Helocasting & Kangaroo Casting

[fat_lurch 337]

FYI, I will be spending more time keeping the Steam page for this addon up to date. For the latest list of features check there.

 

Steam Link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1947483966

 

This addon adds the capability to Helocast, Kangaroo cast and recover Zodiacs (CRRCs).This is designed to work in SP, MP and Dedicated with human and AI pilots and boat crew.

 

This is a Beta release. More features are planned and more aircraft will be supported. I'll be adding a video showcase soon to demonstrate the features.

 

Please note: I can incorporate any boat or aircraft into my mod without REQUIRING that addon as a dependency - I just use classnames.

With this in mind, I'd like to incorporate as many reasonable additions as possible, so keep 'em coming!

 

Supported Aircraft:

• RHS CH-47 series (Helocast & Recover)
• RHS H-60 series (K-cast)
• RHS CH-53 series without rear gun (Helocast & Recover)
• Vanilla CH-67 (Helocast)
• Vanilla Blackfish (Helocast & Recover) *Note the AI can't hover, so no helocasting with AI pilot
• CUP US H-60s (K-Cast)
• CUP MH-47E (Helocast & Recover)
• CUP US CH-53E (Helocast & Recover)
• CUP V-22  (Helocast & Recover) *Note the AI can't hover, so no helocasting with AI pilot
• EricJ H-60s (K-Cast)
• EricJ H-92s (K-Cast)
• EricJ CH-67 (Helocast)
• Konyos MH-47 (Helocast & Recover)
• Boeing Konyo MH47G SOAR (Patch to Konyo's MH-47)  (Helocast & Recover)
• OPTRE Pelicans (K-Cast & Recover *goofily*)
   

Supported Boats:

• All Vanilla CRRCs
• ZodiacCRRCBoat (http://bistudio.com]http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=27272)
   

Features:

• Support for SP, MP and Dedicated
• Ability to Helocast, Kangaroo Cast (K-Cast) and Recover CRRCs
• Automatic setup for supported helos and CRRCs
• Add a CRRC to a helo via Eden
• Green chemlight automatically added to the CRRC after being cast so swimmers can find the boat at night
• Users can remove this marker once they're near the boat
• Boat crews are automatically loaded into the helo
• Support for all CRRC/Zodiac form factor boats in ARMA 3
• Support for addon aircraft without mod dependency
• Safety checks to ensure you only helocast onto water
• Inter-operable with Feint's Paddle Mod - New 2019-12-27
• Logistical Loading/Unloading of CRRCs - New 2019-12-27
• Jump animations - New 2019-12-27
• Door/ramp animations - New 2019-12-27
• Cabin Light operation (RHS assets with AI pilots only) - New 2019-12-27
• Should be compatible with Liberation, Antistasi, etc. (Would love testing feedback)
• Designed to be compatible with the USS Freedom (Load/Unload CRRC without explosions)
   

Setup:
In the Eden editor, you will see an options to "Add CRRC" under attributes. Check this box and a CRRC will be added to the helo (if supported) when the scenario starts.

Boats are automatically recoverable by supported aircraft without additional setup.

 

Helicopters are automatically setup for supported Helocast, K-Cast and recovery functions.

 

Helocast Procedure:
Inside moving helicopter with a boat loaded > Prep for Helocast (Ramp opens, drop altitude and speed) > Helocast (Boat is kicked out/dropped and all non-flight crew jumps out). A marker chemlight is automatically added to the CRRC. It can be removed by the user once they're near the boat.

 

Recovery Procedure:
Suitable helicopter lands in water with ramp open > pilot CRRC inside the helo > Recover CRRC > The boat is secured, boat crew takes up seats in the helo and the ramp closes.

Prepping and canceling helocast will cause the AI pilot to act accordingly. With human pilots, this only opens and closes the ramps. Your human pilot will need to fly lo and slow for you to see the option to Helocast.

 

Limitations:

• The air crew of the helo needs to be in a different squad than the crew jumping with the boat
• The recovery helo must have bench seats (don't use hide seats attribute in Eden because this prevents passengers from being able to take seats in the helo)
• In most aircraft, the CRRC is not visible while inside the aircraft with the ramp closed. This is related to the aircraft models and beyond my scope.
• The RHS CH-53s and CH-47s take water damage and drown the crew after sitting in the water too long. I'll be reaching out to RHS to see if this can be resolved.
• The Vanilla CH-67 sinks immediately when touched by a boat - at this time recovery is not supported on the CH-67.
• The function that pushes the CRRC out the back of the helo is very simplistic at this time: if you helocast at severe pitch/roll angles weird things will happen.
• The AI don't seem to know how to hover VTOLs so you won't be able to helocast with an AI pilot in a VTOL
   

Planned Updates:

• Configurable CRRC markers (IR strobes, other chemlights, etc.)
• Better condition checks for helocast launching (consider pitch, roll, etc.)
• Support for additional (appropriate) aircraft per user requests
• Add caving ladders to H-60 and similar
• Prep for recovery action 
• AI custom waypoint types to Prep for Helocast, initiate Helocast and Setup for Recovery
• Tuned flight profiles so helos don't gain as much altitude when slowing down
• Support for appropriate addon boats 
• Support for addon marker type grenades as available CRRC markers (e.g. my Thermal IFF Strobe: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1543390130)
• Code update to require server-side only execution
• Zeus ability to add CRRC to helo
   

Usage Restrictions:
The GNU General Public License v3.0: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html

 

I know folks are going to dePBO this, so the GPL license just basically asks that you mention me on any work based on this. I will be making my Github for this public once the addon is a bit more mature.

Anyone may add the raw PBOs for this mod into their own addons, etc.

 

FAQ:
Will/Can this be released as a script? - Unfortunately things like tying into the Eden editor to add the CRRC to a helo aren't possible as a script. I have no plans of pursuing this as a script at this time.

 

Why can't I see the Helocast action? - The helo must be flying low and slow (<= 10 KPH and between 0.5 - 4.5 meters off the ground) and be over water and have a boat

 

Acknowledgments and Thanks:
Roqarr
commy2
KillzoneKid
GEORGE FLOROS GR
Freddo3000
BIS
All of the original content authors for the assets this supports: RHS, CUP, EricJ, Konyo, Get Trippy and OPTRE
 

[GEORGE FLOROS GR 4207]

Thank you very much @fat_lurch !

 

This is a great present for christmas ! 

Great work as always !

[fat_lurch 337]

Just now, GEORGE FLOROS GR said:

Thank you very much @fat_lurch !

 

This is a great present for christmas ! 

Great work as always !

Thanks GF! 

[fat_lurch 337]

What additional aircraft would people like support for?

[golas 36]

Fat_lurch is there a possibilty to change boat class for Zodiac crrc other than standard boat_f ? We use Zodiac crrc with silent motor and better manuver options grom old mod from armaholic - without permission i wont change config in files so i wanna Ask for workaround or permission to edit config files to change boat class 🙂

[fat_lurch 337]

1 hour ago, golas said:

Fat_lurch is there a possibilty to change boat class for Zodiac crrc other than standard boat_f ? We use Zodiac crrc with silent motor and better manuver options grom old mod from armaholic - without permission i wont change config in files so i wanna Ask for workaround or permission to edit config files to change boat class 🙂

If you send me the classname I can add it to the array of suitable boats. Thanks for waiting and asking BTW!

 

I setup this mod so I can list basically any boat or helo as compatible without adding them as dependencies. 

[b0dey 24]

4 hours ago, fat_lurch said:

What additional aircraft would people like support for?

I'd vote for the CUP -60s, -47s, & -53s first. There are a handful of other rotor packs, but if RHS & CUP were both compatible, that'd be a pretty good fleet of amphibious attack platforms!

[fat_lurch 337]

26 minutes ago, b0dey said:

I'd vote for the CUP -60s, -47s, & -53s first. There are a handful of other rotor packs, but if RHS & CUP were both compatible, that'd be a pretty good fleet of amphibious attack platforms!

Roger that. I'll get the CUP stuff setup next.

 

[fat_lurch 337]

Update 2019-12-28:

Added – CUP US H-60 Series Support

Added – CUP MH-47 Support

Added – CUP US CH-53E Support

Added – altOffset feature: some helo models have a significant alitutde offset when commanded to the same altitude as other helicopters

Added – testBoat function: facilitates helping find boat palcement and getting helo classnames.

 

Fixed – Better disabling of rubber boats damaging helos

Fixed – Better handling of collision prevention between boats and helos during casting

Fixed – Direction of jumpers when casting

 

[CW4 Carrera 31]

Awesome update!

How about adding the UH/MH-60's from Ericj's UH-60 pack: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=667709746

 

Konyos MH-47: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=286579896

And its upgrade: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1704536223

[golas 36]

Fat_lurch - ZodiacCRRCboat it's the class name - do you plan to select possible boats classes to be attached from start? The current using by us is http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=27272 - wich is more silent and overall better

[fat_lurch 337]

Update - 2019-12-28

Added – Support for ZodiacCRRCboat (LINK)

Added – diag_log output to detail when a helicopter is not supported

 

Fixed – More modular code for selecting acceptable boats

 

 

 

Thanks for the recommendation golas! I hadn't come across that addon before. 

 

CW4 Carrera: I'll try to get those in later today. 

