Mando Missile ArmA for ArmA 2

[Defunkt 431]

Wow! This basically creates a whole new game within the game, I've had a heap of fun this evening just working my way through your test missions. It's an amazing achievement for one person in this slightly cranky scripting environment. Other than the C130 arc of fire already mentioned and which you've suggested is more about parameter fine-tuning I think I only struck one bug; The HUD' 'Show Ordnance' menu action didn't appear to do anything [Edit: Mandoble has since told me it's an obsolete left-over.]. That aside this seems well and truly ready for public beta, I will probably check its behaviour on a dedicated server at my own next sitting.

Found my way around most things quite easily though as you know I couldn't work out what the grey circle was for. I also didn't work out the purpose of the following MFD function keys (possibly a WIP):

F4 Man / S.Aut [Edit: Okay just read a little on this function in an earlier post, is it working? Can you manually steer? With mouse?]

F3 Loc / Rem

RWR is just perfect, SAM's are still downright dangerous but if you're fast enough, show them your tail and launch flares at the right distance you'll usually get away. The firer can increase their chances by picking the shot that prevents you from doing that.. I still think the RWR should be bottom center and in fact there's no reason for it to be shown until a hostile launch is actually detected which should do away with any issues about chopper pilots' view of the ground (least of their worries at that point). I think the flare launch should have a sound effect. Hopefully the RWR texture can be specified per-vehicle along with the MFD and I think there may be other UI components like the ACTIVATING SYSTEMS and THREAT indicators that would benefit from nice raster graphics. I'm no artist but these things are quite easy to knock up with bevel and drop shadow and it'd be great to have instrument sets that suit the various different vehicles:

HUD is a little problematic for me as I drive and fly everything with my left hand and am always free-looked with my mouse, then there are those who use Track IR. Can't be helped but I think there should be a key to toggle the HUD on and off. It might then be possible for me to pair it to the freelook bind and have it switch on and off with that mode change. If the RWR was auto-shown on threat then this would completely do away with the action menu entry (always a good thing).

Not sure if there's any provision for people to map their own keys in advance but if not then I think you should consider using the 'Use Action NN' binds as the first choice for default keys so anybody who regularly plays on Mando equipped servers can have their preferred keys pre-mapped (in which case some of the help text could be assumed unnecessary as well and turned off) then fall back to the current defaults only if those aren't bound. Great to have the option to change keys in game though.

As for the camera, mouse as analogue joystick makes perfect sense but I'd love to see the pointer go, apart from being a bit 'PC Game' it can be a little frustrating to have to click on the target with the same device that moves the view around (not sure if that difficulty is intended). IMHO TAB would ideally select the lockable target nearest to sight center but of course it has to be very close to center in the first place (as it is now).

I'm sure more will occur to me even before I try it again. I'd just like to say I've enjoyed playing around with it very much and ended up doing much less work today than I should have!

[mandoble 1]

Hey Defunkt, thanks for testing:

F4: man/aut or man/semi aut is not wip, it is fully working. If in man mode, then you steer the missile (you guide the missile), if in semi auto, the missile selfguides as long as you keep the lock, and if in auto the missile selfguides and you can break the lock and select and fight against a new target. Depending on script parameters you may allow one or two of these modes (auto and semiauto are selfexcluding).

F3: Loc/Rem: you might have one of these or both allowed for any system. If "Local op mode", then your system will be able to locate targets by itself (IE. a thermal system, radar,etc). If Remote mode, then the TV will show only targets locked on by other units. For example, a unit in LOC mode using a mando laser designator TV locks on a target, and a second unit, well far away, and working on REMOTE locks on the target locked on by the first unit and fires a BIG cruise missile against it ;)

- There is already an action menu to redefine the keys using a small dialog, and after mando missile is initialized you can also redefine the keys modifying some globals from init.sqf.

- There is already an action menu to toggle mando hud on/off.

Thanks for testing ;)

[Defunkt 431]

No problem. I meant to ask, with regard to the flares, is the number of launchers and flares configurable per-vehicle? And is the spoofing modelled to the point where more simultaneous flares will influence the result? Or even to the point where the attitude of the launcher (i.e. the direction the flare is launched) comes into play?

[mandoble 1]

You may use the default flares FX script incorpotared or you may define the flares FX script to be use by any plane/chopper (with FX I mean particle effects). Each time you (or the AI) drop flares there in one that acts as the "real" flare, the rest are plain eye-candy. And this one acts as a real flare, so it matters a lot the direction where it is fired in relation with incomming missile as well as your plane. The idea is to launch the flare there where the flare is more attractive for the missile than the plane, and also there where once the missile heads to the flare (or once the missile pass through the flare cloud), the missile will not be able to see your plane again (else it might re-lock on you). Also consider that for missiles you may configure how resistant are each one (or type) to flares. So you may have the case where the missile will head to the flare as soon as it sees it, and the case where the missile will head to the flare only if clearly closer than the plane (and visible by the missile), or cases where the missile is simply immune to flares. This last case is quite interesting for missiles configured with quite low maneouverability and quite limited cone of tracking, so you can play to outmaneouver the missile instead of using countermeasures.

[oktane 0]

Hi Mandoble

Looking forward to your release. Remember that issue we talked about on OFPEC about some scripts only storing variables on the client side? (I was making PvP warfare with mando and that was one of the issues.) I had tried to make vehicles purchased have both AI and player controlled mando functions on them, but the scripts did not share the same variables such as ammo count and stuff. (You recall that the AI attachment was a dumbed down version of a launcher without all the gui and stuff, just some nice LOS checks and such) Now that BIS has let us set network synced variables to vehicles, do you think that the AI and Player modes could share information? It would really help for PvP when there are AI teams involved.

