Bahger

Yeah, I can't completely deconflict JTAC from the voiceover messages because I cannot predict when the player will call JTAC. However, rest assured that the only informationally important radio message is the one from Alamo that gives you JTAC's freq and reminds you to choose between threat priorities. All subsequent radio messages are good for SA but not mission-critical for you in terms of any information contained in them. Next time you play it there may well be no simultaneous message conflict. (Plus, you can always attribute radio comms stepping on each other to "fog of war"!)

I've never got this to work to my satisfaction. I must be missing something simple. I want to create 3 separate radio messages containing separate target data for the player. One of these messages will appear when the principal target has been destroyed. I'd like there to be an equal chance of any one of these messages appearing, or for it to be random, but the same message should not show every time, or more often than the others, and more than one message should never be generated. Can someone give me broad-stroke guidance then I will get to work in the ME? Thanks!

It works, you need to be patient. Make sure you specify "Guided bombs" in the FAC menu and that you are carrying them when you make the call. And for the FAC to survive, make him "Immortal", a workaround I dislike but there is no alternative, as he can't be further than about 200m for the lasing option to be available.

It's an aggravating bug, Wx, and the rules seem to be a little different in SP vs MP (in MP a human flight lead cannot have a human #2, you basically have to create two flights to allow to people to fly together, Matt W has confirmed this and it will not change). So...make your NET settings 01/01 and you will have full SADL functionality, don't ask me why. I was aware of this when posting the mission notes above:

Uri, I don't think you can get the JTAC to change the code he uses in the sim. So if he either paints or designates, you or the bomb need to recieive using the default code. You, as pilot, can change codes for both spot/search or designation, which is why you can set things up for the JTAC to spot using the default and for you to bomb using another code. Asparagin, I can help you out with this. Placement of the FAC for the sysytem to allow him to lase is very sensitive, and requires a little trial-and-error. He has to be close -- danger-close in my opinion, he could easily get killed -- and he has to have LOS to the target. Set it up with a Hog in the air 10nm off the target, active-pause the sim and do the JTAC routine, changing the position of the FAC until you get notification in-mission that he will lase rather than just supply coordinates. Make sure your A-10 is carrying appropriate bombs, or the JTAC will not provide lasing. Once you get the FAC in the right position you can build your mission around it knowing you have JTAC lase functionality..

I can get JTAC to spot-lase a target so that my TGP receives precise point guidance to the location. However, I'm awaiting confirmation that JTAC either cannot do terminal guidance of the LGB onto the target, or can only do so using the default code, as this cannot apparently be changed for the JTAC in the ME.

Here's the scenario: A target, let's say a bunker, has to be hit from altitude (20,000ft AGL) because of SAM threats in the area. On the day of the mission, a cloud layer exists at 15,000ft. You cannot lase from the aircraft through cloud, so which of the following 2 approaches would work in the sim: i. Use an LGB but get a FAC to lase. Would the aircraft still receive laser spot/search guidance through the cloud layer? And even if it could, the only method of terminal guidance would be from the FAC but I don't think you can change the FAC's laser code so will the default code, used by the FAC for spot/search, also guide the bomb to the target? ii. Use a JDAM because this guides to a GPS location on the ground and requires no lasing. In this case, if a FAC is on the ground to spot the target and send a datalink TAD triangle to guide the pilot to the location, if the pilot makes this his SPI, is that location accurate enough for the bomb to hit the target even if the pilot is "blind" because of the clouds? Or is this moot because the pilot would be able to see the target and refine his targeting solution through the IR vision modes of the TGP? I know these seem like very basic questions but some definitive guidance here would save me a LOT of trial-and-error in attempting to design a night mission in which the player must hit a target with a guided munition through a cloud layer. Thanks!

I suspect that you cannot program the FAC/AFAC with a user-selected laser code, therefore if you want him to do the laser search, you have to use the default code for search and change the bomb/designation codes for the designation and if you want him to designate, the default code should be used for both functions (although in that instance I don't know if it would be the FAC or the weapon platform or both that is providing terminal laser guidance). I know how to get the FAC to spot the target and provide LSS search guidance with the default code (I set that up this evening) but it would be great to know how to get the FAC to provide terminal guidance for the LGB, as this might well apply to a situation where there is cloud cover and the weapon platform cannot lase through the clouds. ...Also, it seems to me that you have to put the FAC almost danger-close for JTAC to select "Marked by Laser" rather than "No Mark", can anyone advise?

