AH-64D Apache Longbow for ArmA3 by Nodunit and Franze

[ineptaphid 6413]

On 11/29/2017 at 2:38 AM, RoseMoney said:

 So I thought this was an issue as well. But apparently real Apaches defeat AA missiles automatically in a similar manner. Real life accounts of SA6s flying into the ground shortly after launch.

The Ah-64 has a range of automated countermeasures that will detect a missile launch and take appropriate measures to defeat it.

[franze 196]

Those equipped with CMWS have that capability, but the version represented here only has the equipment for detecting and countering radar guided missiles. The mechanics need to be tweaked for ArmA3 because it was tested with ArmA2's Tunguska, which had hyper velocity missiles.

[gatordev 219]

2 hours ago, ineptaphid said:

The Ah-64 has a range of automated countermeasures that will detect a missile launch and take appropriate measures to defeat it.

 

To be more accurate, it has an automated system that can detect a missile launch and initiates deploying the appropriate countermeasures.  However the pilot still needs to do his pilot stuff to make those countermeasures effective.  I think there's a misconception among some that countermeasures by themselves spoofs a weapon system (kind of like in Arma 2 where an aircraft just keeps flying and deploys flares and is magically safe).

 

Not directed specifically at you, @ineptaphid.

[ineptaphid 6413]

14 minutes ago, gatordev said:

 

Not directed specifically at you, @ineptaphid.

No that's cool :) I learn a hell of a lot from these forums! My only knowledge of Apaches comes from reading Ed Macy's two books..

[Berkuthawk 0]

Hello! could you tell me where is the clickable text of the cabin? I translate your mod into Russian.

[Guest]

On 11/28/2017 at 9:38 PM, RoseMoney said:

 So I thought this was an issue as well. But apparently real Apaches defeat AA missiles automatically in a similar manner. Real life accounts of SA6s flying into the ground shortly after launch.

If I had to guess, I would say that the missiles flew into the ground because the target was below the 50m minimum altitude for the Kub missile system. Especially if it was a helicopter flying NoE.

[Nightstalk3r 0]

On 29.11.2017 at 3:38 AM, RoseMoney said:

 So I thought this was an issue as well. But apparently real Apaches defeat AA missiles automatically in a similar manner. Real life accounts of SA6s flying into the ground shortly after launch.

For me this seems like a bug. This makes the Helicopter pretty much unusuable for any Mission. Why do I think its a bug? Cause you are immune to Missles. The only thing that can Kill you are Bullets (And even then you have to be lucky to not get the Stuck in the air bug). That Automatic AA mechanic makes no sense in my opionion. It doesnt matter how High or low you fly, or if you set up the IR jammer and all, there is no need. Just get into the Heli and take off, you will be safe from missles forever. 

[Jester504 109]

Hey guys! Happy New Year!

I spent a couple more hours testing, fiddling, and Google-ing in hopes that we can integrate this into our mil-sim community. I came up against several issues that, altogether, would prevent us from replacing our RHS Apache with this (otherwise far superior) one. Some of these are, I think, me misunderstanding how to use the mod, and some are genuine problems that should be fixed in future versions.

Overall, this is an amazing mod, easily the most impressive I've seen in Arma. The model and textures are fantastic, the attention to detail is unbelievable, and the overall functionality you all have achieved is stuff I didn't know was possible in Arma. I loved playing around with this thing. Here are my issues, in detail:

 

1. The biggest problem is that the CPG's access to the 30mm has severe limitations:

• The gun will not automatically range to the laser or lead the target to compensate for the aircraft's movement so that rounds always fall in the center of the TADS crosshairs like it does in the real aircraft. Instead, a PIP is shown where rounds will fall based on the current range setting which, when the aircraft is moving, is very far out of the TADS view on maximum zoom, making it useless.
• The TADS/gun does not immediately stabilize after the gunner moves it like it does in the real aircraft. Instead, there is a half-second delay. This makes accurate shooting at a specific target unnecessarily difficult.
• The TADS/gun traverse limits are not accurate: in the mod, they're somewhere around 90° left/right of center, but in the real aircraft, they are 110°. This makes a proper (and realistic) orbit pattern around an AO useless, as the 30mm will never be able to shoot at more than half the AO.

 

2. The TADS has unrealistic difficulty finding/locking lasers. Pointing at trees and a few other objects, like some walls, for example, gives "LOS INVALID" and SAL missiles will not go anywhere near the target. Additionally, the system seems to "snap" to the center of certain Arma objects, particularly buildings, making shooting at a particular target frequently impossible unless it's in the center of a building. The TADS should not "snap" to anything, and the laser should always be in the center of its crosshairs, with the SAL missile only missing if the laser is reflecting off something like water.

