Jane's F/A-18 Mission & Campaign Builders Forum

building missions with aerial refueling

by Slingblade

In a mission I've just built, I have my flight of Hornets rendevousing with an S3 to refuel on the return leg of the mission. However, I can't get the "request tanker" option to become active on my pull-down menu. The S3 has a tanker pattern assigned to it, and I have a waypoint that flies my birds right past it, but I can't contact the tanker. Adding AWACS doesn't help ... do I need to assign a "refuel" action to my waypoint nearest the Viking? (I thought that was just for AI flights). Thanks.

Posted on Oct 29, 2001, 11:39 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Tanker

by Recluse

You need to be within a certain distance of the tanker before the menu becomes active... I think it is 10-15 nm but I don't remember offhand.

You can request ALPHA CHECKS to tanker from AWACS, or, in the mission builder assing a TACAN to the Tanker so you can gauge the distance to test when the menu item becomes active.

Also, make sure you have the S-3 loadout as AERIAL REFUELER in addition to giving it a Tanker Pattern.

Recluse

Posted on Oct 29, 2001, 12:11 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Tanking

by

Another issue that occasionally fouls up a tanking is the mechanism (i.e. a User Flag) that starts the tanker pattern. I have found instances where the UF (to break an orbit action, for example) was never set to stop an initial tanker orbit and start him to the tanker pattern action.

Habu Out

Posted on Nov 3, 2001, 7:49 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Harpoon (followup to old thread from Recluse)

by Slingblade

Attacking Soviet ships with HARM after Harpoon is launched seems to work well in reducing the enemies' antimissile capabilities (thanks!). They still do a pretty fair job with their AAA, but I found if I go high/low by launching one Harpoon with terminal flight on "skim," followed immediately by one set to "pop-up," the Soviet CIWS will engage the first missile fairly successfully, but can't re-aquire the next in time to defeat it ... pretty cool!

Posted on Oct 29, 2001, 9:57 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Avenger SAM

by

Does anyone know how to get the Hummer Avenger AAA/SAM to fire upon its enemy. I tried having it firing aginst me but no luck. Any ideas on how to get it to fire?

Posted on Oct 26, 2001, 12:48 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Avenger SAM

by Recluse

I'm not sure I've tried with this unit per se, but MOST mobile units will engage enemies as long as they have a Waypoint action of ENGAGE ENEMIES ALONG PATH, and once they stop, a check box at FIRE WEAPON WHILE WAITING..

I sort of remembered that SAM units were pretty autonomous in attacking enemy aircraft even without these directives, but put them in and see what happens.

IIRC the AVENGER SAM carries STINGER missiles which do not have a great range/max altitude...so you may be out of range....

Recluse


Posted on Oct 27, 2001, 8:07 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Re: Avenger SAM

by Keith "Adder-Amraamski" Sanders

Thanks for the tips. I have tried to fly very close to the SAMs but unfortunately they don't fire at me. Their range is approximately 12 miles but I seem to fly at close at 0.2 nm to them. They still don't fire for whatever reason. I've tried as you have said but they haven't fire against me though.

Thanks for help. It sure came in handy. I'll try this again and see if it works.

Adder Amraamski

Posted on Oct 27, 2001, 9:40 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

AWACS & Alphacheck to package

by

Does anybody know what is needed to set up when building a mission to have the AWACS giving the alphacheck to a flight group? I mean to have the “AWACS Alphacheck to package” option working. I assume there should have any command or option to tell the AWACS which group to track

Posted on Oct 26, 2001, 4:02 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Alpha Check to Package

by Recluse

The 'Package' is a flight you are assigned to escort.

This assignment (i.e. an ESCORT action at one of your waypoints pointing to the 'package') is made in the Mission Builder by the designer of the mission.

Once this is assigned, Alpha Checks to Package, Padlock Package etc.. will work.

Here is some info that Matt Wagner posted during beta testing of the Valhalla Campaign.

Recluse
************************************************
Matt Wagner posted:

What you're describing is due to two elements. At the start of the mission I have the Viking in an orbit command with instructions to continue orbiting until player arrives. When the player does arrive, the S-3 will give the "forming up" message and will head off to his first waypoint. As to the escort action, all you need to do is assign the escort action of at least one waypoint to at least one of the AI escortee's (in later missions I made it the inbound waypoint). Once you set it once--anywhere in the waypoint progression--things like padlock package will work at any point in the mission. So, by only having the player piggy-back his escort action for two waypoints, we get all the padlock/alpha check options along with a full set of navigation waypoints for the player. However for AI to AI escort or if the AI is to escort the player, always do it in the traditional way where the waypoint piggy backs on the escortee as long as you want escort to perform an escort function. Clear as mud?




