Searchlights in QC

[Threedp]

So in the Mohne Dam facility XML file, I replaced the white searchlights with the newer TOW searchlights and got these great shots:





And now I'm all fired up to return to something I started long ago but regrettably did not document. I want to add TOW searchlights to cites and such for Quick Combat. I did it to a limited extent by replacing objects in some XML files, but I now forget which ones! I replaced existing objects like flak guns as I have no idea what the position settings are and I didn't want to really mess stuff up.

I do recall that Ankor (I think) said that that searchlights effectively turn off during the day, so there's no danger of odd looking searchlights in the daytime.

So, anyone have any ideas what XML files I should be altering and if there are 'safe' position setting I can use to add them to flak batteries and such?

[Threedp]

While I'm still in the market for advice, especially on adding the searchlights to things rather than replacing things, I do seem to have found the stuff to be changed, at least what I thought when I first embarked on this venture last year. I had a working install that I saved and by comparing differences in modified files to my 'clean' install, I've pick up the scent where I left off!

[Threedp]

It's all coming back to me! In the screenshot below, I rather randomly modified an airbase XML file (rather overdid it actually!) and the effect is good initially, but very rapidly, they all end up pointing in the same direction. After a bit, possibly due to provocation by me flying at them (not sure), they move a bit but then end up doing the same thing again. Any ideas why? I apologize as I really have no idea what I'm doing game-wise, but as I work in XML, I thought I'd give it a go.

[Threedp]

New working theory: The Angle setting in the XML is effectively a default setting that the searchlights lock into when not trying to track enemy aircraft. When flying over a friendly airfield, they appeared to lock into position and stay there but when I flew to a hostile airbase (the searchlights of which had by that time locked to their default positions), they started probing for me and my flight as they should.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? Also, can anyone simply explain how the Position and Angle settings work? I'd just like to add the searchlights to assorted facilities but I don't want something that looks like a Star Trek transporter accident (searchlights half-buried in walls, etc.)!

Historical question: Cities obviously had searchlight batteries. Did airfields, or would that have called too much attention to them?

Experimentation continues . . .

[Threedp]

Progress!

[Daiwilletti]

Looking good! I use Richard Eiland's Mission and Facility editor to place things quickly and easily in a facility. It was uploaded by Househobbit at my suggestion. It is under CFS3 - Other

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum....php?catid=159. One quirk to watch for that I've never worked out how to get around is the # randomiser is stripped off entries in the facility file once it is edited - you have to go back and manually enter the # where needed.

[Bravo/4]

Looking good, anything that makes quick combat better gets my thumbs up!

[mongoose]

I have a whole set of searchlights for England and the Kammhuber Line in Europe, together with AA for Era2 and 3 GSLs. They should be available whenever Nachtpiloten and I get around to releasing a TOW Era 1 install; this year at least!

As for QC, Daiwilletti's advice on placing searchlight facilities seems good and the CFS3 Mission Editor is a great app.

You can always play around with the angles in the xml which are basically common sense and follow what a flak gun would do.

[mongoose]

I thought this was here somewhere. From the Kammhuber Line era 3.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/6gerx42hbieqac6/TOW_Searchlights.mp4/file

[Threedp]

Having reasonable success and learning. Thanks for the tips above. Question: does anyone know how searchlight batteries were laid out at the small scale level, i.e. if I have three searchlights, should they be in a ring or in a straight line, etc.?

[mongoose]

You could try this or check on line for historical info, I have it somewhere but can't check now.

towGB_searchlight_3.xml

<Facility Type="Searchlights" Flags="isMilitary" OuterDistance="10000">
<Units>
<Unit Type="towGB_searchlight_white" Position="0 0" Angle="-241" />
<Unit Type="towGB_searchlight_white" Position="50 150" Angle="30" />
<Unit Type="towGB_searchlight_white" Position="50 -150" Angle="336" />
</Units>

[Threedp]

Thanks! Wish I'd thought of that!

[33lima]

On disposition of searchlights, this is what Alfred Price says in the chapter 'The Flak Arm' in Ian Allen's 1977 'Luftwaffe Handbook':

"Searchlights operating with Heavy Flak
The most-used searchlight in the Luftwaffe at the beginning of the Second World War was the 150cm Flakscheinwerfer 37. The unit for the deployment of searchlights was the Abteilung with three (later four) Batterien each with nine (later between twelve and sixteen) lights. During the early war period the searchlights were laid out in a chessboard pattern, with intervals of about three miles between individual lights; this searchlight zone was positioned outside the Flak engagement area, in the 'zone of preparation' (see page 80). The lights were assisted in finding their targets by sound locators or, later, by radar.

"During 1942 the more powerful 200cm Flakscheinwerfer 40 entered service; usually these were positioned close to the radar of a heavy Flakbatterie, so that they could use its information to assist in locating the target. When employed in this way the 200cm searchlight served as the master light (Leitgruppe), and once it was on target the three 150cm satellite lights working with it were switched on to 'cone' the aircraft. A typical layout for such a group of four lights comprised the Master Light in the centre, and the three satellite lights at the corners of a triangle each about one-and-a-half miles from the Master. The interval between one Master Light and the next was about 3 miles."

