Simple CTLD and Other Mission Examples

Ciribob · December 29, 2015

As the CTLD thread (http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107) has become quite long, I thought it would be good to have a separate thread that consists of simple mission examples and/or tutorials to help new and existing mission builders.

The idea is that the thread will be a bunch of very small examples with detailed instructions of how to set it up and what to do in the mission which'll cover many of the standard use cases of CTLD. If you want to post a different script here with an example, feel free.

To keep the thread consistent, please keep discussion to a minimum and layout the post like so but feel free to add new headings or modify as you see fit.

I'm a rubbish mission designer so I really hope you guys can help out and post examples of you're own :)

Name: Simple Player Troop Pickup

Overview: Shows how to setup CTLD and MIST with a troop pickup zone

Scripts & Links:

CTLD version 1.5 http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107

MIST version 4.0.57 https://github.com/mrSkortch/MissionScriptingTools

Keywords:

MIST, CTLD - Keywords make the thread searchable

Description / Briefing / Guide:

A simple example showing how to setup MIST (required by CTLD) and CTLD with a player controlled helicopter in a pickup zone. You can load troops when you're in the zone using the F10 Radio Menu as shown in the video.

First to add MIST, get the latest version from here and extract somewhere: https://github.com/mrSkortch/MissionScriptingTools and click Download Zip

Next download the latest CTLD from here: https://github.com/ciribob/DCS-CTLD and click Download Zip and extract somewhere.

Open the mission editor and go to triggers.

Add a DO ONCE trigger, in the Condition column, add a TIME MORE of 1 and in the Action column add a DO SCRIPT. Click open on the DO SCRIPT options and select mist.lua.

Now add a second DO ONCE trigger, in the Condition column, add a TIME MORE of 2 and in the Action column add a DO SCRIPT. Click open on the DO SCRIPT options and select ctld.lua.

Add a second action of PLAY SOUND TO COUNTRY and pick a country unused by your mission, e.g. Australia and click open and select beacon.ogg

Add a third action of PLAY SOUND TO COUNTRY and pick a country unused by your mission, e.g. Australia and click open and select beaconsilent.ogg

Beacon.ogg and beaconsilent.ogg are used by the radio beacons and are required for the beacons to function.

Once you've done the above steps you can use all the mission editor functions of CTLD (https://github.com/ciribob/DCS-CTLD#mission-editor-script-functions)

To make the example complete, add a Trigger zone called pickzone1 and place it over Batumi. If you're inside this zone you can load and unload troops.

Add a Huey with a Pilot Name of helicargo1 and make it client and hot start at Batumi.

Jump in the mission, after a few seconds blue smoke will appear in the center of the pickup zone and you can now land at that smoke and pickup troops using the Radio F10 Menu.

You've just used a script in a mission. Easy! :thumbup:

Video (Optional!):

Edited December 29, 2015 by Ciribob

Ciribob · December 29, 2015

Name: Simple Cargo Spawn

Overview:

Shows how to spawn crates using a trigger simulating a resupply

Scripts & Links:

CTLD version 1.5 http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107

MIST version 4.0.57 https://github.com/mrSkortch/MissionScriptingTools

Keywords:

MIST, CTLD, Cargo Spawn AI

Description / Briefing / Guide:

CTLD has the function ctld.spawnCrateAtZone which can use to to spawn a crate at a trigger zone. An idea for the function would be a resupply mission which in this mission is simulated by a C-130 landing and causing cargo to spawn.

The documentation for the function is here: https://github.com/ciribob/DCS-CTLD#spawn-sling-loadable-crate-at-a-zone

The mission uses a Trigger with a condition of Unit Inside zone for the C-130 to trigger a DO SCRIPT:

ctld.spawnCrateAtZone("blue", 500, "spawncrate")

Which'll spawn a Hummer crate at the spawncrate trigger zone. This can then be slingloaded or unpacked as normal.

You may want to speed up time using Ctrl + z (alt+ z to slow down again) as it takes a while for the C-130 to land.

Video:

Cargo Spawn Example.miz

Edited December 29, 2015 by Ciribob

Ciribob · December 29, 2015

Name: Simple Troop Mission

Overview:

The mission consists of a group of soldiers that need to be transported to an area and dropped off. The troops then carry out their mission and need to be picked back up and returned to base.

