Artillery Support System Package: Released

[soccerboy 0]

any updates on the progress of this one? i've noticed that the dispersion doesnt work at all currently, the only thing that creates your desired dispersion is physically setting up the arty/mortars in the desired pattern/spacing.

sorry for the late response,

i'm still working on it. i'm just about done with the pre-registration phase which will give you the ability to pre-register up to 3 designated areas for pre-calculation for the FDC so when you call it in the prep time is easily cut in half. that can be useful for defensive situations like holding a position. i still need to add some cosmetic to it though like radio chatter between the player and FDC.

i still need to put a bit more work into the GUI aswell because some of the buttons i don't quite like yet. for instance inactive or disabled buttons just look plain ugly.

i also need to work on another method of radio controllers too like if the leader dies who takes over and so on instead of using the ACE mode where its based off of the ACE Radio objects which would require you to have ACE installed.

sadly there are so many things i would like to do but so little time that i can invest into this (1-2 hours a day and sometimes 0 hours) :(

hopefully i'll have a beta build ready to go by the beginning of next month.

[thedudeabides 40]

Can't wait your Arty system is good, and the addition of Pre Planned fires is brilliant

[soccerboy 0]

hello all,

i'm back with a progress update.

i've had a lot of time this past weekend to work on the pre-registration and now i'll be introducing you to it.

for starters i'll talk about how the system works without getting to technical.

first you choose a mission number within the dialog (see pictures) and set the target with the help of your map.

after that there will be a black (color codes to follow) marker with the text "T-#*" ( * = mission number).

once that is set and you start the pre-registration phase it'll run though a neat radio dialog between the FDC and you.

on completion the marker color and text will change. the color will turn from black to blue and the text will have the battery added to it for instance "T-#1-119" (battery naming will probably change because it will cause confusion with more than one M119 battery).

with the pre-registration complete and the marker updated correctly you can execute the mission and the radio dialog will go down a different path and the delay is reduced by more than half because you're calling in an already registered mission.

once the shooting as started the marker will turn from blue to red and will be returned to blue after completion of the mission.

pre-registration takes a bit longer than calling a normal fire mission to simulate that the FDC isn't under pressure unlike calling in a normal fire mission however, the benefit of pre-registering is very big if you've done your homework and/or recon the area before your attack or defense operation.

if you decide to move the marker you will have to re-register the mission again since the coordinates changed.

only one battery can be assigned to a mission and an attempt to assign a new battery to the same mission will cause the previous battery to be unassigned with that mission.

the color code for the markers are (black = unregistered, blue = registered to a battery, red = being fired at).

now time for pictures:

(this illustrates all three markers currently unregistered)

(this shows you the menu with the battery selection and the mission selection)

note: the menu will get a bit more work once the bulk of the scripts work better.

(this shows you the first marker "mission #1" is assigned to battery 1 which is the M119 and the second marker "mission #2" is assigned to battery 2 which is the M252 for this scenario)

(and last but not least the illustration of the color codes for the markers)

current priority is ammo limitation/resupply and an Independency of the ACE mod.

i hope you enjoyed this introduction and looking forward to the release just as you are :)

[mosh 0]

i hope you enjoyed this introduction and looking forward to the release just as you are

I am looking forward to it.

[manzilla 1]

Wow! I'll put this in my newest mission once it's out. I love the looks of it. Screw independence from ACE2! ;) Kidding, I know there's others that don't use it.

[soccerboy 0]

i've been updating the first post's changelog while i was working on the project and this is what i've gotten so far. some things have been tested already however not on a dedicated server yet.

V1.10

• Added: GUI interface
  
  • Added: X and Y correction areas in the GUI so that you're not punished for setting the marker wrong and having to wait forever for re-registration.
    
  • Added: Spot Round Ability to the GUI interface to have the battery fire a spot round without the need to change the number of rounds in the interface.
    

