RQ-11 Raven A

[gmt2001 10]

I'm curious as to why you moved the battery level to the callers group. I think that would make it so that if 2 people in the same group, from using Domination's "Show Status"->"Team Status" dialog or the default mission groups for example, used a raven they would both have the same battery level as the second person to launch and, in rare cases, cause it to go down by 2 notches each time.

Also createMarker is global to all sides. You will have to do something to the effect of the following pseudo-code

function onRavenlaunch
 nameOfMav = _this select 0
 mavSide = _this select 1

 ["ravenLaunched", [nameOfMAV, mavSide]] call CBA_fnc_globalEvent
end

function handleRavenLaunched
 nameOfMav = _this select 0
 mavSide = _this select 1

 if (side localPlayer == mavSide) then
   x = createMarkerLocal "raven"
   x setMarkerPos getPos nameOfMav
 end
end

["ravenLaunched", {_this call handleRavenLaunched}] call CBA_fnc_addEventHandler

See http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?84083-Marker-local-to-one-side-only

See https://dev-heaven.net/projects/cca/wiki/Custom_Events_System

Edited December 26, 2012 by gmt2001

[Feint 137]

I tried to have all of the variables that related to the raven applied to the raven model itself. Unfortunately, because the raven is a non-ai bird, it won't accept variables (last time I checked). It's some kind of game restriction. So I had to apply the variables directly to the unit that is controlling the raven. Unfortunately, if that person dies, those variables die with them. My most recent idea on how to get around this is to have the variables applied to the ground control station. So once the raven is created, I could have the ground control station created right next to it. Then, to control the raven, you would have to go to the ground control station. Maybe I could make it so you could pick up and drop the gcs, but when you are holding it, it's not possible to use its addactions. I tried this and couldn't get it to work. So the procedure would be, create the raven and GCS, pick up the raven, launch it, go over to the GCS, pick it up, go where you want to, drop the GCS, use the GCS's add actions to control the raven, etc. Then when finished, land the Raven, move it to within a certain distance of the GCS, then pack up the Raven and GCS into the backpack.

Anyway, the battery level couldn't stay with the raven, which is why I moved the variable to the caller. Later, I moved it to the group of the caller. I can't remember now why I did that. I think I never anticipated that more than one raven would be used by players in the same group and I was hoping that the battery level could be retained if the original caller was killed and then respawned.

Regarding the markers, thanks for the above code and the helpful links. That's very helpful. More to learn. I'll give it a try.

[gmt2001 10]

Another potential place to store the variables would be a GameLogic item. For example (pseudocode):

if (itemNotExists ["gamelogic_ravenVars"])
{
 createItem ["gamelogic_ravenVars", public];
}

["gamelogic_ravenVars"] setVariable [player1NameOrId + "_nameOfMav", _nameOfMav1, false];
...
["gamelogic_ravenVars"] setVariable [playerXNameOrId + "_nameOfMav", _nameOfMavX, false];

thus you would have a single gamelogic item that stores the variables for all players ravens (set as public so its broadcast to JIP). The first player would create it if it wasnt there. Then each ravens variables are stored just as they are now with the players name, id, or other identifier as a prefix. Since we only want the gamelogic item to be broadcast to everyone but not each players variables the last parameter to setVariable is false, making the variable itself local. The player name or id is then used just as insurance and to make it easier to change if you later decide to broadcast all of the variables so other players scripts can take over the raven.

Edited January 9, 2013 by gmt2001

[Feint 137]

I've recently changed the way I'm doing things through the player. Now I have the Ground Control Station (GCS) storing the variables instead of the player. Basically, when the raven is unpacked from the backpack and created, a GCS is created at the same time and "bound" to it. So now you can pick up and move the Raven and launch it, but you can also pick up and move the GCS. To use the GCS, you have to drop it and the addActions are applied to the GCS, not the player. I think this might be a way of having someone take over the GCS if the original player who launched it is killed. I have set the variables to broadcast to all players, but as I don't understand locality very well, maybe this isn't the best solution.

@gmt2001, I'm not totally understanding what you wrote above. Why keep the variables themselves local? The way the system currently works is that the variables are not local, i.e. battery level, name of raven, whether a raven is attached to a player or not, etc. Other variables are global such as current raven height, current camera focal length, etc. Not sure how global variables on one machine effect global variables with the same name on another machine. So far, I haven't heard people complain about the height or focal length of one raven being effected by another raven. But maybe people just aren't reporting that back to me. I'd be interested to hear what you have to say about this since you seem to know more about locality issues than I do.

NEW FEATURE: Steerable camera :) You can use the arrow keys to change the camera target north, south, east or west while in the camera view mode. Then, the Raven tracks that new camera position and flies around that. This is how the actual Raven works too. You don't actually steer the Raven manually, you tell it what to look at and it circles around that area automatically. Video coming soon.

[WCMV 1]

Looks awesome man.