Glad you enjoyed it, jspec3. Voice comms really improve immersion. I hope the draw challenges you to go at it again, it's very winnable.

Or will it only use the default code? Thus, if I want the FAC to lase a target for me to bomb, is the MO to leave the laser search mode code at default ( 1688 ) but to change the designation code in both the TGP and for the bomb to a different, matching value, so that I'm not using the same code for search and designation? Am I correct, then in assuming that in the ME you can't set the FAC's search code to a player-selected value? Hmm, I thought we could...

Thanks, jeffyd. For example, if I select an "Igla comm" (presumably this means "Command" unit, it's not in the encyclopedia, will destroying it degrade any Igla units I place on the map? Ditto the "Stinger comm" unit.

I want to use a radar command post, or hub of some kind, as a target, which, when destroyed, will incapacitate a network of associated missile launchers. I know I can accomplish this in the ME by making a trigger that will disable AI for all the satellite units once the hub is destroyed but is there a more authentic way to do this? Is there any way to build a network of low-to-medium altitude SAM systems (such as the SA-9) that are connected to a hub and which would become degraded/disabled if the hub were hit? In other words, do the EWR and radar command posts in the sim have any practical function beyond being targets?

Yeah, labels are a whole different level of help, they involve no use of aircraft systems and should probably be avoided after you learn the basics. Target prosecution in A-10 is all about making maximum use of your sensors, especially the TGP, and learning how you can shuffle between them, handing off a slaved SPI to the appropriate weapons system targeting screen. But it's also about the teamwork involved in datalinking, amongst flight members and JTAC assets. The A-10 does not operate in a "one Hog driver against the world" scenario. Another small tip is to switch to EXP 1 or 2 in your TAD to hook a datalink symbol. This means that the moving map will slew with your cursor movement and not re-scale or rotate the map, uncommanded, to keep your a/c at the center. It's much easier to "grab" targets this way, especially if they are at middle to long-distance from your own position

Well that's true enough! I wish I could rifle off three Mavericks at three separate targets having only acquired them on the TGP at <8 nm out!

It's probably a deliberate choice, which I respect and do not regard as a cheat. When it's easier, as it probably is, to spot targets in real life circumstances than it is going pixel-hunting in a sim, it makes the sim more playable to have slightly tweaked AI assistance. Having said that, my golden rule of mission design in A-10 is to locate targets either (i) via co-location with mission waypoints, (ii) via JTAC/FAC (iii) via coordinates given by AWACS or by scripted message. Expecting players to have nothing at their disposal but eyeballs on a computer monitor is frustrating and bad mission design, in my opinion. And using flight members' datalinked target information is not just legitimate but realistic (even if their eyesight is a little tweaked to compensate for limitations in the player's visual acuity in a simulation).

ED tweeted that they fixed the "AI circle the airport forever after takeoff and climbout" bug, which all but sabotaged any mission made in the ME with precise timings/fuel limits and AI flights that are programmed to take off rather than spawn in, airborne. This will be a big deal for mission designers. I'm hoping they will also fix a bug I found, that they acknowleged, where helo flights in formation won't fly any faster than about 45 knots. Fingers crossed.

It's no cheat. With no radar in the Hog, target acquisition has to be all about sharing data. There are limits to the Mark-1 eyeball and JTAC can only be tasked to one individual target (although he'll call out others from Bullseye). Perhaps the most realistic approach is not to call your #2 back into formation but to share his SPI and support his attack on the target. You are likely to find co-located targets on the run-in for you to prosecute.

In their current state, AI wingmen can be a bit of a liability and they are not at their best around SAMs but they are a really valuable asset in one regard: They can spot targets very effectively and at considerable distances. Make sure (in SP) you have your TAD NET settings at 01/01 because, especially in the absence of JTAC or briefed targets co-located with waypoints, whenever a wingman spots a target and calls it out, once you order him to attack it you can see his SPI on your TAD screen and can make it your own. This saves a lot of frustration in finding, identifying and prosecuting targets without the above-named aids. Also remember that your #2 will not attack a target you might see until he sees it for himself and calls it out. If you are fence-in, listen to your wingman's calls and, in the absence of a target of your own, have him attack a target he identifies so that you can use his SPI. Even if you do not go after the same individual target, the SPI will often lead you to other targets easily identifiable in the same location once you have slaved your TGP to it.