  [*]Added: Random fire mission solution error (the target impact zone is not 100% accurate anymore)

  [*]Added: Ability to set your target with either the traditional map clicking or with your laser designator.

  [*]Added: Pre-Registration option for less delay when calling in a fire mission.

  [*]Added: Initialization Diagnostic system in the event of an error in any of the initialization scripts you can see which one failed and a possible error report is displayed.

  [*]Added: Functions to change certain options during gameplay for mission makers to be used for triggers, and to add a radio or laser designator automatically without fighting with commands like addweapon/removeweapon.

  [*]Added: JIP (Join in Progress) compatibility. when a user comes in fresh and the variables are undefined then the client will request an update from the server (i hope this will work)

  [*]Added: Compatibility for the ACE2 Radio Equipment.

  [*]Added: Ability to request artillery from inside or within 3m of a vehicle (HMMWV or MTRV). if you're inside or near a vehicle then you don't need the ACE radio if ACE mode is active.

  [*]Added: Option to define how many times the battery gets resupplied during a mission (battery won't be supplied until a certain amount of rounds have been fired already)

  [*]Added: Support for the Virtual Artillery Modules

  [*]Added: Some additional radio text dialogs to the system to reflect different factors.

  [*]Changed: Structure of the scripts to be more generic to reduce calculation errors.

  [*]Changed: The menu item will now display if you can or can't use the GUI dialog, inability to use the dialog will be marked with a (Radio) tag.

  [*]Fixed: The Dispersion values should be used correctly now.

  [*]Fixed: Detection issue that could cause an error to the system.

  [*]Removed: Radio Sounds for Custom ones to be added later

*More to Come and subjected to changes*

Edited February 23, 2010 by soccerboy

[manzilla 1]

Sweet! Just in time for a new mission I've started. Thanks for the info bud!

[BelgarionNL 10]

bummer you can't use it in combination with the domination! but i am going to try and find out if i can make your addon fit around the domination map :)

[the chief 15]

I'm looking forward to your latest version. I've really missed having support like this in my missions.

I'm happy to help with any beta testing if required.

[thedudeabides 40]

Independence from ACE?

[soccerboy 0]

hello,

i'm back with a new preview and today i'm going to talk the purpose of x and y corrections.

when setting a target the map coordinates have some offset of a random value so that means that the battery might shoot right next to your target position or right on top of it if you're lucky. this randomization only happens when you set your target so you don't have to play a game of luck when you call in a new fire mission each time however you won't be able to know by how much its offset until you actually call in either a spot round or execute a fire mission.

the time to set up a fire mission is based on several things. if the battery is preregistered to that mission number, if the battery has fired apon this target before or not. if it hasn't fired on this point before then the setup time will be quite long but, if it has fired on it before or if the mission has been pre-registered with the battery then you should see some rounds being shot very quickly after the request has been sent.

once you see the rounds hitting and its not where you want them to be you can easily correct the coordinates with adding an X or Y correction into the dialog. once the request has been sent with the correction data then those new coordinates will be saved with the battery so you don't have to resend the same correction over and over.

example:

if i'm off by 100m to the left then i'll just send an x correction of 100 to the battery and it'll use the new coordinates to send those rounds to that location. if i need more rounds i send no correction data since its already been corrected and the battery is zeroed in on that target area.

there is no cross information transmission between batteries so you would have to give each battery their very own correction information.

here is the first of a two part video preview of the system's current state:

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here is the last of the two part video preview (youtube will take a while to process for higher definitions):

<object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0qCsAePCBE&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0qCsAePCBE&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object>

Edited February 24, 2010 by soccerboy

[manzilla 1]

Oh man this looks killer. This is gonna be an excellent addition to my missions. Thanks for the update bud.

EDIT:

Whoa!!! Is that video showing that you can use the artillery as long as you have the ACE2 radio in a vehicle and not just on a soldier's back? Put the ACE2 radio in a vehicle's "trunk" and you can call artillery as long as your near the vehicle? If that's what I'm seeing I love it.

