Daidalos Team's Room -QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS ONLY - For 4.11

[IceFire]

Originally Posted by Tropical Storm

Hum, so maybe the problem is with the allied (I mean, squadron leader) AI. He often takes a different course than the waypoints one and behavior strangely, so my plane on autopilot just follow him... For example: many times playing as a B 25 bomber, the whole squadron dive to bomb, and not level, just like they were diver bombers. If I turn off the autopilot close to the target and level my bomber for myself, they just shout for me to "stay on course"! Other times, playing as an escort fighter, my whole flight fly away from the bombers we were suposed to protect just because we missed a waypoint...

Maybe if the AI had some behavior patterns depending on the type of plane it flyes... like, do not dive if he is a level bomber, or always follow the bombers if he is an escort, regardless of his own waypoints... them maybe my plane and my flight would do what they are suposed to do, even on autopilot.

That's not an autopilot problem. That's an AI problem... or rather a limitation.

The B-25 version in-game is a B-25J which operated as both level bomber and strafer using the guns in the nose to attack targets are very low level. The AI is setup on this aircraft for the strafer behavior so that's what it tries to do. At some higher altitude it is supposed to play nice as a level bomber but I'm not sure what that is.

On my wish list is an ability to tell the AI what to do at the attack waypoint depending on what options are available for that aircraft. So that we can have A-20s and B-25s and other types that did double duty doing what they are supposed to do according to mission parameters.

[Pursuivant]

My problem with waypoints is that if you miss a waypoint and then turn on AI, the AI tries to go back to it, rather than going on to the next waypoint or to the nearest waypoint.

Going back to the last known location might be realistic if you're flying over unfamiliar terrain or have limited landmarks and the waypoints are widely separated, but makes no sense if the waypoints have been set up to make planes orbit over a particular location, or if the planes are supposed to rendezvous with some other unit.

In a more perfect world, the FMB would include the following options:

Attack -> Attack type: high level bomb, dive bomb, strafe/rockets, torpedo/skip bomb/kamikaze.

Loiter -> Pattern: Circle, Racetrack, Expanding circle/spiral, square, rectangle, expanding square, expanding rectangle, random with X radius of waypoint. Speed change: +/- X mph/kph. Altitude change: +/- X m/feet.

Missed Waypoint Behavior: Back to last waypoint, go to next waypoint, go to nearest waypoint.

Dogfight behavior: Avoid contact (i.e., keep at least X distance from nearest enemy while still trying to get to next waypoint), Defensive circle (AKA Lufberry Circle), Escort/air cover (i.e., don't go beyond X distance from Y unit/location - close vs. loose escort set by distance), Ignore (i.e., don't dogfight or maneuver at all - very realistic for level bombers at IP point), Cautious (i.e., dogfight if attacked but don't pursue if enemy breaks off), Aggressive (i.e., normal dogfight behavior), Scatter (i.e., similar to what happens when bomber formations are badly shaken up, but logical initial behavior for unarmed formations), Flee/Retreat (i.e., avoid contact with enemy and got to another waypoint if enemy sighted), Scatter & Flee (combines the two options above - formation scatters, individual planes try to make it to another waypoint individually).

Escort Behavior (Can be assigned with other commands, no other flights need be present to get search patterns along a particular path): straight flight, weave (i.e., a sinusoidal path), zig-zag (i.e., 45 degree left and right turns every X meters), racetrack (i.e., oval loops - like current fighter escort behavior), orbit (i.e., circular loops), random.

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

'Go to next waypoint' has always been available and it works for you own planes autopilot too.

[Tropical Storm]

Originally Posted by EJGr.Ost_Caspar

'Go to next waypoint' has always been available and it works for you own planes autopilot too.

Yes, but if Im not a flight group (or squadron) leader it will not work for the entire flight, right? I mean, the leader will still try to go back to the missed waypoint (what the AI is programmed to do, I supose), and if I go to the next by myself, I'll break formation...

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

Originally Posted by Tropical Storm

Yes, but if Im not a flight group (or squadron) leader it will not work for the entire flight, right? I mean, the leader will still try to go back to the missed waypoint (what the AI is programmed to do, I supose), and if I go to the next by myself, I'll break formation...

If you not the flight leader, you probably won't miss any waypoint. There is no reason to leave your flight, is there? Thats the point of being NOT the flight leader. However, there have some good suggestions beside this and we read them all.

