funkyfranky

If you use the https://wiki.hoggitworld.com/view/DCS_func_getFuel function on a CH-53E unit, it reports a fuel of only ~27.5% instead of 100% if it is set to full fuel in the ME. This has been the case for a long time. But since nobody of the devs/testers seems to notice or fix, I guess it's time to report it.

Okay, that might need some fine tuning in the script. So far I only tested with no other ship around (which can act as potential "airbase"). By default, the helo will land on the closest airbase. If there are more possibilities, it gets a bit more complicated. I could try to monitor the fuel state and send the helo home to Mother if fuel is below a certain threshold. However, some DCS bugs might get into the way since it is (or was for a long time) not possible to give the helo a landing command at a particular airbase once it was spawned. How far are the other ships away from the Stennis and could you try (for now) to put them a little further away so that the Stennis is always the nearest airbase for the helo? PS: I could not open your miz because I have not installed the deck crew mod.

@Highwayman-Ed @Snapper In your scripts, do you have the AI_FORMATION object declared as local variable, i.e. [b][color="Red"]local[/color][/b] CarrierFormation = AI_FORMATION:New(Mother, FollowGroupSet, "Helo Formation with Carrier", "Follow Carrier at given parameters.") If so, could you try setting it as global variable by just removing the "local" of that line? I think it might be the lua garbage collector which kills the formation object if it is defined as local variable.

Great, and sorry for just giving you the plain code above. I was about to go to bed and just had a few minutes :)

local spawn=SPAWN:New("Spawn Template") local rho=UTILS.RandomGaussian(UTILS.NMToMeters(25), UTILS.NMToMeters(2), UTILS.NMToMeters(20), UTILS.NMToMeters(30)) local theta=UTILS.RandomGaussian(120, 5, 90, 140) local zone=ZONE_UNIT:New("Zone Unit", UNIT:FindByName("Spawn Relative"), 100, {rho=rho, theta=theta, relative_to_unit=true}) spawn:SpawnInZone(zone)

Yeah, I saw the script by Alerax and it is great indeed. In my script, you only have to change a single line, if you want to adjust the carrier unit name. Look for -- Carrier UNIT name as set in the ME. local CarrierUnitName="[b]USS Stennis[/b]" and change it to the carrier name that is used in Alerax's script.

Stennis is WIP. So we need to work around issues sometimes. I like the idea! I'll test if it works. I don't know where the helo goes when it is out of fuel. Usually to the nearest "airbase" which would be the Stennis. Might need a bit of tweaking etc.

Okay, little progress update on the tanker. I attached a Tacview track (had to zip it again, because you cannot upload Tacview acmi files directly). We have :) The rescue helo as before. An S-3B Viking taking off from the Stennis and orbiting a racetrack pattern, counter clockwise at 250 kts and Angels 6 (Say hello to your new master, Ed ;)) An E-2D Hawkeye taking off from the Stennis and flying a circular orbit over the boat at Angels 20. Some speedboads spawned at the tail of the Stennis and going in formation. Why? Because someone asked me, if that is possible. So, the orbits of the tanker and AWACS are updated every 20 minutes to align with the Stennis. For that, a new waypoint needs to be created. This leads to a bit of a disruption in the perfect racetrack pattern of the tanker. Also, whenever the Stennis changes its course, it needs a bit of time until the new pattern is established. DCS bugs :cry: All fixed wing aircraft must leave the boat before the helo. Once the helo takes off, the other aircraft will start their engines but will not take off. This is not a scripting problem. You can make a simple mission, place a helo and an F/A-18 AI on the boat. The helo will take off, the Hornet will spool up its engine but not take off. Unfortunately, the above also leads to the issue, that when the tanker or AWACS run out of fuel, they will return to the Stennis but not take off again and go back on station. In principle, the script would do that. At the very end of the track (nearl 4 hours) you can see that the rescue helo will not return to the Stennis when it is out of fuel. It has done this several times successfully. The only difference I see, is that meanwhile the Hawkeye has anded on the Stennis because it was out of fuel. Found a funny thing, when you set the fuel of the Viking to 50% or less and the Stennis is moving: Tacview-20181028-112928-DCS-HeloFormation.zip.acmi.zip

Hmm, not 100% sure if this is the real reason, but the line above will probably crash the script. Set it to a380:ATC_Messages([b]false[/b]) and try again, please.