Edited February 24, 2010 by Manzilla

[soccerboy 0]

Oh man this looks killer. This is gonna be an excellent addition to my missions. Thanks for the update bud.

EDIT:

Whoa!!! Is that video showing that you can use the artillery as long as you have the ACE2 radio in a vehicle and not just on a soldier's back? Put the ACE2 radio in a vehicle's "trunk" and you can call artillery as long as your near the vehicle? If that's what I'm seeing I love it.

lol no the scripts simulate that each HMMWV has a radio which can be used by the leader of the group regardless if he has a radio or not. if you leave the vehicle you'll have to stay within 3 meters or else can't call in anything. if you have the radio then you can use artillery regardless if you're in a vehicle or not.

EDIT:

i forgot to add that in the video i put the radio in the HMMWV to illustrate the effect of not having a radio and you move away from the vehicle further than 3 meters then the GUI will be empty and unusable and the action menu item will have a (Radio) tag meaning you need a radio to use anything in the GUI :)

Edited February 25, 2010 by soccerboy

[manzilla 1]

lol no the scripts simulate that each HMMWV has a radio which can be used by the leader of the group reguardless if he has a radio or not. if you leave the vehicle you'll have to stay within 3 meters or else can't call in anything. if you have the radio then you can use artillery reguardless if you're in a vehicle or not.

That's even better.

[mr.g-c 6]

Looks excellent! Seriously!

[soccerboy 0]

That's even better.

Looks excellent! Seriously!

thank you for your support :)

i think i'm just about done with adding new features for v1.10 and i'll be testing it myself for a few days or a week if i find any bugs and then it'll go to closed MP beta stage for a few to catch a couple bugs i haven't found and after that passes it'll be released for all to enjoy.

if there are any questions regarding anything in the changelog that anybody wants to know more about i'll gladly give out more information in my next progress report.

until next time. :)

[tromac 11]

This looks fantastic! By far the best Artillery module in the making. Can't wait for you to get it out to us.

Thanks in advance.

[tromac 11]

Any update on the progress of this? When may we expect a release?

[soccerboy 0]

Any update on the progress of this? When may we expect a release?

hello,

i'm still working hard on this. i've added a section on the first post that i update when ever something changes in the status of the scripts under the headline "currently working on".

i hope to have it done and out before march ends.

[soccerboy 0]

hello all,

i'm back with an announcement regarding this project.

i'll start with the good news:

i've been browsing around and i found the FM (Field Manual) for the FO (Forward Observer) and i'm incorporating things that i think would be useful or give a more believable feeling to be an FO.

bad news:

i'm going to have to rebuild it from the ground up however i think the end result will be a more believable experience.

the concept:

tell the FDC:

• target type
  
• how many volleys
  
• how many guns
  
• mission type
  
• method of control
  
• target location type
  
• ammo type
  

and a few more that i don't recall off the top of my head.

with that information the FDC will determine which battery would be best suited for the fire mission and send the fire information to that battery.

description of the items above:

target type : Infantry, Tank, Equipment, Supply

how many volleys : 1-10 (can change if i deem it necessary)

how many guns : 1-6 (i will have to read more into the FM to see what happens if there aren't enough guns to execute the mission)

mission type : Adjust Fire, Fire For Effect, Supression or Immediate Supression

method of control : Fire When Ready, At My Command or Time on Target

target location type : GRID or Shift from known point.

ammo : the 6 standard types of ammo (more to come after this has been finished possibly including fuse types)

NOTE: the above can change as i read more in the FM

this is still experimental however i have a strong feeling that i can achieve this as i already have a basic FDC that can make the choice based on ammo, range and number of guns.

with those given things to the FDC the FDC will then make the choice which battery is best suited to execute the fire mission and pass it on to the appropriate battery.

current todo list in correct priority order:

1. build FDC logic to be able to make the decisions he needs to make
   
2. Construct the proper radio protocol
   
3. reconstruct target setting, firing, server detection and client options scripts
   

i'll be adding the "todo list" to the front post and update it regularly as things get finished to help you guys see progress being done.

also more bad news: the new system works with custom modules so i can't support a script version.

i'm sorry for the set back however the end result will be a much greater user experience than the previous system/idea.

if i have forgotten anything i'll edit this post.

