Please put me out of my scripting misery...

[gianni001 19]

Im no great scripter, sometimes I wonder why I even try and it hurts my brain... bt please,I have searched high and low to try and get this to work, it may seem simple to some of you but I dont care, im spent!

 

All I want is the bottom part of the script to not fire until the chopper is dead (trigger activated)... everything else on the script works except the waituntil ive tried many different ways but Im all outa puff......................

 

As a side note but not nearly as important.. can anyone tell me, within this script hwo to make the chopper wreck smoke forever?

 

Thanks a bunch

 

 

_group = [getMarkerPos "helospawn1", EAST, ["O_Heli_Light_02_unarmed_F"],[],[],[],[],[],180] call BIS_fnc_spawngroup;

 

wp1 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "HC", 0];

wp2 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "MainDot", 0];

{

        _x setWaypointBehaviour "CARELESS"; 

_x setWaypointSpeed "FULL";

_x setWaypointType "MOVE";

 

} forEach [_wp1,_wp2];

 

_trg = createTrigger ["EmptyDetector", getMarkerPos "MainDot"];

_trg setTriggerArea [100, 100, 0, false];

_trg setTriggerActivation ["EAST", "PRESENT", true];

_trg setTriggerStatements ["this", "{_x setDamage 1} forEach thislist", ""];

 

^^^^^^^^^

Script works until here.

 

waitUntil {!alive _this}; // THIS IS THE BIT I CANT GET TO WORK I do not want the below to execute until the chopper is dead..

 

This bottom bit works when ran without the above...

 

_pos = getMarkerPos "DMS_MainDot";

while {alive player} do {

_smoke = createvehicle ["SmokeShellRed",_pos,[],0,"none"];

_smoke setpos _pos;

waitUntil {isNull _smoke};

};

[R3vo 2654]

https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/this

 

 

waitUntil {!alive _this}; // THIS IS THE BIT I CANT GET TO WORK I do not want the below to execute until the chopper is dead..

 

 

The variable _this is not defined. Read the content of the link I've posted above.

 

Has the chopper a specific variable name? If so then do:

 

waitUntil {sleep 0.5; !alive heliName};

 

Also it's always good to add a sleep to waitUntil.

[gianni001 19]

The choper hasnt got a name, not sure how to give one?

 

I also tried {!alive _group} as I thought _group was the chopper?

[froggyluv 2136]

 In the editor click on your chopper and give it a name -the tab at the top right. Once you name it ie Helo1, that variable name will activate in any script as it is a global one.

 

 Then simple !alive Helo1 etc....

[gianni001 19]

Yeh.. I cant do that as this must be run through a script only (online mission)..

 

anything else?

[froggyluv 2136]

 Ahh yes, sorry read too fast

 

 maybe

 

({alive _x} count units _group) < 1

[Larrow 2820]

or

waitUntil {!alive (vehicle leader _group)};

[dreadedentity 278]

waitUntil {triggerActivated _trg};

triggerActivated

[gianni001 19]

Thanks guys , at work but the trigger activated way seems to be likley to work (I hope) will let u know!

[Larrow 2820]

Is the whole point of the trigger just to delete the helicopter and crew youve created and sent there? If so just use the waypoint statement..

_group = [getMarkerPos "helospawn1", EAST, ["O_Heli_Light_02_unarmed_F"],[],[],[],[],[],180] call BIS_fnc_spawngroup;
 
wp1 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "HC", 0];
wp2 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "MainDot", 0];
{
	_x setWaypointBehaviour "CARELESS"; 
	_x setWaypointSpeed "FULL";
	_x setWaypointType "MOVE";
 
} forEach [_wp1,_wp2];

_wp setWaypointStatements [ "true", "
	{ _x setdamage 1 } foreach ( thislist + [vehicle this] );
	nul = [] spawn {
		_pos = getMarkerPos 'DMS_MainDot';
		while {alive player} do {
			_smoke = createvehicle ['SmokeShellRed',_pos,[],0,'none'];
			_smoke setpos _pos;
			waitUntil {isNull _smoke};
		};
	};
" ];

[gianni001 19]

Is the whole point of the trigger just to delete the helicopter and crew youve created and sent there? If so just use the waypoint statement..

_group = [getMarkerPos "helospawn1", EAST, ["O_Heli_Light_02_unarmed_F"],[],[],[],[],[],180] call BIS_fnc_spawngroup;
 
wp1 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "HC", 0];
wp2 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "MainDot", 0];
{
	_x setWaypointBehaviour "CARELESS"; 
	_x setWaypointSpeed "FULL";
	_x setWaypointType "MOVE";
 
} forEach [_wp1,_wp2];

_wp setWaypointStatements [ "true", "
	{ _x setdamage 1 } foreach ( thislist + [vehicle this] );
	nul = [] spawn {
		_pos = getMarkerPos 'DMS_MainDot';
		while {alive player} do {
			_smoke = createvehicle ['SmokeShellRed',_pos,[],0,'none'];
			_smoke setpos _pos;
			waitUntil {isNull _smoke};
		};
	};
" ];

Yeh, the idea is the helicopter flys aorund to the waypoints, reaches the last waypoint and explodes. Where there is a crate that spawns. (different script).

 

Will your script above acheive the same thing?