USS Stennis: S-3B Tanker Cat Shot Bug

Von der Carl Vinson startet in der der OB bei mir derzeit gar nichts! Auf die Stennis komm ich demnächst noch mal detaillierter zurück. Ich häng mal die miz an. Falls einer unserer Tester sie aufruft, bitte in den Missions Editor schauen! Ansonsten könnte man denken, ich hätte auf der Carl Vinson keine KI Einheit platziert, die eigentlich da sein und abheben sollte. Carl_Vinson_AI.miz

Rudel, try this uh1:ATC_Messages(false) To explain: The function expects a boolean value (true or false) to switch it on or off. That's also what you find in the docs (Parameter #boolean switch Enable (true) or disable (false) messages from ATC.) It will act globally and switch off the ATC messages for all RAT objects but has to be called from one specific RAT object. It's a bit confusing, I know ;)

Awesome, mate :thumbup: That's exactly what I needed. Not sure everything is possible given the scripting limitations, but I'll try my best over the weekend :)

Sounds good. What would be a realistic turn radius? There are two options. A circular or a race track pattern. Personally, I would tend to the race-track since it gives the pilots a chance to catch the tanker in a straight flight at least once in a while. Any thoughts on that? How is this done IRL?

Hmm, that's odd indeed. This stuff is completely independent of the map. So there is no reason for it not to work on the PG map. From my personal experience, whenever I have something like that, I go back and re-check everything carefully. Very often it is a subtle mistake, typo,... I made somewhere. But I'll check on the PG map tonight or tomorrow :)

Where exactly do you need the tanker? Orbit or race-track pattern (distances to carrier), altitude, speed?

Yeah same here. That's exactly why I wrote this stuff in the first place :)

Sure, it's very easy. You can define a normal trigger zone in the ME. Remember the name and put it like this local zone=ZONE:New("My Trigger Zone") uh1:SetDeparturesFromZone(zone) You can also define polygon zones which are non-circular. Docs might be handy https://flightcontrol-master.github.io/MOOSE_DOCS/Documentation/Core.Zone.html

Okay, the names "Rig1" and "Rig" are correct. But there is another little "issue". The minimum distance between valid departures and destinations is 5 km by default. The rigs are just 900 meters apart from each other. That's why the logic does not find a destination. But you can set the valid distance manually. Try this code: local uh1=RAT:New("RAT-uh1", "UH-1 Civil") uh1:SetTakeoff("cold") uh1:SetDeparture({"Rig1"}) uh1:SetDestination({"Rig2"}) [b]uh1:SetMinDistance(0.5)[/b] uh1:Spawn(1)

Well, luckily you pasted an important part of the log :) Try "Rig1" and "Rig2". You can see that these are the names of the airbases registered by MOOSE.

Oh, of course, now I see. You need to use the code name of the rig (Paris, Berlin, London, Dallas) which you assigned as departure and destination and not the name of the static elements. So something like this uh1:SetDeparture({"Berlin"}) uh1:SetDestination({"London"})

Sure, I can take a look tomorrow. Generally, the new rigs should behave like FARPS and register as airbases. Maybe it is required to set a code name (like Berlin, London, Paris etc.) in the mission editor for that to work? I have only played around with it a bit but I vaguely recall that there was something I had to do so they are registered as airbases in the game (am not a my gaming PC right now).

You need to use the correct airport names, i.e. exactly as spelled in the mission editor. E.g. "Kerman-Airport" does not exist since it is not spelled with a hyphen in the game.

Sure, always! :)

CarrierFormation:Stop() will stop it. But then the helo will probably return to the ship. You have to set a waypoint - maybe even before you stop, since the AI sometimes acts really silly and does not obey commands once they are going to land somewhere. Try something along this line RescueCoord=UNIT:FindByName("My Unit in Danger"):GetCoordinate() RescueWP=RescueCoord:WaypointAirTurningPoint() HeloSpawn:Route(RescueWP) CarrierFormation:Stop() Untested - hope it works :)