[Defunkt 431]

Each time you (or the AI) drop flares there in one that acts as the "real" flare, the rest are plain eye-candy. And this one acts as a real flare, so it matters a lot the direction where it is fired in relation with incomming missile as well as your plane.

Where I'm heading with this is, can certain classes of aircraft, I'm thinking of slow and otherwise vulnerable types, have a greater ability to dispense countermeasures. So in the case of

it is dispensing in large quantities in multiple directions, extra eye-candy aside, what would be the best way to model this? More than one real flare (in this case 3)? Or an approximation by making the efficacy/attractiveness of the one real (rearward-launched) flare configurable (in this case higher)?

[kremator 1065]

When a C130 fire flares it looks like an angel. It should be possible to change the shape of this by a script.

EDIT Ahhhh just noticed Mandobes post !

[luckyhendrix 10]

Will the number of flare vary with the type of plane ? (I'm thinking about the mi-24 wich RIL has 192 flares whereas Ah-1Z only has 60)

[mandoble 1]

Defunkt, I will investigate the possibility to have more than one real flare per pack drop (potential problem might be performance hit).

luckyhendrix, of course, mission editor is free to set the max number of flares per plane type, or even individually (planes of same type but with different max number of them).

Just an example of how easy is that for automatic flares:

[["plane_class1","plane_class2","plane_class3"], 800, 1, 20, false, 0.5, false]execVM"mando_missiles\units\mando_missileecm_by_type.sqf";

[["plane_class4","plane_class5"], 1000, 1, 40, false, 0.5, false]execVM"mando_missiles\units\mando_missileecm_by_type.sqf";

mando_missileecm_by_type.sqf parameters:

- Array of vehicle classes that will use this setup for flares/claff

- Minimum distance beetween incomming missile and the unit to drop flares or chaff

- Type: 0 - Chaff, 1 - Flares

- Number of chaff or flares packs, each usage substracs one to this initial quantity

- radio: true/false, if unit sends radio messages indicating a missile incomming, chaff or flares dropped, missile evaded, etc.

- reactiontime (optional): The unit will wait a random number of seconds between 0 and this value before dropping countermeasures. This parameter is optional, if not provided the reaction delay time will be 0 seconds.

- Active only if pilot is not human (true, false): Optional parameter, default is true. If false, then while pilot is human automatic countermeasures are deactivated.

[Cyborg11 10]

Cool that you are releasing this for ArmA2 too :D

Question: Do you make a script version and an addon like in ArmA too ? :)

[Defunkt 431]

I asked the same question and the answer was; "Of course". :)

[mandoble 1]

Yes, it will be available as addon and script suite, as the A1 version. So, if you want to keep away of addon dependencies, no problem ;)

[mandoble 1]

Dev update:

- From TV you can now order the pilot to go higher or lower.

- TV Flir now self-adjust, so you can use it also during day.

- TV MDFs backgrounds and buttons positions and sizes are now fully configurable per plane/chopper type.

- RWR position is now configurable, as well as RWR image for west and east,res, civ planes.

- Added a script to enable flares per plane/chopper classes, there you indicate if they will work in auto for players in drive position or not.

- MCC has now FIRE button just below TARGET button.

- Added a button to the TV system to transmit locked on target, if you keep the lock, remote targetting capable units will be able to engage your target.

More to come ;)

[raptor 6 actual 13]

Sounds outstanding mate. Keep up the work.

[kremator 1065]

Any more MFDs Raptor ? First one was great !

[Hvymtal 1251]

HOLY SH*T!!!!!!!

(as in this is awesome)

[kremator 1065]

I have been testing this early beta for Mandoble and I can say that it is REALLY shining !

Mucho respect for what he is giving us here.

You guys will just be amazed when you see what it does for Arma2 missiles !

[raptor 6 actual 13]

@Kremator

Sorry, I've been busy with some minor issues elsewhere. I do have another MFD that comes from the SU-34. I just need to get the RGB values for that Russian rust proof blue paint. With Mandoble's configurable script now, you should be able to implement all of the buttons. I'll try to PM you later today or tomorrow and let you see the alpha version of it so you can compare the RL photo to the one I made in CS4

[kremator 1065]

Cool mate.

Don't worry about the PM ..... perhaps post a screenie here for the rest to drool over !

Good work BTW !

[galzohar 31]

How do you make missiles able to lock onto buildings (or any objects for that matter)?

[mandoble 1]

Well, first of all, mando missiles are not arma missiles, but scripted missiles. For example, you may have a tractor converted into a deadly ICBM nuclear missiles ;). Based on that, anything might be used as missile but also anything might be used as target for the missile. Of course you have there scripts to help you to lock on different types of things (potential targets). The target might be just a position, ground position, or a game logic placed there, or a plane, vehicle, ship, building, flare, chaff, etc.

Find here the full list of parameters you may use when firing or defining a mando missile.

[mandoble 1]

First ArmA2 anti-missile tests went well ;)

Patriot vs SCUD duel here:

MPBJGF7ZUjM

[.kju 3245]

Looking great!

What I dont quite understand is, why most people make transparent dialogs.

It makes dialogs less readable. In addition most of the time you don't need the viewable

area anyway. At least the mix allow you at best to see motion (movement).

Story short: How about making the background solid and instead move the dialogs to

the edges of the screens

Realism question to anyone: Do those US launcher batteries fire at such low angle

or only at a very step one?

[Simon C 0]

Realism question to anyone: Do those US launcher batteries fire at such low angle

or only at a very step one?

Judging from the pictures on Wikipedia of the Patriot, they seem to aim at about a 45 degree angle.

[vengeance1 50]

Looking good Mandoble, can't wait to get it back in the Mission.

Also: I like the Transparent Dialog, it has saved me more than once when I can still see an enemy approach.