Anyone know how to Add AI traffic to carriers?

[Hooky722]

is there a program for this or is it only possible for the default FSX carriers. I would like to make an airgroup of AI F-4K's and perhaps Rob Richardsons AI Gannet on the Ark Royal.

Thanks Hooky.

[expat]

Hey Hooky. Can't put AI on moving FSX AI carriers. Only work on static (bgl scenery) carriers.

[dhazelgrove]

You must have an AFCAD for AI traffic, and FSX doesn't allow for moving ones.

Sorry, but it simply won't work.

You can use SAMM (http://stuff4fs.com/open.asp?Folder=SAMM&JS=TRUE) to create static models from your AI that you can place using your preferred scenery editor.

Dave

[Corvette99]

You can use AIBTC - AI Boat Traffic Compiler to add boat traffic . You plot the course on google earth , pick you boat , and compile into a BGL . Not that hard , a little time consuming though . And they do move , at the speed you tell them to . About 25 knots for a carrier . Quite different from landing on a static AI Carrier .

[Hooky722]

Thanks for the clarification guys I could have sworn that one of the default fsx carrier missions had you and your w/m start off from a moving carrier but I guess it must have been a static carrier not near the pc to check atm.
Anyone know of any fg.1 models icould use to make a deck Park do yer? Thanks again

Hooky

[fsafranek]

is there a program for this or is it only possible for the default FSX carriers. I would like to make an airgroup of AI F-4K's and perhaps Rob Richardsons AI Gannet on the Ark Royal.

Thanks Hooky.
You've probably got the answer by now but AFAIK it is not an option in FSX.
It was done on the Alphasim Enterprise in FS9 because the ship was scenery that didn't move and could therefore have an afcad runway on it.
:ernaehrung004:

[expat]

Here is the AI carrier CV-34 Oriskany (done by Gary I recall) that I converted to a fixed scenery bgl using ModelcoverterX. I planted it on Dixie Station and then with ADE built two AFCAD airports: one normal one at deck level with parking and a runway for AI to do regular touch and goes in the pattern off the angled deck, and a second invisible one at sea level to counter the "rising ocean" problem in FSX. This screenie actually has three different types of aircraft: Gary's hump back A-4's that are bgl's and baked into the ship scenery model, the A-4C's on the bow and F8U are my own AI jets that do touch and goes, and the Demon is a flyable that I trapped on the non moving Oriskany. The setup also has A-3B's, A-1's and E-1's flying from land to the carrier and vice versa and TNG's.

https://s29.postimg.io/5la7vb70n/cv34a.jpg

[dhasdell]

You can start a flight from a moving carrier. The Flying Stations Victorious includes a couple. To do it yourself you have to create and save a flight in the usual way, with the a/c on deck, then edit the mission file (away from my comp at present, so can't check the suffix ) so that the Start on Ground line is changed from True to False. Then resave it.

[DaveB]

If this could be done.. I'd already be doing it!! I have one ship which comes close.. the old Alpha Belleau Wood which has AV8's and Sea Knights landing on and taking off but these are in essence, part of the model and not strictly AI.
John Young did a nice set of AI FGR's. He may have made some statics too.
ATB
DaveB:)

[DaveWG]

I'm sure it could be done with a custom program similar to AirTrafficFX or HeliTraffic directly controlling the AI aircraft. An opportunity for a cleaver programmer.

[maikchaos]

Here is the AI carrier CV-34 Oriskany (done by Gary I recall)

https://s29.postimg.io/5la7vb70n/cv34a.jpg

Hm, is just my Browser faulty or is the picture/link broken. Can't see pic :(

Maik

[DaveB]

I see the pic in the original post and in your quote:encouragement:

ATB
DaveB:)

[expat]

Here it is from an image posting site:

http://s11.postimg.org/df9jtcj0j/cv34a.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/maae3v7sv/)

[expat]

Now that is strange. I do see it in the original post and quote and my link to the image hosting site - when I am at my work PC. But here at my home PC I only see the screenie I last posted from the hosting site, and not in my original post or the quote above.

