Chopper Convoy system

[warpuppy 0]

Hi there all

I am looking for some help, what i want to do is have six choppers and six groups and i want to simulate a drop off scene where the choppers follow each other then drop of their groups , just like the in the veitnam scenes that we see,

eg Chopper 1 land and unloads then takes off, then Chopper 2 lands etc all using the same invisble heli pad

Anyhelp would be most appreciated

thanks in advance

Yes i have tried the Search for this on the forum

Sorry

My main question is how to get a group of helicopters to land one after the other without them crashing into each other all using the same LZ just like in the movie "apocolapyse now"

[-SPA-LynxEye 0]

Can't you add more invisible helipads named in Editor so you can 'order' which helo has to land to which named invisible helipad?

Or..

Get the coordinates of that invisible helipad.

Add a few meters east/west and/or north/south to those coordinates, so u have not to create another helipad.

And (dunno because i dont know how you writing the piece of script-EditorFieldsOfObjects where you stuck) maybe it is useful to you.

Hum... once first chopper is landed... can you 'move' that invisible helipad so 2nd chopper can reach it where you want?... and so.. same method to all others...

? ? ?

[bana 0]

LynxEye @ Mar. 25 2007,14:13)]Can't you add more invisible helipads named in Editor so you can 'order' which helo has to land to which named invisible helipad?

I've already tried it. Out of 6 attempts trying it, the UH60s still end up doing a barn dance until they hit each other.

I'm currently working on a script to solve the problem, but my scripting skills suck. If I can get it working I'll post it here.

In case any top gun scripters are interested, I'll outline my thoughts;

- Make sure the helos are flying in a column and not too fast or too high on the approach to the Unload wp and helipad

- In the activation field for the Unload wp, call your script.

script is along the lines of;

-Count the number of helos in group.

-When helo1 below 2m, set speed to 0 for all other helos bar the first helo.

-When helo1 is above 6m, Set Helo1's speed to Full.

-Set Helo2's speed to limited, but keep the remainder at 0.

-Increment helo number by one.

-Loop until all helos have dropped off their troops

(actually there is gprobably going to be more than one loop)

Make sure the troops have a wp to go to so they clear the LZ and don't obstruct later helos from landing

You may have to play around with distances between both the helos themselves and between the the Unload wp and helipad.

Now I am going to teach myself loops.

[Novusordo 0]

well i have got chopper insertion/extraction working solidly for multiplayer thanks to DecimusAquila.

His extraction diden't work but his insertion worked perfectly so instead of spending ages trying to get the extraction to work, I simply made another chopper unit and gave it the same waypoints/triggers/helipads as the insertion had and it worked solidly.

anyway I've attached my mission minus everything except the chopper innsertion/extraction for you and anyone who want's it. Just merge it with your own mission (saharani)

how it works is...

1. heli will fly to airfield, land and wait for the whole squad to board then it will fly to the insertion point, land, wait for the squad to get out, then fly away very very far so we dont hear it buzzing during mission (if anyone can get it grounded, then plz say how).

2. upon radio alpha, a pilot will get in heli1 and fly to the extraction point, land and then wait for the whole squad to board then fly away, preferbly into an end trigger..

works perfect. enjoy.

http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=305145

[bana 0]

Well, I've tried scripting a group of helos to approach conga line fashion and wait their turn before deplaning troops. No luck.

I've tried the following 2 methods;

1) set all helos save the 1st to Autohover

2) set all helos save the 1st to velocity 0

It appears that the remainder of the group ignores these commands and does what the leader is doing.

Treating the convoy as individual units (as per Novusordo) would probably solve the problem. However, you would need to lock WPs for the remaining helos until the previous helo left the helipad. It would be a lot of stuffing around with distances and OnAct/OnDeact fields in WPs.

Still testing.

[namreg 0]

I would make a waypoint before the UNLOAD WAYPOINT where all the helicopters become single units, and then set a timer to make them land separately and unload their cargo.

After that i'll make a waypoint were all of them join the leader again

[-=FW=-Platty 0]

1. heli will fly to airfield, land and wait for the whole squad to board then it will fly to the insertion point, land, wait for the squad to get out, then fly away very very far so we dont hear it buzzing during mission (if anyone can get it grounded, then plz say how).

Give the helo a get out waypoint after it drops you off. sync your radio trigger to the waypoint and the crew will re-mount and come to pick you up when you give the call.

[ArmaVidz 0]

Just so you know...I'm quite the noob but I've been "    " for a couple days with this now. I think I've devised a simple dropoff scene that requires no helipads, no scripts etc. just some action commands, triggers and waypoints. I tried creating multiple "heli flyinheight" triggers and helipads to get teh troops dropped off but nothing "really" worked "reliably." So I got back to what I know: the basics. rofl.

Now, this isn't complete so if anyone knows how to "Radio Alpha" in the init area of a waypoint or trigger, I think that would "round out" the whole thing.

#1 Create a squad - as many as the bird will hold.