Posted on Oct 26, 2001, 5:44 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Campaign building.

by

I've been hearing lately about this campaign builder and am wondering where this campaign builder is. Can anyone help me? Thanks. I'm looking forward to building my own campaign. Thanks.

Posted on Oct 25, 2001, 4:04 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Campaign Builder

by Recluse

Check out the Campaign Builder section at:

http://ham.dogfighter.com/superhornet/campaign.htm

There is a mirror of JayP's Campaign Builder tutorial

All you need to know!

Recluse


Posted on Oct 25, 2001, 5:39 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Need some advice

by Ramus

Hi all,
Just got back into this sim ,now that i've got a decent rig to play it on.
I'm trying to create a short mission entitled
'Cycle 1 recovery ops',but being a novice with regard to the mission builder i've
come across a problem.
The mission starts in the air shortly before the recoveries begin around the carrier.

Then the problems start, the planes land in the right sequence ,but then procede to the nearest catapult and re-launch.

Can anyone tell me what it is I have to do to get the planes to dearm and park up.

Thanks Ramus


Posted on Oct 24, 2001, 12:46 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Aircraft Pattern

by Recluse

Hmmmmmm,

I intended to check this so I could reply with a little more certainty..but I am not sure why this happens! Usually aircraft land, park and that's it.
...especially in Single Player mode.

In Multiplayer, if rearm and refuel is on, then the Human players auto-taxi to the cat for another shot, but I don't think this applies to the AI..

If you want, send a copy of your mission to me:

bobtull@nospam_mindspring.com

(remove the nospam_ piece, of course..)

and I will see what I can make of it..

Recluse



Posted on Oct 26, 2001, 5:48 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Aircraft Pattern

by

This sounds like something I setup for when we were going to show F/A-18 at E3. I think if you add something like a message action or some other "neutral" action it may allow the guys to park. Unfortunately I forget what the constraints were to get this to happen. I'll think about it some more to see if I can think of what else I might have done to allow this to happen.

Elf


Posted on Oct 26, 2001, 12:13 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

That's strange!

by Recluse

I need to go try this! My recollection is, any AI that I give a LAND waypoint near the carrier, when assigned to the carrier lands, taxis and parks. Never seen them relaunch.... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Recluse

Posted on Oct 27, 2001, 8:05 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Land & launch

by

Sometimes AI aircraft will land and then launch in missions that I have made. This occurs when they didn't take off properly in the first place.

Most commonly they will jump off the elevator instead of taxiing to the cat and the LSO will say 'bolter!'. They then come round, land and THEN taxi to the cat and launch.

More rarely AI aircraft will start in mid-air (with their gear down) around the carrier instead of on the deck and then come in to land, taxi and launch.

This only happens when there are a lot of aircraft and events in the mission.

Posted on Oct 30, 2001, 2:31 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

screenshots as .bmp files?

by Slingblade

I was looking back through old threads, and noticed someone mentioning "Alt-S" as a way to create bmp files ... can you use this while playing the game (for example, to take a snapshot of the current screen)to create bmp's to use in your mission? Thanks. And thanks, Recluse, for the info on the Russkie SSM's.

Posted on Oct 22, 2001, 12:16 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

BMP's (no not the armored personnel carriers :-) )

by Recluse

Yes indeed. That is how most of us make the MISSION and OBJECTIVE images.

Be advised, though, the default ALT-S .BMP (called DUMPxx.BMP where xx is a number in sequence) is a very large file and is the FULL SCREEN at whatever resolution you are running. You must usually crop and shrink the bitmaps to fit properly on the mission screens. See Baldeagle's tutorial on this in the Mission Builder FAQ section.

Recluse



Posted on Oct 22, 2001, 5:06 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thank you, sir (no text)

by Slingblade

thanks


Posted on Oct 23, 2001, 11:05 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Norwegian airbases for F-18

by

http://www.mil.no/luftforsvaret/avdelinger.html

Its in Norwegian, but you get the idea.