[Feint 137]

Update number 9 of the RQ-11 Raven. I've not decided if I'll update the existing version or create a whole new version, but here's a video demonstrating the new steerable camera. Hope you enjoy it. Please comment, like or subscribe if you'd like to see more video updates like this.

txRnvktJ_9o

[islesfan186 83]

Awesome. So pretty much you've just made this a Raven B now. Steerable camera is great!

[thechaos 1]

Oh, the new steerable camera is very cool!

[Feint 137]

Thanks. Yeah, it's a LOT more usable with a steerable camera.

[kilrbe3 37]

New update looks amazing Feint, Great work mate! Excellent news about the new GCS unit, was a problem I had, once the player died with it, it was rendered useless. Be great to have just another play use the GCS if the first player dies or needs to head off to a different location or task. I do have one question, and pardon if it was asked earlier. Was the spotting fixed? Meaning, in earlier versions it was once the UAV spotted enemy, it would show up on everyone's map & not the player that launched the UAV. Kind of made things easy mode, instead of it acting like a recon tool for a operator to rely enemy positions to his squad / team. It was one of the main reason it got taken off our mod list from our group. That and the ruck issue, which I believe you fixed in a earlier build. My apologizes if this was fixed, I haven't had the chance to use it in the past 2 months or so. But by far, it is one of my favorite add-ons to use, such a cute little tool. :)

-Cheers mate!

EDIT: Where you also able to enable the backpack to store items as well (extra mags, etc), but with a limited carrying weight? The guy that usually had the duty of the raven, was mostly not in the front lines, but if a fight broke out, he was usually the first to run low on mags.

Edited January 14, 2013 by KilrBe3
Spelling/Addition

[Feint 137]

New update looks amazing Feint, Great work mate! Excellent news about the new GCS unit, was a problem I had, once the player died with it, it was rendered useless. Be great to have just another play use the GCS if the first player dies or needs to head off to a different location or task. I do have one question, and pardon if it was asked earlier. Was the spotting fixed? Meaning, in earlier versions it was once the UAV spotted enemy, it would show up on everyone's map & not the player that launched the UAV. Kind of made things easy mode, instead of it acting like a recon tool for a operator to rely enemy positions to his squad / team. It was one of the main reason it got taken off our mod list from our group. That and the ruck issue, which I believe you fixed in a earlier build. My apologizes if this was fixed, I haven't had the chance to use it in the past 2 months or so. But by far, it is one of my favorite add-ons to use, such a cute little tool. :)

-Cheers mate!

EDIT: Where you also able to enable the backpack to store items as well (extra mags, etc), but with a limited carrying weight? The guy that usually had the duty of the raven, was mostly not in the front lines, but if a fight broke out, he was usually the first to run low on mags.

In the most recent release, I made the map marking feature optional. So you can turn it on and off. The reason I originally put this in was because this is how the actual Raven works. It has software that pinpoints movement of people or vehicles in the video stream. But I did get negative feedback on it, so I made it off by default. I think in the next release, I'll just remove the feature.

In terms of the ruck, some people asked me to code it so that it can be "moved to back" in the ACE system. I've not done this yet, not because I don't want to, but because I don't play ACE that often and don't fully understand the system. I'll take a closer look at it and see if I can do this.

As for making room in the ruck for additional mags and stuff, you're the first person to ask for this. I know the RQ-11B has a smaller backpack load in the real world than it did before. It used to take up a full ruck. There are also considerations I have to make with deleting and spawning a new ruck when the raven is created and put away and keeping track of what's in the ruck in terms of gear. And in terms of one operator using it and then a different operator using it and potentially packing it away, to me that sounds like a bit of a nightmare of coding. And honestly, if someone is carrying a Raven around, I would think it would be something that a team member would have to help them out with in terms of carrying ammo around with them. So I'll have to think about the best way to do this. Thanks for the comments.

[NoRailgunner 0]

Instead of removing a feature what about changing it so the mission maker can assign a unit/team/group to which the Raven can transmit its data/info? Maybe so that those certain units have to carry an special RQ-11 receiver device/laptop?? Perhaps add somekind of transmitting delays and interferences if the SUAV or "receiver" group is getting out of the radio/commlink radius???

[kilrbe3 37]

As for making room in the ruck for additional mags and stuff, you're the first person to ask for this. I know the RQ-11B has a smaller backpack load in the real world than it did before. It used to take up a full ruck. There are also considerations I have to make with deleting and spawning a new ruck when the raven is created and put away and keeping track of what's in the ruck in terms of gear. And in terms of one operator using it and then a different operator using it and potentially packing it away, to me that sounds like a bit of a nightmare of coding. And honestly, if someone is carrying a Raven around, I would think it would be something that a team member would have to help them out with in terms of carrying ammo around with them. So I'll have to think about the best way to do this. Thanks for the comments.