#2 Name each individual soldier (Name field - upper right hand side of soldier's details)

#3 Create a chopper seperate and not attached to the Squad

Helo/Chopper/Bird Waypoints:

#4 Create a total of at least 5 waypoints for the chopper.

1st WP: Move - Limited (near bird - about 2-3 chopper lengths)

2nd WP: Move - Full (2-3 chopper lengths away from WP#1)

3rd WP: Move - Limited (any distance from originating takeoff)

4th WP: Unload - Limited

5th WP: Move - Full/Normal/Limited (w/e you like)

6th WP: Move - Full/Normal/Limited (w/e you like)

7th WP: Get Out - Limited (Back near 1st WP or anywhere else if you like) (Effect:Pilots get out after unloading troops - back wherever you want)

Squad Waypoints:

Create at least two waypoints for the squad. I'll explain as for each waypoint the usage:

1st WP: GET IN - Full/Normal (Assigned to SQUAD LEADER)

2nd WP: MOVE - FULL/Normal/Limited - COMBAT - OPEN FIRE...(PLACE NEAR  4th WP of the CHOPPER and set it anywhere in the vacinity)

3rd WP: MOVE - Full/Normal/Limited (Anywhere you like)

#5 Sync the Squads 1st WP to the CHOPPER's first waypoint.

#6 Go to the unload area. Create a trigger.

-Adjust the size of the trigger to be about the same size as a helipad - I used AxisB 12 and 12.

-Set the Activation to "Anybody" and "Repeatedly"

-Move the trigger directly over the CHOPPER 4th WP - "UNLOAD"

In the ON ACT: portion of the trigger, keep in mind the names of the soldiers in the Squad you created. What you are about to do is unassign the chopper from the squad so it can fly away and act independantly of the squad. The UNASSIGNVEHICLE command is what I used. The following is the code that is in the ON ACT area of the trigger, with the names of the soldiers in the squad:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">unassignVehicle Yemmin; unassignVehicle hosbury; unassignVehicle blithe; unassignVehicle jenkins; unassignVehicle patulo;As you put in more or less soldiers, you simply add "UNASSIGNVEHICLE soldiername" and with a " ; " on the end.

Effect:

What happens is the chopper starts up at the takeoff location.

The Squad boards the helicopter (GETIN) then stays in the bird until it reaches the UNLOAD waypoint.

The Squad receives the order to UNLOAD.

The Squad then proceeds to the next closest waypoint (Squad WP#2 - near the LZ)

The chopper proceeds to the next waypoint (Off in the distance or back at takeoff location depending on what you create - this last waypoint could be the GETOUT waypoint.

The Squad proceeds to "give em hell" on their own.

The chopper pilots get out of the chopper at the takeoff point.

Note*

-The LZ must be unobstructed by powerlines, bushes, buildings etc.

-For the fastest insertion possible keep the approaching direction clear of trees, powerlines etc.

-LZ's must be at least the size of an invisible helipad away from each other.

Other Impressions/Thoughts:

-You can most likely make the incursion extremely fast by adding a helipad, and one or two addition waypoints before the LZ and setting the initial travelling speed of WP's #2and #3 to "FULL", then setting the additional WP's before the LZ to limited (create them close together).

-You have to know the terrain in order to figure out where to land. Powerlines blocked my path before I noticed they were there. I couldn't figure out why the bird's wouldn't land.

-To travel in a "Conga Line" fashion is quite straight forward actually - considering the above simply do the above for each chopper/boarding squad then create the waypoints for each chopper slightly behind each other. Try to keep all the WP's overlapping in the same path, but just behind each other. The choppers should wait for the one ahead to unload then proceed to unload itself once the first chopper is gone.

I tried all types of triggers with "MyHeliName FlyinHeight 0" seperate triggers which are triggered after the first one which then resume height to 20/30/100 or w/e and in conjunction with the "MySoldiersName action["GETOUT", MySoldiersName] command but 9/10th's of the time the trigger was set to early, or too late, or the chopper resumed height after a "Rolling Incursion" which partially hurt the soldiers. And MY GAWD the inconsistency! Especially when adding other "birds" to the mix. Completely unreliable. This way, it's guaranteed, everytime.

Edit: I think you can "Call the choppers back" if only I knew how to program in a "Radio Alpha" "Radio Bravo" command into a way point or trigger. If you did this, you could most likely set a trigger somewhere where the troops are to be extracted (most likely away from the battle and in a good landing spot).

You can see my results in my vidz  

Rolling Incursion - Works with 5Plus Soldiers as well Although it was completely inconsistent, it LOOKED damn cool!

Here is the reliable version as stated above:

Chopper Incursion - Reliable Method Results

Like I stated before, I consider myself a total noob with ArmA mission editing, so if anything I've written sounds kinda retarded, it probably is! lol.

I love this game.

[shadowhunter388 10]

I don't know about making them land at the same helipad but I know if you want to use more then one then you have to make a playable player in each chopper because if you dont then it wont work.