Randomwatch for searchlights

[raedor 8]

Here you go. I'm sorry, but the vectorDir solution was not possible (as you have to step the dir). Well, I took vb's idea to save a lot performance anyway (if you know how a computer computes sin/cos, you know why it saves a lot ). I hope the 10.000 while do limit is fixed within the next patch, that's why I didn't add more while do's. I added a new argument for the up/down angle of the searchlight.<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">private["_sl","_ang","_del","_dir","_h","_dis","_px","_py","_sin","_cos","_i","_c"];

_sl=_this select 0;

_ang=(_this select 1)/2;

_del=_this select 2;

_h = _this select 3;

_dis = 20;

_py = position _sl;

_px = _py select 0;

_py = _py select 1;

_sin = [];

_cos = [];

_dir = direction _sl;

for "_i" from _dir-_ang to _dir+_ang step 1 do

{

_sin = _sin + [(sin _i)*_dis];

_cos = _cos + [(cos _i)*_dis];

};

_i = -1;

_c = _ang;

while {true} do

{

while {alive gunner _sl} do

{

_sl doWatch [_px + (_sin select _c), _py + (_cos select _c), _h];

sleep _del;

_c = _c + _i;

if (_c < 0) then

{

_i = 1;

_c = 0;

sleep _del*5;

};

if (_c > 2*_ang) then

{

_i = -1;

_c = 2*_ang;

sleep _del*5;

};

};

};(I'm sorry for the format, but my tabs are ignored by IB)

[BadAss -Mapfact.net- 0]

Well then i give it a try. Looks just like we're gonna get this done this year?!

Thanks a lot to all!

EDIT: I'm getting an error message in line 31.

Quote[/b] ]_sl #doWatch

Type anything?(jede in german), expecting number.

EDIT 2:

Fixed it mysself.  

Added the height parameter to the script call and changed line 9-11 from _py = position _sl; to _pos = position _sl; and so on.

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">private["_sl","_ang","_del","_dir","_h","_dis","_px","_py","_sin","_cos","_i","_c"];

_sl=_this select 0;

_ang=(_this select 1)/2;

_del=_this select 2;

_h = _this select 3;

_dis = 20;

_pos = position _sl;

_px = _pos select 0;

_py = _pos select 1;

_sin = [];

_cos = [];

_dir = direction _sl;

for "_i" from _dir-_ang to _dir+_ang step 1 do

{

_sin = _sin + [(sin _i)*_dis];

_cos = _cos + [(cos _i)*_dis];

};

_i = -1;

_c = _ang;

while {true} do

{

while {alive gunner _sl} do

{

_sl doWatch [_px + (_sin select _c), _py + (_cos select _c), _h];

sleep _del;

_c = _c + _i;

if (_c < 0) then

{

_i = 1;

_c = 0;

sleep _del*5;

};

if (_c > 2*_ang) then

{

_i = -1;

_c = 2*_ang;

sleep _del*5;

};

};

};

Call from you init.sqs (or init.sqf) with:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">searchlight = compile preprocessFile "searchlight .sqf";

[UnitName,AngleToCover,Delay,Height] spawn searchlight;

With the height added by raedor you have excellent AA searchlights if you want to.

So once again, thanks for all your help!

[raedor 8]

Huh? It works just fine for me, I'm executing it with<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">dummy=[sl2,180,.1, 5] execVM "MAP_Searchlight.sqf";

[BadAss -Mapfact.net- 0]

Yeah, see my Edit 2.

I just didn't see that you've added the height parameter that wasn't there before...

[raedor 8]

I added a new argument for the up/down angle of the searchlight.

You remember Lester's sig?

[sickboy 13]

Sweet! Nice Ones

[BadAss -Mapfact.net- 0]

Allright, i see. just focused on the script not your text.

[sickboy 13]

Was thinking though...

How about a trigger on the map (or an array of detectable units), with somewhere a variable of which side can be detected by the searchlights?

Where it will break the loop and shines the light on their enemies, if they (or nearby enemies?) KnowsAbout anyone of the chosen side or the mentioned array, that would be sweet wouldn't it?

[raedor 8]

Was thinking though...

How about a trigger on the map (or an array of detectable units), with somewhere a variable of which side can be detected by the searchlights?

Where it will break the loop and shines the light on their enemies, if they (or nearby enemies?) KnowsAbout anyone of the chosen side or the mentioned array, that would be sweet wouldn't it?

It would be, definitely

Maybe we can include something like that.

[sickboy 13]

It would be, definitely

Maybe we can include something like that.

