AI pilot taking over after unitPlay is a pain - any remedies?

[Saltoperator 3]

Since the Arma 3 AI pilots tend to flare more than RuPaul when landing, even when in stealth mode, I decided to use unitCapture and unitPlay for the insertion in one of my scenarios.

 

After a very smooth, low-approach landing by me, if I may say so 😊, I kept the recording of me touching ground going for about 5-6 seconds before ending it.

 

When the recording is over, I want to pass control back to the AI and have him fly away after every player inside has disembarked. This has proven difficult to achieve.

 

Setup:

 

• heli1 is its variable
• My heli has this setFuel 0; this flyInHeight 0; in its init field to 100% prevent engine start in MP
• It has a Hold waypoint in front of it as its first waypoint 
  • A Skip Waypoint trigger is set as Waypoint Activation
    • UnitPlay is triggered when all playable units present in the scenario are inside the heli via  (AI is disabled in description.ext)
    • this setFuel 1; is part of the trigger to have engine turned on when AI is supposed to take over. flyInHeight is still 0;
• pilot disableAI "ALL" in pilot's init field

   

  Methods attempted:

   

  • Place a second Hold waypoint close to where the heli lands in unitPlay
    • A Skip Waypoint trigger is set as Waypoint Activation
      • { _x in heli1 } count allPlayers == 0 in Condition field
      • pilot enableAI "ALL" in On Act field in second Hold waypoint trigger.
      • Next waypoint is MOVE, then LAND for AI to land back at the ship.
  • Attached an invisible helipad to the heli
    • I tried using a Land waypoint as the second waypoint, as I had a helipad close to where I landed in unitPlay that the AI pilot insisted on landing on after assuming control again when testing

   

[Saltoperator 3]

I ended up solving this issue by simply adding an action after the unitPlay is done playing:

 

_heli1movedata = [LOTS OF COORDINATES OMITTED TO MAKE THIS POST SHORT];
_heli1playback = [heli1, _heli1movedata] spawn BIS_fnc_UnitPlay;
sleep 55;
player action ["Eject", vehicle player];

 

The playback itself lasts ~60 seconds, where ~5 seconds are spent on ground. I therefore eject the player 5 seconds before the playback ends (and the helicopter starts moving on its own).

 

I hope this can be helpful for others stuck with this problem, instead of trying to fiddle too much with the questionable helicopter AI.