Gavin

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 8:25 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thanks to TACOPS for the thought

by

I just wanted to say thanks for mentioning those of us out in the field on the main page. It's been awhile since I've visited this site, or created a mission. I am currently deployed in SFOR 10 at Camp Comanche, Bosnia. I'm in a UH-60 unit (Quality Assurance), and we arrived about a week before the attacks on 11 September. Needless to say, things aren't the same here as they were for the last few rotations. And to make matters worse, we're in majority Muslim area, though these folks aren't exactly the radicals that can be found in the Middle East. Why does this crap always happen to me

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughts, TACOPS, and I'll be home again in, umm, only 5 months now

Hoot out!

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 6:03 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thank you Hoot for what you are doing.

by

I can't say much more then that. Thanks to you and all that serve along side of you.

Dusty "Redwolf" Rhodes
EIB CIB Panama

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 8:34 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Soviet vs. US CIWS

by slingblade

Recently I've been running some tests with ship-ship attacks and backfires attacking ships with their AS-4's. With AI set on expert, the Soviet ships do an excellent job of defending against the Tomahawks (hard as heck to sneak one through), but the US ships (even Ticos and Burkes) get hammered by the AS-4's and Sandboxes, rarely defeating one (the do, however, knock down a lot of Sunburn missiles). Are the Russian CIWS's really that much superior to the US systems, or are the AS-4's and Sandboxes that stealthy? Anything I can do to improve the US ships chances? Thanks in advance for the input!

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 5:01 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

CIWS

by Recluse

In general, I find the US ships are not as potent as the Russian (and not nearly as potent as one would expect from the real life capabilities). I suspect this is a gameplay issue to give the Player some additional challenge.

That being said, IT DOES make sense w/ regard to the missiles you mention as they are SUPERSONIC where the US HARPOON and TOMAHAWK are subsonic and thus presumably easier targets with a greater window of opportunity for CIWS engagement.

Recluse

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 5:44 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

supersonic?

by Slingblade

I hadn't thought about the difference in speed, that's a good point. Also, it does tend to make the pucker factor increase, knowing you need to down the missiles yourself or you're not going to have a place to land . And like you mentioned, I thought the Ticos were supposed to be a little more potent in real life. Thanks.

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 9:54 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Russian Missiles

by Recluse

According to Norman Polmar's "Naval Institute Guide to the Soviet Navy, 5th edition"

SS-N-22 Sunburn: Range 50 nm, speed (est.) Mach 2.5
SS-N-19 Shipwreck: Range 300 nm speed (est) Mach 1+
SS-N-12 Sandbox: Range 300 nm, speed (est) Mach 2.5
AS-4 Kitchen: Range 148-250 nm, speed Mach 2.5-3.5
AS-6 Kingfish: Range 150-350 nm, speed Mach 2.5-3.5


I can't imagine that the cold war CVBG commanders didn't have nightmares about these things!!!!

Recluse

Posted on Oct 20, 2001, 6:31 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Rather old question (CAP vs Fighter Sweep)

by

Hello everyone, been a while. I just found out after months of work that I'm still not sure how CAP/Fighter Sweep work relative to waypoints. i.e. if I give a flight a wp with fighter sweep they seem to conduct the sweep en-route to that wp. CAP, on the other hand, seem to wait till after the wp to start their orbit. I'm not sure if this is so, but I'd like a confirmation plus some indication of how the search range applies for either action.

The reason I'm asking is that up till now I've been very lenient in how far the AI would help out in any mission but I have a specific mission which, if executed properly, you can finish without the AI's help. If you don't, u die... horribly + your AI friends. The trouble is I can't keep the AI CAP that protects the flight's retreat in position, they always wander into SAM territory and invariably die.

As an aside, I also have another friendly flight on Alert Intercept but they won't respond to weasel requests. Do I need an AWACS on the scene?

Posted on Oct 18, 2001, 12:54 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

AI

by Recluse

Elf recently gave a pretty clear explanation of Fighter Sweep vs. CAP but I don't recall if it was here or on SIMHQ. If I find the thread soon I will post the URL. Basically, though, I believe that you are correct. The CAP orbit will circle the CAP WP until they engage. While aircraft on FIGHTER SWEEP will begin the sweep when en route to the WP.

ALERT INTERCEPT aircraft will not respond to WEASEL REQUESTS.. ALERT INTERCEPT aircraft will launch only in response to inbound aerial threats.

For Weasels, have a flight with a SEAD loadout which is unoccupied with a tasked mission (i.e. in an Orbit). Not sure if they can be placed on a runway and be available. It is possible..

