MP/SP Campaign: Silent Thunder

[WirtsLegs]

14 hours ago, jumphigh said:

I saw the mission video on YT and thought: WTF, the IR strobe is hanging above the main rotor of the Blackhawk? Now I know it is not wrong modelling but a generic script add-on. There isn't a possibility to shift the strobe placement to a suitable place on the model?

hey i wrote the script, it was tuned for infantry and to be somewhat simple

The way it works is it creates and destroys short vertical IR lasers on the unit in question, the lasers go from the center of the unit to a offset point. The offset is a point somewhere above the center (im writing this without the code infront of me so cant remember off top of my head the values used).

If you look real close at infantry using it youll see it sticks a fair distance above their head as well, though looks decent unless you are really looking super close. This is because it needed to stick out "enough" to be bright enough to actually be noticeable.

The offset can be changed easily as could the start point (eg to go from offset A to offset B), BUT the point of the unit is in the game's XYZ coordinate system, so if you say offset along the X axis when the unit is faced one way that will be their left, faced the other way their right, and so on. To do it right you would need to incorporate the unit orientation vectors, do some fancy matrix/vector math and recompute the points constantly to keep it say on the side or tail or front or wherever you want it of a given unit. You would also then have to figure out appropriate offsets for each unit you want to use it for. All doable, but a bit past reasonable for the original usecase of infantry I had.

You will also notice it looks bad on anything that moves very fast, since the laser's coordinate doesn't update while its on, so a fast enough unit can sorta outrun the laser, not noticeable with infantry, definitely noticeable with jets, not sure about most helis and so on.

Edited September 12, 2024 by WirtsLegs

[jumphigh]

8 hours ago, WirtsLegs said:

The way it works is it creates and destroys short vertical IR lasers on the unit in question, the lasers go from the center of the unit to a offset point. The offset is a point somewhere above the center (im writing this without the code infront of me so cant remember off top of my head the values used).

I had already a look into your code and figured out that you use a short laser beam available through the Spot class. You could enhance your

WT.strobe.toggleStrobe

function with two (optional) vectors for base point shift and direction/length of beam. Looks quite easy with the help of the unit's position. I'll try it and give you a diff as a pull request in your script thread.

But what's about the built-in IR strobes? I know the Huey to have a IR position light that is invisible to the human eye and thus dedicated to NVG at low light missions. I don't know if it's working in the Huey module. And I don't know if AI units like the Blackhawk are modelled with such a (usable) light as well.

Edited September 12, 2024 by jumphigh

[WirtsLegs]

52 minutes ago, jumphigh said:

I had already a look into your code and figured out that you use a short laser beam available through the Spot class. You could enhance your

WT.strobe.toggleStrobe

function with two (optional) vectors for base point shift and direction/length of beam. Looks quite easy with the help of the unit's position. I'll try it and give you a diff as a pull request in your script thread.

But what's about the built-in IR strobes? I know the Huey to have a IR position light that is invisible to the human eye and thus dedicated to NVG at low light missions. I don't know if it's working in the Huey module. And I don't know if AI units like the Blackhawk are modelled with such a (usable) light as well.

 

Happy to look at whatever you come up with, just keep in mind to make that work your vectors will have to be adjusted based on unit orientation with each pulse

 

As for built in ir strobes, that would be a per-module thing no idea which have it and which don't but again I made this with infantry and generally ground units in mind, of which none have it

[Mistermann]

Progress Report:  September 16, 2024

Mission 6:  Had a bit of a setback in terms of testing this mission.  I've run into some inconsistent AI behavior with the Blackhawk that is forcing me to change a key element of the mission.  There's an LZ in the mission where operators are delivered and once delivered, the Blackhawk doesn't behave consistently.  About 50% of the time, upon takeoff from the LZ, the Blackhawk simply crashes itself into nearby buildings and kills itself (yes, its set to invulnerable).  That particular asset is key to many things in the mission and with it dead, the mission can't progress.  I have some ideas on how to correct, but it's going to take some ME tinkering and testing to do so.  Given my work schedule this week, DCS work will fall to the weekend.  

Mission 7:  This mission feels like the natural conclusion of the story.  We had scoped out a couple more missions before the climax, but they honestly felt manufactured and "weak" compared to the other missions in the campaign.  I've started EARLY unit placement and outlining of the mission.  Work will begin in earnest once I post M06.