Scripts & Links:

CTLD version 1.5 http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107

MIST version 4.0.57 https://github.com/mrSkortch/MissionScriptingTools

Description / Briefing / Guide:

The attached example mission shows a common use of CTLD.

The mission consists of a group of soldiers that need to be transported to an area and dropped off. The troops then carry out their mission and need to be picked back up and returned to base.

There any many ways to do this in DCS and using CTLD, this is just one.

The mission has two groups of troops, extract10 and extract11. The groups have these names so that they can be loaded and unloaded. The list of group names is in ctld.extractableGroup in CTLD.lua and can be changed or added to as desired. Extract11 is set to Late Activation so they dont appear until activated.

Extract10 can be loaded by the helictoper and then be dropped at the green smoke. There is a trigger setup so that when extract10 appear in that zone, they are deactivated. Extract11 are then activated and carry out their task, moving to their waypoints.

Once they've completed their task, they can then be loaded and dropped back to base which has another trigger zone, checking for extract11, which triggers the end of the mission.

Video:

Apologies for the terrible mic quality and sound levels in general. First video I've done with a Mic...

Troop Mission.miz

Edited December 29, 2015 by Ciribob

Mt5_Roie · December 29, 2015

Great info! Will download and check them out tonight.

Question - do you have any scripts that would work for pilot rescue? I've seen the CSAR script that works for human pilots when they eject. But I'm looking for a training missions where rotor pilots have to locate and pick up pilots for training. Any thoughts?

Ciribob · December 29, 2015

Great info! Will download and check them out tonight.

Question - do you have any scripts that would work for pilot rescue? I've seen the CSAR script that works for human pilots when they eject. But I'm looking for a training missions where rotor pilots have to locate and pick up pilots for training. Any thoughts?

The easiest thing to do is use the CSAR script here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=146994

In the CSAR.lua you need to edit the csar.enableForAI and change it to:

csar.enableForAI = true

This'll give you the ability to rescue downed AI pilots.

For downing the pilots, add some enemy AA systems below a friendly aircraft and then deactivate the group after say 30 seconds after all the units are shot down.

Hope that helps.

As payment you could put together a sample mission and post here :thumbup:

Ciribob · December 29, 2015

Name: AI JTAC Auto Lase

Overview:

The mission shows two different AI JTACS who will automatically lase a target and switch to a new target once the previous target is destroyed.

Scripts & Links:

CTLD version 1.5 http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107

MIST version 4.0.57 https://github.com/mrSkortch/MissionScriptingTools

Description / Briefing / Guide:

This mission shows how CTLD's JTAC Auto lase can be used to mark targets for A10s and other aircraft.

The mission requires the A10C module to run.

Any AI unit can be used an auto JTAC, a good one to use is an unarmed Hummer or a predator drone. There many options that can be set for an AI JTAC, see the full documentation here: https://github.com/ciribob/DCS-CTLD#jtac-automatic-targeting-and-laser

For this mission, after CTLD has loaded there is a separate trigger with a DO SCRIPT of:

ctld.JTACAutoLase('JTAC1', 1688)

and

ctld.JTACAutoLase('JTAC2', 1690)

The second JTAC is late activated to show that its possible to do.

The numbers, 1688 and 1690 are the laser codes the two JTACs will use.

The AI JTACs need to be a in a group of one unit containing only themselves. The Group Name is used by the DO SCRIPT.

Video:

Poor shooting but I don't want to re-record it... :)

CTLD-JTAC-Night.miz

Edited December 29, 2015 by Ciribob
Forgot to attach mission...

Mt5_Roie · December 29, 2015

So I build a mission in 2.0 to test it out. I set the recover AI and had a plethora of bad guys shooting at them. So my mistake in my previous attempts was that I made the unit name the required name - not the pilot name. So lesson learned there.

Attaching my file so people can learn as well.

So this got me curious, how does one navigate using bullseye in a Huey? I know in an A-10C I can program a steerwaypoint using OFSET...but how do you do it in a huey?

TestCSAR.miz

AdawgPHL · December 30, 2015

Is there a way to make AI choppers pick up and drop off troops?

Ciribob · December 30, 2015

Name: Advanced AI Heli Troop Transport

Overview:

The mission consists of a group of soldiers that need to be transported to an area and dropped off. The troops then carry out their mission and need to be picked back up from a seperate location and returned to base by an AI Huey.

