Editor feature request - Access to weather parameters (weather API?)

[Johnny_Rico]

Hi,

I would like to have the ability to access the DCS game engine to change the weather as a mission is running.

A weather control API ?

 

eg I set the weather in the editor to clear weather but some ground fog

About 1 hour into the mission make the fog dissappear via a timed trigger

the action of this trigger is to set parameters of the weather

 

It would be nice to be able to access all the weather control parameters

from a mission file such data looks like

 

["weather"] =

{

["atmosphere_type"] = 0,

["wind"] =

{

["at8000"] =

{

["speed"] = 0,

["dir"] = 0,

}, -- end of ["at8000"]

["at2000"] =

{

["speed"] = 0,

["dir"] = 0,

}, -- end of ["at2000"]

["atGround"] =

{

["speed"] = 0,

["dir"] = 0,

}, -- end of ["atGround"]

}, -- end of ["wind"]

["enable_fog"] = false,

["season"] =

{

["temperature"] = 20,

}, -- end of ["season"]

["type_weather"] = 0,

["qnh"] = 760,

["cyclones"] =

{

}, -- end of ["cyclones"]

["name"] = "Winter, clean sky",

["fog"] =

{

["thickness"] = 0,

["visibility"] = 25,

["density"] = 7,

}, -- end of ["fog"]

["groundTurbulence"] = 0,

["visibility"] =

{

["distance"] = 80000,

}, -- end of ["visibility"]

["clouds"] =

{

["thickness"] = 200,

["density"] = 0,

["base"] = 300,

["iprecptns"] = 0,

}, -- end of ["clouds"]

}, -- end of ["weather"]

[funkyfranky]

+1 :)

[Kenta]

+ 9000

[BigMillerTime]

+1

[mytai01]

No going to happen.

[FlightControl]

First of all, a +1 appreciation for this.

 

Weather randomization is a long overdue item on the DCS wishlist now for years. The value for the sim and ED in general, to have kind of weather randomization mechanism included would be:

 

1. To train pilots using the same mission scenario in various weather conditions. Especially great to train pilots in the military facing unexpected weather.

2. In multi player, people may join a great mission, but quickly disengage because "they don't" like the weather. When weather randomization would be applied, people may join this mission later again.

 

So, @ED, please consider a requirement like this, but please "read between the lines".

 

Let us also be a bit realistic. Weather randomization on the fly may be a bit too difficult to build into the sim at this moment.

 

So don't know if the following breakup of the functional requirement would make sense, taking into account mission design and the "mission flow".

 

Weather randomization could be applied in various ways:

- One that is existing now, I think, or can easily be made: Put a random weather "injection" in the mission file. this basically will create the structure as you outline and create a new mission file. Easy to do. I'll contact you on slack for that.

 

- Built into the DCS ME GUI, a new functional panel could be created that creates a "random weather scenario" which would be activated at mission start. So each time a mission runs, a random weather would be "generated". I can imagine some boundaries would be applicable and some options to allow the randomization to apply to...

 

- The Scripting Engine could have some kind of weather randomization APIs?

 

Regarding the mission flow in case the ME would :

- Random weather could be applied at mission start (so when loading the mission either in SP or MP). So instead of loading a struct, first generate the struct based on parameters set in GUI or SSE, and then load or generate the weather.

 

- Don't know if the sim can change the weather on the fly when it is loaded and generated? How much work would this be?

 

Please indeed, @ED try to consider the requirement from the author who started this thread. At least consider it taking into account the value outligned above?

 

thanks!

FC

Edited October 20, 2017 by FlightControl

[Johnny_Rico]

Random weather can be applied using the Dynamic weather settings in editor

 

If you add some cyclones and fiddle with some params and when the mission loads you get different weather at different parts of the map

 

I was seeking more control of the main weather params during mission run time

[HILOK]

+1 to change weather during runtime.

as it is possible to save wx presets from within ME, these presets could be loaded during mission using one of the many already available triggers