 

3. The FCR takes an unrealistic amount of time to "see" targets. In real life, it takes only one pass for the radar to see and aquire a target. I've noticed the mod's radar takes several passes, sometimes taking over a minute of being in LOS of a target, before it will show the target on the FCR/TSD and make it available for locking.

 

Finally, two small issues:

 

4. With "Head Tracking On," moving the mouse to click a button in the cockpit also moves the gun. It would be wonderful if there was a way to prevent this, as it means anytime the CPG goes "heads up" to deal with something in the cockpit his gun lose its target. In real life, this would only happen if he had the target aquisition set to "HMD," as the gun in TADS mode (the most common) is only moved when the hand controls on either side of the optical scope are manipulated.

 

5. To see maps in the TSD, the mission must be specifically made for it with the "init" command. Our community uses scripting to place a majority of player vehicles after mission start, which means we will never be able to use maps in this Apache. Some mod vehicles have maps in their cockpits by default, with no "init" needed, so I'm sure there's a way to overcome this. If so, it would be amazing.

Thanks for your time, and hopefully most of this is actually possible and I've just not learned how to do it yet. Thanks for any help in advance!

Edit: Another minor thing that would be amazing is to put the TADS view on a pilots MFD. That's how it's often done IRL, so the pilot and gunner can have the same situational awareness.

[Jester504 109]

After further testing, the issue with the FCR is larger than it first seemed. I can hover and look directly at a tracked Opfor vehicle 1.5 km away for a full minute or two before the FCR sees it. Yet it will find a Blufor wheeled vehicle at my six o' clock through a mountain. Something's definitely up with that.

[Justice Molton 0]

Hello,

is it somehow possible to map more than the 20 custom keys? I would like to map the APU and all these things. Is there a way to get this work?

 

Thanks for any kind of help!

[franze 196]

Hey folks,

 

As you've noticed, things on the "official" side of the house have been incredibly slow, if not nonexistent; I could give a dozen excuses as to why that's been, but in the grand scheme of things it would be a hollow gesture.

 

I want to personally apologize for our failure to keep this up to date and properly integrate it with ArmA3. We gave it a fair shot but after building it for ArmA2, we were really burned out and couldn't put the right effort needed to make it work as it should in ArmA3. A lot of changes in regards to how the scripting engine handles things as well as inherent limitations with the engine itself meant that we really needed a lot more time to work out functionality, but neither me nor Nodunit really had the time and ability to do so.

 

It's been a grand adventure and we're grateful for the support from the ArmA3 community, but this year will mark 5 years since we released the AH-64D for ArmA2, on top of the 8th year since we started the project. It's time to move on and pass the torch to the next generation -- and the Apache is open source for those who wish to do so! I will not be doing any regular updates anymore, but I welcome the community to tinker with the mod as they desire. Feel free to send me a PM if you have a question or need help with something!

 

As for me, it's been 15 years of modding for the FP/ArmA community. I still have some of those first models I made, so very long ago, when my imagination outstripped my capabilities; it's amazing to look at how much has changed in the decade and a half since then. Those early days were quite rough and sometimes I wonder why I stuck with it, but I look back at what we achieved at the pinnacle of all of it and can say it was definitely worth it! Alas, nothing lasts forever and it's time for me to move on. I would like to release more of my source files (though probably not the more embarrassing ones!) but I already have a thread for that, so will update that one when I have the inclination to do so.

 

In closing, to all aspiring would-be modders: you will try, you will stumble, you will fail, but eventually, you will succeed. The only limitations are the ones you place on yourself; don't let others dictate to you what you can or can't do. Good luck!

[Capt Soto 20]

Fair winds and following seas Franze and Nodunit.  Your work was always appreciated.

[floris_heinen 33]

As for the people who want to stay up to date with what further developments are being made by the community, check out the Discord at https://discord.gg/XbQeDnA

 

To NodUnit and Franze: thank you guys for putting in the time to create this mod. After all these years, it is still my favorite!

[Sacha 'Voodoo' Oropeza 230]

Hello everyone,

 

Altough I've been pretty silent and busy for the past months regarding the project, I'd like to show you some of the stuff I've been working on lately. Be aware that the project is still on going.

 

The current code on the v1.43+ version is being reorganized and some features are currently getting improved or ninja fixed by the time the v2.0 comes out with a brand new code which would be CBA dependent.

 

Moreover, I'm currently looking for other devs (C# coders & RTD developper for flight model designer); anyone willing to join this ambitous project is free to contribute via GitHub trough the project page. 

 

Also, stay tuned on the project by joining the dedicated Discord server here.

 

 

[islesfan186 83]

Very cool that someone is carrying on with this mod.  I do have to say though, I think the start up and rotor sounds that are in the current version are perfect.  I worked on apaches for 7 years so the sound of the start up is burned into my brain, as are it's rotor sounds.  