[Tropical Storm]

Originally Posted by EJGr.Ost_Caspar

If you not the flight leader, you probably won't miss any waypoint. There is no reason to leave your flight, is there? Thats the point of being NOT the flight leader. However, there have some good suggestions beside this and we read them all.

Well, it may happens when you need to go back to base due to a fuel leak, for example. And sometimes, when engaged in dogfight, the whole flight misses a waypoint, including the leader. But even if we are close to the next one, he will go back to the missed point.

Anyway, thanks for you answers and your attention, Im glad to know that you guys are reading our suggestions!

[jameson]

Would it be possible to assign menu buttons. that currently have to be mouse clicked, keyboard letters? Say, 'F' for fly, 'D' for difficulty? Or even Alt+whatever? Sometimes the keyboard would just be easier to use than scroll left, click, next page scroll right, up, down. click... For those with sim pits getting rid of the mouse would be a godsend I'd have thought, and one less thing in the way on the desk.

[Pursuivant]

It seems to me that a very simple change, which would render a number of mods obsoleted, would be to increase the number of loadouts available for planes in the game.

For example, there is evidence that the P-40M carried "bazooka" style rockets, that the Luftwaffe experimented with having the Do-217 carry torpedoes, and that the Fiat G-50 was fitted with hardpoints so that it could carry bombs. Bombers like the A-20 and B-25 could carry far more varieties of ordinance, or combinations of ordinance, than are currently modeled in the stock game.

On a purely visual level, there's evidence that U.S. lend-lease planes were fitted to carry Soviet or British bombs and/or rockets.

Basically, if there's any evidence that a plane could carry a particular type of ordinance in a particular nation's inventory, there's no reason that it shouldn't be modeled in the game.

On a purely hypothetical level, the various "Luftwaffe 46" planes, perhaps including real planes like the Bf-109K, Do-335, FW-190D, Hs-162, Me-262A or Ta-152 could all get loadouts of the late war German weapons like the Fritz X.

[Tropical Storm]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

My problem with waypoints is that if you miss a waypoint and then turn on AI, the AI tries to go back to it, rather than going on to the next waypoint or to the nearest waypoint.

Going back to the last known location might be realistic if you're flying over unfamiliar terrain or have limited landmarks and the waypoints are widely separated, but makes no sense if the waypoints have been set up to make planes orbit over a particular location, or if the planes are supposed to rendezvous with some other unit.

In a more perfect world, the FMB would include the following options:

Attack -> Attack type: high level bomb, dive bomb, strafe/rockets, torpedo/skip bomb/kamikaze.

Loiter -> Pattern: Circle, Racetrack, Expanding circle/spiral, square, rectangle, expanding square, expanding rectangle, random with X radius of waypoint. Speed change: +/- X mph/kph. Altitude change: +/- X m/feet.

Missed Waypoint Behavior: Back to last waypoint, go to next waypoint, go to nearest waypoint.

Dogfight behavior: Avoid contact (i.e., keep at least X distance from nearest enemy while still trying to get to next waypoint), Defensive circle (AKA Lufberry Circle), Escort/air cover (i.e., don't go beyond X distance from Y unit/location - close vs. loose escort set by distance), Ignore (i.e., don't dogfight or maneuver at all - very realistic for level bombers at IP point), Cautious (i.e., dogfight if attacked but don't pursue if enemy breaks off), Aggressive (i.e., normal dogfight behavior), Scatter (i.e., similar to what happens when bomber formations are badly shaken up, but logical initial behavior for unarmed formations), Flee/Retreat (i.e., avoid contact with enemy and got to another waypoint if enemy sighted), Scatter & Flee (combines the two options above - formation scatters, individual planes try to make it to another waypoint individually).

Escort Behavior (Can be assigned with other commands, no other flights need be present to get search patterns along a particular path): straight flight, weave (i.e., a sinusoidal path), zig-zag (i.e., 45 degree left and right turns every X meters), racetrack (i.e., oval loops - like current fighter escort behavior), orbit (i.e., circular loops), random.

That would be perfect! I was talking exactly about that when I mentioned "flight patterns". But I understand that it would be very difficult and time consuming for TD to make such changes for this patch, but maybe it stays on the wishlist for the next...

[OREL_Erichos]

Hi guys, my question is about support 6DOF mode for freetrack/IRtrack in 4.11 update, will this feature be in this update or not?