 

[jumphigh]

On 9/11/2024 at 9:53 PM, Mistermann said:

You can certainly inquire over on Wirt's thread here

Please have a look there. I enhanced the strobe function and estimated suitable strobe placements on the tail fin of a Blackhawk. Looks way better than the default strobe above the rotor head. Use "{x = -10.3, y = 2.15, z = 0}" as new (last) function parameter. And "{x = -6.85, y = 1.80, z = 0.14}" is a suitable placement for the Kiowa's fin. But of course you can still use the old default placement.

Edited September 16, 2024 by jumphigh

[Mistermann]

42 minutes ago, jumphigh said:

Please have a look there. I enhanced the strobe function and estimated suitable strobe placements on the tail fin of a Blackhawk. Looks way better than the default strobe above the rotor head. Use "{x = -10.3, y = 2.15, z = 0}" as new (last) function parameter. And "{x = -6.85, y = 1.80, z = 0.14}" is a suitable placement for the Kiowa's fin. But of course you can still use the old default placement.

 

Thank you.  I'll check it out ASAP and incorporate into M06.

[jumphigh]

37 minutes ago, Mistermann said:

I'll check it out ASAP

Some demo recording on YT.

Edited September 16, 2024 by jumphigh

[Mistermann]

23 minutes ago, jumphigh said:

Some demo recording on YT.

 

Oh heck yeah!  Love it.  Thank you.  I'll make sure to credit both you and wirt when I publish the mission.

[Devil 505]

5 hours ago, jumphigh said:

Some demo recording on YT.

Oh <profanity> yeah! Well played sir! Looking forward to seeing this in game.  Especially with the new HMD on the way.

[Mistermann]

Okay … for those following along, I just uploaded M06 – Darkness Falls to the ED files.  As soon as it’s approved, I’ll post a link in the OP.

The campaign story is wrapping up and will likely end with M07.  My group has had a blast playing though these missions and I hope anyone who’s played has a similar experience.  I’ll link a video of one of my buddies ( @Wulf103 ) and I flying this over the weekend.  Warning – this is a massive story spoiler so anyone who wants to experience this firsthand, please avoid the video.

A couple of thoughts having played through this a bunch of times.

1 – This is going to be tough for a single player.  Not impossible, but the most difficult mission to solo so far.  There is a cheat option towards the end of the mission that is accessed via the F10 radio menu for those who can’t destroy the local insurgents.

2 – I experimented with @WirtsLegsIR STROBE functionality in this mission and really like the results.  You can see what I mean in the video below.  Big shout out to Wirt and @jumphigh for their scripting prowess.  Thanks!

3 – There’s a lot of AI units in this mission who’s behavior is critical to the story.  I had to play around with a fair amount to get this all to work properly.  After many tests, I think you’ll be good to go.  IF, you experience mission breaking failures please let me know here or via DM.

4 – This can be a long mission, but you should have enough fuel.  You’re definitely going to go BINGO fuel, but should have enough fuel to accomplish the mission and get back to UNIFORM.

5 – My guys completed the mission with 2 Hellfires and the .50 cal.  We did not attempt with APKWS so your mileage may vary with those rockets.  We took the hellfires because of their punch from a distance [almost 5 miles in this mission].

6 – Like most of the missions in this campaign, this mission scales with more helo’s.  I added a message to players letting them know when the mission is waiting for something to be destroyed.  I hope the message isn’t too distracting (its been in previous missions too).  The number of units to be destroyed varies with number of helo’s in the game.

Besides Wulf103, I want to acknowledge @Devil 505 for his creative assistance and testing prowess during this campaign.  Without these two fellas I can assure you this never would have seen the light of day.

Thanks!

[Mistermann]

Anyone waiting on M06, it is still waiting on ED approval.  Not sure the ave turnaround for these types of things.  In the past, 2 days was the longest.  We're now onto day 4.  I'll update as soon as I see it approved.

[Mistermann]

M06 - Darkness Falls is now approved and linked in the OP.

[Devil 505]

14 hours ago, Mistermann said:

M06 - Darkness Falls is now approved and linked in the OP.

Can wait to get after this one again when the Crystal arrives this weekend! 

