Psyrixx

Here's my script for spawning a dynamic extraction team from the UH-1H Huey helicopter. Makes use of Speed and Grimes' excellent MIST library for DCS: World. A preview of it in action. Script features the following: Group dynamically spawns at User's location Group spawns on the side of the Huey closest to the objective that they're moving towards Group dynamically navigates to set point (friendly asset in this case) Group waits for set amount of time while other objectives are managed Group checks to see if User is on the ground, if not they call in for pick-up Group dynamically navigates back to User's aircraft location (in case they've moved) Group sets trigger and deactivates to simulate being picked up vs killed Group does not spawn or move to extraction until helicopter has touched down and stopped moving Works for multiple aircraft (in Multiplayer, one user can drop off units and another can pick them up upon mission completion if necessary [first player dead, occupied, RTB, etc]) This is my first script using LUA so I apologize if the code is not super organized and neat or if I did not use any well known LUA shortcuts. Big thanks to Grimes for pointing me in the right direction with regards to the "recursive main() loop" that keeps it going. :thumbup: And so, without further ado: Just the code: http://pastebin.com/79MxZncb Edit the code: https://github.com/Psyrixx/dcsw-dynamic-extraction-team I've included a github link in case anyone notices any obvious errors that I've made or wants to tidy things up. I've tested the heck out of this script and think I've squashed all of the bugs. I hope it can help others! :joystick:

Oh yes, I am definitely posting my script for public consumption. =) In fact, since I'm pretty sure it's bug free at this point, I'll go ahead and post it to the Mission Builder's forum. :thumbup: Edit: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1759031 Here's the thread I made for the dynamic extraction team. Hope it helps!

Awesome! Glad to hear and thanks for the feedback. I have no idea how I would add additional A-10 taskings given the scope of the mission and how the timing goes with all of the other flights, but I will definitely give it some thought for v1.2. Feel free to drop some suggestions if you have any. :D I'm a little bit behind on the v1.1 release but I have modified some of the radio recordings and tasking around as well as incorporated the UH-1H Huey helicopter as a playable extraction element, using the dynamic spawning script I wrote to simulate a verification team. We're currently testing the mission to make sure everything still works the way it should, but it should be up within the next couple of days. Also, thank you for the invite to a Tuesday night flight I might have to take you up on that once we get v1.1 out! :pilotfly:

Is there any way to make planes not disappear after they land and park? Just to add to the scenery of the airport we're operating out of. I think if I can figure out how to set them to Uncontrolled after they've parked, it'll accomplish my goal (or turn off the group AI) but was curious if there's an easier way to accomplish it.

Awesome! I'll be releasing v1.1 on Monday that includes the updated F10 menu code from Eagle Dynaics as well as being able to perform the extraction yourself in the UH-1H Huey helicopters. Basically if anyone spawns in the UH-1H's, the Blackhawks simply won't activate and whoever is flying the Huey(s) will have to take over extraction duties. I've even scripted a dynamic verification team! Should make things interesting! Also, there will be dynamic targets for the UH-1H's to engage while they wait for the ingress and egress into the valley to be cleared... but then again I've made the extraction run myself a few times in the Huey without any escort (those mini-guns are amazing against the AAA trucks). Thanks for the feedback and I can't wait to get v1.1 into the wild. :pilotfly:

Works pretty well, if I do say so myself. :thumbup: Group dynamically spawns at User's location Group spawns on the side of the Huey closest to the objective that they're moving towards Group dynamically navigates to set point (friendly asset in this case) Group waits for set amount of time while other objectives are managed Group checks to see if User is on the ground, if not they call in for pick-up Group dynamically navigates back to User's aircraft location (in case they've moved) Group sets trigger and deactivates to simulate being picked up Works for multiple aircraft (in Multiplayer, one user can drop off units and another can pick them up upon mission completion if necessary [first player dead, occupied, RTB, etc]) Currently the units must spawn pretty far away from the drop off helicopter since the hit boxes are so large on the UH-1H any closer and the units get "stuck" and cannot navigate until the helicopter is airborne again but hopefully in the future that will be optimized and units will look even more realistic in their spawn and deactivation distances. I'll post the code on Friday along with an updated version of my mission that allows for user-controlled extraction! :joystick:

Yep, I guess I was mostly curious about the potential for setting up a sort of debugger listener that could plug in to the DCS process (don't mind having to re-load it each time) as it would be invaluable to see a live output of what's being called, flag values, trigger states, have an error log that isn't just a cryptic popup window, etc. I've never worked with Lua before so I just don't know what's possible with it and have no idea what currently exists for mission designers in this sense is the main reason I'm asking. Currently I just output variable values to a outText('') function and have that refresh every second.

I'll be posting the code to PasteBin once it is working the way that I want and you'll be free to use it however you want. Hopefully it helps you with your conversion! While I'm here, is there any easier way to be debugging Lua with DCS? Are there IDE or debuggers that I can hook into the game to monitor variables and such or is old-school "echo this variable value in the program" the only way to go?

Here's a proof of concept from the pilot's seat of a client controlled UH-1H Huey with my LUA in action. A few kinks to work out, but: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLlUmvSMbHo&hd=1 The extraction team spawns dynamically based on where I land The extraction team successfully navigates to the unit being extracted The extraction team navigates to my new location once I've landed again I just need to play around with some of the logic and coordinate spacing, I think, to make them function the way that I want. Also, they were supposed to let me know that they were done and ready to be picked up, so I'll have to figure out why that didn't trigger as well. But hey, it works! :pilotfly: Hopefully I'll have an awesome code example of how to achieve this as well as an updated mission file by Friday (or next Monday at the latest). :thumbup:

I have not, as my mission is an extraction mission where Blue coalition is running Close Air Support while either Pontiac (blackhawks) or Chevy (user controlled hueys) goes in for a spy who has recently broken deep cover. I don't think it would be too hard to set up what you're proposing, but it would require DCS to be able to see all multiplayer clients ejections points and whether they've moved or not ... something I'm not sure the engine does at the moment.

After completely overhauling my code I think I've got something that works wonderfully! Link to new post for anyone wanting to follow: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1748309&postcount=154

:thumbup: Thanks to Grimes for getting me sorted with LUA, I should have a nice little script to share by the end of the week! Specifically aimed towards UH-1H Huey pilots and mission designers. :pilotfly: I've been working on a script for my mission, Asset Extraction, so that I can add the Huey as a user controlled aircraft and have it replace the existing UH-60 Blackhawks for the actual extraction part of the mission. Here's a little demonstration of how far I've gotten using Lua, addGroup and MIST. The two CSAR infantry units that spawn "from" the Blackhawk are completely dynamic based on the position of the helicopter, they dynamically figure out a path from that point to the asset, do the obligatory mission pause for [insert time here] and then dynamically figure out a path back to the helicopter before moving back for extraction. Oh, and they can tell what helicopter is the current "rescue helicopter" (meaning first helicopter to touch down in their extraction zone) and navigate to it... if there are any. If no helicopters exist in the extraction zone (if, for example, you decided to take off and keep an eye on the surroundings from a nice high vantage point) they will report that their mission has been completed and they are waiting for you to land nearby so that they can hitch a ride. Pretty neat stuff, I think! :music_whistling: Once I've tested it a bit more and worked out any bugs I might find, I'll post the Lua code to paste bin and link it here so that anyone who is interested can use it. My first foray into Lua programming so I'll have to apologize if the code is messy or not as concise as a veteran might be able to accomplish. I'm shooting to have this ready for release by the end of the week or early next week as well as an updated version of my DCS: World mission (which will once again support all DCS modules except Combined Arms). :joystick:

So I've got two Blackhawk helicopters in my mission that land to pick up a unit. With the 1.2.4 patch, I want to dynamically spawn two soldiers to run over and "verify" or escort the unit back to the helicopters. These guys spawn from Helicopter 1 unless he's been shot down, otherwise they spawn from Helicopter 2. I've got the dynamic spawning working, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get these guys to run over to the asset. I've been trying the following, but I can't figure out how to get them to start their waypoint path. local rescueName = 'Pontiac 1-1' if(Unit.getByName('Pontiac 1-1'):getLife() < 1) then local rescueName = 'Pontiac 1-2' end local rescue = Unit.getByName(rescueName):getPosition().p local asset = Unit.getByName('Downed Pilot'):getPosition().p local data = { ["taskSelected"] = true, ["route"] = { ["spans"] = { }, -- end of ["spans"] ["points"] = { [1] = { ["alt"] = 10, ["type"] = "Turning Point", ["ETA"] = 0, ["alt_type"] = "BARO", ["formation_template"] = "", ["y"] = asset.z, ["x"] = asset.x - 5, ["ETA_locked"] = false, ["speed"] = 5, ["action"] = "Off Road", ["speed_locked"] = true, }, -- end of [1] }, -- end of ["points"] }, -- end of ["route"] ["visible"] = true, ["groupId"] = "Pontiac Verification Team", ["tasks"] = { }, -- end of ["tasks"] ["hidden"] = false, ["units"] = { [1] = { ["y"] = rescue.z - 4, ["type"] = "Soldier M4", ["name"] = "Verification 1", ["unitId"] = math.random(40, 50), ["heading"] = 0, ["playerCanDrive"] = true, ["skill"] = "Average", ["x"] = rescue.x + 7, }, -- end of [1] [2] = { ["y"] = rescue.z - 6, ["type"] = "Soldier M4", ["name"] = "Verification 2", ["unitId"] = math.random(40, 50), ["heading"] = 0, ["playerCanDrive"] = true, ["skill"] = "Average", ["x"] = rescue.x + 9, }, -- end of [1] }, -- end of ["units"] --["y"] = 650342.85714286, --["x"] = -292285.71428571, ["name"] = string.char(math.random(65,90)), --["start_time"] = 0, --["task"] = "Ground Nothing", } -- end of [1] coalition.addGroup(country.id.USA, Group.Category.GROUND, data) Ideally I'd want two waypoints, one just in front of the target individual with an ALARM_STATE.RED task then after 630 seconds a trigger to set ALARM_STATE.GREEN and the second waypoint pretty much being back where they started. I have the functionality working with a static group in the mission already, but would love to figure out how to handle it dynamically. Totally new to Lua but comfortable with programming. Any help would be much appreciated!

Good! I'm glad the video helped people out. The P-51D is a tricky bird to fly (I'm sure it's slightly easier in real life because you can actually feel the various forces affecting it and can react accordingly) and most of this video was revelations that I had while trying to figure out how to do various tasks in the plane. The two biggest revelations for me were when I figured out the "stick back to lock the tail wheel" as well as the fact that the rudder as well as the pitch and roll needs to be re-trimmed with every throttle change. The rudder is especially essential to get good at for landings... it's near impossible to have a smooth approach with any kind of rudder slip.

Hello! I was playing Campaign Mission 3 (and streaming it at the same time) and there's a point when the reporter you are transporting says she wants to get closer to take a picture of the Mi-24 helicopters. http://www.twitch.tv/psyrixx/c/2237418?t=12m15s Mission Time: 12m 15s While I was able to get (what I felt was) pretty damned close to them at a few points during the flight, eventually the Captain Benito yells at me for making him look bad for not getting close enough for the reporter to take a good picture. http://www.twitch.tv/psyrixx/c/2237418?t=28m Mission Time: 28m (and by 29m I'm practically right on top of them again... so I figure I failed the sub-task and just continue on my way) So I continue the mission, break off from the Mi-24's, head South West and get fired on by rebels, then continue to Senaki-Kolkhi to drop off the reporters at their Yak-40, then fly back to Kutasi and start my landing. There's an Mi-24 sitting on one of the helipads near my approach and as I pass him to land, I got: http://www.twitch.tv/psyrixx/c/2237418?t=1h7m Mission Time: 1h 7m :pilotfly: Maybe there should be a flag trigger to keep note of the fact that I failed the picture taking sub-task and so the voice message shouldn't trigger at the end of the mission. ;) Also, I thought at a few points during the flight I was at least a bit closer to the airborne Mi-24's than the one I passed while coming in for a landing, so maybe the detection radius should be a bit larger to succeed that sub-task? I was constantly flying behind the lead Mi-24 and right up next to the trailing helicopter, so maybe the trigger is only detected on the lead? Perhaps it should apply to either helicopter. :D Anyways, I figured I would point this out to you since it didn't seem like normal mission behavior to me. The videos will be a quick way to see the unintended behavior and I've included the .trk if you want to take a look at specifics. I've also included the approximate times in the mission that the strange behavior occurs (based on the video time stamps) so that you can narrow down when in the track to pay attention. Here is a link to the .trk, I think it's too big to upload to the forum: http://psyrixx.psyjnir.org/misc/UH-1H.Campaign.Mission.3.trk