PS: 1.10 hasn't been canceled just postponed for the time being.

[toktotte 0]

Great stuff, I'll have to say that those are some great news.

One question: How will you handle the grid targeting? Will it be by map click or by entering coordinates in a dialog?

Personally, I can't wait for some TOT(time on target) artillery missions. 3,2,1, KABOOM!:)

[soccerboy 0]

Great stuff, I'll have to say that those are some great news.

One question: How will you handle the grid targeting? Will it be by map click or by entering coordinates in a dialog?

Personally, I can't wait for some TOT(time on target) artillery missions. 3,2,1, KABOOM!:)

hello and good question :),

that aspect is still in development and i can say already that there will be no map clicking or laser designation, right now i'm using the CBA function to convert a 6 digit grid zone into map coordinates (thanks to the comment given on my youtube video who ever did that :). sorry if i don't remember your name off the top of my head).

at the moment i'm playing around with the thought of one of two methods, or both. one is grid designation and another is shifting from a known point. the known point will probably be the prior transmission of a grid zone.

i'm still unsure how i'm going to implement it yet or how the end result is supposed to look like as i'm still trying to get the FDC to function correctly and build a modular Radio dialog system to build a proper radio protocol with the choices you make with the dialog.

so far i'm making good progress fairly quickly and i'll probably be done with the FDC and Radio dialogs in a day or two. then its off to ammo supply planning and build the fire script.

also another thing that i'm thinking/going to experiment with is: alternating ammo. however that would require 2 or more guns inside a fire mission. one gun will shoot one ammo while the other shoots the other ammo.

also today i found the FM (field manual) for the FDC operator so now i have both documentations to semi authentically build the FO experience. :)

edit: also ToT will work in the sense of "...shoot in X minutes, over" max 60 minutes at the moment but thats subject to change if i think it needs changing.

Edited March 11, 2010 by soccerboy

[soccerboy 0]

hello all,

i'm back with a new progress report.

oh my where to start, a lot has changed and i think for the better.

the most significant change is the option to call in mixed ammo missions like

alternate between Smoke (example) and HE (example) the way that works is:

each gun receives his very own version of the fire mission and each even numbered gun fires the alternate ammo.

to illustrate it better:

(first ammo is "HE" and the alternate ammo is "Smoke")

gun1 = "HE"

gun2 = "Smoke"

gun3 = "HE"

gun4 = "Smoke"

*note the above is just an example.

• you can now choose how many guns are involved in the fire mission and how many volleys each gun does.
  
• i've already announced method of control for "At My Command" and "Time on Target".
  
• setting your target works in the form of GRID or Shift from a known Point.
  shifting works only if a target has been called before.
  
• each gun will get a target offset based their formation within the battery itself. *note this is still testing and am not 100% sure if it will actually work but it is planned.
  
• the new way this system is built is you exclusively talk to the FDC which governs over its batteries. when you call in a fire mission the FDC will choose the best Battery that suits the fire mission.
  

i feel like i'm missing something but i can't think of anything else that i should or could talk about.

if anything i can always edit this post :)

anyways the todo list has been updated with more detailed info.

EDIT:

preview videos will follow in the next few days as soon as i make some :D

[cool=azroul13 14]

really nice update !!

Hope this coming soon!

I want it :yay: :bounce3: :bounce3:

Thanks for your amazing script.

[stephsen 79]

me too...i love this script