Introducing EWRS - Early Warning Radar Script

[Steggles]

There aren't any AWACS scripts that I've come across outside of the one on the 159th forums, so I thought I would have a crack at creating one. Basically EWRS passes on BRA information, via text, on threats that selected friendly radars are picking up.

 

Features:

- Uses in-game radar information to detect targets so terrain masking, beaming, low altitude flying, etc is effective for avoiding detection

- Dynamic. If valid units with radar are created during a mission (eg. via chopper with CTLD), they will be added to the EWRS radar network

- Can allow / disable BRA messages to fighters or sides

- Uses player aircraft or mission bullseye for BRA reference, can be changed via F10 radio menu or restricted to one reference in the script settings

- Can switch between imperial (feet, knots, NM) or metric (meters, km/h, km) measurements using F10 radio menu

- Ability to change the message display time and automated update interval

- Can choose to disable automated messages and allow players to request BRA from F10 menu

- Can allow players to request Bogey Dope at any time through F10 radio menu

- Can allow players to request Friendly Picture to see where the closest friendly aircraft(s) to them are.

 

This is the first time I've done anything with LUA apart from fiddling around with ciribob's CTLD script. I'm not an experienced programmer, and I drive trains for a living, so please be gentle with any criticisms of the code. I'll be continuing to work on this and add features for a while.

 

If you have any problems, please open an issue on Github, PM me or post here. Please try and describe the bug as best you can and when it occurred and include a copy of dcs.log from your saved games folder.

 

The script can be found on GitHub here: https://github.com/Bob7heBuilder/EWRS

 

Hopefully some of you guys will find this useful. If you have any questions or feature requests, fire away.

 

Cheers

Steggles

Edited June 29, 2016 by Steggles
Updating

[Justificus]

Steggles, mate, thank you so much for this! I know I will definitely find uses for this in my meager attempts at mission making for myself. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to checking it out.:beer:

[Pikey]

Good job dude! I'll have a crack at this and see how it goes down.

[Stonehouse]

Very nifty piece of work.

[DarkFire]

Awesome! I'll definitely be giving this a try :thumbup:

[Ciribob]

Nice work Steggles! Looks good :thumbsup:

[Zaz0]

Big thanks!! this is needed for Korean's missions!

[Shaman]

Thank you for your work, such automated GCI is a bless.

Yet I couldn't get it to work in multiplayer mission, and I am in the dark why it does not work as expected. It just does not show up in the comms menu, know I join as a client. Please check current mission on <51>SERVER dedicated, I am loading your script there seconds after mission starts.

[xcom]

Excellent stuff!

 

I see this as an advantage actually -

At the moment, because of limitations within DCS to not show messages to individual units, the reference, measurements, and messages

are done per group. So a group of 4 fighters will each receive 4 BRA messages. Each message however, will have the player's name

in it, that its refering to. Its unfortunate, but nothing I can do about it.

 

 

Question - How about impact on server stability and lag?

From past experience I noticed that running functions constantly on large pieces of data will take it's toll on multiplayer and could possibly cause small server hiccups which in return generate warping/lag.

[Rivvern]

Request feature to turn off the picture report.

When there is no need to use it its only cluttering the screen.

 

Other than that it works great!

[Steggles]

Request feature to turn off the picture report.

When there is no need to use it its only cluttering the screen.

 

Other than that it works great!

 

When there's no threats detected? I'll add that in tonight when I finish work.

 

EDIT: Changes are in place, and updated on GitHub. https://github.com/Bob7heBuilder/EWRS

Edited January 10, 2016 by Steggles

[Pikey]

Came here to ask for that, see its already done, walk away thinking i''m psychic, many thanks those that contributed :)

When there's no threats detected? I'll add that in tonight when I finish work.

 

EDIT: Changes are in place, and updated on GitHub. https://github.com/Bob7heBuilder/EWRS

[Steggles]

New Version

 

Changes:

-Uses extra radar information to know if type and distance is known to the target

-Can be switched on and off in the script settings

 

Basically won't give aircraft type if its not known, and won't supply BRA if the radar can't get distance information

 

https://github.com/Bob7heBuilder/EWRS

[LuSi_6]

thx. this is brilliant!

[Pikey]

Doesn't load as an MP client Steggles.

[Justificus]

New Version

 

Sweet! Enjoying the old one so far, looking forward to tonight to check out your changes. Thanks!

[Zaz0]

Thanks for this script! that's the problem I have stopped editing a korea's campaing...

 

*You missed the F-86 at ewrs.acCategories (line 76+), it would be "F-86F Sabre"

*I would place F-86 & Mig-15 like figthers, not attackers, because most of times they deal, they would assume this roles, and maybe anothers aircrafts like P-51 doing ground attack...

*Finnaly, I'd like to have an option to only show the picture by demand, it's possible to add it?

[Steggles]

Thanks for this script! that's the problem I have stopped editing a korea's campaing...

 

*You missed the F-86 at ewrs.acCategories (line 76+), it would be "F-86F Sabre"

*I would place F-86 & Mig-15 like figthers, not attackers, because most of times they deal, they would assume this roles, and maybe anothers aircrafts like P-51 doing ground attack...

*Finnaly, I'd like to have an option to only show the picture by demand, it's possible to add it?

 

I'll update the aircraft list later today. In the mean time, you can add it manually, just follow the same format as the others. ["F-86F Sabre"] = ewrs.FIGHTER ,

 

The by demand thru the F10 menu should be easy to implement. I'll get it in, in the next couple of days.

 

EDIT: Currently working on a bug fix for the BRA report and radio menus are not building for client aircraft in multiplayer

Edited January 12, 2016 by Steggles

[Zaz0]

Yes, I added it yesterday and modify the roles while I read your work...

 

I was thinking about the "by demand" option, and it will be more complete if the script will include a "new contact" option which shows allways if a new contact is added to the table. This way, you could be relax at your CAP zone, without messages nor having to ask every couple minutes, and the script will shows you a new contact, and you could decide when refresh the info (or even add a new automated message only if contacts changes one of their values, like +-10º of bearing +-50 knots...)

 

I saw in my tests there's no message if enemy contacts are out of range (perfect), maybe it could be easy to do that only the automessage of your script shows one time, and later only shows by demand. (or changes occurs)

 

One more idea, this time for the multiple contacts (groups), maybe we could restrict multiple reports of aircrafts from same group adding an option that check if aircrafts are flying at a distance of 1 mile or less, and adding a number of aircraft in that message.

 

Thanks for your work again. In a couple of days I back to home and then I'll try to take a deeper look on it.

[Steggles]

Zaz0, I will have a look into it. Work is getting busy after today. I'll see what I can do.

[Steggles]

New Version

 

Changes:

- Bug fix for client aircraft in multiplayer not receiving messages or F10 menu. Thank you ciribob for http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2499638&postcount=5 and Pikey for bringing it to my attention

- Added Some logging events.

- Added F86 Sabre into the aircraft list

 

https://github.com/Bob7heBuilder/EWRS

[Zaz0]

I understand you. thanks

[Pikey]

Works now in MP, one thing, its picking up hostile radars and showing the source as the EWR that found it.

GJ so far!

[Steggles]

Damn. Thought I had squished that one. I'll take another look. Thanks. Was there an AWACS aircraft up in that mission at all?

[Pikey]

Yeah there was, and several EWR, these enemy radars were very close on a practice range 40nm away from the EWR that picked them up.