Unfortunately it didn't save the .trk file so I can't simply go back and re-record the flight with audio... I'd have to record the entire thing again. Is there any particular bit you'd most like to be re-recorded with the axis window? Thanks! I was hoping to be able to give people a little more insight into how to fly this baby (or more specifically, how to land it). If it would be more helpful to re-record this with the axis window open I can certainly do that but not immediately. :pilotfly: :thumbup: :smartass: :joystick:

Try setting your axis tune for both pitch and roll to: Curves: 0 SaturationY: 70 Yes, SaturationY on both the pitch and roll axis. Check video description :pilotfly:

From opening the .lua and reading it looks like Curvature = 0 for both pitch and roll while SaturationY = 70 for both pitch and roll. SaturationX remains 100%.

This is correct. In SP (and/or MP with any number of clients) groups of enemies are dynamically spawned for each plane in the area of operations. A-10's get tank columns guarded by shilkas, Su-25T's get Tunguska's, Ka-50's get groups of armor and infantry, etc. These groups don't spawn if those aircraft aren't being used. So you won't have a bunch of enemy fighters flying around trying to shoot you out of the sky unless you (or a friend) spawn in as an F-15. There are also several light AAA trucks that guard the target zone that spawn regardless of what aircraft you're in. They need to be killed before you clear the rescue helicopters in for pickup. Can be taken out fairly easily by any of the ground attack aircraft but will tear up the helicopters if not dealt with. The rescue helicopters don't take off until 30 minutes into the mission and will hover just outside of the range of these AAA trucks until you use the radio menu F-10 Other... option to send them in so there should be plenty of time to clear the way for them, land, refuel and rearm and head back to the extraction zone to provide them with close air support (they can hold at their hover point for quite some time). :thumbup:

Asset Extraction (SP/MP Coop 1 - 34/Dynamic Difficulty) Name: Asset Extraction v1.2.4 Mission type: SP / MP Coop (1 - 34 players) Controllable: A-10A/A-10C/Ka-50/F-15C/P-51D/MiG-29/Su-25T/Su27/Su33/UH-1H Quick Summary (5 lines): Utilizes majority of DCS: World aircraft, all aircraft types (now including UH-1H Huey!) Difficulty (number/type of enemies spawned) based on number of players in mission Designed to be fun and engaging for veterans as well as new DCS: World pilots Concept based on A-10C Singleplayer Mission "CSAR"; however, significantly expanded Fully voice acted by Yours Truly ---------- Download Asset Extraction v1.2.4 ---------- Changelog: v1.2.4 - (August 17, 2013) Fixed reported logic error with Blackhawk activation - they no longer spawn if any UH-1H are present in the mission v1.2.3 - (July 31, 2013) Fixed verification team spawn causing DCS crash to desktop due to v1.2.5 release slowing down group spawns Fixed Pontiac flight only checking to see if Chevy 1-1 was present before deciding to proceed with their own rescue mission or not Fixed Ford flight 'further tasking' groups (groups spawned during asset verification) so they no longer spawn unless their respective P-51 exists Removed AAA spawns from the entrances to the valley if only UH-1H players are flying, makes the mission great for Huey pick-up practice runs Changed a few spawn locations at Beslan for client aircraft v1.2.2 - (May 27, 2013) Fixed radio message triggers for A-10C (Hawg) Group Made slight adjustments to 'reinforcement groups' Adjusted detection zone around asset to (hopefully) eliminate very rare occurrence of rescue team not beginning the verification process v1.2.1 - (May 19, 2013) Modified a few enemy group waypoints to stop them from getting stuck while navigating v1.2 - (May 18, 2013) Added Pig Flight, 4x A-10C departing from Mozdok Fixed "6DOF" / HUD scaling bug FOR Flaming Cliffs 3 aircraft (reported by IASGATG) Repaired several bug fixes that did not save properly to v1.1 Repaired several modifications that did not save properly to v1.1 Updated dynamic verification spawning Fixed mission victory conditions Modified enemy CAP engagement conditions Added friendly CAP flights over Beslan, Mozdok and Nalchik that only engage enemy units entering their airspace (North of Gizel) Added enemy CAP flights to the south of the Russia/Georgia border. Don't stray into enemy airspace (or do, if you're looking for a fight)! Added Radio Message to Coalition so any friendly plane group can clear Pontiac Flight in to extract Changed activation behavior of UH-60 Blackhawks (Pontiac Flight). If at least one UH-1H exists and is alive, UH-60 group does not activate. If all UH-1H deactivate (users killed, get dropped, switch planes, etc) UH-60 group activates as long as their normal activation time has passed. v1.1 - (May 16, 2013) The UH-1H has been included as a flyable aircraft and, if there anyone is flying one of these slots, replaces the Blackhawks as the extraction team. Fly in to pick up the asset, drop off a verification team then take to the skies again to watch for enemy reinforcements! When they're done verifying the asset's identity, they'll call you back in for dust-off. Re-recorded all dialog and used slightly different effects to hopefully make the dialog more understandable. Added several "eye candy" events and static aircraft to make the mission feel more realistic. ---------- Link/Download: See Full Brief/Discussion Thread Full Brief/Discussion thread: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=104831 Misc Info: Started designing this mission when myself and a friend had A-10C and we had 4-5 other friends with just DCS:W and Su-25T (free, friends not sure of wanting to invest in this game) but not many quality missions to play together. This endeavor began as a mission for just those two planes, then a spring module sale later we had 3 A-10C pilots, 2 P-51D pilots, 2 Ka-50 pilots and several of us now own FC3. I decided to expand the scope of the mission and try for a comprehensive DCS: World experience as a way to let people fly what they like, enjoy the game and not have to worry about owning the "right" modules to be able to play together. GREAT mission to introduce pilots of the free Su-25T module to larger scope missions that don't *need* to be too "seriousface" (although you can play it serious if you want to). Plenty for all aircraft to do and take part in while remaining a singular goal oriented mission (all flights operate in the same area towards the same common objective). Tips: Read the in-game situation, briefing and take a look at the included images. Rescue helicopters hit a holding point and wait for clearance to proceed into a hostile area and retrieve a friendly unit. Take this time to refuel and rearm your aircraft at a nearby airfield as enemy reinforcements may show up during the extraction... :music_whistling: :thumbup: :pilotfly: ---------- This mission was designed to use all of the available modules within DCS: World. It can be flown alone or with a group as enemy units spawn based on how many players are on the map. It is meant to be a fun mission for friends to fly together and for seasoned DCS pilots to be able to introduce new players - who may only be willing to fly the free Su-25T until they see whether they like the game - to a mission that has a larger scope than a simple training mission or target range. I also wanted to try and avoid the pressure that comes with someone playing their first "serious face" mission. Enemy units are visible on the world map (hit F-10). Friendly/enemy labels are also enabled. You can toggle them on and off with LShift + F-10. Lastly - I want you to have fun! Hopefully you can fly the aircraft you most enjoy flying (or learn how to pilot something you're not too comfortable with) and enjoy yourself while doing so without feeling pressured to be an expert at DCS: World.