The page 80 referred to has an annotated diagram with three concentric circles around the 'vulnerable point' that is to be defended. The inner circle is labelled 'line of bomb release' and has a radius of 4400yds. The middle circle has a radius of 11,000yds (6,600 beyond the inner one) and the area inside this is labelled 'Flak engagement zone'. The outer circle has a radius of 13,200yds and the area between this and the middle circle is is labelled 'zone of preparation'. There is also a section 'Principles of siting heavy flak' which descriibes this in more detail.'Heavy flak' would be 7.5cm and above, typically 8.8cm, 10.5cm and 12.8cm, along with captured enemy kit like the Soviet 85mm. In the diagram, there are three Flakbatterien inside the inner circle, in a rough triangle centred on the 'vulnerable point'.

PS just found the diagram here: http://www.429sqn.ca/flak.htm

[mongoose]

There are TOW mixed flak/searchlight facilities so maybe the UK one wasn't what you wanted.

tk_searchlight_battery.XML

<Facility Type="tkdr1_searchlight_battery" Flags="" OuterDistance="10">
<Units>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-401.89 -400.99" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="404.84 700.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="404.84 -400.99" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="404.84 -696.15" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="702.95 -696.15" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="702.95 -400.99" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="404.84 404.84" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="702.95 404.84" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="702.95 700.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-700.00 700.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-401.89 700.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-401.89 404.84" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-700.00 404.84" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-700.00 -696.15" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-401.89 -696.15" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="g_88mm" Position="-700.00 -400.99" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="gc_searchlight_blue" Position="0.00 0.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="-1000.00 1000.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="-1000.00 0.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="-1000.00 -1000.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="0.00 -1000.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="1000.00 -1000.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="1000.00 0.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="1000.00 1000.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="-3.76 1000.00" Angle="0.00"/>
</Units>
<GroundPlanes/>
<Routes/>
</Facility>


or

tk_searchlight_battery_aft.XML

<Facility Type="search_light_aft" Flags="isMilitary" OuterDistance="10">
<Units>
<Unit Type="gc_searchlight_blue" Position="0.00 0.00" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="-2000.00 1805.96" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tow_searchlight_white" Position="2000.00 1805.96" Angle="0.00"/>
<Unit Type="tk_wurzburg_c" Position="0.00 -499.39" Angle="0.00"/>
</Units>
<GroundPlanes/>
<Routes/>
</Facility>




PM if you need the tk_wurzburg_c by NachtPiloten. In fact all these facilities are thanks to him.

[Threedp]

Thanks everyone for the input! I think I'm ready to put this one to bed. I'm planning on dropping groups of searchlights into various facilities so as to give a decent impression when in QC. I don't plan on put them right in or closely encircling targets like factories as that would unrealistically call attention to the target, so I plan to offset them a bit. My question now is, which facilities? My thought is those starting with "industrial_". Any others?

[Daiwilletti]

Well, Threedp, depending upon which install (and era) you intend to use the searchlights, they could be associated with stand alone HAA flak positions. There are a lot already in Pat's Bob and ETO Era 2 for Britain, not sure about ETO Era 3 and later. For Europe I don't recall how many flak facilities are built in. If it was historically accurate to have a coastal line of flak, you could tag some searchlights to military_invasion_defences and Ports?

I'm not sure how the separation is achieved. Is the searchlight facility given a nice big groundplane (smaller facilities are often only 250 x 250), so it appears offset to the existing facility? Something like 3,000 x 3,000?

I don't recall if a facility can be included in another facility or if it has to be hand written into the Global_layer as a nearby facility. Whoops, maybe I should read the preceding posts!

Or are you planning to include the searchlights as a cluster of new units rather than as a complete facility?

Another way to introduce them would be as a ground spawn in the ground.spawns file. Ground spawns do show up in QC mode, but in a random and unpredictable fashion.

[Threedp]

Thanks for all the feedback. I have to confess that much of it is well beyond my knowledge base! I've always just wanted to add searchlights to QC (across all eras) as that is often the way I play CFS3. With my limited skills, the only way I could figure out how to do it in a relatively quick and easy fashion was to add them to common facilities that one typically runs into in QC. So I'm just adding lines for TOW searchlights to the common facilities. If there's an easier way to achieve it, I'm open to it, but I really don't want to bother anyone! The advice everyone's been so kind to provide already has been ample and much appreciated. The coastal defenses is a great point, so I'll look into that!

[mongoose]

AFAIK, I think searchlights in QC are a different proposition from searchlights in GSL's and missions or campaigns. As someone who never normally flies in QC, I might be wrong? Maybe adding them to faculties might work.

[Threedp]

After dropping TOW searchlights into industrial_ and flak tower facilities, I got a hot reception in a QC mission over Berlin in my PR Mosquito!

[Threedp]

Anyone interested in testing this?