Here is my latest singleplayer mission, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain". Some of you might have played a Beta version; thanks for your help with tracking down the crash bug to my system settings. The attached, "Final", version has improved timings, altered JTAC tasking and, above all, detailed, tactical voice comms for player, OP commander and Stryker leader roles. To summarise: - This is a half-hour sortie that starts in the air, at Angels 20. - The player leads a 2-ship tasked with escorting a Stryker convoy en route to defend an isolated Blue Observation Post that is under threat from an imminent Red armored assault. - The mission was inspired by footage of A-10s supporting infantry in mountainous terrain in Afghanistan; this battle takes place around a contested valley pass in the Caucasus mountains. - Ground combat is plotted in some detail (driven partly by the player's actions) with a 26-man Stryker team named individually after the mission author's high school classmates. Tips: - Use your wingman, both for datalink target i/d and target prosecution. - Respect the SA-9 engagement envelope - Maintain SA of targets, and prioritise. Threat prioritization is the tactical "essence" of the mission. There is an early decision point and either choice you make will have consequences. - At exactly 30 minutes from mission start you will receive a Success/Fail message from ground units via radio. - Accomplishing all mission goals is relatively easy for the intermediate-to-advanced DCS A-10 pilot but avoiding all Blue casualties amongst ground forces is not. There is one way to approach the mission goals that, if properly executed, will result in a Blue victory with zero friendly casualties. - The mission rewards competent use of both Mavericks and CBUs while under threat. - Use of JTAC is optional. The Predator is helpful under certain circumstances. - Make sure you alter the incorrect default NET settings in the TAD screen to 01/01 so that datalink works properly for both JTAC and wingman data. In general I do not intend to build scenarios in the ME that start in the air, or even on the runway, being a bit of a purist, but glitches in AI flight members' behavior on takeoff and climbout have frustrated my attempts at ground launched missions and I await the next patch to address this. In the meantime, as I say, this mission is a good half-hour workout in Maverick and CBU deployment, JTAC and wingman interaction and tactical threat prioritization. Good luck, have fun and please post comments. (Thanks go to WarriorX, Apples and Audacity for realistic voice comms) The Bear Came Over the Mountain_Final.miz

Thanks so much, guys. Arakahn, aaron886, dunadan, you may not be too late at all. I will contact you if there are any insoluble problems/issues with the files I receive and will take careful note of your i/ds as I intend to make a lot of missions for A-10 with voice comms and am at a disadvantage because I have an English accent.

Thanks, gents. Apples, can you PM me your email address and say if you have a preference of role? Thank you! Wx, Audacity is a truly great little freeware program. Get the 1.3 Beta here. Then all you have to do is make sure it has the right mic input and you should be good to go. Make the recordings, save them and look for the files as specified above, two per recording, in your Audacity/Modules directory. Contact me if you have any problems. Thanks!

Gents, I need two male American voices, one to play the c/o of an observation post and another to play the leader of a Stryker task force. Each has three or four short radio transmissions in my new scenario. I have written down the message texts in Notepad files. The OP c/o is "Alamo", the Stryker leader "Custer". I'm looking for raw Audacity files, i.e. not yet exported as .ogg files, so that when I receive them, I can filter them to sound like radio comms and then convert them to .ogg. The messages are organised in the .txt as separate paragraphs; please make one recording per paragraph/message so that I do not have to edit the .aup to separate the messages. Audacity outputs the following files for every recording made (I'll need both for each recording): 1x .aup file 1x folder with the same title as the .aup file I do not believe I can attach files to PMs here so could anyone interested please say which role they want ("Alamo" or "Custer") and PM me an email address and I will send out the appropriate .txt doc. If I get these files soon, I'll be able to finish and release the mission over the weekend. Thanks!

Yeah, the terrain is at about 7k AGL and there are AA defenses, so I run in at Angels 25 and bomb from there. One good tactic is to switch your Consent Release option in the IFFCC test menu in the HUD from Manual to 3/9; this will enable you to make a much shallower dive onto the target as the pipper appears at a - 5 degree pitch down.

Well I think it's covered in the unguided bombing tutorial track, too. Are you sure you have to change inventory settings? I'm pretty certain that it's just the N/T setting in the DSMS Profile page, unless you want to adjust secondary parameters like time of flight, etc.

I think the FAC has to have line of sight to the target too. That makes placement of the FAC, or lasing unit, critical. It can be trial-and-error.