Realized there was an announcements forum for new missions and decided to assimilate the beginning of my post into that format (since it includes all pertinent information in a nice easy to read way). I would recommend at least one ground attack aircraft (IE: don't play by yourself in an F-15 unless you want a real challenge) because there are a few static AAA vehicles that must be dealt with before the rescue helicopters can survive the inbound trip to perform the pick-up as well as their outbound trip to get back home. The choppers will hold outside of the AAA engagement range and you need to use the "Radio > F10 - Other" to clear them in.

Name: Asset Extraction v1.2.4 Mission type: SP / MP Coop (1 - 34 players) Controllable: A-10A/A-10C/Ka-50/F-15C/P-51D/MiG-29/Su-25T/Su27/Su33/UH-1H Quick Summary (5 lines): Utilizes majority of DCS: World aircraft, all aircraft types (now including UH-1H Huey!) Difficulty (number/type of enemies spawned) based on number of players in mission Designed to be fun and engaging for veterans as well as new DCS: World pilots Concept based on A-10C Singleplayer Mission "CSAR"; however, significantly expanded Fully voice acted by Yours Truly ---------- Download Asset Extraction v1.2.4 ---------- Changelog: v1.2.4 - (August 17, 2013) Fixed reported logic error with Blackhawk activation - they no longer spawn if any UH-1H are present in the mission v1.2.3 - (July 31, 2013) Fixed verification team spawn causing DCS crash to desktop due to v1.2.5 release slowing down group spawns Fixed Pontiac flight only checking to see if Chevy 1-1 was present before deciding to proceed with their own rescue mission or not Fixed Ford flight 'further tasking' groups (groups spawned during asset verification) so they no longer spawn unless their respective P-51 exists Removed AAA spawns from the entrances to the valley if only UH-1H players are flying, makes the mission great for Huey pick-up practice runs Changed a few spawn locations at Beslan for client aircraft v1.2.2 - (May 27, 2013) Fixed radio message triggers for A-10C (Hawg) Group Made slight adjustments to 'reinforcement groups' Adjusted detection zone around asset to (hopefully) eliminate very rare occurrence of rescue team not beginning the verification process v1.2.1 - (May 19, 2013) Modified a few enemy group waypoints to stop them from getting stuck while navigating v1.2 - (May 18, 2013) Added Pig Flight, 4x A-10C departing from Mozdok Fixed "6DOF" / HUD scaling bug FOR Flaming Cliffs 3 aircraft (reported by IASGATG) Repaired several bug fixes that did not save properly to v1.1 Repaired several modifications that did not save properly to v1.1 Updated dynamic verification spawning Fixed mission victory conditions Modified enemy CAP engagement conditions Added friendly CAP flights over Beslan, Mozdok and Nalchik that only engage enemy units entering their airspace (North of Gizel) Added enemy CAP flights to the south of the Russia/Georgia border. Don't stray into enemy airspace (or do, if you're looking for a fight)! Added Radio Message to Coalition so any friendly plane group can clear Pontiac Flight in to extract Changed activation behavior of UH-60 Blackhawks (Pontiac Flight). If at least one UH-1H exists and is alive, UH-60 group does not activate. If all UH-1H deactivate (users killed, get dropped, switch planes, etc) UH-60 group activates as long as their normal activation time has passed. v1.1 - (May 16, 2013) The UH-1H has been included as a flyable aircraft and, if there anyone is flying one of these slots, replaces the Blackhawks as the extraction team. Fly in to pick up the asset, drop off a verification team then take to the skies again to watch for enemy reinforcements! When they're done verifying the asset's identity, they'll call you back in for dust-off. Re-recorded all dialog and used slightly different effects to hopefully make the dialog more understandable. Added several "eye candy" events and static aircraft to make the mission feel more realistic. ---------- Situation: For several years now the Russians have had an asset, code name "Rabid Bear", deep undercover in the Insurgent ranks. Recently he has obtained documents and cartography that pinpoint several high value insurgent targets. Late last night the asset escaped the insurgent controlled city of Coban and made his way East of the city to a bridge and is using it as cover while he waits for extraction. This morning, satellite photos showed a significant increase in enemy activity. They must have realized what happened. Several groups of enemy units are set up as search parties no doubt trying to find, and most likely eliminate, Rabid Bear before we can extract him from the area. Success of this mission will give us the intelligence we need to put a huge dent in regional terrorism and therefore this is a joint allied forces mission. Mission Briefing: Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters (Pontiac) are standing by to depart Beslan at 0830 and make their way towards the bridge east of Coban. They will take up a hover position just outside the valley and wait for an all-clear signal from friendly aircraft before proceeding in for extraction. If UH-1H (Chevy) pilots wish to take their place, we’ll ground the Blackhawks and let you boys extract the asset instead. Chevy has a different flight plan than the Blackhawks, so pay attention to your section of this briefing. Non-extraction aircraft are to ensure valley entrances are clear of enemy