Custom air bases: Can't repair planes in multiplayer games?

[RichNagel]

I have a weird problem here.

Me and my buddies have several custom scenery packs installed, and I've created custom entries in our "Airbases.dat" files so that our aircraft can be repaired/rearmed/refueled at them while playing multiplayer games.

Now... in my own custom "Gilligan's Island" scenery, the aircraft repairing/rearming/refueling works just fine. But, at two other airfields that we have installed that are included in two other add-on scenery packs the repairing/rearming/refueling does NOT seem to function (?).

Here are our entries in our "Airbases.dat" files for the custom airfields:


[runway.130]
id=1080
name=Gilligan's Island Airstrip
base_lat=N10 0.00
base_lon=W139 59.72
base_alt=0
heading=81.19
allegiance=0
units_across=2
takeoff_start_pos=-400,0
takeoff_stop_pos=1600,200
landing_start_pos=5000,350
landing_touchdown_pos=500,0
landing_stop_pos=-250,0

[runway.131]
id=1081
name=Glacier National Park Airstrip
base_lat=N48 40.09
base_lon=W113 37.74
base_alt=4677
heading=236
allegiance=0
units_across=2
takeoff_start_pos=-400,0
takeoff_stop_pos=1600,200
landing_start_pos=5000,350
landing_touchdown_pos=500,0
landing_stop_pos=-250,0

[runway.132]
id=1082
name=*Interlaken
base_lat=N46 41.50
base_lon=E7 50.03
base_alt=2425
heading=228
allegiance=0
units_across=2
takeoff_start_pos=-600,0
takeoff_stop_pos=1600,200
landing_start_pos=5000,350
landing_touchdown_pos=500,0
landing_stop_pos=-250,0

...and attached is a pic of the airfields, and they DO INDEED display within the CFS2 mission builder (as well as the "Advanced Info" map screen while in-game).

Does anyone have any idea why the repairing/rearming/refueling doesn't work at Interlaken and Glacier National Park Airstrip? Like I said previously, it DOES work at my custom Gilligan's Island scenery.

P.S. "Glacier National Park Airstrip" is something that I've previously uploaded here at SOH, and "Interlaken" is from CFS1 (I created a pack of the entire CFS1 scenery for me and my multiplayer buddies to use).

[MaskRider]

Not sure about the re-arming and repairing but adding a refueling station via FSSC will provide refueling functionality to your airstrips- it may even add rearming/repairing functionality, too. I'm not sure about that though. The airbases.dat entry wouldn't have anything to do with it. A refueling area must be added via FSSC (or some other scenery building utility) in order for it to be available at an airfield.

MR

[Shadow Wolf 07]

Were the "non-repairing" airbases built, using FSSC (or some other utility) or placed as infrastructure, using Mission Builder? I'm not sure, but I doubt that infrastructure airstrips will refuel/rearm/repair. As Maskrider recommends, I would suggest adding a fuel node, using FSSC or other. :wiggle:

[MaskRider]

I'm not sure, but I doubt that infrastructure airstrips will refuel/rearm/repair.

They won't. They are eye candy only.

MR

[RichNagel]

Thanks for the info, but I don't think that a fuel-box added to the scenery files would enable aircraft repairing.

The reason that I think this is, all of the stock CFS2 airfields do not have fuel-boxes (short of a third-party scenery addon, such as "CFSII Stock Fields Fuel and ADF" by Steve McClelland), yet your aircraft will be repaired when landing and coming to a complete stop on them during multiplayer games. You always have to be directly on the runway in order for your aircraft to be repaired, and it can be anywhere on the runway... but if you are just a few feet off of the stock CFS2 runways, the "Aircraft Repaired" message won't be displayed.

As far as the type of airstrip, all three of them are real scenery airstrips, and not infrastructure placed using the mission builder.

[MaskRider]

Never done much online/multi-player flying- mainly when I was partnered up with Lindsay Watt and we would do the occasional online scenery testing together. Totally unfamiliar with it except to mention that the reason I first added refueling-areas to my add-on scenery was at the request of online/multi-player users who were using my scenery.

MR

[Shadow Wolf 07]

It has been a long time since I flew multiplayer, but I think I can recall that the MR add-on bases did repair and rearm combatants. MR's Henderson was the only one over which I engaged in combat.