[maikchaos]

So im not the only one with the picture problem.

If you finished the work with the static Oriskany id like to see it working, maybee you want share it with us ;)
I love Carrier Ops, but it's boring to be the only one who wants to land :adoration:

[spatialpro]

I believe there is an esteemed gentleman out there working on-and-off (pun!) on carrier AI aircraft traffic... If you're reading this you know who you are!

Andy

[fsafranek]

There has also been some discussion on this over in a thread about the SimWorks Studio F-4B/N Phantom II project.
They are working on Coral Sea and Midway carriers for Vietnam era to be included in the packages.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?88183-SimWorks-Studios-F-4B-Phantom-II/page17
:ernaehrung004:

[codeseven]

AI Carrier Ops has been a long sought after feature for many years. I for one tried for several months on end to get an AI to take off (no problem), land (no problem) and then come to a stop on the deck (big problem!). They land just fine, slow down, suddenly speed up, then veer off to starboard (usually) and roll right off the deck. Much less actually hooking a wire and coming to a stop.

In CFS2, after repeatedly playing with AI flight parameters, I finally witnessed a completely stock Wildcat take off, land AND come to a complete stop at the end of the deck, but I could nevertheless it to do the same again.

[DaveSHQ]

There is a mission somewhere IIRC that has F-18s taking off from the Nimitz. Played around with it for awhile until my HD crashed. Can't remember where i got it.

[xpelekis]

I'm sure it could be done with a custom program similar to AirTrafficFX or HeliTraffic directly controlling the AI aircraft. An opportunity for a cleaver programmer.
Such a program is CCP :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsDf2hAL94M

Until everyone takes off - user & AIs - carrier has to be static. After that carrier may start moving for
an easier landing for user. You can also populate a static carrier with static AIs - somewhat like scenery - the
same way.
AIs can't land on carrier but they fly on predefined Wpts (in CCP), heading for some task or just patroling over the
carrier.

For achieving this, you have to change by hand the CCP created files, for defining AI spawn positions (co-ordinates, flight deck altitude, heading),
after actually being there - in slew mode - for retrieving this info.

Works in Free Flight & Mission system.

The other way, is to go the mission way :

[xpelekis]

In Missions, you can have AIs taking off & Landing in "FS Recorder
style", ie, maximum & free manouverability (with the AI Playback action
of missions that uses the native FSX video recorder, ie, pre-recorded take offs & landing
of the AIs of interest), while in between AIs fly in static or dynamic Waypoints relative to user or
other AIs (or changing between such Wpt lists, on user's or mission's command).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIqEli7jkN8

Personally, I prefere combining these functions by using CCP inside Mission environment.

[Victory103]

There is a mission somewhere IIRC that has F-18s taking off from the Nimitz. Played around with it for awhile until my HD crashed. Can't remember where i got it.

The LLFT in Hawaii FSX mission is one I have that a division of F-18s conduct a low level flight and then land on a static CVN-68. Ed Olander has several basic missions as well with AI on and off the boat. "xpelekis has taken this feature to new levels with CCP and his missions. Seeing the MAIW packages with modified airfiles allowing the AI to land on the "scenery" boat with an co-located afcad file was very cool, but again static boat.

[Mickey D]

Not possible I'm afraid for all the reasons stated. If it was we'd have done it for the Enterprise.

[SkippyBing]

I have done it, it fact it might still be an undocumented feature of the Flying_Stations add-on that's in development hell. The main issue is that after I got it working for one aircraft you'd find another couldn't make the turns as tight and would stall or just fly endless orbits around the carrier.
Basically it just passed waypoints to the AI aircraft which were calculated based on the carriers course and speed. Stopping is just a case of setting the aircraft's velocity to 0 once it's on the deck.

[codeseven]

I have done it, it fact it might still be an undocumented feature of the Flying_Stations add-on that's in development hell. The main issue is that after I got it working for one aircraft you'd find another couldn't make the turns as tight and would stall or just fly endless orbits around the carrier.
Basically it just passed waypoints to the AI aircraft which were calculated based on the carriers course and speed. Stopping is just a case of setting the aircraft's velocity to 0 once it's on the deck.