Recluse

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 5:41 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Tx

by Teemaz

I look forward to getting the URL. I've played around with the mission a bit further and have come up with some surprising results:
1. The AI does seem to be "Intelligent" in the sense that they almost never do the same thing twice, which probably throws the idea of strictly controlling them out the window.
2. At least one Alert Intercept a/c DID respond on at least one occasion.
3. That same a/c flew towards me and then suddenly turned back and landed ahead of me on the carrier, no idea why.

A question though, why must the Alert Intercept guys have a SEAD loadout to respond? I usually want them for CAP duties when I run out of a/a ammo.

Posted on Oct 19, 2001, 8:04 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

RE:

by

1) Some of the AI stuff is set up to try to be unpredictable but this is mostly in combat situations. Other things should be a cause/effect situation. Let me know what's causing you headaches and I'll try to think of what might be causing it.
2) Glad he responded.
3) Hmm, that's interesting. Sorry if this seems like a stupid question but did he have weapons? Running out of weapons can cause aircraft doing various actions to return to base.

The reason Recluse asked about a SEAD loadout is that you talked about requesting weasels which are SEAD aircraft. Cover is the A2A version.

Hope this helps,

Elf




Posted on Oct 22, 2001, 7:00 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

CAP and Flights

by

I did a quick check and couldn't find what I had posted before so here's some info. Let me know if you need more. With Fighter Sweep you will want to use at least 2 consecutive waypoints that have the FS action. Think of the waypoints with FS as their patrol area. They will fly from FS waypoint to FS waypoint. When they reach the last consecutive waypoint that has a FS action then they will loop back to the first of FS waypoints. For ending conditions for FS waypoints I think they are only check upon reaching a waypoint.

CAP will fly until they get close to the CAP waypoint and then break to set up the CAP pattern. This is an oval "race track" shape. I'm pretty sure the straight legs of the pattern are 15nm long. This would mean that the AIs will head half that distance in the direction of threat before they start turning towards the rear leg (which will take a while making them get even a bit more closer towards the threat area). Unless something gets close enough to pull them off they shouldn't leave the CAP pattern until their end condition is met (if there is one).

I think if you are assigned to a carrier then you don't have to have an AWACS to get assistance but you definitely need one of these.

Hope this helps,

Elf


Posted on Oct 22, 2001, 6:51 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

tx for the info

by Teemaz

I think I have it all figured out.. what I've been trying to do - unsuccessfully - is to get the fighter sweep flight to break off on two possibilities:
1. they're out of ammo
2. I've hit the target and heading home

Individually, these are easily set up, but getting both of them to work hasn't been possible. The end result is that if I set them up to break on ammo depleted they don't leave if there are too few bandits (variable percentages) and get shot down coz they stayed around the target area too long.
On the other hand, if I set them to break when I destroy the target they stay in the air even if they engage a gazillion bandits and fire a gazillion missiles - not very realistic.
The obvious solution seems to be to spend countless hours refining their courses and the bandit appearance percentages - something I'm trying to avoid LOL.

Posted on Nov 4, 2001, 3:23 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Mission Map

by fitness88

For a mission you made, how do you make a mission map for purposes of prebriefing, to show up just before the mission begins.

Is there a way to have the host view the mission map at the same time as the rest of the flight?

Posted on Oct 16, 2001, 10:20 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Overview Area

by Recluse

The little animated map is made using the OVERVIEW AREA and MISSION CHECKLIST functions. See the Mission Builder FAQ area on this site for writeups on how to use them.

I don't believe there is a way to have HOST and CLIENT view the map at the same time, as the CLIENT doesnt progress to that stage until the host hits FLY.

Recluse

Posted on Oct 17, 2001, 3:32 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Untitled

by Anonymous

"I don't believe there is a way to have HOST and CLIENT view the map at the same time, as the CLIENT doesnt progress to that stage until the host hits FLY."

Recluse,
Thanks for the response. As I use dual monitors, I was wondering if there was a way to duplicate the mission map, maybe a BMP file and display it on my secondary monitor...I'll see what I get from first creating one.


Posted on Oct 17, 2001, 5:12 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

fogot to fill in the blanks

by fitness88

"I don't believe there is a way to have HOST and CLIENT view the map at the same time, as the CLIENT doesnt progress to that stage until the host hits FLY."

Recluse,
Thanks for the response. As I use dual monitors, I was wondering if there was a way to duplicate the mission map, maybe a BMP file and display it on my secondary monitor...I'll see what I get from first creating one.