AAA, SAM and other units prior to clearing rescue teams in to extract the asset. Aircraft are advised to return to Beslan for refueling and rearming prior to clearing helicopters in for extraction. Stick to your flight plan: it has been designed to maximize chances for mission success. ------- EXTRACTION SORTIE ------- * UH-1H (Chevy) * Take off from Beslan and fly east following the railway until you hit the river that runs through Chermen then follow it south until it forks at Tarskoye. Follow the right fork then turn west when you hit the mountains and continue towards Terk. Hold short at Terk until you've been given the all clear to enter the valley and extract the asset by friendly forces, then egress north following the river near the asset. Maintain a Northern heading when you reach the city of Gizel and you'll return to Beslan - hopefully with the asset unharmed. Consider arming your birds in case anything unexpected pops up en route. ------- OVERWATCH SORTIES ------- * SU-25T (Springfield) * Equip your aircraft for SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) and eliminate any radar SAM emplacements to the north of the mountains then continue along your waypoints to line up on approach into the extraction zone. Destroy any enemy anti-air presence at the valley entrances as well as around Coban. * Ka-50 (Uzi) * Follow your waypoints to fly an approach to the eastern entrance of the extraction zone then move in and engage enemy units in and around the valley entrances to make sure we have cleared the way for Pontiac. Maintain visual contact on the rescue helicopters during the extraction and provide them with close air support while they are verifying the asset’s identity. * A-10C (Hawg, Pig) / A-10A (Boar) * We have received reports of insurgent tank columns protected by Shilka AAA vehicles operating in the area. You are to fly CAS and make sure any enemy armor in the area is eliminated. Maintain a close watch on the areas around the extraction zone during the asset pick-up and keep our guys safe. * F-15C (Dodge) / Su-27 (Klondike) * * Su-33 (October) / MiG-29 (Talon) * It is highly likely the insurgents will scramble several enemy fighters to engage our rescue aircraft. Your mission is to maintain air superiority north of the Georgian border and engage any enemy fighters that threaten our extraction mission. Be careful not to stray south into Georgia… enemy patrols in Georgian airspace are currently very heavy. * P-51D (Ford) * As retired Russian air force pilots and current P-51D enthusiasts we thank you for offering your personal planes and skills to this mission. Several supply trucks have been reported by locals heading towards Coban from the city of Arhonskaya, located just to the Southwest of Beslan airport. Your mission is to locate and destroy this convoy before it can deliver additional troops or supplies to the insurgents in Coban. After the supply convoy has been neutralized, you are free to engage targets of opportunity in and around Coban. Proceed with caution as your older aircraft will not hold up well to modern anti-air weapons. ---------- Misc Info: Started designing this mission when myself and a friend had A-10C and we had 4-5 other friends with just DCS:W and Su-25T (free, friends not sure of wanting to invest in this game) but not many quality missions to play together. This endeavor began as a mission for just those two planes, then a spring module sale later we had 3 A-10C pilots, 2 P-51D pilots, 2 Ka-50 pilots and several of us now own FC3. I decided to expand the scope of the mission and try for a comprehensive DCS: World experience as a way to let people fly what they like, enjoy the game and not have to worry about owning the "right" modules to be able to play together. GREAT mission to introduce pilots of the free Su-25T module to larger scope missions that don't *need* to be too "seriousface" (although you can play it serious if you want to). Plenty for all aircraft to do and take part in while remaining a singular goal oriented mission (all flights operate in the same area towards the same common objective). Tips: Read the in-game situation, briefing and take a look at the included images. Rescue helicopters hit a holding point and wait for clearance to proceed into a hostile area and retrieve a friendly unit. Take this time to refuel and rearm your aircraft at a nearby airfield as enemy reinforcements may show up during the extraction... :music_whistling: :thumbup: :pilotfly: ---------- This mission was designed to use all of the available modules within DCS: World. It can be flown alone or with a group as enemy units spawn based on how many players are on the map. It is meant to be a fun mission for friends to fly together and for seasoned DCS pilots to be able to introduce new players - who may only be willing to fly the free Su-25T until they see whether they like the game - to a mission that has a larger scope than a simple training mission or target range. I also wanted to try and avoid the pressure that comes with someone playing their first "serious face" mission. Enemy units are visible on the world map (hit F-10). Friendly/enemy labels are also enabled. You can toggle them on and off with LShift + F-10. Lastly - I want you to have fun! Hopefully you can fly the aircraft you most enjoy flying (or learn how to pilot something you're not too comfortable with) and enjoy yourself while doing so without feeling pressured to be an expert at DCS: World.

