AAN - ArmA Navy

[kremator 1064]

Gnat @ Jan. 31 2009,15:27)]New Video (Channel 1) of chopper landing and taking off from a moving OHP Class Frigate

I'm speechless !!!!!!! This is AMAZING Gnat !

Are you looking to make the landings scripted instead of instant at the point of actual landing ?

[TAO] Kremator

[toadball 35]

Inspiring video. I watched it on the day ... that the new HMS Daring Type 45 Destroyer arrived at Portsmouth !

Hehe, don't live to far from where they are building those very nice ships.

Looking forward to using those ships Gnat

[mankyle 370]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really awesome

Now, have you achieved good results with the script that could recognize the name of the p3d file from the config?

You said that if that was possible the ship addon could work with every single model of helicopter.

[PSYCHOSIM 0]

Wow, amazing work...........

[imutep 0]

Brilliant Gnat. Great work  

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

BEAUTIFUL !!

I'm assuming this is still beta right? Well the OHP FFG-7 class guided missile frigates only have one screw, I saw a pair of water cavitation behind the model. Picky I know, but the rest of the model is so great I'd hate to see that accidently overlooked.

Meathead, yes we still use various alarms aboard ship. There the General Quarters alarm, Collision alarm and, CBR alarm.

Anyway, Gnat, you skills are awesome!

[froggyluv 2130]

I have no idea how you do what you do but what you do is pure voodoo!

Amazing...

[.kju 3240]

Possible to get a DL link or hosted at another site pretty please

[Raptor 10]

Possible to get a DL link or hosted at another site pretty please

Something like that?

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=75enMYPHpX8

[.kju 3240]

thanks

Gnat why do you need an unit / model specific solution.

Not possible to make it generic for any chopper?

[mankyle 370]

Well if I understood correctly from one of the posts before the idea that Gnat had was to use (through actions) an script to move all personnel in the chopper to cargo positions in the frigate and then use a custom animation to create a proxy of the helicopter over the landing pad of the frigate.

As you have to put the name (with the correct path) of the p3d (the model of the chopper in this case) you want to use as proxy you have to manually link the proxy you are going to create with the actual chopper you are landing on the frigate.

i.e. if you are landing with a little bird in the script you have to tell the frigate model you are landing with a little bird.

With BIS helicopters there is no problem because the name of the p3d and its path is well known but for custom addons you would have to set the script so it would recognize the helicopter you are using (it should have to "read" the config. bin of the chopper, locate the path of the p3d and use that p3d as the proxy of the helicopter).

More or less this is what I understood of Gnat's explanations

[[aps]gnat 28]

Near but not quite mankyle

- I use a local edited version of the chopper p3d to proxy hide and appear choppers on the deck.

- That is why there is currently limited helis that can "land"

- No, its not a direct link to the BIS p3ds, because I tried that and it has problems

- Problems with direct link to the BIS p3d include;

     *bright BIS logos on the side of the models

     *glowing gun muzzle flashes

- I went with "cleaned" p3d's for BIS models to keep them small;

     *Typically the 2nd Resolution LOD

     *The 2nd level Shadow LOD

     *and the Geometry LOD only

- The proxy method means you must "pre-program" the chopper types into the Frigate

- There seems no way to provide the p3ds with "blank" proxys so they can be given "paths" later.

- Therefore there is no way to add other choppers "on the run".

- But the proxy method guarantees no MP lag collisions between the chopper and the Frigate deck (which is walkable)

- ....... such collisions are deadly

- The takeoff sequence is done using the ModelToWorld method. i.e. its a real chopper, not a proxy

- The risk is again a MP lag collision with the deck, so the chopper is maintained a little distance above the actual deck.

- Not ideal from a visual perspective, but fairly essential.

Quote[/b] ]Not possible to make it generic for any chopper?

@Q

No, for above reason. But chopper addon makers can give me a simple (binarized if they wish) p3d meeting the above mentioned criteria and I can include it.

I'm still considering an option to ModelToWorld method for those choppers not already pre-programmed. But obviously theres risks if the users are willing to accept.

Quote[/b] ]the OHP FFG-7 class guided missile frigates only have one screw

@Fallujahmedic

Thanks mate, I didnt know and will make the change.

Quote[/b] ]Are you looking to make the landings scripted instead of instant at the point of actual landing?

@Kremator

Yes, given time and some possibility it won't look terrible with MP lag constantly jumping the chopper about on approach.

[.kju 3240]

Thanks for the explanation.

You could still use a fallback option in case you don't have a replacement.

In other words for an unknown chopper you use one of your proxy models.

Downside: wrong model once landed.

Benefit: works for any unit.

Right?

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

Anytime Gnat! Your addons are awesome, just wanted to help with what little knowledge I have

BTW, the "one armed bandit" looks awesome (forward MK 13 mount)!

[Commando84 0]

Oh that was a wesome feature! Can' wait for some Strike games styled coop missions

Btw is it possible to add support for the Opfor side choppers to use the deck? Could be useful for special forces and or some non orthodox scenarios where you use opfor equipment or have put your hands on some special tech from the enemy

[UNN 0]

Quote[/b] ]No, for above reason. But chopper addon makers can give me a simple (binarized if they wish) p3d meeting the above mentioned criteria and I can include it.

Are you using hard coded proxies or cargo proxies? I've been told that hard coded proxies hidden with a hide anim, are still considered by the GPU. So there should in theory be a limit to how many heli's you can add before it starts to lag.