That is completely understandable. You are correct now that I re-think that process. A squad mate could just give you a few mags if things get heavy or call in for a supply drop, rearm truck, etc etc.

In terms of the ruck, some people asked me to code it so that it can be "moved to back" in the ACE system. I've not done this yet, not because I don't want to, but because I don't play ACE that often and don't fully understand the system. I'll take a closer look at it and see if I can do this.

Ah yes, that was my main question, I just worded it wrong. My fault! Most things I heard was exactly what you said, they like to "move to back", within ACE. It's no biggy if you can't, but I just know for some people, the tradeoff between raven and a real backpack, sometimes is a real pick or die type situation. Sadly, it was the reason are group stopped using the raven, too many complaints that they couldn't carry enough. Even though I fully agree, a dedicated man should be in charge with it, and suck it up like a Radio Op guy would and does. But with the new GCS, that issue is solved!

In the most recent release, I made the map marking feature optional. So you can turn it on and off. The reason I originally put this in was because this is how the actual Raven works. It has software that pinpoints movement of people or vehicles in the video stream. But I did get negative feedback on it, so I made it off by default. I think in the next release, I'll just remove the feature.

Prefect! I'll have to check out the most recent build tonight than, Cheers mate!

[nomadd 66]

Very nice work. I think norailgunner is asking the same thing I am, would it be possible to have extra receivers for other people playing. One person controls the raven but anyone with a receiver can look at the data. It is not like in game they can just peer over your shoulder and see the screen. Maybe this is already possible and I have not figured it out yet.

Thanks

nomad

[thechaos 1]

Feint, can you tell me Raven's backpack classname please? I don't find it in first post.

[Zeus4SFG 1]

Feint, can you tell me Raven's backpack classname please? I don't find it in first post.

TheChaos,

This is the Class Name I've retrieved from LEA.

MAV_RAVEN_BACKPACK

[gmt2001 10]

EDIT: Where you also able to enable the backpack to store items as well (extra mags, etc), but with a limited carrying weight? The guy that usually had the duty of the raven, was mostly not in the front lines, but if a fight broke out, he was usually the first to run low on mags.

The raven can not be used as an ACE backpack because ACE backpacks are created as WEAPONS that fit in the SECONDARY/ROCKET slot. The Raven backpack is an OA BACKPACK. The only way to do this is to convert it. The current model will show up sideways if you try to use it this way. I have tested it all out. I do have a mod which allows you to put it on back though.

@gmt2001, I'm not totally understanding what you wrote above. Why keep the variables themselves local? The way the system currently works is that the variables are not local, i.e. battery level, name of raven, whether a raven is attached to a player or not, etc. Other variables are global such as current raven height, current camera focal length, etc. Not sure how global variables on one machine effect global variables with the same name on another machine. So far, I haven't heard people complain about the height or focal length of one raven being effected by another raven. But maybe people just aren't reporting that back to me. I'd be interested to hear what you have to say about this since you seem to know more about locality issues than I do.

The only reason i suggested keeping them local was to save network bandwidth from being wasted transmitting variables that would end up being niled/destroyed before another user touched the raven. Edited January 20, 2013 by gmt2001

[Feint 137]

Still working on textures, but here's a progress update:

[thechaos 1]

This is the Class Name I've retrieved from LEA.

MAV_RAVEN_BACKPACK

Thanks!

Still working on textures, but here's a progress update

If I understood you correctly, player will now be able to carry the Raven in the assembled state too, or it will be default state?

[kilrbe3 37]

I like that idea of carrying it like that, even if it does clip a little, I like it! Maybe add like a sling to it, to make it look like the player is actually carrying it.

Fantastic work! :)

[thechaos 1]

But I think that firefight with that thing on back will look a little strange :)

[Feint 137]

Thanks!

If I understood you correctly, player will now be able to carry the Raven in the assembled state too, or it will be default state?

Just to confirm, yes the classname for the backback is MAV_RAVEN_BACKPACK as stated previously by Zeus4SFG. That and other classnames are all listed in the ReadMe PDF on page 15.

The player has always been able to carry the Raven in the assembled state. I just moved the Raven and GCS from "floating in the air in front of the player" to "attached to the player" so that it looks more realistic. Keep in mind that the Raven can still be damaged while carrying it so if it gets shot while on your back, it can be destroyed with one bullet.

[thechaos 1]

The player has always been able to carry the Raven in the assembled state. I just moved the Raven and GCS from "floating in the air in front of the player" to "attached to the player" so that it looks more realistic. Keep in mind that the Raven can still be damaged while carrying it so if it gets shot while on your back, it can be destroyed with one bullet.

Oh, it's very good than :)

[Feint 137]

Here's an update video for the RQ-11B Raven demonstrating the new carrying position as well as the ability to damage the Raven while carrying it.

[tholozor 18]

Awesome! What will happen to the GCS for the destroyed Raven? Should the operator just drop it and forget about it, or is it removed from the world in some way?