Posted on Oct 17, 2001, 5:14 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Map BMP

by Recluse

Well, you can take a screen shot of the MAP screen just like you can of an IN GAME screen, so you might be able to use that somehow....Before launching the game.

I agree that it is unfortunate that the host and Clients can't view and discuss the map at the same time...

Recluse



Posted on Oct 17, 2001, 5:44 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thanks

by fitness88

Thanks again, I got it to work.

Posted on Oct 18, 2001, 2:14 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Is there any way to change the # lights on the carrier's island?

by

I'm pretty new to this so please bear with me...
I've been messing with different carrier skins, and one thing I noticed is that although the white numbers change, the lights surrounding them on the island remains the same...
Am I doing something wrong?
If not, is there a way I can manually edit the island # lights so they don't read just 76?
And also, are there carrier skins/patches already out there with this fix that I just haven't been able to find despite all my searching?? 8-)
Any tips or links would be very much appreciated!

Regards,
LCDR King$nake XO
VFA-667 "Black Knights"

http://theblackknights.50megs.com/f18/f18squadron.htm

Posted on Oct 15, 2001, 11:10 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Island Lights

by Saxon_131st

Slider who is the CO of the 131st and a member of TSH made a carrier skin so that we could fly from USS Dwight D Eisenhower like the real 131st does, however he couldnt manage to change the island lights either, I know this isnt any help, just passing on the information he gave me.



Posted on Oct 16, 2001, 2:11 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Lights on carrier

by

The lights are built into the 3D object. As the 3D format has been cracked by TSH, it should be possible to make carriers with different designations.

Posted on Oct 16, 2001, 7:38 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thanks guys...

by

If this code has been cracked, how can I find it and use it to make these changes to the carrier's lights? Also if I can't change them to read something other than 76, is there a way to turn them off without turning off all of the carrier lights?
I've searched the web, and been to the Team Superhornet site, but cannot find anything related...
Any links would be helpful.

Thanks again! 8-)

Posted on Oct 16, 2001, 9:07 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

AI wingmen during antishipping attack

by Slingblade

When I fly antishipping missions, I usually try to launch my Harpoons at maximum range or a little closer for the particular flight profile I've chosen (normally low/skim or low/pop-up when attacking ships with anti-missile capabilities) to keep from getting my ass flamed. However, even after my wingmen have called out "tin can spotted," they want to fly right down main street into the Russian surface group before launching, and invaritably get torn to pieces. Can I tell them to stay out a little farther when they launch? Also, what's the best way to perform a Harpoon attack to keep my missiles from falling victim to the enemies' last-ditch defenses? I appreciate any input.

Posted on Oct 10, 2001, 12:34 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

RE: Wingmen Anti-ship

by

Depending on the way the mission is written here's one thing you can try. If you aren't using the "Attack Targets of Opportunity" command to attack with then you could try using an "Attack With" command before giving the order to attack. Another thing you could try is to double check their loadout on the weapons they have.

The AI's will not attack at max range since this could lead to a miss against a moving target but I think I gave them the OK at 75% range (unfortunately I can't check the code to make sure).

What might be happening though is that they might be choosing a bigger bang weapon over a longer range one. Their primary selection choice when figuring out what weapons to use is to pick weapons that will do the most damage to the target. Various other things like range will be a factor and threats in the area but if they can't kill the target with a particular weapon(s) then they will go for the most damage. Also there are limits on how many weapons they will release depending on its type (dumb bomb, ag missile, LGB, etc) and this gets taken into account as well.

The weapon selection you give them ahead of time or the "attack with" command will hopefully guide them to the choice you'd prefer.

We had thought about allowing attack with to work with the Opportunity command but I had visions of a full load of Mk-84s being dropped on the wrong target and really frustrating the Player.

If they're actually using the right weapon but still moving in too close let me know and I'll try to watch them on a run and see if I can remember what's going on in their minds.

Elf


Posted on Oct 10, 2001, 4:20 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

AntiShip

by Recluse

Another thing you should do is try to blind the ships radars with HARM. Wingmen are NOT very bright at this, but will sometimes do better if an ATTACK AIR DEFENSES command is given. If the ships are the closest emitters, this will sometimes get them to Launch HARM.

HARPOON outranges HARM, but HARM flies faster, so a good strategy is to launch HARPOON at max range, and continue to bore in until within HARM range. Launch your HARMs and give the bad guys a choice:

Shut down radar to defeat HARM, and fall victim to HARPOON, or keep radar on to track HARPOON and get a big stick in the eye! Of course, timing this is easier said than done!