 

Also. Can anyone tell me how to stop the smoke grenade? Ideally, Id want it to repeat for a timer, say 1800 seconds? Currently it keeps going forever on an endless loop, and if I delete the marker / grenade it self it just creates a new one :D

 

Thanks guys

[grollig 19]

 

Im no great scripter [...]

waitUntil {!alive _this};

waitUntil {isNull _smoke};

 

Me neither, but with a little help from the community we can become good enough to realise our ideas. One thing I learned lately is, that in situations where time is rather uncritical, one should use a "while-do" loop over "waituntil" loop. At least one should add a sleep command, to reduce impact on processing power.

wailtUntil {!alive _this}; // Fast evaluation, but processor heavy
 
waitUntil {sleep 0.5; !alive _this}; // Slower evaluation (twice a second) but much less processor heavy

Reason: waitUntil is verified each frame, so on a server running at maybe 40 frames per second, the condition will get evaluated 40 times each second as well, if no additional sleep command is added. Therefore waitUntil should only be used without a sleep command in very time critical situations. Also note, that a waitUntil loop will automatically end after 10.000 cycles, no matter if the condition is met or not.

 

Most of the time it is possible (and preferable) to convert a "waitUntil" loop into a "while-do" loop, by simply reverting its conditions:

waitUntil {(!alive car1) && (soldier1 distance car1 < 10)}; // Evaluated each frame
 
while {(alive car1) && (soldier1 distance car1 > 10)} do {sleep 2}; // Same effect, evaluated only every 2 seconds

In a "while-do" loop you can define exactly how "urgent" you need the condition to be evaluated. Very often it is unnecessary to check conditions more than twice a second (like editor placed triggers will do).

[grollig 19]

 

 

Also. Can anyone tell me how to stop the smoke grenade? Ideally, Id want it to repeat for a timer, say 1800 seconds? Currently it keeps going forever on an endless loop, and if I delete the marker / grenade it self it just creates a new one :D

 

Thanks guys

 

Well... currently the while-loop you started will repeat, as long as the condition (alive player) is true.

So you could either use a different condition (player distance _pos > 20) or just use a for-loop instead, to limit the amount of smoke grenade creation cycles:

for "_i" from 1 to 20 do // Will repeat the loop 20 times
{
_smoke = createvehicle ["SmokeShellRed",_pos,[],0,"none"];
_smoke setpos _pos;
while {!isNull _smoke} do {sleep 2}; // Better than waitUntil for this purpose
};

This will create a total of 20 smoke grenades, each after the one before burned out - provided your check for !isNull _smoke works. Didn't test it.

[gianni001 19]

Thanks grollig, I will try that tongiht when I get home from work.

 

Its not a "timer" but I could time the smoke grenade in the editor and repeat it as many times as needed to achieve my result. So my current script looks like this, I was also getting script errors on the waypoints so Ive fixed them up.

 

_group = [getMarkerPos "helospawn1", EAST, ["O_Heli_Light_02_unarmed_F"],[],[],[],[],[],180] call BIS_fnc_spawngroup;

 

_wp1 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "HC", 0];

_wp2 = _group addWaypoint [getMarkerPos "heloMainDot", 0];

{

    [_group, 2] setWaypointBehaviour "CARELESS"; 

    [_group, 2] setWaypointSpeed "FULL";

    [_group, 2] setWaypointType "MOVE";

 

} forEach [_wp1,_wp2];

 

_trg = createTrigger ["EmptyDetector", getMarkerPos "heloMainDot"];

_trg setTriggerArea [100, 100, 0, false];

_trg setTriggerActivation ["EAST", "PRESENT", true];

_trg setTriggerStatements ["this", "{_x setDamage 1} forEach thislist", ""];

 

waitUntil {triggerActivated _trg};

 

_pos = getMarkerPos "heloMainDot"; // Is this in the right spot? You didnt have this bit in your suggestion

for "_i" from 1 to 20 do // understand that this determines the amount of times the loop will occur, so I could increase to 25 for 25x etc?

{

_smoke = createvehicle ["SmokeShellRed",_pos,[],0,"none"];

_smoke setpos _pos;

while {!isNull _smoke} do {sleep 2}; 

};

[grollig 19]

 

waitUntil {sleep 0.5; triggerActivated _trg}; // Add a sleep here to reduce processor load

 

 

 

 

_pos = getMarkerPos "heloMainDot"; // Yes, this is the right spot, and this line is definately needed

for "_i" from 1 to 20 do // Yes, you can change 20 to the times you want the loop to repeat, like 25 for 25x

{

_smoke = createvehicle ["SmokeShellRed",_pos,[],0,"none"];

_smoke setpos _pos;

while {!isNull _smoke} do {sleep 2}; 

};

 

 

However I did edit my last post a bit. I assume, that the purpose of the smoke grenades is to lead the player to its position.

In this case you could just change the condition in your while-loop from (alive player) to (player distance _pos > 20).

 

Like this:

_pos = getMarkerPos 'DMS_MainDot';
while {player distance _pos > 20} do
{
   _smoke = createvehicle ['SmokeShellRed',_pos,[],0,'none'];
   _smoke setpos _pos;
   while {!isNull _smoke && (player distance _pos > 20)} do {sleep 2};
};

This will keep spawning smoke grenades until the player is within 20 metre range of the smoke position. That is if your check for {isNull _smoke} is working. I didn't test that.

Of course the last smoke grenade will keep on smoking until it burns out, even if the player gets within 20 metres. The loop just prevents the spawning of further smoke grenades once the player got into range.

 

To delete the last "active" smokegrenade you could simply try adding

deleteVehicle _smoke;

as the next line after the loop I posted above.

 

[gianni001 19]

I have to be carefull with waiting for a player to be < 20 from the grenade. Because its entirely possible the player will never find the weapons crate and I dont want uncessary smoke litering my pretty server :D hence the timer, or loop you suggested.

[gianni001 19]

Thanks for all your help guys, script is working well.