Well, we can for sure, just let me know if it's wanted, and if noone else would be working on it, and which timeframe ppl are thinking of needing this for release, and i'll probably work it out for yah

[raedor 8]

It would be, definitely

Maybe we can include something like that.

Well, we can for sure, just let me know if it's wanted, and if noone else would be working on it, and which timeframe ppl are thinking of needing this for release, and i'll probably work it out for yah

BadAss is about to contact you.

[Blanco 0]

Was thinking though...

How about a trigger on the map (or an array of detectable units), with somewhere a variable of which side can be detected by the searchlights?

Where it will break the loop and shines the light on their enemies, if they (or nearby enemies?) KnowsAbout anyone of the chosen side or the mentioned array, that would be sweet wouldn't it?

Yeah, I was thinking the same when I've wrote mine.

Even make it possible to detect friendly dead bodies and put them in some sort of known list.

Problem is.. what happens when there's an object (like a building) between the spotted enemy and the searchlight.

The spotter will follow him but he's not able to see him.

Why do you need a trigger or array with enemies when there's a command that finds the nearest enemy from a specific position?

Nearestenemy

That should create your enemies array automatically.

Never tried that command before, but I think it's definitely worth a try.

[deanosbeano 0]

Quote[/b] ]what happens when there's an object (like a building) between the spotted enemy and the searchlight.

The spotter will follow him but he's not able to see him.

thats no problem in arma ,just bring the building down lol.

only joking .

i have been working on this but plane and helo spotting. crashdome was helping me earlier and i just saw this thread.

you might wanna try the nearestobjects ,its a fanatastic lil thing,

you can create arrays of helis men buildings etc within a certain range of your light and then deduce from the array ,when using man/air class of course who is enemy and who isnt.myabe create a lil pause at each unit or if its a high risk threat then increase the pause.

btw the nearestobjects is also useful for when the spotlightt is idle too, just send it an array of nearest buildings and it will look at them one by one , you can adjust the height to make it look up and down the building too.

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">_Atw = Nearestobjects [_watcher,["Building"],100]

hope someone can write some efficient sqf stuff using these commands.i tried to learn from biki ,but alot of the code there gives me problems.

[sickboy 13]

...

Gonna let it cross my mind in the weekend... Nice ideas etc! Thanks

[BadAss -Mapfact.net- 0]

Nice ideas for sure. As long it's adding to the atmosphere or used to make player feel hunted it's well worth having it.

On the other hand this little and easy to implement function could easily turn into a mean ai addon. But before going in too deep i'ld rather suggest to think about it from the in game results of it. I see a lot of script work with tons of exeptions for a rather not measurable result.

- With the OpFor using NVGs it's rather counterproductive.

- Helos will be 'spotted' by ear rather then by sight

- in case you don't have any AA weapons it doesn't make sense to light the chopper - that just tells 'em where to fire his guns

- in case we're not talking 'bout nightstalkers the choppers might be lit up like x-mas trees - just another exception

- How does the ai react in darkness generally? Do they 'see' less? Does light effect them?

I'm not at all trying to discourage someone. Just my experience from my last OFP SP mission...

[sickboy 13]

@ Dec. 30 2006,10:56)]Nice ideas for sure. As long it's adding to the atmosphere or used to make player feel hunted it's well worth having it.

Quote[/b] ]I'm not at all trying to discourage someone. Just my experience from my last OFP SP mission...

LOL, throwing up some other, good, views, aint discouraging in my books m8 We better be realistic and don't waste time for projects that seem little value when finished

Quote[/b] ]How does the ai react in darkness generally? Do they 'see' less? Does light effect them?

Actually I've been so busy that I didn't watch/recognize it yet, but I thought it would be ofp like

Quote[/b] ]- Helos will be 'spotted' by ear rather then by sight

- in case you don't have any AA weapons it doesn't make sense to light the chopper - that just tells 'em where to fire his guns

Then don't light up choppers, or even turn off search lights in case of enemy chopper nearing?

Quote[/b] ]- With the OpFor using NVGs it's rather counterproductive.

The purpose of having this option, might be for making missions without NVG on opfor's side, while basing the spotting etc. with the search lights

Quote[/b] ]On the other hand this little and easy to implement function could easily turn into a mean ai addon. But before going in too deep i'ld rather suggest to think about it from the in game results of it. I see a lot of script work with tons of exeptions for a rather not measurable result.

For sure, let's check it out with some tests here and there, if the above mentioned texts got you hot for the option

Quote[/b] ]- in case we're not talking 'bout nightstalkers the choppers might be lit up like x-mas trees - just another exception

I didn't get this part :P

[deanosbeano 0]

you have some very valid points there badass.

