PoorOldSpike

Thanks..:)

In this next test I targeted a small zero-speed FSG Molniya to see if the torps would run under it, but they didn't. Pic 1- I launch my torps but the Molniya must have spotted my periscope and begins hammering the sub with its gun as i crash dive and try to get the hell out- Pic 2- Good golly miss Molniya! The ship gets payback bigtime as my torps slam into it..:)

More tests- The 093 attack Sub's YU-6 torps ran underneath the Bulk and Dry cargo ships, but hit this Elnya tanker, presumably because it had a deeper draught..:) I found out how to launch torps, you have to hit "Enter" to lock the target, then left mouse click to launch them. (I gave the Elnya zero speed in the editor so it was a sitting duck (too easy) so in future games I'll give it some speed to give it a sporting chance of getting away) The Lock and Fire procedure is the same for the subs Anti-ship missiles, here's one about to finish off the Elnya- PS- The YU-6 torps seem to be oldfashioned "dumb" types that don't have an active acoustic seeker head, and they can't be steered either, we just have to fire them and hope they hit. I noticed in my tests that in the last mile or so of their run they begin running in an S-shaped path sweeping from side to side which increases their chance of hitting. However I'm still working on how to move the sub and make it change its depth etc,

It's showtime on the high seas.. My SSK 877 attack sub is on an interception course against those 3 unarmed transport ships.. Below: Getting inside the sub, there are a couple of screens like this which might be the periscope or gunsight or something, I haven't worked it out yet, I was mouse-clicking and key-pressing like crazy to make torpedoes or missiles launch, but nothing happened.. (the harsh grey sky is for dramatic effect).. Below:Next test. I selected a Type 093 attack sub and went to external view and played from there to see if the sub would launch something on it's own initiative... Below: And it did! There were six plopping whooshy sounds and 6 YU-6 torpedoes sped on their merry way. (For the record the YU-6's travel at 53 knots and have a range of about 8 miles)- You've had your six! But every torp missed, sailing astern like this! (You can just make out a couple of their bubble trails)- SUMMARY- I badly need to read the manual and try to find vids. (sniffle)

And these are their corresponding Encyclopaedia entries- The SSK 877 is this 'Kilo' The SSK 641B is this 'Som (Tango)' The Type 093 Attack sub is this '093 SSN' Below: This fourth sub (Improved Kilo) in the Encyclo is not in the unit selection list so the devs must have dropped it from the game-

I've been dabbling with subs and testing them in the editor, so just thought I'd post my findings for people's popcorn-munching enjoyment, please correct or comment on anything if you like as i've barely scratched the surface so far.. 1- There are currently these three subs in DCS 2.5.6 Combined Arms- SSK-877 SSK 641B TYPE 093 ATTACK SUB

Mystery solved! There was no mystery, I ran some tests and although AI ship groups will usually stop after their beloved leader is sunk, they start moving again a few minutes later after a decent period of mourning..:)

Thanks, i'm too lazy to try that scripting and trigger stuff, so as a workaround I'll only use ships that have got 360-degree CIWS and SAM coverage like this neat Chinese Yantai frigate, so they can engage incoming threats from any angle without having to turn..:) (PS- the Yantai's SAMS are vertical-launch which gives them 360 capability too)

I formed this 4-ship group with the Tanker as leader, but when he was sunk by a missile (below) the other 3 members of the group came to a halt. Were they too broken-hearted at the loss of their leader to carry on?

Is there an order or option to make AI ships automatically turn to bring their guns to bear? Pic 1- the AI Grisha is steaming merrily straight along the path I gave it in the editor, and launches 2 Geckos at a couple of incoming sea-skimmers, so far so good... Pic 2- One skimmer is shot down but this other gets through. So I wish the ship had turned on its own initiative when it spotted the skimmers so that it's rear-mounted Gatling could have got in on the act (sniffle)

Just a few lame ideas to kick around if you haven't tried them already- Make the ammo truck part of the artillery units group, or not part of the group, whichever seems to work better.. Place more than one ammo truck. Borrow another nations ammo truck to see if that works better. Place the ammo truck very close to the arty unit. Place more than one arty unit on the map and give each one a staggered "appearance" time, say 7 minutes between each one, so that when the first runs out of ammo the second will appear on the map to continue the bombardment, then the third and so on.

Thanks guys, I'd wrongly assumed the Rapier was radiating from whatever's in that green dome on the launcher unit, plus radiating from its Blindfire radar, both of which I thought would warn the AI pilot that he's being illuminated and make him hit his chaff button to try to blind the radars, I'll have to read up more on the real-world Rapier..:) However, the good news is that I've found two ways to defeat the Rapier, firstly by coming in low as in the pic below, he fired this first missile at only 0.2 nm range, then fired no more at all as the plane sped over the far rooftops- Secondly, if the attacking plane comes in over a ridge or high ground like below, the missile smacks into the ridge because Rapiers tend to drop low after launch before zooming up again- (and no, the telegraph wires had zilch to do with it, as the Rapier also hit high ground in other tests away from all clutter)

Hi, does this Editor thread include Combined Arms discussions too? If so, I'd like to ask if there's a known issue with the CA Rapier SAM, as AI planes won't pop chaff against it? 1- I use the 'Passive Defence' option- 2- And the AI SU-25T pops a series of chaff bundles against this Patriot just fine- (it also pops fine against other radar-guided missiles such as Hawks and Rolands) 3- But when a Rapier (below) lets one fly.. 4- the SU-25 doesn't pop any chaff at all, not even a single bundle, and gets toasted-

I set all his waypoints to 500 feet above ground level, so why doesn't it read 500 instead of 5227?