It's more like... Asking person 1 to walk at 3mph Asking person 2 to walk at 5mph Asking person 3 to walk at 7mph Asking person 4 to walk at 10mph ...and yet still be at the same distance from the starting line at exactly the same time at any given moment. Very simplified explanation: Games are nothing more than a sequence of calculations and drawings per frame, and for each frame each thread has to be synchronized with the rest of them or else the game will start to exhibit very odd behavior. Some calculations can be done incredibly fast but then that process must pause until the frame is done and other calculations will take the entire duration of the frame to complete. These separate calculations being done at the same time are called threads. If thread 1 only takes a quarter frame to complete, it cannot simply move on to the next task... it has to wait for the other three threads to complete and the frame to be rendered before moving on to the next calculation. Otherwise, in a very short amount of time (four frames in this example, thread 1 will be a full frame ahead of the rest of them (assuming, for explanations sake that the remaining threads are all running at the same speed). If we assume thread 1 is working on game physics calculations, the result would be a huge amount of incorrect values being applied to everything in the world (bombs would/could have steeper or much shallower arcs on their fall trajectory, mavericks could potentially travel faster than the speed of sound, etc) because the threads are not synchronized. Now to take a single core game and make it multi-threaded ... it's not as simple as saying "ok make all physics run on core 1, make all sounds run on core 2, offload all graphics to GPU chips"... you pretty much have to go through and rewrite every aspect of the game so that it functions properly and in-sync with the rest of the game. You define your threads and then define what goes on within each thread for each frame of time. Then you have to make sure that they are processing in sync as well. It is definitely not a simple matter of just "making the GPU do graphics". MUCH more complicated in practice than that. :smartass:

More like too much AWESOME from putting the hurt on a group of enemy armor with a single munition! :joystick: :thumbup:

:thumbup: Perfect. I have the groups I want and, yes, with the "follow" command and setting the X, Y, Z coordinates (that are right freaking there... can't believe I didn't see them the other night) they are flying in perfect formation. Excellent targets for my P-51D's. Thanks again! :pilotfly: ------------------------------------------- BTW, for anyone else that may want to use this in the future: x = position in front or behind the lead plane (positive = front, negative = behind) z = position to the left or right of the lead plane (positive = right, negative = left) y = position above or below the lead plane (positive = above, negative = below) So by setting my X, Y, Z on the following plane to -500, 200, -50 respectively, I have a leading AN-26B transport plane being trailed by a Yak-40 that is behind, a little to the right and slightly below it. Here are the four groups I have (eight planes), flying in formation. One group spawns per P-51D that is in the mission area after a specific trigger occurs. :D