[BoFrost]

Finally I managed to fly the mission 6. Unfortunately I made some mistakes and was not able yet to finish it. Tried 3 times   

But it is nice done, and I will try again.

 

Thanks for your great work !

Frank

[Mistermann]

Frank - in case you're struggling with eliminating the foot patrols towards the end, there's a F10 radio menu "cheat".  

[Mistermann]

Progress Report:  October 10, 2024

I've had a busy couple of weeks since releasing M06 and haven't spent much time in DCS World.  I haven't forgotten about Silent Thunder, however.  We are at the end of the story for the Assassins. The final mission installment has been designed and its looking like it needs to be broken into 2 separate missions.  Without a save option, I just can't expect people to play for 2+ hours.  With that in mind, I am breaking the final mission into two sections.  It'll make sense once I release it.

I hope to have some time this weekend to crack back open the ME and turn the storyboard into real testable content.  With any luck my small group can test something out late next week or weekend.  

[Devil 505]

44 minutes ago, Mistermann said:

small group can test something out late next week or weekend.  

Looking forward to the flight! 

[CrimzN]

Love these missions, so well done. Nice work! I was wondering when you are all done with the missions, if you plan to stitch it together as an official Campaign, or keep as individual missions? Once again can't wait for the conclusion. There aren't a lot of great Kiowa missions out there, so this content is great to have.

[CrimzN]

Super minor feedback, the Sorte name for mission 2 in the editor is Operation: xxxx. I think it should be Operation: Fish Barrel

[Devil 505]

12 hours ago, CrimzN said:

There aren't a lot of great Kiowa missions out there, so this content is great to have.

 

7 hours ago, CrimzN said:

Super minor feedback, the Sorte name for mission 2 in the editor is Operation: xxxx. I think it should be Operation: Fish Barrel

Absolutely digging the feedback! Mistermann is the master mind behind creating the missions and everything.  I help with the story line and test flying.  We are both very happy to hear this.  I would agree that the Kiowa missions out there are sparse.  It has been a blast putting this together and flying it.  Coop play was a lot more rewarding than I thought flying in one aircraft.  It has really inspired the three of us that fly together.  There was a lot of communications going when two were only two Helos.  Really drove home the teamwork.

We should have the last two missions inbound soon.  Real world work has kept us busy.  

[CrimzN]

12 hours ago, Devil 505 said:

 

Absolutely digging the feedback! Mistermann is the master mind behind creating the missions and everything.  I help with the story line and test flying.  We are both very happy to hear this.  I would agree that the Kiowa missions out there are sparse.  It has been a blast putting this together and flying it.  Coop play was a lot more rewarding than I thought flying in one aircraft.  It has really inspired the three of us that fly together.  There was a lot of communications going when two were only two Helos.  Really drove home the teamwork.

We should have the last two missions inbound soon.  Real world work has kept us busy.  

The missions are awesome, and equally the briefings and storylines are so well done. I enjoy reading the PDF as much as I do flying the missions. I have shared this with a few other Kiowa pilots that fly in our group. Thanks again.

[Devil 505]

53 minutes ago, CrimzN said:

The missions are awesome, and equally the briefings and storylines are so well done. I enjoy reading the PDF as much as I do flying the missions. I have shared this with a few other Kiowa pilots that fly in our group. Thanks again.

Mistermann will really dig hearing this! He puts so much hard time and work into creating this stuff for us.  I like providing what insight I can from a technicalish perspective, but the PDF, photos, and all the stuff you see on the user files is him.  He also goes above and beyond dumping money into voice overs using some pretty creative AI to give it a more authentic feel.  We are always looking to make things better and enjoy providing what we can to the community.  Feel free to provide feedback and anything you might enjoy seeing in future stuff.  Glad to hear all the hard work and fun we have making this stuff is also bringing good times to other DCS players.  Look forward to creating more content down the road for everyone.

[Mistermann]

On 10/18/2024 at 9:59 PM, CrimzN said:

Love these missions, so well done. Nice work! I was wondering when you are all done with the missions, if you plan to stitch it together as an official Campaign, or keep as individual missions? Once again can't wait for the conclusion. There aren't a lot of great Kiowa missions out there, so this content is great to have.