If you consider though that the command wiil take subclasses too

you can narrow down the amount of unwanted clutter from the search pattern. and also 5 or 6 logics in a circle can be randomly spotted whilst the spotlight is idle you just need to select 2 +random (??) for some variety of height .

simply replace buildings with Logic .

i have recently used this command for some addons i made ,which of course narrows down the size of the array considerably.

[BadAss -Mapfact.net- 0]

Quote[/b] ]- in case we're not talking 'bout nightstalkers the choppers might be lit up like x-mas trees - just another exception

I didn't get this part :P

Okay, i was exaggerating a bit.    OFP / ArmA helos have their position lights on, not exactly like a christmas tree. Just to stress my point that choppers are not really invisible exept maybe for the famous Nightstalkers - 160th Special Aviations Regiment.

@ deanosbeano: breaking something complex down to smaller and easier to swallow chunks seems to be a good idea. On has to remind one self from time to time. I tend to forget that, unfortunately regularily.

Maybe it'll be a good point to start with reaserching ai skills according to light and darkness. For that the knowsAbout command will be our best friend, i guess.

[deanosbeano 0]

"Maybe it'll be a good point to start with reaserching ai skills according to light and darkness. For that the knowsAbout command will be our best friend, i guess. "

well i did some testing when you mentioned about lighting helos up

, so far with 2 men in the dark without nvg , both with clear line od sight about 15 -20 meters apart, knowsabout = 0,i focused searchlight on east soldier , no change same with 2 and 3 lights.

so i guess light has no effect at all.( where ai is concerned of course).

next i will try m2 static and have ai walk across its path in dark with and without light on

[BadAss -Mapfact.net- 0]

Hey, cool thing you've started testing already! Thanks!

As to the results: rather disappointing that the light seems to have no effect. Can you please send me your test mission? So i can try it out with the exact same settings like you? So we can compare the results and see if that's a general rule of ai skill and behaviour?

As an addition we could test all the same in the birghtest light of day to see if there's a difference between night and day at all.

[deanosbeano 0]

yes of course you can have it, i will pm you my icq ,if you have it ?

one thing i have found that is strange.

scenario 1 :start up mission .touch nothing all is calm , all knownabouts are 0. abort misssion restart . all is calm.

scenario 2 start up misssion . focus 1,2,3,4 searchlights on east man . all known abouts = 0. abort misssion restart . known abouts = 4 bang east soldier dead. hmm weird.

ok after further testing ,scrap the above ,it wasnt lights it was the engine having a random guess at who kows about what .

@daylight . at roughly 4.36 am everyone knows about everyone they can see .

[landdon 0]

Gentlemen,

I would like to add this to a mission I am building.  I not following the instructions in here. Do you have a demo mission I could use?

[mattxr 9]

Here you go. I'm sorry, but the vectorDir solution was not possible (as you have to step the dir). Well, I took vb's idea to save a lot performance anyway (if you know how a computer computes sin/cos, you know why it saves a lot   ). I hope the 10.000 while do limit is fixed within the next patch, that's why I didn't add more while do's. I added a new argument for the up/down angle of the searchlight.<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">private["_sl","_ang","_del","_dir","_h","_dis","_px","_py","_sin","_cos","_i","_c"];

_sl=_this select 0;

_ang=(_this select 1)/2;

_del=_this select 2;

_h = _this select 3;

_dis = 20;

_py = position _sl;

_px = _py select 0;

_py = _py select 1;

_sin = [];

_cos = [];

_dir = direction _sl;

for "_i" from _dir-_ang to _dir+_ang step 1 do

{

_sin = _sin + [(sin _i)*_dis];

_cos = _cos + [(cos _i)*_dis];

};

_i = -1;

_c = _ang;

while {true} do

{

while {alive gunner _sl} do

{

_sl doWatch [_px + (_sin select _c), _py + (_cos select _c), _h];

sleep _del;

_c = _c + _i;

if (_c < 0) then

{

_i = 1;

_c = 0;

sleep _del*5;

};

if (_c > 2*_ang) then

{

_i = -1;

_c = 2*_ang;

sleep _del*5;

};

};

};

(I'm sorry for the format, but my tabs are ignored by IB)

When you shoot the guy on the searchlight you loose about 10 fps and then another you loose about 5?

Im not sure what happens but it seems the script cant work when the man dies.. i need help.

[thegunnysgt 1]

Hi, I'm looking over this thread looking for a working searchlight script and wanted to know what is the latest working script? I want to get the latest one that works, but through all the discussion in this thread, I don't want to get one that is still being worked on.