JBOY Birds Of Prey [Release]

[johnnyboy 3793]

Here's my favorite script from my Property of Mabunga mission.   This is likely the last script I'll release until my next mission "Last Tango in Tanoa" is done (sequel to Last Tango in Bagango).

 

With this script, you can place a trigger anywhere on the map, and a prey animal is spawned, and a bird will attack and carry away that prey animal.  If the trigger position is over water, then a fish is the prey.  If the trigger position is over land, then a snake, rabbit, or hen is the prey.  See it in action:

 

Don't worry:  The over-the-top tandem attack at the end was just for fun...it's not really part of the script.  But if we ever get a pterodactyl mod, this script is ready to roll!

 

I actually feel sorry for the bunnies and chickens...not only do they have to worry about Birds of Prey, but they also have to worry about Voodoo rites.

 

To use the script, put the following in a trigger activated when a player present:

dmy = ["Random",thisTrigger] execvm "Scripts\JBOY_BirdAttack.sqf"; 

The first parameter "Random" will create a fish if surface is water, or a land animal if surface is land.

 

Or you can specify the exact prey animal like this in the trigger:

dmy = ["CatShark_F",thisTrigger] execvm "Scripts\JBOY_BirdAttack.sqf"; 

Valid animal types to use are:

•  Water:  "Mullet_F","Tuna_F","CatShark_F" (the other fish types are too small to see at any distance, so not included)
•  Land: "Rabbit_F", "Hen_random_F", "Snake_random_F"

Grab the following files and put them in your mission directory:

• JBOY_BirdAttack.sqf
• flightPath1.sqf
• flightPath2.sqf
• flightPath3.sqf
• flightPath4.sqf
• flightPath5.sqf
• hawk.ogg

Or you can dowload the demo mission used for the video.  Note:  The demo mission is cluttered with some other stuff not relevant to this script.  It does contain the "Tandem Attack on Man" code also.

 

For the hawk sound effect, put this in your description.ext file:

class CfgSounds
{
	sounds[] = {hawk, scream};
	class hawk
	{
		name = "hawk";
		sound[] = {"\Sound\hawk.ogg", db+0, 1.0};
		titles[] = {0,""};
	};
};

How the flight works:

My original approach for the bird's flying away after attaching the prey, was to find a nearby game-engine bird and "hitch a ride" on it by looping and setting the attack bird's velocity equal to the game-engine bird's velocity (plus upping the Z velocity to force the attack bird higher). This worked great in SP, and produced natural looking unique flight paths each time. But it didn't work in MP.  So I used the same "hitch-a-ride" code in SP to record via diag_log different flight paths (set velocity statements with sleeps), and created 5 different flight path scripts from these recorded flights.  So now the script is hardcoded to randomly select 1 of the 5 flight paths and use them to fly away.  This makes this script MP compatible, and still looks great (and randomly choosing the flight paths still makes it non-repetitive looking).

 

Splashes and dust effects:

To guarantee a splash or dust effect during the attack, i spawn bullets near the prey animal's position.

 

I hope someone finds this  useful!

[cosmic10r 2331]

Mmmmmmm... love this one the most

Great work man. Thanks for sharing

[johnnyboy 3793]

Thanks Cosmic, i love this one the most too! It was definitely the most fun and gratifying to make.  I've got a few more ideas for critter scripts percolating in my head too.

[EO 11275]

2 words......

 

F*****g Genius.

 

:clap:

[ineptaphid 6413]

Amazing!

[zagor64bz 1225]

AMAZING as always jonnyboy! I have a cool use of this script, but need some advice:can I PM you without bothering others in this post?

[tpw 2315]

Very impressive work johnnyboy. Since you're on a roll with seagulls, any chance you could whip up a mod whereby a small squawking flock of them is spawned at ground level and all fly off some distance to be despawned? This would be great for the whole "startled bird" vibe in response to gunfire, nearby players etc etc.  

[johnnyboy 3793]

Thanks guys.

 

@Zagor, sure you can PM me, or use this thread...either way.

 

@TPW:  That shouldn't be too hard, let me think about it.  Probably requires a custom sound for the flurry of wing beats.  Note there may already be as script out there...I remember seeing one for Arma 2 I think.

 

Update:  It was DMarkwick's super awesome Fire Propagation scripts that also had startled birds in it.  I wish someone would convert his fire propagation script to Arma 3.  As far as improving/changing gameplay, that was my all time favorite script.  Small fires turned into forest fires.  A car on fire could catch a building on fire, then the next building,then whole block. 

[bad benson 1733]

man. this is so cool. i'll definately use this to ruin some hunting trips. zero your rifle in on that rabbit and BOOM! it gets carried away right in front of you :lol:

 

arma 3 has startled birds as a module i think. i remember taken the code from that and changing i up for a mission. it's either an editor or a zeus module.

[johnnyboy 3793]

Had to share this:  I was playing my Property of Mabunga mission today which has my Burning Barrels script and this Birds of Prey script implemented in it.  By coincidence, I shot a barrel that exploded near where a bird of prey had just taken a chicken and was flying away.  The chicken caught fire and was dropped burning to the ground.  I never saw that happen before in a thousand play throughs.  Had to laugh! :D

[dr death jm 117]

Had to share this:  I was playing my Property of Mabunga mission today which has my Burning Barrels script and this Birds of Prey script implemented in it.  By coincidence, I shot a barrel that exploded near where a bird of prey had just taken a chicken and was flying away.  The chicken caught fire and was dropped burning to the ground.  I never saw that happen before in a thousand play throughs.  Had to laugh! :D

hey JB good to see you back.

you get my fix i sent you, (more of a typo) .. 

[johnnyboy 3793]

I was excited to replace the attacking seagull with the big eagle, but it doesn't look right.  Sadly the Eagle only has a soaring animation, so it does not flap its wings.  So when I use it to attack an animall, its wings stay flat and never flap, so it looks stupid.

 

You can use the Kestrel, but it really doesn't look much better.  They used exact same model as seagull, but painted its colors differently.

 

If you wan to use the kestrel, then modify JBOY_BirdAttack.sqf, and replace the string "seagull" with this string "Kestrel_random_F".

[lightspeed_aust 681]

Bloody awesome and hilarious at the same time!

Love your scripts mate - very innovative.

[PortalGunner 24]

Would be cool to see some modification of this as an "anti-drone" bird. Another possibility could be messenger birds, and even messenger-bird hunters. 

[johnnyboy 3793]

All great ideas, thanks.  Too many other projects though, so I'm not likely to take it on.  I encourage anyone to take this script and modify it per your suggestions though.  It would be a fun little project.  You could even make a falconer (have a cockerel on your shoulder and command it to hunt/attack).