 

 

 

*If anyone wants to help me get a head start on a new aircraft*

1. Place the new helicopter down in the editor (while running Helocast)
2.  In the debug console, type: [0,0,0] call fatLurch_fnc_testBoat;
3.  You should see a "Flight Test Orange" boat appear
4.  The numeric array in the command is the boat offset. Keep adjusting these numbers and running the command above to get the boat where you want relative to the aircraft
5.  Alt-tab out of Arma 3 and paste the results (they automatically save to your clipboard). You should see a coordinate array and the helicopter classname (e.g. [0,1,-1.5] heloName)
6.  Paste the results and a link to the addon. I'll still need to manually pluck out the animation names for the doors or ramps if needed, but passing me the coordinates and classname helps give me a head start

Thanks all

[Ripcord1994 2]

CUPs MV-22s would be cool, If there was a legit CV-22 mod that'd be even better.

[fat_lurch 337]

1 hour ago, Ripcord1994 said:

CUPs MV-22s would be cool, If there was a legit CV-22 mod that'd be even better.

Ooooh! I forgot about the V-22s, that could be cool!

 

I'll look into it: a note, if they're not buoyant then it work work well with AI pilots, but I can set it up anyway.

[fat_lurch 337]

Update 2019-12-28

Added – EriJ H-60 Support

Added – EricJ H-92 Support

Added – EricJ CH-67 Support

Added – jumpOffset system to address aircraft geometry issues

[fat_lurch 337]

Update 2019-12-29:

Added – Konyo MH-47 Support

Added – Boeing Konyo MH47G SOAR Support

Added – CUP CV-22 Support (Although AI won't slow down enough to helocast and I couldn't figure out how to either)

Added – Vanilla Blackfish Support (Although AI won't slow down enough to helocast and I couldn't figure out how to either)

Added – OPTRE Pelican Support

Added – RHS MH-47 ramp animations

Added – More robust rampDoor function to handle opening and closing of ramps and doors

Added – rampInvert system to handle assets whose animations are "backwards" (e.g. The A2 MH-47 ports)

Added – Support for planes so VTOLs can be supported

 

[golas 36]

One more question fat_lurch 🙂

 

Is there a way to choose wich boat we can prepare in eden? Basicly as i know you add B_Boat_Transport_01_F and we cannot choose what boat we want to add to helo(in my case zodiac crrc).

 

Do you plan to create a select for example after ticking add/prep helocast in eden and then give us possibility to choose what type of boat be prepared.

[golas 36]

Also bising key is invalid - dedicated server kicks away momentarily for your mod

[Ripcord1994 2]

Is there a way to make it so you only helocast troops without the boat?

[fat_lurch 337]

4 hours ago, golas said:

One more question fat_lurch 🙂

 

Is there a way to choose wich boat we can prepare in eden? Basicly as i know you add B_Boat_Transport_01_F and we cannot choose what boat we want to add to helo(in my case zodiac crrc).

 

Do you plan to create a select for example after ticking add/prep helocast in eden and then give us possibility to choose what type of boat be prepared.

I can add this feature in the future (I'm assuming you mean in Eden?).

 

For the time being, a workaround: spawn your chosen boat next to the aircraft and load it in using the load interaction.

[fat_lurch 337]

3 hours ago, golas said:

Also bising key is invalid - dedicated server kicks away momentarily for your mod

 

I just pushed a new version that I hope addresses this. I have always sucked at getting things signed correctly...

[fat_lurch 337]

3 hours ago, Ripcord1994 said:

Is there a way to make it so you only helocast troops without the boat?

 

It is possible, but the negative tradeoff is the action would always be floating there. I feel like this could become a nuisance when folks have the mod loaded but aren't helocasting in that instance.

[CW4 Carrera 31]

Did some testing tonight with my community with the Ericj, konyo and RHS birds and everything worked perfectly, one small note konyo's 47 wont allow the CRRC to drive inside so the only person that gets the prompt to load inside is the man in the forward most seat, not a big deal but worth noting, unless there is a way to move the interaction point rearwards on the 47 a bit.

[fat_lurch 337]

39 minutes ago, CW4 Carrera said:

Did some testing tonight with my community with the Ericj, konyo and RHS birds and everything worked perfectly, one small note konyo's 47 wont allow the CRRC to drive inside so the only person that gets the prompt to load inside is the man in the forward most seat, not a big deal but worth noting, unless there is a way to move the interaction point rearwards on the 47 a bit.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

I'll add a feature to pick where the action point is.

[fat_lurch 337]

1 hour ago, CW4 Carrera said:

Did some testing tonight with my community with the Ericj, konyo and RHS birds and everything worked perfectly, one small note konyo's 47 wont allow the CRRC to drive inside so the only person that gets the prompt to load inside is the man in the forward most seat, not a big deal but worth noting, unless there is a way to move the interaction point rearwards on the 47 a bit.

 

So I'm able to pilot the boat into the base class of Konyo's MH-47 - the aircraft needs to be low enough that the boat can float in. Was there a specific variant you were using?