[RichNagel]

I looked for MaskRider's Henderson here at SOH but couldn't find it. Was it a replacement for the stock CFS2 Henderson?

If so, maybe that's why the reparing worked, maybe because it was in the same location as the stock CFS2 airfield?

I'm really stumped here... my Gilligan's Island scenery's runway does indeed repair, but the others mentioned previously do not.

Me and a buddy also just tried another experiment: We started at another CFS1 airfield (Abbeville) and it didn't repair our aircraft either (like I posted previously, we have the CFS1 scenery installed in CFS2). I tried Abbeville simply because it already has an entry in the "Airbases.dat" file. Nevertheless, we didn't get repaired there either... strange.

[RichNagel]

After a TON of Googling, I stumbled on this really old message over at Flightsim.com posted by Martin Wright, and it sheds a lot of light on this:

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Providing the scenery comes with a proper runway (i.e. a normal Flight Simulator type runway rather than the CFS2 library object runway) it will have multiplayer repair/rearm/refuel already.

If it hasn't then you could use Airport to add a proper runway at the desired location.

It is a side effect of runways that they provide multiplayer repair/rearm/refuel (providing you have sustained some damage). However some sceneries use the library object runways instead of real ones. These just act like any other library object so don't offer the repair/rearm/refuel functions.

Note that you will only get the repair/rearm/refuel functions if you have suffered some damage. If you are undamaged and just want fuel and ammo... you won't get it.

I reckon the main function is actually "repair" and you get ammo/fuel as a side effect of repairing the plane. If it has no damage then CFS2 won't bother repairing it (and so you won't get the fuel and ammo either).
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This would explain why my Gilligan's Island scenery works... it is a TRUE Flight Simulator type runway that I created in the "Airport" scenery designer utility.

For Glacier National Park, I created a CFS2 type runway using Martin Wright's "MakeAFD" utility, which as far as I can tell MAY only be a CFS2 library object runway contained in the resulting BGL scenery file.

Lastly, I'm thinking that ALL of the CFS1 runways are simply library objects contained in the various BGL scenery files.

[Shadow Wolf 07]

I looked for MaskRider's Henderson here at SOH but couldn't find it. Was it a replacement for the stock CFS2 Henderson?

If so, maybe that's why the reparing worked, maybe because it was in the same location as the stock CFS2 airfield?

I'm really stumped here... my Gilligan's Island scenery's runway does indeed repair, but the others mentioned previously do not.

Me and a buddy also just tried another experiment: We started at another CFS1 airfield (Abbeville) and it didn't repair our aircraft either (like I posted previously, we have the CFS1 scenery installed in CFS2). I tried Abbeville simply because it already has an entry in the "Airbases.dat" file. Nevertheless, we didn't get repaired there either... strange.

MR's Henderson can be found in his Solomons scenery pack/download. It/they was created with a version of FSSC.

[Blood_Hawk23]

You need to add an AFD file.

You will need all of the info from the airbase.dat file.

from that you can make the AFD file with this.

http://www.mwgfx.co.uk/download/mkafd2.zip

Enter the data into MKAFD. Select an FS runway from the Tabs. Choose no runway from the drop down. then select "Create AFD source". Save the file to what ever name you want. next choose "Create AFD BGL". Save it. I would add "-AFD" to the name. That way you don't overwrite your scenery.

If you want a fuel area you can use FSSC. This takes a little work but I add all of mine with it. It can be added to existing scenery. Just leave out the runway. You can use the yellow box or make it a different texture. With or with out the pump. When you save the scenery add "-FUEL" to the bgl file name.

If you need a had with either program just let me know.

[RichNagel]

Thanks for the info, Blood_Hawk23, but all three of the scenery packs in question have proper AFD files.

That being said, I created invisible runways for Interlaken and Glacier National Park Airstrip, and they finally now do indeed work for aircraft repairing in multiplayer games :) Me and a buddy just tested it, works like a champ :)

BTW, I used MakeAFD to create the runways with... was a lot easier than having to re-install the "Airport" scenery designer (that I used to be familiar with eons ago), and having to re-learn it <grin>.

P.S. For anyone interested, attached is a ZIP with the BGLs and SCASM source code for the fixes for CFS1 Interlaken and my Glacier National Park Airstrip scenery :)