v1.2.2.7570, JTAC and you

So I've been experimenting some with JTAC functionality lately, and have made some findings that hopefully will be helpful to fellow mission builders;

JTAC -> Target visibility

• JTAC unit should be an armed vehicle, so as to take advantage of the sensors of the vehicle to find enemy units.
  
• JTAC unit should not have ROE set to 'weapons hold'. This will in many cases prevent the JTAC from using its senses/ sensors to detect enemies, even in the extreme vicinity. Instead use ROE setting 'return fire'. (I recommend making your JTAC invisible)
  
• Obviously, JTAC unit must have clear line of sight to targets to spot them. (Or just tick the 'visible' box in advanced waypoint options, although I have had mixed experiences with using this option)
  
• It seems most land based vehicles in this sim have a maximum detection range of about 5'000 meters. In the outter edges of this range, detection may take a while.
  

JTAC -> player communication

• If you assign the JTAC a FM frequency, make sure you are actually trying to transmit/ receive with the VHF FM radio. (I believe the default key combo is <LShift> + <Numpad -> (that's the minus key on the numpad to be clear)
  
• Be aware that the VHF FM radio only operates in the range 30.000 - 76.000 Mhz. I mention this because you may find some references (most notably Cib's guide to adding JTAC that is sometimes mentioned on this forum) that claim you can use frequences up to and including 80.000 Mhz. You can't.
  
• JTAC reportedly sometimes takes a long time to respond. One possible explanation to this is if you have a lot of friendly aircraft that are transmitting to radio what they are doing (reached waypoint, defending bandit, engaging bandit etc) then this will slow down all communication over radio to the point where it is useless because radio transmits are stacked up in transmit queue. If you don't have a lot of friendly units hogging up the radio, JTAC should normally respond within ~5-10 seconds.
  

I've attached a simple example mission with a JTAC and two targets for it to assign. The mission is tested and JTAC was found to work in both SP and MP with the 1.2.2.7570 build.

JTAC Test.miz

thanks for the info! nice work

Thanks for testing it, I'll take the use of sensors in consideration now, I didn't know about that.

The line of sight is still confusing sometimes, I've been able to make them spot enemies on a hill without a clear visual (they were down the moutain) and it worked fine, sometimes it doesn't. Weird! :D

You can now silence the SEAD or other AI flights to save communication for human players.

Excellent suggestion, HiJack, thanks!

The line of sight is still confusing sometimes, I've been able to make them spot enemies on a hill without a clear visual (they were down the moutain) and it worked fine, sometimes it doesn't. Weird! :D

Yeah, it's a bit quirky. Ledges can be especially tricky, if they're between the JTAC and the target. There's also some reports that some parts of the maps are harder to get JTAC working in than others, I guess this could be an issue with ray tracing or terrain mesh?

At any rate, make sure your JTAC is using its sensors by ensuring ROE (rules of engagement) is not set to "weapon hold". Rather use "return fire" or "weapon free".

Yeah, I wasn't using the ROE command before, I set "return fire" everytime since it's mostly like that IRL.

I find the isolines rather imprecise actually, and some elevation points would help here and here cause it's sometimes difficult to have a reference.

Confirmed the problems with the radio stack. Sometimes JTAC needed up to 2 minutes to respond. Silencing the other units helped. I kinda want to add a lot of units that won't really affect the mission of the A-10 itself, but are there to give you the feeling, you are in a real battlefield

I've attached a simple example mission with a JTAC and two targets for it to assign. The mission is tested and JTAC was found to work in both SP and MP with the 1.2.2.7570 build.

in MP, there is a bug. The JTAC will only answer if the "server" contact the JTAC, if it a client, it won't...which makes JTAC useless in MP unfortunately

in MP, there is a bug. The JTAC will only answer if the "server" contact the JTAC, if it a client, it won't...which makes JTAC useless in MP unfortunately

Yes, it seems the way around this bug is to have all clients in their aircraft before host unpauses the server and starts the mission.

Sadly this means that all late joiners will not have access to JTAC

Yes, it seems the way around this bug is to have all clients in their aircraft before host unpauses the server and starts the mission.

 

Sadly this means that all late joiners will not have access to JTAC

the way around works for the communication menu but still , the client can contact jtac but jtac will not answer to the client . it will only answer to server

Thanks for posting these findings @mjeh! Wish this stuff was a.) in release notes / manuals and b.) resolved considering ME has been around forever.

(tangent) Would be nice for many reasons - including LOE - to be able to put the ME into a 3D mode where you can use the external views dynamically w/out having to run the mission. Could even be less graphics and just basic shapes like Tracview (wireframes / icons).

the way around works for the communication menu but still , the client can contact jtac but jtac will not answer to the client . it will only answer to server

I just tested this with a friend, the client will as expected not get JTAC radio options if he is not present when the mission starts, but JTAC answers him just fine when he is, and assigned targets properly.

I included the mission used for testing as attachment

JTAC Test MP.miz

(tangent) Would be nice for many reasons - including LOE - to be able to put the ME into a 3D mode where you can use the external views dynamically w/out having to run the mission. Could even be less graphics and just basic shapes like Tracview (wireframes / icons).

Amen to that, would make the process of making missions so much faster :)

WTT (want to trade): 'missiongoals' for 'set as JTAC' option.

Are the steps any different when using an A-10C as a FAC?

Are the steps any different when using an A-10C as a FAC?

Haven't fiddled around with airborne FAC yet so I can't say, sorry. Quite cool to assign targets to eachother in MP though, but that's another topic all together!

Obviously, JTAC unit must have clear line of sight to targets to spot them. (Or just tick off the 'visible' box in advanced waypoint options, although I have had mixed experiences with using this option)

Thanks for the short guide. However I think you've got this part backwards. "Visible" should be checked ON to enable the JTAC to "see" the target without direct LOS. Also probably worth mentioning that this applies to the FAC - Engage Group Enroute Task. There is also the option to use the FAC - Assign Group Task, in which case the JTAC should also "see" the target without direct LOS. Finally, remember that actual target visibility depends not only on LOS, but time of day (ambient lighting), sensors of the JTAC vehicle, weather, etc.

"Visible" should be checked ON to enable the JTAC to "see" the target without direct LOS.

Aye that's what I meant to say, corrected in op now :) Thanks for the input!

I just tested this with a friend, the client will as expected not get JTAC radio options if he is not present when the mission starts, but JTAC answers him just fine when he is, and assigned targets properly.

 

I included the mission used for testing as attachment

Has this issue been passed to ED? Just curious if the fix is coming or if its been this way for a while.

JTAC is being worked on. Can't say what release it will make but we are on the case.

Btw: JTAC will take a minimum of 9 secs to respond. This prob won't change.

If I get time I will write a JTAC guide that will incorporate the current FAC, AFAC use as well as all of the upcoming changes. I've lost count of the number of hours I've spent testing JTAC code and I occasionally forget something of relevance. E.g. No BDA after type3.