Setting up runways in FMB?

[Rattlehead]

I'm currently trying to set up multiple runways on the same airfield in the FMB, with limited success.

I can create the airdromes with their runways simply enough, but I'm running into some issues.

Firstly, what is the airdrome point for? (It always gets created with the airdrome by default.)

Secondly, it looks like airdromes cannot overlap, or else planes spawn on top of each other and blow up. Can somebody confirm that please?

Thirdly, is is neccessary that the take off icon for planes be placed within the runway rectangle?

Lastly, it seems that sometimes planes do not spawn within the runway rectangle, but rather on the default runway.
How can I stop this from happening?

Thanks for any help.

[SEE]

I had problems with runways and spawning airgroups using the same airfield.

They spawn in identical places and its 'kaboomb'. The only way around this I found was to have one airgroup flagged as 'scramble' and the other as 'parked'.

The airgroup taking off with 'scramble' spawn on the runway and the other group flagged as 'parked' start in the Hangers or close by and then taxi to the runway.

The Take of waypoint can be anywhere in the airfield perimeter defined by that airfields capture ring but they will always spawn at the same location.

I tried adding a airfiled runway and having the perimeters overlapping but it didn't work, they still spawned on the default runway. I suspect that the creation of runways is for areas you want to use that don't have one but then you have to check the terrain is suitable and flat. In the end I just stuck with the default ones.

I created one on the Sea hoping that the Sunderland would be able to land/Takeoff. You can see the runway on the Sea (LOL) but the Sunderland will only land/take off on land based airstrips.

Thats as far as I have got...so far!

[Rattlehead]

Thanks for the input. :)

I think I'm finally getting somewhere.

First, I chose Watchfield (up in the north-west part of the map) because it's an airfield with no buildings or other obstructions.

Then, I created a group of twelve planes to take off from the airfield, as normal. I had to figure out from which part of the airfield they were taking off from, so I put lighthouses on the airfield for a reference point.

Once done, and I knew exactly where the default runway was on the 2D map, I THEN created an airfield by selecting airdrome from the objects browser and pressing the 'insert' key to create a runway. I made sure I made the airdrome size as small as possible, and made sure that the airdrome did not overlap with the default runway.

The tricky part, and the part that had been throwing me off all afternoon, was that the runway I created on the 2D map was running parallel to the default runway, but in reality it was intersecting it. I had to keep playing with the orientation of the runway to get it running parallel to the default runway in the game.

I then created another airdrome, making sure it wasn't overlapping anything, and then created a runway as I did for the first airdrome. I played around with the runway widths, so that the planes weren't lining up line astern.

Basically, it looked like this: (Excuse the poor size of the screenshots.)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/neal1972/launcher2011-06-0418-08-46-16.jpg

Ingame, I had 36 Spits taking off from the same airfield:

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/neal1972/launcher2011-06-0418-09-16-92.jpg

What I learned, in a nutshell, is that you must create a flight and make them take off from the default runway before adding a created airfield.

The runways may run parallel to the default runway on the 2D map, but in game they will not. Play with orienting them to run parallel to the default runway.

Make sure the created aifields, if you create more than one, do not overlap.

You can replace the default airfield with a created airfield. I only tried it once but it worked. For fun, I made a runway that was 200 meters wide, and created a flight of Spits, which I had changed to bombers...I had 40 Spits line up on the same airfield, three rows deep.
Unfortunately, trying to create another airfield after replacing the default one gave me problems...aicraft were all spawning on top of each other and exploding.

I still don't know what the airdrome points do, but they don't seem very significant.

Hope this helps.

[SEE]

That's useful, cheers! I can now see where I went wrong as I had my airfields overlapping and all my groups defaulted to one runway.

I will use your method.....it works! :grin:

[Ataros]

Isn't it possible to create several runways for one airfield and put takeoff waypoints for different groups on top of different runways?

Airfield points are where aircrafts spawn when 'parked' is checked. You can create as many of them as needed. You have to assign a key to "Branch" them in Game Controls Settings Menu in Builder section (exit FMB and go to game settings to do so). Put at least 2 AFPs inside a runway to let AI taxi to the runway from AFPs before takeoff.

[SEE]

I never thought of that, cheers Ataros! Something else I can try. I struggled with this problem off AC spawning in the same place.

[Rattlehead]

Airfield points are where aircrafts spawn when 'parked' is checked. You can create as many of them as needed. You have to assign a key to "Branch" them in Game Controls Settings Menu in Builder section (exit FMB and go to game settings to do so). Put at least 2 AFPs inside a runway to let AI taxi to the runway from AFPs before takeoff.

That is very useful info, thanks Ataros. Much appreciated.