If ALARM STATE = RED at mission start, start units already ready

[Northstar98]

Hi everyone,

Kind of a small one, but one that I've been longing for when doing short tests of air defence systems.

If I go into the advanced waypoint actions for a group and set the alarm state to red at mission start, units actually begin at alarm state green and first have to go through the set up process (erecting antennas etc) before they reach alarm state red and are actually ready to be tested.

Would it be possible to have this behaviour changed, such that if alarm state red is set at mission start, units start at alarm state red, without having to transition from alarm state green to alarm state red, essentially treating them as though they were readied prior to the mission start time.

If I desire to keep the current behaviour, this can be done by adding a condition to check for (such as a 1 second delay to the start time), which is very easy to achieve, without even the need to enter the trigger menu (simply by going to conditions on the advanced waypoint action and say, checking time more and adding a second from mission start time). 

[Northstar98]

Looks like this one has been satisfied (or something close to it) in the latest update:

Quote

AI Ground. Added a feature that allows units requiring longer deployment times (e.g., (SA-11) “Buk”) to be positioned in a combat-ready state if placed in the editor without route points.

In which case, very nice to hear! It's greatly appreciated!

[Northstar98]

Just revisting this - there is one thing I overlooked in making this request.

Having it set such that units start readied if no waypoint exists works very well for fixed SAM sites that aren't mobile (things like the SA-2 and SA-3, where we don't have the ability to relocate them), but doesn't work so well for mobile systems, especially if you're looking to employ shoot and scoot style tactics, or have mobile SAMs relocate at some point throughout a mission.

In those cases, because waypoints are present, the system starts at ALARM STATE = GREEN and has to undergo the set-up procedure at the start of the mission. This means that with the current set up, it's only possible to set up missions treating these SAM systems as if they were readied prior to mission start, if I don't plan on having them relocate.

If whether they start ready or not was tied to whatever the alarm state is set to be at mission start (for instance if it's at the starting waypoint without a condition or a condition that causes it to be triggered at mission start), I would be able to set this as desired, regardless of whether or not I want to have the system relocate at some point throughout the mission.

Alternatively, could there be a separate "start ready" option in the advanced waypoint actions?

 

Attached is an example of what I'm talking about, I have an S-300PS firing battery (excl. a 5N66M) that I want to be set up and ready at mission start. 10 minutes after mission start I want it to relocate to another position, which it does so. But because there's waypoints present in order to facilitate the relocation, the system doesn't start ready and has to undergo the set-up process first. It does however successfully set up to move and does redeploy to where I specified and ready themselves once more.

Spoiler

While unrelated to this request, I'd also note that the AI does a poor job of recreating the initial formation (I've used a template). IRL, the 5N63S controls up to 4 5P85S TELs, which in turn control up to 2 5P85D TELs each. The 5N63S and 5P85S is connected via cable or radio link, but the 5P85S and 5P85Ds are only connected via cable. I'm not sure how long these cables are but this states that the 5P85Ds were sited several metres from the 5P85S, due to the limited length of the cables:

Quote

The principal limitation of this scheme was that TEL arrangement forced pairing of two 5P85Ds with a single 5P85S which controlled the group. This limited deployment options and flexibility in hide, shoot and scoot operations. The dumb 5P85D/DU TELs needed to be sited several metres from the 5P85S/SU smart TEL, this being limited by cable length. The whole TEL group had to be sited within 100 metres of the 5N63S Flap Lid B engagement radar, due to the limited range of the radio datalink between the radar and smart TEL.

If it was modelled, the AI's poor job of driving into the formation specified may result in some of the 5P85D being non-functional, due to being too far away from a 5P85S.

Also note that I haven't included the C2 elements, nor the 5N66M radar. This is because the 5N64S is currently unable to relocated (there is a task for towing in the advanced waypoint actions, but I'm unable to set the 5N64S as a trailer unit. We also technically have the wrong tractor for the 5N64S as the MAZ-7410 used for that features gas-turbine generators to provide power for the radar (as can be seen on most other battery components).

 

S-300PS_relocate_test.trk