With Cargo proxies you don't have to worry about that. Plus other addon makers can add support for your ships, without you having to re-release your addon every time a new heli is made compatible.

[[aps]gnat 28]

Quote[/b] ]In other words for an unknown chopper you use one of your proxy models.

@Q

Yes, but its not what I'd like. Plus the addon has to "remember" what was the real chopper was for take-off. Its also has to take a guess how far of the deck it needs to be held during the take-off process. Every chopper is different.

Quote[/b] ]Btw is it possible to add support for the Opfor side choppers to use the deck? Could be useful for special forces and or some non orthodox scenarios where you use opfor equipment or have put your hands on some special tech from the enemy

@Commando84

Yes, definitely. I myself hate it when all the (Coop) missions have Opfor as the enemy. Its good to play Opfor at times.

EDIT: NO. Sorry I thought you meant Ofpor choppers on Ofpor ships (thats a yes). Opfor choppers on OHP Frigate, no, too few realistic missions to justify such work.

Quote[/b] ]Are you using hard coded proxies or cargo proxies? I've been told that hard coded proxies hidden with a hide anim, are still considered by the GPU. So there should in theory be a limit to how many heli's you can add before it starts to lag.

@UNN

Hardcoded. hmmmm ... I guess I'll see with time.

Quote[/b] ]With Cargo proxies you don't have to worry about that. Plus other addon makers can add support for your ships, without you having to re-release your addon every time a new heli is made compatible.

@UNN

? The only method I known to "mount" vehicles to a Cargo Proxy is via a looping script (which I want to totally avoid).

Am I missing something? Can you load a vehicle p3d into a general purpose cargo proxy ?

EDIT: Misunderstood Commando84

[[aps]gnat 28]

Hardcoded proxy chopper test

10 or 20 ships in view, closest approx 500 meters away

0 chopper proxys

10 ships: 51 fps / 60 fps (zoomed)

20 ships: 34 / 38

4 chopper proxys per ship, all hidden

10 ships: 47 / 60

20 ships: 28 / 32

8 chopper proxys per ship, all hidden

10 ships: 45 / 58

20 ships: 26 / 30

0 proxys - but add 10 or 20 choppers hovering near ships

10 ships: 38 fps / 41 fps (zoomed)

20 ships: 32 / 34

Not a perfect test method, but from this there seems to be a FPS effect by the hidden proxys but its really quite small (more so after the first couple), compared with actually having just a few real choppers in the view.

... but if you have a way of doing this with standard generic Cargo Proxys, I'd love to hear it UNN.

Thx

[UNN 0]

Quote[/b] ]Not a perfect test method, but from this there seems to be a FPS effect by the hidden proxys but its really quite small

It's a good enough test if it shows there isn't too much increase in FPS for a reasonable amount of hidden proxies. There will probably be some extra increase in used resource? But if you know how many proxies your going to use, then it's a nice, self-contained solution.

Quote[/b] ]but if you have a way of doing this with standard generic Cargo Proxys

Well Cargo proxies do allow for a more open ended approach. But they also have their own issues, geometry being the main one in my opinion. But that probably won't be a major issue with your ships. I guess your proxy geometry does not have to be that complex, just enough detail for fire and vehicle collision?

You don't have to have scripts running for Cargo proxies to work, if your happy creating new p3d's to represent existing objects as proxies. Cargo Proxies are used for infantry and game logics, so once you move it in place, the engine handles the rest. Try adding a p3d to an object inherited from a game logic or class man, you should be able to use the extended moveincargo command to place it in a specific location. The BAS Chinook in OFP was the first example I ever saw of this, it uses Game Logics so it's a relatively simple example to look at if your curious.

For our Cargo System we wanted to use existing p3d's so we could support any addon and share it's resources. So we used objects derived from infantry units. The proxies we use are actually meant for Night Vision goggles, so when we point to a BIS vehicle it hides all the extra stuff like muzzle flash. The only thing we can't easily hide for the default Arma addons is the BIS logo, but we can live with that compared to the savings we get elsewhere. For example, to represent the Zodiac loaded onto the back of a 5TonTruck, we only need this:

But because were using NV proxies, we also need this script running to ensure they show up:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">_CargoProxy=_This Select 0;

WaitUntil

       {

       _CargoProxy Action ["NVGOGGLES",_CargoProxy];

       (IsNull _CargoProxy)

       };

I to prefer not to have scripts running myself, if I don't have to. But with the amount of resources and time saved, a small looping script like the one above has next to no effect on performance.

The best way of using proxies really depends on what you want to do and how flexible you want it to be. Hard coded proxies keep things simple and self-contained. Cargo proxies allow for greater flexibility and efficiency, at the expense of simplicity.

[[aps]gnat 28]

Awesome info UNN, and quite ingenious!

Thanks very much. Might well be a slightly better solution.

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

Any thoughts on making an LCAC or LCU for amphibious landings?

[manzilla 1]

Removed. I'll mind my own business next time. My apologies.

[Namikaze 0]

Gnat has enough on his hands as it is and he does it for the community for free.

Which is why you should search.

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

Which it was why a rhetorical question posed of Gnat! Not others.

It was first brought up in this very thread....somewhere around Pg 4 I think. So as not to make numerous threads about the same subject I thought I'd ask my rhetorical question here....appropriate, dont you think?

[manzilla 1]

My apologies for going off topic.