Another 'trick' relies on the greater Stealth modelled by the SLAM. Packing the same or greater PUNCH than the HARPOON, the SLAM is much more resistant to enemy air defenses and will often sneak through where HARPOONS drop like flies..

Recluse

Posted on Oct 10, 2001, 5:19 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thanks!

by Slingblade

Thanks for the good ideas, I'll have to try the Harpoon/Harm combo! By the way, is there a way to know when targets are in range for your HARM missiles? (in other words, are they always in range when they're "boxed up" on the HARM targetting page on your MFD) I haven't found this in the manual, or what the actual max range is for HARM's.

Posted on Oct 11, 2001, 5:11 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Harm Range

by Recluse

Boy is this ever a FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION!

HARM range in the sim is about 20-30 nm at low and medium altitude
(5-20,000 ft) and maybe 40 nm at HIGH altitude (30-40,000 ft). I usually
use 30 nm as a rough IN RANGE guide.


There is no way to know when the HARM is in range from only the HARM page
unless you are in PB mode, which assumes that there is a GPS coordinate
programmed in for a particular target. This is done during construction of
the mission and cannot be done by the Player during the briefing process.

To know if the HARM is in range, using TOO mode or SP mode, you can use some guidelines:

If the target is lobbing SAMS at you, you are probably in range for a HARM
shot unless the SAM in question is an SA-10 which has a pretty long range.

If you know where your target is (via WP or Target info), usually the highest concentration of SAM/AAA is in that vicinity, so you can use that knowledge to guesstimate the HARM range.

If you can use the 'click through the HUD' method of designation and get a designation close to the HARM box, you can then set your HUD to TGT mode and obtain a distance.

For ship targets, you can simply lock them up with SEA radar. When the HARM box is superimposed on the Targetting diamond, you not only know the range of the ship from you, but you know which ship is emitting. Of course, multiple emitters may be present very close to each other, but this will help you also in differentiating warships from non-emitting cargo and other (usually) neutral ships.

Hope this helps!


Recluse


Posted on Oct 11, 2001, 3:53 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thank you

by Slingblade

Thanks for the HARM info ... very helpful.

Posted on Oct 15, 2001, 8:46 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Question about Afghanistan missions

by Slingblade

I had a question concerning postings that I came across for Afganistan missions someone had created ... are there actual scenery downloads for different world locations (other than the standard Artic Ocean/ Baltic Sea) available for Jane's F/A-18? That would be great!

Posted on Oct 10, 2001, 9:23 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Janes F-18 Art Manager

by

I think the only way you could simulate doing desert missions is to download the JF-18 Art Manager and load up the Desert Terrain and make missions. It would still be the same topography but have a definte desert feel to it.

Hopefully Team SuperHornet can crack the terrain files and get us new terrain and topography.

Posted on Oct 10, 2001, 10:44 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Art manager?

by Slingblade

Thanks for the input, and sorry to ask a stupid question, but where do I download the "Art Manager" from?

Posted on Oct 10, 2001, 12:17 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Art Manager

by Recluse

Download here:

http://ham.dogfighter.com/downloads/superhornet/jf18art.zip

Patch Here:

http://ham.dogfighter.com/downloads/superhornet/amupdate.zip

More stuff including links to art and downloads of art at:

http://ham.dogfighter.com/superhornet/download01.htm


Recluse



Posted on Oct 10, 2001, 5:14 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Campaign text files.

by

Ok , 1 question... with using the text compression tool.
after I have created all the text I need to for my campaign. I am placing in a clean folder along with the original text files that were zipped with the makecat.exe
I use the tool , inclde all files and name it CTEXTE.cmp.
This file is created in the same folder I had all the text in and then i paste it into the Campaign/DATA dir.
When I place the nodes in the campaign and type the txt file I want to show, all I see is a blank..
Am I doing something wrong here ?
Also quick note , the orig CTEXTE is 11 kb
The new one is around 4 ??
Any help appreciated .

Posted on Oct 2, 2001, 12:22 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

ALready Covered, but please post info again

by

I am making a IADS, Infastructure, ship template. What I need is a quick guide to the max number of certain objects that can be placed in a template and still have it work right when building missions off of it.

I need to know the max that can be placed for:

Ships

Aircraft

Ground Objects

Moving Objects

I want to create this template so a mission builder can just build the mission. But I want to make sure there is sufficient room to place all the mission important things in without limiting the mission builder due to me putting too much into the template.