Scripts & Links:

CTLD version 1.5 http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107

MIST version 4.0.57 https://github.com/mrSkortch/MissionScriptingTools

Description / Briefing / Guide:

The attached example mission shows how to do troop transport entirely by AI to a location as well as the troops being returned to base.

There any many ways to do this in DCS and using CTLD, this is just one. There are easier ways, as the AI don't actually need to transport the troops, you can just spawn or activate troops using triggers when an AI Unit lands. This mission does show actual troop transport.

The mission has two groups of troops, extract10 and extract11. The groups have these names so that they can be loaded and unloaded. The list of group names is in ctld.extractableGroup in CTLD.lua and can be changed or added to as desired. Extract11 is set to Late Activation so they don't appear until activated.

Extract10 will be loaded by the helicopter and then be dropped at the green smoke.

Extract10 are loaded using a trigger with a time more of 10 seconds and a DO SCRIPT of

ctld.loadTransport("helicargo1")

The script tells the Huey to try to load any troops nearby. The helicopter will then take off and is ordered to land by Waypoint 2's advanced action. The Land task is set to end after 1 minute.

The troops are automatically unloaded when the helicopter lands the first time as it lands in a trigger zone called dropzone1.

Dropzone1 is on the list of dropoff zones so AI CTLD units will automatically unload troops as soon as they land in one of these zones. More information here: https://github.com/ciribob/DCS-CTLD#pickup-and-dropoff-zones-setup

After a minute the helicopter is told to take off and then circle. After circling for a few minutes, its next advanced task is to land at pickzone1.

There is a trigger setup so that when extract10 appear in the first dropoff zone, dropzone1, they are deactivated. Extract11 are then activated and carry out their task, moving to their waypoints and then returning to the pickup zone call pickzone1.

CTLD.lua needs to be modified so that the AI unit can load the troops we sent to pickzone1 instead of troops from the pickup zone. This is done by changing the line in ctld.pickupZones from:

{ "pickzone1", "blue", -1, "yes", 0 },

to

{ "pickzone1", "blue", 0, "yes", 0 },

Make sure to add the modified CTLD.lua to your mission, not the original one :)

The reason why is that sets the pickzone to have no available troops so the AI Huey is forced to load the troops we sent back to that zone.

Once the troops are loaded, the helicopter will then takeoff and land in dropzone2 and again automatically unload the troops as its in a drop zone. There is another trigger that detects extract11 are in dropzone2 and triggers and end of mission message.

Dont forget! You can speed up and slow down time using cntrl+z and alt+z

Video:

Apologies for the terrible mic quality and sound levels in general. Also cut a bit off at the start and end... I'll get the hang of this eventually :doh:

example-with-troop-orders-ai.miz

Edited December 30, 2015 by Ciribob

Bearfoot · April 7, 2016

Hi Cribob,

Thank you so much for your work on this. You have definitely gone above and beyond, not only in creating this, but also providing such rich documentation and examples!

So, now, I want to ask for going abover and beyonder!

What would be great might be some recipes in cookbook style. So, you do this already in this thread, but everything is packaged away in the videos etc. But for complete beginners, it might be helpful to break it down into simple steps by text?

E.g., let's take on a the following scenario.

Multiple 4-ship flights of AI helicopters take off from a base, fly to a pick up location, pick up some troops, fly to a landing zone and land troops. Basically, the quintiessential classic bread-and-butter air assault, the most iconic of all modern combat helicopter missions.

Recipe would be:

(1) Create the helicopter groups.

Create 4 groups of 4 helicopter units. Label each group "helicargo1", "helicargo2", "helicargo3", "helicargo4" (or should that be each *unit*: "helicargo1", "helicargo2", .... "helicargo16"?). Place the groups on suitable airfields or specially-created FARPS. They need not be in the same airfield/FARPS (do they?)

(2) Create the troops.

Create 16 groups of 10 soldiers each. Place them in a suitable pick-up area, e.g. an empty field. Arrange each group so the soldiers are close to each other.

[here, at this point, I still do not understand CTLD enough to write the remainder myself; so I am just going to go with what needs to be done using stock DCS; would love to understand how to do this in detail with CTLD, as the the following does not really work very well with multiple helicopters in the same group, due to everyone but the first couple of helicopters landing too far away to be within pick-up distance of the troops regardless of the formation set]

(3) For the troops:

- For each group, create the following route: waypoint 1 = pickup zone; waypoint 2 = landing zone; waypoint 3 onwards: remainder of the mission.