I would offer my assistance as an advisor like I did to nod and Franze on the original, but I worked on D models, the army has been using E/Block III aircraft for years now so my knowledge is not very up to date

[Sacha 'Voodoo' Oropeza 230]

3 hours ago, islesfan186 said:

Very cool that someone is carrying on with this mod.  I do have to say though, I think the start up and rotor sounds that are in the current version are perfect.  I worked on apaches for 7 years so the sound of the start up is burned into my brain, as are it's rotor sounds.  

I would offer my assistance as an advisor like I did to nod and Franze on the original, but I worked on D models, the army has been using E/Block III aircraft for years now so my knowledge is not very up to date

 

It would be a pleasure to have your insights within the dev' team. For the record, we also have real world Apache pilots involved in the project whome are also sharing some informations such as real life experiences, systems and procedures. My goal is to bring the original mod to a next level as close as a proper simulator hence I'm totally up to bring in more contributors. Again, this wouldn't have been possible without Nodunit & Franze original work.

[islesfan186 83]

1 minute ago, Sacha Oropeza said:

 

It would be a pleasure to have your insights within the dev' team. For the record, we also have real world Apache pilots involved in the project whome are also sharing some informations such as real life experiences, systems and procedures. My goal is to bring the original mod to a next level as close as a proper simulator hence I'm totally up to bring in more contributors. Again, this wouldn't have been possible without Nodunit & Franze original work.

 

Well, in that case I wouldn't be opposed to helping out if need be.  Remember, my info is somewhat dated (I ETSed back in 2011), but I will try to chip in as much as I can

[mikerally 12]

Thanks Sacha for continuing work on this great mod, i agree with islesfan186 the startup sound is perfect but i think its only too short.

I hope you also can do something with the target locking problem.

 

Thanks en goodluck with your project

[ab_luca 24]

I have a question...changing from custom user action to Cba settings it will only possible to assign keyboard or mouse keys...an for who use hotas?

regards

[reconteam 19]

I am very glad to see work on this outstanding addon continued. I have some suggestions I'd like to contribute, mostly minor stuff, would posting here be appropriate or would you prefer them on your Discord Sacha?

 

[Sacha 'Voodoo' Oropeza 230]

8 hours ago, reconteam said:

I am very glad to see work on this outstanding addon continued. I have some suggestions I'd like to contribute, mostly minor stuff, would posting here be appropriate or would you prefer them on your Discord Sacha?

 

 

All live informations are revealed on Discord, feel free to join it.

[beaar 78]

On 2018-02-22 at 12:32 PM, ab_luca said:

I have a question...changing from custom user action to Cba settings it will only possible to assign keyboard or mouse keys...an for who use hotas?

regards

 

See https://github.com/CBATeam/CBA_A3/wiki/Bind-Addon-Key-Actions-to-Joystick-Buttons

[ab_luca 24]

2 hours ago, beaar said:

 

See https://github.com/CBATeam/CBA_A3/wiki/Bind-Addon-Key-Actions-to-Joystick-Buttons

You just bring me me to a New World!!!:))

Thank you

[Sacha 'Voodoo' Oropeza 230]

Hello everyone,

 

Here are some more changes which occured in the past weeks on my end. A lot of changes have been made regarding the original code which involve deletion of hundred of unused lines. Some bugs and new features have been fixed, but in its current state, the bird must be fly with two players only as there is some issue regarding PNVS optics and P* HMD ACQ which makes the P* unable to capture onboard laser spot. The gun pipper calculation was known to create a lot of issues regarding targeting, hence it was removed and trade for the brand new vanilla targeting systems. From now on, and until another way is found, the M230 should only be used with TADS and laser acquisition which makes the gun usable at far distance by the CPG with pinpoint accuracy. Also a major fix was the TADS and guns AZ limits which could prevent suitable orbits around the target area, now both guns and TADS share the same AZ limits making the work easier. Moreover the flight model is still WIP (I'm looking for RTD devs). Finally, external and internal startup sounds are now working and a lot more...

 

Latest changelog :

• Dynamic rotor sound.
• Added damage sounds.
• New startup/shutdown procedure based on the real aircraft (WIP).
• Flares effects display fixed.
• Fixed internal & external startup sounds.
• Increased engine spooling time.
• Removed M230 full auto for burst with proper sound effect.
• Crash wreck fixed.
• Tweaked armor values.
• New M230 gun calculation based on laser range, own speed, movement and ballistics.
• Reduced 30mm ammo velocity.
• Increased 30mm rounds spread.
• Fixed TADS & M230 AZ limits.
• Fixed PNVS AZ & EL limits.
• Changed default loadout.
• Changed CPG animation.
• Changed AGM-114, M230 & Hydras sound effects.

 

Discord AH-64D Project (v1.43+)

GitHub AH-64D Project (v1.43+)

[KENNETH03 13]

Thank alot, for you time and work guys , this mod make  to Arma 3 better game , amazing, amazing, mod.