Thanks in advance and I know this has been covered but with my net connection it would take me days to find it.

Dusty Rhodes

Posted on Oct 1, 2001, 2:27 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Talking about templates ...my 2cents

by

I have made a template in a kinda easy way.
Having a look at the mission files included with the sim, I noticed that they all had the same things eg :
The GCI hub and links.
Ships (enemy & Freindly)
Random groups

With this I took mission 1D01AE and striped all of its aircraft , breifing text , debreif, goals and events.
And I have a sound template. I am not sure how it will work need to test a few missions out using the template
made from it.

I do wonder , however why there is an FAC on an enemy SAM ...should prove interesting .!!

Any way this probably is not the answer you were looking for, thought I'd throw in my 2cents.

Posted on Oct 2, 2001, 7:21 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

'FAC on enemy SAM'

by Recluse

One often sees these symbols in Campaign and other canned missions. As far as I remember, there was a function originally present for the developers where you could tag an object and it would automatically be rendered in the OBJECTIVE screen. The symbol for this resembled the FAC symbol. The function was removed because it caused problems, but those funny FAC-like icons remain. They are not really FACs.

Recluse

Posted on Oct 2, 2001, 8:08 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Not just that

by

I was recently building a mission with multiple ground units. When I placed something like the 13th (superstitious?) moving vehicle group (also SAM 15 I think) I got that weird symbol and it won't go away. It seems to be order dependent. As far as it's use within the mission I haven't the foggiest. Anyone else encounter this late appearance of the "FAC" sign?

To answer the density thing... If it's too dense you will know... go blow everything up and u'll get a terrible fps rate. You can put any amount of units on the template but units that are too far from the action seem to "ghost".. they're still there and will fire at you albeit you can't see them. My solution is to place about 100 or so plugins (enough for my purposes) and then in each mission delete those plugins I don't want damage tracked on, or that are too far away from the action to be of consequence (e.g. an SA-15 that is 160 miles from bullseye is one of the first to go). The problem is to make sure all your objects are already in the template. Which brings me to my next question:

On the question of Templates, if I place a new object in a mission that is based on a template and it is destroyed and then a few missions later insert another object will it have the same ID as the destroyed object?

Posted on Oct 2, 2001, 9:23 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Thinking you might be right

by

I am indeed looking into the same thing. I am also looking at the templates for Karelyska also as they seem to be very good. I finished one but ran into the problem that some SAM units are there but when I go to look at them, I can't see them but I can see the missiles being launched.

I should also mentioned that I ran into some new info on GCI Linking everything. You can't link AAA sites to any SAM sites except the SA-11 seems to be linkable. I also tried linking the SOC (Child)to the CRC (Parent) but that doesn't work, however linking the CRC (Child) to the SOC (Parent)does work which backs those who said to use the SOC as the big kahuna in the link.

Thanks for the replies. I am still going to work on a template but I don't want to use one if it isn't up to what I am looking for. Maybe my goals of what I am looking for are too high but I want a good challenge.

Posted on Oct 2, 2001, 2:57 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Ghosting

by

Invisible SAM/AAA/radar sites have really held up development of my new campaign.

I've got the problem solved now, but it took a lot of trial and error. You should be aware that this isn't just a matter of how many plugins you have. Their type and proximity are also factors. Replacing a large SAM/AAA site with a small one, or moving nearby sites slightly further apart can sometimes fix the problem.

My template includes stuff from F-15 (SA-2, SA-3, SA-6, Big Bird & Flat Face GCI) so I can't really pass it around.

Posted on Oct 7, 2001, 1:55 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

FACs

by

I am trying to get the FACs to work in a mission I am building , I can not seem to do it, how is this done?


Thanks ,

Bulldog

Posted on Sep 29, 2001, 6:42 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Just the FACs

by Recluse

I put up a small tutorial along with sample missions in the MISSION BUILDER FAQ area on this site. Click the MISSION BUILDER link to the left, then click MISSION BUILDER TRAINING and scroll down.

You can download the article and missions also using this link:

http://www.zianet.com/baldeagle/download/factutorial.zip

Feel free to post any additional questions.

Recluse

Posted on Sep 29, 2001, 9:23 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

GCI let me see if I got it right

by

After reading all the previous posts on GCI linking, I think the plain picture was spelled out I ask if I have this right..I need to put this in a tree type format...
...........CRC
.........../ \
.........TS..56k
..........\.../
...........SOC
.........../ \
........SAM AAA

Would this be correct ?
I hope so this is how I have set up GCI for the lst few missions .

