I may also suggest, I really think that the manual could give more practical exemples of the functionning and the use of those nav modes (To-To, To-From, etc... ) and how do they work practically. thanks Jean-Francois

Thanks Nomdeplume I thought of it that way also, but I thought I remembered that at some point in the recent patches, it was not necessary anymore to delete the Users folder and on the instal instructions on the website it still says it... I always feel that patching is a pain since one has to remap everthing... (perhaps a dread leftover from 'the dance' in Falcon 4...:))

Can someone remind me how to keep our keyboard and axis assignements while patching (I havent patched to 1009 yet, I was away...). When one reads on the official DCS website, it says please do a full re-installation. To do so: 1. Uninstall A-10C 2. For Windows 7 users, look in your /Users/(name)/Saved Games/ and delete the A-10C folder. 3. Reboot 4. Defrag the drive that A-10C will be installed to 5. Install 1.1.0.9 full version 6. Reboot Now, if one deletes the whole A-10C folder, it will delete all personal files, therefore Keyboard assignements. Is it advisable to keep it??? Is it different when patching from, say, 1008 TO 1009 , and from doing a complete reinstall (which seems to be better in terms of stability?) thanks! JEFX

Thanks for asking, thats really too bad... I think that one of the great thing about this community (and I am proudly part of it since almost the beginning), is the fantastic generosity from everybody. Sharing documents, experiments, results, experiences, and even sheer real-life knowledge like our friend Paulrkiii, helping out people, etc... this is what makes this community strong and very different from mainstream gaming forums... (and the generosity of presence and listening starts with the very DEVs themselves... a very rare team of people). anyways... sad

THanks, Lunatic, It would certainly be for the benefit of all, especially mission makers... :thumbup: Jean-Francois

Thanks Lunatic It is always good to know! In a way, despite our legendary love for precise simulation and everything that is real life... in the simulator, the only thing that counts is the ACTUAL lethal envelope of a threat... I would love if ED could provide those numbers for all units... I have been asking it since prehistorical times (Lockon 1.0). By teh way, have Skeptic and you worked out other interesting numbers like that that you wouldnt mind sharing? thanks

By the way, I made another experiment tonight, and I overflew a pair of OSA (SA-8) at Angels 30 (approximately 30k feet above them actually) and they didnt succeeded to shoot me down. I managed to send them some GBU-31 JDAMs from that altitude and I killed them, that means that the missile that is modeled in the game is neither the old 9M33 that had an altitude envelope of 16000ft nor the newer 9M33M3 that has a max alt of 39000 ft because I was engaged at 20k feet and not at 30k .... Unfortunately, in the encyclopedia, only the 9M33 is described (and it corresponds to the physical aspect of the SA-8's missile...) but the performances are not coherent with any of the types...

Yes, thanks Viper, I read that on the net, but I didnt know that it was the missile that is effectively modelled in the game... Especially that, unfortunately, in the encyclopedia, many engagement altitudes and ranges are not clearly given, ex the SA-8 (I really would have loved if all ranges and altitudes of engagements were given for all units...) I remember doing experiments with BritRadarDude for hours just to try and find out what are the engagement ranges of some of the ships and artys and so on, already in the Lockon time... Sadly, the enclyclopedia of DCS-A-10 has the same flaws as Lockon's... Sometimes the ranges are not given, sometimes the ranges are more like those in real life but not exactly those in the game, etc... for the mission maker it makes life very difficult... anyways, pardon my ranting, I usually am full of praise and I really love everything DCS, and I am a fan forever!

Yes this is a great package, but I want to correct the SA-8 OSA altitude engagement : I was hit a few minutes ago by a SA-8 flying at 20000ft AGL, so there are still some numbers to correct ??