- at the first waypoint create an advanced waypoint action: "Perform Task" > "Embark to transport".

- at the next waypoint create an advanced waypoint action: "Perform Task" > "Disembark"

(4) For the lift:

- Create route as follows: first waypoint = troop pickup zone; second waypoint = RTB and land; make sure to deconflict flight routes!

- At first waypoint: "Perform Task" > "Embarking"

- Select load (Add/remove); might need to click "distribution"

etc.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Bearfoot

Ciribob · April 7, 2016

Thanks! Thats a great idea.

Unfortunately I'm very low on time at the moment... but for the next example I do, whenever that is, I'll change the style. :)

Feel free to add any examples of your own here once you get the hang of CTLD. I hope others do as well! :)

Bearfoot · April 7, 2016

Thanks! Thats a great idea.
Unfortunately I'm very low on time at the moment... but for the next example I do, whenever that is, I'll change the style. :)

Great! Really looking forward to it! Would love to use it for some campaigns that I am working on!.

Thanks! Thats a great idea.
Feel free to add any examples of your own here once you get the hang of CTLD. I hope others do as well! :)

Absolutely! The more examples, the better for everyone.

snowsniper · April 7, 2016

Nice tutorial and awesome script here. I should have win so many time if I've seen that before. ;-)

would love to convert the old TOOTAL mission (CTTS) to the new CTLD but didn't succeed.

CTLD is so rich with so many function (crates...), that it is hard to anderstand quickly basic fonctions.unfact some of them are the same as the old CTTS, and the unit name helicargo etc..

ideas of a cooking list example should be perfect. thanks for the vids.

Bearfoot · April 18, 2016

Been fiddling with this, and have some questions:

(1) does loading troops etc. change the weight of the aircraft? I read the difference between simulated and non-simulated sling loads, which do not and do, respectively. But what about troops?

(2) In cases where the CTLD tables need to be modified, instead of modifying the original script, can we get away with redefining the tables in a "DO SCRIPT" action after the CTLD script file has loaded? For e.g., can we add a DO SCRIPT action consisting of ``ctld.transportPilotNames = {"foo", "bar", etc}`` to define the pilot names or similar to define PZ's?

(3) Is there a way to have the troops visible and waiting for pick-up in the PZ and which then disappear once picked up? For the visual aesthetic of loading up troops. I suppose we would then have to limit the number of troops in the zone?

ESAc_matador · April 18, 2016

1.- not possible at the moment

2. Don't know, probably yes. But it is better to have the names already in the ctld.lua file. There is a list of "extractable" groups name.

3 yes, there is an option. If you name the infantry group "extract1" (2, 3, 4...check the .ctld.lua file for names) this unit is extractable anytime, anywhere. As many times as you need. So just place the group, and give it the proper name. Read the ctld.lua inatructions.

Bearfoot · April 18, 2016

1.- not possible at the moment
2. Don't know, probably yes. But it is better to have the names already in the ctld.lua file. There is a list of "extractable" groups name.

3 yes, there is an option. If you name the infantry group "extract1" (2, 3, 4...check the .ctld.lua file for names) this unit is extractable anytime, anywhere. As many times as you need. So just place the group, and give it the proper name. Read the ctld.lua inatructions.

For (1), I think this is very important. Is it impossible to do (i.e. change weight via lua), or can it perhaps be done in the future?

For (3), I guess for the "full" visual, the troops need to at the very least disappear from view once loaded (using the DCS World Transporter Beam). Of course, seeing animation of them run into helicopter, get in, and then turning around and seeing them there would be better. But this is not science fiction ....

Ciribob · April 19, 2016

Been fiddling with this, and have some questions:

(1) does loading troops etc. change the weight of the aircraft? I read the difference between simulated and non-simulated sling loads, which do not and do, respectively. But what about troops?

(2) In cases where the CTLD tables need to be modified, instead of modifying the original script, can we get away with redefining the tables in a "DO SCRIPT" action after the CTLD script file has loaded? For e.g., can we add a DO SCRIPT action consisting of ``ctld.transportPilotNames = {"foo", "bar", etc}`` to define the pilot names or similar to define PZ's?

(3) Is there a way to have the troops visible and waiting for pick-up in the PZ and which then disappear once picked up? For the visual aesthetic of loading up troops. I suppose we would then have to limit the number of troops in the zone?

