investigating AI crashes into tanker after refueling

Exorcet · July 30, 2022

See track, a single Hornet refuels from a KC-135. As soon as it's done it crashes into the tanker, killing both planes. Behavior like this is making long range mission building really complicated on top of the inability to direct planes to specific tankers.

AI Tanker Crash.trk

icecold951 · August 10, 2022

Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of response by anyone regarding bugs. I can confirm the issue exists. I'll try and reproduce it myself tomorrow. I've had AI refuelings since the update, and this didn't happen. It is especially important to me, as I have a bug above. If you by any chance have any older carrier missions or Raven One DF, could you examine the AI aircraft on takeoff, in the Raven One, mission one, just wait and watch the tomcats. See if they do to you, what they do to me on two computers. All AI planes afterburner climb to 10k feet on takeoff. Older missions I have seem to do the exact same thing. I'll attach a mission file with an easy test. Just watch the AI planes taking off first.

Upload your miz file, and can examine that for a mission edit issue. Does it happen a lot, or just this mission? Recreating the flight might fix it.

DS20.miz

Flappie · August 11, 2022

On 7/30/2022 at 5:43 PM, Exorcet said:

See track, a single Hornet refuels from a KC-135. As soon as it's done it crashes into the tanker, killing both planes. Behavior like this is making long range mission building really complicated on top of the inability to direct planes to specific tankers.

Thanks for the track.

The aircraft next waypoint (WP3 - 32,000 ft) is way higher than the tanker altitude (18,000 ft). As a result, as soon as refueling is over, AI overreacts to quickly gain altitude, resuling in the crash. I'm trying to reproduce this by creating a new mission and so far, I can't. As soon as I succeed, I'll report this.

In the meantime, simply add a waypoint after WP2 and give it a lower altitude (or even better, the tanker altitude).

Edited August 11, 2022 by Flappie
typo

Exorcet · August 11, 2022

On 8/9/2022 at 10:13 PM, icecold951 said:

Does it happen a lot, or just this mission?

I've only seen it happen in this mission, however I did also finally find a fix, adding a wingman.

37 minutes ago, Flappie said:

Thanks for the track.

The aircraft next waypoint (WP3 - 32,000 ft) is way higher than the tanker altitude (18,000 ft). As a result, as soon as refueling is over, AI overreacts to quickly gain altitude, resuling in the crash. I'm trying to reproduce this by creating a new mission and so far, I can't. As soon as I succeed, I'll report this.

In the meantime, simply add a waypoint after WP2 and give it a lower altitude (or even better, the tanker altitude).

OK so the AI is overzealous when following route. Adding a wingman seems to mask the problem as when there are 2 of them, they no longer crash in this particular case, but the risk is probably still there.

icecold951 · August 11, 2022

20 minutes ago, Exorcet said:

I've only seen it happen in this mission, however I did also finally find a fix, adding a wingman.

OK so the AI is overzealous when following route. Adding a wingman seems to mask the problem as when there are 2 of them, they no longer crash in this particular case, but the risk is probably still there.

It may...may be fixed in the update. In a mission last night a solo plane in a mission escorting a tanker. It refueled twice without incident.

I think it was more of a one time glitch.