Interesting SB, thanks.

When the AI land on deck, slow down, but then veer off to one side or the other (usually starboard) and then roll off the deck, is that because the 0 velocity setting has not been set? I've managed to have them land on moving carriers but they would never completely stop on deck.

Also, it should be noted that everything I managed to do with AI and carriers was done in CFS2. I'm only assuming the techniques used to control AI in CFS2 would transfer over to FSX.

[xpelekis]

I'm thinking that AI's absolut speed should not set to 0, but to carriers current speed.
Thus relative to carrier speed is 0.

I've tried landing planes with hook - used as AIs - on static carrier. They "hit" deck at proper point
for caching the wires, but I'm not sure if the fault is that hook don't extend or AOA is less than needed
for hook to catch the wires (almost certain about the second).

[Ripcord]

I have done it, it fact it might still be an undocumented feature of the Flying_Stations add-on that's in development hell. The main issue is that after I got it working for one aircraft you'd find another couldn't make the turns as tight and would stall or just fly endless orbits around the carrier.
Basically it just passed waypoints to the AI aircraft which were calculated based on the carriers course and speed. Stopping is just a case of setting the aircraft's velocity to 0 once it's on the deck.

SB that was you that built the Flying Stations 1940 Victorious carrier, wasn't it? The one that uses a gauge to detect your tailhook position, and then that, in turn, triggers some cool deck animations, a crash barrier or something... I studied that as a template for my carrier project, and thanks to you go guys, and a LOT of help over at FSdevelopers, I now have working elevators on my carrier.

So given this context, I am going to assume that you used some kind of XML gauge to move AI aircraft objects around your ship. These are true AI with speed/heading/altitude and other parameters being edited by the gauge, no? I was wondering myself if that might work.

I was able to create a successful carrier trap in a mission environment. I think what I did was created two aircraft. One was a helo below decks. For the jet aircraft that I wanted to land on deck, I have that one a series of waypoint that intersects an area behind the ship. Then I set up an area trigger that told the aircraft to turn on to the same heading as the carrier. Then I assigned it a lower altitude, and then as it got closer to the back to the boat, I use another area trigger to make it 'follow' the helo. Can't remember exactly what that was bit I was us FSX Mission Editor by Jim Keir in those days. When the speed slowed enough I set a trigger for that (or maybe altitude was the trigger there) and made it drop gear, extend flags, tailhook, etc. The jet would gradually do a controlled crash onto the deck. I used another altitude trigger (calculating the altitude when it touched the deck) to tell the thing to cut it's engines and apply brakes. Worked quite nicely. Never when beyond that, never got it to taxi to parking or anything lovely, but that much I was able to do -- unfortunately in a mission environment only, though.

[xpelekis]

Can't remember exactly what that was but I was us FSX Mission Editor by Jim Keir in those days

Discussion has gone too far but just for the shake of it, let me remind you what was
the "magic" that made available things you describe in Mission environment such as :

- a helo below decks, I use another area trigger to make it 'follow' the helo
- trigger to made it drop gear, extend flaps, tailhook, etc.
- trigger to tell the thing to cut it's engines and apply brakes :

SIMVAR.exe via which FSX/P3D Mission system communicates with simconnect, reading all available sim variables
and via mission triggers (custom actions), triggers events (applies keystroke commands) for the AI to
drop flaps, gear, etc...

I've tried a similar approach to what you describe, much simpler though and for static carrier in my case.

[codeseven]

You guys are much smarter about this stuff than I was using the Mission Editor back in the day in CFS2. If I remember right, I was simply programming the AI to land on an 'airfield' at a certain time and location. That 'airfield matched the speed and height of the moving carrier deck. Couldn't get them to stop on deck though. I even tried programming the carrier to slightly speed up, turn to starboard and slow to a stop, in an attempt to keep the landing AI on deck. But it seemed as though the AI were seeking somewhere else to stop.