1.- not possible at the moment
2. Don't know, probably yes. But it is better to have the names already in the ctld.lua file. There is a list of "extractable" groups name.

3 yes, there is an option. If you name the infantry group "extract1" (2, 3, 4...check the .ctld.lua file for names) this unit is extractable anytime, anywhere. As many times as you need. So just place the group, and give it the proper name. Read the ctld.lua inatructions.

For 1: Exactly as ESAc_matador says its not possible in the current DCS scripting environment. You can add weight to an aircraft for a single player mission offline but its just done through the mission editor and will not work online

2 - You can but the format of that table is slightly changed as part of CTLDs setup process - You can add your own table to replace the loaded one but make sure it matches the format you see here: https://github.com/ciribob/DCS-CTLD/blob/master/CTLD.lua#L5474

3 - Exactly as ESAc_matador says again. Instead of a pickup zone, add troops (or spawn using the spawn troops function). You'll then see the group disappear when loaded. If you add troops manually, make sure their GROUP names are on the extractGroups list. The number of troops will then be limited by the actual number of groups standing there.

Please try to ask questions in this thread: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107&page=46 as I say in the original post as I'm trying to keep this for examples instead of help :)

Bearfoot · April 27, 2016

I've just posted an recipe for building a basic air assault mission using this awesome library here:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=2758768

I note the reason I put this in a separate thread as opposed to here: basically, I wanted a thread focused on the air assault mission, showcasing different variants and implementation. I want to, again, though, thank Ciribob for the fantastic work with the CTLD library, as well as Grimes for MIST!

Feel free to provide any suggestions/critiques etc. either on the air assault mission thread, this thread, or the main CTLD thread!

C6_Hellfrog · June 17, 2016

searching about the same, you have some work in CTLD but not everything is working with 153 202

WIP here about new scripting https://github.com/jweisner/DCS-FAC

still learning and trying to understand all that complicated but powerfull stuff... a lot of work...

Edited June 17, 2016 by C6_Hellfrog

Ciribob · June 20, 2016

Any sample that JTAC marks enemy units with smoke?

Seriously?? No one?

searching about the same, you have some work in CTLD but not everything is working with 153 202
WIP here about new scripting https://github.com/jweisner/DCS-FAC

still learning and trying to understand all that complicated but powerfull stuff... a lot of work...

Guys, its the 6th post in this thread or all in the documentation. :)

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2621667&postcount=6

https://github.com/ciribob/DCS-CTLD#jtac-automatic-targeting-and-laser

Just a gentle reminder, please don't post questions and requests, just examples as I'm trying to keep this thread just examples so they're easy to find. If you want help, open a new thread or post in the main CTLD one. :)

Hellfrog, afaik everything is working under 1.5 and 2.0 other then the spawn bug which should be fixed by the next dcs patch. PM me if not. I'm away until the 28th but I will be around after that so apologies for slow replies.

Edited June 20, 2016 by Ciribob

Panthir · November 22, 2016

Hello,

I have tried CTLD script with DCS World 2.0, the latest update, and I found that it works only for Red coalition.

The same script was working for both sides in version 1.5.5

Any idea?

Panthir · November 22, 2016

Red coalition helicargos can create, load, drop, unpack succesfully any crate.

Wrench · February 15, 2017

I know this thread is kind of old, but I've been wanting to do something like the Troop Mission for a long time.

The problem is, the troops from extract10 won't activate the trigger once they've been picked up with CTLD. Is this a known bug/ Is there a workaround for it?

Ciribob · February 15, 2017

Hello,

I have tried CTLD script with DCS World 2.0, the latest update, and I found that it works only for Red coalition.
The same script was working for both sides in version 1.5.5

Any idea?

Red coalition helicargos can create, load, drop, unpack succesfully any crate.

I know this thread is kind of old, but I've been wanting to do something like the Troop Mission for a long time.
The problem is, the troops from extract10 won't activate the trigger once they've been picked up with CTLD. Is this a known bug/ Is there a workaround for it?

Just a gentle reminder, please don't post questions and requests, just examples as I'm trying to keep this thread just examples so they're easy to find. If you want help, open a new thread or post in the main CTLD one (https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143107). It says on the first post and on the previous page :)

Post a sample mission there with the issue and someone will help :)

Mr_sukebe · May 30, 2017

Wonderful thread. My sincerest thanks. Just been playing with a troop delivery mission. Love it!

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