[FEATURE REQUEST] Waypoint fire for Anti-Ship and Cruise missiles

[GGTharos]

Currently anti-ship missiles are launched against ships detected by the launch platform (And its team)

Also, they cannot mass-fire (eg. single HY-2 radar + multiple launchers will fire a single missile at a target, and it it not possible to tell them how many to launch).

 

The process would look like this:

 

Add a triggered action 'Launch Anti-Ship Missile to Waypoint'.

The parameters are:

1. The flyout waypoint (set on map)
   
2. The search waypoint (Set on map)
   
3. The termination point (set on map OR as a distance from the search waypoint)
   
4. The search width (for now only two selections: Wide, narrow - eg. 5nm, 15nm - this is a lateral distance from the missile's flight path)
   
5. Target selection criteria: First target found, Largest RCS, Random, etc)
   
6. Pop-up maneuver setting: 'None, Close, Far'
   
7. Number of weapons to launch.
   

 

The action occurs immediately when triggered - there is no need for the launcher AI to know about a target.

1. The missile launches and flies to the flyout waypoint and:
   
2. Turns towards the search waypoint when it reaches the flyout point, or just before (smooth turn).
   
3. When it reaches the search point, it activates its seeker.
   
4. Searches for a target along its flight path between the search point and termination point, and within the confines of wide/narrow search width.
   
5. Attacks a target if it finds one (target selection criteria capability should be according to the missile, and can be added later - could be set to attack largest rcs, random target, first target is finds, etc)
   
6. If a target is not found, the missile will self-destruct when it reaches the termination point.
   

 

Specific Anti-Ship missile capability: These missiles need to be able to get down to 5-8m AGL (above sea surface level in this case, flight altitude varies according to sea state), and ship's defenses (including SAMs) need to be able to track and destroy them at that altitude.

 

How this applies to cruise missiles:

Cruise missiles can use the 'fire at point' action, which allows them to be launched somewhat like artillery. Cruise missiles need a similar waypoint launch feature, possibly with multiple waypoints.

Edited December 5, 2018 by GGTharos

[Pikey]

Agree. Looking at how the HY-2's fire, it's pretty hard to control from the point of view of trying to script something like this to happen. Shoehorning these into an "Artillery" shot is less than ideal. Now we are getting hold of cruise missiles, and intelligent programs like the RB-15F it seems to make sense to evolve the advanced waypoint actions to cater for missile programming in some way.

 

I'd also like to see these fat missiles begin to turn up on radar screens.

 

 

It would evolve the gameplay in DCSW to cover a new type of threat, and interesting dynamism to scenarios and would even be useful for Scud, and WW2 ballistic type missiles like V2, V1, if the tools were available to the core game.

[GGTharos]

Hi Pikey, I have no problem picking up HY-2 on radar, but maybe I am mis-remembering.

 

I agree with the shoehorning into artillery thing; so, the active point-search point is just the minimum I can ask for - it should actually be 3 points (flyout, activation, termination) ... I'll update accordingly.

 

I had significant issues with making the HY-2 work as I wish, which resulted in me creating radar-launcher pairs so that I could launch a swarm of missiles. I also had to find a high place to place the radar.

This is the result of not being able to supply off-board targeting, obviously.

 

This would also add some capability for ballistic missiles, like you said - and I'm now thinking for the ballistic guided anti-ship missiles as well.

Edited December 5, 2018 by GGTharos

[Cik]

it would be neat to get a more robust handling of ROE in general. being able to tell a missile battery to engage targets in a specific area of a specific side with a specific number of missiles within a specific time window etc.

 

 

SAMs, ASCMs, TBMs, artillery, etc. could all use some ability to tweak how they behave, and some basic modeling of datalinks that allow them to talk to each other to allocate targets could also be neat.

[GGTharos]

I agree - I'm only asking for the minimum right now so it's hopefully 'easy' to add. You can simulate what you're asking for with triggers, what I'm asking for allows you to do it better ... of course bonus points if there's programming to execute the attack dynamically with enough intelligence to to take care of the above, within your parameters.

[Pikey]

I'm quite interested to know how Heatblur/ED dealt with the programme for the RB-15F. It suggests that deep down something is possible here but we just dont have the interface for it yet.

 

Most of the code for weapons is very "target this unit or this XYZ".

 

With scripting we can already do Artillery "Target this unit or coordinate, 5 rounds" and off it goes. That's available and put to great use.

 

I haven't tried playing with the HY-2 yet with the SSE. I believe it now autodetects and fires of it's own accord, but haven't seen if it will handle firing at coordinates. It's possible that will just "work" and fire in an area and start searching. I saw it in the first release that it could, before it fired independently. Then if this is still the case you should be able to turn ROE off, give it a coordinate, turn ROE on and fire and it should hit anything in front of that coord within manouevering limits. (it turns sloooowly).

[GGTharos]

The UI is fairly open, in terms of LUA (I don't know if you can program them in there right now, don't have the viggen) - for the custom missile guidance though, I suspect it is accomplished as part of the compiled code, and the missile references HB's guidance programming.

 

I tried the HY-2 in all kinds of ways, including 'fire at point' ... no dice. :(

[SDsc0rch]

need this

a common reaction to a missile inbound is a quick-reaction shot down its bearing

attackers know this so they send the missile out on a dog-leg path and have it approach the target from off-axis

you've got to enter in all the parameters like GG is requesting - start point, end point, search width, etc

[Looney]

Is the Sea Eagle now implemented like this? Set waypoint in ME, fly, launch and watch missile track?

[Northstar98]

+1