moving vehicles in airbases

[Pat Pattle]

Something I've just noticed (or re-noticed!) is that the vehicles that trundle around the airfields only trundle when you select an air start in QC. Or rather they don't work if you select a runway start. I haven't checked in missions if this is still the case.

Am working on a taxiing aircraft which I have working and looks good but doesn't appear at all when taking off on QC mode. I have all the sliders on 5 so it's not that.

Anyone any thoughts?

[Pat Pattle]

Got it to work, the only way to get the animations working when taking off is to do it in a mission. Set the first waypoint as 'take off' then hand edit the mission afterwards to read 'turn' instead.

The model still needs work. You can't get a decent sound from a 'vehicle' model unfortunately.

[Cuttles]

Pretty neat, Clive!

I think Owen's and yours the 'Triumphe d'Arc Flag Mission' (absolutely fantastic mission, tracks flown and super Flag effect) had moving jeeps (or something) at pre-tkoff across the field. Quite realistic.

Great if could get the sound on the Sterlings...

[mongoose]

@ Clive. Great work! So if you change take off to turn, I assume one can still take off but see other ac taxiing? Passed message re Lancs to Ted so hopefully we will get the files to make taxiing lancs and NJG ac; might get you to do both!

[gecko]

Great work Clive, will be great to have those taxiing around the bases! One note on accuracy though, is it possible to model a blurred prop disc instead of blades? In reality a spinning prop is nearly invisible other than any visibility markings on the tips unless the engine is just starting. I may be able to fix up your sound a bit too, not certain though.

[Daiwilletti]

Something I've just noticed (or re-noticed!) is that the vehicles that trundle around the airfields only trundle when you select an air start in QC. Or rather they don't work if you select a runway start. I haven't checked in missions if this is still the case.

Am working on a taxiing aircraft which I have working and looks good but doesn't appear at all when taking off on QC mode. I have all the sliders on 5 so it's not that.

Anyone any thoughts?

Hi Clive, is it the game.xml file that has some options that affect the runway environment for the UI screen and missions? Things like canspawn=y, and other stuff (I don't have the files in front of me to refer to at the moment).

In stock, some of the options are turned off.

Another (slightly left-field) thing I've noticed with some of the stock aribase facilities is that the roads around the parts of the airbase are set to "notype" rather than "road". When I fly over and airbase, I get more vehicles trundling around when I edit some of the pathways to give them a "road" type in the xml file.

Not sure if this is really what you are after.

How about the frontend.xml file? That has some settings that may affect the pilot's experience while sitting on the runway?

cheers,
David

[Daiwilletti]

On re-reading your thread I think I understand your question better. You could make the taxiing aircraft a vehicle so it can follow a path you define in the airbase.xml file?

D

[HouseHobbit]

Moving vehicles around a base in a mission NOT A Problem.
I have done this in missions several times..
Aircraft models tend to want to take off when left as a Aircraft model, but chnge them to vehicles and they work well.
DPC Korea has some nice Aircraft as vehicles models one can use in missions..
I have mapped out a few ETO bases in the past in missions so I could place things better for my hobbit missions..
And mapped a few in Rising Sun also for this..
The editing of missions with Notepad or Word is needed to get things operating in many Hobbit missions.
The MB will not allow a takeoff speed set at 0.00, altitude set at 0.00
Have to change it to a turn as you stated..
Then close and save and they will work out well..

I Like the idea of having a Aircraft as a Vehicle..
it would give a mission Builder a chance to make the bases a bit more alive..
Thanks for this preview..

[Pat Pattle]

is it possible to model a blurred prop disc instead of blades?

It doesn't look so bad in game Daniel but I will re-model the props. If you can sort out a better sound that will be great, at the moment its set as a tracked vehicle category so uses that stock sound. I haven't investigated what the other sounds are like yet.


I've looked into the various xmls but nothing seems to be a switch to enable the animation normally.
Btw David, any idea what 'PlayerInAIMode="false" ' does in the game.xml?

[gecko]

It is possible to make an individual sound effect for it, so each type can have its own sound. How did you do this btw? Can existing aircraft be converted to taxiing vehicles?

[Capt. Winters]

Hi Clive,

You can make a existing aircraft model into a vehicle and get it to run around a predifined route, we did this for PTO with some float plane models that we wanted as taxiing targets in the harbours. the only draw back is the props do not spin.

regards Rob.

[Pat Pattle]

This model is Starry Nights original Gmax Halifax from the Simviation adopt-a-design pages so I can add to and fiddle with it quite easily.

It is possible to make an individual sound effect for it, so each type can have its own sound

Can you let me know how to add the sounds please Daniel, or I can send you the files to tinker with. I intend on doing a few more with the source aircraft that I have.

You can make a existing aircraft model into a vehicle and get it to run around a predifined route, we did this for PTO with some float plane models that we wanted as taxiing targets in the harbours. the only draw back is the props do not spin.

I hadn't tried this so that's interesting Rob. I'll try it with a tail dragger and see what happens. There may be ways of hexing the m3d to sort the props out.