Unless something has changed with the way campaigns are created, its not possible to do with MP content.  The way ED designed this game was/is very much first and foremost a SP experience.  The only way to create a "campaign" for MP is to play the different missions in a sequential order.  Its a real shame, but for those few people creating MP campaign content like Silent Thunder its the only way possible.  

If the community knows how to enable proper campaigns for MP content, I'm all ears.

8 hours ago, CrimzN said:

The missions are awesome, and equally the briefings and storylines are so well done. I enjoy reading the PDF as much as I do flying the missions. I have shared this with a few other Kiowa pilots that fly in our group. Thanks again.

Thanks!  Hearing this kind of feedback justifies all the background work that goes into creating these experiences.  For years I only flew SP.  I have flown many of the paid campaigns and was content.  Due to braindead AI wingmen, it was always a "me against the world" experience however.  I was okay with it because my ventures into the MP world were fraught with juvenile experiences, or worse,  Milsim wannabes who expected to be called "sir" and killed any joy received from this simulation.

Thank God I found some like-minded flying partners who opened the DCS world for me.  My enjoyment levels on DCS skyrocketed exponentially once I started flying with friends.  If you're reading this in a MP themed thread, you probably already know.  

As a ME "tinkerer" I really wanted to create SP campaign quality content for this MP group.  I set out to see if I could replicate that level of experience for the team.  I put together a mission called "Jupiter's Javelin" for the F18 (its on the user files) to see if it was possible.  That was a couple years ago and we still have fun with it.  That opened the window of possibility for the group.  We found 2 other MP campaigns (linked in the OP) and were thrilled.  Played through both and figured we could do something similar.  That's what led me to refactor the Apache Griffin's campaign and ultimately this Kiowa offering.

I enjoy the story telling aspect of these creations.  The voiceover work is somewhat tedious, but I really enjoy what they bring to these missions.  Glad you're enjoying the content!  Thanks for letting us know. 

7 hours ago, Devil 505 said:

Mistermann will really dig hearing this! He puts so much hard time and work into creating this stuff for us.  I like providing what insight I can from a technicalish perspective, but the PDF, photos, and all the stuff you see on the user files is him.  He also goes above and beyond dumping money into voice overs using some pretty creative AI to give it a more authentic feel.  We are always looking to make things better and enjoy providing what we can to the community.  Feel free to provide feedback and anything you might enjoy seeing in future stuff.  Glad to hear all the hard work and fun we have making this stuff is also bringing good times to other DCS players.  Look forward to creating more content down the road for everyone.

Indeed.  Real life has gotten in the way a bit the past month or so and I haven't made the time to wrap up the campaign.  It's coming ... taking more time than I hoped.  As for the future, @Devil 505 hinted at it above.  We're actively discussing our next MP campaign project and we're going back to fixed wing.  F/A-18C and Supercarrier.  With 2 of these MP campaigns under our belt we have high expectations on what we can produce.  But that's in the future.

Thanks for flying Silent Thunder and sharing with your group, @CrimzN.  We've got a cool story climax coming for this campaign.  

[CrimzN]

@Mistermann you are totally right, you can't create an MP campaign, ED doesn't have that. However, your missions can be played as a single player campaign as is. I created one for myself. Why? Call me weird, but there is something satisfying about playing each mission in succession and tracking progress one after another. It is just a me thing. Totally not necessary. All I had to do was create a new campaign and add your missions as stages. I'll add my images as examples, not sure how they will post to this thread. 

 

1. Create Campaign with details and add each mission as a stage. Stage 1 - Mission 1, etc.

2. Then you have this super clean flag called Mission_End_Success, so in each mission just add a mission goal with a score of 100 using that flag 

3. Then copy the Campaign files to your missions folder and away you go 

Like I said, the only reason I messed with this is that I kinda like running each mission in succession with progress captured. Once again, this is only single player, but it works

Edited October 21, 2024 by CrimzN

[CrimzN]

Mission 3 was awesome. That KORD was a challenge, moving all over the place, I managed to get him on a bridge eventually. Something I noticed with mission 4, maybe it has already been reported. Slot 1 client on mission 4 puts you super close to a static and a Blackhawk to the point where startup can bust you. Slot 2 gives you plenty of room to startup, not sure why DCS is doing that.