Posted on Sep 28, 2001, 8:01 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Not sure there is a 'right' answer

by Recluse

Personally, I would subordinate the SOC to the CRC's and have the various SOC's be the parents of the EW Radars and SAM/AAA sites...making sure there were enough branches so that one SOC taken out would not disrupt the whole network... but I don't know that there is a RIGHT answer..

Recluse

Posted on Sep 29, 2001, 9:19 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

I would agree with Recluse

by

I think Recluse is right that there is no really right answer without a real world tree to follow. And even then the tree may be different depending on the assets available.

Since the Setpember from hell is finally over, I am going to attempt to get a GCI IADS Template done so I can do some mission building again.

Posted on Sep 29, 2001, 6:00 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Dusty and Kammak's Previous GCI Tests

by

First I'd like to thank all of you for sharing your
hard work. It really helped me get up to speed and I
hope I can contribute.

After studying earlier messages from Dusty, Elf, and
Kammak, I set up a network along a river valley with
TS EW sites on two snow-capped peaks. These had a
SA-10C and a SA-11 site attached to each of them.
They fed to a CRC with shorter range SAMs and AAA for
defense. The CRC from the other hilltop and CRCs from
other sites around factories fed into a common SOC.

What I ended up with was a `GCI Network from Hell'..
I was unable to get the AI to penetrate it and survive.
I've tried a variety ECM packages with SLAM, HARMs,
and Tomahawks (Low alt/Popup). I ended up flying in
low and taking out most of the RADARs with HARMs.
After that, the AI could go in and do it's thing.

The simplified version of my GCI tree in this case is:

........SOC
..........|
........./ \
EW-CRC CRC-EW
..|....|.....|....|
SAMs SAMs SAMs SAMs

Hope the above makes sense...

- Tom


Posted on Sep 29, 2001, 7:02 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

OOPS! SOC does look like a bigger installation than CRC

by Recluse

...I had them confused in my mind. Thought the COMMAND REPORTING CENTER was the bigger installation, but I just looked at the plugins in the Mission Builder, and it definitely looks like the SOC is the top of the GCI food chain

My mistake... I guess I would have SOC as parent of CRC as well!

Recluse

Posted on Sep 29, 2001, 7:16 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Hrmmm Thought by the Names would be Opposite

by

Just by looking at the names I thought the CRC would be the central command facility with different SOC's assigned to it and reporting to the central command at the CRC. This goes to show that there truly is no right answer without real world data here.

Posted on Sep 29, 2001, 7:40 PM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Seems to work .

by

Thanks for the input all,
I did use the SOC at the centre of the GCI hub with numerous EW branching off of it, as parents to the CRC's which I placed variously at Airbases , and industrial estates.Off of the CRC placed SAM and AAA.
Seemed to me as soon as I was painted by the TS the AAA started firing and I had numerous,spikes as a result, however, SA-11 sites seemed somewhat slow in reaction to my prescence.this could be due to SOJ operating just south ...and decoy launchers , yes they really work !! I watched SA-11 take out decoy's.
Any how as far as I am concerned as long as I set up some sort of GCI hub the SAM and AAA are really agressive.I do notice my sweep flight getting knocked out of the sky.
Again thanks for all the input.
Warthog.

Posted on Sep 30, 2001, 11:09 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Make Cat EXE problems

by

I am trying to unify the TEXT files of the following campaigns:

Matt Wagner's Valhalla Campaign.
The Falklands Remembered Campaign
The Arctic Duel Campaign.
Karelskya Campaign 1
Harpoon 2004 campaign and the grand campaign on the campaign screen.

However, when I compress the associated TEXT files, they do not work properly. The first time i tried this, i had campaign text files associated with all of the campaigns, except the Karel campaign. When i retried, none of the campaigns have working associated TEXT files. Any notions? Anyone done this succesfully? If so... could you make me the ctext.cmp file that worked?


Oh and that flashing banner ad is REAL annoying!

Gavin


Posted on Sep 25, 2001, 10:48 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

I'll give it a try

by

Others have reported problems making CMP files, although I haven't personally encountered any yet. If you send me the text files I don't have (Falklands and Harpoon), then I will give it a try.

Posted on Oct 1, 2001, 5:20 AM

Respond to this message

Return to Index

Create your own forum at Network54
 Copyright © 1999-2009 Network54. All rights reserved.   Terms of Use   Privacy Statement