[gecko]

I'll try to get something set up for the sounds in the next couple days.

If the plane can be made to taxi without prop animation, it ought to be possible to remove them via the alpha channel an effect could possibly be added in its place for a blurred prop.

[Daiwilletti]

I've looked into the various xmls but nothing seems to be a switch to enable the animation normally.
Btw David, any idea what 'PlayerInAIMode="false" ' does in the game.xml?

No idea, Clive, I've looked at my various 6 or so current or historic (ie non functional) installs and they all have Playerinaimode set to false. This is what I've got in ETO:

PlayerInAIMode="false"
CanExpandFacilities="true"
CanSpawnFormations="true"

I think spawns offer an option for a bit of life around an airbase. There used to be a number of spawn packages where you started a mission, and a whole lot of planes plonked themselves on the runway in front of you, and took off.

To make this sort of spawning event more certain, you can add the spawn table file name to the first section of your airbases's facility xml file. So for the RAF Scampton airbase, the xml file has something like (from ETO)

<Facility Type="RAF Scampton" Flags="isAirbase" OuterDistance="10001"> . What is done is to add a references to a spawn table name

<Facility Type="RAF Scampton" Flags="isAirbase" Spawns="airtakeoff.spawns" OuterDistance="10001">

Thinking about it, I wonder if the waypoints in the spawn set's xml files could have speed and distance parameters, such that the aircraft only got up to taxi speed? Changing the other runways from notakeoff to allow them to be used by AI aircraft and setting a distance parameter in the spawn xml files' waypoints might get the spawned aircraft to appear to be taxiing on the other runways.

Eg: <Route>
<Waypoint Type="takeoff" PositionType="ground" position="airbase" Distance="200"/>
<Waypoint Type="turn" PositionType="ground" Distance="250" Speed="10" Alt="0.0"/>
<Waypoint Type="turn" PositionType="ground" position="airbase" Distance="200" Speed="0" Alt="0"/>
</Route>
(Disclaimer: the foregoing Route is hypothetical and no warranty is given or implied that it might actually work )

Having a takeoff type of spawn embedded in the Scampton airbase and the canspawnformations set to = true, would mean that in the UI, you could have aircraft trundling around the airbase while your player sits on the cases or does whatever the cutscene animation provides for.

David

[Pat Pattle]

Having a takeoff type of spawn embedded in the Scampton airbase and the canspawnformations set to = true, would mean that in the UI, you could have aircraft trundling around the airbase while your player sits on the cases or does whatever the cutscene animation provides for.

Have tried adding spawns to the facilty but with no luck yet. Does this definately work? It would be great to have activity in the ui too!

[Daiwilletti]

Have tried adding spawns to the facilty but with no luck yet. Does this definately work? It would be great to have activity in the ui too!

Yes many moons ago I went through and set up airtakeoff spawns (probably from one of Charlie's sets) referenced in all airbase facilities. The trouble was, they worked TOO well. Sometimes depending on who knows what - perhaps the position of the takeoff aircraft determined by the objects.xml file, the spawning aircraft appeared amongst my takeoff group, which caused mayhem.

Hence my suggestion to try and get them to spawn on another runway so it doesn't get in the way of a mission. Perhaps just setting a distance to slightly greater would be the way to go. But it would be good getting them to spawn on a separate runway!

Obviously we need to find a good reliable spawn set first. No good testing something unproven. I'll have a rattle around a whole bunch of old stuff this weekend, hopefully (Friday already here - the advantages of being DownUnder). Then I'll see if I get get something happening at Scampton.

cheers,
David

[Pat Pattle]

Looking forward to seeing what you can conjour up David!

This is the result so far, a nice busy airfield scene. The frame rates aren't too good but thats more to do with Fraps than anything else, it's much smoother without it.

I now have kind permission from Mathias to make a taxiing Lancaster as well. I'll bundle all this lot up soon and upload it.

[MajorMagee]

That looks brilliant.

[mongoose]

Wow!:salute: There is so much going on there! Trucks one way, taxiing ac other and then flying ones as well. very impressed and dying to see how you did that all! Must be a lot of those horrible "splines"!:isadizzy: We have UK trucks? From what were you taking that from (looking at the shadow)?

[Pat Pattle]

re is so much going on there! Trucks one way, taxiing ac other and then flying ones as well. very impressed and dying to see how you did that all! Must be a lot of those horrible "splines"!:isadizzy: We have UK trucks? From what were you taking that from (looking at the shadow)?

It's dead easy to add the paths (splines) in Gmax if you have the airfield source though you could do it in gmax by creating a plane of the same size as the facility and creating bmp of the dds file to texture it. The other way would be via the CFS3 facility editor.

There's only 4 paths here James, 1 taxiing, 2 trucks and 1 personnel (b_troopers). You can place vehicle(s) on any point of the path so those crew tucks are all travelling on the same path. The path by the hangars is a figure 8 so you get the impression of vehicles in all directions!

The crew truck is already in ETO and BoB (without the crew) - ACC_Thorneycroft_truck - I'll inlcude this new version in with the upload. The viewing vehicle is a driveable Albion tanker I've made. I really ought to get this stuff up and off my HD!