Power5, you can still find the great document (without the last corrections that we all eagerly ait for) on post #32 of this thread clic here : http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1250792&postcount=32 JEFX:)

Dear Paul, Any chance of you updating your great Threats document? I based my Threats checklist on it and, yes, you are right, there are some wrong figures taht I discoverd later (engagement altitudes or distances, for example). But still, it was the best document of the sort in both Lockon and A-10C and I am looking forward to see your update? Perhaps, you can start by making a definitive statement of the real engagement altitudes and distances (I am meaning in the SIM and not in the realworld...). Anyhow, thanks for all your great contributions.:thumbup: JEFX

Hey TAIPAN Thanks, that was fun to watch! Never tried it with NVG. I find it more fun in the half-darkness (specially the explisions on the way back) but definitely well done! Thanks! JEFX

I agree with you Groove, that there could be more details. Actually, it is a bit repetitive and certainly not litterature... But it is a good insight from real life of what we play with in our simulation... And I must say, what made me feel so in awe was the work of the pilots!, the rapidity and precision of their reaction, the level of SA needed to follow all those very precise demands... Spotting mere soldiers on foot, in the woods, keeping track of where they are and all, while flying an F-15 or even an A-10C, and lining up for very precise attacks, from very precise azimuth, etc, all in a couple of seconds... They have all my admiration! Jean-Francois

HI all! I dont know if many of you saw this advice from the BIGBOSS (Jim Mack) but he said in some thread that one should definitely read this book : ''Fire strike 7/9'' by Paul Boomer Grahame... it describes the life and work of a real JTAC in the field in Afghanistan. Well, I am reading it now, and I must say that it should make all of us, desk fighters, very humble... http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Strike-7-9-ebook/dp/B003KVKQVE/ref=pd_rhf_p_img_1 And I am not even talking about the danger of death or the shells an bullets coming by... I am talking about the incredible professional skills needed to work in such an environment... In a way, it is a book about stupid war heroes testosterone, yes (we like that!) but it is also a book about cunning intelligence and fast reflexes, and a relationship with incredibly gifted young pilots! In the light of flying your favorite A-10C, fumbling with the buttons and switches in the cockpit, making your way with understanding what JTAC wants, SA and attacking the right way, etc... all from a split second perspective... A very humbling book for the casual simmer... Thanks JIM! Jean-Francois

Thanks Yo-Yo, It was my pleasure. Talking about people doing art-music as you said or, for me, the orchestra-conductor relationship... I often think that what goes on in the mind of orchestra players and especially of the conductor (of course, I favor my own profession...) is almost of the same nature as what goes on in the mind of a fighter pilot... Things go so fast, driven by incredible sharp reflexes, and the potential for failure is always looming above your head (although, you dont get killed for it...). The only way to survive (this is an image of course) is by incredible training, therefore, instinct. Especially that, usually, as a guest conductor, you get a day or two of rehearsals, at the most, if not only a couple of rehearsals... One has to do most of the communication with the musicians (instruction on how you want things done) in real time at the concert... It is pretty scary, and yet, very exciting! JF

Hello Yo-Yo, It is so nice to talk about music with ED people, thank you! My whole life is about music (except when I fly simulators...). Forgive me for not answering very quickly, I am very busy with work right now (I am at the Staatsoper in Munich, as assistant conductor to Kent Nagano for a big production of St-Francois d'Assise by Messiaen, first time here, and there are lots of rehearsals...) But, to answer your question, as a conductor, I must be very careful not to do prejudice to anybody... Viola jokes are so common (violists are by tradition the fools of the orchestra), but actually, there are as many great viola players as there are players for any other instruments... (and the good ones are the ones not only not minding the jokes but even telling them...) but still, the jokes are pretty good ::D Q.: What is the difference between the first stand of the viola section and the last stand in an orchestra ? A.: One measure… Q.: How do you make a violist play tremolo? A.: You put a long note in his part and write solo besides it… Q.: What is the difference between lighting and the fingers of a violist? A.: there is no difference : they never strike at the same place… Q.: How do you park your car in spaces reserved for handicapped people? A.: You put your viola case clearly seen on the dash… Q.: How do you tell the difference between premature ejaculation and a viola solo? A.: There is no difference : both you know WHEN they come and both you CANNOT do anything to prevent it… But my favourite is: Q.: This violist goes back home after a concert and stops by a store (accommodation) to by cigarettes. He forgets to lock his car and his viola case is on the back seat. When he comes back he thinks ‘shit I forgot to lock the door, I hope nobody stole my viola!’ and he runs to the car and looks through the window and Lo! There are two viola cases on the back seat… But if you want more, here are some famous sites : http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.html http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola2.html That clearly shows that there might be some truth behind those… Cheers JEFX