Thanks mate they were the magic buttons I was looking for..:) My AI Su-25T pilot sends his special thanks to you, here he is in action at the tip of the arrow on the Golan Heights popping flares (blue circles) and dropping bombs (red circle) while braving the feeding frenzy of Chaparral SAMS that are coming up at him..:)-

For the record I ran these tests today to see how RPG-16's do against armour at 500m (1600 feet) and although they mostly miss at that range, some don't..:) 1- Encyclopaedia- 2- The test setup, a line of 12 RPG-16 missilemen are facing a T-90 500m away that's trundling menacingly towards them at 11mph- 3- Hold the line boys- 4- they open up on the T-90 at 0.3nm (about 500metres) 5- As the range closes the T-90 takes hits.. 6- At the end of the battle he's killed all the missilemen after trundling through their line spraying them with MG fire and his main gun, he's still alive but his hit percentage at top right shows he's been hurt- PS- it's a pity we can't place the men in cover, even small foxholes would be better than nothing.

I would, in real life the trick is not to try to target individual troops, but to fire at a hard structure (building or wall etc that they're near) and let the blast radius get them..:) Also if you're on high ground you can fire down to plant an RPG rocket smack in the middle of a platoon.

The brutal truth is that you need to buy CA yourself as that's the only surefire way of knowing what you can do or can't do with any game. In fact if you join a 'Friends' group on Steam they'll almost certainly band together to buy it for you, that's what friends are for, my group does it all the time..:)

Duh..I think the penny's finally dropped as I've realised the reason the AI planes won't fly into the teeth of SAMs to drop bombs is probably because they know it's a suicide mission and they've got more sense! But if I give them air-to-ground missiles it puts a smile on their faces as big as a wave on a slop bucket and they'll fearlessly press home their attacks as below..:) Here's a series of breathtaking screenshots from one of todays tests- 1- I loaded him with 2x S-25L AG missiles and he flies into the heart of the enemy defences and lets fly, that's my boy, you're a soldier now..:)- 2- He trashes the warehouse but gets hit by a SAM- 3- He ejects (top left) as more SAMs and AAA get in on the act- 4- and his plane hits the sea- NOOB TIP- There's another AG missile on the Russian inventory that's better than the S-25L, namely the KH-29T because it's TV guided and is fire-and-forget and has a bigger warhead and slightly greater range. So the pilot fires the KH-29T, forgets it and u-turns to hightail it out of the SAM zone. But the S-25L is laser-guided, so after launching the missiles the pilot has to keep flying towards the target to keep laser-illuminating it right up to the missile impact, than hightails it if he's still alive..:)

A major problem for me is making AI aircraft press home their bombing attacks instead of u-turning and running for home the instant they see a SAM unit, even if the SAM hasn't fired at them! I've spent hours in the editor trying to solve it, sometimes I think I've cracked it, but then the problem arises again and I'm back to square one! I started this thread about it recently and included screenshots of what I mean, and would welcome any morsels of advice- https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=288379 EDIT- It's just dawned on me that AI pilots probably won't make suicide runs with bombs and who can blame them..:) They prefer air-to-ground missiles and i've added a bit to that effect in my linked thread.

If you can tear yourself away from your VR headset, it's still fun to play, perhaps these few screenshots will whet your appetite..:)- 1- I created this tiny mission in the editor this afternoon, it only took 5 minutes to set up, yes it's that easy. My blue Abrams and Bradley groups start at bottom right, and the red Russian BTR-80 group at top left- 2- I issue simple "go there" move orders on the map, then exit to this zoomed-out birds eye view- 3- The unsuspecting BTR's on the other side of the ridge- 4- I zoom in to my boys and pan around to produce this dramatic screenshot- 5- CONTACT! the Abrams open fire on their own initiative (you can either get into a tank yourself to man the gun, or just sit munching popcorn watching the show). People are on the pitch, they think it's all over!- 6- It is now! a zoomed shot of an Abrams putting paid to any hope the russkis might have had of being home in time for vodka.. FOOTNOTE- you can open the mission in the editor again and tweak to your hearts content for the next battle, for example by sprinkling a few russian AT vehicles around, or a few - gulp - mighty T-90 tanks..

I've never had VR and know zilch about it, but the consensus of opinion around internetland seems to be that CA can't really be played in VR- https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=186113 https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/shop/modules/dcs_combined_arms/ https://steamcommunity.com/app/223750/discussions/0/3398435622555749188/

Thanks I've made some headway, this AI SU-25T sometimes pops flares AND drop his bombs like he's done below even though SAMs are coming up at him thick and fast, but infuriatingly he sometimes doesn't and runs for home instead without dropping his bombs!

TIP- although the truck gun can fire horizontally to the rear and sides (left pic), the cab gets in the way if it tries to fire horizontally forward (right pic), so it's best to place the truck on the map with its rear facing towards the enemy to give it horizontal fire capability..:)

Here's the test setup, all the guns and the Shilka have a 1.3 mile range (red circles), and the yellow circles are the gun crews visual eyeball range. (The Shilka has exactly the same two circles so presumably its radar range is factored into them) both circles are only their theoretical maximum ranges on paper in ideal weather and visibility, for example in my night tests they only began firing at less than a mile- Below: Some daylight screenies- This is the "ZU-23 emplacement" (but note it's not in an actual gun emplacement) This is the "ZU-23 closed" (closed means in a proper gun emplacement, presumably it gives some protection if the gun's being shot at) This is the "ZU-23 on Ural", note only one bloke is manning it which is presumably why it didn't seem to fire as often as the others. PS- all the guns plus the Shilka fired airburst rounds that can either slam into enemy planes, or burst in the air like this to spray them with shrapnel-