[HouseHobbit]

WOW!! This is too COOL!!

[mongoose]

It's dead easy to add the paths (splines) in Gmax if you have the airfield source though you could do it in gmax by creating a plane of the same size as the facility and creating bmp of the dds file to texture it. The other way would be via the CFS3 facility editor.

There's only 4 paths here James, 1 taxiing, 2 trucks and 1 personnel (b_troopers). You can place vehicle(s) on any point of the path so those crew tucks are all travelling on the same path. The path by the hangars is a figure 8 so you get the impression of vehicles in all directions!

The crew truck is already in ETO and BoB (without the crew) - ACC_Thorneycroft_truck - I'll inlcude this new version in with the upload. The viewing vehicle is a driveable Albion tanker I've made. I really ought to get this stuff up and off my HD!

I will check it out when you put it up. I didn't even know we had moving personnel!

BTW I don't find either b_troopers or ACC_Thorneycroft_truck in any of my 8 or so installs!

[Daiwilletti]

Looking forward to seeing what you can conjour up David!

This is the result so far, a nice busy airfield scene. The frame rates aren't too good but thats more to do with Fraps than anything else, it's much smoother without it.

I now have kind permission from Mathias to make a taxiing Lancaster as well. I'll bundle all this lot up soon and upload it.

Hi Clive,
I had a helluva job getting spawns to trigger because I didn't follow my own advice to start off with proven spawn sets. I just tried to bung in something along the lines of the attempted taxiing spawns. I don't have the skills to do that sadly :isadizzy:.

The other thing that threw me off is I remembered that in the standard Railyard facility files, the spawn reference is made under the FLAGS section in the header ie. Flags="israilyard,spawnsRailTraffic". So I started to try and include the spawn reference in the Flags label.

But success has been to use the separate entry as originally mentioned:

Spawns="cap.spawns" in the first entries of the ACC_Scampton facility file. Attached some screenies, I had cap spawns set up so that two separate sets of bombers spawned this time. Note the purple indicator on the TAC - thats because CAP spawns have mission goals etc for campaign missions!
Amazing how much time this all sucks up - I still haven't gotten any takeoff spawns to work.

Attachment 86401 Attachment 86402

Once I've found some reliable takeoff spawns I'll try 'em in the Scampton airbase facility file.

Love your working airbase!!

[Pat Pattle]

This is great David, the airbases are pretty sterile so any activity is most welcome. Would love to have the odd trainer doing bumps or aircraft landing etc.

edit: have tried adding the lines as you say but am getting nothing David, can you paste the line(s) here so I can have a go too please?
I noticed there are take off spawns in the ETO install. I've opened some files in the MB, it's a whole area of the game I've never delved into.

[Daiwilletti]

This is great David, the airbases are pretty sterile so any activity is most welcome. Would love to have the odd trainer doing bumps or aircraft landing etc.

edit: have tried adding the lines as you say but am getting nothing David, can you paste the line(s) here so I can have a go too please?
I noticed there are take off spawns in the ETO install. I've opened some files in the MB, it's a whole area of the game I've never delved into.

Well I'm not sure if its just the facility file, Clive.

Here is the facility file header line:

<Facility Type="RAF Scampton" Flags="isAirbase" Spawns="cap.spawns" OuterDistance="10001">

Here is the frontend.xml (just in case its influential somehow, particularly for UI spawns):

<Params Version="3.0" Directive="intercept" Country="USA" Airbase="fowe66" TotalGoals="3" Aircraft="P-47D-25" Date="6/6/1944" Time="11:25" CanSpawn="Yes" Weather="ScatteredClouds2Low.xml"/>

Here is my cap.spawns file (IIRC this is totally stock but can't vouch for the actual xml spawn files):

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<SpawnControl Stop="n" Priority="1000">
<Spawns Roll="1D5">
<Spawn ID="1" FormationType="cap_air_eub"/>
<Spawn ID="2" FormationType="cap_air_eub1"/>
<Spawn ID="3" FormationType="cap_air_eub2"/>
<Spawn ID="4" FormationType="cap_air_eeb"/>
<Spawn ID="5" FormationType="cap_air_eefb"/>
</Spawns>
</SpawnControl>

Several of the xml cap files are stock. So if you are testing the Scampton airbase in Era 3 ETO, remember to select stock spawns.

Also as mentioned from game.xml file:

<General MaxBullets="120" PlayerInAIMode="false" CanExpandFacilities="true" CanSpawnFormations="true"

Really some of the above shouldn't be of influence. Just need the spawns entry in the facility.xml file, and the working spawns. Other stuff may help aircraft appear in the frontend and UI. I often get bombers attacking my airfield in other installs where this is set up.

NB: Presumably the spawned air formations that appear in the UI/frontend are generated by the air.spawns file, not by the spawns called for by the airbase facility file. The spawns referenced in the airbase facility file appear in missions: either scripted missions or campaign missions.

Now I need to find some working takeoff spawns.....